April 18

Courtroom No. 2

10:00 AM

Cotoli Morix

The courtroom looked much the way that I would have expected it to under these circumstances. Venus and Chrysalis both fell into their positions on either side of me while Prosecutor Bespoke could be seen behind his bench on the other side of the courtroom. The one sitting behind the judge's podium was none other than Judge Diaphan. She raised her gavel and slammed it down without a beat of hesitation once she noticed that everyone had fallen into position. "Court is now in session for the trial of Cassidy Rinko. Are the defense and prosecution ready?" she questioned.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," I replied after sharing a brief look with Chrysalis and Venus. I could see lines of tension starting to form in Venus' features, not that this was particularly shocking or anything. Given the circumstances, it would be surprising if she wasn't feeling stressed out.

"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Bespoke declared with a nod. He seemed to be excited to get this trial up and running, and he reached for one of his papers just to prove this point. "I take it that you're ready to hear my opening statement now, yes?"

Judge Diaphan seemed surprised for a small handful of seconds, but she composed herself rather quickly. "Yes, I am," she replied with a nod. "Give the court the details behind this case at this time, Prosecutor Bespoke."

Prosecutor Bespoke cleared his throat before he began to explain. "The crime took place at a dance studio that goes by the name of Sweet Steps. The victim of this case was a teacher working at the studio as an assistant to the main choreographers. He was struck in the head by an award plaque within one of the rooms of the studio," he announced. "There were only a few older people in the studio at the time: the primary witness, Sumia Paige, and the defendant, Cassidy Rinko. The two were helping the victim to teach a class of young girls at the time when both the defendant and victim left for different reasons. The body was discovered when the witness got worried, and the only time that the victim could have been killed was when he and the defendant were out of the classroom."

"Do you have a map of the studio on hand?" Judge Diaphan questioned of him.

Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "I do, as a matter of fact. There were two practice rooms within the greater studio. The class itself was being taught in the larger of the practice rooms, and the body was discovered in the smaller room. The defendant reported feeling sick before leaving the room, but she lacks an alibi for the time of the crime as a result," he continued. "The witness could not possibly be the culprit behind this case because of the fact that she has an alibi the entire time while she was with the younger girls that she was teaching."

"It certainly seems as if the defendant was the only one who could have had the chance to kill the victim," Judge Diaphan murmured with a frown and a shake of her head. She turned her attention in my direction next. "Defense, does this at all change your plea regarding the defendant's guilt?"

I shook my head. "The defense believes that there is evidence of a third party entering the building at the time of the murder, and that was the person who ultimately claimed the life of the victim," I said. "There is proof that the lock of the studio's lobby door was tampered with. There were no fingerprints from the defendant found on the plaque that the victim was hit with. She was not wearing gloves at the time of her arrest either nor were there any places for the gloves to have been hidden before the police arrived."

"I see," Judge Diaphan commented simply. "If that's what you believe, then the trial must continue. Prosecution, go on and call your first witness to the stand."

"The prosecution is going to get right into the thick of things," Prosecutor Bespoke announced. "I would like to call the primary witness of this case to the stand. Sumia Paige, please come before the court at this time."

Soon afterward, Sumia appeared before the courtroom, an anxious frown on her face. She was pulling on a small thread of her hair as she tried to keep her composure, though I knew that it was going to be little help in terms of her testimony. She glanced over to Prosecutor Bespoke for a prompt on what to do next, a sign that she felt beyond lost in this situation.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Prosecutor Bespoke told her, his voice taking on a gentle edge as he addressed her with a light smile.

Sumia nodded carefully before swallowing dryly. "Um... M-My name is Sumia Paige, and I'm a dancer. W-Well, I'm a student at a high school in the next town over, actually, but... I do help out at the studio every once in a while. I was helping out Drake on the day of the crime since I wanted to pitch in when it came to teaching the younger girls," she explained. "Cassidy was there with us too."

"Thank you, witness," Prosecutor Bespoke smiled. "Would you be alright with giving the court a summary of what you saw the day of the crime? Leave out no details."

Sumia nodded once again. "A-Alright... I'll do what I can," she replied.

"I feel like this is going to be similar to what we heard yesterday," Chrysalis whispered to me. "I have to wonder what it is that we're going to hear in full though. Maybe this is going to be our time to show that there's something more going on behind the scenes of this case. I somehow doubt that it's as easy to comprehend as one would expect at a first glance."

