Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Reigntion, Part 9 (Yuri)

//December 2, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 9:43 AM//

Today was the day.

Those words replayed over and over in my mind. If Niamh, Lily, and Venus' words were to be trusted (which I believed them to be), I'd be out of that detention center in next to to no time at all.

The former two walked through he lobby doors as my thoughts were cast back to yesterday's conversation. They had found a potential motive for the witness of today's court session. Unless this motive was a bust (PLEASE DON'T BE), I'd be back to my happy ho-hum life before you could say 'Jasper + Laps = Malachite' at this rate!

"Jasper is a who's a what now?" Lily asked with a head tilt. Hearing her voice jolted me away from my thoughts. Oops. I suppose I had done my gem math aloud.

"Never mind," I told her, shaking my head. "Today's the day, right? The day I ditch that dump?" I was hoping my previous excitement wasn't foolish, mindless dreaming, so I wished for Lily or Niamh's positive confirmation that I'd be bidding farewell to the detention center by the day's end.

"Today you will get out of the detention center. Medium's honor," Lily smiled.

"I don't think that 'medium's honor' thing really exists," I told her dryly. She merely shrugged my way with a goofy grin.

"Whether it's real or not, this is the day you'll be set free," Niamh assured me. The confidence she had in her response made me feel 11037 times better about the whole 'falsely arrested for attempted murder' issue.

"Defense! Defendant! The trial will begin shortly. Please proceed to the courtroom now," a bailiff hollered. I think that's the most lengthy bailiff 'get in the courtroom now' speech I've ever heard. That says a lot about how much those guys talk in the courthouse.

"Are you two ready for this?" Lily asked. "Because I know I am!" Doesn't she mean 'BeCruz?' Like Niamh's boyfriend? Yes? No? Okay.

"I just want to get the heck out of bad food central," I confessed, keeping my bad joke inside, though I would share it with Chrysalis later. "I practically threw up my slop from last night's meal."

"I did not need need that image in my head," Lily frowned.

"It's okay," I smiled. "I didn't either." Lily and I giggled to one another with small grins spreading on our faces.

"If you two are done," Niamh interrupted. "We have a trial to go win." Even if she was the co-council, she was still more focused on the case at hand than the leader of my defense team. Then again, Lily was having more fun...

"Niamh has a point," Lily agreed. Her fun meter dropped a little there at her reminding me that I was still a criminal suspect. "Let's go in there and prove Ms. Williams guilty of attempted murder!" She pointed at the courtroom doors before dashing inside. Niamh and I trailed her from a few steps behind the flowing ribbon that came from Lily's dress.

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

The judge slammed his gavel down before speaking his typical opening speech. "Court is back in session for the trial of Yuri Rinko. Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

"The defense is ready," Lily replied after exchanging a nod with Niamh.

"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Moody continued.

The judge nodded. "Good. What progress was made in the investigation yesterday?"

"A new witness stepped forward to testify about the crime, specifically the defendant's guilt in this trial," Prosecutor Moody told him.

"You may call your witness to the stand, Prosecutor Moody," the judge instructed.

"I was going to call her whether you let me or not," I heard the prosecutor mutter in response. She shook her head to shrug off the judge's 'incompetence.' "The prosecution wishes to call Heather Williams to the witness stand."

A brown haired girl, who I assumed to be the witness, trotted up to the witness stand. She tossed some of her hair over her shoulder.

"Witness, pleases state your name and occupation," the judge told her.

"Heather Williams. College student," the girl answered.

"Please testify on what you saw the day of the crime," Prosecutor Moody demanded.

"Most certainly," Ms. Williams nodded.

WITNESS TESTIMONY: HEATHER WILLIAMS- YURI'S GUILT

-I swear that the defendant over there is the culprit!

-I hear a gunshot and then the car hits the tree!

-Another gunshot followed after the tree and the car collide.

-Nobody else saw this gruesome scene...

-That's good, I suppose, since it was terrifying...

"That's all," Ms. Williams concluded.

"Defense, please begin your cross-examination now," the judge told Lily and Niamh.

"I'm on it," Lily smirked. She had found a contradiction. It was kind of obvious...

CROSS-EXAMINATION: HEATHER WILLIAMS- YURI'S GUILT

-I swear that the defendant over there is the culprit!

-I hear a gunshot and then the car hits the tree!

-Another gunshot followed after the tree and the car collided.

-Nobody else saw this gruesome scene...

"OBJECTION!"

"There was one other witness who saw the scene. Her testimony was completely different than yours, saying that a brown haired woman shot the defendant and her mother from outside the car," Lily smirked.

"A-a-a witness?! I didn't see anybody there!" Ms. Williams yelled. "She must be lying!"

"OBJECTION!"

"The victim and the defendant said the same thing. It is unlikely that they would all end up telling the same lie," Prosecutor Moody told her. I thought back to yesterday's questioning, and it was true: I had seen a brown haired woman. It wasn't Estella, so... It had to be...!

"They must be lying to help the defendant! I didn't see anybody else at the crime scene! And certainly not a brown haired woman who shot the defendant and victim!" Ms. Williams shouted.

"There's only one explanation for all of this to line up as true," Lily announced, slamming her hands down on the bench before her. How she doesn't get hurt by that is something I'll never understand.

"And what might that be?" the judge questioned.

"The witness didn't see yesterday's witness because she was too focused on the fact that she had just shot a woman and her daughter!" Lily yelled, pointing accusingly at Ms. Williams.

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Maybe the culprit of next case won't be obvious.

-Digital