July 20

Courtroom No. 5

10:45 AM

Deirdre Brigit

"During the investigation, we learned that this hat belongs to all employees of the carnival. It's meant to help them look more approachable to the young children that will be visiting this carnival," Prosecutor Kalles began. "One was found at the scene of the murder. There was blood found staining the inside. The blood was confirmed to belong to the victim. It had gotten on there sometime during the explosion. I can't exactly say how, but it did. It was covered in dust from the debris of the Ferris wheel, but it wasn't burned. It could have been pulled into the explosion thanks to wind or something of that nature. I don't think that we'll ever be able to say for sure."

"Then what does it have to do with the case? Are you going to tell us that it was found there by complete coincidence? I somehow doubt that's the case," I remarked. "I feel like this definitely has some sort of purpose. It's just up to us to find out what it is. Are there any other propositions from you, Prosecutor Kalles?"

"I feel as if the hat was left there on purpose by the defendant," Prosecutor Kalles replied. "I think that it was set there as a way of framing somebody. The defendant would have known that he wouldn't look suspicious if he put it at the scene of the crime since it would incriminate a worker at the carnival. That would shift the blame away from him, which is what any killer would want when they were at risk of being found out for their crimes. Do you have any other ideas regarding the hat?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," I nodded. "I think that it's there because it belongs to the killer. Think about it. My client's fingerprints were able to prove that he wasn't the one who set up the bomb. It must have been somebody else. Another idea is that this hat is more proof that he didn't commit this crime. I should be able to prove it as well."

"Then go on and tell us your theory. Don't hold back," Judge Frost told me, closing her eyes in thought.

I nodded. "Alright. First, we must go back to the topic of the explosion. We already proved that the defendant didn't set off the bomb with the power of logic earlier on. We can also assume that he didn't set up the bomb in the first place," I said.

"What makes you so sure of that? He could have set it up, right?" asked Prosecutor Wood. "I don't see why we'd be able to rule that out completely."

"How would he have been able to set up a bomb on the Ferris wheel without there being any suspicion? He was just a visitor to the carnival. I doubt that a visitor would have been able to go back there without somebody seeing him and finding it peculiar," I explained.

"So you think that it was somebody from the carnival who put the bomb into its position," Prosecutor Kalles said. "Who could it have been then? You must have some idea as to who it was, yes?"

I paused and shook my head. "I'm afraid not. However, I feel that there is enough proof for us to believe this is the case. A common person wouldn't be able to set up a bomb like that without being seen or called suspicious. A carnival worker could say that they were performing maintenance on the Ferris wheel easily, which would help them keep from being called out on the matter," I continued.

"If that's the case, what does this have to do with the hat?" Prosecutor Wood questioned. "I don't understand."

"If a carnival worker set up the bomb and detonated it with the remote, then that puts them in a suspicious place. We could easily claim that they also killed the victim," I told her. "The hat proves that a carnival worker was at the scene of the crime. If we can find another piece of definitive evidence, we can show that it was a carnival worker that killed the victim instead of the defendant."

"If you ask me, you're really shifting suspicion away from Mr. Morix! Good job, Deirdre!" Yuri cheered. She clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Don't prematurely celebrate your victory. For all you know, he could have had an accomplice working with him during all of this. How can we be sure that he didn't have a carnival worker helping him to commit the murder? That leaves all of your logic to deteriorate," said Prosecutor Kalles, placing one hand on the bench in front of her. "What do you say to that, defense?"

"What proof do you have that he has an accomplice?" I shot back. "Evidence is everything in court. Without solid evidence, you can't prove that somebody was working with him. Plus, the hat shows that a carnival worker must have been there with the victim when she died. I'm talking about the stabbing. The body was buried under a large pile of debris. I doubt that the debris would have been able to cover the hat if it hadn't been close to the body when the explosion went off. It couldn't have been pulled on based off where it was positioned at the crime scene."

"You're saying that there's no real way to prove that Mr. Morix is the killer with this evidence," Judge Frost remarked. "I must say, the evidence that you're proposing seems to point to a third party being the killer who attacked the victim that day."

"I agree. There isn't any solid proof that he did it. With the remote evidence having been debunked, we must look to other possibilities, and all those possibilities say is that somebody else is the killer," I told her. "Mr. Morix is not the one who attacked the victim that day."

