Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Masquerade, Part 16 (Anthony)

I gasped upon hearing my sister's name echo throughout the courtroom. People were whispering to one another madly, shooting accusing glances at Abilene, who sat to my left. I turned over and whispered to her furiously. "What are they saying!?" I hissed.

"I may have slipped up about him during the investigation! I didn't mean to, and I thought they bought the excuse I came up with!" Abilene replied.

"They didn't, and because of that, he's going to get caught!" I scolded her.

"Do you think that... Because he attacked Ms. Starr, he hurt all those other people, too?" Abilene asked, her voice going soft in fear.

I paused. Was she right? Was our employer of sorts really out to kill those involved with RB-7? And those linked with them? It didn't make sense! He was always such a great man when Ab and I were younger. Before he left us... For twenty years... Five of those were off with another woman, too! They have children together, and he completely forgot about Abilene and I!

Was it possible that somewhere down the line, the old man had changed from such a sweet person to a killer?

I didn't get the opportunity to ponder this much longer, though, as Tenniswood was staring down Ab to get to the witness stand. Starr was shocked. You'd expect somebody involved with evidence forgeries to be a little sharper.

Abilene eventually nodded at Tenniswood and walked to the witness stand hesitantly. Once there, she began messing with her hat. Her eyes were downcast in a panic as she pulled on the black fabric of her pumpkin size hat.

"The lead detective on the case saw the murder weapons being taken by the culprit?!" Old Man Beardo exclaimed.

"Y-y-yeah..." Abilene stammered, still pulling at the fabric desperately.

"Please testify on what you saw the day of the crime," Bloom demanded, her eyes narrowed in hostility.

"A-alright..." Abilene gulped.

WITNESS TESTIMONY: ABILENE UMBER- WHAT I SAW

-I was working with the Chief of Detectives when...

-...He walks in with a statue and a blue glass shard!

-He says something about going to save a girl.

-Not sure who he was talking about, sadly.

"The Chief of Detectives?! Carson?!" Old Man Beardo gasped.

"Don't be so surprised. I naturally work with him as a detective," Abilene told him.

"Defense. Start your cross-examination now," Bloom demanded. Burke was fiddling with his sunglasses, lost in thought, while looking at the other witness. Starr was doing the same.

"I'm on it," Tenniswood nodded.

CROSS-EXAMINATION: ABILENE UMBER- WHAT I SAW

-I was working with the Chief of Detectives when...

-...He walks in with a statue and a blue glass shard!

-He says something about going to save a girl.

-Not sure who he was talking about, sadly.

"HANG ON!"

Tenniswood looked at Starr, who was messing with the bandage around her wrist nervously. She looked lost in thought over something. "Is something amiss, Chrysalis?" Tenniswood questioned.

"What?! No!" Starr gasped. Liar. I've always been able to tell if people are lying or not. It sounds weird, but it's true. And right now, I was sensing nothing but dishonesty from Starr.

"Do you have anything to say about the witness' testimony?" Tenniswood pressed on, clearly detecting the same unease I had with those fancy ears of hers.

"Um...!!" Starr whispered. She eventually sighed. "I know who he was talking about."

"What?!" Old Man Beardo gasped. "Who is it?!"

"Did any of you think to check the pockets of the body's skirt? Two photos were inside. Those photos are also hints at who my assailant was," Starr smirked. "Though looking to the fact that I got a friend to get them for me, I'll take that as a no." Starr pulled a pair of photos from her pocket and held them out to show the court.

One looked like a family picture from when I was little. Before Dad left...

The other was unfamiliar, though I was reminded of that case from four years ago when I first encountered the Rinko sisters.

Wait... This can't be possible...!!!

"These are pictures from fifteen or plus years ago of the Umber and Rinko families. They share one person in common. This person is also the one who made an attempt on my life," Starr explained.

"My dad..." Rinko whispered from behind the defense bench... "That photo... I've seen it hanging in my house...!!"

"What...?!" Tenniswood asked, her eyes wide as saucers.

"The person who attacked me was trying to save one of the people from the Rinko family picture. This was evident in his speech. I had been investigating him for a while, and this only confirmed my suspicions. My attacker... Is Yuri's father..." Starr muttered, her gaze downcast.

"This can't be happening!!" Rinko yelled. This would make her... No! I won't believe it! I know Dad left us and ended up with another woman, but this is insane! I refuse to acknowledge that I could be related to her and her sisters!

"I'm sorry... But it's the truth..." Starr apologized quietly. She bit her lip, as of regretting speaking any honest words about her 'killer' in the first place. Tough luck, because she couldn't take it back now.

"I suppose I should say what I've deduced about this crime now," Ab announced. "The culprit was Yuri's father, sure, but why was my family's picture found with it? There's one explanation for such, and I believe it to be my job to tell you all what it is."

"Out with it already!" Bloom demanded, getting impatient.

"Polly, please calm down..." Burke whispered to her, squeezing her arm gently. Despite the softness of his motion, there was definitely an effect, as Bloom's temper cooled off almost immediately.

"The only explanation is that..." Abilene paused to let out a small sigh. "The culprit, as well as Yuri's father is... Also my father due to the fact that we've been working together this whole time knowing this fact well."

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Did you see that coming

No

Good

I bet nobody will see the killer coming either Cruz real life friend I told yelled in shock

Yay a plot twist nobody will expect-

-Digital