Author's Note: I am coming into this with three goals:

1. Create OCs with actual flaws.

2. Create a storyline that is not reliant entirely on the source material.

3. Add to characters from the the source material whenever they appear.

Apologies that the character names aren't all as cringeworthy as the games, but it takes talent to be that awful. Also apologies for any errors in the text, since all writing/editing was done on mobile and I have no beta. As a result, I hope this doesn't look terrible on computer.

EDIT (7/25/16): I found a beta to help out with this fic, so hopefully the quality will improve as a result. The first chapter has been fixed, and the second one is up next on my to-do list.

I OWN NOTHING (Except OCs!). This story is for fictional lawyers only! This is the only warning you'll get!

Chapter 1: Crime Wave

A secret passageway is one of the best options for lovers looking to avoid being seen in public. Especially those who are rather famous in said public's eyes.

Crack.

Sadly it also is one of the best locations for criminals to commit their crimes while avoiding the authorities.

CRACK!

Too bad the tunnels weren't separate.

CRASH!

Someone should have told the lovers.

Wade Sealord: Defendant

Wade Sealord was many things. He was a three-time surfing champion. He was a beloved figure by the local people. He had a hair color that naturally matched the ocean. He wasn't exactly sure why that was, but it sure helped his popularity, so he didn't complain. He was a man charged with murdering his girlfriend. He glanced at the file summarizing his case.

Case Report: Two men entered an empty, run-down shop. Three men left, one in cuffs. A body was found of a woman. One of the men, her boyfriend, was found next to her, with her blood on him, and traces of drugs on both of them. The other two were witnesses, one an old friend of his, the other a man who owned the shop.

Victim: Allison Urbina

Time of Death: around 1 AM, July 29

Location of Death: Fellow's Mellow Scents, an unopened candle store

Cause of Death: Blunt Trauma, caused by an object weighing approximately 50 pounds, struck multiple times in the same location; the back of the skull, just below the victim's ponytail.

Other Notes: Traces of Marijuana found on both victim and suspect, murder weapon unknown

Suspect: Wade Sealord

Relation to Victim: Lover

Reasons for Suspicion: Emotional Outburst, Presence of Drugs, found lying next to Victim with her blood on hands

Witnesses: Bryce Burg—Friend of Suspect

Todd Fellow—Owner of the Crime Scene

Defending Attorney: Masako Kita, 14?

Prosecutor: Histen Payne, 45

Evidence: Autopsy Report

Wade's Jacket—Covered in victim's blood and has traces of marijuana

Wade's Health Report—Showed cuts from glass on hands, marijuana traces were found externally, but nothing inside the suspect's system

Wade was also a sensible man. This was sometimes a problem, since many surfers are not exactly smart. However, most days, he was able to push his worries aside and focus on the positive, which is good, considering damn near everything seemed to be against him.

However, today was not one of those days, and no one could really blame the guy. After all, it's normal for one to worry when their lawyer only comes up to their chest. Actually, scratch that. She came up to his chest with a pair of six inch heels, and sported a... denim dress? It made her look like some kid playing dress up. The curly hair he could have sworn died in the 70s or 80s, but no one told her, apparently, not to mention that it was dark blue for some reason.

Wade was sure he'd written out his will, but it couldn't hurt to check, right?

Masako Kita: Defense Attorney

Masako was many things. She was a fledgling lawyer fresh out of school. She was also the first defense attorney who wasn't from the continental US in the last decade or two. She was also a tad young, to be honest.

Even so, she knew the basic signs that tell a lawyer when their client has no faith. Sweating was a common one, and so was a raised pitch. Fainting was also prevalent, though only in extreme circumstances. Checking their will was a new one, though, and kinda disappointing to be honest.

"It's the height, isn't it?" she cut in.

A startled reaction, the shuffling of papers, and a hesitant nod. "Um, yeah, Miss..." Wade trailed off, motioning with his hand for her to answer. He was probably hoping his guess was incorrect.

