Zack Raven: Ace Attorney
Chapter 1
Turnabout Evidence
It was raining quite hard this evening. A person scurried about the rain.
He then entered a building labeled "Cliff Law Agency". He knocked on a door. While waiting for an answer he dried his clothes. He was 22 years of age. He had a lanky and tall structure. His hair was black in color with some shades of grey, appearing to be some hair color. One thin streak of hair seemed to 'sprout' out. His forehead was barely visible because bangs of hair covered it. His hair was spiked with two streaks pointing outwards, probably a sign of careless application of hair gel. He wore a jacket adorned with drawings of some cartoon characters. Under the jacket he was wearing a plain white shirt along with long baggy pants that were drenched. He was also wearing black shoes. He also had a black winged shaped locket. "Who's there?" a voice came out from the other side. The drenched person replied, "Zack Raven, fresh attorney from law school!" A woman opened the door. She was taller than Zack and was probably in her thirties. She had black hair and wore a red jacket and grey pants. Zack rushed inside ruining the carpet with his muddy shoes. The woman got quite angry, but tried to hide it knowing that it was another one of those rookie, idiotic attorneys which were not worth her time. The woman then introduced herself as Mikigami Haruya. Zack then stated that he was looking for a job-more importantly a place to stay for the time being. Haruya replied coldly that she does not care.
"I'm fresh out of law school" Zack whined, hoping to get some mercy, but received the same reply as before. Zack then bluntly said that he was getting annoyed. "No one cares and no one includes me. Besides, our boss isn't here."
Zack walked to a sofa; too tired to even bother to say that he would be staying here. He started to doze off on the sofa, until Haruya grabbed him by his collar.
Zack could make out her words from her expression- "You're getting on my nerves, brat"- and was correct to every word that came out; too bad Zack was used to this. The woman was reaching her breaking point, no doubt asking Zack to state several reasons why she shouldn't put Zack in a chair and throw him out from the office. Zack wittily answered that she would just lose a chair and that he is looking for a job. "We have enough chairs" Haruya retorted to Zack's reasons but found it useless to continue arguing with him. "You can stay but only till tomorrow morning." Zack nodded agreeing to the terms.
High Prosecutor's office
January 22 11:40 pm
The dark office was entirely black, except for a few white shadows cast down. The moon was giving of a hazy shine. The door opened. The man took the keys from the keyhole and closed it. He silently walked towards the desk, having no need for a flashlight- the moonlight showing him the way. He rummaged through the drawers; somehow the lunar light shifted towards the man in the desk- similar to that of a stage light during a play. He then took out a flower vase from a drawer and threw it into the ground, smashing it to bits. As if, just on cue the door opened again. The theatrical shine of the moon revealed the man who had entered- revealing his annoyed and disappointed face. "You! What are you doing here?" The man who had entered growled. The door closed behind him. The intruder was frozen; his mind was collecting the puzzle pieces. The two exchanged words-final words.
The man demanded an answer and he soon got it. A shot rang out from the intruder's gun, breaking the silence and restoring it again simultaneously. The man slumped over, his right side chest bleeding a hundred wounds. The intruder fell to the ground, tumbling with the sharp pain of a dislocated shoulder. The sound of broken glass was heard again. "You brought this upon yourself" he murmured, scurrying away.
After some time… the door opened again, revealing a young man. The lunar light shone on a chair with a man sitting, slumped over. "Father?" the young man asked himself in disbelief.
District Court: Defendant's Lobby
January 23 9:11 am
Zack walked around the lobby with a worried expression on his face. He was now sporting a black coat with yellow outlines which probably belonged Mr. Cliff . The defense attorney's regular pacing was interrupted by a shout. "How did I get myself into this mess?" Zack shouted. The baliff shouted to Zack to stop shouting. Some people… Zack thought. He felt a slight tap on his shoulder followed by a question "Are you Zack Raven?"
Zack shouts out of surprise provoking the baliff to tell him to be quiet.
Zack looked around and saw a young girl. She was 19 years of age and had chestnut colored hair and was a little shorter than Zack. Her skin was radiant. She had a headband adorned with roses and was wearing a black shirt along with a long black coat which almost touched the ground. She also wore white jeans and black boots. Zack thought that it would be better if he kept all his jokes about the girl's dress up to himself.
The girl introduced herself as Jane Daemon, saying that she was to be Zack's assistant in this murder case. "Murder case?" Zack tried to recall, then it struck him. Haruya told him to take this case. If he could get a not guilty verdict Zack will get a job in the law agency. If he doesn't get a not guilty verdict, not having a job will be the least of his problems.
"Do you know anything about the case?" Zack asked Jane, not knowing anything himself. Jane replied with a smile 'no'. "Isn't it amazing how you're always greeted by doom, despair and destruction with a smile?" Zack thought to himself. They were then called to court.
