A/N: The second trial day starts now! There are certainly threads of logic, and even potential suspects to this crime. What do they all add up to, though? I leave it to my readers to figure it out. Enjoy, my fair readers!
February 25, 2029
District Courthouse, Defendant Lobby #2
9:50 a.m.
"So, do you know who the true enemy is, Mr. O'Conner?" Miss Moon asked.
"I have my theories. But before I can prove any of them, I need to confront my suspects on the stand," Hugh answered.
"Suspects?" Miss Moon repeated. "Do you mean someone else besides Director Shine?"
"Yesterday's investigation has caused me to begin to suspect Icarus Iscariot as the culprit. At the very least, I suspect that he has a motive," Hugh explained.
"Huh? I know Mr. Iscariot is a bit odd, but I don't think he'd hurt a fly," Miss Moon said, fanning herself. "And I told you already, I don't think he has a reason to want to hurt Mr. Scene."
"That might be what he wanted you to think," Juniper said, pulling her hat over her eyes. "Wasn't it you who said your fellow cast are all talented actors?"
"That's true. I suppose it is possible that Mr. Iscariot pulled the wool over my eyes," Miss Moon said, tugging at the neckline of her dress.
"That's the big problem. It's possible that your suspicions are correct, and Director Shine is the culprit. But it's just as possible that Mr. Iscariot is the real murderer," Hugh said. "This case is likely meant to confuse us to arriving at the wrong conclusion."
"If you need any aid in untangling this mess, I will offer all the help I can," Mr. Strong said. "It's the least I can do for my failings as a manager."
"If I think I need your testimony, I'll call you," Hugh said.
"And don't speak as if you've failed me as a manager," Miss Moon said, placing a hand on her chest. "I'm sure the chance will come where I can show off the actress I've become."
That's all well and good. But what's needed is not acting skills, but a lawyer that's able to clear these charges. And in court, I'm going to prove that I'm the lawyer for the job.
February 25, 2029
District Courthouse, Courtroom #5
10:00 a.m.
Day 2
Court is now in session
ALL RISE
"Court is now in session for the trial of Starlight Moon," The Judge said. "Are the defense and the prosecution ready?"
"The defense is prepared, naturally," Hugh said, with his usual smirk.
"The prosecution is ready to g-o go!" Robin exclaimed, wagging her finger at Hugh.
"Very well," The Judge said, nodding his head. "Yesterday, the defense raised the possibility that the victim was already dead when the rehearsal started. What is the prosecution's response?"
"The prosecution acknowledges it's possible that Mr. Scene was already dead when the rehearsal started," Robin said. "But that raises a question- who met with Mr. Scene before the rehearsal? And that's a question that I can answer to the court."
"This is probably where Mr. Iscariot's testimony is going to come into play," Juniper said. "So be ready to take apart whatever act he's going to put on for the court!"
"Now I'm going to call my first witness to the stand," Robin continued. "A witness who will reveal the identity of the last person to see Mr. Scene alive!"
Just as Juniper predicted, Icarus Iscariot took the stand. Notably, Mr. Iscariot was standing straight, a neutral expression on his face.
"State your name and occupation. And make it flashy, if you want!" Robin exclaimed.
"If you ask, then I must answer." Mr. Iscariot adjusted the star-shaped belt around his waist, catching the light on the star. "My name is Icarus Iscariot. My role is of being a shadow to a star."
"By which Mr. Iscariot means that he's an understudy. The understudy to Mr. Scene himself, in fact," Robin said. "Now tell us, Mr. Iscariot. What did you see on the day of the crime?"
-Witness Testimony-
Mr. Iscariot's account
"I was called to the studio on an unrelated matter," Mr. Iscariot said,
"So I made my way to my personal dressing room."
"On my way there, however, I spotted Mr. Scene approaching Miss Moon's dressing room, carrying a bouquet of flowers. He entered the room, and I kept going."
"I was about to leave the studio, but Director Shine invited me to watch the rehearsal."
Mr. Iscariot covered his face with one of his hands. "I obeyed her mandate."
"And you all know of what occurred during the rehearsal. Of course, if Mr. Scene was already dead, then perhaps Miss Moon killed him in her dressing room."
End Testimony
"Wait, wait. The prosecution is suggesting that Mr. Scene died inside of Miss Moon's dressing room? What proof do you have of that?" Hugh asked, already feeling himself breaking out into a sweat.
