September 7th, 9:54 AM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

"Matty, are you gonna be alright today? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night." Phoenix asked, concerned. There were dark circles under Matty's eyes and his movement was slow. Phoenix, on the other hand, had slept comfortably through the night. The evidence she had tracked down was more than enough to restore her confidence in their chances in the trial, but Matty looked barely conscious.

"I'm fine, Ms. Wright." he said, but his tone didn't match the claim at all. It was clear that he was still skeptical about their chances, which Phoenix supposed had kept him up overnight. She patted his shoulder.

"You don't need to worry. I'm ready for this, believe me." she said. Matty gave a forced smile before slumping back on the bench.

"Did you find anything else yesterday?" he asked quietly as Phoenix sat down next to him.

"Oh, you'd better believe I did." Phoenix said, smiling. "That witness doesn't have half a chance."

Matty's eyes brightened very slightly, but he still looked downcast.

"There's not much time before the trial starts. We'd better get into the courtroom." Phoenix said, resting her hand back on Matty's shoulder. He reluctantly stood up with her, and Phoenix realized that his entire body was shaking. "Matty... " she mumbled. She felt a sudden compulsion to put her arms around him and just hold him for as long as he needed it, but Matty began to walk solemnly toward the doors in silence before she had any opportunity.

September 7th, 10:00 AM

District Court

Courtroom No. 2

The courtroom was, as always, filled with the incessant buzz of mixed conversations from the gallery. Phoenix stood behind the defense bench, giving her best effort not to betray any look of fear or uncertainty. Across the room was a face that she distantly recognized, warped by fifteen years of age and a cold and intimidating stare. This was, of course, the face of Prosecutor Merle Edgeworth, who was staring intensely at Phoenix, her expression unreadable. She wore a finely tailored navy suit with a thin cravat tied around her neck, and a knee-length maroon skirt. Her hair was an extremely light shade of brown, closer in appearance to a natural grey, hanging neatly down to her shoulders. Her appearance held a natural sense of imposing intelligence and intimidation.

At the sound of the gavel, a hush fell over the courtroom.

"-ahem- Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Matty Fey." the judge rumbled, glancing around the room.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honour." Edgeworth's voice was calm, keeping perfectly level.

"The defense is ready, Your Honour." Phoenix said, managing to keep her tone natural as well.

"Very well. Ms. Edgeworth, your opening statement, if you please." the judge said.

With a curt nod of response, Edgeworth drew a paper from beneath the table and read, "On the morning of September 5th, Mr. Matty Fey received a phone call from his brother, Micah Fey. In the conversation that followed, the defendant and the victim agreed to meet in the victim's law office. The defendant arrived shortly before 11 AM, and upon his arrival, he attacked and killed the victim, as was reported by the lead witness." she set down the paper and drew forth a satchel. "I present to the court the murder weapon: a small steel hammer, found to have been taken from the victim's personal storage closet." she said as she held up a sealed bag containing the stained hammer from the office.

"The court accepts this into evidence." the judge said. "Now, I believe you have a number of witnesses to call?"

Edgeworth repeated her curt nod. "Indeed, Your Honour. First, I would like to call the head detective on the case."

The doors opened, and Detective Gumshoe strolled in. Oddly, she still carried the book that she had been writing in at the precinct. She took the stand, impatiently glancing around the courtroom.

"Please state your name and occupation." Edgeworth said sharply.

"Name's Debra Gumshoe. I'm the homicide detective placed in charge of this case." Gumshoe said.

The judge nodded. "Please describe the case to the court, Detective. Ms. Wright, you may, of course, question the witness as needed."

"Got it." Gumshoe said. For a moment, Phoenix was certain that Edgeworth was again staring directly at her, but when she looked, the prosecutor's eyes were drifting lazily around the courtroom, as if she expected no surprises from the proceedings.

Gumshoe cleared her throat. "I've got a floor map of the office right here. The victim's body was found in the centre of the room, face down. The murder weapon, a steel hammer, was found a few feet away."

Phoenix leaned to one side. (Nothing seems off so far...)

"The only fingerprints that we could find on the weapon were the victim's, but we found Mr. Matty Fey at the scene right after the 9-11 call came in. He and Ms. Wright were the only two people there." Gumshoe said. "Well, the only living ones, anyway." she added after a pause.

