Morix: Quiet after the Hurricane

by digitaldreams0801

Welcome to Morix Law Offices, a small legal firm that's slowly rising up the ranks. Normal as it may seem on the outside, not everything is as it appears, and Morix and company are about to fall into a deep pit filled with killings, despair, and loss at the hands of the anonymous Oracle of the Law... (First in Morix series)

17. The Disastrous Turnabout, Part 2

January 23

Courtroom No. 2

10:45 AM

Cotoli Morix

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ When I Heard the Gunshots ~

- "I was sitting outside the office where my sister's interview was before she came out."

- "She was in tears, running for the elevator. Unfortunately, she went down before I could reach her."

- "I tried to follow her down, but when I couldn't find her, I decided to wait for her in the lobby, knowing she'd need to exit through there."

- "That was when I heard the first gunshot ring out."

- "I called the police immediately after, saying that it sounded like it was coming from inside the building."

- "Not long after, while I was still on the phone, a second one could be heard."

- "I walked outside to meet the police, which is when I saw my sister with the gun in her hand..."

- "I'm afraid I don't know where she disappeared to before the gun was fired, though... Sorry..."

"This is pretty incriminating testimony," Judge Diaphan murmured. "I must say, it'll be a chore and a half to worm your way out of this one, defense, but then again, I've seen you do it many times in the past. We'll just have to see how things unfold."

"What do you say to that, Co-Mr. Morix?" Ghastly asked, crossing his arms. He was trying to look cool, I was sure, but first off, he always did, and second, he sort of ruined it by slipping up on my name again. "You can't deny that this surely incriminates your client. What do you think?"

"I think I'll express what I believe during the cross-examination," I told him. I had one question that I for sure wanted to ask of Mr. Amaya, but I wasn't entirely sure where it was going to lead us. At this point, I could do nothing but improvise as I went along, praying that I ended up getting lucky.

"Then go right ahead," Judge Diaphan nodded. "You may begin."

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ When I Heard the Gunshots ~

- "I was sitting outside the office where my sister's interview was before she came out."

- "She was in tears, running for the elevator. Unfortunately, she went down before I could reach her."

- "I tried to follow her down, but when I couldn't find her, I decided to wait for her in the lobby, knowing she'd need to exit through there."

- "That was when I heard the first gunshot ring out."

- "I called the police immediately after, saying that it sounded like it was coming from inside the building."

- "Not long after, while I was still on the phone, a second one could be heard."

- "I walked outside to meet the police, which is when I saw my sister with the gun in her hand..."

- "I'm afraid I don't know where she disappeared to before the gun was fired, though... Sorry..."

"Objection!"

I couldn't help but smirk to myself as my objection rang out. I hoped that it made me look confident, because honestly, I wasn't at all sure where I was taking this. "You might not know where Ms. Amaya ended up going, but I think I might have a little bit of an idea," I told the witness.

"You think so?" Mr. Amaya asked, his eyes going wide. "Then... Where do you think she disappeared to? I certainly don't know."

"I can't say exactly where she ran off to, but I know one place that she didn't go to," I said. "You mentioned before that she ran out of the office where the interview was taking place in tears, correct? That gives me an idea of place that she couldn't have gone off to based on your testimony."

"You're thinking about his office, aren't you?" Mr. Amaya questioned. "If she had run out of there and gone for the elevator, she had gone to a different floor."

"Exactly. That means that she couldn't have been in the office committing the murder," I declared. "I recall Prosecutor Bespoke mentioning something about cameras being positioned just outside the office of the victim. These cameras saw her leave the office before the murder. If she had committed the murder, wouldn't the cameras have seen her going back inside? That would be certainly incriminating. However, without that, we can hardly say conclusively that she killed the victim yesterday. How could the killer have gotten inside without being spotted by the cameras?"

"I believe that I already mentioned something else as well," Ghastly smirked. "I brought up a safety ladder that was dropped down from the victim's window, did I not? If the defendant was inside the office, she could have set up the ladder when the victim wasn't looking to climb inside later. That way, she could kill him without finding herself in trouble due to the security cameras. It would give her the chance to kill the victim and keep her from being spotted."

"I'm afraid that could not be the case. Why would the defendant drop down the security ladder during the interview if she had no motive then? She didn't know that she was going to get rejected from the job. Without this knowledge, she has no motive, and thus, no reason to drape down the ladder to later sneak in," I told him. "I have to ask you, Prosecutor Bespoke... Was anybody else seen on the camera after the defendant ran out of the room?"

