"Like, what?" Ini said.
"This whole time you've been on the stand, no one said the victim was a defense attorney," Dahlia said. "How did you know that?"
Ini circled around her temples, putting immense concentration into her thoughts. "Oh, right, now I remember."
"What?" Dahlia said.
"The guy, the victim, like he was wearing his badge," Ini said. "Defense attorney's wear badges right? I remember this law student friend of mine telling me that."
"So the victim was wearing his badge then?" Dahlia said. "Could you add that to your testimony?"
"Like, okay," Ini said.
The victim, like, was wearing his badge.
"Objection!" Dahlia said. "I highly doubt you'd notice such a detail as that!"
"Objection!" Lana said. "Ms. Hawthorne, 'I highly doubt' is not a reasonable argument."
"Allow me to rephrase that then," Dahlia said. "It is impossible for the witness to have seen that badge."
"And why is that?" Lana said.
"Simple really," Dahlia said. "The victim didn't have his badge on him."
"What?" Lana said.
"Look at this photo," Dahlia said, presenting the blow up of the victim in the boat. "As you can see, the victim doesn't have his attorney's badge on. It fell off before he got on the boat!"
The gallery went into an uproar.
"Order! Order!" The judge said. "The next person to interrupt this trial will be dismissed from the courtroom immediately!"
Finally, the spectators calmed down.
"Now then," the judge said. "Ms. Hawthorne, I don't suppose you can explain this contradiction? If the witness didn't see the victim's badge, how did she know he was a defense attorney?"
"The same way nearly everyone in this case is connected Your Honor," Dahlia said. She brought out the DL-6 case file.
"D… L… 6?" Ini said. "Like, what's that?"
"Come on, even you aren't stupid enough not to recognize the case where your sister was murdered," Dahlia said. "Mimi Miney was your older sister, wasn't she?"
"S-sis?" Ini said.
"Yes, that's how you recognized the victim," Dahlia said.
"Don't bring up my sister!" Ini said, practically growling at the defense attorney. "She died a tragic death, but she kept her dignity! All you scummy defense attorneys are the same, don't you dare start dragging her name through the mud!"
"Hey! Take that back!" Dahlia said.
"Easy, Dahlia," Phoenix. "I think you hit a sore spot there."
"Grr…" Dahlia huffed. I never would have guessed she could be so… explosive. She looks ready to kill me.
That's when the pieces fell into place.
The letters were written by different people. She just suddenly bursts in and interrupts Yogi. She was at Gourd Lake the night of the murder. And then there's Lana…
"Lana, you didn't," Dahlia said.
The chief prosecutor wasn't looking at Dahlia, which just made her angry.
"Oh, I get it now," Dahlia said.
"Um, I don't get it," the judge said.
"Neither do I," Phoenix said. "Mind filling me in, Dahlia?"
"This was a team effort, wasn't it?" Dahlia said. "The one with the brains, and the one with the moxie."
"What are you, like, talking about?" Ini said, all smiled once again.
Time to bring out my trump cards. Dahlia presented the letters. "The victim and the defendant each received a letter from each other, summoning each other to Gourd Lake."
"What? But that doesn't make any sense!" the judge said.
You could step up your game a little bit Lana. The judge is pretty much doing your job. Dahlia nodded her head. "Exactly, Your Honor. That begs the question, how does one explain this? The answer is fairly simple. In actuality, neither of them wrote the letters."
"Then who did?" the judge said.
"They written by 2 different people," Dahlia said. "One… was confirmed to be written by… Lana Skye."
Lana bit her nail.
"Chief Prosecutor Skye?" the judge said, utterly shocked. "Is this true?"
"Uhh…" Lana nibbled on her thumb nail, uncomfortable with the situation. "Wh-Why would I do that?"
"Multiple reasons, I'm afraid," Dahlia said. "The first one being DL-6. You have ties to it as well."
"I…" Lana was at a loss for words.
"Your mother was the prosecutor in DL-6," Dahlia said. "But she lost to Manfred von Karma, even though you both knew the defendant was guilty."
