--
"Hello?"
"Hey. Remember me?"
"Who is this?"
"Ha ha! It has been a while. You don't recognise my voice?"
"W-Wait… You're… No way!"
"Ha ha! Yes way! I just called to say- I'm coming back."
"C-Coming… back? Why?"
"What's the problem? I just…"
--
'On November the eighteenth at eleven-thirty p.m., the body of a woman was found in the back seat of a late-night taxi. The cause of death- blood loss from a single stab wound to the chest. The car was found on one Larkspur Street, however a witness claimed to have observed the crime take place by the riverside, the driver then departing in the automobile. The suspect's name is Mr Del Irium, twenty-six. The victim's name is unknown as of yet…'
Apollo sighed and threw the case files down on the table and fluttering onto the floor like black and white butterflies. In his opinion, this case was a dead end. The only thing he had managed to find out about their mystery victim was that she was a female of about thirty years of age. The evidence was at a shocking low, and the client… don't even get him started on him. How on earth did he get himself into this mess? Oh, right. He hadn't.
Mr Wright had.
"Apollo, can I call in a favour?" Mr Wright had casually came out with just a few days earlier.
"What sort of favour?" Apollo had questioned warily.
"It's… a certain case." Mr Wright had answered. "As you know, I'm not a lawyer any more, so I thought…"
"You want me to take the case?" Apollo had said. "Why?"
"The defendant, Del Irium… He didn't do it." Mr Wright had answered plainly.
"How do you know?" Apollo had asked.
"I don't. I just… have a feeling that there's more to this case than meets the eye." Mr Wright had said. "Just… do this for me. Would you, Apollo?"
Curse Apollo's inability to utter the word 'No'! He would give anything to get out of this case. But… as he was unable to, he might as well do his job, and do it well. Heaving himself up out of his chair, he headed for the door of the Anything Agency.
"Where are you going, Polly?" Trucy piped up from her seat at the sofa, her eyes glued to the old television as she flicked aimlessly through the endless channels of nothingness.
"Check out the crime scene, talk to my client… I don't know, just something to get me away from those files!" Apollo answered.
Trucy pressed the 'Off' button on the remote, and after a few more tries television finally stopped blaring away to itself. "I'll come with you."
--
The gravelled road to the crime scene was as deserted as ever as Apollo and Trucy made their way along it. The road turned directly off of a busy main street where taking turns was dangerous, and its entrance was heavily shaded by huge ominous black trees, so there was little need for the garish yellow police tape that sealed off the whole area to the public. A river ran along the left side of the road, and across it was a footpath and cycling road where locals often strolled. The taxi in which the crime had occurred was not there, of course- it had been held up by a police officer only a little further down the main road, and had been taken in and was currently under forensic testing. All that remained as evidence that a car had ever been there was the brown smudges on the road which the car had left when it upturned the gravel as it drove away.
And crouched down beside the site of the crime was a certain white-coated detective, magnifying glass in hand and snackoos in pocket.
"Detective Skye!" Trucy called out, waving to get Ema's attention and bounding straight for the scene.
"Stop right where you are!" Ema bellowed threateningly, scrambling to her feet.
Apollo and Trucy stopped in their tracks. "What's the matter?"
"I am currently carrying out a very delicate, top-secret experiment- a single interruption could cause the entire system to malfunction!" Ema explained exasperatedly. She seemed to be in an even worse mood than usual.
"Detective-"
"Please!" Ema shouted. The she sighed tiredly and her voice softened so that it almost sounded like she was begging. "Please… be quiet, will you?"
"Um, Detective, are you ok? You don't look too well." Said Trucy with concern.
Now that Trucy mentioned it, Apollo realised, Ema really didn't look well. At all. Come to think of it, she had been on working on this case non-stop from when it first came to light over a week ago. How many hours of good sleep had she gotten since then? Her skin was pasty white, her eyes were tired and circled with big black bag, her hair was matted and unwashed, swept messily into her usual ponytail. She looked small, thin, and drained in every meaning of the word.
"I'm fine." Ema insisted, rubbing her droopy eyes. "I've just got a bit of a headache, that's all."
"A-Are you sure? I mean, you don't look fine…" Apollo said, taking a step towards her.
"Stay out of the crime scene!" Ema shrieked, frantically waving her arms. Then she held her head in her hands and gasped for breath, doubling over as if in pain.
Trucy looked at Apollo sceptically, both seriously doubting that Ema was even close to fine.
"I saw that!" Ema snapped, recovering and putting her hands on her hips stubbornly. "Oh, so you think I should take a break, is that it? And let you poke around the scene while I'm away? Hmph! I'll have you know I-" She gasped again, her eyes rolling back in her head, and she stumbled, about to collapse.
"E-Ema!" Apollo rushed forward, and caught her by her shoulders, steadying her.
"Let go of me…" Ema muttered, regaining her balance and dusting herself down. Then her eyes widened and a horrified look took over her face.
"Ahhh! Get out! Get out of the crime scene! Out! Out!" She cried, trying to push Apollo away, but, in her weakened state, only ended up pushing herself backwards. "Get out of here! And don't come back!"
