April 10

District Courthouse

Defendant Lobby No. 3

9:30 AM

Arriving at the courthouse the next day brought with it all the regular anxieties that came with the start of a new trial, and I couldn't help the nerves that were mounting in my stomach as Trucy and I arrived in the courthouse. Athena and Mr. Wright said they were going to come and watch the trial if they could, but Trucy and I were the only ones in the defendant lobby for the time being. I tapped my foot against the ground with a small frown, not sure what could be said about this entire case. I could tell there was more to it than met the eye, and I was left to wonder where it was supposed to take us.

Prosecutor von Karma arrived soon afterward, and I could tell that she was just as upset about this as Trucy and I were. Her fingers seemed to be silently itching for something that she was unable to access. She instead opted to tap her fingers against her upper arm, her expression firmly twisted into a frown as she looked off to the side, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact with Trucy or me.

"Prosecutor von Karma, can we ask you a question?" Trucy finally asked once the silence got to be too stifling for us both.

That was enough to pull Prosecutor von Karma out of her thoughts, and she looked over to us carefully. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything to protest Trucy's request. "If you insist," she said simply.

Trucy nodded at that before continuing. "Do you have any ideas as to who the true culprit could be?" she asked. "We went through the start of the investigation yesterday, but we weren't able to find anything that might be able to point us in the right direction."

Prosecutor von Karma opened her mouth before pressing her lips together again a moment later. "I was too busy trying to deal with the train as it was trying to derail, and I didn't have the time to look around and see if anyone was acting strange," she replied. "I can say that I wasn't the one to kill the victim though. I would never think of doing something like that to her... She was a good woman. She had too much curiosity for her own good, but she was a good person."

I knew she wasn't saying much more than she had to for her own sake, but I could tell that Prosecutor von Karma really did care for the victim of this case. She wanted to know the truth just as much as Trucy and I did. If she was so firm in her care of the victim, then that was just more evidence to show that she wasn't the one who committed the crime. I already suspected that, of course, but the extra confirmation didn't hurt at all given the uncertainty the previous investigation had offered us.

I didn't know what to do when it came to finding more details behind this case, but I knew that we were going to have to track down at least something. There had to be truth somewhere beneath the surface of everything that was taking place in this case, and somebody on the train must have known what was going on when it came to the murder. I didn't know who could have wanted to kill the victim or who could have even known about the evidence transfer if somebody outside of the Interpol group was responsible for the murder, but I guessed that we were just going to have to see where this led us as the investigation pressed on.

"I guess we'll just have to see if the testimony we hear in court today helps us to find out what's going on with this case," Trucy said as she looked over to me. "For all we know, Prosecutor Lin could have found something else that could help us to find the truth. I mean, we didn't hear anything that might help us to find out what's going on during the investigation, but if she found a witness that we didn't know about, then that would give us another chance to find the truth behind everything that was going on."

I nodded vaguely at that, my eyes slipping shut. I admittedly didn't have many ideas regarding what was happening in this case, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. The truth had to be waiting in the wings somewhere, and for the time being, all we could do was hope that we were able to find it sooner rather than later.

"I'm counting on you to not mess this up," Prosecutor von Karma told us next, placing one hand on her hip as she examined Trucy and me critically. She was on the verge of glaring at us, but she managed to hold herself back from open hostility. "You had better not do anything to get me found guilty of this murder. I wasn't the one who did it, and you need to prove it."

"We'll make sure everyone understands that," I assured her with a firm nod. I didn't know how we were going to do this, but I was sure that we were going to figure it out one way or another. It seemed like everything was difficult when it came to this case, though that could have been my early impressions talking. Either way, I wasn't going to let any of it stop us.

"Defense! It's time for the trial to start!"

I perked up at the sound of the bailiff's voice, and I glanced over to Trucy before nodding. "It's time for us to go in there, I suppose," I said simply, trying to seem more confident than I felt. "We're going to do great!" I must have been shaky in my faith in those words, and my voice almost completely shattered when I raised it for a regular rallying cry to start off the trial.

Prosecutor von Karma winced at the sudden explosion of sound from my direction, and she shook her head before starting to walk in the direction of the courtroom. "I hope you know what you're doing," she muttered sourly, and I found myself shaking my head to make sure I didn't think about what might happen if we didn't win this case one way or another.

