September 19
Courtroom No. 6
11:00 AM
Cotoli Morix
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Discovering the Crime ~
-"I was in the factory in the first place because I was supposed to be meeting up with the victim at her request."
-"She wanted me to meet someone, so I came by to see her, but when nobody was there, I started trying to find her on my own."
-"When I was walking around the factory, I found the room where she was... It was a grotesque scene, truly."
-"I walked inside alongside a few others without realizing what had happened until we were in the room in full."
-"By that point, it was already too late... There were other people there, and they all lashed out immediately."
-"I didn't register what was happening until it was already over... There was a scuffle, and after that, my vision went black."
-"When I woke up after that, I was in the hospital... I don't know what happened, truth be told, but... It was a lot all at once. It all happened so fast, and... I wish I could tell you more. I'm sorry."
"You said that there were multiple people in the room when you arrived, didn't you?" Judge Diaphan asked as she narrowed her eyes in Sora's direction.
Sora nodded. "I did," she confirmed. "It all happened really fast, but I can say for sure that there were multiple people in there when I arrived. It was a lot to take in all at once, and I don't think I really processed it until after it was already over. I wish I could tell you more about it, but... I'm afraid there's not all that much that can be said about it."
"However, you did say one thing important," I announced. "You told us that there were multiple people there at the scene of the crime. You're confident that there were multiple people waiting for you in the room where you found the victim, yes?"
Sora nodded once again. "I'm sure of it. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it," she replied confidently. "There were at least four people in there... I think there were five of them, actually. It would make sense... The murder victim was already dead by the time that we arrived, and it would match up perfectly if there were five attackers who attacked us. I mean, there were five people who were hit by the assaults, so... It matches up, right?"
"That much is true," I agreed with a small hum. "Do you know anything about what happened in the moments that followed your arrival in the room?"
"I think that's something you should ask during the cross-examination," Prosecutor Burke pointed out as she crossed her arms. "After all, you'll have all the time you need to ask questions then."
Judge Diaphan nodded. "Of course. If you're ready, Mr. Morix, you should begin your cross-examination at this time," she told me.
"Of course," I replied. I already knew what questions I wanted to ask, though as usual, there was no way of saying where it was going to take us. I supposed I would simply have to see when the time was right. It was par for the course with my trials, but I was still nervous about it, and I could only hope that this didn't wind up as a disaster when it was all over.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Discovering the Crime ~
-"I was in the factory in the first place because I was supposed to be meeting up with the victim at her request."
-"She wanted me to meet someone, so I came by to see her, but when nobody was there, I started trying to find her on my own."
-"When I was walking around the factory, I found the room where she was... It was a grotesque scene, truly."
-"I walked inside alongside a few others without realizing what had happened until we were in the room in full."
-"By that point, it was already too late... There were other people there, and they all lashed out immediately."
-"I didn't register what was happening until it was already over... There was a scuffle, and after that, my vision went black."
-"When I woke up after that, I was in the hospital... I don't know what happened, truth be told, but... It was a lot all at once. It all happened so fast, and... I wish I could tell you more. I'm sorry."
"Hold it!"
"Do you know anything about the people that attacked you?" I questioned, my eyes narrowing in Sora's direction. "You told me yesterday that you thought there were some people who looked familiar to you, yes?"
Sora hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... I did," she confirmed quietly. "Trust me when I say that I've been thinking about it constantly since you came to talk to me yesterday. I've been trying to figure out what's going on, but... I can't seem to come up with anything that could be considered helpful. I wish there was more I could say about it, but..."
"You're sure that the people who were involved with the crime were familiar to you?" Judge Diaphan questioned, her gaze intense as she looked over to Sora.
"I'm positive. I don't know where I could have seen them before, but I can confirm that I had seen them at least somewhere before. If I wasn't confident of it, I wouldn't have said it to begin with. There were five people who were there at the scene of the crime, and after we arrived there, then they lashed out at us. Some of them were familiar to me, but I wasn't able to put a finger on where I had seen their faces before until after it was too late," Sora answered. "When I came to after that, I was in the hospital being told that something happened. My memories are hazy enough as it is, and I don't know if I would be able to tease anything else out. I was already operating on adrenaline, and... It all just... Happened."