Courtroom no 2
January 23 9:30 am
The spectators were quiet, yet they were expecting something. There was something about this case. "Court is now in session" the judge said in a hoarse voice. A middle aged man with black curly hair stood in the prosecution stand. He wore a white suit and a red tie along with matching white pants. He was a renowned prosecutor, Thomas Redwing. He kept gripping his shoulder and looked to be agitated. The defendant was a 22 year old boy. He had black hair with a light shade of green. He wore black attire. Despair and hopelessness was written all over his face.
Thomas stated that the prosecution is ready. Zack kept silent thinking how he was going to win this trial. The whole court then stared at him. Zack thought that it was his hair; having forgotten to apply hair gel. "Should I take the defense's obliviousness to court proceedings as a sigh that he's ready?" The judge's question woke Zack up. "The defense is ready, your Honour" Zack announced.
The prosecutor gave a gesture-"This should be easy." Zack tried to ignore any of his taunts, but it was hard for him. "Defense attorneys were always second rate, now they got worse" Thomas berated. "Thanks I guess" Zack thought to himself. The judge then demanded the prosecution's opening statement. Thomas nodded and started. "The victim is Oliver Smith a well known prosecutor and my senior." The judge interrupted the statement with his admiration of Mr. Smith. "I remember him, a great man of justice he was" the judge remarked.
"Yes, he was a man who loved and respected true justice, unlike defense attorneys like the one here." Thomas continued saying that it is disappointing how good people must die while rotten defense attorneys live. The judge agreed to that point, while Zack imagines himself being hanged listening to the statements. "Look at the bright side, you'll be a role model for all those eager attorneys" Jane tried to cheer Zack up. "It's really cute how you're trying to cheer me up, but it's not really working" Zack thought to himself.
Thomas then resumed his opening statement. "The defendant is the victim's son, Joshua Smith. As far fetched as it sounds, there is a motive. His relationship with his father wasn't exactly good, physical abuse as such." The judge concluded that the motive was most probably revenge. Thomas then said that they indeed have evidence to accuse him.
"Joshua's father is also to be blamed for such ill treatment of his son" the judge remarked. Good, cause you guys should be blamed too for the ill treatment of ME… Zack said in his silent sarcastic thoughts. Thomas then proceeded to call the first person to testify, detective Tracy Peters.
A middle aged man walked into the court. He wore a baseball cap and a brown trench coat. He wore a white shirt underneath with a polka-dot tie. A gun holster could be seen. He wore black pants. His face was covered with band aids. He took of his hat revealing ruffled black hair.
"Who wears a polka dot tie?" was the question on Zack's mind- but it was quickly answered. The detective shouted out his name, introducing himself and also silencing the court with that nervous outburst. Thomas annoyed as he was, warned the detective not to make this trial look like a bigger fiasco than it already is. Zack knew that the warning also referred to him. Jane expressed her sympathy for the detective. Zack nodded in agreement. The judge demanded the testimony and Tracy agreed with another loud nervous outburst. "Please refrain from shouting detective. We already have an incompetent defense, we don't need an incompetent detective" Thomas said in the most polite way a person can insult. The detective then began his testimony.
"We got a phone call at 12: 15 during the night. We heard that there was a murder in the high prosecutor's office. We rushed to the scene as fast as we could. We arrived at 12: 20. When we got there the security guard led us to the office at the top floor. There it was! The defendant Joshua Smith was there. He had a gun on his hand, the 45 caliber revolver. That gun packed a punch all right! The victim, his father was lying slumped on a chair with a massive trail of blood. He was shot in his right side chest. Seeing Joshua as the only person in the crime scene we arrested him." After the testimony the detective brought out the autopsy report.
Zack memorized the testimony and checked his notes in the court record. He thought it was strange. Thomas said that they have definitive proof, but just seeing him as the only person in the crime scene is not enough to declare a verdict.
Thomas then asked the detective for details regarding the autopsy report and murder weapon.
"The murder weapon was a 45 caliber revolver. It is known to cause severe recoil if it is used by a person with no expertise in handguns." "Probably enough to dislocate a shoulder" the detective added laughing- although his laugh wasn't really met with a good response. "All it took was one shot to kill the victim. The gun packs a punch; in addition only 5 of its 6 bullets are in the chamber." The detective showed the court the chamber. Only 1 bullet was missing proving that only one shot was needed to kill the victim. The detective then took out a photo of the deceased Oliver Smith. It showed him slumped over a chair along with a blood trail.
"Detective, was Joshua in pain at that moment?" Zack asked. "He wasn't physically in pain, but he was quite in shock from what happened." "If he really was the murderer, shouldn't he be in pain from the recoil of the gun?" Zack asked focusing his glare on the detective.