She sighed, and resolved to try and calm him before the proceedings began. "Masako Kita. You know, your attorney? Geez," she said, rather annoyed with the unsure expression on Wade's face, "and I went through the trouble of collecting evidence yesterday for you! Even the prosecution doesn't know what I've collected!"

An awkward smile. Well he seemed to have good intentions. He was just terrible at hiding his expressions. She made a mental note to congratulate his PR team for dealing with this train wreck.

"Right. Wade Sealord, defendant and pro surfer dude... but you already knew that, right Miss Kita?"

A knowing look, to show him he wasn't fooling anyone. "Of course. Don't bother with that formal stuff by the way, just 'Masako' is fine, or any other nickname!"

Another hesitant nod. Hopefully she could run across a couple of witnesses like this within her lifetime. Easy prey, the whole lot of them. "Of course dudette..."

Now Masako was just getting tired of his glass smile. "Come on! I thought the height wasn't going to cause that much trouble!"

"No, no! It's not that!" The glass smile promptly shattered. Wade seemed to be backpedaling a bit. Well at least he's trying to be nice. "It's your... pet."

Well, at least he waited a bit before mentioning it. Still, it wasn't exactly groundbreaking conversation, though. "You mean Slippy? What about him?"

Wade still seemed hesitant. If he was gonna call her weird, he could have at least been frank about it. "Well, it's... a penguin... on your shoulder."

"So?" Still trying to be nice. And still irritating the snot out of her.

The glass smile was back. She really needed to remember that hammer. It's harder to fake a smile when they're missing teeth, especially when they know you were the one who knocked them out, but then the cops always got involved, and their fake smiles were much worse. "Never mind, dudette. How old are you again?"

A fake smile, from Masako. Might as well match. "Fourteen!"

"Right... and this is your first trial?" More fake smiling from Wade. One could play a drinking game with it.

"Yep." Sarcasm was practically dripping from the young attorney. Wade seemed not to notice though. The guy probably thought nobody bluffed in poker.

"Can't we just plead guilty?" No more smiles. At least the conversation was getting somewhere.

"Wade! You're innocent, right?!" Worry was piling up on Masako's face. Gotta play the part, after all.

"Of course, dudette! Just..." The fake smile was back on Wade's face as he continued. "Isn't pleading guilty an easier job for your first case?" He did know the death penalty was on the table, right?

"Wade!"

August 1st, 10:00 AM, Courtroom No. 1

Unrelated mumbling is prevalent in the small crowd, until it is silenced by the swift strike of the judge's gavel, which seemed about to break—rather symbolic of the aging courtroom, and the aging Judge, whose white beard was far past 'Santa Claus ripoff' and had now descended into 'the dress that drags behind on the floor'. Somehow. "The court will now hear the case to determine the killer of Miss Allison Urbina. This may be my final trial, but that shall not change the proceedings of this courtroom! Is the... Um, Miss...?"

On the defense's side, Masako had her feet up on the sagging stand, which was practically groaning from the extra weight. The heels looked ready to take out an eye or two, and to be honest, so did the girl wearing them. "It's Masako Kita, Your Honor, but you can just call me Masako!"

"Please keep your feet off the stand." Sounds of shuffling were heard, along with a small grumble. "One other thing, Miss. No pets."

Slippy hopped off of the witness stand and waddled over to the defense's stand, proceeding to make a sound that was hard to describe, but certainly not friendly. Masako immediately began to pout. Probably fake, but it was hard to tell with her. "He's technically not a pet Your Honor—not unless I register him as one." A groan could be heard from the defendant's chair, and it wasn't the chair, although it did look like it could have made the same sound if it wished.

The Judge rolled his eyes. He seemed used to troublemakers at least, not that it was a good thing. He should have stayed in Los Angeles, but no, the bonus San Francisco had offered looked so appealing... "At least wait until the trial starts before you get technical with me Miss Kita. Ignoring that, is the prosecution ready?"

