NEXT DAY:

Inside the courtroom, Gerard is seated in the front, his attention focused on Becca Ross, who is pointedly ignoring him. Near the entrance, Kari glances anxiously at each person who enters, but sees no sign of the bearded man from yesterday or anyone else resembling Kimble.

In a room further up the hall, a familiar figure in workman’s overalls watches the door to the courtroom shut before slipping across the hall to enter another room behind the courtroom. He walks up to a student in the room who is making adjustments to the control panel.

“You having problems with the electricity in here?” he asks as he drops the duffel bag he is carrying and scrutinizes the electrical panel controlling the sound system.

“Nope!” answers a student, looking up from his last minutes adjustments on the control panel in front of him. “Everything is working perfectly.”

Kimble glances through a window into the courtroom. “What’s going on?”

“I’m recording the mock trail. The lawyers can watch it later, analyze how well they did, voice inflection, body language and all that. You want to watch?”

“Sure,” Kimble answers with a small smile. He sits in a chair behind the control panel and stares intently into the other room as he hears the words “All rise!” over the speaker system.

INSIDE THE COURTROOM

The defense attorney stands. “I call Dr. Diana Thayer to the stand.”

Dr. Thayer walks to the stand and is sworn in.

“Dr. Thayer, please state your relationship to the defendant.”

“Dr. Kimble practiced as an intern and resident under my supervision in Philadelphia.”

“And how would you describe Dr. Kimble as a physician.”

“He was always very dedicated and put the patient’s welfare above everything else.”

“Was he liked by his colleagues?”

“Yes, he was. He was well-liked by both the staff and his patients.”

“Did you ever see him lose his temper?”

“No. Never. Dr. Kimble could at times get frustrated but he always worked through the problem as opposed to just lashing out and trying to blame someone.”

“Did he ever complain about money?”

“Yes.”

“Is that normal?”

“Given the high cost of medical training after 4 years of undergraduate education and the low salary paid to interns, I’d have been surprised if he didn’t. It’s a rare intern who doesn’t struggle with large student loans.”

“Thank you Dr. Thayer, before the prosecution cross examines, let me enter the following information into evidence. I have here copies of Dr. Kimble’s credit reports from Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian, subpoenaed during the original trial. All three of these credit bureaus give Dr. Kimble a superior credit rating. I offer further into evidence copies of his payment histories from his loan companies also obtained under subpoena. Prior to his marriage, Dr. Kimble was living modestly because he was making double payments on those loans in an effort to pay them off faster and to avoid paying extra interest. I also point out that those payments did not increase after his marriage.”

As Dr. Thayer begins to rise, Williams stops her. “One final question, Dr. Thayer. You must have observed Dr. Kimble in surgery. Tell me, was he right or left-handed?”

“Right-handed,” Dr. Thayer answers in surprise.

“Your witness, counselor.”

Mr. Young, clearly taken by surprise by the financial reports, manages to stammer, “No questions, Your Honor.”

With a pleased look, Williams turns to the judge. “I call Becca Ross to the stand.”

Becca Ross steps confidently up to the stand and sits, throwing an defiant look at Gerard.

“Ms. Ross, please state your association with Dr. Kimble.”

“He’s my brother-in-law. Helen was my sister.”

“Please explain Ms. Ross, why you think Dr. Kimble is innocent of killing your sister.”

“My sister Helen was my best friend. We had no secrets. If Richard was an opportunist who was just interested in Helen’s money, she would have figured it out. She was living with him after all. I would have heard about it if Richard had been anything but the perfect husband.”

“Ms. Ross, please tell us about a person who called himself Smith282 who emailed you.”

“Smith282 emailed me stating that I was the original target of a kidnapping. He followed me after work.

When he saw that I was going out to dinner with an old friend, they decided to go after my sister. The sad part is that kidnapping Helen would have done them no good. If it was Ross Industry secrets they wanted then I would have been the one to take. Helen didn’t know how to get into the system. She didn’t have any passwords. If someone had put a gun to my head I probably would have done whatever they asked.”

“You said ‘they’?”

“Smith282 and Ben Charnquist, the one armed man.”

“You and Dr. Kimble met up with Smith282 in Baltimore, didn’t you?”

Young jumps from his seat. “Objection, your honor. Counsel is leading the witness.”

“Sustained. Please rephrase your question, counselor.”

“What did you do next, Ms. Ross?”