I glanced over to Trucy next and shrugged loosely. "Well... You heard her," I told her casually. I did my best to make it seem like I wasn't scared of Prosecutor von Karma's natural intimidating aura, and while I was sure I did a poor job of getting it across, at least I put in a bit of effort toward it, right?

Trucy nodded with a small smile. "Let's get to it then," she said. She started to walk toward the courtroom from there, and I let out a careful breath before following her. There had to be evidence of the true culprit left behind somewhere, and we were going to do what we had to in order to find it. The truth wouldn't be able to avoid us forever.

April 10

District Courthouse

Courtroom No. 3

10:00 AM

I turned my attention across the courtroom once we arrived behind the defense bench. Prosecutor Lin was standing there just as I would have expected, her expression the peak of confidence. She had her shoulders pressed back as she glanced up to the judge where he was sitting behind his bench, and I could already tell that this spelled disaster for us. She had done a lot to help us with finding the case last time around, but I had an awful feeling that this case was going to be a difficult victory to grasp. The investigation had more than made that much clear whether I liked it or not.

The judge reached for his gavel before hitting it against the podium before him, and I perked up at the sound. "Court is now in session for the trial of... Franziska von Karma?!" he exclaimed, his eyes going wide. I took that as a sign that the two of them had met quite a few times in the past, though I wasn't sure of the nature of their dynamic. Given that Prosecutor von Karma worked in the courtroom, he had likely presided over a few cases that she had been involved with.

"We have business to get to, Your Honor," Prosecutor von Karma pointed out, her eyes narrowing in his direction. "I would suggest that you don't act the part of a fool when we have a trial to focus on."

The judge snapped out of it immediately, and he nodded in her direction. "Y-Yes, of course... Ahem... Court is now in session for the trial of Franziska von Karma. Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

I nodded. "The defense is ready," I assured him. Trucy allowed herself to slip into a stance of confidence from her place at my side.

Across the courtroom, Prosecutor Lin nodded with a light smile on her face. "The prosecution is also ready," she declared.

"Please give your opening statement at this time, Prosecutor Lin," the judge instructed as he looked over in her direction.

"Of course," she grinned before allowing her smile to fade away as she focused on the serious nature of the matter at hand. "The crime took place yesterday in the early parts of the day. A train was carrying passengers around, and one of the people riding on it was killed... That's what this case appears to be on the surface, at the very least, though there's much more to it than that."

"What are you referring to specifically?" the judge questioned, his expression shifting to confusion.

"Most people on the train were unaware of what was taking place. An evidence transfer was being carried out on the train with many pieces of important evidence from past cases being kept in the last train car. The evidence was placed in the areas where first class seating would have been under most other circumstances, but the evidence wound up taking that place to make sure that the proof was secured until it could reach its destination," Prosecutor Lin explained. "There were a few Interpol agents working to make sure the transfer was carried out smoothly, and the victim of this case was one of them. The defendant was collaborating with Interpol to take care of the transfer as well, and the two were part of a preciously small group that knew the truth of what was taking place on the train."

"How was the victim killed?" the judge asked of next.

"She was poisoned. Someone slipped potassium cyanide into her teacup, and she drank it without realizing that it was poisoned. She died immediately and slumped over dead. We aren't sure of why the defendant would want to kill her since there aren't any signs of bad blood between them specifically, but... There are quite a few people out there who may have wanted to get their hands on the research the victim was compiling regarding recent events," Prosecutor Lin went on. "I'm sure that you know that the Oracle of the Law has been causing quite a stir lately. Well, the victim was investigating that entire issue, and I believe that her death was likely caused by her research."

"Some of her paperwork from her investigation went missing after the crime took place, if I recall correctly," I interjected.

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "As a matter of fact, that's true. Someone snuck into the train car where she was keeping her research and took a few of the pages... I don't know where the research has disappeared to now, but I can say that the defendant remains the most suspicious party in this case," she went on. "After all, she was found in the train car where the victim's body was, and she even gave the victim the teacup that caused the fatal poisoning. I think everyone can agree that this behavior is suspicious at best and downright dreadful at worst."

"Goodness... That certainly does make it sound like she had something to do with the murder," the judge murmured before shaking his head. "I take it you have other ways to bring the truth out behind this case though, yes?"

