The Law Offices of Fey and Wright

October 18, 10:00 AM District Courtroom No. 4

"All rise!" yelled the bailiff as the crowd rose from their seats for the judge to make his way to the podium, the tallest platform in the entire courtroom.



Taking his seat and banging his gavel, the judge said, "The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Robert Powers."



"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," came Edgeworth from the right.



"The defense is ready, Your Honor," said Phoenix Wright from the left.

 

The Judge nodded his head. "Very well, Mr. Edgeworth, your opening statement."



"The prosecution will show the people that at 2:30 PM, October 15th, the defendant, Mr. Robert Powers, killed fellow actor Bill Hammer at Studio One of Global Studios. It is impossible for anyone else to have committed this heinous crime and the evidence presented during the trial will all point to this fact."



"Very well, Edgeworth, and from what I understand you have a new detective under your command?" the Judge asked reading over the case in brief and not seeing Gumshoe’s name on the paper.



"Of course, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen, I call Detective Daniel Reagan to the stand." Like clockwork, the bailiff opened the witness door in the court room and here entered Daniel Reagan taking the witness stand. "Now Detective Reagan, if you would describe this case to the court?"



"Of course, Edgeworth." Reagan entered a few buttons on his witness stand and a projector showing the Global Studios map showed brightly around the room "To understand this case, it's important to grasp the layout of the studios. This here is the Employee Area.

The actors did a run-through of their action scenes during the morning here. This is the main gate to the studios. The security lady that works at the studios was here at 1:00 PM on that day. Past the security station there is a gate to the right of her.

Past that are the studios and here it is...Studio One. This is the scene of the murder, where the body was found. Now, on the day of the murder, October 15, there were only three people here: the victim, Bill Hammer, the defendant, Robert Powers, and Sophia Nichols, the production assistant. All the production staff were in the Employee Area until noon.

Then after lunch, the victim, Jack Hammer, went to Studio One. Right after that, at 1:00 PM, the security lady got to the guard station. Now, jump ahead to later that day... 5:00 PM. The production staff came to Studio One to perform a rehearsal. Needless to say, the rehearsal was canceled...The time of death was 2:30 PM. The ‘Samurai Spear’ found lodged in the victim's chest was the murder weapon. That's the case, in brief.”

"Now Mr. Wright, do you need to hear the details of this case again?" Edgeworth asked in a very polite manner.

 

A brief second of pondering, Wright replied "Um, give us 30 seconds if you can, Edgeworth."



First sign of Edgeworth's nodding Wright turned to Mia and whispered "Are we gonna need to hear the description again and write it down?"



"Were you not able to process all that, Nick?"



"No I wasn't, Chief, it's blatantly obvious he's trying play a trick on us with Reagan's long description of the case." Out of nowhere Maya came in between them with a yellow notepad paper.



"I actually have it written down, Nick, right down to the letter." Both attorneys turned their heads to her.



"Where did you get that notepad, Maya?" Mia asked in a quiet shriek.



"They had em available for no cost at the courtroom lobby, Sis. I forgot to get our supplies at the office."



"If that be the case, good thing the evidence was at my house or we'd really be in trouble," Phoenix replied while offering Mia a glass of water, turning to the prosecutor. "No Edgeworth, a repeat won't be necessary, we're ready for the first witness your honor."



"Before we do so, Reagan, if I'm hearing correctly the murder weapon was a spear?"



"Yes, sir, it was mostly used as a prop for the television show," Reagan transmitted details of the spear to Wright and Edgeworth's smart phones connected on their respective benches.



"Your honor, the case is simple if you ask one question: 'What did the security lady at the security guard see?' With that being said, the people call Ms. Linda Pennock to the stand."



****

After going through the process of calling Pennock to the stand, Edgeworth got right to business "May we ask your name and occupation?"



"Linda Pennock, security guard of Global Studios," came her reply.



"Now on October fifteenth, you were at the studios during the murder of Bill Hammer, correct?"



"Yes sir, at the main gate, in order for the murder occur someone would have to pass right by me."



The Judge cut in, "You may begin your testimony."



Pennock began to testify that around one PM she entered her guard station, but around the time that the scene run-through between Hammer and Powers was going on, she had some errands to run but eventually stayed at her post until five that afternoon. Around two PM she stated and eventually pointed to Robert Powers, that she saw walking toward studio one.



"You saw the defendant around that time?" The judge pondered for about fourteen seconds before turning to Phoenix. "Begin your cross-examination, Mr. Wright."



