Monday, June 3rd

Courtroom No. 2

“Hold it!”

Apollo, and the rest of the courtroom for that matter, looked around to find the source of the sound. His eyes widened when he realized it had been Chase.

“I… uh…” The boy looked ready to panic, even with Athena’s hand on his shoulder. “There's, uh, a contradiction in the video. I think. Probably.” There was a moment of silence. “Maybe?”

Apollo threw the kid a lifeline. “Chase, what did you see?” There was another few beats and so he added, “You can do this.”

The boy bit his lip and looked away, but finally managed to spit out, “It’s Art! He’s wearing an entirely different suit before and after the blackout.”

Apollo definitely hadn't noticed that, but when the bailiff went and replayed the video, there it was, plain as day now that it had been pointed out. This was it! The breakthrough they had been waiting for!

“Oh!” the judge said. “I see your point!”

Even Prosecutor Gavin nodded, but then he said, “So? What does this change, Herr Forehead? Mr. Foley could easily have been changing so as to make a second, spectacular impression on his co-workers.”

That's… a really good point. Apollo flopped. “Uh… it…” Luckily, he was saved by the bell.

“Hold it!”

Or rather, saved by the scientific detective who came bursting through the courtroom door at that moment. “I found it.” She was holding a charred bundle of fabric in her hand so that everyone could see it.

Prosecutor Gavin’s eyes widened as the detective ran up to the witness stand, which was empty even though no one had really seen Mr. Marshall escorted away. “Where?”

“In the trash in Mr. Foley’s room.”

“Uh…” Apollo said. “What exactly did we find?”

“Well, first, I found this fabric in the fireplace. It seemed important so I brought it along.”

It took a moment for Apollo to realize what it was. “That’s from the suit Mr. Foley was wearing before he changed!”

Ema’s face brightened, but only a little. “Good! I’m glad my hunch was correct. But inside…” She let go of it, and some small fragments hit the witness stand with a ching. He couldn’t see much, but it looked like there was blood on it.

“What is that?!”

Prosecutor Gavin had sweat running down his forehead. “The glass. From the martini.”

“And Apollo,” Ema added, “You were right.” She looked at him seriously. “There were some shards that didn't match with the rest… but they had streaks of Mr. Foley’s blood on them.”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

The courtroom burst into uproar, and the judge let it continue for a few moments before pounding his gavel. Once everyone had quieted down, Apollo said, “Prosecutor, I think we need to bring Mr. Foley back for more testimony.”

The man nodded, still sweating. “He shouldn’t be too far away. I’ll call him back.”

Though there wasn’t an official recess, there was a momentary break while Prosecutor Gavin made the arrangements, during which Ema sat down in the gallery. While everyone was talking to each other about the recent developments, Apollo called out to Chase. The boy came down to the edge of the gallery and said, “What’s up?”

“Thank you for what you did, there.”

He blushed, smiling ever so slightly. “Really?”

“Yeah.” There was a pause while the kid took in the compliment, and then Apollo said, “I want you to come join us at the bench.”

Chase stepped back and his hand went to his necklaces. “Wait, what?”

“We’re going to be cross examining Mr. Foley, and Trucy and I don’t know much about him. But since you two have been family friends for so long, your knowledge might come in handy.” And I suppose you seem to be a pretty good kid, at heart.

He beamed. “Wow! Yeah, I’ll help!”

By the time Chase had run down and joined Trucy as co-counsel, Prosecutor Gavin had made his way back to the bench.

“Name and occupation once again, please.”

The man at the witness stand still appeared pretty relaxed, but his eyes gave away his nervousness. He frowned and said, “Arthur Foley. Actor.”

“Thank you. This time, if you could, testify about what you were doing at the time of the crime.”

Testimony: What I did

I know I seem like a pretty calm guy, but I get overwhelmed by people fairly easily.

That day, I was escaping from the crowd.

I needed some time to myself so I could de-stress before going back out there.

That's all I was doing, I swear.

Apollo turned to Chase, who nodded. “He's not lying about the anxiety part. I know he gets really overwhelmed even though he’s the one who throws all the big parties.”

Apollo smiled. “Thanks. I knew it was a good idea to have you down here.”

Cross Examination: What I did

I know I seem like a pretty calm guy, but I get overwhelmed by people fairly easily.

