Part 85: Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes - Trial (Day 3) - Part 5

Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes
Trial (Day 3) - Part 5









: The court will now reconvene for the trial of Ms. Lana Skye.
: (Ema didn't come back...)
: Allow me to call the next witness to the stand: the officer in charge of guarding the evidence room on the day of the crime.





: Witness, please state your name and occupation.
: Me, pardner? Oh, I'm just a man, same as you, wanderin' the trails of civilization.



I'm unsure if this is Edgeworth burning Marshall or a mislabeled textbox.

: Oh, I know! You're a
: "patrolman"!
: As for my name, if you listen hard 'nuff, you can hear the howling wind calling it out.
: To be exact, it's Jake Marshall... Your Honor.
: ("Howling wind"...? I've never heard Edgeworth described that way before...)
: Now, Mr. Marshall. Let me ask you something. You were in charge of guarding the evidence room on the day the crime took place.
: Is this correct?
: According to the papers, pardner.
: What do you mean?
: A desperado's soul is as boundless as the desert sands. No "paper" can sum it up.



: Maybe it's best we get on with this quickly. Please share with us your testimony of the day of the crime...
: in English!

















: I can't say I particularly care for your attitude...
: I can't say I care for your beard, but you dont' see me complainin'.
: Wait a minute...
: What do you mean by "two security systems"?
: I mean the security cameras and the ID card reader.
: I reckon even a cowpoke like you knows about those.



: Fingerprint activated locks?
: What kind of new-fangled doohickeys are those?
: (He's not being very helpful...)
: He's not that good with machines... or with following orders.
: Everyone's got their weaknesses, now don't they, Mr. Prosecutor?



: This one seems like trouble.
: Okay Mr. Wright, he's all yours.







: How exactly did you "keep an eye" on the evidence room?
: I just made sure nothing moved in the security camera monitor. That room's so still,
: even time dies in there. I was just a caretaker who interred the recordings.
: You "interred" them?
: Videos of nothing aren't that useful. When the time would come, I'd erase the tape.
: If nothing unusual is recorded, tapes are to be erased every six hours.
: Each time I'd erase a tape, it felt like I was erasing a part of my life.
: (This guy has a flare for the drematic, but it isn't going to do him any good.)
: So, in actuality you don't physically enter the evidence room?





: But you made your rounds on the day of the crime, right?
: Ain't you heard a word I said, pardner?
: I told you that ain't my style.
: ...
: Um, I'm afraid I don't understand.
: No desperado I know lets "rules" get in his way.
: (No desperados I know join the police force...)
: So, Officer Marshall. On the day of the crime...?
: Just between you and me I didn't set foot in the evidence room that day.



: Sorry pardner, can't say I do.
: I haven't been in that crypt in weeks.
: (How does this guy avoid being fired...?)





: You used to be a detective,
: so you've used the evidence room in the past, correct?
: Of course. Back in the day my locker was a goldmine of evidence!



: And yet... you didn't know about the fingerprint locking mechanism?
: Sorry, pardner. I ain't good with machines.
: I couldn't even tell you how a bike works.
: That's quite, uh... incredible.



: It's well known that some detectives are unaware of their presence.
: (Now that he mentions it, Detective Gumshoe said something like that too...)



: At any rate, it doesn't seem that this is relevant to the crime.
: Can you tell us what you were doing when the crime took place?





: What were you doing in a place like that?
: I was eating spaghetti.
: Not even Angel's steak lunches can beat that parlor's vongole sepia pasta.
: Do you mean to tell us...
: you abandoned your police duties to eat some noodles?
: Not all desperados eat tacos, pardner.
: That's not what I meant...
: I hope this has at least taught you a lesson!
: (That's strange...)
: (This is usually where Edgeworth says,)







: Out of "ammo," officer Marshall?

Capitalization errors are everywhere.