"Yes, Your Honor." A transcript of Pennock's testimony appeared on Wright's bench as he began to ask the first question. "Now, Ms. Pennock, before one PM practically anyone could go into the studio right?"



"Not true, the gate was locked and you needed a card key to get in."



"Was there anyone at the studios when you arrived at the guard station?"



"No just Hammer and Powers working on a scene run-through between the Evil Magistrate and the Steel Samurai. They were getting the basics done and used most of the afternoon for practice."



"And rehearsal was supposed to start at five PM, correct?"



Pennock nodded and continued, "Hammer went to Studio One that afternoon."



"Now I noticed in your testimony Pennock, you were kinda vague about running errands that day. Care to elaborate?"



That got Pennock a little nervous. "Oh well you know..."



Pounding his desk, Wright wouldn't have it. "Answer the question, Pennock!"



"Well excuse me, counselor, I was watching the scene run through you happy?!?" She began to get real snippy.



"I'm nowhere near happy, because you just admitted to not doing your job!"



"Well excuse me for locking the gate and doing my job, but I was not gonna miss Hammer's run-through. Never had in all my years at Global Studios." At that point Edgeworth had to raise an objection for witness badgering which the judge sustained.



"Nick, please try and control your temper around the witnesses," Mia whispered in Wright's ear and gave a gentle rub of his back.



"Then I may have no other choice than to pull off the big guns, Chief," Wright replied while looking at the last sentence of Pennock's testimony. "So you're alleging that our client, Robert Powers, walked past your security station at two PM, am I not wrong on that?"



"No, counselor, you're not wrong." And then she said it, "But I'm surprised that you're actually admitting that your client committed the murder."



"Actually, that is where you're wrong, Ms. Pennock, because I don't think you saw Robert Powers walking past you." Wright pulled the Steel Samurai photo out of his briefcase to show the court. "I think you were referring to the man in this photo, aren't you?!"



"Wait a minute, Mr. Wright," the judge cut in and motioned for Wright's photo who complied with the request. "What is this, exactly?"



"Your Honor, this is none other than the character in question, the Steel Samurai of Neo Olde Tokyo." The attorney turned to the witness. "Ms. Pennock, are you absolutely sure that you saw Robert Powers wearing this costume?"



"I'm fifty-four years old, counselor, but I haven't had a need to use glasses especially to see it was Powers." She turned to Edgeworth. "You would agree with that sentiment, wouldn't you?"



Edgeworth was shocked by the curve ball just thrown. "Um...yeah." Like that would save his butt. "But I do wonder"



Wright cut in this time. "It is true that Mr. Powers plays the role of the Steel Samurai on TV," he pounded his desk again, "but this is fiction we're talking about, and Mr. Powers does not wear this costume 24/7."



"I know what fiction is, I wasn't born yesterday." Pennock clearly didn't appreciate Nick's statement



"No one in this court is accusing of that, Ms. Pennock," came the voice of the judge. "However, you do not have proof that the person in this photo is Mr. Robert Powers, do you?"



"Well if you must know, Your Honor." She smirked. "I actually do have proof."



"Say what!?" Phoenix was surprised but probably not as much as Edgeworth.



"Excuse me!?"



"Don't tell me, Mia," Phoenix whispered to her. "He didn't even know either?"



"Apparently not, Phoenix," she whispered back. "Talk about hindering a strategy."



"May I remind you, Ms. Pennock to make known of all the information in your possession ahead of time!" Edgeworth made no effort to hide his levity towards the security guard.



"Hey if you wanna yell at someone Edgeworth, yell at your detectives, Briscoe and Reagan. They didn't even give my proof a second look."



"Well let's hear about your proof," said the judge.

Pennock testified, “I never say anything, I don't mean, mind you! That morning, during the run-through of the action scene... I saw Powers trip and fall! He broke one of the props, it was a big mess. Apparently, he sprained his ankle pretty bad. Now if you were to look at the picture, you can see Powers sprained his ankle pretty badly. That's how I know it was Powers, you happy?"



"So he had sprained his ankle during the scene run through?" The Judge was taking in the information while turning to the defense. "Very well, Mr. Wright, you may cross-examine the witness."



Phoenix was about to begin until he got tapped on the shoulder by Mia. "Um give us a few seconds your honor, if you please," he requested. The judge nodded in agreement and Nick turned his attention to Mia and whispered, "What's the matter, Chief?"



"There's no way you can find a contradiction, Nick, let me handle this cross-examination," she replied while carrying that same whisper.



"May I ask why?"



