March 28
Defendant Lobby No. 2
9:30 AM
Pieter Fury
The following morning, I arrived at the courthouse as early as I could stand. Victoria and I had driven there together, but we hadn't said much to one another the entire car ride. I couldn't say I was particularly surprised; there was a lot going on with this case, and it barely seemed to have anything to do with the murder itself.
First and foremost, there was the fact that Chrysalis was still being as detached as ever. If anything, it had gotten worse since she spoke to Nevada the day before, though I had no idea what they could have talked about. Whatever it was, it had forced her into silence, and she hadn't been saying much of anything since then. Even on the car ride back to the agency the day before, she was still as could be, and that meant that Victoria and I were stuck theorizing about what could have struck her so strangely out of the blue like that.
Because of how weirdly Chrysalis had been acting, we hadn't been able to talk at all about the issues she had with me either. I was... Unfortunate, to say the least. I didn't want her to be upset with me forever. How could I? However, I had no idea what I was supposed to do about all of this to make it better. She was going to have to come to me with time, but the wait was already starting to get to me. I couldn't blame her for being upset, but... I wanted to do something to make it right, but that wasn't going to be possible as long as she was avoiding me still.
Chrysalis was already there by the time that Victoria and I arrived at the defendant lobby, and she was scrolling through her phone absentmindedly. She glanced up as soon as she realized that the two of us were there, though I could tell immediately that she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. "Good morning," she said simply as she tucked her phone away. Everything about her was strange, and I felt my stomach twist and churn with the idea of all that was wrong with this situation.
"Same to you," Victoria greeted with a small nod. She glanced around the area with a light frown. "Where's Prosecutor Cruz? Is he going to be here soon?"
"I'm right here."
Just like that, Prosecutor Cruz came walking into the defendant lobby, and he was wearing a clear frown. I could tell that he had a lot on his mind, not that I was particularly shocked by it all. I mean, this was a bad situation for everybody involved, and I knew this was going to be difficult for him to get through. The motive the police had proposed was just the first step of grinding on his nerves, it seemed, and the rest of us were simply going to have to do what we could to help him through it.
"Hello, Prosecutor Cruz," Chrysalis told him, though her voice seemed almost robotic. "Are you ready for the trial?"
"About as ready as I can be," Prosecutor Cruz snorted with a shake of his head. "I don't think anybody is ever actually prepared to be put on trial for murder, but I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles... Do you have any ideas about what you're going to be doing in the courtroom?"
"Not quite yet," I admitted. "But we're going to do what we can to unravel the truth and show who really did all of this. We don't think that you're responsible for the death of the victim, and we have every intention of proving it as soon as we can."
"I'm glad to hear it," Prosecutor Cruz said. He fell silent for a long moment before shaking his head. "I don't want to think about everything that's happening around here... The idea that the Emsthorpe assassins are back... That's not going to bode well for anybody."
"There was another recent case where they got caught up in the public spotlight again," Victoria commented. "If I recall correctly, Mr. Morix took care of it with Deirdre and Felicity... Though Felicity's been acting kind of off ever since that trial ended. I guess something must have happened to catch her off guard back then."
"It wouldn't surprise me," I agreed, though I had no idea how we were meant to reason through the sudden shift in Felicity's behavior. There was some way to fix this, yes, but I didn't know where to start. I supposed that was the price I paid when I had been away for so long. I didn't know all that much when it came to my coworkers, so I had no choice but to count on the others who knew them better to help me through the more... Difficult segments of navigating our relationships.
"The Emsthorpe assassins are bad people," Prosecutor Cruz told us simply. "My father was investigating them before he was killed. A long time ago, they started their business when it came to killing people within the legal system as a way of getting revenge against what they saw as a corrupt, twisted world. In the end, many people were killed, and they took his life too. I despise each and every one of them, and I hope they all see hell as soon as they die."
"We're going to do what we can to stop them though," Victoria interjected, and I could tell that she was saying it as a way of keeping me from getting too upset. I hadn't ever been fond of assassins, and I knew just how dangerous it could be to investigate people like that. If I hadn't ever looked into the Occisor assassins, my family would still be alive, and I wouldn't have their blood on my hands.
Chrysalis, for all of her apparent apathy, was more than happy to change the subject when she noticed I was getting uncomfortable. "And right now, that starts with us going into the courtroom to learn as much as we possibly can about the case at hand," she pointed out. "We can talk more about the Emsthorpe assassins later on. For the time being, we have a job to do, and I'm not going to slack off on it now. Let's get to it."