"Yes, that is true but the defendant is experienced with handguns" Thomas explained. "You're a serial killer?" Zack asked Joshua who yelled out no. "Just testing you" the defense attorney calmed his client down. "He wants to join the police force, wanting to work alongside his father to bring criminals to justice. He's been trained to handle such guns. Too bad it will be a dream that will never bear fruit." Zack was taken aback by the explanation.
The prosecutor then told the detective to tell the court more about the room in which the murder took place, convinced that it should prove the defendant guilty. The detective sneezed loudly, disturbing the court again. Thomas sighed at the pathetic excuse for a detective.
"The murder took place in Mr. Smith's office. The door needs to be unlocked by a key that Mr. Smith has. When we got to the crime scene, the door was unlocked. This may have happened because the defendant used the master key, which is able to unlock any of the doors. According to the security guard, Joshua came at 12 'o' clock and used the master key to open the door."
"Aren't you forgetting something, detective?" Thomas asked, to which the detective replied no. "You idiot! You forgot to add this part- the defendant opened the door and murdered Mr. Smith!" The prosecutor said laughing.
Zack notes that even the detective doesn't seem to think that the prosecution's reasons are strong enough. Jane notes down the new information in the court record.
"Is that enough to declare a verdict, your Honour?" Redwing asks. "Objection!" Zack yells. "We'll hear the security guard's testimony!"
Thomas agrees with a grunt and calls in the security guard.
The security guard comes in to the court. He wore a blue suit and blue pants and had dirty blonde hair. He then introduced himself as Barney Cake.
"Either cake was the first thing he ate as a baby or his mom's a reckoned in the head" Zack commented on the guard's name. "You could also call me Ramen Barney Cake if you want!" Barney said. "Guess crazy naming must be something people genetically inherit these days. If so, the human race really is an endangered species" Zack thought. Thomas then ordered the testimony.
"The defendant took the master key at 11:30. I stayed in my corner. After some time I went to check the room. There I saw it, the victim and the defendant holding a gun."
Zack objected. "The defendant took the master key at 11:30? I think not. The defendant came at 12 and then asked for the master key.
Barney was flustered. "It's not everyday you see a murder so I got confused" Barney made an excuse. Thomas agreed telling him to amend his testimony.
"The defendant asked for the master key at 12. Then I looked for the keys"
Zack wasted no time and pointed out the contradiction. "If you gave the keys to the defendant, why do you have to even look for them? It's not like you lost them, or is it." Barney was shaking in fear. "Tell us really what happened, at 11:30!" Zack demanded. Barney broke into tears. "I didn't mean to make him cry" Zack whined. "Too much badgering from a defense attorney spoils the cake" Thomas remarked.
"Objection! This guy is not as sweet as you think" Zack added "he's as sour as a, well as sour as a- strawberry sundae on Monday!"
"A strawberry sundae, on Monday?" Joshua asked. "So much for the food fight" Jane remarked at Zack who was embarrassed. "If you don't mind Mr. Ca- I mean Barney can we continue with the testimony" Zack asked. "Whatever, you stupid excuse for a hotdog!" Barney retorted. Zack was shocked by that insult. Jane then tried to calm Barney down. "Sure, cupcake!" Barney made a weird gesture. This guy is way out of the ballpark… Zack thought.
"I lost the keys at 11:30. I hid that since if anyone knows that I lost the master key I would lose my job. I already lost 4 jobs before this."
"Well you lost your 5th job" the judge remarked.
"Your Honour, I think we can suspect that the murderer came before the victim" Zack suggested. "Do you have any proof?" Thomas had an annoyed expression on his face. Zack nodded surprising Thomas.
Zack then presented the crime scene photo. "Notice that Oliver was bleeding very badly, yet there's very little blood on the chair. Also there is a blood trail. If the murderer came after the victim, then this shouldn't exist. This means that the murderer moved the victim" Zack explained. Thomas grew more annoyed. "It also explains something, how did Joshua get the gun?" Zack added.
"The security should have seen the gun with Joshua!" Zack then asked about this to Barney.
"I did a full body check on the defendant. I didn't find a gun. I only saw a piece of paper sticking out of his pocket" Barney said. Zack pointed to the paper in Josh's pocket. Josh passed the paper to Zack. Zack then began to read it.
Dear Joshua
I am coming home at 22nd January at 10:50 from abroad. I will be working at my office, inspecting a piece of evidence. Come at exactly 12 no less to pick me up.
Your Father
Oliver Smith
"So Joshua was told to come at 12" the judge noted. "Your Honour, I have a theory. Can I share it with the court? Zack asked. The judge nodded.
"What if the key Joshua used was Mr. Smith's key?"
The court roared at the theory. The judge bashed his gavel. "Silence in the court!"
