May 30

Courtroom No. 6

10:40 AM

Cotoli Morix

Detective Erikson walked up to the witness stand not long after Ghastly called for him. He had his hands in his pockets, and he was focused on looking at the ground. I watched him intently, wondering if he had found out anything else about the case. I couldn't say for sure, as it seemed to me like he was lost in thoughts about something else, but I didn't know if it was related to the case or not. Regardless, I would likely be finding out soon enough, and when I did, I would hopefully hear that it was going to go in my favor.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost declared, looking down at Detective Erikson solemnly.

"My name is Toby Erikson. I'm a homicide detective at the local precinct. I'm also the lead detective on this case, so I'm here to testify about the basic facts of the case," Detective Erikson replied.

"In that case, feel free to go ahead. We got most basic details from the opening statement done by the prosecution, but if there is anything you would like to add, go on and explain it," Judge Frost said.

"I'm actually going to share some extra details about what the victim was doing just before her death... Well, it's more like her disappearance. We don't know when she died, but we do know that she went missing, and I can say what she got up to just before she vanished," Detective Erikson told him.

"Of course. Go on ahead and explain it," Judge Frost instructed with a firm nod. "We'll all be waiting."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ What Dee Fence Was Doing ~

-"Before she died, the victim was working on trying to hire a new lawyer for her agency."

-"Said new lawyer was one Marcus Moore. He was known for disappearing for many years, only showing up once again when he was trying to apply for this job."

-"She wound up rejecting his application to work at the agency, though none are quite sure why."

-"He wanted to talk to her about why he turned her down, so they arranged to meet up one last time to talk about it."

-"However, such a meeting seems to have never been carried out. We have no proof about it happening or not, I'm afraid."

-"We can't ask Marcus Moore about it either, as he vanished once again as soon as the victim disappeared as well."

"Well then... This Marcus Moore man is odd if he was involved with all of this. He appeared to speak with the victim, but he went missing soon after he finished talking with her. I would like to ask for details about this man soon, specifically after this testimony is over," Judge Frost declared.

"I'd be happy to offer more details when the defense is finished cross-examining the most recent testimony," Detective Erikson told him. "For now, perhaps we should go on and begin the cross-examination. That would help to speed this process along a little bit."

"I would agree," Judge Frost nodded. "Defense, if it's alright with you, it's time to get into things. Go on and begin the process of examining the testimony."

"I'll get right to it," I said, sharing a brief glance with Victoria as I spoke. This was all old information to me and Victoria, but we were going to have to look at it with a fresh eye to find something that would prove Polly didn't do it. Pointing fingers at Marcus Moore seemed like the best idea, so we would just have to find something that made him seem suspicious, which as far as I could tell, would not be difficult at all.

Cross-Examination

~ What Dee Fence Was Doing ~

-"Before she died, the victim was working on trying to hire a new lawyer for her agency."

-"Said new lawyer was one Marcus Moore. He was known for disappearing for many years, only showing up once again when he was trying to apply for this job."

-"She wound up rejecting his application to work at the agency, though none are quite sure why."

-"He wanted to talk to her about why he turned her down, so they arranged to meet up one last time to talk about it."

-"However, such a meeting seems to have never been carried out. We have no proof about it happening or not, I'm afraid."

-"We can't ask Marcus Moore about it either, as he vanished once again as soon as the victim disappeared as well."

"Hold it!"

"If you ask me, I don't think we should be looking to the defendant as a suspect in this crime," I said. "Marcus Moore is known to have spoken to the victim just before she disappeared. For all we know, she was killed as soon as she seemed to 'go missing' from the public eye. If this is the case, he is the one we should be thinking of as suspicious. After all, there are records of him going to see her shortly before the disappearance incident," I announced.

"Marcus Moore already isn't making himself look great, I must admit," Ghastly frowned. "I don't know how we can have him defend himself though. After all, it isn't like he's here. He's not an easy man to contact. He disappeared as soon as he finished his business with the victim. He had been gone for over twelve years before then. I don't know how we would get his testimony at this point, as much as I hate to say it. I want to hear what he has to say, but the universe doesn't want us to be able to listen to him."

