Oh god no, anyone but her, Iris thought with absolute dread as Wendy Oldbag stepped into the stand, giving Iris a dirty look before turning to Pearl with a warm, wrinkly smile.
"Aw, if it isn't cute little Pearly!" Oldbag said, clapping her hands together. "How are you?"
"Hi, Ms. Police Lady!" Pearl said innocently, waving to Oldbag. "I'm doing good!"
"You look just as cute as the last time I saw you, dearie!" Oldbag said. "You remind me of my granddaughter from New York! She was cute as a button, just like you! She was also so sweet and polite-!"
whp-CRACK!
"EEEK!" Oldbag yelped as she felt a stinging surge of pain in her arm, courtesy of von Karma's whip.
"No useless prattling," von Karma said in a firm tone as she laid down her whip. "Testify to the court as to what you say, Ms. Oldbag."
Oldbag huffed. "You youth nowadays! So impatient! Wanting things to be down now, NOW! Back in my day, we were-!"
whp-CRACK!
"AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!"
"Don't. Make me. Ask. Again!" von Karma said, gritting her teeth as she brandished her whip. "Testify now!"
"O-okay..." Oldbag whispered, quivering in fear as she carefully eyed at von Karma's whip.
I...don't know whether I should feel sorry for Ms. Oldbag or not, Iris thought upon witnessing what had happened, but she pushed that thought aside.
"Now, you were stationed at the main gate on the day of the murder, correct?" von Karma asked.
"Yessey I was," Oldbag said with a nod.
"And to get to the scene of the crime, someone would have to pass by you?" the Judge asked.
"You know your stuff, dearie!" Oldbag said, winking playfully at the Judge, who blushed in response.
"...you may begin your testimony," the Judge said.
TESTIMONY
"On the day of the murder, I arrived at the guard station at 1:00 PM."
"Poor Powers and the rest of the crew were doing at action scene at 9:30, but they had to stop early that day."
"I, well, had something to do in the morning."
"It was 1:00 PM when I got to the guard station."
"I was there from 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM!"
"The murder happened at 4:45 PM, right?"
"Before that time, I saw a certain costumed woman walk by me at 4:20 PM..."
"It was Shade! That witch right there, and she was heading to the studio!"
"You saw the defendant, then?" the Judge said, stroking his beard. "Hmm...very well. Let's begin the cross-examination, Ms. Hawthorne?"
Iris nodded and took a deep breath. Here we go...
CROSS-EXAMINATION
"On the day of the murder, I arrived at the guard station at 1:00 PM."
"HOLD IT! So up until that time, anyone could've gotten into the studio if they wanted?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Oldbag scoffed. "There was a security guard who was stationed there before it was my turn to go there! And besides, even if there was no guard, the doors to the Main Gate would be locked, and the only way to get past that would be an employee key card."
Hmm...like the one I have with me at the moment? Iris asked mentally, rubbing her chin.
"And even you somehow get past all of that, there's still the security cameras scattered all around the studio!" Oldbag added. "It's impossible to sneak in without me or anyone else noticing!"
"Was there anyone at the studio before you arrived at the station?" von Karma asked.
"Yeah. From what the guard stationed there before my shift told me..."
"Poor Powers and the rest of the crew were doing an action scene at 9:30 AM, but they had to stop early that day."
"HOLD IT! I've heard of this one. They were doing an action scene at 9:30 AM, but they were forced to end early when Ms. Shade felt pain in her head due to her past injury. This, in turn, led to a sprained ankle. Is that right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Oldbag said. "Still, I doubt it was a pained head and a sprained ankle..."
Iris raised a brow. "Oh, then what do you believe to be the reason-?"
"She was faking it!" Oldbag exclaimed, pointing at the defendant Ms. Shade. "That witch faked it so she could get time to plot her murderous scheme!"
Ms. Shade frowned and glanced away from Oldbag in discomfort. Pearl gave Ms. Shade a sympathetic look before huffing at Oldbag, staring at the elderly woman with disapproving eyes.
"Alright, enough time-wasting," von Karma said. "Get on with it, Ms. Oldbag."
"I, well, had something to do in the morning."
"HOLD IT! What was that thing that you were doing before your shift, Ms. Oldbag?"
"If you must know, I was researching," Oldbag said.
"Um...researching what?"
"Researching on her," Oldbag hissed, pointing once again at Ms. Shade, who chuckled nervously in response.
"Hee...hee...hee..."
Iris raised a brow, narrowing her eyes at Oldbag. "Why on earth would you research on Ms. Shade? It's pretty odd for you to something like that without proper reason."
