April 18

Courtroom No. 2

12:30 PM

Cotoli Morix

"Cotoli, do you have a plan?" Chrysalis asked from beside me, concern sweeping into her gaze. She was staring at me intently, undoubtedly wondering why my expression had shifted so suddenly.

I nodded. "I think so... I don't have any solid evidence that I know what's going on, but I'm going to try and figure this out. There's one thing that can get Ms. Lease to loosen up when she's testifying, and I think that it would be for the best if we used that as a starting point. Just follow my lead," I told her and Venus. The two of them nodded in response, and I moved my attention up to the witness stand once again.

"Ms. Lease, you work as a psychologist investigating the human psyche, yes?" I began. I wasn't entirely sure where I was going with this, but I did know that this was the one subject that she didn't completely clam up about when it was mentioned. If I could, I was going to try and use this to blow the truth of this case wide open. It was the only option that I could see given how confident I was that she was the culprit, and I had to try and take advantage of it while I could.

Ms. Lease nodded, pushing her glasses farther up her nose. "You already knew this. I don't see why it is that you insist on touching on matters that have already been resolved," she frowned. "What makes you want to discuss this all of a sudden?"

"I was simply wondering... How long have you been searching the truth of the human mind?" I asked next.

"Ever since I became a psychologist. It intrigues me that there is so much about the human mind that is not yet understood, and the best way to calm your curiosity is to start searching for information. As such, I have been looking ever since I was given the chance to enter this field," Ms. Lease replied.

"I see... I take it that the victim became your protege in part because he was curious about all of this as well. After all, if this is what you're known for, then it would only make sense that the victim attempted to reach out to you over it," I concluded. "There are many other psychologists out there, but I doubt that there are many others who are tackling the field in the same way that you are."

"He was curious about my research, as a matter of fact," Ms. Lease responded, and I could already see the tension in her body starting to fade away. "There are many different ways that the human mind works, you see... Countless phenomena arise through different methods and causes, and every person has a different response to certain stimuli. It makes one wonder just what causes the brain to tick the way that it does."

"While you and the defendant were conducting this research, did anything of note happen?" I asked. "I somehow doubt that he would want to simply leave all of a sudden, and if there was something to cause his disappearance, then we would be able to put together the pieces of how he wound up at the dance studio."

Ms. Lease shrugged. "He didn't seem to approve of all my methods. Scientific progress does not wait because of the weakness of the human race. There is much research to be conducted, and if we aren't brave enough to face its conseuqneces, then we don't deserve to understand its results either."

"What kind of methods?" Prosecutor Bespoke questioned, his eyes narrowing in her direction. I could tell that he was already going on the defensive because of the way that she had phrased this particular response.

"If you wish to learn more about the human mind, then you have to be ready to dig deeper than any other. You have to be willing to look at certain things in ways that others have not considered... It's best if you can see something happening in real time rather than simply witnessing the aftermath," Ms. Lease told him bluntly. "There are many things that have yet to be discovered, and I'm hardly going to shy away from the truth the way that many others would."

I glanced over to Chrysalis and Venus, and I saw that both of them were glaring at Ms. Lease. Chrysalis was the next to interject, her hands resting firmly against the defense bench. "Tell me... What happened just before the victim departed from your tutelage?"

"We were working with a client, and he grew upset with me," Ms. Lease replied with a shrug. "That's all there is to it. He left without leaving any evidence behind that he had ever been there save for one note."

"Wait... He didn't leave any evidence behind?" Venus asked with wide eyes. "That's it! What if he was trying to erase something from Ms. Lease's research? She's making it sound as if there was simply an argument between them, but the fact that he left behind her back... It wouldn't be out of the question to say that he took something from her. If he didn't leave any evidence, then that means that it would be possible for him to have taken something while he was on the way out!"

I nodded to myself, my eyes falling shut. I agreed that this certainly sounded plausible, but I didn't know what it was that could prove something like that. How were we supposed to find evidence to back up something like that? Ms. Lease had been so detached this entire time. We knew that she had to be the culprit given all that had happened in the trial up to this point, but what were we supposed to do if we couldn't prove that she had a motive? We had to find something that would tie her to the victim in the present rather than only in the past.

Prosecutor Bespoke cleared his throat, and I glanced up in his direction with a frown. He was gesturing gently to Ms. Lease with a frown on his face. "You know... This entire time that you've been talking, you've been holding that folder of yours awfully close to your chest," he commented nonchalantly.

