Cathablanca

Episode #20: "The Courtroom Megashock!"


"At this time, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will reconstruct for you the events that took place on the night of the murders" asserted Counselor Washington. Francesca's eminent attorney was making his closing arguments to the jury.
"At 8:15 p.m., the birthday seance came to an end when Count Floyd requested that the door to the outside be opened. It was locked, and efforts to break through the reinforced doors and unbreakable acrylic plexiglass failed. At 8:30 p.m., the group of 40 people broke up into smaller groups. The first group to break away from the others was the one headed by Dirk Zwiebac. Accompanying Mr. Zwiebac were Jo Esposito, Wally Glenn, and Sneena O'Norris. At 8:40, Steven Callaway, Taylor Stevens and their dates, Fluffi Morgenstern and Traci Lords, also left the group to explore on their own."
"At 8:48, Richard O'Brien, Amelia Tess, and Robin Ravinowich also left the group to roam the house. At 8:55, a group consisting of Daily Dirt employees Cynthia Moon, Traci Nemessis, Elmo Addams and Iphigenia Jones left the entry hall. Finally, at 9:00 p.m., the last group, including Norris, went on a search of the house for an exit."
"At 9:05 p.m. the defendant, Francesca Cicci-Lorenz, her husband Erich Lorenz, Catherine Walker, and her husband Antonio Biscotti left the entry hall and returned to the seance room. At no time were these four people out of each other's sight until the doors opened at 6:33 a.m. Ms. Cicci-Lorenz could not have committed a murder without the other three witnessing it."
He continued. "As we've put forth from the beginning of this trial, the entire evening was planned by Richard O'Brien to frame the defendant for murder. So callous was O'Brien that he hired three professional hit men to kill two of his own employees; the targets to be whoever wandered away from the main group. As it turned out, two women, Ms. Moon, and Ms. Nemessis were the victims. This happened at 9:15. When the hit men reported to O'Brien that the deed had been done, O'Brien confirmed that they had planted the knife with Francesca's fingerprints on it, one that had been stolen from her home. Overhearing this conversation were O'Brien's employee's Norris and Robin, who were discovered and silenced as well. A hit man went after Norris with a gun, and O'Brien himself killed Robin, whose shooting was witnessed by Steven Callaway. Mr. O'Brien didn't see Mr. Callaway, which was lucky for him, for it would have cost him his life as well."
"O'Brien had planned to let the hired killers out of the house using one of the back doors, but before they could leave, they were discovered by Dirk Zwiebac, also wandering on his own, looking for an exit from the locked house."
"They attacked Mr. Zwiebac in a group, as he had seen them still carrying their weapons. Zwiebac fought back and killed the men in defense of his life. That, ladies and gentlemen," concluded Francesca's lawyer, "is what happened at the Winchester Mystery House on that fateful night."
In the back of the courtroom, a man was quietly admitted. He walked up to the prosecuting attorney's desk and whispered excitedly in the D.A.'s ear. Extremely pleased with the news, Grimes rose from his chair and asked the judge for a conference in the judge's chambers.
The judge was informed by the D.A. that Steve had come forward with a confession. He stated that as well as seeing O'Brien commit murder, he had also witnessed his own sister Francesca kill Traci Nemessis with the knife!
As you might expect, the trial, which had finally been grinding to a close, suddenly received a new megashock jolt of world-wide publicity and interest. It now looked as if Francesca could be facing a megashock jolt of a more deadly kind... from the electric chair. Though many other witnesses came forward to testify that Steve was lying as punishment for being rejected and humiliated by Cathie, the media and the rest of the world believed Steve's tearful testimony against his own sister on the witness stand. The question was... would the jury believe it?
The jury was sent out to make their decision, and after five days of deliberation, came back with their verdict, as the world held its breath and listened...
Don't miss the next exciting episode!