Natural Turnabout- BEGINNING

(Warning: May contain slight spoilers to Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice and Ace Attorney Investigations)

Phoenix sat anxiously in his seat. He had been in this situation plenty of times before, but it never got any easier for him. And this time, Maya and Pearl weren’t with him, as they had duties to attend to back in Kurain Village. He was so accustomed to their help and support, that it would be a little more difficult for him this time around. He wondered if he could manage it as well without either of the two…
A loud, shrill noise suddenly broke his train of though. Phoenix jumped and looked around frantically for the noise, which turned out to be a whistle. The whistle belonged to his client for this case, Sasha Weldon. She was an intimidating woman, as she was pretty well built. It wouldn’t surprise most that she was a gym teacher. Sasha had on a red baseball cap, which had her short, brown ponytail coming out the hole in its back. She had on a gray sweatshirt and slightly darker gray sweatpants. There was a red whistle attached to a necklace she was wearing.
“Mr. Wright!” She exclaimed, “I hope that you’ll do a good job out there today! After all, I’m counting on you!”
“O-of course I will!” Phoenix replied, “After all, I’ve done this before.”
Weldon stared at him for a couple seconds. She then remarked, “You don’t seem so sure of yourself, Mr. Wright. Maybe you should go for some warm up exercises? That usually perks my students up.”
“No thanks, I think I’m good…” Phoenix turned down.
Sasha shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Eventually, it was time for the trial to begin. The lawyer got up from his seat and walked into the massive courtroom with his client. They both took their place at the defense’s side of the court. Both of them watched as audience members slowly filled the gallery.
Not long after the two took their places, another man ran into the room. He had on a pink polo, a gold medal around his neck, black dress pants, and a white jacket slung over his shoulder. The man had a large smile on his face as he ran across the room and stopped in front of Phoenix.
“You must be Phoenix Wright!” He said cheerfully, “I’m Jacques Portsman, and I’m your opposing team for today! Let’s agree to have good sportsmanship, alright? How about a handshake to seal the deal?”
Portsman held out his hand to Phoenix. It took him a minute to react to this oddity of a man, but he eventually slowly took Portsman’s hand. Portsman fiercely gripped Phoenix’s hand and shook it violently, much to Wright’s dismay.

“Order in the court!” A voice yelled, “Prosecutor Portsman, please get to your seat so we may get the trial underway.”
This voice belonged to the judge. He had presided over almost every one of Phoenix’s cases, and as such was very familiar with Wright. While he might not have been the sharpest man, he was known to always give the correct verdict.
“Can do, your honor!” Jacques said happily, running to the prosecutor’s bench. He jumped over the barrier and took his place on his side of the court. The judge took his place at his bench and Phoenix stayed on his side of the court. After a few short seconds as everyone got situated, a gravel sounded.

“Court is now in session for the trial of Miss Sasha Weldon,” the judged announced.
“The prosecution is ready, your honor.” Jacques said cheerfully.
“The defense is also ready,” Phoenix nodded.
“Very good,” The judge nodded in approval, “Now then, a quick rundown of the case is in order. The victims in this case are—“
“Please, your honor,” Portsman interrupted, holding up a hand in a ‘stop’ position, “I appreciate your effort, but I’m sure Jim can give a much better rundown. Besides, why would we want to waste game time by hearing the same thing twice?”
“I guess you have a point…” The judge agreed, and then realized, “Wait, who’s Jim? I don’t recall seeing his name on the list of people set to appear today.”
“Jim’s my partner,” Portsman answered, “His real name’s Detective Buddy Faith, but ‘Jacques and Buddy’ doesn’t have the same feel to it as ‘Jacques and Jim’.”
W-wait, Phoenix though, Is this man Portsman’s detective or pet?!

Just then, a man approached the witness stand. His hair was medium length and he had short stubble on his chin and below his nose. He had on a beige driver’s cap, a brown coat, a white button up shirt, and a yellowish-green tie. He had on khakis with a gun in its holster peeking out from under his jacket.
“You called for me sir?” The man asked Portsman.
“You got it, Jim,” Portsman replied, “Time for the opening move.”
“Well, let’s see…” Detective Faith started, “I supposed we’ll begin with the victims. The deceased in this case is a young married couple consisting of Haley and Chris Corpus. The two of them were on a camping trip when the murder happened. The estimated time of death is between 6-9 PM. Both of them were shot in the back of the head at point blank range and had rope markings around their wrists, implying they were tied up when they were killed. Due to the fact that some of Mrs. Corpus’s hair is on top of Mr. Corpus’s head, it’s safe to say that Haley was killed first, and then Chris.  The murder weapon, which was found on the scene, was a .45 caliber pistol with a silencer attached to it. Its ballistic markings match the bullets verified to have killed the victims. No fingerprints could be lifted from it.”
“The scene of the crime is one of the luxury cabins at Lakeview Heights Campground. While the luxury cabins are normally only used by VIP guests, and as such is usually empty, the Corpus couple was given it as an apology for a scheduling mishap caused by the campground. The accused in this case, Sasha Weldon, is under suspicion as she was seen by two witnesses to have entered the cabin. Due to these witness testimonies, Ms. Weldon was placed under arrest.”
“I see…” the Judge said, seemingly in thought, “Bailiff, please give the prosecution and defense the autopsy report and crime scene notes.”
The bailiff nodded, first going to Phoenix and handing him the report and photos of the crime scene and the gun. As he was about to walk over to Portsman, the prosecutor insisted that it be tossed to him instead. Shrugging, the bailiff tossed him the evidence, which Portsman caught perfectly.
The photo showed two bodies, one a man, one a woman, lying on the ground near a TV. The brown haired man had on a long black jacket and a white shirt. The blond haired woman had on a red shirt, and one could see that she had on a silver necklace with a dragon-shaped pendant on it. A bullet hole was clearly visible in the back of each of their heads, and there was a small pool of blood around them.

