I'm a major lover of mysteries, so here's my attempt at writing one using characters from Sailor Moon. My main inspiration for loving mysteries is Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew Forever!), but what really inspired me to actually write this particular mystery was when I went on vacation, I was introduced to Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All. I loved the game so much, and it got me thinking of a potential story I could create as a mystery, that is, this story. I hope you do enjoy. It is a little darker than my fan fiction series I'm working on right now as well, Sailor Moon: Eternal Universe."
This story is rated T because it is involving darker subject matter and references alcohol. However, please do know that I do not endorse nor recommended nor support the consumption of alcohol. I am 100% against it; however, for the purpose of this story, it will be mentioned, but please do remember this note. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy. Please Follow, Favorite, and Review!
Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!
Chapter 1 (AN: Still thinking of a good name for this chapter, so for now, it's going to be called Chapter 1).
"Looks like I'm not gonna be able to enjoy that two month break I was semi-looking forward to." A young, 26-year old man spoke to himself as he looked over the papers that were laying on his desk. He sighed and stretched his arms up in the air. "Then again, it is nice to have a different case to handle. I think I've had enough with these regular, run-of-the-mill cases for the time being."
Darien Shields was 26 years old, and he was a lawyer. Yes, that is a young age for a lawyer, but he is very talented at his craft. Up to this point in time, Darien hadn't lost a single case, although he has only been a lawyer for about four years now. Darien had a nice job, obviously, he had two parents who loved him dearly, even though he has become quite distant from them, he lives in his own penthouse that he bought with his own money as he liked to often remind his parents. Life was pretty good for Darien, but if you asked him whether it could be better, Darien would never admit to you that it could indeed get better.
Darien turned around in his chair to look out his office window. He had a nice view of the city from his cozy office, and it helped him to look out the window to clear his head and get himself focused. "It's been a while since I had to deal with this kind of case."
He was deep in thought when he heard a shrill sound disrupt the comforting silence of his office. Darien picked up his office phone. "Hello? Darien Shields speaking. How may I help you?"
"It's me Dare."
Darien turned around so that he was facing away from the window. "Oh hey Drew. What's going on?"
"Oh, I just thought I'd call and find out what you've been up to lately. Are you busy?"
"Not at this very moment. But I will be soon."
"Oh. Got another case?"
"Yup."
"I'd ask you about it, but I know you can't tell me anything."
"You got that right. But I'm sure it'll be in the papers."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Hey, I gotta go right now. My client is coming in."
"Sure buddy. Take it easy."
"Yeah, I will. Take care, and say hi to Rita for me."
"Will do. Bye."
"Bye."
Darien hung up the phone and heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
A young man walked in. He didn't look like a criminal. At least, Darien didn't think so. The man was humbly dressed in a button-up, light blue shirt and khaki pants. He had short brown hair that nearly combed. His face was round, and he had eyes the color of clouds on a stormy day.
"Hello Mr. Nolan. Please sit down." Darien motioned for the man to sit. The client sat down. "So. I've been told that you've been accused of a crime that you vehemently deny to have committed. Am I correct?" The client nodded. "Can you tell me what the crime was?"
"M...murder. Well, attempted murder right now."
Darien nodded. He tapped his fingers together and looked directly into the eyes of his new client, eyes that looked nervous, scared. "I am going to be very straightforward with this question I am about to ask you. Did you actually try to murder someone?"
The client shook his head. He looked Darien straight in the eyes, and Darien was surprised to see that the fear he once saw lingering in them was no longer present. Instead, they reflected a fierce determination. "Sir, I would never try and murder a person, especially not her."
Darien's eyebrows scrunched up. "Who's her?"
"Um..." The client squirmed in his chair. He looked up at Darien, who was staring hard at him. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that sir."
"Please...don't call me sir. Just Darien will do. And exactly why can't you tell me?"
"The police told me to keep this whole thing a secret right now, that I can't tell a soul about it."
"Not even your lawyer?"
"Not even my lawyer."
Darien nodded his head, looking away. "Well, I guess I'll have to go visit the police and find out for myself, won't I?" The client nodded. Darien stood up. "Until then, we won't be able to do much right now. I'll contact you once I get more information."