A balding man without any noticeable features, except for the tiny eyes, which one could call the antidote to anime, stood at the other side of the room. Anyone could basically call him Winston Payne, just without the glasses. "As always, Your Honor."

"Very well," the Judge replied, since at least one person seemed somewhat decent. "Proceed with your opening statement."

"As you wish," Payne agreed, shuffling through his paperwork. If one looked carefully, they could spot yesterday's grocery receipt mixed in with the rest of the official-looking documents. "The victim was Allison Urbina, an international swimsuit model. Her cause of death was blunt trauma to the back of her head. Her time of death was around 1 AM on July 29th, and she died in a passageway underneath a candle shop. Here is the corresponding autopsy backing up said statements, which I place into evidence." He paused briefly to take a breath, during which Masako grabbed a copy for herself.

"The suspect is Wade Sealord, who was in a relationship with the victim. He was found next to the body, with her blood on his jacket. Traces of marijuana were found on both the victim and the suspect, though none was detected in their systems after thorough examination of each. The suspect had cuts on his hand determined to be from broken glass. From this we can conclude that the murder weapon was most likely a glass bottle, and that the suspect used it to strike her down... and apparently I forgot to buy eggs. My wife's gonna kill me..."

"Wait until you're out of the courtroom before you say things like that," the Judge admonished. Even if the guy was Winston's son, Histen was still a sad excuse for a rookie-killer. "Were any glass shards found at the scene of the crime?"

Payne shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. There was nothing to indicate that there were any glass shards at the scene of the crime. Here's a picture to backup the claim."

He placed it in the center of the evidence table, displaying it clearly for all to see. The crime scene photo showed two bodies slumped next to each other. The only noteworthy observation was the blood on the defendant's jacket, like it was wiped off afterwards.

"I suppose that's all on the matter, then," the Judge agreed. "You may call your first witness."

"The prosecution calls Bryce Burg to the stand!" Well at least Payne had some confidence in his case, because no one else did.

Bryce Burg: Witness

Age: 42

Occupation: Ski Resort Owner

The courtroom was used to having short witnesses who would typically stand on a box while they testified. Having someone tall enough to be seen while sitting was a tad less common, though, and tended to intimidate those who had to cross-examine them, especially when they were also well-built. The fact that he apparently was so cool one could see his breath didn't help, .and who wore sunglasses indoors anymore? Scratch that. Who actually did that to begin with?

His personality seemed as cold as his light blue hair, currently frozen over and slick. He probably liked it that way, since his hair had been wet when he entered. He also was unfazed by the unusual appearance of the defense attorney and her pet penguin. It would be no surprise had the defense felt fear in that moment, especially when it's still their first trial.

"Heya Cold Cut! Long time, no see! Remember when we used to be neighbors? You would always wake up to find me digging you out of the snowfalls because your house was partially underground for some stupid reason."

That being said, the defense was also rather atypical, much to the Judge's chagrin, and nostalgic memories aside, the Judge had no desire to create any more. He sighed. "The defense will refrain from socializing with witnesses during the trial." The smirking response was promptly ignored along with the groan from the defendant and his chair.

"If you could please testify as to what you saw," Payne cut in, hoping to avoid any awkwardness. Not that he'd be successful in that attempt.

"Of course." A deep, booming voice rang out, startling half the audience and creating icicles on the ceiling. "I went into the store since I wanted to know how close it was to opening. I found the owner of the store, Todd Fellow, near the cash register up front. We were walking as we talked, and came across a large hole in the floor. We found it to be a secret tunnel. When we went in to look, we found Wade and Allison as shown in the picture. I went back out of the tunnel and called the police immediately."

"A solid first testimony," the Judge remarked, " although a tad chilly." Indeed, the entire court had turned into a temporary refrigerator. "Miss Kita, you may proceed with your cross-examination."

