March 13

Courtroom No. 1

10:45 AM

Cotoli Morix

The people standing in the gallery burst into chatter at Prosecutor Bespoke's accusation, and I glanced over in the direction of my sister. "It seems to me that we've almost come to the end of the line for this case," I told her. She nodded her agreement, but there was something hesitant to her eyes that unsettled me. I was about to ask her what it was that had her so nervous, but I never had the chance.

Judge Diaphan hit her gavel down against the podium. "Order in the court!" she roared. Her voice made it clear that she wouldn't be tolerating any onlookers stepping out of line to continue causing problems, and I found myself swallowing dryly. I was glad that I hadn't found myself on her bad side. She certainly wasn't a woman to be trifled with. "Witness, the court would like to hear your response to these allegations at once!"

Mr. Tambin was notably stressed, but he shook his head and shoved his hair out of his face before he looked up at me. "You can say all that you want that I'm the culprit, but there's one thing that you're missing out on here... You don't have a method for me to move the body yet," he pointed out. "This whole case relies on the assumption that the crime took place backstage. After that, the body would have had to be moved into the closet where it was found by Fiora. How do you propose that I moved the body if I'm really the culprit?"

I looked over to Chrysalis with a small frown on my face. "There's only one possibility that I can think of about this issue... It has everything to do with our interrupted investigation yesterday," I told her.

"I think that I know what you're referring to here, and I'm inclined to agree," Chrysalis murmured. "When we were looking around backstage, we were close to finding out the truth behind the method of moving the body. There was only one thing that we saw that could have at all been used for the sake of moving the victim's corpse after she was killed, and it was that very item that Mr. Tambin tried to chase us away from by kicking us out of the backstage area. I think it's safe to say that he was acting out of fear because he knew that we were going to catch him if we kept up our investigation."

I nodded. "The defense has an explanation for this matter of moving the body," I announced. Mr. Tambin glared at me, but I could see something tense in his stance. He didn't think that we could prove it. Well, it was either that or the fact that he knew we could prove it but just didn't want to believe that it was the case. "When we were in the backstage area yesterday while conducting our investigation, we came across one item that could have been used to move the body elsewhere in the building."

"And just what is that object?" Mr. Tambin questioned. "You really shouldn't just talk in circles to avoid the issue, you know. It's obnoxious and is only going to get you in trouble later down the line."

"Then I'll get right down to business," I replied. "We walked into the backstage area and explored the region for any traces that would lead us to the true culprit. We started to examine one object in particular when the witness stopped us, and that item was a cleaning cart containing supplies for tidying up the backstage area."

"You think that the cleaning cart is how the body was moved then... Interesting," Judge Diaphan murmured. "Are there any particular traits about the cart that could contribute to this assumption?"

I nodded. "As a matter of fact, there are. For one, the cart seems to consist of two levels. The top level has a piece of fabric running around the outside, and the fabric drapes over the outside edge of the bottom level. The cart is on the larger side too, so if the body was arranged properly on the bottom level, then it would have been hidden from view. Given the fact that the witness here is part of the backstage crew, nobody would have a reason to suspect him for pushing the cart around the backstage area. After all, it's part of his job to make sure that the ice center is clean and ready for every performance and practice," I explained.

"You theorize that he put the body into the cart and then pushed it to the closet where the backup costumes are stored. From there, he would have been able to open it and drop the body off inside, grabbing the defendant's spare costume along the way so that he could use it to clean up the blood splatter at the scene of the murder," Prosecutor Bespoke said. When I responded with a nod, he smiled to himself. "I see... I have to admit that this truly does seem like a possible theory."

"You were asking for the matter of what happened with the movement of the body, were you not?" I questioned as I glanced in Mr. Tambin's direction. "Well, there's my explanation! You utilized your position as a member of the backstage crew for the show to not only move the body but do so without suspicion!"

The gallery started to buzz once again, and Judge Diaphan looked ready to slam her gavel against somebody's skin next if they didn't start to quiet down. "Order!" she shouted. "The next person to speak out of line will be dismissed from this courtroom!" Once again, the courtroom fell silent as the occupants of the gallery realized that she was not the sort of person to be trifled with.

