A/N: We are now entering court! Juniper has little evidence to work with, and she is going up against Robin. Cheer her on as she fights for her client with everything she has. Enjoy, my fair readers!

April 27th, 2029

District Courthouse, Defendant Lobby #3

9:40 a.m.

"Feeling pumped up for the trial ahead?" Athena asked, punching her palm with her fist. "Because if not, we could always run laps around the courthouse!"

"No thank you, Thena," Juniper said softly. "I'm reviewing the evidence right now."

Athena frowned. "Are you okay, Junie? I hear a lot of turmoil in your voice."

"During yesterday's investigation, I discovered that Robin is prosecuting this trial. I'm wondering why she is doing this," Juniper said, rubbing her proof of friendship.

"Not to mention, we didn't turn up much evidence during the investigation," Hugh said. "We're definitely going into the trial walking quite the tightrope."

"So in other words, business as usual for us," Athena said with an encouraging smile. "I believe you can do this, Junie! And I'll be rooting for you from the gallery!"

"Thank you, Thena," Juniper said, her chest feeling lighter from her best friend's words. "I'm glad that you're here for me."

"Of course, we can't forget about you, Mr. Artisan," Athena added. "How are you?"

The mangaka didn't verbally answer. Instead, he took out his pencil and drew on the palm of his hand, before he revealing that he drew a rain cloud on it.

"Man of few words, huh. I guess I can't blame you," Athena said. "Just leave everything to Juniper and it will be fine!"

While the words were meant to reassure Mr. Artisan, it also put pressure on Juniper's shoulders. In the end, it was ultimately up to her to free her client from these charges.

April 27, 2029

District Courthouse, Courtroom #4

10:00 a.m.

Day 1

Court is now in session

ALL RISE

"Court is now in session for the trial of Andres Artisan," The Judge said. "Are the prosecution and defense ready?"

"The defense is ready," Juniper said. Across from her, she could see Robin standing at the prosecution bench. Robin was wearing her usual smile, making it hard for Juniper to guess what she was thinking.

"What about you, Prosecutor Newman?" The Judge asked.

Robin didn't respond, holding her hands behind her back.

The Judge slammed down his gavel. "Prosecutor Newman!"

"The prosecution is ready," Robin said, closing her eyes. "Sorry I didn't respond earlier! I reviewing the case in my head."

"I received the case files this morning." The Judge shook his head. "So I suppose I can't blame you for being unsettled."

"The defendant is an artist named Andres Artisan. The prosecution's investigation revealed that he was close to the victim." Robin paused, and lowered her head, her bangs obscuring her eyes. "The victim's name was Skylar Scribe, and she was an author. The victim and the defendant often collaborated together."

So then why are you prosecuting Mr. Artisan? I still don't understand that, Robin. Juniper couldn't ask this out loud. Her role today was to defend Mr. Artisan. So as much as she wanted to have this question answered, it would have to wait.

"And yet, Miss Scribe is dead and Mr. Artisan stands accused of her murder." The Judge closed his eyes. "Where did the crime take place?"

Robin took out a paper and laid it on her easel. "This crime took place two days ago, on April 26th. The alleged scene of the crime was a parking lot near the Los Angeles convention center."

The crime took place two days ago. So shouldn't have every possibility been investigated in that time? Juniper remembered Detective Skye saying she'd been asked to investigate multiple times. Something about that rang odd to Juniper.

"To be more specific, the victim's body was found in the trunk of the defendant's car," Robin continued. "It is believed that the killer put the victim in here, and strangled her while she was inside it!"

"How awful!" The Judge exclaimed. "But why did the defendant decide to put the body in the car in the first place?"

"That is a question that the prosecution will answer through the testimony and evidence that will follow," Robin said. Robin slammed her hand on the bench. "So the prosecution calls Detective Ema Skye to the stand!"

"After how little information we got during the investigation, cross-examining her will help," Hugh said. "But now it's a question of whether she will cooperate with us."

"Detective Skye did seem pretty convinced that Mr. Artisan was guilty," Juniper said, holding her hands to her chest. "So her testimony probably won't be in our favor."

Detective Skye took the stand, already wolfing down on her Snackoos. This worried Juniper, because it meant Ema was already in a foul mood.

"N-a-m-e and occupation, please!" Robin exclaimed, bouncing her finger playfully.

"Ema Skye, forensic investigator and detective." Ema went back to munching on her Snackoos.

"Ummmm… you are going to give your testimony, right?" The Judge asked.

"Okay, fine. But only because I have to," Ema said, putting away her Snackoos and pouting.

"What do you think is bothering her? I think this is the first time I've seen her like this," Juniper said.

