Law & Order: Leanbox
The Lynx
by Derald Snyder
Part 6- Trial Day 1
DISTRICT COURT
TRIAL PART 34
SEPTEMBER 19, 9:05 AM
"Private investigator Dirk Lotson died a brutal, gruesome death," Jared McCoy began his opening statement. "He was savagely beaten, and then immolated by a makeshift flamethrower. Such a savage death cannot go unanswered, or unpunished. You will see evidence that shows, that the only other person at the scene was the defendant," he gestured to Tenten, who was dressed in a white blouse and light blue skirt borrowed from her 'sister', who sat next to her. "As for motive, Dirk Lotson had been hired by one of The Lynx's previous victims of grand larceny. He managed to track her down, upon which she killed him. It has already been established that The Lynx can be quite violent when resisting arrest... when a detective deduced her escape route from her most recent theft, he was nailed between the legs, twice!" Tenten visibly winced at this. "Clearly, this clone of Rei Ryghts inherited more than just her looks... But don't convict her because she is Miss Ryghts' clone... convict her because she is a murderer, plain and simple." Finished, Jared returned to his seat, prompting Rei to stand up.
"...Let's make one thing clear off the bat," Rei began. "I do not condone this clone's repeated thefts, nor do I feel any real kinship with her. If this trial were about the many heists she's committed, I wouldn't even be here right now. After all, I ended up going on trial for her crimes in this very court! However... I have reason to believe, that there is reasonable doubt as to Tenten Ryghts killing this man. Yes, she savagely assaulted a detective, but once he was down, she ran away. It's not unreasonable to think she would have done the same with Mr. Lotson... Also, there is no indication that she knows how to make a flamethrower like the evidence suggests. Simply put, the facts as we know them right now do not adequately support this charge of murder! And as a defense attorney, that rubs me the wrong way. That is why I stand here before you today... because, while I have no real love for this defendant, I fear that I am the only one who will do their job as a defense attorney seriously in this case. So I will fight for her until the verdict is read... and if she does turn out to be guilty, at least I know that she had adequate representation. But like Mr. McCoy says, don't find her guilty because she's my clone... you should only do so if the evidence and testimony clearly remove any and all doubts from your minds. Thank you." She gave a brief bow before walking back to the bench and sitting down.
"Mr. McCoy, you may call your first witness," the judge instructed, Jared responding by calling the medical examiner to the stand to testify.
"Doctor," Jared began, "what was the primary cause of Mr. Lotson's death?"
"Immolation," the NPC medical examiner responded.
"Could you explain what that means?" McCoy requested.
"He was burned to death," the NPC clarified. "Also, there were several bruises all over his body, which indicate he was savagely beaten before his death..."
"So he was unable to fight back?" McCoy assumed.
"I'd be surprised if he was still conscious after that beating," the ME answered. "But make no mistake, it was a very painful beating, as several of the bruises are located at pressure points on the human body."
"Is it possible that whoever killed Mr. Lotson wanted him to suffer?" Jared asked.
"It's very likely," the ME nodded.
"Thank you, no more questions. Your witness," Jared said to Rei as he walked back to his bench and sat down.
"Doctor," the horned woman began as she retrieved a few sheets of paper, "I have here the autopsy report compiled by your own hand. Would you please read the highlighted portion?" She set the report in front of the NPC.
"...the victim was evenly burned all over his body," the ME read off.
"Which is inconsistent with being burned by a flamethrower," Rei stated. "After all, if Dirk Lotson were burned by this improvised flamethrower, wouldn't the majority of his burns be on the front of the body?"
"Yes, of course," said the ME with a mild hint of irritation. "And I noted that discrepancy in the report."
"Doctor, in your expert opinion," Rei asked, "if the victim's burns are inconsistent with a flamethrower attack, then what method would explain the burns?"
"I would say, a powerful fiery explosion of some sort," the NPC answered. "But there was no evidence of any sort of bomb at the scene..."
"OBJECTION!" Rei suddenly pointed at the witness. "Have you forgotten what game series this is, Doctor? Isn't it possible that the victim was killed with a powerful fire magic spell?" The crowd started to murmur at this...
"I... suppose it's possible," the medical examiner conceded. "But magic's beyond my area of expertise."
