AN: Before we start, I'd like to address a comment that a guest reviewer, known as "Avery Quaility" left on the last chapter in regards to the location of Duckburg. The 2017 series never gives us a definitive location in the USA where Duckburg is, but Avery brought to my attention that in the Duck comics the city is placed in the fictional state of "Calisota" which is a mix of California and Minnesota (clearly going for a Springfield idea of the city not having a definitive state location). With the Phoenix Wright characters coming from California, I guess it would be important for me to address where I would place Duckburg on the map, so here's my statement:
For the purposes of this story, Duckburg is going to be considered to NOT be in California. In my mind I see it as more of an East Coast city, but at the very least it is explicitly not in the state of California. I hope that answers your question, Avery!
March 15, 11:00 AM
District Court
Defense Lobby No. 2
"Oh Daisy…" Donald sighed. "How are you involved in all this?"
"I didn't expect your girlfriend to be a key part of this case, Mr. Duck," Athena said. "Though could you tell us more about how you know the victim? That could help us clear up any misconceptions Mr. Payne may try to use against us."
"I really only met Dapper Duck a day prior to his death, but I knew of him from reputation," Donald explained. "He's an old flame of Daisy's, and she's told me about their time together. Dapper apparently was a man full of himself that felt entitled to any girl he ever dated. Daisy had a particularly nasty breakup with him, and he took it so personally that he may have had a hand in ruining some of her past relationships."
"Sheesh, what a jerk," Athena said. "No one is entitled to anyone's affection. That's just gross what he did."
"The day we met in-person, he was attempting to pay me off with a large sum of cash to break up with Daisy," Donald scowled. "But no amount of money is worth more than my love for her, so I shut him down and told him to leave us alone. Whatever he was doing on my houseboat the night of his death… well, I don't really know."
"You know, we're lucky that Daisy isn't in Duckburg at the moment, because she could have easily been spun as a suspect for Dapper's murder," Phoenix noted.
"Where is Daisy right now anyways?" Athena asked.
"She's out of town on a fashion tour. She even got to model one of her own designs in a photo shoot recently," Donald explained. "By the way, Mr. Wright, do you have to deal with these kinds of cases often? You sounded like you've had crazy ladies be murderers in your past cases…"
"Trust me, I've had to deal with my fair share of vengeful women in court, including my own ex," Phoenix nodded.
"Wow, you actually dated in the past, Mr. Wright?" Athena joked.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Phoenix said in shock.
"I mean, you're a single father that practically works from paycheck to paycheck, and you barely have any free time to yourself outside of the office," Athena pointed out. "It just seems like you were out of the dating scene already."
"I was a single father for a while and I found someone to date," Donald said.
"See, there's still hope for me to find love, yet, Athena," Phoenix said smugly.
Athena hummed to herself. "Well, I guess there is a certain spirit medium back home that Pearls is always trying to set you up with."
"L-Let's not talk about that right now…" Phoenix sighed.
"The court is ready for you!" the bailiff called out.
"We can talk about getting you a date later. Now's the time for action!" Athena exclaimed.
(Mr. Hooter… Whoever this guy is, I get the feeling he's going to give us the missing pieces to solving this case!) Phoenix thought.
[***]
March 15, 11:10 AM
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
"Court in back in session for the trail of Donald Duck," the judge declared. "Mr. Payne, is the new witness ready?"
"Mr. Hooter was collected from his home, along with a few pieces of evidence the police were able to find when searching his home," Benson answered. "The witness would like to request we hurry up with this testimony, however. He doesn't like having his time wasted."
"The court accepts the new pieces of evidence," the judge said.
Phoenix took note of the two items: Mr. Hooter's Harpoon Gun and a Wall Calendar. "A calendar? How is that significant to this case?" Athena questioned.
"We'll just have to ask Mr. Hooter about it," Phoenix shrugged.
Said witness soon came to the stand, revealed to be an owl a bit older than Donald with grey feathers and large, thick black eyebrows that made his stern face fairly expressive. Mr. Hooter had an annoyed look his face, hands clasped behind his back as he idly brushed some dust off of his expensive-looking red suit. (He definitely looks high-class, but I can't help but feel like there's something off about this guy…) Phoenix thought.
"Mr. Hooter, please state your name and occupation to the court," the judge ordered.
