'...Just before it happened, I think I saw some red lights. Three of them, I thought I'd ask for help, but... just then I was splattered with blood!, She wasn't dead though... And she struck back at the enemy behind her, Suddenly, the red lights went out and the whole area was dark, ...Just at that moment, there was a horrible scream!, Right after that... Dahlia collapsed and I lost consciousness'
'these red lights... I thought you said you don't remember seeing them!'
the judge said, maya shook a bit as she really didn't know how to remember the scene properly
'I-I'm sorry... I thought I saw them, but then they disappeared all of a sudden...'
'it's fine, let's just get with the cross examination'
phoenix reassured, as he started to re-read the testimony on his notebook, ..though he knew she wasn't lying, their was something off about her fifth statement, so he asked her on it
'"Just at that moment"? Do you mean the moment when the red lights went out?'
she nodded
'...Yes, that's right.'
'The scream that you heard then, was it Dahlia Hawthorne?'
he asked, maya went into thought, ..now being completely honest
'... I don't think so. I'm pretty sure... ...it was a man's voice.'
the judge nearly collapsed at this point from all the surprises and shocks from the court today, as he stammered on his words
'Wha-Wha-Wha... Whaaaaaaaat!? S-So then, that scream came... from the killer!?'
'yes'
phoenix replied simply, as if it wasn't shocking news at all, the judge looked around franticly in shock, hoping he wasn't the only one
'Hmm... Hmmm... Hmmmm...!-'
'GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!!'
phoenix ordered, yelling at him, the judge nodded at once, shuddering before his terrifying glare
'y-yesir!!'
maya's voice cut them off
'I think... ...Dahlia Hawthorne must have taken the blade and attacked the killer with it'
the judge then chimed in
'And then the killer let out a scream of pain, huh?'
'After that, the killer stole the blade back and delivered the final blow... I guess.'
she concluded, giving it her best guess, the judge looked over at phoenix for his opinion on the matter
'...Well, Mr. Wright? It seems to make sense to me...'
'I'm sorry violet, ..but that interpretation would create an contradiction, your honer remember the testimony she gave. Before the killer let out a scream, Maya said she had already been splattered by the victim's blood, the blade in the staff had already been plunged into the victim'
maya jumped at this as she stuttered
'Ah...! Is-Is that right...!?'
he nodded
'She couldn't have struck back with a sword that was already stuck in her body, The weapon that caused the killer to let out a scream, must have been something other than the staff'
godot then interjected
'if you're so sure about that, then don't keep us waiting any longer, Trite, if Dahlia Hawthorne had already been stabbed in the back by the staff... ...what could she have used to strike back at the killer?'
without any hesitation, he took out the dagger and presented to the court
'the dagger the killer brought to the scene of the crime'
the judge's eyes widened at the weapon
'Oh...! That's right! I forgot about that...'
'This dagger was found at the crime scene, stuck into a pine tree.'
godot nodded
'Yes, the detective found that this morning and brought it to me'
'that Hawthorne bitch struck back at the killer with this! And she managed to wound him as well!'
'OBJECTION!!'
godot slammed down his one fist on the bench
'Just because he let out a scream doesn't mean that he was wounded. For all we know, the blood on the dagger could have been from the victim!'
phoenix however, wasn't letting up as he argued back
'you forgotten that the blood has already been tested?'
he asked him, godot went quite at that
' we learned it wasn't the victim's blood, it must be the killer's blood! The killer must have a wound somewhere on his body!'
the court mumbled amongst themselves as the judge banged down his gavel
'So you're saying the blood on this dagger belongs to the killer...?'
he questioned, phoenix nodded
'an DNA analysis of the blood would prove that's Godot blood!'
godot caught the mug in his hands as he had to give it to him
'Nice theory, Trite.''
the court started to go wild again as the judge banged down his gavel
'Order!, Order in the court!!'
as much phoenix would have liked to believe it was over with, ..he could tell godot wasn't giving in yet
'...Ha! Let me ask you something, Trite. Let's just say that it turned out that I was the killer, Do you really think I would be stupid enough to leave evidence like that?'
phoenix crossed his arms as he listened to whatever godot had to say
'Just think for a second. This dagger was found this morning by a detective and brought to me. There was already a bloodstain on it, correct? But even so... I was the one who brought this dagger here to the courtroom'
the judge nodded, seeing his side
'Y-Yes... What does that prove?'
