Muted Judgement (Legal thriller, thriller) Read Online Free Page A
Author: G. E. Mason
scene of the murder?"
"I was the first officer on scene, ma'am."
"What brought you to the Sheffield residence?"
"A health and welfare call," he said.
He sat straight, his thousand watts stared directed right at Lauren. He spoke to her and not the jury. She actually admired that.
"What is a health and welfare call?"
"It's when someone calls in and asks for a police officer to stop by someone's house. This is usually done for the elderly to check that they are alive."
"But Mr. Sheffield is not elderly."
"No, he isn't, but an employee of his couldn't get a hold of him so was concerned. Mr. Sheffield is known in the community so when I had a spare moment I went and checked on him."
"Do you know what time it was?"
"It was about 10:30 that night, but my report will state the correct time."
Lauren strode to her table. Finding a folder, she brought it to Officer Landon. "Is this your report?"
He took it, leafing through it. "Yes."
"What time does it say?"
"10:35."
She took the papers from him. "Exhibit A, your honor."
Ethan took it, but didn't look at it.
"What did you find when you got to the Sheffield residence?"
"The front door was unlocked. I called out to Mr. Sheffield and received no answer. I entered the residence."
Lauren paced away then turned back to Landon. "What did you find in the residence?"
"I found Mr. Sheffield in a pile of his own blood. I checked, but he had no pulse."
"Did you see a knife near the body?"
"No, ma'am."
"Do you know if a knife was missing from his kitchen?"
"When I interviewed his son, he said that there was a knife missing from the kitchen. His father had some expensive knives he kept in a block on the counter. One slot was empty."
"Thank, Corporal Landon. No further questions." She turned to Brad. "Your witness."
Brad cross examined the officer for another fifteen minutes, but was unable to break the man's story. He only highlighted that the murder weapon was not brought to the scene.
Landon was then dismissed off the witness stand.
Lauren was onto her next witness. The emergency department doctor who treated Claire and filled out the rape kit. He was an older man with a shock of white hair and large blue eyes. Despite not being tall, he did have a certain presence about him. More of a grandfatherly one rather than a turn-heads kind of presence. If Lauren had to take her daughter to the emergency department, she'd like this doctor to be there.
"State your name for the court," Lauren said.
"Doctor Kyle Walton," he said.
"You are an emergency room doctor at Mercy General Medical Center?"
"Yes."
"You were on duty when the defendant Claire Smith came in claiming to have been raped?"
The doctor sneezed before answering. "Yes, ma'am."
"Bless you. What are your usual procedures where there is a claim of rape?"
"We do a rape kit," the doctor said.
"And what exactly does that entail?"
"The victim's clothes are put into an evidence bag, sealed and marked with her name. We take pictures of the victim, highlighting any bruising or possible areas of trauma. We take swabs of all orifices of the victim and they are placed in evidence bags. DNA tests are done on some of the samples to see if we can identify the rapist from any known criminals."
The doctor went on to catalog the rest of what was done with Claire's rape kit.
"Are you involved after the kit is done?"
"No, the kit is given over to police. Someone signs for it so there is a paper trail of where it went."
"And do you personally see that it is signed?" Lauren asked.
"Most cases I do. I like to keep as few people involved as possible. There will be fewer questions later if the case comes to trial," the doctor said.
Lauren went on asking questions establishing exactly what happened that night. She wanted to make sure there were no questions that procedure had been followed and that the body fluid samples that went to the lab were from Claire's body. The jurors could not doubt that.
Brad stood to cross examine,
"I was the first officer on scene, ma'am."
"What brought you to the Sheffield residence?"
"A health and welfare call," he said.
He sat straight, his thousand watts stared directed right at Lauren. He spoke to her and not the jury. She actually admired that.
"What is a health and welfare call?"
"It's when someone calls in and asks for a police officer to stop by someone's house. This is usually done for the elderly to check that they are alive."
"But Mr. Sheffield is not elderly."
"No, he isn't, but an employee of his couldn't get a hold of him so was concerned. Mr. Sheffield is known in the community so when I had a spare moment I went and checked on him."
"Do you know what time it was?"
"It was about 10:30 that night, but my report will state the correct time."
Lauren strode to her table. Finding a folder, she brought it to Officer Landon. "Is this your report?"
He took it, leafing through it. "Yes."
"What time does it say?"
"10:35."
She took the papers from him. "Exhibit A, your honor."
Ethan took it, but didn't look at it.
"What did you find when you got to the Sheffield residence?"
"The front door was unlocked. I called out to Mr. Sheffield and received no answer. I entered the residence."
Lauren paced away then turned back to Landon. "What did you find in the residence?"
"I found Mr. Sheffield in a pile of his own blood. I checked, but he had no pulse."
"Did you see a knife near the body?"
"No, ma'am."
"Do you know if a knife was missing from his kitchen?"
"When I interviewed his son, he said that there was a knife missing from the kitchen. His father had some expensive knives he kept in a block on the counter. One slot was empty."
"Thank, Corporal Landon. No further questions." She turned to Brad. "Your witness."
Brad cross examined the officer for another fifteen minutes, but was unable to break the man's story. He only highlighted that the murder weapon was not brought to the scene.
Landon was then dismissed off the witness stand.
Lauren was onto her next witness. The emergency department doctor who treated Claire and filled out the rape kit. He was an older man with a shock of white hair and large blue eyes. Despite not being tall, he did have a certain presence about him. More of a grandfatherly one rather than a turn-heads kind of presence. If Lauren had to take her daughter to the emergency department, she'd like this doctor to be there.
"State your name for the court," Lauren said.
"Doctor Kyle Walton," he said.
"You are an emergency room doctor at Mercy General Medical Center?"
"Yes."
"You were on duty when the defendant Claire Smith came in claiming to have been raped?"
The doctor sneezed before answering. "Yes, ma'am."
"Bless you. What are your usual procedures where there is a claim of rape?"
"We do a rape kit," the doctor said.
"And what exactly does that entail?"
"The victim's clothes are put into an evidence bag, sealed and marked with her name. We take pictures of the victim, highlighting any bruising or possible areas of trauma. We take swabs of all orifices of the victim and they are placed in evidence bags. DNA tests are done on some of the samples to see if we can identify the rapist from any known criminals."
The doctor went on to catalog the rest of what was done with Claire's rape kit.
"Are you involved after the kit is done?"
"No, the kit is given over to police. Someone signs for it so there is a paper trail of where it went."
"And do you personally see that it is signed?" Lauren asked.
"Most cases I do. I like to keep as few people involved as possible. There will be fewer questions later if the case comes to trial," the doctor said.
Lauren went on asking questions establishing exactly what happened that night. She wanted to make sure there were no questions that procedure had been followed and that the body fluid samples that went to the lab were from Claire's body. The jurors could not doubt that.
Brad stood to cross examine,
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