"No. Not a soul. The defendant and the witness were seen running away from the scene, but no other was caught by the camera," Ghastly told me. "There were two other people that entered the room beforehand though, a young woman and a man about the victim's age. I have prepared both of them to be witnesses today in case their testimony ended up being required. I can call one of them up if that's what you'd prefer."

"This could be our chance to learn more about the time before the murder. One of those two people must have dropped down the ladder, so we need to talk to them. There's a fifty percent chance that we'll end up with the right person. It's up to you who we talk to first," Venus told me. "You know best."

I paused on it for a second before nodding to Ghastly. "If you wouldn't mind, would it be alright if we spoke with the young woman you mentioned?" I asked.

"That wouldn't hurt. I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to us," Ghastly said with a shrug. "Just give me a few minutes. I'm afraid that she's a bit shy..."

"Do you need a recess, Prosecutor Bespoke?" Judge Diaphan asked. "I can give you one if you feel that it would be necessary."

"I don't think so. Give me five minutes and I'll have her in here," Ghastly declared. Judge Diaphan nodded, cuing him to run to the prosecution lobby to see his witness. I didn't have a clue who it was due to my lack of investigation for this case. Whoever she was, I hoped that she'd help my case rather than hinder it.

"It looks like we're doing okay so far," Venus remarked from beside me. "If we can keep hanging on, we might have a chance at winning this."

"We don't know our client very well, but I must say... She doesn't seem like the type to commit murder," I said. "It's just something about her. I can't say much else besides her name, but I know that she didn't kill the victim. So far, we've already made that rather clear, I must say."

"I just wonder who would want to kill Mr. Blocker..." Venus muttered. "It doesn't make sense. Aside from the Oracle incident last year, nobody really had a reason to look twice at him. He owned a big agency, sure, but it's not like you saw much about lawyers on the news up until the release of Oracle's title."

"Yeah... Whoever did it definitely had something on him. I can't say what it was, as we barely know a thing about the case, but I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out as we get more information. Maybe even our next witness will be able to tell us something," I said hopefully, though I couldn't be sure yet.

Ghastly came walking back into the courtroom not long after. He was standing with a girl who looked to be about Cassidy's age, though I couldn't say for sure. She had light brown hair that was mostly down, though there were two small ponytails on either side of her head. Flower pins covered up the hair ties. Her eyes were brown and glancing around with uncertainty. She had on a simple pink dress with a white jacket over it. She had on knee-high orange socks with white flats as well. I noticed white gloves were on her hands also, but they were a bit hard to see due to the longer sleeves of her jacket. The young woman looked up to Ghastly for a second, staring in fear, before he nodded. She scurried to the witness stand and stood behind it, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"Witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan instructed of the newcomer.

"Um... I'm... I'm Estelle... Estelle Burns..." the girl stammered. She was twirling some of her hair over her finger. "I-I'm a high school student... But... I'm... I'm homeschooled... I-Is that good enough? Is there more I need to say? Oh, I'm already messing this all up, aren't I...?"

"You're doing fine, Estelle," Ghastly assured her. "If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us about what you saw the day of the crime? Well, to be more accurate, we want to know about what you were doing that morning. You were there to speak with Mr. Blocker, am I right?"

"Yeah... He wanted to see me, so I went over there to talk to him. I don't know why he wanted to talk though... Couldn't he have just called...?" Ms. Burns asked. "I-I don't understand any of this... I wish that I could ask him, but that's not possible anymore... He's gone..."

"You seem to be rather nervous..." Venus murmured, her shoulders tense. I hadn't realized it, but she was looking uncharacteristically tense now that Ms. Burns had arrived. "Do you think you'll need a bit of comfort? I can help you out if you think that you'll need it at all. Just say the word.

"I-I think I'd like that," Ms. Burns smiled shyly. "You seem to be really nice..."

Venus chuckled to herself before approaching Ms. Burns. She let the younger girl hold her hand, which seemed to make her happy. Both of them seemed to relax now that they were near each other, but I couldn't say for sure why that was. I could ask Venus about it later on if need be.

"Like Prosecutor Bespoke said, we'll need you to tell us about what you were doing in the agency the day of the murder," Judge Diaphan told her. "As soon as you're ready, please begin your testimony regarding your actions from when you arrived to when you left."

