PREVIOUS: 020: Defendant Lobby No. 1
An hour and a half later, despite Duncan's best efforts to prevent a spectacle, it seems as though every last villager in Mossgrove has gathered in the square. Under the enormous tree at its center, Duncan stands solemnly behind a podium, with the members of the jury in a row on either side of him. At least one of them looks familiar...
To his right stands the defense, where Lucya, Jagal, and Brajan talk urgently amongst themselves. To his left stands the prosecution, where Keela and Veren's silence is stifling. And in the center, right in front of him, stands Togan.
DUNCAN: (quietly) "I'm sorry, laddie. But I must see this through with due diligence, aye?"
TOGAN: "..."
Looking up to see the townsfolk gawking, Duncan's brow furrows as he draws the axe from his belt and bangs the hilt against the podium. As meek as he may sound in ordinary conversation, his voice can boom if it has to.
DUNCAN: "People of Mossgrove! We are gathered here today on the heels a tragedy, with a grave responsibility on our hands. A man lies dead, aye, and great doubt and suspicion surrounds the cause..."
Keela's grip on her notes tightens.
KEELA: (quietly) "Not much doubt."
DUNCAN: "...We have a duty tae hear all sides a the case, fer the sake a justice and the safety of our town. The jury beside me represents the will a the townsfolk-- do ye swear tae set aside bias and seek the truth?"
Jagal looks amused by the totally-not-grandstanding, but thankfully he doesn't comment.
GRANNY: "Aye, I swear."
DELKAPH: "Of course, sir! You've nothing tae fear, with me on the case!"
ISHANA: (nervously eyeing the crowd before turning to the judge) "Um, aye."
HALLR: (sniffles) "I'll do my best, sir."
OTYLIA: "Mhm...~"
COLUMB: "Gee, whadda mess, huh... But I'll be glad to give an, uh, an outsider opinion!"
Duncan nods.
DUNCAN: "Is the prosecution prepared?"
KEELA: "Yes."
DUNCAN: "And the defense?"
BRAJAN: "Aye, sir!"
TOGAN: "Huh?"
BRAJAN: "W-well, the defense should be a citizen of Mossgrove, aye? And I'm nae as... (winces) emotionally involved with the defendant."
LUCYA: "Aye, he offered and I thought it'd be fer the best..."
JAGAL: "Yes, I'll just be providing the emotional support."
KEELA: "........"
DUNCAN: "...Is this alright with ye, Togan?"
TOGAN: "Oh, um... yes, sir."
He nods weakly at Brajan. Duncan thumps the axe against the podium again.
DUNCAN: "Then let us hear the opening statements-- prosecution, of what exactly do you accuse this man?"
KEELA: (eye shut) “…..”
KEELA: “The murder of Pearce the shopkeeper. Two days ago.”
DUNCAN: "..."
Duncan waits a few seconds for her to elaborate.
KEELA: "Only the accused had the opportunity. Motive. Means. We'll establish this clearly."
DUNCAN: "And the defense?"
BRAJAN: "We agree that Mr. Pearce was murdered, aye, but nae by Togan-- in fact, there's reason tae suggest he was framed fer the crime."
The crowd murmurs. Veren leans a bit onto the prosecution's bench at that and frowns—as much as either member of the prosecution here frowns.
KEELA: "Yet no one had the chance."
BRAJAN: "Aye, that's how it would seem at first, ma'am, but..."
Brajan swallows. Keela's stare is starting to get to him already.
DUNCAN: "...Whom shall we call upon first tae testify? Ms. Adda?"
Jagal tries to keep his reaction to Brajan's nerves down to a missable snicker. Anyone paying close attention would probably doubt which side the wee man is on... or if he's on either.
Keela turns to give Adda a nod. Apparently that's all the communication needed for the redhead to hustle to the witness area.
ADDA: (shuffling a few notes, mug still in hand) "Right, where d'we start here..."
Lucya stoops down and whispers to Brajan.
LUCYA: (quietly) "Dinnae let her get t'ye. She means well but she's wrong."
BRAJAN: "Ms. Keela or Ms. Adda?"
LUCYA: "Ehh, both?"
Brajan gives her a look and turns to Ms. Adda.
BRAJAN: "Aye, fer the jury's sake, let's start with the basics..."
Adda nods slowly, taking a good drink of her tea before getting started. She glances back down at her notes from time to time.
ADDA: "We've already got the victim 'n suspect named, so I'll jump straight tae the scene."
ADDA: "The crime occurred in Mr. Pearce's own general store, durin' open hours, in th' evening."
