A/N: The beginning of the first trial day! Where first of all, we are going to meet the final prosecutor of this story. As I've been saying, give Juniper your energy as she faces the trial ahead. Enjoy, my readers!

June 6th, 2029

District Courthouse, Defendant Lobby #1

9:30 a.m.

"I thought I told you to flee." Bailey said as Juniper entered the defendant lobby. Her words were softened by the fact that she was still in a maid dress.

"I thought I told you that I won't leave you at a time like this," Juniper said. "There isn't really another defense attorney that would be able to take on this case on such a short notice."

"This truly is the darkest hour. You are about to head into a battle the likes of which you've never known," Bailey said. "I will give you this last chance. Do you truly believe you will be able to face this?"

"Ready or not, I need to stand in court." Juniper looked at the defense attorney badge pinned to her lapel. "All that I ask is for you to believe in me."

"That is all you ask, yet it is also the hardest question you could have asked." And Bailey stopped there, without giving an actual answer.

After everything that's happened between us, I suppose it would be hard to build trust. I don't know if any words could get through to Bailey. So all I can do is earn that trust in court.

Though, looking around the courtroom, Juniper noticed something else. "Where are Robin and Athena? Hugh's busy in another courtroom, but I expected them to be here at least."

Where the defender in yellow is, I know not. However, Robin is already in the courtroom," Bailey said. "So you will see her soon."

"Robin's already in the courtroom? But she didn't tell me that she'd be here so early…"

But if she's already there, I should probably go there as well. At least Robin will help me get to the truth of this case.

June 6th, 2029

District Courthouse, Courtroom #4

10:00 a.m.

DAY ONE
COURT IS IN SESSION
ALL RISE

"Court is now in session for the trial of Bailey Courte."

The Judge's words barely registered for Juniper. Because as Bailey said, Robin was indeed already in the courtroom. Except she was standing at the prosecutor's bench.

"Robin? What are you doing over there?" Juniper asked.

Robin didn't answer, staring blankly at the ground while she clutched her arm.

"I must say, I am as surprised as the defense," The Judge said. "I recently received news of your dismissal from the prosecutor's office, Miss Newman. So what brings you to the prosecutor's bench?"

"She is here on my behest, Your Honor. I apologize for my tardiness."

Juniper froze as a familiar voice hit her ears. You're the reason that Robin's here? What on earth are you doing in court?

With slow, but firm steps, Diana Newman strode into the courtroom, placing herself at Robin's left. "Hello there, Your Honor. I have not seen you in a long while. Have you been doing well?"

"Oh, Prosecutor Newman. It has indeed been many years since you've stepped into the courtroom," The Judge said. "What brings you back to the prosecutor's bench?"

"Hold on a moment! I don't understand what's going on here!" Juniper exclaimed. "Mrs. Newman, why are you in court?"

Mrs. Newman sighed, putting a hand on her cheek. "Oh, Junie. I know you don't pay attention to what's going on around you, but this is almost heartbreaking. I'm in court because I'm a prosecutor."

"But that's impossible… if you were a prosecutor, then how did I never…? Even as Juniper talked, her mind was catching up with the little hints she'd never caught before.

Mrs. Newman being able to step onto an active crime scene during Miss Moon's case, without being stopped or questioned. How every time Juniper asked her for advice in legal matters, Mrs. Newman always seemed to know exactly what to say.

How Mrs. Newman had sworn to personally take matters into her own hands, during yesterday's investigation.

"But wait! From what I heard, the prosecutor was supposed to be Khurain'ese! Which you aren't… are you?" Juniper asked tentatively, unsure of what to believe anymore.

"There seems to have been a little misunderstanding," Mrs. Newman said, giggling delicately. "What you probably heard is that the prosecutor was arriving from Khuar'in. Which I did- I was in that country until only a couple months ago, remember?"

"The Midnah Ni'te incident!" Suddenly, everything made total sense. There was a detail about that story that never quite clicked right with Juniper, before now.

"Yes, while I had my family in hiding abroad, I happened to make a friend," Mrs. Newman said. "And it is thanks to that friend that I can stand here now."

