Apollo stood behind the defense bench, his intense gaze focused on the man behind the witness stand. He rubbed his left wrist, feeling the bracelet around it tightening. He's knows what he's saying is wrong. So why…? Guess there's only one way to find out.
Cross-Examination
I should probably apologize for all this confusion I caused.
You see, I walk through People Park pretty often. It's a good way to stretch my legs.
Sometimes I like to go off the path though and explore a bit. I do that a lot, actually.
So it makes sense that my shoeprints would be in a place like a clearing.
But it's not as if I was there the day of the crime.
"Objection!" Apollo said. "Mr. Rover, I'm afraid what you said… is impossible."
"It's impossible?" Laine said, flicking a lock of hair over his eyes. "Why do you say that?"
"Because it was confirmed that the shoeprints the police found were made the day of the crime," Apollo said.
"Achoo!" Laine sneezed. "What? How is that even…? They used some of Skye's print spray, didn't they? That stupid spray, what the heck is even in that stuff?"
"Mr. Rover, why did you lie?" Apollo said. "And please don't cover it up with another lie, it won't help you."
Laine sighed. "Suppose I can't get anything past you. Alright, so I lied. I just wanted this to be done quickly, you know? I already have to deal with this murder charge, the last thing I need is to get caught up in an attempted murder case. I guess it was a bit farfetched to think I could just lie and get it over with."
"So you made all that up then?" Apollo said.
"Well, technically not all of it. It's not as if I'd never been to People Park before," Laine said.
"Herr Rover, I would appreciate it if you stuck to the truth," Klavier said, leaning his head back. "I asked you to testify to explain yourself, not cause more trouble."
"I know, and that's on me. Honestly, I just want to get back to my family. My daughter needs me…" Laine murmured.
"This will all get settles a lot sooner if you just tell the truth," Apollo said. "What really happened? Did you see anything?"
"… Yes. I admit it, I saw that man getting shot," Laine said, looking down.
"I see…" Apollo said. He suddenly jumped back. "Wait, what?"
The crowd went into an uproar.
"Order!" the judge exclaimed over the noise, bashing his gavel.
Klavier leaned against his desk, a pained look on his face. "Herr Rover, you didn't mention this to me before."
"I know I didn't, I haven't been able to think straight lately," Laine said. "I thought the shooting had all been taken care of, I needed to focus on the case I was assigned to. Then next thing you know I get arrested and pretty much forget I even saw anything… Gah, what is wrong with me? Some cop I am."
"Mr. Rover, you can pity yourself later. Right now, stay on topic!" the judge said. "Now who did you see shoot the victim?"
"It was…" Laine sighed. "It was the defendant."
"Are you serious?" Apollo exclaimed, recoiling. He pounded his fist against his desk. "Mr. Rover, are you absolutely sure of this?"
"Yeah, she was there, wasn't she? I saw everything that happened," Laine said.
"Well I wish you had mentioned this earlier!" the judge said. "Testify about what you saw!"
"Of course, Your Honor," Laine said.
Testimony
So, I was one of the policemen assigned to investigate the murder that had occurred.
To get to the crime scene, I had cut through the wooded area of the park.
At some point, I heard a gunshot and a scream. I guess I had been pretty close to the clearing.
I ran towards the source of the noise and arrived just in time to see the girl shoot the victim.
"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this was going to be difficult," Apollo muttered.
"Did he really see Kay shoot Mr. Edgeworth?" Trucy murmured. "No… He couldn't have. So why is he saying this? Was there some kind of misunderstanding?"
"… I don't think so," Apollo said, observing the witness with sharp brown eyes.
"Do you see something, Polly?" Trucy said.
"It's more of a feeling, really. There's a lot of tension in the air," Apollo said.
"Yeah, I feel it too," Trucy said.
"I don't think I need to rely on my bracelet right now though," Apollo said. "I'm going to focus on his words for the time being. But if you see something fishy, don't be afraid to tip me off."
"You got it," Trucy said, pumping her fists and facing forward.
Cross-Examination
So, I was one of the policemen assigned to investigate the murder that had occurred.
"Hold it!" Apollo said. "By murder you mean Ashi Kitaki's, correct?"
"Yeah, was there any other murder?" Laine said.
"No," Apollo said. Not recently, anyway. "So what does this have to do with it?"
"Simple," Laine said.
To get to the crime scene, I had cut through the wooded area of the park.
"Hold it!" Apollo said. "Walk through the wooden area? But the murder scene was on the complete other side of the park! It was practically right next to the entrance!"