"Witnesses heard a crash an' found the fella pinned under a toppled store shelf. None too light a' one, either."
"The suspect was the only customer in the store at the time, and fled the scene 'fore the others got t' the body."
"Nothin' too complicated, but still not pretty."
🎲 Lucya rolls Secure an Advantage, and gets a weak hit. Mechanically a +1 momentum, story-wise we clarify some things but don't really win over the jury.
BRAJAN: "Did ye notice anything strange about the shelf? Was it built the same as the others?"
ADDA: "Built? Aye, same construction an' same material—give ye three guesses what—as the others 'round the store. Didnae look a good deal older or knottier or any such thing. Sturdy as any of 'em."
ADDA: "Certainly couldnae have fallen down on its own."
BRAJAN: "Then it shouldae been bolted tae the wall, aye? My..." (sidelong glance at Jagal) "...colleague here, he can confirm this fer the other shelves, as he climbed 'em himself."
JAGAL: "Ooh, colleague. Fancy."
LUCYA: "How could a man have torn down such a shelf without rippin' a hole in the wall?"
JAGAL: (marginally closer to an outdoor voice) "Yeah, put as much weight on the very edge of the very top as possible, and the thing still didn't budge. Funny that it was so different for the same-everything shelf."
ADDA: "It was bolted tae the wall before, the store persons o'er there confirmed." (shrugs a shoulder towards the prosecution)
ADDA: "No walls torn out, nae, but the shelf came down all the same. 'Less ye know another way it coulda jumped from upright tae fallen with a crash, I dinnae think this's gettin' us anywhere."
LUCYA: "Hrmm..."
JAGAL: (waving it off) “Fine, we can look into that later.”
JAGAL: “For now, actually, if we could go back to the…” (vague hand movement) “...before that bit. About this guy being the only one in the store."
Adda flips back in her notes to stay verbatim.
ADDA: "The suspect was the only customer in the store at the time, and fled the scene 'fore the others got t' the body."
JAGAL: "Right, that."
🎲 Jagal rolls Face Danger using Shadow and gets a strong hit! His sneaky antics will pay off.
JAGAL: "How are we so sure again that no one else was there?"
Adda gestures to Keela.
ADDA: "She was watchin' the only public entrance fer a while afore things. Nobody else went in 'r out, an' nobody else was inside when she went in."
Keela nods. Jagal turns to Keela before deciding he might as well just start drifting over that way.
JAGAL: "And there's no possibility you could've missed someone?"
KEELA: "No."
JAGAL: "Because there're plenty of blind spots with all the stock in that place. Someone coulda avoided you if they really wanted to. Which, if I'd just committed murder, I'd probably want to."
KEELA: "No one was there."
Jagal continues to gesture broadly as he speaks, to no one's benefit. At least he doesn't have any daggers out when he's almost within striking range of Keela by now.
JAGAL: "And no one could have possibly snuck past you at the door, either?"
KEELA: "No."
JAGAL: "Not even when you were busy out there with..." (failing to remember) "...store things."
KEELA: "I'd notice someone right in front of me."
JAGAL: "Even if they were extremely invested in not being seen?"
KEELA: "Yes."
JAGAL: "You're absolutely sure of this?"
KEELA: "Yes."
JAGAL: "No one could ever possibly escape your watchful eye in any way?"
BRAJAN: "What are ye-- Please leave the poor madam alone! There's an order tae things here..."
Lucya squints at Jagal and prepares to extricate him from the prosecutor's bench. Jagal blinks like he's been shaken out of something, then takes a step back and puts his palms up conciliatorily.
JAGAL: "Sorry, sorry!—just wanted to know she was certain about it. I'm done."
Jagal turns to walk back to the defense's side before suddenly pausing halfway through and turning back towards Keela.
JAGAL: "Oh, by the way—"
Jagal holds up a handful of papers.
JAGAL: "—you wouldn't happen to want your notes back, wouldja?"
KEELA: "My."
Keela stares down at the now-empty spot on the prosecutor's bench directly in front of her.
KEELA: "..............."
ace attorney crowd murmur.wav
HALLR: (peeping over his glasses) "How did he do that?!"
OTYLIA: "So cool...~"
COLUMB: "Well ain't that somethin'..."
ISHANA: (covering her mouth) "Oh..."
DELKAPH: "I—I think I missed something, what happened?"
GRANNY: (neutral) "The lad pulled a wee trick, that's all."
DUNCAN: "Please return the prosecution's paperwork and refrain from unnecessary disruption a the proceedings..."
