Elle
Ms. Windham, what had you done earlier that day?
Chutney Windham
I got up, got a latte, went to the gym, got a perm, and came home.
Elle
[Elle suddenly gets a brainstorm and looks up]
Where you got in the shower?
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
I believe the witness has made it clear that she was in the shower.
[courtroom audience laughs]
Elle
Yes, your Honor. Ms. Windham, had you ever gotten a perm before?
Elle
How many, would you say?
Elle
[nods, smiles knowingly]
You know, a girl in my sorority, Tracy Marcinco, got a perm once. We all tried to talk her out of it. Curls weren't a good look for her. She didn't have your bone structure. But thankfully, that same day, she entered the Beta Delta Pi wet t-shirt contest, where she was completely hosed down from head to toe...
Elle
Oh, I have a point, I promise.
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
Then make it.
Elle
Yes, ma'am. Chutney, why is it Tracy Marcinco's curls were ruined when she got hosed down?
Elle
Exactly. Because isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?
Elle
[as Elle speaks, Chutney's composure gradually begins to break. DA Joyce looks worried then horrified]
And wouldn't somebody who's had, say, thirty perms before in their life be well aware of this rule? And if, in fact, you weren't washing your hair, as I suspect you weren't because your curls are still intact, wouldn't you have heard the gunshot? And if, in fact, you had heard the gunshot, Brooke Windham wouldn't have had time to hide the gun before you got downstairs. Which would mean that you would have had to found Mrs. Windham with a gun in her hand to make your story plausible, isn't that right?
Chutney Windham
[desperate]
She's my age! Did she tell you that? How would you feel if your father married someone who was your age?
Elle
You, however, had time to hide the gun, didn't you, Chutney? After you shot your father.
[points at Brooke]
[Everyone in the courtroom gasps. DA Joyce Raffery gasps. Chutney is humiliated. Brooke is both horrified and proud. Elle is stunned.]
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
[to the courtroom]
Order! Order! Order!
Elle
[surprised]
Oh My God!
Brooke
[proud of Elle]
Oh My God!
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
[stunned]
Oh My God.
[Emmett shakes his head, blown away and proud of Elle]
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
Bailiff, take the witness into custody, where she will be charged for the murder of Heyworth Windham. In the matter of The State vs. Brooke Windham, this case is dismissed.
[to Brooke]
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford
Mrs. Windham, you are free to go.
[Brooke and Elle hug as the courtroom celebrates]