Chapter Three :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 1

Nathan fidgeted as he waited for the trial, his hands jammed in his pockets. He wore a black sweater under his jacket today because of the suddenly chilly weather. The season was beginning to change. Unfortunately, the heating in the building hadn't. He tugged on the collar, nudging the white dress shirt under it as he did so.

If he lost the jacket and just came in the sweater, would that be professional enough?

After a long minute, he stripped off the suit jacket, deciding that it would be better to be comfortable than to force himself into a strict dress code. It wasn't as if he didn't look nice without it on anyways.

"Collar," a feminine voice reminded him, and he turned towards it in surprise.

"Catherine!"

She smiled at him warmly. "Good morning. Your collar is crooked," she pointed out. "Here, hold still." She reached up to fix it, her pale fingers smoothing the fabric down. Nathan had to remember to keep breathing through this. "There. All better!"

"Thanks," he choked out, feeling self-conscious. He cast an eye around the lobby to keep from staring at her for too long. "Why are you here? I didn't realize you had a trial today."

"I don't. My sister is on the Defense. I came to watch her. I just thought I'd say hi."

"You have a sister?"

She nodded. "Two, actually. Both younger. You'll meet Annabeth today, and then I'm sure you've seen Brooklyn around at the Detention Center. She works as a guard. Do you have any siblings?"

"Just one. An older sister. She lives in Albuquerque with my parents."

"Has she ever come to see you in court?"

His lips pressed together. He didn't talk about Michelle much, for good reason. "No. We haven't spoken to one another in a while. We're not especially close."

"No? How disappointing. I can't imagine not having my sisters to rely on."

He shrugged, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "It's not as bad as it sounds. I've got other people."

"Kiria Nomura?"

"Among others. Kiria's an old friend; I have more recent ones too. It's less about blood this way and more about people who care about me and what I'm all about. It works out well." He shrugged, almost flippant about it. "Do you only have your sisters?"

"Mostly. We're a strong base on our own."

He cocked a grin. "A group of femme fatales? Sexy." He winked to make sure that she knew he was joking with her.

She returned a smirk of her own. "Oh, hell yes. You wish you could touch this, Nathaniel Price."

Heat crept into his face and neck with her coy nature. He was saved from a reply as her sister approached. "Catherine. Fraternizing with the opposition?" Unlike her sister's warm, teasing aura, Annabeth Eldredge seemed more distant and cold. She was stiff and straight.

A straight-shooter, through and through.

That didn't minimize her resemblance to Catherine. They had the same red hair and high cheekbones, and although Catherine's eyes were green and Annabeth's were an icy blue, the basic shape was the same. The same shape of the mouth, the same ramrod posture; it was all the same. The only major difference was the look. Catherine's was down-to-earth whereas Annabeth's was somehow above it all, her expression disaffected.

"He's hardly the opposition. You know, you two should get to know each other. Nathan, this is Annabeth. Anna, this is Nathaniel Price."

"The opposition," she said flatly.

Nathan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, nice to meet you?"

She stared at him like she was staring through him. "Enchanted."

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Annabeth Eldredge seemed to be someone who wasn't fond of making small-talk.

"Court will convene shortly. Please enter the courtroom," the bailiff announced from the doors.

"Good luck, Nathan!" Catherine said, pressing her hand against his forearm quickly before walking to the gallery.

Annabeth merely eyed him coldly before strolling into the courtroom.

He had a bad feeling about this.

"The court will now convene for the trial of Engarde v. the State of California. Are both attorneys present and prepared?" The Judge sat high on her pedestal, grey hair bound in a high bun. Her eyes were evaluating but kind, hovering on both attorneys equally.

Nathan cleared his throat. "The Prosecution is ready, your Honor."

From the other side of the courtroom, Annabeth stood alone. Catherine hadn't lied; Annabeth was certainly part of the Defense. She'd just just happened to leave out the fact that she made up the entire Defense. Annabeth flipped dark red hair over her shoulder, an impassive smile on her face. "The Defense is ready as well."

The Judge nodded, looking between the two of them. "Excellent. Now, let's get down to business. If the Prosecution could give a summary and its opening statement?"