"It just seems strange, you know," Oldbag said. "She showed up out of the blue. No past work experiences, no records, she only had an ID that says her name! What's not to say she isn't some evil alien from Area 51 trying to murder us all or some gangster sent by the mafia or-!"
whp-CRACK!
"YEEOWWWIE!"
"That we will discuss in due time, Ms. Oldbag," von Karma said. "Now, please go to when you arrived at the guard station...or else?"
"Big Sis, what's the ma-fiya?" Pearl asked.
"Not right now, Pearl," Iris said, her eyes focus on the trial. "I still need to work."
"It was 1:00 PM when I got to the guard station."
"HOLD IT! Did you see the victim then?"
"Did I see Poor Powers? Nope," Oldbag said. "He'd already gone to the studio before I got back to the guard station."
Iris paused for a moment of thought. "Hmm...alright, what happened next?"
"I was there from 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM!"
"HOLD IT! So you were at the guard station through that specific area of time?"
"Yep!" Oldbag said, smiling proudly to herself.
"With no breaks or anything like that?" Iris pressed further. "You were focused solely on your job?"
Oldbag scoffed, feeling offended at what the rookie lawyer was implying. "Of course! I'm a professional, you know! Are you criticizing how I do my job? You whippersnapper!"
"N-no, all I'm trying to say is..."
"Whipper...snapper?" Pearl mumbled to herself, curious as to what that word meant.
"Pearl, what did I tell you about copying-!" Iris began to scold her sister, only to be greeted with...
whp-CRACK!
"AAAAAAAGGGH!"
"No wasting time," von Karma interrupted, sighing in irritation. "Continue."
"The murder happened at 4:45 PM, right?"
"Before that time, I saw a certain costumed woman walk by me at 4:20 PM..."
"It was Shade! That witch right there, and she was heading to the studio!"
"HOLD IT! From what you told us, you said that a certain costumed woman walked by you at 4:20 PM, and you believed it to be Shade?"
"Of course!" Oldbag answered without a trace of doubt in her voice. "Who else could it be!?"
"This has been a recurring problem in this trial," Iris said, narrowing her eyes at the elderly security guard. "You're telling me that you saw Ms. Shade walk by you at 4:20 PM, but you also said that it was a woman wearing a costume. If that's the case, how can you be sure if this costumed woman really is Ms. Shade? Where's the proof that confirms this!?"
"OBJECTION!" von Karma shouted. "If it is proof you want, Ms. Iris Hawthorne, then I shall gladly provide! Behold!"
von Karma dramatically threw a photo to the Judge like a ninja star. The Judge raised his hands to catch it, only for it to hit his face.
The Judge yelped for a bit, then took the photo to observe it. He raised a brow. "What is this?" he asked as he presented the photo to the rest of the court. Iris and Pearl leaned forward for a bit and saw that the photo was of a woman in a neat and tidy Crystal Crusader Rose costume, her face and hair concealed by a long pink wig and a silver opera mask, walking from the Main Gate to the Winter Cloud Building with the Crystal Sword in hand. From behind the costume woman, Iris and Pearl saw that she came from the direction where Ms. Shade's dressing room was located.
"As you can see, the woman in the photo is wearing the same costume I have presented earlier," von Karma said, gesturing to the Crystal Crusader costume she had previously shown to the court. "And to answer your question, Ms. Iris Hawthorne, this woman is the defendant for two reasons. First, she is the only one who can access the costume since she plays the title character of the show. Second, as you can see in the photo, the direction behind the woman is where Ms. Violet Shade's dressing room is located!"
"Hmm...yes, you do raise a valid point, Ms. von Karma," the Judge said. "It appears that the woman in the photo is indeed the defendant."
"Hmph, was there ever any doubt?" von Karma said, smugly grinning at Iris, who clenched her fists and glared at her.
"Big Sis!" Pearl whispered beside Iris, tugging at her older sister's shirt.
"What is it, Pearl?" Iris asked.
"That's not the same costume!" Pearl said, pointing at the costume von Karma had presented. "We have the costume with us, right?"
"We have the spare costume, Pearl," Iris answered. "I'm not sure if it amounts to anything, though. Apparently, the one Ms. von Karma presented is the one our client wore when she was arrested.
"That might be so, but..." Pearl's voice trailed off for a bit before she pointed at the costumed woman in the photo. "Look!"
Iris obeyed and took a good look at the photo. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, it was still the woman in the costume, only that the one she wore was a little tattered-wait!
