Dow pauses for a second. “Sustained.”

“All right, then, Detective. Let me ask you this: Based on your personal knowledge of the case, was Cole Wright detained after his interview?”

“No.”

“Was he arrested?”

“No.”

“Was he charged?”

“No.”

“And was he allowed to travel to the clinic in Los Angeles, California, for treatment for the knee injury he sustained while playing professional football?”

“Yes.”

“And what did Detective Collins personally say about Cole Wright with regard to this investigation?”

“Collins said he didn’t like him.”

I can see the jurors are confused.

But I’m not.

And neither is Hardy. “Can you explain that, Detective?”

“Yeah. Okay. It’s like cop slang. When he said he didn’t like him, he meant he didn’t think he was a suspect. He thought he was clean.”

From Hardy’s smug expression, I know what’s coming next.

“No further questions.”

CHAPTER
107

The next witness the deputy attorney general calls is Jan McHenry. I perk right up. I don’t know who she is or where this is going, but I know an expert witness when I see one.

The clerk swears her in and Bastinelli gets started.

“Ms. McHenry, can you please tell the jury your name and occupation?”

She turns toward the jury box. “My name is Jan McHenry. I am a forensic textile analyst at Icon Labs in Boston, Massachusetts.”

Blank stares from the jury.

Bastinelli walks over to the evidence table. “Ms. McHenry, I’m going to ask you to look at a sample that is already in evidence.” Bastinelli picks up a clear plastic bag with a patch of dirty blue fabric inside. “Your Honor, State’s exhibit twenty—a sample of the fabric in which Suzanne Bonanno’s remains were enclosed.” Bastinelli shows the bag to McHenry. “Did you have an opportunity to examine this sample?”

She looks closely at the bag. “I did.”

“And can you briefly describe how you examined it?”

“Certainly. I observed it visually, microscopically, through Raman spectroscopy, and through chemical analysis.”

“And without going into scientific detail, were you able to determine the composition of the fabric to a high degree of certainty?”

“Yes. It is ethylene polyester. Very common fiber. But a proprietary weave.”

“Proprietary? Meaning what, exactly?”

“Meaning it came from one specific manufacturer.”

“And were you able to identify the manufacturer?”

“I was. Formosa Industries in Taiwan.”

“And were you able to determine the approximate age of the fabric?”

“Yes. The factory told me that that specific run of sheets was produced for only a short while, about twenty years ago.”

“Are you able to be more specific?”

McHenry nods. “Formosa used an experimental dye accelerator to speed up the diffusion of color into the fabric. That accelerator has a specific chemical profile. After the test run, it was discontinued because it was too expensive. So we know when the sheets were made.”