"Objection! Impossible!" Thomas grunted. "Objection overruled" the judge allowed Zack to continue. "It's not impossible. The labels on the keys are stickers and there are signs that they have been switched. The glue on them is a bit off. The M must be for the master key while the other key has the initials of the victim" Zack explained.
Thomas objected saying that the defendant did it. The judge overruled his objection. Zack then suggested that Barney could test it. Thomas objected, angrier than ever. "The witness provided unreliable testimony. He could very well lie about the keys" Thomas said. "He has nothing left to lose, why bother?" Zack said. "That's right hotdog guy!" Barney shouted, promising that he won't lie. "Defense attorney guy would be fine" Zack told Barney. The guard then went to check Zack's theory out.
After some time…..
Barney bursts into the room. "The labels have been switched" he yells.
Thomas slammed the desk. "This changes everything" the judge looked at the defense attorney.
"Barney I have a few more questions to ask of you" Zack motioned Barney back into the witness stand. "Did you see the person leaving the office?" Zack asked. "The defendant could have come at 11:30 and then leave the office and come back again at 12" Thomas suggested. Zack thought it was weird. It was such an obvious point, yet Zack was the first to notice something that would incriminate Josh. "We're getting close to the truth, aren't we?" Jane asked. Zack nodded.
"Yes I-I saw someone!" Barney stammered.
"I was cleaning the top floor, the floor where the Prosecutor's office was. It's one of my jobs. I was near the door to the office. I heard something; it was the sound of glass breaking and then after half a minute or so a gunshot . I was scared and ran away to the down floor leaving my cleaning equipment beside the door. After some time I-I saw- saw the defendant walking away. I check-ed the ro-room and I saw the victim, a bullet to his left side chest and the gun lying on the floor!"
"There you have it!" Thomas was confirmed that Josh was the killer. "Objection!" Zack smirked. "Did you really see the victim Barney, cause if you did you should have known- the wound was in his right side chest!"
Barney was shaking badly; he was beginning to break down. "That doesn't change the fact that I saw-saw the defendant at 11:30. He then came at 12:00."
Zack objected. "Impossible. If you did see Joshua at 11:30, then you should have recognized him as the killer when you saw him at 12:00! You saw the gun on the floor; you could have caught him there since he was probably unarmed! You could have called the police and arrested him at the spot."
Barney took out a cup of noodles and gripped it tightly. The cup then exploded, the noodles landing on his head. "Alright! I didn't see the defendant. After hearing the gunshot I was scared and hid in the bathroom. If I told this, I would be a laughing stock!"
"You already are" Zack said bluntly.
"The murder did occur at 11:30" Jane summarized the new information. "The defendant following the letter arrived at 12!"
"Amazing, it seems you win!" Thomas congratulated Zack. "So this trial has come to a close" the judge brushes through his beard with his hand.
"Did you notice something Zack?" Jane asked. "I noticed a lot of things, but somehow I have a feeling that we're noticing the same thing. Then again I could be wrong so, bite me" Zack replies thinking. That wasn't even decisive evidence to prove Josh's innocence. Wait a minute… Thomas said that he had incriminating evidence, yet he didn't have any. The judge is swayed easily so I'll leave him out of the equation.
He's been trying to pin this on the defendant on the whole time and yet not even presenting a piece of evidence to support his claims. He didn't even notice the contradiction that would help to prove Josh a murderer even though he was losing. He let me point it out along with the other contradiction of Barney's lie. He then gave up, even though this shouldn't be enough to convict Joshua. Why? When you eliminate the impossible, the only thing left is the truth!
"It is time for the verdict! The defendant is..."
"Objection! We still haven't reached the truth!" Zack interrupts.
"What do you mean Mr. Raven?" The judge was confused rubbing his temples.
"This trial isn't over yet! Not when the murderer is so close!" Zack gave a smirk. "It took you long enough to figure it out. I already have it solved" Jane boasted. "The murderer is right here, in this very courtroom!"
"Well don't keep us in suspense, tell us!" The judge was overcome with excitement.
"The murderer is…. you, your Honour!" Zack pointed.
"What! I didn't do anything, well except for that time, but it's completely unrelated! I'm innocent, innocent! I'm begging you!" Zack started laughing. "You should have seen your face, your Honour! Oh man I'm hilarious!"
"Mr. Raven!" Zack stopped laughing after hearing the stern voice of the judge.
"It's for real this time! The murderer is..." the court looks anxiously as Zack points his finger to…..
"Prosecutor Thomas Redwing!"
The judge burst into laughter. "It really is funny when the joke is not on you!" he remarked. "Your Honour, this is no joke" Zack fixated his eyes on the prosecutor. "If it was the security guard, then it would have made sense, but Thomas? The judge was as surprised as anyone else. "Yeah I agree" Barney said "wait a minute…"
"It couldn't be Barney. He's too scared of losing a job." Zack demanded an answer from Thomas.
