Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney
Turnabout Of The Night
by Derald Snyder
Trial- Day 2 (Part 1)
Court Record:
Demitri's Autopsy Report
Holy Water
Simone's Footprint
Crime Scene Diagram
Crime Scene Photos
Bloody Mace
Vampire Aura Tracker
Simone's Combat Cross
Security Camera Footage
November 14, 9:35 AM
Lastation City District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 4
"The vampire attacked you?!" Simone gasped in disbelief. "How fortunate for you that Lady Uni intervened when she did...!"
"D-don't I know it," Rei sighed, one hand still favoring the bandage on her neck. "B-but I d-didn't lose th-that much b-blood... I can s-stand in court."
Just then, K-Sha walked in. "Here, Miss Rei, I got some water for you... How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm fine," the lawyer reassured her as she took the water bottle and took a few gulps.
"So, do you have any idea who the vampire might be?" Simone prodded.
"We're fairly certain he's one of the employees at Paler Sunscreen Industries," K-Sha explained. "We found your Combat Cross in one of the lockers in the men's room..."
"But the vampire shouldn't have been able to touch it..." The hunter then snapped her fingers as something occurred to her. "Then again, he could have used that Thomas Hall to carry the whip for him..."
"Th-that's most likely wh-what happened," Rei agreed. Then the doors opened again, revealing none other than Detective Thomas.
"Hey, what's the big idea with you?!" the bearded man snapped. "I got an earful from Mr. Heinlein yesterday about failing to make sure the evidence locker was secure! Are you trying to get my pay cut?!"
"Are you hungry again, Detective?" K-Sha deadpanned. "And just so you know, I was the one that discovered the hinges were broken..."
"And on that note, maggot," Rei slipped into her HDD persona, "didn't you notice something wrong with the door when you opened it to check the evidence the other day?!"
Thomas seemed a bit cowed by the former goddess. "Well," he put a hand behind his head, "I did notice that door seemed to be grinding a bit when I pulled it open, but I thought it just needed some oil... I even went and told the janitor about it..." He suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah! By the way, we got the autopsy report for Mr. Hall..." He took some papers from his trench coat and handed them to Rei.
*Thomas Hall's Autopsy Report has been added to the Court Record.*
"Hmm..." The lawyer hummed as she began to read, Simone and K-Sha also reading over her shoulders. "What the- fatal loss of blood?!"
"I knew it," Simone muttered. "The vampire must have sucked him dry..."
"And then used his corpse as his puppet to switch the weapons," K-Sha supplemented. "After all, the vampire probably couldn't touch that Combat Cross himself without burning his hands off, right?"
"Exactly," the hunter nodded. "But Thomas Hall, despite being dead, still technically classified as human... He couldn't wield the whip, but carrying it around would be no problem."
"If you say so," Detective Thomas said with a shrug. "Good luck tryin' to prove that in court, though... I still think Mr. Heinlein ain't keen on saying a vampire's involved..."
"And yet, the only way I see this coming to a satisfactory conclusion is if we somehow expose the vampire in court," Simone muttered with her arms crossed. "You didn't even get a glimpse of your attacker, Miss Ryghts?"
"No..." Rei shook her head. "He or she was on me before I even knew what was happening... By the way, did anyone pick up the holy water I dropped?"
"Oh, yeah! I've got it right here," K-Sha pulled out the jug in question. "And I'll try to keep a better eye on it this time..." She then got a glimpse of the clock. "Oh! I think it's about time for trial to start..."
"Let us go, then," Simone nodded. "I'm counting on you to figure out the truth, Miss Ryghts..."
"I-I'll d-do my best," the lawyer nodded.
November 14, 10:00 AM
Lastation City District Court
Courtroom No. 3
"Alright, everyone settle down," the judge banged her gavel. "This court is now in session for the trial of The State v. Simone Rondo. Are the lawyers ready?"
"The prosecution is ready to proceed, Your Honor," Willard Heinlein stated.
"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Rei said.
"So am I!" K-Sha added.
The judge looked over at the defense's bench. "Miss Ryghts, I heard that you were attacked yesterday... I can see you have a bandage on your neck..."
"Y-yes, I was assaulted i-in an a-alleyway d-during the c-course of my investigation y-yesterday," the ex-villain admitted, causing the gallery to murmur slightly. "B-but I only lost a little b-blood, so I c-can stand in c-court today."
"I believe I offered to delay this trial until you were feeling better..." Willard shrugged. "But, if you insist on proceeding, I shall keep my own council."
"Very well," the judge acquiesced, "but I reserve the right to suspend proceedings if you start getting dizzy or you faint, understood?"
"Y-yes ma'am," Rei agreed. "D-don't worry, I've g-got some extra water right here..."
"As long as it isn't that holy water from yesterday," the elder woman muttered. "On that note... Miss K-Sha, I've decided to drop the charge against you, for possession of a dangerous substance. As Lady Noire pointed out, quite vociferously I might add," some light laughter was heard in the audience, "your reaction yesterday clearly indicated you had no idea that the witness would end up immolated by that water."
"Th-thank you, Your Honor," K-Sha bowed her head in gratitude, secretly glad she was keeping the second jar of holy water securely hidden in her backpack.
"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way," Willard spoke up, "perhaps I could proceed with my open?"
The judge promptly banged her gavel to quiet the gallery. "Alright, go ahead, Mr. Heinlein."
