Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter that I managed to squeeze out in these past two or so days. I only say to not get used to this since I'm officially starting my summer classes within the next few minutes. That will explain to you why my author's note this time around is very short and rushed.
Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. They are always very helpful in that I take them into consideration depending whether or there are any helpful hints or such on them. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
Evidence:
Attorney's Badge: Sonic's badge proving that he's a genuine defense attorney. Ever since getting tied into a murder because of him losing it, he's since taken precautions to make sure that it stays secured within the inside of his gloves.
Shadow's Testimony: Testimony given by Shadow and memorized by Tails. The Prosecutor said that he was quite shocked upon hearing two gunshots coming from in front of his path followed by a splashing sound ten seconds later. He remembered picking up the gun with his bare hands before the witness's screams shook him out of his state of mind.
Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report: A report detailing how Ms. Mae died. She was killed between six-thirty and seven in the morning on 6/23. She was shot once in the chest, but the bullet merely caused her to faint. The real cause of death was from drowning after being thrown into the Mobius River. A horizontal bruise on her waist most likely from being pushed hard onto the harbor railing is proof of this.
Weather Report: A report on the weather on the day of the murder submitted by Detective Silver. It shows that it was a very foggy morning then with the fog at its densest between six and seven-thirty. Visibility was less than ten feet at the dock area without the aid of car headlights.
Pistol: The weapon that was recovered at the Mobius Dock. The ballistic markings on the bullet extracted from Ms. Mae's body matches to the gun. Signs show that it was fired twice. It also bears Shadow's fingerprints. However, Tails seems to think that this gun was used at the lighthouse rather than at the docks and was swapped out at some point with the Fake Murder Weapon.
Photograph: A picture that was taken by Amy Rose. While it does show the scene of the crime before the police arrived, it also seems to show another incident in the background just underneath the bright lighthouse light. It looks almost like the same exact scene that had unfolded and led to the death of Prosecutor Flora Mae. As such, it has brought about an investigation of the lighthouse in order to figure out some answers.
Blood: A small spot of blood found on the railing of the lighthouse at the Mobius Docks. Tests are required in order to determine just who it belongs to, although it is speculated to have belonged to the victim, Prosecutor Flora Mae.
Fake Murder Weapon: A proposal brought about by Tails that the weapon the police took from the scene at the docks was not the real murder weapon. It's believed that there might have been a change sometime between the moment it was filed and before the case officially made it into court. It's currently just speculation and needs more evidence in order to be considered a stable possibility.
Max's Testimony: Testimony that has been memorized and recorded by Tails. According to Max, he was alone in the lighthouse on the morning of the murder. A phone call had interrupted his morning rituals, but he does not remember the contents of the call except that it was supposedly an older man speaking.
Profiles:
Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog currently assigned to defend Shadow from a grave murder charge. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Miles Prower: A twelve-year-old two tailed fox who likes to go by his nickname "Tails" and is now working at the Robotnik Law Firm as their local detective. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Knuckles Echidna: An eighteen-year-old red echidna who is a detective at the local Precinct and now assigned to the Shadow's case thanks to the efforts of Senior Detective Silver. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Salemand Eres: A twenty-two year old black cat with unusually bright red eyes. He came to Dr. Robotnik's Law Firm in order to employ the help of Vector to find his little brother. However, his actions make him seem rather suspicious.
Shadow Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old ebon furred hedgehog who became a prosecutor at sixteen in a country that allowed bar exams at younger ages. He's currently the suspect in this case. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Silver Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken charge of the initial investigation. He seems to have made it his personal mission to solve the mysteries behind the LK-9 Incident that he was involved in during his time as an intern.
Flora Mae: A prosecutor from the Prosecutor's Office. She was Shadow's coworker and was discovered to have been murdered only after Shadow heard the sound of gunshots at the dock and quickly went to investigate it.
Amy Rose: A sixteen-year-old pink furred hedgehog who attends Mobius High as a Junior and is a proud photographer of her school's newspaper. She heard the crime taking place while taking her daily summer morning walk and stumbled upon Shadow with a gun in his hands.
Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who prefers to go by Max and lives in the lighthouse now under suspicion as being the real crime scene. Apparently, he seems to suffer from some kind of neurological disorder which causes him to have the mindset of a seven-year-old. He seems to believe that his older sister, Lois, is still alive.
