The Night Swim(55)

“Just to clarify again, you’re saying that all these bruises and abrasions documented during Kelly Moore’s rape kit show that Scott Blair raped Kelly Moore?” Alkins asked.

“Miss Moore’s injuries are the types of injuries commonly sustained by rape victims. Let me show you another example.” Dr. North removed the diagram to reveal another board underneath that showed a blown-up photograph of an ugly bruise on Kelly Moore’s thigh.

“This bruise was most likely the result of the defendant pushing the victim’s legs apart with a level of force that would have hurt her. It suggests she was resisting him. In my opinion, this alone indicates she did not consent and was not a willing participant.”

Dr. North handed photos to the jurors and the judge that showed bruising to Kelly Moore’s genitals and internal injuries. The photos were taken using a blue stain that highlighted bruises on a cellular level, invisible to the naked eye. The jurors flinched as they saw the photos for the first time.

“The bruises on the posterior fourchette and labia minor are common injuries from rape,” Dr. West said. “Those injuries, along with the bruising on the shoulders and thighs, further indicate that Miss Moore tried to resist the sexual intercourse. By virtue of the fact that she was resisting, she could not therefore have consented,” she added.

Dale Quinn rose for his cross-examination when Alkins was done. His expert witness, Professor Carl Braun, was sitting behind him, taking notes as Dr. North testified. In the meantime, Quinn managed to elicit Dr. North’s admission that she could not be absolutely certain that Kelly Moore did not consent.

“It’s an opinion,” she conceded eventually. “Based on years of work in this field.”

Rachel tried to catch up to Dr. North after court recessed for the day, but she got stuck in the back of the crowd leaving the courtroom. By the time she came down the stairs onto the plaza, Dr. North had gone.

That evening, Rachel set up her laptop in the lobby cafe at a table near the birdcage. She found her hotel room claustrophobic and, if truth be told, she was hoping to catch Dr. North before she left town. While she waited, Rachel typed a transcript of that day’s court testimony for the website and ate a hamburger and fries from the hotel cafe.

“I thought you said this bird sings?” Rachel’s concentration was broken by the loud voice of a man. She looked up to see a man with white hair and a green polo shirt who was on the way to dinner with his wife who’d dressed up for the occasion. He had stopped at the birdcage and was tapping it with his palm. “Haven’t heard a peep out of this bird since we’ve been here. Not a peep,” he said. “I think it’s stuffed. What the heck kind of a songbird doesn’t sing?”

“I don’t think the poor bird wants to sing, hon,” said his wife.

“Rubbish. Nightingales are supposed to sing,” the man said, clicking his fingers to get the bird’s attention.

“Maybe some nightingales don’t want to sing on demand, Keith,” the wife muttered, almost to herself.

Rachel spotted Dr. North sitting at a table near the window, sipping a glass of white wine. Rachel walked over to Dr. North’s table, where she introduced herself.

“I was wondering if I could ask you something,” she said.

“As long as it’s got nothing to do with the trial,” said Dr. North. “There’s still a chance I could be recalled to the stand.”

“I promise,” said Rachel. She opened her leather satchel and removed the photographs that Stuart had given her.

“These were taken of a young girl who drowned several decades ago. I was wondering whether you can take a look. I’m interested in hearing your views about whether her injuries appear to be consistent with drowning.”

Dr. North picked up the photographs and went through them one by one. Squinting at some. Pausing at others. Setting some aside. When she was done, she laid out the photographs on the table in front of Rachel.

“This girl may well have drowned,” she said. “But something terrible happened to her in the hours before her death.”

“How do you know?” asked Rachel.

“The bruises visible in the photographs would have happened within a few hours before her death. Not right before her death, and certainly not at the time of death. The bruises on her upper legs are similar to the ones I mentioned today in court which we saw on Kelly Moore’s thighs. This bruise is the size of a large hand. Most likely male. It’s going around the deceased’s shoulder, which indicates that she might have been physically restrained. Perhaps pinned to the ground,” she said, pointing to a close-up photo of Jenny’s naked shoulder.

“Could you hazard a guess as to what might have happened to this girl before she drowned?”

“I think that she was physically assaulted in the hours before her death,” said Dr. North. “Why are you asking me? Surely that all came out in the autopsy and subsequent police investigation into her death.”

“There was no police investigation, from what I can tell, and I’m not sure that an autopsy was performed,” said Rachel.

Dr. North looked shocked. “This girl met with extreme violence before her death. Why on earth would the police not investigate a death this suspicious? I’ve never heard of such a thing in all the years I’ve worked in forensic medicine.”