“Now then, your honor,” Portsman said suddenly, “I know it’s a bit odd to do this, but I’d like to request that the defendant testify to the court at this moment. There are several things I’d like to clarify before we go any further.”
The judge thought for a moment. He then asked, “Mr. Wright, do you have any problems with this?”
This has to be some sort of trap…Wright noticed, He’s probably looking for a way to undermine me from the get-go.
Before Phoenix had any more time to think, he heard Sasha’s whistle. “Mr. Lawyer,” She said, “I’m going up.  I’m not one to let the athletes control me. I show them whose boss.”
“Well, Mr. Wright?” The judge awaited his answer.
“I…” Phoenix hesitated, “I have no objections to this your honor.”
“Very well then,” The judge nodded, “Witness, please approach the stand.”

Sasha slowly made her way to the witness’ stand. One she got there, she turned to face the court.
“Before we start, your honor,” Portsman held a pamphlet out, “I’d like to submit this to the court. It’s the camp’s schedule on the day of the murders. It’ll help us get a better idea on what the witness did that day.”
A bailiff brought the pamphlet over to the judge, who gave it a look. He accepted it as evidence and allowed Phoenix to take a look. The schedule read;
8-10 AM: Pancake Breakfast
2 PM: Kickball Game
3 PM: Water Balloon Fight
4 PM: Scavenger Hunt
5 PM: Candy Bingo
6 PM: Open Talent Show
7 PM: Concert Preformed by The Gavinners
8 PM: Lakefront Campfire
“Now then, witness,” Portsman requested, “Please testify as to your actions on the day of the crime.”

“Let’s see…” Sasha began, “I was camping with the local scout troop, as I help out there as a troop leader. I woke up at about 7 AM and went for my morning jog. At 9 AM I joined the kids for breakfast, and then helped one of the boys with a merit badge at the cabin until the kickball game at 2. I then hung out with the kids and other leaders while helping and participating with them in the kickball game, balloon fight, and scavenger hunt. During the bingo game I went on an afternoon run on the sports field, but made it to the waterfront at 6 PM, just in time for the Gavinners’ concert.”
Something felt wrong about the statement to Phoenix. Maybe it was a simple slip in the mind, but he had to present any contradictions he found, even if they belonged to his client. Before Sasha could even continue, Phoenix let out his famous “Objection!”

Sasha used her whistle out of surprise and then asked, “I-is there a problem, Mr. Wright?”
“I would also like to know what the issue here is,” The judge said, “Do you think she’s lying?”
“Your honor,” Phoenix replied, “It’s merely something that bothers me. It’s probably just a simple mistake, but I’d like to make sure. My client says that she went to the concert at 6 PM. However, according to the schedule, the concert was at 7 PM!”
“Why…you’re right, Mr. Wright!” The judge noticed, “The pamphlet does indeed say that the concert as to happen at 7. Witness, explain this now!”
Sasha used her whistle in an angry manner, “No, I know for a fact the concert was at 6! I even asked one of the staff members, since I lost my pamphlet!”
“Hold it!” A voice yelled. It was Portsman. “Everyone,” He said calmly, “I can explain this. You see, the concert was scheduled at 7. However, due to the fact that it was to rain that hour, they moved to concert to 6 and pushed back to talent show to 8 and the campfire to 9. I have official statements from the camp director here.”
Portsman tossed both the judge and Phoenix and envelope, both of them just barely managing to catch it. Inside was a copy of a written statement from the camp director confirming what Portsman just said.
Why is he doing this…? Phoenix pondered.

“Now, this opens up a new problem,” Portsman smiled, “What was the defendant doing from 7 onwards? Those times, I’d like to point out, are the times the murder could have taken place!”
The people in the gallery started to talk to each other. The judge slammed his gravel and shouted, “Order in the court! Witness, you will tell us what you did after the concert!”
“Well, I-I,” Sasha stuttered, “After the concert, I left the kids in the cabin so they could avoid the rain. Then, at 8 we went to the talent show and then right to the campfire at 9. We then all went back to the cabin and went to bed. I swear!”
“Ms. Weldon,” Portsman sighed, “Did Wright tell you to be vague in your answer? You may have left the kids at the cabin at 7, but we have witnesses claiming that you left the cabin during that time! Not only that, but one of those witnesses also saw you at the crime scene during that time!”
The entire court gasped and broke into complete discussion. The judge called order, and allowed a short recess while Portsman got his witness ready.