Mephiles: A sixty-five year old veteran prosecutor whose ruthlessness is well known both inside and out of the courtroom. If not trying to leave a strong impression in all his cases, he expects nothing but obedience and cooperation from the officers and detectives overlooking the collection of evidence in the cases he's working on. He's known to get any officer or detective who dared to defy his direct orders in trouble with the Precinct.
Lois Pryce: The sister of Max Pryce who had died in the events that led up to the events of the lighthouse being used as a base for the start of the LK-9 Incident. She used to be business partners with her brother in a seafood business before it was bought out from their third partner and transformed into an shipping goods business.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik: The owner of the Robotnik Law Firm were both Sonic and Tails work at. Strangely enough, he is mentioned in the Letter that was discovered in the lighthouse basement by Silver regardless not being mentioned by name but through description.
Vector Crocodile: A local prosecutor who is friends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. He has decided to continue with his work as a freelance detective along with Charmy Bee despite the conviction of his friend and partner Espio that caused shadows about the integrity of his work that soon quickly dissipated.
Chapter 21: An Ironic Twist of Fate and Truth Pt. 7
"I'm getting this weird feeling that today's going to be just as crazy as yesterday if not even more," Sonic groaned out as he sat on one of the court lobby's cushioned benches and let out a yawn. He was somewhat tired after spending a restless night trying to no avail to get some much needed sleep out of nervousness due to how much was at stake today. All he could muster was to just close his eyes while still lying awake for what seemed to him to be the entire night. "I'll bet you anything that monster of a prosecutor managed to come up with something new to counter everything we've been investigating yesterday."
"If I know him well enough, he's most likely going to have a witness testifying for him right off the bat," Shadow responded as he was seated a few feet away from the cobalt hedgehog and carefully kept watch over by the court bailiff. "That's honestly just the way he likes to do things when he's forced to spend a second day on the case. He understands that evidence by itself doesn't necessarily solidify the case for him, so he always tries to find whatever witnesses he can that actually pertains to the case. I wouldn't put it past him in saying that he managed to pull that off this time, as well. I must admit that he's the toughest and most calculating prosecutor I've ever known. In fact, he probably had another witness lined up at yesterday's court hearing as backup in case Amy's story didn't do the trick for him."
"But who can possibly be a witness in terms of the incident at the lighthouse?" Tails asked as he tried to rack his brain for any plausible possibility. "I'm almost certain that the Judge is going to talk about that today. If Mephiles did have a second witness lined up for yesterday's trial, then I doubt we'll see them today considering what the Judge might be considered talking about today. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if it just ends up being the same thing as Amy's testimony. She pretty much testified about everything she saw, although it was pretty much useless being that what she saw was nothing more than an act meant to frame you. As far as we as the defense are concerned, she's the only witness who was anywhere near the scene of the crime at that moment.
"And until yesterday, that lighthouse wasn't even within the scope of anybody's investigation," the young fox continued on as he remembered how they even got to the topic of the lighthouse in the first place. "We all probably would've ignored it if it weren't for the Photograph that Amy managed to take at that exact moment. How could he possibly find somebody in relations to that place in such a short amount of time? We barely had time to investigate the place ourselves!"
"As I said, don't put it past the old man and his ability to find a witness well-suited for what's assumed to be covered today," the even furred hedgehog repeated calmly with a shrug of his shoulders. "However, I can't say I'd be too surprised if he didn't even need to summon one this time around. If I remember correctly from how yesterday's court proceedings ended, you both managed to squeeze out another day of investigating simply because you confused the Judge with the possibility of another location being the real murder scene. Speaking of which, how did your investigation of the lighthouse come along?" he asked with a quick change of the subject. "Did you manage to dig up any new details or evidence there?"
"We found a few things that look promising, but most of them are right now at the Precinct getting forensics work done," the cobalt hedgehog explained as he fidgeted with the hem of his white gloves. "The only things we have on us are either some paperwork that honestly pose no help to us right now or just speculations Tails came up with after viewing the lighthouse. I was actually kind of hoping that Knuckles would be able to get here before today's trial started so I could get a look at what they say. I'm guessing that's kind of impossible now, though. Court's about to start in a couple of minutes."
"Then we'll just have to hold out until he can get here with those pieces of evidence," the two tailed fox reassured his older brother just as the bailiff motioned for them all to go into the courtroom. "Well, it's almost time to get this show started. Let's just hope that we can at least get a word in edgewise this time around or we'll be forced to go desperately poking around for information like yesterday."
