Monday, June 2nd, 9:00 AM

Courtroom No. 2

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Locklan Key. Is the defense ready?"

"We're ready, your Honor!" Apollo said, a little too loudly. Trucy flinched and he smiled sheepishly.

"And the prosecution?"

Across from him, Klavier played his ever-present air guitar. "The prosecution is ready to rock as always, Herr Judge."

He nodded. "Then will the prosecution please make your opening statement?"

The man finished his mute guitar solo with a flourish and said, "Of course," with a smirk. He smacked the wall behind him and the faint sound of Gavinners music disappeared.

"On Sunday morning, around 12:30, Myrtle Marshall was celebrating. She had just watched her husband's hard work come to fruition on the big screen. Yet, less than thirty minutes later she was dead. Why is that?" The man paused for a dramatic effect. "Because the defendant, Locklan Key, stabbed her to death in the kitchen!" He waited for the angry murmurs to die down before he said, "I have here the murder weapon: a knife, covered with the defendant’s fingerprints. I also have the autopsy report, stating she was killed by the stab to her heart, and a picture of the crime scene, taken when the police first arrived.”

Kitchen Knife added to the Court Record

Crime Scene Photo added to the Court Record

Klavier flourished a bit on his air guitar again before finishing his statement. “And now, to further prove this man’s guilt, I call my first witness: Detective Skye."

There was a bit of a commotion when the prosecutor tried to lead her over by the hand. She slapped him, and chomped her Snackoos furiously. Apollo flopped in response.

When she had sufficiently calmed down, she said, "Ema Skye. Homicide detective." She added, "Glimmerous fop," under her breath as she glared at the smirking prosecutor.

“Excellent.” The fop in question grinned as if nothing had happened. “Then please begin your testimony.”

Ema glared at him again before sighing and putting her bag away.

Testimony: The Arrest

My team and I arrived on the scene at exactly 1:13 AM. At that point, the victim was already dead.

The murder weapon, a kitchen knife, was sticking out of her chest.

Scientific analysis showed the defendant’s fingerprints on the knife.

That’s why we arrested him the next day.

He turned to Trucy as she said, “So are you going to start with that piece of evidence we found yesterday?”

He nodded. “There’s nowhere else to go from here.”

“Okay! You’re Apollo Justice, and you’re fine!”

Cross Examination: The Arrest

My team and I arrived on the scene at exactly 1:13 AM. At that point, the victim was already dead.

The murder weapon, a kitchen knife, was sticking out of her chest.

“Hold it!” Apollo’s hands hit the bench. “Why did you conclude that it was the murder weapon?”

“Because it was sticking out of her chest?” Ema adjusted her glasses with a bit of a smirk on her face.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you. The autopsy report states that the knife and the wound don’t quite match!”

“And?”

Now Apollo smirked. “And there’s a piece of evidence that might provide a different explanation. Take that!” He shoved the mysterious knife towards Ema’s face, and she started. “This knife was put away, but covered in blood residue, and there was an awful lot of residue in the sink. It’s quite possible that the culprit rinsed and put away the real murder weapon and then swapped it with a random knife from the block!”

“But that blood could be from any animal. Maybe they had steak the other day and didn’t wash the knife properly.”

...That’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about that…

“Actually,” Trucy piped up from beside him, “Yesterday, I made Chase tell me everything he could about Mr. Foley. Turns out, he’s vegan!”

“Ah!” Ema’s hand flew up to her cheek.

Prosecutor Gavin punched the wall behind him and inhaled sharply. “Ach! The prosecution requests that the lab immediately examine this knife to see if it matches the wound.”

“Yes, bailiff, could you please take this to the lab.” The judge nodded solemnly and the bailiff complied. “In the meantime, perhaps we could cross examine the next witness?”

“Ja.” Gavin composed himself, and then escorted a tall woman with crimson hair to the stand. She seemed only slightly more enchanted than Ema had by his foppishness, though at least she didn’t cause a ruckus. Instead, she fiddled with the pencil behind her ear and bit her lip.

