Time for some in court action. Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, Persona, or Ace Attorney.
Chapter 21: Turnabout Goodbyes Part 2
December 26, 9:44 AM
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 2
Inside the lobby, Wright spoke with Edgeworth. "Needless to say you aren't the prosecutor this time," Wright said, "So do you know who is?" Edgeworth nodded. "Manfred von Karma, the best prosecutor that ever lived. The man hasn't lost a case in his 40-year career. Von Karma will do anything to get a guilty verdict, even to extremes I've never gone. Years ago, he was my mentor, and taught me everything I know." Labrys chuckled. "So we're talking a prosecutor as vicious as you, but multiplied by ten. Bring it on. I ain't scared of him." 'Easy for you to say,' Wright thought, 'You're a robot.' He sighed. "Maya, I think we may need Mia's help on this one."
Maya suddenly looked sad. "Sorry Nick. I've tired, as hard as I can, but I can't reach her. I think it's because I haven't been training hard enough. My powers have grown weak." Labrys ran a quick scan of Maya. 'That's funny.' she thought, 'There's nothing to suggest she wouldn't be able to contact Mia. So why hasn't Mia answered yet? I'll have to look into spirit channeling at some point and see what I can find on this.' At that point, the intercom announced the start of trial. Wright sighed. "Well, we'll just have to try without her. Labrys, maybe you can use your III authority to help us out." Labrys nodded. "Oh, I'll use it, guaranteed."
December 26, 10:00 AM
District Court
Courtroom No. 3
"Court is now in session for the trial of Miles Edgeworth," the judge said, "I assume both parties are ready. Mr. Von Karma, you're opening statement please." "Hmph," Von Karma said, "There is nothing to say. Decisive evidence... A decisive witness... What else could possibly be required?" The judge cleared his throat. "Then perhaps we should move on to your first witness." Von Karma nodded. "The prosecution calls Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand." Once Gumshoe was at the stand, Von Karma said, "As this detective is no stranger to the court, we'll skip the name and occupation. Too time consuming anyway. Detective, if you would please describe the incident."
"Sure," Gumshoe said nervously, and he brought out a map of the lake. "The murder happened late Christmas Eve, at around midnight," he said, "There was one boat in the middle of the lake, with two men on it. By coincidence, there was a woman camping here on the edge of the lake. At 12:10 AM, she heard two shots from a pistol. After that she saw the boat move, heading for the rental shop." The judge nodded. "Let's have this map added to the Court Record for reference." "Now then detective," Von Karma said, "Testify to the court the details of your arrest of the defendant."
"HOLD IT!," Labrys called out, "Only the judge has the authority to have the witness testify." "Hah," Von Karma said, "The judge's only real role in this court is to bang his gavel and give the verdict." "Oh the judge has much more authority than that," Labrys said, "And if you try to undermine that authority again, I'll have you thrown off the case and replaced with an III approved prosecutor. And that's a promise, not a threat." Von Karma grumbled, but said nothing. 'I guess even someone of Von Karma's reputation knows better than to go against III,' Wright thought. "Now then," the judge said, "I believe we were to hear the detective's testimony about the arrest. Gumshoe, if you please?"
"Sure thing, Your Honor," Gumshoe said, "A man called into the station around 30 minutes after midnight. We headed to the scene of the crime as fast as we could. That's where we found Mr. Edgeworth. Now, I didn't suspect him of anything at all. But... The next morning, a body was found in the lake." "HOLD IT!," Wright called out, "Did you find any clues on the body?" Gumshoe nodded. "We recovered a single bullet from the body. Cause of death was a fatal gunshot wound through the heart." "I have the bullet in evidence now," Von Karma said, "By stroke of luck it did not hit any bones, so the shape is well preserved."
The judge nodded. "That is fortunate. We'll have the bullet added to the Court Record. You may continue Detective Gumshoe." Gumshoe nodded. "Anyway, after we found the body we had to arrest Mr. Edgeworth." "HOLD IT!," Wright called out, "Why arrest like that?" "We found the murder weapon, a pistol, still in the boat," Gumshoe said, "The murder weapon we found in the boat was decisive evidence." "HOLD IT!," Wright called out, "What about the pistol made it so decisive?" "Well for starters," Gumshoe said, "There were fingerprints on the pistol which matched the defendant's right hand."
