The People vs. Alex Cross (Alex Cross #25)(36)

The prosecutor paused as if to think about that and then said, “Did you see a nickel-plated pistol in the hands of or around any of the three victims?”

“We did not.”

“And did crime scene techs find pistols hidden in the factory?”

“No,” Chan said.

“Any footprints near the victims?”

“Lots of them,” he said. “Watkins and some of his followers had been living there for some time.”

“Nothing conclusive?”

“Not in my book.”

“Any gunpowder residue on the hands of any of the victims?”

“No.”

“Your witness,” the prosecutor said to Anita Marley.

Anita smiled and stood. “Tell me, Detective Chan, have you ever been in a gunfight with three assailants?”

“No.”

“But, given your years of experience, would it be reasonable to say that having survived such an ordeal, Dr. Cross would be excited, sweating, talking fast, pacing out of nervous energy, and even dizzy or suffering a headache from the gunshots?”

Chan said, “I suppose it’s as reasonable as saying Dr. Cross had just shot three people for his own ends and was acting that way because he was trying to figure out if he’d done it well enough to fool me.”

Anita looked annoyed. “Objection, Judge. Will the Court instruct the witness to answer my question?”

“Asked and answered, Counselor,” Larch said. “Motion denied.”

“Defense reserves the right to recall Detective Chan at a later time,” my attorney said, and she sat down.

“The United States calls Norman Nixon to the stand,” Wills said.

“Jesus, they’re not fooling around,” Naomi muttered under her breath.





CHAPTER


47


NORMAN NIXON WAS a hearty-looking man in his fifties, neatly groomed with scrubbed skin, slick iron-gray hair, and a competent, earnest expression. He wore a khaki suit and a blue-striped tie, and he carried a file folder to the witness stand.

After Nixon was sworn in, Wills quickly established the witness’s bona fides as an expert on police shootings. Nixon had been a decorated cop in Chicago before joining the FBI, where he had worked as an investigator in the civil rights division. He was involved in the U.S. government’s investigation into police killings. After his retirement from the Bureau, Nixon continued to study the forces that contributed to citizens’ death by cop.

“Sometimes the officer’s a racist,” Nixon said. “Sometimes the officer’s just burned out from the day-to-day pressure of the job and is feeling inordinately threatened. And sometimes, more often than you’d think, the police officer shoots because he believes he’s above the law.”

Wills looked at the jury. “In your opinion, Mr. Nixon, does Alex Cross fit the profile of a police officer who believes he’s above the law?”

“Objection—argumentative,” Anita said.

“Overruled,” Judge Larch said. “Answer the question, Mr. Nixon.”

“He does fit the profile,” Nixon said. “In fact, he’s a prime example of the phenomenon.”

“A prime example,” Wills said. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve studied him at length,” Nixon said, looking earnestly in my direction. “It means I’ve researched every shooting Dr. Cross has ever been involved in.”

“Wait,” the prosecutor said. “Dr. Cross has been involved in shootings other than the three in question today?”

Anita sprang to her feet. “Objection! Relevance?”

Wills said, “We’re trying to give the jury the context in which these three shootings took place.”

“Overruled,” Larch said.

“Judge!”

“Overruled!”

Wills said, “Was Alex Cross involved in other shootings before the three in question?”

“Yes,” Nixon said.

“How many times does the average police officer in America discharge his weapon in the course of a career?”

“Zero,” Nixon said. “The vast majority of police officers never fire their weapon in the line of duty.”

“Zero,” Wills said. “And how many times has Dr. Cross discharged a weapon in the course of his careers at the FBI and DC Metro Police?”

The witness shifted in his chair, said, “I don’t have all the records. Some are sealed. But just from the public documents I’ve looked at, Alex Cross has fired his weapon at least thirty-one times.”

I blinked and felt my stomach go sour. There was a louder reaction in the audience, which caused Judge Larch to pound her gavel. “Order.”

By their expressions, jurors five and eleven had turned against me again. And no wonder. I was as shocked as they were to hear the number.

Thirty-one times. Is that true? And have I shot more than that? He said at least, didn’t he?

Wills said, “Can you break down the shots for us in a meaningful way?”

Nixon nodded. “The records I’ve seen indicate that Dr. Cross missed fourteen times and wounded someone eight times.”

“And the other nine times Dr. Cross pulled his trigger in the line of duty?”