Author's Note: This fic is now the longest story I've ever written, at well over 50,000 words (and in only nine months! How do the NaNo people do it?). To those of you who reviewed or contacted me with a theory as to what really happened, so far no-one has guessed correctly - although some of you are on the right track. Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed or favourited, especially those who took the time to leave constructive criticism and more detailed feedback.
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For his court appearance, Dr. de Áth was wearing a white lab coat over dark slacks. The coat seemed a little too small for him, the middlemost buttons straining slightly against his stocky belly. A white shirt and red tie were visible above the topmost button of his lab coat.
"Witness," Edgeworth began, "please state your name and occupation for the record."
"Doctor Todd de Áth," the doctor replied smoothly, "chief medical officer at the State Penitentiary."
Edgeworth shuffled through some papers on his bench. "Doctor, you oversee the medical care of the inmates – either treating them directly or supervising other medical personnel, correct?"
"Yes," de Áth replied. "I also conduct autopsies when the need arises, and take care of administrative duties – overseeing drug prescriptions and so on."
"Dr. de Áth," Edgeworth continued, "I had intended for you to testify about the autopsy you conducted on Diego Armando. However," he removed his glasses and polished them again, "due to recent events, the court requires some clarification as to Armando's medical condition prior to his death." Edgeworth slipped his glasses back on. "Are you prepared to testify about this matter?"
The doctor nodded.
"I had a feeling this might come up," he answered with a smile. "I'll answer any question the court may have about Armando's medical history."
"Very well," Edgeworth replied. "Diego Armando was referred to you for medical treatment in late December of last year, correct?"
"Yes," Dr. de Áth replied.
"To you personally?" Edgeworth asked.
"Yes," the doctor clarified. "I took charge of his case because of the…effect he was having on the other prisoners."
"His violent outbursts," Edgeworth suggested.
"That's correct," de Áth replied. He paused, expecting another question. Edgeworth motioned for him to continue. "I saw Armando for the first time right before Christmas Eve – a preliminary examination prior to more in-depth testing, which I began on January 3rd of this year."
"Based on those tests, what can you tell us about Armando's physical condition?" Edgeworth asked.
"From his medical records, I already knew he'd been poisoned several years earlier," Dr. de Áth answered. "He had some existing medical problems which we'd been treating since he was first incarcerated – he was completely blind without visual prosthetics, he had nerve damage which left him with tremors in his hands and legs…he was in bad shape for someone his age."
Edgeworth nodded. Apollo followed along attentively, flicking his thumb against the pages of Diego's medical file.
"I knew from Dr. Kovacs' evaluation that Armando thought his anger issues had a physical cause rather than a psychological one," the doctor continued. "So I decided to take an MRI of his brain to check for any irregularities."
Edgeworth produced the acetate sheet with the MRI of Armando's brain. "That would be this picture?"
"Yes," de Áth confirmed.
"Looks like Mr. Edgeworth has his own copy of the victim's medical records," Trucy whispered.
"Yeah," Apollo whispered back. He discreetly slid the toxicology report out of the folder containing the autopsy results. "But I'll bet he doesn't have this."
"The MRI showed that Armando had sustained neurological damage in an area that could cause impulsive or erratic behaviour, personality changes or even violent outbursts," the doctor continued.
"Could you show the court, please?" Edgeworth asked, handing the sheet to the bailiff.
"Of course." Dr. de Áth stepped off the witness stand as the MRI was displayed on the screens in the courtroom. He pointed to the same areas that Guy Eldoon had shown Apollo and Trucy the day before. "Here, and here."
"Wait a minute!" the judge exclaimed, blinking in surprise. "Prosecutor Edgeworth, that looks like a picture of someone's insides!"
Apollo caught a flash of disbelief on Edgeworth's face before the prosecutor schooled his expression into a more neutral one. "Yes, Your Honour."
"I thought an MRI was some sort of music thing!" the judge remarked.
Edgeworth slid his glasses off his face and began to clean them, slowly and deliberately, unable to keep the irritation from his voice. "…That is an mp3, Your Honour."
The judge gave him a dirty look. "Watch your tone, prosecutor." Apollo couldn't help smirking as Edgeworth put his glasses back on. The judge turned his attention to the doctor. "Witness, continue with your testimony."
"Given these results," de Áth finished, "I began to treat Armando medically, to the best of my ability."
"How?" Edgeworth asked.
"Drug treatments," the doctor elaborated. "Given his physical condition and dependence on visual prosthetics, I didn't think it would be safe for him to undergo surgery."
"Were these treatments successful?" Edgeworth asked.
The doctor smiled. "I think Armando's disciplinary record is proof that they were."
Apollo narrowed his eyes. Sure it was, as long as you didn't compare the dates Armando was prescribed tranquillisers with the dates of each violent incident…and ignored the fact that for two and a half months, the "drug treatment" didn't do a damn thing to improve Armando's behaviour.
"Thank you, doctor," Edgeworth said.
"Mr. Justice, you may now cross-examine the witness," the judge declared.