"Of course. The first step to that involves calling a witness to the stand. Would it be alright if I did so, Your Honor?" Prosecutor Lin questioned, a gentle smile on her face.

The judge nodded without missing a beat. "Go right ahead."

Prosecutor Lin snapped her fingers together, and I had to vaguely wonder if she had picked that habit up from Klavier. I learned after my trial that the two knew each other decently well, having bonded over their shared appreciation of music, and that was certainly a gesture that I had come to know all too well from Klavier. It would make sense if she had gotten the habit from him, though I supposed that only time would be able to tell when I was able to ask Klavier about it directly.

For the time being, she pointed to the witness stand casually. "The prosecution calls the detective in charge of this case to the stand," she announced.

A few moments later, Detective Skye walked into view, taking Prosecutor von Karma's place at the witness stand. The two of them shared a glance that I couldn't exactly read, though I could tell that there was at least a bit of history between them even if the details were impossible to discern under these circumstances. Prosecutor von Karma took her seat as Detective Skye let out a small sigh, her grip around her bag growing tight.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," Prosecutor Lin requested once Detective Skye was settled down.

"Ema Skye. Homicide detective and forensics investigator," Detective Skye replied. She reached into her bag and pulled out a Snackoo before starting to feed it between her teeth. I could tell that testifying against Prosecutor von Karma was stressing her out before she could even start, and if that didn't say something about their close connection, I didn't know what did.

The judge had seen this habit from Detective Skye more than enough times in the past to understand that pushing back against it wasn't going to have much of a point. He simply shook his head and looked down to Prosecutor Lin. "What do you want her to talk about?" he asked.

"We should start off with the murder motive. After all, there are a few more possibilities than I discussed in the opening statement, and it would be best for us to cover all our bases," Prosecutor Lin replied. She looked to Detective Skye a moment later. "Please share with the court the details behind the potential motives for the defendant, witness."

Detective Skye let out a heavy sigh and gripped tightly at her bag to keep from reaching for another Snackoo. "Alright," she eventually forced herself to say, though I could tell that she didn't want to do this regardless of her duty. "One testimony, coming right up."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Motives for Murder ~

-"I don't think there's a person in this city who hasn't heard about the Oracle of the Law's recent actions."

-"They've been exposing quite a few people for their crimes, and everyone seems to be wondering about it in some way or another."

-"The victim was one of many people who wanted to know what was going on with Oracle, and she started doing research."

-"She gathered her papers together as a small file that she carried with her onto the train where the crime took place."

-"On top of the evidence that was stolen from the transfer, some of her research went missing, seemingly haven been taken."

-"There are people out there who are so desperate for information about Oracle that they're willing to get blood on their hands to find the truth... I suspect that's what happened here."

The judge closed his eyes thoughtfully at her words. "I see... It does make sense when you put it that way," he admitted softly. "There are many people who could have done something like that to get their hands on the evidence and research they thought was going to lead them to the truth behind Oracle."

"Given how many people have been wondering about Oracle's actions as of late, I think it's the best choice we have in terms of figuring out who the culprit is behind this case. After all, the motive for murder makes a lot of sense when you think of the victim as an obstacle to discovering what was going on with Oracle, and there's still quite a bit that has yet to be revealed about their actions. It makes sense given the recent buzz that people would want to learn more about them," Prosecutor Lin went on.

"The defense would like to begin the cross-examination, Your Honor," I announced before he could talk more with Prosecutor Lin about how obvious it seemed that Prosecutor von Karma was the culprit. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to be doing from here, but that wasn't going to stop me. After all, when had that ever held me back before?

The judge nodded. "Of course. Go right ahead, defense," he instructed of me firmly.

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ Motives for Murder ~

-"I don't think there's a person in this city who hasn't heard about the Oracle of the Law's recent actions."

-"They've been exposing quite a few people for their crimes, and everyone seems to be wondering about it in some way or another."

-"The victim was one of many people who wanted to know what was going on with Oracle, and she started doing research."

-"She gathered her papers together as a small file that she carried with her onto the train where the crime took place."

-"On top of the evidence that was stolen from the transfer, some of her research went missing, seemingly haven been taken."

-"There are people out there who are so desperate for information about Oracle that they're willing to get blood on their hands to find the truth... I suspect that's what happened here."

"Hold it!"

