June 23
Defendant Lobby No. 5
9:45 AM
Venus Rinko
Truth be told, I don't think any of us were ready for the trial by the time we arrived in the defendant lobby the next morning. I could barely keep myself still for longer than a few seconds, constantly pacing or tapping one foot to get out the remnants of my nervous energy. I hadn't slept well the night before, and I knew it was showing before I could even bother with asking anyone if I looked like a complete wreck. Chrysalis was staring vacantly at the ground, her eyes difficult to fully read. I glanced over to her every once in a while, knowing that I should ask her something along the lines of what she was thinking, but I knew it wasn't going to be that simple to push her to talk about what was on her mind. Besides, I could put together a decent enough guess if I thought about this case for longer than thirty seconds, and that was probably the worst part about this whole situation.
That didn't mean I was going to stop myself from being as optimistic as possible, so I glanced up to my two companions with a vague excuse for a smile on my face. "So... It's almost time for us to finish up this trial," I said simply, doing my best to seem more confident than I actually felt. It was difficult to say if I was succeeding or not. I just knew that I was far from being the only one who felt like this case was an absolute disaster. Mr. Morix and Chrysalis were sharing the couch nearby, and neither one of them had made eye contact with me all day. If that wasn't a sign of something going seriously wrong, I didn't know what was.
"I don't like what it seems like we're going to be faced with," Mr. Morix remarked as he let out a sigh. "It seems like this is going to be a much more difficult matter than we could have ever expected, and I don't think anyone is going to be surprised to hear that I don't like that in the slightest."
Chrysalis shook her head. "I mean, if the culprit is who we're thinking it is, I don't think it's surprising that we don't want to carry through with this," she muttered. "But we have a job to do, and we're going to figure out the truth behind this case no matter how hard it is. The truth can sting a lot more than people realize sometimes, and if we're the one on the receiving end of that backlash, then so be it. That's just how life goes sometimes."
I hesitated before I sat down next to Chrysalis, realizing that there was just enough room for me to comfortably fit on the couch beside her without crowding her out of all her space. "You two have been through a lot before all of this, haven't you?" I asked, allowing my voice to drop into a careful whisper as I watched them carefully. "I get the feeling there's a lot more on your minds than you're willing to admit, and... I don't know. I can just tell that you've dealt with a lot before you came here to work as lawyers."
Unsurprisingly, Chrysalis didn't want to make eye contact with me. "You could say that," she muttered. "It's a long story, and I can go on and promise you right now that you don't want to hear about it. Just... Trust me on that."
I looked at her for a long time even after she spoke those words, and I did my best to try and push away my anxieties even though I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Everything felt like a complete disaster the longer I thought about this case, and I hated how anxious the whole thing made me. I found my foot tapping against the ground in agitation all over again, and I longed to pace again even though I knew I should probably make some effort to stay somewhat still in preparation for the trial to come. We were going to need to focus, and unfortunately, that meant I would have to stand behind the defense bench without causing too much of a distraction. Sigh.
"You three sure do look dreary today. Are you sure you're prepared for the trial?"
I glanced up to see Chief Prosecutor Cristopher standing above us, and I hesitated before I smiled to him. "No, we're totally ready," I assured him even though I knew nobody was going to buy it. I didn't think I was even fully convinced, and I was the one doing my best to put on a show of knowing what I was doing. None of us were sure about what this case was going to have in store for us, and unfortunately, all we could do was put up with that when push came to shove.
Chief Prosecutor Cristopher glanced over all of us, and he winced when he looked to Chrysalis. I realized why a moment later; my companion was practically glaring daggers into his chest, and it was taking every ounce of effort Chief Prosecutor Cristopher had to not return the favor. "Are you confident you'll be able to get me off the hook for the murder?" he questioned.
"You trust us, don't you?" Chrysalis asked in the place of a true answer. I could tell this was her last ditch attempt at trying to get Chief Prosecutor Cristopher to admit why he wanted us as his defense team, and if he didn't respond, that would only add further evidence to the theory that there was something wrong with his motivation for all of this. Great, like we needed any other reasons to feel like this case was secretly trying to stab us all in the back.
