Anna sat at the cafeteria table alone. Who knew jail could be so lonely? The yellow monkey was in a room with hundreds of other Toons, yet it felt like there were none. She had nary a friend to talk to. Her family had stopped talking to her when she had told them that she was marrying Walter. After all, she had come from a family of lower class laborers. They despised Walter's father for his cutthroat business practices and complete disregard for the safely and well-being of his workers. Anna had never had a lot of friends. After she had graduated from high school, most of the Toons she thought she knew just slowly drifted apart. Yet even then, she had never felt this lonely. The only solace about being in this place was also its biggest detriment; That nobody cared about you. Even killing somebody was seen more as a matter of fact, rather than something to be reviled. Everyone left everyone to their own devices. While there certainly were cliques and groups, even they were usually smaller than she expected. The black cat that she had met the other night had been transferred to a minimal security prison in Silly World. Tomorrow would be her second day at the trial. She had not realized how painful it would be. Hearing that detective tell such lies, and then seeing Walter Senior's complete disregard for her. What had she done wrong? She loved Walter and would never hurt him.
"This seat open?" an androgynous looking pink horse came and say down next to Anna who was picking at her mushy gray slop.
Looking up confused, Anna shook her head. "Uh, nope. Go ahead." surprised that somebody would want to sit next to her, the yellow monkey waited cautiously. She had heard stories similar to this. Some Toon is minding their business when someone comes up and the next thing they know they are lying in a pool of their own blood. "My name is Anna? How about you?"
"Jaime." was all the horse responded. Sliding their spoon into their own tray of the gray mush, shoving the food into their mouth at a rapid pace.
"Um, nice to meet you Jamie. I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new?" Anna tried to follow the horse's lead, but quickly regurgitated the slimy mess back up.
Setting their spoon down, the horse burped. "Yup. Just got here this morning. Got picked up for burning down some elitist Toon's summer estate. FEDORA!" Jamie stood up and shouted, echoing their message through the crowded cafeteria, catching nary a glance from the unimpressed crowds.
"Wait, did you say FEDORA?" Anna stood up with her eyes widened. "Walter used to be a lead organizer with them!"
"Walter? Walter Edwards? You know him?" Jamie sputtered their lips at the sound of the name. "Wait a minute..." the horse leaned forward and peered at Anna. "You're Anna! Anna Edwards! Wow, what are the odds of that! What a small world!
For a moment, Anna finally felt a small connection with someone. While she only had a brief idea of what FEDORA was about, if Walter believed in them, then this horse must surely be trustworthy. Wait did they just say they burned someone's house down? She didn't care. "Did. Did you know him?" Anna asked cautiously.
"Not really. I think I saw him like once. James is the one that I really got to know. He's actually the one who told me to go do that job. He was supposed to do it but instead he appointed me!" the horse grinned with pride. "I'm sorry about Walter. You know I always used to think all rich Toons were bad, but I guess I was wrong. We know you didn't do it, Anna. I personally feel it was that scumbag brother of his. Probably got wind that Walter was going to dismantle the company and use the money to help small businesses and donate to charity."
"Wait. He never told me about that?" Anna stared at the horse who had finished their food and had slid Anna's tray across and begun wolfing it down. "You said you only met him once?"
"Oh, no. Don't worry. I didn't learn about that from him. James told me! I guess it had been in the works for months. Once Milroy got pushed out of the picture, Walter was free to do whatever he wanted. At least this is what I was told. He decided that he wanted to do something positive with his wealth. Come to think about it, imagine if his dad found out? That might be even worse than if his brother knew! I guess it's a good thing that the ignorant old fool doesn't even know FEDORA exists!" Jamie guffawed through a mouthful of food, spilling specks of soggy, chewed, mush over the table.
Soaking in what the horse said, Anna pondered things. If she didn't kill Walter, then someone else did. With what her lawyer had argued, it had to have been someone at the wedding that night. Could Milroy or Walter's own father have done this? Anna had not really thought about who had done it very much. Mostly because she didn't want to think about it. Someone that knew Walter had him killed, or had killed him themselves. That fact was almost as difficult to comprehend as her own incarceration. Before she would respond Jamie had nodded to her and stood up, walking the pair of trays off. Now Anna was alone again. It was the way she wanted it anyways. Or at least that is what she told herself.
The next morning, the courtroom was just as hectic and chaotic as the day previously. Crowds outside roared under the instruction of several high-powered Toons with megaphones. The side who had been rooting against Anna had started to shrink after the first day's proceedings. Many were now skeptical with the idea that Walter's own brother secretly attended the wedding and hid it. Plus Mayoral Candidate McCarthy Josephson was testifying. Did he have any sort of relationship with Walter? What reason would he have to kill him? The tension was palpable as Deputy Skids walked into the courthouse. Cameras flashed, Toons reached out for autographs. He was becoming a celebrity, something that he most certainly did not enjoy. "Mr. Skids. Dhirt E. Landry here with the Toontown Central News! A crucial victim was found murdered in his own home last night! Is this related to the crime? How is this related?" a purple cat with slicked back hair coolly spoke, shoving a microphone into Deputy's face as he took the first step up the courtroom stairs. How did the press already know about this?
