February 13
Courtroom No. 1
2:30 PM
Cotoli Morix
"The crime took place yesterday, February 12th. The victim, a girl by the name of Venus Rinko, was on her way to my law agency, Morix Law Offices, to meet with one Shayla Willows. Once she arrived, on the phone with Ms. Willows at the time, Ms. Rinko parked her car and prepared to come inside. However, she never got the chance to. A man approached her once she had gotten to her feet and stabbed her in the chest, thinking that she was the Oracle of the Law due to an online forum accusing her. It wasn't immediately fatal, so Ms. Rinko warned Ms. Willows to not come outside, as she knew it was dangerous. Not long after, she collapsed back into the driver's seat and tragically passed away due to her wound.
"The killer had blocked the blood backsplash from getting to his skin with a white shirt. He pulled on a hoodie to cover it up, likely hoping to make a clean getaway from the scene. He next pulled out a small lighter, which he had brought with him, and set the car ablaze. Ms. Willows arrived not long after, seeing the killer as he set the car on fire. She was spotted by the killer, who pulled a small knife from his pocket and cut the back of her hand open, threatening to kill her if she didn't stay quiet when the case went to court.
"He threw Ms. Willows to the ground and took off his hoodie while she was distracted by her hand wound. He removed his shirt as well and threw it into the car through the skylight window, where it burned. He collected his hoodie and left the scene, planning to 'find' it not long after and call the police. Ms. Willows began to cry over her friend upon seeing her body in the car, panicking over her sudden murder and being threatened by her killer.
"This is when the defendant appeared. He tried to comfort Ms. Willows, but he ended up getting her blood on his hands in the process because of the cut on the back of her hand. The killer showed up once again, claiming that he had seen the defendant at the time of the murder and calling the police on him.
"The police officers arrived not long after and agreed that Mr. Burke was suspicious. He was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ms. Rinko and ended up here in court today for it. The blood on his hands was tested and revealed to not belong to the victim, but it was still incredibly odd to them. The killer ended up going free for his crimes, but he made one fatal flaw. He took the knife used to cut Ms. Willows' hand with him. It had his fingerprints on it and could not be left at the scene of the crime to be discovered. However, that ended up being his downfall, as we can all see now, since we know where the knife went.
"It is with none other than you, Buff Guiy! You killed Venus Rinko!"
Mr. Guiy growled in my direction. He reached one hand into his bag and pulled a weight out of it before tossing it into the air. His other hand joined in as he continued to toss weights upwards at an increasingly rapid pace. "Stupid Oracle! If it wasn't for that damn spy, everything would have been fine! Curse you, Oracle!"
The weights began to come crashing down not long after. They rained from above him, surrounding him in a flurry. The final weight, the largest of them all, slammed into his head, sending him to the ground in an instant. That wasn't the only thing to land on his head, however. A blood-covered knife hit his hair before falling to the ground in front of him.
Mr. Guiy slowly got to his feet. "Stupid Oracle..." he murmured. It was obvious he was in something of a daze.
"I take it we can accept that as a confession," Prosecutor Shield said. "I doubt he'd have a breakdown like that unless he was confessing to the murder."
"That spy's a criminal... Everybody wants them dead anyways... I was doing the world a service by killing that girl..." Mr. Guiy muttered.
"However, she was not the one," I frowned. "Ms. Rinko could not have been the spy since she was present at the one and only public sighting of Oracle."
"She must have done something...! Nobody is that suspicious when it comes to that project unless they know something!" yelled Mr. Guiy. "You can do whatever you want to me in prison, but I'll never regret killing somebody who was so close with the Oracle of the Law!"
"Bailiff! Arrest this man at once!" came the cry of Judge Frost. A bailiff with purple hair saluted him and snapped handcuffs around Mr. Guiy's wrists before leading him from the courtroom.
"It appears that it is time for me to hand down my verdict for one Anton Burke," Judge Frost said once Mr. Guiy was gone from sight. "Are there any objections from the defense or prosecution regarding this?"
I shook my head after exchanging a quick glance with Lily. "The defense has no objections, Your Honor," I told him.
"The prosecution doesn't object either," Prosecutor Shield nodded. "It's time that we end this mess of a trial and set the victim to rest."
The judge nodded. "I am going to miss the presence of Ms. Rinko in this hall of justice... But for now, it is time for me to hand down my verdict for Anton Burke.
"This court finds Mr. Anton Burke not guilty. And with that, court is adjourned!" the judge exclaimed, raising his gavel up slightly before hitting it against the podium before him, putting rest to the trial once and for all.