I shook my head at her words. "I don't believe we can say for sure that this motive is the reason the defendant supposedly killed the victim," I announced.

Prosecutor Lin tilted her head lightly to one side. "What are you trying to say, defense?" she asked carefully.

"I mean that there are many other people out there who would have had this reason to kill the victim as well if they were really so interested in what was going on with Oracle. I don't think this is something we can narrow down specifically to the defendant's motive for supposedly killing the victim. There are many others who could have killed the victim for the exact same reason, and we shouldn't be acting like this is the conclusive proof that shows this was what happened at the time of the crime," I explained.

Prosecutor Lin paused at that, and she eventually nodded her agreement. "You make a fine point there, defense," she said next. "But there are other pieces of evidence that make it clear the defendant was the one who killed the victim. I think they're much more incriminating than the murder motive, and even if that reasoning can be applied to many others, there's a reason she was arrested above all others."

"You want me to talk about that now, don't you?" Detective Skye questioned, and she was met with a nod from Prosecutor Lin. The detective let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head. "Alright... I'm on it."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Why Arrest Franziska? ~

-"It's not like the motive for murder was the reason she was brought into police custody. In fact, it doesn't even seem to crack the top five."

-"The defendant was in the train car when the victim drank her tea and ultimately died as a result."

-"On top of that, her fingerprints were found on the side of the teacup that held the potassium cyanide in the first place."

-"She gave the victim the teacup as far as we can tell. She even admitted to such when she was brought into custody."

-"Not many people knew the evidence transfer was happening at all, and that's another point against the defendant."

-"The number of people who would have been able to get into that car of the train to begin with is tiny compared to the number of people on the train at the time."

-"The most critical piece of evidence has to be the fingerprints on the teacup though. No other prints were found on the teacup aside from the defendant's and victim's... It was the main reason she was arrested."

"That certainly does sound incriminating..." the judge murmured with a shake of his head. "I don't know how anyone can look at evidence like that and not find this at least somewhat suspicious."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Prosecutor von Karma scowling like she was on the verge of saying something, but she held herself back likely because of courtroom protocols. I swallowed dryly at the sight and turned to face Trucy. "I think I know where we should go from here," I told her in the moment of silence we were provided.

Trucy smiled at that. "I'm glad to hear it. I think we can use all the help we can get right about now," she said in response. It was almost impressive how Trucy was able to say something so grim with such a smile on her face, though I supposed that was one of her many talents. It was almost like magic, just like everything else she did.

"It is incriminating, yes, but there's always a second dimension to every story," I pointed out as I shifted my attention up to the courtroom at large. "I'm ready to examine the testimony."

"Go ahead then. You know what to do," Prosecutor Lin smiled. It was eerie when she smiled like that as she talked too, though it wasn't as outright strange as what happened with Trucy. Still, it sent a shiver up my spine, and I was left wondering not for the first time and definitely not for the last how I was supposed to deal with a woman as strange as Prosecutor Lin.

I nodded before looking back to Detective Skye. This was going to be our first step to showing that Prosecutor von Karma wasn't the culprit, and I could only hope it went as well as I was praying it would internally. Only time would be able to tell, so for the time being, all I could do was pull the trigger and see where it brought us. Here's to hoping.

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ Why Arrest Franziska? ~

-"It's not like the motive for murder was the reason she was brought into police custody. In fact, it doesn't even seem to crack the top five."

-"The defendant was in the train car when the victim drank her tea and ultimately died as a result."

-"On top of that, her fingerprints were found on the side of the teacup that held the potassium cyanide in the first place."

-"She gave the victim the teacup as far as we can tell. She even admitted to such when she was brought into custody."

-"Not many people knew the evidence transfer was happening at all, and that's another point against the defendant."

-"The number of people who would have been able to get into that car of the train to begin with is tiny compared to the number of people on the train at the time."

-"The most critical piece of evidence has to be the fingerprints on the teacup though. No other prints were found on the teacup aside from the defendant's and victim's... It was the main reason she was arrested."

"Objection!"

I reached for a paper sitting in front of me on the defense bench as I glanced over to Prosecutor Lin. "You had the defendant arrested for this case because her fingerprints were found on the surface of the teacup containing the poison," I began. "Is this correct?"

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "She was the only one with fingerprints on the teacup. I'm sure you can only imagine how much suspicion that earned her in the early stages of the investigation," she replied.

