March 14
Defendant Lobby No. 2
9:40 AM
Deirdre Brigit
The next morning, I did my best to arrive as early as I could to the courthouse, though in the end, I was a bit later than I would have wanted, arriving only twenty minutes before the trial. Chrysalis ended up beating me there easily. I found her sitting on the couch, flipping through papers with details pertaining to the murder, when I got there. I decided to go on and approach her since I didn't see Yuri anywhere around. "So... How do you think this is going to go?" I asked, unsure of how else I was supposed to start up a conversation with her.
"I think it'll be fine," Chrysalis responded. She finished reading the final page of her notes and set the stack down on the couch beside her. "We're going to do our best to solve the case today, but I doubt the verdict will be handed down without crucial pieces of evidence such as the murder weapon and missing key. Those two objects could easily put Yuri in her coffin or turn everything around in our favor. We'll need to see if the police have found anything after the trial ends."
"I agree," I nodded. "Let's do our best in there." I paused for a moment before a question came to mind. Since I didn't know how a trial would work, I figured it would be best to go on and ask. "How will it start?"
"First up is the opening statement from the prosecution explaining the basic outline of the case and why they believe the defendant to be the killer of the victim. Detective Erikson will tell us about the details of the case. After that, I bet Pandora will tell us about what she saw. We'll need to cross-examine her testimony to find any inconsistencies with what she tells us and the evidence... That's the hardest part. However, adjourning court for a second day shouldn't be too hard if we bring up that we need to find the murder weapon and the missing key that the guard had," Chrysalis explained. "Is that enough of an explanation for you?"
"That gives me a general idea," I said with a small nod. "Yuri should be here soon, should she not?"
"What about me? I'm right here."
We turned upon hearing Yuri's voice to see her standing there. She was being stared at by a detective with brown hair, who was lightly holding her arm. "Here you are, love," the woman said to Yuri. She turned away and left the room not long after when she noticed Yuri was being watched by the pair of men guarding the entrance to the courtroom.
"Thanks, Detective Wattson," Yuri murmured before looking up at us with her tired eyes. "So... The trial's going to start soon. At this point, it can't really be stopped. Then again, it wasn't going to be stopped to begin with..."
"Yeah. Luckily, we have a lot of evidence at our disposal, so nobody is going to be going to jail today. I promise it," Chrysalis assured her, a determined gleam in her eyes shining. "There's no way thta you can get convicted when there's so much evidence that screams that you weren't the one who committed the crime."
"I hope you're right. Venus will come back from the dead just to kill me if I let that happen," Yuri joked. She and Chrysalis laughed, but it was obvious they were forcing it.
"I heard that they're having a new judge on this case," Chrysalis said once the false laughter had died down. "His twin sister, Eriko, has been on a lot of cases before this point, but it's one of his first. His name is Ervan Frost. Hopefully, he won't be too biased towards the prosecution. If he's got an open mind, we can use that to our advantage. It means the trial won't end right off the bat if he's a bit more open. However, if he ends up favoring the other side..."
"Don't think like that. We'll take care of this case and have Yuri home in no time," I cut in. I looked down at Yuri. She still looked as tired as she had yesterday. When she spoke, I could hear the overwhelming pain behind her voice. Having hearing that was better than most often meant that you could tell these things right off the bat. I felt bad for her, I have to admit.
"We'll have to go into the courtroom soon... I wonder if KJ is working today," Yuri said. She began to glance around the room, searching wildly for someone.
"KJ?" I echoed in curiosity. "Who's KJ?"
"KJ Jett is a bailiff-to-be here. He was Venus' boyfriend back when she was still alive. He's in college right now to be a bailiff, but for work experience, he helps out here when he gets the time to," Yuri explained. "He's got purple hair, so he sticks out like a sore thumb even if he's a bit on the short side."
"I don't think that you can really call him short, Yuri," Chrysalis smirked, rubbing Yuri's hair with one gloved hand. "You're not very vertically gifted."
"Says you! You're only three inches taller than I am, Chrysalis!" Yuri cried out. She crossed her arms in a huff after smacking Chrysalis' hand away. Chrysalis responded with a light giggle as she did her best to restore Yuri's tresses to their former glory.
"Yuri!"
When we turned around, we were met with a boy with purple hair standing behind us. His eyes were a bright blue. His purple hair flopped over his right eye (though it was on my left side). He had a black bailiff uniform on with a golden pin on his collar and bright blue tie that faded out to gray and then white. He had a navy blue hat with black accents on that looked like the sort of hat a police officer would wear.