"Um... Okay. I'll get right to it, Your Honor," Ms. Burns said with a nod. I saw her give Venus' hand a quick squeeze. Venus seemed content to be there with her, which I was surprised by. Venus was friendly towards most people, but she rarely warmed to them this quickly. She usually reserved affection like this for those she knew well. It seemed that she and Ms. Burns were already getting along. If it would help our case, I was perfectly fine with it.

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Why I Was at the Agency ~

- "Mr. Blocker called me yesterday morning and told me to drop by..."

- "He said that he had some important information to give me..."

- "H-He gave me a file with a few papers inside, saying that I'd find it important..."

- "I-I haven't looked inside yet. I doubt that they're related to the case though."

- "After he gave the file to me, I left. There was no real reason for me to stick around, so I just left..."

- "I was there pretty early on... I think it was about seven."

- "I-If you have any other questions, feel free to go on and ask..."

"That testimony sounds rather simple," Judge Diaphan mused. "There aren't many questions to really ask about it. I'm sure that any lingering points can be tied up by the defense during the cross-examination. Much like this testimony, I assume that it will be short and sweet."

"I can get right onto it, Your Honor," I said to the judge. "I do have a question to ask her, but I'll get to that soon enough. Prosecutor Bespoke, do you have anything to ask of her? You seem to be pretty lost in thought over there."

Ghastly had his hand on his chin as he stared blankly at the desk before him. "I don't think I have anything," he responded with a shrug. "Go on and get started. If something comes up, I'll ask. Until then, the stage is all yours, Co-Mr. Morix." He sighed to himself before whispering bitterly. "I need to stop doing that, don't I...?"

To avoid him being embarrassed further, I nodded. "I'll get right to business," I declared.

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ Why I Was at the Agency ~

- "Mr. Blocker called me yesterday morning and told me to drop by..."

- "He said that he had some important information to give me..."

- "H-He gave me a file with a few papers inside, saying that I'd find it important..."

- "I-I haven't looked inside yet. I doubt that they're related to the case though."

- "After he gave the file to me, I left. There was no real reason for me to stick around, so I just left..."

- "I was there pretty early on... I think it was about seven."

- "I-If you have any other questions, feel free to go on and ask..."

"Hold it!"

"Did you see anybody suspicious at the time of the murder?" I asked. "Perhaps the better question to ask would be about the man mentioned by the prosecution. Prosecutor Bespoke brought up another man being spotted by the security cameras that morning. Was he there at the same time as you?"

"I don't think so... I don't remember seeing anybody out of place yesterday morning," Ms. Burns frowned. "I've been to the agency quite a few times over the past year or so. Mr. Blocker has been helping me out a lot ever since we met. He said that I was a 'soul in need' and he wanted to do whatever he could to assist me. At least once a month, he has me come to the agency to check up on me and see how my anxiety is doing. It's always been severe, which really worries him... I thought today was one of those routine things, but it appears that just wasn't the case... He's gone now..."

"So you've been to the agency enough to recognize who's supposed to be there and who isn't," I noted to myself. "Has anybody new appeared as of late?"

"No. Everything's been the same for a few months. When he gets a new employee, which doesn't happen often, he usually tells me so I don't panic upon seeing them," Ms. Burns went on. "If there was some sort of strange man at the agency, I surely would have known he wasn't supposed to be there."

"It sounds like the man was there after you had already left," Venus muttered. She was still holding onto Ms. Burns' hand like there was no tomorrow. It seemed to be helping, as she had stopped stuttering now that Venus was there with her. "Does that sound about right, Prosecutor Bespoke?"

Cassidy nodded from beside Ghastly. "Yes. The man was there after the witness was. He was about an hour behind her," she declared, looking down on a sheet of paper as she spoke. It seemed as if she was checking her facts to make sure she was right. That was Cassidy, always concentrated in her work ethic.

"I see... Was there anything else peculiar? Was the victim perhaps acting odd?" I questioned. "Did he say anything that struck you as being strange?"

"No, not at all. He was acting normal. I don't think he suspected that somebody was going to try and kill him. He was just going to go about the day as normal from what I could tell," Ms. Burns responded. "Whoever did this didn't send a warning or anything. He's never been the best at hiding things, so it would have been clear for me to see. I know him well enough by now to figure out when something is bothering him or he's distracted at all. But there is one thing..."

"Yes?" I prompted. "What is it?"

"He told me about his appointments for the day. I asked him about it to strike up a conversation. He just mentioned that he was talking to an applicant for his agency," Ms. Burns said. "He said that it was a young woman, but he never mentioned anything about a man. I don't know if that will help you out at all, but I guess that it doesn't hurt to bring it up... Unless I'm just wasting your time by mentioning it... Do you think I'm doing that...?"

