July 20

Defendant Lobby No. 5

9:30 AM

Lily Shield

I arrived in the defendant lobby as early as I could bear. I hadn't wanted to get up this morning, but I felt like it was important to be here. When your boss is on trial for murder, it's probably a good idea to be there. I didn't want to miss it in case things went sour. Plus, I was really on edge about all of this. I wanted all the new information as soon as it came in!

The lobby was mostly empty when I arrived. Mr. Morix, Deirdre, and Yuri were the only people around. They were all huddled together in the corner. I walked up and waved. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "It looks pretty tense, whatever it is."

"We're talking about the case," explained Yuri. "Things are still sort of dark involving the case. The main plus is that the prosecution still doesn't seem to have a motive. Here's to hoping that Prosecutor Kalles can convince Niamh to cooperate with us..."

"I bet that we'd be able to have more of an idea regarding a potential motive if we could contact Chrysalis. Have you really not heard anything from her?" Deirdre asked Yuri.

"Not yet. I texted her at least five times yesterday, but it still hasn't worked. Maybe she's curled up in a hole somewhere. That wouldn't surprise me. Venus always said that she was prone to anxious episodes, especially when things went truly wrong. It really wouldn't surprise me if that applied here. For crying out loud, her brother is on trial for murder. Then again, you would expect her to at least show up for a minute or two..." Yuri let out a sigh. "There isn't anything we can do about it now though."

"You know, I saw Chrysalis yesterday. It was just before visiting hours ended at the detention center," Mr. Morix explained. "She swung by for a few minutes to talk to me. She said that she wasn't able to take the case, but she was going to be rooting you guys on. I bet that she's still at home right now."

"I guess that's better than her being hurt or anything. Wasn't she there at the carnival the day of the murder?" Deirdre questioned.

"She was. However, not much happened in her line of vision. I heard that the police let her go home just as soon as she arrived. It doesn't shock me that she's curled up in her room at home after hearing that I was in prison. Chrysalis and I have always been incredibly close, so this would have a strong negative impact on her," Mr. Morix went on.

"Do you have any idea about a potential motive then? That was what we wanted to ask her about," Yuri said.

"I still don't have anything. I've been trying to crack the code ever since my arrest. Cassidy and I have always gotten along very well. Ever since we met two years ago, we've gotten on fine. I don't even remember the last time that we might have had an argument or fight. Whatever the prosecution comes up with probably won't have much merit to it since we get along so well," Mr. Morix told her. "Maybe they'll try to make a case without it."

"I hope so. That'll automatically make their case weaker and easier to break. We know that you're innocent, so we might as well speed up the process of getting you out of the detention center," Deirdre cut in. "It'll be easier for all of us."

"Here's to hoping that Mr. Morix is right about Prosecutor Kalles being on our side. It'll be much easier to prove he's not guilty with her help," Yuri remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "Going with her rather than against her will certainly help us a lot."

"We'll just have to see," Deirdre said. "There's no way to say for sure until we arrive in there."

"The trial should be starting any minute now. We'll have to see which side is more favored early on. There's no way of saying for sure. After all, both sides have strong evidence to prove their points. The prosecution has my lack of an alibi and my fingerprints on the remote used to detonate the bomb. We have my lack of motive. Is there anything else we could use in there?" Mr. Morix asked.

"We have this brightly colored hat that was found in the rubble," Yuri remarked. "It has blood on the inside. We can probably use it to show that the murderer was someone who worked at the carnival and not you. Plus, we can back that claim up with the power of logic and reasoning. The judge will be unable to resist seeing our side of the argument."

"What sort of logic and reasoning?" I couldn't help but ask. I didn't know much about the case, so I was using this time to catch up on everything. I was probably going to need it to understand what was going on.

"It's all about the bomb. If Mr. Morix wasn't able to set up the bomb prior to the explosion, that easily eliminates him from the list of suspects. However, someone who works at the carnival would have more than enough time to set it up, especially considering that the section surrounding the Ferris wheel was nearly abandoned at the time of the crime," Deirdre explained.

I saw the purple-haired bailiff that had ushered me and Chrysalis into the trial on the lake nearby. He gestured for us to come into the courtroom. I nodded and turned to my companions. "It's time to go in. Good luck," I said to Deirdre and Yuri. They both nodded their thanks and headed to the courtroom. Mr. Morix and I trailed in a few feet behind them. I was hoping that things would end up going well. I was scared of what would happen if the trial went downhill.