"I wouldn't have someone die for that," Lana said.
"No, you wouldn't," Dahlia said. "But there's more. Many years later, you became a prosecutor. You had some victories, but many losses to von Karma. Because he was blackmailing you."
"Blackmail?" the judge exclaimed.
"Yes," Dahlia said, taking out the blackmail file. "This was found in the victim's office. It's all about Lana, with some threatening letters mixed in."
Lana bit her thumb, and broke skin.
"To be blackmailed by the one who let Yanni Yogi get away," Dahlia said. "It was too much, wasn't it?"
"I.. I… No…" Lana breathed irregularly. "What about the other letter?"
"You're the brains of this operation," Dahlia said. "But someone else carried it out. I believe that person was Ini Miney."
"What?" Ini said incredulously. "You can't pin the on me! It was the Butz guy!"
"That's what you wanted us to believe!" Dahlia said. "This is why you're the one who wrote the letter addressed to him!"
Ini pulled on her hat like it was dough. Suddenly, she put her hat back on and was all smiles again. Except this time it was more of a sneer. "Why would I do that?"
"To pin the crime on Larry of course!" Dahlia said.
"Like, because of DL-6?" Ini said. "But, like, wasn't my sister's killer supposed to be that Yanni Yogi guy? My sister's spirit even confirmed it, right?"
Dahlia flinched at the memory of her aunt's last channeling.
"You know, it's because of that I started, like, studying parapsychology," Ini said. "And I found something interesting."
"What?" Dahlia said.
"When channeled, spirits can lie," Ini said. "If they feel a great need to. Like to protect someone."
To protect someone? But the only other person in that elevator was… Dahlia gasped. She looked at her assistant, who had apparently come to the same conclusion. He shook his head vigorously, refusing to believe it. They turned to Larry, who didn't make eye contact.
"You guys really liked each other," Phoenix said.
"Maybe Yogi was innocent after all," Ini said.
"No!" Dahlia said. "That's… that's not possible!"
"Mimi…" Larry looked to be in a trance. "Did I…"
"No!" Phoenix said. "Larry, you wouldn't do that!"
"No one was in their right mind," Larry said, dazed. "I… I remember now. It was me."
"But that can't be!" Phoenix said. "Dahlia, do something!"
"I know!" Dahlia said, looking through the DL-6 case file. Inside were suspect data, victim data, an autopsy, and a list of evidence. What am I supposed to do?
"Butz, I'm going to kill you," Dahlia muttered. "This is crazy."
"I'm sorry, but… it was me," Larry looked ready to pass out. "I remember what happened now. It all adds up."
"No it doesn't!" Dahlia said. She looked at Ini, who sneered. All along, she wanted this to happen didn't she? So she's not quite as clueless as she looks, interesting.
"Uh…" the judge looked lost. Dahlia could sympathize.
"I… I confess!" Larry said. "Let me confess! I'll say exactly what happened!"
"You mean you want to testify?" the judge said. "Are there any objections?"
Dahlia caught Ini glare at Lana, who stuttered. "N-no, Your Honor."
Ini… She's pulling the strings now! Dahlia slammed her desk. "I object! My client never murdered anyone! Not now, and not 15 years ago!"
"Then prove it!" Larry said, looking mad at himself and the rest of the world. "Cross-examine me, show me I'm wrong!"
"But…" Dahlia didn't know what to say.
"Please Fey! Let me confess!" Larry said. "Mimi deserves as much."
I think he's going to cry if I don't go along with this. Dahlia gritted her teeth. "Okay, fine! I will!"
Larry now stood behind the witness stand. Dahlia glanced at her partner. He looks ready to cry himself. The defense attorney turned back to the witness and suddenly understood why. In Larry's eyes, she saw the soul of a man who had lost the will to live.
Testimony
Mimi and I got into an elevator with Yanni Yogi after watching a trial.
Out of nowhere, an earthquake breaks out and elevator shuts down and traps us all inside.
