Scott Turow - Presumed innocent

Surprise me, I told Kemp. I'll hear it in court.

Now I wait. Painless sits there, unfluttered, impassive. At lunch, Kemp told me he believed that Kumagai's career could be over tonight.

"Doctor Kumagai," Stern begins, "you have testified here as an expert, is that right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You have told us about your papers and your degrees, have you not?"

"I answer questions about that, yes."

"You said you have testified on many prior occasions."

"Hundreds," says Painless. Each answer has a kind of screw-you brittleness. He means to be a smart guy and tough, the better of any cross-examiner.

"Doctor, has your competence ever been called into question, to your knowledge?"

Painless adjusts himself on the stand. The assault has begun.

"No, sir," he says.

"Doctor, is it not true that many deputy prosecuting attorneys over the years have complained about your competence as a forensic pathologist?"

"Not to me."

"No, not to you. But to the chief of police, resulting in at least one memorandum being placed in your personnel file?"

"I don't know about that."

Sandy shows the document first to Nico, then to Kumagai on the stand.

"No, I never seen that," he says at once.

"Do you not have to be notified under police regulations of any addition to your personnel file?"

"Could be, but you ask what I remember. I don't remember that."

"Thank you, Doctor." Sandy removes the document from Kumagai's hands. As Stern is strolling back to our table, he asks, "Do you have any nicknames?"

Kumagai stills. Perhaps he is wishing he had acknowledged the letter.

"Friend call me Ted."

"Aside from that?"

"Don't use nicknames."

"No, sir, not that you use. But by which you are known?"

"I don't understand question."

"Has anybody ever referred to you as Painless?"

"To me?"

"To anyone, to your knowledge?"

Again Painless takes a moment to shift around in his seat.

"Could be," he says finally.

"You do not enjoy that nickname, do you?"

"Don't think about it."

"You acquired that nickname some years ago from the former chief deputy prosecuting attorney Mr. Sennett, in an unflattering context, did you not?"

"If you say-"

"Mr. Sennett told you to your face, did he not, that you had bungled an autopsy and that the only person who found working with you painless was the corpse, because it was dead?"

The laughter thunders in the courtroom. Even Larren is chuckling up on the bench. I shift in my seat. Whatever Stern has better be good, because for the first time he has abandoned his innate decorousness. His cross so far verges on the cruel.

"I don't remember that," says Painless coldly when the room has come back to order again. Over the years he has grown adroit in his knowledge of the rules of evidence. Every cop and P.A. in Kindle County knows that story. Stan Sennett would be happy to tell it from the stand. But the judge is not likely to allow such a diversion, called collateral impeachment. Painless has drawn his shoulders around him. He looks out at Stern, waiting for more. He has apparently taken some pleasure in what he regards as his own small triumph.

"Now, Mr. Della Guardia and Mr. Molto are two persons from the P.A.'s office with whom you have worked with less-let us say disagreement, is that right?"

"Sure. They my good friends." On this point, Painless has apparently been well schooled. He will acknowledge his contacts with Tommy and Delay, in order to minimize their importance.

"Did you discuss this investigation with either one of them while it was in progress?"

"I talk to Mr. Molto sometime."

"How often did you speak to him?"

"We stay in touch. We talk now and then."

"Did you talk to him more than five times in the first few weeks of April?"

"Sure," he says, "if you say." Painless is taking no chances. He knows that subpoenas are out. He can't be sure whose MUDs we have obtained.

"And you talked in detail about this investigation?"

"Mr. Molto's a friend. He ask what I'm doin, I tell him. We talk about public information. Nothin from the grand jury." Painless resumes his satisfied smile. These answers, of course, have been the subject of prior discussion with the prosecutors.

"Did you tell Mr. Molto the results of the forensic chemist's analysis prior to conveying them to Mr. Sabich? I am talking specifically about the specimen which showed the spermicidal jelly."

"I understand," says Painless curtly. He looks directly over at Tommy. Molto has his hand over part of his face, and with Kumagai's glance, he straightens up and takes it away.

"I think so," says Kumagai.

He has not quite finished his response when Larren interrupts.

"Just a second," says the judge. "Just one second. The record will reflect that Prosecuting Attorney Molto has just made a gesture which I recognize to be a signal to the witness in connection with his last answer. There will be further proceedings with regard to Mr. Molto at a later time. Proceed, Mr. Stern."

Tommy is crimson as he struggles to his feet.

"Your Honor, I am terribly sorry. I don't know what you are talking about." Neither do I, and I was watching Molto. But Larren is inflamed.

"This jury is not blind, Mr. Molto. And neither am I. Proceed," he says to Stern, but his anger is too great to store away and he immediately wheels his chair around in Molto's direction and gestures with the gavel. "I warned you. I told you before. I am very upset with your conduct during this trial, Mr. Molto. There will be proceedings."

"Judge," says Tommy despairingly.

"Resume your seat, sir. Mr. Stern, proceed."

Stern comes over to the table. I explain what I saw. He, too, observed nothing. But Stern does not let the incident pass. In a mincing tone he asks, "It is fair to say, Dr. Kumagai, that you and Mr. Molto have always had good communication, is it not?"

The question evokes a few snickers, especially from the reporters' section.

Kumagai blinks with disdain and fails to answer.

"Dr. Kumagai," asks Stern, "it is your ambition, is it not, sir, to become coroner of Kindle County?"

"I like to be coroner," says Painless with disarmingly little hesitation.

"Dr. Russell doin a good job now. Couple years he retire, maybe I put in for the job."

"And the P.A.'s recommendation would help you obtain that position, would it not?"

"Who knows?" Painless smiles. "Can't hurt."

Grudgingly, I must admire Delay. Kumagai is his witness and he has obviously counseled him to play it straight about whatever was going on during the election campaign. Nico quite clearly wants to have some prosecutorial candor to troop before the jury to make up for some of Molto's gaffes. And his judgment strikes me as correct. If it were not for the incident with the judge a moment ago, it would all sit pretty well.

"By April, had you and Mr. Molto ever discussed the possibility of you becoming coroner, Dr. Kumagai."

"I say. Mr. Molto and me friends. I talk about what I wanna do, he talk about what he wanna do. Talk all the time. April. May. June."

"And in April you also spoke about this investigation a number of times before you received the forensic chemist's report?"

"I'd say so."

"Now, that report, sir, concerned the semen specimen which you had taken from Ms. Polhemus during the autopsy, is that right?"

"Right."

"And it is that specimen which has been identified as being of Mr. Sabich's blood type and as containing chemicals consistent with the use by Ms. Polhemus of a birth control device-a diaphragm. Am I correct?"

"You are correct."

"And the presence in that specimen of this birth-control chemical, the spermicide, is critical to your opinion, is it not?"