A/N: Final chapter of the year! Where the witness questioning continues. You never know what you learn while in court. All you can do is be prepared. Enjoy, my readers.

"The defense would like to keep questioning the witnesses," Hugh said. "There is testimony that has not been cross-examined."

"The prosecution certainly has no objections," Robin said, grinning. "I believe the testimony will back up Detective Skye's findings."

"OBJECTION! Don't decide the report favors you before we see it, Robin!" Hugh declared.

"Objection sustained. The court allows for the defense to continue their cross-examination," The Judge said. "And the prosecution will not make assumptions about the evidence."

"Miss Booth, I have a question," Hugh said. Establishing an alibi for Carnila would be an important step. "By chance, was she fixing the teacup ride?"

"I get it! If my sister was there, then she couldn't be at the Comet Shuffle!" Sheila exclaimed.

"No, the ride that Carnila was fixing was much taller," Nina said, swaying from side to side. "And she seemed to be having a hard time of it too."

"Taller would certainly seem to indicate the Comet Shuffle," Robin pointed out. "And as far as I know, no other rides were broken that night."

Hugh couldn't think of any other ride that could fit the bill either. "Shiela, what did your sister tell you about her work?"

"She told me that the teacup ride had a rotor broken, and that the Comet Shuffle also needed to be fixed immediately," Sheila said, picking at the hem of her shirt. "But I'm sure she decided to fix the teacup ride first!"

Robin shook her head. "If Nina's testimony is true, then Carnila was at the Comet Shuffle during the night of the crime. That means it's possible for her to be the culprit!"

"Miss Booth! You have to be clear- did you see Carnila at the Comet Shuffle that night?!" Hugh demanded.

Nina drew her arms up to her chest. "I c-can't say for sure. It was really dark, and I think I saw Carnila. But I didn't stick around, so I don't know for sure what she did."

"Hmm. This testimony is not as strong as it could be," The Judge said, his eyes closed. "Yet, when taken with the other evidence…"

"OBJECTION! The defense is not done!" Hugh said quickly. Of the witnesses left, Jacob hadn't been questioned. "Mr. Tumble. Can you say for sure that you saw the victim with a contract?"

Jacob balanced on his toes. "I don't know what to tell ya, Mr. O'Conner. I saw the name 'Carnila Winters' on the piece of paper that she had."

"It's the prosecution's theory that the victim was carrying the defendant's contract," Robin said, holding her hands behind her back. "And they intended to meet with Miss Winters!"

Hugh could feel himself break out into a cold sweat. Right now, I can't deny Robin's claims. So, where do I progress from here?

"How are you so sure that the meeting was an angry one?" Sheila asked, picking at the hem of her dress. "Maybe they talked about happy things!"

I have no idea if that's how it worked out. But honestly, I'd take anything by this point. Hugh stopped and considered that he was taking advice from a child. Hopefully the defense doesn't get any worse than this.

"It's as they say, from the mouth of babes is the truth," Hugh said, forcing a smug smile. "I would like to put forth the theory that conversation between Ms. Illusa and Miss Winters was perfectly innocent."

"OBJECTION! And on what basis do you claim that?" Robin asked.

"On the basis that there are no direct witnesses to the crime," Hugh pointed out. "The testimony demonstrated that Miss Winters was seen at the carnival, but not that she was standing on the maintenance platform with the victim!"

"You're totally right, Hugh! No one would convict based on that alone!" Robin shouted, shaking her fists.

"The prosecution is agreeing with the defense? That's unusual," The Judge said. "Does that mean you're retracting your theory, Prosecutor Newman?"

"Oh, I didn't say that! Just that this case can't be proved with a direct eyewitness doesn't mean my theory is wrong!" Robin declared, pointing dramatically. "It just means I'll prove my case another way! For example, we could talk about what the defendant's contract says."

"OBJECTION!" Hugh quickly cut in. "The defense believes there's no reason to bring up the contract!"

"OBJECTION! And the prosecution believes this evidence forms the defendant's motive!" Robin countered. "So that is cause enough to bring it up!"

The Judge slammed down his gavel. "The defense and prosecution would do well to clarify what they mean to the court."

If I let Robin explain it, then she'll paint Carnila as guilty as possible. I need to control the conversation!

"Among the facts that the defense uncovered yesterday, we learned about the contracts that the employees of the carnival work under," Hugh explained. "But we have the employees themselves at the witness stand. Why don't they tell us about their contracts?"