The judge's eyebrows raised. "You say that Ms. Wright was at the scene? Why, then, has she been cleared of suspicion?" he asked.

"The autopsy showed that the victim died a few minutes before 11. I can confirm that I was talking to Ms. Wright down at the precinct at exactly that time." Gumshoe explained, idly flipping through her records book. The judge still seemed curious.

"What reason did Ms. Wright have to visit the precinct?" he asked, glancing between Phoenix and Gumshoe.

"Objection!"

Phoenix spun around, staring at Edgeworth. The prosecutor had shouted with a shocking amount of force for someone who had been so reserved up to this point.

"That has no relation to the case at hand, Your Honour." she said, returning to her previous calm state. It was jarring, the way that her demeanour could change so rapidly.

The judge considered this. "Very well. If Ms. Wright has already been cleared of suspicion, I suppose you're right. Proceed with the testimony, witness."

(She seemed awfully quick to catch that one,) Phoenix mused, watching Edgeworth closely.

"Anyway, we arrested Mr. Fey shortly after we arrived. The evidence pointed to him, after all." Gumshoe said.

(There it is.) "Hold it!" Phoenix shouted, suddenly filled with an energy precisely like what she felt in her first trial. Gumshoe looked at her with mild impatience. "Detective, all you've told us so far is that Matty was at the scene. There hasn't been any evidence to draw even a small connection between him and the murder!"

Gumshoe groaned. "C'mon, Ms. Wright, I told you this already. It's not me that's gonna prove that he he did it... "

Edgeworth scoffed. "I think it's time we let Detective Gumshoe take a break, Your Honour."

"That seems like the best option for Ms. Wright's questioning. Ms. Edgeworth, please call your next witness." the judge said.

"The prosecution calls Mr. Angelo May to the stand." Edgeworth said, her gaze beginning to drift again. Phoenix watched Gumshoe slouch out of the room, passing by Angelo in the doorway. Angelo walked with an exaggerated sort of pride, glancing around the courtroom and casting an eerily bright smile toward the gallery. He took the stand, his chest puffed out significantly. "Your name and profession, witness." It was almost irritating, the way that Edgeworth seemed only passingly interested in the trial.

"Angelo May, good lady. I am a secretariat at the Bluecorp Information Agency." Angelo answered loudly, projecting his voice to the entire courtroom. Phoenix sunk her face into the palm of her hand.

(Oh, good. He's like this all the time.)

"Tell us what you saw, then, Mr. May." the judge said.

"Certainly." Angelo cleared his throat loudly, "I was at the Gatewater Hotel, sitting in my room, just before 11. It was a coincidence, really, that I happened to look out the window."

"Hold it!" Phoenix didn't really have an issue with Angelo's statement, but his excessively upright speech pattern was already beginning to annoy her. "Are you... sure that you didn't have any other reason for looking out the window at that time?" she asked.

"I suppose I can understand why you'd be curious, Ms. Wright. After all, the hotel isn't really in a very interesting end of town." Angelo said, turning his overly bright smile toward her. "It's quite a coincidence, but that's really all there is to it. The right move at the right time, as it were."

Phoenix sat back and motioned for Angelo to continue. His overly formal mannerisms were impressively grating at length, and it seemed that asking pointless questions wasn't going to help.

"Now, as I looked out the window, the office across the way caught my eye. A young man, the defendant, was standing there, a weapon raised over his head! As the poor victim stepped out of the side room, the young man swung the weapon down onto his head! The older man dropped to the ground, and the younger one abandoned the scene. I, of course, called the police. Immediately after my call, the younger man re-entered the office, rushing to the victim's side. I suppose he must have left to wash his hands, considering the horrible mess he made when he attacked the victim." Angelo finished his statement by looking around the courtroom, still flashing that alarmingly wide smile. Phoenix looked at him in slight disbelief. He caught her gaze and gave an irritating nod.

(How can Edgeworth be making it this easy for me?)

"Objection!" Phoenix finally shouted after a healthy pause. She was glad to see the grin starting to fade from Angelo's face as he stared at her. "Mr. May, that statement was full of more holes than I could possibly have imagined." she said.

