April 16th – 12:02 PM
Defendants lobby – Court room number 5
"Lawson, you can't be serious?" Clark Asked. "My Serena? My boo murdered Ralph and tried to have me framed for it?"
"That's what It appears to be leaning towards, brother." I answered.
"Th-that can't be right, my Serena… Serena would never do that to me, why would she!?"
"Well, that's what I'm gonna find out… sorry Clark, I know how much you like her, but a criminal is a criminal, no exceptions." I explained.
"But… That can't be…"
Poor Clark… he looks like he just had his heart ripped opened and eaten right in front of him…
"He's right, I'm afraid, Clark." Ashley stated. "You obviously didn't do it, so Miss Witch is the only possible suspect."
"Clark, I need your insight on what happened, why did the two of you meet on that roof top that night?" I asked.
"Well… Okay." Clark sighed as he began speaking. "I was driving home with dinner like I said earlier, once I got up to my apartment, Serena was there waiting for me." So Serena wasn't with Clark on the way back home then…
"And what about during that time she was there?" Ashley questioned.
"I was eating buffalo wings with Serena until I got a text From Ralph to meet him on the roof."
"Just a quick question." I jumped in. "Did you bring your cell phone with you?"
"Ahh, Umm… no, I didn't… oh crap!!"
Translation, she had an opportunity to swoop your phone with a fraud…
"You obviously aren't one to forget your phone Clark, why leave it there?" His life is on that damn thing, so he had to have a good reason.
"The battery was running low on power, I made a lot of calls on it during that day, which resulted in draining the power on it, so I left it there to charge."
"What were you and the victim talking about?" Ashley cut in.
"Oh, we shared some small talk, he also wanted to mention that he was gonna featured my garage in his next post." Clark suddenly turned away. "But then something weird happened."
"Weird? Weird how?" I mentioned.
"Ralph started getting these strange text messages on his phone, like he just saw death itself, and until I know it, he started saying…"
"I-I need to go, there's an emergency, she's done something to her, I just know it!!"
"Then ran straight to the fire exit and left."
So Ralph received strange text before being murdered… if only I had those messages…
"And after that, you've returned to your apartment, right?" I asked.
"Yes, And when I got back, Serena wasn't there either… Ack!"
Aka, she doesn't have an alibi, either.
"Umm… Excuse me…"
Hmm, what a shy voice…
"Oh, Miss Wonderleen." Ashley directed her gaze over at Alice peering through the door.
"Umm, I just came here to say sorry… and thank you." She said as he stepped over to the three of us.
"Uhh, I understand the Sorry part, but why thank you?" I asked.
"Well, because of what you said, I was finally able to speak the truth without fail, something I would've never dream to do on my own." She explained.
"Oh, well, it was no problem, you looked to be in a bad situation, so I felt like you needed guidance." I said. "I mean, I know you're just being forced to take part of this, so don't feel like I blame you or anything along those lines, and I'm pretty sure my brother feels the same way, right Clark?"
Clark crosses his arms with a glare. "You rotten little c-" He was smacked in the back of his head by Ashley. "Ouch, What was that for!?"
"You know the reason." Ashley Replied.
"Umm…" Alice rubbed the back of her head. "Anyway, I wanted to also give you something."
"Give? What exactly is that?" I asked.
"Some evidence."
"E-evidence?" Alice presented a small, Micro USB drive to us.
"It contains the victims phone data, and the recording of the conversation that night as well."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, how is that going to help us? We don't need Ralphs phone data, this is pretty much useless to us!" I cracked a smile and held the hand Alice was containing the chip in.
"Thank you Alice, you have no idea how crucial this piece of evidence is." I explained as I took the hard drive away from her.
"R-really?" Alice gasped.
"O-okay, I'm completely lost now…" Clark, this is why people say I'm the smartest compared to the both of us…
"Ahh, I'm guessing you're going to be using your new technique soon, Are you Orders?" Ashley questioned.
"That's right, and brother, could you send me the data from your-umm, the fake phone too?"
"Umm, sure, if it'll help, why?" Clark asked.
"Because it's gonna help us find the truth once and for all…." I stated.
While there's always going to be physical evidence and testimonies, there's also the unknown digital aspect people forget to look over, some of persons deepest, darkest fantasies and personas on online, to you're common internet troll getting into some overly sensitive users head to persuade them to kill themselves, to those that supply criminals like selling private info, watching you from your web cameras, and worse, terrorist warnings. I've spend most of my life online, so I've pretty much seen everything to a point it doesn't faze me anymore, and I'm hoping this will comes in handy today.
I've also typed down Clark's Statement for some ammo if needed.
Clark's Statement
I was driving alone after working late that night, Serena was there and we had dinner before i went to meet up with Ralph, he soon ran off in a panic and when I returned, Serena was gone, I figured she went home, so I went straight to bed.
Now, let's go put that Witch away for good and put an end to this case!
The somewhat echos ringing from the gavel up on the judges stand rang out, making the once rambling public stay quiet in the familiar courtroom.
"This court is now back in session." Announced the judge. "Mister Orders, I announced a short recess for you and the prosecution to be ready for this next witness, so I hope this isn't a waste of our time."