The white-haired man nodded before beginning, "As I'm sure most, if not all of you are aware, yesterday's court session ended rather... violently, with the supposed death of one Thomas Hall. However, the defendant surmised that Mr. Hall was in fact, already deceased, and that his corpse was being manipulated by some sinister force. So I promptly had Hall's body rushed to autopsy in order to uncover the truth."
"And what did the coroner conclude?" the judge pressed.
Willard hesitated for a moment. "...Surprisingly, it seems that Miss Rondo's claim might actually have some merit. According to Dr. Mallard Robertson, Thomas Hall actually died at least 48 hours prior, from bleeding out through the neck."
"B-bleeding out?!" the robed woman gasped in shock, the crowds buzzing in confusion and disbelief. "Order! Order!" the judge cried as she banged her gavel repeatedly. "...Well, I happen to know Dr. Robertson quite well... he started in autopsy not long after I first put on my robes. If he says the victim died of blood loss, then that's what happened. Does he say what manner of weapon was used to pierce the victim's neck?"
"Sadly, he was unable to say conclusively what was used as the murder weapon, due to Mr. Hall's immolation by the holy water," Heinlein lamented.
"HOLD IT!" K-Sha suddenly shouted. "The autopsy report says that it looks like there were two wounds on Mr. Hall's neck right next to each other!" The gallery again murmured in confusion, before being silenced by the judge's gavel.
"Just like a vampire's bite," Simone muttered.
"But again, we can't tell exactly what caused those wounds," the prosecutor countered. "It could have been a vampire's bite... or, it could be that Mr. Hall was simply stabbed twice in the neck with an ice pick, to make it look like a vampire had bitten him."
Rei then slammed her fists on the bench. "Then how do you explain the fact that Mr. Hall was walking and talking at the witness stand yesterday?!"
"The prosecution is willing to concede that some form of necromancy was involved," Willard replied. "Sinister forces are at work, to be certain... but it does NOT definitively disprove that Simone Rondo was responsible for Demitri Paler's death!" The gallery murmured at this. "As has been stated many times before, evidence is everything in a court of law! And to that point, I wish to call the forensic analyst, who will provide us with such evidence! Miss Lyster, if you would please." The spectacled middle-aged brunette from yesterday promptly took the stand. "Please state your full name and occupation for the record."
"Forsythia Ann Lyster. I'm a forensic analyst working for the Lastation Police Department."
"You had some evidence delivered to you from a worker's locker in Paler Sunscreen, did you not?" Willard opined.
"That's right," the woman nodded. "A morning-star whip, as well as fingerprints from the locker it was found in." She lifted up said morning-star in a large evidence bag, causing the crowds to murmur in slight confusion, being silenced by the judge's gavel.
"Please testify to the court about your analysis of this evidence," Heinlein politely requested.
"Yes, Prosecutor," Lyster assented, before beginning, "The morning-star whip was found in the locker of one Al Poker, who apparently works as the janitor at Paler Sunscreen. However, his fingerprints were not found on the whip itself. This would suggest that someone else placed this item in his locker, perhaps even without his knowledge. After all, there was no lock on the latch..."
"Ahh-choo!" Rei abruptly sneezed. "*sniff* I-I'm so sorry f-for that! P-please continue..."
"Your word for today is 'Kleenex', Miss Ryghts," Forsythia muttered under her breath. "*ahem* Anyway, the fingerprints on the handle matched those of the defendant, Simone Rondo, as well as one Thomas Hall, a production line employee."
"And what about the blood on the mace end?" Willard pressed.
"It matches that of the victim, Demitri Paler," Lyster responded. "The small amount suggests that Mr. Paler was struck only once by this weapon, and that it was likely not a lethal blow."
*Simone's Combat Cross updated in Court Record.*
"Which is consistent with our argument, that Miss Rondo only struck down the victim, then left him be," Rei suggested.
"OBJECTION!" Heinlein declared. "Because it was pitch-black out, it could easily be argued that Miss Rondo was carrying both morning-stars with her, using this one to strike down the victim, then the other one to finish him off, before wiping off the handle on the second one to throw suspicion off herself!" The crowds murmured slightly at this.
"Urgh..." K-Sha sweat-dropped. "I can't think of any way to disprove that... can you, Miss Rei?"
"Not yet..." the ex-villain demurred. "P-perhaps we c-could hear about th-the fingerprints o-on the locker, Miss Lyster?"
"Certainly," the forensic analyst nodded. "Put simply, other than Miss Rights' prints on the latch, the only fingerprints we could find were those of the locker's original owner."
*Locker Fingerprints have been added to the Court Record.*
"Um..." K-Sha raised a hand. "Isn't it possible that Mr. Hall only touched the latch himself, and those fingerprints were smudged out of existence when Miss Rei opened it?"
"That is a possibility," Willard nodded. "But it could have also been Miss Rondo's prints that were erased by Miss Ryghts' actions..."
"H-how could you...?!" the schoolgirl protested.
"HOLD IT!" Rei cut her off. "K-Sha, c-calm down... he's j-just d-doing his j-job as the p-prosecutor..."
"Yes, I believe I warned you about irrational outbursts yesterday," the judge cautioned. "Do you have anything else for us, Miss Lyster?"
"Not a thing, Your Honor," the brunette shrugged.
"Then you may step down, witness," Heinlein instructed. "Now I would like to call my next witness to the stand... a person who witnessed the crime from the second floor of the factory, and the one who contacted the police! The prosecution calls Lisa Paler to the stand!"
*To be continued...*