"Of course not. This might be incredibly important to this case," I assured her. "I doubt it will be any sort of hindrance. In the end, your testimony will likely help us catch the true killer. If the victim didn't have any appointments the day of the murder, then who was that man who showed up later on?"

"I don't know. I was gone by the time that he showed up since I was there early," Ms. Burns told me. "I wish I could tell you something else, but..."

"Do you think there's anything else you can ask her regarding this murder?" Venus questioned, turning my way. "There has to be at least something."

"I have a question about the ladder that the prosecution believes was used by the killer to enter the office," I offered. "That might be helpful."

"The ladder...? I don't know very much about it, but I did ask Mr. Blocker about it one time a few months ago," Ms. Burns said. "I could tell you what he told me about it if you want me to. I'm not sure it'll help you out much, but I guess that it's the least I can do... I want to find his killer more than anything..."

"Please go on and testify about what you know of the ladder," Judge Diaphan told her sternly. "Anything you can tell us will be helpful."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ The Emergency Ladder ~

- "A few months ago, I was worried about what would happen in case of an emergency. Anxiety and all that."

- "Mr. Blocker's office is on the top floor, which would put anybody inside in a bit of a tough spot."

- "He told me that he has an emergency ladder to drop down if need be."

- "He mentioned that all his employees were told about it at some point to be on the safe side."

- "I don't know if anybody outside the agency knew about it, but it would be easy for them to hear about it..."

- "Plus, it's sort of out in the open beside the window, so anyone could easily spot it."

- "And before you ask, I didn't get into it... I'm sure you'd be able to see that with a little digging."

"What do you mean by that last statement?" asked Ghastly. "I'm afraid I don't understand..."

"I-I think the defense can save it for the cross-examination," Ms. Burns said. "Is... Is that okay?"

"Yes. Go on and start examining the testimony, Mr. Morix," Judge Diaphan instructed of me.

I nodded. "I'll get right to it."

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ The Emergency Ladder ~

- "A few months ago, I was worried about what would happen in case of an emergency. Anxiety and all that."

- "Mr. Blocker's office is on the top floor, which would put anybody inside in a bit of a tough spot."

- "He told me that he has an emergency ladder to drop down if need be."

- "He mentioned that all his employees were told about it at some point to be on the safe side."

- "I don't know if anybody outside the agency knew about it, but it would be easy for them to hear about it..."

- "Plus, it's sort of out in the open beside the window, so anyone could easily spot it."

- "And before you ask, I didn't get into it... I'm sure you'd be able to see that with a little digging."

"Hold it!"

"I'm afraid I have the same question the prosecution did a moment ago," I told Ms. Burns. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well... You should know that I don't normally wear gloves like this," Ms. Burns said, holding up her hands. "I only wear them when I feel the situation is important. Yesterday, when I went to see Mr. Blocker, I wasn't wearing any. You can see that much on the camera just outside his office."

"What do gloves have to do with the subject at hand?" Venus asked of her gently. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"My fingerprints couldn't have gotten on the box or ladder since I wasn't wearing any gloves yesterday. I doubt that you found my prints on the box. I never touched it," Ms. Burns explained. "I couldn't have been the one to lower the safety ladder for someone to sneak in, myself or otherwise."

"That narrows things down a bit then," I murmured. "If you couldn't have lowered the ladder, it must have been the man who entered after you did."

"There's just one thing I need to bring up here," Ghastly cut in. "There's nothing to do with fingerprints we can really talk about, I'm afraid."

"What makes you say that?" I questioned, my eyes widening slightly.

"The ladder's container had no fingerprints on it. The ladder had nothing on its surface either. I'm afraid we can't really use the ladder box as something conclusive," Ghastly frowned. "It was found empty. Noting else was inside. Whoever was using the ladder was wearing gloves or managed to wipe off prints."

"That seems like another statement in our favor," Venus grinned with a wink. "If there were no prints on the ladder, our client couldn't have done a thing as far as touching them. Just like we mentioned earlier, she didn't have chance to dispose of any evidence. If she had, she would have done so. Plus, she wasn't found with any gloves on. That just points to the fact that she didn't do it. She would have been found with gloves on, but we never heard anything about that."

"And there's a reason for that," Ghastly sighed with a frown. "There weren't any gloves found on her at the time. No gloves were found, as a matter of fact. Regardless of if they were on the defendant or any witness, there were no gloves at all. Sorry to rain on your parade when it comes to gloves."

