COURT RESUMED AND Judge Hoffman asked the People to call their next witness.
Yuki called Charles Clapper, director of San Francisco’s forensics lab. After Clapper had been sworn in, Yuki asked him preliminary questions: his title, the scope of his job, his background in forensics. Then she asked him to tell about the defendant’s garage laboratory.
Yuki asked, “Were there bomb-making materials in Mr. Grant’s lab?”
“Yes. We found implements and chemicals that could be used to make explosives. Quarter sticks of dynamite, black powder, cardboard tubes, sealing wax, rolls of green stuff that’s called rocket fuse, and chemical colorants often used for fireworks. Glass jars of BBs and nails. Assorted lengths of pipe.”
Under Yuki’s questioning, Clapper testified that in his opinion the principal bomb used in the museum was a compression bomb that had been made with a gas-filled container and ignited by a detonator, either remotely or with a preset timer.
He said, “It wouldn’t take much exploded gas to change the pressure inside that building. That’ll cause what’s called a high-order explosion that will disintegrate glass, any kind of paneling.
“It brought the roof down,” Clapper said, “and the bowstring trusses crushed those second-story pedestrian bridges. The smaller bomb was probably C-4 with a timer device, probably placed near one of the posts supporting the center dome in order to finish off that whole house of cards.”
“Could that second bomb have been timed to kill fire and rescue?”
“Secondary blasts are often set for that purpose.”
Yuki asked, “Were these two types of bombs described and illustrated in Mr. Grant’s notebook?”
“Yes. Chapter 9 was about the use of C-4 and other plastic bombs. Chapter 14 was devoted to compression bombs.”
“In your opinion, was Mr. Grant capable of building and setting such bombs?”
“In my opinion, he could have practically done it blindfolded.”
Yuki asked if remains of the bombs had been found at the scene, and Clapper answered, “A fire extinguisher with both ends blown off was recovered from the bay off Pier 15. That would be the remains of a compression bomb. The C-would have vaporized without a trace.”
Yuki thanked Clapper and turned him over to the defendant.
Grant stood, buttoned his jacket, and approached the witness. Yuki admired his composure. Honestly, if it weren’t for his patchy shave, she could believe that he was an actual high-priced litigator.
“Director Clapper,” said Grant, “did you find any kind of gas or gas containers in or around my house or car or lab?”
“No.”
“Did you find any evidence—a cell phone with a record of an outgoing call that can’t be identified, fingerprints at the scene, records of a fire extinguisher purchase, or anything—that linked me to that explosion?”
“No.”
“Thanks, I have no other questions for this witness.”
Yuki said, “Redirect, Your Honor.”
The judge said, “Go ahead, Counselor.”
Yuki stepped out from the prosecution table, walked to the witness box.
“Director Clapper, where could a person obtain a container for a compression bomb?”
“Any hardware store, home improvement store. You can get a fire extinguisher, big one, like the one that was used, for about fifty bucks. If you wanted to use a pressure cooker, every big-box store in the country sells them.”
“And gas. Is that hard to get?”
“Nah. Bottled gas, natural, propane, argon, it’s all available in those same kinds of outlets. The perchlorate, any chemical supply company has that.”
“Could you buy these implements for cash?”
“Sure.”