The judge ordered a forensic scientist to take Ricki's lip print.
At first, he was quite pleased when Mina handed him a tube of Vivacious Violet lips gloss to apply (the tabloids claimed this was Maria Santiago's shade) but as soon as the beautiful boy covered both lips and he was handed a perfect replica of Santiago's calling card sans lipstick, he hesitated.
Mina, too, felt her heart do a jig in her throat.
If Ricki complied, they would soon learn that he wasn't Maria Santiago. But if he didn't they would know he was hiding something.
They were truly lip locked.
Unfortunately, the judge had no time for his fabulous foppish games. "Well, Mr. Montero, you are wasting the courts time, the live studio audience's time and most importantly, MY TIME! Are you gonna suck face with a piece of paper or am I gonna have to slap you with a guilty verdict!"
"Ah si abuela!" Ricki said, holding up his hands and pursing his purple lips. He quickly snatched the card and slowly moved it towards his face.
Mina covered her eyes. This was truly the kiss-off to her case and her career. She waited for the resounding smooch, but before she did, there was a loud, accented and suave female voice.
It belonged to Monica Montero.
"I am sorry, mi hermano that I have put you through this and I can no longer!"
Mina peered through her fingers. Not only was Monica talking, she laughed boldy in that iconic husky Maria Santiago laugh. "Ho ho ho ho! You may have thought my brother was the master thief, but it was really me all along!"
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Mina wanted to scream "What the huh are you doing!" but it was clear as day, Monica was no longer putting her brother through this trial. She would totally accept the blame from now on.
What Ricki had done...to defend his sister, was truly an act of brotherly love, and now she was doing the same. Sisterly love! Maria would surrender herself to the law and the justice that ensued. Mina just hoped deeply that she truly didn't commit the murder. Being a masked master criminal was bad enough in a supposedly lawful society, let alone someone who would kill someone over gemstones.
Monica...or rather, Maria Santiago swept her gorgeous full head of chocolate brown hair onto her shoulders and pretended to tip her hat over her eye. "Saludos, mis amores! At last, you see the senorita behind the mascarilla!"
Perhaps the judge, prosecutor and Inspector Croissant expected a reaction of repulsion, but instead of, there was a loud scream of EEEEEEEEE from the male and female Stantiagos! There was an even greater swoon than Ricki had caused, much to his dismay.
Even in plain clothes, Maria Santiago was muy fabuloso! Even Mina's heart fluttered excitedly from the drama. Her court case had transformed into a tela novella and she too swooned!
Judge Divine seemed quite amazed by this display of a master thief giving herself up in the name of love for her brother. Only the Cyborg prosecutor remained unmoved and masked. Inspector Croix-Saint, too was silent.
"Well diablo!" Monica said, pointing dramatically at the inspector and sweeping her hair off her shoulder. "Are you surprised?!"
Croix-Saint gazed at his shoes with a deep chuckle. His giggles grew into hoarse howls of "haw haw haws" that sounded like a donkey with a bad case of laryngitis. He closed one eye, and allowed his open eye to be magnified by his monocle.
"At last," he chortled. "My arch nemesis exposes herself naked to the face of justice! As soon as I met you Mademoiselle, I knew you were the true Santiago! And zis prosecutor found the perfect way to hold zee magnificent moth to zee scalding flame!"
There was an uncomfortable rumble in Mina's stomach and it wasn't her spicy egg burrito breakfast.
Even the masterful Monica Montero flinched in shock. It seemed her newly proclaimed nemesis had outsmarted her. And she now had to face his awful French music for all her thievery!