'You put those words in Mr. Harmon's mouth.'
'No, sir. I just asked the questions and he supplied the answers.'
'Only some of them were your answers, weren't they?
'Nothing further, Your Honor,' Peter said before O'Shay could object.
'I only have a few questions on redirect, Sergeant.'
The deputy district attorney sounded undisturbed by Peter's cross. 'Mr. Hale pointed out that the defendant described the hatchet wounds the killer inflicted as being on the right side of Miss Whiley's face, whereas the wounds were actually on the left side.'
Yes.
'When Mr. Harmon was describing these wounds verbally, was he also demonstrating the strikes?' -Yes, ma'am. I gave him a ruler to hold and I told him to pretend this was the weapon. Then I stood in front of him and dipped down a little, so I would be more like Miss Whiley's height. Then I asked him to act out the blows.' -Were the defendant's physical actions consistent with what he said?'
'No, ma'am, they were not. See, while he was talking I stood opposite him.
Now Mr. Harmon had that ruler in his right hand and he was saying the blows were landing on my right side, but really, with me facing him, it was on his right, but the left side of my face. See what I mean.'
'I'm certain the jurors understand,' O'Shay said.
Peter also understood with sickening clarity that he had lost one of his major points.
'Mr. Hale asked you if you had Officer Patrick shine a black light on the defendant's hands after a powder had been transferred to Mr. Harmon's hands from a Coke can,' O'Shay said.
Yes.
'This powder then showed up orange on Mr. Harmon's hands under the ultraviolet light, is that correct?'
'Yes.
'What did Mr. Harmon do when Officer Patrick told him that the orange glow was Sandra Whiley's blood?'
'He stared at his hands and began wringing them in an effort to scrape off the blood.'
'Now, Mr. Hale asked you if you led the defendant to say that the man in the park had a weapon.'
'Yes.'
'Did you ever suggest that the weapon used by the person who murdered Sandra Whiley was a hatchet?'
'No, ma'am. When I was talking to Gary we didn't know what was used to kill her, other than it was a sharp-bladed instrument.'
'Who is the first person to say that the murder weapon was a hatchet?'
'Gary. The defendant.'
'And, lo and behold, the murder weapon did turn out to be a hatchet, didn't it, Sergeant?'
'Yes, ma'am. Much to my surprise, it certainly did.'
Chapter TWENTY-TWO.
Dr. Leonard Farber, Kevin Booth's treating physician, had thinning brown hair, clear blue eyes and an easy smile. His cheerful disposition seemed odd when you considered that he spent his days with people who were often in horrible pain. While he walked with Becky O'Shay, Farber explained that his patient had recovered enough to be moved out of isolation in the burn ward to a regular hospital room. O'Shay showed no emotion when the doctor described Booth's injuries and the process of grafting human skin and pigskin onto areas that had been horribly burned, but listening to a scientific explanation of the effect of ignited lighter fluid on human skin was not the same as seeing a person who had been set on fire.
Dr. Farber had arranged for Booth to be temporarily placed in a hospital room that was big enough for the judge, the court reporter, the attorneys and the jury. A policeman stationed outside Booth's door looked up as the doctor and the D.A. approached.
'We're set for two, right?' Farber asked.
'You should probably be here a little before two. Say, one forty-five. just in case the judge or Harmon's attorney has any questions.'
'See you then,' Farber said and he headed back to his office The police guard opened the door to Booth's room as soon as he checked Becky's ID. Booth was sitting up in a hospital bed that had been elevated so he could watch television. The set was showing a game show. As soon as the door opened, Booth turned off the set.
J O'Shay kept her poise when Booth turned his head toward her. His face was covered with silver sulfadiazine, a white, greasy cream. The right side of the face looked normal, but O'Shay could see bright red circles and blobs of healing outer skin through the cream that covered the left side. In addition, Booth had an eighthof-an- inch tube in his right nostril through which supplemental nutrition was administered. O'Shay also noticed that Booth's left eyebrow was gone.
Booth was wearing a short-sleeve hospital gown. The gown bulged in numerous places where bandages covered the grafts. On the back of Booth's left arm and hand were square patches of pinkish-purplish skin. A clear yellow serum oozed out of numerous perforations in the skin. O'Shay felt light-headed, even though Booth did not look as bad as she had imagined.
'How are you feeling, Mr. Booth?' O'Shay asked as she sat next to the bed on a gray metal chair.
'Bad,' Booth managed. His speech had a harsh, rasping quality that startled O'Shay. The word was said so softly that she had to strain to hear it. Dr. Farber had explained that Booth had suffered a minor inhalation injury when he breathed in smoke from the beddin that burned in his cell. Booth's pain medication had also been withheld so he would be clearheaded for his testimony.
'You'll feel better when you're through testifying and I let the U.S. Attorney know how much I appreciate your help.'
O'Shay could see that Booth was frightened.
'Don't worry, Kevin. This won't take long. The doctor will be here. The judge will let you take breaks, if u'll do fine.
you need toyo -We don't start for a while. I'm here because I want to tell you the questions I'm going to ask you, so you won't be surprised by them. Okay?'
Booth nodded and O'Shay rewarded him with a smile. For the next half hour, O'Shay went through her direct examination with Booth. For the most part, O'Shay let Booth answer without comment, but every once in a while, she would advise Booth to phrase an answer differently so it would have a greater impact on the jurors. By the end of the half hour, Booth seemed to be flagging, so O'Shay decided to wind up their meeting.
'That was great, Kevin. I wanted to go over one more thing, then I'll let you get some rest. Do you think you can hang in there for a few minutes more?'
Booth nodded slowly. His eyelids fluttered with fatigue.
'Jurors are impressed by details. Little things that lend authenticity to what a witness says. There are a lot of good details in your account of Harmon's confession, but there's one thing I realize we've never talked about.
Something Gary Harmon may have told you that only the killer would know.'
'What ... thing?'
'You told me that Harmon said that Sandra Whiley wore a good luck piece around her neck. A small, silver medallion on a chain. Did Harmon ever mention anything else about this necklace to you?'
'What ... would he ... have said?'
'The necklace was found in some bushes near the entrance to the park. By those stone pillars. We think that the killer tore it off of her neck while they were struggling. Did Harmon ever mention anything about that?'
'I ... I'm not sure.'
'Try and remember. I don't want you to testify about anything Harmon didn't tell you. I don't want you to make up anything. But it would be important, if Bar mon did say it. Why don't you think about it while you rest.'
Booth nodded. O'Shay stood up.
'I'll come by before everyone else arrives and you can tell me if you remember anything about the necklace or anything else of importance.'
Peter Hale and Becky O'Shay sat on either side of Judge Kuffel on the left side of Kevin Booth's bed. Behind
