Chapter 27 Attack is the best defense.

(Anna POV)

Anna really didn't like the way this trial was going. In fact, we shouldn't even be talking about a trial here, since it bore so little resemblance to one. She had realized quite quickly that she couldn't raise any objections during the trial. This was probably due to the transformation William had just given her. After all, it wasn't as if he knew Charlotte was going to ask him to be her lawyer. Of course she could have refused, but firstly she didn't know what the consequences of this transformation would be, and secondly she couldn't have said no when she saw the beaten-dog look Charlotte was giving her.

Charlotte had given her version and nothing contradicted it, which was already positive. On the other hand, there was nothing to back up Charlotte's story. That was her main problem. Only Marion was present at the time. So the solution to the problem was both simple and complicated. She had to get Marion to confess.

“Does the prosecutor wish to question a new witness?” asked Dakota because no she wasn't a judge and there was no way Anna would consider her as one and she wouldn't even think of her as one.

“Yes, Your Honor. I'd like the second defendant to weigh in on the actions of each of them,” said Light.

And so Marion had her chance to explain. Anna had to pay attention to everything Marion said. She had to find something to make her do something wrong. Once Marion had settled in, Light began his questions.

_“Miss Roka, is it true that you have repeatedly insulted and threatened Madame Nezoko over the past two days?” _asked Light.

_“Objection Your Honor, this has nothing to do with the current trial,” _exclaimed Francisco.

“Objection overruled. Answer the question,” replied Dakota.

_“Who in their right mind would quietly agree to be kidnapped, transformed and **** to become a member of a harem for a perfect stranger? I think my reaction was rather reasonable,” _Marion said calmly.

Okay, it annoyed Anna, but Marion had a point. Under the circumstances, her reaction was normal.

_“Of course, of course. Everyone can understand you being upset in such circumstances. How often do you get upset?” _asked Light.

“No, I'm a pretty calm person. The present circumstances are exceptional” replied Marion, staring at him.

“That's for sure, and I imagine that when you wrecked one of your classmates' cars in high school, the circumstances were just as exceptional,” said Light, playing with the apple on his desk.

“Objection Your Honor, my client has been acquitted of all charges for this crime,” said Francisco.

_“Light what do you have to support this argument?” _asked Dakota.

_“What the defense attorney says is true, the charges against Mademoiselle Roka were dropped fairly quickly, but on closer inspection we can see a $10,000 transfer to the judge in charge of this case the week after the charges were dropped, as well as a $50,000 transfer to the victim over the same period. It doesn't take a mind reader to figure out what happened,” _says Light.

Indeed, it was easy enough to understand that Marion or a member of her family must have paid to bury the affair. Marion's teeth would be gritted. She must really not have liked what Light was implying.

“It's just a bunch of fabrications,” Marion replied.

“Everyone's free to think what they want. What I'm trying to show here is that Mademoiselle Roka is a hot-blooded person quick to act before thinking. She assumes that her statue and her money can get her out of any situation. But remember, justice always triumphs in the end, and this time you won't be able to bribe anyone,” declared Light.

That, at least, Anna could approve or even agree with. No way to rig justice, no way to buy witnesses, no way to bury cases, oh how nice that would be. On the other hand, it didn't mean that this was a real trial.

_“I'm an emotional person, but that doesn't make me a murderer,” _says Marion.

“That has yet to be proven. So we have motive and means, but make no mistake, dear jury, Matamune's **** was not an impulsive act of anger, but an ****. Premeditation is easily demonstrated. After all, who would carry a knife around if he didn't intend to use it?” questioned Light.

_“It wasn't me who brought the knife. It was Charlotte. The first time I saw that knife was when she stabbed that cat. I just happened to be there because I heard the cat meowing. Since I had to catch the cat, it was only logical that I should go to the place where the meowing was coming from,” _Marion replied.

_“Oh, was that the first time you'd seen that knife? It's not something you can pick up off the ground like a tree branch or a pebble. So the question is, where did the knife come from? And I found the answer by looking at the inventory of cutlery used for breakfast, which is indeed missing a set of cutlery including a knife that corresponds exactly to the **** weapon. So it's surprising that this is the first time you've seen this knife,” _says Light.

“And even if I have seen the knife before, it's not like I'm going to remember it, and there's no proof that I was the one who used it,” replied Marion.

“This just proves that you have the motive, the opportunity and that you were at the scene of the crime at the time of the ****. Add to that the testimony of your accomplice, and we can say that the proof of your guilt is almost in. I have no further questions, Your Honor,” concluded Light.

Okay, the situation was turning out rather to Charlotte's advantage, all she had to do was get Marion to confess and Charlotte would be out of danger.

“Francisco, it's up to you to question your client if you wish,” said Dakota.