At least, that's what I thought at the time.
February 13
Courtroom No. 1
2:45 PM
Lily Shield
"That was amazing, Mr. Morix!" I exclaimed once we were out in the defendant lobby. "I had heard that you were good, but that was some trial! I swear, it was like you did that effortlessly!"
"I'm glad it impressed you, Lily," Mr. Morix told me with a warm smile. "I try my hardest when it comes to important trials like this. I had to put Venus to rest for one thing, but on top of that-"
"Daddy!"
We turned to see Mr. Burke running towards us. He wasn't wearing any sunglasses now like he had been at some points during the trial. He threw his arms around Mr. Morix and pulled him in close. Mr. Morix hugged him back as well, a smile on his face. "Hey there, Anton," he grinned.
"Daddy?" I echoed. "Is there some sort of... other arrangement between the two of you or something?"
Mr. Morix let out a laugh. "I promise it's not what you're thinking. Anton here is Polly's adoptive daughter, as you know. We've been dating for roughly two years now, and because Anton never had another father figure, I'm pretty much his father in his eyes," he explained. "Why do you think Polly requested me instead of somebody from a larger agency? She knows I get the job done."
Speaking of Ms. Burke, she came walking over not long after. She took Mr. Morix's hand once Mr. Burke had pulled away from the embrace they had been sharing. She kissed him on the cheek lightly, though she had to get on tip toe to do so due to being about eight inches shorter than Mr. Morix. His face went red at the sudden peck, but I could tell that it made him at least a little happy.
"Great job in there," she told him. "I knew I picked the right guy for the job." She punched his arm gently, which he responded to with a small laugh. If it was at all possible, he went even more red at this statement and action.
"I-It was nothing..." he murmured to her, clearly embarrassed. "I'm just glad that we got everything sorted out. The man who killed Venus is behind bars and is awaiting his own trial. On top of that, Anton is free to go back home with you tonight."
"Speaking of Guiy, I'd be glad to prosecute him if you want me to. He killed your partner of two years. I won't go easy on him after what he did," Ms. Burke told him. Dark determination shone in her eyes. It didn't take a genius to see that she was deadly serious about this.
"Ghastly already offered. Unless you want to be with him, it isn't going to happen," Mr. Morix told her. "Sorry about that, Polly. He said it was the least he could do for me, Yuri, and Cassidy now that Venus is no longer with us."
Ms. Burke let out a small sigh. "I should be happy. He's doing work for the first time in what feels like ten years, so I can't really complain. You know how Ghastly hates work. He spends half his time sleeping or playing around with that sister of yours. Erm, the older one," she told him.
Mr. Morix let out a small laugh. "Yeah. I can barely remember an occasion even now when he focused his attention into working. I haven't a clue how he went from being just Ghastly to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, but I'm not complaining. When he's willing to help out, he's good at what he does," he responded. The way that they were speaking was incredibly casual. It seemed pretty clear that they were close, so them dating seemed natural now that I was truly paying attention to the way that they behaved around one another.
"Hey."
I turned around at hearing a voice from behind me. There was a young girl standing there. It took me a moment to recognize where I had seen her before, but when I did, I let out a gasp. This was the girl who had approached me during the recess!
"H-Hi!" I exclaimed, waving to her lightly. I still didn't know her name, so there wasn't much that I could say to her aside from a simple greeting.
"I thought I saw you in the gallery," remarked Mr. Morix. He took a small step towards the girl, a sad frown on his face. "How are you holding up? I know that times are a bit tough right now since Venus is gone... Is there anything I can do for you or Cassidy? Just name it."
The girl shook her head. "We're doing fine," she said solemnly, but it was clear to me that she was lying. "You did what you needed to. I'm glad you were able to catch her killer. I don't want to dishonor Venus and her memory by letting the one who killed her get away with the murder. She would have a word or two to say about that, and I doubt they would be positive."
"You're right on that," Mr. Morix agreed. "My new lawyer was able to help out. Well, one of the two new ones. Deirdre isn't here today. You'll be able to meet her next month when they officially start working. I had to improvise since you couldn't help me and my sister was too much of a mess to even leave her room."
"She and Venus were really close before she died... I was wondering why Chrysalis wasn't standing with you during the trial, but that explanation most certainly makes sense. She can be a bit of an emotional wreck at times," the girl said. She let out a small laugh, but it didn't take a genius to see that she was forcing it so Mr. Morix wouldn't worry much. I wasn't quite sure how they knew each other, but they seemed to be close. I didn't want to be rude and butt in on their conversation when things were so grim and serious. That would probably be bad etiquette or something.
