"Yes, sir."

"Were you surprised when he was found hanging in his cell, the victim of an apparent suicide?"

"Yes, I was."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

"Mr. Marks?"

"Thank you, Your Honor. Colonel Masters, before your assignment at Camp 7, what was your assignment?"

"I was assigned to Camp Delta in 2003."

"And before Camp Delta, isn't it true that you were assigned to duty at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq?"

"Yes, sir."

Nagel looked at Masters like someone had just kicked him in the balls. He obviously didn't know this fundamental part of Masters's history.

"This is the same Abu Ghraib prison that was the subject of a criminal investigation by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command for prisoner abuse, which found that guards in Abu Ghraib prison had physically and sexually abused, tortured, raped, sodomized, and killed prisoners?"

"Objection!" said Nagel. "May we approach?"

"Your objection, Mr. Nagel?"

"Rule 420, Your Honor, prejudicial effect of this testimony outweighs its probative value."

"He's your witness and this is cross examination, Mr. Nagel. I'm going to allow it."

"Sergeant Brown served under your command at Abu Ghraib, didn't he?" Brent continued.

"Yes, sir."

Nagel turned slightly to Joe Cicatto and frowned and grimaced slightly, like he had just smelled a fart. He made a mental note to tear Joe a new asshole once they got out of the courtroom.

"Colonel, were you under investigation for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib?"

"Objection, Your Honor. Inadmissible character evidence."

"Sustained." Too late: the point had already been made to the jury. Nagel probably should have let that one go. He had no idea, but a "no" answer was coming and his objection made it look like he was hiding something.

Brent turned his head and winked to Rick, who flashed back a satisfying, but subtle smile. The day, which had started with disaster, looked to be ending on a good note.

CHAPTER FIFTY.

Brent felt his nose twitching, and unconsciously went to scratch it with his finger. It happened again, and again, and he rolled over on the couch. Calico persistently jumped over his body into the crook of his arm until she could reach his face and began pawing again.

"What the hell?" Brent awoke, startled, to Calico's purring engine. It was only 8 pm, and he had dozed off in the midst of going over his notes. "I guess my first mistress really is the law," he said to the cat, as he yawned and stretched, and Calico joined him. "Somehow, your yawns seem like so much more fun," he exclaimed, as she stretched three cat lengths, opened her mouth, and let it rip.

Brent realized that he had forgotten his dinner with Debbie Does Dallas, so he popped up from the couch to get ready. The familiar growl in his stomach told him that going out was the right decision. Since the trial, his home provisions had dwindled to cat food, eggs, mayonnaise and ketchup and, while that sounded like the beginnings of a terrific new experimental recipe, the idea of fajitas with fresh guacamole topped off with a margarita sounded better.

Brent picked up Debbie and they headed for El Paseo on Anacapa Street. As the music played to in time to the tinkling fountain in the middle of the courtyard and the margaritas flowed, Brent actually began to relax.

"I could get used to this," he said.

"There is more to life than law."

"My mentor, Charles Stinson, is turning over in his grave at that statement."

"Why?"

"Because, during a trial, the trial is your life. Nothing else matters."

"How's it going?"

"Terrible. We're on their case in chief now, and it's almost impossible to cross-examine a good liar."

"What about a bad one?"

"Haven't run into one on this case, except for Corporal Reeding. He changed his testimony since I deposed him. I think someone got to him."

"A cover up?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking all the way up, but with their military code of silence, nobody's talking. I'm afraid the truth will never be known. But, whether it is or not, the jury will decide what they think happened."

"What are your chances of winning?"

"If I had to guess right now, I'd say 50-50."

"A hung jury?"

"Hope not."

They decided to walk home to Debbie's house, which was close to downtown. It was a pleasant night, with a full moon transforming the night sky into cobalt blue, above the twinkling lights of State Street. As they passed Brent's office, he turned his head and instinctively tried to go into the front entrance. Debbie steered him in the other direction.

"Not now, Mr. Workaholic. You've got to walk this lady home."

"With pleasure." Brent gave Debbie his arm and they continued to her little bungalow on Anapamu.

"Want to come in?" she asked, as they paused at her doorstep.

Brent leaned in for a kiss, which was met with equal enthusiasm, causing a rush of hormones that would lead him on a one-way path.

"Raincheck?" he murmured almost helplessly, as she kissed him back passionately, and he felt the warmth of her soft body against his.

"You sure?" she asked, as Brent stroked her cheek and dived in for another round.

"Well, maybe for a while."

Brent thought of the famous quote from the movie, Arthur; "Isn't fun the best thing to have?" He could get used to this "relationship thing." For some reason or another, any relationship he had ever formed with a member of the opposite sex did not last too long. Maybe "Debbie Does Dallas" was not so bad for him after all.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE.

Lieutenant Commander Michael Farraday was the medical examiner from NCIS who had performed the first autopsy on Ahmed. Most people are intimidated by doctors, and you would think the jurors would be even more intimidated by one in a crisp naval officer's uniform, but Doctor Farraday had a surprisingly good bedside manner that you would not expect from a doctor whose patients could have never benefited from it, because of the fact that they were all deceased. He spoke to the jury in a calm, reassuring, but authoritative way. He was a pleasant looking, handsome Dr. Kildaire type, as opposed to Dr. Orozco, who could be regarded as something of a slob.