'Well, if I really were the killer... ...I could've washed the blade off and then planted another person's blood on it, In any case, there's one thing I can guarantee, Trite. That blood... It doesn't belong to me. Not a chance!'
though phoenix gritted his teeth, ...he wasn't showing his panic, the judge closed his eyes as he put his own thoughts on the matter at hand
'In any event, it seems to be established that the killer was wounded. Alright then, witness. Continue your testimony-'
'HOLD IT!!'
maya yelled, now that surprised everyone
'W-Wait a minute...!'
the judge stood in his chair as he asked in a very confused tone
'...What's the problem?'
maya stumbled a bit on her words, as she had no idea if she should say this, ..but didn't want to hide anything anymore
'Umm, I... I know I probably shouldn't say this, but... ...there's a big contradiction in Nick's explanation'
'go on violet'
phoenix motioned gently, letting her know it was okay, she pointed right at the dagger
'Th-This dagger... You said that it wounded the killer.'
he nodded
'that's right'
'But... But, but...! If Mr. Godot had really been cut with the dagger... ...his clothes should be bloody or have a rip in them, right!?'
though everyone else in the courtroom was confused, phoenix nodded
'...that's resonable'
the judge looked down at him all confused, ..was he just giving her special treatment because she was his little sister?!
'i don't see how so, Maybe he just changed his clothes? That'd solve the contradiction pretty easily'
phoenix shook his head
'It's not that simple at all, Remember back to the day of the murder, Everyone that was on the Inner Temple side got trapped there, Godot was already there waiting for them, He never had a chance to change his clothes'
he explained, the judge's eyes widen at that, ..so apparently she was right
'Ah! Th-That's right! And once the bridge was fixed and the police headed for the Inner Temple...'
the court started to go wild as the judge slammed down his gavel
'Order! Order in the court! W-Well, maybe he brought a change of clothes with him!?'
the judge asked, just wanting to make sure all of the possiblies were ruled out, phoenix again, shook his head
'No one could have predicted the lightning strike that shut down the bridge, so why would anyone have brought a change of clothes?'
the judge thought long and hard on this
'what if the killer took off his clothes before he committed the murder! That way he wouldn't get any blood on them!?'
'it's gets very cold up their at night, if you were to stay up their without any clothing for even a few minuets, you would've gotten hypothermia'
the judge was at a lost for words, he couldn't think of anything else, maya looked over at her brother and asked
'does this mean i'm right?'
'no violet, sorry, ..even i don't know..'
he admitted, now everyone was just confused, godot however, shook his head in disappointment and rudely snapped
'Ha...! So that's all you've got... I knew you weren't tough enough to finish this'
phoenix growled as he clutched onto his locket tighter, godot then started to mutter
'Right now... if Mia Fey were here..., If Mia Fey were here... She would have closed the book on this case already'
his eyes widen at the mention of her name, ...mia, he took in a deep breathe as he looked down at his locket, godot, who didn't know what he was doing, slammed down his mug
'So come on, Trite! Can you do it or not!?'
the judge quickly asked
'How about it, Mr. Wright? You've accused Mr. Godot of being the killer. But can you prove it? Have you got even one piece of evidence!?'
phoenix kept his gaze down at his locket, very deep in thought
(flashback)
(Fey and Co. Law offices)
'are you okay?'
she asked, sitting a seat next to him on the floor, he sighed as he placed a head on her shoulders
'...what if i can't do it?, ..what if i panic and fail?..'
mia frowned at him, then patted his back
'..phoenix, you worked and studied so hard for this'
'..and i'm still terrified'
he mumbled, staring down at his defense badge in his hands, ..he hadn't put it on, ..he didn't know how to feel about it, he watched as mia gently placed her hand ontop of it
'you are so much more then just your past, phoenix, if theirs anyone who could solve even the most impossible cases, it's you,'
she then took the badge and pined it on his blue suite
'..i'm always here'
he smiled a little as he hugged her tightly, she hugged back
'..you can do this phoenix'