That day, I was escaping from the crowd.

I needed some time to myself so I could de-stress before going back out there.

That's all I was doing, I swear.

“Objection! You can see on the video that you also changed clothes. Why did you do that?”

“Hmm?” Mr. Foley tilted his head, pulling one hand out of his pocket to scratch his shoulder. “Oh, that’s right. I think I bumped into one of the caterers and got some drinks spilled on me. I changed because of that.”

Apollo smirked. “So then, why was that suit found in the fireplace of your room?”

Mr. Foley’s eyes widened and he stiffened. “I, uh, really don’t like stains on my suits.”

“That is certainly the weak excuse,” Prosecutor Gavin said, “considering that all the drinks at your party were clear or very light and your suit was very dark.”

His hands were now back in their pockets, and he shrunk into himself. “Well… actually, I cut myself and, uh, got blood on me. That’s why it was stained.”

“The whole suit?”

“It was a pretty bad cut.” He paused, scratching his shoulder again. “I think Prosecutor Gavin said something about finding glass with my blood on it, right? That’s what I cut it on.”

Hmm… While glass usually does cut pretty deep, that can’t be all that there is to it, right?

“Could you add that to your testimony?”

The man nodded. “Sure.”

I needed some time to myself so I could de-stress before going back out there.

I also needed to change my suit because I spilled blood on it. I accidentally cut myself.

Aha! Apollo felt his bracelet contract, so he touched it and began to focus.

I also needed
to change my suit
because I spilled blood on it.
I accidentally cut myself.

“Gotcha! When you said ‘accidentally’, you clenched your right fist inside your pocket. Why is that?”

Mr. Foley raised his eyebrows. “I’m not quite sure I’m comprehending you.”

“Something about the word ‘accidentally’ subconsciously makes you clench your fist for some reason. Is that where you cut yourself?”

“I… Yeah.”

“Could we see your hand, then?”

“I suppose so.” He pulled his hand out of the pocket and held it up so they could see. His knuckles and fingers were covered in cuts, big and small, but only in certain places. It looked distinctly like he had punched something…

“What was it that you broke, again?”

“I don’t remember, actually. Something on the mantel.”

Apollo’s heart was racing, and he smirked. “I think I have an idea, actually.”

Mr. Foley’s eyes widened in response. “You do?”

“Yes. The evidence that shows what it was you broke is…” He shuffled through the Court Record before he finally found the right evidence: the Security Camera. “Take that!”

“And how, Herr Forehead, is that relevant? Anything could have broken that.”

“Remember how the lens looked like it had been punched? Well look at where the cuts are on his hand.”

The prosecutor raised his eyebrow, but nodded. “Ah, I see now. That makes sense…”

There was a long, loud sigh that didn’t even come close to rivaling Mr. Starbuck but got their attention nonetheless. “See, the problem is…” Mr. Foley said, shrugging, “This is all circumstantial. There’s really no way you can look at this evidence and come to the sole conclusion that I was the criminal. It’s just not airtight.”

“Achtung, that’s right. In fact, he doesn’t even have a motive.”

Apollo was about to respond when he heard Chase mutter, “That’s not true.”

“What?” he said back in a hushed whisper.

Chase said it again, this time loud enough for the whole court to hear. “That’s not true!” There was a fire in his eyes and Apollo didn’t need super-sensitive hearing to tell that the kid was really upset.

“What’s this?” said Prosecutor Gavin. “Can you explain, then?”

“Three years ago, Mrs. Marshall killed a girl named Clarisse Key.” Chase played his drumsticks in a long, continuous roll on the defense’s bench as he spoke, and while the courtroom burst into inevitable gasps. Apollo, too, started. That was definitely not what he had expected. “She was my sister… and his girlfriend.”

The gallery gasped and the judge said, “Could you please testify about this, Mr. Foley?”

He sighed. “I suppose.”

Testimony: My Motive

It’s true; Clarisse Key was my girlfriend before she was killed.

I… had been about to ask her to marry me.

But I channeled my anger in positive ways, not into murder.

I advocated against drunk driving, and I never allowed anyone to drive drunk after my parties.

So, even though I despised her, I really had no reason to kill her.

Ahh, there’s my bracelet again.

Cross Examination: My Motive

It’s true; Clarisse Key was my girlfriend before she was killed.

