Turnabout Trump

Episode 1: Turnabout Trump is the first episode in the game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and follows the first trial of the protagonist, Apollo Justice, as a defense attorney. He defends former legendary defense attorney Phoenix Wright in the murder of Shadi Smith.

The crime
Two men were playing poker in an underground room at the Borscht Bowl Club, a Russian restaurant. One of the competitors lost the game and apparently killed the other with a bottle. The defendant then phoned someone of the crime that had taken place and that the police would arrive shortly.

First session
Apollo Justice, a new defense lawyer, was waiting nervously for his first trial. His friendly but intimidating mentor, Kristoph Gavin, shows up and reminded him that he had dined with his client on the night of the murder, and that they could not lose this case. Once Gavin left to prepare the defense's case, Apollo met the defendant, who was very calm and collected for someone who was about to go on trial for murder. He showed his confidence in Apollo and told him that he would see why he chose a greenhorn like him instead of Gavin.

The trial started with both Prosecutor Payne and Apollo addressing the judge. Kristoph Gavin was supposed to be the head defense attorney on this case, but his client had selected Justice instead. Once the defendant took the stand, the judge recognized him as Phoenix Wright and apologized for seeing him as a fallen defense attorney. Wright reassured the judge by telling him to put the past behind them.

Prosecutor Payne explained the crime. It occurred at the Borscht Bowl Club, a Russian restaurant at which Wright played piano. The murder weapon was a bottle of grape juice, which was apparently used to bash the victim's forehead, causing cerebral hemorrhaging that resulted in his death. As for motive, Prosecutor Payne presented a photo showing that a game of poker was taking place at the scene of the crime, apparently between Wright and the victim, Shadi Smith.

The judge quickly charged that poker was gambling, a crime in itself, but Gavin pointed out that the game they had played was just a competition, with no real money involved. He added that it was "a test of wits, a silent clash of passions... Only the cards, their backs wreathed in blue flame, [knew] its final outcome." The judge, wanting to know more about the game, ordered Wright to testify about the poker competition.

Wright explained that while he was hired as a pianist at the Borscht Bowl Club, he could hardly play. His real job was to take on interested customers at the poker table. When Justice pressed for more information, Wright explained that he played poker for seven years at the club, and never lost once.

Justice took the opportunity to say it was just a simple game, but the judge thought otherwise. After all, he said, people were not murdered over simple games. The judge questioned Wright his claim of having no connection to the crime, but Wright just smiled, saying that he was testifying about the game that night, and asking about the crime at that point was against the rules. Of course, he expected to hear a cry of "Objection!" from the defense...

Justice panicked, mad that he let that one slip by, but Gavin reassured him, and asked Wright to amend his testimony, wanting to know his connection to the case at hand. Wright, however, pleaded silence regarding the murder, only saying that he did not touch the murder weapon.

Justice objected, presenting the grape juice bottle. Payne explained to the judge that the bottle had Wright's fingerprints on it. Justice objected again, loudly, (earning him a reprimand from the Judge and Gavin) and asked what was so strange about fingerprints on a bottle in a restaurant. Payne explained that the prints on the bottle were upside-down; Wright had held the bottle inverted at one point, and Payne concluded that it had to be to bash someone with the bottle.

Justice panicked again, but Gavin seemed composed. When the judge asked Wright to explain the fingerprints, Wright held on to his plea of silence. Payne claimed he was being uncooperative because he was hiding something, but Gavin reminded him that it was Wright who had reported the crime to the police. Gavin then reminded Payne of what he had said: "The defendant was in the room the very moment the crime occurred." He could only know that if he had a decisive witness.

Payne complimented Gavin, then called his witness to the stand, Olga Orly. At first, Orly was frightened (apparently by Justice's horn-hair), but soon came out and explained that she was a waitress at the Borscht Bowl Club. She would also offer other services, such as taking pictures. She presented a photo of Wright and Smith at the club prior to the poker game.