“Name and occupation, please?” Apollo couldn’t tell if the prosecutor was smiling because he really didn’t realize he was being rejected, or just to cover up his wounded pride. Actually… it was probably both.

The woman cleared her throat. “Russi Clover, private detective and occult specialist! ... Most people, uh, probably know me as Candy Holly, the author, though.” The gallery burst into shocked gasped, and she fidgeted slightly.

“Thank you. Now, fraulein, would you please tell us about the day of the crime?”

He was still smiling, and the woman was starting to look a little uncomfortable. “You know… there’s an entire cult devoted to you up in South Dakota… Why don’t you go flirt with them instead?”

Finally, the fop’s smile faltered and he leaned on the bench. “Your testimony, please.”

“Yeah. Okay.” She let out a sigh and began.

Testimony: The House During the Crime

Mr. Key and I were talking, and we can guarantee that no one came inside or left during the time of the crime.

Before she was killed, Ms. Marshall came storming down the stairs.

After that, Mr. Key started getting some terrible stomach cramps. He went off to go to the bathroom.

I went to go look for him after about half an hour; I wanted to make sure he was alright.

That’s when I stumbled across the body in the kitchen, and immediately called the police.

“As you can see,” Prosecutor Gavin said, having recovered again from the blow to his pride, “Mr. Key doesn’t have an alibi during the time of the crime.”.

Apollo put a finger to his forehead. Gah, I think I’ll have to press this one, first.

Cross Examination: The House During the Crime

Mr. Key and I were talking, and we can guarantee that no one came inside or left during the time of the crime.

“Hold it! How exactly can you do that?”

“Well, when we started talking, we ended up sitting down in the living room, which is where the door to the backyard is. It was the only way into the house at the time, and no one came in or out.”

“So there were other people in the house? Who else?”

“Mr. Marshall and his co-star, Ms. Quincy, were watching the movie again, upstairs. Security footage shows Mr. Foley in his room. Ms. Marshall had been in the upstairs bar for a while, before she stormed downstairs.” Apollo’s lips were already open when the prosecutor added, “And before you say anything, she couldn’t have committed suicide. She died instantly, and the angle of the wound shows it wasn’t self-inflicted.”

Ack. Well, there goes that angle.

“Hey, Polly. What about Ms. Clover?”

Apollo hadn’t considered that, yet. “Hmm… You’ve got a point.” To the court, he said, “Does Ms. Clover have an alibi?” With the way Prosecutor Gavin flicked his bangs, Apollo didn’t even need to hear the answer. He sighed.

“I talked with numerous guests at the party who said they saw her in the room during the course of the night. Mr. Key, on the other hand…” He smirked, and Apollo glared.

“Yeah. I got that part.” He sighed again, but then had a thought. “Wait, did they notice when she left to find Mr. Key?”

The prosecutor frowned. “I don’t remember any of them saying anything.”

“So then, maybe she left at a different point? If no one noticed when she left once, it’s definitely plausible that they missed it earlier, too.”

“Ach…”

Apollo was surprised this was working, but he wasn’t going to take this chance for granted. “And there wasn’t any security footage, right?”

“Ja; the security system in that part of the house experienced a failure during the crime. I have some officers from the technology division looking into it, but we don’t have any confirmation yet.”

“So, not only is there another person without a solid alibi… There’s also evidence that has yet to be explained! Your Honor,” Apollo turned towards the judge. “I assert that there is no way to reach a conclusion until these elements have been resolved. The defense requests another day to investigate!”

The judge’s brow furrowed. “Hmm… It seems Mr. Justice has a point. As things stand, we can’t be sure. The prosecution should look into these matters, and I hope to see some more information about that knife tomorrow, too, once the forensics officers have finished looking it over.”

Oh, that’s right. By the look of things, Prosecutor Gavin had forgotten about it, too.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“In that case, court is adjourned.”