"Oh, do tell." Angelo replied, watching her suspiciously.

"First off, you claimed that Matty hit the victim once before he escaped, right?" Phoenix inquired, glancing between Angelo and Edgeworth.

"That's right." Angelo answered with a theatrical nod.

"But that must be wrong. The autopsy report quite clearly states that the victim was struck twice, after all."

Angelo's face twitched. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Indeed it is. Secondly, you claimed that the murder caused quite a mess. Again, that seems wrong. When I arrived on the scene just a few minutes after, Matty's clothes were completely clean."

Angelo twitched again. "Ms. Lawyer, do you suspect that I'm lying?"

"That seems like the best guess, Mr. May." Phoenix said, her eyes narrowed. "Thirdly, you theorized that Matty left the scene to wash his hands. If he had to do that, he would also have needed to remove his fingerprints from the weapon."

"Perhaps he did!" Angelo exclaimed, returning to his upright posture and expression, "He must have taken the weapon with him and returned it to the scene just before you arrived!"

Phoenix shook her head, smirking. "I'm afraid not, Mr. May. There were bloodstains and fingerprints on the weapon, but only the victim's." she said. Angelo faltered, no doubt trying to think up another explanation. Phoenix looked over at Edgeworth. She froze, noticing the prosecutor's expression; Edgeworth's lip was curled upward very slightly, as is she were only amused by Phoenix's questioning.

(What's she up to over there?)

"Objection!" Angelo's muttering stopped as Edgeworth shouted. She gave a condescending shake of her head. "Your Honour, I must apologize for my witness's behaviour. Surely you understand, his memory of the event must be slightly hazy. It must have been a great shock to see such a vile attack, after all."

The judge looked at Angelo. "He certainly does seem rather off-put. I suppose we can forgive these lapses in memory." he said, leaning back in his chair.

Phoenix groaned. (Not what I needed right now. Edgeworth's already got the judge on Mr. May's side...)

"Mr. May, feel free to resume your testimony as soon as you are ready."

"Not at all, Judge, not at all!" Angelo exclaimed, his composure restored. "I too must apologize for that travesty of a testimony. I must have recalled some of the facts wrong."

(More like you made them up...)

"Now then, after the defendant returned to the scene, he dropped down next to his victim. I suppose he was setting himself up to look like the corpse's discoverer, rather than its maker. A minute or so later, the lovely Ms. Lawyer arrived on the scene, followed shortly by the police. That was when I stopped watching the building." Angelo said, standing upright again and addressing the entire courtroom. Phoenix slumped.

(There's... there's nothing that I can use in that testimony...)

"Ms. Wright?" the judge began, seeing her blank expression. "Ms. Wright, are you going to continue your cross-examination?" Phoenix could feel the sweat forming on her neck.

"I-... " (I have to think of something...) "... Yes, Your Honour. Although, I have a question for the prosecution, first." she said, straightening. Edgeworth's eyes narrowed. Phoenix attempted to look relaxed, but it was a serious effort. "Ms. Edgeworth, your witness claims that my client did all of these things, but something's been bothering me this whole time. Have you established any motive behind this murder? You must know that the defendant and the victim were brothers, so what reason could Matty have possibly had to kill the victim?"

Edgeworth's expression hardened. "I must admit to the court that we were, in fact, unable to find any such motive. The only record of interaction between the victim and his brother that we were able to locate was a recorded message present on both of their cell phones. The recording was of a phone call between the two of them from a short time before the murder."

"And there was nothing incriminating in this recording?" Phoenix asked. She couldn't think of anything herself that would have thrown suspicion onto Matty, but she expected Edgeworth to piece something together.

"Perhaps it would be best if we were to play the recording for the court?" Edgeworth suggested.

"That does seem like the best option." the judge agreed, "Ms. Wright, I believe it was you that submitted a cell phone as evidence this morning?"

Phoenix nodded, "That's right, Your Honour." she drew Matty's cell phone from her bag as the bailiff rushed over to retrieve it.

After the recording had finished, Edgeworth was smirking again. "As you can see, Your Honour, this call places Mr. Fey in his brother's office right on time for the murder."

