Butz: It's lonely, being alone on Christmas Eve! That's why I was listening to an all-requests show on the radio, see? I was listening to it real booming loud, like. But I'm sure I heard that gunshot! I remember exactly what the DJ was saying when I heard it, too.
Judge: You were listening to your radio… at a high volume!?
Butz: Yeah, what's the big problem? Can't a man listen to his radio in peace? Isn't this a free country!?
Judy: And I thought you were bad when I first met you, Nick.
Nick: Why did we agree to this again?
Karma: Judge. Can you believe a word this witness says? What he heard was probably nothing more than a drum beat from the radio!
Judge: True enough, it is different to believe this testimony.
Phoenix: Objection! Wait, Your Honor! The witness said he remembers exactly what the DJ said when he heard the gunshot!
Judge: Excuse me? "Dee-jay"…?
Nick: It's a person that announces things on the radio.
Judge: I see.
Phoenix: Anyway! What this means is, when he heard the sound, no music was playing! The DJ only talks between songs! So he could have heard the gunshot from the lake! I'd like to cross-examine the witness, Your Honor!
Judge: V-very well, Mr. Wright.
Phoenix (Thinking): I can't believe I'm continuing this charade…
Phoenix: Now Larry, what exactly did you remember the DJ saying?
Karma: Objection! Mr. Wright! Please cease these pointless questions! What possible good could knowing what a radio DJ said do us!?
Judge: Indeed, Mr. von Karma has a point. I'll allow the question only if you see some reason why we should care.
Phoenix: We should care, Your Honor! Of course we should!
Karma: Why?
Phoenix: Uh. W-well, how do you know if we don't ask, hmm?
Judge: Fine, very well. Mr. Butz, please testify to the court. What was the radio announcer saying when you heard the gunshot?
Butz: Just when she said "Hey! It's almost Christmas!" I heard the gunshot!
Phoenix: Hold it! Are you sure?
Butz: Course I am! She had this real sexy voice…
Phoenix (Thinking): Hmm… maybe von Karma was right. I'm not sure how that helped us at all.
Maya: Hey, Nick! Remember that other photo Lotta gave us today?
Phoenix: The one with just the lake? Yeah. … … Ah! Larry! Are you absolutely sure what you're saying is correct!?
Butz: Huh? What's with the face? You look scary, dude. Hey, if you're trying to scare me, you better know I don't scare that easy!
Judge: Is something the matter, Mr. Wright?
Phoenix: Your Honor! Did you hear what the witness just said? The DJ said "Hey! It's almost Christmas!" when he heard the gunshot!
Judge: Indeed… And…?
Phoenix: "Almost Christmas" means it wasn't Christmas! Do you realize what this means? When he heard the gunshot, it was still Christmas Eve!
Judge: That would seem to be the case, yes…
Phoenix: But that contradicts the two testimonies we have heard so far, Your Honor! Both Ms. Hart and the old man said it was after midnight when they heard the shots! In other words… When they heard the gunshots it was already Christmas! This is a clear contradiction, Your Honor!
Judge: Order! Order! What does this mean? The two prior witnesses heard gunshots after midnight. However, this witness says he heard a gunshot before midnight…
Karma: Judge. The answer is simple. The current witness is plainly mistaken. Just look at him! Suspicious!
Butz: Wh-whaaat!?
Judge: Hmm… Well, Mr. Wright? What do you think about Mr. Butz's claim he heard the gunshot before midnight?
Phoenix: Larry's not mistaken, Your Honor! He heard the gunshot before midnight!
Karma: … Intriguing. I'm assuming you have evidence for this wild claim? Show me evidence there was a gunshot before midnight!
Phoenix: Alright! Look at this photograph! This was taken yesterday by our witness yesterday, Ms. Lotta Hart, with her automatic camera. The timestamp on the photo reads "December 24, 11:50 PM."
Judge: Oh yeah? Hmm? But there's nothing on the lake in this picture.
Phoenix: Your Honor. The real issue here is why nothing is shown in this photograph. It is why this photograph exists at all!
Judge: What do you mean?
Phoenix: Your Honor… This photograph was taken by an automatic camera. That camera was set to go off in response to loud noises!
Judge: Ahah!
Phoenix: Correct! There was a loud noise on the lake at 11:50 PM. That is why this photograph was taken! In other words… When Larry heard the gunshot, it was most definitely Christmas Eve!
Judge: Indeed, it would seem that is the case! Then… where does that leave us? Ms. Hart testified that she heard the gunshots after midnight. Are you claiming she was mistaken?
Phoenix: Not at all, Your Honor. It is a fact that the camera also triggered at 15 minutes after midnight! Your Honor! That night, there were two sets of gunshots, with a 25 minute pause between them!
Judge: Why would this be…?
Karma: Objection! Don't be fooled, Judge! That camera was set to respond to "loud noises"!
Judge: Yes?
Karma: There is no proof that the "loud noise" at 11:50 was a gunshot! Why, the witness could have sneezed, triggering the camera!
Butz: H-hey, my nose was clear that night, man! Clear!
Judge: Hmm… Well, Mr. Wright? There's no turning back now. Can you prove that the "loud noise" at 11:50 PM was indeed a gunshot? Please show the court evidence if you have any.
Phoenix (Thinking): A loud noise at 11:50… Hmm…
Phoenix: Your Honor, here's my evidence.
Judge: The… murder weapon?
Phoenix: Something about this pistol was bothering me, Your Honor. Both of the witnesses who testified yesterday heard two gunshots. However, the murder weapon was fired three times. When, then, was the last shot fired? Only now have I realized the truth. That third shot was the shot Larry heard just before midnight!
