"I can't believe you didn't tell me about the second picture, Lotta," Dahlia said bitterly. "I begged you in the name of the almighty Mew."

"Sorry, Dahlia," Lotta said, not looking very sorry. "But Pokémon is your religion, not mine."

"You understood the significance, though," Dahlia said.

"Dahlia, give it a rest," Mia said. "Before you confuse everybody even more."

"It's her fault," Dahlia muttered.

Mia smacked like she was a pesky fly, which irritated Dahlia. "Ow!"

"Are they always like this?" Phoenix said.

"Pretty much," Lotta said.

"Am I the only one taking this trial seriously?" Larry said.

Dahlia cleared her throat and straightened herself, fixing a glare on the prosecutor. "I think I'll begin my cross-examination now, if that's alright Your Honor."

"Of course," the judge said.

Cross-Examination

Well like I said, I'm an investigative photographer. But I'm still a college student.

I went to the park to get some shots for my class.

"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "Specifically, what were you supposed to be photographing?"

"City life," Lotta said. "I thought the park would be a nice, gentler place to take some pictures."

While I was taking some photos, I heard a commotion.

"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "What exactly did you hear?"

"People screaming," Lotta said. "It sounded like two women to me."

"Two women?" Dahlia said. "But there was no second woman reported!"

Phoenix turned red and stared at his shoes. Dahlia noticed this and then it clicked. "Oh."

Dahlia bit her lip and looked at Mia, who covered her mouth.

"So Ms. Hart," Larry said, and then paused when he broke into a short coughing fit.

Phoenix sighed. "I can tell you all want to laugh. Just get it out of your system."

Dahlia giggled. "N-no, th-that's not it. It's, umm, pfft!"

Larry put head down and hit his desk. A bark of laughter escaped, but he quickly regained his composure. Larry exhaled. "So Ms. Hart, when did you take those photos?"

The instant I turned around I snapped a photo of the scene. That's probably why it's blurry.

"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "Just for clarity's sake, this is the exact moment for the murder?"

"Pretty much," Lotta said. "Shot of the lifetime, right? Shame it came out like it did. The faces are messed up, but something things are still turned out okay. Like the shooter's hair. Dark and spiky."

"Just because the shooter's hair was spiky doesn't mean the defendant is the shooter," Dahlia said. "Besides, the photo is blurry. How can we be sure that the shooter's hair truly is spiked out like that?"

"Look at the photo," Lotta said. "Because I was moving when I took the shot, the picture's fuzzy. You can't make out details, like faces, but you still get the basic shape. Trust me, the shooter's hair was spiked out."

"Did you actually see the shooter?" Dahlia said.

"Well, here's what happened," Lotta said.

When I put my camera down, I saw a woman slumped on the ground, bleeding.

"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "The victim?"

"Yeah, her name was Maggey wasn't it?" Lotta said.

"Did you see anyone else?" Dahlia said.

Then I noticed a man with the murder weapon in his hands. That's the second picture I took.

"Objection!" Dahlia said. She brought out the photo of Phoenix holding the knife. "This is the photo you're referring to, correct?"

"Sure is," Lotta said.

"When exactly did you take this photo?" Dahlia said.

"Moments after the first one," Lotta said.

Dahlia smirked. "That's what I thought. Lotta, are you aware that the victim was shot?"

"Shot?" Lotta exclaimed. "You mean with a gun?"

"Exactly!" Dahlia said. "The knife was not the murder weapon!"

"Objection!" Larry said. "We already knew that, Ms. Hawthorne."

"I didn't!" Lotta interrupted. "Why didn't y'all tell me earlier?"

Larry ignored her. "We were aware that the knife wasn't used to kill the victim in the end. You've proven nothing other than that the witness was mistaken."

"Are you sure about that?" Dahlia said. "Lotta took this second photo mere seconds after the victim was shot. That being the case, if the defendant was the killer he should be holding the murder weapon, a pistol, in his hands. Not a knife!"

Larry threw his hands down, color flooded into his cheeks and his mouth hung open. "What?"

"I highly doubt that he threw the gun away and picked up a knife!" Dahlia said. "Obviously, he never had it in the first place!"

"Objection!" Larry said. "Then why did he have the knife in the photo?"

"If the murderer wasn't the defendant, or the victim for that matter, then the killer was someone else right?" Dahlia said. "Imagine that you were in the defendant's shoes at that time. Out of nowhere, a person appears and murders a woman right in front of you. What would initial react be?"

"I'd probably fear for my life," the judge said.

"Precisely Your Honor," Dahlia said. "You're scared that the murderer is going to kill you next, and then you just happen to notice a knife on the ground. You would probably pick it up for self-defense, would you not?"

"Objection!" Larry said. "The witness never said anything about a third person!"

"That's easy to explain," Dahlia said. "If one wasn't looking at the two people already there, one wouldn't notice if a third person appeared. The witness was taking photos of the scenery around her; she didn't know anyone else was around until she heard the screams. When she did turn around, she was taking a picture of the murder happening. If the killer was quick, Lotta wouldn't have seen them get away. After all, a dead body is rather distracting!"

Larry broke into a cold sweat, nervousness written all over his face. "And who is this third person?"

Dahlia opened her mouth; then closed it. She had absolutely no idea.

Larry smirked, tilting his head in a patronizing fashion. "You don't have another suspect, do you?"

Dang it! Mr. High-and-Mighty's back! Dahlia pounded her desk. "Currently, the defense has no other suspect. However, given the evidence you cannot deny the possibility of another person's involvement."

"You mean the photo with the knife?" Larry said. "Maybe the defendant had been holding both, then he ditched the gun after shooting the victim."

"What kind of deduction is that?" Dahlia said. "You'd have to be an idiot to really think that's what happened!"

Larry was thrown off by the statement. "Well, I, uh. Right now, everything is just possibilities."

"Indeed," the judge said. "I think it would be best to extend the trial for another day. The next time, I expect the defense to have a suspect and the prosecution to have more conclusive evidence. Are there any objections?"

The courtroom was silent. The judge nodded his head. "Very well. Everyone is dismissed."