Welcome to the fourth chapter of my Ace Attorney fanfiction.

In this chapter, Elise's trial begins and the first witnesses testify their cases.

As always, I only own Elise, Marcus Jacobson and Robert Willis, the guard in the prison reception area. The rest of the characters are owned by Capcom, Shu Takumi, A-1 Pictures and Cloverworks.

Without further ado, please enjoy chapter 4 of Turnabout Justice.

Trial – Day 1

January 12th 2019 09:50 AM

Los Angeles District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

Phoenix stared out of the large window of the spacious and elegantly furnished defendant lobby with great concern in his mind. As they had made their way through the courthouse, he, Maya and Elise had caught a glimpse of the prosecutor he would be facing; Godot.

Phoenix had encountered the white-haired, smartly dressed, smug prosecutor three times previously in all his mysterious, caffeine-addicted glory. Considering the three close-shaves he had battling in court with the masked prosecutor, Phoenix had a hard time believing that Godot was still a rookie. The man acted like he'd been in the job for years. Phoenix groaned internally at the thought of another trial full of the prosecutor's various metaphors and Coffeenese.

"Nick, is everything okay?" a worried voice from behind him asked and Phoenix turned around to see Maya looking at him with eyes full of concern. "I'm fine, Maya. It'll be just like any other case." he said, smiling reassuringly at the young spirit medium.

From her seat on the couch near the door to the courtroom, Elise had been quietly reading a book that Franziska had brought her when she and Edgeworth had first visited her at the detention center. Stopping to listen to the small verbal exchange between the attorney and the medium who made up her defense team, she had heard what Phoenix had said. She decided at that moment that she had to point out the contradiction in his statement.

"I'm afraid this trial isn't going to be like any other case, Phoenix Wright. Not many of your cases involve a prosecutor being murdered in prison by his own daughter." she said sadly. "Come on, Elise. You have to think positive. Nick's defended a lot of people in the past and almost all of them were found innocent." Maya said, trying to make the young prodigy feel more optimistic.

"Almost all of them?" Elise asked, nervously raising an eyebrow. "Well, there was this one case when a client was found guilty but he was a criminal anyway. He only got close to being declared innocent because he hired an assassin to kill the victim and that assassin kidnapped me to blackmail Nick into taking the case." Maya explained. "I see." Elise said, not entirely sure what to make of this new information.

"The point is, Elise, that I truly believe that you didn't kill your father so I'm going to do everything I can to have you proved innocent." Phoenix said, wishing Maya hadn't brought up that particular case. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to remember. "Thank you, Phoenix Wright. That's very reassuring." Elise said calmly although, in truth, she was still very nervous. Phoenix checked his watch. It was almost time for the trial to start. Here goes nothing, he thought.

January 12th 2019 10:00 AM

Los Angeles District Court

Courtroom No. 2

Phoenix and Maya took their place at the defense's bench on the left side of the massive wood and marble courtroom while Elise was led by a court bailiff to a wooden and blue leather chair in a gated-off area behind the witness stand nearby, where defendants and witnesses were held during trials. Watching on from the gallery opposite the defense team, Edgeworth and Franziska tried to ignore the quiet, judgemental whispers made by the public about their sister. Clearly, many of them already believed she was guilty.

Meanwhile, Phoenix focused his gaze on Godot, who was stood at the prosecutor's bench opposite him. The man looked every bit as smug as he had done since their last three courtroom battles, complete with a steaming hot cup of fresh coffee in his hand. Don't worry, Edgeworth, Franziska, I promise I'll do everything I can to help Elise, Phoenix thought as the judge sat down in his seat at the judge's bench and slammed down his gavel, beginning the trial.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Miss Elise von Karma." he announced to the courtroom. "The defense is ready to begin, your honour." Phoenix declared, ready to fight to prove his client innocent. "The prosecution is also ready to get this show on the road, your honour." Godot said dismissively, taking a healthy gulp of coffee as if he was simply at some sort of board meeting.

"Then let us begin. Prosecutor Godot, you may proceed with your opening statement." the judge requested, looking to the masked man to speak. "Trite, you waste your time with this case, just like a barista would waste their time serving me decaf. It's as clear as day that Manfred von Karma was killed by his own kid. Kind of ironic, given his history. Rumours are also as abundant as my coffee blends in regards to your client's true reason for choosing to defend rather than prosecute. By the end of this trial, I'll have proved that the apple really doesn't fall that far from the tree." Godot said, confidently.

