A/N: Here's the next chapter of "The Blossoming Turnabout"! Not much progress was made last chapter due to a certain someone being uncooperative. What direction will the trial take now? Will Juniper be able to come into her own as a defense attorney? Read on to find out!

February 17, 2029

District Courthouse, Defendant Lobby #4

11:45 a.m.

In the defendant lobby, Myriam was still looking ashamed of herself, which didn't stop her defense team from being unhappy with her.

"Okay, Myriam. I don't know why you tried to hide so much, but it's time for you to stop now," Hugh said. "So, tell us everything you really did on the day of the crime."

"If I do that, will you still believe that I'm innocent?" Myriam asked.

"Yes, I will," Juniper assured. "I promised that I would fight for you until the very end, Myriam. So, I will listen to your story and I will believe in you."

"Then I will put my faith in you Juniper, for real this time. So listen closely, Kahk Kahk!"

Juniper and Hugh made sure to pay close attention as Myriam began.

"The truth is, I was looking for a lead in our search for her. And since all the legitimate leads were going nowhere, I decided to find a lead in the underworld."

Of course, Hugh and Juniper knew exactly what Myriam was talking about. The search that started five months ago: an impossible disappearance that even the best and brightest of the Prosecutor's Office couldn't figure out.

"So, did you contact the victim because you wanted information from them?" Juniper asked uncertainly, twisting one of her pigtails with her hands.

Myriam shook her head. "No, just the opposite. Conan Ratters is a well known informant in the underworld. He's able to get information no one else can. And one day, he sent me an email that read, 'So, you're looking for information about Robin Newman?'"

Both Hugh and Juniper's eyes immediately widened. "How did Mr. Ratters know about Robin?" Hugh asked, his hand going up to touch his neck. Juniper likewise gripped her right wrist again.

"Now that Conan is dead, we'll never know. But that email is what started everything," Myriam said, "He asked me to meet at The Fried Slop on the day of the crime, so that I could buy the information off of him."

"If that's what was supposed to happen, then why did the two of you end up fighting?" Juniper asked.

"Oh, that? It wasn't a real fight," Myriam said, to the surprise of her defense team. "That was Conan's idea, just like the entire meeting. The idea is that we would fake having a large fight to throw off anyone that was listening. Then we would meet in the alleyway next door to have our real meeting."

"Mr. Ratters clearly expected himself to be in danger if he put on such an elaborate ruse," Hugh mused. "And given that someone killed him, it seems like not only was someone listening, but they weren't fooled."

So the real killer was someone that didn't want Mr. Ratters to talk. Juniper shuddered at the thought of the kind of person that could be. "Is there anything else you could tell us about this meeting, Myriam?"

"Well, just that since I've never met Conan before yesterday, he told me how he looked like," Myriam explained. "He told me to look out for the man with 'the garish shirt with comically large buttons, and wearing the hat with the large rat pin.'"

Looking at the crime scene photo, Juniper asked Myriam, "Is this the rat pin? It looks like someone smashed it to pieces."

Myriam nodded. "Because it's not really a pin. Conan told me that the pin was really a hidden camera he used to take pictures. He says that what he's most proud of is taking photos from every angle."

Myriam's testimony added to the Court Record.

Hidden camera added to the Court Record.

Now that Myriam was being honest, Juniper could see why she was hesitant to tell the truth- Myriam still looked like the prime suspect. However, thanks to the new info, Juniper felt she knew of a new potential suspect: whoever was interested in silencing the victim to keep them talking about Robin's disappearance.

Before Juniper could think about this anymore, she heard the sound of someone approaching. That someone turned out to be a bailiff, but not just any bailiff; this one had their police hat tipped over their face, hiding their features.

"Greetings. Be you, Juniper Woods, lead attorney of this case?" The bailiff asked in a feminine voice.

"Um, yes, that's me. Is something the matter?" Juniper said, wondering who this bailiff was.