"Then who did do it?" asked Prosecutor Kalles. "I somehow get the feeling that you don't have any definitive evidence pointing to a specific person. You'll need more time to investigate if you're going to find them, yes?"

"Yes. You got it exactly," I nodded. "If that's alright with the prosecution and you, Your Honor... The defense would like to request a second day of investigation. The defense is confident that the killer will be found if we have a little more time to figure out who the murderer is. A day will do just fine for us."

"We can think about this a bit later. There are a few other things that I'd like to discuss regarding the crime, if you don't mind," said Prosecutor Kalles. "I would like to ask you about the remote. Is that really as conclusive as you're claiming? For all you know, the defendant planned this out in advance. As his employees, you must know that he's a smart man, even more so than you realize. I feel that he could very easily have looked into what would likely happen when the case went to court and determined that he would be alright if things went down this way. He's been a lawyer for two years now. He knows what constitutes as definitive."

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying," I frowned.

"For all you know, the evidence surrounding the remote was manipulated to show that the defendant didn't do it," Prosecutor Kalles told me. "Think about it. He could have known that the remote would be called definitive evidence against his guilt if his fingerprints weren't found on the button. You can't say for sure that he didn't do it off that remote alone. That seems to be what your whole case hinges on. Your argument is much more fragile than you realize."

"You think that he could have known this would happen," I murmured. "I'm afraid that nobody would realistically do that if they were trying to be called innocent after having committed a crime. It would be far too risky. If something had gone wrong, then he would have ended up in jail, potentially suffering from the death penalty in the future. The risk was much higher than the reward. It's a matter of logic. Nobody would do that on purpose. Either they'd wear gloves or touch the remote all over with their fingerprints. The in-between place where the defendant's prints are simply isn't realistic given the situation."

Prosecutor Kalles thought on this for a moment and nodded. "You are correct." I was a bit confused at this for a moment. If she knew that we were going to see through her bluff, why say it to begin with? Was this all some sort of test? If it was, then we had passed it rather easily. Maybe I would be able to ask her about it once the investigation began, assuming that she was going to be willing to answer me...

"Are there any other things to discuss about the case? From what I can tell, there isn't much else to talk about in this case," Judge Frost frowned. "Everything the defense has said so far points to a third party being the killer. If that's the case, then I want to know what the prosecution thinks. Both of you have deflected the possibility of the defendant being the killer. It seems to me that you are siding with the defense on this matter. If that's the case, then would you at all object to going to investigation now? I don't think that we'll be able to reach the truth without any carnival workers involved in the case. The only witness we've found was just visiting the carnival. There must be somebody involved with the case who can tell us more about the hat and its role in the murder."

Prosecutor Kalles shared a quick glance with Prosecutor Wood. The latter was looking down quietly, messing around with the papers in front of her, before she looked up to meet the eyes of her partner. Prosecutor Wood shook her head and shrugged, clearly at a loss for words. Prosecutor Kalles placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before speaking. "The prosecution has no objections to an extra investigation period," Prosecutor Kalles declared. Prosecutor Wood, who appeared to be getting a bit light-headed, leaned up against the woman's side to steady herself. Prosecutor Kalles stroked her hair with her free hand.

"In that case, I think that we should go to investigation," I declared. "If we are given a day, we can find any carnival workers involved with the case. Assuming that each worker only has one hat, then we can just see who doesn't have one and use that to our advantage. That person could easily be fingered as the culprit should things line up well enough."

"I trust that both sides will look into the case as much as they can to ensure that the truth will be found next time we return to the courtroom," Judge Frost said. She looked over to the prosecution. Prosecutor Wood had grown rather pale, barely standing at this point. Prosecutor Kalles was steadying her the best that she could, but it was clear that she was struggling to do so. "Are you feeling alright, Prosecutor Wood? You don't look like you're doing very well."

"I'll take care of her after the trial ends," Prosecutor Kalles assured her. "Go on and adjourn the trial now, Your Honor. We're ready."

"If you're sure... Alright. Court is now adjourned for the trial of Cotoli Morix. I expect both sides to investigate sufficiently, so they are ready for tomorrow," Judge Frost instructed. She picked up her gavel before hitting it down on the table before her. The courtroom erupted into conversation once she had finished speaking. I took that as my cue to leave, so I began to pack up my things before leaving.