Olga then stated that she was in the "Hydeout" at the time of the crime, because she was asked to be the dealer for their card game. After the last hand, apparently Wright strangled Smith to death because Wright lost the game. Justice pointed out that Wright had never lost a game, earning a comment from Gavin that Justice should perhaps look for a more legitimate objection. Payne presented a photo of the cards and the chips from the last hand, revealing that Wright was apparently losing at the time.

Apollo objected again, reminding the court that Smith had died from a blow to the head, not strangulation. When questioned, Payne presented a photo showing Smith without his hat, with a clear mark of a blow to the forehead. Using that photo, Apollo objected again, not seeing the locket that Orly claimed Smith was "playing with." If the testimony was clear, then Wright wasn't strangling the victim, but was taking off his locket.

Wright was then questioned about a locket he was wearing around his neck. Wright answered that it was a locket with a photo of his daughter. Getting back to the trial, the Judge asked Orly to testify about the game itself.

Orly explained that Wright and Smith began with 3,500 points each, and that there were small and large chips to represent the points. When asked for more info, Orly added that the chips were worth 100 points and 1000 points. Armed with this information, Justice showed the photo of the chips, and asked which ones were worth more; Payne suggested that the large ones were 1,000. Justice anticipated this, and pointed out that if the big chips were worth 1,000 points and the small worth 100, with all the chips on the table, that would make a total of 10,600 points. In reality, the chip values were reversed; the small chips were the more valuable ones. Payne protested that information changed nothing, but even the judge now saw that he was wrong. If the chip values were reversed, then Wright was beating Smith 4100 points to 2900, ridding him of his motive for murder.

Orly protested and explained that there was cheating in the last hand. When asked to testify, she explained that there was a fifth ace played. Apollo objected, showing the chip photo again, and revealing that there were only four aces on the table. The cards from the game were submitted as evidence, and it was revealed that, in Smith's hand, one of the cards had a blue back instead of a red one.

Orly replied that that did not make sense, accidentally slipping that she had "put that card in Mr. Wright's hand," and Gavin quickly caught her, and concluded that Orly was an accomplice of Smith's, and possibly a professional cheater. Justice went further to argue that Orly's failure resulted in an altercation and she was the real killer. Orly fainted in shock.

The Judge prepared to declare an end to the trial for the day, but Wright objected. Payne was confused as to why Wright would object to getting off the hook, but the judge reminded him that "Mr. Wright has a talent... for the ridiculous!" Wright argued that the mixed up card raised two serious questions, which he asked Apollo to answer. The first question was, "When was the card swapped?"

Apollo replied that it could have only been done after the murder. Payne asked what the point of cheating after the hand was over. Justice replied that there was no way to swap a card, especially a card with the wrong color back, during the game, because the perpetrator would easily be caught. Wright asked his second question: "Who swapped the red card for a blue card?"

It couldn't have been Wright, obviously. Gavin suggested that Orly had done it, but it couldn't have been her either, because she would have made sure the swapped card had a matching back. Thus, the perpetrator had to be someone else. The only clues they had were the wrong color back of the card (blue card in a red deck) and the wrong number on the card (replacing the fifth ace with a king). Wright then suggested that there was a fourth person that night at the scene of the crime. The judge reprimanded Wright for concealing this information from the court, then adjourned for a brief recess.

During the recess, Gavin advised Wright to leave the defending to his defense attorney, then went to speak to the judge as ordered. Wright congratulated Justice on a job well done. Justice then questioned Wright about his locket, so Wright showed him the photo of his daughter inside. Wright went on to tell Justice that trial law, as in poker, is all about reading your opponent. He pointed out that Orly had a tendency to touch her neck during certain parts of her testimony. Body language like that could be just as useful in court as evidence if someone could take advantage of it.