It was dark, and the air was thinning out. It made all of us a little on edge. Especially Yogi.
He starts going crazy, banging on the door and screaming. Mimi tried to calm him down.
He doesn't respond well to it though. Yogi gets mad at Mimi, and I could tell it was scaring her.
I wanted to help her, I wanted him to stop yelling. I tried talking to him, but it was like I wasn't there.
I was getting woozy from the lack of oxygen, but I felt something metallic.
I mustered the energy to pick it up and throw it. My vision and my hearing got patchy suddenly.
I heard Mimi yell though.
When I woke up many hours later in a hospital, I found out Mimi had been killed.
The judge sighed. "I remember that case. That poor 9 year old girl."
Something metallic? Dahlia observed Larry, who was the personification of depression.
"He really loved her," Phoenix murmured.
"I know," Dahlia said.
"Even in the wrong state of mind, he wouldn't hurt her," Phoenix said. "We've got to help him."
Dahlia sighed. "I know."
Cross-Examination
Mimi and I got into an elevator with Yanni Yogi after watching a trial.
Out of nowhere, an earthquake breaks out and elevator shuts down and traps us all inside.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "How did you all react?"
"Poorly," Larry said.
It was dark, and the air was thinning out. It made all of us a little on edge. Especially Yogi.
He starts going crazy, banging on the door and screaming. Mimi tried to calm him down.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "How did she do that?"
"She always wanted to help those in pain," Larry said. "We used to say she was better than the school nurse. She pushed her own fears away and tried to soothe him. Mimi told him things like 'calm your breathing' and 'I bet if you close your eyes it won't seem as bad.' It was all she could think to do."
A little girl who wanted to help those in pain. The reality of case finally hit Dahlia. What a tragic case.
He doesn't respond well to it though. Yogi got mad at Mimi, and I could tell it was scaring her.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "What were you doing at the time?"
"I was stupid," Larry said bitterly. "I was against the wall, scared out of my mind."
I wanted to help her, I wanted him to stop yelling. I tried talking to him, but it was like I wasn't there.
I was getting woozy from the lack of oxygen, but I felt something metallic.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "What do you mean something metallic?"
"At the time, I couldn't even tell what it was," Larry said. "But I think I remember now. It was a gun."
"Where did the gun come from?" Dahlia said.
"Looking back, it was probably Yogi's. He was a bailiff, after all," Larry said. "I was too disoriented to think about it at the time though."
Dahlia and Phoenix raced through the case file.
"There must be something, we're nearing the end of the testimony," Phoenix said.
"Yeah, we have to find something," Dahlia said.
"Autopsy, evidence, case summary," Phoenix mumbled.
Dahlia skimmed through the autopsy. Let's see, a single bullet to the heart. Died instantly from shock. There were some bruises on her too. What could this all mean? She gasped. Could it be…?
"Perhaps you could amend this to your testimony?" the judge said.
"Alright," Larry said.
I felt something metallic, and now I realize it was the gun. I mean, what else could it have been?
"Objection!" Dahlia said. "There was something else it could have been!"
"What?" Larry said. "No there wasn't. It was a metal object, cool and hard. And Mimi screamed after I threw it. It must have been the gun."
"But, if that's the case," Dahlia said. "Why haven't you mentioned a gunshot yet?"
"Objection!" Lana said, looking at Ini who was sitting off to the side. "His hearing and sight were off! It's possible he missed it amongst all the screaming!"
"Or, there wasn't a gunshot at all!" Dahlia said.
"Then what could it have been?" Lana said.
Dahlia presented her evidence. It glistened in the light as it swung back and forth from its silver chain. "Fits in your hand, cool, hard, metallic. Larry threw this necklace, which must have fallen out of his pocket."
"What?" Lana said, recoiling.
"B-but," Larry stammered.
"You acted too rash Larry," Dahlia said. "You didn't kill Mimi, you didn't throw a gun."
"Then why would Mimi scream?" Ini said.
"Uh, that's right!" Lana said.