Nina clasped her hands together, her expression conflicted. "My contract tells me that I can be asked to take on extra duties for no extra pay. I mean, I'm happy to do them…"

Harry clenched his fists, his mouth in a scowl. "My contracts gives no recompense for injuries in case my fire grows out of control. I train to make sure that doesn't happen, but accidents are inevitable…"

For the first time, the smile slipped off of Jacob's face. "Performing to brings smiles on the faces of children is my passion. But I'm paid by performance, and sometimes I don't get many…"

The Judge's expression was outraged. "It sounds like Ms. Illusa was exploiting her employees! Why was nothing done about this?"

Robin smacked the gallery stand behind her with palm. "In fact, the Prosecutor's Office was looking into this, but before we could close the case Ms. Illusa was murdered! The defendant suffered from a predatory contract as well- one that lays all liability for broken rides on them, not the owner!"

"So this is why the prosecution asserted that their contract would serve as a motive. However, it sounds like any of the employees working at this carnival would have the same motive," The Judge said. "Why would this affect the defendant more than anyone?"

At this point, Robin's expression became somber. "Because the defendant has something that the witnesses don't: a little sister to take care of. It brings me no joy to say this, but the prosecution believes that Miss Winters committed her murder to preserve her job, and her ability to care for her sister with it!"

"...What? The prosecutor is saying that Carny did it... for me?" Sheila asked, her eyes wide.

"The defense must point out that as of right now, they can't prove what kind of conversation transpired!" Hugh exclaimed. "And the defendant has a right to not testify!"

"This is true. So the prosecution's assertion of the defendant's motive cannot be accepted," The Judge said. "At least, not without further evidence."

"Which is why it's important that only the defendant had the chance to commit the murder- Miss Winters is the only one that could have accessed the Comet Shuffle," Robin said. "When you take this with the motive, I must conclude that she's the killer!"

"Mr. O'Conner, that prosecutor keeps insisting that my sister did it! Stop her!" Sheila cried out.

"I want to, but as long as there's no way to disprove Robin's assertion, we're stuck," Hugh said, his face pale. "We need a breakthrough to help us."

"Your Honor!" In that moment, Ema entered the courtroom with a smug grin on her face. "The investigation has finished! We can confirm that there is indeed a dolly stored in the carnival's maintenance area. There is blood on it, and it belongs to none other than the victim!"

"That's not the kind of breakthrough I meant!" Hugh screamed.

"The handle of the dolly was wiped with fingerprints," Ema continued. "But since the defendant was witnessed using it, the lack of prints doesn't mean anything."

Bloody Dolly added to the Court Record

The Judge shook his head sadly. "So the witness's testimony was true. In which case, it is hard to believe that anyone but the defendant could be the culprit."

"Your Honor, please wait!" Yet Hugh didn't have anything to say. He just wanted to delay a verdict until he could think of a better defense.

If you do not see a path to the client's innocence, make one yourself.

Professor Means' words echoed in Hugh's head. Where he might have ignored them before, he considered them.

Right now, I am completely out of options. I need only the smallest sliver of possibility. But how do I make it?

The Judge glared down at Hugh. "The defense requested for a wait on the verdict. So whatever you're going to say, do it now."

I'm out of time too! Hugh nervously adjusted his glasses. "The court has not considered the possibility of another culprit. One which the defense has evidence to expose!"

"Then present this evidence now. Be warned- if it turns out the defense is bluffing, or stalling for time, they will be penalized heavily."

Why does it always end up like this? Hugh thought back to Professor Means' lesson- create a path to the client's innocence. My best option is to create another possible culprit.

"TAKE THAT! Think back to the state of the body when it was discovered," Hugh said. "It was covered it a mysterious black powder. Detective Skye, what can you tell us about it?"

"Hm? It's a kind of soot," Ema answered, her finger on her chin. "It's not regular ash, but I can't be sure where it's from."

"Well, we have none other than a fire eater on the witness stand," Hugh said, pointing at Harry. "Why don't we question him about this soot?"

"OBJECTION! If the defense is trying to invent a new suspect out of thin air, the prosecution will stop it!" Robin called out.

Hugh shook his head. "I provided evidence to question the witness further. So I am inventing nothing!"

"The defense is correct. If nothing else, we must clear up where the evidence came from," The Judge said. "So the court orders the witness to testify."

Harry swung his torch in front of him. "You have a lot of nerve, trying to tamp down my flame with gasoline. I will show you what happens when you play with fire!"

Witness Testimony

About the soot

Harry twirled his unlit torch in his hands. "If I understand what the defense is suggesting, then I somehow dirtied the owner with my soot."

Nina smoothed out her uniform. "I worry about Harry, because it seems like he doesn't take care of himself. It's not my job, but still."

"I don't remember seeing Harry close to the body," Jacob said, knocking the helmet he was wearing with his fist. "And that's the honest truth!"