Apollo gazed at Dr. de Áth as he recapped his testimony, checking each of the doctor's statements against the existing evidence.
"Diego Armando was referred to me for medical treatment in late December of last year," the doctor repeated. "I saw him for the first time right before Christmas Eve, and began more in-depth testing on January 3rd of this year."
Apollo simply nodded. No point in pressing him yet.
"He'd been poisoned several years earlier," Dr. de Áth continued, "and had some existing medical problems which we'd been treating since he was first incarcerated."
"Hold it!" Apollo yelled. "Did any of these medical problems contribute to Armando's death?"
De Áth looked as if he'd been caught off-guard. "No," he replied.
"How can you be sure?" Apollo pressed.
"Because I conducted the autopsy," Dr. de Áth replied, his expression darkening to a scowl.
"Which the doctor will be testifying about momentarily," Edgeworth cut in smoothly. He wagged his finger at the defence team. "Patience is a virtue, Mr. Justice – one it would be worth your while to develop." As Apollo glared at him, Edgeworth remarked, "Please continue with your testimony, doctor."
"An MRI showed that Armando was suffering from neurological damage, which was probably the cause of his behavioural problems," Dr. de Áth continued. "I chose to treat Armando using medication, as I felt surgery would be too risky for a man in his condition."
"Objection!"
Apollo slid Diego's prescription record out of his file.
"Dr. de Áth," he said, "you claim you treated Armando's condition using medication."
"Yes," the doctor replied. Apollo hesitated, surprised by how calm he sounded. He recovered quickly and continued.
"I happen to have here a record of the drugs Armando was prescribed during his stay in prison," Apollo declared. "The defence's medical expert –" he paused while Maya "ooh!"ed in the gallery behind him, " – identified the ones he'd been taking since the beginning of his incarceration. There was only one new drug that Armando had been prescribed in the last twelve months. I've highlighted it in yellow." Apollo passed the sheet of paper to the doctor. "Could you tell the court what it is, please."
Dr. de Áth looked at the sheet. "Somnidryl," he replied.
Apollo gazed at him for a couple of seconds. (Why is he so calm?!) "What exactly is Somnidryl?" he pressed.
"It's a tranquilliser," de Áth answered, "given intravenously."
Apollo took the sheet back. "This tranquilliser was the only new drug used to treat Diego Armando," he declared. "When the prescription record is compared with Armando's disciplinary record," he held up the second sheet of paper, "it's clear that Armando received this tranquilliser every time he had a violent episode."
He handed the sheets of paper to the bailiff, who passed them to the judge. Apollo stole a glance at Edgeworth while the judge looked over the documents. The prosecutor was gazing at his own set of documents, but seemed curiously unruffled. Apollo pointed a finger at the doctor.
"You weren't treating Armando's neurological condition at all!" he accused. "You just doped him up to make him easier to manage!"
"And it worked," de Áth shot back, a note of anger creeping into his voice. "Check the records."
"No it didn't!" Apollo shouted. "Every time Armando came off the tranquilliser, he went right back to being unstable and violent!"
Dr. de Áth slammed his palms on the witness stand, going red in the face. "I treated him to the best of my ability –"
Apollo banged his fists on the bench, cutting him off. "How can you call that the best treatment? How can you call it any kind of treatment?!"
The judge banged his gavel several times. "Order!" Apollo felt Trucy's hand on his arm and allowed her to pull him back from the bench. He felt a little shaky. (Wow, did I get hot? Where did that come from?)
"Witness," the judge remarked, looking from one document to the other, "can you explain why you treated Mr. Armando with this particular drug?"
The doctor glared at Apollo for a moment, then glanced at the judge. "Your Honour, a prison hospital isn't much better than a field hospital. Our resources are limited. To get Armando's MRI, we had to take him to County General under guard. Prescribing tranquillisers was all I could do for him."
Apollo glared at him, fingertips brushing against the toxicology report. "Objection!"
"You work in a prison hospital?" Dr. de Áth shouted. "You know better than the Chief Medical Officer what treatment options were available?!"
The judge banged his gavel again. "ORDER! Order in this court!" He glared at Apollo. "Mr. Justice, unless that piece of paper is a complete inventory of all the drugs in the prison hospital, I suggest you withdraw your objection."
Apollo recoiled slightly, surprised at the judge flat-out refusing to let him present any evidence. He thought about arguing with the judge, but if he didn't manage to convince him to consider the toxicology report, then de Áth would know he had it – and Apollo wanted to keep the element of surprise. The best thing to do would be to sit on it for now, and wait till the doctor testified about Armando's autopsy.
"Withdrawn, Your Honour."
"A wise decision," the judge replied, directing a stern look his way.
Apollo stepped back from the bench and ran his hand over his hair, blowing out a breath. He looked across the courtroom at Edgeworth. The prosecutor had one hand flat on the bench in front of him, a steely gaze locked on the doctor.
"Prosecutor Edgeworth," the judge said, "you may proceed."
Edgeworth stared at Dr. de Áth for a few seconds longer, then straightened up.
"Thank you, Your Honour."