'That night... Yes! I went to the supermarket, I must have dropped my cell phone on my way back, And when I was walking through the park, I happened to witness the crime!, ...I saw the killer, the victim, the stand... all as clear as day!, It was him! I saw the defendant at the scene!'
the judge looked at him skeptically
'Yes... but your cell phone was lying in a garage'
stickler closed up his book as he raised his arms into the hair
'Ah, yes, well, as you can see my model of cell phone has a defect... It is given to rolling! It's quite a pain when I drop it alongside the road, you know'
'...Looks like a normal cell phone to me. In any case, Mr. Justice, the cross-examination, please'
apollo nodded, but now felt a little off, his bracelet didn't react
"That's funny... My bracelet didn't react at all during that testimony"
trucy examined him closely
'His nervous habit must not be acting up... I didn't sense anything either, actually. Looks like you're on your own this time around!'
"Right, no problem... I hope. Here comes Justice!"
he thought to himself in encouragement as he read over the testimony, every other statement made sense, but he had a hunch about the last one
"This part of the testimony is the key. I know it! Should I press him about the killer, the victim, or the noodle stand?"
apollo thought long to himself on what to do, he decided to try and take a different approach to it
'Do you happen to remember the noodle stand?'
'Quite well, yes! For a student of the sciences, keen observation and healthy curiosity are vital! I remember everything! I could even read the sign! I believe it said... Er... "NOODLE". ......... Yes, that was it'
the judge blinked at him as he commented
'For remembering something "quite well" it sure took you a while to tell us. And thank you for telling us that a noodle stand sells noodles. Very enlightening. Well, Mr. Justice?'
"Hmm... What about that sign? Could that be important?"
he went back to the other evidence and testimonies, ..and while he was reading, something clicked into his head, ...the noodle sigh, he wasn't exactly sure on where he was going with this, but he had a feeling
'So the sign on the noodle stand said "NOODLE"...? It appears the defense has just obtained a vital piece of testimony!'
the judge looked down at him from his chair, curious about the taste, and wanting to try it for himself
'Is this noodle stand's broth really that delicious? I'll have to go sample the wares one of these days. I think that's worth adding to the testimony as well'
stickler turned his head as he raised up his arms
'...Hmph! Whatever sort of noodles that stand sells, it can't match up to Ivy U.'s cafeteria! Some apply to the school merely for a taste of our Smart Noodles!'
"I wouldn't mind a taste of that myself..."
apollo thought to himself, very curious about the taste
'Why, I even remember the sign on the stand the victim was pulling! It said "NOODLE"!'
sickler said, apollo very quickly wrote that down, and then pressed him on his new added statement
'And you're absolutely sure the sign read "NOODLE"?'
apollo questioned
'Why, just last week, my professor offered me this praise: "At least you have good eyesight, Stickler. I'll give you that." ...It read, without a doubt, "NOODLE'
'I see...'
apollo said, grinning a little, stickler held his book close to him anxiously, why was he grinning?!
'What? Why are you looking at me like that? Is that... pity I see in your eyes!?'
he said examining him, apollo ignored his comment as he laid it out for him
'Let's take a look at our map, shall we? So, you're claiming that when you saw the sign, you were standing... Here, was it? ...Although, it would've been a bit hard to read the sign from this spot'
'Y-You think so?'
stickler said, stuttering a little
'Mr. Stickler. I'd like you to please take another look at the stand. ...and to carefully read what the sign says. See? That sign actually states the name of the stand's owner. ..."ELDOON'S"'
he statetly nearly, stickler jumped in his spot as he nervously flipped through the pages of his book
'E... El... Eld... Inconceivable! I'm certain it was definitely "NOODLE" for sure! Positive!'
the judge shook his head at him
'I'm afraid your professor was wrong about that eyesight'
apollo however, wasn't done yet
'I wouldn't be so quick to jump to that conclusion'
"The sign he saw changes everything!"
'The witness says the sign said "NOODLE"..., What would you say if I told you... ...that there is one spot from which the sign would be read the way Mr. Stickler claims?'
ow that surprised everyone even more
'What...?'
'Mr. Justice! Show us this spot!'
the judge commanded, apollo nodded as he did as told at once
'The witness actually viewed the stand from this location!'
he went over to the diagram and pointed right at the place
'The witness was standing... Here! On the opposite side!'
the judge gawked at him
'H-How do you know that?'
'When viewed from the south... ...the sign on the stand reads "ELDOON'S", as we know. ...However! Observe the other side of the stand!'
'Oh! This side says "NOODLE"!'
apollo nodded at the judge'
'Exactly! The name of the stand is split between the front and back signs! Mr. Stickler, you lied to the court! You witnessed the crime from the northern side of the park, not the south!'
he said, stickler jumped as he called out for his lie
'Yeeeow! Y-You got me!'
'OBJECTION!!'
klavier said, as he started to snap his fingers, apollo almost fell over, he had forgotten about him being here
'...So what'
'S-So what!?'
apollo repeated in a confused tone of voice
'What does it matter if he saw the killing from the north or the south side? It makes no difference at all!'
stickler quickly joined in
'H-He's right! Travel far enough to the south, and you will end up going north! Viewed on a global scale, directions are utterly without meaning!'
as much as apollo didn't want to admit it, ..he wasn't sure either if he was right or wrong, he was just winging it a little
"...Actually, maybe he's right. What does it change?"
but just them, trucy suddenly pulled at his rolled up sleeves, and said with certainty
'It changes everything, Apollo!'