"When the prosecution investigated Miss Moon's room, we discovered an award on the ground covered in blood," Robin explained. "The autopsy report mentions Mr. Scene suffering a wound to the head. Previously, the prosecution could not see how this head wound was related to this case. But this award makes it pretty c-l-e-a-r!"
This was more or less what Hugh deduced at the end of his own investigation. Still, Hugh didn't want Robin to take an early advantage in this trial.
"OBJECTION! That is not grounds to declare the dressing room the real scene of the crime! And what evidence does the prosecution have that the reward wasn't just planted there to frame Miss Moon? " Hugh asked.
"OBJECTION! After discovering the reward in Miss Moon's dressing room, I immediately had forensics investigate the room," Robin said, a wide grin on her face. "Ema, if you w-i-l-l!"
Ema entered the courtroom, wearing her pink glasses and her own satisfied grin. "I sprayed the dressing room with luminol. And I discovered two traces of the victim's blood that suggest that both the fatal wound and the head wound were inflicted in the dressing room."
"Aaaaahhh!" Hugh screamed, jumping back and causing his glasses to land askew on his face.
"That would suggest that the murder took place inside the defendant's room," The Judge said. "And so the defendant would certainly be able to murder the victim before the rehearsal."
"The trial has barely started and I already feel cornered," Hugh said, fixing his glasses. "This must have been what Detective Skye was alluding to yesterday."
"We still have the cross-examination. If Mr. Iscariot really did see this, why didn't he mention this yesterday?" Juniper asked, her eyes focused on Mr. Iscariot.
"That's a good point. This testimony is far too convenient to actually be true," Hugh said, a look of focus in his eyes. "Then I will hit this testimony right in it's weakpoint!"
"HOLD IT! You mentioned yesterday that you were at the studio for an unrelated reason. Could you elaborate on that?" Hugh asked.
"OBJECTION! As Mr. Iscariot just testified, the reason he was at the studio had nothing to do with this case," Robin said. "So why are you asking about it?"
Honestly, because I have no clue what else to do. Hugh certainly couldn't say that out loud, so instead he said, "We need to make sure we know exactly what Mr. Iscariot was doing on the day of the crime. Unless there's something you don't want us to know about his actions?"
Robin laced her hands behind her back. "I called Mr. Iscariot to the stand because I wanted him to testify about his actions. So it's not a problem to me!"
Mr. Iscariot tugged at his beard. "Then to answer the question, I was called to the studio to fit possible new costumes. I am but an understudy, but I am still an actor in my own right."
Hugh made note of this. If this testimony was a lie, pressing a different statement could expose it.
"HOLD IT! So what did you make of Mr. Scene carrying a bouquet of flowers? Surely that must have been an unusual sight," Hugh said.
"Like a shooting star racing across the sky, I saw Mr. Scene but for a moment," Mr. Iscariot said, holding out his right hand. "I believed I would get a chance to ask him later. As it turns out, I was tragically wrong."
"So Mr. Iscariot has confirmed that Mr. Scene did in fact bring the flowers when he entered the studio," Juniper said. "What do you make of this?"
"It's possible that he doesn't know about the flower we found in the set. So let's keep that to ourselves for now," Hugh said. That left two more statements in the current testimony.
"HOLD IT! So why do you think Director Shine asked you to stay in the studio? If I'm not mistaken, you weren't invited to the initial rehearsal," Hugh said.
"I presume so that I may see how to perform the central scene of the entire movie," Mr. Iscariot said. He sorrowfully put his head in his hands. "Of course, I hoped to never actually need to perform the scene. I was content to watch a master of the craft such as Mr. Scene perform the scene."
"I don't like this. Mr. Iscariot admitted he was watching the rehearsal really easily too," Juniper said. "Is he not the culprit after all? Or is he just that confident?"
"He's bound to slip up somewhere. We just need to figure out how to get Mr. Iscariot to talk about what he's hiding," Hugh said.
"HOLD IT! Let's say for the sake of argument that Miss Moon was in her dressing room when Mr. Scene came to visit her. What makes you believe that Miss Moon killed him there?" Hugh asked.
"I believe an award was mentioned earlier. Well, the only award I can think of that could have been used to strike Mr. Scene is Miss Moon's award for best actress," Mr. Iscariot said. "That golden glory that she won for her last movie before she met her downfall here."
