Chapter 1
December 5th, 4:05 p.m.
Fallfield Mall Entrance
Fallfield Mall
"Oh Nick! Let's go shopping now." Maya cheered.
"I wanna see Santa Claus! Come on!" Pear ushered her older friends into the mall. Once they were in, they stared at all the stores.
"Wow!" The Fey's exclaimed. Phoenix figured it was because they had been in Kurain Village most of their lives. A little later, they headed off toward the map directory to see where they were going.
"We have to go to Gigi's! It's the hottest fashion store. And…it's having a sale." Maya had had her heart set on Gigi's, while Pearl wanted to visit Santa.
"Santa is on the way to Gigi's, so we'll stop there first." Phoenix said and Pearl cheered.
December 5th, 4:15 p.m.
Fallfield Mall Court
Fallfield Mall
"Sorry Pearl seems Santa is on a break." May announced, with too much pride.
"But Santa's never supposed to ignore children…" Pearl whimpered, Maya took this as her chance, so she headed off to the other side of the mall to Gigi's. Phoenix and Pearl scurried after her.
December 5th, 4:25p.m.
Gigi's
Fallfield Mall
"Sorry Maya looks like Gigi is on a lunch break." Pearl mimicked Maya. She sighed and looked over at Phoenix.
"Kind of strange…" He thought out loud. "Aren't employees given limited break hours? And who would eat lunch this late?"
"Let's go see if Santa's back." Pearl suggested.
"Can we please eat first? I'm dying for a burger." Maya moaned. Phoenix nodded, finding the answer to his question.
December 5th, 4:50 p.m.
Fallfield Mall food court
Fallfield Mall
"The mall doesn't seem that crowded today, does it?" Phoenix asked Maya, who nodded. "You got your burger and Pearl got her milk shake in no time at all." The Feys were too into their food to even notice Phoenix.
December 5th, 4:15 p.m.
Fallfield Mall Court
Fallfield Mall
"Where did all the police come from, was there an accident?" Pearl asked staring after the cops.
"Hey a familiar face!" Maya pointed out detective Gumshoe frantically running to and from the officers.
"Uh-oh" Phoenix mumbled.
"Mr. Nick…is something wrong?" Pearl looked worried.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out"
X X X
Phoenix came back with Gumshoe in tow. His face was grim and he firmly clutched his clipboard.
"We need to stop running into each other, things look pretty bad." He said.
"What happened? C'mon detective Gumshoe." Maya asked eagerly.
"There was a murder. The manager of the mall was killed. Sorry, but I don't know his name and I don't have a picture." He said.
"Do you know any of the details?" Phoenix questioned.
"No not much. He was murdered right here on Santa's stage. In fact, he was still in his Santa costume. It's a shame, he was nice fellow; always cared for his employees and guests." Gumshoe answered.
"Santa was k-k-killed?!" Pearl cried. She flew herself onto Maya and held on for dear life.
"We have a suspect," Gumshoe began, ignoring Pearl, "He's been taken to the Detention Center. He was the only one at the crime scene when we arrived. His elf costume was bloody. He requested you as his lawyer."
"Don't take his case Mr. Nick! He killed Santa Claus, he's a bad man!" Pearl pouted.
"Well we have no choice Pearl. If Maya wants to shop at Gigi's, then we'll need the money." He smiled at Maya, who gaped at him.
December 5th, 5:30 p.m.
Detention Center
"Well we sure do come here a lot." Phoenix said as the trio walked in the Detention Center. They looked into the cell, but no one seemed to be there.
"Hello! Hey is anyone there?" Maya shouted. At that, someone stepped up to the window.
"Um…w-who may I
ask are you?" the man in the cell queered.
"Well I'm
Phoenix Wright, the Defense Attorney that you requested. And this
is-"
"Oh Mr. Wright!" the man in the cell started bawling, "Please, please, please, help me!" Phoenix scratched his head and looked at Maya questioningly.
"Well let's finish with the introductions. I'm Maya Fey, spirit medium. This little girl is Pearl Fey, spirit medium in training." Maya waved, but Pearl just stuck her tongue out. "Sorry, Pearl is a little upset about Santa."
"Eh…nice to meet you." The man began, nodding his head to the Feys, "My name is William Springfield. I am, er, was the assistant manager of the Fallfield Mall. I can assure you Mr. Wright, that I did not murder Blake."
"Well, we don't even know who the victim is. Can you tell us?" Phoenix asked.
"…Blake Fallfield, the Manager of Fallfield Mall." William answered.
"What was your relation to the victim?" Phoenix continued with the questions.
"Well he was my boss and a good friend of mine. We…uh…um, never mind." William started to stammer.
"Maya," Phoenix turned to her, "Do you think he's lying?"
"I'm not sure. Something might have happened in his past." Maya whispered.
"Maybe we could start collecting evidence."
"Mr. Nick! Remember you can use the Magatama, even though it may be too early." Pearl pointed out.
"We could try." Phoenix pulled it out and waved it in front of William. Five psyche locks bound in chains appeared around him.
"We got some work to do" Phoenix mumbled. William stared blankly at him.