Chief Prosecutor Cristopher didn't respond to Chrysalis' question, and I saw her hand clench into a fist just out of his line of sight. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked over to Mr. Morix, and not for the first time, I wondered just why in the world he had asked us to do any of this. He didn't seem intent on answering that question though, so I let him have his fun talking to Mr. Morix for a few moments longer. "I take it you have ideas as to what you will be doing in the trial today, yes?" he inquired.
Mr. Morix nodded. "We do have ideas about who the true culprit is, yes," he answered simply. "We'll do what we have to in order to find the truth behind this case. No person should be put behind bars for something they aren't guilty of, and we're going to make sure that the true culprit is found and revealed once and for all." I couldn't help but pick up on his word choices of phrasing when he answered Chief Prosecutor Cristopher, and I knew that Mr. Morix was thinking that there was more to this case as well. I could barely even bring myself to be surprised; we all knew there was something wrong. It was just a matter of time before we forced somebody to tell us the truth about what made this entire situation so perplexing and obnoxious.
Before Chrysalis could offer yet another snarky remark to the discussion, she was cut off by the booming voice of the bailiff coming from just next to the courtroom doors. She sighed and got to her feet, and I followed after her if only to make sure she didn't start punching something in her moment of frustration. "You know what that means," she remarked, though I could already tell she wasn't talking to Chief Prosecutor Cristopher. She had already hit the wall with him, and she wasn't going to be engaging in conversation with him from now on if it could at all be avoided. "Let's get in there and see what we can do."
Chrysalis was off into the courtroom a few moments later, and I trailed after her as Mr. Morix offered a final nod to Chief Prosecutor Cristopher. I felt a shiver sprint up my spine, and I was left to wonder just what could have happened to Chrysalis to make her trust the world so little. We had known each other for months by this point, but that still wasn't enough to get me to know much of anything about her past. She was keeping it secret, and I knew there had to be a reason somewhere in her history that would explain her peculiar behavior behind all of this. I wondered if I would ever find the answer. As far as this case was making it seem, the answer to that was resoundingly negative.
But this wasn't the time to get distracted. We had a case to win for better or worse, and I could already tell it was going to go terribly if we weren't careful. What else was new?
June 23
Courtroom No. 5
10:00 AM
Cotoli Morix
To say that I was ready for this trial to move to the courtroom would have been a complete lie, as much as I hate to say it. We had our suspicions as to who the culprit could have been, but that didn't mean we were ready to face what was waiting for us. I couldn't help tapping one foot against the ground as I waited for the trial to get into full swing, and my throat was starting to clam up on me from pure anxiety. I hated how all of this was going, and I could only hope we were able to find a way out of this that didn't leave us completely stranded in hell.
Judge Diaphan hit her gavel against the podium before her, and that was enough to pull me out of my dreary thought process. "Court is back in session for the trial of Hans Cristopher," she announced, her voice even and easy to understand even in my state of unsettled dizziness. "I take it the defense and prosecution have both investigated this case thoroughly in preparation for this trial, yes?"
Ghastly nodded. "Of course. In fact, the prosecution has discovered a new witness to this case, and I believe it would be for the best if we heard his testimony as soon as possible to start putting together the pieces of this case," he explained. "If you don't mind, I would like to call this first witness as soon as possible for the sake of pushing forward to the end of the trial sooner rather than later."
Judge Diaphan nodded. "Go right ahead, prosecution," she said simply. I pretended those four words didn't make my stomach do flips and distort itself in agony. This entire situation was awful, and all I wanted was for it all to stop. Unfortunately, the only way for that to happen was to reveal the truth behind this case, and that was bound to be much easier said than done. Then again, what didn't fall under that description these days?
"The prosecution calls its first witness to the stand," Ghastly announced, and I saw Cassidy shrink away from his words like she thought she could hide from the truth of this case if she tried hard enough. I swallowed dryly and focused my attention on the newcomer arriving at the stand, watching cautiously as Mr. Middleton came into view.
"Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," Judge Diaphan announced. I was glad she was able to keep herself focused on the business aspect of this case; it certainly made things easier for the rest of us who were struggling with distraction.