"Well while taking in the details of this case last night, there's a question that's been bugging me."



"Oh," Phoenix reminded himself who was the more experienced of the two. "Well if that be the case, I'll let the Judge know." He turned to the Judge. "Your Honor, with your permission I'd like have Ms. Mia Fey handle this cross-examination."

 

Soon as he heard Mia's name, the judge said, "Ah, Ms. Mia Fey, been a long time since I seen you at work. I trust you'll do a good job."

 

"Thank you, Your Honor." Mia turned to Ms. Pennock. "Now, Ms. Pennock, I only got one question to ask of you if you're so sure that our client here was wearing the Steel Samurai Costume to kill Bill Hammer.....where is the costume now?"



That caught Pennock off guard. "Oh....well, doesn't Mr. Powers usually carry it with him everywhere?"



Edgeworth cut in this time. "Your Honor, may we approach?"



Barely a sign of approval from the judge as both Mia and Edgeworth approached his bench. Edgeworth spoke first, "To tell both of you the truth, the police couldn't find it, but they are still looking as we speak."



"They couldn't find it at the crime scene?" asked the judge.



"No, your honor, but that isn't of importance."



"And may I ask why, Edgeworth?" Mia cut in this time, clearly not amused.



"The witness did see the Steel Samurai; it's completely clear that the person in the Steel Samurai suit was Mr. Robert Powers." But Mia could easily tell Edgeworth wasn't convinced.



"Your honor, the defense requests permission to have the witness add further details in her testimony."



"I concur with the defense, Mr. Edgeworth. Right now all I'm hearing from her testimony is circumstantial." No further argument was pursued as Mia and Edgeworth took back to their respective places.



Turning back to Ms. Pennock, Mia asked ,"Were you ever told about Bill Hammer's time of death?"



"Yes, but I was told by a boy in blue, after I bribed him with some donuts," Pennock replied with a smirk. "Two-thirty PM was what they told me."



"During around the time of the crime, you're absolutely sure, that our client committed the murder of Bill Hammer?"



"Quite sure, nobody suspicious looking passed by me at all," Pennock continued. "If they had, I would have seen them."



That caught Mia's ear as she began to project the Steel Samurai photo from the defense bench, "I want you to take a look at this photograph, one more time." Pennock complied with Mia's request as she continued, "This photo was taken by the very same camera at the gate for the studios, correct?"



"Yes, ma'am," Pennock replied.



"So, whenever anyone passes by here, it automatically takes a picture?"



"I'm starting to think you have more brains than your boyfriend at the bench," Pennock replied while clearly not paying attention to Nick and Maya's disconcerted reaction.



"It's also true that the computer in the guard station records all security cam data, correct?" Mia proceeded to pinpoint a certain detail about the back of the photo "Note that over here, you see the words printed [Oct 15, 2:00 PM, Photo #2]"



"What are you getting at, counselor?" Pennock asked clearly not liking where this might be going.



"The issue here is the bit at the end where it says: 'Photo #2.'" Mia really went at it, "From what I was told, your security computer only held data for one photo from that day and I find it very odd that there was not a Photo #1 if this picture was the only photo."



It didn't even take the courtroom crowd ten seconds to get riled up. "Order! Order!" cried the Judge after pounding his gavel.



"Ms. Pennock, as you can see from this photo, there should've been two people at that studio, but there is only data for one photo," Mia began to pound the desk and point at the witness "My question to you, Ms. Pennock, if there was a photo number one why was it erased?"



Thirty seconds of silence filled the room until the judge cut in, "Ms. Pennock please answer the question."



"Trust me, I'm very computer literate, counselor, but the software they use is too advanced even for me." Suddenly Pennock got hit with a case of déjà vu. "Your honor, I just remembered something."



"Let me guess." The judge had a feeling where this would go, "Someone else passed by the gate...other than the Steel Samurai?"



"Yes, your honor, somewhere along those lines."



"Very well, your testimony please."

 

Pennock began her testimony by telling the court how she had one other important job to do, and that was to go through the photos recorded on the security computer. She would normally delete the photos that didn't look suspicious and remembered throwing away one photo that day.



As if Edgeworth wasn't already peeved the last time. "Ms. Pennock, this is the first I've heard of this!"



"I've only just remembered it like five minutes ago," Pennock flinched a little at Edgeworth's glare.



"Right anyway...Ms. Fey your witness." The Judge barely tried to hide his shock at the new information.



"Yes Your Honor." Fey looked at the witness "Ms. Pennock, your other job consisted of looking at photos of people who passed by that camera, correct?"



