July 28
Courtroom No. 5
10:30 AM
Lily Shield
Neptune settled down easily at the witness stand once she had been called, and she offered the court a small smile. She seemed to be oddly at ease as she stood before the courtroom, like she had been here a thousand times before. I didn't know of her having to be in a courtroom, at least not since her trial a few years ago, but it was nice to know that she wasn't panicking too much about the testimony she would have to give. That certainly made things a little bit easier on the rest of us.
"Witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," Prosecutor Kalles requested of her carefully. She sent Neptune a familiar smile, and while to most it seemed like just any other kind gesture, I knew there was much more to it than met the eye. After all, there was much more to the two of them than met the eye.
"Of course. My name is Neptune Mercure, and I'm a secretary of sorts at Gather Law," Neptune replied. "I spend most of my time as a private investigator, but since I work freelance, I have other work to cover my remaining time, and it just so happens to be with the Wood family."
"And you were one of the people to discover the victim's body on the day of the crime," Prosecutor Lin remarked, and Neptune nodded. "If you don't mind witness, we would like to hear your testimony on the matter. What happened when you first found the victim to be dead?"
"I would be more than happy to answer that question," Neptune smiled. "No problems at all."
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Finding the Victim's Body ~
-"I've worked at Gather Law for a few years now, and Buddy has been my primary partner through all of it. Well, him and another friend of ours, Clarith."
-"I know his working speed rather well by now because of how many years we've been working together, and I had the feeling something was wrong that day."
-"He had gone off to grab a file to look through it for the sake of our recent investigations, and he never came back."
-"I decided it was time to go off and see what was going on, so I headed for the file room and began to look around."
-"Clarith came with me since she was worried too, and together, we found Buddy... Standing over the victim's body."
-"We called the police for help as soon as we processed what was happening. I think you can figure out the rest given where we are right now."
"You were with one other person when you found out that the victim was dead then," Judge Frost hummed to herself. "I suppose the two of you can corroborate for one another in terms of alibis."
Neptune nodded. "The family that runs the company is safe too. All of them were together in some way or another at the time of the crime. Buddy was the only one who was off on his own... But don't take that as me believing that he was responsible for the crime. I know better than that, and I think the rest of you should too."
"You have worked with the defendant for a long time... Long enough to have an understanding of his character, I can assume," Judge Frost remarked. "If you believe him to be innocent, then who do you think could have been responsible for the crime in his place?"
"I... I'm not entirely sure about that, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was some other funny business going on that we haven't yet figured out," Neptune said. "I know that none of the people there would do something like this. I've been working for Gather Law for years, and I would like to think that I know by now what would and wouldn't happen around there."
"The fact that everyone else has an alibi makes it clear that it was either the defendant or someone we hadn't considered at all," Prosecutor Lin remarked. "I suppose we'll have to see where the truth takes us in the end though... All starting with this testimony. If the defense is ready, I believe we should continue with the cross-examination."
"Of course," I nodded as I glanced over to Pieter and Sky. "I guess this is where the truth really starts coming out... Though I'm not quite sure where this is going to lead us."
"Me neither," Sky frowned. "I didn't see any other ways for a person to get into that room, but they must have managed to sneak and out without being caught. There weren't any air vents for a person to use to sneak inside, and the scanner at the door makes it clear that there wouldn't have been any method for the killer to just... Walk inside."
"We're going to have to figure it out soon no matter what's going on," Pieter agreed. "I'm not quire sure where we can get the truth behind something like that, but I trust Neptune and what she says about the crime scene's discovery. We know something else is going on here... It's just a matter of finding a way to put the pieces together."
"If only that was as easy to do as it is to say," I sighed before looking up to Neptune. "But we won't know until we try. It's go time. Let's do this."
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Finding the Victim's Body ~
-"I've worked at Gather Law for a few years now, and Buddy has been my primary partner through all of it. Well, him and another friend of ours, Clarith."
-"I know his working speed rather well by now because of how many years we've been working together, and I had the feeling something was wrong that day."
-"He had gone off to grab a file to look through it for the sake of our recent investigations, and he never came back."
-"I decided it was time to go off and see what was going on, so I headed for the file room and began to look around."
-"Clarith came with me since she was worried too, and together, we found Buddy... Standing over the victim's body."