"Sorry, no comment. I have to get inside!" Deputy yelled out, waving behind him as he pulled open the large, wooden door. The inside was much calmer and relaxed, something that he never thought he would say. Lawyers and criminal Toons scattered the lobby and waiting areas. Deputy continued walking down. Checking his watch he breathed a sigh of relief. It was still ten minutes to show-time. Fortunately for him, he was the last one to arrive as he walked into mostly empty room. On one side, Reessess and Winston were speaking, while on the other was Anna and her attorney, likely going over the day's plan. Deputy waved and was met with a small head nod from Anna's attorney as he continued to speak to her quietly. "Good morning everyone!" Deputy smiled and took a seat in the audience section directly behind Winston who had turned to face him.
"Morning, Deputy. Thanks for being able to come in this morning." Winston tugged on his antlers nervously. "I heard about the Cam Raw situation. How unfortunate. I mean, what are the odds that a key witness suddenly just dies? I guess we will just have to work around it. After all, we still have the sign in sheet. We can probably work the angle that because it was signed off by Cam - we matched his signature - that he witnessed it. Although why would that be enough of a reason to take him out?"
Reessess crossed her arms and scowled. "Well if I had to guess, there's a certain blue rabbit who is being called in to court that probably has something to say about it. We can't let this opportunity pass us up. Cam has to be a focal point. Winston, you're going to have to grill this elitist."
"Yes ma'am. After yesterday's debacle, I promise I won't let you guys down!" Winston stood proudly. Deputy and Reessess grinned at the eager young prosecutor. Things were starting to look up. As the trio conversed, the court bailiff walked over and waited for the three to finish speaking.
"Excuse me. The judge would like to speak with you three in his chambers." he nodded and walked over to the defense attorney who finished up with Anna and looked at Deputy and shrugged.
Skids stood up and tried to get the bailiffs' attention. "Excuse me. Did he say what he needed?"
"Not sure. Sorry, sir. It sounded important though." the black cat shrugged and opened the door for everyone to walk through. Deputy joined Reessess and Winston who had already begun making their way. Stepping into the large room behind the judge and witness stands, Deputy cringed as Stickler stared unblinking at the four Toons as they walked in.
"Thank you all for being here on time today." standing up, the robed horse sputtered as he held up a paper. "Mr. Josephson's attorney sent this in this morning." handing a copy to both attorneys, Deputy watched Winston's face drop. "I have decided to accept Mr. Josephson's request for a different prosecutor. He has argued that there is an inherent bias from the prosecution in helping the defense, and I unfortunately have to degree. Your actions yesterday, while honorable, do go against the prosecutor code. If you would like to withdraw your accusation of Mrs. Edwards, I will re-consider. However, if Mrs. Edwards is on trial it is the prosecution's job to be unbiased in questioning witnesses."
Both sides threw their arms up in annoyance. "That's ridiculous!" Reessess meowed out. "Winston was just trying to get the truth out. That's what the prosecution should be doing!"
"Again, I understand everybody's concerns. However, if the prosecution and defense would like to work together, then I would recommend doing so outside of the courtroom. As long as Mrs. Edwards is on trial, I expect the prosecution to remain unbiased against all parties. Therefore I will be removing Mr. Winston from the remainder of this case as long unless the circumstances change." putting on his eyeglasses, Judge Stickler looked over another piece of paper, likely for a different case. "Now, Mrs. Candybar. I understand that this puts the prosecution in a bit of a bind. I do not expect a decision today, so I will delay this case an additional day while both sides re-group. Tomorrow I would like your assignment of a new prosecutor though, or a decision to change your official accusation."
Deputy stood shocked. How could they find somebody else and prepare them in just a day? Besides, they could not guarantee that whoever they chose was going to cooperate or agree with them. They were in quite a bind. As he thought of ideas, Reessess slammed her fist on the table, shocking everyone. "If that is how it will be, then I will play his game. The prosecution will be withdrawing its' accusation against Mrs. Edwards, and instead we would like to officially amend our accusation to Mr. Milroy Edwards!"
"Reessess. Wait a minute here." Deputy whispered into his bosses' ear. "If we withdraw we can not re-accuse Anna later. I know we are feeling confident but there is still a decent amount of evidence that can be used against her. Maybe we should hold off on this and look at other options first."
"Mrs. Candybar, I have to agree with Mr. Skids. The law states that a Toon cannot be accused twice of the same crime. Are you sure this is what you would like to do?" Judge Stickler was caught off guard and took off his glasses, sticking his tongue to the side.
Was this the right decision? All Reessess could see were arrows blinking the word guilty pointing to Milroy. It had to be him. Things were just too coincidental. The motive was there. The more the black and orange cat thought, the more she agreed with herself. "Yes, sir." was all she responded.
"Very well. Does the defense have any further comments or arguments?" Stickler looked to the blue monkey who was shaking with excitement at his good fortune.
"No sir, I have no arguments here!" the blue monkey pumped his fist under the desk.
Deputy grabbed Reessess' shoulder and looked her in the eye. "I guess we're doing this. Let's get this scumbag."