Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes
Trial (Day 2) - Part 4
: I have to conclude that you have a personal grudge against Ms. Lana Skye.
: The witness is a former detective.
: Her testimony is unmarred by personal bias.
: Well, who would have thought you would be my knight in shining armor, prosecutor? You who, together with
: the chief prosecutor, kicked me out two years ago!
: …
: Well, Ms. Starr… This is a fatal contradiction with your testimony…
: How do you explain this?
: Hmph!
: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mess with me…
: and I’ll make you cough it ALL up!
: Ahem. Let’s look at the floor plans.
: However, if that’s true…
: …!
: I believe you see what I’m getting at.
: Order! Order!
: What is the meaning of this?
: It’s simple, Your Honor. She’s not coughing up lunch…
: she’s coughing up lies!!!
: Grrr!
: That’s quite a claim, Mr. Wright… perhaps you will allow me a question?
: Tell us exactly what lie this witness has told the court!
: (Here’s where the counter-attack begins! I can’t afford to be get this wrong!)
: She lied about what she saw! In other words,
: she didn’t see Ms. Skye using that emergency phone!
: It does seem hard to imagine how she could have!
: Very logical!
: …
: …
: (What’s the matter, Starr? Cat got your lunchbox?)
: Um, Mr. Wright… I hate to bother you while you’re celebrating your victory… But why would
: Ms. Starr lie like that?
: Huh?
: Why would she say that my sister had tried to use the phone, but failed?
: It doesn’t make any sense! Why lie about something so insignificant?
: Oh… (Dang, she’s right!)
: I mean, maybe she really did see her try to use the emergency phone.
: I see no room for doubt here.
: Ugh.
: (One… one more try!)
: Hmph. I see it in your eyes. You haven’t learned your lesson, have you?
: Tell us exactly what lie this witness has told the court!
: She lied about the order of events!
: Ms. Skye used that emergency phone BEFORE the murder!
: I-I see!
: I hadn’t thought of that!
: …
: …
: (That took the wind out of her sails!)
: Um, Mr. Wright… I hate to bother you while you’re celebrating your victory…
: But… why would anyone use the emergency phone before the murder?
: Huh?
: Just when you think he can’t sink any lower, he amazes us. I applaud you, Mr. Wright.
: Ugh.
: (One… one more try!)
: Hmph. I see it in your eyes. You haven’t learned your lesson, have you?
: Tell us exactly what lie this witness has told the court!
: She tried to use the emergency phone… but it was out of order.
: What is significant about this fact?
: Nothing. It would be pointless for her to lie about it!
: Pointless to lie… I see!
: The witness did actually see Ms. Skye using the emergency phone.
: In other words…
: A different location!?
: Now that’s a pointless lie if I ever heard one!
: Before you call my lie pointless…
: at least let me tell it!
: Let me ask a question to our clever wordsmith, Mr. Wright.
: Just where was the witness
: when she saw the crime!?
: (All the testimony we’ve heard until now points in one direction…)
: This is the only place where she could have been.
: The security guard room?
: Indeed, the security room in the underground parking lot is well positioned…
: Hmm… She would have been able to see the emergency phone from there.
: But why there? There are many other places where she could have seen the phone?
: Not in this case, Your Honor.
: I remember in your testimony, you said…
: You brought a lunch to your “boyfriend” in the security guard room, yes?
: Well, Ms. Starr?
: … How many years have I been getting the better of men…? To think that the tables could be turned…
: Today, a man has got the better of Angel Starr!
: Order! Order!
: Witness! What have you done!? You used to be a detective! You should know better!
: I’m not turning back. The guilty will be punished.
: And I’ll do what I must to make sure justice prevails.
: (The guilty… is she talking about Ms. Skye…?)
: Um, Mr. Wright? Doesn’t this strike you as odd? Why did Ms. Starr lie?
: It doesn’t make sense!
: Huh?
: She could have just said she saw the crime from the security guard station. It wouldn’t change anything!
: Exactly!
: That truth still stands!
: It “still stands”?
: I disagree, Mr. Edgeworth.
: Wh-what!?
: If a witness is found to be lying,
: they’re guilty of perjury. She knows this.
: She wouldn’t risk that without a good reason!
: So tell us what her reason was, Mr. Wright!
: …
: Huh? M-me?
: Who else!?
: Mr. Wright! Let’s review what we know!
: Why, the angle at which she saw the crime occur would change!
: The angle…?
: What do you mean!?
: Uh, um, well…
: The security guard station is on the second floor… and um…
: She would have sort of a more 3-D view of the crime.
: And this is important… why?
: Um…
: …
: …
: Mr. Wright! Let’s review what we know!
: It’s a difference in lighting!
: Lighting…?
: What does that mean!?
: Well, it means, uh…
: See, the security guard station is on the second level…
: So, uh, she would have seen the crime in better lighting conditions.