"I am Sharpe S. Hooter, owner of Night Owl Seafoods," the owl introduced himself. "I graduated Duckburg University with a degree in Business and won several trophies during my time there. Too many to recount during this time."
"Wow, totally a humble guy we got here," Athena snarked.
"Night Owl Seafoods… Hey, that's one the places Uncle Donald tried applying to!" Louie recalled.
"Right, but he couldn't take the job because they exclusively run nightshifts, and you know how much Uncle Donald needs his sleep," Huey added. "Night Owl Seafoods is actually one of the leading providers of seafood in the local area due to them catching rare fish that only come out when most fishermen are asleep."
"Well, Mr. Hooter, it sounds like you're an accomplished gentleman that's been roped into his case," the judge said. "Our previous witness sighted you as being near the scene of the crime the day after the murder. Could you tell us what you were doing the morning of March Fourteen?"
"If I must," Sharpe sighed, looking at his watch. "This better not take all day, though. I need to go over schedules with my employees this afternoon."
"Please don't waste the witness' time, Mr. Wright," Benson said, pushing up his sunglasses and smirking.
(Okay Phoenix, new witness, new testimony. Time to see if his statements hold up to the evidence.) Phoenix thought as he focused.
[Testimony: Day at the Beach]
"Despite working night shifts exclusively, I do enjoy taking morning strolls on the beach."
"I was enjoying my walk when a strange man came flopping out of the surf."
"We exchanged a few words before going our separate ways."
"…This clearly has nothing to do with your trial. May I leave now?"
"Sorry, Mr. Hooter, but I have to cross-examine you first before you can go," Phoenix shook his head. "And I already see a contradiction in your statement." He presented Sharpe's harpoon gun to the court. "Mr. Goof found this harpoon gun after it got stuck to his leg when he fell off the docks. According to his testimony, it was you that took the harpoon gun from him."
"You even lent Mr. Goof your phone so he could call the police about the crime scene," Athena added.
Sharpe's eyes went wide for a moment before returning to their neutral state. "Oh, how careless of me to forget those events. You're right on the money there, Mr. Wright."
"Um… Thanks?" Phoenix said, not used to witnesses complimenting him on pointing out contradictions.
"Great job pointing out the obvious, Mr. Defense Attorney," Benson snickered.
"…I really want to punch that guy," Athena growled.
"Stay calm, Athena, and focus on the new testimony," Phoenix soothed her.
[Updated Statement]
"I helped Mr. Goof out of the water and lent him my phone to call the authorities."
"I took the harpoon gun as it was property of Night Owl Seafoods."
Athena looked closer at Sharpe's harpoon gun. "If you look here, you can see what looks like an owl logo on the side," she noted.
"That's the symbol of my company. I made sure that all our equipment was branded with it so it could be returned to our establishment in cases of misplaced items," Sharpe explained.
"Was this harpoon gun filed as missing?" Phoenix asked.
"Objection! That question has nothing to do with our current case!" Benson shouted.
"It is an odd question, Mr. Wright. How does knowing when the harpoon gun went missing tell us more about his case?" the judge asked.
(I need to give a good answer that'll tie his harpoon gun to the murder…) Phoenix thought. "Instead of answering with words, how about I show evidence that this harpoon gun is tied very closely to this case?" Phoenix suggested.
Sharpe rolled his eyes. "Just because a harpoon was the murder weapon, doesn't mean my property was used in said murder," the owl said.
Phoenix pulled out the harpoon and Sharper's gun. "How about we test that theory, then? If Donald's gun didn't fit the harpoon, then this harpoon must go with…" Take that! The crowd gave gasps of shock when the harpoon clicked into place in Sharpe's gun. "The harpoon fits perfectly!"
"Goodness! With this harpoon gun being so close to the crime scene, it must have been used as the murder weapon!" the judge exclaimed.
"No way!" Benson gaped, sunglasses sliding down his beak in shock.
Sharpe, however, just gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wright, but as good of a theory as that is, it is just a theory. There's no way that harpoon gun could have been used recently."
"And why is that?" Phoenix asked.
"Because it's been missing for almost two weeks now," Sharpe replied.
"T-Two weeks!?" Phoenix said in shock.