"Oh, so Miss Moon won an award for her acting skill? That's probably how she got a leading role in such a high-profile movie!" Juniper exclaimed.
"And I believe we will get to see those acting skills first hand," Hugh said, smirking, before saying to the judge, "Can I have this statement added to the testimony?"
"I don't see why not. Does the prosecution have any objections?" The Judge asked.
"Of course not! In fact, I appreciate how the defense is supporting the prosecution's case," Robin said cheerfully.
"We'll just see about that, Robin." Hugh double-checked the Court Record to make sure he had the right evidence. Once he was sure, he shouted,
"OBJECTION! So to clarify, you believe that Miss Moon struck Mr. Scene with her award while they were in Miss Moon's dressing room?"
Mr. Iscariot adjusted his star belt so that it caught the light. "It is very apropos, is it not? The greatest star was slain by his co-lead's proof of talent."
"I have a feeling you don't understand what the problem is, Mr. Iscariot. So I ask that you and the court take a look at the award used to hit Mr. Scene on the head." Hugh gestured to a photo of the statuette provided by the police. "As you can see, it is a statuette award commonly seen at award shows for movies."
"Yes, and this one belongs to Miss Moon," Robin said. "?"
Hugh slammed down his left palm on the bench. "Not so fast! If you look carefully at this statuette, you'll see that the plaque where you'd expect the name to be is missing. In other words, there's no proof that this award belongs to Miss Moon!"
Mr. Iscariot started, and the star belt slid off his waist and fell to the ground. He hurriedly reached down to pull the belt back up. "M-my apologies. I… I overheard that the award was found in Miss Moon's dressing room, so I assumed it belonged to her."
"That is only an assumption, however." Now was the time to bring up the collection of rewards in Director Shine's room. "In reality, this award belongs to-"
"OBJECTION! So you mentioned earlier that the award's plaque is missing. Do you mean… this plaque?" Robin asked, presenting a small plaque in an evidence bag.
The plaque was given to the Judge, who looked it over. "This plaque reads 'Starlight Moon: Best Actress'. So the award found in the defendant's dressing room did belong to her!"
"Prosecutor Newman, where was this plaque found?" Hugh asked, nervously tugging at the collar of his neck.
"As it happens, under the dresser that was in the dressing room. It wasn't found until after the initial investigation, so it took a bit for this information to make its way to court. Sorry!" Yet the smile on Robin's face didn't look sorry in the slightest.
"You still could have let me know about this earlier," Hugh muttered.
"Hugh, don't lose focus," Juniper said, pumping her fists in front of herself. "I think a new contradiction has just emerged. I don't know what it means, but it's still there."
Studying the testimony, Hugh realized what Juniper meant. "There's a question we still haven't answered. How did Mr. Iscariot know that the award used to assault Mr. Scene belonged to Miss Moon?"
Mr. Iscariot shook his head. "Were you not paying attention, beleaguered barrister? The police-"
"OBJECTION!" Robin, amazingly, objected to her own witness. "Speaking of not paying attention, I just mentioned that this plaque wasn't found until just after the initial investigation. So I don't believe the police could have ever discussed it."
Mr. Iscariot broke out into a sweat, tugging at his beard in a nervous manner. "Pl-please, do not be so hasty! It is well known among the cast of the movie that Miss Moon has that award. I do remember hearing about it! I just didn't remember when."
"That is a possibility. Does the defense have anything to say about this possibility?" Robin asked, her gaze looking straight into Hugh.
You already know that I don't have anything, don't you? Hugh straightened his posture, before pointing straight at Mr. Iscariot. "The defense would like to point out that Mr. Iscariot's testimony does not decisively prove that Miss Moon murdered Mr. Scene in his dressing room. However, there is proof that the murder happened there. So we must consider other suspects!"
"I suppose the defense is correct. What is the prosecution's response?" The Judge asked.
"It looks like we're circling back to the beginning of this c-a-s-e," Robin said, unconcerned. "To the rehearsal where Mr. Scene was stabbed by Miss Moon. If the murder happened in the dressing room, then what happened in that rehearsal?"
"We still don't have the answer to that, do we? So what do we do, Hugh?" Juniper asked, nervously tugging at her pigtails.
"It's not that a problem if we think about like this: We can finally unravel the mystery of this giant trap," Hugh said, smiling confidently.
"The prosecution plans to summon a witness that can prove what happened during the rehearsal," Robin continued. "And if I'm not mistaken, they're about to make their appearance..."