"For all we know, this is going to be when we're going to be able to prove that there was something wrong with the drink that Cassidy had. If Chrysalis' theory is correct, then there has to be some sort of evidence to imply this. We might not have been able to find proof of it before, but we might as well bring it up when the chance comes," Venus agreed.

I nodded as I looked up to the courtroom once more. This was going to be our first step to proving Cassidy's innocence, and I knew that it was going to be an important one. I just hoped that nothing came out of nowhere to catch us by surprise when we least expected it. For the time being though, we were simply going to have to see what was lying in wait for us, I supposed.

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Day of the Crime ~

-"The day of the crime, Cassidy and I were there to assist with a class alongside Drake."

-"The main teacher wound up feeling sick and wasn't able to come in, so we had to fill in for the class."

-"Partway through the lesson, Drake saw something outside and told us all to stay in the room while he went to take care of something."

-"Cassidy wound up leaving around this time because she was feeling really sick all of a sudden."

-"I got worried when they didn't come back in a timely manner, so I went to check on them."

-"That was when I saw the body...! I don't know why this had to happen..."

-"I don't want to think that Cassidy did it though... She wouldn't have a reason to hurt Drake... So why did this happen...?"

When the testimony drew to a conclusion, Prosecutor Bespoke smiled to Sumia. "You did a great job, witness. We're going to use your testimony here to make sure that the truth is found regarding the case," he assured her. Sumia's shoulders immediately slumped from pure relief as the tension left her body.

"Is there anything else that you believe the court should know?" Judge Diaphan asked of her, voice remaining level but still careful.

Sumia nodded slowly. "Cassidy was feeling fine until the point when she left the room... After I found the body, she came out of the bathroom since she heard me cry out from shock," she explained. "I don't know why anyone would want to kill him, honestly... Drake was such a nice person. He did everything that he could to help out the studio in any way that he could."

"The victim was admired by everyone within the studio. Nobody would have had a motive to kill him, and that includes the defendant, I have to admit," Prosecutor Bespoke said next. "His past is a mystery as well. I can't say that I know why anyone would hold a grudge against him, much less a grudge that would result in murder like this."

"I see," Judge Diaphan whispered to herself. "I suppose that the defense should begin its cross-examination now then. Defense, go on and start whenever you're ready."

"There are a lot of mysteries behind this case," Venus told me. "I feel like our best bet is going to be to take advantage of that. Everything is going so quickly despite the fact that aside from the lack of an alibi, all of the evidence is pointing away from Cassidy."

"We've got a lot to use right now, but I think that our first priority should be to point out what we can about what can be found within the witness' testimony," Chrysalis agreed. "I'm sure that the truth will come out one way or another that way."

I closed my eyes and nodded. They were right. All we had to do was follow the path that the evidence led us on, and everything would fall into place from there. Luckily, I already had an idea as to where I would be starting with this testimony. We just had to see what was going to come next.

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ Day of the Crime ~

-"The day of the crime, Cassidy and I were there to assist with a class alongside Drake."

-"The main teacher wound up feeling sick and wasn't able to come in, so we had to fill in for the class."

-"Partway through the lesson, Drake saw something outside and told us all to stay in the room while he went to take care of something."

-"Cassidy wound up leaving around this time because she was feeling really sick all of a sudden."

"Hold it!"

"What symptoms was Cassidy exhibiting when she left the room?" I questioned.

"Hm... She said that her stomach hurt really badly. She was also feeling dizzy and nauseous and seemed to be struggling to walk straight. In all honesty, it reminded me a bit of what I know food poisoning to be like," Sumia replied. "But that's the thing... To my knowledge, she didn't really eat anything that could have made her sick like that."

I glanced over to Chrysalis and saw her nod in my direction. She had caught on as well, and we were surely being given the chance to prove the theory that she had stumbled across the day before. "I believe that I have a theory regarding what happened," I announced.

"Then do go on and explain for the court," Prosecutor Bespoke told me. "At a first glance, it just sounds like she started to feel sick. Do you think that there's something more to it than that?"

I nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do. We spoke with the defendant earlier today about the water bottles found in the back room of the studio. Apparently, the people working at the studio have the ability to enter a back room that contains water bottles. Cassidy grabbed one the day of the crime and had been drinking from it before she got sick. This might not sound like anything out of the ordinary, but... She mentioned that all of the seals on the water bottles had been broken," I explained.