: And this is important… why?
: Um…
: …
: …
: Mr. Wright! Let’s review what we know!
: It changes the distance between her and the scene of the crime!
: I don’t see how that would change what she could see.
: What she saw is not in question here.
: What matters is the time it would take her to reach the scene of the crime!
: …!
: Ms. Starr! You witnessed the crime from the security guard station!
: Now, how long did it take you to go from there…
: to the scene of the crime, where you arrested Ms. Skye!?
: …
: Well, witness?
: You…
: Y-yes…?
: (The quality of my lunches has gone from low to inedible.)
: I was bringing a PB&J lunch with fresh boysenberry jam to my boyfriend.
: Hmm…
: Boysenberry for the boyfriend!
: He wasn’t in the station, so I waited.
: But… the door was locked. I couldn’t open it.
: That’s quite a detour.
: It probably took me at least five minutes to get to the scene of the crime.
: F-f-f-five minutes!?
: Hmm…
: This changes things considerably!
: But, it was that woman over there in the defendant’s chair who stabbed him!
: I swear it…
: I swear it on my finest plastic spork!
: You have a point. And the spork is a wonderful invention.
: Absolutely!
: (Uh oh…)
: Mr. Wright! You have to do something!
: (I think I need more evidence before I go sticking my spork in this mess…)
: Woo! Caviar!
: Ah… how it makes my eyes tingle!
: Mr. Wright!
: No evidence can win against the raw power of caviar! It’s a scientific fact! The only thing that’s left…
: Is your strong presence and deft powers of deduction!
: …!
: Let’s screw the lid back on those overpriced fish eggs!
Which leaves us where the right answer does.
: Five minutes between the witnessing of the murder and the arrest! Think about it!
: You could make pasta in that amount of time! If you like it al dente!
: A five minute “blank”…
: Isn’t that strange!?
: Strange…?
: If you were a criminal…
: What would you do with five minutes, Your Honor?
: Well, um…
: I guess I’d flee the scene.
: Hey! D-don’t get the wrong idea! I didn’t kill anyone…
: But you have the instincts of a killer! You would run!
: But this time was different!
: Well then.
: It seems we’ve come to the end of this testimony.
: She has a grudge against the defendant, and there is a blank in her testimony.
: …!
: Mr. Edgeworth, is the next witness ready to go?
: Unfortunately…
: I appear to have overestimated this witness on account of her professional history…
: We did it! We screwed that can shut, Mr. Wright!
(Th-that was too close!)
: I’m afraid that
: the Cough-up Queen has been dethroned.
: And with that, court is adjourned!
: (That’s the one she tried to foist off on me!)
: I prefer to not take the defense team’s lefotvers. Anything else to say?
: I… might be able to save you.
: I have decisive evidence.
: Wh-what was that!?
: (Is this another one of her trick lunchboxes!?)
: My apologies, but we have no further questions to ask of you, Ms. Starr.
: Ah…
: Whoo hoo! A triple-decker!
: Out of deference to the witness’s determination, I’ll allow one more testimony!
: Let’s hear about this decisive evidence.
: Like the Lunchland motto says, you won’t be disappointed!
: (What’s she going to pull out of her lunchbox this time!?)
: Wh-what!? There was blood found on that shoe!?
: Witness, what’s the meaning of this?
: Simple. As I’ve already said…
: I don’t trust you with evidence, Mr. Edgeworth! That’s why I took the liberty of investigating this myself.
: And… you had blood tests performed?
: Didn’t I mention?
: I have three boyfriends in forensics.
: In any case, Your Honor,
: I can’t accept this as evidence!
: What…?
: You should know the two rules of evidence law, Ms. Starr!
: Rule 1: no evidence shall be shown without the approval of the Police Department!
: I-is that right, Mr. Wright!?
: It seems so. Edgeworth sure is celebrating.
: Not so fast, Mr. Edgeworth.
: …!
: Don’t forget… I used to be a detective! As I mentioned previously…
: Even the general public can produce official evidence, Mr. Edgeworth.
: Nuh… Ungh!
: I-is that right, Mr. Wright!?
: It seems so. Edgeworth is looking pretty sullen.
: You could at least study some evidence law! Really!
: The prosecution’s complaints notwithstanding…
: It appears that this evidence satisfies the first rule of evidence law. Well…
: It seems you have yet another count against you, witness.
: Anything to ensure that the guilty are properly judged.
Examining it…
: It appears so. (Lana’s right hand was bandaged when I saw her in jail. She must have cut herself at the time of the crime…)
: Poor sis…
: On the sole of the shoe? It’s got to be the victim’s. He must have stepped in a puddle of his own blood.
: All this blood… It’s horrible!
: (Hmm… This blood might be an important clue…)
Next time: Yeah, even more testimony.