I glanced over to Venus at that, and she placed one hand against her cheek. "I wish I knew where we were supposed to take this," she murmured. "If she's seen the culprits somewhere before, then that doesn't exactly narrow things down, does it? I mean, there are so many people that she could have seen. For all we know, she could have seen them years ago and not remembered because of how much time has gone by. It's not going to be easy for us to narrow it down, and that's assuming it's possible to begin with."
"Yeah," I agreed softly. I wished that there was something more we could do when it came to jogging her memory, but I could already tell that it wasn't going to work out as well as I would have liked. I tapped one foot against the ground before looking back to Sora. "Would you say that there was a positive or negative association with the people you saw?"
"What's that going to accomplish?" Prosecutor Burke questioned with a heavy frown. "If she doesn't remember who the people were, then I doubt she's going to be able to put the pieces together regarding if she liked them or not. That just doesn't make any sense."
"It's the only thing that I can think of that might work," I replied. "If there was a positive association, then that would help to narrow down the search. The same applies to the opposite. She might not even remember, but it's a good place to start." I turned to Sora as Prosecutor Burke continued to frown, clearly not wanting to believe that this was going to work. "What do you say, witness?"
Sora hummed for a long moment as she tried to find a way to respond. "Negative," she replied. "I know that could have been influenced by the fact that there was a dead body in the room too, but... I don't know. I just felt like there was something wrong about them. I don't know where I've seen their faces before, but I can say conclusively that when we did meet in the past, it wasn't a positive experience."
I glanced over to Venus with a frown on my face. I had no idea what direction we were supposed to take all of this. It was a good thing to know, yes, but what could this do in the grand scheme of the case? I hoped that Venus would have an idea of where to push us, but I could already tell that wasn't going to happen given the way that she was staring back at me with a dumbfounded frown on her face.
After a few moments of silence though, Venus snapped her fingers and slammed her hands against the bench. That was enough to get Sora's attention, though Venus accidentally scared poor Cassidy along the way. The younger girl flinched and seemed like she wanted to grab out for Prosecutor Burke on instinct, but she ultimately held herself back. I already knew why, and once again, my heart ached for the fact that this was my first trial without Ghastly in the worst way possible.
"Yes, defense?" Judge Diaphan asked, looking over to Venus with a small frown of her own.
"You said that you had a negative association with the people you saw at the crime scene, right?" Venus questioned, and Sora nodded in response. "How would you say that you feel about the defendant then? After all, you two work together, don't you?"
"Ghastly and I get along incredibly well, I'll have you know," Sora announced with a small smile. "He's been a great help ever since I first came to the Prosecutor's Office. In fact, I couldn't imagine working as a prosecutor without him involved somehow. It just... Wouldn't be right."
"I suppose that answers that question then," Venus smiled with a small shrug. Everyone looked over to her in confusion, so she decided to elaborate. "She just said that she had a positive association with the defendant, didn't she? Besides, given how close the two are when it comes to working on cases, I would say that these two know each other well enough to recognize one another at a first glance. There wouldn't be any confusion like how there is with the witness' recollection of the people at the crime scene. After all, they see each other on a regular basis, right? That would make you think that she would be able to recognize him immediately."
I nodded my agreement, making a mental note to thank Venus for all that she was doing to help our case as soon as the trial was over for the day. "I agree completely," I announced. "The two of them work together regularly, and I've been around them when they were together on a somewhat regular basis. I know that the two of them would know one another at a simple glance. The witness would not be confused at all if she saw him at the scene of the crime."
"For all we know, she could be lying to protect him," Judge Diaphan pointed out. "If these two truly are as close as your case seems to imply, then that would potentially give her a motive to try and keep him from being convicted of the murder and assaults."
I shook my head. "That's where I'm going to have to disagree with you, Your Honor," I told her. "The witness had known the victim for years before she met the defendant. I somehow doubt that she would have betrayed her for his sake. If anything, she would have wanted to find the truth behind what happened to the murder victim above all else. There's no reason that she would have wanted to defend the suspect if she thought that he was involved with what happened to the victim."
