The Silent Girl

died of massive internal hemorrhage secondary to a ruptured spleen.”
    “On that same date, did you also specify the manner of death?”
    She hesitated. “No. At least, not a final—”
    “Why not?”
    She took a breath, aware of all the eyes watching her. “I wanted to wait for the results of the toxicology screen. To see whether Mr. Dixon was, in fact, under the influence of cocaine or other pharmaceuticals. I wanted to be cautious.”
    “As well you should. When your decision could destroy the careers, even the lives, of two dedicated peace officers.”
    “I only concern myself with the facts, Mr. Whaley, wherever they may lead.”
    He did not like that answer; she saw it in the twitch of his jaw muscle. All semblance of cordiality had vanished; this was now a battle.
    “So you performed the autopsy on November first,” he said.
    “Yes.”
    “What happened after that?”
    “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
    “Did you take the weekend off? Did you spend the following week performing other autopsies?”
    She stared at him, anxiety coiling like a serpent in her stomach. She didn’t know where he was taking this, but she didn’t like the direction. “I attended a pathology conference,” she said.
    “In Wyoming, I believe.”
    “Yes.”
    “Where you had something of a traumatic experience. You were assaulted by a rogue police officer.”
    Aguilar shot to her feet. “Objection! Not relevant!”
    “Overruled,” the judge said.
    Whaley smiled, his path now cleared to ask the questions that Maura dreaded. “Is that correct, Dr. Isles? Were you attacked by a police officer?”
    “Yes,” she whispered.
    “I’m afraid I didn’t hear that.”
    “Yes,” she repeated, louder.
    “And how did you survive that attack?”
    The room was dead silent, waiting for her story. A story that she did not want to even think about, because it still gave her nightmares. She remembered the lonely hilltop in Wyoming. She remembered the thud of the deputy’s vehicle door as it closed, trapping her in the backseat behind the prisoner grating. She remembered her panic as she’d futilely battered her hands against the window, trying to escape a man she knew was about to kill her.
    “Dr. Isles, how did you survive? Who came to your aid?”
    She swallowed. “A boy.”
    “Julian Perkins, age sixteen, I believe. A young man who shot and killed that police officer.”
    “He had no choice!”
    Whaley cocked his head. “You’re defending a boy who killed a cop?”
    “A
bad
cop!”
    “And then you came home to Boston. And declared Mr. Dixon’s death a homicide.”
    “Because it was.”
    “Or was it merely a tragic accident? The unavoidable consequence after a violent prisoner fought back and had to be subdued?”
    “You saw the morgue photos. The police used far more force than was necessary.”
    “So did that boy in Wyoming, Julian Perkins. He shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy. Do you consider that justifiable force?”
    “Objection,” said Aguilar. “Dr. Isles isn’t on trial here.”
    Whaley barreled ahead with the next question, his gaze fixed on Maura. “What happened in Wyoming, Dr. Isles? While you were fighting for your life, was there an epiphany? A sudden realization that cops are the enemy?”
    “Objection!”
    “Or have cops always been the enemy? Members of your own family seem to think so.”
    The gavel banged down. “Mr. Whaley, you will approach the bench
now.
”
    Maura sat stunned as both attorneys huddled with the judge. So it had come to this, the dredging up of her family. Every cop in Boston probably knew about her mother, Amalthea, now serving a life sentence in a women’s prison in Framingham. The monster who gave birth to me, she thought. Everyone who looks at me must wonder if the same evil has seeped into my blood as well. She saw that the defendant, Officer Graff, was staring at her. Their gazes locked, anda smile curled his lips.
Welcome to the consequences
, she read in his eyes.
This is what happens when you betray the thin blue line
.
    “The court will take a recess,” the judge announced. “We’ll resume at two this afternoon.”
    As the jury filed out, Maura sagged back against the chair and didn’t notice that Aguilar was standing beside her.
    “That was dirty pool,” said Aguilar. “It should never have been allowed.”
    “He made it all about me,” said Maura.
    “Yeah, well, that’s all he has. Because the autopsy photos are pretty damn