"I didn't know that, I came in through the back entrance closer to the forest," Laine said.
"There's another entrance?" Apollo said.
"Ja, you never noticed, Herr Forehead?" Klavier said. "There are several ways to get into the park. One of them starts near the woods."
I've practically lived next to that park for almost a year now and I never knew that. Wow. Maybe I do need to get out more… Apollo brushed the thought aside. "So then I guess you came in through that entrance, Mr. Rover?"
"Yeah," Laine said.
At some point, I heard a gunshot and a scream. I guess I had been pretty close to the clearing.
I ran towards the source of the noise and arrived just in time to see the girl shoot the victim.
"Hold it!" Apollo said. "Are you sure you saw Kay?"
"She's pretty distinct, it's not easy to mistake her for someone else," Laine said. "It was just her and the victim."
I need to press further here. Something about this whole scenario feels wrong. Like there's a contradiction tucked away in this story. Apollo placed an open palm on the desk. "So Kay was the one that fired that shot, you say?"
"Yes, that's what I said," Laine said.
"Then I guess she was the one to fire the shot before that, by that logic," Apollo said, pressing his forehead with an index finger.
"I can't think of anyone else who could've," Laine said. "Well, I suppose the victim was also there, but that wouldn't really make sense."
"No, it wouldn't make sense at all," Apollo said, thinking as he spoke. "Just to fill in some of the details, could you add that to your testimony?"
"Sure, I don't see why not," Laine said.
I'm guessing the defendant was the person who fired the other shot as well.
"Objection!" Apollo said. "Mr. Rover, this story of yours isn't adding up."
"I'm just telling you what I saw," Laine said.
"Well, what you 'saw' still doesn't make any sense!" Apollo said. He presented the fallen branch.
"That's quite a stick you've got there," Laine said.
"This is a branch that fell off one of the trees surrounding the clearing," Apollo said. "If you look at the base, you'll see that there's a curved indention there. It's from a bullet."
"I see, so that branch got fired at and fell," Laine said. "How is this inconsistent with anything I said?"
"Allow me to explain," Apollo said. "You see, the shooter fired at the branch as a warning shot of sorts. Based on the position of the bullet hole, one can deduce that the person with the gun was standing on the right hand side of the tree."
"Makes sense to me. So the girl must have been standing there then," Laine said.
Apollo shook his head. "No, she wasn't."
"You're pretty confident about that. Do you have the ammunition is support that claim?" Laine said.
"Naturally," Apollo said. He showed the map to the courtroom. "Remember the shoeprints from earlier? This map shows the movements of everyone involved."
Laine coughed. "… Really?"
"Yes, really. And as you can see…." Apollo slammed his fists onto the desk. "Kay was never on the right hand side of that tree!"
"Achoo!" Laine sneezed. "Achoo! Achoo!"
"In fact, the only person who was ever in position to shoot at the branch was you!" Apollo said, pointing his finger at the officer.
"Achoo! W-wait! What if the police just missed those prints?" Laine said.
"Then it still wouldn't have made logical sense for her to shoot down the branch!" Apollo said. "She had been standing on it!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Laine said incredulously. "How can you prove a thing like that?"
"Simple physics," Apollo said. "Given the thickness of the branch, it would have taken more than a hole the size of a bullet to make it break off the tree. However, if you add the weight of a person standing on it, it makes perfect sense!"
"Objection!" Klavier said. "Herr Forehead, for the sake of the argument I'll entertain your idea that the defendant was standing in a tree."
"Want me to do the math? I can!" Apollo said.
"I'll take your word for it," Klavier said. "However, let's look at this from a different angle. A reverse angle, to be more precise."
"A reverse?" Apollo said.
"Ja," Klavier said, swinging his fist around and pounding it against the wall behind him. "What if the defendant was the one to shoot the branch? It would have created the same kind of bullet hole, but in reverse!"
"Objection!" Apollo said. "Why on Earth would she shoot the branch she was standing on?"
"Why would she stand in a tree to begin with?" Klavier said. "Perhaps she didn't know it would be enough to break her little perch. Or maybe she just wanted to make an entrance. She does seem to have a flair for the dramatics, ja?"
Can I counter that? It sounds crazy, but I have to admit it is possible… Or is it? Apollo shook his head. "Sorry, Gavin, but that's impossible."
"Is it now?" Klavier said, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets. "Do you have evidence to refute my theory?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Apollo said. He presented a bullet. "This is the bullet that went through the tree in question. It was found lodged in another branch, right behind where Kay would've been standing!"