"I understand, Your Honor." This is it, I have to prove Clark not guilty, right here, right now.
"Mister Payne, is the search for the defendants car been established?"
"Umm, y-yes Your Honor." Mister Payne answered, almost excruciatingly so. "A search party has already been deployed."
"Very good, And is the new witness ready to testify?"
"Y-yes, as snobbish as she was, she's willing to give testimony." He answered.
Funny, she seemed more cool and collected when we saw her this morning.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Orders." Ashley explained as she stood next to me once again. "Judging by how crafty this scheme was, I suspect Miss Witch has more tricks up her sleeve."
I know damn well she's the killer, I just gotta blow away anymore deceptions she has up Her sleeves.
Standing before us at the witness stand was Serena, her composed grin and relaxed stance appeared casual, but it's not fooling me.
"The witness will state her name and occupation for the record." Demanded Mister Payne.
"…My name is Serena Witch, I'm the manager and owner of the Diamond Hall clothing store downtown."
"Miss Witch." The Judge Said. "The defense has indicted you on suspension of murder, I hope you understand the severeness of these charges."
Serena's smirk went a bit more narrow. "I completely understand Your Honor, I can clear this up without any problem."
I punched my stand and started speaking. "Oh, can you? Then go on, how are you not the killer?"
"Well, it's true that I wasn't at Clark's apartment at the time he came back, but there's one very important thing you missed, Mister Orders."
"One very important thing?"
"Hmm, it's very simple." She continued. "My motive."
"H-huh?" M-motive?
"Yes, I personally don't know the victim in this case up until today, so tell me, why would I want Ralph Rioting dead?"
"Uh, Umm…" She's right, I can't think of anything…
"But I do, however, can think of a very good motive why Clark would want him dead."
"Wh-what?"
"It's very simple, Ralph reviewed several small businesses, correct? Clark, as we both seen, can be really emotional most of the time, and Ralph must of given his repair shop a bad rating and review, which enraged him to the point of ignoring morality, so what did he do?"
I'm not gonna like where this is headed, am I?
"He chased Mister Rioting down, which led him to the parking lot, and finished him off, hiding his car after committing the crime, then claiming it went missing to hide his guilt." She finished. "Sounds like solid motive to me, right?"
"Objection!" I yelled. "And just what kind of proof do you have that that's his motive?"
"And what proof do you have to suggest that I did it?"
I growled frustratingly in response.
The judge stopped the argument by hitting his gavel down. "It's clear that neither the defense or Miss Witch can't think of a clear motive, I believe it's time for this witnesses testimony."
"Yes, Your Honor." She responded.
-What I saw-
"I was on my way to my car when I ran across Clark making his way to his own vehicle, he looked red, and his face also appeared to be furious, soon, he got in his car and speed towards Ralph, like he was nothing, Clark slammed into the pour soul and carried his victim on the hood of his SUV, he then pushed the breaks and had him thrown off of the parking lot, that's how he ended up on the railing like that."
"Hmm… so, the defendant used his car to throw the victim off." Said The Judge.
"A simple plan, Your Honor." She stayed as she ran her hands through her blonde hair. "I just hoped that cleared everything up."
"W-Wait a minute?" Clark shouted from the witness chair. "Serena, babe, how could you? I though you wanted me not guilty, this… this is some sort of joke, right?"
"…Ha Ha Ha haaa, sorry sweetie, but business is much more important then putting with some false relationship."
"F-false… you mean, you really didn't…?" As If Clark wasn't depressed already enough…
"…please, me, date a low class grease monkey like you? don't make me laugh, I'll always value business more then anything, especially a dirty cockroach like you, monkey."
Clark stumbled back in the chair, his eyes covered by the shadow of his hair.
Wow, what a total witch…
"So, is he a roach or a monkey? Because she's giving us mix messages right now." I can't believe Ashley's actually debating this question at all…
"L-Lawson…" Clark mumbled.
"Yes brother? What is it?" I asked.
"I… I…" come on man, spit it out, Clark.
"I…" Clark turned his head up, reviling his red eyes and nose leaking with fluids. "She's the killer!! I know it!! she killed both Ralph and my heart!! Give her the electric chair-she's a serial killer!!"
As if you didn't look like a crook already enough, either, brother!!
The judge slammed the gavel down "May someone Please get a box of tissues for the defendant." The judge ordered. "And Mister Orders, You can begin your cross examination."
Okay Serena, you wanna play? fine then! Let's see, according to the autopsy report, the victim suffered from spinal injury from forced impact, so how could he be thrown off?
"Hold it!" I screamed, putting my middle and index finger to my temple. "So you're claiming he was carried by the car after impact?"
"Of course." She replied. "He was hit near the slopes that opens up the other floors of the parking garage, it would be impossible for the victim be carried around if he was hit from a flat road, but if he was hit by an obtuse angle going down, gravity would carried him on top of the hood of the car."
I guess that make sense, his cars suspension was low, so it could be possible. "And Where was the slope?"
"It was on the end to the right of the building, that's where the railing is located after all."
The railing to the right, so the vehicle hit the victim and…. Hold on a minute!