"What do we know about Marcus Moore?" Victoria asked. "Maybe we could have Detective Erikson testify about that next. After all, Your Honor, you already expressed interest in hearing what details there were about him, so it might be worth it to get into that next."

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Judge Frost nodded. "If there are no further objections, we can have the current witness testify about the existence of one Marcus Moore. Prosecution, are you alright with this?"

Ghastly opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off when Prosecutor Wood of all people raised her hand and shook her head. "I... I have something to say about him," she announced. I could hear her voice shaking, but she still did her best to talk despite it.

"You know something about him?" I asked, my eyes wide in shock. "Why don't you go on and tell us what it is you've heard about? Any information is helpful, no matter how insignificant the details may seem at first."

Prosecutor Wood looked up to Ghastly silently at first, seeing if he thought this was a good idea. He nodded to encourage her to continue, and once she was sure he supported her, Prosecutor Wood took in a deep breath and let out a long, shaky sigh. She seemed nervous, though I couldn't tell if this was because she was nervous thinking about him or since she didn't like talking in front of people like this.

She seemed to do her best to shake off her fear in the seconds that followed though, and by the time she looked back up at me and Victoria, most of her previous nervousness had disappeared completely. "Marcus Moore... I never met him, but I knew of him. He went missing when I was a little girl, so you wouldn't expect me to know much about him, but... I heard about him from my cousin. I heard about him a lot more than you would anticipate, because... Well..." Prosecutor Wood swallowed nervously before continuing. "He was my uncle."

I stared at her in surprise. That was one thing I hadn't expected her to say. I don't know what I was expecting her to say when she began talking, but that sure as hell wasn't it. I looked to Victoria briefly, and I saw that she was just as surprised as I was, if not more so. We studied each other's expressions for a while before looking back to Prosecutor Wood.

The gallery had burst into chatter while we were otherwise distracted, but I hadn't even realized people were talking. The buzz seemed distant, like it wasn't even happening in the same room. However, I knew that it very much was when Judge Frost picked up his gavel and hit it against the podium before him. "Order!" he exclaimed, and his voice was the loudest I had ever heard it. "Prosecutor Wood, you had best not be joking. I highly doubt you would tease about something as serious as this... I ask that you continue and offer further details about your connection. How much did you hear about him? Do you know what he got up to in the years he was gone?"

"I didn't ever get the chance to meet him, but my cousin knew about him. My cousin, Zach, knew him well before he disappeared, though I guess he didn't know him as well as we thought initially... He told me that his father was distant and rarely came home. One day, he simply stopped coming home, and that was when he was declared missing. He always seemed to have money despite not having a job, which was suspicious to most people who knew him... Nobody asked questions though. They didn't want to ask him about it since they just needed the money to keep my aunt alive and fighting against her sickness," Prosecutor Wood continued.

"So, all that we know is that he was acting fishy, and he always seemed to have money. Nobody knew how that was the case, but he did. Eventually, he disappeared, and nobody knows where he went off to," I concluded, cupping one hand around my chin. I nodded slowly in response. "I see..."

"That's about all I know about him. Without the support of my uncle, my aunt didn't have the money to remain alive, and she died of her illness a few years after he disappeared," Prosecutor Wood went on. "Zach went to boarding school with me soon after she got worse, and she passed away while we were gone. As far as we're aware, he never appeared again. Nobody knows where he was all those years... Zach was convinced he had died."

"How did your cousin learn about all of this?" Victoria asked. "That's a lot for someone so young to take up thinking about... I know I would have never been able to handle such heavy knowledge."

"He always enjoyed researching things, and he tried to learn more about his father after he went to school with me. He learned all of this while he was at the school, and he told me about it as he figured it out. He also kept notes about his findings, which I eventually inherited when he passed away," Prosecutor Wood explained. "He... He committed suicide after an incident at school. It traumatized him horribly, and he couldn't bear the weight of that, the death of his mother, and the disappearance of his father any longer... After he died, he left all of his research behind for me to look through."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I told Prosecutor Wood, unsure of what else to say. "If you need any help talking about it, I'm happy to be there for you."

Prosecutor Wood hesitated before shaking her head. "Don't worry about it... It was all a long time ago, and I'm a lot better now than I was... I hope that information helps you out a little bit. I don't know much aside from what I told you, just that he disappeared when I was about three or four... He's always been a mystery to me, and I never thought it would be important to find out more about him," she said.

"Did you ever plan on investigating more into what he did before he disappeared?" Victoria asked.

Prosecutor Wood shook her head once again. "No, not at all... Zach seemed to think he was doing something bad with his life, though I don't know exactly what he suspected since he never wrote it down. He wanted to drop it eventually, and he asked me to stop looking into it as well. I followed his advice, and after he died, I decided it would be best to do as he said. It was the least I could do for him after he passed away," she told us.

"I see... Still, I'm incredibly thankful that you were able to tell us all of this. I don't know where we would be if not for this information," I smiled, hoping I could put her at ease. She had calmed down slightly, but I could tell she was still nervous about talking in front of so many people.

Prosecutor Wood flushed at the sudden attention, looking down at the bench before her. "I'm just happy I could help... Maybe we should continue with the trial now. I don't know what else to say about Marcus Moore or his disappearance, so we might as well get on with it... Detective Erikson, you said that you could tell us about him, right?" she asked, focusing on the man standing behind the witness stand.

"I did. I wouldn't say I know a lot, but it's still worth bringing up just in case we find some of those facts to be important," Detective Erikson declared. "Your Honor, should I go on and begin my testimony?"

Judge Frost nodded. "Of course. Go right ahead and begin," he instructed.

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Marcus Moore ~

- "Marcus Moore disappeared over twelve years ago and wasn't seen up until he applied to work at Blocker Law recently."

- "When he didn't get the job, he tried to speak with the victim once again, but afterwards, he went missing once again."

- "Nobody knows where he is now, because he's vanished into thin air. However, chances are he's alive, as he already survived for many years out of the public eye."

- "Prosecutor Wood just stated that he always somehow had money despite not having a job, so I suspect he was involved in some sort of illegal activities."

- "To prove this, he returned with a law degree after coming out of hiding, though there's no evidence he ever went to school to become a lawyer, which is beyond suspicious."

- "There is no proof as to if this degree was real or not, and we don't have the ability to compare it to anything since all we know about the degree is what is written in the victim's notes."

- " If we could find the degree, we could say for sure if it was real or not, but since it's out of our reach, we can't find out positively."

"So, this Marcus Moore man was clearly involved with illegal activities as Niamh suspected," Ghastly announced. "Falsifying a degree is a serious offense. I don't know if he's been heavily involved with doing illegal things, but this, at the very least, is an issue. The law is not going to go easy on him when he is found."

"The degree... Wow. I wonder why he would think of making a fake degree just to get into Blocker Law," Judge Frost said with a small frown. "I don't think anyone here would make a fake degree solely for the reason of getting into a specific law agency. He never studied the law, and then he decided he wanted to work there... It sounds suspicious. There must have been something he wanted to do within that agency, and it was enough to make him want to go against the law."

"If you ask me, it likely had something to do with the Oracle of the Law," Ghastly proposed. "A lot of people start to work at Blocker Law with intents of finding out more about them. I bet he wanted to work there to learn about what they've been up to given that they were involved with a case that took place at Blocker Law. Many reporters started appearing there with hopes of finding out more about Oracle since that crime took place, and it wouldn't shock me if he wanted to worm his way inside to learn more."

"People have always acted oddly where they are concerned," Judge Frost murmured. "I agree with you in thinking that it wouldn't be shocking if he tried to get in to find out about Oracle. However, I think it's time that we focus on the cross-examination. Defense, are you ready?"

I nodded firmly. "Of course."

Cross-Examination

~ Marcus Moore ~

- "Marcus Moore disappeared over twelve years ago and wasn't seen up until he applied to work at Blocker Law recently."

- "When he didn't get the job, he tried to speak with the victim once again, but afterwards, he went missing once again."

- "Nobody knows where he is now, because he's vanished into thin air. However, chances are he's alive, as he already survived for many years out of the public eye."

- "Prosecutor Wood just stated that he always somehow had money despite not having a job, so I suspect he was involved in some sort of illegal activities."

- "To prove this, he returned with a law degree after coming out of hiding, though there's no evidence he ever went to school to become a lawyer, which is beyond suspicious."

- "There is no proof as to if this degree was real or not, and we don't have the ability to compare it to anything since all we know about the degree is what is written in the victim's notes."

-" If we could find the degree, we could say for sure if it was real or not, but since it's out of our reach, we can't find out positively."

"Hold it!"

"How did you find out the information that was on his degree?" I asked Detective Erikson with a small frown.

"It was written in the victim's notes. She was incredibly thorough in her investigation of the man. It's amazing how much she was able to figure out about him where police failed... However, it wasn't enough to determine where he had been for all those years, meaning we're still clueless on that front. The majority of her notes revolved around the degree and what other factors made him less than qualifying," Detective Erikson replied.

"I see... If she runs a law agency, she would know when somebody was up to something suspicious. She figured it out quickly, and after realizing he was trying to get into the agency for selfish reasons, she declined his wishes to work there. It doesn't take a genius to know that Blocker Law was involved with Oracle a few years ago," Ghastly said.

"Well, I think this is incredibly useful information. Be sure to take notes about what you have learned here, defense and prosecution," Judge Frost told us next. "Marcus Moore wanted to work at her agency to find out more about Oracle... She rejected him upon realizing he had done something with his degree that was far from legal, believing it was falsified in order to get him into the agency despite not having any legal qualifications. The drive of this man is something to be admired at the very least, though I can't say much else positive about him."

"I wish all of this would help us to figure out what he's been up to since he last appeared publicly. It's really not doing much for us at the moment, as much as I hate to say it," Victoria frowned. "Where could he be? We have to find him to see if he was involved with the death of the victim, but that's not easy to do when he has the ability to disappear into thin air. It's almost like he died along with the victim. He was able to wander around without being tracked for twelve years, so chances are he's just employing those strategies again, knowing nobody will know how to find him."

"If he thinks he can get away while he's a suspect for murder, he's sorely mistaken... An innocent person wouldn't run away like this," Ghastly declared.

"A-At the time, h-he didn't know he would w-wind up as a suspect in this m-murder..." Anton mumbled. "He c-could have just left b-because he didn't want t-to stick around anymore..."

"Still, I find it odd that he just disappeared off the face of the Earth out of the blue like that. You would expect him to try and find another position, assuming that law degree was real, but he instead left the world behind to hide away again. He wanted a place in Blocker Law, and that was the only location he wanted to work at," I remarked.

"What we've discovered so far is that the victim was clearly involved in something suspicious. I doubt it was anywhere near legal," Judge Frost declared. "I wonder if he was off doing illegal things while he was gone for twelve years. Was there something that made him go missing at that time?"

"I actually looked into that," Detective Erikson piped up. "There was nothing significant that took place around the time he disappeared. The year before, his sister-in-law had been killed in a brutal murder, but the two were never reported to be close. Leaving a year after somebody died is a bit of a delayed reaction as well, so I highly doubt that was the reason."

"He left just because he wanted to do so then," I murmured before turning to face Victoria. "I can't help but wonder why he would want to do that... He left behind a loving family to get involved with illegal activities. I would understand it if his family was known for poor treatment, but it doesn't sound like that was the case. Instead, he left them behind because he valued whatever was outside the family more than what was in it."

"He's already seeming strange... I know we have no proof at the moment, but I can't help my wondering... Did he really leave just because he wanted to, or did he depart because he didn't want to be found out for the murder?" Victoria questioned.

"I don't know what his plan was, but I am sure that he was intent on following it. I can't help but wonder if he was receiving orders from someone who wanted him to do all this. It feels odd to me that anyone would just want to do this out of the blue. Even if you wanted to find out more about the Oracle of the Law, there are a bunch of other ways to do that. He made an odd choice in trying to figure out the truth by infiltrating the agency... I don't know. It's strange," Prosecutor Wood remarked.

"I have to wonder that as well. If he was planning on doing all this from the start, then what could his reason possibly be? Finding information is important, but I don't know if it's worth going to so much trouble," I agreed with a small frown. "It's rather strange..."

"I want to know if anybody happens to know about him... He couldn't have just vanished alone. He must have needed help to go missing out of nowhere. I can't imagine him going away without any assistance from an outside figure, though I don't know who that could have been..." Victoria murmured, looking down at the bench before her. "If someone did help him out, then who are they? Why did they help him out? Were they involved with the same illegal activities that Marcus Moore seemed to be tied up in? If so, why did they make that choice?"

"If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't know if we'll ever be able to find the answers to those questions that we seek. I'm pretty sure that it won't turn up while we're standing here and talking about it. We'll actually have to get out there and investigate on our own, so that's on us," Ghastly announced. "However, until then, I think we have other business to take care of. The most important thing for us to do now is cross-examine a witness. I came across a witness yesterday while I was looking around the crime scene, and I would like to call her up to the witness stand to tell us about what she saw around the time the victim went missing."

I'm not going to lie, that surprised me. I looked to Victoria, and she seemed just as surprised as I was. I finally managed to choke out a few words, and Victoria watched me intently. "I didn't think there were any witnesses for us to talk to. Since we don't know when the victim died, we don't have much to go off for talking to people who were there at the time. Nobody was aware she died, so even if they were there, how was anyone supposed to know?" I asked, my voice just above a whisper.

"He did say that the witness was there at the time that the victim went missing, so this must not have anything to do with her death. However, it's involved with the victim, so it's alright with me. I'm willing to take anything at this point if it will get us closer to figuring out the truth," Victoria hissed to me.

"Who is this witness, if you don't mind my asking?" Judge Frost questioned, turning his attention towards Ghastly.

"Her name is Celosia Quell. She was at the law agency at the time the victim went missing. You'll be able to hear more during her testimony, but she was in the building. That's what matters here. I didn't talk to her until the very end of my investigation. She showed up at the crime scene and said she was at the agency when the victim disappeared. I can call her up shortly to tell us about what she saw at the time," Ghastly offered.

"When did you come across this witness? I didn't see her at all while I was looking around during the investigative period yesterday," I told Ghastly. I had a bad feeling about this witness, and part of me wondered if this testimony was true. What if this person was involved with the illegal activities Marcus Moore was tied up in? She could have been sent in to cover his tracks, even if it meant lying in court to do so. It was an odd thing to suspect, but anything was possible at this point. We didn't know enough about what the victim had been doing for the twelve years he was gone, so my assumptions didn't need to fit any specific agenda.

"I found her right before I left. She heard the victim had died and came running to check it out. I'm sure the defendant can tell you all about how she's spoken with this witness before. Since she was initially investigating the disappearance of the victim, Prosecutor Burke met this witness a while ago. However, their conversation didn't last long, and she didn't realize it was important at the time. The pieces didn't fully come together until the body of the victim was discovered recently, which means this testimony has become relevant," Ghastly explained to me. "By the time I got to the law agency, you had already left for the day, so you missed her when you left to prepare for the trial that we currently find ourselves at the center of."

"If Prosecutor Burke already spoke with her, I think we can consider her testimony credible," Victoria whispered. "I will admit, I thought this witness showing up out of the blue was fishy at first, but that makes a bit more sense... I guess we can count on what she has to say, even if we didn't know she was going to come and testify until now."

I nodded my agreement. "I was thinking the same. However, if Ghastly and Polly both trust her words, I'll believe them as well. They aren't the types to lead me astray, and I think we can trust this girl," I said softly.

"If you are going to call the next witness, I think it's time for me to step down. It would be best if I returned to the crime scene to continue looking around. There's a lot of work yet to be done, and I don't want to leave my team alone for too long," Detective Erikson declared. Victoria and I ended our conversation quickly to focus our attention on him. He nodded to the people in the courtroom before stepping back from the witness stand and walking out of the courtroom. The creaking of the door was incredibly noticeable in the temporary silence of the courtroom.

"I hope he finds out more that we can use to find Marcus Moore," Victoria told me. "I don't like being in the dark about everything he got up to. It makes me feel clueless given how little we know about other aspects of the case."

"I feel the same... However, we have something else to focus on for now, so we should concentrate on that," I murmured in response. I looked up to Ghastly, and Victoria did the same.

"The prosecution now calls Celosia Quell to the witness stand," Ghastly announced. He pointed to the podium, and I swallowed nervously. Here was the first witness of the case who could tell us about what happened when the victim went missing. This was where everything got a lot harder, and I was ready as could be to find the truth and drag it into the light permanently.

Big yeet update time

-Digital