Apollo hurried back over to Trucy, dodging the snackoos Ema was hurling in his direction. The pair hesitated, looking back worriedly at the detective, but then turned to leave. No sooner had they turned their backs when a heavy 'thud' was heard behind them.
"Eek! Detective Skye!" Trucy screamed, rushing to the unconscious Ema's side and, lifting her torso off of the gravel, proceeded to shake her by the shoulders yelling "Wake up! Wake up!"
"D-Don't shake her!" Apollo shouted, panicking.
"Oh, sorry." Trucy said, promptly dropping Ema. She slumped back into a heap on the ground, her head making a dull 'crack' as it hit the road.
"Ahhh!" Apollo screamed, dashing over to Ema and inspecting her head for any signs of blood or injury.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Trucy apologised profusely, leaning over the lifeless body of the detective. "Is she… alive?" She whispered.
"O-Of course she is! Sh-She's just fainted… I think." Apollo looked around. "What should we do?"
"W-Well, there's a hospital just around the corner… What was it, 'The Johnson Clinic'?"
"How are we going to get her there?! I don't have a car, you know!" Apollo cried.
"It's not far… You could carry her." Trucy suggested.
"Carry her? She's twice me size!" Said Apollo indignantly.
"Oh, don't exaggerate!" Trucy snapped. "Perhaps… you could hold her top half and I could hold onto her bottom half and we could carry her like that?"
"O-Ok…"
--
Apollo's face burned as he and Trucy together hauled the unconscious Ema down the street. People were staring at them as they passed by in their cars- but such was to be expected. He knew they must've look quite a sight- a lawyer and a magician dragging a half-dead detective down the street, the test tubes clinking in her satchel. But it still made him uncomfortable.
"Holy hat!" Trucy puffed, adjusting her grip on Ema's ankles. "Detective Skye really ought to lay off the snackoos! What does she keep in that satchel, bricks?"
Apollo didn't reply, instead mumbling something about Evil Stares of Death drilling holes in his head.
"Ugh. This is so unromantic." Trucy grunted, beads of sweat forming on he brow.
"Unroman- so dragging a dead woman down the street is supposed to be romantic now?" Apollo frowned.
"No, that's not what I mean!" Trucy insisted. "You should be the one carrying her- preferably bridal style!"
"N-No way!" Apollo objected furiously. "I'd drop her, I know I would!"
"Hm, true." Trucy agreed. "Well, never mind that now, we're nearly there anyway."
--
When Ema came to she found herself lying on an uncomfortably hard sofa staring up at a white ceiling through blurred eyes, too-bright lights forming a frown on her forehead and the scent of several different chemicals burning her nostrils.
Wait… This isn't my house! Wh-Where am I…?
Then she remembered.
Oh, right… I… passed out.
A familiar face drifted into view above her, a broad smile knitted from on ear to the other.
"Apollo, she's awake!" Trucy's voice blasted through her head like a marching band through a megaphone. Her skull ached horribly, and her mind felt fuzzy. Just what had happened to her while she had been asleep?
"Ema!" Apollo cried, his relieved face replacing Trucy's before her eyes. If she thought Trucy's voice was loud, nothing could've prepared her for the pure torture her poor ears had to endure just then.
"Oww…" Ema groaned and rubbed her head, upon which a suspicious lump had formed. "Please don't shout."
"Oh, sorry!" Apollo shouted, panicked. "Uh, I mean… sorry." He added in a whisper.
"Uhh… Where am I?" Ema asked. She felt like she was going to be sick.
"The hospital." Apollo said.
"Hm…" Ema moaned meekly, closing her heavy eyelids. Then she snapped them open, feeling instantly better. "The hospital?!" She screeched in horror. Her hand shot out and grabbed Apollo by his tie, jerking his head down so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "You brought me to the hospital?!"
"I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know what else to do!" Apollo yelped, trying to undo his tie which was tightening alarmingly around his neck as Ema puller harder and harder. "It-It was Trucy's idea!"
"Polly!" Trucy cried indignantly. Ema didn't seem to be listening to either of them.
"You left the crime scene?!" She yelled in disbelief, yanking on Apollo's tie furiously, the Fires of Hell dancing in her ocean green eyes.
"I-I-I'm sorry!" Apollo managed to choke out feebly, his hand desperately scrabbling at his throat, his face turning positively blue.
"Now you listen to me," Ema hissed threateningly. "When I get beck there, I expect everything to be exactly the way I left it. If even a pebble is out of place, I swear I'll-"
"Hmm, Miss… Miss Skye, was it?" Apollo's skin was saved by Director Johnson walking into the waiting room. He had so kindly offered to carry out Ema's check-up himself. "I'm… Director Johnson. Hmm, yes."
"Director?" Ema said in awe, her eyes widening suspiciously at the mop of pink hair and toothless jaws. Her hand immediately released the blue tie it previously held, and Apollo collapsed onto the floor, spluttering and gasping for air.
