A/N: Now, the prologue is over. It's the 3rd now, so get ready for some investigation! What is there to find? I don't own Ace Attorney, that would be Capcom, by the way.
9:00 AM EST
January 3rd, 2029
Times Square (Crime Scene)
Phoenix and Trucy approached the scene. It had been cleaned up, he could tell, though key evidence was still present. He approached a police officer. "Um, sir?" The officer looked up. "What is it? If you just want to look, stand behind the tape." He proceeded to pull out his badge. The officer inspected it. "Oh. Sorry 'bout that. Though that does say California… Eh. 'Pro hac vice' and all that. I can let you through. But just this once. Also, it's Officer Renault." Phoenix nodded, before replying, "Phoenix Wright. You may have heard of me. And that's my daughter and assistant, Trucy Wright." Officer Renault nodded, and let the two through.
As it turned out, the actual act of murder had been committed on the roof of One Times Square, just behind the large ball (Which had been helpfully moved out of the way earlier) This left a wide open space for them to use. However, there was one problem: Since Courtney's body had fallen a great distance, any and all autopsies would be almost completely worthless as evidence, and no one knew where she had been on the roof when she had been murdered.
Phoenix cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let's get to work! Trucy, look by the ball. I'll check around here." "Got it, dad!" Trucy replied, before walking towards the pole. Phoenix himself then looked at the area around him, when he saw a length of rope. "Hm… Better mark that down…"
Length of Rope added to Court Record
A length of rope found on the roof. Reason for placement on roof unknown.
He inspected everything he could see, even looking through the air ducts, until finally he found something very strange tucked inside a dumpster: a gavel. But not just any gavel: Judge Courtney's gavel! And not only that, there was a bright red stain on it!
Judge Courtney's Gavel added to Court Record
The special gavel used by Judge Courtney. Currently stained with an unknown, but bright red liquid.
"What was that doing here? I mean, aside from the obvious…" Then he realized it. "The killer must've tried to hide it! We just have to check it."
That was when Trucy got back to him. "Dad! I found something!" "Really? What?" he asked, before Trucy dragged him over to show him. "This, dad!" That was when he saw it: A knot of rope clearly from the rope he saw earlier. "Perfect! We know how she got up there!"
Court Record Updated
Length of Rope
Update: Rope was tied to flagpole at one point. Knot is still latched to flagpole.
"Looks like this case is pretty open-and-shut! We just have to prove Mr. Shields wasn't there at the time. We'll need the security footage or something." Trucy remarked. Phoenix shook his head. "I don't think so. For one, we don't know how she died. My mind says strangulation, but I found her gavel in a dumpster earlier, and I think there's a bloodstain on it. That would mean blunt force trauma." Trucy sighed. "Well, we'll just have to let forensics confirm it." As if on cue, a person wearing a lab coat walked past, saying something to who they assumed to be the prosecutor of that case. "...can confirm the red substance is blood, and neither the victim's nor defendant's prints are on it." The prosecutor asked a question. "Preliminary findings suggest blunt force trauma, though strangulation is always a possibility…" The Wrights ducked out after that, when they bumped into a coroner. "Oh, sorry about that, sir. We were just leaving." The man paid no attention. "It's fine, son. Dr. Freeman, at your service. You're a lawyer, are you not? I brought two copies of the autopsy with me. You can look it over, but we're still not sure."
Autopsy added to Court Record
The victim's autopsy. She appears to have died of blunt force trauma. Estimated time of death: 11:30 PM
Court Record Updated
Judge Courtney's Gavel
Update: The defendant's prints were not found on it. Neither were the victim's.
Once the coroner was out of earshot, Phoenix shouted, "This is great! We've got everything we need! Aside from the security footage, anyway. But we can ask one of the guards if we can look at it eventually." Trucy was bubbling over with pure glee. "You go, dad! Now let's get that footage ASAP!" With that the two went over to an on-duty security guard.
10:30 EST
January 3rd, 2029
One Times Square Security Camera Monitoring Station
After meeting a friendly guard and presenting his badge, Phoenix and Trucy went inside the room containing all the footage from previous days. When they asked if there were any roof or roof access cameras, the guard said, "There's just the one in the roof stairs. It'll be in the top-left cabinet, R-1 and if you're looking for late night December 31st, 2028, which I'm pretty sure you are, it'll be folder DEC-31, disc 4." With that, they nodded, before heading into the large room and locating the correct cabinet, then, after some work, finding the right folder and disk. Once they did, they popped it in, and got to what they thought was the correct timestamp, and lo and behold: At no point did Raymond Shields ever head up to the roof (Judge Courtney had gone up at 11:00 PM, and an unknown person went up at 11:10 PM)
Security Footage added to Court Record
The security footage from the night of the murder. The defendant was not seen going up and an unknown person had gone up at 11:10 PM. The camera was not tampered with.
With all that noted, Phoenix and Trucy left to take the time to build their defense. On the way back, Phoenix began: "So, we know that Ray wasn't up there, and that blunt force trauma is very likely to be the cause of death. That just leaves that third person we saw. They're almost definitely the culprit. And whoever it is, it can't be self-defense, since that would mean Judge Courtney had assaulted them first, presumably with her gavel. But no prints were on it except for, presumably, the true culprit. So at best, they're going to get manslaughter. At worst, second degree murder." Trucy mulled it over. "You'll have to account for everything, though. You said it yourself, dad: She could've been strangled instead. But probably not. Let's try practicing it later, OK?" Phoenix nodded. "We are definitely going to do that. Now, what are we going to do in the meantime?" Trucy responded, "Let's think about that later, dad. Come on!"
A/N: Thanks to some loose lips, Phoenix and Trucy have all they need to find the real culprit in court tomorrow! But will they be able to in a day? Find out next time!
