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Although much of the jury looked at Sue with suspicion, he didn't seem fazed by Sawyer's rebuttal. In fact, he was smiling. "Evidence can always be brought in at any time. The only factor needed for it to be used in trial is that it's relevant to the case." One hand was on his hip, and the other stretched out leisurely to take a piece of paper and a bag handed to him by Cecil, who had been gone for the beginning of the trial until recently. "Forgive me for not bringing this piece of evidence to light earlier, but I had to make sure my suspicions were correct. And they were." He held the bag up to show a small, silver rectangle. Adam winced. "This is Mr. Baum's lighter. It was found inside the kitchen the night of the fire and several witnesses have reported seeing him with it the same night he had visited. I had it looked at by forensics to show that there was only one set of fingerprints on it: the owner's!"

"What a bold statement, Mr. Loupohl." grinned Sue as he moved back to his own desk. "Before I finish my questioning, let me ask you one thing: do you have proof?" He smiled while waving a hand towards the defender. "What you have given me is nothing more than words, dear defender. If you think that Mr. Baum's lighter being found at the scene of the crime is nothing but a forgery then I ask for proof. Otherwise all you have done is wasted the valuable time of our jury members."

"Shall we put your defendant on the stand then?" mused Sue, his chin resting on top of his hand. "I believe he can tell you better than anyone whether that lighter is true or not." Adam looked away from both lawyers.
When he heard about the evidence, Sue stretched his leg out to slam it against his desk, striking a pose as he did so. "I'm sorry to say, dear defender, but the police had been working on the lighter before the trial even began. In fact, it was the chief himself that made sure to get it analyzed." he said.
After listening to the two, the judge exhaled slowly. "The evidence will stay." he decided then looked at the prosecutor. "But the prosecution will refrain from giving anyone nicknames." He slammed his gavel against his desk. Sue flinched as though he had been slapped. "How absurd." he wheezed then glowered at Sawyer. "My time is up. Go ahead with your cross-examination, de- ... Mr. Loupohl." he hissed with distaste.

Carson gave Sue a wary look, who motioned for him to answer. "Yeah..." he answered quietly at first then looked at Sawyer. "But, I mean, could ya blame me? They didn't need all that extra dough and I was hangin' on by a string!"
"Mr. Loupohl, what does this have to do with the case?" asked Sue.

Carson reeled back in his seat when Sawyer got in front of him, fear on his tight face.
"Objection!" burst Sue, much to the man's relief. "Your Honor, what we're getting is baseless assumptions and profiling. Unless the defense plans to do something other than ponder out loud I suggest we end his cross-examination."

Sue's eye twitched. "M-Mumbling...?!" he asked, offended. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the judge.
"The defense will continue."
Sue sagged in his stance and crossed his arms, irritated.
By that time Carson was beginning to sweat nervously and tugged at his shirt collar. "... Alright, yeah. So I had a couple drinks during the night. So what? I still wasn't anywhere near that kitchen!"

"Objection!"
Sue's expression was determined, but there was a drop of sweat running down the side of his head. "You're Honor, he made a mistake. He's nervous and his memory can't photograph everything that happened that night when so many things happened at once." He motioned to the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you a story. I once had a dog, you see. I loved that dog more than anything in the world. I never focused on where I was or what I did, just that do. Of course, he had an untimely death on my twelfth birthday, but that's besides the point." He lifted his leg and slammed it against the desk. "My point is that Mr. Sorrentino focused on one thing and that very thing happened to be the arsonist!"
The judge stared at Sue for a long, silent moment. He then closed his eyes and said, "Objection overruled." The prosecution flinched as though he had been slapped. The judge looked down at the nervous man. "The witness will answer the defense's question."
Even Carson looked as though he had been struck. His sweat was practically a waterfall now and darkened his shirt. "O... Okay, so maybe I was there for a second. It doesn't prove anything!"

Carson bit his lip and looked around. He felt like everyone was staring at him with twice as many eyes. The judge's stand felt ten times higher than it normally was. It was hard to breathe. The entire world was staring at him right now, listening to his heavy breaths with quiet anticipation. The burden of it all, it was too much. He grabbed his head and cried out in defeat.
When he was done wailing he sagged in his stance, defeated and crestfallen. "... Yes." he finally admitted. "I saw who did it." He closed his eyes as guilt took over his expression. "My son, he always wanted to be a chef. One of them culinary art kinda deals. This restaurant was his gateway, but every time he tried to cook something it... well, it was crap. Eventually my bro had to fire him. He kept trying, though, wanting to prove 'em wrong.
"I went to the bathroom when the fire started. I was buzzed, but my sight wasn't that bad. At first I didn't recognize who it was that ran away, but then..." He smiled bitterly. "I saw a pot on the stove with bourbon on it. The fire must've caught on the grease, I don't know, but the only person I've ever seen try to cook with that as an ingredient..."
Sue stood, his face tense and surprised as he listened to the confession. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, and in that instance he wished he had been the dog of his tale instead.