"Alright." The attorney started off, putting her feet back up on the table. Apparently she was used to this. "This question is simple Cold Cut-"

"Miss Kita, no nicknames." The Judge cut in, ignoring her shoes for now. His vision may be faulty, but losing an eye was not how he'd choose to fix it. Besides, the ice on the heels made them even pointier than before.

"Spoilsport... Anyway, mister Burg-" She drawled, trying to make a point.

Another interruption. "Not appreciating the attitude, Miss Kita."

"-what time was it when you entered the store?" she finished, making sure she glanced directly at the Judge.

"Around 1:30 AM," Bryce replied simply, his breath trailing off with each word.

"Now why exactly did you enter the store at that time? Whenever I try that, I usually get charged with breaking and entering... not that I've done that before." Masako finished rather hastily, not that they'd be able to pin down the exact events, but it never hurt to play it safe.

Bryce rolled his eyes before glaring at the attorney with a half-lidded stare. "Your usual shenanigans aside, I knew the store was occupied because I saw light through the front window."

Masako pondered the last statement for a second or two while watching her breath. "So this light was coming from what? The ceiling lights?"

"Well, naturally," Bryce responded. Masako took a second to savor the moment. After all, usually it's the prosecution who gets to pull new evidence out to suit their needs.

"Objection!" Masako cut in. The term came out rather smoothly, for her first use in court. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a document. "I'd like to present this information to the court Mr. Judge. It details the condition of the building on the night of the murder."

"Names aside," the Judge remarked, "the court accepts it into evidence."

Building Details: The building is in poor condition. There are cracks in the floor, invasive mold in the sinks, the phones don't work, the roof tiles need replacing, and the front lights are not in working condition.

"Tell me, Judge," Masako continued, since she'd heard that the Judge tended to be a bit slow, "what stands out to you about this document?"

"Hmmm... Oh! The front lights don't work!" Well, at least one could lead this horse to water. Whether or not it could think was still up for debate.

"Exactly my point! Tell me, Mr. Burg, how you knew someone was in the store if the front lights were not on!"

"Objection!" Payne cried out, causing many to cover their ears, as his voice seemed to deteriorate without losing volume or momentum. "The store is filled with candles. Naturally, one could use them to light a store."

"Urgh... Very well," Kita reluctantly conceded, since Payne, contrary to popular belief, could attempt to voice an opinion. "Could you please elaborate on the circumstances behind your visit? Candles aside, it is still strange to visit a store past midnight when it isn't open."

"Of course," Burg agreed. "I apologize for the trouble. A few weeks ago, the owner of the store asked me for some financial aid. I'd given him $3,000 to renovate the building. In exchange, he'd double my deposit and give me a discount. Since his candles could help my business, I agreed. I visited him to check on the progress, but unfortunately, there was some bad weather, recently, so he couldn't get the roof fixed yet. As for the time, the problem had sprung up unexpectedly, and he had a flight to catch, so he called my cell from his store, since he had misplaced his cellphone. I remember that detail since he had mentioned it in our conversation and the number he had used was not one I had seen before."

Masako hoped that his testimonies would be kept to a minimum, since the mini ice age each sentence carried was last thing the shifty courtroom needed.

"A valid explanation," the Judge reasoned. "Your business is a ski resort, correct?"

"You are correct. I get a lot of couples on private getaways, and the right candles can help set the mood, which is a major plus for business," Bryce explained. Masako chose the following moments to ponder how private a getaway was when it was in a lodge with several hundred random people. Not a contradiction worth pointing out, but still a contradiction nonetheless.

"Very sensible, Mr. Burg. Miss Kita... get your penguin off of the witness." True to the Judge's chagrin, Slippy seemed to have found the court a bit too comfortable, thanks to the chilled nature of the current witness.

"Oh, I see. Slippy did always like you, Mr. Burg. Come on Slippy!" she called out, holding... a large golden ring. Slippy responded by diving into it... and getting stuck. "Slippy loves shiny objects, so I always use this to call him back."