“Smith282 said he would testify that he witnessed Charnquist kill Helen for $50,000.00. We promised him $25,000.00 as a retainer and he said he’d testify if Charnquist was in jail and then we agreed to give him the second half after he testified.”

“What happened next?”

“We went to Baltimore and found Charnquist. I called the police and we saw them take him into custody. However, later he was released and there was no record of an arrest. The arresting officers denied ever arresting him.”

“Why were you so sure that this Smith282 was telling the truth?”

“Because he described perfectly the lock on the door that Richard had installed. I also recognized him as the man who was outside my building the night Helen was murdered. He said he was supposed to follow me home and then they would kidnap me.”

“Thank you Ms. Ross. Your witness.”

Attorney Young rises. “When you said ‘We went to Baltimore’ you were in fact referring to yourself and Dr. Kimble?”

“Yes!” Becca answers defiantly.

“Is it reasonable to assume you have a passionate belief in your brother-in-law’s innocence? So much so that you were recently paroled from prison after being sentenced for aiding and abetting your brother-in-law to escape the country?”

Williams springs to his feet angrily. “Objection, Your Honor! Ms. Ross is not on trial here!”

“Sustained.”

“I apologize, Your Honor. Ms. Ross, you say you saw Smith282 outside your office building the night your sister was murdered. Do you have any evidence other than his word, the word of a stranger on the Internet, that he meant you harm that night? Indeed, do you have any evidence that this stranger was not simply someone who saw the opportunity to take advantage of a woman desperate to prove her brother-in-law’s innocence and willing to pay handsomely to do so?”

“Richard said he was telling the truth about the lock. And about another man who Charnquist killed.”

“So you had only the defendant’s word that this man was telling the truth?” Young said with a look of obvious disbelief. “No further questions, Your Honor.”

Mr. Williams then stands and says, “Your Honor, I’d like to enter the following information into the record about Smith282. His real name is Bill Walsh and his body was found murdered in an apartment in Chicago nearly three months ago. Ben Charnquist is a suspect in the killing. This was confirmed by the Chicago PD.”

The courtroom erupts with gasps. Gerard looks at Kari and says, “You spoke with the defense didn’t you?”

Kari gives a perfectly innocent look and says, “We were told to help out in any way we could. What good is a new trial if all of the new information isn’t out there?”

Kimble is quite surprised watching from the booth but he studies the interchange between Kari and Gerard and sees that Gerard is visibly upset with Kari and that she’s glad she’s made him upset.

Mr. Williams continues after the judge orders order in the courtroom.

“The Defense calls David Banning to the stand.”

“Mr. Banning, please state your occupation for this courtroom.”

“I am a locksmith.”

“Are you familiar with this type of lock that is on the Kimble apartment?”

He shows him a picture.

“Yes, for all of its hype it’s not very reliable.”

“Why?”

“Any skilled criminal who’s good at breaking and entering can jimmy that lock without it ever looking like it was tampered with.”

“Thank you, Mr. Banning. Your witness.” Attorney Young approached the stand.

“Mr. Banning, do you remember reading about the Kimble case in the newspaper?”

“Yes sir.”

“And do you recall reading about this particular lock?”

“Yes, I remember thinking how easy it would have been for someone to break in undetected.”

“So the presence of this particular lock would have been general knowledge, even to someone like this Smith282?”

“I suppose so.”

“No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Williams.”

“I call Dr. Eric Alexander to the stand.”

“Dr. Alexander, please state to the court what happened the day that Helen Kimble’s body was brought into the morgue for autopsy.”

“I began to do the preliminary work on her. I saw that she had been badly beaten on the right side of her head. My immediate thought was that a left-handed person beat her. However, I didn’t get a chance to continue because Dr. Jones came in with Matthew Ross. Dr. Jones told me Mr. Ross had requested he perform the autopsy.”

There is a murmur in the crowd at the mention of Matthew Ross’ name. In the control booth, Kimble listens intently as the defense continues. Attorney Young struggles to appear unconcerned.

“Dr. Alexander, please explain to the court how this amended report came into being.”

“Agent Holmes came to me and asked me about the autopsy photos vs. the crime scene photos. I found it strange because the wound in the crime scene photo looked visibly on her right side but the autopsy photo showed the left side. I distinctly remember her right side being bloodied. I took out the X-ray and it mirrored the autopsy photo. However, it would not be the first time an X-ray was mismarked on the front side, so I redeveloped the film. When the film came out of the machine, the pictures clearly showed the wound to be on the right side of the head. Furthermore, if you look at the angle of the blow in the X-ray, it came down with great force. The original blow was probably given while Helen Kimble was standing but the subsequent blows were made after she was on the floor. It would be very awkward to swing downwards with the hand you’re not favored to use.”

