CH 208

Matthew Claude was perhaps not yet fully awake, or just stupefied in the face of a courtroom atmosphere this stifling—he actually subconsciously replied, “Then, say it’s the other way around. Maybe the defendant skipped the mud that got on the car on the way over and only wiped off the mud that got on the car on the way back?”

Lawyer Gaunt looked down and facepalmed. 

Gu Yan silently stared at Matthew Claude for two seconds. He said with a stoic expression, “Be my guest, try and skip it.”

“…”

Muffled whispers and chuckles tittered from the gallery, because this was an impossible task.

Matthew Claude jolted before finally registering the idiocy of what he said. The flush that had just receded rose again. Only this time it was well and truly self-inflicted. 

If anyone dared to open the doors to the courtroom at this time, he would immediately turn tail and run; he couldn’t bear staying on the witness stand for even a minute more.

Gu Yan waited for a few more seconds and, seeing that Matthew Claude didn’t intend to speak further, finally turned his gaze away.

Eyes lowered, he picked out a few pages from the vast sea of documents, lining them up sequentially on the holographic screen for everyone present to see.

Then, he underlined the main points on those pages with an electronic pen.

“The prosecution presented Exhibit 03: microbiological test results from the scene and the victim’s wounds, indicating that the mistreatment at Crime Scene 7 occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the evening of September 19.”

“Matthew Claude testified that other than the 013 mountain pass, no road would lead to Scene 7, and that one and only one car entered and exited the 013 mountain pass between 5:15 to 9:10 that night. Judging from the mud tracks on the car, the car in the testimony and the car that my client abandoned in the woods is not the same one; the only similarity is the car model.”

“Further, Prosecutor Gaunt made it clear five minutes ago that there is no other relevant evidence to prove that my client, Horace Lee, was driving any other vehicle on the day that the crime took place.”

“Therefore, I’d like to take the liberty to remind you. Presently, all the evidence shown by the prosecution can only prove that my client set foot on the scene at some point after the abuse had already occurred. With regards to proof of his presence during the abuse, it is…” 

Gu Yan crossed out the pages on the screen. He raised his eyes to the judge and the jury. “As of present, zero.”

The judge remained as stern in mien as before, not showing any overt emotion, simply acknowledging this with a nod.

But murmured discourse had broken out in the jury box. Some had their brows locked in a frown, and there were several who eyed Gu Yan before directing their gazes at Prosecutor Gaunt.

Anyone who bore the brunt of the jurors’ scrutiny at this time would be under immense pressure; Gaunt was no exception. 

Before the start of the trial, he was of the opinion that he held a trump hand that could excuse a few minor flaws in the testimony. He had the case in the bag, easy game.

In his humble opinion, at that time, he believed that he had a 98% probability of winning.

But now, even 98% seemed a little dicey.

His expression didn’t flicker, yet he involuntarily peeked at the gallery seats. 

As his gaze swept over, he glimpsed the Manson brothers seated there with dark looks on their faces.

Compared to his brother, Miller Manson was even more brash, his expression even more thunderous. His thin lips moved a crack, pulling an insult from between gritted teeth. “Damn… trash.”

Brewer continued to cross his arms, his only response to the words a raise of his eyebrows.

“Is this a joke? Why is nothing going right?” Miller rambled angrily, “The last time at the Garden Hotel as well. That moron acted without clearing it with us and now this trial too, goddamn—” 

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While a dark undercurrent coursed through the courtroom, it was disquiet elsewhere as well.

The article posted by Bens and Hersey had, as predicted, unleashed a mighty uproar, only propelled by others in the media who worked in tandem to steer the pulsations, and the events of the past two decades were slowly but surely unveiled to the public.

The more observant had already picked out key information from the large volume of articles and photos, discovering a person who served as a connector—the ‘Sweeper’.

The spontaneous public inquiry and dialogue swelled like a sudden tsunami, cascading into an unstoppable force. 

So, concurrent with the livestream of the Elderly Bobblehead trial, the ‘Sweeper’ was also rife in conversation.

There were some who even compiled the identities that the Sweeper had used based on existing speculations.

And this sparked another commotion across the alliance.

“Connor Li, the fugitive who had pulled wool over lawyers, judges, and juries, is one of the identities of the Sweeper!” 

“No wonder he escaped so skilfully!”

“And this guy, too, oh my god. I’ve seen him! And spoke to him!”

“Yeah, he owns a pet bird. I seriously thought it was a common greyfinch back then, who would have thought…”

“Anderson Wu, holy fuck, I was neighbours with him!” 

“This guy, too. I remember he was a kid from a welfare home!”

Within moments, the faces used by the Sweeper were widely circulated throughout the alliance.

Connor Li;

Marcus Budd; 

Anderson Wu;

Dwayne…

Several flew under the radar, while several were listed on law enforcement’s most wanted list, waiting to be apprehended one day.