"Hold it!"
"When you entered the scene of the crime, did you see anything else out of the ordinary?" I asked carefully. "even if you think it doesn't matter, we need to hear about it."
Neptune thought about it for a moment before she shrugged and shook her head. "No... I can't think of anything," she replied. "Clarith and I had to do a bit of looking around before we could figure out what was going on. I mean, the body was at the back of the file room, so we had to get there first. We looked through the aisles of stacks while we were on our way there, and we didn't see anything out of the ordinary. While we were waiting for the police to arrive and help us with the investigation, we did another sweep of the room, and we saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was just... The same old file room as always."
"I see..." Pieter murmured. "If you wouldn't mind, witness, we would like that to be added to your testimony."
Neptune seemed surprised by his words at first, but she shrugged it off a moment later. "If you say so... Alright," she agreed. "As long as you think it's important."
-"The file room was empty by the time we arrived. Nothing stuck out as being strange while we were looking around the area."
"Objection!"
"The defense wishes to bring something crucial to the court's attention," I announced. "I believe we have found conclusive evidence of the defendant's innocence."
"And what would that be?" Prosecutor Wood asked. "There's not much in the file room that could be used as evidence to show that he didn't commit the crime."
"That's the thing. We're not talking about something that was found in the file room here. Instead, we're thinking about something that should have been there but was not found in the area," I smirked to her. "The victim was stabbed many times, and that would leave behind massive amounts of blood splatter. Instead, there were no signs of blood on the defendant at all. In fact, the blood splatter around the victim's body was the only sign of anything bloodstains at all. The killer should have been covered in blood after unleashing such violence on the victim, but... There was nothing."
"If the witness searched through the file room and found nothing suspicious about the scene of the crime, then I think that's proof of there not being anything that could have hidden the defendant from the blood," Pieter chimed in. "One could argue that perhaps he used something to cover up his clothes, but if that's the case, then where's the cover he used? He wouldn't have been able to get rid of it on account of being in the room on his own, and he was being watched from the time that he was first found until the police arrived. He couldn't have gotten rid of the evidence of the blood being soaked up by some other fabric."
"He could have burned something in order to hide the fact that anything happened," Prosecutor Kalles suggested.
"That would have left behind ashes though, and here's no place to hide ashes in a place like that," Sky countered with a shake of his head. "The bookshelves are flat against the ground, so it would have been impossible to just sweep them under a shelf. The closet seems to have been clean of any ashes as well, so that means that simply wasn't an option."
"In other words, we have another mystery on our hands... The criminal found a way to sneak the bloodstained clothing out of the room somehow, but we have no way of saying how they pulled something like that off," Prosecutor Lin concluded. "If the defendant was being watched the entire time the investigation was being conducted, then he couldn't have been the one responsible for it. In other words, we've got another person to blame for all of this, though we can't say for sure who it was yet."
"As much as I hate having to admit it, a lot of people would have had a motive to do something like this too," Neptune sighed. "I mean, Gather Law has a lot of information about a lot of different subjects, and there are people out there who would want to break in and take our files. We've tried to crack down on security as much as possible to make sure that something like this is impossible, but if you ask me, it seems like the only option at the moment is that somebody found a way to get into the file room, kill the victim, and leave."
"I hope you're not trying to defend the suspect in this case, witness," Judge Frost frowned. "I imagine you know the consequences of lying to the court, but I still feel the need to emphasize how crucial it is to tell the truth on the stand."
"You don't need to worry about that. I already know," Neptune assured her with a loose wave of one hand. "Buddy wasn't the one who did it. Besides... I don't think he even could have given the circumstances."
"What are you talking about?" Prosecutor Wood asked. "If you mean the fact that he was locked in the closet, we've already heard about that, so you don't need to explain it again."
"That's not it," Neptune said with a shake of her head. She paused for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, well it sort of is about the closet, but not in the way you would think. I think somebody tried to lock him in there, but it runs a little bit deeper than that. The closet door is set to lock as soon as somebody closes it. That's where our most important information is kept, and we can't exactly have anyone forgetting to lock it. That's where disaster starts. As such, we've got the closet set up so it locks as soon as the door is closed."
