MARCH 1ST, 2019,

1:00 P.M

COURTROOM

The sound of chatter filled the courtroom before the first day of the trial for Dr. Grey's murder. Phoenix and Maya quietly discussed Artemisia and the way she conducted herself.

"Nick, I don't know, but Artie's a little... unsettling, don't you think?" Maya said. She looked at the woman on the stand. She had a cheerful smile on her face. Uncharacteristic for a woman who's just been framed for the death of her fiance. "I mean, she loved Dr. Grey, but she seems... happy..." Maya continued.

Phoenix was holding his chin in thought. "Hmm… Maybe Dr. Grey was abusive to Artemisia, and she killed him to escape… He never was a very good man. But… Why would she have been talking so fondly about him…?" Phoenix said. This was a very interesting case. One both he and Maya wanted to get to the bottom of

The Judge tapped his gavel. "ALRIGHT! Court is now in session for the murder of Dr. Turner Grey!" He looked at Artemisia, who was on the witness stand. "Defendant, please state your name." He continued.

"My name is Artemisia Dawn!" Artie said, still cheerfully. Her demeanor unsettled everyone in the courtroom. "It was about to be Mrs. Artemisia Grey, until…" Her voice cracked a bit when she said the last name of the man she'd loved. She looked down. "U-Until he was killed yesterday…"

The Judge even got a bit misty-eyed, before continuing. "Alright. Now, let's hear the first testimony of Ms. Artemisia Dawn!"

Artemisia began her testimony, by talking about the early morning Turner Grey was murdered, and everything that had happened.

After she was finished, the Judge spoke again. "Alright. I'll now allow the defense to cross-examine the defendant!"

Artemisia spoke. "It was early in the morning. I was still asleep, but Turner had woken up already."

"Hold it!" Phoenix pointed at Artie, for his first press. "Do you know why your husband was up before you? Anything about what he could have been doing?"

"Nothing that I know of… He's always been an early bird. Since he retired from medicine, he's still kept his early bird routine." Artie answered, still cheerfully, before continuing with her testimony.

"I'd felt something touch my hand. I thought it was Turner holding it, but after forensic teams discovered my fingerprints on the gun the killer carelessly dropped, I was arrested." Artie said.

"Hold it!" Phoenix said once again. "I suppose the man wanted to frame you. I mean, it does make sense... Why would the killer leave his gun with your handprints on it, if he didn't want to frame someone? That sounds like a pretty dumb criminal!" Pheonix said.

Artie continued. "I heard a gunshot. I stood up and ran out to the living room. T-Turner was already dead... The killer had gotten away..."

Wait... Something wasn't right. "OBJECTION!" Pheonix yelled, pointing at Artie. He slammed the desk, before asking, "About how long did it take you to get from your room to the living room?"

"Uhh, well... A very short time... I was flying... I didn't know what had happened..." Artie said, not aware of the contradiction Phoenix had discovered.

Phoenix nodded, before asking, "And, how far away from your bedroom is your living room?"

Artie continued. "A bit close, because we have a short hallway between there...

Phoenix had her cornered. "Ms. Dawn. How could you have had that 'very short' time to hear a gunshot, run from your room to the living room, all in time for the killer to get away?" He shouted.

Artie gasped. Her resolve was starting to waver. "I... I'm a slow runner...?"

Phoenix shook his head. "That's not a good enough excuse. I need to know definitively how you could have gotten from your room to the scene of the crime while the killer escaped?" He asked.

"I... I..." Artemisia looked down. "I don't know... But I know I would have never killed my turner..." Suddenly, it was like a switch flipped. "I DIDN'T KILL HIM! I'D RATHER DIE MYSELF THAN KILL TURNER!" She screamed, now anger-filled.

Maya jumped. "Mr. Nick, first she was super cheerful, now she's screaming...?" She whispered.

"I don't know, Maya... Maybe she's just anger-filled, and is trying to push it down? She did say her father taught her never to let grief overwhelm her..." Phoenix said.

"OBJECTION!" Prosecutor Edgeworth shouted. "The prosecution suggests adjourning this court for the day. There is insufficient evidence to convict."

Yeah... Good call, Edgeworth... We'll investigate some, then come back... Phoenix thought.

"Prosecutor Edgeworth is right." The Judge announced. "Court should be adjourned for the day until more evidence is found."

He banged his gavel, and court ended for the day.

To be continued...