Part 45 (1/2)
”What did you find?”
”With an ultraviolet lamp, I detected the presence of what appeared to be s.e.m.e.n.”
”What did you do?”
”I took a sterile swab from a s.e.xual a.s.sault evidence recovery kit and swabbed the area.”
”What did you do with it?”
”I put the swab in the paper envelope included in the kit. I wrote my name and the date and the patient's name on it, then sealed it and put my initials over the seal.”
”Did you take any other physical evidence from Gillian that night?”
”Yes. I did a pubic hair combing and put the evidence in the kit. I clipped her fingernails and collected each one in a separate, sterile white paper envelope, which was also included in the kit. Finally, I drew blood from the patient for a known sample, marked it, and put it in the kit.”
”After you marked and sealed all these envelopes and swabs and vials, what did you do with the kit?”
”I handed it to Detective Saxton, who had brought the patient in.”
”Between the time you collected all of this evidence and the time you turned it over to the detective, did anyone else have access to it?”
”No.”
”Did you treat Gillian?”
”Yes. We gave her a heavy dose of antibiotics to protect against venereal disease, and a pill to prevent pregnancy.”
Matt crossed to stand in front of the jury. ”Dr. Paulson, when you first walked into the ER cubicle ... when you first saw Gillian ... what did she look like?”
For the first time during her testimony, the doctor's professional demeanor slipped. ”Very pale, and quiet. Lethargic. She was skittish, too, about having me touch her.”
”Is that behavior you've seen before in your line of work?”
”Unfortunately, it is,” Dr. Paulson admitted. ”In victims of s.e.xual abuse and s.e.xual a.s.sault.”
”If there's no s.e.m.e.n in the v.a.g.i.n.a, Doctor, you can't tell from a pelvic exam if someone has recently had intercourse ... right?”
Dr. Paulson regarded Jordan coolly. ”No, you can't.”
”And there wasn't any s.e.m.e.n visible during Gillian's pelvic exam?”
”No, there wasn't.”
”Isn't it also true that you didn't find any bruising inside Gillian's v.a.g.i.n.a?”
”That's right.”
”You didn't find any bruising on her external genitalia?”
”No.”
”Did you find bruises on her face?”
”No.”
”Her neck?”
”No.”
”How about her upper arm, or her thighs?”
”No. Only on her right wrist, Mr. McAfee.”
Jordan crossed to the jury box. ”You found s.e.m.e.n on Ms. Duncan's inner thigh?”
”Yes.”
”Did you know that this victim had reported to Detective Saxton that she was s.e.xually active at the time this happened?”
”That wasn't part of my exam,” Dr. Paulson said. ”So you have no way of knowing if that s.e.m.e.n you swabbed from Gillian Duncan's thigh had anything to do with this alleged a.s.sault or with some other man she had s.e.xual relations with recently.”
”No.”
”Doctor, isn't it true that there is no physical evidence that conclusively supports Ms. Duncan's claim of being subjected to violent s.e.xual intercourse that night? That all we really have is what Gillian said happened?”
”That's correct.”
”Do you have any way of knowing whether she was lying?”
Dr. Paulson shook her head. ”I don't.”
Whitney O'Neill was a nervous wreck. She kept chewing her fingernails, to the point where Jordan expected them to bleed at any moment. It was a small miracle, in fact, that she'd even made it through the direct examination. ”So ten seconds after you left the clearing with Meg and Chelsea, you called out to Gillian?” Jordan said, wanting clarification.
Whitney bit her lower lip. ”Yeah, but she didn't answer.”
”No one had suggested, prior to her departure, that she stay with you? Do some kind of buddy system?”
”No,” Whitney said.
”How much longer after you called out to her did Gillian come running up to you?”
”Um, maybe like another ten or fifteen minutes.”
Jordan walked up to the map Matt had brought. ”Do you know how far it is from the edge of the cemetery to the point where you and your friends lit the bonfire?”
”No.”
”Fifty-two yards, Ms. O'Neill. That's half the length of a football field.” Jordan took a few steps forward. ”Do you have any idea how incredibly slow you'd have to walk in order for it to take fifteen minutes to cover fifty yards of ground?”
”I, um, it may-”