Judge Diaphan shifted her attention to Sora at that. "What do you have to say to that, witness?" she asked intensely. "What is your connection with the victim like?"
Sora was quiet for a long moment before she let out a sigh. "Well... The victim was... She's been like a mother to me for the last few years," she admitted. "After my own mother passed away, she did so much to look after me and make sure that I was alright no matter what came my way. There are a few pictures around her house of us together. I was never related to her by blood, but she still did a lot to look after me. I owe a lot to her, and I... I want to know the truth of what happened to her. I don't know for sure who killed her right now, but I think they were familiar to me somehow. Whoever did this... I want them to be brought to justice. That's something that I'm going to believe in to the bitter end of this case. I just... I want to understand who did this and why. If Ghastly was the one who did it, then I would have him brought to justice too. I need to understand the truth of this case, and I'm not going to let any other connections stop me from finding that truth."
I gestured to Sora with a small smile on my face. I had to hold back the tears that were starting to form at the corners of my eyes at her words, hating the fact that we were in this situation at all. My mother should have still been alive, but I knew what I had to fight for as long as she was gone. "You heard the witness," I told everyone. "She has no reason to lie for the sake of the defendant. Their connection isn't going to stop her from finding out what really happened. If she thought that he was responsible, then she would have said so already."
"So it seems," Judge Diaphan murmured with a shake of her head. "If that's the case, then that means that the objective of this case has changed significantly... Up to this point, we've been trying to find the truth behind what happened under the belief that the defendant was involved with the crime somehow. Now that we have testimony that makes it clear that he wasn't the one who killed the victim, then it's time for us to shift gears to try and figure out what really happened."
"A group of five people committed this crime, and at least a few of them were familiar to the witness currently on the stand," I frowned to myself. Truth be told, I had no idea where we were supposed to take that. Where could we start from an idea that vague? Sora was around tons of people in her daily life, and anyone being familiar to her could have meant anything. For all we knew, she had met them years ago like Venus said. Maybe she had only spoken to them once or twice in passing. It really didn't do that much to narrow down who had done it, and I hated that there was so little we understood about the time of the attack.
"If you were faced with the culprits once again, do you think that you would be able to identify them?" Prosecutor Burke questioned. She narrowed her eyes in Sora's direction, intensity overcoming every part of her body. She was just as dedicated to finding out what really happened as we were, albeit for a different reason, and she was more than happy to jump on this new chance for the truth as soon as it had appeared.
Sora was quiet for a long moment after hearing those words, and I could already tell what her answer was going to be based on the silence. "I... I don't know," she admitted carefully. "I would like to think that I would know them if I saw them again, but... I can't say for sure. With how fast everything happened, it would probably take a bit more work than I would have liked to actually identify them again. I have no idea if I would be able to pin down their appearances again no matter how many times we had seen each other. It's hard to describe, but I can say conclusively that it wasn't anybody who I see on a regular basis. By extension, it wasn't Ghastly."
I nodded my agreement. "If that's the case, then I agree that we have a lot left to do for this case before it's resolved," I announced. "We know that the defendant wasn't involved with the execution of this crime, and I believe that means that we should start our investigation anew. These new details are going to change the way that we handle this case completely, and the best step for us to take next is to try and figure out who exactly the witness saw. If we can get in contact with the other witnesses who were attacked at the scene of the crime, then we would be able to narrow things down a bit more... Or so I'm hoping."
"Out of the five of them, only three of them have woken up," Prosecutor Burke said, and judging by the way her shoulders went tense, I could only imagine that Anton wasn't one of them. "One of them is the witness that you see on the stand now. Another one was able to pin down a bit more in terms of details about what happened but doesn't know anything about the culprits. Instead, she only knows what happened in the aftermath of finding the crime scene, something that we didn't exactly need outside testimony to figure out. The last of the three doesn't remember anything about the attack itself. We'll have to hope that the last two know what they saw so that we can clear things up regarding who was involved and why they did it."
