Risenfromash: In case you are wondering how I can write stuff this fast, I wrote this months ago but hadn't posted it so I could try to post Polly/Vera stuff in order. It will be coming at you fast and furious for the next week or so until I get stuck. For those who suffered through the length of Stolen Angel and Flashback this will be shorter and have more Phoenix and Apollo, but sorry yaoi fans, they won't be making out!
FYI:the website mentioned herein is in no way being endorsed I made up the name myself, but it is an actual website in internetland. Go figure!
When last we left Apollo Justice and his girlfriend, Vera Misham they were living above the Justice Defense Company and Wright Anything Agency. Vera was under house arrest for forgeries she had created in her youth and in the few short months of her romantic relationship with Apollo had been kidnapped and also spent a month in a mental hospital. Now things have returned to "normal" with Vera and Polly happily living in their little one bedroom "love nest"…
CHAPTER 1
Trucy and I were investigating a case, Toenail Trim Turnabout where a woman had been shot while having a pedicure at a prestigious salon in the SW sector. I was sure my client was telling the truth and that she hadn't shot the woman, but I was damned if I could figure out how to prove it.
Vera had a dentist appointment and true to his duties as her guardian, Phoenix took Vera to her appointment while I worked. I actually found myself relieved that I was not legally able to accompany Vera on her necessary visits such as this dentist appointment, because I felt overwhelmed. The case was complex with 6 eyewitnesses that all had slightly different versions of the same events and a super grainy surveillance tape of a cloaked figure pulling the trigger.
When Trucy and I finally got home I felt like I could sleep for the next week, but the trial was the next day. Even Trucy who is normally pretty confident about these things was concerned, "I can't believe 6 people all say Ms. Garner did it. It's so obvious she would never hurt anyone." I shrugged. Ms. Garner was the sweetest old lady I had ever met. I could have adopted her as my grandma. The only crime I could imagine her committing was jaywalking. Yet the prosecution was insisting she had shot the victim to death over the victim's theft of her top-secret award winning chocolate chip cookie recipe.
So when Trucy and I finally got back to the office all I wanted to do was get some sleep, but instead Phoenix and Vera were waiting to talk to me about something.
"Apollo, I know you're busy, but Vera asked me to talk to you about something." I looked at him suspiciously while dumping my briefcase on my desk and came over to where they were sitting.
"OK." I said. I wondered what the hell this could be about. Since when did Vera need someone else to talk to me? What news from Vera's dentist could be this important?
I realized then that I felt awkward because Vera was sitting next to Phoenix and I was across from them. I wondered where the hell Maya was. What had I done to get myself ganged up on?
"Apollo, you know I've been working on trying to see if we can get an adjustment made to the details of Vera's plea bargain."
I nodded. Vera's freedom was kind of a pet project for Phoenix something he worked on whenever he wasn't cramming for the bar exam or supplying his wife with burgers.
"Well, I've got them to agree to completely wiping Vera's record clean if she provides some special services related to forgery detection and prevention. Because of Vera's kidnapping the court is more sympathetic to her than they were when the trial took place. Otherwise I'm sure they would have made this offer to you."
It's ok, Phoenix. You don't need to pad my ego. I know you're better at this stuff than I am. I'm just thrilled. Whatever she has to do will be worth it. This is awesome!
"That's great! So, when do you start?" This was great news and definitely the best news I'd gotten all day. If I was lucky maybe Phoenix could help me figure out a way of proving Ms. Garner innocent.
This day could turn around yet!
"But, Polly, it's not as simple as that." Vera said it calmly, but slowly.
There's more? Why do I have the feeling this is the part they're worried about telling me?
"I wouldn't be working with our police here."
"Oh?"
This doesn't sound good…
"I'd be assisting Interpol."
"In Europe?" My eyes bugged out of their sockets. This was the woman who just recently wasn't confident she could live outside the assistance of a mental care facility and now she was talking about traveling to Europe to work with a bunch of strangers?
Phoenix picked up where Vera had left off quickly running through the details before I had a chance to come fully unglued. "Apollo, it wouldn't be permanent. She'd be away for less than nine months. I think I can negotiate it down to six."
"Vera, this is a bad idea! I don't want you to go."
Vera sighed. Her and Phoenix both seemed to have expected this reaction from me. Vera rose from her seat and said, "Look we can talk about it later. I know the nail bed trial is tomorrow. Don't upset yourself and try to get some sleep, OK? Bye, Mr. Phoenix." She kissed me on the cheek and headed up to our apartment for the night.
That night Phoenix, Trucy, and Maya helped me review all the evidence Trucy and I had collected and there was mountains of it. I tried to focus on the job I had to do and not worry too much about the whole Interpol thing.
I mean Vera would have to be crazy to take it. She's barely gone out of her apartment in almost ten years.
I couldn't imagine her gallivanting around Europe with total strangers. Her counselor would surely be against it, too.
It could revive the posttraumatic stress. She could lose all the progress she's made. It's a bad idea. No question about it.
~xxxx~
The next day in court things were going poorly. All six eyewitnesses were called and they all stuck with their testimonies and I only found minor contradictions in them that I could press. Klavier was gloating and at morning break Ema even found me to tell me that she was sorry my winning streak was over. I had sarcastically thanked her for the support and decided to really emulate my mentor and just bluff my way through the rest of the trial hoping Klavier would goof up somehow and the truth would reveal itself.
Instead, it was Trucy who saved the day proving that the victim had not stolen the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the defendant, but had printed it off of the website yummy treats.com thereby making the prosecution's entire motive for the killing null and void. After that, Prosecutor Gavin's case fell apart like a house of cards and I breathed a sigh of relief as we were able to prove that Nail Technician Sasha Long had killed the victim over the victim's notoriously stingy tipping.
After all of this I felt energized and I actually found myself skipping, yes, skipping home right along with Trucy. I had almost completely forgotten about the parole boards absurd offer to Vera. I was in celebration mode and so were the Wrights. When Truce and I entered the office Phoenix and Maya were already there with platefuls of celebratory burgers.
"You were great!" Maya exclaimed. "Almost as great as Nick!" I took that as an enormous compliment coming from her because I knew that Phoenix walked on water in her eyes.
"So how much do I get paid for watching that surveillance tape 56 times last night? You owe me big time. Even my dream was in grainy black and white." She complained.
I laughed, but then I noticed Vera wasn't there. I dashed out of the office to go tell Vera the good news. I found Vera painting the birds on a seascape. She got up and I embraced her and dipped her back dramatically before planting my lips on hers.
"I take it you won." She said with a laugh.
"I did!"
"I knew you would pull it off, but you didn't seem very sure. I'm proud of you."
"Actually, I had nothing to do with it. Trucy figured it all out just in the nick of time. It was amazing. Come celebrate downstairs with us!"
Yup. Life is great. Perfect. Nothing can bring me down.
Famous. Last. Words.
