The judge banged his gavel. "Court is now back in session. Mr. Payne, have you prepared the officer?"

"I have your honor. The Prosecution calls Patrick Lane to the stand."

A young officer stepped into the courtroom, looking around like a child at a carnival. The judge cleared his throat. "State your name and occupation for the court."

"I'm Patrick Lane. I am a detective for the police."

"You seem a bit…jumpy Mr. Lane. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no no no no. It's just my…um…it's my first time I've ever been called to a courtroom to testify. It's kind of like losing my courtroom virginity."

Felix had to hold back an impulse from face palming. The judge looked stunned. "I-I see…please…tell the court nothing else but your testimony."

Patrick saluted the judge. "As you wish sir!"

I have a feeling this will be one weird cross-examination…

"The police received a phone call from a distressed man saying a woman had been murdered by her boyfriend. As soon as we reached the scene of the crime, we arrested the suspect, found a few key pieces of evidence as well as a witness, and reported back to the chief."

Felix sighed. Not much new information other than the fact that the call stated that Ed specifically was the one who killed her.

The judge nodded. "Mr. Wright…please, begin your cross-examination."

"Yes, your honor."

"The police received a phone call from a distressed man saying a woman had been murdered by her boyfriend—"

"Hold it! Were you able to determine the identity of the caller?"

"No. We tried to locate the caller, but according to the tech officers, the call was made from a disposable cell phone that doesn't have a gps tracker on it. There was no way to determine who the caller is or where the call was made from."

"So there's a possibility that the call was made from a different location than the murder scene?"

"It's possible yes."

Felix nodded. "You may continue."

"As soon as we reached the scene of the crime, we arrested the suspect—"

"Hold it! Where exactly did you arrest the suspect?"

"Down the hallway from the scene of the crime. There's a hallway that goes into the building that connects the two sides of the building. He was on the other side leaning on the guardrail."

"Did he seem surprised to see you?"

"He did, though he was very cooperative and respectful. Helped us quite a bit by not making a scene."

"I see…please continue."

"We found a few key pieces of evidence as well as a witness, and reported back to the chief—"

"Hold it! What were the few key pieces of evidence and how were they discovered?"

"Articles of clothing belonging to the defendant, some slightly ripped and stretched, a completely torn up living room, like a struggle had just occurred, and the defendant's fingerprints were found all over the defendant's neck. Senior Forensic Expert Skye discovered the fingerprints herself, though she also did say that some of the fingerprints were smudged quite a bit."

"Do you know what may have smudged the fingerprints?"

"Two possibilities from what she said. One, the struggle caused the smudging. Two, a smooth surface may have contacted the neck and caused the smudging."

"A smooth surface? Like a glove?"

"Yes, a glove would be a likely item."

Moore cleared his throat. "It is because of these fingerprints that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the defendant committed the crime. Bruising appeared underneath the areas where the fingerprints were most pronounced. Only immense force could have caused those bruises."

Felix closed his eyes. Okay…some key information was revealed here. I'm now sure of that fact that Ed DID put his hands around the victim's neck at some point. To compound this, he didn't want to reveal to anyone, including me, that he had. But…

"OBJECTION!"

Felix slammed on the desk. "Your honor, the fingerprints have nothing to do with the case!"

The whole court looked confused, except for Phoenix, who smirked. Finally figured it out huh?

The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Wright, the fingerprints are a key part of the prosecution's case. You had better have some solid evidence proving your point."

"The evidence isn't a physical thing, your honor. It's the testimony that's the evidence."

"Testimony? How so?"

Patrick quickly nodded. "Yeah, how did I say that the fingerprints aren't a part of the case?"

Felix nodded. "I'll tell you. I won't deny the fact that Ed's fingerprints are on there. In fact, those fingerprints are the key to his salvation too. It wasn't until the end of the recess when my client gained the courage to tell me how the fingerprints got there, but wasn't able to tell me due to the court about to be back in session, but I figured it out. Ed…the reason you didn't want to tell me is the fact that a crime besides a murder had been committed that night…by you."

Ed stared at Felix. "At some point in the night, you and the victim had an argument. In anger and frustration, you reached out and forcefully grabbed her neck. Is that correct?"

Ed looked to the ground. "…it is. It's something I still regret even though she's gone…"

Moore Payne smirked. "All your doing Mr. Wright is digging your client's grave."

"No I'm not. It's the opposite in fact. Ed nearly immediately regrets what he's done and releases his grip. Ashamed, he quickly leaves the apartment to cool off and get his head back together so to speak. Am I correct again?"

"Yes, you are."

The judge banged his gavel. "How is this in any way saving your client Mr. Wright?"

"It's during this point when my client is away that the victim is murdered! Soon after my client left to cool off, the murderer sneaked into the apartment, killed the victim, and fled. The key here is the smudged fingerprints. It's obvious my client wasn't wearing gloves since his fingerprints are on her neck. However, the real killer did, causing the smudges!"

"OBJECTION! The real killer huh? Tell me, who is the real killer!"

The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Wright, who is the real killer?"

Felix closed his eyes. Unnatural acts…too scared…those are the keys I need to break the case wide open!

"I don't know."

"OBJECTION! Then why bring any of this up?!"

"I don't know…because the killer has yet to be mentioned by name in the trial. HOWEVER, there is someone here who does."

"Who?! Who knows?!"

"Your witness, Lily Evans."

"W-WHAT?!"

The crowd started to murmur before being silenced by the banging of the gavel. "Mr. Wright, can you prove that she knows who the killer is?"

"I can. I actually must apologize in a way to her. She told more truth than I had originally thought, but she intentionally changed some of the facts, and added some things too. She witnessed my client exiting the apartment. He was scared, angry, and confused. After all, he had just physically assaulted his girlfriend. However, instead of going down the stairs into the darkness, he went down that hallway to the other side. She then witnessed the killer entering the apartment. She waited at the stairs because the killer HAD in fact called the police. She knew the police were coming and wanted to make sure my client was arrested. She was an indirect part of the victim's murder!"

Moore Payne started breathing deeply. "Your honor, this is ridiculous! You can't possibly allow this sort of—"

"Overruled. Mr. Wright, am I understanding correctly that you want to use your right to call the witness back to the stand?"

"I am, your honor. She is the key to solving this whole case."

The judge nodded. "Very well. Mr. Payne, please bring back Ms. Evans to the stand."

Patrick looked saddened. "B-but what about me? Don't you need anything else from me?"

Felix furrowed his brow before nodding. "One last question."

Patrick immediately perked back up. "What do you want to know?"

"Where exactly was Ms. Evans when you arrived?"

"Outside, on the same floor as the crime scene in front of the hallway."

"Thank you. No more questions."

The judge banged his gavel. "The court calls Ms. Evans back to the stand."

Felix sighed. This is it…this is the final battle. I can't back down here! I have to press on and find the truth of what happened that night!