"I'm glad to see that you're okay... The trial is about to start. You stay safe in there, okay?" the boy asked. I assumed that this was the KJ Jett figure that Yuri had mentioned earlier.
"Thanks, KJ. Stay out of trouble," Yuri smiled. KJ responded with a wink and a wave as he walked into the courtroom.
"That's our cue," I said. "Let's get on in there."
"We'll win this case for sure," Chrysalis nodded. "And Yuri will be home in no time flat."
"I know," Yuri replied, a hint of a smile still on her face. She seemed to be in a better mood now than she had been in when she arrived. "I know."
March 14
Courtroom No. 2
10:00 AM
Deirdre Brigit
I could feel my stomach doing flips as I walked into the courtroom. Up until this point, I had been doing well to keep my composure, but now that I was inside of the courtroom, I was more nervous than I ever had been. Knots formed in my core. This sure was stressful.
I decided to focus on the other things in the courtroom to alleviate my nervousness. I looked to Prosecutor Burke and Anton standing on the other side of the courtroom. Prosecutor Burke was smirking with one hand on her hip. Anton was looking down, holding a blanket around his shoulders as he stared at the desk like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Chrysalis was shifting through the stack of paper that she had before her. Each sheet had notes and details of a different part of the case. She sure did take some serious notes when it came to court cases...
I looked to the judge next. He had piercing turquoise eyes and pale purple hair. It could have been mistaken for white depending on the lighting. He had the traditional gray robes that were worn by most judges. He had a turquoise tie on the front of his robe. A snowflake pin was beside his tie on one side. I wasn't entirely sure what was under the robe, but I figured that it didn't matter unless I saw him outside of the courtroom.
"You ready for this?" Chrysalis asked from my side, snapping me out of my daze.
"Y-Yeah," I said, nodding as if I knew what I was doing. I had been thinking before this that I'd be okay, that nothing would be able to shake me, but now that I was here, that all those eyes were on me...
"Court is now in session for the trial of Yuri Rinko," declared the judge. I squinted at his podium and saw a nameplate. It said 'JUDGE ERVAN FROST' on it in bold letters. That must have been his name. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"
"The prosecution is ready," Prosecutor Burke nodded, one hand sitting on the bench before her. She seemed to be challenging me with her gaze. I wasn't going to let her psyche me out, so I would just have to seem like I knew what I was doing.
"And the defense?" the judge questioned, turning to me.
"The defense is also ready," I announced. I didn't end up stuttering or anything like that, so nobody was able to tell that I was nervous as far as I could see.
"Good," Judge Frost said with a small nod. Chrysalis had said that he was a newer judge, but he already had me fooled. He seemed experienced in what he was doing, which meant that he was doing better with his poker face than I was. "Prosecutor Burke, your opening statement?"
Prosecutor Burke nodded and pulled up a paper from the desk in front of her. "The crime took place at the prison yesterday morning at around 6:00 AM. The victim, Buff Guiy, was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the heart, and was found suspended from the prison watchtower shortly after. The defendant, Yuri Rinko, found the body and was then found with the body by a witness to the crime. A key required to get out into the courtyard went missing while the defendant was at the prison, which makes her already suspect for the crime. On top of that, she has a motive and lacks an alibi. For these reasons, we believe that Yuri Rinko is the one who committed this foul crime," she declared.
"What motive is it that you speak of?" Judge Frost asked.
"Last month, a crime was committed in the parking lot of Morix Law Offices. A teenaged girl by the name of Venus Rinko was stabbed to death. Venus was the older sister to the defendant before she died. The one who killed her was none other than the victim in this case. The prosecution believes that the defendant killed our current victim as an act of revenge since he killed her older sister a month ago," Prosecutor Burke explained.
"That is a solid motive... How does the defense respond?" Judge Frost questioned.
"The defense maintains its position that the defendant is innocent of this crime. The killer is a third party besides our client and the victim," I declared.
"I see... In that case, bring in the lead detective on this case so that we can hear his description of the crime," Judge Frost declared.
"Detective Erikson!" Prosecutor Burke exclaimed. "It's your turn!"
Detective Erikson approached the witness stand not long after. He had his hands in his pockets as he looked around the courtroom.
"Please state your name and occupation," Judge Frost requested.