"Good luck with that wish," the prosecutor sarcastically said with a half-smile before being escorted into the courtroom. Sonic and Tails soon followed suit and quickly took their place on their side the large room. The audience who were to view today's proceedings had already taken their seats in the gallery along the walls of the room. Mephiles was also already in the room and standing on his side, and he looked just as stoic as he did yesterday with his face revealing no emotion.
In the next couple of seconds, the Judge had entered the room and quickly took his seat on his desk in the front of the room just as the court bailiff reached his assigned position beside him. As usual, he had on a level face that showed no indication as to what his current thoughts on the case were.
"Court is now in session for the trial of Prosecutor Shadow!" the old man announced as he officially started the proceedings with a bang of his gavel. Whatever chatter that was taking place from the gallery quickly came to an abrupt stop as everybody listened in on what was now happening. "Today shall be the second day of this case. I assume that both the defense and prosecution are ready for the course of today's proceedings?"
"I suggest that you concentrate the question on the defense rather than at me today," Mephiles simply responded with a huff of his breath as he crossed his arms in an almost defiant fashion. "Do you honestly think that a man of my caliber would be in here now if I weren't prepared to represent the state?"
"Well, it certainly sounds like the prosecution is ready today. And is the defense ready to begin the proceedings?"
"Uh, we're…as ready as we could be," Sonic hesitantly replied as he nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "There are some things that have yet to be confirmed on my end of things, but I feel they should be taken care of by the day's end. At least, I hope they can be taken care of before this is over," he added in an undertone so only his little brother who happened to nod his head lightly in agreement could hear.
"I can't really say I'm comfortable with that kind of response, but I'm afraid it can't be helped now," the Judge responded with a slightly displeased look on his face. He then continued on with a barely noticeable shrug of his shoulders, "Allow me to start off with a recap on what we went over yesterday.
"After quite a bit of words from both sides of the courtroom, the court appears to have been led down the wrong path due to a red herring," he clarified before clearing his throat. "By the defense's claim that was proven through a Photograph procured by yesterday's witness, a Ms. Amy Rose, the lighthouse in the background has been under a cloud of suspicion because of an apparent murder seen taking place on top of the building. And while it was clear the defense was grasping, the court could not deny the possibility that what was in the Photograph might have been the actual killing we're currently overseeing. While I was quite sure that the defendant, Prosecutor Shadow, was guilty of murdering his coworker, Prosecutor Flora Mae, this revelation proved too coincidental for me to discount. As such, I had announced a recess for both sides to verify whether or not this was the case. Now, will the prosecution please start off with their opening statements?"
"Yesterday, we ended the proceedings with the defense leaving Your Honor confused about some of the case's details," the old prosecutor started off as he seemingly stared daggers at Sonic and Tails for having created said confusion. "They had prematurely suggested that the lighthouse on the Mobius Dock near the crime scene was the actual scene of Prosecutor Flora Mae's murder. Their basis for this ridiculous claim was but a simple Photograph procured by yesterday's witness, Ms. Amy Rose. Today, I'll be disproving their claim that the lighthouse was the actual scene of the murder with nothing more than just a single witness as my source of evidence and thus proving that only the defendant had both the time and means to have taken part in such a heinous crime!"
"Just one witness?" the old man asked with a grey eyebrow raised in question. "Are you sure you'll be able to prove your case with just the testimony of one person today? Without any sort of material evidence on hand, the witness must be quite decisive in his or her information in order for you to feel that confident."
"Confidence has nothing to do with my plans for today's proceedings. It's merely the truthfulness and simplicity of my witness's words that I find to be more than helpful in proving my case that Prosecutor Shadow is and always has been the true culprit in this heinous crime. I challenge the defense to find any kind of flaw in the coming testimony."
"It's not even five minutes and he's already got his mojo going at full speed," the cobalt hedgehog grumbled out as he inwardly wondered what they were up against today. "Why does this feel like a sign that something bad is going to happen?"
"Bailiff, please bring the witness to the stand!" the Judge announced immediately with a pound of his gavel. In the next second, the court bailiff had exited the courtroom and quickly reentered with a man following closely behind.
"W-wait a minute!" Tails quietly exclaimed upon seeing who the witness really was. Even Sonic was shocked to see who the prosecutor had lined up as a witness today. "Max is going to be Mephiles's witness today?! He's not serious in saying that his testimony is going to help him prove his case, is he?"
"The prosecution would like to introduce to the court Mr. Maxwell Pryce," Mephiles announced to the court in a tone that reflected nothing but confidence. "I was planning on having him come up as a witness during yesterday's proceedings, but the circumstance didn't feel right what with the defense actually managing to send mass confusion throughout this courtroom. Because of that, I felt it right to just introduce him today."