JAGAL: "Unnecessary? It was a demonstration..."
Jagal does slip the notes back into place and starts to head back for real this time.
JAGAL: (towards the jury, without bothering to turn his head that far) "I just think she could have missed someone, if they got the timing right."
Jagal still shoots the particularly impressed-sounding girl a wink as he passes by her.
KEELA: (intensely) ".........."
LUCYA: "Yer on thin ice, wee man!"
Otylia giggles and waves a little at Jagal, even as Lucya grabs his sleeve and yoinks him back behind the defense's makeshift bench. Brajan sighs and tries to corrall the conversation back towards something constructive.
BRAJAN: "We dinnae contest that Ms. Keela saw Togan leave the building, but if she didnae see him topple the shelf with her own eyes, then we have a duty t'consider any alternatives."
BRAJAN: "A loose shelf bracket may nae mean much by itself, but combined with another piece of evidence found at the scene, it suggests a more complicated scenario..."
Jagal looks like he just can't fathom why everyone won't fully appreciate his genius demonstration. He at least tries to make his yoinking as graceful as he can with no prior notice.
LUCYA: "Auh--!"
Lucya tries to remember which bag she put the cloth in this time.
LUCYA: "Eh, did I give it t'ye?"
BRAJAN: "Eh?"
JAGAL: (leaning casually) "What are we looking for?"
LUCYA: "Ye know, the cloth that was at the--"
JAGAL: "Ahh. Hmm, you check this one yet?"
Jagal goes for a random bag and immediately draws back with the cloth scrap miraculously in hand. He offers it to her with a dextrous little flourish.
Lucya scowls incredulously but goes on with her presentation.
🎲 Lucya rolls Face Danger using wits and gets a strong hit with matching d10s! We decide this means that Miga will change her mind and speak up during the trial after all.
LUCYA: "See, we found this wee scrap a fabric caught on the shelf, and I know just where it came from..."
She nods to the defense and leaves the bench herself, heading straight for Togan.
MIGA: "...!"
Togan's mother had been strangely silent all morning, but her eyes widen angrily at Lucya's approach.
TOGAN: "Um-- (whispering) A-are you sure this is a good idea??"
Lucya smiles briefly, then holds the cloth up to his pants leg and turns to the jury.
LUCYA: "See?"
OTYLIA: "Oh! It matches!"
HALLR: "Why-- are ye not supposed to be helping the man? Ye're the defense!"
COLUMB: (grinning around his cigar) "Ahhh, but she is helpin' him, pops. I see, I see!"
A wee smirk creeps onto Lucya's face. All according to keikaku.
DELKAPH: "I... don't think I see, exactly?"
ISHANA: "It matches up perfect, aye. But..."
GRANNY: (adjusting her spectacles) "Dearie me..."
LUCYA: "Now tell me, when ye catch yer pants on a splinter and tear 'em up, does a piece come off in such a lovely wee triangle, with nary a frayed thread?"
ADA: "Auh, me job would be much easier 'twere that the case!"
LUCYA: "So if it isn't torn... Ma, would ye say this looks like it was cut with a blade?"
ADA: "W-well, aye, but..."
Keela doesn't look threatened. If she ever does.
KEELA: "Sharp tools fell off that shelf. Easily could've cut fabric."
LUCYA: "Without cuttin' his leg? He's nae got an injury on him!"
TOGAN: "I-I guess I have a headache, but I think it's the weather..."
Jagal tries not to overtly laugh at Togan's helpful input.
BRAJAN: "Er, the point is, not only is it a wee bit too convenient, but... Ms. Adda, ye were the first tae inspect the scene, and yet ye didnae mention this in yer testimony. Have ye seen this fabric before?"
Adda sips her tea as she stares at the scrap, as if giving it time to jog any memories she wasn't aware of.
ADDA: (finally shaking her head) "Only after yer group showed it tae me."
BRAJAN: "Aye, yet Lucya found it quite easily! And the-- I mean this in the nicest way possible-- the odds a me dear sister finding somethin' Ms. Adda of all people didnae spot is..."
LUCYA: "Nay, that's fair."
BRAJAN: "If we are expected tae consider it plausible that Togan's clothes were sliced by a falling trowel with nae injury t'the man, we should consider the equally plausible explanation that someone has tampered with the crime scene."
ace attorney crowd murmur.wav
VEREN: "If it's all right..."
Veren looks between his mother and the judge in case anyone sees fit to stop him from speaking up.
