Part 51: Case 4 - Turnabout Goodbyes - Trial (Day 3) - Part 3
Case 4 - Turnabout GoodbyesTrial (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.
The Laws of the Hittites (translated), Section 199 posted:
If an ox spring upon a man for intercourse, the ox shall die but the man shall not die. One sheep shall be fetched as a substitute for the man, and they shall kill it. If a pig spring upon a man for intercourse, there is no punishment.