Chapter Text
“You arrived on the scene long after the action had died down. Your testimony shall not be needed.” Saying so was unnecessary, perhaps even inadvisable, but van Zieks wasn’t too concerned about holding his tongue.
The young woman frowned. “I believe it shall. If you would let me finish describing my account—”
“If you are so concerned about this trial, why not return to your role as the defence’s judicial assistant?”
Her face fell, and she looked off with shame shadowing her features. “I cannot,” she declared, her voice quivering as she continued: “This is the only way I can help Mr. Naruhodou.”
He didn’t bother asking her to explain why she believed that. Already, his mind was crafting scenarios of her and her fellow Nipponese conspiring to make a farce of this trial. Regardless, even his wildest imagination could never conjure up the unavoidable absurdity that awaited him in that courtroom. “Then, your helpfulness ends here. You may leave.”
“I will stay.”
The prosecutor scoffed at her impudence. “Suit yourself.”
“…I pursued the man, but he shut himself in the storeroom. I could see him through the peephole in the door, though. The accused, in a black coat, shot the man in the back as he was trying to flee to safety! I saw the blood spatter all over that wretched girl. Then she tossed the gun out of the peephole. So, I picked it up… and made my escape.”
If not for the entire rest of this trial, Ryuunosuke would be too bewildered at the blatant, unabashed lying to even object. But as the courtroom lit up with shocked murmurs at this new ‘revelation’, he couldn’t help latching onto one particular aspect of the witness’ testimony.
“Mr. Graydon, regarding your statement about the peephole…”
With no other option to turn to, he presented the photograph of Gina brandishing a gun at Mr. Windibank, hoping his upcoming epiphany would dissuade the jury from the knee-jerk reaction the picture inspired.
“At this time, there was no peephole at all!”
The judge sputtered in disbelief. “He’s right! There appears to be no peephole in the door! How could that be?”
Spurred on by the judge’s confirmation, Ryuunosuke persisted: “Your testimony relies entirely on your alleged usage of this peephole. When, then, was the peephole created? Can you answer that, Mr. Graydon?”
The man scoffed, though Ryuunosuke could see the sweat gathering at his brow. “How am I supposed to know?! It was there! It is there now!”
“We only have certifiable proof that it was there long after you left, sir. After even the Skulkins fled the scene.”
A slam sounded across the courtroom, and he looked to find Lord van Zieks glaring daggers at him. “Regardless of what my learned friend attests, the question must be answered: when was the peephole created?”
Sheepishly, he retorted: “Th-that’s what I’m asking!”
“And now, that is what you must solve for yourself. This witness cannot explain the peephole, but the burden of proof is on you to establish its relevancy to the case.”
I’d say a witness’ entire testimony being built on lies is incredibly relevant!
“Though the peephole is only pictured in the print you have presented, that only means that it appeared after the accused brandished a gun at the victim. That could account for any time between one and half past one, including right before the criminals broke in, making this line of questioning unwarranted.”
“But if the peephole were present before then, wouldn’t the Skulkins have already brought it up in their own testimonies? They, too, claimed to witness the moment Windibank was shot, but they made no mention of a peephole in the door. That detail would have been advantageous to include.”
“Then, you are building your current theory... upon the idea that the Skulkins should have come up with a more damning lie to incriminate the defendant?”
“Could have…” the attorney clarified. “However, they did not, and so it must have been created after they had already left! In which case, they would not have knowledge of it and therefore could not take advantage.”
“That reasoning fails to account for Graydon indeed knowing about the peephole when, by your insistence, he cannot have known.”
He scowled, flipping through his notes. “I’m… I’m getting to that part…”
Beside him, Iris held a magnifying glass to the photograph picturing the peephole. “Hmm… You know, Runo, this ‘peephole’ reminds me very much of the cat flaps made by my new invention.”
Ryuunosuke leaned over and looked where she pointed. Indeed, it looked very much like a product of her latest invention, the Cat-Flapomat, including the same distinct doorknob bearing her floral insignia. He supposed he hadn’t recognized it before because he was so used to seeing those flaps lower to the ground where Wagahai could reach. This one, Wagahai could only get to if she were determined enough to leap through it.
“You’re very right, Iris, but… it couldn’t have been you who created the hole; you were sound asleep.” A thought! “Could it have been Gina? Maybe she plucked it from your bag and used it from inside the storeroom?”
Iris shook her head and shrugged. “No. From the looks of it, it would have had to have been made from the outside. Sorry, Runo.”
“No, it’s okay, Iris. That doesn’t completely rule it out… though, who could it have been? Once the Skulkins fled, it was only me, Sholmes, Gina, and…”
The girl hung her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “If only Susie were here… she might know.”
The attorney sighed in wistful agreement. Susato would know just what to say, whether it was pointing out an inconsistency Ryuunosuke had foolishly missed or providing some much-needed words of encouragement to get him through this dire situation. There was no telling if her ship had even departed yet, but he could already feel the nagging distance between them growing by the second.
A sharp voice cut through his wallowing. “If the defence’s young assistant could repeat what she muttered just now?”
Iris jumped, not expecting to be addressed by the Reaper. “Oh! Why, I was just wondering if Susie might know!”
“Our friend, Susato Mikotoba,” Ryuunosuke clarified. “She was present when Mr. Sholmes was shot and remained in the shop until I returned with the police.”
Beside him, Iris slumped and pouted down at her feet. “But she should be on her way to Japan by now…”
“As a matter of fact…” The prosecution tsked and shook his head. “My Lord, I would like to call another witness to the stand.”
“This far in? After all the fuss caused to bring in this current witness…” After a moment of considering the prosecution’s dire expression, the judge yielded: “I see no reason to deny such a request. That is, if the defence has no objections?”
“Oh! Um! No objections here! My Lord!”
Ryuunosuke’s eyes widened as he saw that the Reaper’s new witness was none other than—
“Miss Susato?!”