"Who knows. Hopefully it doesn't make her harder to cross-examine." Hugh said, adjusting his glasses.

-Witness Testimony-

-Overview of the crime-

"As Prosecutor Newman stated, the crime took place two days ago," Ema said. "The victim was killed in the trunk of the defendant's car."

"As for the defendant's motive, I believe that Mr. Artisan and Miss Scribe had a falling out, and it resulted in a fight. Miss Scribe was knocked out."

Ema took out her phone, studying the screen. "So Mr. Artisan stuffed Miss Scribe in his trunk in a panic. Then Mr. Artisan drove to dispose the body."

"However, Mr. Artisan must have realized that the victim wasn't dead. So he went into the parking lot to check on her." Ema put her hand on her hip, a glare on her face.

"And when Mr. Artisan saw that Miss Scribe was still alive, he strangled her to finish her off. But a witness saw the act and reported him to the police."

-End Testimony-

Juniper could see a detail that she didn't hear about yesterday. "Detective Skye, what's this about the victim being knocked out?"

"During the autopsy, a wound on the back of the victim's head was discovered," Ema explained. "Judging by its shape, we believe the victim was slammed against a wall, or a similar flat surface."

Autopsy Report Updated in the Court Record

"It's like the opposite kind of wound that Mr. Scene suffered, during the previous case," Hugh said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Although perhaps Miss Scribe's wound could reveal a new fact too?"

Juniper got a different takeaway from this new information. Whoever the true killer is, they seemed to bear true malice towards Miss Scribe.

"The prosecution's case has been made clear. Does the defense still assert the defendant's innocence?" The Judge asked.

"Of course, Your Honor. So the defense would like to carry out its cross-examination," Juniper said. At last, she would get her chance to fight back against these charges.

"HOLD IT! So how are you so sure that the crime took place in the parking lot? How do you know it didn't take place somewhere else?" This would be the easiest way to prove that another suspect existed.

"Because the crime couldn't have taken place anywhere else. The witness testimony didn't mention anyone else near the defendant's car," Detective Skye said.

"But you mentioned that Mr. Artisan had a falling out with Miss Scribe at some other location," Juniper pointed out. "So shouldn't that mean that the crime could have happened outside of the parking lot?"

"The prosecution would like to add something here," Robin said. "The time of death is from two in the afternoon to three. The crime was witnessed at about 2:45 in the afternoon."

"Oh! So that means the entire period before then is unaccounted for." Juniper said.

"That's splitting hairs!" Ema snapped. "The crime was witnessed at 2:45, so it couldn't have happened at any other time."

This segued into the next statement. "HOLD IT! Do you at least know what kind of falling out Mr. Artisan would have with his best friend?"

"Since they collaborated, my best guess would be that they had some kind of work-related argument," Ema answered. "And it got out of hand."

"That seems like a vague way to put the defendant's motive," The Judge said. "Prosecutor Newman, what do you have to add to this?"

Robin clenched her fists. "One thing is for sure: the killer is an awful, cruel person! So they have a strong motive for having killed Miss Scribe."

Which was the same conclusion that Juniper had arrived at earlier. Yet, that didn't make things any clearer.

"HOLD IT! Something occurs to me. Do you think that Mr. Artisan really could have believed he killed Skylar by slamming her against a wall?" As far as Juniper could tell, that would really hurt, but not kill.

"It's not as hard to believe as you'd think," Ema said, scratching the side of her neck. "I once worked a case where a doctor believed he accidentally strangled a woman to death."

"Wasn't that the case where the victim's dead body was carried off by a noodle stand?" The Judge asked.

"It was the other- never mind," Ema said quickly. "The point is, if a professional doctor could make this kind of mistake, then so can someone with no medical knowledge like the defendant."

"I'm sorry, what was that about a noodle stand?" Hugh asked, sweating. "Just when I think I've heard it all when it comes to court cases."

"Ema's point still stands. If we can't prove Mr. Artisan didn't have a reason to kill Miss Scribe, he'll be found guilty." What worried Juniper more was that the crime wasn't becoming any clearer. Even as Ema elaborated on the details of this case, the pieces weren't fitting quite right.

"HOLD IT! So the prosecution's assertion is that Miss Scribe regained consciousness while in the trunk of the car. So how did Mr. Artisan know that this happened?" Juniper asked.

"If the victim moved around in the trunk that would obviously make noise," Ema answered. She put her hand on her hip and glared at Juniper. "These are fairly obvious facts!"

"Then is there proof that Miss Scribe woke up while in the trunk of the car?" Juniper slammed her palm down on the bench. "Because proof hasn't been presented that my client even fought with her!"