"You'll still want to work at the agency even if Venus is no longer with us, right? If not, then I completely understand, as it might be a bit rough on you without your sister..." Mr. Morix's voice trailed off after that. I nodded to myself at his words. This was the victim's younger sister. I didn't know what her name was, but this was enough information for the time being.
"No, I want to stay with you. Venus would want me to stay with you as one of your assistants. Plus, I need to assert my dominance as the senior to your new workers. I've been with you longer than they have, so it's a requirement of the Yuri Code that I do something like that," the girl told him. She grinned to herself next and laughed mischievously under her breath. Ms. Burke looked at her with an odd expression, as if she were confused yet intrigued. I was the same, but I wasn't ready to get into the conversation yet. I didn't know this girl, who seemed to call herself Yuri, so I was staying uninvolved.
"Speaking of new employees," Yuri said, snapping me out of my daze. She turned my direction and met my eyes with hers. I wasn't entirely sure if she had another eye since the second was hiding behind her hair, but I was going to assume she had two. "Thanks for helping to find the one who killed my sister."
I figured now was the best time to say something since she was addressing me, so I nodded and gulped before speaking. "No problem," I told her. She had been so serious when I had been talking to her during the recess. I never would have guessed that she was so nerdy and talkative from our earlier interactions. I had to admit, she seemed like a sweet kid.
"Well, I should be on my way," said Yuri. "My mom has been a wreck all day because of Venus being gone... It isn't as if I can blame her for that, though. Her oldest daughter was murdered in cold blood. That's a rough sort of thing to go through, you know?"
"I understand that completely," Mr. Morix nodded. "I was going to ask you and Cassidy to come and have some burgers with me, Polly, and Anton now that the case is over and Venus can properly rest in the afterlife, but I get the feeling that you and your sister want to be with your mother."
Yuri looked down. "Yeah... It's going to be difficult until we get used to all of this. It was all so sudden... But I shouldn't linger. I'll see you at the agency soon. I have dominance to assert," she told him. "I'll see you around." With that said, Yuri turned on her heel and dashed off to see a girl with white and black hair and an older woman with deep brown hair and pink streaks. She looked a lot like the Ms. Venus Rinko I had seen in the victim profile section of the court papers Mr. Morix and I had shared. That had to be her mother and sister, the ones Yuri had mentioned. The group walked out once Yuri was with them, leaving just me, Mr. Morix, Ms. Burke, and Anton in the conversation we had been having.
"You mentioned heading out for burgers now that we're done here," Ms. Burke remarked. "You didn't even tell us that you were planning on having us come with you to go somewhere. I think it's important to mention it to the people you're inviting, Cotoli. Wouldn't you have to agree?"
Mr. Morix let out a laugh. "I suppose you'd be right on that, Polly. Do you and Anton want to come with me to have a celebratory burger lunch? We ended up having to skip lunch since the trial ended up running long, so I could personally use a bit of food. What about you two?" he asked of them.
"I-I'd love to go to lunch w-with you, D-Daddy..." Mr. Burke stuttered. He smiled in the direction of Mr. Morix, who responded by picking him up. Mr. Morix's hands found their place beneath Anton's arms as he lifted him into the air. Anton giggled and raised his hands into the air out of excitement.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was your real father since you two are so close," Ms. Burke remarked.
"H-He's the only Daddy I-I need!" Mr. Burke chirped. He laughed a bit more before Mr. Morix set him down. The older lawyer picked him up bridal style next, which made Anton laugh even more. Ms. Burke smiled on at the cute scene. I could tell she cared for them by the look in her eyes, even if she came off as the type to hide that sort of affection.
"I'd be happy to come to lunch with you," Ms. Burke said, getting back on topic. "I can tell that Anton would be much happier to do that than go home. He spent the past day in the detention center. We all know how terrible the detention center is."
"Yeah. He deserves a break after that. I doubt he slept much... Poor thing..." Mr. Morix rocked Mr. Burke in his arms gently, which made the young boy giggle and hug him. Mr. Morix smiled in response and pulled him a bit closer.
"A-Are we ready to g-go?" Mr. Burke asked. "I-I don't want t-to stay here any longer..."
Mr. Morix nodded before looking my way. "Lily, do you want to come with us to get some food in celebration of the victory from the trial?" he asked.