"And what is it exactly that Mr. Pryce bore witness to?" the judge asked as the bailiff helped Max get situated at the witness stand. "I find it hard for him to be a reliable witness being that I've only heard of Ms. Rose being near at the time of the incident."
"Originally, he was only meant to supplement Ms. Rose's testimony were the defense to discredit her words," the old prosecutor explained while still keeping his confident tone in his words. "However, because of a change in circumstances brought about by the defense yesterday, I would like for him to testify about a completely different matter. To be more specific, I would like for him to testify as to why the lighthouse couldn't possibly be the real scene of the crime as they so claimed. And I promise you that this is more than suitable to answer this question since he lives in that very building.
"A word of caution, though. Max here is suffering from a neurological condition. Because of that, he has the mentality of at least a seven-year-old child. Do not be surprised should you hear him speak in a style fitting of a young boy. Also, call him by his first name unless you want him to become extremely uncooperative."
"Well, thank you for both the explanation and warning Prosecutor," the Judge quickly thanked before turning his attention to Sonic. "I trust that the defense has no objections to the summoning of the witness?"
"N-no objections, Your Honor," Sonic stuttered out as he tried to quickly regain his composure. "The defense is curious to hear the witness's explanation as to why the lighthouse can't be the real scene of the crime."
"Then let's go ahead and begin the day by questioning the witness. So witness, is your name Mr. Maxwell Pryce?"
"I don't like it when people call me mister or say my full name," Max immediately responded as he crossed his arms and pouted at the Judge. "It makes me feel like I'm an adult. I'd rather just be called Max."
"Uh, very well then. Max, do you mind telling me what you saw at your home and why it doesn't have anything to do with our case?"
"Oh, is this another mystery I get to take part in?" he asked excitedly before giddily clapping his hands like an overexcited child. "And you're letting me help you out? Oh, I promise to try my best to tell you whatever you need to know!"
"This is definitely going to be an interesting day," the cobalt hedgehog sighed out as he prepared himself for another irritating session with the witness. If this was anything like how yesterday was, he could only guess how hard it was to get anything solid today. Even Tails could not keep back a sigh of frustration upon having to see a repeat of what he had done with Max just yesterday.
Was There a Murder at the Lighthouse?
I was at my lighthouse sleeping all night long. When I woke up, I went and made myself some breakfast. I pretty much spent the whole morning all by myself. Nobody talked to me or even visited me all day long!
End Witness Testimony
"My, that was quite a short testimony!" the Judge responded in slight surprise as he kept his eyes on Max to see whether or not he was done speaking. "It might even be one of the shortest I've ever heard in my entire career as a Judge. Even for a mentally seven-year-old man, I was expecting there to be a bit more to his explanation. However, I must admit that he did answer the main question albeit it was through short sentences."
"So long as the witness can perform that basic task when standing upon the stand, I'll be more than happy to have him testify," Mephiles responded with a sense of pride in his words. "While I do admit it was short, he still answered the question in full. If nobody was at the lighthouse save himself, then there's no possible way that a murder could've taken place there. Although I find little merit in doing so, I suppose that the defense would like to exercise their right to cross-examine this adolescent man."
"That's naturally the case, Prosecutor Mephiles," Sonic responded with a nod of his head before crossing his arms and trying to look as defiant as possible. "What good would it do my client if I were to just give up after listening to a witness's testimony? And besides, I have questions that I want to have answered by good old Max here. After all, he's probably the only one who can help me out with them."
"Oh, you're going to make me blush saying all that," Max replied as he actually started to look a bit shy standing there on the stand by himself. "I know I said I like mysteries and all, but I can only do so much to help you all. I only hope that what I said can help you out with whatever you need to figure out."
"How can it be any help to us when you're practically repeating the same thing you said yesterday?" Tails quietly groaned out as he put on a fake smile. "We're just going to get the same answers no matter what we do."
"Well, at least we're now in a courtroom setting," the cobalt hedgehog reassured his little brother with a soft pat on the shoulder. "With some ground rules set in here, we might be able to get just a little bit further than you could from just asking people questions out in the middle of the street. I only hope we can actually learn something useful this time around."
"I do hope that you're going to do more than just consult amongst yourselves within the next few minutes," the prosecutor spoke up in a rather sarcastic tone. "None of us are getting any younger here, you know? The court certainly doesn't have time to waste."