Judge: Order! Order! Hmm… That would make sense of the evidence we've seen so far. … However… This leaves me wondering exactly what did happen that night on the lake.
Karma: Exactly! If this is true, there were two sets of gunshots, separated by 25 minutes! One at 11:50, another at 15 minutes after midnight! Why, I asked you! Why!?
Phoenix (Thinking): Uh oh, I'd better think of something quick!
Judy: Hey, Phoenix. Can I see that map real quick?
I gave Judy the map of Gourd Lake.
Judy: … … Ah-ah!
Nick: What is it!?
Judy: Phoenix, I want you to look closely at this and think. If Larry didn't see a boat after he heard the gunshot, then where did the gunshot come from?
I looked at the overhead map.
Phoenix (Thinking) … Wait a second…! Gunshots separated by 25 minutes…?
Phoenix: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Maya: Wh-what's wrong, Nick!?
Phoenix: I have it! I have it!
Nick: You do!?
Phoenix: Yeah! Remember the case with the Steel Samurai!?
Maya: Huh? Yeah, of course I remember…
Phoenix: Well, if what Judy is thinking is correct, then the murderer in this case had the same idea as the murderer in that case!
Maya: What do you mean?
Phoenix: Guys! If we don't figure this out now, we'll never overturn Edgeworth's guilty verdict! I've got a hunch, and I'm going to run with it…
Maya: Right! I mean… is this safe?
Phoenix: Safe? We've already gotten a guilty verdict! We have nothing to lose!
Maya: …
Phoenix: You three just watch and let me know if I say anything that sounds fishy, okay?
Maya: Right, Nick!
Nick: We're right behind you!
Phoenix: Your Honor!
Judge: Y-yes, Mr. Wright?
Phoenix: The testimony just now has cleared up this entire case!
Judge: What do you mean, Mr. Wright!?
Karma: Tsk tsk tsk… So, you've finally realized the truth? There can be no other murderer here than Miles Edgeworth himself.
Phoenix: Wrong, von Karma! A man was shot that night, but it wasn't Edgeworth who did the shooting!
Karma: Listen, rookie. Take a deep breath, and consider the facts. At the time of the murder, one boat was on that lake. This was shown by the witness's photograph. The defendant, Edgeworth, and the victim, Robert Hammond were on that boat. There was a gunshot fired on that boat, and Robert Hammond fell into the lake. The distance of the shooting was one meter. It couldn't have been suicide! Well? The guilty party had to be the other man on that boat!
Judge: I admit, it is hard to imagine any other possibility.
Phoenix: Yes… But this assumes that the victim was shot at 15 minutes after midnight.
Judge: … What do you mean by that, Mr. Wright? We have photographic evidence of the time of the shooting. The timestamp on the photo says 00:15.
Phoenix: But Larry heard a gunshot 25 minutes before that! Robert Hammond was killed then! 25 minutes before the shot on the lake!
Judy: That's the only way that Edgeworth could be innocent, Your Honor!
Judge: …
Karma: … Mr. Wright. Ms. Hopps. Are you both quite mad? Explain who this is sitting on the boat!
Phoenix: Of course, it was Edgeworth and the murderer! After the murderer killed Robert Hammond at 11:50…
Judy: He assumed the guise of Mr. Hammer and met Edgeworth!
Judge: Wh… What!? Are you both serious?
Phoenix: Yes. Edgeworth won't tell us why he went to the lake that night. However, I have a hunch. That night, Robert Hammond called Edgeworth to the lake. Now, Edgeworth didn't know Robert Hammond's face that well. That's why he didn't suspect anything when the murderer took Robert Hammond's place!
Judge: … I'm not sure what to make of all this.
Karma: L-Ludicrous!
Judge: Mr. Wright. Tell us the name of the murderer then!
Phoenix: The murderer's name…? Right! It's… Actually, I don't know the murderer's name.
Judge: Y-you don't know!?
Karma: Bah! Again, you waste my time!
Phoenix: I don't know because he never told us!
Karma: …!
Phoenix: The murderer is the caretaker of the boat shop, that old man! At 11:50, he was the one who killed Robert Hammond.
Judge: The caretaker of the boat shop!? Wh-where did he do this!? There weren't any boats on the lake then!
Phoenix: Why would he have to go all the way out on the lake just to shoot someone? May I suggest… That the real scene of this crime was not in a boat!
Judge: What!? W-well then, where did the murder take place!?
Phoenix: Here, of course! The boat shop, where he lives. That way he could meet with the victim without anyone seeing!
Karma: Objection! Do you have any proof that the boat shop was the scene of the crime!?
Phoenix: Recall Larry's testimony, if you will. That night he was out on the lake in a boat, searching for something. He finds it, and returns the boat. Then, just as he's starting to head for home, he hears a gunshot! He heard a gunshot, Your Honor! Even though he was wearing headphones at the time! In other words, the gunshot was very, very close by! And where would that be if he had just returned the boat?
Judge: The boat shop…! Mr. Wright! What happened that night on Gourd Lake!? Please tell the court, from the beginning!
Phoenix: Y-yes, Your Honor.
Judy: You okay, Phoenix?
Phoenix: I'll be fine. As long as I take it slow, and start from the very beginning, I might just be able to figure this out.
Nick: You sure you got this?
Phoenix: To be honest not really, but I think I know most of the stuff that went on anyway, all I have to do is piece them together.
Maya: Good luck, Nick!