"Viola Cadaverini?" the judge said. "That last name sounds familiar…"
"The Cadaverini's are the city's local mafia, Your Honor," Larry said. "However, this particular Cadaverini woman has no criminal record. I looked into her background personally."
"Don't worry, Your Honor," Viola said. She turned her head, shoulders shaking from a silent laugh. "My grandfather would never let me do anything dangerous or criminal. Even if I wanted too."
"Alright then," the judge said, still looking unsure. "What was it the defense wanted this witness to testify about again?"
Let's ease into this. Dahlia faced the courtroom with an aura of strength and determination. "The defense requests that the witness testify about Tender Lender. Specifically, the interaction between the company and the victim."
"Very well, witness?" the judge said.
"Yes… Your Honor," Viola said.
Testimony
Ms. Byrde was a client at Tender Lender. She borrowed some money from us.
Something happened to her though, and she couldn't pay us back.
There was nothing to do but wait and focus on the other customers.
Interest fees started piling up for Ms. Byrde, she ended up owing a large amount.
"I see; that's all?" the judge said.
"Yes Your Honor," Viola said. "I never thought she would die."
"And cows took over Canada," Dahlia muttered to Mia. She pondered that statement for a moment. "Wait, what if they have? What if they come here next? Mia, hide the burgers for Maya!"
Mia, Larry, everyone in the gallery, even Phoenix face-palms. The judge just stares wide eyed at Dahlia.
"Are you serious?" the judge said.
"Just ignore her, Your Honor," Mia said exasperated. "She watches too many sci-fi movies."
"One hour," Larry said, forehead resting on his hand. "Can we be serious for 60 consecutive minutes? At least get the cross-examination done?"
"Alright, alright," Dahlia said, rolling her eyes.
Cross-Examination
Ms. Byrde was a client at Tender Lender. She borrowed some money from us.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "When did this happen?"
"A couple months ago, I think," Viola said.
"How much did she borrow?" Dahlia said.
"I don't remember exactly," Viola said. "A couple thousand."
"That shouldn't have been too difficult to pay back," Dahlia said thoughtfully.
Something happened to her though, and she couldn't pay us back.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "Do you know what happened?"
"I don't know for sure," Viola said. "Suddenly she was broke, and she couldn't pay her debt."
"Just out of the blue?" Dahlia said.
Viola turned her head, shoulders shaking. "Things just started to… disappear."
There was nothing to do but wait and focus on the other customers.
Interest fees started piling up for Ms. Byrde, she ended up owing a large amount.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "How large?"
"10,000 dollars," Viola said.
"10 what?" Dahlia said, surprised. "How long had interest been adding up?"
"A couple months," Viola said.
That's not interest, that's highway robbery! Dahlia pushed a strand of hair from her face. "Alright, so what happened next?"
But before she could pay her debt, she died.
"Hold it!" Dahlia said. "Before that happened, what was she doing about her debt?"
"What she could," Viola said. "We helped her as best we could."
"You helped her?" Dahlia inquired.
"Win Through Compromise," Viola quoted, shoulders bouncing as she looked away.
Dahlia shivered. "Right."
"We at Tender Lender were shocked to hear she had died," Viola said.
"So you claim to have no relation to the case?" Dahlia said.
"Yes," Viola said.
"I request this be added to the testimony!" Dahlia said.
"Okay," the judge said. "Witness?"
Tender Lender is not connected to the murder in anyway.
"Objection!" Dahlia said. "I think it is!"
"Objection!" Larry said. "It doesn't matter what you think. You need evidence to support your claim. Do you have any?"
"No," Dahlia said. Her eyes had a mischievous glint in them.
"No?" Larry said, surprised.
"You do," Dahlia said. "Remember the gun from before? You took it so that forensics could run some tests on it, right? You mind sharing the results?"
"The gun was determined to be the murder weapon," Larry said. Right after he spoke, he looked like he had been hit in the face. "Ack!"
"That's right!" Dahlia said. "I found that gun in an office of Tender Lender!"
"Tender Lender?" Viola said, raising an eyebrow.
I guess that's as surprised as she gets. Dahlia slammed her desk. "Yes, the murder weapon was found at Tender Lender! Care to explain how it got there?"
Viola giggled, a dark shadow cast over her. "You were snooping around the office, Ms. Fey."
"And you killed Maggey Byrde!" Dahlia said.
"You think I killed her?" Viola said, completely unfazed. "Can you prove it?"
"The gun was in your office!" Dahlia said.
"I'm not the only one that works at Tender Lender," Viola said. "A client could have put it there too."
"There were no fingerprints on the gun, so it's true that anyone could have put it there," Larry said.
Dahlia recoiled. "Err… umm… is that really likely that someone other than an employee put the gun there?"
"I still say it's rather likely that the defendant is the killer, but you're adamant on proving otherwise," Larry said. "It's not about what's likely right now, what you need is solid evidence."
Argh! I'm grasping now. What do I do? Maybe I can just bluff and think of something on the fly. Dahlia pounded her desk with meaning, then said nothing.
"Well Ms. Hawthorne? We're waiting," Larry said.
"Hold it!" the feminine voice was powerful and resounding.
Dahlia looked around the courtroom. "Who said that?"
Everyone looked at the figure rushing to the witness stand. Viola stepped out of the way and another woman stood behind the stand, looking proud.
"Lotta?" Dahlia said, completely shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"It's finished!" Lotta said.
"What's finished?" the judge said.
"The photo of the murder!" Lotta said. "I was able to make it clearer!"
"Can we see the murderer's face now?" Dahlia said, bouncing on her heels.
Lotta smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, the details are still a bit fuzzy. But it's much better."
"Let's see it then," the judge said.
Lotta brought out a photo depicting the moment of the murder. A bright flash could be seen coming from the gun, which was pointed directly at a woman's abdomen.
"This is better," Dahlia commented.
"Ain't it?" Lotta said. "The people's figures are much easier to see, and the hair. I just couldn't get the faces right without messing up the picture, though.
"It's better than before," Larry said.
"Indeed, the court accepts this into evidence," the judge said.
"I'm afraid it doesn't change anything though," Larry said. "While you can't see the killer's face, the spiky hair is more than evident. I don't doubt for a moment that this shows the defendant."
Dahlia stared at the photo. This might be my last chance. I need to find something to prove it's Viola! She observed every inch of the shooter, searching for some kind of identification.
Maybe I just need to look at the whole picture. Dahlia focused her attention on the whole body, and suddenly it hit her. How did I miss that?
"Objection!" Dahlia said. "That is definitely not the defendant!"
"Can you prove it?" Larry said, obviously confident that she couldn't.
"The photo proves that all on its own," Dahlia said. "Look at the killer's figure, isn't the shooter a bit feminine to be the defendant?"
"Gah!" Larry paled in frustration, supporting himself with his arms on his desk. "Well, what about the hair? Phoenix Wright is the only person I know with hair like that!"
"Well, you don't strike me as the type that gets out much. So that's not surprising," Dahlia said. "For the record, the owner of Tender Lender, Furio Tigre, has spiky hair too."
"But you're accusing the secretary!" Larry said, recovering. "I'm looking at her right now, and her hair does not match the shooters!"
Dahlia tucked her hair inside the back of her hoodie, hiding it from sight. "True, but hair styles can easily be changed. My hair looked my shorter now, for example. And if we apply something I found at Tender Lender…"
Dahlia put a dark wig on her head and gravity-defying spikes popped up. "I have spiky hair."