With that, Chrysalis started walking towards the entrance of the courtroom before any of us could counter her words. I knew that she was right, so I didn't bother to protest. I simply sighed to myself, shaking my head along the way. I could tell there was a lot more on her mind than she was willing to admit, and I could only hope that there was something I would be able to do to help her out soon. We couldn't be upset with one another forever, and if all went well, this case would be the start to us finally mending the damage done by my departure.
That was the hope, at the very least.
March 28
Courtroom No. 2
10:00 AM
Pieter Fury
When we entered the courtroom, we were met with the sight of the prosecution team from the day before on the other side of the space. Prosecutor Umber was at the center of the trio with Prosecutor Shield on his right and Nevada on his left. Nevada wasn't as sharp as she had been the day before, and I could tell that she was still distracted by everything that had happened when she spoke with Chrysalis. I had no idea what could have happened for her demeanor to shift so suddenly, but it must have been significant.
Either way, it was a question for a bit later, as Judge Eriko Frost raised her gavel and brought it down a moment later to call everyone's attention together. "Court is now in session for the trial of Vito Cruz," she declared. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"
"The prosecution is ready," Prosecutor Umber announced quickly. Beside him, Prosecutor Shield nodded, though Nevada still wasn't focusing as much as she should have been. I could have sworn that I saw her glance up to Chrysalis a few times, but Chrysalis refused to meet her gaze, instead staring at the grain of the wood of the bench before me. I resisted the urge to sigh at the sight, knowing that I would be able to talk through Chrysalis' emotional issues a bit later in the investigation, or perhaps after it had ended.
"The defense is also ready," Victoria said for me with a firm nod. She spared Chrysalis a brief glance out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't say anything about my sister's odd behavior. Chrysalis started to tap her finger against the bench absentmindedly, no doubt listening to the trial around her but not entirely focused on it the way she should have been.
"Good," Judge Frost commented next before shifting her attention across the courtroom to the prosecution's bench. "The court will now hear the prosecution's opening statement."
Prosecutor Shield was the one to respond this time, and he nodded his confirmation. "Of course. The crime took place in Blackgate Park not far from here, and the victim was shot a single time in the chest. The bullet instantly stole his life, and the prosecution believes that the gun was fired by the defendant. He was found standing over the body, and on top of that, he has a motive to kill the victim formed by past grudges and vendettas," he explained.
"A past grudge?" Judge Frost echoed, her expression shifting to momentary confusion.
"A few years ago, the defendant's father was found dead in his office. At the time, he was investigating a group of assassins that operate under the name of Emsthorpe. He was killed by one of the people from within that group, and on top of that, the defendant has come to hold a grudge towards the Emsthorpe assassins ever since then. The victim of this case used to be an associate of the assassins, though he left their employment not long ago. Judging by the fact that his body was found by the defendant, it seems clear as can be that there was likely a connection," Prosecutor Umber said next. "It is of the prosecution's firm belief that the defendant of this case murdered the victim because of his affiliation with the Emsthorpe assassins. Even if their business deal has been terminated for quite some time, the grudge remained, and that was all it took for him to kill the victim there in the park."
"That's quite a conclusive reason to find the defendant suspicious," Judge Frost agreed. She nodded carefully before shifting her focus down to the witness stand at the center of the courtroom. "The court will now hear the testimony of the first witness for this case."
"Of course. The prosecution calls the leading detective of this case to the stand for testimony," Prosecutor Umber declared. He snapped his fingers as he spoke, and everyone looked to the center of the courtroom where the witness stand rested. I did my best to not swallow dryly at the sight; the truth that I was back in court after so many years was finally starting to catch up with me again. It had been ages since I last set foot in a courtroom with the intentions of defending someone from false charges, and I could only hope that my instincts took over even after all these years.
Detective Umber appeared at the witness stand before I had the chance to question myself on the matter further. She glanced up at Judge Frost as her brother spoke from behind the prosecution's bench. "Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," he instructed.
"My name is Abilene Umber, and I'm a homicide detective. I'm also the leading investigator on this case," Detective Umber replied. "You want to hear about the details of this case, right?"
"We do," Judge Frost confirmed with a nod.