"The defense should know that the Khurain'ese government personally vouched for Prosecutor Newman to oversee this case." The Judge added.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to keep leisurely chatting like this," Mrs. Newman shook her head. "We have a trial to conduct."

"Indeed, Prosecutor Newman. What matters now is that we get to the bottom of the murder at hand," The Judge said in a serious tone. "And I hope that the defense and the prosecution is ready."

All this time, Robin had not said a word. Just kept staring blankly into the bench, gripping onto her proof of friendship for dear life.

"Please outline the case to the court, Prosecutor Newman." The Judge said.

Mrs. Newman took out a clear file, opening it out in front of her with one hand. "The victim was Tony Smokes, a detective at the local precinct. I will now submit the autopsy report to the court."

Juniper was handed a copy of the report by a bailiff. Oh, we never did get this yesterday, did we? I should probably read it over now.

"The time of death was June 5th, between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. The cause of death was loss of blood, due to being stabbed in the heart. No other injuries have been found on the body."

Smokes' Autopsy Report added to the Court Record

Mrs. Newman smoothed out the hem of her dress. "What's important about this crime is who was with the victim when it happened. Which is only one person- the defendant, Bailey Courte."

It seemed like almost everything had been accounted for, but Juniper did notice something that had never been addressed. "Bailey has no reason to want to kill Mr. Smokes! She worked for him as a live-in maid."

"Junie, you forget one of the most important lessons of the legal system," Mrs. Newman said, tutting under her breath. "Sometimes you have to turn your thinking around. Consider that there is a motive that is only possible because the defendant worked so closely to the victim."

"The court would ask the prosecution to elaborate on this motive," The Judge said. "Claims like these are not to be made without evidence."

"The defendant only began her tenure as a live-in maid only a little over a year ago," Mrs. Newman explained. "As my investigation has uncovered, she had an ulterior motive for doing so."

Mrs. Newman presented a file to the court that had an official looking seal on it. "This appears to have been what the defendant was after all along."

"Prosecutor Newman, what is in this file? You can present this as a motive if we don't know what it is!" Juniper exclaimed.

"It is a file concerning none other than the defendant's mother, Constance Courte." Now Mrs. Newman's expression was deadly serious. "One can imagine what happened from here- Detective Smokes refused to hand over the file, and so Bailey had no other choice but to kill for it."

Mysterious Court File added to the Court Record

"That's the file that Bailey talked with Prosecutor Gavin about!"

For the first time, Robin finally spoke up, and it was with shock on her face.

"Nice of you to finally join us, dear," Mrs. Newman said sweetly. "Now what do you mean by that?"

"Um, well, the other day, Prosecutor Gavin was asking Bailey for help in investigating a past case that Professor Courte was looking into," Robin said, her eyes darting back and forth. "And Bailey had promised him a file."

The Judge considered the words being spoken by both Robin and Mrs. Newman. "Then that would mean that the file presented is the one that was promised. However, if the victim had refused to hand it over…"

"OBJECTION! The prosecution has no proof of what kind of conversation happened between Detective Smokes and Bailey!" Juniper quickly said. She knew that she had no proof of what happened either, but hopefully she could get more information.

"Maybe no one heard the conversation itself. But if we put together the circumstances of the crime, then everything will become clear," Mrs. Newman said. "Which is why I now call the detective in charge of the investigation to the stand!"

As always, Ema Skye arrived at the witness stand. But this time, she had a very troubled look on her face, as she sadly nibbled on a Snackoo.

"Detective Skye, you really do not look well," The Judge noted. "Will you be fit to testify?"

"I kind of have to testify. But everything about this case sucks…" Ema said, before pushing another Snackoo into her mouth.

"Yes, it's tough to be a professional sometimes," Mrs. Newman said, sighing. "But sometimes you have to force yourself to put on your best face and push forward. And I need you to do that for me right now!"

"Ema… please do your best!" Robin exclaimed from her place at the prosecutor's bench. "I know how things seem right now, but please believe in her! Believe that everything will work out!"

"That's really where we are right now, isn't it." Detective Skye put away her bag of Snackoos. "I suppose I have a job to do."