"The name is Toby Erikson. I work as a detective at the local precinct," Detective Erikson declared. "I'm also the leading detective on this case."
"Please testify about the details of the murder," Prosecutor Burke demanded.
"I'm right on it," nodded Detective Erikson.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ The Crime's Basic Details ~
- "The crime was yesterday morning like the prosecution said."
- "The victim was killed by a gun, but we don't know where the gun is right now, so we can't test ballistic markings."
- "When the victim died, a power outage was taking place at the prison."
- "The power box in the courtyard, which is responsible for the prison's electricity, was found open."
- "The only way to get out to the courtyard is with a key."
- "One of the few keys went missing while the defendant was here yesterday, so we need to suspect her."
"This case clearly seems to be much more complicated than it first appeared..." Judge Frost murmured. "What was the situation with the power outage?"
"The power box in the prison courtyard controls the electricity of the prison. It was turned off near the time of the murder. There's no other way to turn off the power since the prison doesn't run on regular electricity. The only way to get out to the courtyard in the first place is with a key, but there aren't very many of them. One of the keys went missing yesterday, so we believe the defendant took it when she encountered the guard who claims his is gone. The power was turned back on after the witness arrived on the scene," Detective Erikson explained. "If there are any other questions you have, I'm sure that they'll be resolved as this goes on. It's rather complicated, I'm afraid."
"I see... That's enough information for now. For the time being, go on and begin your cross-examination, defense," Judge Frost told me.
I nodded. "I'll get right on that, Your Honor," I said. I already thought I knew what I was supposed to do with this. There was a glaring issue with the testimony, and once I pointed it out, the suspicion on Yuri would surely lessen.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ The Crime's Basic Details ~
- "The crime was yesterday morning like the prosecution said."
- "The victim was killed by a gun, but we don't know where the gun is right now, so we can't test ballistic markings."
- "When the victim died, a power outage was taking place at the prison."
- "The power box in the courtyard, which is responsible for the prison's electricity, was found open."
- "The only way to get out to the courtyard is with a key."
- "One of the few keys went missing while the defendant was here yesterday, so we need to suspect her."
"Objection!"
"I'm afraid that you can't suspect my client based solely on the key," I smirked to myself.
"What makes you say that?" Detective Erikson asked.
"In order to get into the power box, one other thing is required," I told him. "According to the witness to this crime, a young woman who works at the prison, you can only get into the power box if you have the password to open it. How would my client, a young girl who was just visiting the prison, know of this password to be able to cause the power outage? Since no prisoner escape reports were sent out while the power was on, the victim must have gotten out while the power was off. She couldn't have let her victim out of his cell without knowing the password, which she surely didn't have any knowledge of due to being a common citizen!"
The people in the gallery above began to chatter. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but I figured it was some sort of gossip. I couldn't help but smirk to myself. If all contradictions were as easy as that one to find, perhaps my fears regarding this case would end up being unfounded.
"Order!" Judge Frost cried. "Prosecutor Burke, what do you think of this contradiction?"
"It's all rather simple, if you ask me," Prosecutor Burke said. "Just because she couldn't have caused the power outage doesn't mean she committed the crime. For all we know, an employee at the prison could have turned off the power and locked the courtyard door behind them. That was when she used her key to enter the courtyard and strike at the victim, shooting him to death."
"But why would another employee turn off the power box? There isn't any other reason that I could think of that a guard at the prison would want the power off at that time of the morning. It had to have been the killer," I retorted. "On top of that, there were no reports of the victim escaping his cell. The killer must have turned off the power before letting the victim out and killing him in the courtyard.
"And where, pray tell, is your proof of this?" Prosecutor Burke asked. "Evidence is everything in court and you know it. Our legal system would be a joke if it operated solely on baseless rumors and conjecture."
I could feel a drop of sweat roll down one side of my face. "I don't have any proof of it yet..." I murmured.
"Exactly. That means that you can't disprove my theory of the defendant potentially taking advantage of the power outage caused by another to kill the victim," Prosecutor Burke smiled.
"I think that we should hear a few more details about this power box. It must be a vital part of the case," Judge Frost suggested. "Detective Erikson? Would you mind testifying again?"
"Of course not," Detective Erikson replied.
"I was hoping that would turn out in our favor, but I suppose that just wasn't meant to be," I muttered to Chrysalis with a small sigh.