July 20

Courtroom No. 4

10:00 AM

Deirdre Brigit

The judge for this trial ended up being Judge Frost, the female one from the case at the lake. I had seen her during that murder since I had been up in the gallery watching Lily and Chrysalis at work. She still seemed to be as intimidating as ever with that regal sense about her. She raised her gavel and hit it against the podium, instantly commanding the respect of everyone present. All conversation was silenced immediately. "Court is now in session for the trial of Cotoli Morix," Judge Frost announced. "Are the prosecution and defense ready?"

"The prosecution is ready," came the voice of Prosecutor Wood from the other side of the courtroom. I could have sworn that I saw her shaking, though I couldn't say for sure. What I was positive about was that her voice was trembling. It didn't take a genius of psychology to see that she was frightened, likely about being here in court. I couldn't blame her. It could be a bit nerve-wracking, especially if it's one of your first times.

"The defense is also ready," I said next with a small but firm nod. I was more than prepared for this trial to begin so we could free Mr. Morix from the detention center. I also wanted justice for Cassidy. I could tell that Yuri wanted her to see peace in her new home beyond the grave, even if she wasn't saying anything about it.

"Is the prosecution prepared to give its opening statement?" asked Judge Frost next. "I don't mind which one of you delivers it so long as we hear it."

Prosecutor Wood and Prosecutor Kalles looked to each other. The latter displayed a gentle smile and gestured to the younger girl, who looked visibly shaken that she was being asked to do this. Prosecutor Wood glanced around for a moment in panic, as if hoping that somebody else would appear from thin air to give the opening statement in her place. When she realized that wasn't going to be happening, she sighed and shook her head.

"The crime took place yesterday," Prosecutor Wood began. "It was at the Happy House Carnival, a traveling festival here for the summer, though they've been considering permanently setting up here. The victim was there to meet with a few other people. However, they never ended up crossing paths. An unknown person stabbed Cassidy Rinko, leaving her badly wounded. Not long after, an explosion went off, which mutilated her body beyond recognition. The debris falling on her combined with the fire was too much for her to take. She ended up passing away from her injuries not long after."

"That's not exactly a peaceful way to go," Judge Frost frowned. "You suspect the defendant of committing this crime, yes? What reasoning do you have behind this accusation? Is there any solid evidence to prove that he's the guilty party?"

"As of now, there is a little bit. For one, we know that he doesn't have an alibi. He claimed to his companions that he was going to pick up the victim for their conversation since she had gotten lost. Nobody saw him after he left them behind. After he left, the Ferris wheel exploded, leaving the victim dead. His fingerprints were found on the remote used to set off the bomb that caused such a blast. He even admitted that he picked it up after finding it on the ground, though we're sure that he could have easily lied about that," Prosecutor Wood went on.

"There seems to be quite a bit of evidence to show that the defendant did it," Judge Frost murmured. "How do you respond, defense? I take it that you still hold your plea of his innocence, yes?"

I nodded. "We do, Your Honor. We have some proof that he did not commit this crime. First and foremost, the prosecution did not bring up a solid motive that he would have for killing the victim. Opportunity and seemingly incriminating evidence mean nothing without a motivation for committing a crime. Nobody has any ideas as to why he would want to hurt the victim. They got along very well and haven't argued much in the two years that they have known one another. Without a motive, all of the evidence proposed by the prosecution could easily come off as circumstantial, which is not solid enough to incriminate him undoubtedly of this crime."

"Um... Well..." Prosecutor Wood stammered, beginning to pull on her braids.

A comforting hand from Prosecutor Kalles on her shoulder made her relax. "You don't need to worry. We can worry ourselves with that soon enough. For now, we would like to call our first witness to the witness stand, assuming that there are no objections. Is that alright with you, Ms. Brigit?" she questioned of me.

"I have no issues with that," I assured her. I turned to Yuri, who nodded her agreement.

We both focused back on the matter at hand when we heard Prosecutor Wood's voice once again. "The prosecution calls Vera Wattson to the witness stand!" she cried out, trying her best to sound more confident than she clearly felt.

Not long after, Detective Wattson appeared behind the stand, arms crossed over her chest. She flashed the court a friendly smile before turning to Prosecutor Wood patiently, likely waiting for her to ask for name and occupation.

Prosecutor Wood seemed too distracted by shifting through the evidence at her disposal to notice that all eyes were on her. Prosecutor Kalles noticed this and spoke up in her stead. "Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," she instructed gently.

"Detective Vera Wattson. I work on homicide cases at the local precinct, love," Detective Wattson explained. "I'm the lead detective on this case as well, so I have details to share with you all during my testimony."

"Please go on and begin your testimony, witness," instructed Judge Frost.