“Yet we have Dr. Thayer’s testimony that Dr. Kimble is right-handed. No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Young.”

“No questions, Your Honor.” The judge looks at him in surprise before turning to the defense. “Next witness.”

“Your honor, I would like to recall Captain Gerard to the stand.”

As Gerard sits down, the judge admonishes him, “I trust you will not be leaving the stand prematurely as you did yesterday.” Gerard makes no reply as Williams stands up.

“Captain Gerard, what efforts did you make to locate the one-armed man Dr. Kimble described?”

“I checked with the neighbors. No one matching his description was seen in the area.”

“Captain Gerard, I have gone through the police report with a fine tooth comb and to my surprise, Dr. Kimble was never asked to sit with a police sketch artist. Why not?”

“As I stated, the forensic team went through the apartment and they found nothing to suggest that an intruder had been there.”

“So why not catch Kimble in the lie? Make him sit in front of a sketch artist, if he was just making it up as he went along, the sketch artist would have caught on pretty quick.”

“It wasn’t deemed necessary, we had the forensic evidence, the motive, the murder weapon and the opportunity.”

“Isn’t is reasonable to assume the intruder wore gloves? It would make sense for someone with a prosthetic arm to be wearing gloves in the hope of disguising his fake arm.”

“He would have left some hair or blood. Kimble stated that he fought with the One Armed Man and crashed through a glass-topped coffee table. There was no evidence on that glass.”

“Oh yes, the glass. Now that’s a fascinating piece of evidence. I will concede that there was no DNA on that glass. However, I find that to be the problem. Dr. Kimble’s DNA wasn’t on that glass either.”

“He must have worn gloves when he broke it to make it look like he had a fight with someone.”

"Possibly, but don't you find it interesting that there isn't even any dust particles indicated on that report? I looked at the report and if I didn't know any better I'd say the glass was cleaned with something like Efferdent. What do you think? Is it possible someone could have tampered with that glass?

The prosecutor says, "Objection, Your Honor, the Defense is calling for conjecture."

“Withdrawn, Your Honor. So, he wore gloves when he broke the table, but not when he grabbed the baseball bat?” Williams asks in a mocking tone.

Gerard struggles to control his temper. “In my experience, murderers are caught because they make simple mistakes. The evidence shows Dr. Kimble’s prints were on the baseball bat. And only his prints were found in the rest of the apartment.”

“Isn’t it possible the prints were there because Dr. Kimble played softball with that bat? And that Helen Kimble’s murderer wore gloves?” Gerard remains silent. “Captain? Isn’t that possible?”

“Yes, it’s possible, but….”

“Captain Gerard, is it true that after Kimble escaped, he sent you some passports, identifying them as belonging to the man who killed his wife? Ben Charnquist?”

Gerard, ready with a rebuttal, is startled by the question. “Yes that’s correct, Kimble did send me some passports. I investigated them and I identified the picture as Ben Charnquist, who died of a drug overdose in 1993.”

“I have here a copy of a US passport with Ben Charnquist’s picture that was issued under the name of Fred Johnson. Furthermore, it was issued on Oct 3, 1998 in Dallas - five years after Charnquist supposedly died. Didn’t that suggest to you that Charnquist was alive in 1998?”

Gerard appears shocked at his knowledge of the passports. “No, it did not! It suggested that Kimble found the name of a one-armed man with an arrest record and manufactured a passport to support his story.”

“Yet I understand two months ago, Charnquist was identified in an incident at your daughter’s school, where he threatened both the students and Dr. Kimble with a gun. I understand he was also identified at the St. Joseph’s Medical Center last week where Dr. Kimble was a patient. There is also a report made by Agent Eve Hilliard where people in Chicago General Hospital identified Ben Charnquist being in their emergency room three years ago! Isn’t it also a fact, that the gun taken from Charnquist is the same gun that killed a federal agent by the name of Dennis Gagamiros and the same gun that killed Bill Walsh AKA Smith282? So Charnquist is indeed very much alive and as pointed out earlier he‘s a suspect in not one but three murder investigations! Doesn’t that suggest that Kimble may be telling the truth?”

