Franziska von Karma was a pragmatist.
Unlike her brother she had no problem accepting the existence of supernatural phenomena as long as it helped her to victory.
Of course she had healthy skepticism. So she had considered the claims that the actual murderer had not been the defendant but a ghost as desperate ramblings of a spiky-haired fool who was just grasping at straws in order to avoid his imminent defeat at her hands.
But now that she was staring at the transparent enraged face of the carpenter that had died in an accident few months ago she was starting to doubt her perfect case.
She glared at the young spirit medium. Of course she had ended up running after her. Franziska wondered where the fool of a foolish defense attorney had foolishly disappeared to.
Now Ms Fey would be her responsibility.
"Stay behind me!" she instructed the girl, and pulled her whip out.
She doubted it would do anything to this specter, but it was her best bet. The room was getting colder, and she was feeling an odd pull in the air as tiny objects started to levitate.
She snapped her whip. "You pathetic foolish creature!"
The whip went right through the snarling face.
"What do you think you are!? Move!" Franziska ordered.
The door had slammed shut a while ago, and the prosecutor wondered if it would be possible to run through the ghost and get the door open, when Maya stepped past her.
"What are you doing?" Franziska frowned at the girl. "It's dangerous."
"I can do this," Maya told her, looking more focused then Franziska had ever seen her.
Her expression faltered for a second. "I mean, I've read about this. It's a, um, I forget what they're called, but it's definitely a trapped spirit driven by anger."
"Yes, I sort of guessed."
Maya nodded. "So, what I need to do is sever its ties with the mortal world."
She almost sounded like she knew what she was talking about.
And when she lifted her magatama and let it glow the ghost seemed to feel it too, and let out a high-pitched scream that was like claws on a chalkboard.
"TAKE THAT!" She pushed a small object at the ghost, in an imitation of the spiky-haired defense attorney.
The ghost stared, apparently unimpressed by this.
"It was an accident!" Maya announced. "This proves it! Your death, Mister Tim Burr, was caused by your own carelessness! And yet you took your anger out on the owner of this hotel."
Her expression softened, even as the temperature in the room kept dropping. "But Victor Timm is not here, trapped with you, is he? Mr Timm moved on, and all you've done is trapping yourself here even worse. You neglected the safety procedures, and that's why you died."
The ghost snarled, but was starting to look uncertain.
Franziska stared at Maya, who was suddenly looking more like an adult.
And this time there was no spirit she was channeling.
It was just her, as the Master of Kurain.
"I realize it's easier to just blame others for your mistakes, but you'll never move on like this," Maya told him, and stepped forward.
And the ghost cowered before her, suddenly looking small.
Maya stood straight. "It's time for you to go, Mr Burr."
It was as if a window was opened, and a gust of wind blew through the room.
And then it was gone, and warmth and sunlight rushed back in.
"You okay?"
Maya reached her hand to the prosecutor who had fallen down, and before sense caught up with her, Franziska had taken the medium's hand and allowed her to pull her up.
She stared at the Master of Kurain, as if seeing her for the first time.
Fumbling for something to say, she asked :"What was it you showed him?"
"Hm?"
"The evidence about his death. That it was an accident."
"Oh, this?" Maya pulled a grumbled paper from somewhere. "This is just a receipt from the last time Nick took me and Pearl for some burgers."
She smiled. "I guess my bluff worked, for a moment there I was sort of worried!"
"A bluff?"
Franziska felt like she should have been more angry than she was, but somehow Maya's smile-
"Are you okay!?"
Detective Gumshoe stumbled into the room.
"There was a - AAAGH!"
He cowered from von Karma's whip.
"Where have you been, you fool!?"
"I was just-"
Franziska cut his excuses short with another snap of her whip.
She turned back at the door to look back.
"I guess we will meet at court tomorrow," she told Maya.
"What?" She stared. "But you saw the ghost! You know it killed Mr Timm."
"A ghost was here, I give you that. But that's no proof it killed anyone. Nothing has changed. And don't think you can bluff your way through this trial. You'll find I am not as easy to fool as a ghost."
Maya pouted. "Oh, yeah? We will find the evidence to show our client is innocent!"
Franziska turned her back at her, mostly to hide her slight smile.
"We'll see, Ms Fey, we'll see."