July 20

Defendant Lobby No. 5

12:00 PM

Cotoli Morix

"That trial was rather short," I remarked after we had finished up in the courtroom. I had my arms crossed as I faced Deirdre and Yuri. "I guess I can go with it since we got extra time to investigate the case."

"Prosecutor Kalles seemed to be holding back in there, if you ask me," Yuri commented. "It was like she was trying to let us win. I'm glad about that. I don't even care if we didn't really 'earn' the victory. It's welcome no matter how we got to it."

"I feel the same. We need to use this investigation to its full potential. If we can find the killer, then all of this would have been worth it. That's what we need right now. That will help us pull out a win on this case," Deirdre said in return.

"I should probably let you get to it. It wouldn't do to have you two spending all your potential time for investigation in here talking to me. If you get the chance, come and tell me about what you find while you're looking around. I'm a bit curious about it. Granted, I don't have much of a choice for things to do, so all I really can do is wait around until more information about the investigation comes back," I commented, a frown on my face. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but it'll be back to normal soon. I know that you'll be able to prove my innocence after a using this time to its full potential. You're good at what you do."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Morix. You flatter us too much," Deirdre commented, her face going red. "We'll tell you everything we hear once we've finished up. If you have any ideas on how we can prove your innocence after hearing about it, then you can tell us. We'll take any help we can get with open arms."

I nodded. "I'll be sure to do that. Until then, you should get going. I'll see you later," I said with a small wave. I turned to go for the door. Detective Wattson was going to be arriving any minute, so I might as well be ready to head out. She probably wouldn't want to stick around for much longer when there's a killer on the loose at the carnival. Regardless of if it was closed for the investigation or not (I had no idea since I was stuck in the detention center), it was still dangerous. If people were there, the killer could still be there and could easily hurt people. If people weren't, there was the risk that the killer had escaped and could hurt other people.

Before I got the chance to leave the room, I was cut off by a young woman appearing before me. Her hair was dark brown and curled every which way around her body. It took a moment for me to recognize her. It was Neptune Mercure, if I was remembering correctly. She was the witness for this case, so it would make sense that she was around here.

"Hey there, Mr. Morix," she remarked casually, crossing her arms and smiling. "You look pretty tired. Are you trying to go back to the detention center to catch a little bit of sleep?"

"Not exactly," I told her, surprised that she had approached me so simply. I was rarely that casual with anyone, much less people that I didn't know well. "My defense team just has to go on and investigate, so I'm getting out of their hair to give them that opportunity. You don't see any wrong in that, right?"

"Of course not. I just came to ask you a question or two. Where's that little sister of yours? I don't think I saw her around today. It was a bit worrying to notice," Ms. Mercure said, her features slipping into a frown. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to or don't have the answer. I was just curious about it. From what I saw during the case on the lake, she thinks the world of you and adores you with all her heart. I don't know why she wouldn't show up when you're on trial for murder. It just doesn't make much sense to me."

"I see," I nodded. "Chrysalis hasn't been feeling well lately because of all that's been happening. She dropped by the detention center last night to tell me that she wasn't going to be coming to the trial since she's feeling a bit sick. Why do you ask? Were you worried about her?"

"I was, as a matter of fact. I was surprised to see that she wasn't here. I was thinking that something had gone wrong to keep her from coming," Ms. Mercure said. "She's a good kid. I didn't want her to end up in trouble after all this... Do you know where I'd be able to find her? I want to talk to her. We've been becoming friends recently, so I want to check up on her if that's alright with you."

I was a bit surprised to hear her say that. Judging by the way she responded, she was able to see it on my face. "Did she not tell you? She's been coming over to my house ever since the lake case ended back in May. I would have expected you to know about it," Ms. Mercure remarked.

"I did hear that she was closer with somebody else, but I never heard who it was," I explained. "She's probably back at our house. Do you know where that is? Did she ever give you our address?"

"She did," Ms. Mercure nodded. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to go on by there. Do you think she'll be home? If not, I can wait a little bit longer before dropping by. Anything is fine by me. I just want to make sure that she's feeling okay with all of this."