"Ugh. I think I preferred the hawk," the Judge muttered, trying to avoid thinking of where the ring had come from, especially when the defense attorney had no pockets it could come close to fitting inside of, and when the ring somehow disappeared into said pockets regardless of the logic involved. Damn lawyers and their hyperspace inventories.

A pair of suspicious eyes stared up at him. "What'd you say?"

"Nothing, Miss Kita. Please begin your cross-examination," the Judge replied, trying to change the topic. She was watching him like a hawk, and the irony was not lost on the Judge.

"Of course." Kita agreed, letting her eyes hesitate before moving to the witness. "Mr. Burg, could you expand on your connection with the owner of the store? Even I wouldn't just fund a total stranger."

"While I disagree with your claim," Bryce pointed out, the acidity of his response dripping with each word—never mind, that was just the condensation, again—"I do understand what you're trying to say. Mr. Fellow recognized me from an ad while I was on vacation here. He offered me a free sample to test at my resort and the people loved it. That was when he made the proposal."

"I see. Now that the background information is out of the way, I'll ask the more important question," Masako continued, seeming somewhat focused for once, rather than annoyed with the people who surrounded her. "How did Mr. Fellow call you?"

"Like I said, he used a store phone," Bryce claimed. He apparently had missed the warning signs that comprised of the attorney's entire disposition and the subtle shift it underwent.

"No, he didn't," Masako argued. "According to the Building Details, the phones aren't in working condition."

For the first time today, Bryce appeared to be surprised, his ice-cold persona cracking rather easily. "Wh-what? Then why does this contradiction exist? It's a rather pointless lie to tell, since he could have called from the nearby convenience store."

"Now, the way I see it, there are two possibilities to this situation." Masako theorized, pulling out a fake pair of glasses to go along with the stereotype. "Either Bryce is lying about receiving the call, or Fellow lied about where he called from."

"Objection!" Payne piped in. "The witness simply made an assumption! I would use my home phone before my cellphone if I could! Have you seen the rates those companies charge?"

"Objection!" Kita retorted. "He specifically said that Fellow told him during the visit, and that the number wasn't one he recognized!"

"Ack!" Payne flinched back for a brief moment.

"In addition, you would probably use your glorified welfare to use your cellphone more!" Masako continued. "After all, prosecutors actually get paid!" Payne was beginning to get irritated with this girl's constant verbal jabs, it seemed. His fingers twitched, as if he was about to object to her trivial insults. Masako didn't seem to care, though, and continued with her argument. "This phone Mr. Fellow used to call the witness to the shop is unusually problematic, in more ways than one! If we can answer this contradiction, it will cast one of our witnesses in a suspicious light!"

"Objection!" Payne interjected, desperate to prove his paycheck wasn't simply glorified welfare. "This is nothing more than conjecture! Todd Fellow could simply have been embarrassed about having to borrow someone's phone to make the call! How do you intend to prove your claims, greenhorn?"

"Objection!" Kita shot back, uncaring of Histen's moral dilemma. "How come you let the prosecution call people names if I can't Mr. Judge?" Apparently, her new lead was not going to get in the way of her real goal: to annoy the hell out of everyone present. Another groan. "Can it Mr. Surfer! I'm trying to do my job here!" More groaning. The crowd seemed divided on whether to laugh at the predicament, or feel pity for the fact that the defendant would most likely meet his end the moment the Judge finally got sick of the girl and kicked her out.

"The immaturity of the complaint aside, she has a point," the Judge pointed out. "The prosecution will refrain from sinking to the defense's level. As for the defense, Mr. Payne also has a point. Do you have any way to prove your claims, Miss Kita?"

"Of course I do!" Masako insisted, at least trying to do her job. For now. "Cold Cut said Mr. Fellow called his cellphone, so it should have a record of the conversation, unless he uses phones from before, like, 2010. If it does, then Mr. Fellow was the liar, unless it matched the number of his store phone, which is unlikely, since that phone is supposedly out of commission. If it doesn't, then either Cold Cut is lying or he deleted the call, which would both be considered suspicious."