: That's right, pardner. Or as you'd call it, "evidence."
: If you plan to pin me to this crime, then you'd better draw. Otherwise, you're just wastin' my time.
: My steel horse is waitin' to carry me back west into the sunset.
: Hmm...
: One thing seems clear.
: Despite being responsible for guarding the evidence room,
: the witness doesn't appear to have seen anything.
: Texans don't take orders from anyone. Everyone knows that.
: (Apparently your superiors don't...)

And loop.

: (Okay... I have a trump card up my sleeve, so I'd best keep my cool.)
: (Before I use it thought, I'd better up the ante...)

You shouldn't overthink this one.














: Officer Marshall. Doesn't it strike you as odd?
: That is, you being claled in to testify like this?
: ...
: After all, you weren't in the security room at the time of the crime.
: And yet you dragged me down here.
: Explain yourself, pardner.



: It's quite simple.
: You left a very large trail behind at the scene. Or, to be exact...
: a handprint.



: Hmph! Listen real good, pardner. Like I said, I'm the caretaker of that crypt. I pay my respects... that is, I make my rounds, about once a month.
: It's only natural my fingerprints would be in there.





: I only wish it were, Officer,



: but you see...
: your fingerprints were covered in blood!





: Witness! What's the meaning of this!?
: Your bloodstained fingerprints were at the crime scene...!?
: The blood was wiped away. However!



: Well, Officer Marshall?
: ... It seems to me...
: there ain't a person in this room with a head on his shoulders.
: !
: I take it you have an explanation then, Officer Marshall?





: Very well, you may begin your testimony about your fingerprints,
: found at the scene of the crime!

















: Hmm...
: The witness's explanation appears valid,
: although there's room for doubt.
: Life wouldn't be fun without any doubt, pardner.



: The defense may now cross-examine the witness.
: (This guy's hiding something, I can feel it!)









: That's because you... how did you put it... "pay your respects," once a month?
: Yeah, that's right. That, and one more thing...



: What!? What do you mean?
: I mean what I said.



: All that's in there now though is a heap of broken dreams.
: I see...
: It'd be very strange if my prints WEREN'T all over that locker.
: (Apparently his fingerprint data was never changed.)



(The handprint data is updated to reflect the locker ownership.)







: Wasn't mine. It's no mystery.
: Please explain.
: My locker is covered with my fingerprints. It just so happened...







: The chances of that happening are a million to one!
: On the contrary, one could argue just the opposite.
: The chances of that not happening are a million to one! Get one thing straight, pardner.
: You ain't gonna get no reward for me with a mere fingerprint. You wanna know why?





: Unrelated?
: They're as different as night and day.
: Kinda like "cereal" and "serial."
: One's got to do with breakfast while the other's a type of murder.
: He's right...
: although seemingly alike, they're totally different.
: (I don't see what homonyms have to do with this...)





: How do you know that!?
: I may be a loner, but I still do my job. I keep up on the reports.
: There was a bloodstain at the scene, thought to be left by the murderer.



: However,
: no fingerprints were detected on that handprint.
: (Oh yeah, I think we tried that too.)
: Hmm...
: So that would mean...
: the murderer, wearing gloves,
: happened to place his hand on top of Officer Marshall's fingerprint.
: That's the only logical conclusion.
: Are you starting to get the picture, pardner?
: The picture...?



: !



: (The security tape...)
: So long as my trail isn't in there... you can't say otherwise.



: This isn't getting us anywhere, Mr. Wright.
: Please consider carefully where you're going with this cross-examination.
: Y-yes, Your Honor.
: Now then, continue your testimony, Officer Marshall.





: What do you mean by that?
: You want to tie me to this crime, isn't that right, pardner?
: ...
: If so, that video is the only direct evidence you have.





: But that video is next to useless!
: It's full of blind spots!
: Blind spots?
: Places you can't see!



: If someone was familiar with the camera's position, he could leave the room without being caught on tape!





: We don't have time for your speculations, Mr. Wright.
: Well, Mr. Wright. If you can show us evidence in this video that indicates



Next time: But what evidence could there be?