VEREN: "If the pants leg was already caught when things fell..." (holds up a shirt sleeve and tugs it in one direction for demonstration) "...it wouldnae be as close to his skin anymore, aye?"
VEREN: "Just, I dinnae find that point so hard t' believe, even if he isnae hurt."
🎲 Lucya tries to Secure an Advantage (heart) to counter Veren, but misses. Amelia chooses to save her momentum for later, since a miss here is interesting anyway. The scene challenge countdown gets 1/4 boxes marked.
LUCYA: "Wh... which way d'ye think things fall when a shelf falls over?? Who'd kill a man by pullin' a shelf atop the both a them?!"
LUCYA: "Nay, 'tis unnatural! And I daresay I have some suspicions a who may wish tae mislead us..."
BRAJAN: "Lucya..."
Brajan grimaces as his sister gets a little riled up.
Keela levels her stare at Lucya.
KEELA: "You?"
LUCYA: "Eh?"
KEELA: "You have access to the suspect and his clothing. You 'found' this scrap. You're using it in your argument. And only your own side can back you up."
KEELA: "......"
She waits. Jagal just laughs to himself.
JAGAL: "Oh, that's a nice one."
LUCYA: "B-but... Veren was there, he saw it too!"
VEREN: ".........."
LUCYA: "You...!! Why would I..."
Lucya is suddenly keenly aware of all the eyes upon her.
HALLR: "...She was supposed to marry the boy this year, was she not?"
OTYLIA: "Didn't ye hear? She ditched him at the altar! Who knows what she's thinking..."
COLUMB: "..."
DELKAPH: "Well, does she stand for the lad or not? I dinnae what tae think about this!"
ISHANA: "If she does, then I guess this makes sense..."
GRANNY: "Surely it couldnae be..."
Duncan's makeshift gavel hits the podium a little harder than usual.
DUNCAN: "Let us return tae the facts a the case. With the defendant's appointed representative leading the discussion, if ye please..."
BRAJAN: "Y-yes, sir! Sorry, sir!"
Jagal has to cough a good few times to keep himself from laughing his head off at this point.
LUCYA: "..."
Lucya bites her tongue and steps back.
BRAJAN: "Even if we must set aside this piece a evidence fer now, it is far from the only problem with the scenario as described--"
MIGA: "She's right, though. Veren was there."
LUCYA: "Eh?!"
BRAJAN: "Auh, I cannae even get a sentence in here..."
To the surprise of apparently even her own husband, Miga's voice finally rumbles from behind the group crowded around the defense's bench. She limps out of her chair, fumbling about for her cane.
MIGA: "'Access to the suspect and the clothing', my arse... You asked me if I wanted to testify, Duncan. I never said no. I want to now."
Jagal stares.
JAGAL: "....Um. I thought we were very specifically trying to avoid that?"
Miga grabs Jagal by his sleeve and whispers.
MIGA: "Listen-- his voice is-- that's the squirrely little brat that showed up last night! Threatenin' us! Am I s'posed to just let 'im go?!"
LUCYA: "A-are ye sure?"
Jagal thankfully saw Miga coming, though he's starting to wonder what it is with these people and their yoinking.
JAGAL: "No, just depends on when's the best time to strike..."
BRAJAN: "Aye, I'll try tae find an angle..."
Duncan clears his throat.
DUNCAN: "I see nae reason ye cannae speak afore the court, ma'am, but may I ask why ye've changed yer mind?"
MIGA: "You'll see soon enough."
Miga lumbers back to her chair, her scowl faltering a little as her gaze passes by Togan. Brajan tries to salvage the conversation.
BRAJAN: "Um! Let's nae change tack just yet, nae before we have all the information... Ms. Adda, could ye tell us more about the state of the body?"
Having not moved from the witness stand yet, Adda takes another slow sip from her mug, glances around in case somebody else wants to make a scene first, and nods.
ADDA: "Aye. Pretty gruesome, so anybody unprepared best plug their ears now."
Delkaph looks close to plugging his before realizing no one else in the jury is.
ADDA: "Mr. Pearce was clearly crushed by the shelf he was found 'neath."
ADDA: "Looked like he broke a couple ribs an' hit his head badly comin' down. Enough damage he didnae have t' suffer long, at least."
ADDA: "Also looked like he was tryin' tae keep the shelf upright when it hit him. But we've already said it was mighty heavy."
ADDA: "Solid oak, a' course, and it wasnae packed up full, exactly, but there were still goods on there t' boot."
ADDA: "Few of those hit him bad, too, but not enough tae kill him on their own."
