It was possible that Kaplan hadn’t known about Warwick’s alibi until Gabriel testified about it. Nonetheless, the attorney acted as if nothing could have mattered less.
“Good to know Mr. Warwick is only an art thief, and the NYPD has chosen to believe what this criminal told you about his whereabouts at the time of Mr. Sommers’s murder.”
Gabriel would have countered the assertion, but Kaplan quickly segued. “Am I correct that you never considered Owen Fiske a suspect until a few days ago?”
“He was not among the first people we questioned, that’s right.”
“In fact, you never questioned him at all. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Why was that?”
Another why question.
“We had other initial suspects. Their motives, on first consideration, seemed stronger . . . until we had the forensic evidence regarding the possible DNA match.”
“You’ve just said the million-dollar word, Lieutenant. Actually, three letters and one word: DNA match. That’s why we’re here, after all. So let’s talk about that. You found some blood at the scene, right?”
“Yes.”
“And your investigation led you to a private genetics company that indicated the blood matched, at least in part, a fellow named Howard Fiske, who lives all the way in Oregon. Do I have that right?”
“You do.”
“Good. Is Howard Fiske a suspect too?”
“No. He is not.”
“I’m glad to hear that. We have quite enough of them already, don’t you think?”
Gabriel looked over at Salvesen. The guy really sucked at his job.
“I’m sorry, was that a serious question?” Gabriel asked, still staring at Salvesen.
“No. I guess it wasn’t,” Kaplan said with a smile. “So this private company—which one was it, by the way?”
“FamilyTreeDNA.”
“So FamilyTreeDNA tells you that the person who left the blood in Mr. Sommers’s workplace is related to this Howard Fiske. Do I have that right?”
“Yes. The DNA left at the crime scene was a match for a blood relation to Howard Fiske.”
“I’m going to ask for a clarification, Lieutenant. This is important because I know you want to be precise in your testimony. You keep saying that DNA was left at the crime scene. But that’s not really accurate, is it?”
Gabriel knew where this was going and made a split-second decision to get out in front of it.
“Blood was found at the crime scene that did not come from the victim, Mr. Sommers. But if you’re asking whether we can prove that this blood was left at the exact time that Mr. Sommers died, the answer is we cannot.”
“That is my point precisely, Lieutenant,” Kaplan said. “There was blood found at James Sommers’s workplace. And his workplace ended up being a crime scene. But you cannot prove that the blood found there was left during the crime, isn’t that right?”
Gabriel decided it was time to push back. “Yes and no. You are correct that there is no way to prove when blood was left with the precision you seem to be seeking. So even Mr. Sommers’s blood, of which there was quite a bit found at the crime scene, can’t be proven to have spilled during the murder, precisely. However, we can make that deduction because the blood was relatively fresh when we arrived at the scene, which was one of the ways the medical examiner determined the time of death. That same analysis is reached by virtue of the fact that the nature of the crime resulted in Mr. Sommers losing a lot of blood. So, I don’t mean to nitpick, but since you made a point of wanting me to be precise, I am trying to be precise. DNA doesn’t reveal all. It’s one piece of a larger puzzle. So while it is true that DNA testing does not tell us the precise moment when the blood is spilled, other investigative modes do give rise to the conclusion that all the blood left at the scene was left during the commission of the murder.”
“Or maybe it was old blood and Mr. Sommers just never noticed the blood left the day before. Maybe Mr. Sommers was a messy guy.”
Before Gabriel could respond, Kaplan went in a different direction. “Lieutenant, you are aware that Owen Fiske is a very sick boy, correct?”
“I’m not a doctor. I know he’s in the hospital. His mother told me that he has leukemia.”
“You’re not suggesting that your lack of medical training makes you ignorant of whether a boy in the hospital for leukemia is very ill, are you?”
“Let me stop you there, Ms. Kaplan,” Judge Martin said. “Is either side going to call any medical personnel on this issue?” She was looking at Salvesen.
“We could if you wanted, Judge,” he said without coming to his feet.
“I do want. Right now, in fact. Let’s recess for an hour, at which time I expect there to be a doctor in the house.”
26
An hour later, Dr. Cammerman took the stand. He looked as if he’d come straight from the hospital, to the point he was still wearing a white lab coat.
Wayne had never thought about Cammerman’s credentials. Dr. Goldman had told them about the treatment, and that was all Wayne had ever considered. But at the start of his testimony, Cammerman testified that he had graduated from Yale University and Harvard Medical School. He ticked off some prestigious-sounding fellowships and a litany of positions with hospitals before arriving at his current job at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
“Dr. Cammerman, please explain a little bit about AML, the disease afflicting Owen Fiske,” Salvesen asked.
Judge Martin cut in before Cammerman could answer. “Mr. Salvesen, I know that Owen Fiske has leukemia, and I know that it is a serious disease. We can move this along a little faster. All I really need to know is the risk to him if he provided a DNA sample.”
“Let’s get right to that, then,” Salvesen said. “Dr. Cammerman, are you familiar with the taking of DNA samples?”
“I’m not an expert in the area, but I know it’s typically done by drawing blood or a cheek swab.”
“And with a healthy