"The prosecution usually is rather versatile in these trials since the prosecutors have more information at their disposal," Chrysalis told me. "Don't let it get you down. No murder is perfect, which means that if Yuri didn't do it, there are holes in the prosecution's case against her. There also have to be clues that the killer did it lurking somewhere at the scene of the crime. It's just a matter of finding them."
"Alright... For now, let's focus on this next testimony. It might have some new information that we might need about the case," I suggested.
"I agree. The power box is going to be a vital part of solving this case. It's just a matter of fitting it into the puzzle at this point," Chrysalis nodded.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ The Prison Power Box~
- "The power box the prison uses can be found on the wall of the courtyard."
- "In order to be opened, it requires a four digit passcode known only to a select few prison staff members."
- "A fingerprinting system is also in place to keep unwanted guests from going through it."
- "When the police investigated it, no fingerprints could be lifted."
- "A report exists in the camera room of the prison that details when the box was turned off or on."
- "The report stated that the power box was turned off at 5:03 AM and turned on again at 5:17 AM."
- "While we don't know who turned it off, it was turned on by Pandora Rell."
- "Only a few people can get into the prison's power box, all of those people being guards."
"That's a lot of new information about the power box... Pandora didn't tell us that much when she spoke with us yesterday," Chrysalis remarked.
"That's because the fingerprinting system as well as the report are kept top secret. Only about half of the guards who have access to the power box know about the report that is made regarding the box. None of the prisoners are aware of the fingerprinting aspect on top of that," Detective Erikson explained.
"I think that's about all the information that I need when it comes to the power box," nodded Detective Frost. "Thank you for your testimony, detective."
"It was my pleasure," Detective Erikson said.
"Wow... This electricity box sure is important when it comes to this case," Chrysalis murmured. "I guess we'll just have to figure out the truth behind the power box if we want to track down the killer."
"The defense would like to begin its cross-examination," I declared.
"Go on ahead. It's not like it really matters, though. I mean, the detective just stated the irrefutable facts, so you can't really object," smirked Prosecutor Burke.
"I swear that she's not normally that cocky..." Chrysalis told me. "She can just be competitive in court."
"Go on and start your cross-examination," Judge Frost instructed.
"It would be my pleasure," I said with a nod.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ The Prison Power Box~
- "The power box the prison uses can be found on the wall of the courtyard."
- "In order to be opened, it requires a four digit passcode known only to a select few prison staff members."
- "A fingerprinting system is also in place to keep unwanted guests from going through it."
- "When the police investigated it, no fingerprints could be lifted."
- "A report exists in the camera room of the prison that details when the box was turned off or on."
- "The report stated that the power box was turned off at 5:03 AM and turned on again at 5:17 AM."
- "While we don't know who turned it off, it was turned on by Pandora Rell."
- "Only a few people can get into the prison's power box, all of those people being guards."
"Objection!"
"How is it that you can turn around and object to the testimony when I just told you that it was entirely factual?" Prosecutor Burke asked, glaring at me.
"The facts of this testimony are correct as far as we know now. However, there is one problem that I have with it. I maintain my stance that the killer was the one who turned off the power box to help them commit the crime," I responded.
"Go on and explain," Judge Frost told me with a small frown.
"Another person in the prison would have no motive to turn off the power. The electricity keeps the prisoners in their cells on top of the keys used to lock them in. If one were to turn the power off, prisoners could easily pick the locks and escape. The killer wanted the victim out of his cell and out to the courtyard to commit the murder since there were no cameras there," I began to explain. "Nobody else would have a reason for potentially letting out the prisoners aside from the killer, who was trying to lure the victim into the courtyard to kill him without any footage being taken. If the cameras were off because of the power outage and the electricity was gone, prisoners would be able to escape without anybody knowing. It must have been the killer who was beginning to set their murderous plan in motion!"
"But how does that relate to the testimony?" Prosecutor Burke asked. "You're going on a long rant that doesn't seem to have much of a purpose."
"Only guards can get into the power box. That means that my client is off the list of suspects for causing the power outage," I went on. "A guard must have done it. On top of that, only the killer would have a motive for taking the electricity out of the situation. It was to free the victim so that he could be killed out in the courtyard!"
"Why would the killer drag the victim out to the courtyard instead of just killing him in his cell?" Judge Frost questioned.