"Hah! Looks like you've set yourself up for failure, Mr. Wright," Benson laughed, regaining his composure. "Witness, why don't you fill this defense-less lawyer in on what happened to this harpoon gun?"
"We really weren't expecting this, were we?" Athena said with concern.
"We just have to stay focused," Phoenix assured, though he was mostly saying that to calm his own nerves. "This harpoon gun seems pretty new to have been lost for two weeks, so let's see if Mr. Hooter can put his money where his mouth is…"
[Testimony: Missing Harpoon Gun]
"About two weeks ago, one of our harpoon guns was found missing during end-of-shift cleanup."
"The were brand new as well, so it was especially odd for it to be missing."
"I could tell this was the missing gun due to the serial number on the underside."
"I was simply taking back lost property from Mr. Goof. Nothing more."
"Well, that testimony was airtight if I do say so myself," Benson said, a beaming smile on his face.
"I even have the end-of-day manifests here with me. I make sure to do them personally by hand," Sharpe stated, pulling out an Inventory Logbook and handing it over to the court. "You can clearly see the missing gun listed there."
(…Wait a second!) Phoenix thought as he looked over the new piece of evidence. "Objection! Sorry, Mr. Hooter, but there's no way this harpoon gun is the one that's missing."
"How so?" Sharpe raised an eyebrow.
"Because the serial number listed here is different from the one on the gun!" Phoenix pointed out. Take that! "With how orderly you run your business to check inventory every night, surely you wouldn't make a mistake as simple as mislabeling the serial numbers in this checklist, would you?"
"H-Hoo!?" Sharpe hooted in surprise, his eyebrows shooting upwards as his eyes bugged out.
"No, "what" is what you should be asking," Phoenix smirked.
"I seriously hope he didn't just make that pun…" Della groaned.
"There's also the fact that, if this harpoon gun was missing for two weeks, surely it would have more signs of being wearied down by seawater, such as rust starting to form or algae growing on it," Athena added. "If you look at Mr. Duck's gun, you can see the effects weathering on a well-used one. I think this "missing" gun was purposefully misplaced!"
"Explain, defense," the judge demanded.
"We believe that Mr. Hooter purposely made it look like there was a missing harpoon gun in their inventory in order to not raise suspicions of there being one less gun," Phoenix explained. "Then this gun was used to murder Dapper Duck and tossed into the sea to hide the evidence and wash away any lingering fingerprints on the weapon."
"That's absurd!" Benson shouted.
"Objection! Then explain how this harpoon gun still looks brand new if it's been missing for two weeks," Athena retorted, getting the prosecutor to shut up.
"I have to agree with Mr. Payne of how absurd your claim is. This all makes no sense," Sharpe said. "If anything, it sounds like you're saying one my employees was the murderer in this case!"
"That is what we're saying, Mr. Hooter," Phoenix said plainly. "And since you're the one who takes inventory at your business, that make you the most likely suspect!"
"H-Hoo!" Sharpe hooted. "I don't even know the victim, and even if I did, why would I have the man killed!?"
"I… can't answer that at the moment," Phoenix admitted.
"Getting ahead of yourself again, Mr. Wright," Benson laughed.
"Argh! I thought we'd be over with this trial by now," Dewey groaned, putting his head in his hands.
"It's always the witnesses that have something to hide that make these cases tricky," Trucy said.
"With all these accusations being thrown around, perhaps you could establish a solid alibi for yourself, Mr. Hooter?" the judge suggested. "What were you doing at around 10 PM on March Thirteenth?"
Sharpe smoothed out his eyebrows and nodded. "Yes, I can tell you exactly what I was doing that night."
(This guy is acting way too smooth after we surprised him like that. I'm sure we're getting close to the true culprit!) Phoenix thought.
"Let's pay attention and catch this guy in the act, Mr. Wright," Athena cheered.
[Testimony: Night of the Murder]
"At 10 PM that night, I was already at home, sound asleep."
"I was my night off, after all, so I wanted to get in some extra z's."
"What, you don't believe me? Then check my calendar."
"I always write down what I'll be doing that day on it."
"Can you let me leave now? This trial is taking too long," Sharpe huffed.
"Hold it! I still have to cross-examine you," Phoenix interjected, much to the owl's irritation. "Now then, about this calendar of yours. I'm surprised at how through you are in your notes here."