I knew full and well that Chrysalis wasn't exactly going to be feeling okay. Instead, it was likely going to be the exact opposite. However, I didn't want to put a damper on Ms. Mercure's spirits, so I put a small smile on my face. "She'll appreciate that you wanted to drop by and talk to her. I know that she's probably feeling rather lonely since I'm not at home. If you go to see her, would you mind asking her to come by the detention center to come and see me? I would ask her myself, but it's not like I really have the option to. I'm stuck there on my own with no real way of contacting the outside world," I said.

Ms. Mercure nodded. "I can do that. She'll be by as soon as she's ready. I can promise you that much," she assured me, a glint of determination in her eyes. "Until we meet again, Mr. Morix. I'll be seeing you tomorrow in the trial, I assume. I'm probably going to be dragged back to make sure that I'm not needed for any further testimony." She waved my way before leaving the room.

I waved in return before looking down. I hadn't heard anything about her becoming friends with Chrysalis. My little sister told me everything, so the fact that I didn't know anything about this was rather concerning to me. I knew that she must have had her reasons, but that didn't make it much easier to deal with. I could just ask her later. If Ms. Mercure was really so determined, she wasn't going to let Chrysalis skip on coming to see me. When she came by, I could question her on why she kept it hidden. Until then, all I really could do was theorize, regardless of how pointless that was in the long term.

Detective Wattson appeared not long after. She gestured for me to come over. "Are you ready to go?" she asked of me.

I nodded. "Let's get going," I told her. "I don't want to stay around here for any longer than I have to."

Detective Wattson nodded her understanding. "Then let's do it," she said. She led me out of the defendant lobby and then the courthouse as a whole. I wasn't exactly excited to return to my holding cell at the detention center, but at the same time, Ms. Mercure had suggested something compelling. The thought of sleep made me happy, even if the beds there weren't exactly the most comfortable. I could always take advantage of that and catch a little bit of downtime before the trial started back up. I knew that I would need it.

July 20

Prosecution Lobby No. 5

11:00 AM

Niamh Wood

I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my chest, even if we had been out in the prosecution lobby for about fifteen minutes. I still couldn't believe that the trial had actually happened! I had been doing so well, but then that stupid picture of the body had to mess it all up! Prosecutor Kalles probably thought I was weak now. No other prosecutor would have a panic attack and nearly pass out at seeing a dead body. It's part of the daily routine. I was a failure on all levels as far as I was concerned.

Even so, she didn't seem to mind holding me close as we sat in the lobby. "It's okay," Prosecutor Kalles assured me. We probably looked rather strange like that. I had at least three inches on her, and yet, I was still curled up in her arms like a little kid. I dreaded to think of how my reputation would suffer if other people at the office heard about this...

"I feel so stupid now," I muttered, shaking my head. "I shouldn't have been so shaken after seeing that. I see bodies on the daily. It's normal, but..."

"It was the knife. That's okay. Everybody has their fears. Others understand. If you're scared of sharp objects, that's fine. Nobody is going to judge you for it. They're scared of things as well. It would be hypocritical for them to pick on you for it," Prosecutor Kalles whispered gently, beginning to rock me from side to side.

"Prosecutor Burke is really going to rip into me for this. She never seems to let me catch a break. As far as she's concerned, I'm a horrible human being who shouldn't even exist. This is only going to worsen her opinion of me," I said quietly, my words picking up in pace and intensity with each syllable. "Please don't tell her about this. I'd rather she hear about it on her own than just be told straight up. Granted, both of them will result in me getting a stern talking to, but it doesn't matter..."

"I won't tell her if you don't want me to. I'm on your side, Niamh," Prosecutor Kalles told me. "Do you need anything? Would you like me to grab a glass of water for you? You probably need it after what happened in there."

"I'll be fine," I replied shakily. I tried to get to my feet, but when I realized my knees were trembling, I was forced to sit back down. Prosecutor Kalles didn't seem to mind. She sent me a smile of comfort, which made me feel a little bit better.

"We can stay here for as long as you need," Prosecutor Kalles said to me. "If you think you need a little bit of time, then we can hold off the investigation. We have the entire afternoon to investigate the case, so we can spare a little bit of time."

"I don't want to keep us from our time to look into the case though," I told her, forcing myself to stand again. Prosecutor Kalles wasn't having any of it though, as she took my hand and dragged me back down to the couch. "Prosecutor Kalles, we don't have any time to lose. You can tell me that it's okay all you want, but I know that we have a duty to learn everything that we possibly can before the day is done. We have to get started. Otherwise, we'll never find everything."