Mr. Middleton nodded, a pleasant smile appearing on his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chrysalis aim a glare in his direction. "My name is Elton Middleton, and I'm a defense attorney working here in town," he responded, his voice smooth in a way I hadn't expected. He could tell that he had control over this situation thanks to his reputation, and he wasn't going to let anybody forget it as far as I could tell.
"You were also a witness to the crime that took place in the abandoned building on the night of the murder, and right now, that's the most important fact you can share with us," Ghastly remarked. "Would you mind telling the court about what you saw on the night of the crime?"
Mr. Middleton shook his head. "Of course not. I'm more than happy to help you with finding the truth," he replied. I saw him offer me a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, and I could already hear the question on his lips before he asked it. Why aren't you wanting to work with me at my agency? He had inquired as to the question a few times, and each time, all I could do was bite my lip and say I wasn't interested. There was more to it than that, of course, but I wasn't going to be sharing that much with anybody. I was tired of everything this case had shown me, and that meant keeping things close to my chest for a while longer regardless of how tempting it may have been to talk about the truth behind all of this... The truth behind my motivation to become a defense attorney in the first place.
Judge Diaphan was quick to interject before I was able to fully drown in my own mind. "In that case, please provide your testimony at this time," she announced, and Mr. Middleton nodded before preparing to comply a second later. I shoved down the twist in my stomach and focused on his words. This was it: the start of the final battle was here, and unfortunately, it wasn't going to be leading anywhere pretty. What else was new?
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Arriving at the Crime Scene ~
-"I just so happened to stumble upon the crime scene on the night of the murder."
-"It was after the gunshots rang out, you see... I ran to the scene out of curiosity as to what the noise was about."
-"When I arrived, I saw there were already people on the scene working on the investigation."
-"I hesitated for a brief period before I ultimately left the area behind, not seeing much of a reason to stay."
-"The last thing I wanted to do was get in the way of the investigation, and I had a feeling it would be best if I waited for more information to be revealed."
-"So I left the investigation in the capable hands of the Interpol agents involved with this case and left."
The courtroom was silent for a long moment before Judge Diaphan began to glare at him. Even with her mask obscuring her eyes, I could feel the cold chill wash through the courtroom as proof that she was not happy about this in the slightest. "You left the crime scene even though you knew something had gone wrong?" she questioned, measuring the weight of each word before she spoke.
"I never entered the building. I saw that a perimeter was being set up around the outside of the building and decided it would be for the best if I left the investigation up to those who were meant to be there. I didn't want to interfere by accident, so I left them to it and decided to return home to await new information," Mr. Middleton explained, his voice remaining surprisingly calm in the face of the judge's accusation.
"I'm not buying this for a second," Chrysalis frowned to me. "Call me harsh all you want to, but I think he's hiding a lot more from us than he's willing to admit at a first glance. He's trying to deceive us in some way, and we're going to figure it out."
Venus winced at Chrysalis' words, but she didn't openly protest either. "Alright," she murmured. "If you really think there's something bad going on here, let's get to it and figure out what we can do about it." I could tell she was dancing around the subject even though she knew what Chrysalis was referring to. How could she not be aware? Everyone had to be in some way or another.
"The defense would like to begin its cross-examination at this time," I announced as I looked up to where Judge Diaphan was sitting. I did my best to seem like I had everything under control and wasn't rattling around nervously internally, but my foot still wound up twitching as I spoke.
Judge Diaphan either didn't notice or chose to not comment on it. "Go ahead, defense."
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Arriving at the Crime Scene ~
-"I just so happened to stumble upon the crime scene on the night of the murder."
-"It was after the gunshots rang out, you see... I ran to the scene out of curiosity as to what the noise was about."
-"When I arrived, I saw there were already people on the scene working on the investigation."
-"I hesitated for a brief period before I ultimately left the area behind, not seeing much of a reason to stay."
-"The last thing I wanted to do was get in the way of the investigation, and I had a feeling it would be best if I waited for more information to be revealed."
-"So I left the investigation in the capable hands of the Interpol agents involved with this case and left."
"Hold it!"