"Miss Witch, Please add that statement to your testimony!" I told her.
"Very well." She Replied. "He was hit near the slope on the right side of the building." He was thrown off the right side… impossible.
"Objection!" I Yelled with my finger aimed at her. "Are you certain my brother drove Mister Rioting's body off the parking lot?"
"Yes, do I need to repeat myself to you?" She replied.
"No thanks, Miss Witch." I smirked with my hands being put back into my pockets. "I don't like having lies told to me, over and over again."
"W-what?"
"Objection!" Screamed Mister Payne. "Wait just a minute! Are you claiming this witness is a liar now?"
"It's not a claim, Mister Payne, it's a fact!" I said back. "The proof is right here in the building diagrams" I prompt the blueprint onto the screen and pointed to the right side of the parking, right where the fenced off portion was. "Notice the fence blocking the way out of the lot."
I could hear Serena's short gasp as I finish.
"So in short." My hand assaulted the stand again. "It would be impossible to toss a body from that side!"
"T-t… That can't be!" Serena grasped at her hair, making strains of it fly around from its well brushed pattern.
"Order, Order in the court!" The judge called out the ever increasingly louder public. "Witness, how do you explain this?"
"Umm… it's quite simple, actually." Serena answered.
"If it's so simple, then explain it." I told her.
"Objection!" Mister Payne yelled across to me. "I-isn't obvious, she got the sides mixed up!"
"Objection!" Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Prosecutor. "Let's not forget that she also said the victim also landed on that railing, and if he had been thrown off on any other side." A nice finger point for effect. "He would've never gotten his spine bend in such an odd way!"
"So, Wait a minute, Mister Orders." The Judge said. "Are you arguing that the killer wasn't hit by the slope inside the parking lot."
I nodded yes as a reply. "Yes, Your Honor, he wasn't thrown off the roof as we previously established, he died simply by getting ran down by the SUV!"
Serena was dripping with sweat as she glanced around, but started speaking out once more. "S-so what? That doesn't mean Clark couldn't have ran him over!"
"Ohh, I'm actually glad you mentioned that." I straighten up tie and started speaking again. "Because I saw another contradiction in your testimony!"
"Y-you what?"
"And a completely obvious one at that." I said. "You stated you saw the defendant, Mister Orders, run towards his vehicle, but that contradicts with my brothers statement." I pulled up what what he said and read it to the court. " "When I returned, Serena was gone, I figured she went home, so I went straight to bed." Another false statement!"
"Y-you…" Serena growled. "You, prosecutor, don't just stand there, do something!"
"I-um… I would, but…" Mister Payne is completely lost, now time to hammer it home!
"Allow me to make it nice and clear for you, Miss Bitch." I pointed right at her. "The only possible suspect who could've ran the victim over was YOU!"
"Wh-… what did you just call me, you roach...?"
"Witch, Bitch." I grimaced. "Both have the same exact stubbornness, so it was an easy mix up on my part." Speaking of a dog, she sure is breathing like a rabid one right now.
"I say that joke is a six out of ten at best." Oh, come off it, Ashley.
"Hold it!"
Everyone turned their attention back to Miss Witch, her blonde bangs shading her eyes away. "You… pathetic little roach of a lawyer…" as she screeched her words, parts of her hair began moving in front of her face. "Do you understand how this works? He's supposed to be found guilty!" As she made a fist, her arms started shaking away. "I… I always get what I want! And when I say he's guilty, you're supposed to SHUT UP and let it happened!" Her head raised up with her back arched, howling insanely loud while her hands frizzed up her hair before the top of her corset ripped in the middle of her chest, causing her breasts to sag down like she aged over a couple decades, her arms stopped moving until. "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" Before bashing hands on the stand, making her back hunch over until she looked back up.
"You clearly forgot who I was, You toad!" Serena… she looked like a completely different person! Her face suddenly had red around her cheeks and forehead, a few wrinkles and crows feet were around her once beautiful face, with her bangs now messy and disorganized. "Nah ha ha ha ha haaa, I'm Serena Witch, I deserve everything I get!" Her voice sound like she ate a crow itself for breakfast, as well as her purple fingernails tapping away at the wooden stand.
"Uhh… Miss Witch…" I said as I face palmed myself. "Your top is broken, could… could you cover up before insulting me, we're in a court of law…"
"Shut you mouth!" She yelled. "Just who do you think you are? You worthless toad of a lawyer!"
W-worthless toad?
"First you're a roach, then a toad? She really needs to make up her mind on these things." Ashley, don't encourage her!
"W-Witness, Please calm yourself this Instant." The judge demanded.
"Shut up! Just shut up you skeleton in robes!" Serena told back.
"S-skeleton in robes?"
"Mi-Miss Witch, there's no need to act so hostile, please settle down." Mister Payne tried negotiating.
"And let you just stand around and do nothing? You prosecuting hipster failure!" But that ultimately failed.
"H-hipster failure…?"
Hmm… for once, the sadist witch and I are in agreement on something.
"I think I'm starting to figure you out, Toad!" W-what is she on about now? "Poor, arrogant, doesn't understand his place in this world!"
"W-what?"