"In that case, our best step now is to try and look around for more details. I can't imagine that the factory is completely empty of the clues we need to figure out what happened at the time of the crime. All we have to do is put in a bit more effort and hope that it pays dividends," I told her. "If there are no objections, the defense would like to propose that the trial is adjourned for the day so that another segment of investigation can be carried out."
Judge Diaphan hummed before looking over to Prosecutor Burke. "What do you have to say to that, Prosecutor Burke?" she questioned.
Prosecutor Burke nodded her agreement. "As much as I hate to say it, I agree that we're probably not going to be able to find anything of note or value as it stands right now. If we want to find another step that would help us to discover the truth, then continuing the investigation is our best course of action. I have no idea where exactly we should be looking in the factory, but the others who are involved with the investigation have been searching high and low for any signs of outside clues. That should be a good place for us to start after this trial has been adjourned," she said next.
"I suppose that we're going to have a lot of searching to do after this," Venus frowned as she looked over to me. "If there's one thing that we've learned up to this point, it's that this case isn't going to be as easy as we would have liked... We need to search and hope that it leads to something that could show who actually did it. You know, unless somebody comes out of the woodwork and is able to answer all our questions."
"The fact that the cameras in the factory were tampered with only adds another dimension of complication to this case," I commented with a frown. "If we're going to figure out what happened, then we have to find out who messed with the cameras and why. I think it's safe enough to conclude that the one who tampered with the footage was one of the culprits, but... I think that only leads us to another slew of questions that we're going to have to find a way to answer as well."
Venus nodded her agreement. "If only we knew where we were supposed to start... It seems like everything that could possibly help us is just out of reach somehow. I mean, I hate having to say that, but I can't deny the fact that there's some truth to the sentiment," she murmured with a shake of her head. "There has to be something that will help us to track the culprits down... But where are we supposed to look?"
"I believe that's a question that the investigation will have to answer for us," Prosecutor Burke announced. "I think that we're both in agreement that this trial has nothing else to share with us right now. There are too many details that we have yet to uncover regarding what happened at the time of the crime. Our best course of action is to leave the trial where it is for the day and look around the factory as much as possible to see what else is lurking there. After all, there has to be something that will tell us who the ones responsible for this case are."
I nodded before looking up to Judge Diaphan. She raised her gavel before glancing to both me and Prosecutor Burke. "In that case, this trial is on hold until tomorrow," she declared. "I expect both sides to do all that they can to learn more about what took place at the time of the crime so that we can continue the deliberations then. Until that time arrives... Court is adjourned." She brought the gavel down, and just like that, the first part of this nightmare was over...
But I already knew that it was only just beginning.
September 19
Defendant Lobby No. 6
11:30 AM
Cotoli Morix
I was still on edge and antsy when we got out into the defendant lobby, and I let out a heavy sigh as I took a seat on the couch. "I think that we've still got a lot to figure out," I murmured, though that seemed obvious as could be.
"Yeah... You're right," Venus whispered as she shook her head. "I don't know where we're even supposed to start. I mean, there's so much about this case that's practically begging for us to look for the truth, but... I don't know... How are we supposed to actually find it?"
"I don't know, but I'm glad everyone at least understands now that I wasn't the one who did it."
I glanced up to see Ghastly approaching us with Sora hot on his heels. Ghastly looked exhausted, and I had to admit that I had never seen him so tired. It was to be expected, but it caught me off guard regardless. I nodded at his words though before forcing myself to speak. "Yeah... I think we can all agree conclusively that you weren't at all involved with the crime now," I muttered. "After all, the video footage was the only reason you were arrested, and we were able to break through that pretty quickly."
"I'm glad to hear it, truth be told," Sora commented with a nervous laugh. "I don't really know where we're supposed to go from here, but at least we've got a starting point that we can use to kick off in the right direction... It's something for us to keep in mind, I suppose. There has to be something out there that we can use to discover who was actually responsible for the crime... But where are we supposed to look?"
"If I had the answer to that question, I would already be down at the factory trying to make sure that Ghastly wasn't found guilty of this case," Venus sighed with a shake of her head. "We know that he didn't do it, but that's not enough. It's never been enough to know that the defendant didn't do it. We have to figure out who actually did do it and make sure that they're brought to justice... Are you sure that you don't remember anything about what happened, Sora? We could really use all the help that you can give us in times like these."