Witness Testimony

The basic facts

"The victim was a detective named Tony Smokes, who has served at the precinct for about a decade. There has never been a complaint about his conduct."

"Detective Smokes hired the defendant as a live-in maid about a year ago, and from what I could investigate, there has never been a personal issue between them."

Ema put one of her hands on her hip. "However, not only was the defendant the only person found in the crime scene, but no one else in the house would have a motive."

End Testimony

"It looks like we're focusing on the motive right now." Juniper said. When no one answered her, Juniper looked to her right and remembered that she was alone.

"That's right, Junie. There truly is no safety net here," Mrs. Newman said. "Only your ability as an attorney will help you now."

This is only the third case I've ever had as a defense attorney. Am I really going to be able to do this alone?

Of course, even with so many questions hanging in the air, the court procedure didn't change- first, Juniper had to press Ema for more information. "HOLD IT! As a detective, would you have knowledge of the victim's record that no one else does?"

"That would be correct, but there is also information that is confidential," Ema said. "What I can say is that Detective Smokes has never been reprimanded or suspended for his work as a detective."

I guess that means that the motive for this crime can't be something work related.

"HOLD IT! If there has never been a personal issue for the year that Bailey has worked for the detective, then why would there be a reason to murder now?" This was a genuine question: Juniper did not get a sense that Bailey had the desire to kill on the day the murder happened.

"As I asserted before, this time there was something that the defendant desperately wanted." Mrs. Newman said.

"Hmm… the prosecution's claim has been made clear," The Judge said. "What is the defense's response?"

"Um, I think that it still wouldn't be a reason to kill," Juniper said nervously. "I mean, even if Detective Smokes refused to give Bailey the file, what's to stop her from asking again? She lived in the same house as the Detective- she could have asked on any day."

"Tee hee hee. Usually, you'd be right," Mrs. Newman said, lightly putting her hand over her mouth. "However, the day of the crime was special. I'm sure you remember that there were multiple people in the manor asking questions, you and your friends included. How did that go?"

"Well, Detective Smokes didn't answer to Hugh's satisfaction, but he also did invite us to try again the following day," Juniper said, trying to remember any detail she might have missed. "But I don't see why that would be a problem."

For the first time, Mrs. Newman's expression changed to a severe indignation. "Oh, the reason why Tony invited you to try again is because he was planning to leave that house before the day was out. So everyone would have arrived at an empty house, if he had not been killed."

"Then the motive for this murder is that the defendant was aware that the victim planned to leave," The Judge said thoughtfully. "I suppose Miss Courte would have access to the victim's plans that no one else would."

"OBJECTION! I'm sorry, but I absolutely have to objeeeeect!" Robin yelled.

"Robin, you know it is rude to just interrupt like that," Mrs. Newman said, waving her finger at her daughter. "But if you have something important to say, then say it."

"It's simple! If Bailey knew of Mr. Smokes' plan to leave, then why wouldn't it follow that he might have planned to take Bailey with her?"

"Yes, that's right!" Juniper exclaimed desperately. "We don't have a reason to believe Detective Smokes would just abandon Bailey abruptly!"

"We can't ask Tony anymore what his intentions might have been. However, there is still something we can do here in court," Mrs. Newman said. "And that is looking at the evidence left at the crime scene. Detective Skye, you know what to do."

Yeah yeah, give testimony. I'll get right on that," Ema said, still very unenthused. "But I don't have to like it."

This trial has barely begun, and there are more questions than I could possibly know what to do with. Right now, the evidence points to the idea that Bailey was alone with Detective Smokes when the murder happened.

Juniper took a deep breath, before looking across the courtroom where Robin was standing. Robin met Juniper's eyes, and nodded.

Juniper nodded in return. I understand, Robin. I will defend Bailey until the very end, so that we can find the truth of this case!

To be continued

A/N: About the "Mid'nah Ni'te" incident that has been referred to several times: There will be a brief explanation later in this case. However, the incident itself will also be explored in depth, after this story ends. A lot of this chapter was focused on the grand reveal, so not a lot of the trial has been explored yet. But believe me, we still have a long way to go before we reach the end. See you next time! Please review.