"The seals were broken?" Judge Diaphan echoed. "What exactly is this supposed to imply?"

"The water bottles at the studio are plastic ones. There's a ring underneath the cap, and the two are sealed together when you first grab the bottle. That's proof that nobody has gotten into it," Sumia began to explain. "If the seal was broken, then that means that someone else had already opened the water bottle and done something with it."

"I don't know if we can trust the words of the defendant quite so easily," Prosecutor Bespoke frowned. "She's the suspect in this case, and unless her words have evidence, then there's not much that we can do on the matter."

"She also said that the other water bottles in the miniature fridge had broken seals as well. She was in a hurry though, so she didn't give much thought to it," I replied. "It wouldn't be hard to verify the truth of the matter. If the seals on the water bottles in the fridge are broken, then that means that we have evidence that someone had already opened the water bottles prior to the defendant's arrival at the fridge on the day of the crime."

"And what exactly are you trying to imply with all of this?" Judge Diaphan questioned. "I don't know if the water bottles in the fridge could possibly be related to the crime. I'm afraid that you will need to elaborate more in order for the court to understand what it is that you're attempting to drive at."

"I had the witness list off the defendant's symptoms when she started to feel sick at the time of the crime," I began to respond. "She was feeling notably nauseous seemingly out of nowhere, and I doubt that so many symptoms appearing all at once could be explained by a sudden bout of sickness. I feel like there's something more going on behind the scenes, and the water bottles could have everything to do with it. Witness, tell me... Did you drink from any of the water bottles in the fridge on the day of the crime?"

Sumia shook her head. "No... I wound up bringing my own. Cassidy usually does too, but she was distracted on the day of the crime and forgot to bring it. That was why she had to go out to get a water bottle in the first place," she explained. "Why do you ask?"

I smirked and shook my head. "Because that's exactly what I was expecting you to say," I told her. "The defense believes that the seals on the water bottles were broken because someone tampered with them. The defendant was suddenly left to suffer from a number of symptoms that one wouldn't connect with random sickness at a first glance. I believe that there was something more going on than we realize... To be more accurate, there was someone else who entered the studio on the day of the crime and put something in the water bottles that would induce such symptoms of illness!"

The gallery began to chatter at those words, and Judge Diaphan's eyes narrowed in exasperation as she reached for her gavel to slam it down against her podium. "Order!" she roared with all the anger in the world. "Defense, these are quite the high accusations that you are proposing. However, none of this means anything without any solid evidence. What proof do you have that this is at all something that we should take into consideration?"

"The doorknob to the lobby was tampered with. There were no fingerprints left behind, and if you ask me, then that means that there was someone who entered the scene of the crime on the day of the murder. Said person was wearing gloves. They tampered with the lock to get into the building and then proceeded to do something with the water bottles in the back room, and that was what got the defendant sick around the time of the crime. From there, said person met with the victim and hit him in the head with the plaque," I replied.

"The doorknob being tampered with does make it seem as if there was another person present at the time of the crime..." Prosecutor Bespoke murmured. He cleared his throat before rising up to his full height. "I accept your theory, defense. In fact, I believe that the best course of action from here would be to have the investigative team down at the crime scene start to look around for any evidence that the water bottles were tampered with. If someone did in fact mess with them, then that means that there was something deliberate that took place at the time of the crime."

"If there really was someone who managed to do something like that to all the water bottles, then I suspect that the culprit must have had a way to get their hands on some type of dangerous chemical," Venus remarked. "I mean... If you think about it, then there must have been some type of drug that was used on the water bottles, and if it could induce sickness that quickly, then it has to be dangerous. We're just going to have to see how it all goes, I suppose. We can see how the results are when the test from the investigation team comes back."

"If there was a dangerous drug involved, then the culprit must have had a way to get their hands on it without seeming suspicious," Chrysalis agreed with a small nod. "That will certainly narrow the scope of those who we can suspect... And if anything, it only puts the spotlight off Cassidy. Not only is she the victim in this instance, but she wouldn't have been able to get her hands on such toxic chemicals."