Sharpe grinned. "Through is the name of the game, Mr. Wright. I want to know the date, time, and location for all my day-to-day activities."
"Geez, he even has his grocery runs written down," Athena noted.
"I know most people like to use their phones to keep track of their tasks, but I prefer the manual work of writing everything down myself," Sharpe shrugged. "Call me old fashioned, but my company didn't get to where it is today if I hadn't started out working my own boat."
(Working his own boat? That sounds like it could be important.) Phoenix thought. "Your Honor, I'd like Mr. Hooter to ad that last part to his testimony."
"If you think it will help your case, Mr. Wright," the judge shrugged.
[New Statement Added]
"I started Night Owl Seafoods by working my own boat."
"Is that statement really necessary to this testimony?" Benson questioned.
Phoenix ignored the prosecutor and pressed the witness. "Mr. Hooter, can you tell us a bit more about your company's origins? You mentioned earning rewards back in college as well, right?"
"Yes, but I don't want to bore you with all the details," Sharpe replied. "The long and short of it is that my father instilled a love of fishing in my since I was a boy, and I won many an accolade in the sport during my college years. It was a no-brainer what kind of business I would start up once I graduated, and with big names like Scrooge McDuck in this city, well, I suppose anyone can rise to such great fortunes, can't they?"
"This guy did not just compare himself to Dad," Webby frowned.
"Very interesting, Mr. Hooter," Phoenix hummed, before a knowing smirk came to his face. "Unfortunately, you may have just got yourself caught on the line with your statement there."
"How so?" Sharpe questioned.
"With this," Phoenix said, presenting the owl's harpoon gun. Take That! "If you used to fish yourself at your company's start, then it's easy to see how you could be the one that wielded this gun to kill the victim!"
"Objection!" Benson shouted. "Mr. Hooter was nowhere near the crime scene! He was home the entire night sleeping, remember?"
"Objection!" Phoenix countered, pulling out the wall calendar. "If you take a look at the evidence here, specifically at the date of the murder, you'll see that Mr. Hooter has this written down: "Fishing at Pier 34, 9PM.""
"What!? That's only an hour before the murder!" the judge exclaimed.
"Mr. Wright just found a huge contradiction!" Huey gasped.
"Phoenix is about to set this liar's pants on fire!" Dewey laughed.
"Order! Order in the court!" the judge shouted, slamming his gavel down to calm the crowd. "Mr. Hooter, what do have to say about this!?"
Sharpe was sweating now, his eyebrows twitching slightly. "W-Well I was asleep in my bed by 10PM, so what if I was doing some night fishing? My company has its own private pier, so I can fish whenever I so please."
"Objection!" Phoenix said. "Sorry, but you weren't at Night Owl Seafoods fishing that night. You were at Pier 34, which just so happens to be the same place that Donald Duck had his houseboat moored that night!" The lawyer pulled out the crime scene photo and presented it to the court. Take that! "You can see right on the edge of this photo a number on the pole the boat is tied to. It says "34" right there in big, yellow numbers."
"HOOOO!" Sharpe hooted, eyebrows almost flying off his face in shock.
"N-No way. How can this case be going so badly for me!?" Benson wailed in distress.
"It's only gonna get worse from here, baby," Athena mocked. "Mr. Wright just about has this case rapped up."
(Athena's right. It's time to put all the pieces together with one last piece of evidence. I just have to look at one of them from a different angle…) Phoenix thought.
"S-So what if I was at Pier 34, and it just so happened to be an hour before the murder happened?" Sharpe questioned. "I could have just accidentally left my harpoon gun there and the real murderer, Donald Duck, could have used it then to kill Dapper Duck! You can't prove that it was me!"
"That's where you're wrong," Phoenix said knowingly. He pulled out the photo of Daisy Duck. "Does this woman look familiar to you?"
"…I've never seen that duck in my life," Sharpe said, though his eyebrows got twitchy again.
"I just detected a spike in both surprise and happiness, Mr. Wright," Athena whispered.
Phoenix nodded. "Got it! You really haven't seen Daisy Duck before? That's funny, because your calendar would say otherwise," he said, before flipping the calendar around to show the other side. "We've only been looking at the actual calendar part of the calendar, but this is actually a picture calendar. And what kind, you may ask, well…"
Benson's face went red as his sunglasses comically slid off his face. "I-Is that…? A swimsuit calendar!?"