"Doctor Farraday, can you please tell the jury a little about your background and experience?"

"Of course. This can get a little boring Ladies and Gentlemen, so I apologize in advance." Dr. Farraday smiled a pleasant smile, and delivered his "I am super doctor" speech to them with deliberate articulation. Like Dr. Orozco, Farraday had an impressive set of credentials, and he was younger and better looking, an irrelevant point to anyone else but the jury, who would put as much value on his appearance as his testimony.

"I am a certified medical examiner, currently serving with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I hold an M.D. and a PhD from Georgetown University School of Medicine, an A.B. from Dartmouth, and a medical license from the State of Virginia, where I am board certified in clinical, anatomic and forensic pathology. I am a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Medicine. I did my residency at the University of Florida Health Sciences Center, my general medicine internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, and received aerospace medicine specialty training at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida. I served as a naval flight surgeon for 6 years at the Marine Air Corps Station in Beaufort, South Carolina, and served as a Medical Education and Training Officer there for six years, before assuming my present position as a medical examiner for NCIS, where I have performed over 3,000 autopsies over the past 15 years. I have also published numerous medical journal articles, which are listed in my curriculum vitae. Sorry if that seemed to be one enormous, continuous sentence."

Members of the jury smiled and there was one chuckle. They were in love with him.

"Doctor Farraday," said Nagel, handing him a piece of paper, "Can you identify what has been marked for identification as Exhibit 54?"

"Yes, this is my curriculum vitae."

"Move Exhibit 54 into evidence, Your Honor."

"No objection? It is received."

"Doctor Farraday, you read the expert report of Doctor Jaime Orozco, did you not?"

"Yes, I did."

"And did you agree with Dr. Orozco's opinion on the cause of death?"

"No, I did not."

"Can you tell the jury why?"

"Although there was some evidence of aspiration of a small amount of fluid in Mr. Khury's case that is fairly common in enteral feeding. It is my opinion that the small amount of fluid aspirated was not enough to cause death. The forensic evidence in his case was consistent with asphyxiation by hanging."

"What about Dr. Orozco's comments on the lack of ligature marks consistent with death by hanging, and the lack of abrasions or hemorrhages in the skin and indeed, no hemorrhages in the eyes?"

"First of all, Ladies and Gentlemen," Farraday said, making eye contact with the members of the jury, "The presence of ligature marks depends on the composition of the ligature. In this case, it was a soft cotton and rayon jumpsuit leg sleeve. This type of ligature does not often leave a mark, or will leave only a superficial one.

"Further, the presence of the mark may be affected by the amount of time the body was suspended. It takes only 2 kilograms of tension to close the jugular veins and only 15 kilograms tension to close the trachea. Death by asphyxiation happens quickly, in no more than three minutes. In this case, when cells are monitored every one to three minutes, the body was discovered relatively quickly after death."

"What about the use of olive oil as a lubricant? Would that cause you to change your opinion?"

"Not at all. As Doctor Orozco stated, lipoid pneumonia was not the cause of death, and I concur. Lipoid pneumonia cannot cause death in such a short period of time."

"Dr. Farraday, you performed the first autopsy on Mr. Khury, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And Dr. Orozco performed a second autopsy?"

"Correct."

"Are there any limitations on a second autopsy in this case?"

"Yes. Ladies and Gentlemen, an autopsy should take place as soon as possible after death. The best evidence is available at the first autopsy, because, since the body begins to decompose rapidly from the lack of oxygen, time is your enemy.

"Although second autopsies are not per se considered unreliable, in this case, Dr. Orozco did not have the chance to dissect the internal organs for examination, and he couldn't examine the body fluids because they had already been removed, examined and disposed of. He only had preserved tissue samples to refer to, which makes his examination secondary to the autopsy that I performed."

"So doctor, in your opinion, because of all those reasons you have articulated, were you able to make a more thorough and pertinent examination than Dr. Orozco?"

"Yes, I was."

"Doctor, do you have an opinion within a degree of reasonable medical certainty, of the cause of Mr. Khury's death?"

"Yes. It is my opinion that the cause of Mr. Khury's death was asphyxiation by hanging in an apparent suicide."

"And do you have an opinion as to whether Mr. Khury's death was the result of gross negligent medical care in his last enteral feeding?"

"Yes. It is my opinion that his death was not a proximate result of gross negligent medical practices or reckless disregard of standard medical practices."

Again, in the back in the gallery, Balls Anderson sat in his usual place, smirking, as if he was sitting in his living room, watching a ridiculous reality TV show.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO.

Now it was Brent's task to engage the doctor in cross-examination, which was going to be like an intellectual chess game, with the odds stacked in favor of the doctor due to Brent's lack of medical expertise.

Brent didn't have time to go over the testimony with Dr. Orozco to prepare, but they both knew that the Navy doctor would come up with a perfectly plausible explanation that his opinion was the correct one. It was important to emphasize any weaknesses in that opinion so the jury didn't end up tossing a coin in the jury room during their deliberations.

"Dr. Faraday, when you said you disagreed with Dr. Orozco's opinion, that means you have a different opinion than he does, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, it is."