Morix: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Abduction, Part 5

September 14

Courtroom No. 5

11:30 AM

Victoria von Graye

James settled down at the witness stand after he was called, and he rested one hand atop the podium as a gentle smile appeared on his face. I could tell that he was nervous, but he was still doing his best to hide it. My heart was pulled with quiet sympathy, and I wished that there was more I could do to make him feel better about all of this. I supposed that finishing the trial as soon as possible would be my best option though, so I allowed myself to focus back on the situation at hand as soon as I was able to snap myself out of my trance. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed once James was in his proper position behind the witness stand. 

"My name is James Devine," the young man responded. He tilted his head to the side as he continued to smile, and all of his nerves were shoved to the back of his mind in favor of focusing on the current situation. "I work as an actor, but for the time being, I'm focusing on my life as a student first and foremost."

"You were at the crime scene the day of the murder," Prosecutor Burke began. Her tone was far from being accusing, instead simply being a state of fact. "The court would like you to testify on what you saw when you first discovered the defendant standing over the body."

James nodded in response. "Of course. I'll go right from the beginning," he said simply, not taking even a moment to consider the situation at hand. I could tell that he was just as anxious to get this over with as the rest of us, and I couldn't exactly blame him. After all, his previous courtroom experience had been far from optimal, so it was only natural that he would feel on edge while in the area. I just hoped that everything would turn out alright with what he had to tell us about the scene of the crime. 

~ Witness Testimony ~

~ Finding the Defendant and Victim ~

-"I was at the school the day of the murder because I was set to be enrolling as a new student so that I could start classes soon."

-"I came with Mukuro and Anton to see the building. We were meant to be meeting with two other students who would be in my class, Yuri and Niamh."

-"We never found Niamh though, and Mukuro wound up leaving to look around with hopes that she could find her."

-"The rest of us headed up to the main office, and we waited for Mukuro and Niamh to come back."

-"However, all of that came crashing down when we heard Mukuro scream. We followed the sound and saw her standing above the body when we arrived."

-"Mukuro never found Niamh... We later learned that she had gone home, but I still find it strange that she left when she was supposed to meet with us."

I frowned to myself at his words. I didn't hear anything that really stuck out to me as being a contradiction from the facts of the case. In all honesty, the only subject that really made me think there was something going on had to do with what he mentioned about Prosecutor Wood. 

"I think we should ask about what happened to Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood," Sky whispered, and I wondered for a brief moment if he had somehow found out how to read minds before banishing the thought as ridiculous. "James didn't mention Chrysalis, but we know that she was supposed to be at the scene of the crime that day too. It's weird how she never crossed paths with them or anyone else."

"You're right," Lily agreed with a nod. "I think that's a great place to start from too. If I'm being honest, I have no idea where it's going to lead us, but I'm positive that it's going to lead us somewhere. We weren't able to talk to Prosecutor Wood or Chrysalis yesterday, but I think that it would be a good idea for us to see if we can learn anything more about them that we aren't already aware of."