"I must ask you to either begin with your cross-examination or waive your right to it, Mr. Sonic," the Judge warned in a stern tone. "I won't be condoning any acts of stalling this time around. That will be your only warning today."
"Y-yes, Your Honor!" the defense attorney quickly acknowledged with a quick nod of his head. "I'll begin my cross-examination immediately!"
Begin Cross-Examination
"Max, you say that you were sleeping all night long," Sonic repeated in order to help form the basis of his question. "How heavy of a sleeper would you say you are?"
"Oh, my parents always told me that I could sleep through a war even if it came to our front door," Max answered with a sort of sheepish smile appearing on his lips. "Even with my sister shouting right in my face, I can still sleep pretty well."
"If that's the case, then what's stopping us from saying that somebody didn't just sneak into the lighthouse while you were asleep?" the cobalt hedgehog questioned as he tried to look for any opening he could get.
"Objection!" Mephiles quickly exclaimed. "If that's the case, then are you saying that the victim, a fellow prosecutor, actually decided to break the law and break into Max's home? What exactly would she accomplish in doing so besides setting herself up for this supposed murder you say happened on the lighthouse balcony? Regardless whether or not the witness is a heavy sleeper, it's highly improbable that a woman of her stature would spontaneously decide to break into a random building."
"I fully agree with the prosecution on this," the Judge agreed before pounding his gavel and thus leaving no room for argument. "Objection sustained. Please move onto your next question, Mr. Sonic."
"Wow, you really put your foot in your mouth there, Sonic," Tails whispered with his face forming a noticeable wince. "You better think of something else quick!"
"Uh, what time would you say you ended up waking up?" Sonic asked, hoping that this question would actually lead him to a sensible answer.
"Uh, I would say about six-thirty," the man responded after giving it a bit of thought. "Yeah, it was around that time. I have a digital clock next to my bed, and I remember seeing the time when I woke up."
"That's quite an early time for one to be waking up," the cobalt hedgehog responded as he raised an eyebrow at this answer. "Might I ask why you decided to wake up so early?"
"I guess it's a force of habit. I might be a heavy sleeper, but I sure like waking up early in the morning!"
"Just what does this have to do with anything?" the prosecutor objected in a frustrated manner. "I'm truly getting tired with your stalling tactics! Do you even have any reason for asking such a meaningless question?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," the defense attorney countered as he pulled out Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report for all to see. "According to this report, the victim died between six-thirty and seven. Coincidentally, it's the same time that our witness here decided to wake up. Because of this, I find that my question more than merits a firm answer in order to establish a firm picture as to what's going on!"
"…The defense's question is allowed," the Judge announced after quietly deliberating it. "You may continue on, Mr. Sonic."
"Thank you, Your Honor. Max, did you notice anything strange or out of place when you woke up?"
"I can't say that I did," Max slowly said as he thought about it. "There was a bit of a draft coming from upstairs, but it was always like that. Everything was as normal as it could be for a typical summer morning. Although…,"
"Yes?" Tails gently prodded in order to get the witness to finish his statement. "What is it that you want to say?"
"Well, I guess there might've been just one small thing that was out of the ordinary that morning for me."
"Hmm, do you mind telling the court just what it was that seemed strange to you?" the old man asked as he also seemed intrigued by this information.
New Statement
When I first woke up, I felt like I wasn't alone.
End New Statement
"You felt like you weren't alone?" Sonic repeated with an eyebrow raised in question. "Could you explain a bit what you mean by that?"
"I-It almost felt like somebody was in the lighthouse with me," Max explained as he tried to remember that moment. "After I finished brushing my teeth, I went to take a look around. However, I couldn't find anybody anywhere. I guess it must've been my imagination. My parents always said I had an overactive imagination! Either that or whoever was in there was good at playing hide-and-seek!"
"Uh, I don't think that's something to be proud of considering the possibility of someone actually breaking into your home," Tails deadpanned as he rolled his eyes at the adolescent man's naivety at the situation.
"Regardless, the witness just testified that nobody was in his home at the time of the murder despite his earlier feelings," Mephiles concluded with an almost bored look on his face. "No matter how much you press, you're always going to get the same answer. I suggest we move onto something with more meaning and importance."
"Grr, if only we can somehow prove that Max's feelings were actually correct!" the cobalt hedgehog growled under his breath as he saw his one opening quickly close in front of his face. "There has to be some way to prove that someone really was sneaking around in his house when he woke up."
