Yikes! This one is really short! But, it also ends with the biggest cliff-hanger of the series so far! In fact, if you can answer all the questions at the end of this chapter, you most likely have an IQ of about 200 or more. Right now, even I'm starting to question how this all is going to work out. Well, please read and enjoy! (and possibly review).

Oh, and if you guessed the witness' camera, you were right!

--

"Let's go back over the witness' testimony. Mr. Watcher, what happened to the bulb in the flash canister on your camera?"

"W-what? Erm…" He was sweating. "It appears to have, broken…"

"Exactly!" I pounded my desk. "The witness heard something shattering that night, but it was not a window, it was the bulb of the camera's flash!"

The audience was rumbling pretty loudly now. The gavel pounded to quiet to crowd.

"Are you joking?" Ian stood straight up. "How could you possibly prove that his flash bulb broke at that instant?" He laughed. "You can't, because it's impossible."

"Actually," I brushed some hair out of my face, "It's quite possible."

"What?" He flinched.

I presented the dark photo. "I was wondering why this photo would be so black while the others are so bright. There obviously was no flash for this photo! How is this possible? An experienced photographer wouldn't suddenly shut off the flash in the middle of photographing something, especially something as important as this!"

The crowd began to rumble again. The gavel sounded once again. "Order!"

"But there's a problem with your logic." Ian was trying the best he could to recover. "The time stamp on this photo suggests that it was the second to last photo taken; this photo was the last to be taken!" He presented the picture of the body next to the building and a streetlight. "And it appears to be fine! See how bright it is?"

I shook my head. "Objection, Mr. Attorney; that is not acceptable as an explanation."

He wore an expression of utmost hatred, knowing full well that I was imitating him. "And why is that?"

I pointed to the streetlight next to the body in the photo. "See this? It does a good job of covering the entire photo with light, meaning that if you were to take a picture of this scene, you wouldn't need to use the flash!"

"Ahhh!" His arms flew sideways again.

"Well," I crossed my arms, "Mr. Watcher, do you agree with my logic?"

The witness nodded. "I think I see what you mean. I heard glass breaking and I think my flash went out at that moment." He held up his camera. "Damn thing was never good at taking pictures in the dark."

"So there you have it! Let it be known that the window was not broken when my client entered the office!" I pounded my desk. "Oh how the tides have turned, Mr. Vice. Not only do I have both witnesses' testimonies backing up my theory, I now have the evidence as well!" I couldn't stop smiling; it felt so good to be right. The audience appeared to agree, and it took many slams of the gavel to quiet them.

"This is ridiculous!" He smacked his desk again. "This… this makes no sense! If the crime scene wasn't the office of the victim…" He was holding himself up with his arms. "Then just where do you propose the actual crime scene was?"

I had yet to think this through, but I had an idea of where the crime really took place. It would take a bit to prove it, but this evidence had to have some relevance to this case! This is the evidence that suggests where the crime really took place!

"Yesterday, I re-visited the 17th floor. Ironically, I was at the building during the crime." The audience gasped; yikes, I better be careful of what I say, or else I may become the next suspect!

"Anyway, I was there with my friend Ken Cline, and a man named Pat Kantby. I re-visited the 17th floor yesterday, as I said, but when I was there, I found something interesting." I presented my data on the blood residue. "There was blood on the wall near the elevator on the 17th floor! It was all rubbed away, but… err… luminal testing revealed that there was a quite a bit of blood there!"

"Order! Order!" The judge pounded his mallet rapidity. "This is an interesting find! Do you know whose blood it is?"

I shook my head. "Unfortunately, I do not. Too much of it was wiped away, only the residue was visible."

"Then, I'm afraid you're out of luck." Ian Vice regained his smile. "Unidentified blood on the 17th floor? This is all very hard to believe. If Mr. Herms was murdered there, who do you suppose was the murderer? In fact, how did the body get to the ground?" He presented the photo of the body falling. "This photo was taken while the body was falling, and we have identified that here, the body was at about the 28th floor, and the 30th floor is visible. If you really believe that the victim was murdered on the 17th floor, how do you propose the body found its way to the 30th floor?"

As much as it pained me, I had to find the one person capable of murdering Sid Herms. I know he was killed on the 17th floor, but how did the body get to the 30t floor? I need to accuse someone of the murder at this point, and I have to show evidence that proves it was possible for that person to transport the body to the 30th floor. And, if possible, I had to find a witness. Someone who was there with the killer who could testify about what the real killer was doing during the murder. I checked the court record and the profiles. First, the killer. Was it; Clara Truth, Mike Angelo, Ken Cline, Pat Kantby, Terry Scours, Ian Vice, Doug Grave, Holly Wreath, Sid Herms, or Roger Watcher? Now, the supporting evidence that shows how they could have transported the body Was it; the autopsy report, the murder weapon, my client's fingerprints on a payphone in the hallway, the stone found in the victim's office, the blood in the office, the photo of the crime scene, the photo of the glass weapons case, Holly Wreath's cell phone, my business card, the blood residue on the 17th floor, my client's injured foot, the window washing platform, Ken's card key, the card key record for Sid Herms' office, Roger's camera, the document proving Sid Herms had an illegitimate child, or one of the four photos? Then, I had to name a witness. This is the turning point of the entire case! Now, all I have to do is keep up with the action!