Phoenix glared at the masked prosecutor with a mixture of irritation and anger in his eyes. Of course, he knew about the rumours. The whole world did. The tabloids, in particular, had not been kind to Elise, saying that she only chose to defend in order to help her father before he was convicted for murder. They said she would be helping him to extend his perfect record by giving him inside information about various trials, such as any potential witnesses or vital pieces of evidence discovered by the defense. They even called her 'a wolf in sheep's clothing'.

"The prosecution may now call it's first witness." the judge declared, looking to Godot to speak. "The prosecution calls Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand." Godot declared with the same egotism that Phoenix had come to expect from him. It was like he wasn't taking the trial seriously.

No, Phoenix thought adamantly, I have to focus. Forgetting about the prosecutor's bad attitude, Phoenix looked to Gumshoe as he took the witness stand and two black television screens emerged on either side of the judge's bench. He was ready to hear both the summary of the case and the detective's own testimony and he was prepared to cross-examine the latter.

"Let's get started, shall we? Name and occupation?" Godot requested as he nursed his coffee. "Detective Dick Gumshoe. I'm a senior detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, homicide division. I am the officer in charge of this case." Gumshoe said, reciting the same words he had said many times before. "Very well, Detective. Would you please outline the basic facts of the case?" the judge asked. "Yes, sir." Gumshoe said, saluting the judge. The photograph of the victim appeared on the screens along with his name and age as the detective gave his summary with the whole court listening intently.

"The victim is Manfred von Karma, a former prosecutor and an inmate of the Los Angeles State Prison. Before his death, he had been serving a life sentence for committing one murder just over sixteen years ago and for arranging a second murder just over two years ago. The body was found in the warden's office of the prison an hour before the evening roll call. An autopsy found cause of death to be a total of six stab wounds to the chest, the last of which pierced the victim's heart. Death occurred at approximately 07:50 PM, ten minutes before the body and the defendant were found. The scene of the crime was photographed shortly after the arrest of the defendant." Gumshoe explained, placing his own copy of the autopsy report and the crime scene photo onto the wooden and green felt evidence table between the benches. "The court accepts these into evidence." the judge said.

"And what about the murder weapon, Detective?" Godot inquired. "The murder weapon was a letter opener belonging to the warden, Marcus Jacobson. The defendant was found in possession of the weapon at the same time that she and the victim were discovered." Gumshoe explained.

"I believe Miss von Karma had already been arrested by the time of your arrival." Godot said. "Yes, sir. The defendant was apprehended at the crime scene. Two sets of fingerprints were found on the handle of the murder weapon; the defendant's and the warden's. The defendant's clothes were covered in blood, which forensic tests have confirmed to be the victim's and it is also a match to the blood found on the letter opener." Gumshoe said, laying the letter opener and Elise's bloodied dress and blazer on the evidence table. "The court accepts the murder weapon and the defendant's clothes from the night of the murder." the judge said. So far, the case for the defense was not looking good.

Gumshoe then directed the court's attention back to the screens as the floor plans of the warden's office appeared, where the crime scene was highlighted bright blue and two small circles appeared in the center, the first being blue with a V in it's center to indicate the victim and the second being red with a K in it's center to indicate what was believed to be the killer.

"The victim and the defendant were discovered in the warden's office shortly after the murder took place. Before that time, they had been scheduled to meet with Warden Jacobson on separate occasions. Miss von Karma had met with the warden on the afternoon of the murder to discuss a case of prosecutorial misconduct that she had been investigating while Mr. von Karma had a meeting later that day to discuss the terms of his sentence." Gumshoe explained.

Phoenix grew suspicious at this revelation. While meeting an attorney to discuss a case was nothing unusual, the terms of an inmate's sentence should have been discussed upon arrival, not over two years later. "Now, Detective. Please give your testimony to the court." Godot said smugly, thinking he had already won. "Yes, sir." Gumshoe said. This is it, Phoenix thought, time to find the first contradictions.

Witness testimony – Arriving at the crime scene:

"We were called to the prison at around 06:35 PM.

Sounds of an altercation were heard somewhere in the prison

so it was believed that an inmate had been trying to escape.

We arrived at around 08:05 to find that the victim was dead

and the defendant had been apprehended by the prison guards

with all the evidence indicating that she was the killer.

We believe the defendant broke into the warden's office

and hid herself within the warden's panic room

to wait for the victim.