Phoenix was sweating again. (I thought she might try for that angle.) "Objection!" she shouted, "We don't have a definite time for the victim's death! For all we know, he could have been killed the instant he set the phone down!"

Edgeworth gave what was perhaps the most elegant shrug Phoenix had ever seen before responding with, "You have a point. I think we should consult the witness. Mr. May, did you, by any chance, happen to see the victim on the phone before the murder?"

Angelo looked mildly annoyed at having to speak again, but said, "Now that you mention it, Ms. Prosecutor, I believe I do remember that."

Edgeworth's smirk froze. "... What? You... you must have misunderstood me-"

"I don't believe I did, Ms. Prosecutor. I do recall seeing the man on the phone a short while before the murder occurred."

"W-what!?" Edgeworth suddenly looked shaken; this didn't appear to be part of her plan. Phoenix was uncertain as to whether or not she should interrupt.

"Please, do testify about this, witness! This is a vital piece of information!" the judge said, attentively watching Angelo.

"Certainly, Judge. It was about a half-hour before the murder, actually. As I was drinking my coffee by the window, I took a moment to watch the scenery. The victim was pacing around his office with a cell phone to his ear. He was searching quite intently for something, by the look of it."

Something clicked in Phoenix's mind. (He must be talking about when Micah called me. That was when he was looking for his tools-) she froze. Until now, she hadn't seen any opportunity to bring up her discovery from Angelo's hotel room.

"Hold it!" she yelled. Angelo broke off and turned to her. "Witness, you said that the victim was searching for something in his office, right?"

"Indeed. He seemed quite determined." Angelo said.

(Hope this works...) "Do you have any idea what he might have been searching for?"

"Objection!" Edgeworth shouted. "How can you expect the witness to know that, Wright? He was across a city street!"

"Relax, Ms. Prosecutor." Angelo said, waving a hand dismissively. "Ms. Lawyer's just forgetting things. The victim said it over the phone, after all. He was looking for his tools-"

"Ob-objection-!" Edgeworth shouted again, her voice failing. Phoenix crossed her arms smugly, enjoying her own opportunity to smirk at her opponent.

"I suppose you didn't want the court to hear that last part, Edgeworth?" she asked lightly, as the prosecutor gripped her bench for support.
"What are you talking about?" Angelo asked, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

"Thanks for not lying about anything this time around, witness." Phoenix replied. "It makes everything much simpler." she turned to address the judge, "Mr. May did, in fact, hear the victim talking about his search for his missing tools. The phone call that he's just testified about was between myself and the victim, and he mentioned it during the call."

The judge looked thoughtful. "... Wait, that's a different call from the one that was played for the court, isn't it? The victim didn't say anything about it when he spoke to the defendant... "

"Exactly. If you check the record, there's another piece of evidence I submitted this morning. I think it's time we brought it to everyone's attention." Phoenix said, glancing toward Edgeworth, who appeared to be nearing a state of panic. She opened her bag and drew out the stack of photos she had taken the previous day. The bailiff again rushed over to take them. "As you can see from these photos, Your Honour, I found a certain device planted in the victim's office."

The judge's eyes widened as he examined the photos. "Ah, I know what this is!" he exclaimed, sounding rather pleased with himself, "This is one of those newfangled table lamps, isn't it?"

Phoenix dropped her confident posture, resisting an urge to groan loudly. "Er... Your Honour, I was referring more to the camera strapped to the inside of the lamp... "

"Oh! Of course! I'm terribly behind the times with all the fancy new devices these days." the judge said.

(Should this guy really be handing out verdicts?)

"Right... Now, I found this camera inside the victim's desk lamp, which wasn't working; as you can see in the photos, the wires were cut out to make room for the camera." Phoenix explained, "The camera itself is a type that can wirelessly transmit live footage to a receiver within a certain distance. This, I suspect, is how Mr. May was able to hear about the victim's missing tools."

"Objection!" Edgeworth shouted again, clearly determined to regain her earlier ground. "You have no proof that the witness planted it there! Anybody within the signal's effective radius could have done it!"

Phoenix shook her head, staring determinedly back across the courtroom. "I'm afraid I do, Edgeworth. I paid your witness a quick visit myself yesterday. In his hotel room, I found quite a number of interesting things."