"You have a lot of nerve, you insolent brat" Thomas slammed his desk.
"The court will now take a 30 minute recess. After that we will hear the defense's reason for accusation."
"Your Honour, I have something to ask of you" Zack requested some extra time for investigation.
Thomas then objected. "This trial happened quite unexpectedly. The defense didn't get any time to investigate" Zack explained. The judge agreed extending the time of recess to 45 minutes.
District Court: Defendant's Lobby
January 23 11:30 am
Josh came up towards Zack and berated him for his accusation. "You could have won!" Josh whined. "That's what Thomas wants me to do" Zack answered shocking Josh. "During this trial he pretended to have incriminating evidence, yet he doesn't have any. If I could prove you innocent, I won't be able to suspect him for murder! He wanted me to win, so that he could be free of suspicion!" Zack explained. "You're innocent aren't you?" Zack asked. "I didn't kill him" Josh answered without any hesitation. "That's the answer I wanted to know!" Zack gave Joshua a pat on the back. "I believe in you Josh, so do the same for me" Josh was amazed- it's the first time someone believed in him
Zack then showed Jane and Josh the letter from Mr. Smith- his basis for accusation. "He mentioned a piece of evidence" Jane noted. Zack then said that they better start their investigation.
High Prosecutor's office
January 23 11:38 am
Jane opened the door followed by a pale and sick Zack. "Jane never, ever tell a Taxi driver to put the peddle to the meddle!" Zack complained. "It was kind of fun wasn't it. He drove at what like 60 or 80 and I didn't even know half the words he was shouting" Jane replied with that innocent smile. "Besides you have to have the need, the need for speed!" Jane added. "Oh, I have the need, the need for a bucket. I think I'm going to throw up" Zack pretended to vomit. They then started to look around, Zack still feeling the effects of motion sickness.
Zack inspected the door finding blood there. "Whose blood could this belong to?" Jane asked. "I don't know, we should note it down." He knocked on the door- it was made of a fine hard quality of wood.
"Hey look!" Jane pointed to the window seeing a hole in it. "Barney said that he heard the faint sound of glass breaking, so this could be it." Zack noted it down in the court record. Jane motioned Zack to come for a closer look. "After being in the backseat of a crazily fast taxi cab driven by a irate foul mouthed driver, I prefer not to look down from the top floor of high rise buildings" Zack replied still feeling a bit woozy.
Jane then asked what was left. "A motive and also according to the letter Mr. Smith was abroad. I wonder if anyone knew of this." Zack looked around more. He stopped- seeing blue shards near his feet. "What are these?" "Shards from a flower vase" Jane answered. "Some of them are in the trash bin, while others are scattered on the ground. Was the flower vase broken recently?" Zack then remembered Barney's testimony.
I heard a loud sound; it was unmistakably a gunshot and the faint sound of a sound of glass breaking.
"He heard glass breaking only once. Does it mean he's lying? Or is the evidence lying?" Zack then noticed that some of the shards were smudged with blood. "Blood on the wall and now blood on this, nothing we discovered makes sense" Jane was annoyed. "Darn, we came here to find answers and all we got were a bunch of new questions?" Zack was at wit's end.
Just then something started to ring. Zack took out his cell phone and answered the call.
"Hello…" Zack was annoyed; this was the least good time for a phone call.
"Zack, I have something for you" the other end of the call said.
"Mikigami?"
"Yeah, anyway I got a parcel for you. Some files. I don't know what they're about, but it says to deliver it to you. I'll go to the district court, okay?
The call ended. "Files I didn't even order for?" Zack wondered. "More than that, we heard nothing about the blood on the door." "What about the hole in the window and the blood on the broken shards?" Jane asks.
"Maybe the police missed them? But none of these are even related." The defense attorney couldn't find the link.
Detective Tracy Peters then walked in. "Detective, what are you doing here?" Jane asked- the first to spring the conversation. "Well like all great detectives, I had a feeling in the gut" the detective boasted. "Well like all great defense attorneys I have spiky hair and by the way all great detectives have something called 'mental acuity' and 'deduction skills' mind you" Zack made a usual sarcastic comeback.
"Cut me some slack, will you" the detective then brought out an autopsy report. "We had some changes to the report. We saw that the victim also suffered a head wound. There was little blood on the back of his head so it was a bit unnoticeable." Zack then presented the new pieces of evidence he discovered. "Hey do you doubt us? Okay maybe we missed the blood shards, but we ignored the hole made in the glass. Probably something the murderer did and we don't know what the blood on the door means. We just know that the blood belongs to the victim."
