A dozen people occupied the public benches. Eyes fol owed as I walked up the center aisle and took the stand. The judge was ahead and to my left, the jury straight ahead, facing me. Monsieur Petit was to my right.

I have testified many times. I have faced men and women accused of monstrous crimes. Murder. Rape. Torture. Dismemberment. I am always underwhelmed by the accused.

This time was no exception. Rejean Petit looked ordinary. Timid, even. The man could have been my uncle Frank.

The clerk swore me in. Cloutier rose and began questioning me from the prosecutor's table.

"Please state your ful name."

"Temperance Deasee Brennan."

We spoke into microphones suspended from the ceiling, our voices the only sound in the room.

"What is your profession?"

"I am a forensic anthropologist."

"How long have you practiced that profession?"

"Approximately twenty years."

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"Where do you practice that profession?"

"I am a ful professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

I am forensic anthropologist for the province of Quebec through the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecme Legale, in Montreal, and for the state of North Carolina through the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, headquartered in Chapel Hil ."

"You are an American citizen?"

"Yes. I have a Canadian work permit. I split my time between Montreal and Charlotte."

"Why is it that an American serves as forensic anthropologist for a Canadian province?"

"There is no Canadian citizen who is both board-certified in this field and fluent in French."

"We'l return to the question of board certification. Please describe your educational qualifications."

"I hold a Bachelor of Arl.i degree in Anthropology from the American University in Washington, D.C. I hold MA and PhD

degrees in Biological Anthropology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Il inois."

Next fol owed an endless series of questions on my graduate studies, my thesis and doctoral topics, my research, my grants, my publications. Where? When? With whom? What journals? I thought she was going to ask the color of my panties the day I defended my dissertation.

"Have you authored any books, Dr. Brennan?"

I listed them.

"Do you belong to any professional associations?"

I listed them.

"Have you held office in any of those associations?"

I listed them.

"Are you certified by any regulatory body?"

"I am certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology."

"Please tel the court what that means."

I described the process of application, the examination, the ethics review, and explained the importance of certifying boards in assessing the competence of those offering themselves as experts.

"In addition to the medicolegal labs in Quebec and North Carolina, is there any other context in which you practice your profession?"

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"I have worked for the United Nations, for the United States Military Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii, as an instructor at the FBI Academy m Quantico, Virginia, and as an instructor at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Academy in Ottawa, Ontario. I am a member of a United States National Disaster Mortuary Response Team. On occasion I consult for private clients."