APRIL 11, 2014 11:00 AM
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT COURT
COURTROOM 3
"OBJECTION!"
Shirou's eyes widened. That voice was...Mia Fey's?
"On behalf of my client, I refuse the Prosecution's call for a testimony on the events of the murder of Doug Swallow."
The judge frowned. "Miss Fey, are you quite sure? The evidence is certainly in favor of the Prosecution, and your accusation was entirely baseless."
"...I am, Your Honor."
"And do you accept this, Mr. Wright?"
Shirou raised a slight eyebrow. Why would the defendant contradict his attorney? It was a silly que-
"No, Your Honor!"
Shirou blinked, as Fey looked taken aback. "Mr. Wright...?" she muttered.
"Mr, uh, Emiya?" Wright said, rather than respond to her.
"Yes, defendant?"
"Is Dollie going to go under more scrutiny and investigation?"
Shirou pursed his lips. It was fair to say he didn't trust the woman. "It is likely, yes."
"Then I want to testify! If it can help exonerate my Dollie!"
The judge hummed. "So, you are not exercising your right not to testify?"
Wright shook his head. "I'm not."
"Alright, then. Bailiff?" The bailiff led Wright out of the defendant's seat and to the witness stand. "Mr. Emiya...?"
"Yes, Your Honor." He turned to the man. "Defendant, your name and occupation."
"I'm Phoenix Wright, and I'm...uh, a suspect?"
The corner of Shirou's mouth turned up. "Before you were arrested, Mr. Wright."
"Oh! I'm a student at Ivy University...I'm a art major, but I'm also taking law classes."
The judge nodded. "It's good to see young people taking an interest in the law." Sometimes, the judge's obliviousness amazed even him, and Shirou *knew* he was practically blind socially. Issei told him as much a while back.
Issei Ryuudou had only become more blunt as they'd gotten older, if their occasional international call was any indication.
"Thank you, Mr. Wright. Now, you said you wanted to speak to exonerate Miss Dahlia Hawthorne?"
The defendant nodded, before sneezing. "My Dollie would never murder anyone, much less with poison!"
"Understood." He would need the report for that day, then. He ripped a paper from his notes, and quickly scratched out a request. It was recent enough that there should still be a copy in the courthouse. He handed it to an assistant bailiff, then turned back to the defendant. "Then, would you testify on the first time you met, August 27?" asked Shirou. "If it pleases the court, of course." The judge nodded in assent.
WITNESS TESTIMONY
-Our First Meeting-
"It was like an angel appeared from nowhere!"
"I was looking through the books, when suddenly she tapped me on the shoulder."
"I turned around, and Dollie was staring up at me."
"We stared into each other's eyes for a while."
"Then she reached up, put the necklace around my neck, and smiled. 'You look perfect,' she said."
"Then we talked for a little while, and I fell in love."
Shirou nodded. "Alright, I see no problem with that." It was a little bit odd, sure, but teenagers did weird things because of romance. A certain seaweed-head came to mind.
"Indeed," said the judge. "Miss Fey, your cross-examination? And, be careful. You have already made it abundantly clear to this court that you dislike Miss Hawthorne."
"...yes, Your Honor."
CROSS-EXAMINATION
-Our First Meeting-
"It was like an angel appeared from nowhere!"
"HOLD IT!"
Mia Fey rubbed her chin. "I can take this to mean you didn't notice her come in?"
Wright nodded. "I didn't hear anything."
"Isn't that a bit odd? Libraries are fairly quiet places."
"Miss Hawthorne doesn't strike me as a terribly loud person, Miss Fey," answered Shirou. "I think it more likely that the defendant was simply not paying attention."
Wright nodded. "Pretty much. After all..."
"I was looking through the books, when suddenly she tapped me on the shoulder."
"HOLD IT!"
"Without any warning?"
"OBJECTION!"
"Miss Fey," Shirou interrupted, before Wright could speak. "Miss Hawthorne being suspicious has already been established. You successfully established that earlier. You're just berating the witness now. If you have evidence, please present it."
Marvin Grossberg frowned, clearly cross, but said nothing.
"...I understand, Mr. Emiya." The woman seemed to take the reprimand with...well, more grace than he had expected, considering. What was she thinking?
"I turned around, and Dollie was staring up at me."
"We stared into each other's eyes for a while."
"HOLD IT!"
"How long was 'a while'?"
Wright frowned. "A minute?"
The woman nodded. "Understood." She wrote something down, though Shirou was far enough away that he couldn't have made it out even if he wanted to.
"Then she reached up, put the necklace around my neck, and smiled. 'You look perfect,' she said."
"Then we talked for a little while, and I fell in love."
"HOLD IT!"
"How long did the two of you talk for?"
The man sneezed. "...ten minutes?"
Shirou raised an eyebrow. "You sound unsure."
"It...it was at least ten minutes."
Fey glanced up at the judge. "Could this be added to his testimony?"
The judge frowned in response. "Are you quite sure this has value, Miss Fey? Value that can be backed with evidence?"
The corners of her mouth turned up. "I'm sure, Your Honor."
Shirou spared a glance at the witness, who was white as snow.