"Nah ha ha ha ha ha haaaaa! There's still a bunch problems with your little fantasy, and to prove it, I'll give you a Air tight testimony, just so I can see you grovel at my feet like the toad you are!"
"Alright then, let see how Air tight your next statement is going to be."
The judge banged his gavel and announced. "Witness, You may begin your testimony."
-I'm no killer-
"I'm no murderer, I've stated that I had no motive for killing him earlier, this is just a stupid attempt to have my name slandered, it's Clark, that self promoting shill of a man, he's your killer!"
Everyone just stood silent once Serena stopped speaking, was… was that even a testimony?
The Judge cleared his throat until he finally said. "W-well, Mister Orders, please proceed with cross examination..."
What's there to even examine?
"Orders, I think it's time to us that, don't you agree?" Ashley asked, which I'm on board with.
"Your Honor, I like to make an request." I asked. "I would like to submit the victims phone data as evidence."
"his... phone data?
"Just what are you planning this time, Mister Orders?" Asked Mister Payne.
"This witness stated that we don't have a motive to latch onto her, but..." I smile. "I'm certain we can find some evidence inside the memory of his cell."
"hmm... we did allow analytic psychology a while back..." The Judge nodded. "Very well, I will permit the defence to investigate the phone, but I imagine there being a lot of data on there, as well, gigabytes of it from what I understand."
"Oh, I'm surprised you knew that, Your Honor."
"I had one of the younger and more "hip" bailiffs give me some pointers during the recess, so I'm getting the hang of things."
Make sure to have him add: "words you don't used in the twenty first century" to your list of lessons, Your Honor... anyway, time to get started, I hooked the micro USB to my phone, which turned it on, I pressed the "Sorter" app and once it opened, an 8 bit file with a face appeared, bringing my phone to my mouth, commanding: "Sorter, arrange, Ralph Rioting, Serena Witch, Clark Orders." Once I finished, the file zoomed off screen as a spinning circle appeared, which in a couple seconds, four tiles appeared.
"Okay, so how does this work, Orders?" Ashley questioned.
"With my Sorter app, I'm able to look at any relatable information to the case." I explained. "The top left session allows me to look into the messages and call logs, as well as any recordings found." The tile showed silhouettes of a telephone, speech bubble and tape recorder with the words "Log records" above them. "the one next to it goes straight to the web, pulling up any related pages up" this panel showed a globe with the phrase "Internet" underneath. "Downwards, is the media database, it much more heavy data, photos, videos, apps, those type of functions." This Square contained other sort of app images, saying "media" right above "The last, and most important is the scanner, this feature scans for any harmful software, viruses, mal-ware, illegal software, spyware, Etc." This tile had a picture of an 8-bit ghost being examined through a magnifying glass.
"And all of this can be use?"
"Correct, this is basically another set of evidence for us since technology and data never forgets."
"Ohh, I see, we can find contradictions from a testimony from digital memory data, just like physical evidence, clever, Orders." Ashley commented.
"I aim to please, now, let's see, search his internet history, first." I pressed the Internet tile, which pulled up a tab to a web page.
"The Rioting Reviewer?" I said. "What kind of name is that?"
"Rioting…? Wait, this must be the victims website where he posted his reviews." Ashley guessed.
"It looks that way, if it is, let's scroll down and see if we can find anything." I slid the screen down until I came across a recent review, posted a couple of days ago.
"The Diamond Hall clothing store is nothing but a cheap rip off! I brought a new shirt for my little sister there and the next day, it got ripped apart when we washed it, not to mention the owner is a complete fraud, she claims to care about the customer, but will stab anyone in the back if someone so much as gossip about her, I recommend staying away from that place no matter what! One out of ten stars!"
"Yikes, harsh criticisms." I mumbled.
"Diamond Hall… why does that name sound-Wait a minute, isn't that…?"
Someone insulting your business and telling them not to go there? sounds like a pretty good damn motive to me!
"Objection!" I yelled in my stance. "Miss Witch, you seem to be sticking to this "no motive" façade, am I right?"
"Yes, and what of it, toad?" Serena asked, tapping her fingernails together.
"Unfortunately, It would appear that I did find a motive, I perfect one in fact." I said with a smile.
"W-what?"
"As stated earlier in the trial, the victim, Ralph Rioting, has a review website where he rates small business in the district." I explained. "And his most recent review wasn't all that flattering."
"Just where are you going with this, Mister Orders?" The Judge Asked.
"His recent review was about a little known clothing shop call Diamond Hall."
Serena started sweating up a storm as I explained.
"And ohhhhhh boy, did he make it sound like crap, a one out of ten star rating to be exact."
"Mi-Mister Orders?" Mister Payne said. "I… I know this is bad, but I have to ask… Are you saying Miss Witch's motive is…?"
"Good to see you're finally following along, Mister Payne." I pulled at my tie slightly with a small grin. "Miss Witch, you claimed you never knew the victim before this trial, however, according to this review here…" I hit my hand on the stand before holding my phone out inplace for my pointing finger to reveal what's written on it. "You clearly did know the victim, because he gave your business a low and nagative review!"
"E-eaghhhh!!" Ouch, she dug her fingernails into the wood on the witness stand, are those things made of steel or something?