"It seems as if we've covered most of the remaining loose ends regarding this case..." Prosecutor Bespoke murmured with a shake of his head. "Well, witness? What do you have to say for yourself? It seems clear as can be that you were at least somewhat involved with the execution of this crime."

Mr. Tambin was practically shaking with his rage, and he slammed one hand down onto the bench in front of him. "You have no idea what you're talking about! I didn't kill her! I want you to give me a reason that I would want to do anything to hurt Aes in the first place! She and I were working together as part of a larger show, so why would I want her dead?! You say that this murder was premeditated, so why don't you show me some actual proof that I had a reason to hate her and want her to die?!" he shouted.

"It seems that he's come to the final line of defense at long last," Chrysalis remarked from her place beside me. "That means that our primary goal at this point is to try and tie this witness to the crime that the victim witnessed the last time that she was involved with a trial. That's the only reason that I can see that the two of them would have to hate one another."

"The idea of a spontaneous argument is out of the question. If there was mounting tension between them during the process of developing the show, then other members of the cast and crew would have noticed," I pointed out. "That means that our motive has to be completely unrelated to what happened during the show's development. Luckily for us, we've got an idea that would point us in the right direction without any issues. If you ask me, the motive that Prosecutor Bespoke proposed is the only one that fits the bill... Only one step remains to solving this case."

"Then let's go on and show this fool why it is that he shouldn't do things like this," Chrysalis said, shifting her attention back to the witness stand with a glare manifesting in her eyes. "He's going to learn to regret this."

"The witness makes a strong point, defense," Judge Diaphan announced. "If we are to believe that he was the one responsible for this crime, we have to hear about a motive that would push him to want to kill the victim. Do you have anything in mind that would implicate the witness in the death of the victim?"

"I can answer that question for you rather easily, if you can believe it," Prosecutor Bespoke announced, a light smirk on his face. "Yesterday, I started to investigate past matters that have involved the victim of this case. She has had very few issues in the past aside from one time when she testified in court. You see, the victim of this case was a witness once upon a time to a hit and run. A woman was killed after a man hit her with his car, and he drove away rather than choosing to stay and face punishment. The one and only witness to the case was the victim, Aes Cater."

"If the culprit of the hit and run just so happened to find her again, then that would provide a sufficient motive for murder, wouldn't you say?" I questioned. "I suspect that the culprit never knew who she was before now because of the concept of witness protection; others involved with the case would know that the culprit was dangerous and could see a reason to silence her. As such, her identity was likely kept under tight wraps to ensure that the culprit didn't return under these intentions."

"I can confirm that there was extensive effort put into such a thing," Prosecutor Bespoke declared. "The culprit of the hit and run likely didn't know what the witness looked like in detail. However, if the culprit was able to find out about the truth as to her identity, then that would certainly provide a motive."

"Let's assume for a moment that the witness and culprit of the hit and run just caught brief glimpses of each other. After all, the victim of our current case was unable to testify conclusively against the culprit of the hit and run due to not being able to see his face in depth. She knew that it was a man, but the other details were limited at best. It's safe to say that this much was likely reciprocated for the culprit as well, and from there, all it would take is one single glance of recognition for everything to come undone," I went on.

"Hm... I believe I know what you're trying to imply here," Judge Diaphan murmured. "You mean to say that the culprit of the hit and run was able to recognize the victim somehow, and that was what ultimately pushed him over the edge to kill her."

I nodded with a light smirk. "That's exactly what I'm saying. If there was ever any other doubt, then this completely rules out the idea of either the defendant or Fiora LeTeir being the culprit of this case. They would not at all fit the description of the potential culprit that we have been building up to. Beyond that, it isn't as if either one of them has much of a motive for killing the victim in the first place," I continued. We had already gotten rid of the doubts surrounding Venus' supposed motive, and the idea of Fiora being the culprit had been resolved earlier in the trial. Given the circumstances, that left us with only one possibility for the time being.

"Witness, I do have to ask... Did you happen to have an alibi for the time of the murder?" Prosecutor Bespoke questioned, raising an eyebrow in vague curiosity. "One of the reasons that the defendant came to be a suspect was because she did not appear to have a concrete alibi during the initial stages of our investigation. Most other members of the cast and crew were together to get ready for the show, but I don't recall anybody saying that they knew where you were."