'Trucy?'
he said, however, all trucy did was walk over to the diagram as she started to explain why this one, seemingly little tiny difference, changes the entire scenario, she had been paying attention to everything, and was ready to help out apollo
'Remember his testimony from before... Though to be honest, I'm a little scared of where this is leading... The killer and the victim are facing each other here. Then, at the moment the killer raises his weapon... ...Mr. Stickler shouts! At which point, the victim turns his head to look... ...and the killer fires his pistol. That's why the bullet hit him in the right temple. No contradictions, right?'
she asked, apollo nodded, just going along with it
'Right... But if Mr. Stickler was standing on the north side of the park... ...that reverses the whole scenario!'
she nodded as she started to arrange the diagram
'Completely! If Mr. Stickler shouts from where he is now... ...and the victim looks in his direction... ...the bullet would have to hit his left temple!'
the judge nearly fell out of his chair in surprise, his eyes widening
'Ah... Aaaaah!'
'In other words, someone standing at point "K"... ...couldn't shoot the victim in his right temple. It's impossible!'
'Th-That's right!'
the juge stuttered
'So, now that we know that Mr. Stickler was standing on the northern side... ...the wound location takes on an entirely different meaning!'
klavier had to admit, he was impressed with her skills, ..she was defiantly Phoenix's daughter
'Indeed... You are absolutely correct, Fräulein'
the judge had no idea what to think
'Wh... What meaning!?'
'The entry wound was on the right side of the victim's head, correct? Well, the right side of the victim's head... is north'
'North... Ah!!! But that's where the witness, Wesley Stickler was standing!'
the judge cried out
'Correct. So, if he was standing to the north... ...then the only person here who could have shot the victim in the right temple... ...was Mr. Stickler himself!'
stickler nearly fell over in shock and in despair at being caught in his lie
'Yeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooowwwrgh!'
the court started to go wild wit this, the judge just barely regained his composure as he banged down his gavel multiple times
'Order! Order! Order!'
apollo was honestly awstruck
"Wow... The apple didn't fall far from the tree! She's flipped this whole case on its head while I was still figuring it out!"
'OBJECTION!!'
klavier yelled out
'...Clarify one point for me if you would, Herr Forehead'
apollo huffed at being called herr forehead again as he said with a little attitude
'What now?'
'Are you truly accusing this college student... ...of murder?'
he asked him, apollo had to admit, ..stickler didn't seem like the kind of man to be a murder, but at the same time, he wasn't innocent either
"Well, I can't say he exactly looks innocent... But... something still doesn't feel right. I just can't picture him as the real killer!"
'No, please! Looks aside, I'm really a nice guy! All my friends say so!'
he begged, the judge then banged his gavel
'Let's hear what the defense has to say'
apollo started to panic a bit
"What are you going to do now, Justice!? Should I really accuse Mr. Stickler!?, ..I don't think Wesley Stickler is a killer. But he's not innocent, either! His unusual silence tells me that much...
' ...Mr. Stickler! You seem unusually quiet... Tell us why, now!'
he demanded, stickler however, was to nervous to even speak properly
'... Th-The word "confession" isn't in my dictionary!'
klavier shook his head
'Tsk, tsk, tsk, Herr Forehead. I'm afraid it falls to you to elucidate Herr Stickler's silence'
'Mr. Justice, you did say you were accusing the witness just now... ...for a crime other than murder. Your reason? The court's all ears'
"Gah! I know he's guilty of something... but what crime other than murder is there? Do I have evidence that shows his involvement in some other crime...?"
he thought to himself
'Your evidence? The court's all eyes, Mr. Justice. Show us evidence that points to the witness's involvement in a crime!'
just then, .. it hit him like a brick, ..their was another crime that he had investigated not to long ago, he wasn't so sure about it, but he went for it anyways, with a little reluctancy, he took out trucy's magical prop and presented it to the court
'The evidence... is this!'
'What!? Is that... women's underwear!?'
the judge asked, trucy then realized where apollo was going with this, and cried out
'Hey! Those are mine!'
then everyone turned their heads at stickler
'D-Don't look at me like thaaaaaaat!!!'
the judge banged his gavel to silence everyone
'Order! Order! Order!!! ...Mr. Stickler. While I can't say this comes as a shock...'
'I-It's not what it seems! By Pythagorilla's Theorem, I swear it!'
he swore, however, apollo ignored him
'On the night of the murder, just past 9 PM... A young girl catches a panty-snatcher red-handed! Bravely, she gives chase, but the snatcher flees... ...and hides himself in no other place than the Meraktis Clinic garage!'
'Ah ha!'
the judge cried out in realization
'Incidentally... ...these panties were found in the exhaust pipe of the car there. Presumably, he was trying to hide the evidence of his crime. Ergo! While you may not be a murderer... ...you are guilty of panty-snatching in the first degree!'
'Please! Here me out! It's not what it looks like!!!'
he pleaded, however, the court wouldn't listen, the judge took out his gavel as he banged it multiple times
'Order! Order! Order!!! Mr. Stickler. You should be ashamed!'
the judge scowled, shaking his head, very upset and disappointed in the man's actions, stickler started to sweat bullets as he tried to clear up this huge misunderstanding
'It's... not... what... it... seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... ...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... ...eeeeeeeeeeeeeems... *gasp*'