Kenzi didn’t get much time to congratulate herself. Before she had a chance to blink, Harrington had called his next witness.
“The People call Dr. Anson Kirk to the stand.”
Kirk was the arson investigator the police used to determine what happened at LORE. Kenzi offered to stipulate that a fire had been set, but once again, Harrington refused the offer. Some of that was undoubtedly because he wanted to horrify the jury with the details—a human being burned to death, another evil human being deliberately setting the fire. But she had to think there was more to it than that.
After establishing that Kirk was one of the top men in his field, frequently used by police departments all across Washington, Harrington lunged into the case at hand.
“How does an arson investigator go about determining the cause of a fire?”
Kirk was a short, squat man, but full of energy. Clearly he loved fire and loved talking about fire. “Arson investigators typically start with the Big Three: location, fuel, and ignition.”
“Can you explain what that means?”
“Certainly.” He turned slightly so he could address the jury, though he still kept an eye on Harrington. “Location is important because some parts of a building are more likely to catch fire and spread fire. If the goal is to take down the entire structure—and it usually is—then location is critical. Typically an arsonist will plant the incendiary device in the attic or basement. Those are out of normal view, giving the arsonist a free hand, and a fire starting there will quickly spread to the entire structure. In this case, there were three labs, plus the front office building, and the arsonist clearly wanted all of them to go up in smoke.”
“So where was the fire set? The attic?”
“There is no attic. No basement, either. The fire was set in the third lab building—which of course is also where the defendant worked prior to being terminated.”
Kenzi thought about making a relevance objection, but decided against it. Surely that connection was too tentative to impress a juror.
“Why would the arsonist choose that lab?”
“Because it’s full of chemicals. Not all of them would catch or spread fires—but many would. It was basically a Molotov cocktail the size of a hotel lobby. Once the fire started, it quickly grew to such a size that it could not be easily stopped. The entire complex had ceiling sprinklers, but by the time they kicked in, the fire was too large to be doused.”
“Who was working in the lab at this time?”
“No one but Maggie Price. At least, we’ve yet to speak to anyone who confesses to being in the lab at the time. Most people had gone home. Which of course left the arsonist a free hand.”
“You also mentioned fuel. Would the chemicals be the fuel?”
“Yes.” Kirk scooted forward, almost bubbling with enthusiasm. “This was a perfect storm for an arsonist. Most of the needed ingredients were already on site. It’s possible the arsonist brought an accelerant or something to ignite the fire, but given the amount of destruction, that would be impossible to detect.”
“Why would an accelerant be needed?”
“To get the fire going quickly, before anyone could do anything about it.”
“Can you give the jury an example of a possible fuel?”
“Some of the most common fuels are good at starting fires, but spread slowly. Gasoline, kerosene, lacquer thinner, alcohols—all these evaporate at high temperatures, which can interfere with both the ignition and the spread of the flames. Wood alcohol and grain alcohol are more volatile but have the same drawbacks. There are dozens of ways to start a fire, and actually, taking account of the fact that the defendant was a trained chemist—”
Emma jabbed Kenzi in the side. She formulated her thoughts as she rose. “Objection. That statement…assumes my client committed the arson.”
“That’s true,” the judge said, nodding. “I’ll ask the witness to stick to his scientific observations, unless he’s specifically asked to speculate. Sustained.”
But now Emma was kicking her under the table. “And…I ask that the jury be instructed to disregard those remarks.”
“The jury is so instructed. Just the last statement. You may of course consider the rest of the witness’ testimony.”
Damn it all, Emma was still kicking her. What did television lawyers say? “And I ask that the remark be stricken from the record.”
The judge almost smiled. Did he realize she was making this up as she went along? “The remark will be so stricken. May we proceed?”
“Yes, your honor. Thank you.” She sat down, relieved once again that she hadn’t made a complete fool of herself. So far as she knew.
Harrington addressed the witness. “Could you provide examples of common accelerants?”
“Paint. Brush cleaner. Glue. Rubber cement. They are literally all over every home in this country. And every laboratory.”
“You also mentioned ignition.”
“That’s very important here. The fire was set in the lab using a mixed bag of combustible chemicals present in their purest form. But we assume the arsonist did not want to be incinerated. How do you set the fire so it ignites quickly but still leaves you time to get away?”
“And the answer is?”
“A fuse. Some kind of time-delay device. Preferably one that will incinerate and thus leave no trace. Fuses can be divided into three categories.”
She was getting tired of this man’s lists. He was supposed to be giving testimony, not writing a Wiki page. But she supposed his effusive display of knowledge helped establish his expertise.
“Pyrotechnic, safety, and cords. The pyrotechnic fuse uses flammable powder tucked around a string core. The flame travels along its length and ignites the combustible substance when it reaches it. Usually takes around ten to thirty seconds per foot of fuse, so the arsonist can build the needed escape time. These are easy to find. Hobby stores call it rocket fuse. For that matter, you could use a birthday candle, but it might not be long enough to give you the time you want, and it would leave traces of wax, which I did not find. Safety fuses have black powder within layers of string and asphalt wrappings. Or a plastic water-resistant tube. You can get these from people who sell commercial blasting supplies.”