"And here I am, mes chéries!"
With those words, Glinda Shine entered the room, taking her place on Mr. Iscariot's left. "Bonjour, bonjour, fair audience! I am honored to be in your presence."
"I know you introduced yourself in the previous trial session, but could you be a dear and do it again?" Robin asked.
"Since it's you asking, Prosecutor Newman, I will. My name is Glinda Shine, and as I said previously, I am the director of 'The Thrill of the Chase'," Director Shine said. The woman flipped her hair back. "I'm also the one that provided the footage of Miss Moon's damning crime."
"OBJECTION! You weren't in court when this was established, but that footage did not show Miss Moon murdering Mr. Scene," Hugh said, shaking his head. "So I hope you have an explanation of how you thought that footage proved my client's guilt."
"Yes, I am planning to provide testimony that will prove Miss Moon's guilt tout de suite," Director Shine said. Director Shine brought out her clapperboard, snapping it shut briskly. "Annnnnd… action!"
-Witness Testimony-
The camera footage
Filming the rehearsal is standard procedure," Director Shine explained.
"I review the footage to see what can be improved in a performance."
"So I was not expecting Miss Moon to stab Mr. Scene out of nowhere."
Director Shine sighed delicately. "I admit, I panicked."
"Once I discovered Mr. Scene's dead body, I remembered about the camera."
Director Shine snapped her clapperboard shut. "So I went to retrieve it."
"And after reviewing the footage, I knew I had to hand this over to the police.
So I delivered the entire footage to the police as is."
End Testimony
"This is something we covered during yesterday's trial, right? Director Shine claims her footage has not been altered in anyway," Juniper said thoughtfully. "And Robin backed up those words."
That's true. But the fact that Director Shine keeps insisting on this fact is suspicious in its own way. Hugh still couldn't figure out what Director Shine's motive was in all of this- but he had a feeling she was involved in this somehow.
"HOLD IT! If I'm not mistaken, no one saw Miss Moon stab Mr. Scene in the back. So when you discovered the body, did you suspect Miss Moon?" Hugh asked.
"I witnessed Miss Moon savagely thrust her blade into her co-lead just a few minutes ago. I needed to double check myself what happened," Director Shine said.
"OBJECTION!" Hugh slammed his hand on the bench. "The defense would like to point out that it's the witness's speculation that my client stabbed 'savagely'."
"Objection sustained." The Judge glared sternly at Director Shine. "You will keep speculation out of your testimony and stick to the facts."
"Je suis desolée, Your Honor," Director Shine said, wiping her eyes despite a lack of tears.
"Good. That should keep Director Shine from trying to influence opinion on Miss Moon," Hugh said. "Whatever else is going on, she's definitely clever."
"I notice that Director Shine seems to add in French when she speaks. Do you think there's a significance to that?" Juniper asked.
"I think she does that because she thinks it's fancy," Hugh said, deadpan.
Still, the central piece in this testimony was the footage that Director Shine submitted. "HOLD IT! So when you say that the footage was not altered in anyway. Do you stand by this statement? You are under oath."
Director Shine flipped her hair back. "Yes, I stand by what I said. The footage I gave to the prosecution is exactly what was filmed."
Hugh saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and noticed that Mr. Iscariot was now tugging at his beard thoughtfully. I'd forgotten that he was even standing there. Yet he looks like he has something to say.
"HANG ON! Mr. Iscariot, does Director Shine's testimony bring something to mind?"
Mr. Iscariot started, yanking on his beard painfully. "This was the same footage that was shown during the previous trial, right? I only hope that everyone was not too bored."
"'Bored?' What do you mean by bored?" Hugh asked.
"There is nothing so dull in a performance as empty space," Mr. Iscariot said, putting his hands up to mime sleep. "And that video was full of empty-"
Director Shine abruptly smacked Mr. Iscariot upside the head. The Judge banged his gavel several times. "Witness! No violence in the courtroom!"
"Did I do that? Sorry, that just happened," Director Shine said, sweat dripping down her face.
"Prosecutor Newman, what was Mr. Iscariot about to say?" Hugh asked.
"If I'm being honest, I didn't show the full video in court yesterday," Robin said, putting her hands over her mouth.
"You didn't? Why not?" The Judge asked.