But even they never imagined that these criminals of cases lost in time would one day actually be linked together, all pointing to the same person. 

With that, all law enforcement agencies across the alliance were overstretched, having to juggle between watching the court proceedings, receiving the comms that was ringing off the hook, and reopening cold cases, attempting to unearth traces of the man at large.

There was a catch in this that complicated things for them.

Not only did they have to find the other person, but they also had to prove that he was the Sweeper, the same Sweeper who possessed multiple identities and took the lives of many.

However, the people sitting in the Supreme Court of De Carma were completely oblivious to this. 

And the trial was still ongoing.

Seeing that the jury was about to tip in favour of Gu Yan, Lawyer Gaunt took out another piece of evidence.

“Don’t rush to dismiss the fact that the defendant abused the victims.” Gaunt projected the evidence file onto the holographic screen. “This is additional evidence that was filed two weeks ago. I trust that the defence counsel has been duly informed and is certainly also aware.”

“The police found it on the clothing of an elderly victim named Avery Brown. The first examination was cursory, and the second examination yielded new evidentiary facts.” 

Gaunt said firmly, “The evidence can prove that Defendant Lee was present at this crime scene when the abuse was happening.”

Once he proved this, the chain of evidence establishing his guilt at this crime scene would be complete.

Then, the charges against Horace Lee wouldn’t miss the mark.

Soon, the investigator for the second examination, Roger Hunter, was invited up to the witness stand. 

He was an extremely young forensic investigator, as if he was not long out of school before being tasked to do a second round of examinations of the countless exhibits in this case.

Lawyer Gaunt cut to the chase, asking, “Investigator Hunter, yes?

“Yes.”

“You issued the forensic report on the screen, correct?” 

“That’s correct.”

“Where were the test results taken from?”

“Between the teeth of a zipper on an article of clothing in the evidence.”

While Hunter looked young, he didn’t fluster on the witness stand. He didn’t waste words, either, answering concisely. 

Gaunt was extremely satisfied. “Can you explain to us the key findings of this examination?”

Hunter nodded. “Trace amounts of blood were found caught in the teeth of the zipper. Testing matches these trace amounts to the defendant, Horace Lee.”

“When did the blood get on the victim’s clothes?” Gaunt followed up with a question.

“While the victims were being abused,” said Hunter. 

“How did you determine this?”

Hunter said, “Investigation of Crime Scene 3, where the victim was located, showed that there wasn’t a second trespass.”

Lawyer Gaunt nodded, then added helpfully, “On that note, as shown by several pieces of evidence during this court session, Crime Scene 3 is the only crime scene that was not trespassed twice. In other words, no one ever entered the warehouse again after the abuse ended.”

Hunter, “Yes, that’s what it means.” 

After stressing this point, Gaunt cast a copy of the blood test report and jutted his chin over at Gu Yan, saying, “There was no second trespass; these traces were left during the abuse. The genetic comparison results are there for all to see, and they are a perfect match to Defendant Lee’s. I believe that this evidence is enough to fill in the missing last link, right?”

He paused, turning to the judge. “My examination ends here. I just don’t know if the defence counsel has any more questions.”

The judge looked at the defence table at this. “Lawyer Gu?”

Gu Yan nodded and stood up. “I do.” 

Investigator Hunter looked at him. “What’s the question?”

“When was the second examination conducted?” Gu Yan swept a glance at the end of the forensic report. While there was a date indicated, sometimes it stated the date that the report was completed.

Hunter said, “As was previously mentioned, two weeks ago.”

“Which date, precisely?” 

“Around 3 p.m. on the 21st.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“Yes. I enter the lab at 2 p.m. every day. At that time, an analysis for another case was ongoing, which required fifty minutes to complete. So my estimate can’t be far off.”

“Were the test results tampered with?” 

“…No.”

“Were there any problems during the genetic test?”

“…No.”

Hunter was slightly uncertain about what Gu Yan was getting at, but still sensed that those two questions were odd. 

His brows creased minutely. “Lawyer Gu, you seem… to somewhat not trust the results of our forensic science facility? Or am I just imagining it?”

Gu Yan lifted his eyes, saying blandly, “My apologies, but there was an issue with the investigation into the Silver Jaguar just now. That is undeniable, isn’t it?”

That was the truth. Hunter had no room for rebuttal.

In fact, an issue like this wouldn’t only draw mistrust from the defence, but also cause the jury as well as the judge to hold a nugget of doubt about the findings from the forensic science facility. 

It wouldn’t be too bad had Gu Yan not mentioned it, but once the subject was broached, their side had to find a way to regain complete faith.

Fortunately, Lawyer Gaunt was experienced in court. He stood up and raised his hand, gesturing, “Your Honour, we’d like to move for an in-court review.”