The former goddess nodded in satisfaction. "Just one more question, Doctor... about the size of the bruises on the victim's body." She walked in front of the NPC, holding out her hand before clenching it into a fist. "Seeing as the defendant is a clone of yours truly, we'll use my fist for comparison. Is my fist larger or smaller than the bruises on the victim?"
"...much smaller," the ME observed.
"Meaning what, in your opinion?"
"...that... the bruises most likely could not have been inflicted by the defendant's fists."
Rei smirked sinisterly at this. "Thank you, Doctor. No more questions." She walked back to the defense bench with a small swagger in her step.
But Jared McCoy wasn't going to take that lying down. "Redirect, Your Honor?"
"Go ahead," the judge allowed.
"Doctor," Jared inquired, "isn't it possible that Tenten Ryghts was wearing some sort of gauntlets that could have inflicted the large bruises on the victim's body?"
"Yes, that's definitely possible," the NPC nodded, "Though I couldn't tell you what kind of gauntlets they were."
"Thank you, Doctor. Nothing further," McCoy nodded. The ME then stepped down.
"Nice recovery," Rizzoli whispered to her co-worker.
"It's only just begun," Jared replied.
Next up, the forensic analyst was called to the stand.
"In your opinion," McCoy began, "Who can you definitively say was at the scene at the time of Mr. Lotson's death?"
"The victim and the defendant," the NPC replied. "Not to say there weren't others at the scene, however..."
"How did you conclude that the defendant, Miss Tenten Ryghts, was at the scene of the crime?" McCoy inquired.
"We discovered paw-prints at the scene," the analyst answered, "that were consistent with the prints left by The Lynx at her previous heists. Also, the footprints in the area were consistent with the footwear Miss Ryghts was wearing when she surrendered to the police."
"Thank you, no more questions." Now it was Rei's turn. She gestured to the bailiff, who brought out a diagram of the crime scene on a stand, the victim's position clearly marked dead center.
"Sir," Rei spoke, "May I clarify exactly where you found my client's foot and paw-prints at?"
"Right around that corner there," the NPC pointed out.
"That's not exactly close to the body," the lawyer observed. "And that was the only place you found her prints?"
"Yes."
"Not exactly the ideal position for a face-to-face confrontation..."
"OBJECTION!" McCoy protested.
"Withdrawn," Rei deferred. "Sir, just one more question... you said it was possible that there were others at the scene?"
"Possible, but unlikely."
Rei nodded. "If I could indulge you for a bit... perhaps, IF someone else were in the alley, they might have been wearing a type of footwear that didn't leave footprints so easily?"
"Or they were in their stocking feet," the NPC snarked.
"Or perhaps they were floating in the air," the former goddess snarked back.
"OBJECTION!"
"Sustained. Watch your step, Miss Ryghts," the judge cautioned sternly.
"I-I'm sorry," Rei winced. "Nothing further."
"Re-direct, Your Honor?" Jared again requested.
"Go ahead."
"Mr. Analyst, can you show us where the lighter and spray can were found?"
"Right about there," the man pointed to an area between The Lynx's prints and the body.
"So it's possible that Miss Ryghts could have ambushed the victim from behind," the prosecutor theorized.
"Yes, definitely possible."
Jared nodded. "Thank you, no more questions."
(To think this was the same prosecutor I made a fool of last time,) Rei thought grimly. (Now I see why they call him a hard-nose...) Standing up, she stated, "Your Honor, at this time I would like to call my client to the stand, to tell her side of the story."
The judge nodded in assent. "Very well, the defendant may take the stand." Tenten stood up and and nervously strode to the witness stand, the bailiff walking up with the hardcover 4GO guidebook.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Goddess?"
"I do." Tenten then sat down, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"Miss Tenten," Rei began, "please tell us, from your own perspective, what happened on the night of September 16th."
"Right," the clone nodded. "Well... I was out getting some exercise with some rooftop-hopping, turning over my recent failure in my mind, wondering where I went wrong..."
"By which you mean, your botched theft of the Purple Quartz Teardrop."
"That's right. Anyway... while I'm rooftop-hopping I suddenly hear a strange noise, and see a flash of light out of the corner of my eye."
"Can you describe the strange noise?" Rei inquired.
"It was... something like a 'brr-zhing!' kinda noise... So anyway, my curiosity was piqued, so I hopped over to the nearest rooftop, then made my way down the side of the building, to try and see what made that noise... Peeking around the corner, I saw a man in a trench-coat- the victim, but he was still alive... he looked surprised... and then- I heard a woman's voice..."
