Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

The Explosive Turnabout, Part 5

April 24

Courtroom No. 5

10:45 AM

Lily Shield

"What did you hear about the fingerprints found at the scene of the crime, defense?" Judge Frost asked once everybody in the courtroom had calmed down. I could sense the intensity in her gaze without even looking up at her, and I swallowed nervously. Now wasn't the time to back down. If I had an idea of where this was going, then I was going to have to follow through with it. We wouldn't get anywhere if I tried to keep the truth from coming out, so all we could do was face it, no matter how painful it was. I didn't want to believe that Cormous was planning to betray us, but it was the only thing I could think of at this point.

"I know that there was one set of fingerprints found at the scene of the crime. It was the same set found on both the bomb and the remote that would have been used to detonate said explosive. If the fingerprints on both of those belonged to him, then he must have had a reason to handle the objects, and if you ask me, no normal person would just walk up to a bomb like that and try to get inside of it to dismantle it. It would only increase the chances of an explosion, which would kill not just him, but rather everybody in the building. Even in a moment of panic and adrenaline, no sane person would do such a thing like dismantle it... Which leads me to believe that these fingerprints didn't come from him trying to dismantle it," I explained.

"So, if he did commit a crime like planting a bomb inside of the Prosecutor's Office, then his killer might have done something great. They could have saved countless lives," Robbie murmured. "I'm not trying to defend the killer or anything. We don't know enough about them now to come to a given conclusion, but it's something odd to think about."

"There's one other thing that I noticed at the scene of the crime," Yuri suddenly piped up. "It's about the bomb, actually. When we got to the scene and could look around, I got the chance to look inside the bomb, even if it was from a distance... There was blood on the inside of the bomb, and the only blood I could see at the scene of the crime was from the victim."

"So, the bomb was cut from the inside out after the victim was killed. That's the only way that his blood could have gotten on the inside of the bomb as far as I'm aware..." Prosecutor Lin murmured. "But that begs the question once again of why somebody would cut the bomb up using the knife. No matter how freaked out you were, everybody should know not to try and destroy a bomb on their own since that could cause a communication issue inside of the bomb that would set it off."

"Why did the killer do such a thing then?" I asked. "I can't imagine why they would think that's a good idea... That's just my issue with it on the matter. Even if the killer thought it was for the best, then what could possibly lead them to thinking that?"

"The killer obviously didn't have the best skills in decision making, but I don't know how we're going to use that to track them down. Anybody can be reckless, depending on what kind of person they are. How do we figure out who did this when all we know is that they stabbed the victim violently and cut a bomb until it broke by busting it open," Prosecutor Lin replied, placing one hand on her chin.

"The culprit certainly has a problem with their head... At the very least, that's what I think. I don't know what that problem could be, but something is going on," Yuri commented, shaking her head. "Oh! Here's something important we haven't talked about yet. Did anybody get into the Prosecutor's Office on the day of the crime that shouldn't have been there? I know there was a police investigation going on there, meaning it would be much harder for somebody to sneak inside to do something like commit murder."

"If somebody on the police force committed this crime, we wouldn't be here," Prosecutor Cruz suddenly spoke up bluntly. "They would be seen as honorable for striking down the victim, who they assumed to be planting a bomb."