"We don't have any evidence that suggests someone other than Max was in there that morning," the two tailed fox explained with a small sigh escaping the back of his throat. "The Photograph Amy gave us only shows us a conclusion. If we can't somehow prove that what led up to that conclusion actually happened, there's no way the court's going to see that something really did happen at that lighthouse."
"…I guess there's nothing we can do about it now, Tails," the attorney conceded before regaining his professionalism. "So other than this strange feeling you had, you were alone for the entire morning?"
"That's right!" Max happily confirmed with quick nods of his head. It was almost as if he were trying to sprain his neck with the fast actions. "I was in the kitchen eating cereal and reading the comics section of the newspaper! I was laughing so hard at some of the stuff that milk actually managed to come out of my nose!"
"Uh, we didn't really need to know that, thank you," Tails responded with a look of clear disgust. "But would you happen to know about what time it was when you were done eating and reading the newspaper?"
"Oh, that's an easy question," the adolescent man responded with just a small shrug of his shoulders. "I remember the clock in my living room going off right after I finished eating. That should mean it was seven then."
"So you were done with all your usual morning stuff by seven," Sonic recapped as he desperately tried to look for anything in the testimony that could help him. "So from the time you woke up until you finished eating, nobody was inside or even came to the lighthouse. Is that what you're telling us?"
"That's right; nobody wanted to visit me that day. It's not like I get much visitors anyway, but I always like to be surprised. Not even the phone rang for me once, but I don't usually like answering it."
"I honestly don't see your reasoning for engaging this cross-examination anymore," Mephiles responded as he pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were getting a headache. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're trying to stall for time after the Judge had so generously granted you warning not to do so. I suggest that you stop this charade now while you're still ahead."
End Cross-Examination
"If that's what you want, then I'll go ahead and end it," Sonic responded without putting up much effort. "I must admit that I was starting to go nowhere there."
"Finally, that's the most sensible thing you've said during this entire court case!" Mephiles said with an almost over-exaggerated sigh. "I was really starting to wonder whether that head of yours was only for show. It's nice to know that you know when to finally concede your inevitable defeat."
"Oh, I never said anything about being defeated just yet," the cobalt hedgehog countered with a smug look on his face. "In fact, it's thanks to Max's testimony that I managed to dig up a little contradiction on my end."
"And just what is this contradiction, Mr. Sonic?" the Judge asked with eyebrows raised in intrigue with the prosecution also performing the same motion. "I'm afraid that I can't find anything of contradictory nature in his testimony."
"Max, are you sure when you said that nobody even phoned you that morning?" the cobalt hedgehog asked before making his contradiction known.
"I'm as sure as sure can be," Max responded with a questioning look in his eyes. "Why are you asking about that?"
"I only ask because what you said sounds completely impossible! Don't you remember yesterday when you ran into me and Tails on the docks while we were investigating the crime scene?"
"And how did you manage to get a chance to investigate the docks?" the prosecutor asked with a look that showed he did not believe them. "I was under the impression that nobody other than officers and detectives were allowed on scene."
"Well, we just so happened to get permission from a Precinct detective," the defense attorney responded while being careful not to use Silver's name so as to keep him from Mephiles's wrath later. "And while we were there, Max was creating a small scene because he wanted to go back home to his lighthouse. That was when my partner who happens to be Dr. Robotnik's hired on-scene detective questioned him. Believe it or not, the witness told us the same thing then as he did now."
"Then where's the trouble, Mr. Sonic?" the Judge asked with his intrigued look now changing to that of confusion.
"The trouble lies in the fact that Max just told us a little lie that I can easily prove with his own words."
"I-I lied?" the adolescent man asked with a look of confusion now on his face. "But I never lied here."
"Then perhaps you lied when you talked to us yesterday," Sonic stated as he pulled out a transcript of Max's Testimony that his little brother created. "Either way, you lied about you not having a phone call that morning. According to your statement yesterday, you told us that you in fact did have a call that you answered but failed to understand. Care to explain why you neglected to tell us about this today in court?"
"Well, I didn't feel that it was a very important thing to say," Max quickly explained without any hesitation. It was almost as if he was expecting to have been caught in a lie and was prepared to give a suitable explanation. "Like I told you yesterday back at the docks, I didn't understand a single thing the other man had been talking about. Once he was done talking, he hung up right before I did."