"We talked for at least ten minutes."
"OBJECTION!"
"That, Mr. Wright, is impossible." said Mia Fey, a triumphant smile on her face.
"...what...?" mumbled the defendant.
"Mr. Emiya, could you have the police report for the poisoning incident brought in?"
He'd seen that coming. "It has already been requested. It should be just a minute. Perhaps Miss Fey could explain, and we will confirm if the report matches her claims, Your Honor?"
"...that is acceptable. But beware, Miss Fey, if this accusation is as baseless as the last, you will be penalized."
"I understand, Your Honor." She picked up a piece of paper, presumably from her notes, and glanced at it. "The defendant testified that Miss Hawthorne and he interacted for at least eleven minutes, one of staring 'into each other's eyes' and at least ten of talking. This would mean, based on the library record, that Dahlia Hawthorne could not possibly have left the library before 2:38."
As if to punctuate the woman's statement, the bailiff came back in, two copies of the record in hand. "I submit this record to the court, Your Honor." The judge nodded as the bailiff walked over to the defense's side, handing Fey a copy.
"Accepted into evidence."
She took a glance at it, and her smile grew. "As this report states, the janitor saw Miss Hawthorne at the table with the unconscious Armando. When he called - at 2:37 PM! Mr. Wright! She could not possibly have traveled backwards in time! Your Honor! This is an undeniable contradiction!"
Shirou frowned. It did seem contradictory - and, moreover, extremely odd. "The time of the call is a matter of public record, and I won't dispute that - the police department has call times recorded automatically. But Mr. Wright's numbers were clearly unsure. It seems ludicrous to find a single minute grounds for holding somebody under suspicion."
The woman smirked, and pushed her hair out of the way of her face. "Perhaps, Mr. Emiya, but would you dispute that the witness could not be more off than...say, two minutes?"
Shirou nodded slowly. "That seems reasonable."
"Then, Miss Hawthorne would have to sprint out of the library, across the basement floor, up the steps, and into the lunch room, and yet be completely normal-looking in a single minute. That is completely impossible!"
"That...that's a fair point, Miss Fey!" exclaimed the judge. "What does this mean?"
"It means the defendant is lying."
"Mr. Wright! Do you understand you are under oath? You have just committed perjury!" The judge looked genuinely puzzled.
"But...but...Dollie! Why are you all attacking Dollie? She'd never murder anyone!"
"Perhaps, Mr. Wright," said Shirou. "But you are doing her no favors by lying." He sighed. "You claimed you're studying law at Ivy University, correct?"
"...yes?"
"Then you should understand the most fundamental job of a lawyer - defense or prosecution."
"To...bring about justice?"
He nodded. "My job...Miss Fey's job...we are here to ensure justice. And we have one tool with which to do so - the truth. If Miss Hawthorne is innocent...the truth, and only the truth, will set her free."
Phoenix Wright was silent. "...I refuse to testify."
The judge frowned. "That is your right." He sighed. "Clearly, Miss Fey's arguments have some merit. Mr. Emiya...do you have any input?"
"...Dahlia Hawthorne is too suspicious, I think. I will not be indicting her, certainly, but..."
"I understand." The judge nodded. "There is simply not enough evidence - in any fashion. I cannot in good conscience give a verdict with so much ambiguity. Mr. Emiya, Miss Fey, please investigate."
"Understood," said Shirou.
"Understood, Your Honor."
"Very well. Then, court shall reconvene for the trial of Mr. Phoenix Wright tomorrow. Dismissed!" He slammed down his gavel.
APRIL 11, 2014 6:25 PM
IVY UNIVERSITY
PHARMACOLOGY BUILDINGS
"Detective Skye." Shirou walked up behind the woman, who turned. Lana Skye. Probably the best detective on the force; he'd been lucky enough to work with the woman on several cases, though this was the first murder.
"Sir. You requested my presence?"
Shirou nodded. "I did...does anything seem odd to you about this case?"
She gave him a dry look. "I see Courtroom 3 was put to good use. Did you not hear about my suspicions earlier?"
"Your...suspicions?"
"I sent a memo to Payne, which he should have passed on when you were transferred to the case."
"Oh." Shirou nodded. "That would explain it. This is *Winston Payne* we're talking about."
"...did he seriously get angry at you because you...stole a rookie trial?"
"It's certainly in character." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what did it say?"
"There was essentially no evidence."
Shirou nodded. "I noticed. Why weren't there any crime scene photos?"
"There were. I submitted them to forensics for approval..."
"Then why didn't I receive them?"
"I don't know. I noticed they weren't entered into record this morning, but..."
"No time?" he asked. She nodded. "Good thing the trial was suspended, then."
"I have backups; I'll get them printed and get them to you when I can."
He smiled, rather relieved. Prosecuting without any evidence was...not something he enjoyed making a habit of. "Thanks, detective."
She smiled. "Of course, sir. And let me handle figuring out what happened with forensics. Just...just in case."
"I appreciate the concern. Anyway...what about physical evidence? All I received was the cold medicine and a record of the broken power line." He had only found out the rulebook excerpt due to some idle curiosity about the high-voltage lines and the victim's background.
