I've finally got the chance to update! Thank you so much for being patient and still reading this story until now. I've been doing a lot of homework and studying the whole time, plus trying to stay healthy since the weather around my place is going wacko. (Note: Still unedited, sorry)
Anyway, I present to you, Turnabout Destinies – Courtroom, Part 1
-drops of jelly
Standard Disclaimer Applies (Not my game, but my idea. Steal it, you die. Go ahead and make references, but please give me credit at least.)
Tenth Turnabout
Courtroom – Defendant Lobby
June 7 7:25 pm
"Good evening, Dr. Steelbird. It's nice to finally meet you personally." Edgeworth bowed to his beautiful client.
"My name is Apollo Justice, and this is Mr. Miles Edgeworth." Apollo spoke, blushing at her beauty.
"Good evening, Mr. Justice, Mr. Edgeworth... Please call me Lanette." a beautiful dark haired, silver eyed, white skinned woman bowed in return.
"Mr. Justice and I will be standing at your defense tonight. Apparently, Mr. Wright couldn't attend the trial due to unfortunate circumstances." Edgeworth said.
"I see... But..." she had a sad look in your eyes, seeing the case was nearly hopeless.
"We're going to prove your innocence today Ms. Steelbird! You're innocent, right?" Apollo puffed out nervously.
"Yes. Yes I am. I would never kill anyone!" her eyes brimmed with tears.
"Tell me something Lanette..." Edgeworth began.
"?"
"Describe your relationship with Mrs. Cecile." He remembered the horrid old woman.
"She's... my stepmother. She married my father ten years ago when my mother died too. She's like a real mother to me! I love her. She's the mother I never had... I know she's not going to just watch me get jailed! I just know!" she said with deep emotion.
Apollo looked at her empathetically. He knew the truth about Cecile recently.
"But Lanette!..." Apollo protested.
"It's time Justice. We should go." Edgeworth saw the signal given by the bailiff.
"Don't worry Lanette, you'll be okay!" Apollo assured her as they went their separate ways.
District Courthouse – Courtroom no. 3
June 7 7:30 pm
"The trial session is beginning for Dr. Lanette Steelbird, accused of the serial murder." The judge's brother stated.
"The defense is ready, your honor." Edgeworth said.
"I see there are two defense attorneys for this trial, after all, this is a big case. But the prosecution..." the judge turned to the prosecution box, where he saw only Klavier Gavin.
"Oh your honor, we are a two-man team as well. Any minute now." Klavier snapped his fingers to a rhythm.
"I wonder who'll be the other prosecutor, now that you're on defense, Mr. Edgeworth..." Apollo turned to him.
"Hmph." Edgeworth smiled.
*wha-pack!*
Franziska von Karma fiercely whips the prosecution box as she stepped in with her usual royal air.
"Klavier Gavin, you probably mean, two-person team. I am not a man after all." She smugly said.
"Yes, yes fraulein, now let's get down to business shall we?" Klavier said.
"Right. The prosecution may now give their opening statement." The judge nodded.
"Let's take this case by case now. There are a total of six murders in five places and circumstances. The first victim, Atty. Castor Jones was murdered in his office, death by stabbing. The murder weapon is a fruit knife belonging to the defendant. This knife is covered with her fingerprints." Franziska started.
"We shall call a witness to the stand to shed more light on the details of the murder. Ms. Ema Skye, please take the stand." She said.
"Name, and occupation, fraulein detective." Klavier smiled.
"Ema Skye, detective, Criminal Affairs department." She said without delay.
"Please give us your testimony of this event, with all the important details." Klavier asked.
"Alright."
-The First Crime-
"The crime happened at the Jones Law Offices after Dr. Steelbird's office hours. He was stabbed on the abdomen and heart."
"The murder weapon was a fruit knife bearing the defendant's fingerprints, and there was blood on that knife too which indeed, belonged to the victim."
"There were no witnesses, but this knife and the time of murder are solid evidences that Dr. Steelbird did the deed."
O-o-O
"I'm not convinced one bit." Edgeworth said blandly.
"Of course not. Let's sort this all out." Apollo said.
"Very well, the defense may begin their cross examination." The judge motioned to them.
-Cross Examination-
"The crime happened at the Jones Law Offices after Dr. Steelbird's office hours. He was stabbed on the abdomen and heart."
"Hold it!" Apollo pressed.
"What time is 'after office hours'?" Apollo asked.
"About 7 pm. The time of death was estimated to be about that time or after." Ema replied.
"Is it certain that it was Dr. Steelbird who went there?" he asked.
"No one else could have, given the circumstances, and the rest of the evidence."
"The murder weapon was a fruit knife bearing the defendant's fingerprints, and there was blood on that knife too which indeed, belonged to the victim."
"Hold it!" Apollo pressed again.
"There's something wrong with this knife." He said.
"What would that be, Herr Forehead?" Klavier asked.
"Yes? Don't go talking without proof, fool." Franziska snapped her whip.
"Please! I'm still going to say something!" he became nervous.