"If I knew what was happening, I would have already told you. I don't know who attacked me or anybody else, just that they seemed vaguely familiar. I couldn't put a finger on it though before they were lunging at us and trying to get rid of us. After that, everything went black, and you know the rest of the story," Sora replied with a shrug. "I don't know where I could have seen them in the past, but... If I can figure that out, then maybe we'll be able to use that as the starting point we need to figure out what really happened."
"There has to be something that will show us who actually did it... But where are we supposed to find that proof?" Ghastly murmured as he placed one hand on his chin in thought. "You should probably see if you can get Chrysalis or Mukuro to tell you something. Those are the two that are awake... Anton's still out like a light, and Yuri..." He didn't finish that sentence when he noticed that Venus flinched upon hearing her sister's name, instead choosing to glance off to the side with guilt written clearly across his features.
"Speaking of Anton... We've heard that you and Prosecutor Burke have a connection," I began, desperate to change the subject for Venus' sake. "She said that you two know each other, and I'm willing to bet that you know Anton too if you know her as well as she's been implying."
"Polly and I met a few years ago because of our shared line of work," Ghastly replied. "I guess we became unlikely friends soon afterwards. It wasn't exactly something that either one of us saw coming, but soon enough, we were pretty good friends. Anton is her adopted son. He's a real sweetheart... I don't think he's ever done anything wrong in his life. If he has, I sure haven't heard about it. Anton didn't deserve any of this, and... I hope he's okay."
"I would have thought that he would have woken up by now, I must admit," Sora frowned. "I mean, I've met Anton a couple times too, and I know that he's somewhat fragile physically, but... It's not like he was..." Once again, she trailed off and refused to finish the sentence, no doubt thinking about the tension that had formed in Venus' shoulders while she was speaking.
"He's always been frail. He's also got some type of sickness that makes him prone to disasters medically. I don't know the details on that, but it's not surprising to me that he's not awake yet," Ghastly replied. "Polly's probably worried about him and is taking this case as an excuse to distract herself from everything. She's never been the type to be able to just sit back and watch somebody recover; she has to do something about it if she's going to keep herself from completely blowing, so that's probably why she's been so hyperactive lately."
I nodded my understanding. "At the very least, she's been helpful when it comes to us figuring out how to solve this case," I told him. "I don't think we would have even come to close to figuring out the truth if not for her. She's been great to us up to this point, and I'm hoping that she'll be willing to continue helping us out as we move into the next segment of investigation."
"She'll help you. Polly has a good head on her shoulders, and she's going to do what she can to help you find the truth behind this case for my sake as well as Anton's," Ghastly replied. "Just... Do what you can to work with her. I don't know how you're going to figure out who the culprits are here, truth be told, but I'm sure that you'll be able to find something out with a bit of investigating."
"Alright then... I guess that's our cue to head on back to the crime scene to see what we're able to find," I told Venus as I glanced over in her direction. She nodded her agreement. "Thanks again for helping us, Ghastly. You too, Sora."
"It's no problem at all," Sora assured me. "I'm going to head back to the hospital for now. Chrysalis is still with that Pieter man, and... Well... I don't want to leave them alone any longer than I have to."
I nodded, my throat getting dry at the thought of Chrysalis still being in the hospital. I had no idea how I was keeping myself held together when she was in such an unstable position, but I knew that I couldn't exactly stop now. My life felt like it was falling apart, but there was too much for me to concentrate on to dwell on it for too long. We had a crime scene to investigate, and we had to focus on that as much as possible.
"We'll see you later then," Venus commented as she waved farewell to both Ghastly and Sora. That was all it took for them to split up and go in their separate directions, and I sighed as they left. I knew what we had to do next, but I wasn't looking forward to it. I wasn't looking forward to anything involving this case, truth be told, but there was nothing I could do about it. The world needed too much of me right now, and I wasn't going to back down no matter what. I didn't have that option anymore, and I doubted I ever did.
I need to cut my nails wow
-Digital