"Providence can be cruel. I am a protector, and an observer," The bailiff said. "I've observed those that wander through life carefree, and those that are lost to the abyss. So, which are you?"

"...You...think I either don't have a care or am entirely lost?" Juniper asked. Just what exactly is she accusing me of?

Though her eyes had been covered by her police hat, the bailiff's gaze bore into Juniper. Instead of answering Juniper's question, she replied, "As the stream of time marches on, you passively float on. And you don't see the one that looms before you, insincere in their machinations. Or am I wrong?"

"...Who are you?" Juniper asked, completely lost. It didn't help that the bailiff's speech patterns were so cryptic.

"I told you, a protector, and an observer," The bailiff affirmed, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "Though, my task here is to deliver a missive. From one that is across vast oceans, yet also close at hand."

The bailiff looked down, before saying, "The missive is: 'You've almost solved the case! So hang in there, because I know you can do it!' That is what they wanted you to know."

"Across vast oceans and also close at hand, telling me something like that?" Juniper touched her right wrist again. "Wait a minute. This person...is it- ?"

The bailiff began stepping away. "And here ends my role. For both our sakes I hope… that we do not meet again." The bailiff suddenly blinded Juniper with a flashlight right in her eyes- and in the next second, the bailiff was gone.

"Who the heck was that supposed to be?" Myriam demanded. "She didn't speak a single coherent sentence!"

"That's a good question. I'd like to question her more about how she knows so much," Hugh said.

"The trial is about to reconvene! Please re-enter the courtroom," The other bailiff in the defendant lobby called out. He evidently had no comment on the actions of his mysterious coworker.

As much as Juniper wanted to know more, she had to focus on the trial right now. Myriam needed her help, and so Juniper would prove her innocence.

February 17, 2029

District Courthouse, Courtroom #2

12:00 p.m.

"Court is now back in session for the trial of Myriam Scuttlebutt," The Judge said. "Defense, have you talked out your issues with your defendant?"

"Yes, I have, and I am more convinced of my client's innocence than ever before," Juniper asserted. "She told me that the fight between her and the victim was arranged between them ahead of time."

"OBJECTION! A likely story," Prosecutor Payne countered, snapping her contact mirror shut. "It's probably just another one of the defendant's lies. One that my witness will expose as much."

"Then please call this witness to the stand," The Judge said.

The witness turned out to be a large, well-built man, with brown hair that was graying in a buzz cut, dark brown eyes, and a face that looked like it was made of sharp edges. The man wore a gray suit with a black tie, black dress shoes, and was carrying a large briefcase.

"Name and occupation, witness?" Prosecutor Payne asked.

Suddenly, the man slammed his briefcase on the witness stand. "What is the meaning of this, Prosecutor? You told me I wouldn't stand in court!"

"If the daughter of Winston Payne asks you to testify, you thank your lucky stars for such an honor," Prosecutor Payne replied, unfazed by her witness's anger. "Now, give your name and occupation."

"My name is Vernon Bolo, and I am a businessman working the nine to five," Mr. Bolo grumbled, still clearly angry at the prosecutor. "I was there the day the defendant fired upon the victim."

"Then give your testimony on what you did the day of the crime," Prosecutor Payne said.

"This is it, Juniper. If we want to prove Myriam innocent, we have to do it in this testimony," Hugh said.

Juniper didn't verbally answer. Instead, she focused all her attention on Mr. Bolo, at the testimony he was about to give.

-Testimony: Vernon Bolo's Account-

I had just finished my workday, so I went to go find somewhere cheap to eat.

So, I decided to go to The Fried Slop, but before I entered, I heard people talking.

I spotted that that girl and the victim talking with each other, and the victim was

Afraid for his life. He kept adjusting the buttons on his ugly shirt nervously.

And their talk escalated into another argument. Then the defendant pulled a gun!

And as much as the victim tried to calm her down, she fired upon him, killing him!

-End Testimony-

"You have to wonder why Prosecutor Payne didn't open the trial with this testimony," Hugh wondered, stroking his chin.