"I think that it's because that would cause all sorts of guards to come running. The nearby men would have appeared and noticed the killer there. The killer caused the power outage, which allowed the victim the chance to escape in the darkness. He wanted him out in the courtyard because it's difficult to access and there's only one entrance. That meant that the killer would have had enough time to escape without any issues at all," Chrysalis explained. "The witness of this case told us herself that traveling to the courtyard can take quite a bit of time if you aren't running."
"Speaking of witnesses," cut in Prosecutor Burke. "I think that it's time to call in the witness to this case. Step down, detective," Prosecutor Burke instructed. Detective Erikson nodded and walked away from the witness stand.
"I can tell that she's frustrated. Hitting her with logic early on psyched her out, which means that she might end up making a mistake. I know how she is," smiled Chrysalis. "However, we can't let this get to our heads. Just because we have her on the ropes doesn't mean that we've already won. We have a lot to prove before this case can be considered closed."
"You're right. If we focus on what's happening now, we can hopefully take care of this," I agreed.
While Chrysalis and I had been talking, Ms. Rell had appeared at the witness stand. She was twirling some of her hair over her finger as she stared around the courtroom. It didn't look like she was in her element at all, so she likely hadn't been inside of a courtroom before.
"Please state your name and occupation," Judge Frost said.
"Pandora Rell... I work as an assistant to the warden of the local prison," Ms. Rell told him. "And as of right now, I'm a witness to the crime... Unfortunately..."
"She looks tired. I'm betting that she didn't sleep very much last night," Chrysalis murmured to me.
"I bet that you're right. She looks exhausted... I hope she doesn't end up under too much psychological stress," I muttered under my breath.
"Go on and begin your testimony about the incident that took place yesterday morning," Prosecutor Burke instructed.
"Alright... I'll start with the first part of it all," Ms. Rell replied. "Okay... Here we go..."
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ The Power Outage Incident ~
- "I was in the camera room to make sure that none of the prisoners had escaped when the power went out."
- "I knew it was something to do with the power box since that's the source of electricity for the prison."
- "It took me about ten minutes to get there, and once I arrived, I turned it off."
- "I didn't see anything too particularly peculiar about the scene..."
- "After I turned on the power again, I shut the box and went back to the camera room to keep watching."
"That sounds like about what Detective Erikson told us," Judge Frost remarked. "I don't think there's anything we can really say about that testimony."
"In that case, let's just go on and let the defense cross-examine her. The sooner that's done with, the better," Prosecutor Burke said.
"Alright. I'll get right on it,' i nodded.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ The Power Outage Incident ~
- "I was in the camera room to make sure that none of the prisoners had escaped when the power went out."
- "I knew it was something to do with the power box since that's the source of electricity for the prison."
- "It took me about ten minutes to get there, and once I arrived, I turned it off."
- "I didn't see anything too particularly peculiar about the scene..."
- "After I turned on the power again, I shut the box and went back to the camera room to keep watching."
"Objection!"
"I'm afraid that this contradicts what Detective Erikson mentioned earlier," I said. "He mentioned that the power box out in the courtyard was found open when the police arrived. Are you sure that you really shut it?"
"I'm positive that I did! I shut it!" Ms. Rell cried.
"Well, the police obviously didn't see that at the scene of the crime," Prosecutor Burke sighed. "Are you sure that you shut that damn box?"
"Of course I did! I didn't hear the click that I usually hear when the box shuts, but I figured that was just because of the loud wind..." Ms. Rell murmured.
"The prosecution presents this picture of the opened power box," Prosecutor Burke declared.
"The latch on that box... It looks like it would be easy to cover with a rubber band to keep it from shutting. Whoever turned off the power might have covered the latch with a band to keep it from shutting all the way," I thought aloud.
"W-Was the box sh-shut when you found i-it?" Anton stuttered from beside Prosecutor Burke. I admit, I almost forgot that he was there because of how quiet he had been.
"No... It was open. It was just barely cracked..." Ms. Rell responded.
"In that case, it seems like a rubber band was put over the latch to keep it from closing," Chrysalis said. "This... This is peculiar..."
"The fingerprint mechanic is on the inside of the box. The password is on the outside and the fingerprinting system is on the inside. The record only activates when somebody puts their finger onto the box's fingerprint system," Ms. Rell explained.
"This is already turning out to be incredibly complex... How this power box fits into the equation is going to be a critical part of solving this case..." Chrysalis said under her breath. "We just need to figure it all out."
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Scrolling through these updates takes a day and a half I swear
-Digital