“I wouldn’t know.”
“Of course. You’re not an expert. But I’m willing to bet the expert in this case would verify that.”
Roz stood and called out, “Objection. Speculation.”
The DA almost bowed to her and said, “Quite right, but I’m willing to put the FBI’s expert on the stand again if need be.” He stared at the jury as he said, “However, since Konrad Wolfensen and Nicholas Wolfensen are identical twins, and Nicholas’s cheek swab was a ninety-nine point nine percent DNA match to the hair found at the crime scene, it’s fair to assume—”
Roz was on her feet and objecting before the DA finished his sentence.
He withdrew the question and smiled at the jury. “No more questions, your honor.” He didn’t even look at Roz when he said, “Your witness” and breezed back to his seat with his nose in the air.
Roz had met Nick only briefly. He said he hadn’t known of an alibi or anything else to help the defense then, and he probably wouldn’t now. Konrad couldn’t imagine what she intended to ask Nick as she stood in front of him. At least she was blocking the view.
“Nicholas, how long have you been a Boston police officer?”
“Eight years.”
She tipped her head. “Oh! Only eight years? You weren’t a Boston cop twenty years ago?”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t a cop anywhere then. I came out of the academy in 2002.”
“Why did you want to become a cop?”
“Nine-eleven. I saw heroes running into the World Trade Center, and I knew I could do that. I’m very strong and probably could have carried several adults out of the rubble before getting tired. I wanted to help. Wanted to keep our community safe.”
“That’s very admirable. Have you had to do anything like that in your eight years on the force?”
“No. I’ve been thinking about volunteering for the bomb squad, but I haven’t done that yet.”
“Wow, so you’re willing to put yourself in harm’s way—”
The DA stood. “Objection. This isn’t a coffee klatch, and I don’t see what this little chat has to do with the case.”
Roz spoke to the judge. “Just establishing what kind of witness we have here. It also speaks to the kind of family my client comes from.”
The judge overruled the objection, but warned her to stay on track.
“Okay, so in your years as a police officer, have you ever run into cases where evidence had been falsified or planted?”
“Yeah, plenty of times.”
“Really? It happens a lot?”
“Well, not on a daily basis or anything, but it’s not uncommon. Someone who’s holding a grudge might plant evidence to put away a rival, or a guilty suspect might try to throw us off his trail and onto someone else’s.”
“I see. So it’s perfectly plausible that someone who had a grudge against my client, or someone who wanted suspicion diverted to someone else, could have gotten hold of and planted some of my client’s hair, then called in an anonymous tip?”
The DA leaned toward the other attorneys at his table and whispered furiously.
Ha, that rattled them. Good.
“Yeah, I’d like to see them explain their anonymous tipster was a ghost.”
Roz said she had no more questions, and Nick was allowed to leave the witness stand. He didn’t leave the courtroom, however. He sat behind Konrad and put a hand on his shoulder. Konrad clapped his own big hand over his brother’s and held onto him for a moment of support.
All we need is reasonable doubt, right, Roz?
“I’d like a solidly doubtful jury before they go to deliberate. When I get to call our witnesses, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