"Then I would be happy to oblige," Detective Umber smiled back. She took in a careful breath before beginning to speak, not at all minding the countless eyes locked on her. I silently wished I could be so confident, though I supposed that ship had already sailed. I was back in the courtroom again whether I wanted to be or not, and that meant I had a job to do... Though I could already tell this was going to be much harder than what I was used to.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Basic Case Details ~
-"The victim's body was found in a park not from here, and he was shot once in the chest. The bullet killed him instantly."
-"Gunshot sounds tend to echo for about one mile out from their starting location, and yet, nobody heard the noise."
-"In other words, the victim was rather far away from everybody else in the park, and it makes one wonder... How did the defendant find him?"
-"As far as I can tell, the answer is a simple one. The defendant knew where the victim was going to be and followed him to that part of the park to kill him."
-"He certainly has a motive given the connection of the Emsthorpe assassins being the ones who killed his father about two years ago."
-"All things considered, I don't see how anybody else could have been responsible for this killing... The defendant was there, and he was seen with the body. It's all rather suspicious, isn't it?"
After Detective Umber finished her testimony, the courtroom fell silent for a few long moments. Judge Frost hummed at her words before nodding to herself. "It certainly seems as if the defendant was involved with this case," she murmured. "It pains me to say such a thing after all of the cases of his I've overseen, but..."
"The defendant finding the victim's body isn't conclusive proof that he was the one who killed him," Chrysalis cut in before Judge Frost had the chance to continue. "I believe that only further investigation and cross-examination will be able to say for sure what happened at the scene of the crime that day."
"Of course," Judge Frost agreed, shifting her focus in my direction. "Defense, you may begin your cross-examination now."
"Yes, Your Honor," I said in return. I didn't see any immediate contradictions in Detective Umber's testimony, but if Prosecutor Cruz was innocent, then there had to be some issues there... It was just a matter of figuring out what they were.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Basic Case Details ~
-"The victim's body was found in a park not from here, and he was shot once in the chest. The bullet killed him instantly."
-"Gunshot sounds tend to echo for about one mile out from their starting location, and yet, nobody heard the noise."
-"In other words, the victim was rather far away from everybody else in the park, and it makes one wonder... How did the defendant find him?"
-"As far as I can tell, the answer is a simple one. The defendant knew where the victim was going to be and followed him to that part of the park to kill him."
"Hold it!"
"If you don't mind my asking, witness... Would you happen to know when the victim was killed?" I questioned. "I'm afraid that we didn't receive the autopsy report during our investigation yesterday, and I believe the time of the victim's death is crucial to uncovering the truth behind this case."
Detective Umber thought about it for a moment before nodding. "It was around 9:30 that morning, I believe," she eventually replied. "That's what the forensics team has come to believe through the examination of the body, at the very least."
"And the body was discovered... When exactly?" Victoria questioned from beside me. She was starting to catch on and see the full depth of the contradiction I had found, and I could tell that she was happy with it. The smirk on her lips made that all too clear.
"Um... I think it was closer to ten," Detective Umber replied. "But either way, I feel like it's suspicious that the defendant knew exactly where to look in terms of finding the body. I still think we should be looking at him with caution and think of him as a potential suspect."
"The defense objects to the claims made by the prosecution!" I announced, slamming my hands against the defense bench. "The defendant could not have been the culprit as far as I can see. Why would he have left behind the people he was with for half an hour to kill the victim? It doesn't make any sense. It would have been too suspicious, and he wouldn't have wanted to be found there. If he was going to kill the victim, then he would have been a bit more careful about not being caught. Besides, if the witnesses he was with were still with him at about 9:30 that morning, then he couldn't have been responsible for it."
The gallery started to chatter at that, but Prosecutor Shield didn't give the onlookers much of a chance to keep talking. Instead, he slammed one fist against the prosecution bench before glancing up at me. "I think I know what you're trying to get at here... You want the court to hear the testimony of the witnesses, don't you?"
I nodded. "I believe that would be the best course of action for us to figure out just what happened that day. I somehow doubt that the defendant was the culprit, and the first step to uncover the truth behind all of that is to hear from the witnesses and see what they know about the discovery of the body."
