The attorney stood up.

“Your Honor, my client requests a brief recess,” he said.

“Denied,” the judge said. “We will proceed with the witness list.”

Mr. Miller turned back to the podium.

“The state calls its first witness,” he said.

The door at the back of the courtroom opened with a heavy click.

Detective Robert Harris walked through the doorway, holding a manila folder in his gloved hand.

He wore a dark gray suit that looked slightly too tight around his broad shoulders.

He walked straight to the witness stand, took the oath, and sat down.

Mr. Miller stood up from our table and adjusted his glasses.

“Detective Harris, please state your name and occupation for the record,” Mr. Miller said.

“Robert Harris, lead detective with the Des Moines Police Department,” he said.

His voice was flat and dry, like paper scraping against concrete.

“Did you execute the search warrant at the Sullivan residence on October twelfth?” Mr. Miller asked.

“I did,” Detective Harris said.

“And what did you find in the crawl space under the back porch?”

“We found the blue plastic container containing liquid alprazolam,” Harris said.