The crowd burst into chatter. The judge, after several attempts, finally managed to calm them down. "ORDER! ORDER! Mr. Inger, a—are you serious?!"
"I am. I have respect for you, Ms. Veal. No other defense attorney could fight me as an equal, so when we discovered this here…well…I didn't want to lose my only rival."
The judge furrowed his brow. "He's correct there. Anyone who's involved in the case cannot be an attorney, unless they are defending themselves."
Miranda shook her head. "It's not true…"
Jack shook his head. "I'm sure you're right, however, until it has been proven…I have to ask you to resign as the defense attorney, and relinquish it to someone else."
"…may I pick the person I want to replace me?"
"Certainly."
Miranda sighed. "Josh…I know it's sudden…but you have to take over."
"W—what?"
"You're the only other person familiar with the trial. You're the best qualified."
"…but…this is—"
"I know it's your first official trial…but we need you to do this."
"…okay…I'll do it."
Jack shook his head. "Alright then. Ms. Veal, you are to be under constant supervision in the defendant's lobby. Please leave the courtroom."
Miranda shook her head. "Alright…Josh…please…find out who really did this."
"I will!"
Miranda left the courtroom, followed by a courtroom security guard. Jack cleared his throat. "Now, we may continue."
The judge shook his head. "What is your name again, attorney?"
"My name is Josh Evanson…I'm an attorney who passed the BAR exam a month ago."
Jack sighed. "Fresh meat…at any rate, with Ms. Veal gone, this trial won't last another thirty minutes."
The judge shook his head. "Now, where were we before?"
"We were talking about this packet. In it, it describes a murder…exactly with what happened here!"
The judge's eyes widened. "A—are you serious?"
"I am. Also, it is addressed to Miranda." Jack slammed on his desk. "There is a possibility that Ms. Veal killed the victim using the notes given to her."
Weird…when I was with Miranda…I never remember seeing that packet…
The judge banged his gavel. "Well…we'll talk about that more later. For now, witness, please continue your testimony."
Darren shook his head. "No problem."
"I ran into the bedroom, but I hit on something metal—"
"Hold up! Why run into the bedroom? After all, you just went to the bathroom. Why not go back there?"
"…I don't know. When I saw the chick shooting him…I couldn't think straight. I just started running. However, as soon as I entered the bedroom, I felt a pain go through my arm. I looked and I saw this metal object near the door."
"Can you describe the object to us?"
Jack cleared his throat. "Rather than him explain it, why not look at it yourself."
Jack took out a small statue of a knight with his sword drawn. "This here is the object the witness is describing. We found traces of the witness's blood on the tip of the sword."
"STOP!" Everyone turned to Leah. "I know that statue…it's not my father's…but Philip's!"
"…!" Josh slammed on his desk. "Which Philip?!"
"The first one! The Philip who wrote the bloody handwriting!"
"Why was it here?"
"He loves carrying it around with him. It's his favorite possession…for some strange reason."
Jack shook his head. "If that is indeed Philip's statue…then how did it get over in the bedroom?"
"...I have an idea."
The courtroom turned to Josh. Jack chuckled. "Do you? Please, tell us. I promise I'll try not to laugh."
Ignoring Jack's comment, Josh continued. "Philip may still not be telling us the whole truth."
"He…isn't?"
"That's right. The only explanation I can think of is that Philip went into the bedroom at some time…and set the statue down."
"OBJECTION!" Jack waved his finger at Josh. "There is a blatant contradiction in your theory."
"W—what is it then?"
"The two Philips were traveling together…BEFORE the murder happened. They discovered the scene immediately afterwards. How can Philip be at the house, set the statue down, then travel with the other Philip."
"…easy."
"Huh?"
"For some unknown reason…both Philip's aren't telling us the truth."
"So every witness is a liar to you? That's not good logic to come into a courtroom with."
"Before you keep berating me, hear me out. There are a couple questions here, when was the statue placed down, and how did it get to the bedroom? Obviously, the statue was there during the murder, thanks to Darren brushing his arm against the metal sword. Now, if that's Philip's statue, then—"
"Hold it!" The courtroom turned to the first Philip, who was watching from the stands. "I will admit…I own a statue that looks like the one you guys have…however…that's not mine."
"…come again?"
Philip took out a similar statue from his bag. "Here is the statue I have. I have no idea who's statue that is."
"…! WHAT?"
The crowd burst into chatter once more. The judge banged his gavel. "ORDER! ORDER! Mr. Inger…what is the meaning of this?"
"It means the rookie attorney was wrong again. The two Philip's are telling the truth."
Lead stood up. "Then who's statue is that? My father never owned a little statue like that!"
Jack shook his head. "That's a good question, and one we don't have the immediate answer to."
Darren, who was still standing at the witness stand, spoke up. "Um…Mr. Prosecutor, sir?"
"What is it?"
"I—I saw that statue before."
"You…did?"
"Yes. You see…I tried to go speak with him the day before he was killed…but a blonde woman, who was carrying a statue like that, was standing at the front door. I didn't want to interrupt what was going on, so I went back."
"…was the blonde woman the woman sitting right there?"
"No, she was shorter…and her head was turned away from the door. Her eyes were brown. She was the same woman who killed Lance!"
"WHAT!?"
Josh looked at Darren. "Darren, please tell me…" Josh took out the picture Miranda found. "Is this the woman at the door?"
"…! Yes! That's her!"
The crowd murmured amongst themselves. The judge looked at Darren. "Are you sure, witness?"
"Yes! I'll never forget what I saw that day! I'm sure the woman who killed Lance is the girl in the picture!"
Jack shook his head. "I was afraid of this…"
"Mr. Inger?"
"Your honor, the prosecution would like to call its final witness, the woman who is being accused of murdering the victim."
"She's here?"
"Yes she is. I was afraid that Miranda would somehow get out of the evidence I presented, and it turns out she lead this rookie on the right track. I would like to call her forward to effectively end all suspicions around her!"
The judge shook his head. "Very well. However, the court will take a fifteen minute break."
"Hold up!" Josh looked at Jack. "Mr. Inger, I have a request to make."
"What is it, Rookie?"
"The packet…may I take a look at it during the break?"
"…"
"I need all the information I can get."
"…very well. You may take a look at it during the break." The bailiff took the packet from Jack and gave it to Josh. The judge shook his head. "Very well then, the court will take a fifteen minute recess!"
The judge banged his gavel.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