"If you don't mind my asking, witness... I have to wonder how you knew the people setting up the perimeter around the crime scene were Interpol agents in the first place," I remarked. "You said you never got too close to the outside of the building, so how would you be so sure that you knew their occupations? I find it a bit strange."
Mr. Middleton frowned at me. "I didn't know they were Interpol agents specifically... I was simply confident they were investigators, and I didn't want to get in the way of their search for evidence if something had happened. That wouldn't serve my purposes well or help them out in figuring out who the true culprit was," he explained. "I thought it would be best if I left them alone and then came back later when they were finished with their search for information."
"You're a defense attorney. I would have expected you to get involved with the investigation as soon as you realized something had happened," I continued to press. "It seems like something someone in your position would have done. You would have had the full opportunity to investigate and learn as much as you wanted about the crime that took place that night, but you wound up leaving before you could accomplish much of anything on the matter. I personally find that to be rather odd, and I was wondering... Would there happen to be another reason you left the scene of the crime?"
"Another reason for me to leave?" Mr. Middleton echoed, his expression shifting into confusion. "I don't know what you could possibly be referring to. I didn't have a reason to leave. I was simply choosing to let the investigators on the case take care of their search for information while I left them to it. That's all there is to the matter."
"You know, one of the two Interpol agents who we spoke with during yesterday's segment of the trial stated that he was placed outside the building on guard duty to make sure nobody got too close to the building who wasn't supposed to be there," I began to say. "Q watched the area until they were able to get other officers involved with setting up a perimeter so nobody got into the scene of the crime... And yet, he never claimed to see anybody getting too close to be seen. You said you were in the area of the building but ultimately chose to leave before you could get too close to the site. I have to wonder... Have you been lying to this court, Mr. Middleton? Have you been lying to me?"
The gallery began to buzz, but Judge Diaphan wasn't having any of it, and all it took was a sharp slam of her gavel to get everyone to fall silent. She didn't even need to say anything to get everyone to be quiet, and I was quietly glad that she had managed to get a hold on the situation so quickly. She looked down to Mr. Middleton, and once again, I could feel her glare from behind her mask. "Well, Mr. Middleton?" she asked. "Do you have anything to say for yourself on the matter?"
Mr. Middleton stared at me in surprise for a long moment before he let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "You know, Mr. Morix, I really did think we were friends," he remarked. "I did what I could to help you during the investigation surrounding the murder at the gymnastics competition. I even gave you the chance to work at a law office where your talents would actually be recognized. I don't see what the issue with all of this could have been... I thought you would know better than to try and cross me after everything I've done for you, but it seems I was mistaken."
"What are you talking about?" Ghastly asked, something in his expression growing antsy and disturbed at those words. "Why weren't you seen in the area of the crime scene on the night of the murder, witness?"
"Have you ever considered that you can't exactly trust the testimony of those Interpol agents either?" Mr. Middleton questioned, not openly acknowledging Ghastly's question as he looked over to me. "For all you know, they could be lying as well, and you would be none the wiser because you're using their words to make an innocent man seem like a murderer. I can't say I'm surprised. Many people slip off the path of justice when they try to be the hero. It's a tragic twist of fate, wouldn't you say?"
"Answer the question, witness," Ghastly snarled. I couldn't tell if he was getting upset due to being defensive over me or if Mr. Middleton was just starting to really upset him. I ultimately decided it was probably a mix of both and continued to stare intensely at the man behind the witness stand.
"I believe the defense should answer my question first," Mr. Middleton remarked as he shifted his attention back in my direction a moment later. "You're accusing me of this crime... But I want to know what you're hoping to accomplish by doing all of this. Surely you can't mean to say that I'm the culprit behind this case... I would expect you to be smarter than that. You can't go around accusing people unless you have evidence, and I would hardly call anything you've said up to this point proof that I could be the guilty party."
"Why did you hide your presence in the area of the crime scene from us at first?" I countered. "You should have told us that you were in the area of the crime scene as soon as we started talking to you about what happened, and yet, you did what you could to keep it secret until you had no choice but to tell us the truth. If you had told us sooner, we would have been able to come closer to discovering what really happened that night during yesterday's segment of the trial."