"Absolutely, your Honor." Nathan cleared his throat, glancing down at his notes before speaking. "Two years ago, Matt Engarde was convicted of indirectly murdering Juan Corrida through the use of a contract killer. The Defense Attorney in the case was recently accused and convicted of forging evidence. Mr. Engarde has been granted a retrial to assure that no forged evidence was used in his conviction.

"Because this is a retrial, the way that the court must look at it is different. Instead of being assumed innocent until proven guilty, the defendant will be assumed guilty until evidence proving otherwise has been revealed. The Prosecution finds no evidence that gives any indication of being forged. The charges will remain, and should the defendant be proclaimed guilty once again, he will continue to serve the rest of his sentence."

The Judge nodded her head sharply. "That seems reasonable enough to me. Your opening statement, Miss Eldredge?"

Again, Annabeth looked calm, although her eyes took on a sharper quality than they had before. "The Defense claims that the key witness, the contract killer recruited, was a planted witness. Because he never testified in person, the Defense believes that the Defense Attorney had paid off someone else to pretend to be the contract killer."

"Objection!" Nathan said. "What use would the Defense Attorney have for implicating his own client? Mr. Wright lost that case!"

"Mr. Wright obviously must have had some sort of personal grudge against Mr. Engarde."

He spluttered. "'Obviously must have'? What proof do you have of this accusation?"

"Mr. Wright has been seen with Miss Adrian Andrews, a key witness for this case, in some of his future cases. Miss Andrews wanted revenge against Mr. Engarde, and Mr. Wright was the last piece in the puzzle."

"You think that Adrian Andrews was the real killer?" he questioned. If Annabeth was correct, it brought a whole new meaning to Adrian Andrews' refusal to testify.

Annabeth nodded curtly. "Miss Andrews was devastated by Celeste Inpax's suicide and blamed it on Matt Engarde's honesty in telling Corrida that they had once been together. However, both men were to blame. Miss Andrews killed Juan Corrida, while Matt Engarde would suffer the loss of the popularity that he had once enjoyed as his name was slandered in the media. It was a brilliant plot, all pulled together by Mr. Wright's fraudulent defense. And, of course, we all know what kind of attorney Mr. Wright is." She shrugged a slender shoulder, the malice sparkling in her eyes. It was the first time that he'd seen any sort of emotion from her.

The Judge looked between them. "It's quite an interesting theory. Your thoughts, Mr. Price?"

Nathan cocked an eyebrow. "It's all conjecture. Where's the proof of this plot? Adrian Andrews was exonerated of all charges during the original trial."

"Based on the word of the serial killer and some fingerprints that had been placed at the scene. Miss Andrews is the killer, no matter how hard it is to place blame on such a pathetic woman." Annabeth made a noise of contempt. "Acting like she was working all along to get Mr. Engarde exonerated . . . what a farce. The woman deserves to be charged with perjury as well. In truth, Miss Andrews is nothing more than a skillful actor, and Mr. Wright was just one of her tools."

"And what about the calling card? And when did Mr. Wright meet Miss Andrews? There are simply too many holes in your story, Miss Eldredge! It's all conjecture! The Prosecution moves to have the case dismissed."

Annabeth placed her hand on her hip, fury rolling off of her. "Obviously the calling card was forged. If someone was paid to act like De Killer, then it should be obvious that the calling card would be merely a replica of the real one. My guess is that it was Mr. Wright's first deviation into forgery. As for your other question, it would be obvious, wouldn't it? Miss Andrews would merely enter Mr. Wright's office and propose the partnership for some monetary sum."

"Let me get this straight," Nathan said, one finger tapping at his chin. "You're saying that Mr. Wright and Miss Andrews devised this plot all on their own in order to ruin the defendant's reputation?"

Annabeth nodded. "That is correct."

"That is actually incorrect," Nathan said with a grin. "If you're just looking at the trial itself, that would seem plausible. After all, why not? Mr. Wright has been exposed as a fraudulent attorney. Miss Andrews barely escaped being charged with murder. However, it doesn't explain the events of the trial itself. Namely, Franziska Von Karma's injury."