My eyes went wide as soon as I realized that he was right. I hadn't noticed it due to being caught up in the current conversation about what was going on with her research, but he did have a point. Up until this point, Ms. Lease had been carrying her folder somewhat loosely, balancing it on her lower arm. All of a sudden though, she was gripping it tight against her torso, almost as if she feared that someone was going to try and take it from her.

Ms. Lease raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Every person changes their physicality at times, Prosecutor Bespoke. I'm hardly sure that I know what it is you're trying to prove," she remarked. "Are you trying to say that there's something amiss here? Do you mean to imply that something is out of the ordinary here?"

Prosecutor Bespoke nodded his confirmation. "I do, as a matter of fact. You know, there was nothing of note that was found at the scene of the crime. Everything was searched from top to bottom in the studio, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary found. Everything was clean... A bit too clean, almost. If you ask me, that could very easily mean..."

"That the decisive evidence was taken from the scene of the crime," I murmured under my breath. "And it must have been something important, but... We haven't seen any evidence up to this point of something being out of the ordinary."

"I think that we should check a bit more closely for that," Prosecutor Bespoke told me. "For example, I want to know why it is that the witness is still holding the folder so closely, almost as if she doesn't want anyone else here to see it... Witness, you wouldn't happen to be hiding anything from this court, would you?"

"I don't know what it is that you're trying to imply, but you have no right to look into my folder. I can see it in your eyes that you're thinking of trying to get inside," Ms. Lease frowned to him. "This is my private property, and you can't simply-"

"What if I said that there was evidence of something haven been taken out of the victim's pocket?" Prosecutor Bespoke questioned. "I believe that there was something that the victim was hiding on his person that was stolen at the time of the crime, and it is this very stolen item that is going to ultimately lead us to the truth behind this case."

"And you think that I would keep a stolen item on my person?" Ms. Lease asked. "I believe that you're jumping to more than a few conclusions here, Prosecutor Bespoke. You do realize that evidence is everything when it comes to the courtroom, yes? In order for your hypothesis to be at all accepted, you need to have some backing for it. If you truly wish to imply that I have been hiding something so critical from the people here, then you had best have some evidence for it."

"I could very easily get my hands on said evidence if you will let us check out the folder that you have been holding so tightly," Prosecutor Bespoke told her. "I believe that the motive behind our case is hiding right in front of us and has been the entire time."

"Your Honor, surely you do not intend to allow such a thing to take place. This is crossing a line and breaking my rights," Ms. Lease said, her shoulders once again growing thick and heavy with tension. "You don't have any evidence to show that I am at all involved with this case beyond what I saw."

"You claimed to have witnessed the murder through the window when we know such a thing is not possible!" Venus announced. "You're wearing gloves right now, and I bet that if we did a bit of testing, it wouldn't be hard for forensics to confirm to us that the glove marks are hiding a secret that would be beyond dangerous for you."

"The court accepts the prosecution's request to investigate the belongings of the witness. If you truly believe that this is key to finding the truth behind this case, Prosecutor Bespoke, then I will allow you to carry out your investigation," Judge Diaphan announced.

Prosecutor Bespoke walked out from behind the bench and approached Ms. Lease. "Why don't you make this easier for all of us and hand over the folder?" he asked. "We can look into it, and if there's really nothing out of order, then we will send you on your merry way as if nothing happened in the first place."

Ms. Lease glared at him for a long moment before she handed the folder over in his direction. Prosecutor Bespoke nodded gratefully with a light smile that seemed almost too pure to belong to someone that was attempting to level murder accusations against someone. He opened the folder and began to flick through the pages, his eyes going wide as he did so. His skin grew pale, and I found myself frowning. Just what was it that he was seeing that was so distressing?

"Something's wrong," Chrysalis murmured. "And somehow, I don't think that it has anything to do with this case... At the very least, it doesn't have anything to do with whatever we believe to be the motive behind this murder."

I nodded along distantly, though I was more focused on the way that all of the energy had seemingly drained out of Prosecutor Bespoke's body in the blink of an eye. He shut the folder and slid it across the bench as he glanced up at the court. "The folder contains nothing that appears to be related to the case," he declared.

"You shouldn't have tried to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong. If you don't mind, I would like my research back, please," Ms. Lease told him, her eyes sharp and angry as she glared in his direction.