Wright then dropped a bomb by explaining that, so far, he hadn't told anyone the truth about the case yet. He explained that he had his reasons, and that he needed Justice and his "power" there to defend him. He ended the recess by explaining, "The real trial begins now. Do your best."

Second session
At 12:14 pm, the court reconvened. By this point, Orly had regained consciousness. Gavin suggested that she testify about the night's events again. She returned to the stand, and revealed herself to be a professional card dealer, with the nickname "Quick-Fingers". Justice demanded that she tell the court what she had been up to that night, with the judge warning her that any further fabrications would result in serious consequences.

Orly said that Smith had hired her to do what she did best: cheat. She had been planted at the Borscht Bowl Club several days prior to the game as a waitress. She added that Smith had hired her not to help him win, but for her help in destroying the legend of the "unbeatable" Phoenix Wright. The two of them had set up a trap for Wright; Orly would plant a card on Wright before the game, and deal five aces during one of the games. When the fifth ace was "discovered", Smith would search Wright, and pull out the card, making him look like a cheat and destroying his reputation.

Gavin commented that Orly had made a mistake somewhere, and asked about the planted card. Orly replied that Wright had somehow avoided her trap, then testified about it to the court. She planted the card on Wright. Wright then lost the last hand, and Smith searched him. However, the card had disappeared. Orly stated that, moments later, Wright picked up the bottle and swung it. She denied killing Smith, blaming Wright and calling him a cheat.

Justice pointed out that it would be odd for Wright to swing the bottle at Smith, as he would have had no reason to if the trap had failed. Orly was unsure of how to respond, and at that moment, Justice sensed something coming from her. He accused her of hiding something, which she firmly and angrily denied. Payne demanded that Justice stopped making baseless accusations. Justice asked Orly if she had really seen Wright hit Smith, she assured him she did, but was touching her neck more and more.

At that moment, Justice felt the same sensation he'd felt moments earlier. He remembered back to what Wright said about Orly touching her neck while testifying. He focused on this, and suddenly found himself able to perceive it much more clearly than he had before. He jumped on it, pointing out that she always touched her neck whenever she talked about the moment of the crime. He then presented the murder weapon to her, and asked her why she would touch her neck as if she was in pain, if Smith had been hit.

Orly was unable to respond. Payne objected, demanding that Justice cease his conjecture, and saying that Olga's "habits" were irrelevant. Gavin admitted he was confused himself, but Justice told him he'd explain later, and urged Gavin to trust him. Justice then demanded that she testify in detail about the very moment of the crime. She refused, adopting her Russian disguise, but the Judge ordered her to testify. She was adamant that Wright was the killer, and said she didn't let him out of her sight until the police arrived.

Justice pressed Orly further. She claimed that Wright had been in a daze until the arrival of the police. Justice revealed that Wright had been the one to call the police, going to the first floor to make the call. Justice asked her how she had kept her eyes on Wright throughout when he had gone to a different room. At this, Olga broke down on the stand, and revealed the truth. After the trap had failed, Smith had grabbed the bottle and hit her, knocking her out. When she regained consciousness, Smith was dead. She admitted she had lied about who she was to avoid drawing suspicion.

At this point, Payne was at his wit's end. The Judge asked Gavin's opinion, and Gavin called Olga a "big, fat liar". He stated that she, Smith and Wright were the only ones in the room that night, and that she had a motive for murder; her plan had failed, and she had gotten into an argument with Smith. Olga denied killing him, claiming that someone was trying to frame her. At that moment, Wright reentered the courtroom. He told Gavin that coming to a hasty conclusion such as this was not like him, and suggested that they consider the other possibility; a fourth person was in the room, which he had hinted at earlier in the trial.

