Part 51: Case 4 - Turnabout Goodbyes - Trial (Day 3) - Part 3

Case 4 - Turnabout Goodbyes
Trial (Day 3) - Part 3









: So, you turned on the radio?
: Right!
: I just wanted to hear someone's voice, y'know? You don't know what it's like out there, alone, on Christmas Eve! Alone!
: (I shouldn't have said anything...)





: Do you by any chance remember the name of the program you were listening to?



: This has nothing to do with the case, Your Honor!
: Objection sustained. The witness was listening to the radio. That is all we need to know.
: Tell us, Mr. Butz, how loud was your radio set to that night?





: Real "booming" loud?
: Yeah, y'know.
: And you had headphones on?
: Yup.
: I wouldn't think you could hear anything going on outside at all...





: Can you prove that...?
: No... no, of course you can't.
: Nah, I can't prove it. But I remember that moment real clear.
: I mean, while I was talking about it, it came back real clear to me, y'know?





: What did he say?



: Mr. Wright! Please cease these pointless questions!
: What possible good could knowing what a radio DJ said do us!?
: Indeed, Mr. von Karma has a point.





: (Hm... right. I didn't really have a deep reason for asking, now that I think about it.)
: Understood, Your Honor. I withdraw my question.
: Continue your examination of the witness, then.
: (This is getting nowhere...)

Which brings us to the loop.

: (This is the most ludicrous testimony I've ever heard. But there is one gleaming ray of hope in there!)
: (I've got to press it until we get to the bottom of what happened!)

But if we take the other option...





: We should care, Your Honor! Of course we should!
: Why?
: Uh.
: W-well, how do you know if we don't ask, hmm?
: Fine, very well.
: Mr. Butz, please testify to the court. What was the radio announcer saying when you heard the gunshot?





: Are you sure?
: Course I am!
: She had this real sexy voice...
: (Hmm... maybe von Karma was right. I'm not sure how that helped us at all.)

And we go back to the loop. Have you spotted the problem?
















: Larry! Are you absolutely sure what you're saying is correct!?
: Huh? What's with the face? You look scary, dude.
: Hey, if you're trying to scare me, you better know I don't scare that easy!
: Is something the matter, Mr. Wright?
: Your Honor!
: Did you hear what the witness just said?



: Indeed... And...?
: "Almost Christmas" means it wasn't Christmas! Do you realize what this means?



: When he heard the gunshot, it was still Christmas Eve!!!



: That would seem to be the case, yes...
: But that contradicts the two testimonies we have heard so far, Your Honor! Both Ms. Hart and the old man said it was after midnight when they heard the shots!
: In other words... When they heard the gunshots, it was already Christmas!!!









: Order! Order!
: What does this mean? The two prior witnesses heard gunshots after midnight. However, this witness says he heard a gunshot before midnight...
: Judge. The answer is quite simple.



: The current witness is plainly mistaken. Just look at him! Suspicious!
: Wh-whaaat!?
: Hmm...
: Well, Mr. Wright?





: Well...
: I guess, it had to have been Larry's mistake.
: Hah!
: Very well.
: W-w-waaaaait!
: I come up here, I give you a riveting testimony... And you laugh it off as some kinda mistake!?
: What about me!?
: How can you call yourself a friend, Nick? How!?



: ...
: Well, Mr. Wright?



This time, let's not piss Larry off.



: Larry's not mistaken, Your Honor!



: He heard that gunshot before midnight!
: ...
: Intriguing. I'm assuming you have evidence for this wild claim?







Have you spotted it?
















: This was taken by our witness yesterday, Ms. Lotta Hart, with her automatic camera. The timestamp on the photo reads "December 24, 11:50 PM."
: Oh yeah? Hmm? But, there's nothing on the lake in this picture.
: Your Honor. The real issue here is not why nothing is shown in this photograph.
: It is why this photograph exists at all!
: What do you mean?
: Your Honor... This photograph was taken by an automatic camera.



: Ahah!
: Correct! There was a loud noise on the lake at 11:50 PM.



: In other words...



: When Larry heard that gunshot, it was most definitely Christmas Eve!
: Indeed, it would seem that is the case!
: Then... where does that leave us? Ms. Hart testified that she heard the gunshots after midnight.
: Are you claiming she was mistaken?



: Not at all, Your Honor.





: Your Honor!







: Why would this be...?



: Don't be fooled, Judge!
: That camera was set to respond to "loud noises"!
: Yes?



: There is no proof that the "loud noise" at 11:50 was a gunshot!
: Why, the witness could have sneezed, triggering the camera!
: H-hey, my nose was clear that night, man! Clear!
: Hmm...
: Well, Mr. Wright? There's no turning back now. Can you prove that the "loud noise" at 11:50 PM was indeed a gunshot?



But what is it?
















: The... murder weapon?
: Something about this pistol was bothering me, Your Honor.
: Both of the witnesses who testified yesterday heard two gunshots. However, the murder weapon was fired three times.
: When, then, was the last shot fired?
: Only now have I realized the truth.



: That third shot was the shot Larry heard just before midnight!





: Order! Order!
: Hmm...
: That would make sense of the evidence we've seen so far.
: ...
: However... This leaves me wondering exactly what did happen that night on the lake.
: Exactly! If this is true, there were two sets of gunshots, separated by 25 minutes! One at 11:50, another at 15 minutes after midnight!



: Why, I ask you! Why!?
: (Uh oh, I'd better think of something quick!)
: (...)



: (Gunshots separated by 25 minutes...?)





: Wh-what's wrong, Nick!?
: I have it! I have it!
: Huh?
: Remember the case with the Steel Samurai!?
: Huh? Yeah, of course I remember...
: The murderer in this case had the same idea as the murderer in that case!
: What do you mean?
: Maya!
: Yes!?
: If we don't figure this out now, we'll never overturn Edgeworth's guilty verdict! I've got a hunch, and I'm going to run with it...
: Right! I mean... is this safe?
: Safe? We've already gotten a guilty verdict! We have nothing to lose!
: ...
: You just watch and let me know if I say anything that sounds fishy, okay?
: Right, Nick!



: Your Honor!
: Y-yes, Mr. Wright?
: The testimony just now has cleared up this entire case!





: What do you mean, Mr. Wright!?
: Tsk tsk tsk... So, you've finally realized the truth? There can be no other murderer here than Miles Edgeworth himself.



: Wrong, von Karma!
: A man was shot that night, but it wasn't Edgeworth who did the shooting!



: Listen, rookie. Take a deep breath, and consider the facts. At the time of the murder, one boat was on that lake.









: There was a gunshot fired on that boat, and Robert Hammond fell into the lake. The distance of the shooting was one meter. It couldn't have been suicide! Well?



: The guilty party has to be the other man on that boat!
: I admit, it is hard to imagine any other possibility.
: Yes...
: But this assumes that the victim was shot at 15 minutes after midnight.
: ... What do you mean by that, Mr. Wright?



: The timestamp on the photo says 00:15.
: But Larry heard a gunshot 25 minutes before that!



: Robert Hammond was killed then! 25 minutes before the shot on the lake! (That's the only way that Edgeworth could be innocent!)
: ...
: ...

Next time: Trying to prove it.