Detective Wattson nodded. "I'll get right on it."

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ The Basic Details ~

- "The murder took place yesterday, as was mentioned by the prosecution."

- "The deceased was one Cassidy Rinko, a teenager who was visiting the crime scene with some friends."

- "After she was attacked with a knife, another incident took place."

- "A bomb went off, having been attached to the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel was left a shell of its former self."

- "The explosive was on the smaller side, to say the least. It could have easily been missed, which it was."

- "The remote used to detonate the bomb had the fingerprints of the defendant on it, which was our reason for the arrest."

- "He also lacked an alibi, so he had an opportunity to commit this crime."

"What you're saying here makes the defendant sound very suspicious. It does seem likely that he could have committed this crime," remarked Judge Frost, closing her eyes in thought.

"Anyone can see that the chance is there. We couldn't take any risks. There didn't seem to be any evidence of another guilty party, so we had to take him in," explained Detective Wattson.

"However, you still haven't come up with a motive, yes?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"I'm afraid not. We haven't been able to dig up much of anything that could lead to a deadly confrontation. In the end, we had to base our suspicion on hard evidence rather than a motive," Detective Wattson said.

"Opportunity won't mean a thing without a solid motive though," Yuri pointed out. "I don't know how we can reasonably suspect the defendant without something as crucial as a motive."

"Perhaps you should save your questions for the cross-examination," suggested Prosecutor Kalles.

"You're right," Judge Frost cut in with a curt nod. "Begin your cross-examination, defense."

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ The Basic Details ~

- "The murder took place yesterday, as was mentioned by the prosecution."

- "The deceased was one Cassidy Rinko, a teenager who was visiting the crime scene with some friends."

- "After she was attacked with a knife, another incident took place."

- "A bomb went off, having been attached to the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel was left a shell of its former self."

- "The explosive was on the smaller side, to say the least. It could have easily been missed, which it was."

- "The remote used to detonate the bomb had the fingerprints of the defendant on it, which was our reason for the arrest."

- "He also lacked an alibi, so he had an opportunity to commit this crime."

"Hold it!"

"I have a question about this lack of an alibi. Where did you get this information? I'm afraid we missed it in our initial investigation," I said.

"The people there with the victim and defendant that day were all able to confirm this, even without much communication between them. One is even Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, so we can probably consider this information credible," Detective Wattson told us. "Chief Prosecutor Ghastly Bespoke, Prosecutor Polly Burke, Prosecutor Sora Lin, and the defendant's sister, Chrysalis Starr, were among those also present that day. All of them have confirmed without a shadow of a doubt for us that the defendant was not with them when the murder took place."

"I wonder why they weren't at the crime scene yesterday. If they were witnesses, why were they let go so easily?" Yuri asked me.

"I have an explanation for that, as a matter of fact," Detective Wattson cut in. "All of them seemed to say the exact same thing as another witness, Neptune Mercure. The information they didn't have in common in their testimony was in a small enough amount that we decided not to keep them around."

"I see... What exactly were the differences between their testimonies, if you don't mind my asking?" I questioned next.

"The main one was where they were. While the four I mentioned before were with the defendant prior to the murder, Neptune Mercure was with the victim. They ended up splitting up shortly before the murder after the victim seemed to get lost in the carnival. A recorded phone call from the witness confirms this. It was between her and the victim, telling us loud and clear that she's been honest with us," Detective Wattson explained.

"I understand. Thank you for explaining this, Detective Wattson," I nodded. "It's much appreciated."

"Don't worry about it, pet," Detective Wattson smiled. "I don't mind at all."

"Are there any other questions you have for the detective, defense?" Judge Frost questioned of me.

I exchanged brief glances with Yuri, who responded with a shake of her head. "No, we're finished, Your Honor," I replied.

"Maybe we should go on and call our next witness," Prosecutor Wood murmured under her breath. She looked up at Prosecutor Kalles, who nodded her agreement. "Alright. The prosecution wishes to call another witness. Does the defense have any objections?"

"Not at all," I assured her simply. I was going to have to be careful not to push her over the edge. She seemed to be the anxious type. Being the lead prosecutor for a murder trial probably wasn't helping the situation much.

"Okay... The prosecution calls Neptune Mercure to the witness stand!" Prosecutor Wood exclaimed. I saw her clench the wood of the prosecution bench a little bit tighter out of nervousness.