"Well, I find it odd that her fingerprints would have only been on one piece of evidence," I replied. "After all, if she put poison in the teacup, then one would have expected her prints to be on the bottle of poison found on the floor of the crime scene as well, but instead, there was nothing there in terms of her prints on the poison bottle. Isn't that strange?"

"If she was wearing gloves when she handled the poison bottle, it wouldn't make any sense for her to remove them after the fact. If she wiped off the prints on the poison bottle, one would have expected her to do the same with the teacup, but that didn't happen," Trucy finished for me. "All of it adds up to make an inconsistent picture."

Prosecutor Lin nodded at that once again, and I felt something sickening like dread rise in my stomach at the sight. "I agree that it is strange... But that does nothing to change the facts of this case. Her fingerprints were found on the teacup, and no other prints were detected from it aside from hers and the victims. She even admitted to picking up the teacup to give it to the victim. We can't ignore that fact no matter how hard we try," she said.

As much as I hated to admit it, she did have a point there. I really didn't want to admit that she was right, but I couldn't do much to object to the fact of the matter. I frowned as I looked down to the bench in front of me, trying to come up with something that would turn the tides of the trial back in my favor but ultimately coming up short.

Prosecutor Lin didn't seem to want to wait for me to respond though, and she cleared her throat before looking up to Detective Skye. "I will say that we can't get a complete picture of everything that took place at the time of the crime if we just hear from the detective. After all, the murder was hardly the only crime to take place, and we have to take all of the incidents from the day of the crime into account if we want to even come close to figuring out what happened," she went on. "The best person to hear from when it comes to something like this would be someone who was there at the time of the murder, and I believe the next segment of the trial would be best spent listening to a witness who can tell us about what took place elsewhere in the train when the victim was killed."

The judge nodded. "Go ahead and call your next witness, Prosecutor Lin," he instructed.

Detective Skye retreated from the witness stand at that, already starting to reach for another Snackoo. She wasn't as attached to the treats as she had been when I was first starting out as a lawyer, but I could tell that they were still the best method she had to cure her stress. She walked over to the bench where the witnesses sat and began to munch away. The judge didn't say anything to her, and once again, my theory of him having given up on trying to make her follow the rules found more water.

Prosecutor Lin smiled at that. "Thank you, Your Honor. The prosecution now calls one of the riders of the train to the witness stand," she announced.

The next person to approach the witness stand was Ms. Fey, and my eyes went wide as she took her place behind the podium. There was a small smile on her face, though there was something strained in her expression when I looked closer. As far as I could tell, she was remembering something that had been less than pleasant for her, though I had no evidence to back up this suspicion.

Ultimately, I had no choice but to shake it off as Prosecutor Lin focused her attention on continuing the trial, and she looked to Ms. Fey with determination gleaming in her eyes. "Witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," she announced.

Ms. Fey smiled, and she clapped her hands together in front of her chest. "My name is Maya Fey. I'm currently training to be the master of the Kurain channeling technique," she explained. There was still something strained about her expression, but she was clearly doing her best to hide it. I decided that I didn't want to probe her on it, so I bit my tongue and turned to look at Prosecutor Lin once again.

The prosecutor spoke a moment later, a smile still on her face. "Please tell the court about what took place in the rest of the train on the day of the crime. After all, it didn't exactly end well for everyone else, did it?" She let out a small nervous laugh at that but still managed to make it seem so graceful that I didn't even notice her anxiety at first.

Ms. Fey sighed. "You can say that again," she muttered, but she shoved her bitterness aside soon afterward and forced a smile across her face once again. "But I can testify about it regardless of how much it sucked. If that's what you want, I'll get right to it."

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "Then go ahead, witness."

And there's the start of the trial! Woohoo!

Because of the nature of this case, it wouldn't surprise me if this one wound up running longer than the last one. I mean, only time is going to be able to tell, but I think this one is going to end up longer than case two. I get the feeling the cases of this are going to just get marginally longer until we get to the monster that is case five. That's how normal Ace Attorney goes, right? I really shouldn't be surprised.

This chapter speaks for itself for the most part honestly, so I'm not going to make this author's note any longer than it has to be. Next time, we're going to continue with the trial and make more progress through this chunk of the case. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital