A small note; chapters that take place in the court are divided between Witness Testimony and Cross Examination. If you are trying to figure out the crime yourself examine the investigation chapters and the witness' testimony before reading a cross examination section, they contain information that points to the guilty party.

April 19 9:52 AM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 3

The girls were talking to Raye. "Raye whatever happens know that we're here for you." said Mina. "Even if we can't come with you in the courtroom."

"I'm only here because my grandfather insisted on it; I don't care what the verdict is."

"But he's your father!" said Amy. "I hardly see my dad either, but if he was the one accused I…"

Phoenix and Maya came in. "Well it turns out Miles Edgeworth is prosecuting." said Phoenix.

"I heard about him." said Lita. "A big time prosecutor who rarely loses a case, he would do everything in his power short of breaking the law to get a guilty verdict."

"He may seem rough around the edges, but he's a good guy at heart." said Maya.

"You're friends?" asked Serena.

"Yes, but in that courtroom we're rivals. Our goals may be different but our purpose is the same, to find the truth." said Phoenix.

"So, can I win?" said Councilor Hino.

"I'd feel a lot better if you tell me your alibi."

"I can't, it would conflict with the evidence."

"Well it's almost show time, Serena you're coming with us."

"What?" Serena asked.

"You helped us investigate; we'll need you there in case you remember something we missed."

"Ok, you can count on me!"

"Just stay quiet unless you remember something really important."

April 19 9:59 AM

District Court

Courtroom No. 5

As they took there places, a man with black hair parted in the middle, grey eyes wearing a Lavender suit and a white ascot took the bench opposite the defense.

"Edgeworth, it's been a while." said Phoenix.

"Well I have been busy courting the woman I love." said Edgeworth.

(Edgeworth dating? I need to get out more.) "So when can we meet the little lady?"

"After the trial is over, now the game begins again. You versus me, using testimony and evidence to see who is right and who is wrong."

"Yeah, I missed it too."

Then a bailiff spoke aloud. "All rise for the honorable Judge Faire!"

Maya jabbed Serena as a bald man with a grey beard and brown eyes entered the room. "Stand up!" she whispered.

Everyone stood as the Judge ascended the podium and sat down. "You may be seated." He said. Everyone sat down and he banged his gavel. "Court is now in session for the trial of Councilor Roger Hino."

"The Prosecution is ready Your Honor." said Edgeworth.

"The Defense is ready Your Honor." said Phoenix.

"Very well, the Prosecution may make its opening statement." said the Judge.

Edgeworth got up. "The accused is a prominent member of the Diet (AN: Japanese congress) who is running for the office of Prime Minister. However the Prosecution will prove that he killed the victim, Alvin Gebra, in cold blood and that his position does not excuse him of this heinous crime."

"Very well, the defense may make its opening statement."

"It's easy to cast doubt on our public leaders and those of us here have a tendency to think ill of the councilor under the circumstances. But we are here in this courtroom today for one purpose and one purpose alone; that purpose is to find the truth, that's what verdict means."

"The Prosecution may call its first witness."

"The Prosecution calls detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand." said Edgeworth. Detective Gumshoe stood at the podium in front of the judge between the two benches. "State your name and occupation for the court."

"Dick Gumshoe, I'm the detective in charge of homicides at the local precinct."

"Can you describe to the court the nature of the crime?"

Witness Testimony: How the murder took place

"Well to understand the crime one needs to know the layout of the floor where it took place." The lights in the court room dimmed as he turned on an overhead computer projection of a map of the fourteenth floor. "The victim was killed in his office in the southeast corner of the building." He marked the office with a blue circle with a white V in it, the desk and file cabinets were against the walls away from the door. "The whole floor has a surveillance system for except for restrooms, private offices and service areas. However on the day in question the system for the floor suffered an overload and the system went out, this also caused a small fire in the employee lounge in the opposite end of the building next to the server room." He marked the employee lounge with a flame mark, nearby a fire extinguisher was marked on the wall opposite the doorway. "At 5:20 PM the killer came into the office, snuck up behind the victim and began to strangle him." Gumshoe put a red circle with a K inside in the office. "At 5:25 the victim died due to lack of oxygen, since the elevator surveillance system was operational and we couldn't see the killer get on from the 14th floor he most likely had gotten on from another floor after using the eastern stairwell." He moved the red circle to the eastern stairwell plotting the killers escape route. "Thirty minutes later at 5:55 two men found the body after responding to the fire." He shown two green circles with W's in them, one moved from the western stairwell to the office. He then turned off the projection and the lights came back on. "The councilor was arrested later that night. One more thing I would like to submit the floor plans and the security report on the surveillance failure as evidence"

"Thank you, Detective." said Edgeworth.

Phoenix read the report. "April 17th. 14th floor, surveillance system failure occurred due to electrical overload. System was inoperable from 4:55 PM to 7:00 PM."

"Mr. Wright you may begin you cross examination." said the Judge.

"Cross examination?" Serena whispered.

"Nick is going to try to find a contradiction between the Detective's testimony and the evidence." whispered Maya. "This is what he does best."

Cross Examination: How the murder took place

"Detective." said Phoenix. "How were you able to find out when the victim died?"

"A body attracts flies and the flies lay eggs, from what stage of development the flies' offspring are in we can tell when a person died."

"Why was the Councilor arrested?"

"We found two pieces of decisive evidence, first we dusted for fingerprints on the desk and file cabinets, the defendant's prints were all over it."

"And the second?"

"The murder weapon, a scarf with the words 'Hino for Prime Minister' embroidered on it; it was found next too the body as this photograph shows." Detective Gumshoe showed the court a photo of the scarf next to the body; a series of small red bruises were seen on the victim's neck.

"But the victim worked at the campaign for a short time, how could you be sure it wasn't his?"

"We checked the scarf for prints, and they matched the defendant's."

Phoenix sweated. "No further questions."

Edgeworth spread his arms. "Decisive evidence, what more do we need?"

"I can pronounce a verdict right now." said the Judge.

"OBJECTION!" yelled Phoenix. "The prosecution is trying to convict the defendant based on a small amount of circumstantial evidence, it is impossible to convict him at this point in time!"

"Yes, you're right. Does the prosecution have any other evidence?"

Edgeworth waged his finger in a tut-tut manner. "Yes Your Honor, I have two witnesses who can place the Defendant in the building during the day of the crime."

The audience watching started talking. The judge banged his gavel. "Order in the court! The prosecution may call its next witness."

"The prosecution would like to call Mr. Larry Butz to the stand." Detective Gumshoe left the stand and Larry took his place. "State your name and occupation."

"Come on Edgey." said Larry. "You know it's me."

"For the court."

"Larry Butz, I am currently a security guard for the KB Corporation security firm on loan to OmniDyne insurance."

"Can you please tell the court about the day in question?"

Witness Testimony: The day of the murder

"I came in around 9:00 AM that morning. It was around 3:00 PM when I saw the Councilor come in. He said he was going to meet with the board of directors and I gave him clearance. Later around 5:50 I noticed a fire alarm had gone off on the 14th floor. Knowing the fire department was on the way I took the elevator up to the 13th floor and then went up the western stairwell. It was around 5:55 when I saw smoke coming from the employee lounge and went in to find a small trash fire. I used a nearby extinguisher to put out the flames. Then I heard someone yelling and rushed over to see who it was. It turned out to be the janitor who was looking into the office. I turned to see what he looking at when I found Al, dead. That's it."

"Two questions for the witness." The Judge said. "Why didn't the sprinkler system turn on?"

Edgeworth answered. "The system was turned off for maintenance scheduled for the next day Your Honor."

"I see, next why didn't the witness take the elevator all the way to the 14th floor?"

"The elevator has a special safety system installed." said Larry. "When a fire is detected in a floor the elevator will not stop on that floor. It's to keep people from stepping into an inferno. The only way to bypass it is with a key that only firefighters carry."

"Very well; Defense your witness."

Cross Examination: The day of the Murder.

"How did you know that is was the Councilor?"

"I've seen his campaign ads; it's hard not to notice him."

"And where was this 'nearby' extinguisher?"

"In the lounge, on the wall opposite the entrance; the fire was small so I ran past it to get the extinguisher."

"The extinguisher will be considered evidence." said the Judge.

(His testimony seems flawless, wait a second.) thought Phoenix. "HOLD IT! Mr. Butz you said you 'noticed' the fire alarm had gone off. You didn't see when it went off?"

"Well, no. Around that time my girlfriend, Claudette, was passing by when I saw a drunk trying to get fresh with her, so I chased him off."

"Can we get her to confirm this?" asked the Judge.

"Not right now, she's in New York for a photo shoot."

Phoenix sweated. (Another model, let me put on my shocked face.) Larry had a thing for models, but they tended to take his money and run. "So you didn't know when the alarm went off?"

"No, but the fire department said it went off at 5:49. I mean the short in the security system caused it."

Phoenix shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Huh?"

"The security report here says the system went down at 4:55, so when the fire started THE SECURITY SYSTEM WAS ALREADY DOWN FOR ALMOST AN HOUR! Can you explain this?"

"Uh no, I guess not."

"OBJECTION!" said Edgeworth. "Does the defense have a point?"

Phoenix put his palms down in the bench loudly. "It's simple, the fire and the system failure are unrelated; so it couldn't have been the fire that started the overload."

"Then what could it have been?" the Judge asked.

"I have only one explanation, the system was sabotaged!"

"You have evidence to prove there was sabotage?" the Judge asked.

"Yes Your Honor. An electric shunt, a device that that reroutes electricity, now that I realize that the system was sabotaged, I know what this was for, TO OVERLOAD THE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM!"

The audience started to murmur and then the judge banged his gavel. "Order, Order! Mr. Wright, are you saying that the killer sabotaged the system?"

"No Your Honor, the overload and the murder are unrelated. The shunt has found in the victim's office that means he had something to do with the overload. THE VICTIM DIDN'T WANT TO BE SEEN!"

"But why?" asked the Judge.

"I don't know Your Honor, yet. But we can prove he did want to go unnoticed. Check the shunt for prints and I'm sure we'll find the victim's all over it."

"Very well, the shunt will be turned over to the police for printing."

"I have no further questions for the witness."

"Very well, next witness." said Edgeworth. The Janitor took the stand. "State your name and occupation for the court."

"I'm a Janitor."

"Your name please."

"Huckleberry Dupree, but I'd prefer if you call me Scruffy."

"The court will recognize the witness' name as 'Scruffy'." said the Judge.

"Very well, 'Scruffy'." said Edgeworth. "Testify to the court about how you discovered the body."

Witness Testimony: What Scruffy saw

"It was around 5:54, I was mopping the floors like I usually do. I turned a corner and didn't notice anything. Then I saw an open door and I looked inside to see a body laying on the floor and the office in bad shape, like a struggle happened. I saw smudges on the desk and file cabinets and the police found they were the defendant's fingerprints. And that's all Scruffy has to say about that."

"Very well." said the Judge. "The defense will begin its cross examination."

Cross Examination: What Scruffy saw

"Scruffy." said Phoenix. "Your testimony IS A BOGUS TISSUE OF LIES!"

"You calling Scruffy a liar?" Scruffy snarled.

"You said that when you turned the corner you didn't notice anything at first. But there was something anybody would have noticed in that hallway at 5:54, smoke from the fire!"

"Urk!" Scruffy started to sweat.

"He's defiantly hiding something." whispered Serena.

"Lies beget more lies." Maya whispered back. "Expose one and his whole testimony falls apart."

"Scruffy did you see the smoke?" Phoenix asked.

"Well yes, but I thought that since this was a murder trial the fire was irrelevant, that's the word you lawyers use right?"

"The Witness shall revise his testimony." said the Judge. "Making sure not to leave out any details this time."

"Yes your honor."

Witness Testimony: Fire and Murder

"Well I did see the fire, but since I couldn't put it out I just pulled the fire alarm. It was while I was waiting for fire department that I found the body. But that's all I hid!"

"Very well, Mr. Wright your cross examination."

Cross Examination: Fire and Murder

"Scruffy, you're not a very good liar." said Phoenix.

"Say what?"

"You say that you couldn't put out the fire, but this contradicts Mr. Butz's testimony. He said that he used an extinguisher that he found in the lounge. So you could have put out that fire!"

"Urk! Well…" Scruffy was sweating heavily and was tapping his finger on the podium.

"Does the witness have an explanation?" said Edgeworth.

"Well, I didn't know about the fire extinguisher."

"The witness will testify about this matter." said the Judge.

Witness Testimony: Couldn't see it?

"You see I just looked into the lounge from the hallway. I couldn't see an extinguisher anywhere. I guess that Butz fellow has better eyes than Ol' Scruffy."

"Very well, the defense may cross examine the witness."

Cross Examination: Couldn't see it?

"Sorry Scruffy, but the floor plans marks fire extinguishers and one would be right across from the doorway. So it would have been impossible for you NOT to have seen it!"

"Um, well…" Scruffy started to sweat bullets and he was tapping rapidly. "You see the smoke, no, that fire, I, it wasn't, ALL RIGHT I CONFESS! I STARTED THE FIRE! I WAS BURNING EVIDENCE!"

The audience murmured. The Judge banged his gavel twice. "Order! I will have order!"

"So, Scruffy." Edgeworth said. "You started the fire to hide evidence that you killed Alvin Gebra."

"What? Sc-Scruffy ain't no killer!"

"OBJECTION!" said Phoenix. "You just admitted that you were burning evidence!"

"But I didn't say it was from the murder. I was burning evidence that I…stole from the boss man's liquor cabinet."

"Li-Liquor?" Phoenix was shocked.

"I have a weakness for drink and the president of the company keeps the really good stuff in his office. Normally you need one of them executive keys to get into any executive lounge, washroom or one of their offices; but the boss is getting on in years and he forgets to lock his office, so while he was in a meeting I snuck into his office and got me some of his good whiskey. When I was done I saw that the full bottle was now half empty, I couldn't put it back so I put the bottle in the trash and lit a match. But the fire got big all of a sudden."

"Well alcohol is very flammable." said Edgeworth. "You will be held accountable for starting the fire and your employers will be notified."

"There goes Scruffy's pension."

"Your Honor." said Phoenix. "The question here is motive, the defendant barely knew the victim. He had no motive!"

"OBJECTION!" said Edgeworth. "So sorry Mr. Wright, but I have evidence to the contrary."

"The Prosecution will disclose this evidence." said the Judge.

"With pleasure." Edgeworth got out some papers. "These are printouts from a file in the victim's computer." Edgeworth gave copies to Phoenix and the Judge. The printout had financial information on it. "Notice the entries circled in red."

"They seem to be donations from OmniDyne to the Hino campaign." said the Judge. "But corporations aren't allowed to give money directly to political campaigns!"

"The Prosecution would like to present the following scenario. Roger Hino was illegally accepting contributions from OmniDyne; recently the company has gone under investigation for corporate fraud. He was afraid that the committee would discover the illegal contributions, effectively ending his political career. So he went into the chief accountant's office to destroy all records of the transaction. However he didn't count on Mr. Gebra being in his office when he was searching for the files, so took his scarf, snuck up behind him and STRANGLED HIM TO DEATH!"

"This doesn't look good." said Maya.

"There's no way we can disprove that he went into the office to get those files." said Serena. "Maybe if I were smarter like Amy…"

"It's how you think, not how much you think that will get us out of this mess." said Phoenix. "If thinking normal doesn't give you an answer than think crazy, think outside the box."

"I don't understand."

"You and Edgeworth gave us everything we need."

"But all I really did yesterday was take a picture of that footprint."

"Just watch and learn."

"Does the defense have any comments?" asked the Judge.

"The defense has two problems with that scenario. First is the fact that the prosecution was even able to get that evidence."

"Excuse me?" asked Edgeworth.

"You claim that the defendant killed Mr. Gebra while trying to destroy files but if that was true, you wouldn't have any files to present! He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of killing the victim and then forget the reason he came into the office in the first place!"

"OBJECTION! He might have panicked after killing the victim and had forgotten about the files."

"OBJECTION! Let me tell you the second problem I have with your story first! The autopsy report says he was strangled from behind."

"And I told you the same thing just now."

"But there's a problem with that. The victim's body was facing the door, so the killer was waiting for him in the office but if you look at the floor plans closely, there's nowhere to hide in the office!"

"What are you getting at?"

"Simple, THE OFFICE IS NOT THE REAL SCENE OF THE CRIME!"

The audience murmured and the Judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Wright, please explain. If the office isn't the real crime scene then what is?"

Phoenix took the floor plans and pointed to the eastern stairwell. "It was here, the eastern stairwell!"

"Speculation!" said Edgeworth. "Or do you have proof?"

"Of course I have proof! We found a pin was found on the ground where stairwell intersects the fourteenth floor, on it was marked Employee of the Month, Finance Division. Now can the prosecution tell the court who was OmniDyne's employee of the month in the finance division?"

"The…victim, Alvin Gebra." Edgeworth was not happy.

"This proves that the victim was in the stairwell. We also have this."

"A photo of a footprint?" the Judge asked.

"This footprint was found on the wall of the stairwell. As strange as that is the defense has its own story to tell about this. The killer came into the victim's office surprising him. The victim managed to avoid him until he got to the nearest escape route, the eastern stairwell. There the killer attacked him and his pin came off during the struggle, and as Alvin Gebra was struggling for his life he kicked the wall with enough force to leave a footprint! Then after Mr. Gebra was dead the killer moved the body to the office, left the murder weapon and messed up the place, in order to frame Councilor Hino!"

The audience murmured and the Judge banged his gavel. "In light of this new evidence it is impossible to declare a verdict at this time. Therefore the trial shall be suspended for today. I expect the prosecution and the defense to investigate the matter thoroughly." He banged the gavel again. "That is all court is adjourned."

April 19 1:07 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 3

"Well we live to fight another day." said Phoenix. "Councilor, did you really accept illegal contributions?"

"No." the Councilor said. "I was in a meeting that day with the board of directors to ask for individual contributions from each of them, which is legal."

"Well we now know why OmniDyne wants this over with quickly." said Maya. "If we want the Councilor cleared, we have to show that he wasn't accepting illegal contributions."

"How are you doing Raye? Serena.

"Ok." Raye said. "It doesn't matter that much to me anyway."

"How could you say that?" Serena asked.

"He may be my father, but he never acted like it."

"But he must have had a good reason to do what he did. Maybe…"

But before she could finish Edgeworth came in. "The Councilor will have to return to the Detention Center." He said.

"Edgeworth, do you really believe he did it?" Phoenix asked.

"No, but it doesn't matter what I believe. You represent your client when you go into that courtroom, when I go into that courtroom I represent the people without passion or prejudice and my client has a case."

"I can respect that, even though you chose a different path than your father I think he would be proud of you."

"What do you mean a different path?" Serena asked.

"My father," said Edgeworth. "was a defense attorney."

"Then why did you become a prosecutor?"

"It's a long story; and Wright I have some advice for you during the course of this trail. Remember these two words; they'll be indispensable 'No Comment.'" Edgeworth then left.

"I wonder what he meant." Maya asked as they left the lobby. When they opened the doors reporters bombarded them with questions.

"Mr. Wright, is there any truth to the Prosecutions claim on accepting illegal contributions?"

"Does this trial mean he's out of the race for Prime Minister?"

"What is your opinion on the Councilor's opponent?"

"No comment!" Phoenix said. "No comment! Get that camera out of my face!"

To be continued