Jack was disappointed in the judge's chambers. He'd conjured up an image of highly polished dark wood, leather furniture, and the aroma of expensive cigars, like an exclusive men's club. Instead, it was decidedly seedy, with walls in need of paint and government-issue furniture. Over all hung a miasma of cigarette smoke. The only high point was a massive Victorian-style desk, behind which Judge Davidson sat in a high-backed chair. He was leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head in relative repose.

Jack, Randolph, and Tony sat in low-slung vinyl-covered chairs such that their line of sight was well below that of Judge Davidson. Jack assumed it was a deliberate ploy on the part of the judge, who liked to keep himself on a higher plane. The court reporter sat at a small table off to the side.

"Dr. Stapleton," Judge Davidson began after a brief introduction. "Mr. Bingham tells me you have in this eleventh hour exculpatory evidence in the defendant's favor."

"That is not entirely true," Jack said. "My words were that I can provide corroborated evidence that proves Dr. Bowman did not commit medical malpractice as defined by statute. There was no negligence."

"Is that not exculpatory? Are we playing some sort of word game here?"

"Hardly a game," Jack said. "In this circumstance, it is exculpatory on one hand and incriminating on the other."

"I think you'd better explain," Judge Davidson said. He brought his hands down onto his desktop and leaned forward. Jack had captured his full attention.

Getting his finger under the flap of his envelope, Jack opened it and extracted three documents. He leaned forward and slid the top one across the desk to the judge. "This first affidavit is signed by a licensed Massachusetts undertaker, and it affirms that the body autopsied was indeed the late Patience Stanhope." Jack slid the second paper across. "This affidavit confirms that Dr. Latasha Wylie, a licensed Massachusetts medical examiner, participated in the autopsy, aided in obtaining all specimens, and transported the specimens to the University toxicology laboratory, where she duly transferred them to Dr. Allan Smitham."

Judge Davidson had picked up each affidavit and scanned it. "I'd say this is a commendable chain of custody," he said. He looked up. "And what's the final affidavit?"

"This is what Dr. Smitham found," Jack said. "Are you familiar with fugu poisoning?"

Judge Davidson treated his guests to a brief, wry smile. "I think you better get to the point, son," he said patronizingly. "I've got a jury out there twiddling their thumbs and eager to haul ass."

"It's a kind of often-lethal poisoning people get from eating sushi made from puffer fish. Understandably, it is seen almost exclusively in Japan."

"Don't tell me you are suggesting Patience Stanhope died from eating sushi," Judge Davidson said.

"I wish that were the case," Jack responded. "The poison involved is called tetrodotoxin, and it is an extremely interesting compound. It is extraordinarily toxic. To give you an idea, it is up to one hundred times more lethal than black widow spider venom and ten times more deadly than the venom of the many-banded krait, one of the most venomous snakes of Southeast Asia. A microscopic amount taken by mouth will cause rapid death." Jack leaned forward and slid the final paper toward the judge. "This last affidavit, signed by Dr. Allan Smitham, explains that tetrodotoxin was found in all of the specimens obtained from Patience Stanhope that he tested, at levels suggesting her initial dose was a hundred times greater than what would have been adequate to kill her."

Judge Davidson scanned the document, then extended it to Randolph.

"You might ask: How reliable are the tests for tetrodotoxin?"

Jack continued. "The answer is extremely reliable. The chance of a false positive is close to zero, especially since Dr. Smitham used two entirely separate methods. One was high-pressure liquid chromatography followed by mass spectrometry. The other was radioimmunoassay using a specific antibody to the tetrodotoxin molecule. The results are conclusive and reproducible."

Randolph offered the affidavit to Tony, who snatched it away irritably. He was well aware of its implication.

"So are you saying the deceased did not die of a heart attack?" Judge Davidson said.

"She did not die of a heart attack. She died of overwhelming tetrodotoxin poisoning. Since there is no treatment available, the time of her arrival at the hospital was entirely immaterial. Essentially, from the moment she swallowed the poison she was doomed."

A loud knock on the judge's door reverberated around the room. The judge bellowed for whoever it was to enter. The court officer poked his head in and said, "The jury is requesting a coffee break. What should I tell them?"

"Let them have their coffee break," the judge said with a wave of dismissal. He drilled Jack with his dark, gun-barrel eyes. "So that's the exculpatory part. What's the incriminating part?"

Jack sat back in his chair. This was the part he found the most troubling. "Because of its striking toxicity, tetrodotoxin is a highly controlled substance, especially in this day and age. But the compound has a curious redeeming quality. The same molecular mechanism responsible for its toxicity makes it an outstanding tool to study sodium channels in nerve and muscle."

"How does that impact the case at hand?"

"Dr. Craig Bowman's published and ongoing research concerns the study of sodium channels. He uses tetrodotoxin extensively."

A heavy silence hung over the room as Jack and Judge Davidson stared at one another across the judge's desk. The other two men looked on. For a full minute no one spoke. Finally, the judge cleared his throat and said, "Other than this circumstantial evidence of access to the toxin, is there anything else that associates Dr. Bowman with the actual act?"

"There is," Jack said reluctantly. "The moment tetrodotoxin was determined to be present, I returned to the Bowman residence, where I had been a houseguest. I had known there was a small vial of pills Dr. Bowman had given to the deceased the day she died. I took the vial back to the toxicology lab. Dr. Smitham did a rapid check, and the interior of the vial was positive for tetrodotoxin. He is doing the full, definitive test as we speak."

"Okay!" Judge Davidson said. He rubbed his hands together briskly and looked over at the court reporter. "Hold up on the record until we get back into the courtroom." He then sat back, causing his aged chair to squeak. He'd assumed a grim but thoughtful expression. "I could order a continuance of this trial so all this new information could go through the discovery process, but there is not much point. This is not civil negligence, it is murder. I'll tell you what I'm going to do, gentlemen. I'm going to declare a mistrial. This case needs to be turned over to the district attorney. Any questions?" He looked over his audience, stopping at Tony. "Don't look so glum, counselor. You can bask in the realization that justice prevails and your client can still sue for wrongful death."

"The trouble is the insurance company will be off the hook." Tony snorted.

The judge looked at Jack. "That was an admirable investigation, doctor."

Jack merely nodded to acknowledge the compliment. But he didn't feel deserving. Having to report the shocking findings caused him anguish for what it was going to do to Alexis and her girls. They would now have to suffer through a protracted investigation and a new trial with horrific consequences. It was a tragedy for everyone concerned, especially Craig. Jack was shocked at the depth of the man's narcissism and apparent lack of conscience. Yet at the same time he sensed that Craig had been victimized by the highly competitive academic medical system that touted altruism and compassion yet rewarded the opposite; one never became chief resident by being kind and sympathetic to patients. With Craig's perennial necessity of gainful employment during the early portion of his medical training, he had been denied the normal social interaction that would have blunted such a contradictory message.