I considered it for a moment before shaking my head. "No, I'm good. I should probably be going to talk to my brother and then head home. I'm too wiped from that epic trial to go out, so I'll be on my way, if that's alright with you, Mr. Morix," I told him.
"That's just fine, Lily. I'll see you another time. I trust that you'll be at the agency in a month or so when I'll be properly introducing you to your coworkers. I'm sure that you'll like the agency. I'll be looking forward to that day. You proved yourself in that trial today, so I know I made the right choice when it came to taking in a new pupil," Mr. Morix said.
I could feel my face going bright red at the compliment. "Th-Thanks, Mr. Morix... I'm glad you asked me to come and help you in the trial today. It was a great case. Murder might not be the best introduction to the legal world, but I loved watching you in action," I grinned. "I hope that not all cases hit that close to home for you, but... I'll be looking forward to exciting cases like the one from today."
Mr. Morix smiled my way in response. "I'm sure we'll see many a unique turnabout in the future. I'll be looking forward to when you come to the agency to work permanently. You'll be a welcome addition to the team," he said. "But for now, I believe it's time for us to go our separate ways. I'll be seeing you soon, Lily. You stay out of trouble for the time being, you hear?"
I nodded. "Alright. I'll see you later, Mr. Morix!" I exclaimed, I waved his direction before turning on my heel and skipping off to find my brother. We had come here in separate cars, so we wouldn't be riding home together, but I might as well talk to him a little bit before we headed for our shared home.
I ended up searching most of the courthouse before deciding to check my phone. He had sent me a text saying that he had to check something at the Prosecutor's Office before coming home. I let out a sigh at having wasted my time before heading for the courthouse entrance.
When I arrived out there, I saw Mr. Morix talking to Ms. Willows. They were talking rather loudly, so I could easily hear them. I swear, I wasn't intending to eavesdrop! I'm not that bad of a person, honestly!
"Do you think you'd be able to give me a ride home, Mr. Morix?" Ms. Willows asked. She practically had to look straight up to meet his eyes due to the height difference between them.
"Do you need one?" Mr. Morix asked.
Ms. Willows nodded. "I rode here on the bus, but... I don't think the bus is going to be coming for another hour or so..." she murmured. "Would it be okay if you helped me out here?"
Mr. Morix nodded. "Of course," he said. "I'd be glad to help you out. Can you give me instructions to get there?"
Ms. Willows nodded a second time as Mr. Morix opened up the door of his car, which I realized they were standing next to. "I hope this isn't taking up too much of your time... I heard that you were going to head to lunch with the defendant... Are you sure this won't be too much of a bother for you? I can wait for the bus if that hold be more convenient," Ms. Willows said.
"Don't you worry about it. Polly and Anton can wait a few extra minutes if it means you'll be getting home safely," Mr. Morix assured her. He stepped into the driver's seat of his car and hit a button. A clicking noise rang out as the other doors on the car unlocked.
Ms. Willows stepped into the car and pulled the door shut behind her. I saw her smile to herself, but it had an odd vibe to it, like she was hiding a big secret or two that she wasn't going to share with anyone. Mr. Morix was saying something, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. Ms. Willows laughed once he had finished as a small tear streamed down her face. Not long after I noticed the tear, she and Mr. Morix had disappeared from view, leaving me alone with my curiosity about what had happened between them.
I figured it wasn't important and that it was none of my business, so it was time for me to head out. Robbie was probably going to wonder what happened to me and why I was taking so long. His text about needing to swing by the Prosecutor's Office had been sent a while ago, so if he ended up getting home before me, he'd panic and worry the way big brothers like him did. For his sanity and my own, it was time for me to head home.
February 13
Roberto and Lily Shield's House
6:30 PM
Lily Shield
It was a few hours before Robbie ended up arriving home. I fortunately did not end up in trouble with my brother when I got back, as I beat him by a few hours. I ended up relaxing on the couch for a few hours, choosing to watch a few episodes of whatever new sitcom was on TV at the time.
This all came to a close when the garage door opened. I could hear the large door opening from my place on the couch. I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth as I acknowledged his arrival. Robbie normally didn't like it when I had big snacks like popcorn before dinner when it was this close to time to eat, but since he wasn't home, I couldn't get in trouble. I finished up my last few pieces, dusting my hands off into my popcorn bowl as I did so. I got to my feet and walked to the sink before setting the bowl inside. I rinsed it out when Robbie walked into the house.
"Hey, Lily," he said loudly as he shut the door behind him.