Zack notes that the blood is a bit high up. "There's something that's been bugging me and it's with Thomas. To tell you the truth I don't actually think you're way off with the accusation" the detective admits. "The prosecutor is injured, a dislocated a shoulder, yet he took the trouble of leading the investigation and prosecuting. We didn't have enough time to conduct the investigation properly. Thomas was also rushing things. We started the investigation at 8:45; the security guard was with us. Thomas was listening to his testimony. The trial really was kind of unexpected, I mean the murder happened yesterday night and now here's the trial."
Zack thanked the detective for the information. Zack then asked whether the detective knew that Oliver Smith was abroad. The detective nodded saying that he heard it, but very few people know. He went on the 20th and was supposed to come back at the 25th. "Unfortunately, he came back at the wrong time" the detective mourned. "Correction: fortunately" Jane interrupted. The detective was angered by her words. "I just have a feeling, this is only the tip of the iceberg" Jane sat down on the chair making sense of the new evidence. "Wait, how is this the tip of the iceberg? There's no ice here, let alone an iceberg" the detective misunderstood. "It's a figure of speech."
Zack then said that it was enough for the investigation. "We should leave."
District Court: Defendant's Lobby
January 23 12:05 pm
"So you're here" Mikigami was there and gave the files to Zack. "What's in them?" Zack opened the folder. "Don't know" Mikigami left. Zack started to read the files-scanning them more likely. "This is…." he stopped. "This is about Thomas Redwing!" Zack noted. "It says here that Thomas was said to have used some forged evidence in trial. It also describes some of the evidence.
Just then the baliff calls Zack and Jane to the courtroom. Zack glanced at the file, seemingly finding his motive. "Showdown time".
Courtroom no 2
January 23 12:15 pm
The spectators were discussing about the turn of events. Silent murmurs turned into wild heated discussions.
"Silence in the court!" The judge bashed his gavel. "The detective here wants to say something."
Detective Peters walked to the stand. "We've made some changes to the autopsy report. It seems that the victim also suffered a head wound. There's little blood on the back of his head, so we couldn't detect this earlier."
"Mr. Raven, I hope you have sufficient evidence to back up your claim" the judge warned the defense attorney.
Zack nodded. "I hope you know the consequences" Thomas reminded him of what would happen if his accusation is false. "The stakes are high" Jane was somewhat excited
"Let us now hear the defense's reason for accusation!" The court quieted down.
Zack then started to state his first reason. "The way this murder was conducted, only a prosecutor could do this." Thomas objected to that. "You filthy defense attorneys are…." The judge overruled his objection and let Zack continue.
"First of all, why would a normal murderer need to switch the labels on the key? The murderer expected a trial to take place. The killer wanted to frame the victim. He knew that in the trial the first scenario of the murder would be the killer coming after the victim. He had to prepare…. for when the trial would accept the theory that the killer came before victim!"
Thomas rubbed the sweat from his forehead.
"Also, Mr. Redwing did you know that the victim went abroad?" Zack asked.
"Yes, I was one of the few people to know. He left at the 20th and was supposed to arrive at the 25th."
"And…" Zack stared at the prosecutor. "The victim came at the 22nd of January according to the note!"
Thomas admitted that he didn't know that he was arriving early. "So?"
"So, according to the theory I thought of, the murderer came before victim. You didn't know that the victim was coming early did you?"
Thomas was aghast, but quickly recollected his demeanor. "So, what gives you reason to think I entered his office and supposedly kill him?"
"You want a motive?" Zack asked.
"Yes, if that's what suits you. Why would I even sneak into his office?"
"This letter was given to Josh. Only he knew that his father was returning early. His father suspected something. It says to come at 12 no less. If he came from abroad wouldn't he be eager to go back home. Also for the motive look at what he said. He was inspecting a piece of evidence".
"What does that have to do with anything?" Thomas cocked his eyebrows at the opposing attorney.
Now's the time… Zack then took out a file. "The motive you're talking about. It's right here!"
Zack showed the files. Joshua recognized the handwriting as his father's.
"What does it say?" The judge stood up eager to know the contents.
"It has details about you Mr. Redwing! It details about how you used forged evidence to win trials!"
Thomas was extremely annoyed at the moment.
"The motive was that the victim was about to reveal to the world that you were using forged evidence! You had to kill him before that!" Zack glared at the prosecutor who seemed to hang his head in shame- but Zack didn't believe it. Somewhere he knew that the battle is only beginning.
"Fascinating!" Thomas clapped his hands, yet there was something about his demeanor. As his hands moved every fiber of his body gave of a condescending evil. "Fascinating" he kept repeating the word. "It's so fascinating how you made such a grave mistake, just like our recently deceased prosecutor. Mr. Smith made an assumption that the evidence I used was forged, but did he prove it? More likely, can you prove it?
Zack read through the file. He found a list of forged evidence, but only one was proved to be forged; a blue flower vase with blood.