“What kind of fuse do you believe was employed in this case?”
“Clearly this arsonist used an igniter cord. That will have a core of pyrotechnic powder wrapped in wire. The advantages are quick burning times and high temperatures.”
“How can you be certain that fuse was used in this case?”
“Because I discovered a spiral of wire left behind. That’s also how I know where the fire began.”
“How long was the fuse?”
“In terms of time? About three minutes. Plenty long enough for the arsonist to escape. Or to get to the convenience store across the street.” Where Maya had been observed on a security camera.
“Where would the arsonist find such a fuse?”
“You would need a professional chemical supplier. Someone who sells to hospitals and demolition services and…research scientists.”
Two jurors nodded appreciatively. They got what he was saying.
“So a person who worked in this lab would know how to get it?”
“Yes. And according to the police reports, chemicals were found in the defendant’s automobile that match what likely started the fire.”
Kenzi detected an audible sucking of air in the courtroom. Maybe they were gasps. Kirk’s little bombshell was having its desired effect.
“Thank you,” Harrington said. “Pass the witness.”
“Should I cross?” Kenzi muttered to Emma. She hadn’t planned to. But now she thought maybe she needed to do something.
“Yes,” Emma muttered back.
“What should I ask him?”
“No idea. But don’t let it end on that damning note. If nothing else—distract them.”
Thanks. Very helpful.
“Ms. Rivera?” Judge Foreman asked. “Cross?”
“Yes. Of course.” She pushed herself to her feet. “Dr. Kirk, you say the chemicals found in my client’s car are the same kind of chemicals that started the fire.”
“Beyond question.”
“Are you the one who found the chemicals in the car?”
“No.”
“So you have no first-hand knowledge of what was found?”
“I read the police report.”
“Which is not first-hand knowledge. It’s hearsay. Were the police who searched the car chemical experts?” Lame. But she had to sow doubt wherever she could.
“I understand they brought in experts to analyze everything that was found.”
“So you’re relying on the police here, not your personal investigation.”
“True. But it’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. My client took her ongoing experiments from that very same lab. So it stands to reason that the same chemicals would be present both places.”
“Why would she be using incendiary chemicals? I thought her work was in stem-cell research.”
Which Kenzi did not want to get into. “In the future, sir, please wait for my questions and answer them. Without speculation or other irrelevancies. You’ve said that these chemicals were abundant in the lab where the fire started, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Couldn’t any of the scientists working in that lab remove chemicals? Or use them to start a fire?”
“I’m not aware that anyone else had chemicals in their car.”
“No one else had been fired. But they all had access. Did the police search any other cars?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did they question any other scientists?”
“I don’t know.”
“So anyone could’ve wandered into that lab after hours.”
“My understanding is that it was locked and only employees had keys.”
“Did they question other employees? Or did they just arrest my client because they found her nearby?”
“Finding her at the scene of the crime seems…indicative.”
“Of guilt or innocence? If I’d just set a fire, I wouldn’t be anywhere near the place.”
“Objection,” Harrington said. “Counsel is arguing.”
“Sustained.”
“You might behave more rationally,” Kirk said. “But your client had been fired, was obviously angry, and is a member of that crazy cult.”
And then the courtroom descended into chaos, so quickly Kenzi suspected the spectators in the gallery had been waiting for something like this all day.
The judge slammed his gavel. “Order. I will have order in this courtroom.” He leaned forward, still banging away. “We are not required to admit spectators. And if we have another outburst like this one—we won’t.”
“Your honor,” Kenzi said, “I move—”
“Yes, I know. The last remark will be stricken. The jury is instructed to disregard. The witness is admonished. Is there anything else?” He was clearly irritated and she felt he was blaming her. Was she going to be at fault for everything that happened because she had poor grammar? Or because she was a mere divorce lawyer?
“No, your honor. Nothing more.” She’d made the point that any of the scientists—and for that matter, anyone else—could get access to the chemicals in the lab. It wasn’t going to get any better.
“I think that’s enough for the first day,” Judge Foreman said. “Let’s break and start again tomorrow morning at nine. I will remind the jurors that, although you are not sequestered, you should not discuss this case with anyone, not even the other members of your family. And you should not read or listen to any news reports relating to this case.”
He banged his gavel. “Court is adjourned.”
The marshals started toward the defendant’s table. Kenzi frowned. “I wish you didn’t have to go back to that horrible place tonight.”
“You and me both. Are we…losing?”
“No,” she replied, perhaps too quickly. “The prosecution is presenting its case. But don’t worry. We’ll get our chance.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “I didn’t kill Maggie. I didn’t burn that building. I would never deliberately hurt anyone.”
Kenzi squeezed her shoulder. “I know. Now we just have to convince everyone else.”