"Don't mind them. Say it Justice." Edgeworth said, cool and collected.
"Anyone could have used that knife, heck, even I could!" Apollo said.
"...................."
"What is the meaning of this, Apollo Justice?" Franziska asked.
"What if it was someone else who came into the office and used this weapon, but used gloves so that he wouldn't leave any prints!"
"What proof do you have for that?" Franziska argued.
"... It's possible!" he said in return.
"Possible just doesn't cut, Herr Forehead." Klavier said.
"Think Justice. You know there's something wrong with that knife. It's visible." Edgeworth said.
"What could that possible be Mr. Edgeworth? Visible?" Apollo asked.
"Yes. Visible on the knife indeed. Check the court record." He suggested.
Apollo examined the knife on all angles.
"This line of questioning is useless, your honor. We should just proceed to the next case." Franziska said.
"Objection!" Edgeworth said loudly.
"The defense has proof of this possibility." Edgeworth smiled.
"Let's see it then." Klavier hit his fist on the wall behind him.
Edgeworth nodded at Apollo.
"Uh... Uhm..." Apollo took one more look at the knife.
"Objection! The wrong thing about this knife is..." Apollo started.
"... the position of the fingers on the knife!" he showed the court the position of the fingers on the knife.
"What's wrong with that Mr. Justice?" The judge asked.
"When one stabs a person, how does one normally hold a knife?" Apollo began.
"Why, by the hilt of course, holding it either upward or by the hilt, and the blade is at the bottom..." Franziska answered.
"Right." Apollo nodded.
"Now see here on the hilt of this knife." He showed the court.
"... You don't say!" Klavier was surprised.
"Yes I do." Apollo smirked.
"The knife is held not as if it was used to stab, rather, used to slice up a dish, or cake. The knife was held with the hand over the hilt, then held sideways." Edgeworth explained.
"But... what about the blood on that knife?!" Franziska objected.
"The possibility Mr. Justice has raised can explain that." Edgeworth responded.
"Explain it once again, Herr Forehead." Klavier requested.
"After office hours, a third person had this knife. He went over to Mr. Jones's office and murdered him there. This person was of course, wearing gloves, so he didn't change the prints on the knife. The prints on the knife were left hard and clearly too because of the force exerted on it by Dr. Steelbird when she probably used it to cut up a hard fruit recently, so the gloves weren't able to wipe the prints off." Apollo explained.
"How can this third person obtain that knife anyway Apollo Justice? How?" Franziska objected again.
"... Someone must have planned to frame Dr. Steelbird all along, after all they knew which evidences to plant to direct the case to her!"
"Who is this 'someone' you speak of, Herr Forehead? Can you prove this person's even connected to this case?" Klavier asked.
I know who could have done it! But can I prove it? Can I really connect that person to this case?
Edgeworth looked at him as if he had the answers.
"The defense has a suspect and we can prove our claim as well." Edgeworth said, which made Apollo panic.
"Oh really? This will be a good one." Franziska grinned, wagging her finger.
"Mr. Edgeworth!! Can we really do that?!" Apollo said, sweating bullets.
"I gave you the push. You just have to swim the rest of the way. The answer is already in front of you Justice." Edgeworth smiled.
Oh boy, Mr. Edgeworth isn't any much different from Mr. Wright when Mr. Wright helped me on my first trial... Apollo sighed nervously.
"We don't have the exact suspect yet, but then we have an explanation as to how this third person obtained the knife used to kill the victim." Apollo said.
"Explanation? Let's hear it." Klavier said.
"The knife was given to the killer by someone. This someone had to have access to the defendant's belongings, even more, a household belonging." Apollo continued.
"What are you driving at Apollo Justice? You're adding more mysteries to the heap!" Franziska commented.
"This 'someone' I've been talking about since earlier, the same 'someone' who wanted to frame Dr. Steelbird was someone who had access to evidence pointing to her, her home belongings. That would be her only relative and the only person living with her in her home..."
Dr. Steelbird, hang on tight, we're going to save you no matter what. Apollo paused.
"The defense requests to summon another witness to the stand!" Apollo stretched out his finger.
"Name this witness Mr. Justice, and this better be good." The judge asked.
"Mrs. Cecile Stellbird"
"The defendant's stepmother?! How could she be an accomplice?" The judge was awestruck.
"... That woman..." Franziska was nervous.
"We have no objections, your honor." Klavier replied.
"Wait! That's my mother you're talking about! She'll never dare to do anything that could hurt me!" Lanette took the stand to defend her stepmother.
"Dr. Steelbird, everything will be over soon. You will be proven innocent." Edgeworth said to her.
"No! My mother had nothing to do with this... If you're going to harm her, I'd rather admit to these crimes!"
"Fraulein doctor... Are you admitting your guilt?" Klavier asked.
"...Yes. Just don't hurt her." Her eyes shimmered in sadness.
"Objection!" Franziska said.
"The prosecution is objecting?" the judge was surprised.