But that doesn't matter right now, just keep pressing on Lawson! "Serena Witch." I bashed the surface again. "I say this is the perfect motive for you to commit murder!"
"Objection!" Mister Payne butted in. "That's childish, do you really think she would kill someone for a simple review post?"
"Objection!" Not happening, hipster! "Serena said this earlier, and I quote: "Business is more important then anything else" as someone who puts her business in front of everything else." I extended my finger out to the witness. "She'll do anything to protect it from bad press, as well as commit murder!"
"G… g… Gahhhhhhhhh!!" Mister Payne screamed.
The public chattered away which the judge stopped. "Order, Order, Order in court!"
"Yo-you…" Serena grumbled.
"Well, Miss Witch? Have anymore lies that need ripping apart?" I asked.
"….nah ha ha ha…. Nah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa!!"
My god, your inner witch is just... shining brightly right now, isn't it…?
"Ha Ha Ha… So this is how you wanna play it? Very well, toad." Serena said. "If you wanna say I'm the one responsible for the murder, then try it, see if you can outsmart me!"
Outsmart you? Hm, alright Miss Witch, let's see what you got!
"So, explained this to me, toad, that Emo girl Alice said the defendant yelled. "Say your prayers" earlier." Serena explained. "How would you care to answer that?"
"Yes, I'm aware of that." I nodded. "But, we now have a way to know what they were talking about."
"What do you mean?"
"The audio recording that you ordered miss Wonderleen to get, of course." I finished, tilting my head with a smirk at Serena's clam, paranoid looking expression.
"What?" She growled. "That pathetic worm, I told her to give that to me once the trial was finished!"
"So you were the one who blackmailed her then?" I said, which made her flinch and eyes perk open up.
"Mi-Miss Witch, blackmail is a serious criminal offense!" Mentioned the judge.
"What did I tell you about talking? skeleton!"
"Young lady, I'll have you know I was voting youngest judge of the year not too long ago!"
Great to see our judicial system being handled by a bunch of old geezers… "In order to get the full context of what really happenes on that roof, I suggest we listen to the recording itself."
"Hmm… I suppose we must now, what's your answer on this matter, Mister Payne?" The judge mentioned.
"I-I-I…" Mister Payne stuttered. "I suppose we must now, since that it's so relevant to this case."
"Very well." The Judge Nodded. "Mister Orders, You may play the sound recording for us."
"Yes Your Honor." I went to the "media" section of my device and found the recording I was searching for, turning the volume up for the court to hear as it began playing.
"Hey man, thanks for coming to meet up real quick." A voice greeted, with a thick manhattan accent in the speech, he must be the victim, Ralph Rioting. "No problem, hey, thanks for introducing me to that Steel Samurai Show the other day. "Say your prayers Evil Magistrate!" That has to be my favorite episode." That, no doubt, is Clark Speaking, I recognize that over dramatic pitch anywhere. "Yeah, I knew it was for you, and also, thanks for putting that air suspension in my car, the ride has never been more smoother." "Don't sweat it, I have the same exact one, you do know it can bring the car up two feet right, so it's great for off road use." "I'll keep that in mind when I go camping in the summer, anyway, I called you up here to tell you about something." "Alright, I'm all ears." "I understand you been dating a women called Serena Witch, Correct?" "Uhh… yeah, and what's this about?" "Now-I know it's none of my business, but from what I heard, she's real trouble, black mail, loansharking, fraud, I think she may be a gangster or something." "What? Come on dude, She's the most lovely girl in the word, how could she possibly be a criminal?" "Hey, I'm just telling you what I know, but get this, I think there's something much bigger going on in this city, a whole network even, I think the leader of it is named-" Ralph was suddenly cut off by the ringing of a cell phone, a couple seconds went by before he made a harsh sounding gasps. "Hey, you're alright man?" Clark Asked. "I-I have to go, now!" "Whoa, Whoa, What's the matter, Why-" "I-I need to go, there's an emergency, she's done something to her, I just know it!!" That being said, Footsteps began being heard at a quick pace, stomping away until finally, silence.
End of recording….
The courtroom remind silent, second after second went by, with no one talking.
But now… that audio cleared up that one matter!
"Well, Miss Witch?" I said smiling.
"Well what? Toad?" She replied rather pissed.
"Don't play dumb with me." I stuffed my phone back into my pocket before smacking my arm down."The term: "Say Your Prayers." Wasn't a death threat at all." Then my finger goes out. "The defendant was clearly quoting a TV episode!"
"W-wh-Whaaaaaaaat!?" There she goes, drooling her nails in the witness stand again.
The crowds chatting was put to halt by The Judges Gavel. "Order, I will have Order in this court!" He demanded. "You're right, it may have sounded childish, but I wouldn't consider it a death threat."
"Glad to see you're starting to see the true culprit here, Your Honor."
"Objection!" Mister Payne yelled. "What do you mean? the defendant could've just went after him when the recording ended!"
"Objection!" Don't know when to quit, do you? "You must have a collection of wax in your ears, Mister Payne." I tainted. "Clark was concerned about him when he was acting scared, he couldn't be the killer if he was genuinely worried about the victim."
