A Matter of Life and Death

would prove that Joe was set up by Betsy Carasco’s real killer, so she was reduced to talking in general terms about the burden of proof and a juror’s duty to keep an open mind until he had heard all of the facts. When she sat down, she knew that most of the jurors were probably ready to convict.
Carrie Anders and Roger Dillon had been in the back of the courtroom during opening statements. They left when Vanessa called her first witness.
“Detectives,” Brent Macklin said.
Anders and Dillon turned and saw a handsome young man approaching.
“Do you have a moment?” Macklin asked, flashing an ingratiating smile.
“That depends on what you want,” Anders answered.
Macklin handed Roger a business card. “I’m working on a story about illegal, no-holds-barred fights. I understand that you’re the detectives on Mr. Lattimore’s manslaughter case, and I was wondering if I could talk to you for background about these fights.”
“This is an ongoing investigation, so we can’t comment on it.”
“Do you know how frequently they’re held, who runs them, or where they hold the fights?”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t help you,” Roger said.
The detectives started to turn away.
“I’ve heard rumors that Judge Carasco is involved,” Macklin said.
The detectives stopped.
“Who told you that?” Anders asked.
“My source talked to me on the condition that I not reveal his or her identity.”
“That’s a serious accusation,” Dillon said. “Do you have any evidence to back it up?”
“Right now, it’s just speculation. I was hoping you could tell me if I’m on the right track.”
“Like we said, we can’t comment on an ongoing investigation, but you should be careful about making unfounded accusations. Now, we have to go.”
Macklin watched the detectives walk away. Then he returned to the courtroom.

CHAPTER FORTY
Vanessa filled the rest of the Monday court session with noncontroversial testimony from the police officers who had secured the crime scene. On Tuesday morning, Vanessa called Dr. Sally Grace, the medical examiner, who told the jury about the autopsy and the cause of death. On cross, Robin got Dr. Grace to admit that you did not have to be a professional boxer to beat someone to death and that a woman could have inflicted the injuries that killed Elizabeth Carasco.
Other than her brief cross of the medical examiner, Robin had not asked very many questions of the State’s witnesses, and she noticed that Joe had gotten more depressed as Tuesday morning wore on.
“Why didn’t you cross-examine those other witnesses?” he asked Robin when Judge Wright called the morning recess.
“You don’t question a witness just for the hell of it, Joe. Everyone Vanessa called told the truth, and nothing they said proved you killed Betsy Carasco. Can you think of anything I should have asked?”
Joe thought for a moment. Then he shook his head.
Robin didn’t tell Joe that his real problems would start after lunch, when the testimony of the prosecutor’s next witness would go a long way toward convincing the jurors that Joseph Lattimore was guilty of murder.
“The State of Oregon calls Wendell Appleton, Your Honor.”
Moments later, a narrow man with a washed-out complexion limped down the aisle toward the witness stand with the aid of a cane. Appleton was dressed in a tweed jacket, dull white shirt, dark slacks, and a drab brown tie. He reminded Robin of a civics teacher she’d had in tenth grade.
“Mr. Appleton,” Vanessa asked after the witness was sworn, “how are you employed?”
“I’m a fingerprint specialist with the Oregon State Crime Lab.”
“What are the duties of a fingerprint specialist?”
“I compare and analyze fingerprints that are submitted to the crime lab. By this, I mean I receive fingerprint evidence from crime scenes, and I compare them to fingerprints that are recorded at a jail or other place to see if they match.”
“How often do you do this?”
“I work eight hours a day, five days a week.”
“How long have you been working as a fingerprint expert?”
“It will be fifteen years, next February.”
“Where did you start analyzing fingerprints, Mr. Appleton?” Vanessa said.
“I worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Fingerprint Identification Division in Washington, D.C.”
“What was your job at the FBI?”
“I classified, compared, and analyzed fingerprint submissions in the criminal division of the identification division.”
“Did you receive any educational training at the FBI?”
“Yes. We went through several months of training, followed by a one-on-one tutorship from more senior examiners. My probationary period was about a year.”
“How long did you work for the FBI?”
“A little over four years.”
“Where did you work after that?”
“I was at a private company that did background checks for school bus drivers, day care workers, things like that.”
“This also involved comparing fingerprints?”
“Yes.”
“How long were you there?”
“Three years.”
“And after that?”
“I moved to Oregon after being hired by the crime lab.”
“Other than your initial training with the FBI, have you had more training?”
“Yes. I go to thirty or more hours of training each year at a minimum. For example, I’ve attended seminars taught by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Arizona, New Jersey, and Illinois State Police, among others. I’ve been all over for training.”
“What are the two basic properties of fingerprints that make them useful for identification, Mr. Appleton?”
“First, they are unique. No two people have ever been found to have the same fingerprints, palm prints, or footprints.
“Second, they are permanent. Fingerprints begin to form on the skin in the womb, and they stay permanently until a person dies and the skin decomposes. The only exception would be if there was permanent scarring or a person had the prints surgically removed.”
“How are fingerprints compared for purposes of making an identification?” Vanessa asked.
“We use ridge characteristics, and we look to see if a ridge characteristic on one print is identical to the ridge characteristic on another print. Some ridge characteristics end abruptly, and we call them ending ridges. Some divide, and we call those bifurcations. We also look at the ridge structure, the flow of the ridges. Is it straight or curved? We also look for anomalies within an individual ridge. Things