"Director Hickfield!" Trucy cried delightedly. "What are you doing here?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's you, Trucy!" 'Johnson' grinned, showing his two rows of broken-zipper teeth. "Here? Hmm, yes, I… transferred clinics. Hmm, yes. And this lady here is… Miss Ema Skye, I presume?" He said, looking suggestively over at Ema, who was still sprawled out of the sofa, thoroughly confused.
"Yes, Doctor. She fainted earlier, could you check to see if she's ok?" Trucy smiled obliviously.
"Check? Oh, yes, I'll… 'check' her over very thoroughly for you, Trucy." 'Johnson' said, his fingers waving like some deranged octopus. "If you could step into my office, ma'am… Heh heh heh…"
Ema looked fearfully from side to side, then shakily got to her feet and reluctantly followed the 'Doctor' into his office.
--
Ema Skye stormed furiously out of the Johnson Clinic and down the road, with Apollo and Trucy close behind her, begging for forgiveness. They could practically see the steam coming out of her ears, she was so mad.
"E-Ema! Please, wait! We didn't mean-" Apollo began.
"You, Apollo Justice!" Ema turned immediately on her heel so that Apollo very nearly ran straight into her. "I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life! First you drag me to the hospital over a little fainting spell, leaving the crime scene unattended, then you thurt me into the care of a deranged old pervert," -who she wasn't even sure was a real doctor- "who insists on examining me topless- and it turns out I was only 'overworked, hmm, yes'!"
"I'm sorry! P-Please don't hurt me!" Apollo begged.
"Hurt you? I'm going to slaughter you, you little-" Ema took a sharp intake of air, raising her hand to her hurting chest.
"Ema… Maybe you should go home and lie down. W-We could call the precinct and tell them to put another detective on the case-" Apollo said carefully.
"No!" Ema cried. Her voice softened. "No, I… I'm fine. I just… need some rest." She finally admitted it.
"Should me and Trucy walk you home? If you faint again-"
"No, I'll… I get a cab." Ema said exhaustedly.
So that was how she ended up cramped into the back of a stale smelling public taxi on the way back to her apartment. Apollo had offered to pay for the cab, but Ema wasn't having any of it. He had already gone to the trouble of hauling her all the way to the hospital, she wasn't going to rob him as well. Trucy had called the Chief of Police and explained everything- he had been very nice about it, so she had said, and sounded very worried about Detective Skye.
"Oh, you mean Ema? She's ok, right pal? Hold on a sec, lemme talk to her! Another detective…? Oh, right, the crime scene! Sure, sure, I'll send another out right away! HEY, MEEKINS! YOUR CALL!"
"Hey, kid." Ema had droned just before the taxi drove away. "Here." She scribbled out a few lines on a scrap of paper, signing it at the bottom. She handed it to Apollo. "Take this. Go talk to your client. He's been in questioning long enough."
Apollo smiled. "Thanks, Ema."
"That's Detective Skye to you…" Ema muttered, her head flopping against the taxi window as she fell half-asleep. The driver looked at her, then at Apollo sympathetically.
"No worries, kids. I'll see she gets there in one piece." He assured Apollo and Trucy, who were casting concerned glances at each other. After all, their most recent murder had occurred inside a taxi just like this. But then, the driver seemed to be a sane, sensible man- the exact mirror of their very own Del Irium.
The cab sped away, leaving a trail of smoke billowing out behind it.
Apollo sighed and looked to Trucy.
"C'mon, Trucy. Better go and try to make sense of our client."
--
Apollo swallowed as the walking shock of red hair practically fell into the detention centre. Their client, Del Irium. A tall, stork-like young man, with several tattoos (each on bearing the name of a different woman) and a face completely hidden by a mop of untidy ginger hair. He was twenty-six, though Apollo suspected his mental age was much lower; and seemed to be permanently hallucinating.
"H-Hello, Mr Irium, do you remember me?" Apollo asked carefully.
"You? Oh yeah." Del waved a limp hand dismissively. "You're that Lawyer, right?"
"That's right." Apollo said.
"Yeah, well, you see, the thing is, I don't need a lawyer." Del said. "Already got one. Apollo Justice, I think he was called…"
"I'm Apollo Justice!"
"Oh. Oh!" Del scratched his head, his grin only just visible beneath his shaggy hair. "So you are. So, what do you want with me?"
"I'm your lawyer!"
"Lawyer? I already got one."
"I know!!"
"Then what are you here for?" Del asked suspiciously.
Apollo face-palmed.
"I. Am. Your. Lawyer." He said very slowly and deliberately. "I. Am. Here. To Question. You. Do you understand?"
"Ok, I got it! You're my lawyer, and you're here to question me, right?" Del asked.
"Right." Apollo said through clenched teeth.
"Question me on what?"
"On the murder!" Apollo had to bite his tongue to stop himself from screaming. Trucy was shaking her head.
"What murder?"
"The murder you're on trial for!"
"So… I'm the murderer?"
"NO!! You're the suspect!!"
"Oh…" Del paused. "So… you're the murderer?"
"NO, I'm the lawyer!!"
"Lawyer? Sorry, I already got one…"
--