“Thank you, Your Honor. I would first like to remind the jury of the founding principle of law in democratic countries: the presumption of innocence. The principle that it's not up to the accused to prove he's innocent, but up to the prosecution to prove guilt. I won't deny that my client has the profile of an excellent culprit. Her strong character probably doesn't help. But as the prosecutor said, guilt is not proven. Clearly, all the arguments used by the prosecution could have worked for any other participant. The evidence adduced is circumstantial at best, and is not sufficient to convict my client, especially given the weight this conviction will have on her. So I ask you in all humility, dear jury, do you really want to convict an innocent woman? I have no questions for my client, Your Honor, so I'll stop here,” says Francisco.

Using the argument of presumption of innocence to try and convince laymen of his client's non-guilt was clever. In reality, it's difficult to bring irrefutable evidence to trial. Not all criminals leave DNA at the crime scene, and even when they do, it's not always usable. She had **** but to convince the jury 100% of Charlotte's innocence, Marion had to confess.

“Very well, Anna, you can ask the witnesses questions,” said Dakota, who had been staring at Anna for several minutes.

Anna stepped forward to stand in front of Marion. She had only one chance - she couldn't miss or Charlotte would pay the price.

_“My first question is simple, have you ever broken the law?” _asked Anna.

“What?” replied Marion, who didn't seem to understand the question.

“My question is simple: have you ever broken the law?” repeated Anna, rather pleased to have surprised Marion.

“Objection, Your Honor, that has nothing to do with the subject,” exclaimed Francisco.

“Objection overruled, proceed.” replied Dakota.

“Uh, no, yes, maybe, I don't know,” Marion replied, a little confused.

“It's a simple question and anyone should be able to answer it,” said Anna, smiling.

_“No, of course not, I've never broken the law,” _Marion replied hastily.

Perfect, she'd taken the bait.

“That's good. Most killers have committed crimes before they commit ****. So if you've never broken the law you're logically unlikely to be a criminal and obviously the reverse is just as true. My second question is simple: do you know anyone here you knew before the show?” asked Anna, still surprising Marion.

Marion seemed to hesitate to answer. She had to hesitate between lying and telling the truth. Whatever the answer, Anna had a plan.

“I've already met the owner of the restaurant here. I've been trying to buy her restaurant for weeks,” Marion replied.

“I see, but I don't think she's the only person you've met. My third question is, why do you think you were chosen to take part in this show?” asked Anna.

Marion's panic deepened.

“I don't know why. I never met William until I got on this show,” Marion replied.

“That's where I have my doubts. You see, everyone here has met William before, so it would be surprising if you'd never met him.” said Anna.

“I may have met him and not remembered. What's your point?” annoyed Marion.

“I'm getting there. Indeed, it's easy to imagine that you just bumped into him on the street, but I have another hypothesis. You see, Nicole met William just before she was teleported to the show. William was her patient after being shot in Elisa's restaurant. I know Charlotte is investigating the attack. If I'm guessing correctly, Iris had to do her journalistic investigation on this case. The link between Hélène and William has not even been established yet, and I had just been put in charge of the case. So in addition to having a link with William, the people in this show have a link with this attack. Do you see what I'm getting at?” asked Anna.

“I think you're talking nonsense,” replied Marion, who was fidgeting in her seat.

“If the people here have anything to do with this show, then one essential person is missing. The attacker. I find it hard to believe that you're not connected with this case, so I'm going to say it loud and clear. I think you're the attacker in the restaurant and you're the one who shot William. What's more, you've got the perfect motive because you were looking to buy Elisa's restaurant and a robbery in the restaurant would probably have enabled you to buy it for a pittance.” asserted Anna.

“That's not true. I'd never get my hands dirty doing mercenary work,” shouted Marion.

Victory, Anna mused.

“Oh, so you'd rather have hired someone. I agree, this kind of work is best left to a professional. Did you also pay Charlotte to kill Matamune?” asked Anna.

“Of course, not I wasn't even planning to kill him! I was just going to use it as a hostage! No, wait, that's not true, I never had the slightest intention against that cat!” exclaimed Marion, trying to correct what she'd just said.

Anna smiled. The case was closed. There was no chance of Charlotte being convicted after that.

“I don't have any more questions,” said Anna as she sat back down.

“Come back here bitch, I'm not done yet. I didn't kill that cat!” screamed Marion before Dakota **** her to be quiet.

Anna glanced at Francisco, who looked really tired. Anna almost felt sorry for him. Defending a guilty idiot couldn't be easy, which was why Anna had chosen not to be a lawyer. Defending a guilty man was out of the question.

Then she looked at Light. He seemed annoyed but stepped forward to speak anyway. It was over, wasn't it? He couldn't have another person to put on the stand, could he?

“Does Mr. Prosecutor wish to continue?” asked Dakota.

“Yes, Your Honor, I was saving my best card for last. I wish to call Matamune to the stand,” said Light.

What? Wait, stop. Who was he calling?