Once the victim was left alone, the defendant confronted him,

a fight is believed to have ensued, ending with the defendant stabbing

the victim to death in a vicious attack."

Godot smiled confidently as he took another sip of his coffee. "As you can see, your honour, the defendant carefully planned her crime. The verdict is clear." he said smugly. "Yes, that does seem to be the case." the judge said, already prepared to deliver his verdict.

No, Phoenix thought, I can't let it end right now. "Objection!" he yelled suddenly, grabbing the attention of everyone in the court. "Mr. Wright?" the judge asked in confusion. "Your honour, a verdict cannot be given at this time. The defense has yet to cross-examine the witness." Phoenix said, determined to continue the trial. "Very well, if you think there is some contradiction in the witness' testimony then you may proceed with your cross-examination." the judge said. "For all the good it'll do you." Godot taunted arrogantly as he looked at the defense over his coffee cup.

Cross-examination

"Detective Gumshoe, you say that you received the call at least one hour and thirty minutes before the body and my client were discovered?" Phoenix asked, deciding to press on the first line in the detective's testimony first. "Yes, sir." Gumshoe answered. "Can you tell the court who made that call?" Phoenix asked.

"The call was made by the guard stationed at the prison reception desk that day, Robert Willis, at the request of the warden." Gumshoe reported. The warden sure likes to be involved, doesn't he?, Phoenix thought as he moved onto his next line of questioning, deciding to press on the third statement of Gumshoe's testimony next.

"What evidence do you have to suggest that my client broke into the prison?" he asked skeptically. "Hmm, the defense does seem to have a valid point. It's certainly the first time in my career that I've ever heard of someone breaking into a prison rather than out of one." The judge said curiously.

"The warden's office is located on the ground floor of the prison, making it easily accessible to the defendant. It's believed that Miss von Karma opened a window and climbed inside before breaking into the panic room." Gumshoe said. "And how do these windows open?" Phoenix asked, pressing harder. "The windows open upward. Each one has a lock located inside the building." Gumshoe said.

Ah-ha, the first contradiction, Phoenix thought as he leapt at the opportunity. "Hold it!" he yelled before Gumshoe could continue any further. "Detective, did you just say that the window locks were on the inside of the building?" he asked urgently. "Uh, yeah pal, it's even in the crime scene photo." Gumshoe said, suddenly confused. "But if that's the case then..." Phoenix said, slamming his hands down onto the polished wood of the bench and creating a dramatic silence before continuing. "...how did the defendant open the window to break in?!" he asked, pointing a finger accusingly at Gumshoe, causing the detective to back away a little.

Godot snickered as he took another gulp of his caffeinated beverage. "Isn't it obvious, Trite? The defendant clearly broke the window so she could open the lock." he said smugly. "A logical assumption, Mr. Godot, but look at my client's hands." Phoenix said, directing the court's attention to Elise, who stood up and showed her undamaged hands to the courtroom. "There's not a scratch on them!" the judge exclaimed in amazement as Elise sat back down.

"Now, take a look at the crime scene photo." Phoenix said, directing the court's attention to the screens once again as they show the image of the crime scene, which showed the victim, wearing his orange prison uniform, laying on his side in a pool of blood inside the wrecked office surrounded by strewn paper work and knocked over furniture. However, there was one thing missing. "None of the windows are damaged!" the judge responded in astonishment. "So that means there's no way anyone could have broken into the warden's office through the window!" Phoenix declared triumphantly.

"So how did the killer get in?" the judge asked in confusion. "I think I can offer an explanation, your honour." Godot said confidently. "I think we'd all like to hear it, Mr. Godot." Phoenix said. "It's as simple as the way I like my coffee. The door to the warden's office is protected with an ID lock, which can only be accessed by prison staff. The defendant could have easily stolen an ID card from the one of the guards and used it to unlock the door. In fact, one of these free passes was found in the defendant's inside blazer pocket after she was arrested." Godot declared, holding up the ID card. Dammit, Phoenix thought. Just when he'd thought he'd won.

"That's impossible! I've never seen that card before in my life!" Elise protested in a mixture of shock and outrage, standing up as she protested her innocence before a bailiff grabbed her by her shoulders and put her firmly back in her seat. "Are you sure about that, Miss von Karma? A guard did report his ID missing on the day of the murder." Godot said smugly. "Is that so?" the judge asked curiously. "It's as obvious as the acidity and bitterness of Godot Blend #107 and to prove it, I call to the stand, Robert Willis, the guard who reported the lost ID." Godot declared.