"It seemed she wanted to publicly discredit Myriam first," Juniper said, frowning at the smug prosecutor across from her. "And present her witness as trustworthy."

"In fairness, Myriam didn't help her own case very much." Hugh grinned wryly. "Regardless, you know what you need to do."

Yes, I do. It's time to look for flaws in the testimony, and expose them.

There was a part of the testimony that rang false to Juniper. However, she wasn't sure exactly why it bothered her. Which meant it was time to do what she'd seen many attorneys do before: Press the witness's statement.

"Hold it! You claim that the victim feared for his life? That seems like quite an assumption to make."

For a moment, Mr. Bolo stared at Juniper, studying her. Then he pointed his finger at her and shouted, "Straighten your back, little missy! Do you expect to be taken seriously with that slouch?"

"Ah! No I don't, sir!" Juniper exclaimed, so surprised she actually did straighten up.

"That's better. Keep your posture straight, and you'll go far," Mr. Bolo said, still pointing at Juniper.

Hugh slammed his fist into the bench. "I think Mr. Bolo is trying to avoid the question, Juniper."

Indeed, he had yet to address the concerns Juniper had raised, and Juniper felt a little embarrassed to have fallen for that. "Mr. Bolo, answer my question. What made you think that the victim was afraid of Myriam?"

"I explained myself earlier, little missy," Mr. Bolo said, as he adjusted his tie, "The victim was adjusting the buttons on that horrendously ugly shirt of his. I could recognize the fear in his eyes too. Fear for his life."

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this testimony," The Judge said. "If anything, it seems to affirm the victim's guilt."

However, Juniper was thinking. Mr. Bolo had just provided a detailed explanation of the victim. But what if the problem wasn't with the description itself? What if the problem was-

"Objection!" Juniper found herself shouting an objection before she could help herself, because she knew there was a flaw here and she had to expose it.

"Did you have a problem with this witness's testimony, defense?" The Judge asked.

"It has to do with the flaw we discussed earlier," Juniper said, presenting the crime scene photo. "We agree that if the victim was standing up, his back would be facing the entrance of the alley, right?"

"Yes, he would be. What's your point?" Prosecutor Payne asked.

"Well, the victim testifies that he intended to enter The Fried Slop, which means he would have been looking at the alley through the same entrance," Juniper explained. She narrowed her eyes at Vernon, her face serious. "So then tell me, Mr. Bolo- how did you know how Mr. Ratters's shirt looked like when you could only see his back?"

Vernon didn't verbally response, but beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"The defense has a point! This is the second time she's brought up this flaw in the prosecution's case," The Judge said.

"You mean, it's the second time she's attacked a flaw that wasn't really there," Prosecutor Payne scoffed her usual sneer on her face. "There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."

"Wh-what's this explanation?" Juniper asked, tugging at her pigtails. She didn't like how calm the Prosecutor was.

"You remember how he testified how he was there to eat," Prosecutor Payne recalled. "Well, he did enter The Fried Slop to eat, and he saw Mr. Ratters when he entered with the victim. That's how Mr. Bolo saw his shirt!"

"Ahhh!" Juniper shouted, accidentally snapping her pigtails back into her own eyes. She- she just explained away the contradiction in a couple of sentences!

"That wasn't the testimony that the witness gave," Hugh said, glaring at the prosecutor.

"That's because I thought it was already clear enough I went inside in my first testimony!" Mr. Bolo said. "Clearly, I underestimated the defense's intelligence!"

"Then testify clearly all your actions on the day of the crime," Juniper said. She wasn't going to give up. There had to be more to the contradiction than a simple mistake.

"Listen up then, little missy! I'm not going to repeat myself again!" Mr. Bolo said, slamming his briefcase on the stand again.

-Testimony: Vernon Bolo's Account, Revised-

As I testified earlier, I finished my workday, and I was hungry.

So, I entered The Fried Slop and ordered myself some food!