"Oh my…" Della said, quickly covering the kid's eyes.
"MOM!" the boys shouted in annoyance.
"And not just a swimsuit calendar, but a "Fashion Icons Monthly" swimsuit calendar. Daisy Duck is a known person in the fashion industry and was chosen to model one of her own designs for this calendar," Phoenix explained. "If you compare the photo here to the one found on the victim, you can clearly tell these are the same people."
"Hm… Actually, those look to be the exact same photo. It's the same pose and everything!" the judge noticed.
"That's the last piece of the puzzle," Phoenix said. "As the court knows, the victim Dapper Duck was a past suitor for Daisy Duck, the current girlfriend of my client, Donald Duck. Donald has been the prime suspect of the murder due to a perceived jealously over this photo… but what if who was jealous of whom has been different this whole time?"
Phoenix pointed a finger at Sharpe, his gaze hardening as he exclaimed, "Mr. Hooter, you also have feelings for Daisy Duck, which is why you attempted to kill Donald Duck that night. But instead you accidentally killed Dapper Duck, and to cover up for your mistake you framed Donald. Because if you couldn't kill Donald, you could at least have him locked away so that you could have Daisy all to yourself!"
The room went silent at that declaration, though Sharpe flinched as if Phoenix's words had physically struck him. The owl used the podium to steady himself, before hooting out in agony as his head comically spun around. Sharpe righted his body, hands grabbing his head before making a finger gun and pointing it at Phoenix.
"BANG! That's how easy it is to shoot a gun, especially for a four-time shooting medalist like myself! But did all those accolades impress Daisy Duck? No! She turned me down and replaced me with… with… that no-name fisherman!?" He pointed his finger gun at Donald. "BANG! It was supposed to be an easy shot, but no, the lass just had to have another romantic rival to get in my way, didn't she!? Only I am worthy of Daisy Duck's love, do you hear me!? BANG! BANG! BANG! BAAAAAAAAANG!"
Sharpe laughed manically, his eyebrows flaring out before his breath hitched and the owl fell backwards in a dead faint. The judge blinked before turning to the bailiff and saying, "Bailiff, please have Mr. Hooter taken down to the police station for questioning. I believe we are done here."
"Sir," the bailiff nodded, calling over some of the building security to take Sharpe away.
"Mr. Wright, I must say that you have surprised me today," the judge said. "You seemed a bit unsure when you came into this courtroom, but I can see now the years of experience and wisdom you have as a lawyer… even if it took some time to show."
"Oh! Thank you, your honor," Phoenix said sheepishly.
"That's the Phoenix Wright Bluff and Luck for you," Athena giggled.
"So, is it all over now?" Huey wondered.
"Mr. Duck, please come up to the stand," the judge ordered, Donald doing as he was told and stepping up to the podium. "Mr. Payne, do you have any objections you'd like to make before we conclude this trial?"
Benson just looked at his sunglasses in shame. "It's all over… My debut case was supposed to be the start of my legend… Only for a god of the courtroom to come in and strike me down where I stand… My brothers will never let me hear the end of this!" He tossed away his glasses before bawling his eyes out and fleeing the courtroom in shame.
"Man, I almost feel bad for him… Almost," Athena sighed.
"What a baby!" Widget commented.
The judge hummed to himself. "Well then, by the power invested in me, this court finds the defendant, Donald Duck… Not Guilty!"
With a clap of his gavel the crowd erupted into cheers, Donald wiping away a tear of joy as his family whooped and hollered from the stands. Dewey, Webby, and Trucy even pulled out confetti to toss around. Phoenix and Athena shared a smile and a nod at a job well done.
"Court is adjourned!" the judge declared.
[***]
March 15, 12:00 PM
District Court
Defense Lobby No. 2
"I can't believe you guys actually did it!" Dewey exclaimed as he and the rest of his family rushed into the lobby. "You totally got Uncle Donald off the hook!"
"And you caught the real culprit as well! To have everything go so well was… unprecedented!" Huey said in awe.
"Good job, I guess," Louie shrugged, but he was smiling all the same.