"I have a few things to handle before we can start looking into things for the day as well, so while I'm handling that, you can do your best to recover after that you've gone through. I'm sure that nobody will mind if we're a little bit later than expected. If we have to talk to other people on the scene about it after we arrive, then that's alright. We can take care of it then," Prosecutor Kalles said. "I'll meet you there. Until then, stay here." She rose to her feet and stretched her arms to the ceiling before walking for the day. She waved at me and left the room.

I tried my best to pursue her, but my shaky legs were firmly against that notion, so I shuffled back to the lobby couch and flopped down. I didn't want to do this. There were so many important things I had to take care of with the investigation. I couldn't waste any time staying around here like a bump on a pickle. How would I ever get anybody's approval if I couldn't even get to a crime scene without feeling like I was going to collapse from shakiness? It just wouldn't happen.

A woman came dashing over to me not long after. I recognized her to be Prosecutor Lin. I let out a gasp of surprise. "Prosecutor Lin! What are you doing here? I thought that you were going to be at the office still. Don't you have work to do? I don't want Prosecutor Burke to get on your case for being here," I frowned.

"My baby is on her first case without me or her father! I can't just miss an opportunity to see how much you've grown like that!" Prosecutor Lin chirped in response. "I saw that you looked sort of shaky after the trial. Are you feeling okay? Prosecutor Kalles seemed to have it all under control, but I wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I'm okay," I assured her. "I just got a glance of the knife in the picture of the crime scene. It caught me off guard, so... I ended up panicking... Thanks for coming to check on me. I appreciate it a lot."

"No problem," Prosecutor Lin smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Do you need a lift somewhere? Prosecutor Kalles obviously isn't here, so she can't exactly take you down to the crime scene or anything."

"That would be appreciated, actually. Thank you," I said with a nod. "She said that she had other business to take care of, so she was going to let me rest and recover after seeing the knife for a little while. She didn't give me anything specific as for what she was doing though, so I don't really know where to find her. Plus, I don't have her phone number, which all seems to be a recipe for disaster... You know, looking back on it, perhaps splitting up wasn't exactly the best idea..."

"It's okay. We're taking care of it now, which is what matters. Now that we've got that deal out of the way, I think it's time for you to give me the important and juicy details on this case. I want to hear all about how the investigation has been going! How is Prosecutor Kalles treating you? She's a nice woman, so she's being sweet to you, right? I want to hear everything that you can tell me," Prosecutor Lin said. She took my hand firmly between her fingers and began to drag me from the building and out to her car. I was surprised I was somehow able to remain upright with how she was tugging on me. Realistically, I would have fallen to the ground at least twenty times, but by some miracle, I ended up getting outside to the car just fine. Don't ask me how it happened. I wish I knew. Normally, my balance was less than stellar, but it had come through for me when it mattered.

"Now, I need all of the details!" Prosecutor Lin chirped as she started up the car. The engine groaned gently before kicking into gear. She pulled backwards out of the parking spot we were in, shooting an eager glance at me before looking out the back window to check that she was safe to continue pulling out.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you everything," I told her. I hadn't expected her to be so excited about something as simple as a case investigation. It took me a moment to remember that the victim was a close friend of hers, so maybe she was asking me as a way of wanting closure over her death or a distraction from the fact that a loved companion had been killed. I couldn't say for sure. Whatever it was, it wasn't really my business. I could leave it alone for the time being so as not to bother her. Besides, she wasn't going to be letting go of the investigation so easily, that was for sure.

"Let's get this started! It's not that far to the carnival from here, so you'll need to talk fast!" Prosecutor Lin continued as we left the parking lot of the courthouse. "And I want all the details, so we can't really afford to let ourselves get distracted along the way!"

"Okay, okay," I said calmly as a balance to her upbeat and chipper demeanor. "Well, the case's investigation is going..."

Sorry about how late this update is, guys. I'm going to be honest with you, I wasn't going to update this week.

My dog recently passed away due to a medical incident. It happened on Wednesday. I've been struggling a lot to keep going on with all that's happened. I might not update next week after what's been going on. I hope you all understand.

On a happier note, I hope that you guys enjoyed the update. I'll see you guys around next week.

-Digital