"There was an unexplained bruise on Mimi's head," Dahlia said, bringing out Mimi's autopsy. "I suspect you accidentally hit her head with the necklace, and she yelped."
"But… I thought…" Larry's features softened.
"Memories dramatize over time, especially traumatic ones," Dahlia said. "But it looks like you gave her that necklace in the end after all."
"Objection!" Lana said. "That is merely a theory. You have no solid evidence!"
"Objection!" Dahlia said. Everything's coming together now. She pounded her desk. "Actually, I do!"
"You do?" Lana said, stunned.
"The gun that ended Mimi's life is all the evidence I need!" Dahlia said. "Because only Yanni Yogi's fingerprints were found on it. Not a trace of Larry Butz!"
"No!" Lana exclaimed. "But that means…"
"Yanni Yogi must have been the culprit after all," Dahlia said, nodding her head.
"What?" Ini said. "That- That- That can't be!"
"No, it's the only possibility!" Dahlia said. "And Lana knew it all along! You just didn't listen to her!"
"But… I was sure it was Butz!" Ini said. "I thought-"
"No, you didn't!" Dahlia said. "I see exactly what's been going on! Somehow, you and Lana met up and discussed DL-6. Lana wanted Manfred von Karma to pay for what he'd done, and you were more than willing to do it. You both agreed that the way he handled the trial had kept the true killer from being punished for his crime! But therein lies where you disagreed."
"Shut up!" Ini said.
"Lana believed Yogi was the murderer, but you thought it was Larry," Dahlia said. "So you went off on your own, and wrote the letter to Larry pretending to be von Karma. In order for the plan to keep going, Lana changed the letter she's written to the victim. But thanks to me, the trial became focused on Yogi anyway."
Dahlia looked Lana right in the eye. "Just like Lana wanted. So you meddled further."
"No!" Ini said.
"Yes!" Dahlia said. "You started threatening Lana yourself, so things would go your way. Then you interrupted the trial to throw Larry under the bus again! But you were sloppy. And now, your ill-conceived plan is crumbling right before your eyes! Because you were wrong from the beginning!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ini cried. She put her hands over her eyes and began to sob. "I- I- I- I just wanted to avenge Mimi. She was my sister! She died when I was 6! I- Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Ini broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "I give up! This was so stupid! I did everything I could, but nothing worked! Mimi's still dead! And the man who killed her is still out there and he'll never get what he deserves for what he di-hi-hi-id!"
A bailiff escorted Ini out of the courtroom, and everything was eerily silent.
It was then that Dahlia noticed Lana. She was hunched over, her face flat on her desk. Von Karma pushed her too far, and Ini used that, only to become as bad as the man she killed.
"Well, this was by far the most extreme case we've had in a while," the judge said, breaking the silence. "Ms. Skye, do you have anything to say?"
"I admit to being an accomplice," Lana said. "I also confess to being part of multiple rigged trials, due to Manfred von Karma's blackmail. With every trial he just gained more leverage over me, and he even went so far as to threaten to hurt my sister."
"That can't have been easy," the judge said.
"No, but I'm not a victim. I know I'm not," Lana said. "I was just a pawn."
The judge nodded his head somberly. "I see. Well, if there's nothing else I see no reason to prolong this trial any longer."
"I agree," Lana said.
"This court finds the defendant, Larry Butz," the judge said. "Not guilty."
The judge slammed his gavel, and the sound emitting all throughout the courtroom.
Finally, it's all over. Dahlia looked at Phoenix, who gave her a smile. She smiled back.
In the defendant's lobby, Larry looked exhausted.
"I-I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," Larry said. "In that instant, I was just so sure…"
Dahlia smacked him, smirking. "Just forget about it. What's done is done."
"Yeah, I guess," Larry said, straightening up. "But still…"
Phoenix patted him on the back. "But nothing, you don't have to apologize. When you think about it, it's because of what you did that Dahlia was able to put it all together."
"A client helps his attorney as much as his attorney helps him," Edgeworth said as he entered the lobby.