"I have to agree with the defense, he did sounded curious when he panicked." The Judge Added.
"E-Excuse me!" A bailiff called, coming in through the court room entrance.
"What's the meaning of this? we're in the middle of a trial here." The judge warned.
"Well… Your Honor, The defendant's vehicle has been found."
"It-it has?"
"M-my baby's been found?" Clark got up from his chair when he heard the news.
"Well, where is it?"
"It's being transferred to the crime lab for evidence, but we have a report, right here." The bailiff went over and handed me, the judge and Mister Payne a copy.
"What's it say, Orders?" Ashley read it with me.
There was a written report and a photo where the SUV was found. Clark's car was blue, with tinted windows, chunky off-road tires and… a missing hold? And for some reason the car looked shorter, Clark did say he got some new type of suspension installed the other day, and there was also a large dent on the front bumper, most likely where the victim got hit.
The written report, read as follows:
The car was found in an alleyway abandoned, the scent of new car smell, buffalo chicken and strawberries was all over inside, fingerprints were wiped off of the cars possible places to leave any, Hood was missing when vehicle was found.
How the hell did the hood get off? No way hitting someone will make it fly open and get detached, so it had to be removed on purpose.
"Nah ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!" Great… that witch like laughter again.
"W-what is it this time?" I questioned her.
"I know that look you're making, toad, you're confused, aren't you?" Yikes, Serena read me like a book!
"Well, Allow me to testify about that dumb looking SUV…"
-About The Car-
"True I had a motive and opportunity to commit murder, however, what you're claiming doesn't relate to the facts, how could I possibly moved the body afterwards? and how on earth could I remove that hood? I don't know a thing about cars, so just try to explain this one toad, I dare you!"
"….Uhh, Wait a second." The judge said, going wide eyed. "Wasn't I suppose to ask for a testimony first?"
"Shut up, chrome head!" Ouch, I don't know either to cringe or to feel sorry for the judge by how true that was…
"Uhh… Anyway, I guess you can began the cross examination, Mister Orders." Added The Judge.
Okay, so she claims that she couldn't remove the hood by herself.
"Hold it!" I shouted. "You never even learned about how to fix cars?"
"I work with clothes, not cars, toad." Serena answered, tipping away at the stand. "It would be impossible for me to remove it."
True, it would've been hard to take off a hood, but what if someone taught you to do it, or maybe you observed doing it before?
And I know the perfect candidate!
"Objection!" I yelled right at her, aiming my index finger towards her. "Miss Witch." I said, making an upward curve with my lips. "I'm sorry to say this, but you could've remove that hood all on your own."
"W-what do you mean?" She asked, started to realized she was cornered.
"What I mean is you observed someone doing it before many times." I slammed my fist down. "Someone like The Defendant, or your "boyfriend" Clark Orders!"
"G-g-….GAHHHHHHHHHH!!" How can her fingernails still be on from piercing through that wood so much?
"Oh, you're right Mister Orders, she would of have a ton of opportunities to see him detach a hood." The Judge mentioned.
"Th-tha-that-that, that's…" Serena stuttered out. "So what? It's just a hood, how is it relevant to this?"
"Objection!" Oh no you don't! "It means a lot, like why was the hood removed in the first place?" I explained with my hand stamped back on the the stand. "it's most likely to try hiding something, like a blood stain when you hit the victim!"
"Hold it!" Serena called out. "The-then, how was the body moved?"
"Huh?" is she serious right now? It's obvious.
"If I did hit the victim-which I didn't-how would I have moved the body? It was found on that railing after all."
"Objection!" Howled Mister Payne. "Ar-aren't I the one who should be asking the questions here?"
"Be quite, hipster!" Serena responded.
"Urk…" To be honest, in a get up like that, you kind of had that one coming, Mister Payne.
"Miss Witch, you had the perfect way to transport the body." I held onto my tie to make a bit more comfortable. "You used it to kill the victim after all."
"W-what?" She asked.
"After you killed the victim, you removed yourself from the car and dragged the body into the trunk." I continued on. "The windows were tinted black, so no one would see a body in there, once that was done, you drove out of the parking lot and put the body there."
"Hold it!" Someone's jumpy to defend themselves. "Well I want proof, What proves that I used his SUV?"
I'm so close, I just need to push a little harder.
"Well Mister Orders?" The Judge butted in. "Miss Witch wants proof that she used that car, can you provide said evidence?"
"What are you, joking, of course I can Your Honor." I said eagerly while getting my phone back out. "It's right in the first crime photo." I showed the image before pointing out the tire tracks on the side. "Take note of the mud tracks to the left of the photo, notice how they end at the walkway where the victim "landed"."
"Gahhhh….!" Serena growled.
"Which means one thing." I exclaimed. "You threw the body in the trunk and drove it down to the railing, once there, you posed Mister Rioting to have it seem like he's fallen to his death, and as the prosecution pointed out earlier, his body was well build and was possibly very heavy, so you got it as close to the guard rail as you could." Time to put this witch to bed! "Afterwards, you hid the SUV in an alert to hide your crime and completing your plan to frame my brother!"