Mr. Tambin was quiet for a long moment, opening and closing his mouth before he let out an aggravated sigh. "Does it even matter? I'm not the one who killed her! I was working on getting everybody ready for the show! Besides, I went off to take care of roll call, so how does that not count as an alibi?" he questioned. "If you're talking about what I was doing before that, then I was trying to take care of the lingering issues that would get everybody ready for the performance. There's a lot to do to make sure that the show runs smoothly, you know."

"In other words, there was nobody around who could corroborate for your alibi," I said simply. "You're using the roll call incident to hide behind the fact that you don't have an actual alibi for the timeframe in which the victim was murdered. You killed her, moved the body, and then worked to frame the defendant. After that, your priority was to take care of roll call to make it seem as if you had an alibi. You covered for the fact that you were lying by making it appear as if only the defendant and victim were gone. That would point everyone into believing that Venus Rinko was the culprit."

"But we already addressed the fact that this was all false," Chrysalis interjected. "After all, Fiora wasn't there for roll call either, but you didn't mark her down as being absent. You knew that it would tamper with your perfect attempt to frame Venus, so you pretended that she had shown up even though she was busy in the backstage area dealing with being rattled and afraid as a result of overhearing the murder."

"You still haven't done anything to prove the fact that I'm the one who supposedly killed her!" Mr. Tambin shouted. "If I was really the one who did it, then you would have better evidence to point to the fact that I'm this supposed culprit to a hit and run that happened a year ago!"

"Hold it!"

I let one hand come up to rest at my temple as I smirked in his direction. "Witness, I would like you to repeat that last statement for the court," I told him. This was exactly what was going to catch him in his grandiose lie. That much I was certain of. He had made a huge mistake, and I was going to show everybody in the courtroom just how much he had slipped up.

Mr. Tambin raised an eyebrow before sighing. "You don't have anything to prove the fact that I'm the culprit of the hit and run from a year ago. Until you can get better evidence to show that I was at all involved with it, then I don't think that anybody can accept what it is that you're saying," he told me. He crossed his arms before glaring at me. "Is that clear enough for you?"

I continued to smirk as I shook my head. "Witness, you have no idea of the grievous error that you have just made," I told him. "You stated that the hit and run took place a year ago... That much is true, but how is it that you could have been aware of such a thing? After all, it isn't as if we have stated that at any point in this trial."

Mr. Tambin went pale almost immediately. "I... Um... I just assumed that it would have had to be recent! After all, that's the only reason that anybody would want to make a big deal out of it, right?" he asked.

"You don't seem to be all that sure of your words there, do you?" Prosecutor Bespoke questioned. "I don't believe that you made this assumption on your own terms at all... In fact, I have a completely different theory as to why it is that you knew the hit and run took place a year ago. You were the culprit behind it, and as soon as you recognized who the witness was, you attacked the victim of this case!"

"But if the culprit of this case really didn't see the witness to the hit and run all that well, then how could I have known that she was the one who had seen the culprit hit the victim?" Mr. Tambin questioned, his voice notably shaky. "How are you going to prove that to me, huh?!"

"I believe that the culprit would have remembered at least the vague details from the glimpse that he got of the witness," I began. "From there, I bet that you had this general nagging in the back of your mind that told you that you remembered exactly who the victim was and how she was connected to you."

"H-Hold it!"

I was cut off in my explanation by the voice of none other than Fiora. Judge Diaphan's expression was curled into a frown, but Fiora shook her head. "I-I'm sorry for interrupting, but please give me a chance!" she cried out. "I... There's something that I want to say!"

"Make it quick, please," Judge Diaphan said. I could hear the distaste in her voice regarding the main debate being interrupted, but she did her best to stow her anger for the time being.

Fiora nodded before she went on. "I overheard Aes talking with a few other members of the cast... They were closer to her age since she's a few years older than I am, but... I was able to hear what it was that they were talking about even if I wasn't directly part of the conversation," she said. "Aes told them that she had been involved with a hit and run case last year... I didn't think all that much of it at the time though. It only came up because there was an accident on the road outside of the ice center."

