He shifted uncomfortably. “None. It’s a—”
“So you’re saying that in each of these cases, Alex Cross was investigated and found to have taken prudent action in accord with police and FBI protocol?”
“I don’t know about prudent when you end up with a dead suspect.”
“Objection,” Anita said.
“Sustained,” Judge Larch said. “But rephrase, Ms. Marley.”
Anita seemed taken aback for a moment. Then she said, “Was Dr. Cross found to be in compliance with police and FBI protocols in each of those nine shootings?”
Nixon acted like he had something stuck in his teeth but eventually said, “He was.”
“All nine?”
“All nine.”
“And in the cases of wounding?”
“Yes, but—”
“A simple yes will do, Mr. Nixon. Since you have had a chance to look at Dr. Cross’s record in such detail, would it be fair to say that the criminals involved were dangerous people? Violent people?”
“Doesn’t mean they had to die by a police bullet,” Nixon said.
“It’s a yes-or-no question.”
“Yes, they were dangerous.”
“Killers?”
“Often.”
“Bombers?”
“Their crimes are not the issue here.”
“They most certainly are the issue,” Anita said. “Dr. Cross has a reputation for going after the worst criminals, taking on the biggest cases, isn’t that so?”
“He’s well regarded as an investigator.”
“Did Dr. Cross put himself in personal danger to solve the cases you looked at?”
“Every cop in America is in danger every day.”
“Point taken,” Anita said. “But in light of the kinds of cases Dr. Cross worked for the FBI and DC Metro, wasn’t he bound to come into contact with more violent suspects than the average cop?”
Nixon paused and then said, “Probably a higher incidence of contact with that sort of criminal, but I can’t tell you what that is statistically.”
“A higher incidence of contact will do,” Anita said, and she smiled at the jury as she went back to the defense table. She put on reading glasses and scanned her notes for a moment.
When she was done,
she pivoted and looked at the witness. “Just to summarize, Mr. Nixon, in each of the nine fatal cases you looked at, Dr. Cross, because of his job, came into close contact with a hardened criminal, correct?”
He thought about that and then said, “Correct.”
“And violence ensued,” she said.