"Grrrrrr…" Serena was breaking down, there's no way she can slip out of this-
"Hold it!" Oh crap… maybe she can.
"N-…Na….Nah ah ah ha ha ha ha haaa ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaa! Not bad toad! Not a bad little story to tell your guilty ass brother!"
"Wh-what? Story?" What is she going on about?
"The evidence, moron, the freaking evidence!" Oh god, she's making that creepy smirk again… "Sure, He was ran over! Sure, I used that weirdo Alice! But what makes you think I used his car, there were plenty of other ones in that lot! and another thing, toad!"
"I… would actually appreciate it if stop calling toad, it's starting to get annoying…" is it getting hotter in this court, I can feel sweat running down my forehead…
"While I can believe Ralph was hit by a car, it's highly unlikely it was Clark's SUV, the ride height is way too low for a body to go under it!"
"Yo-you're kidding…." I looked at the car once more, she's right, it's too low to run someone over…
"I believe she's on to something." Mister Payne, to my regret, decided to join in on my sudden misery. "If The victim were to get hit by the defendants car, he would of went over the vehicles hood and hit the windshield." He made the most smug, most punchable smile I've ever seen in my life, and I remember my fair share of them, too.
"He right, I'm afraid." Joy, even the judge started doubting me. "This Witness has done some wrong, but I'm afraid we can't accuse this witness of murder, Mister Orders."
Dammit… Dammit… "Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!" No dice… how am I gonna prove that, it's impossible.
"We're not giving up just yet, Your Honor!" Ashley! I forgot she was here with me. "Lawson, you come way too far to just give up."
"But Boss, I'm literally out of ideas." I groaned.
"Then come up with something new, think, what would he do at a time like this?"
….The boos is right, I have to think harder, much harder, my brothers life is at state, I have to think, what would he do.
What would Phoenix Wright do at a time like this?
I have to act quick, because I heard the gavel being slammed down. "This ends the cross examination of-"
"Objection!" I have it! "Hold on, one second, Miss Witch!"
"Oh, look, the toad of a lawyer isn't finished yet." You keep talking, Miss Bitch…
"Alright, But you better not be lying this time, Mister Orders, for yours and your clients sake." Mentioned The Judge.
"I'm starting to understand your place in life, Miss Witch."
"W-what?" Ready to be thrown in jail? I hope so Serena.
"Self entitled." I told her off with my best condescending smile. "Was never told no when she was a kid."
"Y-you Little… How dare you!"
"Sure, Clark's SUV was low to the ground when it was found,but however..." I hit the desk once more. "You had a pretty easy way to make the ride height lower."
"What….? Ack!" It looks like she finally gets it.
"And It's right here in the recording!" With some simple adjustments, I played said proof to the courtroom...
"Yeah, I knew it was for you, and also, thanks for putting that air suspension in my car, the ride has never been more smoother." "Don't sweat it, I have the same exact one, you do know it can bring the car up two feet right, so it's great for off road use."
After letting the room drown in silence for a brief couple of seconds, until I broke it. "Brother, care to explain air suspension to the court?"
"Huh?" Clark was in a trance for the entirety by the looks of it. "Oh, Yeah, Air suspension is a special type of car feature, you can either raise and lower the cars ride height from the interior of the vehicle in question."
I organized my tie up and grin. "And that, Miss Witch, is the proof you needed."
Serena was practically breathing like an angry dog at this point.
"As a last ditch effort to cover up your crime, you lowered the car to have his car ruled out as the murder weapon, however." My hand went down once more. "You simply made it look lower thanks to the air suspension!"
"Y-you…. Rgahhhhhhhhhhh!!" I think I just heard something beginning to snap, one of her nails?
"And what puts you in car that night? that's simple." I pointed straight at the cornered witch. "You gave it to us this morning!" I pulled it out of my coat pocket, her newest brand of perfume. "This is my last piece of evidence, Your honor."
"T-that's…." a Witch about to be burned with water, or perfume, to be precise, Serena.
"Hmm, And what's that?" The Judge Asked.
"This is Serena's clothing shops brand new product, made with fresh strawberries." I smirk. "And recall the the missing car report, it's written as follows..." I brought up said writing to the court. "The scent of new car smell, buffalo chicken and strawberries was all over inside"."
Serena gasped with sound of more breaking imitating from her hands.
"Oh yeah, did I also mention it hasn't been released to the public yet?" I told everyone. "And if you all take a nice, long whiff." I made a grimace to her panicking, guilt written face. "You can get a nice sample of it riding off Miss Witch!"
"No… this can't be happening…!" Serena roared.
"It's over Miss Bitch!" And one last stance before telling her.
"Unless you have more arguments that need to be dismantled!"
