Born, Darkly by Trisha Wolfe EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Trisha Wolfe
- Language: English
- Genre: Mystery Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
A N I M A L
L O N D O N
“Dr. Noble, can you tell us what the culprit was thinking when he did
this?” The lawyer points to a projection screen along the courthouse wall.
Magnified for the courtroom, the projected image displays the charred
remains of a woman’s mutilated body.
I press my fingers into my kneecap behind the witness stand. My nails
snag my sheer stockings, and I mentally curse, craving the feel of my string.
Turning toward the screen, I open my mouth.
“Objection, Your Honor. The witness can’t know what the defendant was
thinking.”
My gaze flicks to the judge. “Your rebuttal, Mr. Alister,” she prompts the
defendant’s lawyer.
Armani suit as dark as his eyes, he smoothes his tie down along his dress
shirt. “Dr. Noble is an expert witness, Your Honor. She was called in because
she’s an expert in her field, which is insight into the minds of criminal
individuals.”
“Disturbed individuals,” the prosecutor says loud enough for the court to
hear.
“Don’t make me slam my gavel, Mr. Hatcher.” The judge raises her gavel
in warning. “Objection overruled. Dr. Noble was asked to provide testimony
of her professional opinion of the defendant’s state of mind. Since she’s
come all this way—” Judge Gellar grants me a telling smile, her dark features
more youthful when not fixed in a scowl “—I’d like to hear her thoughts.”
The prosecutor clears his throat before taking a seat. My nails sink into
my kneecap as I again turn toward the screen. I’m a top psychologist in the
field of criminal psychology—not a public speaker. No matter how many
times I’ve taken the stand, it never gets easier. I loathe public speaking just as
much now as I did in college.
“After examining the defendant, Charles Reker, I believe he displays
classic signs of paranoid schizophrenia. In particular, he suffers from a
specific delusion: Capgras delusion. Charles Reker, amid this delusion,
believed his wife to be a clone—”
“Objection—”
“Sit down and shut up, Mr. Hatcher, or I will hold you in contempt.”
The lawyer looks stricken. “On what grounds?” He quickly backpedals,
“Your Honor.”
Judge Gellar circles her gavel threateningly. “On the grounds that
interruptions annoy me. Let the witness finish her testimony.”
Pressing my palms onto the chair seat, I steady my voice. “In my
professional opinion, the defendant believed his wife was replaced with a
clone by the government as a means to spy on him. He believed that by
torching the clone, he’d destroy the government’s ability to control him.”
Mr. Alister walks around the table and places a hand on his client’s
shoulder. “So you do not believe—in your professional opinion—that
Charles intended to murder his wife of twenty-four years.”
“No,” I say, bolstering my voice an octave higher. “Charles was unable to
distinguish reality from his delusion. His intent was to destroy a clone of his
wife. Not his wife. He felt threatened in the midst of his delusional state.”
“Thank you, Dr. Noble. No more questions.”
A sinking feeling tugs at the back of my mind, but I suppress that
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