"I assume the weapon was submitted for evidence?," the judge asked. "Of course," Von Karma said, "Naturally I brought with me." "Good," the judge said, "We'll accept the pistol into the Court Record." Von Karma gave a snap of his fingers. "I should mention at this point that the bullet recovered from the victim is a match to this very pistol. Ballistic markings confirmed it." "Nick," Maya whispered, "What does 'ballistic markings' mean?" Think of it as the fingerprints of a gun," Wright said, "Like fingerprints, no two guns create the exact same markings on a bullet. As such, they can be used to confirm if a certain gun was used to shoot someone."
The judge cleared his throat. "Well, this does appear to be decisive evidence. But I understand there is still a witness to be called in. I would first hear this witness's testimony before I give my verdict." "Very well," Von Karma said, "I see no downside to it. But I must ask for a brief recess first. I feel rather fatigued." Labrys scanned Von Karma. "HOLD IT!," she called out, "Your Honor, I can prove that Von Karma is not fatigued to any degree. We should hear the witness's testimony right away." Von Karma grumbled yet again, knowing he couldn't move against Labrys and still continue the case. "Very well, Mr. Von Karma?"
"So be it," Von Karma said with a sigh, "The prosecution calls Lotta Hart to the stand." Lotta made her way to the witness stand. It was clear there was some excitement in her eyes. "Ms. Hart," Von Karma said, "You are a research student at a university, correct?" "That's right," Lotta said. "You also took the photo of the two men on the boat if I'm not mistaken," Von Karma said. Lotta nodded. The judge took a look at the photo. "Seems to be depicting the very moment of the murder. Ms. Hart, you may begin by testifying as to what you saw that night."
"Sure, Your Honor," Lotta said, "It was Christmas Eve, just after midnight, I reckon. I was in my car. I heard this "bang" come up from the lake. When I looked out the window, I saw two gents in a boat. Then there was another "bang"... There wasn't nary a thing on the lake but that boat. I saw it clear as day. That man on the boat was Mr. Edgeworth." "OBJCETION!," Wright called out, "Ms. Hart, there's a problem with your statement just now." He presented the photo of the boat. "This picture is quite foggy, in spite of you using professional, high quality film. This indicates that the fog is the result of a natural weather phenomenon. Your camera couldn't see the faces of the men on the boat, so how could you?"
Lotta looked shocked, and the look of discontent on Von Karma's face told Wright the old prosecutor didn't want Lotta to mention that last statement. "It would appear a better explanation is called for," the judge said, "Ms. Hart, please testify to the court as to how you could see the defendant on the boat that night." "Alright then," Lotta said, "Yer right. It was a cold night, and the mist was thick as grits. So, once I was finished setting up my camera, I got back in the car. Still, I brought my binoculars with me." "HOLD IT!," Wright called out, "You brought your binoculars that night? That's rather strange, really. Yesterday you told me you were out looking for shooting stars. Or did I mishear you?"
"No y'all heard me right," Lotta said, "But what's the big deal about that?" "Well," Wright said, "Most people would bring a telescope for stargazing or such celestial activities. And now that I think of it, I'm starting to have doubts as to the real purpose of your camera." "OBJECTION!," Von Karma said, "That camera is irrelevant to this case." "I don't think so," Wright retorted, "Your Honor, I'd like to request that Ms. Hart give a statement about her camera for the record." The judge nodded. "Granted, though I hope you aren't wasting the court's time with this. Ms. Hart?"
"It's like I said," Lotta said, "The camera was set up to take pictures of a meteor shower." "OBJECTION!," Wright called out, "I'm afraid that's a blatant lie. Your camera was set up to take automatic shots. And to take pictures of a meteor shower, you have to point it upwards at the sky. Yet as this photo shows, the your camera was pointed directly at the lake!" Lotta flinched at that statement. "Mr Wright," the judge said, "Just what are you getting at?" "It's simple Your Honor," Wright said, "The witness was not at the lake to photograph shooting stars."
He brought out the newspaper article. "TAKE THAT! Ms. Hart, you were at the lake for the sole purpose of trying to photograph Gourdy!" "You're referring to the sighting at Gourd Lake, yes?," the judge asked, "I read about that. So you're saying the witness was there to take a picture of the lake monster." "Bull," Lotta said, "I ain't heard of no lake monster." "But I have proof to the contrary," Wright said, "Your own camera. It has a microphone attachment. According to the article, Gourdy appearance was accompanied by a loud noise, hence the microphone. It's likely that the gunshot set the camera off, creating the photo presented as evidence."
