'Actually, it took a bit of work to get a thumbs-up on the interview, "Reporter Leverages Story, Gets His Interview", end quote, The story concerned a certain case from seven years ago, That red envelope probably had something to do with it, Say what you will, but Drew's talent was without compare'
the judge gave him a look
'So you threatened to go to press with this "story"? That's how you got your interview? Blackmail?'
brushel grinned widely at him
'Well, yes. ... I mean no! No, no, no, no! It wasn't exactly black... I mean, I'm not... urk!'
the judge stared at him, apollo glanced over at his shoulder, he saw trucy's thoughtful expression, she had a the same studying intense gaze her dad had, less scary though
'...Something wrong, Mr. Brushel?'
'L-Look! This is my story! My tidbit! "Journalist's Into Is Livelihood", end quote'
the Judge nodded warily
'...I see'
Brushel cleared his throat as he put on his big grin once again
'While you have me chatting away in here, what's going on out there? What if some Wally Wordsworth or Sally Scooper gets wind of my story? They could be going to press while I'm going to waste!'
'The court feels your pain, Mr. Brushel. Mr. Justice, let's pick up the pace'
apollo started jotting onto his notebook, letting idea's wonder into his head
"A certain case, seven years ago... Wait... "seven years ago"?"
he glanced over at trucy again, she felt his eyes on her and glanced back at him with a slightly confused expression, apollo just went back to hs notebook, deep in thought
'Just how amazing was "Mr. Misham's talent"?'
apollo asked after ten minutes
'Huh? Hoo wee, boy. I mean, hey! He's a star, man, a star! The flow of his brush is like a great, undulating river across the canvas! "Artist's Paints Light Up Studio Like Sun", end quote'
Apollo felt a migrane coming on, but kept his focus, he was getting better at examining how people behaved on the stand
"This guy is full of wacky gestures... But that one just now was wackier than usual"
'He looks kind of nervous to me, Apollo'
trucy mumbled, her eyes never leaving brushel
'Definitely. I'm sensing something different than before here... '
"Maybe it's time to bring out you-know-what..."
he thought to himself, apollo couldn't help but how much sweat was coming out of Mr brushel,
'Sweat much, Mr. Brushel?'
apollo said as he glanced up at him, brushel stuttered a bit on his words
'Urk! Eh, yeah, well... ...a man can't help his glands, you know!'
'It's more than that. When "Mr. Misham's talent" was mentioned. you suddenly began to sweat buckets'
he said, glaring at him a little, brushel winced under his gaze
'...Ack!;
'You're hiding something... about his talent!'
Brushel nervously started to come though his blade head with a toothbrush, apollo choose to ignore that for now
'Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That's r-r-r-ridiculous!'
he cried out, nervously fixing his bow tie
"Evidence time. Let's show where Mr. Misham's true "talent" lay"
It just so happens I have evidence showing the "talent" mentioned in that letter!'
he said as took out a painting from underneath the bench
'This painting was found in Mr. Misham's studio'
burshel stared at him with wide eyes
'There are two problems with this painting. The first is it wasn't painted by Mr. Misham. The second is that there was another painting in the studio... ...which looked exactly like this one. Except it was only half done!'
Brushel nervously chewed on his pen, not liking where this was going
'Then we have a letter discussing a payment of $100,000. Which suggests a certain business operation. The business of making forgeries!'
Brushel bit down on his pen so hard he broke it, spilling ink all over himself and his suite, apollo gave him an unamused expression then turn his gaze to the judge, who was fairly surprised by the whole ordeal
;...That is all, Your Honor'
brushel began to cry out to the court for his attention
'Everyone! Please, everyone! Can we keep this private? Please!? This is my story! My scoop!'
Judge gave him a look
'Forgery... that's a serious crime!'
'Drew Misham is known as an artist these days. But there were rumors he dabbled in another kind of art until a few years back'
'"Another art" meaning... forgery?'
'Drew Misham was talented, alright. Talented at making precise, detailed fakes. A fact that certain criminal elements were quick to discover'
Apollo flipped a page into his notebook and began to write messily
'Criminal elements...? What...!? You can't seriously be talking about...'
'...Exactly. I'm talking about forging evidence! The rumors started circulating seven years ago'
the judge started at him in shock
'S-Seven years ago...? So, are we to understand that this letter... ...this payment of $100,000 was for...?'
Brushel nodded his head as he began to write into his notepad
'...Exactly. "Forged Evidence Nets Tidy Profit", end quote'
the court started to go wild, the judge banged down his gavel multiple times
'Order! Order! Order! Why, it's like our victim was living a double life!'
"Ah ha! This is my chance!"
'So the victim had ties to the criminal world, right? He could have had plenty of enemies we know nothing about!'
'OBJECTION!!'
apollo should've known it was too good to be true, klavier was always more of the quiet one, and pulled the objections at the worst time
'This is my first time hearing of this "criminal world". We certainly found no criminal connections when we conducted our investigation'
'But how do you explain all this money? You have to admit there's a possibility of some illegal activity here!'
'...But there is no proof tying this letter to our case'
apollo stared back at him, klavier fixed him with a little grin was he began to explain to the court
'...Our case was, and remains, simple from the beginning. Only the defendant could have poisoned that mug that night. And, you, of course'
brusel raised his hands in defense
'Hey, hey, hey, the only thing I poison is my pen... when I'm writing reviews!'
he said with a little wink, the judge banged his gavel
'Mr. Brushel, your testimony to this point has been quite unreliable. ...It doesn't speak well of your reporting acumen'
brushel stared back at him
'What're you talking about!? My journalism is rock solid! "Journalism So Solid, You Could Stand An Elephant On It", end quote'
'In any case... Let's hear a summarized recap of your testimony. If we can ascertain the situation in that studio from the recap, the trial is over'
Trucy looked up at apollo, confused
'Apollo! What's he talking about?'
Apollo flipped a page in his notebook
'The cross-examination showed Mr. Brushel didn't have reason or means to poison him. As long as there're no other suspects... ...then the killer had to be Vera. That's what. ...This next testimony is our last chance!'
the judge banged down his gavel again to get the court's attention
'Mr. Brushel, your testimony please!'