The judge banged his gavel. "Court is now in session for the trial of Lacy Hall."
Melinda crossed her arms. "The prosecution is ready, your honor."
Felix nodded. "The defense is ready, your honor."
The judge nodded his head and looked at Melinda. "Prosecutor Edgeworth, your opening statement please."
Melinda cleared her throat. "Yesterday morning, the police received a phone call from the defendant, Lacy Hall, saying she discovered her employer's body, Lewis Heffer, dean on the ground, stabbed eight times. When the police arrived at the scene, they saw the defendant, hands bloodied, standing in front of the building. After a brief search of the office, we discovered several pieces of evidence that point to her being the culprit."
The judge nodded. "You may begin to present your evidence."
"First, I'd like to present the autopsy report. I received this just this morning. Mr. Wright, I would recommend you at least peruse the report."
Felix sighed. I was already going to do that Melinda.
The bailiff handed Felix his copy of the autopsy report. Just as she said, he was stabbed eight times, and the approximate time of death was…midnight, but…he lived for a few minutes after the last stab wound. Maybe he did something to show who the real killer is?
Melinda took out a large knife. "This is the murder weapon. There is still blood spattered across the blade, and the victim's fingerprints are on the handle."
The judge nodded. "The court accepts this as evidence."
"Next, I would like to present some emails sent from the victim's email, telling a close friend of his that he was suspicious of Lacy's motives for staying with him, despite being without pay."
The judge looked shocked. "You mean she wasn't getting paid for the work she was performing?"
Melinda shook her head. "No, she wasn't. She hadn't been paid in over a month. Makes you wonder how she was able to live without any money coming in."
"OBJECTION!" Felix glared at Melinda. "Ms. Edgeworth, this is the presenting evidence portion of the trial, not the time to inject your own theories or questions. Solid evidence only."
The judge banged his gavel. "Objection sustained. Please stick with just the evidence Ms. Edgeworth."
Melinda nodded. "I will. I apologize for straying off course. Anyways, the contents of the emails have been printed out. I have prepared copies for both the defense and yourself, your honor."
The bailiff handed the judge and Felix their copies of the emails. Felix quickly looked at the paper and started reading.
"Hey Laddie, just had a potential client call, first one in months. I'm about to leave and go meet with her in a few minutes. Hopefully I'll get some money to actually pay Lacy. It's a wonder why she still is with me considering what happened. Anyways, let me know how things are going between you and Heather. Hope to hear from you soon."
"Hey, glad to see you and Heather are beginning to work things out. Anyways, I didn't get the client. After she learned about what happened, she refused and would rather have a state-appointed attorney. Lacy says that's alright, that we'll just have to wait for another client, but that was the first call in a month. Wondering how I'm going to even keep up with rent on the building, much less her pay."
Felix looked at the next email, which was sent a week later. "I'm really starting to question Lacy's reasons for staying here with me. She still hasn't been paid, and I know she doesn't have enough saved up to last this long, yet you wouldn't be able to tell considering she still looks she's well off. Maybe she has a sugar daddy as they call it?"
"I'm considering firing Lacy. She's asked me questions about how I run things at the office and about the office finances. I can't trust her anymore, even considering the circumstances. Don't know how she'll take being fired. I'll email you afterwards."
Felix sighed as he finished reading the last email. Here he was, being suspicious of perhaps one of the two people who were there for him. However, I also did wonder how Lacy managed to survive that long without getting paid.
The judge had also finished reading the emails and set the papers down. "Ms. Edgeworth, throughout the correspondence with this 'Laddie' it was mentioned a few times about the past and a certain incident. What was the incident?"
"Glad you brought that up. You see, the defendant and the victim had known each other for months before she was hired. Her ex-boyfriend was the victim's son. He was sent to prison for domestic violence and abuse. That caused the victim's legal career to tank, causing the money shortage."
"I see. The court accepts these emails as evidence."
Felix quickly perused the emails once again. Something seems…different though as the emails went on. It's not like they were written by a different person, but something is definitely different. I just can't think of what it is.
"Next, my evidence is witness testimony, but I would want to have the detective in charge testify about the investigation first."
The judge nodded. "Very well, you may call the detective to testify."
"The prosecution calls Rick Gumshoe to the stand."
Rick entered the courtroom and up to the witness stand. "Name and occupation."
"Rick Gumshoe. I'm a detective down at the police station."
"Mr. Gumshoe, please tell the court only the facts about what you discovered at the crime scene when you arrived."
Rick nodded. "Alright."
"We received a call saying that a murder had occurred and rushed straight over. When we arrived, the defendant was waiting for us outside, her hands dripping blood. When we entered, we saw the victim lying on the ground, a pool of blood around him. We immediately knew it was a stabbing and immediately found the murder weapon. After more pieces of evidence were discovered, we were forced to arrest the defendant."
Felix sighed. I knew the bloodied hands would again be brought up, but something seems off. There wasn't much evidence presented yet, so I should expect a curveball or two while cross-examining him.
The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Wright, your cross-examination please."
"Yes, your honor."
Well, let's get the real trial started.