"If the court remembers, the camera got knocked over," Robin explained. "And was filming the ceiling. Well, the camera kept filming the ceiling for another five minutes. So I didn't think there was a point in showing that to the court."
"As I was saying, the footage was full of empty space," Mr. Iscariot said, rubbing the spot on his head where he was hit. "So I was afraid the audience would be bored watching that."
"If the video footage was only filming the ceiling, then I don't believe that would be worth viewing," The Judge said. "What is the defense's opinion?"
"I think that Robin is telling the truth about the footage." Juniper said.
"And yet, Director Shine hit Mr. Iscariot as soon as he mentioned the 'empty footage'," Hugh pointed out. "So it must mean something."
Hugh had no idea what the significance could be of the camera filming the ceiling. But he had no choice but to gamble everything on five minutes of "nothing".
Putting on his most confident grin, Hugh exclaimed, "The defense would like to see those five minutes that we didn't see it court yesterday!"
"Ah ha ha ha ha! So you're going to watch nothing but a ceiling," Robin said, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "I'm definitely not going to stop you, then!"
"It seems the prosecution has no objections to seeing the full footage," The Judge said. "Then the court will see the footage again!"
Hugh looked at Director Shine as a T.V. was being set up again, and noticed that she was sweating again. Whatever is in the empty space in the footage, she does not like it.
A court bailiff fast-forwarded through most of the video that was already seen, and stopped as soon as the camera was knocked over.
The court watched with bated breath as the camera filmed the ceiling. As time passed, nothing seemed to be happening- just the unending view of the ceiling. Hugh could feel the air grow colder as the view refused to change.
Then the sound of footsteps filled the air- in fact, it sounded like two sets of footsteps. One set of footsteps sounded like it was coming from heels. Then, there was the sound of something hitting the ground, followed by a loud, fleshy noise.
For another minute, there was silence. Then the sound of a female voice said, "Oh, I left the camera on!"
At that point, the footage stopped again.
As soon as Hugh looked across the courtroom at Robin, he noticed that she was sweating profusely.
"Th-that's all the footage… but that voice! I don't remember being told about there being a voice in the footage!" Robin shouted. "Detective Skye!"
Ema entered the courtroom again, this time wearing a distinctly sheepish expression on her face. "Uh, about that. After having to sit there watching nothing for three minutes, I thought that's all there was to the footage, and I stopped watching. Sorry."
Unexpectedly, Robin started chuckling. "So you probably don't watch the credits in a movie either. I guess this is what Mr. Iscariot meant earlier when he said that the footage was boring. Now that we know there's a voice, could you go get this analyzed?"
"OBJECTION!" Hugh quickly slammed his hand on his bench. "The defense has a good idea of who the voice on this footage belongs to."
"Really? But the voice only said one thing," The Judge said. "Did you really figure out the identity of the person?"
Hugh nodded. "You just have to consider what the voice said. 'Oh, I left the camera on' indicates only one possibility."
Hugh drew his arm back, and pointed right at- "TAKE THAT! Glinda Shine! This voice could only belong to you!"
"Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" Director Shine screamed, drawing up her arms and standing on the tips of her toes.
"OBJECTION! You're probably correct. But of course Director Shine would say that," Robin said, wagging her finger at Hugh. "She is the director. So she noticed that the camera was still running, and turned it off. That's all."
"OBJECTION! If the court will remember, when Mr. Iscariot brought up the 'empty footage' earlier Director Shine hit him to shut him up," Hugh pointed out. "So there must be something more to this footage."
"Non non, you have it all wrong. I did remember that was my voice on the footage, and I realized that it would bring unwarranted suspicion on me," Director Shine said, nervously playing with the brim of her hat. "And I briefly lost my composure."
"So do you still want me to take the footage to be analyzed?" Ema asked from the witness stand.
"You probably should, Detective Skye. It looks like this footage will be more important than we thought," Robin said. "And we should know as much about it as possible. Make sure to be through this t-i-m-e!"
As Ema left the courtroom, hanging her head in shame, the Judge said, "As we wait for the results of the analysis, we should hear more testimony from Director Shine. Are there any objections?"
"The defense has no objections," Hugh said, adjusting his glasses. I knew that Director Shine was connected to this murder somehow. And I'm going to see through her grand deception to the truth hiding behind it all!
To be continued.
A/N: I will say this now: The next chapter wraps up this case. So how do you see this all playing out? Just who is truly behind everything? I eagerly away any theories. See you next time! Please review.