Ace Attorney: Fading Bloodlines

Turnabout Flashback, Part 4 (Robin)

"Witness, name and occupation," I announced strictly.

Mr. Morix frowned and looked away with a dark expression. "I don't want to say, if that's okay."

"You have no choice in the matter," I scowled. I couldn't believe his attitude.

"You can't tell me what to do! I shouldn't even be here!" Mr. Morix yelled. His eyes were locked on the plush bunny that sat on the defense bench. It had been left after he ran from the crime scene the day before. His expression seemed to calm once he looked at it for a while. It was as if he was under some sort of spell.

An idea springing to mind, I smirked. "I have an idea. Why don't we make a deal?"

Mr. Morix looked up with a raised eyebrow. "What sort of deal?"

"If you testify for us about what you saw, we'll let you have the bunny toy back," I answered. "I can tell that you want it for whatever reason."

Mr. Morix gasped. He thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay... I can do that," he agreed.

"In that case, tell the court your name and occupation," I instructed.

"Cotoli Morix. I'm a middle school student," Mr. Morix answered. "I wish I didn't have to be here... It's my s-friend's birthday. Well... It was yesterday. She's going to be so sad that I can't be there for her today..."

"You can get out of here sooner if you tell us what you saw the day of the crime," I reminded him.

"Okay... I'll get this over with..." Mr. Morix nodded.

WITNESS TESTIMONY: COTOLI MORIX- FINDING THE CRIME SCENE

-I was walking home from school to go see my friend on her birthday.

-I heard crying coming from Ms. Lilac's house, so I went inside to see what was wrong.

-Nobody was in there when I arrived...

-I went up to the master bedroom where I saw...

-...Somebody sitting in a pool of blood with a knife... A knife...

-S-stuck in... Their... T-their...

"Don't feel pressured to finish," Ms. Yin told him. "We're just going to cross-examine you so that you can go home, alright?"

Mr. Morix nodded. "Okay... Go on..."

CROSS-EXAMINATION: COTOLI MORIX- FINDING THE CRIME SCENE

-I was walking home from school to go see my friend on her birthday.

-I heard crying coming from Ms. Lilac's house, so I went inside to see what was wrong.

-Nobody was in there when I arrived...

-I went up to the master bedroom where I saw...

-...Somebody sitting in a pool of blood with a knife... A knife...

"OBJECTION!"

"Are you aware of the fact that a blood message was found at the crime scene?" Ms. Yin asked.

"That's right! The SOS message!" Pandora gasped.

"W-what message?!" Mr. Morix yelled, his shoulders going tense. "I didn't see any message at the crime scene!"

I turned to Ms. Yin. "How do you explain this contradiction?"

"Maybe he just misremembered. I mean... It must have been pretty scary to find a crime scene like that," Pandora suggested.

"I promise that my memory is fine! I didn't see any messages at the crime scene! Honest!" Mr. Morix cried.

"In that case... There must have been some reason that you didn't see the message," Ms. Yin frowned. "Were you distracted by something?"

"He might have been overly focused on the victim... That's what anybody would pay attention to if they found a crime scene," Pandora piped up.

"Or that rabbit toy... Since we figured out that it was at the crime scene the day of the attempted murder," Ms. Yin frowned.

"The blood could have been distracting, though that would have pointed to the message," Prosecutor Yang cut in.

Ms. Yin gasped. "Wait! I think I have an idea!"

"An idea about what?" Prosecutor Yang asked. "We don't have all day to listen to your rambling, Ms. Yin."

"The reason that the witness didn't mention the blood message was because when he arrived... It wasn't at the crime scene," Ms. Yin smirked.

Everybody in the gallery began chatting noisily. I saw Lilac's eyes go wide. Her face was white as a sheet. I beat my gavel down in hopes of calming the noise. "Order in the court!" I yelled. "Defense! Explain!"

"If you ask me, the blood message wasn't at the crime scene when the witness arrived. It showed up after he got to the crime scene," Ms. Yin said.

"Then that means one of two things," I frowned. "This means that the victim was either still conscious to write the message or they were unconscious so the witness wrote the message."

"I-I would never do something like that! Who would be so stupid as to tamper with a crime scene like that?!" Mr. Morix yelled. "Most certainly not me!!"

"You tampered with the crime scene, didn't you? You were the one who wrote the message, correct?" Ms. Yin said, starting to glare at Mr. Morix. "It's as if you know something, or multiple things, that you aren't telling us."

"I don't understand what's going on! What are you even accusing me of?! I didn't do anything wrong!!" Mr. Morix cried in panic.

"We believe that you tampered with the crime scene by falsifying the message left behind by the victim!" Prosecutor Yang shouted. "It would be much easier if you just confessed to your crimes so the trial may resume!"

Mr. Morix began to shake, his eyes going as wide as saucers. He remained in this position for about half a minute before bursting into tears.

I always get the difficult witnesses, don't I...?

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TFW SCIENCE WORK SO YOU MUST STOP TYPING

-Digital