If Manny Coachen was indeed a feared criminal mastermind, he did not act like it.
Klaire had to practically drag him over to the defendant's chair as Coachen sweated and muttered quiet obscenities under his breath. When he was finally brought over, he curled himself into a ball on the chair and kept his head down.
The Judge tried to act composed.
"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Manny Coachen. Is the prosecution ready?"
Miles Edgeworth gave a slight bow. A white board had been set up behind his stand, but he acted as though it was not there. "The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."
"Is the defense ready?"
Apollo brushed back his hair. "I am...I mean, the defense is ready, Your Honor."
Edgeworth slammed a hand on the prosecutor's stand. It was clear that he would make a bold first move.
"The prosecution holds that the defendant is guilty of assault, amongst possible other charges. This is one of the few trials where I have no autopsy report to present, for there is no body to examine."
The Judge looked confused, but Edgeworth intercepted him with a continuation of his thesis.
"Only the defendant knows where the victim is, and whether he is alive or dead. But by the end of this trial, I swear that we will get the truth from him one way or another." He wagged a finger. "And I have a witness to help set the stage, so to speak."
Against his will, Apollo took a look to the side. Klaire was now standing by the courtroom door. She had not been waiting for him in the lobby as usual, and even now she looked down at her shoes instead of anything else. Were it not for the current situation, he would have gone to her for support.
"Please bring the witness to the stand!"
Apollo snapped himself back to attention.
Soon enough, a young woman was brought up to the witness stand, dusting off her black jacket and zipping it up to cover the kimono beneath. She focused first on Apollo, who actually found himself taking a step back.
"Hm. Thought you'd bring a little more than an appetizer."
Apollo flushed, but Edgeworth aimed for the mark once again.
"Young miss, please provide your name and occupation to the court."
The witness folded her arms. "Reina Kitaki, manager of Ivory Motel."
"Kitaki?" The Judge ran a hand through his beard. "That sounds vaguely familiar..."
"Ms. Kitaki." Edgeworth pointed a finger at Reina. "You run the motel, as well as the video security system?"
"You bet." She nodded. "It's a little spotty, but it works often enough. In this case..." She looked back at Apollo. "It should be enough to seal the deal on this case."
"Good to hear. Please provide your testimony."
Reina coughed.
"I do not personally know the victim. But he signed himself into my motel as Valant Gramarye. The security camera shows him walking into the room rented out by the defendant over there. The defendant leapt out the door and hit old Gramarye on the head with a frying pan. The camera ran out of power afterward, but the rest of the footage is preserved."
She snapped her fingers. "Am I thorough as can be, or am I thorough as can be?"
Edgeworth smiled. "You've done well enough, Ms. Kitaki." He paused. "And I already think I know what the defense will ask next. And yes, I already have the answer." He gestured to the side. "Bailiff, please."
Klaire's brow furrowed a little, but she nodded, turned around, and walked through the courtroom door. When she came back in, she was guiding another bailiff as he wheeled something in. As the new bailiff got closer, Apollo saw that it was a video screen on top of a portable roller, complete with a manual player hooked up to the screen. Klaire nodded at Edgeworth after he looked at her in dismissal. She left the room without a word. A few clicks of the button, and the video was projected on the whiteboard that had been set up behind Edgeworth earlier.
Apollo bit his lip. Edgeworth really had studied his last case against Kristoph Gavin.
The footage was a little grainy, but it clearly showed a middle-aged man dressed in yellow walk down the hallway. Apollo could guess at a glance that the man was Valant. But he felt his eyes squinting. The man was wearing a robe, and his top hat looked very familiar...
Apollo almost jumped as he saw the door swing open. And just as Reina had said, the stranger struck down Valant with a wild backhand blow. Valant stumbled back from the frying pan, his hat falling off to expose his bald head. Then the video projection shut off. The video was over.
Had anyone bothered to look at the defendant's chair, they would have witnessed Coachen cowering in his seat.
"Up until now," Reina spoke, "the only two people who've seen this footage are myself and that barrister over there."
Edgeworth grinned. "What say you, Mr. Justice? Ready for a little cross-examination?"
Apollo slammed his fists upon his stand. There was only one way to go, and he would have to take it.
-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 28; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.