Hi there! This chapter was brought to you by AceFangirl! I can't take all the credit, of course. As it says in the summary, this story is the product of a collaboration between myself and the amazingly talented High Inquisitor Darkblaw! The way this is going to work is that I'm going to be writing the investigation chapters, and my partner in crime Darky'll be writing the trial chapters! So if you happen to love his writing, check out his stuff! And if you like mine, feel free to check out some of mine! *shameless promotional statements are shameless* ;D
Hope you enjoy the story! Reviews welcome! :D
Taking in a deep breath, the young man closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. This is it. I have to finish this. There's no turning back now. He opened his eyes and fixated his gaze on his target. I can't afford to miss this. Slowly, he took aim. Steady, arms. Don't go shaking on me, this has to be perfect. He took one more breath in, and fired.
"Miss!" Trucy shouted.
"Gah!" Apollo, his concentration shattered, launched his dart reflexively and watched it hit the wall, four inches away from the target board hung on the office door.
"I win!" Trucy said, pumping her fist in the air.
"Not fair!" Apollo said, gritting his teeth.
"Hey, at least you got second place," Athena said, lazily spinning around in one of the office chairs. "Why did I agree to play darts against two people with superhuman vision?"
"We all make mistakes, Thena," Trucy said, giggling.
"And some of us get sabotaged," Apollo said.
"I'm sorry," Trucy said, still giggling to herself.
Heh, no you're not. Apollo rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "So now what?"
"I don't know," Athena said, stopping the rotating chair with her foot. "Maybe-"
Before the redheaded attorney could finish her sentence, an electronic melody reverberated through the air.
"Sorry, that's me," Apollo said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. "Wright Anything Agency, Apollo Justice."
"Apollo, I need you and Thena to get here right away!"
"Juniper?" Apollo said, recognizing the faint, delicate voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, it's me, Juniper. I should have said that first," Juniper said.
"It's fine," Apollo said, smiling. "What's up?"
"Can you and Thena please come to the detention center? A friend of ours needs your help," Juniper said, urgency in her tone.
"No problem, we'll get there as soon as we can," Apollo said.
"Thank you so much, I knew you'd help!" Juniper said.
"Of course!" Apollo said. "See you in a bit."
"Bye," Juniper said.
Apollo hung up the cell and slipped it back into his pocket.
"Huh, I didn't know Juniper had your phone number," Trucy said, tapping her chin.
"What?" Apollo said, caught off guard. "Well, yeah! I mean, I used to be her lawyer, kind of. Plus she's a friend, so, you know, why wouldn't she?"
"Right, of course," Trucy said, smiling innocently. "So I guess you're off to help her out?"
"It's a friend of hers," Apollo said, feeling defensive for some reason. "Plus she asked Athena to come too."
"I heard, and I'm ready to go when you are," Athena said. "You want to come, Trucy?"
"I'd love to, but we can't leave the office unattended; that would be unprofessional!" Trucy said.
"I'm pretty sure leaving a kid to watch the office alone is unprofessional too," Apollo said.
"Polly, you're acting like I'm four. I'm sixteen, perfectly capable of keeping an eye on things," Trucy said, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, Daddy should be back soon anyway."
And you wonder why I think of you as a little kid. "Alright then, if you're sure."
"Positive!" Trucy said, tilting her silk hat.
"Just don't set anything on fire, okay?" Apollo said.
"That's never going to happen again!" Trucy said defensively.
"If you say so," Apollo said, walking out the door with Athena in tow.
Apollo and Athena walked into the visiting room of the detention center. The senior lawyer's eyes were immediately drawn to a girl with brunette braids and a blush pink dress standing next to a glass panel that separated the prisoners and visitors. On the other side of the glass, a girl with auburn hair and a messy apron looked at the lawyers nervously.
"Hello, Apollo. Hello, Thena," Juniper said, smiling gently.
"Hi," Apollo said, returning the smile.
"Hey, Junie!" Athena said. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Paige," Juniper said, looking at the nervous girl tapping a pencil against the counter in front of her.
"Hi there," Paige said. "Juniper says you're lawyers."
"That we are," Athena said. "What are you in for?"
"Well, I was arrested for…. murder," Paige said. "I don't suppose you take cases like that?"
"You're in luck," Apollo said. Come to think of it, have I ever taken a case that wasn't for murder charges….? I really should find a new niche. "So what happened exactly?"
"I don't know, honestly," Paige said. "It was a pretty normal day, at least in the beginning. Then my boss died…."
"That's awful," Athena said. "Why would they think it was you?"
"I'm not sure," Paige said. "When my boss collapsed, I thought he had just had a seizure or something. But then later the police confronted me and said he'd been poisoned to death."
"So this man was your boss?" Apollo said. "Where do you work?"
"Timmons Art Studio," Paige said. "Have you heard of it?"
"I can't say I'm all that art savvy," Apollo said.
"I think I've heard of it," Athena said, playing with her earring. "There was an article in the paper about a guy named Timmons selling a painting to a museum."
"That was my boss!" Paige said, lighting up. "Victor Timmons is a world class painter. His brushstrokes are so precise, his creations are more life-like than life itself! To see him work would've been a dream come true."
"Wait, you've never seen him paint?" Apollo said. "Didn't you work for him?"
"Yes, I was his personal assistant. Kind of his student," Paige said. "But he was very private about his work. No one was allowed to see him paint, he required complete solitude because the presence of others would distract him."
"Really, you never got to see anything?" Apollo said. Not much of a teacher.
"I never got to see him paint, but I have seen him sketch," Paige said. "That alone was a blessing, to see true art being formed in the mind of a genius. He was always so concentrated when he sat behind his desk, intensely furrowing his brow and chewing on his favorite pen. Even when there's nothing on the page before him, you just know that in his mind there's a masterpiece in his mind's eye."
Apollo blinked a couple times, absorbing the information. That was the most dramatic retelling of a man sitting in front of a piece of paper I've ever heard.
"Sounds like you really admired this man," Athena said.
"Mr. Timmons really was a great artist," Juniper said. "I saw some of his works, they were truly marvelous. I could never appreciate the technique that went into them like Paige does though."
"I guess it takes an artist to really appreciate another artist," Athena said.
"Oh, I am hardly an artist," Paige said, shaking her head. "I have no inspiration whatsoever. Every time I try to create something, my mind is completely empty. My entire sketch pad is nothing but giant X's and scribbles."
"I see," Apollo said. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
"Doubtful, Mr. Timmons was the closest thing to inspiration I'd ever encountered. And now he's gone…." Paige said, looking down at her shoes and biting her pencil.
"I'm sorry for your loss, but right now I think we need to focus on getting you out of here," Apollo said. "Because I'm pretty confident you didn't kill your boss."
"Paige is definitely innocent," Juniper said, putting a hand to her heart. "Please help her."
"Of course we will," Apollo said. "Don't worry, Paige, Athena and I are going to clear your name. Where did the murder take place again?"
"At the art studio," Paige said.
"Alright, thank you," Apollo said. "Ready to go, Athena?"
"Let's go!" Athena said, flashing a V-sign.