"….You…" Serena breathed out, her arms now in a twitching state from digging them into the wooden stand too many times. "You have no idea who you're messing with here, do you!?" Her mindless threats caused drizzling particles of spit to fly out of her mouth with the area going darkall around. "I'm Serena Witch! Do you realize who I am!? Do you understand who I know!?" Her claims echoed. "I'll step on every last one of you like the vermin you all are! I''ll-" Without warning, the earth shook around her, right under her expansive high heels. "Wh-what's going on?" The quaking only got worse with every second going by, every few second the rattling only got worse. "What the hell is that noise?" Serena monitored around before finally looking upwards, only to gasp with her pupils going smaller. Right above her was a large soul of a shoe ready to stomp right on her. "No… please…" She bagged and bagged. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" Then the sneaker began plummeting down straight at her.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH….!!" Serena cried out, her fingernails breaking off from her digits and staying attached onto the stand, before falling over onto her back.
After, what seems to be like forever, Serena finally got back onto her feet and confessed. "Grr.. I'm ruined, my business, my life, everything! Gone!" She complained. "I saw that review go up on that idiots website, I wasn't gonna let him ruin my reputation, my other job is to gather information for my higher ups, anything to control or blackmail anyone in this town, so I was gonna use that grease monkey, Clark and that ugly Emo girl Alice. I told her to take the witness stand and do anything she can to have that moron guilty, to ensure her safety to herself and her family, and I was ordered to have Clark thrown in jail anyways by my boss, so I figured why not kill three birds with one stone. So I took the opportunity, I heard Clark was meeting Ralph earlier that day, so I hatched my plan up quickly, but if it wasn't for his stupid younger brother of a defense attorney, I would've gotten away with it!" Serena Finished. "How… how could things escalate into something like this…?"
With that finally over, The judge started speaking. "Serena Witch, you're under arrest for the murder of Ralph Rioting, your sentence will be determined on a later trial, Mister Payne!"
"Y-yes Your Honor?" The defeated Mister Payne replied.
"Has the hood from the vehicle been recovered yet?"
"Yes, it has, and as expected, there was blood found right at the end of it."
He must of hit his jaw really hard on there to get blood on it.
"And Mister Orders." He said to me.
"Y-yes, Your Honor?" I Replied.
"That's was quite the defense you put up." Aww, you're too kind Your Honor. "It kinda reminds me of that other lawyer, Mister Wright, and that "brainphone" of yours was very handy as well."
Smartphone, Your Honor! Smart! Phone! Ahhh-Why do I even bother...? Just take the compliment, Lawson. "Hey, I learned from the best."
"I hope you're referring to me and not that other lawyer, Orders." You too Boss, you too.
"But now that that's out of the way, I would like to announce my verdict." The judge announced. "This court finds the defendant, Clark Orders…."
"Not Guilty."
"The crowd began cheering with colorful confetti raining down from the roof, Clark was at the witness stand with a bright smile.
The smile of a free man!
"That is all, this court is adjourned!" The judge announce with one finale bang from the gavel.
April 16th – 1:48 pm
Defendants lobby – Courtroom number 5
"That was an incredible defense back there, Orders!" Ashley cheered. "Even I was on the tip of my toes the whole time."
"Ahh, it was nothing." I responded pridefully.
"Don't just shrug it off like it was nothing, you did that, don't forget it."
"Whoa hoo!" Clark cheered with his hands in the air! "Lawson, you were awesome in there! You were all like: "Objection!" And Serena was all like: "Gahhhhh!" At the end!" He chuckled. "Thank you so much little bro, you saved my ass back there!"
"What? You though I was just gonna let them throw the cuff on you like that?" I argued.
"Still though…" Clark sighed as he looked down to the floor. "I still can't believe Serena just wanted to date me so she could just frame me for something like that, some women she is." Oh yeah, that's right, he really liked Serena…
"Mister Orders." Ashley called my brother. "Congratulations on your not guilty verdict today!"
"Oh, Uhh, thanks." Clark jumped slightly. "Oh, That reminds me." Then gave his attention to me. "As promised Lawson, my gaming console and game collection is all yours, take care of it, alright?"
"A game console?" Ashley tilted her head.
"Yeah, I'm not really doing well financially at the moment, but thanks to Ralph's review, I'm gonna get more jobs soon, so money won't be a issue."
"Hmm, I guess brothers will be brothers." Like you wouldn't believe, Ashley. "But Anyway Orders, I say we earned a celebration for your first win."
Now that she mentioned it, I am feeling pretty famished. "I could go for some pizza actually, deep dish, maybe?"
"Mmm, I hope your sentence end with vegetable toppings?"
"Oh, like hell, pepperoni and sausage, end of debate."
"Who's the boss here?"
"Not when it comes to pizza, no."
"Hmm, whatever, come on." Ashley said as he made her way to the exit.
"After you, boss." While I follow suit.
And That was the end of my first trial, I was a bit sloppy, so to speak, but I got my brother declared not guilty, that's the biggest part… and I couldn't believe it, I was just like my idol, Phoenix wright, the man who saved my life back then, but that's a story for another day...
Because right now, this trial mark the beginning of the craziest, most shocking part of my career as a lawyer… and as a person.
The End...
(And there you have it! I hope you enjoy this first case! I'm planning on making this just as long as the games, so like five or six cases in length, I also have a prosecutor OC in the making, and I already have most of how I want the second case to go down, but please, tell me what you all think? Was it intresting? Did the case make sense? Do you enjoy it, despite my crappy spelling? Lol anyway, I hope all enjoyed this chapter! See you! :) )