"Hey Miles," Phoenix said.
"I should thank you for the letters," Dahlia said.
"Yeah, I guess detectives aren't the enemy after all," Phoenix said.
Edgeworth smirked.
Larry smiled weakly. "You did come through, Edgeworth. Uh, thanks."
"Heh, like I said I was just doing my job," Edgeworth said.
"I really should thank you all," Larry said, sheepishly.
"Well, Dahlia did most of the work," Phoenix said. "But at least I could help a little."
"You're kidding right?" Dahlia said. "You were the one to figure out there was another boat on the lake in the first place."
"Well, sure, but…" Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck.
"You've done enough," Larry said. "Looks like now I owe you."
"What are you talking about?" Phoenix said. "You already saved me, remember?"
"Yeah…" Larry grinned nervously. "About that…."
"You know Phoenix," Edgeworth said, with a knowing smirk. "Prosecutor Butz just gave me a raise the day before."
"He did? That's great," Phoenix said.
"By $38 dollars," Edgeworth said.
No… It couldn't be… Dahlia grinned.
"$38?" Phoenix said. "That's kind of a weird amount. I mean… hold on a minute."
Phoenix looked Larry, shocked. "Larry! That was you?"
"When something smells, it's usually the Butz," Edgeworth said.
The three of them laughed.
Families were broken, lives were lost, and spirits were crushed. Dahlia watched the three men, beginning to laugh herself. But some bonds will never break, because through those hardships they just get stronger.
Larry noticed Dahlia laughing. "Hey, it is just me or does Fiery Ms. Fey look happy?"
"Quick! Get a camera!" Phoenix said.
Dahlia rapped his arm. "Shut up."
"Why only me?" Phoenix said.
Dahlia rapped Larry and Edgeworth too. "Better?"
"No," Larry and Edgeworth said.
Dahlia rolled her eyes. "I'm in a room with 3 grown men and I'm tougher than all of them."
"Not true," Phoenix said, noogying her head.
Dahlia grabbed his arm and twisted it around his back painfully.
"Okay! True! True! True!" Phoenix said.
Dahlia leaned forward. "That's what I thought you said."
"Mystic Dahlia?"
Everyone looked at the door, where a little girl in pale robes stood with her mouth agape in surprise.
"Pearly?" Dahlia said.
"What are you doing?" Pearl said.
"Well you see-" Dahlia began.
"Oh, I know!" Pearl said. She out her hands on her cheeks with a dreamy expression. "You're having fun with your, hee hee, special someone."
If Dahlia had been drinking water, she would have spit it out on the spot. Instead she dropped Phoenix, who was surprised himself, and he hit the floor.
"No! No! No! No! No!" Dahlia said forcefully.
Phoenix couldn't even form cohesive words as he picked himself up from the floor.
Larry and Edgeworth looked at each other, and smirked. Dahlia could tell by looking at them there was going to be some 'male bonding.'
"Is this a bad time to bring up the whole 'Feenie' thing?" Edgeworth said.
"Feenie?" Pearl said, looking at Phoenix said.
Finally, Phoenix was able to spit out an actual sentence. "Who are you?"
"My name is Pearl Fey. I'm Mystic Dahlia's sister," Pearl grinned. "I guess maybe one day I'll be your sister too."
Larry snorted, pressing his hand against his mouth.
"Pearly!" Dahlia said, her face almost as red as her hair.
"It's so nice to meet you," Pearl said, completely oblivious to how awkward the atmosphere was.
"Uh…" Phoenix was out of words again.
"Pearly, Nick isn't my boyfriend," Dahlia said. "That's just gross."
"Wait, gross?" Phoenix said.
"Don't help," Dahlia said.
"Dahlia, you haven't changed at all."
Dahlia took a sharp intake of breath when she saw a woman clad in black robes, with more hair than Lotta.
Morgan Fey took a sip from her mug. "Speak up child, didn't I raise you with some manners?"
No. Dahlia bit her tongue. "Hello… Mother."
