Betrayal - Fern Michaels [62]
“Bailiff, you may allow the spectators back in the courtroom.”
When the press and others not directly involved in the proceedings returned, the ADA announced, “The state calls Dr. Edward Smythe.”
Dr. Smythe practically floated to the witness stand. His welcome smile lit up the dull courtroom. Warm brown eyes, he smiled at the members of the jury. Kate saw a few of them smile back. So much for the evil doctor she’d been prepared to dislike.
Lyle Wykowski wore the same suit he’d worn the day before. His hair appeared clean. There seemed to be something edgy about him today. Kate observed him as he scrolled through a sheaf of neatly stacked files. Gone was the clumsy oaf from the arraignment.
“Dr. Smythe, how long have you been treating the child in question?”
“Two years.” He looked directly at the jurors. He’d done this before.
“Can you give the court an approximate number of times you’ve seen the child in question.”
The doctor examined his notes. “I believe she’s been in the office six times. The last visit was almost two weeks ago.”
“Tell us about these visits,” Wykowski encouraged.
“They were the usual normal childhood visits. Once I treated her for a sinus infection.” He continued to skim his notes. “She received a flu shot. Once her stomach was giving her problems. And the last visit, I examined her vaginally.”
“Why would a child who is not sexually active need an examination of that kind?”
The doctor drew in a deep breath, looked almost apologetic. “The mother requested I do this. She was suspicious. She thought the child might have been sexually abused.”
A hush cloaked the courtroom. Pens and pencils could be heard scribbling across paper. The media was soaking up Dr. Smythe’s testimony like a sponge in a lake.
“What did you find during your exam?”
“I found the hymen no longer intact. Some old scarring, possibly where an object was forced inside the vaginal cavity. The area was slightly swollen. The child was very tender during the exam.”
Pencils whizzed across tablets, colored pencils in the hands of professionals hurried to capture the images of the twelve faces in the jury box.
“I have no further questions of this witness, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Conroy, you may cross-examine.”
James hurried to the witness stand. He paced back and forth before questioning the doctor.
“Dr. Smythe, is it possible that the injuries to the child’s vaginal area could have been self-inflicted with any number of objects?”
He thought before he gave his answer. “I suppose anything is possible.”
“So you agree when I ask you if the old scarring and the recent trauma to the child might have been self-inflicted?”
“Yes.”
“No further questions.” James sat down while the witness was excused.
Kate’s heart flip-flopped. Maybe there was hope after all. James knew what he was doing; she had to trust in him. She smiled at Alex when he turned to look at her. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the courtroom on them. Let them look. They were looking at an innocent man.
“The state wishes to redirect.”
“Dr. Smythe, could the trauma to the child’s vaginal area have resulted from forced sexual relations?”
“Yes, it could.”
“No further questions.”
Kate’s heart plummeted. She should have expected this. Lyle Wykowski wasn’t the half-assed attorney he’d originally appeared. Not by a long shot.
Chapter 18
After four days of testimony, both the defense and the prosecution gave their closing arguments. James hadn’t scored any more points with the jury as far as Kate could tell. They spent the morning listening to Judge Stowers instruct the jury. Now the jurors were deliberating.
James continued to assure them that the twelve people in the box were good, honest, intelligent people. He was sure they saw through Sara’s lies. They’d been deliberating for two hours when the judge informed those who waited inside the courtroom that the jurors were taking a lunch break. She suggested they should do the same.
Kate’s hands shook each time she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She wanted to go back to the house and wait for