Harry posed, hands on his hips, showing off his bare chest. "As my coworkers have said, I was not related to this murder. This is the blazing reality!"

End Testimony

"I think that Harry is making stuff up," Sheila said, crossing her arms. "He's hiding something!"

"I did notice that his final statement took liberties with what the other witnesses were saying. But this is the last time that he gets away with this!" Hugh declared.

"I'd like to remind the defense that this is the only lead pointing to the witness," Robin said, her tone dead serious. "So if it goes nowhere, then there's nothing stopping a guilty verdict!"

"Then I'll have to make the most of this lead that's been uncovered," Hugh said, adjusting his glasses.

Hugh began the cross-examination by showing the picture of Ms. Illusa's body again. "Right now, we know that there is soot on the victim's body. Well, we have Detective Skye right here. We can ask her to analyze it."

"I guess that's right!" Ema said, clapping her hand to her face in surprise. "It wouldn't take long to get the results."

"There's no need. The soot on the body is from one of my torches." Harry combed his fingers upwards through his hair. "But I am not the reason that happened."

He admitted to that pretty quickly. He's just that confident that we won't prove anything.

If questioning Harry directly wouldn't do any good, Hugh would change tack. "HOLD IT! I'd like to know what you mean, Miss Booth. How is Harry bad at taking care of himself?"

"You already know that he's a firebreather, right? Well, sometimes he does burn himself," Nina said, twiddling her fingers. "And other times, his face is black with ash. He gets it all over the place."

Hugh smirked smugly. "You don't say? So, it's entirely possible that the soot on Ms. Illusa is from Harry?"

"I think it could have happened," Nina said, nervously glancing at Harry standing next to her.

Harry glared at Hugh. "The flames of my rage are growing hotter every time we retread this point. I was not near the body!"

"And the testimony from Mr. Tumble supports this very point," Robin pointed out. "So I think we can establish that he wasn't anywhere near the victim."

Hugh considered Jacob's statement more closely. It was true, he didn't witness Harry near Ms. Illusa. Yet, he needed to find some kind of flaw in this testimony.

"HOLD IT! So you are sure about that? You didn't see Harry with Ms. Illusa at any point?" Hugh asked.

"If we're talking about when he could have gotten soot on the body, then he should have been near the teacup ride," Jacob said, poking his rubber nose. "But I don't remember seeing him there."

"Huh, is that so?"

Hugh caught Nina muttering to herself. For once, she seemed to be deep in thought.

"HANG ON!" Hugh slammed his right palm onto the bench. "Miss Booth, did listening to Jacob make you think of something?"

"It's about what Jacob was doing during the night of crime," Ninsa said, scratching her head. "Now, I could be wrong. But weren't you practicing at the circus tent the whole time!"

"That's right!" Jacob said, honking his horn. "I wanted to perfect my act for the next performance. I know that Harry was going in and out of the tent."

"If Ms. Illusa's body was found near the teacup ride, you couldn't have seen who brought it there. Because isn't that ride on the other side of the carnival from the circus tent?"

Silence fell over the court as Nina's words sank in. Robin had broken out in a profuse sweat, Hugh was now rubbing his neck, and Sheila wasn't sure what was happening.

"...So, where does this leave us, exactly?" The Judge asked.

"That it's very possible that Mr. Scarlet is the one that took the victim's body to the ride in question!" Hugh quickly said. "We do have evidence pointing in that direction!"

"OBJECTION! There is much stronger evidence pointing towards the defendant as the culprit!" Robin countered.

"It doesn't seem like this discussion can go much further," The Judge said. "Unless someone can provide a clear picture of the suspects' movements."

In that moment, an idea hit upon Hugh. He knew it was crazy. Normally, he wouldn't think of it. It went against something he'd suggested earlier. But to Hugh, it seemed like the only way to clear up the case… and his doubts.

"The defense would like to call the defendant to the stand."

Robin's put her hands in front of her mouth, her eyes closed. "The prosecution has no objections to that, naturally. But… are you sure you want to do that, Hugh?"

Hugh nodded. "I'm sure, Robin. I want to fulfill my duty as a lawyer, to the fullest extent."

"If both sides are in agreement, then this court will hear the defendant's testimony," The Judge said. "So I will now announce a twenty minute recess, to give time to prepare. Court is adjourned!"

I am an attorney. So I know what it means to take this path. But for the sake of my own morals, I cannot turn away.

To be continued.

A/N: This project is going into the new decade! Not only that, but this trial will enter the second half next time. How do you see this trial unraveling? I always want to hear from my readers. See you next time! Please review.