"Ah! Where did that come from?!" Ema exclaimed, clapping her hand to her cheek.

"HOLD IT! Well, as far as evidence inside the trunk goes, no fingerprints were found," Robin said. "So there is no proof that Miss Scribe touched anywhere inside."

"Good job, Juniper! Your questioning exposed a hole in the prosecution's case," Hugh said, smirking. "We're finally making some progress."

Then why… does it not feel that way? Why does it feel like this case hasn't gone anywhere even after all the pressing I've done? There was a disquieting feeling in Juniper's gut. Something about this testimony just didn't sit right with her.

There was a final statement to press. "HOLD IT! So then is the next witness is going to testify about the alleged moment of the crime? Because at this point, the defense doesn't believe that there are grounds to declare the defendant guilty."

"At this point, I would normally be excused from the stand so the new witness could testify," Ema said. "But I am not leaving. This case needs my forensics expertise!"

"The prosecution has no objections to this! I'm determined to go through as much testimony as possible to find what it unveils!" Robin declared, pointing her finger dramatically.

"HOLD IT!"

Everyone looked around to see who had spoken that so suddenly. It turns out that Athena had taken to the witness stand, to Ema's surprise.

"Athena? What are you doing on the witness stand?" Ema asked.

"There is something that I need to say to the court," Athena said, her expression serious.

"OBJECTION! Athena, I know you're really excited about cheering on Juniper in court," Robin said sweetly. "But you need to do it in the witness gallery."

"Junie is doing so well though… wait, that's not why I'm here!" Athena said quickly.

"Is what you want to talk about related to the murder?" Robin asked, her hands over her mouth.

"Well, I guess it's not directly related to the murder," Athena said, playing with her earring. "It is re-"

The Judge slammed his gavel down on his bench. "Then return to the gallery. If you don't, then I will have a bailiff escort you out of the courthouse."

"Wait! I do have something important to say!" Athena exclaimed. Before Athena could say anymore, a bailiff appeared next to her and grabbed her arm. The bailiff, Juniper noticed, was Bailey.

"You need to know when to fold them," Bailey said to Athena. "This is not the time to fight this battle."

"No! Listen to me!" Athena yelled as she was getting dragged away. "Something about this-!"

Athena's words were cut off as she was taken out of this courtroom. "Wait, what was Thena going to say?" Juniper wondered.

"Well, after the fuss she made, I don't think Athena is going to be let back into the courtroom any time soon," Hugh said. "We'll have to talk to her about it after court."

"Right. We need to focus on saving Mr. Artisan first," Juniper said, pumping her fists.

At the witness stand, Ema looked down, her expression disheartened. "And here I was hoping that Athena could save me from this disaster."

While Ema's words had implied that there was only one new witness, that turned out to not be the case: a man and a woman joined the witness stand.

The woman looked like she was close to Juniper's age, had straw-blonde hair in a ponytail, and hazel-colored eyes. She was wearing a pair of blue overalls with a white undershirt.

The man to her right, in sharp contrast, was wearing a racing helmet that obscured his face. He also wore a jumpsuit that was covered in black and white vertical stripes.

"N-a-m-e and occupation, witnesses!" Robin exclaimed.

"My name is Dakota Sapling," The blonde woman said, clutching her hands to her chest. "I'm an author that writes heart-pounding love stories!"

The man next to her raised his hands. "My name is Dash Swerve! I'm a taxi driver that gets his clients to where they need to go, in an extreme way!" The man moved his hands as if he were revving something.

"What a pair of… passionate witnesses," Juniper said, unsure of how else to react.

"Oh, do I have to introduce to myself again? *Munch munch munch* My name is Ema Skye," Ema said, holding a whole new bag of Snackoos. "And I'm here to just look pretty, apparently."

"Ema's mood just took yet another significant nosedive," Hugh quipped. "That can't be good."

"And it happened after Athena got kicked out of the courtroom," Juniper noted. "I do wonder if they became friends at some point."

"Now that we can return to the trial, it's time for the key testimony of this case," Robin said, smiling as if nothing happened. "When the witnesses saw Andres Artisan open the trunk of his car."

"Such an awful sight! It shakes my fragile little heart just thinking about it," Dakota said, her entire body shuddering. "But still, if I must, I will do my best to talk about it."

"And I will give my account at top speed! That way, the defendant will be found guilty in great haste!" Mr. Swerve exclaimed.

What are these witnesses going to reveal? Whatever it is, I need to be ready for anything. The real trial has only just begun…

To be continued…

A/N: Maybe some of you have noticed something going on in this case. What do you think it happening? How do you see things developing from here? I look forward to your thoughts. I'll see you again soon with the rest of the first trial. See you next time! Please review.