Prosecutor Bespoke shook his head. "I'm afraid that this is not going to be possible... The methods mentioned in your research... They can hardly be considered humane. This is... It's grotesque. You've crossed countless lines in the name of what you believe to be scientific progress. Your protege left your influence behind because he was disgusted by what you had done," he said.

"It must have been really bad..." Venus murmured. "Wait a moment... If... If the research was really that bad, then... I think that we might have a motive here!"

"What are you thinking?" I questioned of her. I had to admit that I had no idea where we were going to be headed from here, but I was more than willing to take advantage of any ideas that she was willing to offer.

"Think about it! I said earlier that he didn't leave behind any evidence that he was there. It sounds to me like the victim was a good person who didn't want others to get hurt. He kept his past secret from everyone because of this," Venus began to explain. "If the witness really did cross lines in the name of her research, then there would only be one thing to do that would stop her from carrying out all of this in full."

"Take what notes she has from the investigations," Chrysalis realized, her eyes going wide. "If he took the evidence that there was something bad going on, then she would be left at a standstill, and that would set back her progress significantly. Then, while she was left at a disadvantage, then the victim could have taken care of the evidence so that the matter was resolved."

"She's keeping the evidence on her because she doesn't want anybody to go behind her back after what the victim did!" Venus cried out. "She's been so protective of it because she doesn't want us to try and take it the way that the victim did when he first left her behind!"

"That has to be it!" I agreed with a nod. "The victim betrayed Ms. Lease's trust by taking her research, and she did all of this because she was trying to come back for it. When she didn't find anything, she was forced to leave the scene behind. Her research was taken by the victim after he noticed that she was crossing lines, and this was her attempt to return it to her hands. He thought that she was hurting people and wanted to stop her as soon as possible!"

"It sounds as if the defense has a revelation to share with the court," Judge Diaphan commented as she looked over in my direction. "Don't waste any time, defense. Tell the court what it is that you have discovered about this case."

I nodded. "The defense believes that the lack of evidence pointing to a motive behind this case is exactly what we should be looking at in the first place," I declared. "The witness has been very protective of her research since entering this courtroom... Wouldn't it be best to leave something so critical at home? That would ensure that nothing happened to it here."

"You're right," Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "And yet, she didn't do anything of the sort... It really does make you wonder why exactly she's behaving so strangely, doesn't it?"

"Exactly," I agreed. "This research seems to be incredibly important to the witness given the circumstances, and yet, she brought it with her to something that is completely unrelated. My best theory for why that would happen is that she's being careful because this has happened before. She doesn't want anyone to touch her research once again, and she's trying to defend from someone taking it behind her back. The defense believes that the victim took the witness' research in the past when he left her tutelage, and that was why he wound up dead!"

"When I received the call from Detective Erikson earlier, he had one other thing to say, you know," Prosecutor Bespoke declared. "It was that there were glove marks found around the victim's pockets, and the same glove marks had been found in the desk of the lobby. The culprit was searching for something but ultimately didn't find it."

"So, witness?" I questioned. "Would you like to confess now, or should we continue our search? Remember that we already know that you saw the crime from inside the studio, something that only would have been possible if you had broken into the scene of the crime. Either way, you're going to wind up in trouble for trespassing at this juncture. There isn't any escape for you!"

Ms. Lease glared at me for a long time, pulling one hand away from her side before she clenched it into a fist. She simply slammed her fist down against the podium, her expression tight as could be. No words left her lips from there, but Judge Diaphan understood everything that was being communicated in the silence. It didn't take long for the bailiffs to surge forwards to escort Ms. Lease from the courtroom.

Once Ms. Lease and the bailiffs were gone, Judge Diaphan cleared her throat and hit her gavel down once to stop any chatter in the gallery before it could get to be any worse than it already was. "It seems as if we have finally reached the truth behind this case," she declared. "The victim took some important research from the victim when he left her behind a while ago, and when she came to reclaim it, she killed him to get her hands on it."

"I suspect that the research had either been destroyed or stored elsewhere by this point," Prosecutor Bespoke said. "This research couldn't be left alone, it seems, so destroying it was likely the best option for the victim since it was never turned into the police as a record of Ms. Lease's crimes."

"But now, we know that she has been conducting inhumane experiments in her work to try and learn more about the human mind. I would say that this is a good place to start," Chrysalis remarked with a shake of her head. "It's awful that the victim had to die for this, but... At the very least, the one who caused so many issues for him has been sealed away once and for all."