"Our prosecutor was inspecting 'a piece' of evidence. It didn't specify which one. So we have no way of telling that this would be the reason why I would sneak in to his office and kill him" Thomas chuckled. "Also I didn't know that Mr. Smith would come early, so I also didn't know that the defendant would come to pick him up. I wouldn't have had someone to frame now would I?
"Maybe this didn't work out well but I still have some more evidence!" Zack was still confident at his chances. He asked the prosecutor whether he's shoulder was dislocated or not.
"Yes, it is".
Zack then asked whether he was experienced with handguns or not. Thomas replied no.
"Please recall the murder weapon; a 45 caliber revolver. It's known to cause enough recoil to dislocate a shoulder if the person using it is inexperienced with handguns" Zack explains.
"I got this injury at 8:50 during my regular morning exercise" Thomas replied.
"Objection! According to the detective's testimony you were investigating the crime scene at 8:45!" Zack smirked finding a glaring contradiction.
Thomas laughed it off. "I got injured in the 21st of this month."
"Don't lie!"
"How do you know it's a lie? You may have proved that I didn't get injured this morning but can you prove that I didn't get injured in another incident other than firing the gun!" Thomas taunted Zack.
Zack bit his lips. He didn't want to admit this, but he had to-"I don't".
"Use that last bit of evidence" Jane urged Zack to use whatever he had left.
Zack knew that he didn't understand the relevance of that piece of evidence but had no choice. He presented the blue shards smudged with blood.
Thomas asked aghast at what those were.
"These are the broken pieces of a flower vase. Remember the updated autopsy report? These belong to a flower vase which you used to hit the victim. If we scan the blood we'll find that it belongs to the victim!
"Try it boy" Thomas taunted Zack again.
Zack couldn't find out why Thomas was so confident. He submitted the evidence to the detective who went to do to a blood test.
After some time….
"We got the results" the detective burst into the courtroom. "The blood it-it belongs to-to…"
"Say it detective" the judge wanted the answer badly.
"It belongs to someone completely unrelated to this case!"
The spectators roared the second the sentence was completed. The judge bashed his gavel harder this time demanding complete silence.
"There you have it" Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "Zack, are you saying this piece of evidence is completely unrelated to this case!" Jane bit her lips looking at Zack, who was sweating bullets.
How is this possible?
"Zack, answer me!" Jane called out to Zack several times, yet he didn't respond. He grew calm amid the chaos in the court.
This evidence is completely unrelated to this case? That's it!
"Hold it!" Zack shouted "I've figured it out!"
"I hope you did Mr. Raven, you will not get any more chances!" The judge was furious at that time.
"We've overestimated something about this evidence; more specifically, the blood is irrelevant" Zack regained his demeanor ready to take down the corrupt prosecutor. Thomas argued that it was obvious that the blood is irrelevant since it belongs to a person who is completely unrelated to this case.
"Is that your final answer? Should I lock it along with your fate Mr. Prosecutor" Thomas was not amused by Zack's antics. "That is the wrong answer! The reason this blood is irrelevant to this case is that…..this is the piece of evidence that Mr. Smith was inspecting!"
The court broke into chaos again. The judge tried his best to calm it down threatening that the trial would be adjourned if this chaos continues any longer. Thomas asked for proof that this was the evidence.
Zack took out the file. He shows a page listing some evidence. Among them "proved to be forged" was written next to one of them. "A blue flower vase, with blood on it" Zack read the description.
"You said that I broke it at that time, but according to the security guard's testimony, he heard only one piece of broken glass. We investigated the crime scene and saw that the window was broken" Thomas argued seeing that Zack had the upper hand.
"I'm glad you asked" Zack smirked. "What the security guard heard was indeed this vase being broken; the window being broken served a dual purpose as well as negating your argument about not being able to frame anyone. You created a witness by murdering Mr. Smith. When you came out of the office you saw something that made known to you that a witness was there. That 'something' was Barney's cleaning equipment!"
Thomas slammed his desk-but the defense attorney was unfazed. He was determined to point the finger of justice towards the right direction.
"You then went back into the office and moved the body as well as breaking the window, as well as switching the labels on the keys! As long as there was a witness, there was a chance that a trial would be held about this murder. You didn't know Joshua was coming? That doesn't matter in the slightest!" Zack stunned everyone in the court with his explanation.
"Are you forgetting the victim's head wound?" Thomas asked sweating.
"Not in the slightest" Zack replied in a cool and collected manner. "There was blood on the door to the office and it belonged to the victim! When he was shot his head collided with the door, which is pretty solid. Notice that the blood is placed quite high on the door at shoulder length or more. Also a large amount of blood is on this door, explaining why the victim had a small amount of blood smudged on the back of his head!"
Thomas chuckled and simultaneously moaned. "We didn't even find the shards during our investigation. How do we know you just made up the whole flower vase with blood argument? It could be forged."
