Ace Attorney: Secrets Beneath Secrets

Return to the Turnabout, Part 3 (Aria)

Clarith gasped. "H-how did you know...?" she asked in a whisper. "Th-that was supposed to be my little secret...!"

"I see we both have things we can't have getting out," I muttered. I pulled up my wrist piece to show the three-inch scar that I'd been trying so desperately this past year. Lucas glanced at me out of the side of his eye. I gasped and covered up the mark with the fabric once again. I wore the wrist piece for this very reason.

"I didn't want people to look down on me because I'm color blind. So I faked that I was normal. I saw the paint dripping from her hand and was scared. The gun shots hadn't yet rung out, as it was about ten minutes before the murder," Clarith said.

"So, it was really just paint...." Hana whispered. I suppose that I would be mad too if my decisive evidence went down the drain. "My case...!"

"The results of the test are in!" the bailiff shouted, running into the room. "Paint was on the floor near the bathroom as well as on the gym floor, but blood wasn't found either place."

"But the crime scene was the gym...." Lucas said under his breath.

"The crime actually took place in one of the glass rooms on either side of the gym. They're built into the wall and are there for managing the technology in the gymnasium," Hana explained.

"Was there any blood found in the booths?" Lucas asked.

"Yes. Only in the one with the body," the bailiff answered. "And there was a lot of blood there."

"So the body wasn't moved from anywhere else," Averl deduced.

"But there was a little something odd about the other booth," the bailiff said. "There were two bullet holes in the glass. One of them was the one who stole the victim's life and the other was embedded in the wall near the body."

"There were two bullets fired?!" Clarith exclaimed.

The people watching the trial began buzzing. Averl and Lucas turned to me. I nodded. I was too rattled by the sound of the first gun shot to even think about the fact that somebody could be hurt or even killed. When the second bullet was fired, I was too afraid to even move. All those memories from two years ago...they just wouldn't stop coming back.

"Order in the court!" the judge shouted. The sound of the gavel hitting the wood reached my ears. I was relieved when the sound got the people in the court to quiet down. If it had gotten any louder, my ears would have started ringing. 

"The second bullet...why was it fired?" Averl asked.

"Maybe the first bullet missed and so the real killer fired another one that struck true?" Lucas suggested.

"The victim would have tried to run away or something if that was the truth, though," I pointed out.

"So, why would that second bullet have been fired?" Lucas questioned.

If the real killer shot the victim, Ms. Gyn Teach, from across the gym, then they would have seen me. I had been cleaning up my paint mess when the gun shots rang out, after all. I was just finishing when the sound echoed into my mind. If they had seen me, then...that would mean that...what if...!

"Lucas!" I hissed. "I think I figured out why the second bullet was fired!"

"What is it, Ms. Claris?" Lucas asked. Will he just drop the formalities already?! Really!

"I have a fear of guns. I fell to the ground in fear whenever the gunshot rang out. If the real killer had seen that, they could have fired the second bullet as a diversion to keep me busy while they framed me," I explained. I tried hard to keep those nightmares from two years ago at bay. No emotional breakdowns here! He would find out about who I am if I did that! And if I drag him into this, I'll never forgive myself.

"That makes sense," Averl agreed. "But what are the odds that we can prove that with evidence?"

"I don't think we can," Lucas sighed. I nodded in agreement.

"Well, with this witness' credibility lowered increasingly, I'll have no choice but to call my next witness," Hana smirked.

"Another witness?!" Averl growled.

"I wonder who it is," Lucas wondered aloud.

"Who is your witness, Prosecutor Bullgard?" the judge asked. 

"I call Bal Gam to the witness stand!" Hana shouted.

A blonde man walked up to the witness stand. He wore a white basketball uniform with red stripes down either side. He had white shoes striped with red to match. Color scheme much?

"Witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," Hana demanded, toying with her red fabric.

"Bal Gam, the other gym teacher at the university. Gyn and I worked together to teach the kids of the next generation how to be physical in life," Bal announced. He wasn't my PE coach, but I had still seen him quite a bit. But, only PE teachers had access to the tech rooms, which means...Bal Gam is the killer.... He killed and framed me for it...! I guess I shouldn't trust people so easily....

"Lucas, I have something to tell you real quick," I hissed.

Lucas turned to face me. "What is it?" he asked.

"Only PE teachers have access to the gym tech rooms. Nobody else is allowed up there without special permission, not even the other teachers," I told him. "Use that information wisely."

Lucas nodded and turned back to the trial at hand. "What is the witness going to testify about?"

"I saw the defendant shoot Gyn yesterday. I'm obviously going to tell you about that. Why else would I be here?" Bal asked. The area around him went black. I glared him down. Psyche-Locks were forming around him. He was lying. This was just more evidence that he was most likely the real killer.

"Mr. Red, do not mock the court with your foolish questions," Prosecutor Bullgard smirked. "We have a trial to attend to, after all."

"Witness, please give us your testimony at this time," the judge commanded.

"Certainly," Bal told him. 

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And there are more puns. Bal Gam=Ball Game and Gyn Teach=Gym Teacher

I need better puns.

Somebody help me with my sense of humor. It stinks.

Because my puns aren't Debeste.

Stop me before I go on my typical string of AA puns.

-Digital