"Did you hear exactly what she said?" Rei pressed.
"Umm, I-I'm not 100% sure, b-but I think she said 'You found me, Mr. Lotson,' or s-something along those lines."
"So what happened next?"
"W-well... I saw Mr. Lotson g-get pummeled with what looked l-like s-some sort of f-floating gems..."
"Could you be more specific about the gems?"
"Ummm..." Tenten closed her eyes in thought. "I th-think there were f-four of them, d-different colors... red, y-yellow, b-blue, and green..."
Rei nodded curtly. "What happened after that?"
The clone took a deep breath. "Well, Mr. Lotson fell down, g-groaning in p-pain... I th-think I heard him say, 'No, please don't'... and th-then the woman s-said, 'Sorry, but you found out way too much.' Then I heard her yell, 'Salamander!' And then..." Tenten shuddered. "Th-the gems all went Ka-Boom! Like fire! Lotson screamed, a-and I ran... I d-didn't s-stop running until I w-was safely b-back in my apartment..."
Rei gave her client a few seconds to calm down. "Did you happen to see Mr. Lotson's attacker?"
"O-only her sh-shadow..." Tenten replied. "I-it looked like she had long hair, a big bust, a-and I think sh-she was w-wearing a c-cape of some sort..."
"How big a bust?"
"Umm, bigger than Lady Vert's... not transformed, I mean..."
The lawyer closed her eyes and nodded, pondering... "...I'll be blunt with you, Miss Tenten," she began, "your testimony seems to match with what we've learned so far, but it stills seems pretty far-fetched. Where I come from, the golden rule is, 'Evidence is everything in a court of law.' Do you have any way to prove what you're saying isn't just something you've made up on the spot?"
"N-no..." the thief shook her head sadly. "Th-that's w-why I s-surrendered t-to begin with... I was h-hoping th-that it would sh-show that I w-was sincere..."
"I see." Rei walked back to the bench. "Well, Miss Tenten, you may not have any evidence... but I do!"
Jared McCoy's head jerked up at this. (Wait, what?!)
"Oh, boy," sighed Rizzoli. "Here we go again..."
"I have here, a burned electronic device taken from the scene of the crime," Rei announced, holding a plastic bag with the evidence in question. "It was found buried in a trashcan a short distance from the body." Placing the device on the witness asked, she asked, "Do you have any idea what this might be, defendant?"
"N-not a clue," Tenten shook her head as she took the evidence and looked it over. "Oh, wait, there's some lettering on the back!"
"Can you make out what it says?" Rei requested.
"Um, let's see..." the thief narrowed her eyes. "H...? No, M... A... C? No wait, that's a G, I think... E... S."
"Mages?" Rizzoli blinked in confusion.
"Wrong. Ms. Isles! It's MAGES., with a period!" Rei pointed dramatically. "As in MAGES. the Mad Magician, older cousin of Leanbox's diva, 5pb.!" The crowd gasped in shock at this.
"Th-the Mad M-Magician?!" gasped Tenten. "B-but that means..."
"Yes, it's not unreasonable to think that this device belongs to Miss MAGES. herself!" Rei declared. "Which, at the very least, makes her a person of interest in this case!" The gallery's chattering grew louder, forcing the judge to bang his gavel repeatedly to restore order.
"Your Honor!" Jared quickly stood up, "The People request a recess so that Miss MAGES. can be located and brought in for questioning!"
"Very well. This court is now in recess," the judge acquiesced. "We will reconvene tomorrow at 10 AM. Court is adjourned." He banged his gavel to signal the end of proceedings.
As McCoy and Isles gathered their papers, Rei walked up to them with a triumphant smirk on her face. "Nice move, McCoy, taking the initiative so you don't look like a complete fool. You've clearly learned from our last encounter."
"This isn't over," Jared swore, "Not by a long shot. MAGES' appearance doesn't match with your client's testimony, her bust is too small."
"I never said she was the killer, worm," the former goddess retorted. "But maybe this will teach you to look closer at ALL the evidence next time. See you tomorrow..." With that, she walked off, joining Tenten as she was escorted out of the room by the bailiff.
"She makes a fair point," Rizzoli admitted. "We actually had the evidence this time, there's no excuse."
"See if you can't contact Lady Vert," Jared instructed. "If anyone would know how to get ahold of MAGES., it would be her..."
*To be continued...*