"Recall what I said. The broken glass served a dual purpose. Isn't it odd? Mr. Redwing, you leaded the investigation and prosecuted despite that injury in your shoulder. The double purpose of the broken glass-it's to hide the shards!"
"Ridiculous! How could that even hide something like broken shards?" Thomas laughed at the theory.
"It can't" Zack replied silencing the court. "Without some help, of course! When you saw the cleaning equipment you knew a witness had been created, but that witness only heard the things that happened. You manipulated two things. First- you broke the glass on the window to replace the sound of the broken vase, hiding it. Second- you manipulated the investigation. According to the detective you conducted the investigation listening to the security guard's testimony. When he pointed out that he had heard the sound of glass breaking you pointed to the hole in the window glass and effectively hid it as well as showing that the murderer came after the victim."
The judge looked at Thomas, a bit convinced of his wrongdoings.
"I didn't expect you to come that far with that peanut sized brain of yours" Thomas said in the most insulting manner. "However all those are pure conjecture. Do you have any solid proof?"
"Of course I do!" Zack replied shocking the prosecutor.
This whole murder happened out of unexpectedness. Thomas never even thought of killing Mr. Smith. He wasn't prepared. If my hunch is correct then…he must have left a print on something. Well, this is a million to one shot. The stakes are high and the ante is set. All that's left now is to play my hand!
"Fingerprints" Zack showed the shards. "You didn't mean to kill Mr. Smith. When he entered the office you knew you were caught. You wanted to escape the truth, an uncontrollable evil rose in you! We can scan the shards for your fingerprints!"
Zack gave the detective the shards.
Everyone waited- agonizing minutes at that. The truth was about to be revealed. The doors opened and the detective barged in.
"The fingerprints on these shards-they belong to prosecutor Thomas Redwing!"
"How did you know?" Thomas enquired in a broken voice.
"Your behavior told me. It didn't matter if the defense won or the prosecution did in this trial. Whether the defendant was innocent or guilty you would be free of suspicion. When you saw that you couldn't prove the defendant guilty, you had to lose intentionally, all it took to finish the trial and leave without being suspected. You really are a formidable prosecutor in your own right, but you just care too much about yourself and thus you let corruption take you over."
Thomas's eyes grew small. His blood veins became visible-pulsating with the rising blood pressure. He then let loose all that pent up pressure in a single scream. "Oliver Smith" he screamed the name hysterically carving the present image of defeat into the hearts of everyone witnessing the event.
"Your plan would have succeeded if you were facing a normal lawyer, but I'm not that kind of lawyer. I seek the truth." Zack looked at Thomas, who was now but a pathetic living corpse.
"I kept denying it but everything you said is true, except for one thing. I had control over that evil." Thomas laughed his head off. "Sometimes to be number one, you have to take things above the law and I'll admit-pulling the trigger was kind of fun!"
"You really are a corrupt prosecutor!" The judge was disappointed at the prosecutor.
"Why thank you!" The prosecutor bowed down. The baliff then took him away.
The judge congratulated Zack on his defense and wishes him the best for his future trials. He then hands down the verdict "Not Guilty".
District Court: Defendant's Lobby
January 23 1:15 pm
Josh thanks Zack wildly. "Thanks, I don't know what to say. I mean this is the first time someone believed in me". Zack nodded in disagreement. "This is something I found while reading the files. Take a look." Zack showed a note at the last page addressed to Joshua.
My dear Joshua, I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused you. I had to put you in the defendant's stand in order to catch a vile criminal. We had our differences, but at the end we still love justice. Please work hard in order to become a police officer.
Your Father
Josh broke into tears. Zack asked him what justice and truth meant to him. Josh failed to answer then asked Zack what the correct answer was. "I lost my definition of truth and justice in an incident" Zack solemnly answered and left.
He then met with Jane. "You're still the same" Zack comments. Jane asks when he recognized her. "Doesn't matter" Zack replied tired from the trial. "Did you find anything weird about this trial?" Jane asked expecting Zack to present some evidence. "Yeah" Zack presents the note. "This trial was fixed. Mr. Smith expected himself to be killed. Along with that he had a partner who appealed for the trial early and foil Thomas's plans. Josh was also chosen as the defendant to further put the plan into motion. However there was someone else- the defense attorney i.e. me. They also knew me since a normal lawyer wouldn't have accused Thomas." Zack added that he had a bad feeling about this.
Mikigami arrived congratulating them. Zack asked whether he would get the job. "Well it's temporarily, but I doubt our boss would have any objections regarding you. You're talented, I'll give you that. How about I treat you guys to some food for a successful first trial?" They both agreed to it.
This wasn't my first trial, but it's been a long time since I stepped into a courtroom, after 'that event'. The past never leaves you alone. The dark, stormy winds that I thought had died were now picking up. The storm is…coming.
Turnabout Evidence
End