“A knowledgeable physician would not use adrenaline in that situation, no. He would know that adrenaline does not counteract the effects of an intravenous morphine overdose. For that he would need naloxone. I suppose that if he were desperately trying to save the patient, he might hope it would help keep her alive until paramedics arrived to take her to the hospital. But the evidence shows that a lethal dose of morphine never reached Mrs. Turner’s brain, so why would he try to resuscitate her? She could not have been dying from the morphine.”

What if she were dying of something else? I make a note to ask on cross, as if I will actually get the chance to question this witness.

“Precisely,” says Shad. “And in this case, no paramedics were called, Doctor. Furthermore, we know from the hard drive recording that the doctor was not performing chest compressions on the patient subsequent to the adrenaline injection. What does that suggest to you?”

“Object, Quentin,” I mutter, “you son of a bitch.”

“Medically, I can’t make sense of it. Not if his objective was to save the patient. But then, why would he be trying to save her at all if she had signed a DNR directive? Adrenaline is used to yank patients back from the precipice of death. A DNR order is signed for the specific purpose of preventing the use of such drugs.”

“Think about the facts as they’ve been explained, Doctor. Can you come up with any theory that might explain them, short of Dr. Cage intentionally giving the adrenaline to murder the patient?”

“Well . . . a doctor helping a patient to die might feel some regret in the midst of the act. It’s conceivable that he might try to resuscitate her with adrenaline, and accidentally kill her with it. Due to allergy or simple overdose. The effects of epinephrine can vary widely from patient to patient.”

“Epinephrine and adrenaline are the same drug, correct?”

“I’m sorry, yes. But again, a competent physician would know that adrenaline wouldn’t specifically counter the depressive effects of morphine. And finally, again, the evidence shows that a lethal dose of morphine never reached her brain. Why would anyone try to resuscitate a conscious person? It makes no sense.”

“I suppose he might have tried to resuscitate her in that ten- to thirty-minute window of unconsciousness, if he were suddenly filled with remorse, as you suggested.”

“Yes, but if so, then why didn’t he call paramedics?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me. Doctor, given the forensic evidence, let me suggest a hypothetical scenario to you, as a forensic expert.”

At this, I almost throw the kitchen phone onto the floor. Even Judge Elder must have been tempted to step in here, yet the questions roll on, as if Shad is directing this movie as well as acting in it.