"I guess there's nowhere that we can go with that line of logic," Venus frowned. "Oh well. I guess that we can move onto something else. Maybe the other witness will have something to say to us. How does that sound to you, Mr. Morix? Do you have anything else to ask of Ms. Burns for now?"

"Hm... Let me think..." I murmured, placing one hand on my chin. "Is there anything else that you feel you should bring up for the time being?"

"I feel like... I feel like there really was something at the scene with gloves," sighed Ms. Burns. "I can't really put my finger on it though..."

"What makes you say that? Did you see something?" I asked. "Surely you would have mentioned any type of gloves before now..."

"I don't remember. It's like a faint outline," frowned Ms. Burns. "I'm sure of it. There were gloves at the scene of the murder. I just don't know where..."

"Maybe we should go over a few other facts about the case," Venus suggested. "Did we ever get into the autopsy report before now? I don't think we did."

"I never even got the autopsy report since things were so rushed," I admitted. "Would you happen to have an extra copy, Prosecutor Bespoke?"

Cassidy pulled out a small file before walking across the courtroom. She handed over the folder with a small nod. "Here you are, Mr. Morix," she said simply.

"Thank you," I smiled. I opened it up and looked over the sheet of paper to myself:

Name: Jackson Blocker
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Cause of Death: Single gunshot to forehead fired at point blank range
Time of Death: 9:00 AM
Other: Front of skull was shattered due to gunshot

Alongside the autopsy report was a photo. It was behind the paper. I pulled out the picture to see the state of the crime scene. The victim was slumped over his desk, his head sideways on the wood. His blood was easy to see. The bullet was hard to see, but it was still there. It was difficult to see his clothing due to the position of the photo as well as the way he was propped up. His arms were likely on his lap, as they weren't visible at all in the photo.

The photo luckily had a second side, this one taken from a slightly different angle. In this picture, the ladder box could be seen. The bullet was easier to spot in this one too. His arms were still mostly hidden. His hands and lower arms were hidden underneath the shelf under the desk. I assumed it was the slider where the keyboard to his computer was kept. Speaking of the computer, I could see that the screen had been moved and currently sat on the floor. It didn't have any blood on it, so I figured that it had been moved before the murder as opposed to after. Maybe the victim had messed with it ahead of time.

"The computer had a few prints on it, but none that you wouldn't expect," Ghastly explained. "We got the prints of the victim and tested them with the prints on the computer. They were a match. No other prints were found. The police found the scene with the monitor moved, before you ask."

"He did that for interviews and other things sometimes," explained Ms. Burns. "He said that it was better if he could see who he was speaking with better. He could easily set up the monitor, so he could take it off the desk just as simply. I've only seen his office like that a few times though. Most of the time, he has the monitor up on the desk to type on. I bet it was so that he could see Ms. Amaya yesterday since she was applying for a job. Would that make sense?"

"I believe so," I nodded. "If he really only moves it for interviews, I can't think of any other explanation for it."

"Will... Will that be all that you need of me?" Ms. Burns asked. "I don't know what else I can really tell you about this murder. I wasn't there when he died."

"I believe that's it," I affirmed. "Thank you for testifying. Will you be staying around in case we need to speak with you again?"

Ms. Burns nodded. "Yes, I will. I want to find the one who killed Mr. Blocker... He was a good man. He didn't deserve to die so soon," she said softly.

"We'll find the one who killed him. This I promise you," I assured her. "You may step down, if that's alright with the prosecution."

"I have no objections," Ghastly said. "I think I'm about ready to call up my next witness. May I request a quick recess to prepare him?"

"I see no issue with that. The court will now have a fifteen-minute recess while the prosecution prepares its witness," Judge Diaphan declared. "Are there any objections, defense? I doubt you'll have an issue with it."

"I have no objections." I began to gather up my papers into a manageable enough stack to take with me out to the defense lobby. "I'll gladly take this time to look over the details of the case."

"In that case, court is adjourned," Judge Diaphan announced before bringing down her gavel, cuing us all to head out of the courtroom and into the lobbies.

---

Sorry about how late this update is. I was going to post it on Thursday, but I ended up going to a friend's concert at her house. I was there until 2 AM, so I didn't get to type. After that, I ended up feeling sick, so I didn't want to type.

Now, it's finally out though! Next week we'll have this case finished up, so I'm still on schedule for when I wanted this wrapped up. Nice.

Until the next update, I'll see you all later! I hope you enjoyed!

-Digital