Apollo Justice sized the situation up again. The witness was at the stand, and she looked considerably different than she did in the old files and photographs he had seen.

Franziska von Karma stood tall and proper. Her pale blue hair was long, coiled around her shoulders. She wore a simple black pantsuit, with her prosecutor's badge pinned to the lapel as if she was a defense attorney. Most striking of all to Apollo was that she was not carrying her beloved and signature whip. She simply had a hand on each hip. Her face had not one hint of a smirk. Her eyes looked tired, and her mouth taut.

It was Mr. Gray who spoke first, coughing in his hand. "Witness, please provide your name and occupation to the court."

Franziska gave the slightest of nods. "Franziska von Karma. Prosecuting attorney….and wife of the defendant."

"Oh? You two have been together?" The Judge scratched his bald head. "Congratulations!"

Apollo tensed. To see a woman go against her own husband in court…..he forced himself to look back. Phoenix had gotten himself better posture, sitting upright in the defendant's chair, but his lackadaisical aura was gone. His face was impassive, and his eyes had no openings to his soul.

"If I may, witness," was saying. "You were at the restaurant at the time of the murder?"

Franziska curtsied. "Yes. And before you ask, I am prepared to deliver my testimony." She took a deep breath.

"I went to the Borscht Bowl Club to celebrate my seventh anniversary with Phoenix. We had managed to reserve it for us, and had been saving for that occasion for a while. I left at one point to wash my hands. When I came back, Phoenix was standing behind the victim at the table, holding a wine bottle in his hands. I went immediately to the kitchen, locked the door, and called the police."

"Hmmm…." The Judge furrowed his brow. "That all seems like very compelling testimony. I see no reason…"

"OBJECTION!"

Apollo pointed his finger. "Let's not take things so fast! There is still the cross-examination!"

"Ah." The Judge blinked. "But in the face of a statement like that, from a witness as renowned as this one, do you really feel…"

"Absolutely!"

Kristoph chuckled. "Now, now, Apollo. No need to get testy with His Honor." His demeanor turned a touch sterner. "But this is indeed as crucial as you say. Look at the testimony, examine it, find holes, and don't hesitate to widen them."

Franziska huffed. "If you think you're ready, boy, take me on." Mr. Gray nodded in assent.

Apollo took a quick look at the papers before him on the stand, catching glances at the incident report and the autopsy. There was also a photo of Drew Misham at the time of his death. He was a stout man, with a droopy mustache and a couple of sideburns poking from beneath a leather cap. The official notes said that Misham has been fifty years old at the time of his death, but there were just a few dots of black in the stark white of his facial hair. He might have found company with Gray over there, so Apollo thought.

The man was depicted lying into a dining chair, a single bloody wound square in the center of his forehead.

Apollo pursed his lips for a moment. It was time. "First things first, Ms. von Karma. You said that you and my client reserved the restaurant for your anniversary?"

She nodded.

"The whole restaurant?"

She nodded again. "It did take time to prepare, even if it was not a large location."

Apollo wagged his finger. "Then how is it that the victim was also there at the time?"

The Judge scratched his exposed scalp. "That is something to..."

"Pardon me," Franziska interrupted. "But the truth is that the anniversary was not simply an anniversary. It was my hope to interview Mr. Misham and help uncover his role in the forgery my husband was accused of seven years ago."

"In which case," Gray spoke up. "The prosecution's argument still sounds. Mr. Wright finally found himself in the same room as the man who helped end his career, and could not resist a more...lasting revenge."

Apollo began to sweat. "Oh..."

The Judge had to silence chatter from the gallery with his gavel.

"Order! Order! Mr. Justice, have you anything else to add?"

"Ah...uh..." Apollo flipped through his papers frantically.

"Stay steady, Justice," Kristoph whispered. "Do not let them get under your skin. Find another angle and work at it from there."

Apollo forced himself to swallow hard, then took another look at the paper in his hand. It was the photograph. He stared for a moment, then went back into action. It was not a guarantee, but...

"Mrs. Franziska." Apollo straightened himself. "You said you saw your husband...er, my client...was standing behind the victim when you saw him?"

"That is correct."

"If that's the case...then why is the wound on the victim's forehead?"

There was a sudden silence. It was true; all copies of the photographs showed the victim lying back in his seat at the table, with the wound on the front.

"OBJECTION!"

"That proves nothing!" Mr. Gray began. "The defendant could have struck the victim from the front and moved from his position."

"OBJECTION!"

Apollo shook his head. "You mean he hit the victim with the table in the way? Sounds pretty hard."

And then Franziska and Mr. Gray did something Apollo did not expect. They smirked, and looked to the side. Apollo joined them to see that his client was smirking, too.

"I can hardly be blamed for all that poor head went through, eh, Gavin?"

Kristoph shook his head and chuckled. "The bald spot was unsightly enough."

It might have just been Apollo, but the air seemed to get a few degrees colder. Mr. Gray's face broke into an even wider smile. Beside him, Franziska sized Apollo up again. Then, abruptly, she resumed.

"Now I have a question of my own, boy."

Apollo blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

"If the restaurant was reserved, and the only attendees were myself, my husband, and the victim...then how did your colleague find out what was under the victim's hat?"

-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 3; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.