"I thought you would find me to be suspicious," Mr. Middleton replied with a shake of his head. "Though I suppose I ultimately found myself in that situation regardless, and now..." He sighed and glanced over to me with disappointment gleaming in his eyes, his focus shifting to Venus and Chrysalis soon afterward. "I can't say I'm particularly surprised. You never did seem like the trusting type, as much as I hate to admit it. I expected you to stab someone in the back eventually... I was simply hoping you wouldn't do it to me after all the kindness I was willing to show you in offering you a job at my law agency."
Chrysalis slammed one hand against the defense bench a moment later, and I did my best to keep from jumping in surprise. "Answer the damn question," she snarled. "All you're doing is dancing around the subject, but that isn't going to prove your innocence or get anybody on your side. If you want to really say that you didn't do it, then be honest and say what you were doing on the day of the crime."
Mr. Middleton seemed surprised at her sudden forwardness before he shook his head. "You don't know what you're saying," he murmured under his breath. "I'm not the culprit. I didn't share the truth behind my presence at the scene of the crime because I didn't think it was going to be relevant. I didn't see anything of note when I was in the area. I only saw those two Interpol agents setting up a perimeter from outside the building, and I figured it would be best if I left them to it. I didn't want to get in the way of an investigation that had clearly attracted so much attention."
"So you would have gotten involved if it wasn't a pair of Interpol agents responsible for the investigation?" I questioned. "Once again, I feel the need to ask how you knew they were with Interpol to begin with." I didn't think he was going to answer the question given his previous track record, but I did what I could to come down on him for the time being regardless.
Mr. Middleton sighed. "I was going to leave them alone regardless. Is that what you want to hear? I didn't know they were with Interpol, and I don't think anybody would have had a way to know that unless they talked to the pair upfront," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest. I could tell he was starting to get upset with our constant questions, and it was just a matter of time before his rage fully exploded against us given the circumstances.
I glanced over to Chrysalis when I felt her eyes on me, and when I did, I saw that both she and Venus were staring up at me. "What are we supposed to do about that one?" Venus asked. "No matter how hard we push him on this, it doesn't seem like he's going to admit it. I can't say I'm surprised given the circumstances, but... I don't know. It's still frustrating that he won't just be honest about all of this."
"I think I might have an explanation," Chrysalis murmured. "We heard from D and Q that the evidence forgeries were going all the way up to Interpol, right? It's only natural they would start to investigate where they could to find the truth behind what was going on there. If the evidence forgeries really do go up to Interpol, then that means there's somebody in there who's putting forged evidence inside of the various cases they're involved with. That means there's someone inside of Interpol associating with the forgery ring we're sure the victim was trying to find out more about... The evidence forging ring we think the culprit must be a part of."
"You mean to say that... You think he was warned about the Interpol agents being involved long before this," I realized. As she continued to speak, I realized she was probably right; the pieces certainly made sense if we considered them that way, but part of me was still sure this wasn't going to be enough. Mr. Middleton refused to budge on the matter of his supposed innocence no matter how much we pushed him, and I didn't know if this was going to be enough to actually get him to open up and be honest. Why would he want to tell the truth if he was a murderer?
Chrysalis nodded. "On top of that, I would say he's staying away from the crime scene because he was the one who did it. The murder weapon is gone, and if he's really part of the ring, he's probably gotten rid of it in a way that will make sure we never find it again. I think that's evidence enough of everything falling out of our favor on this matter, and that means we're going to have to find another way to push it out of him," she continued.
"I think we're going to need something a bit more than that if we want to show that he did it though," Venus hissed in my direction. "Everything about him is still so smug. He doesn't want to admit that he did it, and we're going to have to figure out a few more pieces behind this whole puzzle if we want to force him to confess to the crime."
I looked down at the bench in front of me with a frown. She did have a point in that matter, but I wasn't quite sure as to where I was supposed to go with all of this. "If only we knew more about the evidence forgery ring..." I muttered under my breath. That was at the heart of this entire case, and yet, it seemed like we were still wanting for information in every way we could have imagined. If only we had just a little bit more to latch on to... At this point, all we were aware of was what had been revealed during the previous case, and who could say if that would be enough?
Unless... Maybe it was.
Oh boy story time!
-Digital