"In other words, the victim admitted the fact that she was a witness to the hit and run case," I murmured. "Who all overheard what was being said at this time? Do you know who was in the room at the time?"

"Well, it was in the deeper room backstage... A few of the girls were helping one another out with their makeup for the show," Fiora continued. "But... I-I think that Mr. Tambin was in there too! He helps with cleaning the backstage area sometimes, and... I'm confident that he was in the makeup room at the time!"

The courtroom was deadly quiet at her words, the members of the gallery no doubt staying quiet because they remembered the threats that Judge Diaphan had made previously. "This is an important piece of testimony... And I take it that we would be able to corroborate this fact with a few other members of the cast?" she questioned of Fiora.

The ice skater nodded firmly in response. "I'm positive! Plus... It was later that day that Venus' skates went missing! She told me as soon as she noticed that they were gone, and since everybody involved with the cast was working on the performance, they wouldn't have had a minute to take the skates! It must have been a member of the crew!" Fiora cried out.

"Well... It seems to me as if all of the pieces behind this little case of ours are starting to fall into place," Prosecutor Bespoke smirked as he shook his head. "Witness, there are a few confessions that you have to make right about now. Why don't you make things easier for us sooner rather than later and say that you were the one who killed the victim and took the skates? The evidence is piling up higher and higher, and I don't think that you're going to be able to weasel your way out of this one."

Mr. Tambin was quiet aside from the vague stammers that were escaping his lips. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" he exclaimed angrily. "For all you know, she could be lying and saying all of this just to cover for her own tracks! You don't know what people like her are capable of until it's too late!"

"I don't know about that," I cut in. "We already agreed that Fiora could not have been the culprit. There were too many discrepancies with the culprit's actions compared to what she would have done if she was the one behind this case. That points to the fact that the culprit was somebody else entirely, and I believe that we're all fully aware of who it was that committed this crime."

"You shouldn't be so easily caught under her spell! She's trying to deceive all of you and turn you against me! You never know what young women are capable of until they're trying to ruin everything that you've ever known!" Mr. Tambin continued to shout. "If you'll look at little bit closer, then you'll see-"

The pounding of a gavel cut him off, and Mr. Tambin was forced to look up at the masked face of Judge Diaphan. "I would advise cutting the chatter here, witness," she told him, her voice as cold as ice. She didn't say anything for a long time after that, and Mr. Tambin looked as if he was ready to drop dead if she didn't break eye contact with him soon.

It was only after Mr. Tambin had been made sufficiently uncomfortable that Judge Diaphan glanced over in my direction. "The defense and prosecution have worked together to provide sufficient evidence to the fact that the witness could have been the culprit behind this crime. The court would like to request one final explanation of what happened at the time of the murder according to this theory. If there are no contradictions, then the court will have no choice but to accept what you have proposed as fact," she said.

"You can't just do that...! Venus is the one who's been arrested as the suspect! Everybody knows that she had to have been the one to kill Aes! And if it wasn't her, then it must have been Fiora! I wasn't the one who killed the victim! Stop trying to make it seem like I'm the one behind this!" Mr. Tambin continued to shout, his previous lapse of silence broken almost as quickly as it had started.

"Witness, I have warned you once before! Do not make me do it again!" Judge Diaphan roared. Somehow, she had become even more terrifying than before, and she glared down at him even through her mask. Mr. Tambin shriveled away, seemingly understanding at long last that any protests were not going to be tolerated from this point forwards. Judge Diaphan sighed after he had fallen silent. "Defense, prosecution... Let's go from the beginning of your explanation behind this case."

"The case's relevant events bring us back to a year before the murder took place," I started. "A hit and run took place when a woman was hit by a car and died as a result of her injuries. The culprit of the hit and run drove away before help could be called, and he never resurfaced. He hid the fact that he was behind the incident, and his license plate was missed during his quick escape."

"The sole witness to the hit and run was Aes Cater, the victim of this case. She testified in court about what happened even though there was no suspect. The investigation ultimately fell short and did not reveal who the culprit of the hit and run was. The case was dropped, and the identity of the witness was kept secret as a way of ensuring that the culprit didn't come back to find her and eliminate the one who could put him in jail," Prosecutor Bespoke announced. "Her testimony was lacking in detail, but she did get a brief glimpse at the one behind it and knew that it was a man."