I turned off the sink and went to greet him. "Hey, Robbie. You sure took a while to get home. About four hours have passed since the end of the trial," I commented. "What was it that had you at the Prosecutor's Office for so long? Shouldn't you have been able to just come back after the trial since you were in court today?"
"It was of my own free will," Robbie told me. "I wanted to look into a few profiles when it came to this case. Something about it just bothered me, though I couldn't really put a finger on it at the time."
"Did you eventually figure out what it was that was bugging you?" I asked. "I doubt you could have been there for four hours without figuring it out."
Robbie nodded. "Yeah, I got it before I left," I heard him say. He took a seat on the couch. I went to sit next to him once I was finished in the kitchen.
"Well, what was it? You have to tell me now that you've brought it up in the first place," I told him. "I'll have to beg you if you don't tell me, which would kind of waste our time. I don't think you want to go through something like that though, right?" I asked.
"You won't need to beg me, Lily," Robbie said. "I'll tell you what it was gladly, but I don't want you to tell anybody about this. It's incredibly important. I don't want this sort of information to get to anybody else, okay?"
I was shocked at his sudden change to being so serious. I knew that he could get solemn at times, but the changes were rarely this sudden. "Um... Sure. I get it. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. What's bothering you? I can tell that whatever you found out is bugging you for some reason," I told him, a frown of worry on my face.
"It's about the witness from today's trial. Something about her, the way she held herself, bothered me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was something odd. Once I got to the Prosecutor's Office and looked through the files that we were keeping there, I realized what it was that was bugging me. It's going to surprise you, I can assure you that much. Like I said, though, I don't want you telling anyone. It might end up biting us later on. It could be dangerous," he told me.
"Robbie, you're scaring me. You don't need to build this up so much. I swear, I won't tell anyone. Just tell me what's going on," I demanded of him. Panic was laced in my voice by now. With the way he was setting this up, I was more than a bit frightened. Robbie could get solemn, sure, but when he went this far, it was something really bad.
"I didn't mean to scare you. I promise," Robbie said next. He reached for his bag, which I noticed had been propped up on the floor next to the couch. I had been distracted with watching out my popcorn bowl when he came in, so I hadn't seen it before
"You brought the files with you, didn't you?" I asked. This was just like him. Like most lawyers, he loved his proof, even when he wasn't inside the courtroom. I suppose that after a while, that stuff just gets forced into your brain.
Robbie nodded. "Two years ago, the Oracle of the Law entered the news as a soy that wanted to expose corrupt legal issues in court. Evidence forgeries and hidden crimes have come to light because of the work of this spy," he explained to me.
"I heard about it in the trial," I recalled. "Even before today, I knew that Oracle was a thing. Everybody knows by now. There's all sorts of controversy about if they're just for doing this sort of thing to bring illegal dealings to light."
"I'm glad you're informed," Robbie said. "However, I believe that this Oracle isn't as far away as people think. Oracle seems untouched by most since nobody from the general public has any idea who they might be, but I don't think that we are quite so far from the one who's behind this spy project."
"What makes you say that?" I questioned. "Do you think we've seen Oracle recently? That seems a bit crazy, Robbie. I know that sometimes lawyers need to follow with odd and strange theories to reach the truth, but this just seems like it's going a bit too far in my eyes."
Robbie handed me a small stack of papers. It was the file for Ms. Willows. "The information in this file began two years ago, just like the Oracle of the Law. On top of that, today during the trial, Ms. Willows showed us a scar on the back of her hand. Oracle received a scar on the back of their hand during the trial a year ago where they were exposed. If you ask me, this is too much of a coincidence to truly be just chance."
My eyes went wide. "What are you implying here? This is crazy... How could this even be possible?" I questioned, my head now wild and racing with all sorts of questions. I recalled Ms. Willows getting into Mr. Morix's car and driving away with him and the odd smile that had appeared on her lips.
"I'm implying that today, in the trial of Anton Burke," Robbie began to say, "I, along with everybody else in that courtroom, was deceived by none other than the one and only Oracle of the Law."
TURNABOUT IGNITION
END
I'm here, guys! Miraculously, I managed an update!
I finished this one early. I don't know how I did this since I ended up sick two days after I got home from New York. I had about a third of it typed in advance. The rest of it I finished on Monday while I was suffering and barely able to breathe through my nose. Nice.
I don't have much else to say here. The next chapter starts off the next case. It's called Turnabout Breakdown. The introduction to the case introduces us to the other two defense characters, Deirdre and Chrysalis. Also, we learn about how th agency is haunted. It's a random but true fact.
Anyways, I'm going to be on my way! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
- Digital