“I know that that ballistics matched the gun to the two murders that you mentioned, but I believe it is Dr. Kimble who is pursuing Charnquist, blaming him for his wife’s murder and there is still no evidence to indicate Charnquist was present in the Kimble apartment on the night of Helen Kimble’s murder which is the murder we should be discussing here.” Gerard replies emphatically.

“In spite of the fact that Bill Walsh/Smith282, who claimed to have seen Charnquist kill Helen Kimble, was found dead in Chicago shot by a gun known to have been used by Ben Charnquist.”

Gerard is speechless with the last statement. He looks at Kari in the courtroom and she gives an innocent smile and shrugs her shoulders.

Williams turns away in disgust. “No further questions.”

The judge looks at the Young, who nods his head. “You may step down, Captain Gerard.”

Gerard comes down from the stand and returns to his seat. He leans over to have a whispered conversation with Kari.

“You told him everything didn’t you?”

Kari still smiling says, “Yes, I did. He asked me if I had any other new information besides the coroner’s report.”

“When was that?”

“While you were in talking to the prosecution,” she says pointedly.

Kimble is now looking intently at Kari and Gerard. He sees that Gerard is not only upset with Kari but livid with her and he sees that Kari doesn’t care. Suddenly, he is overwhelmed by another memory:

He’s carrying an unconscious Kari into a clinic he hears himself telling the people there she needs surgery immediately.

He remembers being in a hotel room. He hears Gerard knocking on the door and Kari motioning for Kimble to hide in the closet.

Kimble is getting visibly upset by the memories and the man in the booth says, “Hey Buddy, are you all right?”

Kimble looks at him and says, “I’m not sure.”

Gerard is about to respond to Kari’s helping of the defense when his attention is drawn back to the front of the courtroom by the defense attorney.

“Your Honor, as my last witness, I would like to recall Matthew Ross to the stand.”

Judge says, “Mr. Ross, be advised you are still under oath.”

“I understand that, Your Honor.”

“Your Honor, may I approach the bench?” Both lawyers approach the bench.

“Your Honor, I have just yesterday received some pertinent new information in the form of a diary kept by Helen Kimble. I have certificates here from handwriting experts verifying its authenticity based on sample’s of her sister’s handwriting supplied to us by Becca Ross.”

There is a noticeable stirring in the audience at this news. In the control room behind the courtroom, Kimble leans forward.

After viewing the evidence, the judge says, “I see no problem with this. Do you, Mr. Young?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Ross, I have written here a copy of an excerpt from Helen Kimble’s diary, written in her own hand one week before she died. She writes that she saw two men in your office and one of them had a prosthetic arm. She also says that you were arguing with them.”

“I have no idea who she is referring to. I’ve never known anyone with a prosthetic arm.”

The drama student playing Ross appears flustered by the question, obviously taken by surprise. In the audience, Gerard leans toward Kari and whispers, “Where did this diary come from?”

“I couldn’t say,” Kari responds innocently.

Kimble listens intently, feeling a deep need to hear Helen’s last thoughts.

The defense attorney takes out a picture of Ben Charnquist and shows it to Ross. “Have you ever seen this man before?”

“No!”

“Mr. Ross, Helen’s diary has a second passage that states that you approached the two of them about a prenuptial agreement. It states that Dr. Kimble was willing to sign it but Helen was actually the one to refuse. In fact, your daughter writes ‘I put the agreement in the paper shredder and told Daddy never to speak of it again.’ Yet, earlier, you said Dr. Kimble refused to sign it.”

The drama student playing Ross hesitates for a moment, struggling to come up with an answer that will not incriminate himself. “I met with Richard privately later and he refused to sign one I had drawn up just for him.”

Shocked at what he is hearing, Kimble stands up abruptly, inadvertently flipping the switch for the microphone in the room. In the courtroom, his voice is clearly heard:

“That’s a lie!”

Gerard stands momentarily frozen in shock as he recognizes Kimble's voice. He jumps up and scans the audience. Finally spotting a camera in the back of the room, he runs out the door. Behind him, Williams is heard calling out "The Defense rests, Your Honor!".

Gerard bursts into the recording room, his gun drawn. The startled graduate student gives him a blank stare and he runs out into the hall. He hears the sound of footsteps around the corner and races around the corner. A door marked "Interrogation Room" is partially open. Gerard steps quickly inside, gun drawn.

In an adjoining room, Kimble looks through a window connecting the two rooms as Gerard aims his gun directly at him.

NEXT