"In other words, it didn't matter whether or not he said in his testimony he did receive a phone call," Mephiles concluded with an annoyed roll of his eyes. "To be perfectly honest, any seven-year-old would omit anything they felt was unnecessary for us to hear. And being that Max has the mind of a seven-year-old, it's not too much of a stretch to say he did the exact same thing just now."
"I'm afraid I'll have to side with the prosecution on this one," the Judge quickly conceded without any hesitation. "Were this not a mentally stable man, I would immediately jump on this contradiction. However, with circumstances as they are, I find it hard to believe that this phone call really is of any importance. And besides, I fail to see how it answers the main question at hand here: Was there anybody in the lighthouse that morning besides our witness here?"
"And I believe that question has been suitably answered through the cross-examination the defense felt so adamant on performing," the prosecutor responded with a clear triumphant smile on his lips and his arms tightly crossed. "So if there are no more questions that need to be asked, I would like to dismiss my witness."
"I believe that the court has heard enough from Max," the old man stated with a nod of his head in agreement as he reached for his gavel.
"I object, Your Honor!" the cobalt hedgehog quickly exclaimed before the order was finalized. "I still have questions that I want to ask the witness, questions that are related to the case and are needed to be answered. You can't just call the witness away and leave things the way they are now!"
"Unfortunately, you don't have a leg to stand on with that claim of yours," he explained with a shake of his head. "Except for a meaningless contradiction, you found nothing in his testimony that proved your claim from yesterday had any merit. And I found nothing to be suspicious in nature in his explanation of what he said and did on the morning of the murder. As such, I'm no longer permitting the witness to be questioned any further. The witness is now excused from the courtroom!"
"I hope I was able to help you with what I said," the adolescent man responded with a smile before the bailiff escorted him out of the courtroom.
"B-But…!" the attorney could only manage to stutter as everything around him was quickly crumbling away. The Judge chose not to pay any attention while Mephiles simply gave off a triumphant smile accompanied with a rather smug look.
"Well, then, I believe that this court has heard enough regarding this case," the old man announced once the bailiff came back. "Through the testimony of Mr. Pryce, I find it more than plausible that the lighthouse was not the scene of our case's murder. Whether or not it was the scene of any murder remains to be seen, although I find it hard that the witness in his current state would lie about something so serious so easily. And since the defense has failed to provide any evidence saying otherwise, my decision is that whatever was seen in the background of Ms. Rose's Photograph is of no importance to us."
"But I…!" Sonic stuttered out before quickly quieting down as he realized he really did not have anything to say about this terrible turn of events.
"Cat got your tongue?" Mephiles smugly asked with a noise that sounded suspiciously like an evil chuckle. "I believe you finally realized that you could never win against me. I must admit that you put up quite a fight yesterday that I haven't seen in the longest of times, but it was unfortunately all for naught. You have nothing of worth that can discredit my witness. I'm sure you would've presented some kind of evidence were that the case. But alas, your time to defend your client is now over!"
"This…this can't be happening!" the cobalt hedgehog growled out as he put his elbows on top of the desk and buried his face in his hands. "Where the hell did we go wrong today? This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"…I guess it was just a pipe dream to get Shadow acquitted from someone like Mephiles as the prosecution," Tails sadly replied with an equally sad sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose. Even Shadow seemed somewhat surprised at this revelation. "Not even I can come up with a way to get us out of this mess. I'm sorry, Sonic."
"If you would please go ahead and make your ruling, Your Honor?" the old prosecutor asked as he crossed his arms and awaited for the guilty verdict he hardly put up a fight for. "As you said earlier, the court has already heard enough from this case."
"I suspect that neither the defense nor prosecution have anything else to say on this matter," the Judge announced as he waited a few seconds for any final remarks. When he heard nothing, he picked up his gavel and prepared to make his ruling. "Well then, in light of the testimony we just heard and the lack of any adequate refutes from the defense, the court sees no reason to further prolong this trial. From the evidence and testimony that has been presented to the court, I feel more than ready to render my ruling. Under the sole charge of murder, this court finds the defendant, Prosecutor Shadow Hedgehog, to be gui…"
"Hold it right there!!" a voice suddenly shouted out just before the Judge finished his sentence and pound his gavel. "Don't say another word, Your Honor! This case is far from being over!"
"Wh-Who said that?!" the old man exclaimed as he almost dropped his gavel in surprise and quickly placed it on his desk. "Who dares to disrupt today's proceedings?"
"Me, that's who!" a young voice quickly answered as a familiar yellow blur was seen zooming towards the center of the room where the witness stand was located. "You say you heard everything you need to know, but are you sure that's the full story?"