"So it's settled then," the Judge declared. "The woman in the photo is indeed the defendant. While there are still other factors that we must analyze for this trial, it appears that Ms. Shade is guilty-"
"OBJECTION!" Iris cried out, surprising everyone in the court. "That picture is a load of bogus!"
Von Karma flinched. "Bold words from a rookie attorney, Ms. Iris Hawthorne," she said.
"But it's the truth," Iris retorted. "Take a better look, Ms. von Karma, then look at the dress you said the defendant was arrested in; you'll see what I mean."
Von Karma grumbled in irritation but did what Iris said. It only took her a few seconds of realization as her face paled and her eyes widened slightly. The pompous prosecutor resisted the urge to bash her own head against the wall. How the hell she did not notice this!?
"The dress in the photo looks different from the one I presented..." von Karma felt disgusted to admit that.
Iris smiled in response. "That's right. During my investigation, we found a Crystal Crusader costume as well. Unlike the one you have, it's clean, freshly-knit, and well-kept...like the one in the photo."
Iris made her point even further by showing said costume to the court. Von Karma grimaced in response.
"The defendant's dress could've gotten bloodied from the struggle she had with the victim," von Karma countered. "He was twice her size. He could've easily damaged the dress before dying by her hands."
"Ms. Shade also had an accident in the morning before the time of the murder," Iris pointed out. "Also, she had a grave head injury days ago, and stubbornly refused to stay in the hospital so she could get back to work. It's practically impossible for her to assault the victim without harming herself. Additionally, bits of blood are seen in the shoulder parts of the costume you presented, meaning that it and the tatters in the costume most likely came from that accident I mentioned."
Von Karma opened her mouth to respond but hesitated and closed it, her eyes glancing away from Iris.
"And if you want further proof, the dress I found was labeled Costume No. 1," Iris added mockingly. "I take it the one you have is Costume No. 2?"
Von Karma's bitter growl was enough of an answer Iris needed.
"Alright, Ms. Hawthorne, you've made your point," the Judge sighed. "It's unlikely that the woman in the photo is the defendant. However, I must ask, who is this woman in the picture then?"
"That I'm not sure of," Iris said. "But I am certain that it's not Ms. Shade. Not only has what I stated proven that the woman pictured in this photo isn't her, but it also proves Ms. Shade's alibi of her being asleep in her dressing room the entire time. Perhaps this woman is the true culprit, who stole the second costume, committed the brutal murder, and then pinned it on Ms. Shade. With all that, it makes sense that the defendant is not guilty. There isn't even a reason as to why she would murder in the first place!?"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that..." von Karma said smoothly. Iris perked up and turned to the prosecutor.
"Come again?"
"I must admit, Ms. Iris Hawthorne, you had me for a second there," von Karma began. "You've come up with a well thought out explanation as to why the woman in this photo is not the defendant, but that doesn't mean we can declare Ms. Violet Shade innocent just yet...or should I call her by her real name?"
Ms. Shade paled, sweating profusely as she began breathing heavily, her heart beating at high speeds. "Hee...hee...hee…" she let out a frantic chuckle, her crooked smile showing signs of fear and worry. Iris turned to see her client in this state and winced.
"H-her real name...?" Iris asked hesitantly.
Von Karma nodded, her smug grin ever so visible on her face. "To what my witness said prior, the defendant came to the Studio with no records except her ID. The prosecution took it upon themselves to investigate this matter and found something quite surprising. First, we found this letter that the victim had with him before his death."
She then handed Iris the letter. It was a crumpled, torn up bond paper with a vague message written inside. Despite its crumpled state, as well as the fact that certain parts were torn out, the message was still readable.
"I know your secret. You've been keeping this from me and everyone else, but that ends today..." Iris read aloud before turning to glare at von Karma. "How does this mean anything?"
"Ask your client, Ms. Violet Shade..." von Karma retorted. "...or if you want to know her real name..."
"Viola Cadaverini."
Court Record:
Evidence:
1. Iris' Attorney Badge
2. Letter of Request
3. Security Cameras
4. Will Powers' Autopsy Report
5. Crystal Crusader Dress (Costume No. 1)
6. Key Card
7. Crystal Sword
8. Torn and Tattered Crystal Crusader Costume (Costume No. 2)
9. Mysterious Letter
Profiles:
1. Pearl Fey
2. Viola Cadaverini (formerly Violet Shade)
3. Franziska von Karma
4. Detective Gumshoe
5. Will Powers
6. Wendy Oldbag
7. Celeste L. Starr/Emerald Empress
8. Penny Nichols