As Gumshoe left the witness stand and sat in the chair in another gated-off area on the prosecution's side, Robert Willis stood before the court. He was a timid, weak and skinny man in his early thirties. His blue prison guard uniform hung loosely on him, his short, black, floppy hair was neatly combed beneath his hat and the expression on his pale face told Phoenix that he wanted to be anywhere but here. Clearly, testifying in court had not been a part of his training.

"Please state your name and occupation to the court." Godot said, oblivious to the guard's obvious discomfort. "I-I'm Robert Willis and I'm a guard at the L-Los Angeles S-State Prison." Willis said, looking nervously over his shoulder at Elise. "Mr. Willis, you were on duty on the day of the murder, right?" Godot asked. "Y-yes, sir." Willis said, saluting the prosecutor. "And during the course of that fateful day, you also lost your ID card, correct?" Godot asked. "Y-yes, sir." the guard answered, cowering slightly. "Then why don't you tell the court all about it?" Godot said, prompting the guard to give his testimony. "O-okay." Willis said nervously. "Clearly and without stuttering, Mr. Willis." the judge requested impatiently. "Yes, sir." Willis said weakly. Alright, here goes, Phoenix thought, round two.

Witness Testimony – Loss of my ID card:

"I was working at my station as always.

Miss von Karma arrived at about 04:00 PM.

She told me that she was there to see Warden Jacobson

to arrange a meeting with an inmate.

I assumed she meant her father since

she'd visited him many times before.

Anyway, I followed procedure by asking her name.

She told me that and she also told me that she was a lawyer.

I was curious and I asked her if she was prosecution or defense.

She told me defense but she started to get irritated

so I decided to drop the subject.

After she signed the visitor's register, I went

and got Mr. Jacobson.

We went to his office and they had their meeting.

They talked about a bunch of stuff.

Once it was over, Miss von Karma left

and that's when I noticed my ID was missing.

I reported it lost and hoped for the best.

It never occurred to me until after the murder

that the defendant might have stolen it."

"Thank you, Mr. Willis. That was very helpful." Godot said as he sipped his hot beverage and turned his attention to the judge. "Well, your honour. Would you say that was an accurate testimony?" he asked arrogantly. "It does seem like a possibility, yes." the judge said. Really, your honour, Phoenix thought in annoyance as the judge directed his attention to him. "Mr. Wright, you may proceed with your cross-examination." the judge said. Alright, let's see what this guy left out, Phoenix thought seriously.

Cross-examination

"Mr. Willis, why did you assume that my client was there to arrange a meeting with the victim when her visits to him were so frequent?" he asked the guard, making the poor man more nervous. "Um, well. I assumed it had s-something to do with the c-case she was working on. I mean, with a p-prosecutor as famous as her dad, th-there were a lot of p-people he convicted before he got l-locked up himself. S-someone's gotta make sure th-that everything was done right. Y'know, that a-all the testimonies were a-accurate and that the evidence wasn't t-tampered with, right?" Willis said, trying to be brave and failing miserably.

Alright, Phoenix thought, that's cleared up one mystery. Now he wanted to hear about this 'meeting' that happened when one person involved in it was unconscious. "Can you tell the court what transpired in the meeting between Miss von Karma and the warden? What did they talk about?" he asked curiously, knowing that the guard had been fairly vague about it in his testimony. "Oh, I don't know. Uh, l-legal stuff, I guess." Willis said hopefully, thinking that he could convince the defense that he was telling the truth. Unfortunately for him, Phoenix was smarter than that.

"Any particular 'legal stuff'?" Phoenix asked skeptically. "Oh, you know. Stuff about th-the case and th-the inmate." Willis replied, breaking into a sweat. "Mr. Willis, I don't believe you were at that meeting at all." Phoenix said, his hands on his hips and confident expression on his face. "W-what are you talking about?! Of c-course, I was at that meeting! Y-you haven't got any proof that I wasn't!" Willis said, realising that Phoenix was onto him.

"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Willis. I have concrete proof that you never entered the warden's office." Phoenix said, pointing at Willis. "You do, Mr. Wright? But where is your evidence?." the judge demanded. "The evidence, your honour, is in the security footage of the prison's reception area. I'll even show you where the contradiction is." Phoenix declared, directing the court's attention to the screens. "Very well, Mr. Wright." the judge said, looking at a small screen in front of him.