"Wait a minute!" Sonic whispered out as he instantly recognized the voice and brought his face away from his hands and looked at the witness stand. "That isn't who I think it is, is it?"
"My name's Charmy Bee, and I just so happen to have the second half of the story that you all didn't get!" the hyper little bee quickly introduced himself as he was hovering excitedly over the podium.
"Your Honor, could you please remove this foolish child from the courtroom?" Mephiles simply asked as he kept his arms crossed and did not even bother to make eye contact with the bee. "You've already decided to grant your ruling on this case. It's too late for anything else to be discussed."
"Excuse me Mr. Prosecutor, but I'm afraid that it's never too late!" the bee countered as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his vest pocket and hovered over to the Judge in order to hand it to him. "In case you don't know, I work for the independent detective group, The Chaotix Detective Agency. By request from a third party that I've already presented to the Judge, I was told to investigate the lighthouse this morning. I've just come back from there, and I ask that you allow me to testify as to what I've found!"
"As I said earlier, it's already too late for there to be anymore testimony!" the prosecutor sternly countered back as he finally met his harsh gaze with the hyper bee who did not even falter from the look. "Your Honor, I ask that you throw out this child and continue on with your ruling."
"I object!" Sonic immediately spoke up once he finally recovered from the initial shock. "Charmy Bee here has come forward as a witness. He even provided legal documentation saying that the detective agency he worked for got a request from a third party to investigate the lighthouse. Because of this, I ask that he be allowed to testify about his findings!"
"Will you honestly stop at nothing in order to stall this court in order to grasp at whatever precious contradiction you can get your hands on? Learn when to admit defeat. You couldn't put a dent in my argument yesterday; and you couldn't form any kind or argument from what was presented today. Nothing will change that fact!"
"And how can you know that if you're already planning on throwing out the only witness left that has yet to be cross-examined?" Tails quickly countered. "Unless we hear what he has to say, we aren't going to be conducting justice with this case. What we'll all be doing is turning a blind eye to a potentially case-breaking detail!"
"That's enough!" the Judge quickly spoke up as he pounded his gavel in order to bring order back into the courtroom. After a couple of minutes, the uproar had finally died down enough for him to be able to say something without having to shout. "If anybody dares to disrupt this court again, I won't hesitate to throw you out. And that also goes for you in the gallery. Now, let me go and add my opinion to this matter.
"As of now, I feel that any more testimony would only be a waste of time," he responded as he carefully eyed both sides of the courtroom to see if either the defense or the prosecution were going to say anything. When he heard nothing, he continued on. "However, as a fellow overseer of the law, I cannot simply make my ruling now when a potential new witness suddenly pops up and provides evidence that they were indeed at what is still being disputed as the actual scene of the crime. In light of this new revelation, I hereby allow the young boy to testify to the court about this matter! Prosecutor Shadow, I order to you call this boy up as a witness. I'll allow you a thirty minute recess in order to adequately prepare, but I expect to see him on the witness stand when we come back!"
"I-If that's what you wish for, Your Honor," Mephiles responded with a slight stutter at this revelation that he was clearly not prepared for. "I'll have this witness ready to testify once the recess is over."
"Very well; then this court shall be suspended for a thirty-minute recess!" the Judge announced before picking up his gavel and pounded it against his desk. Once that was done, he got up from his seat and removed himself to his chambers.
"Uh, what just happened here?" the cobalt hedgehog asked as he stood dumbfounded behind his desk. "Did we really just survive a near guilty verdict?"
"Only through a crazy miracle!" the two tailed fox breathed out in relief before he scratched the back of his ear. "If Charmy didn't come when he did, we definitely would've lost this case now. We better use this time to figure out what we need to know."
"If we're lucky enough that we can even learn anything new in this thirty-minute recess," the defense attorney replied in a somewhat despondent tone before looking down at his evidence that had yet to be touched. "I just hope that Charmy is going to be helpful to us rather than just help dig us into an even deeper hole."
Just to say one more thing before I leave you all. There is no new evidence, and there is only one new person being introduced in this chapter. So don't worry about all this seeming small and all that. That's just how it is. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
New Profiles:
Charmy Bee: a young eight-year-old bee who happens to be employed with the Chaotix Detective Agency. Apparently, he was sent to investigate the lighthouse by a third party who had employed the agency to do so. As such, he has arrived at the courthouse in order to testify about this matter at the very last minute.