"The trial of Fatanne Lease will be held at a later date, but for the time being, the court requests that the defendant approach the witness stand," Judge Diaphan announced. As Cassidy moved up to the podium, Judge Diaphan glanced back and forth between me and Prosecutor Bespoke. "Are there any objections from the prosecution or defense?"

I shook my head immediately. "The defense has no objections," I told her. I was more than glad to have this case taken care of and in the past; I had no reason to want to fight back on something like this.

"And the prosecution?" Judge Diaphan asked, turning her attention over to Prosecutor Bespoke next.

"The prosecution has no objections," Prosecutor Bespoke replied.

Judge Diaphan nodded. "In that case, this court is ready to hand down its verdict. This court hereby finds the defendant, Cassidy Rinko, not guilty. Court is adjourned!"

As the gavel came down once again, all I could do was smile to myself. At last, this case was over, and Cassidy was free to go. I began to pack up my things as I headed out to the defendant lobby, Chrysalis and Venus trailing after me.

April 18

Defendant Lobby No. 2

1:15 PM

Cotoli Morix

"Woohoo!" Venus cheered as soon as we were free of the courtroom, clapping her hands together in excitement. "I can't believe that we actually did it! Cassidy was declared innocent, and she's going to be out of the detention center in no time! This is great!"

"It was a bit touch and go for a while there, but you're right. We were able to pull it off," Chrysalis nodded. She glanced over to me next, and upon seeing my worried expression, her expression slipped into a deep frown. "What's on your mind, Cotoli?"

"It's the trial... We came so close to not having the evidence needed to prove that Ms. Lease did it," I told her. "That was a huge gamble that we took by trying to make her open up about her research. It was a guess that I made, and we're lucky that it wound up being correct in the end. If it wasn't... I don't think that the trial would have ended quite so favorably for us."

"We knew that she was the culprit behind the case, but proving that wound up being difficult," Venus murmured with a nod. "You're right about that much. I didn't know what we were going to do, if I'm being honest. She did such a good job of cleaning up after herself, and there was barely anything in terms of evidence that was left behind because of the nature of the crime scene. If not for Prosecutor Bespoke looking at her folder, I doubt that we would have been able to figure everything out. Even now, she hasn't actually confessed to the murder even though we know that she did it."

"The victim likely destroyed the evidence that she was searching for, and that was probably why she killed him," Chrysalis said. "It's as Prosecutor Bespoke said during the trial. There must have been something there that she didn't want anybody seeing, and the victim got rid of it to make sure that she never got her hands on it again. He would know better than to leave it unattended, and she knew that. After she killed him, she searched his pockets, and when nothing came up, she left without ever getting her research back."

"She would have to start from the very beginning if she was going to try learning more about the human mind, and I'm glad to know that won't be happening because of her arrest," Venus admitted with a shake of her head. "I don't think that I've ever seen Prosecutor Bespoke that rattled. I didn't even realize that he got so upset... He was so pale, almost like he was going to pass out at any moment."

"Um... May I cut in?"

The sound of a soft voice came from behind us, and I turned to see Cassidy standing nearby. She had a gentle smile on her face, and she waved shyly in our direction. "I-I just... I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me in there," she told us. "It really does mean a lot that you did so much to make sure that I was proven innocent of the crime. I'm glad that you were able to pull it off... I don't think that I'll ever be able to thank you enough."

"It's no issue at all. We found the truth, and that's what matters most at the end of the day," Chrysalis responded. "I'm glad that you're going to be able to go back home soon. I'm sure that you've missed that after being in the detention center."

Cassidy nodded. "You never realize how much you value your home before you don't have it anymore, you know?" she questioned. Cassidy opened her mouth to say something more, but she was ultimately interrupted by yet another voice piercing the air, and my smile grew wider at the words.

"There you are!"

Yuri came sliding into view next, her mother trailing behind her slowly. Yuri practically launched herself at Cassidy, nearly tackling her to the ground. Cassidy barely managed to stay standing under the weight of her sister's sudden leaping assault, a laugh escaping her lips. "Yuri...!" Cassidy whispered.

"I'm so glad that you were proven innocent!" Yuri cried out. "I think that this merits something nice and happy. We've been through so much over the course of the past few weeks, and we deserve to be able to go out and celebrate! What about it, Venus? We could go and get some dinner somewhere to honor this occasion!"

