Part 6: First Trial - The Inspector

: ...

: Are you nervous, Falcon?

: ...

: That bad, huh?

: ...

: ...



:Is there anything you need me to do?

: No, no. We've got a handle on things.

: Falcon was just telling me how confident he was feeling about the case.

: That's wonderful! I just know you two will pull through.

: Let's move it along, fellas.

: Ah, I'll be watching from inside! Do your best for me, Monsieur Falcon!

: We will!



: Yeah. We're ready.





Trial Opening (Original composition)







: Oh, uh, darn, that's not it. Oh gosh, where are my notes?



: Knew what?

: Rupert and I went to Paris Law School together. He was in all of my classes.

: Oh. Was he smart?

:Pfft. No. He always scored the second worst marks in the class. I can only assume that he bumbled through the final exams on the luck of his two rabbit's feet. Unless he's improved considerably, you might already have this trial in the bag.

:That's good to know. But say, Sparrowson, if Rupert scored the second lowest marks, then who scored the lowest?

: I choose to exercise my right to not self-incriminate.

:Ah, here it is. ~Ahem~ The Prosecution is ready, your honor.

: Are the jury all present?



:Hey, Falcon. I thought there were only six members of the jury for cases like this. Why do I count eight?

: Oh, those two birds with the funny hats are assesseurs - the associate judges.

:Everything seems to be in order, so let us begin! The court is now in session for the trial of Dame Caterline Demiaou. Prosecution, please call your first witness to the stand.

: Oh gosh, are we there already? Okay, uh... I choose to call the officer in charge of the murder investigation, Inspector Volerti, to the witness stand.

: Inspector Volerti, please approach the stand and recite the oath.



Juste Volerti (Berlioz - Symphonie funèbre et triomphale)

: Monsieur, no, um, inspector, please state your, uh, name and occupation for the record.

: My name is inspector Juste Volerti. I am a servant to the law. A scourge of the gutter rats that plague this city. I have enforced the law for over twenty years, and I shall continue until I bring the infamous Viridian Killer to justice. My path begins eighteen years ago...

: Let's stick to the questions, Inspector.

: Of course, your honor.

:Oh, great. I was hoping we could have one of those bumbling, cuddly officers, but instead we're stuck with lawful-goody two-shoes. I bet this guy would turn in his own mother if he saw her littering.

: So, uh, Inspector, is it true that you are the lead investigator on this case?

: That is correct. I was also among the first to arrive at the scene of the crime.

: Then perhaps you can walk us through what you witnessed upon your arrival?

: Absolutely.

: Just after seven thirty, we were alerted and brought to the scene by the housemaid of Baron Rorgueil. At the scene of the crime, we found Dame Caterline Demiaou. She was standing over the corpse of Monsieur Grenwee with blood on her paws.

: Well, that sounds like an open-and-shut case in my humble opinion. No, uh, no more questions, your honor.



: Keep it together, Falcon. You're about to be given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. That's your opportunity to find flaws in the Inspector's testimony.

: Of course. I know this.

:You may begin your cross-examination, Monseiur Falcon.



Trial turn-about (Saint-Saëns - Samson and Delilah - Bacchanale)

: Not exactly the same as PW cross-examinations. There are two different avenues of interrogation we can pursue in regards to pressing each of the outlined details. For instance:



:That is correct.



: What was her name?

: The housemaid's name was Couline Duhaut. We found her running from Château Crinière with tears in her eyes.

: Couline... that was the thieving giraffe lady, wasn't it?

: We questioned her extensively, but we didn't find anything implicative. As far as the police are concerned, Couline Duhaut is not a suspect.

: Hmm...



: Could the housemaid have been the murderer?

: Um, uh, I object! Falcon, you can't go around accusing people of murder willy-nilly!

: I must agree. I saw and heard nothing that made me suspect the housemaid. No motive. No means.

: Falcon, do you have any reason to suspect that the housemaid was a murderer?



: Well... no, I don't. I was just exploring the possibility.

: Hmph.

: In any case, I saw and heard nothing that made me suspect the housemaid of murder.



: No.

: Oh yeah, I guess I should have shown our evidence pigeon-holes as the trial started:









: Inspector, you say you found Dame Caterline at the scene of the crime.

: Correct. The suspect was standing right beside the victim's body.



: Did you find anything out of the ordinary in the garden?

: Out of the ordinary?

: Missing garden tools. Broken fences. That sort of thing.

: Definitely not. We combed the garden, and it came up empty. Nothing but marble horse statues and properly-trimmed grass.

: Hmm. (That seems pretty definitive...)



: When you say "standing right beside"...

: ...

