Part 27: Case 3 - Turnabout Samurai - Trial (Day 3) - Part 1

Case 3 - Turnabout Samurai
Trial (Day 3) - Part 1







: ...
: Umm... Mr. Wright?
: Yes?
: Why do you look so... unhappy?
: O-oh! Oh, nothing! Eh heh heh. Really, it's nothing. Right, Mia? (Uh oh. She looks even unhappier...)
: Phoenix. Your client is now practically a dead man walking... Perhaps that's why I feel particularly close to him.
: This is no time for dead-people jokes, please.
: You know we're going into this trial utterly defenseless. Yet, if Mr. Powers is truly innocent... We should be able to find something overlooked in the evidence to prove it.
: Something "overlooked"...?
: We have to find something, Phoenix, today. It's that, or lose the trial.
: (This isn't going ot be easy.)









: The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Will Powers.
: The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.
: The defense is ready, Your Honor.
: Very well. Mr. Edgeworth, your opening statement, please.
: An unexpected fact has come to the attention of the court. Yesterday, we learned that there were other people present at the studios! Today, I would like to show evidence proving they had nothing to do with the murder.
: Very well. You may call your first witness, Mr. Edgeworth.
: (I wonder if that producer is going to come out...)
: The prosecution calls Mr. Sal Manella to the stand.
: (... or that director.)



: Will the witness state his name and profession?
: ...
: How r00d can j00 get! J00 don't know ME!? I'm the director! I make the Steel Samurai, n00b! ROFL!
: ...



: Were you at Global Studios on the day of the murder?
: Y-yes, Your Honor.
: Hmm...
: Very well. Please testify to the court about the events of that day.



: Let's start by picking this testimony apart. If Powers is innocent, you know what that means. Someone in the trailer on that day did it!
: R-right. (She doesn't waste any time putting on the pressure!)





















: Hmm...
: The time of Mr. Hammer's death was 2:30 PM. And according to your testimony, you were in a meeting at that time.
: Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination.
: Yes, Your Honor.







: Is that when you always come in to work?
: Oh, oh no. I come in all sort of hours. It's the "industry" way.
: (Yeah, I know all about the freaks in your "industry"...)
: Still, FWIW, I was pretty busy all that day.
: Tell us more about that.





: In the Employee Area?
: That's right. It was a fight scene between the Steel Samurai and the Evil Magistrate.
: Was anyone else at the run-through?
: Oh, yeah. That security lady was sitting there watching the whole thing. LOL. She was cheering on Hammer, if you can believe it.
: (She certainly has the lungs for it...)
: Anyone else?
: Nope, just us four.





: Why did it go on so long?
: Um, I'm pretty sure j00've already heard about this... But WP twisted his ankle during the run-through, see...
: (Oh, right, thus the limp.)
: Which of course led to me missing my lunch. ROFS!
: (ROFS? Rolling on the Floor... Starving?)





: What exactly did they have for lunch?
: T-bone steak! The assistant cooked some up.
: (Come to think of it, there was a plate with some bones on it in the Employee Area.)
: "Everyone else" meaning that the witness did not eat with them.





: So, in the end, you didn't get to eat?
: Yeah. No steak, at least! Can j00 believe it?
: That must have been tough.
: Phoenix.
: Yeah?





: Well, no, not really. Seems pretty straightforward.





: Actually, there is something bothering me.
: Mr. Manella, just now you said, "steak, at least."
: So you ate something other than steak?
: Yeah, good call!
: I had some chocolate in my pocket, which I used to stave off starvation!
: I see...
: (Is that all? I was sure I was on to something there.)



: Yeah, it does seem odd, now that you mention it.
: Mr. Manella!
: H-hmm? W-what do j00 mean? *sweats*
: When I went to that trailer, I saw something on the table. There were two plates on the table--the same kind of plates as in the Employee Area.
: Who ate lunch there?



: No, er, ah, um, eh heh. Good call! *sweats* I, er, I was embarrassed so I didn't mention it...
: But I did eat, after all.
: A t-bone steak, you mean?
: Yeah, well, I mean the assistant went through all that trouble...
: I brought it to the trailer, thinking I could eat it later.
: (Clearly a man who likes to eat. I'd suspected as much...)
: So, when exactly did you eat it?
: We took one break during that meeting.
: I, er, wolfed it down then. *drool*
: (A mental image I will carry with me to my grave...)
: (Wait a second...! If they took a break in that meeting, that contradicts his testimony!)
: (I'll press on that one a bit more...)





: What were you discussing?
: The Steel Samurai story, and our budget.
: Get this! The sponsors turn to me and say, "Mr. Manella. Those scripts of yours are not appropriate for children." Can j00 believe it!?
: (Actually, I kind of can.)
: So, nobody left the table during the whole meeting?





: You didn't take a single break?
: Er... well...
: Y-yeah! Not a one! *sweats*
: (Hmm... what's he sweating so much about, I wonder? If only I had an idea... Wait a second...)





: Wait a second! Mr. Manella, you've just contradicted yourself!
: Didn't you just tell the court that you ate that t-bone steak during a break?