"Let's listen to Mrs. Steelbird's side of the story. It is as the defense explained. Maybe we can find new facts to this case." Franziska crossed her arms as Edgeworth eyed her, smiling from across the courtroom.
"... I second the motion, your honor." Klavier said.
"No! I already admit to these crimes! Don't say any more!" Lanette protested.
"Please go back to your place, Dr. Steelbird." The judge called the bailiff.
Mrs. Cecile Steelbird took the stand.
"Name and occupation please, Madame." Klavier asked.
"Oh... You're a charming young man, son." Her sweet old lady attitude was sugar-coating her deep hatred, remembering he was the man who diverted her shot and hit her unconscious.
"Thank you. Now, please state your name and occupation for the record."
"I am Mrs. Cecile Steelbird, I am nothing but a simple housewife and mother. I like to cook and collect figurines, my likes are sweets, dolls and music.. and..."
"Mrs. Steelbird, pardon my intrusion, but you're here because you were called by that man in the red vest over there.
"I see. So, young man, what can I do for you?" her eyes darted to him quickly, which sent a subtle chill down Apollo's spine.
"Uh... Um.... Please describe to us your relationship with the defendant and your stand on this crime." Apollo asked.
"Alright then." She smiled.
-Lanette and the Crime-
"Lanette is my stepdaughter. She's such a darling, I can't believe she'd even hurt a fly!"
"But then a couple of things from the house went missing. I was surprised later when they turned out to be murder weapons in a number of killings! I was terrified!"
"It's a shame, but according to the evidence, the killer will have to be her, and no one else!"
O-o-O
Did you just hear all that Lanette? Your beloved stepmother is also accusing you! Apollo thought.
-Cross Examination-
"Lanette is my stepdaughter. She's such a darling, I can't believe she'd even hurt a fly!"
"Hold it!" Edgeworth pressed.
"I've heard that you have been her stepmother since ten years ago. That was also the same year her real mother died, right?" Edgeworth asked.
"Yes. Her father was depressed from the death of his first wife, and he saw Lanettie's need of a mother, so I did the favour of marrying him." She replied.
"Favor?"
"Of course, we loved each other and I became close to Lanettie."
"But then a couple of things from the house went missing. I was surprised later when they turned out to be murder weapons in a number of killings! I was terrified!"
"Objection!" Edgeworth cried.
"Mrs. Steelbird... How did you know these 'couple of things' were used as murder weapons? The police did not publicly disclose the murder weapons to the public, just the methods of murder." Edgeworth wagged his finger.
"... urk."
"Well?"
"I didn't know they were used as murder weapons... I mean, I haven't even seen them!"
"But you just said it yourself... A couple of things went missing from the house recently. You must have noticed these household items, and you knew Lanette usually used these household items!" Apollo argued.
"Only you could have given these to the real killer!"
"Then who is this real killer eh? Do you even have proof to your claims? Lanette did it! No one else could've! After all that fruit knife, bat, lighter and pistol did belong to her!!" she began to lose her cool.
"It seems you know a lot more of this case than we do." Edgeworth pointed out.
"You know all of the murder weapons to all the cases? You do know what things are missing, and you do know that Lanette owns them all! Explain yourself Mrs. Steelbird!" Apollo stretched out his pointer finger.
People began to murmur around.
"Order! Order in the court!" The judge repeatedly banged his gavel.
"............... I'm NO KILLER! She DID it!! Stop looking at me that way!! It's all HER FAULT!" Mrs. Steelbird screamed.
"You know the murder weapons, you know who would use these items, you could have planted these evidences, it's too impossible that this was all Lanette's idea if she did commit the murder. After all, you were aware of the murders yourself." Edgeworth said.
"......... Ugh..." she collapsed.
"Mom!!!" Lanette cried.
O-o-O
""It seems that this case had taken another turn. As for Mrs. Steelbird's revelations, she knew about the crimes and the murder weapons... The possibility Mr. Justice has raised is possible not only for the murder of Mr. Jones, but also for the other victims."
"But one thing remains unclear." Klavier argued.
"This 'killer' the defense had brought up... There is no suspect." Franziska mentioned.
"Objection!" Edgeworth cried.
"We're going to find out about that soon, when we're going to talk about the next case." He said.
"You mean the murder of Mr. Fred Derby?" Klavier asked.
"No... The attempted murder of Phoenix Wright, Franziska von Karma, and myself." Edgeworth had finally decided to speed up the trial and clear everything with this last incident.
Upon hearing about this attempted murder case, noise had once again swept the courtroom.
What is up with this case?
The lawyers of this case have been victimized too?
Oh no, we might get killed too! We are the jury!
"Order! Ordeeeeer!"
"It appears that we will reconvene court after a recess. We will discuss your case after then."
The judge hit his gavel.
to be continued
Ah... This story is almost ending. xD It's been such a long journey and I've been working hard to update this. I hope you enjoyed it as much I enjoyed making it! I'll be updating much later too though. :(
Drop a review please!! Thank you!
-drops of jelly