Evidence – security footage of reception area:

Elise walked into the reception area, briefcase in hand, and approached Willis at his desk. "Hello?" the Elise on the screen said formally, gaining the attention of the Willis on the screen as she put her briefcase down at her feet. "Oh, hello miss, how may I help you?" the much more confident guard asked politely. "I have an appointment with Warden Jacobson to discuss a possible meeting with an inmate." Elise replied, sighing resignedly.

"Very well, miss. All I need is your name." Willis requested. "Elise von Karma. I'm an attorney at law." Elise said in a bored tone. "Oh, a lawyer! Prosecution or defense?" Willis asked, intrigued. "Defense." Elise answered, an irritated hint of warning in her voice. "R-right. Well, all I need you to do now is sign your name and time of arrival on the visitor's register then I can go and get the warden." Willis said, sensing Elise's strained patience. Elise soon signed the register and Willis left, returning with the warden a minute later. Elise picked up her briefcase and she and Jacobson then left the reception area as Willis returned to his desk.

"There!" Phoenix said, pausing the tape and directing the court's attention to the seated guard in the footage. "You never left your station, Mr. Willis, which means you never knew what happened at the warden's office because you were never there in the first place." he declared triumphantly. "B-b-b-but...?" Willis spluttered, trying to explain himself.

"Miss von Karma also never left the prison that day." Phoenix said. "How do you know?" Godot asked irritably. "It's quite simple, Mr. Godot. If you review the security footage further, you'll see that the defendant does not appear at the reception area again until she's taken out of the prison by the police. Then there's this." Phoenix said, holding up a piece of paper.

"What's that?" the judge asked curiously. "This is a page from the visitor's register on the day of the murder. All visitors are required to write down their name and the time of their arrival when they enter. They're also required to write down the time of their departure upon exiting the prison. As the security footage showed, Miss von Karma did, in fact, write down her name and time of arrival but if you look at the box for the departure time, I think you'll notice something." Phoenix said, pointing at a blank space next to the arrival time.

"There's nothing written down there!" the judge exclaimed in surprise. "But that means...!" Godot yelled, slamming his cup down in angered realisation. "That's right, Godot. It means my client was still inside the prison." Phoenix said smugly. "So where was she?" the judge asked in confusion as the floor plans of the office came up on screen again.

"There's only one place she could have been, your honour." Phoenix said, remembering what Elise had told him during their first meeting. "And just where would that be?" Godot asked, his frustration growing. "Right here." Phoenix replied, pointing to the panic room. "Warden Jacobson's panic room. But didn't the defendant hide in there?" the judge asked, intrigued by this new revelation.

"It would seem that way, your honour, but the truth is my client wasn't hiding." Phoenix revealed. "She wasn't?" the judge asked in confusion. "No. In fact, not only was Miss von Karma not hiding, she was unconscious." Phoenix said. "Unconscious?! But when did that happen?!" the judge asked in shock. "It happened long before the murder even took place." Phoenix said, causing the courtroom to erupt in stunned chatter. "Order order!" the judge yelled, banging his gavel until the courtroom fell silent once again.

"Objection!" yelled Godot as he again slammed his coffee cup down on the prosecutor's bench. "This is ridiculous! How could the defendant have been unconscious before the murder when she was in a meeting with the warden at the time the witness stated in his testimony?!" he shouted angrily. "That's where you're wrong, Godot. Miss von Karma wasn't in a meeting and that's because there was no meeting." Phoenix said. "What are you saying, Trite?" Godot asked, growing more angry.

"I'm saying that the defendant was knocked out as soon as she entered the warden's office by the real killer and placed into the panic room until just after the murder!" Phoenix declared triumphantly. "But that would mean that the defendant would have been unconscious for that entire time." the judge said curiously. "That's right, your honour. It also means she could not have killed the victim." Phoenix said confidently.

"Interesting theory, Trite, but do you have any proof that Miss von Karma was knocked out?" Godot asked, calming down and laughing as he sipped his hot beverage again. "Unfortunately, I don't have any proof right now but it will only take one doctor's analysis to prove that this is what really happened." Phoenix said. "It does seem that such an examination is now necessary to prove the defense's claim. I will allow the defendant to be taken to a doctor and I expect a full medical report by tomorrow. Until then, court is adjourned." the judge declared, slamming down his gavel and ending the trial for the day.

Phew, the first part of the trial is over. What will Phoenix find as he and Maya continue their investigation?

As always, I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Elise, Marcus Jacobson and Robert Willis.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I hope to have the next chapter posted as soon as possible.