Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Mansion, Part 8 (Niamh)

//November 3, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 9:43 AM//

"I have it!"

Ms. Starr ran into the room with a wild grin. I turned to see the teen running into the room, a small stack of papers clenched tightly in her fingers. "The decisive evidence we need! It's right here in my fingers!"

"What did you find?" Ms. Shield asked.

"I got the files on Timothy and Bal Gam. The former has no criminal record. His full name is indeed Timothy William Gam. Bal wasn't lying about that. In addition to all of this, I got a motive," Ms. Starr replied.

"Motive?" I questioned. If it was definitive enough, this could easily prove my innocence!

"Yeah. The victim of this case was the prosecutor for both of Bal's trials. The murders of Gyn Teach as well as the double murder Shiram Lion and Lassie Sinn. Both times, Timothy was also the defense attorney. A guilty verdict is also shared between the two. That could be called a motive for murder, could it not?" Ms. Starr winked. "My digging has come in handy once again!"

"You did all of this since 4:00 PM yesterday?"Yuri asked. "Geez! You've been busy!"

"I am rather frequently. It kind of comes with my kind of territory," Ms. Starr told her simply, holding her left wrist. "A-anyways, can we move on? We have better things to talk about than this stuff."

Her nervousness was more than a tad bit obvious. I chose not to call her out on it, however. It seemed to be the right choice in my mind. "So you plan to accuse Timothy Gam when court goes back in session?" I questioned, changing the topic as requested.

Ms. Shield nodded. "Yeah. He's the only person related to the crime with those initials. That man is the only possible suspect."

"Court will now go into session! Defense, defendant, please proceed to the courtroom!" a nearby bailiff shouted.

"Let's go and win this case for real! The culprit is now going to truly see how much the detention center sucks!" Yuri grinned.

She's not wrong.

//November 3, 2029. Courtroom No. 4, 10:00 AM//

"Court is now in session for the trial of Niamh Tenniswood. I take it that the defense and prosecution investigated as necessary," the judge announced.

The prosecutor hesitated before nodding. "I investigated, though I only found one witness."

"The defense has an accusation against the real killer," Ms. Shield said. "I wish to call a witness, if that would be okay with the court."

"T-the real killer?!" Prosecutor Moody stammered.

Ms. Shield nodded. "The defense wishes to call Timothy Gam to the witness stand!"

A bleach blonde haired man (who I assumed was Ms. Shield's witness) made his way up to the stand. He had a strong resemblance to Bal Gam, which I suppose makes sense, with them being related and all. He tossed his head to the side in the same (annoying) way his brother had when working at the agency.

"Witness. Please state your name and occupation," Prosecutor Moody demanded.

"Timothy Gam. I'm a defense attorney," Mr. Gam answered. "Truthfully, I have no idea why I'm here... I saw the same thing as the witness from yesterday."

"Please begin your testimony, witness," Ms. Shield smirked.

Mr. Gam nodded. "Very well then."

WITNESS TESTIMONY: TIMOTHY GAM- WHAT I SAW

-I got invited to the party along with the defendant and witness from yesterday.

-I was walking out of the restroom when I saw this person run by!

-They had a bloody knife in their hand, and I saw a flash of hair the same color as the defendant's!

-This could only mean that the defendant is the true perpetrator of this crime!

"That's about all I saw," Mr. Gam finished.

"I wish to begin the cross-examination," Ms. Shield said, still smirking.

"That contradiction was so obvious... You'd think a defense attorney would notice something like that," Yuri sighed, shaking her head.

"Killers are bound to slip up sooner or later," Ms. Starr muttered darkly. "They always do, no matter what day or what case it is."

"Begin your cross-examination already, then," Prosecutor Moody told us.

CROSS-EXAMINATION: TIMOTHY GAM- WHAT I SAW

-I got invited to the party along with the defendant and witness from yesterday.

-I was walking out of the restroom when I saw this person run by!

"OBJECTION!"

"There are two restrooms next to each other, correct?" Ms. Shield questioned.

Mr. Gam nodded. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because, as the witness yesterday stated, she was walking out of the restroom when she saw the exact same scene!" Ms. Shield exclaimed.

"I don't see the contradiction here," Mr. Gam frowned, crossing his arms and tossing his head to the side, rearranging his hair slightly.

"If you truly did walk out at the same time, you should have seen the witness from yesterday, Estella Cignus, at that point in time!" Yuri finished, finger pointing accusingly at the witness.

The people in the gallery began to chatter. I almost forgot they were there due to the unnatural silent phase the watchers were going through. I frowned, wishing that they could quiet down, just this once. I wanted to get out of the defendant's chair as soon as possible.

"Order in the court!" the judge demanded, slamming his gavel down on the bench before him multiple times. "Ms. Shield! What do you wish to do next?!"

"I must have simply missed her!" Mr. Gam exclaimed.

"OBJECTION!"

"Blood got onto the jacket of yesterday's witness! If you were really there, not only should you have mentioned being splashed with blood, but Estella would have mentioned you!" Ms. Starr retorted. "If she was out of your line of sight, you must have been in hers! The only explanation is that you're trying to hide something from the court!"

The people in the gallery were talking again, even louder than before. I groaned under my breath. The volume was hurting my ears. I covered my ears in a failed attempt to block out the sound.

"Order! I will have order!" the judge yelled.

But it was obvious nobody was listening, much less caring, that he was speaking.

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I finally beat procrastination!

I'm getting overly excited for case 5 of this story because of chats with interwebeth peeps. And I promise you I'm not making a certain ship called _______ canon nope what gave you that idea

Before I confuse people to the death, I'm going to sign off and go type the next chapter.

-Digital