: Well?
: Umm...
: Mr. Manella, what's this all about?
: W-well, yeah, I guess we did take a little break.
: Phoenix! Great job! If they took a break, one of them could have gone to the studio during that time!
: Your Honor! I call on the witness to testify to the court about this break!
: Very well. Mr. Manella, your testimony, please.
: Urk!
: Heh heh heh...
: (Uh oh. Edgeworth is laughing...)













: Hmm...
: I don't think it would even be enough time for that, but that's just me.
: Very well. You may begin the cross-examination.







: What time exactly did you take this break?
: Hmm... I'd say it was from around 2:30 or so until 2:45.
: (2:30!!!)
: (That's the time of death! So he could have gone to Studio One, killed Hammer, and come back...)
: (I guess it's possible, time-wise...)
: ...





: What were you doing for those 15 minutes?
: Eating my t-bone steak! What else!?
: There were two plates on the trailer table...?
: Oh, right. The other one was Diva's... sorry, Dee Vasquez's plate.
: (Dee Vasquez... the producer.)
: To eat a t-bone steak in 15 minutes... that's quite a feat.





: Why is that?



: Haven't we had enough of this pointless line of questioning?
: Your Honor! The testimony to this point has made one certain fact painfully clear: The people in the trailer had nothing to do with the murder!
: It was impossible for any of them to go to Studio One!
: What!?
: Something wrong, Mr. Wright?
: Surely you aren't suggesting one of the people in the trailer went to Studio One!
: Hmm...
: Well, Mr. Wright?



: Phoenix, this is critical! Think about it before you give your answer!





: (If I agree to let everyone in that trailer off the hook then the trial is over... Mr. Powers will be found guilty for sure!)
: The victim was murdered at 2:30, the exact time of the break in the meeting.
: With 15 minutes, murder is certainly a possibility!
: Hmm...
: I suppose you might say that...
: (Alright, I've got the judge thinking now!)
: Tsk, tsk, tsk...



: Never a dull moment with you, Mr. Wright!
: What's your point, Edgeworth!
: You've been doing your homework, haven't you? Look at the Court Record.
: The Court Record...?
: Surely, you knew that from 2:15 to 4:00 the path between the studios was blocked? Mrs. Monkey's head had fallen across the path!





: However! The path from there to the scene of the crime was blocked!





: ... (It's actually "Mr. Monkey," but Edgeworth has a point... And somehow, I feel no desire to correct him.)
: No counter-argument, Mr. Wright?





: (I don't want to write off so many possible suspects... But I can't keep claiming the impossible, either...)
: I agree that it was impossible for anyone in the trailer to go to the studio in that time.
: Ha hah!
: I thought you might be thoughtlessly treading on thin ice again! But I see you had at least an inkling of the truth.
: What do you mean, Mr. Edgeworth?
: It's quite simple...
: True, the break in the trailer meeting came right at the time of death... However! The path from there to the scene of the crime was blocked!







: Ergo! When the people in the trailer took a break at 2:30, the way to the studio was blocked. Blocked... by Mrs. Monkey's severed head!
: ... (It's actually "Mr. Monkey," but Edgeworth has a point... And somehow, I feel no desire to correct him.)

Convergence.

: I believe we have seen enough evidence.



: I would like to relieve Mr. Manella from the stand.
: (Wh-what? It's over?)





: Very well. The court's opinion on this case is as follows: We have found that there were several other people in Studio 2 on the day of the murder. However, it is also clear that none of these people could have gone to Studio One. They therefore have no relation to this case.



: Given the size of the costume, no one other than Mr. Powers could have worn it that day.
: All that is lacking is decisive evidence that he is the one who did it. If we had that, I'm afraid I would have to find Mr. Powers guilty.
: Your Honor.
: The prosecution is pleased to announce that we indeed have decisive evidence: a witness.





: Who is this witness, Mr. Edgeworth?
: My witness saw the very moment when the Steel Samurai skewered the victim!





: Order! I will have order!
: I see. The court will take a 10 minute recess, after which we will hear your witness.
: Court is adjourned for recess!







: What do we do now, Mia? If everyone in that trailer has an alibi...
: ... I'm sorry, Phoenix. I guess I was wrong.
: M-Mia! Don't tell me you're giving up! If you give up, what hope do I have...?
: ...
: Don't get me wrong. I've never given up on a trial before, not while there was a chance. Only one thing became clear in your cross-examination.
: The people in the trailer could not have gone to Studio One. I thought there was more to it than that... But I was wrong.
: That's all there is.
: Umm... Er... What's going to happen to me?
: It kinda seems like everyone in that courtroom thinks I did it... They think I'm a murderer!
: Don't worry, Mr. Powers. If you are innocent, we will prove it. I guarantee it. Leave it to us, and... be yourself. Be strong.
: You are the Steel Samurai, hero to children everywhere, after all.
: I... You... Thanks. *sniff*
: Okay, Phoenix. This one's for the kids!
: Let's do it!

Next time: The witness.