Wright stated that two cards had been swapped after the murder, by a fourth person who didn't know that two colours were being used in the game. When Payne objected to Wright's claim, the defendant admitted that this was why he had brought the case to court; it was the perfect place to catch a criminal. He revealed that the true killer had already provided a clue to his identity, at the beginning of the trial. Wright added that there was a person in the court, who thought that the cards were blue early in the trial. After letting Justice take a guess at who the killer was, Wright named Kristoph Gavin. Justice protested that Gavin would surely know about the cards, but Wright replied that the photo of the crime scene was in black and white. Justice pointed out that in the (colour) photo of the card table, there was a stack of blue cards, but Wright retorted that Gavin had said the cards were blue before this evidence had been presented, in his statement about Wright and Smith's poker game. Gavin asked Wright if he was really accusing him, and Wright replied that he'd never take a joke this far.

Payne expressed disbelief at Wright accusing his own defense attorney of murder, and he asked what connection Gavin could have had to Smith, but Wright pointed out that there was no connection between him and Smith either. Payne claimed that Gavin and Smith had never met. Wright suggested that they could have, in fact, met before the game started. Justice requested that Wright testify about this meeting between the two of them. Suddenly, Gavin objected to this, stating that testimonies had to relate to the case; anything before the poker game was irrelevant.

Gavin stated that the defense was accusing Olga Orly of the murder, but the judge reminded him that Justice was the defense, not him. Justice realized that this had been Wright's plan all along, and he vowed to see it through. He requested that Wright testify. Gavin asked him if he would betray his teacher, but Justice stated that the truth was more important.

Wright testified that he and Gavin had dinner at the club that evening, at the table in the photo of Wright and Smith. Smith entered five minutes after Kristoph left. After the card trap failed, Smith hit Orly with the bottle. Wright went to call the police. When he returned, Smith was dead. He then made another phone call, to Gavin, anticipating his trial for Smith's murder and hoping to find a lawyer. Gavin realised Wright had been planning to draw him into the case from the start. Wright told him he simply wanted the truth. Gavin told Justice to expose Wright's lies in the next cross examination.

Justice pressed Wright on the trap, specifically on the card that was planted on him. Wright said that, by sheer luck, he discovered the card, and put it in his empty bottle before the game. None of the people known to be at the crime scene had a reason to swap the cards; thus, Justice reasoned that there was another person there. Gavin asked why the still-hypothetical fourth person would exchange the cards. Justice then presented his "trump card", the Ace of Spades with the bloodstain. Gavin accused Justice of fraud, but Wright told him that only the killer would know if the evidence was faked and only the killer would have a motive to claim that it was a fake. Justice suggested that it was the victim's blood, dripping off of Smith's head.

Wright asked Justice to picture the crime scene in his head. Justice then slowly worked through the contradictions in the crime scene. If there was blood on the card, as Smith's wound dripped off of the back of his head, Smith must have been facing in the other direction. This placed the killer's location in the area in which a cupboard stood. Encouraged by Wright further, Justice concluded that, during the murder, the cupboard wasn't there. Wright revealed that there was a secret passageway behind the cupboard, which the judge sent some officers to investigate. While they waited, Justice deliberated on the crime scene further and found the final contradiction: If the cupboard was moved, the window from which Gavin claimed to have witnessed the murder would be blocked. The bailiff came back, telling the court that a secret passageway has been found behind the cupboard; everything so far matched up.

Gavin then retorted with one of the original arguments against Wright, the upside-down fingerprints on the juice bottle. Justice responded with Olga's photo of Wright sitting next to grape bottles. The easiest way for Wright to get a bottle was to grab it by the neck and lift it up, holding the bottle upside-down. The defendant and his lawyer reasoned that the bottle used as a murder weapon may have been switched with another bottle that Wright had happened to grab earlier. Inside one bottle was a card: the Five of Hearts that Wright had stowed away before the murder!

Gavin confessed to the crime and said that this was revenge for Wright's disbarment.

Aftermath
Wright revealed he had prepared the evidence in advance, and Justice was quickly incensed. He hit Wright, who in turn told Justice to hit him harder next time. Justice vowed never to see him again, a vow to be broken shortly.