"So be it then," Prosecutor Umber agreed with a nod. "Witness, you may go." He gestured for his sister to step away from the witness stand, and she did so with a grin on her face. Even if a hole had just been pulled wide open in her testimony, she seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood, and I could only think that it was because she had known it was going to come to this. After all, if she was a detective, then she would have been working with the defendant for at least a few years up until this point, and she would be fully aware that he wasn't the culprit as a result. I was glad that we could count on her, at least to some degree. It was a small relief, but I was willing to take it for the time being.
"The prosecution would like to call its next witness to the stand," Prosecutor Shield announced, shifting his attention up to where Judge Frost was sitting at the apex of the courtroom.
"Of course," she confirmed with a small nod. "Please call your next witness now."
Prosecutor Shield nodded, but he didn't need to say much of anything in order for the next person to approach the stand. Hiroko was the one who walked over to the podium, though she still seemed somewhat anxious after what had happened the day before. I saw her sneak a brief glance at Nevada out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't make eye contact with the younger girl. Nevada continued to watch her intently, but Chrysalis took an opposite approach, instead simply staring down at the bench with a frown on her face.
"Witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," Prosecutor Umber instructed with a small nod.
"I'm Hiroko Toshi... I work as a nurse and caretaker," Hiroko explained.
"Toshi..." Chrysalis muttered from a few feet away. I glanced over to try and see if I could glean any information from her, but she didn't rise to meet my gaze, instead simply continuing to watch the ground. Once again, I resisted the urge to sigh.
Hiroko, however, was not deterred by Chrysalis' peculiar demeanor and continued to speak. "I'm the caretaker of Moira Brigit, another witness on this case. She was paralyzed in a car accident years ago, and I've been working with her to help her through daily life ever since... I was there at the park with Moira and her sister, Deirdre, at the time of the crime. We had gone there with the defendant," she explained.
"And you were also one of the people who found the defendant standing over the victim's body," Prosecutor Shield said. Hiroko nodded, though I could feel her anxiety from a mile away. "The court would like to hear any information you're willing to share about discovering the victim's corpse."
"Of course," Hiroko replied. She looked over to Nevada one more time, but the young girl didn't respond to what was happening around her. She simply stared back at Hiroko, and I wondered just what could have happened for the nurse to have such a strange but strained relationship with somebody she hadn't even met until the day before.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Finding the Defendant and the Body ~
-"It was Vito's idea to go out to the park that day to begin with. He said that he was getting tired of staying cooped up inside all the time, so he wanted a day out."
-"He invited Deirdre, and from there, she asked me and Moira to join her. We agreed to bring the dogs along as well so they could play together."
-"When we got to the park, we settled down rather quickly without any issues. The dogs played together for a short while, and everything seemed fine."
-"Vito eventually decided to leave and get a snack from one of the carts stationed around the park. He left his dog, Diablo, with the rest of us."
-"After a while, we realized that Vito was taking a lot longer to come back than he probably should have, so we went to look for him."
-"And... That was when we found the body. Vito was standing over the victim, and... You know the rest already, I would assume."
"You called the police after you found the defendant with the victim's body, yes?" Prosecutor Umber questioned.
"We did," Hiroko confirmed with a nod. "I did my best to see if the victim was still alive, but... He was already dead. I don't know all that much when it comes to autopsies, but it was easy enough to see how he had died. The gun was sitting on the grass just to the side of the victim's body, and... Vito was shocked. He could barely bring himself to move because of how surprised he was to have stumbled onto the body."
"How far off the beaten path was the victim's body?" Prosecutor Shield asked. "We've been led to believe that most people wouldn't have even come close to finding it if they didn't know where they were going ahead of time."
"It certainly was far from the rest of the park and its occupants... The area didn't even have a main pathway to walk on, so it was somewhat difficult to navigate, especially because of Moira's wheelchair," Hiroko explained. "But we were able to get there, and Vito was still standing over the body in complete shock of all that he had seen... We called the police afterwards, and when they arrived, they arrested him and claimed that he was the one who committed the crime, but I don't think he was the one behind all of this. He wouldn't kill anyone no matter how much of a grudge he had against them."
"I see..." Judge Frost murmured. "I find it to be suspicious that he was able to find the body so easily though. If the victim was truly so far away from the rest of the park, then it would have taken an incredible stroke of luck to stumble upon the body in such a way."
"If I had to guess, I would say that it all boils down to his... Sense of direction, or to be more honest, his lack thereof," Hiroko said with a small smile. "Vito hasn't ever had the best sense of navigation, so it often falls to Deirdre, Moira, or myself to offer him directions when we're planning on going out for an excursion together. If I had to guess, I would simply say that he got lost and just so happened to find the victim's body from there."