"Yes, I look closely at every photo the security camera takes."



"I imagine you never back up the data on the camera do you?"



"They keep telling me to, but it's very difficult to make that possible."



"Now looking at the testimony, you said you remember throwing out a photo, who was in that photo?"



"A crazy fan-boy, someone who was a Steel Samurai freak to the bone. They always sneak in and get information about rehearsals from God knows where."



That really got Mia's attention. "But earlier in your testimony, you said that no one could get in, correct?" She accessed a prior testimony transcript and found the sentence "'I locked the main gate so no one could get in.' Those were your words!"



"If you must know, there's a drain that goes into the Employee Area. The grate has been loose for a while; it's wide enough for a second grader to get in."



"Let see if I got this right," said the judge. "You saw two people pass by the gate on their way to the studios that day, the Steel Samurai dragging his leg and a second grader?"



"Can't stop 'em, can't catch 'em," Pennock replied. "But honestly, I didn't pay him any mind. That's why I erased the data."



While Edgeworth, Pennock, and the judge were conversing, Maya cut in with a whisper to her sister. "Um sis, what's going on? The boy was there and that makes him a suspect."



"Not gonna lie, Maya, I don't think he did it either, but I do think he might know something about this case."



The Judge pounded his gavel and everyone began to quiet down. "I'd like to have us take a five minute recess, I want both the defense and prosecution to consider this new information...and no forgetting vital information this time!"

October 18, 11:08 AM, District Court Defendant Lobby No. 3



"Robert Powers was it?" Mia turned to their client who clearly was riled with nervousness.



"Y-yes, ma'am?" Not to mention a little jumpy.



"Tell me straight: were you really in your dressing room? You didn't go to the studio?" Mia really wanted to believe in their client, after all it was still the first case of her new law firm. A loss could be very damaging to their reputation.



"I swear to you, Ms. Fey, I didn't go to the studio!" His voice almost carried a plea.



"So who was the ‘Steel Samurai’ in that security photo?" Maya cut in this time.



"How should I know?" Rob had to struggle to take a deep breath. "Look, I honestly didn't think anyone would have a reason to take it, that's why I usually put my costume in the corner of the dressing room. Anyone could have walked in and taken it, really."



"The way you talk, it's almost as if you really don't care about your role of the Steel Samurai." Phoenix felt as if their client was looking for an excuse to leave that role. "From the looks of things, you're only the likely suspect, right now."



"If you're right about that, Nick, what are we gonna do?" Maya felt very frightened at this.



"The least we can do, Maya. We're probably gonna have to do what I said we would do, yesterday."



"You mean pin it on someone else, Phoenix?" Mia asked.



"Yeah, Chief, kinda like how you used to do it. At the very least it could give the judge an excuse to grant a continuance."



"Be careful about that, Nick. If you pick the wrong person, we could lose on the spot," Mia felt concerned that Phoenix could make a jumpy accusation.



"You guys don't sound very optimistic," said Robert glumly.



"To be honest with you, we're not actually," Phoenix replied.



Just then the bailiff opened the door to call the defense team back in. "Well we better get this over with," said Phoenix with a heavy sigh.



****

October 18 District Courtroom No. 4 11:13 AM



"The court will now reconvene for the trial of Mr. Robert Powers," said the Judge after pounding his gavel and looked to the prosecution. "Mr. Edgeworth, will you present the prosecution's thoughts on this matter?"



"The prosecution's thoughts are simple, Your Honor." Then came in his trademark smirk. "Nothing has changed. The other person who went to the studios was a boy of roughly ten years of age. The photo we do have may not be hard evidence, but there is still no one else that could have committed this crime."



"OBJECTION!" yelled Phoenix. "Your honor, the prosecution is merely speculating this crime out of circumstantial evidence."



"Oh really, Mr. Wright?" asked Edgeworth in pure sarcasm. "Then perhaps maybe you have an idea of who committed the crime."



"As a matter of fact I do, Edgeworth. A lot closer than you would think."



"Mr. Wright, may I remind you that this court does not look kindly on accusing the innocent. If you accuse someone who is obviously innocent, you will be penalized," said the Judge who made no effort to hide his death glare.



"Your Honor, members of the court," Phoenix began to point his finger towards Pennock "It was none other than Global Studios security guard, Linda Pennock!"



"W-what!?" Linda clearly didn't see this coming.



"The Steel Samurai is dragging his leg in this picture. That means whoever was in the suit knew about that morning's injury. That means whoever was in the suit knew about that morning's injury. Maybe because...they had been watching the action scene run-through." He finally fired one of the big bullets. "The security lady, Ms. Linda Pennock."