: Would you say the two were less than one meter away?

: I would say around three feet.

: Feet? I'm not familiar with British measurements. How many feet are in a meter?
: Well, there are twelve inches in a foot, and two-and-a-half centimeters to an inch, so... Wait, I need a pen and paper.

: Twelve inches to a foot? That's just plain silly.

: MONSIEUR FALCON! Is this going anywhere?



: I would like to ask about the corpse of Monsieur Grenwee.

: Go on.



: What was Monsieur Grenwee's cause of death?

: That was immediately obvious when I arrived on the scene. Monsieur Grenwee had a gaping slash from shoulder to thigh. Blood was everywhere. I spoke with the coroner, and he was in agreeance: The frog died from blood loss directly caused by the open wound.

: I see.

: I suppose there's no chance of arguing that this was an unrelated injury, huh.



: Inspector, could you describe the cut on Monsieur Grenwee's corpse?

: Certainly. It was a single vertical slash. It was a fine and deep cut. The sort that you would expect to see from a sharpened saber or a surgeon's knife...

: Or a cat's claw?

: Certainly.

: Wait, wait, wait. You say a saber or knife could have inflicted the wound. Isn't this a line of investigation that's worth pursuing?

: Don't be daft, Falcon. Did you see or hear anything about a knife or sword at the crime scene?



: Inspector, you say Dame Caterline had blood on her paws.

: Correct. Blood clung to her fur like guilt to a convict.



: How much blood was there on the Lady's paws, Inspector?

: Enough for it to be clear that she had dirtied her hands on the victim's body. We noticed blood under the suspect's nails, around her finger tips, and even a little around her mouth.

: Her mouth!? How vile.

: Hmm. (The Inspector's answer seems pretty definitive...)



: Whose blood was it?

: HA! What a question. It was Monsieur Grenwee's, of course.

: How can you be so sure?

: Um, uh, I object! This line of questioning is absurd! There was only one murder victim that night, Falcon. The blood on Dame Caterline's paws could have only belonged to one person - Monsieur Grenwee!

: Judge, judge! Falcon's trying to delay the trial by asking pointless questions!

: I'm afraid the prosecution may have a point, Monsieur Falcon. Do you have any reason to suspect that the blood belonged to someone other than Monsieur Grenwee?



: I do, your honor. Actually, I have more than suspicion - I have evidence that the blood on Dame Caterline's paws had nothing to do with the murder!

: This is foolish time-wasting, uh, Falcon. If the blood on Dame Caterline's paws didn't come from the victim, then where did the blood come from?







: The music cuts out here.



: Is this true, Monsieur Rabbington?

: Uh, well, I, um, in a manner of, uh, speaking, I suppose steak may have been on the, uh, menu...

: Then, inspector, would you acknowledge the possibility that the blood on the Lady's paws did not belong to the victim, but to the steak?

: Well...

: W-Wait, don't, ah, answer that, Inspector!

: ...It is a possibility.

: Noooo...



: So, inspector Volerti, is it possible that you arrested an innocent bystander simply for being a messy eater?

: Now hold on just one minute, Falcon. You are overlooking something quite crucial. Dame Caterline is an elegant bourgeois kitten. She was no doubt brought up with, uh, flawless etiquette and, um, perfect table manners. At the banquet, she would have eaten the steak with a fork in her left hand and a knife in her right, like any proper, civilized animal. How could she have possibly gotten blood on her paws with such good manners?

: Oh. That is a good question. Or at least, it would be at an ordinary dinner banquet. But as it happens, something was missing from that particular banquet. Something that forced Dame Caterline to eat with her paws...



: Dame Caterline was forced to eat steak with her paws because...



: S-Stolen? I don't recall any mention of that in the police report...

: We weren't aware of anything missing from the Rorgueil residence when we performed the initial investigation. But as it happened, Baron Rorgueil approached us about this very subject last night.

: Ah!



: What is the meaning of all this? Bloody steak? Misplaced silverware? Inspector, was your investigation so lax that you overlooked these basic facts in your initial report?

: Lax?! MY investigation? Judge, I assure you I am the most thorough investigative officer on the force.

: Then it is amazing that the Parisian police manage to solve any crimes at all.

: Heh.

: Oh dear.

: Be on your way, Inspector. Perhaps do a little inspecting for your next case.

: ...

: Fine. So be it. Messieurs, until next time...

: As a quick aside - you can lose the case right here and now (though you have to be actively trying), and the game (as I said before) goes on regardless. But it goes on with the assumption that you've seen the next testimony, at the very least. There are only so many variables the game can keep track of, but I really think this section should have been "fuck around, and get a feel for the mechanics consequence free".