As I was waiting for the order, I saw the defendant and the victim enter.

At first, I paid them no mind. Then, they started arguing loudly.

Suddenly, Mr. Ratters stormed out and the defendant followed him.

It seemed like the defendant was furious, so I followed them out of concern.

That's when I saw them continue their argument from before. And since

I'd seen the victim earlier, his shirt left an impression on me.

That's why I could tell he was adjusting his buttons from the back!

And regardless, I could see the defendant firing the gun just fine!

-End testimony-

"This testimony appears to explain everything," The Judge said. He looked over at Juniper. "Do you still intend to cross examine this witness?"

"Yes I do, Your Honor," Juniper said, determined. "I still believe that my client couldn't have killed the victim. So, I ask for your understanding."

"You do intend to become a judge yourself. As such, I ask you to understand that I cannot let this trial continue without strong evidence to support your conclusion," The Judge said. His tone indicated that he did take Juniper completely seriously, both as an attorney and as a future judge.

"Very well, Your Honor. I will begin my cross examination with this in mind."

Even still, there was no contradiction in the testimony at first glance. So, Juniper decided to press the statements again.

"Hold it! You didn't state that you entered the restaurant in your first testimony. You said you heard the argument before you could enter. Why is that?"

"So I mixed up my account a little. I clearly testified I went there because I was hungry, didn't I?" Mr. Bolo said.

"Your testimony could decide our client's fate. So it's not good if you can't give reliable testimony," Hugh pointed out.

"OBJECTION! The defense is badgering the witness without any evidence," Prosecutor Payne said.

"Objection sustained. If you are going to point out a problem, please have evidence ready," The Judge said.

That didn't seem to go anywhere, so Juniper moved onto the next statement. "Was there anything in this supposed argument that caught your attention?"

"It wasn't any of my business, so I didn't pay too much attention," Mr. Bolo said. "Something about the victim not upholding his side of their deal."

"And therefore giving the defendant motive to murder," Prosecutor Payne said, tapping her curl over her forehead in a very patronizing manner.

"That fake fight Mr. Ratters came up with isn't doing us any favors," Hugh said, rubbing his neck.

Getting a sinking feeling in her stomach again, Juniper pressed the next statement. "Hold it! So when did you hear the gunshot, Mr. Bolo?"

"As soon as the defendant left. why do you-"

"OBJECTION! I see what you're trying to do, defense, and I won't let you," Prosecutor Payne said.

However, Juniper shook her head. "You're the one that's trying to pull something, Prosecutor Payne."

"How- how dare you!" Prosecutor Payne yelled, doubling over again.

"What is this about, defense?" The Judge asked.

"This is the same problem we ran into earlier. We've run into it several times, in fact," Juniper said. "This impossible gunshot. Before Prosecutor Payne interrupted the witness, he was giving the same statement as in the affidavit- that the gun was fired before my client could have even entered the alley."

"I- I must have gotten confused because that's what everyone else was saying that day," Vernon said. However, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead again. "I know what I saw! The defendant shot that man!"

However, the judge's expression was considerably more doubtful. Progress was being made!

"I'd like to keep cross examining you, then, To ascertain how trustworthy your testimony is," Juniper said, wanting to press her advantage.

Having a good idea of what she wanted to do, Juniper pressed the second to last statement. "Hold it! Could you have really seen what the victim was doing with his arms from the back? Because your account seems too detailed, if that's all you saw."

"It's called basic observation, little missy," Mr. Bolo said, straightening his tie. "I saw the victim from the front earlier. And when I saw him from the back later, I observed how his arms moved and figured out what he was doing that way!"

"That means you can't say for sure what the victim was doing, if you couldn't see his face," Juniper said. "You can only guess."

"You're missing the point, defense," Prosecutor Payne said. "This witness saw the most important moment- the moment of the murder."

"There's only one statement left in the testimony," Hugh said, smirking. "And the more you press, the shakier it gets. I have a feeling you're getting close to something important, Juniper."