"So if the criminal tried to lock the defendant inside, then he would have been trapped inside the entire duration of the crime," I concluded. "He couldn't have committed the crime if he was locked away in the closet. It would have been impossible for him to do anything."
"The closet door was ajar when Clarith and I first arrived. If that's not proof that something had happened recently for it to be opened, I don't know what is," Neptune said. "We wound up having to close it for the investigation since... Well, the information in there is incredibly sensitive, and we couldn't have anyone going through all of that. I mean, looking through the rest of the file room is one thing, but the smaller evidence room is a different beast entirely."
"I see... All of this certainly makes it seem as if something happened for the closet to have been opened at the time of the crime," Judge Frost agreed. "Though we have no evidence of the defendant having been inside when the murder took place."
"But why would he lie about something like that?" Neptune countered. "None of it makes any sense. He could have very easily just left the room entirely without anyone asking questions. I mean, he could have hacked into the scanner to make it look like he left at a different time than he did. It wouldn't have been difficult for him at all. I know Buddy well, and he's incredibly talented with things like that. It would have been a piece of cake. He would have taken a massive gamble in doing something like this, and it wouldn't have paid off. He could have just left, and I'm going to stand by that statement no matter what."
Judge Frost nodded. "I suppose you're right... I have to wonder exactly what happened in that room to begin with. If someone else managed to sneak inside without being caught, then that has massive ramifications for the rest of the case. What we need right now is hard proof of someone else being in the area at the time of the crime."
"I'm sure that evidence exists somewhere in the file room," Pieter said. "The criminal no doubt broke into the building to begin with because they were hoping to get their hands on important information found in the file room. It's going to take a while for the company to search through the stacks and see if any of their evidence went missing, but I think that should fill us in as to what happened at the time of the crime."
"If we can figure out what information went missing, I imagine that we'll be able to learn quite a bit about the crime as a whole. The information that disappeared will enlighten us as to the motive behind the murder, and that's an important first step to understanding everything else about the case," Prosecutor Kalles said. "All we can do for right now is theorize about what happened at the time of the murder, and that won't do much for us in the long run."
"You can say that again," Pieter murmured. "I'm confident somebody must have snuck into the crime scene, perhaps by following the defendant inside. He said that he went in alone, but there's always the possibility of somebody having followed him. If he didn't realize that he was being followed until it was too late, then he would have been in for a nasty surprise once he got to the back of the file room."
"Right now, we lack the evidence to show anyone was in the area at all," Judge Frost pointed out. "In order for us to say firmly that the defendant did not commit the crime, we need evidence of another person's presence, whether it comes in the form of signs of stolen files or something else. The culprit must have gone into the file room for a reason, and the court needs to understand that specific motive as soon as possible."
"I'm sure evidence of that has to exist somewhere, but what are we supposed to do about it now?" Sky asked nervously. "I mean, it's not like we can just stop the trial to go back there and see what we can find... What would we even look for? If the evidence is just stolen files, then we'd have no ideas of what we were supposed to be doing."
"I might have an idea that could explain at least a little something about this case," Neptune interjected. Her expression had grown dark, and everything about her posture had shifted as well. I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest at the sight. I didn't think I had seen Neptune this serious since she set out to fight against Occisor years ago. At best, this change of demeanor was unsettling, though I could think of a whole host of other descriptors as well.
"What is it, witness?" Judge Frost questioned. "Where should we point our attention for the next steps of our investigation?"
"I'm sure all of you have been made aware of the recent outbreak of cases to do with the Emsthorpe assassins," Neptune began, and my stomach immediately did a flip. "I believe that's a perfect starting point when it comes to unraveling the truth."
The gallery began to chatter at that, and I could tell by the sudden spike of tension in the atmosphere that everyone was fully aware of the recent machinations of the Emsthorpe family. As far as we at the agency were aware, the Wood family was the primary target of the recent actions of the Emsthorpe crime ring. It only amde sense that the people who were here at the trial-those who could be trusted with the secrets Gather Law held-would know what was going on by now. Still, I hated the idea that we were in this situation to begin with, and I could tell Sky and Pieter felt the same way.
In fact, Sky and Pieter both looked even worse than I did when it came to thinking about the assassins. Pieter had one hand braced on the hilt of his blade, and he looked ready to pull Ikari free of its sheath at any given moment. Sky, on the other hand, was staring ahead blankly, unsure of what he was meant to do with this new information. I could tell his fear ran much deeper than just the recent explosion of cases though, and I made a mental note to ask him about it as soon as the trial got out of session.
Neptune held up one hand to stop the conversations of the gallery before they could get too out of hand. "I believe the Emsthorpe assassins are the ones behind the recent crime at Gather Law's headquarters," she went on. "The Emsthorpe crime ring has always had a rivalry with the Wood family, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they decided to make Gather Law their target for the sake of getting back at one of the groups who has pushed back against them most over the years."
"You seem fairly confident in your conclusion, witness," Judge Frost said slowly. "Are you sure an assassin from the Emsthorpe ring would want to commit this crime?"
"They're known for being able to get in and out of most places without being caught. It took ages for them to be nailed down as the culprits in their first major murder spree years ago. They're fully capable of something like this. If they wanted information, this would be the perfect way to get their hands on it. They could help to exact their oldest grudge while still getting what they wanted," Neptune pointed out. "I can't say what the details are specifically, but it's a possibility to consider."
"If an assassin really did get into the company, then we'll need to investigate carefully for the safety of the detectives on the case," Prosecutor Kalles remarked with a frown. "Danger could be anywhere, and if we don't handle ourselves with care, it could blow up in our faces the instant we turn our backs."
"I suppose this means that you want to investigate the case a bit more then," Judge Frost frowned. "If there really was an Emsthorpe assassin involved with all of this, then it is imperative that we proceed with as much caution as possible. None can say for sure what we could find at the end of this path, but it's best for us to be safe rather than sorry."
"It would make sense for an Emsthorpe assassin to be behind all of this, but... I don't like that idea at all," Pieter frowned. His hands were starting to shake, but he did his best to hide it by gripping tightly at his sword's hilt with all the force he could muster. "Neptune, are you confident this is the path we should be expecting this case to follow?"
"It feels like the most likely turnout in my mind," Neptune replied with a shake of her head. "I'm no more comfortable with this than the rest of you are, but it's the best option for us to look at. The Emsthorpe assassins have been causing more trouble than usual as of late, and we need to know how to handle that in case they decide to push back against us again. I'm going to ask everyone to be as careful as possible to ensure they aren't taken by surprise, but... I think this is a necessary step for us to take."
"What do you say about this, prosecution?" Judge Frost asked as she looked over to the other side of the courtroom. "Would you want to adjourn the court for a brief investigation into the possibility of an Emsthorpe assassin committing the crime?"
Prosecutor Lin nodded without missing a beat. "If that's the most likely possibility for why the crime took place, we understand what must be done," she declared. "I somehow doubt the defense will have any objections either... Am I correct in such an assumption?"
"You are," I replied. I could already tell that Pieter and Sky weren't going to be in much of a position to answer something like that, so I decided this was the perfect chance for me to step up. I knew why Pieter was so upset, and I was more than happy to cover him given his extensive history with assassins. As for Sky... I couldn't quite say for sure what was going through his head, but I wasn't going to push him in the wrong direction as long as it could be avoided.
"I suppose that settles that then," Judge Frost declared. "I would ask both the defense and prosecution to conduct a thorough investigation of the scene of the crime to help us to understand if any assassins were involved with the case at hand. Tomorrow, we'll reconvene to discuss our findings. Court is adjourned." The gavel dropped just like that, and before I had the chance to process what was happening, Pieter and Sky scurried out of the courtroom. I watched them go before sighing heavily and following them. I wished there was something more I could do... But for now, it seemed that taking charge of the case was the best I could offer. It wasn't much, but it was something.
July 28
Defendant Lobby No. 5
11:15 AM
Lily Shield
When we arrived out in the defendant's lobby, the room was almost completely empty. Sky shifted uncomfortably on the spot as he stared down at the place where his shoes met the carpet below. I shared an uneasy glance with Pieter at that, and I could tell that he was just as worried and confused as I was when it came to Sky's discomfort. there was so much more to this than met the eye, and I could only imagine it had something to do with his conversation with Mr. Wood the day before.