"'Franziska Von Karma's injury'?" Annabeth parroted.

"Exactly. Miss Von Karma was shot on the way to the courthouse during the trial. However, video footage of the lobby shows Miss Andrews in the courthouse lobby at the time. In addition, Mr. Wright had no reason to shoot Miss Von Karma." He raised his eyebrows, asking the silent question.

"Mr. Wright has always had a better relationship with Miles Edgeworth, who was the one to take over the trial that day," Annabeth explained.

"Proof?" Nathan asked, his voice as dismissive as a teacher speaking to a particularly slow student.

She flushed, glaring at him angrily. "I . . ."

"The courtroom is for proof, Miss Eldredge. Until you have proof of something, I wouldn't suggest bringing it up. Conjecture isn't going to get you anywhere." His grin was sly. "Of course, I also had the idea that the Defense would bring up the existence of De Killer. My witness is, unfortunately, running her own trial. We'll have to get back to her tomorrow, if additional proof is still required. My other question, of course, lies with Maya Fey's disappearance. Tell me, Miss Eldredge, where did Maya Fey go if Shelly De Killer doesn't exist?"

"Mr. Wright would need some sort of reason to turncoat on my client at the last minute as he did. Maya Fey ended up being that pressure point. What if it was all staged? Maya Fey never left her home and pretended to disappear for a while as the trial went on. All of a sudden, Mr. Engarde is declared guilty, and Miss Fey is present once again. What a coincidence, no?"

"Again, do you have proof?"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I will come back tomorrow with proof."

"That's a tall order, finding proof that doesn't exist." Nathan turned back to the Judge. "Your Honor, the Prosecution moves for an immediate verdict. The Defense has proved nothing in her theory, and so it remains just a theory. Meanwhile, the Prosecution has presented examples for every once of Miss Eldredge's wild fantasies. It is obvious that Mr. Engarde is still as guilty as they come!"

The Judge contemplated this for a very long moment as Annabeth spluttered angrily at his word choice. He was already imagining Annabeth turning into a giant viper and striking at him from across the room. He had to hope that she wouldn't take a page from Franziska's book and start carrying with her a whip, otherwise he would have to watch his back in the courtroom just as much as he had to at the office.

"I'm afraid that I can't place a verdict with complete certainty after just hearing this debate. While I would agree with the Prosecution that the Defense has unfortunately proved nothing, both attorneys are young. The mark of a inexperience is being unprepared, which has struck a huge hole in Miss Eldredge's case today. I'm going to extend this trial for a day in order to give her a chance to redeem her case. Miss Eldredge, you should be warned that should your case not be watertight tomorrow, I will place my verdict, proof or no. Is this clear?"

"Crystal," Annabeth grumbled.

Nathan frowned, but nodded. He would have preferred the easy trial, one and done, but it looked like his victory would have to be prolonged for another day. "Yes, your Honor."

"Excellent. Court is adjourned for the day. I expect to see you both bright and early tomorrow morning." She smiled down on both of them, the corners of her eyes crinkling as his own grandmother's might have, before standing and departing to her chambers.

"I thought you said that it would all be taken care of?" Engarde questioned as the woman entered the visiting room. He didn't look particularly bothered, but then again, he seemed to be a cool customer to begin with. It would be easy to take him at his face value, she realized as she studied his face. He had a naturally vacant gaze, and with his physique being closest to that of a jock she might have seen in High School, it wouldn't be too hard to miss the hard line of the mouth and the hardened jaw whenever he ground his teeth.

She shook her head. "I didn't realize the Defense would be quite as ineffectual as it was. A disappointment, really. I had such plans for her."

"Plans? So you're the brains of this whole operation?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, as if he didn't believe her. "And what kind of plans did you have for her? Sheltered whelp, only coming out whenever victory is certain? You couldn't have her reputation dropping, after all. Might smear the name."

She stared at him with a scathing gaze. "I have more plans than you could ever come up with. Your scheme to blackmail De Killer backfired on you, all because you happened to leave a video tape someplace that it could be found. What about the first rule of being a criminal? Keep all evidence on you at all times."