"Very well. Mr. Burg, could you present your phone to the court?" the Judge asked. Hopefully, this evidence would help speed the trial along. That, or just put him out of his misery.

"I suppose I have no choice," Bryce conceded before handing his phone over to the bailiff, who fidgeted with it for a few seconds, muttering something derogatory about the apps Bryce had downloaded on it. Apparently, the hapless assistant had some bad blood regarding something with pipes and birds.

"Any results?" the Judge inquired, making a mental note to get himself one of these things. These 'portable phones' seemed like a real hoot, and he'd get one if he could ever manage to get his grandson's attention after the last time he tried to ask for tech help. He still had some stitches from that fiasco, and a paper plate stuck in the ceiling.

"There is indeed a phone call that matches the time Mr. Burg claims," the bailiff responded.

"Please play the message," Masako asked the Judge. "I feel this phone call might explain our contradiction."

"Very well. Bailiff, please play the call," the Judge ordered, somewhat curious, as well. "Afterwards, this call will be added to the court record."

The message began to play, and faint rustling sounds could be heard in the background. Masako made a note next to her caricature of the Judge that the source of the sound could not be discerned from the call.

"Hello? Who is this?" Bryce's voice began the conversation, although with a bit of an echo. It seemed that he truly did not know who had called him. That solved the problem of who was lying about the call.

"It's me, Todd. I've got some bad news!" The other voice replied frantically.

"What's wrong, Todd?" Bryce asked Todd, recognising the man's voice, apparently, since he didn't seem surprised that the voice belonged to Todd.

"Well, there's a problem with our plan," Todd cryptically answered, much to Masako's annoyance. Mentioning a plan but never explaining it was always very suspicious. "Something just came up!"

"Todd, what happened? Tell me!" Bryce urged the other man to explain.

"It's your girlfriend! I just saw Wade attack her!" Todd finally explained, confusing the heck out of the courtroom in the process, before the answer became clear. Bryce was Allison's boyfriend, not Wade.

"WHAT?! What the hell are you doing calling me then?!" Bryce's voice had screamed at a volume loud enough to make it hard to recognize the words. It also gave Masako and, she presumed, half the audience, a small headache.

"Please hurry! They're both unconscious, but she might not have much time left!" Todd quickly finished before hanging up.

"This message was recorded on July 29th, 2032, at 12:47 AM." The voice of the phone sounded throughout the courtroom, confirming that the call was the correct one.

Naturally, the courtroom flew into a frenzy. Random voices occasionally could be heard over the rest of the noise.

"What is that man thinking?!"

"Such an age difference would have ruined that poor girl! She was only twenty-five!"

"Oh boy, what a scoop! 'Bermuda Triangle of Love! Femme Fatale sunk over Battle of the Beach,' end quote."

The gavel slammed down onto the Judge's podium, stirring up dust left there from the months of June and July, during which the courtroom was abandoned, as it was too hot to safely hold trials, and the air conditioner had broken several years ago. It also shattered the ice which had formed around the bottom of said podium. Apparently, the courtroom also had some sort of drainage issue. "Order! Order! MR. BURG! Explain this call to the court!" the Judge demanded, trying to ignore the sudden cloud of dust which was condensing in his face, along with that random scent of mint.

Bryce sighed, somewhat resigned to the drama he would have to deal with following the trial. "Very well. I was at the park when I got the call. The plan Todd referred to was my investment. Since the murder was in the store, it would set his renovations back, if he could even open it after such an event. Allison was my girlfriend, so he was referring to her. I lied about the conversation in the store to avoid bringing up the phone call, although he did say he used the store phone."

The courtroom started up again before the Judge silenced them with his gavel, partially to move the trial along, and also to try and get rid of the dust. "Miss Kita, please start your cross-examination, before the crowd starts up again."

"Alright then," Masako began. "First off, Allison was your girlfriend? Not Wade's?" Might as well feed the paparazzi, she reasoned. After all, it never hurt to have connections in the news industry.