"That's all we have."
"...what?"
"Either the killer cleared the evidence, or just didn't leave any. Electrocution is an...elegant...weapon, to say the least."
"Why did this case go to trial, then? Sure, a conviction could be obtained on this evidence..."
"That's what Damon said. It was enough for a conviction." Damon Gant, presumably - Head of Detectives. It was rare indeed when the Prosecutor's office refused to prosecute a crime once submitted by the police force, and Gant had a large degree of liberty to do so.
"...but not enough for justice!"
"Well, at least a verdict wasn't handed down."
"That's true." Thank God he had listened to his gut and gave Fey...perhaps more slack than she entirely deserved. He didn't approve of her clear enmity towards Hawthorne – it was unbefitting of a lawyer – but she was definitely also fighting to make sure her client got a just verdict, and he could respect that.
He'd told the defendant as much.
"Are the pictures conclusive?" he asked.
She shook her head. "There's a picture of the dead body lying underneath the cable, and a picture of his hand clutched around the medicine bottle."
He sighed. "No conclusive evidence, then."
"None that I noticed."
"...do you think it was Wright?"
She frowned. "I have my doubts. But...who else?" So she hadn't seen the record of today's trial.
He skimmed through his copy of the court record. "There's a full ten minutes between the outage and the death. He could've simply walked into the broken cable."
"Sir, do you really believe that?"
He shook his head. "Of course not, but...it's plausible enough. Reasonable doubt goes a long way."
She sighed. "Is it too much to ask for a simple, clear-cut homicide case?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You'd be out of a job, Cart Vendor Skye."
She glared in response, but Shirou could see the smile tugging at the ends of her mouth. She wasn't a great liar.
All of the sudden, his phone rang. "How much do you want to bet this is connected to the case?" he asked as he pulled out the phone.
"No bet."
He pressed a button on his old brick of a phone and held it up to his ear. "Could I talk to Prosecutor Shirou Emiya?" asked a familiar female voice.
"Speaking. May I ask who this is?"
"...I'm Dahlia Hawthorne, from earlier. There's...there's something about the case I need to talk to you about..."
"That you couldn't mention in court?"
"I...didn't really want to...and it didn't come up."
He frowned. "I understand. Where would you like me to meet you?"
"Um...there's a tea shop a few blocks off campus...it's usually pretty empty this time of day...would that work?"
"That would be fine, Miss Hawthorne. Could I have the name?" She told him the name - "Wonders of the Orient," which Shirou found vaguely offensive. "Very well. I'll see you at seven, Miss Hawthorne." He hung up, and sighed.
"There's nothing else here?"
She shook her head. "I've scoured every inch."
"Then, could I ask you to accompany me? I'd like a witness, if nothing else."
"I hope you don't expect a murder."
"I hope there isn't one. But..." He sighed. "Better safe than sorry. And...Dahlia Hawthorne is definitely suspicious."
"Alright, then. But you're paying."
"I'll bill the chief prosecutor. He can afford it."
APRIL 11, 2014 7:00 PM
IVY UNIVERSITY
WONDERS OF THE ORIENT
"Miss Hawthorne." When he and Skye entered the tea shop - a quiet little hole-in-the-wall place - Dahlia Hawthorne was already sitting. She glanced up, and her brow furrowed in clear concern. "This is Detective Lana Skye, the detective on this case. She'll be witnessing, if that's okay?"
The young redhead was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Alright. It's nice to meet you, detective."
"And you, Miss Hawthorne."
Shirou and Lana sat down, and he looked the woman straight in the eyes. "So, what is it you needed to tell me...?"
"Well...you need some context. Firstly, what do you know about the Kurain School of Channeling?"
More than he could admit, less than he'd like. "It's some kind of religious tradition, right?" he lied.
"Not...exactly. It's a family tradition...an ability of the Fey family. The Fey women, specifically." Well. That was news to him. "They can...summon spirits."
"As in, the dead?" asked Lana, and Hawthorne nodded. "How fascinating." Her voice was more than a little bit skeptical.
"My...mother was a Fey. She was going to be the Master of the school, actually."
"'Going to be'?" he echoed.
"She was swapped out, for her younger sister...Mia Fey's mother."
So Hawthorne and Fey were cousins? How bizarre.
"So my father divorced her, and kept custody of me and my sister."
Shirou frowned. "This would be...Valerie Hawthorne, the victim in the Terry Fawles trial?" He'd read up on it almost immediately; it clearly had some relevance.
But she shook her head. "No...she was my sister from a previous marriage."
"But...you have no other siblings on record."
"My father abandoned a little girl at Hazakura Temple, northwest of the city. Three of us were too many, I suppose," she almost spat, and his eyes widened. That was the first show of anything other than demure quietness he'd seen from Hawthorne.
"So he abandoned your sister at this temple?"
"Well...not exactly..." He glanced at Skye, who looked just as nonplussed as he felt. "Actually..." She looked down. "He abandoned me...I'm not Dahlia Hawthorne...I'm her sister." She put her head in her hands, before glancing up, her eyes wet with tears. "And she tried to frame me and poor Phoenix for murder!"
To be continued.