"Either way, I believe it's time for the defense to begin the cross-examination at this time," Prosecutor Umber announced, glancing up to me, Victoria, and Chrysalis with a frown on his face. "You know what comes next."
I nodded. "Of course," I said simply, though in all honesty, I had no idea where we were even supposed to start when it came to finding a contradiction within her testimony. There was a lot more at play here than I would have thought initially, and I couldn't see anything that struck me as peculiar... Then again, if there wasn't anything blatantly wrong, the best course of action was to press, and given the earlier testimony, I had a perfect idea for what to ask her about next.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Finding the Defendant and the Body ~
-"It was Vito's idea to go out to the park that day to begin with. He said that he was getting tired of staying cooped up inside all the time, so he wanted a day out."
-"He invited Deirdre, and from there, she asked me and Moira to join her. We agreed to bring the dogs along as well so they could play together."
-"When we got to the park, we settled down rather quickly without any issues. The dogs played together for a short while, and everything seemed fine."
-"Vito eventually decided to leave and get a snack from one of the carts stationed around the park. He left his dog, Diablo, with the rest of us."
"Hold it!"
"About what time did he decide to leave and get food from the carts elsewhere in the park?" I questioned.
"Hm... I would say that it was about 9:45," Hiroko replied. "I checked my watch when he left since I had a feeling that he could have gotten lost. Of course, he insisted that he would be fine regardless of how concerned the rest of us were, so we allowed him to go on his own... But fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't returned, so we decided to go and search for him."
"In other words... You were together with the defendant until 9:45 that morning," Victoria concluded. Hiroko nodded, and Victoria smirked. "The defense asks that the witness adds that last statement to her testimony."
"If you wish... Alright," Hiroko replied with a nod.
-"Vito left to go and find some food at about 9:45 that morning, and we went to find him closer to ten since he had been gone for a while."
"Objection!"
"And just like that... We have our evidence of the defendant's innocence," I announced with a smirk playing on my lips firmly.
"What are you referring to?" Prosecutor Shield asked, though I could tell based on his tight frown that he had already figured out just what was going on.
"It all comes down to the timing of events on the day of the murder," Victoria began to explain for me. "We heard before that the victim was killed at 9:30 that morning and that the death was instant. Nobody was in the area, so no one realized that he was dead until a while later. After all, nobody knew that they were supposed to be looking for a body to begin with, so he went undiscovered until the defendant stumbled onto the scene."
"But he didn't leave behind the other group he was with until about 9:45, which means that he has a watertight alibi for the time of the murder!" I announced. "We can all say conclusively now that somebody else was behind the crime, and it all starts with the idea that the defendant was with the three witnesses of this case long after the victim was killed. The victim's body was found in an isolated part of the park, yes, but that's not enough of a reason to suspect him when he had an alibi for the time of the crime!"
"In that case, I have just one question for you," Prosecutor Umber began before the gallery had the chance to start chattering with this new discovery. "Do you have any ideas as to who could have been responsible for the death of the victim? If the defendant wasn't behind it, then there must have been somebody else there that day, so who do you propose killed the victim?"
I hesitated at that for a long moment before looking down at the defense bench with a frown. I did have an idea as to what we were supposed to be pursuing next, but that didn't mean I wanted to say it. All of a sudden, those nerves that came with being back in the courtroom came rushing back towards me, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do about them. I knew that the Emsthorpe assassins had something to do with the crime, but how could I just say that? I had no idea how dangerous things could be where they were concerned. Occisor was bad enough, but the Emsthorpe ring had an even longer history, and that scared me more than I could ever describe.
"Excuse me..."
The voice of Deirdre cut through the silence, and I glanced over to see her standing beside Moira. There was determination set clear as could be across her features, and even though the people in the courtroom were mostly looking at her with confusion and irritation on their features, she remained unwavering in her confidence. "If it would be alright with the court, I would like to offer my theory about what happened the day of the murder. I believe I have an explanation for why the victim was killed."
Judge Frost stared at her for a moment, and for a beat, I was sure that she was going to tell Deirdre to not interrupt the trial. Instead, she simply nodded, her eyes falling shut along the way. "Approach the stand, witness."
somebody is mowing their lawn outside mmmm be quiet please i am trying to write
-Digital