Not long after, Ms. Mercure appeared at the stand, hands shoved into her pockets. She glanced around the room for a moment before her eyes fell onto Prosecutor Kalles. The older woman showed no signs of visible distress with this, instead ignoring it and speaking. "Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," she demanded, though she was rather gentle about it. I hadn't yet seen her formidable side, which made me all the more nervous as to when I'd actually see it later in the trial. She had only been gentle and kind so far.

"Neptune Mercure's the name. I'm a private investigator, though I'm still pretty new to the profession. I haven't taken on many cases due to getting caught up in so many murders recently," Ms. Mercure declared. She had her arms crossed over her chest. She seemed to be much more relaxed in this trial compared to the case from a few months ago on the lake. Then again, it's very different being a witness for a case and being the defendant on trial for murder. The two experiences are on radically different ends of the spectrum.

"You witnessed something vital to the crime, yes?" came the voice of Prosecutor Kalles. I was starting to question if Prosecutor Wood was really the leader of this case, truth be told.

"I did. I didn't exactly see the victim die, but I did see the explosion from a distance. There's one other thing that you'll notice about my testimony. It differs a little bit from the testimony of those with the defendant the day of the crime. To put it nicely, I saw something that could very easily implicate him for the murder, so I hope you're ready for that," Ms. Mercure explained to the court.

"I bet she's going to bring up the remote control and how she saw Mr. Morix holding it," Yuri murmured. "I can't think of anything else that could so easily turn this entire case around on its head."

"I think you're right," I agreed. "Luckily, we're going to be able to fight back against it thanks to Mr. Morix's help. If a fingerprint test was done on the whole remote, we can certainly use that to our advantage. It just boils down to a matter of how we're going to do it at this point."

"I think it's time for you to begin your testimony, assuming that there isn't anything else that anyone needs," Judge Frost cut in. "Are there any objections to the witness starting her testimony now?"

"I would like her to begin her testimony, but before that, I'd like to have a copy of the forensics tests done for this case," I declared. "I believe that there were a few done, and I never got my hands on the files, I'm afraid."

Prosecutor Wood let out a small gasp and began shuffling through the papers before her, all of which seemed to be perfectly organized. After a few moments of moving the papers around desperately, she found what she was looking for and dashed over to the defense bench, one hand extended forwards with the envelope between her fingers. I gave her a nod of thanks and accepted the pages.

I opened up the envelope and looked at the papers. Upon closer examination, I learned that there were only two test results inside. The first one was for the remote, which already had all the information I needed. The second one had the results from the test on the colorful hat I had requested. I was more than a little relieved to see it was there.

"Should I go on and start now?" asked Ms. Mercure.

"Yes, go right ahead," nodded Judge Frost.

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ The Ferris Wheel Explosion ~

- "Cassidy and I had accidentally been separated while at the amusement park that day."

- "I called her for a moment. At first, she seemed to be on a call with someone else, who I later learned was the defendant."

- "She told me that she had gotten lost and didn't know where she was. The best landmark around was the Ferris wheel, so she suggested that."

- "She also mentioned that the defendant was set to meet her there in a few minutes."

- "I followed her instructions to meet her at the Ferris wheel. As I was on my way there, the blast went off."

- "It was a huge explosion, seeming to rip the sky apart. The Ferris wheel seemed to be down within a matter of seconds, to put it into perspective, despite the bomb being on the smaller side."

-"That was when I saw the defendant nearby. He was holding a remote."

-"That was the remote used to set off the bomb. You must agree that it makes him seem rather suspicious, yes?"

"I'm at least glad that we were prepared for her to say that after yesterday. It could have come as quite the shock if we hadn't been ready to handle it in advance," Yuri muttered, her voice filled to the brim with relief.

"It could have easily ended with disaster if she hadn't told us about what she saw regarding Mr. Morix. We can at least count that among our blessings," I agreed. "Luckily, I was right to ask for the forensics files that were performed for this case. The first page should have all the information that we need to refute her statements when the cross-examination begins."

"You already seem to be prepared to examine her testimony," Judge Frost observed. "If you're so prepared, perhaps it's time to get started now."

I nodded. "I'll get right to it, Your Honor."

~ Cross-Examination ~

~ The Ferris Wheel Explosion ~

- "Cassidy and I had accidentally been separated while at the amusement park that day."

- "I called her for a moment. At first, she seemed to be on a call with someone else, who I later learned was the defendant."

- "She told me that she had gotten lost and didn't know where she was. The best landmark around was the Ferris wheel, so she suggested that."

- "She also mentioned that the defendant was set to meet her there in a few minutes."

- "I followed her instructions to meet her at the Ferris wheel. As I was on my way there, the blast went off."

