“That’s what the report says, yes.” The chief squirms, and this time, he actively looks away from me.
“Was the blood tested?”
The chief looks down and scans the document, looking for an answer before he shakes his head. “It doesn’t say in the report if it was or wasn’t.”
“Well, it’s safe to assume it wasn’t then. Otherwise, it would have been mentioned. Is there a reason the blood was not tested?”
“We rarely test blood in vehicular accidents unless a homicide is being investigated.”
Mr. Knowles taps his chin. “The report states Mr. Bannerman was thrown from the passenger seat on impact.”
“Yes.”
“It also says that almost all the blood was found on the driver’s side of the vehicle, particularly the driver’s seat. Again, the blood wasn’t tested. But given what we know, it’s safe to assume the blood was, in fact, Miss Wells’s. For it to be Mr. Bannerman’s, he would have to have been driving.”
The chief reaches for a glass of water and sips it before answering, the glass shaking in his hand. “Yes. That would be my assumption, too.”
“One last thing. Was Miss Wells breathalyzed at the scene?”
“No, I believe she was unconscious and remained that way until she arrived at the hospital.”
Mr. Knowles nods before returning to his seat. “Nothing further, your honor.”
I frown, wondering why he stopped there. The defense has no questions, and I release a shaky breath as the judge tells Stephenson to step down. I let my eyes slip closed as I try to find a moment of peace. It’s only going to get worse from here on out.
The day drags on, and I feel myself folding in on myself more and more as the hours pass and my story is splayed out in all its brutal glory for the court to see.
“State your relationship to Mr. and Mrs. Bannerman, please, Dr. Gray,” Mr. Knowles tells the next witness.
“We went to high school together. I dated Leanne before she married John, and I married my wife, Lydia.”
“You remained friends?”
“Yes. In a small town like Tempest, if everyone hated their exes, nobody would have anyone left to talk to.”
Someone snickers. I ignore them, watching the man I’ve only got vague memories of from that night. I never realized he wasfriends with Banner’s parents, let alone that he’d dated Banner’s mother.
“You were the attending physician the night Sorrow Wells and Alec Bannerman were brought into the ER?”
“That’s correct, though I only worked on Miss Wells.”
“Can you tell us a little about the injuries Miss Wells presented with when she arrived in your care?”
The doctor casts a look my way, his eyes filled with sympathy. I feel my pulse quicken and my hands get sweaty.
“Miss Wells had a variety of bruises and contusions, prominently on her face, neck, chest, and stomach. She was also miscarrying.”
My nails dig into Banner’s hand, and for a moment, I stop breathing. I feel Katy wrap her arm around me, as Banner’s grip on me tightens.
“In your expert opinion, would a miscarriage explain the amount of blood in the driver’s seat?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“So the crash resulted in Miss Wells’s injuries, including the miscarriage?”
“While a crash could have caused a miscarriage, when Miss Wells regained consciousness, she told me and the nurse attending that she started miscarrying before she got in the vehicle. She was on her way to the hospital because of this.”
“Okay, miscarriage aside, her bruises and contusions were a result of the crash, though, right?”
