“Please tell the court what sort of a bullet you found.”
“We removed a forty-four caliber bullet from Mr. Smith’s head.”
“Thank you, Mr. Davies.” The district attorney turned and said, “I submit this report into the court records as State’s Evidence number one.” He walked to their table and handed the report over. “Your witness, Mr. Cochran.”
Jesse stood, but remained at his place. “Good morning, Mr. Davies. Where is the bullet you extracted from the deceased?”
The man squirmed. “I, um, I don’t know.”
Jesse raised his eyebrows. “You don’t know?”
“No, sir. I placed it on the desk in my office and when Mr. Spencer asked for it, it was no longer there.”
“Indeed? How strange, Mr. Davies. Is it common practice for evidence as significant as this to be treated with such carelessness by the Coroner’s office?”
Davies blushed a bright red. “I put it on the desk with the intent of placing it in an envelope and handing it to Mr. Spencer personally, but when I returned to my desk the day of the shooting, there was a slight crisis in the office and it slipped my mind.”
“Slipped your mind?”
The man ran his finger around the inside of his collar as he nodded.
“But you are absolutely certain it was a forty-four caliber bullet?”
“Yes. Absolutely certain.”
“But you no longer have the bullet?”
“No, sir.”
Jesse stood with his hands on his hips, regarding the man until he squirmed. “That’s all.” He sat and picked up a pencil and began to write.
Mr. Spencer stood. “Re-direct, Your Honor.”
The coroner took his seat again, looking very unhappy indeed.
“Mr. Davies, tell the court why you are so certain the bullet was a forty-four caliber.”
“Because I own a forty-four Smith and Wesson and those are the bullets I use.”
“So you are very familiar with that type
of bullet?”
“Yes, sir.”
“No further questions.”
A slight smile graced Jesse’s lips as he continued to go over his notes. Hunter tried to look interested, and he certainly should be, but all he could think about was Emily sitting behind them. Over the course of a few weeks she’d lost everything she owned. And once their association became public knowledge, she would most likely lose her status in the community as well.
The more time he spent in her company, the more he knew he wanted to make her his. Forever. With the scandal of divorce no longer a necessity, as soon as he was acquitted of these charges, he would go down on one knee and ask her the question that had been burning in his chest for weeks.
Which would never happen if he were swinging from a rope.
“The State calls Officer Eli Mallory.”
After being sworn in, the police officer took his seat and faced the district attorney. Hunter leaned back in his seat, his index finger and thumb cradling his chin as he studied the witness. Seeing him again brought back the frustration and anger he’d felt when Mallory had so blithely dismissed his charges against Smith.
The officer told nothing new or surprising in his tale of Hunter’s visit to the police station. Jesse continued to write as Mallory testified until the District Attorney turned to their table. “Your witness.”