Klavier covered his ears, shaking his head. "But then…"
"That's right!" Apollo said. "No matter how you look at it, there's no logical way for Kay to have fired that first bullet!"
Klavier said nothing. He kept his hands over his ears, shaking his head from side to side. Finally, he put his hands down and straightened his stance. "Alright, Herr Forehead, well played. But you seem to have skipped a beat during your performance."
"How so?" Apollo said.
"You say the defendant never fired a single shot, ja?" Klavier said. "Then it's time you come out and say it with that powerful voice of yours. Who fired that shot?"
"Who fired the shot?" Apollo said, fists clenched atop his desk. I can't see any other possibility. No matter how I look at it, the facts all point to one thing. One person. "If you want to see who fired that shot, just look at the map."
"The one with the shoeprints?" Klavier said.
"Yes. Given the layout of footprints, there's only one person who could've shot that bullet," Apollo said. He thrust his pointer finger at the witness stand. "Laine Rover!"
Silence fell over the courtroom. All eyes were focused on the officer behind the witness stand, who was staring down at the floor. His shaggy blonde hair fell over his face, casting shadows on his features. Apollo watched him, waiting to see what he would do. It has to be him. That's why he's been tense this whole time, not a word he's said was true. Wait, what's that? Is that… a tear?
Laine lifted his head up. He flicked his hair back with a swing of his neck, simultaneously sending a teardrop flying. "I knew this was going to happen. I'm sorry it had to come to this."
The rest of the courtroom stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I thought maybe if I lied, if I just pretended… it would all work out somehow. I'm an idiot," Laine said. "Guess I have no choice but to tell the truth, though at this point you might not even believe me."
Apollo stayed on his guard, observing the officer with sharp brown eyes. This isn't going to be a confession. I can sense he's got something else in mind.
"You see, there was… a fourth person there," Laine said.
The gallery immediately went into an uproar. Exclamations of disbelief and confusion clashed together, the collective sound drowning out the individual voices. The judge slammed his gavel as loud as he could to cut through the noise.
"Order! I said order!" the judge said.
His voice, however, was just barely audible over those of the gallery.
"Objection!" Apollo shouted, his thunderous voice echoing through the courtroom.
The gallery immediately became quiet. Apollo crossed his arms triumphantly, unable to hold back a proud smile. Chords of Steel, for the win!
"Ah, thank you, Mr. Justice," the judge said.
"Anytime, Your Honor," Apollo said.
"Polly, remember the trial?" Trucy said, poking the young lawyer's shoulder.
"Oh, right," Apollo said. "So as I was saying, I have an objection. Mr. Rover, you are aware that there were only three sets of shoeprints for that day, right?"
"Who said they left any shoeprints?" Laine said. "Where have you been saying your client was hanging out when the first shot was fired?"
"In a tree…" Apollo said. "Wait, are you really saying the shooter was hiding out in a tree the entire time?"
"Don't say it like I'm crazy. You're not the only one allowed to make a claim like that," Laine said. "Besides, it's the truth."
"But what about the first gunshot?" Apollo said. "You'd have to be on the ground to make a shot from that angle!"
"I never said I saw the first shot happen, how should I know how they did it?" Laine said. "Maybe the shooter was on the ground to begin with, then leapt into the trees to avoid being seen. I remember there being a bunch of leaves on the ground around the trees, maybe that messed with the footprint spray stuff and it didn't catch those."
"But then why did you lie?" Apollo said. "If there was a fourth person, why would you say the defendant was the shooter?"
"Because… Because I had to keep quiet," Laine said, timidly pulling a lock of hair over his face. "If I told you who the shooter really was, my family… My little girl… They could've gotten hurt. I had no choice. I'm not proud of it, but I'd never be able to live with myself if I let something happen to her. You have to understand that."
Is… he telling the truth? Apollo stood behind the desk, unsure what to say.
"Polly, what's going on?" Trucy said.
Apollo sighed, feeling his hair wilt over his forehead. "Just another day at the office."
Wouldn't it save so much time if all the witnesses told the truth from the beginning? Forget about the three day rule of the Bench Trial System, this entire thing could've been settled in a couple of hours! But hey, where's the fun in that?
Also, thanks for beta reading this chapter, Darkblah1123. You're the best! You guys should totally read his stories, they're great!
So, what do you guys think? Is Laine telling the truth, or is he lying to save his skin? Tell me your thoughts. ;D