Before I had the chance to ask him about it though, I realized a few new arrivals had come into the defendant's lobby. Neptune was walking quickly and starkly through the room, Clarith hot on her heels. "Neptune, you don't need to go so soon," she said, her voice almost pleading with the taller girl. "I'm sure it would be okay if you stuck around just for a little bit longer. Everything is going to be fine-"
"I would rather not take chances," Neptune interrupted quickly. "I should get back there anyway. You never know when one of the detectives is going to need a bit of extra help when it comes to sorting through all the evidence in the file room. I don't want to leave them high and dry if I can avoid it. I'll see you when you and the others get back okay? No need to worry about me."
Clarith tried to stammer a reason for Neptune to stay, but she couldn't quite get the words out before the other girl rounded the corner out into the lobby. She was gone a moment later, and Clarith sighed before looking over to me, Sky, and Pieter. "I... I hope you didn't hear too much of that," she said. She conveniently pivoted her eyes away from Pieter as soon as she had glanced in his direction.
"It's fine. Neptune is stressed, and I imagine that everybody else is too," I told her with a small smile. "I guess it might just be for the best to leave her alone for a little while longer. I'm sure that she'll be okay."
Clarith sighed at that, though I could tell she didn't entirely believe it. Instead, she turned her attention toward Buddy when he entered the defendant's lobby, and she practically ran to his side once he was in view. "Are you alright?" she asked. When I looked a little bit closer, I noticed that her hands were shaking. "I hope the trial hasn't been putting too much stress on your shoulders."
Buddy shook his head. "I'll be okay, Clarith," he assured her. "It's just... I guess a lot to take in. I don't want to think that Neptune is right, but I think we already know she is."
"Of course she is," Clarith murmured darkly. "She usually is when it comes to things like this."
I never quite got the chance to ask Clarith what she was talking about no matter how curious I was about her words. Instead, I was cut off when KJ rounded the corner, knocking one hand against the side of the door that led in from the courtroom. "Is she still here?" he asked hurriedly. "Neptune, I mean. I was wondering if I could talk to her a little bit."
"She just left. I'm sorry," Clarith replied. Something about her eyes looked weirdly guilty when she turned her attention to the ground below. "I-I don't know if she would be able to talk to you. much even if she was still here... B-But if you want me and Buddy to pass along a message, I'm sure we would be able to do that."
KJ's shoulders sagged in disappointment as soon as he registered that Neptune was gone. He thought about his response to Clarith for a long moment before he shrugged to himself. "I... I don't know," he admitted to himself. "What I could ask you to tell her, I mean. I guess... Just tell her that I want to try and talk to her when I can."
Clarith nodded, but once again, she refused to look up at him properly. I couldn't quite say for sure what the reason for all the tension was, but the longer I glanced between Clarith, KJ, and Buddy, the more confident I was that there was a lot going on here that we didn't understand yet. Neptune knew something about KJ, and she didn't want to talk to him for that very reason. I didn't understand it at all, but I was sure it was going to come out sooner or later. There was no way a secret like this could stay hidden forever, after all.
"I-I guess you should probably head out now, huh?" Buddy asked as he looked over to me, Pieter, and Sky. "You have a lot to investigate after this trial, and I know it's going to be a difficult matter to unravel. The assassins... They're usually pretty good about not leaving a trail behind, and you're going to have to search hard in order to see what they've been doing."
"Yeah... I suppose you're right," I agreed carefully. He was trying to get rid of us for some reason, and I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it had anything to do with the reason Neptune was trying to get away as soon as possible. Neptune, Clarith, and Buddy were three peas in a pod as far as I could tell, and I could only imagine they shared just about everything with each other. If there was a secret Neptune was trying to keep-which it certainly seemed there was-then the other two had to be aware of it. That was just the way this game was played.
KJ seemed to hate it though, and he offered Clarith one last glance to make sure that she followed through on delivering his message. She nodded to him, and with that, KJ saluted to us. That seemed to be our cue to head out, so I led Sky and Pieter away from the defendant's lobby slowly but surely. I didn't know if any of this had anything to do with the case, but there was a greater secret hiding here than we could have ever imagined. Neptune, Clarith, Buddy, the Wood family, the Emsthorpes... There was a lot at stake here, and none of them wanted to say a thing about it.
If only we had a clear path forward... Any path forward would be fine.
foreshadowing baby
-Digital
