As usual, you are in the lobby waiting for the trial to start. Sorin appears to ask Ellen for where some blueprints are, and leaves after getting his answer, but not without telling he misses her. So he DOES care about his bride.
In the courtroom, right after some nostalgic reminiscence from the Judge, Edgeworth goes over the details of the case, notably that Dumas Gloomsbury attacked Ellen and she killed him when fighting back. But in that case, wouldn't it be considered self-defense? At least, if getting Ellen off the whole crime is not viable, you could always go that route.
Ema is called to the stand as the first witness. And as a huge fan girl of Miles Edgeworth, she doesn't intend to help you and displease her idol.
Ema's Testimony: Rundown of the Case[edit]
- The murder weapon was a clock called the "Time Keeper."
- The victim was hit with it from behind, and he fell over, right into the lantern.
- The defendant was spotted then, standing in front of the body holding the murder weapon.
- The victim was struck twice, by the way.
The fact that there were two blows to the head, the second being when the victim was unconscious, kills off any chance of pleading self-defense! As always, we start on the wrong foot... Edgeworth submits the Autopsy Report to the Court Record.
Rundown of the Case: Cross Examination[edit]
Present the Photo of Victim on the second statement. If you look at the photo, the victim is on his back, instead of lying face down as it should have been if he was struck from behind!
Ema still doesn't give up and argues that Ellen could have moved the body after he fell over into the lantern. But It's not possible. Present the broken bits of the lantern on the body in the photo to prove it. These bits would have fallen off the body if it was moved. That opens the possibility that the victim was killed and his body hidden inside the lantern before the reception! Since a dead body cannot put itself inside the lantern, someone else must have done it, then Ellen had the misfortune of discovering it after the reception.
With this chain of events, you can argue a new possibility. Select He was killed somewhere else. To prove it, Present the Photo of Victim, then Present the flower petals on the body in the photo. These petals came from somewhere else on the airship. Present the Photo of Hold, where you can see the same petals.
Edgeworth argues there is a contradiction in your claim, and lets Ema disclose it.
Ema's Testimony: The Prosecution's Rebuttal[edit]
- The victim could not have been killed before the reception.
- The autopsy report states that the estimated time of death was after the reception.
- And that estimated time of death is correct. There's no way it could be wrong.
The Prosecution's Rebuttal: Cross Examination[edit]
Present the Fog Machine on the third statement. An estimated time of death can completely be thrown off with some ice, such as the dry ice used in fog machines. Edgeworth finally acknowledges your scenario, only to lure you into one of his trademark traps. When entering the hold with a key card, any usage of key cards is recorded. And the last one to have entered the hold on the day of the murder... was Ellen. The Hold Entry Record is added to the Court Record.
Apart from Ellen, the third and second to last to enter the hold were the victim and Pierce Nichody. But Nichody was accompanying some guests, who can attest to that fact. Besides, since Ellen offered to do cleaning duty, she had the occasion, after killing the victim, to move the body to the reception hall without raising suspicion. The only way to disprove Edgeworth is to find someone who could have used Ellen's key card. We might have someone who fits the bill though. Present Larry Butz's profile when asked who is this someone. After all, he couldn't have taken a photo of the hold without being physically there. Conveniently enough, he's in the gallery.
After a recess without informative value (just some antics with Athena and Trucy, and some reminiscing about Detective Dick Gumshoe), Larry is up to the stand, and not pleased with being suspected. He is asked about whether he moved the lantern with the body.
Larry's Testimony: Nick Is A Jerk Face![edit]
- Nick, you big, fat, stinkin' jerk!
- How can you doubt your best bud?! We've known each other since elementary school!
- W-W-Well, get this, pal! Our friendship's over!
Out of all the testimonies that Larry gives out, this is probably the most absurd in the history of Ace Attorney! It looks like Phoenix Wright will have to first get Larry to open up before he starts spouting nonsense in his testimony!
Nick Is A Jerk Face!: Cross Examination[edit]
Press all statements. Since you don't extract any information from the testimony, you ask Larry to stop screwing around. He says he didn't move any "bull" lantern. But nobody in the court mentioned the sex of the lantern with the body. So how could he have known it was a "bull" when he claimed to not have attended the reception? A new statement is added to the testimony:
- Anyone could tell there were two Pegabulls by looking at the Flying Chapel's pamphlet!
Present the Flying Chapel Pamphlet on this statement. A Pegacow and a Pegabull were to be displayed on the day of the wedding. But instead, there were two Pegabulls. And somehow, Larry knew that. So he DID move the Pegabull to the reception hall! Does that make him the killer for all that? Select No, of course not. He didn't have any reason to kill Gloomsbury, and we know he wouldn't hurt a fly.
Larry gives more details about him moving the lantern.
Larry's Testimony: Moving the Lantern[edit]
- It's just like Nick said, I'm the one who moved the lantern.
- I was poking around the reception hall before the main event and saw a lantern was broken.
- There was a note on it that said, "Exchange with the one in the hold. --Ellen."
- So I decided to do Elly a favor.
That effectively ties the murder to before the reception. The Broken Lantern is updated in the Court Record. But now Edgeworth argues that this note was a part of Ellen's plan to shift the blame onto the one who would have moved the lantern unknowingly, in this case Larry. It's up to us to shoot down this hypothesis.
Moving the Lantern: Cross Examination[edit]
Press the fourth statement. Larry didn't get caught moving the lantern, unlike the first time when he tried to crash the reception and got locked up in a cabin for it. You ask yourself if this fact is important to the case. Select It's important. A new statement is added to the testimony.
- I tried to sneak into the reception hall, but I got caught and locked up in a cabin.
Press this statement. After getting locked, Larry broke out to find Ellen, then stumbled upon the broken lantern and replaced it. But that doesn't make any sense. When asked where is the contradiction, Present the Broken Lantern. If we're taking Larry's statement at face value, he would have replaced the lantern both before and after the reception.
Unfortunately, Larry explains that by bringing up time travel. And now, you have to prove the time travel Ellen experienced is real! Obviously, Edgeworth catches the scent of bull since you don't have any evidence that proves it. But then, Larry brings up a photo of the first reception! Now we can prove that the reception was held twice. The difference you have to Present is the red bouquet of flowers. In the other photo, this bouquet was yellow. Have we actually proved time travel to be real...?
Objection! Edgeworth brings you back on earth, by saying all other attendants apart from Ellen and Larry would have said something if there was time travel involved. And if they were sworn to secrecy, why wouldn't Ellen also be? Well, since the reception did take place twice, courtesy of the photos proving so, there must be a much more reasonable explanation that time travel. You must point out who would have arranged that. Select Everyone at the reception.
Pierce Nichody appears at the stand, and confirms our theory. All was apparently supervised by Sorin so that Ellen would forget that she killed Gloomsbury on the vista deck, the real scene of the crime. They neither anticipated the flower petals nor Larry moving the lantern.
The Judge does not have enough information to give a ruling, so he adjourns the court for today. You have the rest of the day to find who was the third party who struck the victim from behind.