"We'll simply have to see how the investigation team responds after they've looked into the scene of the crime," Prosecutor Bespoke declared with a small nod. "I'll send a message to the detective leading this case now, and we can see what the team digs up as the trial continues. We have quite a few other matters to settle until then."

"I think that the witness would be best off testifying about what else took place at the time of the crime," Judge Diaphan said. "There must have been something else that happened... Though I suspect that there is a more important subject to cover first."

"If a third party killed the victim, then there must have been a reason for it. There isn't a motive for anyone within the studio to have done this, so that means that the culprit must have been someone outside of the studio," I continued for her. "In other words, our primary priority should be to determine a motive and go from there. After all, the defendant was only suspected due to her lack of an alibi, but that doesn't hold up when you consider that she was drugged and couldn't have committed the crime if she was so sick."

"So... You want me to talk about Drake?" Sumia questioned. When she was met with a nod from Prosecutor Bespoke, she sighed to herself. "Alright... Coming right up."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ The Victim's Life ~

-"He came to the studio a while ago and wound up being hired as an assistant teacher pretty quickly."

-"We were already doing well competitively before he appeared, but we only started doing better once he began to teach us."

-"We don't know where he came from though... There were a few attempts to learn more about him, but..."

-"When he was asked, all he would do was deflect when it came to his past. He didn't want to talk about it, I suppose."

-"In fact, he seemed to be pretty serious about keeping us as far from his history as possible..."

-"I-I still don't know of anyone who would want to kill him though... He was such a kind man to the end."

"It seems as if there are very few people out there who would want to do anything to harm the victim," Judge Diaphan murmured with a frown. "But someone must have wished ill against him given the fact that he wound up dead in the first place."

"There were no signs of a struggle at the scene of the crime, so there likely was no fight between the killer and victim. Even if there was, the children in the next practice room over certainly would have heard it if something went wrong. The same would have applied to the witness on the stand," Prosecutor Bespoke said. "That means that self-defense is out of the question as a motive. There must have been something else playing behind the scenes here, and that's what we're going to try and find out."

"What do you think you're going to do with her testimony?" Venus asked, shifting her attention in my direction. "I didn't see anything that stuck out as being contradictory, but if there weren't any contradictions, then there's not much that we can do from here..."

"There's one thing that I want to ask her about sooner rather than later. Her wording in one place came off as odd to me, and I want to do what I can to learn more about that," I replied. I looked over to the witness stand and nodded to Sumia. "The defense is ready to begin the cross-examination."

"Then you may begin," Judge Diaphan instructed, prompting Sumia to begin her testimony again from the beginning.

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ The Victim's Life ~

-"He came to the studio a while ago and wound up being hired as an assistant teacher pretty quickly."

-"We were already doing well competitively before he appeared, but we only started doing better once he began to teach us."

-"We don't know where he came from though... There were a few attempts to learn more about him, but..."

-"When he was asked, all he would do was deflect when it came to his past. He didn't want to talk about it, I suppose."

-"In fact, he seemed to be pretty serious about keeping us as far from his history as possible..."

"Hold it!"

"What do you mean on this subject?" I questioned with a light frown. "The victim seemed to want to keep this a secret, but... What makes you think that he was so intent on hiding it from everyone?"

"Well... When anyone asked him about what he used to do, his eyes would always get really dark. He would look away from whoever was trying to talk to him and shake his head, saying that it didn't matter anymore... I have to wonder if perhaps there was something that he regretted being involved with," Sumia said. "But he really didn't want to talk about the past. That was one thing that all of us learned pretty quickly. He had his boundaries and decided that this was something that he didn't want to get too deeply involved with."

"I wonder what could evoke such a deep sense of regret from the victim," Chrysalis mused. "I somehow doubt that this is the sort of thing that a regular dance instructor would feel. There has to be a second reason for him to feel this way... But what could it be?"

"I believe that I may be able to answer that question for you, as a matter of fact," Prosecutor Bespoke cut in. "There is a secondary witness on this case, and she claims to have known the defendant a long time ago. She didn't elaborate much beyond claiming that he had been a student that she mentored in a medical field years ago."

"A medical student?" Sumia echoed. "I wonder if that is true... I mean, I guess it's not completely out of the question given the circumstances, but... I don't know. He never really mentioned anything about being good with that. He was decent enough at helping when one of us got hurt, but..."