- "It was a huge explosion, seeming to rip the sky apart. The Ferris wheel seemed to be down within a matter of seconds, to put it into perspective, despite the bomb being on the smaller side."

- "That was when I saw the defendant nearby. He was holding a remote."

- "That was the remote used to set off the bomb. You must agree that it makes him seem rather suspicious, yes?"

"Objection!"

"I'm afraid that the defendant actually isn't suspicious at all," I said with a small smirk. "I have an explanation for why he was holding the remote and proof to back it up."

"What sort of proof?" Prosecutor Wood asked. I noticed that she was growing paler now that we were poking holes into her case.

"I asked before the testimony began if I could have the files from the tests done by the forensics team. There was a reason for that, and it's all for this moment," I began, pulling up the file. "This file will prove that the defendant did not kill the victim at the carnival that day."

"How can you prove something like that?" Prosecutor Kalles asked.

"It's all to do with the test on the remote. It was dusted for fingerprints and was confirmed to have the prints of the defendant on its surface. There's even a few pictures included to show where the prints were found exactly, which is where the incredibly useful part of this file comes into play. This file shows that the defendant's fingerprints were found on the sides of the remote, but none were found on the surface of the button. There is a reason for that."

"Why weren't there any fingerprints on the button? If he really set it off, then wouldn't he have been forced to touch the button?" Judge Frost questioned.

"Exactly. His fingerprints were found on the remote, but there weren't any on the button. That's because he didn't touch the button with his bare fingers," I explained. "It is this piece of evidence that shows perfectly clearly that he didn't do it."

"If his fingerprints weren't found on the button, that means that all he did was hold it. I doubt that he'd cover up his prints when pressing the button while still keeping his prints on the rest of the remote. That wouldn't make any sense. Instead, the defense proposes that the defendant was telling the truth when he told us that he merely found the remote and picked it up out of curiosity," Yuri continued to say.

"So, the defendant didn't press the button used to detonate the bomb. That means that he just didn't set off the explosion. That doesn't mean that he couldn't have committed the crime. For all you know, different people stabbed the victim and set off the bomb. They could easily have been separate people," Prosecutor Kalles pointed out.

"But didn't you claim at the start of this trial that the killer did both?" I couldn't help but ask. "You're now going back on this claim since evidence has surfaced to prove the defendant couldn't have set off the bomb on the Ferris wheel."

"The job of a prosecutor is to adapt their case when new information comes along," Prosecutor Kalles said. "Besides, no case stays the same as what is originally assumes. Something always happens to change the case either for the better or for worse. I'm merely changing it to suit the new circumstances."

"That's a bit annoying," Yuri muttered. "I was hoping that we'd be able to make more significant steps than that. It's barely anything. We just got him cleared of the bomb deal, but the murder is still as big an issue of ever. That's frustrating."

"There isn't much of anything we can do about it though. For now, let's keep going with the prosecution's game. There's no other real option," I told her.

"I bet that they have something else up their sleeve. Besides, they still haven't brought up the hat that we found. I bet that they're trying to avoid it since they know that it's going to go against their case," Yuri grinned. "If the analysis on it was in the folder we got, they probably have a copy of it too. I'm assuming that it didn't come in until just before the trial, so maybe they haven't gotten into it yet."

"I can't say for sure. Perhaps we should bring it up. I doubt they'll want to open that can of beans before we do," I said. I shifted through the folder until I found the right page. I shared a quick glance with Yuri, who nodded as a way of telling me to go on. "If you all don't mind, the defense would like to propose a topic of discussion. It has to do with something that was found at the crime scene. The forensics team missed it at first, but we firmly believe that it could lead to the real killer."

"Go on," Prosecutor Wood said. She still seemed to be nervous after we blew part of her case wide open.

"There was a hat found among the rubble of the Ferris wheel. We didn't know much about it at first, but we had a test on it done so that we could hear more regarding it. There was blood found on the inside, which instantly seems to link it to the murder," I began. "The defense would like to ask the court about this piece of evidence."

"I hope that the prosecution doesn't have an explanation for it. If they do, our case will easily be destroyed, and that's the last thing we need right now," Yuri murmured. "I guess we won't know until they speak up about it. It looks like Prosecutor Kalles is trying to find it. Maybe their workspace isn't quite as neat as it looks to be."

Finally, Prosecutor Kalles seemed to find what she was looking for. She smiled to herself and looked up. "Alright. The prosecution will go on and share its thoughts regarding the hat now," she told the court, placing the paper regarding the hat on top. "Let's get right into it."

I also typed this one early. Nice.

I don't have much to say here. I'm going to go and eat some cake. Bye.

-Digital