Venus smiled with a shake of her head. "That sounds like fun," she confirmed. She glanced over in my direction with a raised eyebrow. "What do you two say? If you'd like to join us, I'm sure that would be alright."

Chrysalis looked up to me with a neutral expression, undoubtedly leaving the decision up to me. Still, I could see a hint of yearning in her gaze, and I found myself smiling with a shake of my head. "Why not? I think that it could be fun. Besides, you're right... We do deserve to celebrate after all of that, if you ask me."

"Perfect!" Venus declared, clapping her hands together. She walked over to her mother and gave the older woman a quick hug, one that was ultimately returned only a handful of seconds later. I watched the scene tenderly, a smile on my face. I would have to send a message to my own mother when I got the chance. She had demanded a while ago to be updated on everything that happened in my law career, and I wasn't going to be passing up on something like that.

"Let's go on and get to it then! I think that we've got a ton of fun waiting to be had!" Yuri cried out as she pulled away from Cassidy and started walking to the door. She latched one hand around Cassidy's wrist before grabbing onto Venus with the other, dragging her sisters out of the room. Their mother was pulled along indirectly thanks to Venus, and soon afterward, they had rounded the corner to leave and go out into the hallway.

As they left though, a new person entered the defendant's lobby. My smile immediately slipped away at the grave expression of Prosecutor Bespoke. He walked closer, and I knew that our departure to have dinner with the Rinko family was going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Chrysalis seemed to understand it as well, and she looked down at the ground with a tense frown.

"I think that we should talk," Prosecutor Bespoke began. "About the trial..."

I nodded. "It almost didn't end in our favor. It could have so easily fallen out of our control, as a matter of fact... You saw what happened in there. The culprit... There was so little evidence left behind, and she wasn't going to be confessing anytime soon," I told him.

"She only handed over her research so easily because she didn't see anything wrong with what she was doing," Prosecutor Bespoke frowned. "I didn't see even a trace of remorse in her eyes when I read over everything that she had done... I'll just say that you should be glad that you aren't looking over that piece of evidence. You shouldn't have to see something like that."

"Everything could have slipped out of our control so easily," I muttered with a sigh. "It almost didn't end the way that it should have. We knew the truth, but she still could have gotten away."

"Judge Diaphan gave us the chance to find the truth by letting me look at her research. If not for that, I don't know where we would be right now," Prosecutor Bespoke said. "And if we couldn't prove that Ms. Lease did it, the guilt would have wrongfully fallen back to Cassidy by default. After all, it seems as if everything is biased against the defense and towards the prosecution. It's hard to find the truth if the police arrest the wrong person, and one wrong step is all it takes for the truth to be lost forever."

"The system is broken," Chrysalis cut in. "There isn't a way to fix it as far as I can tell. The legal system itself is irreparably broken, and I don't know if there's any way to resolve everything that it's capable of doing. It's important to have a way to find justice, but this isn't it. The culprit could have gotten away so easily, and that would have caused everything to fall apart."

I hesitated before I nodded. "We got lucky today, but we're going to have to be more careful from here on out," I agreed. My sister's words about the legal system being broken echoed in my mind long after she had stopped speaking. I had been aware of such a fact for a long time, but hearing it so frankly only made it more obvious. It was our lack of found justice that ultimately pushed me to become a lawyer in the first place, but that was a story for another day.

"For now, I guess all we can do is keep our eyes peeled for anything that seems out of the ordinary," Prosecutor Bespoke shrugged. "I'm not going to keep you any longer though. You have a celebration to get to, and I'm hardly going to keep you."

"I'm sure that you could join us if you wanted to," I offered. "If you'd like to come, then I can put in a good word for you."

Prosecutor Bespoke smiled after a beat of hesitation. "I would love that."

With that said, we walked out of the defendant lobby, but I couldn't tear our conversation from my mind. We were correct; the truth was almost lost, and beyond that, there was little way of saying how we could prevent this in the future. The damage had already been done, and I didn't know how to start in terms of fixing it. For all I knew, that was a vain hope to begin with.

But for the time being, it was time to celebrate. Everything unfortunate could wait until tomorrow. We deserved that much.

THE PERFORMERS' TURNABOUT

END

And so arrives the end of case two! I wonder if this is going to mean anything thematically hmm

-Digital