"Maybe he wasn't strictly involved with the work of a doctor or nurse," Venus suggested. "For all we know, he could have been planning to go into something like mental health. That's still in the medical wing, but it would be different from just treating injuries."

"You make a good point," Chrysalis agreed. "What do you say, Cotoli? Do you think that we should try to learn more about this witness and her supposed history with the victim?"

I nodded before looking up to Prosecutor Bespoke. "Is there anything else that you can tell us about the other witness of this case?" I asked. "Any details that you can share will be helpful."

Prosecutor Bespoke faltered for a moment before nodding. "She requested to not be called to court unless it was absolutely necessary, but if you believe that she is involved with this case, then I'm not going to stop you from learning more about her," he replied. "She's a psychologist currently trying to learn more about the human psyche. She supposedly witnessed the crime being carried out, but she claimed initially that she wouldn't need to testify since the words of the current witness would be sufficient."

"It sounds to me like our victim was involved with psychology at some point," Venus remarked. "Though that seems to be pretty different from what I would expect of a dance instructor... I guess that everyone is free to follow their hearts and all that, but... It's not what I would have expected to hear about."

"I believe that it would be wise for the court to hear the testimony of this other witness as soon as possible," Judge Diaphan declared. "If she truly did witness something that crucial, then we cannot discard her words quite so easily. Even if she thought that her testimony would not be necessary, the wishes of the court overrule any desires that she may have."

"It looks like we're going to be able to hear from this other witness after all," Chrysalis frowned. "Though I doubt that this is going to be easy at all. I mean, Sumia's testimony was hard enough to navigate, and she doesn't think that Cassidy did it. The only real advantage we'll have going into this is the fact that we can safely assume Cassidy was drugged somehow, though I doubt that this witness is going to be accepting that quite so easily."

"The fact that she didn't want to talk to us yesterday means that we aren't going to know anything about what she's going to say until after she starts talking. I hate the idea of that, but I guess all we can do is roll with it for now," Venus shrugged. "I'm glad that we were able to hear from Sumia though. Without her testimony, we wouldn't have been able to explain our theory that Cassidy was probably drugged at the time of the crime."

I nodded before glancing back up to Prosecutor Bespoke. "Is there anything else that you wish to tell us before this witness is called to the stand?" I asked.

"Her name is Fatanne Lease, for one," Prosecutor Bespoke said. "She requested to not be called to the stand unless it was absolutely necessary, but I suppose that desperate times call for desperate measure, and we can't just give her the chance to walk away as long as she saw something so important. So be it. Witness, you can step down from the stand at this time."

Sumia nodded and let out a sigh. She glanced over in my direction and gave me a small, shaky smile. "I'm sure that you're going to be able to help Cassidy out of this... I'm trusting you," she told us. Afterward, she shot us a nervous wave before retreating from the witness stand.

"Well, I would say that the fact that we got this far in the first place is a good thing," Venus grinned. "I mean, we've got this Fatanne woman coming to the stand to tell us about what she saw at the time of the crime. I doubt that it's going to be easy to discredit her testimony if she really is convinced that she saw Cassidy commit the crime, but we'll do what we can to make sure that everyone knows the truth of this case."

"I agree," Chrysalis nodded. "This is going to be where the real fight starts, so we can't allow ourselves to relax too much... Whoever this woman is, she wanted nothing to do with this trial even after seeing something as critical as the moment of a murder... If her claims are to be believed, anyway, though I somehow doubt that it's going to be easy for us to just go along with whatever it is that she's telling us."

"We'll do what we can for now. Even if we don't know what we're going to be encountering, I believe that we're going to be finding the truth," I said. I looked up to where Prosecutor Bespoke was standing across the courtroom and swallowed dryly. I already had an awful feeling about all of this, but I knew that I was going to have to stay as focused as possible for the time being. Cassidy was counting on us to find a way to reveal the truth to everyone in the courtroom.

"The prosecution calls its next witness, Fatanne Lease, to the stand!" Prosecutor Bespoke declared grandly. He met my gaze briefly and gave me a small smile. I found myself relieved at the sight, knowing that this was a sign that he was still on our side despite the situation at hand. We were going to find a way to push through this no matter what. Prosecutor Bespoke was on our side, and that meant much more than I could ever hope to say. I just hoped that the next part of the trial went at least somewhat in our favor before the verdict was handed down.

Update time mmm

-Digital