Edgeworth slammed a fist down on her bench. "And what were these things, Wright?" she demanded, hunching over slightly.

"I submitted them as evidence this morning, as well. First, a receipt from a small hardware store downtown. This receipt, naturally, recorded the purchase of a small camera and receiver."

"Wh-... Objection!" the prosecutor's patience was rapidly degrading. "That could easily be a coincidence!"

"Objection!" Phoenix yelled back, "I think not, Edgeworth, considering what else I found there! The next item was a small toolbox; quite a familiar one, actually."

"You can't be serious... " Edgeworth was fuming.

"I think you've got it, Edgeworth. Would you like to see the name stamped onto the front of this toolbox?"

"Nnngh... hnn... " Edgeworth couldn't manage a coherent answer.

"Here it is, then." Phoenix said, removing the toolbox from her bag and placing it on the bench.

"Property of Micah Fey... the victim!?" the judge was astonished.

Phoenix smugly nodded. "That's right, Your Honour. The victim couldn't find his tools for one simple reason: they had been stolen by none other than Mr. Angelo May!"

Angelo, who had been growing more and more nervous as the conversation progressed, let out a yell. Slumping onto the witness stand, he began to growl an incoherent string of angry threats.

"Your Honour?" Phoenix inquired, looking toward the judge, who looked aghast.

"M-Ms. Edgeworth! Have you brought a... a criminal here today to testify!?"

"It... would appear that way, Your Honour." Edgeworth said. Phoenix stared. Somehow, the prosecutor was back to her upright posture, her arms crossed impatiently. She spoke with her head bowed and her eyes closed. After a moment's tense silence, she said, "I'm impressed, Wright. But even after all this, I am a tad disappointed."

"W-what?" Phoenix stammered.

"You have certainly discredited my witness, I'll give you that. But you've reached the end of your rope." Opening her eyes, she glared intensely at Phoenix once again. "You have nothing that can prove Mr. May had anything to do with the murder itself!"

Phoenix flinched. (Ack! She's... she's right! But... I can't just let it end here!)

"That's right, isn't it!? You can't drag me into this at all!" Angelo snarled, his face livid.

"Is this correct, Ms. Wright?" the judge asked.

Phoenix felt beads of sweat beginning to run down her neck as she muttered, "I-... yes, Your Honour. I don't have anything... "

The gallery broke into chatter, and the judge struck his gavel.

"Enough!" he shouted as the voices died down, "As this trial stands, I cannot hand down my verdict. Bailiff, arrest Mr. May at once. Unless you have any other witnesses to call, Ms. Edgeworth, I will have to suspend the proceedings until tomorrow."

A hint of anger crossed Edgeworth's face, but she held her calm expression.

"I... I do not, Your Honour." she said.

"I see. Very well, I fully expect the defense and the prosecution to further their investigations in the mean time. This court is adjourned!"

September 7th, 12:35 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

"We're safe, Matty. For now, at least." Phoenix said as she sat down on the lobby's bench. Matty joined her.

"That was great, Ms. Wright! You totally saved me in there!" Matty's expression was unlike Phoenix had ever seen it. She felt an indescribable sort of happiness at finally seeing his bright smile. She chuckled.

"Don't thank me just yet. We've still got one more day to go."

"So... " Matty mumbled, thinking, "What happens with me now? Do I still have to go back to the detention centre?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. We're getting close, but I haven't gotten you off the hook just yet." Phoenix answered apologetically.

"I'm not worried, Ms. Wright. I know what Micah was talking about, now that I've seen you in action!" Matty said, still smiling widely. Phoenix blushed slightly.

"Er, thanks, Matty. I guess I'd better get moving, if I'm gonna figure this out by tomorrow." she said, standing up.

"Sure, Ms. Wright. I guess the bailiff will take me back to the centre, then?" Matty asked.

"That's right. I'll see you soon, Matty." Phoenix answered.

Hey, kids! It's a super-late chapter! Not gonna go into a long-winded apology letter here, I'll just say that I'm sorry for how long this one took. There's no real reason beyond "I have a terrible work ethic". Even so, I hope you enjoyed the update.

As you know, feedback is appreciated.