Penhaligon blinked.
Whitmore stood up. "Objection, Your Honor! Relevance! The intern is trying to play scientist."
"Goes to the credibility of the report, Your Honor," Isaiah shot back instantly. "The very report Oakhaven is using to force the city into an eminent domain seizure."
"Overruled. But keep it brief, Crawford," Caldwell grunted.
"I used standard EPA Method 3060A," Penhaligon answered, regaining some confidence. "Alkaline digestion."
Isaiah stopped pacing. He turned slowly, locking eyes with the expert. "Are you absolutely certain, Dr. Penhaligon? Because EPA Method 3060A requires a holding time of thirty days from extraction to analysis. I have here the chain-of-custody logs from your laboratory, subpoenaed this morning at 4:00 a.m."
Isaiah pulled a single sheet of paper from his briefcase and slapped it onto the projector. The document illuminated the wall behind him.
"These logs show the samples were extracted on April 10th. Your report was published on April 12th—forty-eight hours later. It is scientifically impossible for you to have utilized Method 3060A in that timeframe. You falsified the methodology."
Silence descended on the courtroom like a heavy blanket. Penhaligon swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead. "I... we expedited the process—"
"You didn't expedite anything!" Isaiah's voice cracked like a whip. "You fabricated the results entirely! You wrote a fraudulent report to manufacture a biohazard crisis, allowing Oakhaven Development to steal my clients' homes! And you did it on the orders of your parent company!"
"Objection! Badgering!" Whitmore bellowed, his face pale.
"Sustained, Mr. Crawford! You are on thin ice!" Judge Caldwell roared, leaning over the bench. "Move on from this wild conspiracy theory or I will hold you in contempt!"