"And then if you get caught? What then?" He had leaned back in his chair, his eyes speculating as he evaluated her.

"It has to be something that won't be incriminating, of course. You heard about Dahlia Hawthorne's brilliant poisoning of that Defense Attorney, right? A necklace? Who would even think twice about a tiny trinket?"

"And that ended so well for her, didn't it?" he queried. "Didn't she receive the death penalty?"

"For the murder of Doug Swallow? Yes. It was the wrong sentence, in my opinion. One count of murder and one more of attempted murder is hardly enough to employ the death penalty. After all, they never convicted anyone in the trial before that." She shrugged. "But think back to the poisoning of Diego Armando. It wasn't revealed until months later, was it? And the only reason it was ever discovered was because she'd given it away. To Phoenix Wright, of all people." She mused over that for a second. "What do you think of Wright?" she asked.

"You're asking me?"

"Absolutely. You were his client. What were his weaknesses?"

Engarde chuckled. "Maya Fey, for one thing. God, you should have seen him run around after her like he could do something about it. Like any normal serial killer would return her alive. Then again, De Killer was a poor choice. He seemed like the biggest idiot of the group I looked at, though." His mouth twitched as he thought about that for a second, and then he returned to the question. "Wright's loyal to a fault. He looked almost betrayed when he realized I was guilty. Hell, all the warning signs were there, and he'd passed them without a glance sideways. But even he couldn't ignore the picture in front of him."

"Interesting . . ."

"You planning on going after Wright too? Sounds like a lot of people to go after, if you ask me."

Her lips curved into a smile. "Kiria Nomura has done enough damage to our organization. I want to destroy her inside and out. I want to crush her like Adrian Andrews wanted to crush you. The only difference is that Andrews didn't have the guts to eliminate you. Lucky for you."

"Not so lucky for this Nomura girl. Lots of hatred for her, huh? She cause your mentor to commit suicide too?" His grin was patronizing, and she could feel her anger rising.

"No. And I wouldn't bring her up if I were you. After all, we're getting you out of the mess you've made. It would be a shame if we decided to pull out. And what would stop us from doing so?" She stood, spreading her hands in a questioning expression before putting them back in her pockets. "Think that over, Engarde, and think about anyone else I can go after that might be related to Wright. You wouldn't want to outlive your usefulness, would you?"

A/N: Another short chapter, but this one was PACKED with stuff. So I'm not going to apologize, if you all don't mind.

I will apologize for the lateness of this chapter, however. It's been done for a while; however, I've been fighting with my Internet connection so that I could post it. The next chapter is in construction already and hopefully it won't be as long before that one comes out.

The other reason for the lateness is my own fault; I've been OBSESSED with the Assassin's Creed games and working full-time. My writing time has decreased drastically.

The evidence list is already done. This is going to be a pretty short trial; I don't want to rehash the ENTIRE thing over again, so key points are going to be made and then dropped. Don't fret, we'll have witnesses.

Comments!

FeytedintheTARDIS: Thanks, honey! Believe me, what I've written has taken A LOT of practice and a lot of failed manuscripts that will never see the light of day (I also started writing with pen and paper, and I haven't burned most of my early stuff, but only so that I can once my first book comes out in the future. Haha, I loved Shelly De Killer in GS2, and I was disappointed when they didn't bring him back! So, of course he'll have a place here!

Sakana-chan63: Ah, I suppose I could do a Kiria update! I'll try to include one in the next chapter (no promises; it may be the chapter after that).

Blaze: I know! I think I'm getting slower and slower at chapter updates. D: This case has been hard to do anyways. Now that it's all scripted out, it should be up faster now. Aw, thank you! I'll try to keep it interesting!

Knightofdestiny: Not as much mayhem as you were expecting? Originally, Nate was going to have a harder time until I realized the base expectations for a retrial. D: So I might have exaggerated things a bit too much in the last chapter. Haha, a tease? In this fanfiction? Never! D Hope this lived up to your expectations!

Read and review? c: Do brownies sweeten the deal any?