Lotta crossed her arms, then smiled. "Well shoot, looks like ya got me. But that don't change what I saw that night." "Maybe not," Wright said, "But it does call into question your character if you lied about the reason for you being at the lake." "The defense has a point," the judge said, "Ms. Hart, you will testify about your reason's for hiding the fact that you were at the lake searching for Gourdy." Lotta said. "Alright. Actually, I'm not a research student at a university. I'm an investigative photographer. Imagine what a scoop it'd be if I got a picture of that monster! That's why I was camping out by the lake. But, that's all I was hiding. When I heard the "bang" I looked right straight out at the lake. There wasn't much else to look at, so I just watched that boat the whole time."
"OBJECTION!," Wright called out, "Ms. Hart, were really looking looking at the boat the whole time?" "'Course I was," Lotta said, "Any normal person would be." "True," Wright said, "But you were at the lake that night hoping to catch a glimpse of Gourdy. So in your case, if you heard a loud noise, you'd immediately start scanning the lake for any signs of the elusive lake monster. You wouldn't give that boat a second thought! Also, you wouldn't need binoculars to see that boat. After all, the camera picked it up just fine, without a zoom lens. You really needed those binoculars to search for Gourdy." Lotta crossed her arms again. "Well, now that you mention it... Yeah, that's pretty much what I was doin'."
"I thought as much," Labrys said, "Lotta was way too excited about being a murder witness, and as a result convinced herself she was watching the boat the whole time." "Yeah," Lotta said, "But y'all still got the photo." "Perhaps," the judge said, "But it's too foggy to tell who's on the boat." "Well yeah," Lotta said, "That's why I took the photo and..." "OBJECTION!," Von Karma called out, "That's quite enough. I believe the witness is done for the day." "HOLD IT!," Labrys called out, "We still haven't seen the enlargement." "Enlargement?," the judge asked. "Yesterday," Wright said, "Lotta told the police she would enlarge the photo she took. Yet we still haven't seen this enlargement."
"OBJECTION!," Von Karma said, "The enlargement hasn't been presented because it does not exist." "What you talkin' 'bout?," Lotta said, "You were the one who told me not to show it in court in the first place!" "That's concealment of evidence," Labrys said, "Your Honor, I recommend the enlargement be shown at once." "Agreed," the judge said, "Ms. Hart?" Lotta nodded and took out the photo. While it did the two men much more clearly, it was still hard to see their faces. However, Wright noticed something interesting. "Your Honor," Wright said, "It would appear this photo holds a clear contradiction to the evidence."
"Preposterous," Von Karma, "This photo shows no more than we already know. Which is why I decided not to have it shown in the first place." "Not quite," Wright said, and he tapped the shooter's hand, "As you can see, the pistol is in the shooter's left hand. But that same pistol has fingerprints from the defendant's RIGHT hand. This can only mean that the shooter in this photograph... Is not Miles Edgeworth!" "That is a clear contradiction," the judge said, "But then who shot the victim? There were no other people on the boat, and the autopsy report gives the shooter as being one meter away from the victim."
"Clearly the investigation team didn't do their jobs," Labrys said, "There's simply not enough evidence to truly place a suspect at this time. It would appear Edgeworth was arrested simply out of convenience." "So it would seem," the judge said, "Given that only two men were on that boat, it would appear at first glance that only the defendant could have shot the victim, yet the murder weapon itself, in conjunction with the enlargement, absolves him. Given this contradiction, and with no additional evidence, I cannot make a judgement at this time. Therefore court shall be adjourned until tomorrow. The defense and prosecution will investigate this matter further." He banged his gavel to finalize his decision. "Court is adjourned."
December 26, 1:15 PM
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 2
"I must say," Edgeworth said, "I'm impressed Wright. Most of Von Karma's cases end within five minutes of the trial's start. Yet you've managed to extend it a day." "It's a good thing I have friends in high place," Wright said, nodding to Labrys, "Though I have to ask, were you actually on the boat that day?" Edgeworth nodded. "I was, but I swear I didn't shoot him. I did hear a gunshot near me, but I wasn't the one who fired. At first I though perhaps the other man on the boat shot himself, until I heard the autopsy report." "There are a lot of mysteries floating around," Wright said, "And we only have one day to find some answers." "That reminds me," Labrys said, "I managed to get a transcript of Lotta's testimony. It should give us a leg up tomorrow." Wright nodded. "Let's hope so."
To be continued...
Yeah, I put Von Karma in his place. About time he got a dose of humility. Next chapter comes soon. Read and review.