🎲 Jagal rolls Secure Advantage gets a strong hit! He then rolls Face Danger with that bonus and gets a strong hit on that too nice. That's another chunk of progress for the trial!
BRAJAN: "Hold it!"
Brajan's hands hit the table. It seems like he might be trying a little too hard to reassert dominance over his rowdy defense team.
BRAJAN: "Pardon me, Ms. Adda, but we have inspected the body as well, and yer findings dinnae quite line up with ours. And I daresay my... colleague has more experience with such matters than most of us in Mossgrove..."
BRAJAN: (whispering to Jagal) "Please dinnae harrass her overmuch..."
JAGAL: (whispering back) "Oh, I'll keep it to just a wee bit of harassment, no worries."
Jagal slips around to the other side of the defense table, though he's still leaning on it. Adda turns her head to watch him while looking as unimpressed as ever.
JAGAL: "Right, so. When you say a few of them hit him, how do we know that?"
ADDA: (sipping) "Matching injuries on the poor fella. Blood on th' tools, too."
Jagal is gesturing with dagger in hand now, though it's hard to say if it's some kind of demonstration or just force of habit.
JAGAL: "So you can match every injury on the guy to stuff that was on that shelf?"
ADDA: "Aye."
JAGAL: "Really, now." (leaning further) "You got a list of all of them? I think we need to hear it."
Adda looks a little dubious but nods. She locates the relevant piece of paper and starts reading it out monotone—stab wound in shoulder matching a sickle, neatly lined-up puncture wounds from another tool...
The list feels more gruesome as it keeps going, but then...
ADDA: "...bruise on forehead from handle of—"
JAGAL: "I'll stop you there."
More than a few people in the audience and/or jury look relieved at that.
JAGAL: "So that was just from a tool handle, was it?"
ADDA: "Aye, best as I could tell."
Jagal flips his dagger and catches it between two fingers so the grip is exposed.
JAGAL: "Now which of those handles were wide enough to leave a mark like that?"
ADDA: "Any of 'em, I'd imagine."
JAGAL: "Wrong." (flips dagger again) "There's two lines on his forehead, and it's not 'cause he got hit twice. When something shaped like that hits you hard enough, the bruise won't show up where it actually hit. It shows up on either side."
Jagal holds up two fingers parallel for illustration.
JAGAL: "And looking at the space between those lines, not a single thing on that shelf was wide enough to leave that mark."
COLUMB: "Ohh yeah, yeah, the uh... The central sparing! Gee, you know your stuff, don't cha, kid?"
The tobacco farmer grins, though his eyes don't seem to smile in the same way.
Jagal just gives a blank look at Columb's terminology but quickly shakes it off at the compliment(?).
JAGAL: "That I do!"
LUCYA: "Auh, if only he'd explain things so clearly the rest a the time...!"
Brajan straightens his vest, a little surprised that that turned out as well as it did.
BRAJAN: "Aye, this mismatch is another reason we suggest that someone has tampered with the evidence--"
LUCYA: "And ye know what? Say what ye will about me, but I'm certainly nae the only person with vested interests here! And one person here had plenty a time t'do whate'er he wanted with the crime scene..."
BRAJAN: "Lucya..."
LUCYA: "Well hurry up an' get tae the point!"
BRAJAN: "Auh, good grief-- now understand we make nae accusation regarding the murder itself! But we must account fer the fact that one member a the prosecution was responsible fer both Togan's arrest and guarding the scene a the crime."
LUCYA: (stage whisper) "He's talking about Veren!"
Jagal looks vaguely disappointed they're not making slapdash murderer accusations, but fine, one step at a time.
Veren is particularly speechless.
KEELA: "You dare..."
KEELA: (shutting her eye) "......."
KEELA: "Opportunity I'll grant. But why?"
The siblings look at each other, and Brajan sighs. She really doesn't know, does she?
BRAJAN: "I'm truly sorry, ma'am. I wish I could say something simple as, 'he thought Togan killed his pa and wanted t'make sure he didnae get away.' But the truth is far more complicated and, I fear, has been deliberately hidden from you..."
KEELA: (eye narrowed) "........"
BRAJAN: "...The defense would like t'call Ms. Miga tae the stand. Thank ye for yer time, Ms. Adda."
ADDA: "Aye."
Adda clutches her mug and documents and hobbles away to somewhere she can finally sit.
DUNCAN: "Humm..."
Duncan looks at the surly Miga on one side and the seething Keela on the other.
DUNCAN: "As the judge o'er these proceedings, I shall call a recess, afore we begin this next line a discussion. Let us reconvene on the hour."