"I still can't believe a wall calendar was the thing that solves the entire case," Webby said.
"Yeah, Daddy has a way of making all the evidence connect," Trucy giggled. She pulled out a party popper and set it off. "Congratulations on another win, you two!"
"Thanks, Trucy. That case went a lot more smoothly that I thought it would," Phoenix said.
"You made it look easy, even if I had some doubts at first," Della complimented. "Seriously though, how did you connect the wall calendar to the case like that?"
"It's all because of the photo that was found at the scene of the crime," Phoenix said, taking out said photo. "I believe this is yours, Mr. Duck."
"Oh, thanks… for everything, actually," Donald said as he took the photo back. "This picture really had me confused when they brought it up. I swear it was framed in my house, so Dapper having a copy of it didn't make any sense."
"I figured that this photo was yours and that Mr. Hooter planted it on the body to give you a motive for the murder," Phoenix explained. "The fact that he tore off the first name written on it was to cover up the fact that Daisy clearly sent you an advanced signed copy of the photo that would be shown in the calendar. Jealously plots are a dime-a-dozen in my profession."
"You sly dog. Getting signed photos of your girlfriend," Della chuckled, making Donald blush and laugh nervously.
"I'm glad we could get you that "Not Guilty" verdict, Mr. Duck. Seeing Benson Payne be knocked down a peg was a nice bonus," Athena smirked.
"I'm pretty sure you ended that man's career before it even got started," Louie smirked.
Athena laughed, before clasping her hands together and grinning. "So, now that this case is done with, we can be sent back home, right?"
"Uh, about that…" Webby said nervously. She pulled out an arcane-looking book and flipped through the pages. "I was trying to find the reverse spell, but all this book says is that you'll be sent home "Once your task is done.""
"If that's the case, shouldn't we be going home right around now?" Trucy asked. She closed her eyes, spun around three times, then clicked her heels together. "There's no place like home! There's no place like home!" "I don't think that's going to work, Trucy," Athena sighed.
"D-Don't worry! My friends Lena and Violet can surely figure out a way to send you home!" Webby said quickly. "And if not them, then my dad, Scrooge McDuck, probably has some artifact that could get you home!"
(Sounds like we'll be sticking around in Duckburg for a while then…) Phoenix thought.
"Until we figure this out, you can at least stay with us at the manor. It's the least we can do to apologize for kidnapping you from your own world," Della said.
"I'll call Granny and let her know about our new temporary guests!" Webby said.
"And I need to call Daisy to tell her that I'm okay…" Donald said.
As the Duck family started talking amongst themselves about the trial, Phoenix turned to Athena and Trucy. "Well team, I think we'll have to make the most of the situation until Webby figures out the spell to send us back."
"We should totally look around Duckburg, then! Dewey was telling me all about the cool things you can see in the city. I wanna see what Funso's Fun Zone is," Trucy said.
"I'm interested in meeting Scrooge McDuck. I wonder what kind of uncle he is?" Athena hummed.
"I want to meet the man myself, honestly. I just hope he isn't mad about us intruding in his manor. Rich people can be a bit touchy with their stuff from my experience," Phoenix said.
And so, that was our first trial here in Duckburg, and what we thought would be our only trial. But life can never be that easy for the Wright Anything Agency, and soon we would be pulled into another case. One that would bring more questions and mystery about our arrival in this strange new world…
Author's Note
It was really fun coming up with the motivation for the murderer and laying out the facts and evidence that would get Phoenix to bottom of the mystery. First cases are always a bit on the easy side, so Phoenix and Athena were easily able to find out that it was Mr. Hooter that killed Dapper Duck. If you couldn't tell, by the way, the culprit's name, Sharpe S. Hooter, is a pun on "Sharp Shooter."
Benson Payne was also fun to write, as while he is an overconfident jerk he's still a Payne at the end of the day and went down without much of a fight. It was really satisfying having Phoenix and Athena take this guy out and leave the wannabe prosecutor devastated by his first loss.
With the Wright Anything Agency staying in Duckburg for a while, the next chapter isn't going to be the start of the second case but rather a transition chapter to give our characters some downtime. We've seen the world of the courtroom for the "Ace Attorney" side of the crossover, now it's time for the "Ducktales" side with a slice-of-life mini-adventure!