"I understand, Hugh," Juniper nodded. "Okay, here goes… Hold it! You said you could see my client fire the murder weapon," Juniper said. "However, we still haven't resolved the contradiction of when the gun was fired. So, how did you see what you claim to have seen?"

"So ,you don't believe me. Then I will have to prove that my testimony is true," Mr, Bolo said, pointing at Juniper again. "The defendant was wielding a Model M1911. And she clearly didn't know how to use it, given how hard she was shaking. Even still, she was still able to use it to kill the victim."

"And before you ask, Mr. Bolo is completely right about the model of the gun. The prosecution looked into it before the trial started," Prosecutor Payne added.

Pistol updated in the court record.

"But Mr. Ratters should have been blocking the witness's view of Myriam, right?" Juniper asked.

"I caught a glimpse of the gun, and that was all I needed to learn what gun the defendant was using," Mr. Bolo said.

"Still, it seems odd for a businessman to know so much about guns," Hugh noted. "Especially to the point of recognizing one at only a single glance."

"You're really grasping at straws, aren't you, defense?" Prosecutor Payne said. "Of course, I investigated Mr. Bolo's background before registering him as a witness. And before he became a businessman, he was part of the army."

"Is this true, Mr. Bolo?" Juniper asked. She noticed that he was glaring at Stephanie again, as if she just said something she shouldn't have.

"It is true. I served my country, and I did my country proud," Mr. Bolo answered. "So I've seen many guns in my day."

"That does explain a lot about how he's been acting this whole time," Hugh said, deadpan.

Juniper could still feel that something was wrong with this testimony. She just couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her so much.

"Excuse me, may I say something?"

Juniper looked up to see where that voice was coming from, only to see that Myriam was the one that spoke up, still sitting in the defendant's seat.

"No, you can't. The last thing we need is for you to spin more of your lies," Prosecutor Payne said.

"I'd like to listen to what my client has to say," Juniper said, looking at the Judge. "Could you grant her permission to speak?"

The Judge closed his eyes, deep in thought. Juniper could only wait for his decision, a decision that would decide the ultimate direction of this trial. Was this the kind of choice Juniper herself would have to make, one day?

"In a trial, it is important to listen to every piece of testimony," The Judge finally said. "And it is the job of the prosecution and the defense to determine the validity of the testimony. So, I will give the defendant permission to speak."

"Thank you, Your Honor!" Juniper exclaimed, breathing much easier.

"Kyaaaa!" Prosecutor Payne shouted again, rearing back.

"So, what did you notice, Myriam?" Juniper asked, now that she had the chance.

"I've been thinking about Mr. Bolo's testimony, sss sss sss," Myriam said. "And now that I think about it, I did notice him sitting at one of the tables in The Fried Slop."

"See! Even the defendant herself admits that my testimony is true!" Mr. Bolo quickly cut in.

"That's the thing!" Myriam snapped, waving her arms in anger. "I did see you in The Fried Slop. But from the moment I left the restaurant to when the police came to arrest me, I didn't see you again!"

Something clicked in Juniper's head. "Now I see what you're driving at, Myriam. You didn't see him watching you outside the alley, right?"

"Of course not! Otherwise, I would have mentioned seeing him sooner," Myriam said.

"Just as I thought, it's just more of the defendant trying to cover for herself," Prosecutor Payne said. "If Mr. Bolo wasn't watching the crime, how could he give such a detailed testimony?"

That's the real question, isn't it? It's clear that Mr. Bolo was in that alleyway. But where was he? And what does that mean for this case?

Once these questions were answered, Juniper had a feeling they would reach the real truth of this case…

To be continued.

A/N: That's two chapters into this case! I will tell you all right now that this case will end next chapter. As always, I encourage people to leave their theories about the case. The final chapter of the case will be published on Friday. Who will be the first person to unravel the mystery me and my team made? I look forward to finding out. See you next time! Please review.