Not thirty seconds later did the courtroom crowd begin to talk when the judge pounded the gavel "Order! Order!" He turned to the witness. "I-is this true, Ms. Pennock?"



Phoenix didn't give her a chance "Ms. Pennock was standing guard alone at the main gate. She was by herself...in other words, she has no alibi." Pounding the desk he laid it in thick, "She could have briefly left her post to steal the costume, then slipped into Studio One, the scene of the murder!"



"W-why she go through the trouble of wearing the Steel Samurai costume!?" The Judge didn't doubt her type of physique but was confused about motive.



"Simple, your honor, she knew the camera at the gate would take her picture. If she was in his costume, she could point the finger at Mr. Powers!" But while laying his accusations to Pennock, Phoenix began to realize how eerily quiet Edgeworth was being this whole time.



After the judge gave his praise to Wright about his deductive reasoning, he too began to notice Edgeworth's silence. "Mr. Edgeworth? Do you have an opinion on this matter?"



Edgeworth was feeling very pensive but then gave his answer. "The prosecution has no meaningful objections at this time."



"Huh?" Pennock felt very betrayed at this point. "So it's true what people are saying, you've been in league with this law firm since you appointed them as witnesses during the Bluecorp incident!"



"Believe what you want, the fact of the matter is, I don't see anything to reject Mr. Wright's claim." Miles clearly not caring about her accusations.



Wright continued to make his conviction, "This is the very same reasoning that makes Mr. Powers a suspect in this case...all to cast doubt on Ms. Pennock's actions on that day!"



"But why would I do something so horrible Bill Hammer!?" Pennock began to feel sick in her stomach.



"You forget that Mr. Powers lack a clear motive as well."



And then Pennock said it, "What about that kid who was in the studio!?"



"You said it yourself, Ms. Pennock, that kid was either in the second or third grade." Phoenix really wouldn't have it and was prepared for more if necessary.



"When I was that age, I could pin my father down in ten seconds."



"Ms. Pennock, the year is 2016." Phoenix didn't miss a beat. "Most kids these days don't body-build like you do, and I'm willing to bet the kid couldn't handle this piece of evidence."



The samurai spear began to project from the defense bench. "It's been established in this trial that the murder weapon was the spear. There's no way a kid these days could handle a real life spear."



To Pennock it felt that she was getting punched silly by Phoenix Wright, which is why she was getting so silent over his accusation.



Fifteen seconds of silence and the judge began to speak. "This court will suspend proceedings on the trial for today, Mr. Edgeworth, please find out more about your witness, Ms. Linda Pennock, before we continue...the court is adjourned."



Although he did bang his gavel to suspend this trial, out of nowhere Pennock began scream her disapproval "WAIT A SECOND!"



"I'm not going to just sit here while you run off and accuse me of murder!!!"



"Ms. Pennock, are you asking to be held in contempt?!" The Judge was beyond pissed off at her outburst.



"If you do, you won't hear about how I was told keep quiet about something.” That made Edgeworth and the Judge stop the bailiff.



"Who told you to keep quiet?" asked Wright.



"I wanna give another testimony, immediately," Pennock replied.



The Judge permitted Pennock to testify how Global Studios wanted her to quiet about some other people being at the studio on the day of the murder, telling her that they had nothing to do with it, to the point where they just told her to pretend that they "hadn't been at the studios that day." She wasn't going to let them get away Scot free since she had just been accused.



"Why did you keep this from the court until now!?" The Judge was clearly not happy with this new information.



"I told you before, Your Honor, I was told to be quiet."



"Mr. Wright, your cross-examination." The Judge felt more annoyed than ever.



"There's only one question I wanna ask Ms. Pennock: who exactly told you to keep quiet?" Phoenix felt relief that he at least had something to work with.



Pennock replied, "None other than Wesley Norrell, the main director of the Steel Samurai, and Joan Varnello, the producer."



Wright then turned to the Judge. "Your Honor, based off this information, we have learned there were others at Global Studios on the day in question: the producer and director were both present but they had not been questioned by the police. It's only natural that we call for a continuance of this trial and question those people immediately."



"The prosecution concurs with the defense," spoke Edgeworth.



"Very well, Mr. Edgeworth, you are to gather more information about the witness, Ms. Pennock, and find these other people in question."



"Will do, Your Honor."



"We are to meet here ten AM tomorrow morning. Court is now adjourned."