Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Mansion, Part 4 (Niamh)

//November 2, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 9:31 AM//

I looked around the defendant lobby with a sigh. My stomach was tumbling in my stomach madly. I guess my nerves were starting to catch up to me. I forced myself into a deep breath. Things would be alright in the end. They were last time, and they will be again this time, too. Lily, Chrysalis, and Yuri can handle this. I don't have to panic over something like this.

Though if I did panic, it would probably be acceptable.

"Niamh!"

I was brought out of my thoughts by Ms. Starr, Ms. Shield, and Yuri running into the defendant lobby, soon after to my side. Everybody else in the room turned to look at them, clearly confused at their sudden, and rather loud, entrance. I felt my eyes widen as I realized that everybody was staring at me. I tried to look unnerved, but I was unhappy that everybody was staring at me this way. I had to resist the urge to face palm.

"You ready for this?" Yuri asked, her eyes flaring with determination.

I nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Everything will be okay. Promise," Ms. Shield told me surely. "You'll be out of that crummy detention center in no time!"

"Being in there sucks. Anybody would want to get out of there as soon as possible," Ms. Starr frowned.

"I guess we all have that knowledge in common," I commented. A brief silence coated the area. I assumed all four of us were thinking back on when we had previously been arrested. Ms. Shield was toying with her locket, Ms. Starr subconsciously touching her injured wrist. Yuri just stared into the distance. Judging by the solemn expressions on their faces, the memories that had been brought up were anything but pleasant.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Yuri suggested, clearly sensing that everybody was unsatisfied.

Ms. Starr nodded in agreement. "Yeah... I'm not the biggest fan of all of that stuff personally..."

"On a happier note, we talked with the witness yesterday!" Ms. Shield smiled.

"On a sadder note, we got distracted with her tackling Chrysalis, so all we know is that she saw somebody run by with a bloody knife," Yuri frowned.

"T-tackling?" I stammered.

"Don't ask. She brought up that case while laying on me. Worst five minutes of my life. And that's saying a lot," Ms. Starr said flatly.

"Defense! Defendant! Please proceed to the courtroom now!" a bailiff shouted. All the people in the lobby streamed into the courtroom, leaving myself alone with my coworkers after a few moments.

"It's time," Ms. Starr sighed.

"Let's go in there and win this case!" Ms. Shield exclaimed triumphantly.

//November 2, 2029. Courtroom No. 4, 10:00 AM//

The judge slammed his gavel down on the judge's bench. As a psychology student, I knew how to hide my emotions, though that didn't cause them to vanish entirely. That was evident as my heart thumped in my chest. I struggled to keep a straight face in my nervousness.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Niamh Tenniswood," the judge began. I gulped. I hated hearing those words once, so twice made it even less fun than the last time. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

Ms. Shield turned to Ms. Starr and Yuri, who both nodded their agreement. "My Shield of Justice is ready, My Lord!" Ms. Shield announced.

"Prosecution's ready, too," Prosecutor Moody continued.

The judge nodded. "Very good. Prosecutor Moody, please deliver your opening statement."

Prosecutor Moody nodded. "Got it. The crime took place two days ago, during a party at Umber Mansion. The victim was Callie Umber, a prosecutor held in high regards. She was stabbed during the festivities, though her corpse wasn't found until the next morning. The defendant's fingerprints were found on the knife. In addition to that, the victim wrote 'T.W.' with their dying breath, a hint to her killer. T.W. could stand for nothing other than Tenniswood, the defendant's last name. All of the evidence points to one individual being the killer. And that is the defendant, Niamh Tenniswood!"

"The prosecution's case is looking pretty good," Ms. Shield frowned.

"Don't worry about it. Estella contradicts herself all the time. I always point this out, though she ignores me," Ms. Starr assured her.

"That's good. We can't be getting a false verdict here," Yuri said.

"If you got one, I wouldn't be surprised."

It seemed that none of my coworkers had heard the murmur. I turned around to see just people in the gallery. Among them, I saw the Chief of Detectives. He had walked in on the interrogation yesterday. Mr. Carson had been acting rather odd, truth be told. He had asked me about my coworkers, even after Prosecutor Umber had failed to get an answer. I wonder why they were being so insistent.

I turned back to the trial, feeling slightly uneasy. The whispered words were echoing through my mind. Was there going to be forged evidence involved? It had almost happened during my last trial. But then a string of...unfortunate events took place. I wondered if something bad was going to happen this time around.

"Prosecutor Moody, please call your witness to the stand," the judge instructed, knocking me out of my grave thoughts.

Prosecutor Moody finger pointed at the witness stand. "I call Prosecutor Anthony Umber to the witness stand!"

Prosecutor Umber walked up to the stand, hands tucked away in his pockets. He was starting to remind me of Mr. Annasc/Mr. Gam from the year before, except Prosecutor Umber didn't flip his hair so often, or at all, for that matter.

"I wonder why they called a prosecutor to the witness stand and not a detective," Yuri hissed at Ms. Shield and Ms. Starr.

"It is a little odd," Ms. Shield frowned, becoming lost in thought.

"I'm kind of curious about why he's here as well. Is there some sort of thing going on behind the scenes?" Ms. Starr questioned.

I wondered that as well.

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I'm considering spamming you all with case 3 updates. I started pre-writing it tonight. I like that case a lot better than this one, really. It's epic. : 3

I think I should plan out things to say in these author's notes.

Really.

-Digital