"Much time has passed since then. The witness of the hit and run came to work as an ice skater in the production here in town among many others. Our current witness was also employed to participate as part of the backstage crew. Other members of the cast include the defendant, Venus Rinko, and the other primary witness of this case, Fiora LeTeir. The victim of this case wound up discussing the fact that she had witnessed a hit and run with other members of the cast, and that information just so happened to be overheard by one party... Our current witness, Pyth Tambin," I continued.

"Coincidentally enough, that afternoon, ice skates went missing from the backstage area belonging to the defendant. If you ask me, these skates were probably taken because of the fact that they were the easiest to access. If they were left unattended while other members of the cast were occupied, then it wouldn't be all that hard for the culprit of the theft to snag them when nobody was paying attention. In the end, those skates being left behind sealed her fate as the one who would be framed for the crime to follow," Prosecutor Bespoke said, his expression set in something grim.

"The fact that the skates were taken that afternoon was not mere coincidence though. In fact, it was the first step of the culprit's plan being set into motion," I went on. "The culprit was planning on using the skates as instruments to frame the defendant for this crime. The skates going missing conveniently just a few days before the murder would cause others to suspect her if they didn't think through the scenario in full."

"A few days passed after the ice skates went missing," Prosecutor Bespoke told the court next. "The victim turned up dead in the backstage area of the ice center. The weapon in question was none other than the ice skates. Unfortunately, the defendant just so happened to get into an argument with the victim that day, and she stormed off after the fact. The next person to encounter the victim was the culprit who killed her. This person was the one who used the ice skates that had been previously stolen to hit her in the head and murder her."

"The reason behind this involved a conversation a few days prior in which the victim explained that she was a witness of the hit and run from one year ago. That ultimately set the events of the case in motion, and the culprit of the hit and run, after not knowing who the witness was for an entire year, finally figured out who it was that could destroy his career and everything that he had been working for. That moment caused him to believe firmly that she was going to have to die if he was going to evade justice for his past crime. He took to framing the defendant of this case for it as an extra reassurance that he would get off scot free," I declared.

"With the victim dead, the culprit had to cover for the crime. That was when he loaded the body onto a cleaning cart that's used among the members of the backstage crew. He pushed the body out of the backstage area and into the costume closet that was waiting outside in the hallway. However, he missed out on a crucial hint along the way. During what was likely a tense argument in the minutes leading up to her death, the victim pulled off a small patch of fabric from the culprit's shirt to show that he was part of the stage crew," I went on. "The culprit didn't notice and dumped the body rather unceremoniously in the costume closet before reaching for a duplicate costume belonging to the defendant."

"The defendant's costume was used to clean up the blood from the backstage area," Prosecutor Bespoke said next. "The costume's patterns in the bloodstains implied that the outfit was used to wipe up blood rather than to soak up splatter, indicating that the culprit did not wear it at the time of the crime. The costume was then disposed of backstage where it was somewhat hidden but still easy enough to find because it would point in the direction of the defendant being the culprit."

"However, unbeknownst to the culprit, there was someone who overheard the crime... Fiora LeTeir was hiding elsewhere in the backstage area, and upon hearing a loud thumping noise-that was later identified as the sound of the body hitting the ground-she decided to stay where she was. When she left the area behind, the blood had already been cleaned up. She went to grab the duplicate costume to replace the one that she was currently wearing. She had damaged it in her shock upon hearing the noise from before, and she was going to have to wear the other version of the costume for the show," I told the court.

"If you ask me, there's just one person who could have been responsible for all of this... And I'm sure that many others are inclined to agree," Prosecutor Bespoke remarked with a light smirk. "Mr. Morix, if you would be so kind... Would you like to do the honors?"

I nodded and looked over in the direction of the witness stand. "The one and only person who could have been responsible for this crime was none other than the current witness, Pyth Tambin! He murdered the victim with the stolen ice skate as a way of framing the defendant for the crime!" I exclaimed. "After the fact, he hid the truth behind what had happened and deliberately tried to pin the crime on the defendant during the show's roll call process even though it was a blatant lie! The culprit behind this case is none other than the man standing on the witness stand!"

Almost done with case one baby!

-Digital