I… had been about to ask her to marry me.

But I channeled my anger in positive ways, not into murder.

Apollo touched his bracelet and began to concentrate.

But I channeled my anger
in positive ways
not into murder.

“Gotcha! When you talk about murder, you started to play with the necklace you’re wearing. Would you mind showing it to us?”

Mr. Foley seemed reluctant, but he complied. “It’s the ring I would’ve used to propose, way back then.”

He pulled out the necklace, and Apollo saw the bright, gaudy ring attached to it. But there was something off about that last statement. It made more sense once he looked over at Prosecutor Gavin, who was leaning heavily on the bench and sweating.

“Achtung! That’s Mrs. Marshall’s missing wedding ring!”

Well, then. That’s pretty decisive, huh? The court flew into an uproar that took the judge a while to calm down. Meanwhile, Chase was rubbing at a scar under his hairline that was just barely visible, looking like he was having trouble breathing.

Once things calmed down, Chase shouted, “How could you do this, Art?!”

Mr. Foley looked back at Chase, his eyes reflecting the pain in the boy’s voice. “But I didn’t…”

“Don’t lie!” Chase’s eyes were watering. “You’ve been doing nothing but lying these past few days, haven’t you? She wouldn’t have wanted this.”

There was a pause. “I… “

“You what? Want to make up another stupid reason why it couldn’t have been you? Well don’t.”

Mr. Foley slowly reached up to his head and grabbed his hair. There was silence for a few moments before he spoke. “Clari… I’m so sorry…” He curled into himself, and said, “Oh God, she’s gone and I’ve betrayed her and it hurts!”

Tears were streaming down Chase’s face. “You don’t think Dad and I have been in pain, too? You don’t think we’ve hated watching that woman trot around behind Mr. Marshall like she deserves to be rich and famous and free and alive?!” Mr. Foley gasped like the wind had been knocked out of him. “Well guess what? We’re all mockingbirds, Art! We all were shot out of the sky that day. None of us ever healed. But just because you’ve been broken doesn’t mean you have to drag others down with you. I am a mockingbird, and I may be ragged and bloody and nearly dead, but I’m going to soar.”

And with that, Mr. Foley fell back against the wall, sunk to the floor, and shouted until he dissolved into tears.

(O)

Monday, June 3rd

Courtroom Lobby No. 2

The judge called a recess while they waited for Mr. Foley to regain his composure. Chase ran into the defendant’s lobby as fast as he could and curled up in the chair in the corner. When his dad came and sat down next to him, he said, “How could he, Dad? I don’t understand.”

The confusion and pain in the man’s eyes only made Chase cry harder. “I… don’t know, Son.”

When Trucy came over and wrapped her arms around him, that helped a little. The same went for Athena’s hand methodically rubbing his shoulder, but it still took him awhile to calm down.

When he was finally able to sit up and to speak, Trucy said, “So, what was all that stuff about mockingbirds?”

“Well…” He had to think about that one; it had been one of those things that had made sense as it was coming out of his mouth but he couldn’t explain any further. “In To Kill a Mockingbird, mockingbirds stand for innocence and kindness. Killing them is cruel and unnecessary. But I guess I’ve always thought of them as the people living life and doing good things and being happy. And when my sister died… I thought I could never do any of that again.”

There was silence as he continued to think. “I eventually realized I could get back up, and now that Athena’s helped me start to make peace with myself, I know that I wasn’t shot and killed by the world. I was wounded, but I’ll eventually be able to fly again. But Art… became something else. He’s ceased to be a mockingbird at all.”

For a while, no one said anything, and he worried that he might have overdone it, but then Athena looked him in the eyes. “Chase, I’m really proud of you.”

He stood up and gave her a hug. “Thank you.” Oh, gosh, he was going to cry again, wasn’t he. “I’m so, so sorry for the things I said when I first met you.”

She stepped back and smiled hands still on his shoulders. “And I’m so glad that you were able to move past it.”

When Athena patted him on the shoulder and left to go talk to Mr. Justice, Trucy joined her, and he sat next to his dad in silence awhile, trying hard not to suppress his fear. What was going to happen when they had to continue?

“Court will reconvene in a few moments. Would the defense please make its way into the courtroom?”

Chase supposed he would find out.