"That is correct. Wade merely acted as her boyfriend since I am too old for a relationship to be appropriate to the public eye." Bryce answered, fully aware of the question's intent, but remembering that he had only had one misremembered detail and one instance of hiding information thus far, he had figured that coming clean immediately after the one real offense would probably lessen any punishment he'd receive for doing so.

"Then I would like 'Emotional Outburst' to be removed from the list of reasons to suspect my client," Masako insisted, with her goal being to take away two of the three motives so Wade could not be declared guilty without more evidence.

"Objection! The stress of a fake relationship is just as likely to cause an emotional outburst as a real one!" Histen argued, desperately trying to remain relevant in the trial.

"Objection!" Kita countered, enjoying the frozen forehead on her opposition. Apparently, Payne was a notorious sweater. "This time, you're the one theorizing without any proof! How do you know Mr. Surfer was stressed by maintaining a fake relationship?"

"Take that!" Payne shouted, threatening to shatter the windows, which would be unfortunate, since there was no money in the budget to replace them if it happened. "I have an article from a local tabloid here, Miss Kita. Seems like they recently had started to suspect Wade's relationship was, in surfing lingo, 'total bogus bro'."

Tabloid Article: Details reasons to suspect that Wade and Allison were faking their relationship. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, it seems. Written by Lotta Hart.

"Argh!" Kita reeled back, her penguin struggling to stay atop her head. "I see... Mr. Burg, you claim the murder was in the store, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," he responded, not really sure of what the lawyer was trying to say.

"However," Masako continued, "I'd like to ask how you can be sure of that when you claim you were in the park at the time of the call. Unless your logic fits just right, I feel like some new information could come to light."

"Of course. I am sure the crime was at the candle shop. I know this because the park was close to the shop. From the time of Todd's call to the time the police arrived, no one went in or out the front door except when I entered. There is no other way to get in or out of the store."

"Cold Cut! If you're gonna lie, being this obvious is a personal insult to my skills as a lawyer!" Masako cried out. "The very location where the victim was found was a secret tunnel used to enter or exit the shop! It's visible in the Crime Scene Photo, taken inside the tunnel!"

Bryce flinched in response. "Oh, right. Forgot that detail for a second. Guess I meant no conventional way in that statement. Simple slip of the tongue, Your Honor."

Payne seemed to lose his cool for a second, his head gleaming bright red like an alarm had gone off. "BRYCE! This is not acceptable!"

The Judge also didn't seem pleased, being far too used to these types of hastily corrected statements. "Mister Burg, such blatant errors will not help your credibility as a witness. Don't let it happen again."

"Of course, Your Honor. Terribly sorry," he sheepishly replied.

"Miss Kita, are you going to suggest that the crime scene was not in the store?" the Judge questioned.

"Not exactly, Judge, but I claim that the location within the store is incorrect," Masako replied, putting the fake glasses on once again. "I claim that in order to commit a murder in that tunnel, one would need adequate light and knowledge of the tunnel 's existence. There is no proof of either at the crime scene. Therefore, the prosecution will either prove that my client could commit the murder in the tunnel, prove that the crime was committed somewhere else, or find a new suspect."

"That was... fairly serious Miss Kita," the Judge remarked, a mixture of relief and surprise on his face at the lack of snark in her argument.

"Gee, thanks Mr. Judge," she replied, annoyance clearly visible on her face for all to see.

"Never mind," the Judge muttered after a second, trying to hurry the proceedings to a less awkward section of the trial. "Nonetheless, I agree with the defense. Mr. Payne, do you have any means to support your argument?"

"Of course, Your Honor. The prosecution believes that the testimony of Todd Fellow will answer your questions. He claims to have witnessed the moment of the crime," Payne replied, glad that he had actually remembered to bring a second witness to the trial as his backup plan.

"Very well. The court will take a short recess, after which Mr. Fellow will take the stand!"