"Alright sir. I'll see you soon."
"Where are you going to?" Darien asked as he gathered some of his things together.
"Back to the Detention Center."
Darien nodded his head. He watched as the man exited the room. He stared at the door for a moment before he grabbed his things and walked out of his office room.
Darien walked into the station, expecting to see Thomas at the desk. Instead, it was Steve, one of Thomas's friends and fellow police officers.
"Hey Steve. Is Thomas here?"
"Darien! Long time, no see! Yeah, he's around here somewhere. I'll call him for you!" Steve picked up the phone, and then turned to Darien. "What's the issue?"
"I need access to information on an attempted murder. You know the one Patrick Nolan was charged for? I'm his lawyer."
Steve's smile faded. He hung up the phone. "I'm afraid Thomas can't help you there." His face brightened slightly. "I do know who can though. He's a new officer in the area. Just transferred here about a month ago." Steve got up and motioned for Darien to follow him down the hall.
"Wait. Why can't Thomas help me?"
"He isn't allowed to. It's a personal issue."
"Personal issue?" Darien was confused by that.
Steve nodded. "The case...the people involved...Thomas is connected to it. So by rule, he can't have anything to do with it. No handling whatsoever."
Darien nodded, but his head was hard at work trying to figure out how Thomas could be related to such a case as attempted murder.
Darien and Steve now stood in front of an office. Darien read the name on the door. "G. William Bentley." He turned to Steve. "He's handling the case?"
"Yup. He's a bit rough, but a good guy. Believes in serving justice, so he claims. He's all yours."
Darien thanked him and knocked on the door. "Come in," a gruff voice called out.
Darien opened the door and shut it. "Sit down." Darien did so. He looked at this officer. Officer Bentley was a rather big man, bigger than Darien for sure. He was wearing a police uniform very much like that Steve was wearing. He had a mustache and a beard on his square-shaped face. Though he didn't have much hair on his head, Darien figured that the officer had brownish-blonde hair. Darien finally looked at his eyes. He had green eyes that looked rather annoyed, or grumpy.
"So I hear that you're the attorney for our near-killer, Patrick Nolan. Darien Shields, right?"
"Yes, but please, just call me Darien. And I am pretty sure, Officer Bentley, that my client is not responsible for this attempted murder."
Officer Bentley's eyes widened. "So confident, when you haven't even seen the evidence Shields."
"I happen to be a pretty good judge of character, Officer. I can see through people pretty easily."
Darien was pretty sure he saw the officer smirk. "I hope that'll help you out with this case Shields. Anyway, enough wasting time! You didn't just come here to chitchat, did you?" The officer pulled out a folder from his desk drawer.
"Mr. Nolan informed me that the police told him he wasn't allowed to speak of the case details with anyone, not even me. Why is that?"
"We're making a list of people who need to be informed of this case. We're almost done with it. It's this weird new rule they came up with here. I myself was quite surprised by it, but apparently the others here don't really want many people to know about what happened."
"Fair enough," Darien conceded.
"Now are you done with your questions? I really don't want to waste time." Without waiting for a response, the officer began to tell Darien about the case.
"A 911 call was made around 19:53 by a neighbor, an elderly woman who claimed to have heard some kind of commotion in the victim's house at around 19:50. Police arrived at about 19:56 to the crime scene. They had to break down the back door. They took pictures outside the house." Officer Bentley passed Darien some pictures which Darien looked at closely. It was a nice little house, probably not even big enough for two people to live in. It was humble and quaint looking.
"They went all around the house. Finally found the victim on the living room floor. One stab wound to the front. Doctors found a drug in the victim's blood samples, and we highly suspect that the stab wound is where the suspect injected or rather inserted the drug. Victim also suffered a head injury." He passed Darien another picture, where a body was sprawled across the floor. Darien could see the place where the victim was stabbed, as well as a pool of blood near the head. However, the face was concealed with a cloth. Before he could question anything, the officer continued.
"Victim was brought to the hospital. Went into cardiac arrest but her heart was started back up. She's currently in a coma, but doctors say she probably won't make it, given the severity of the injuries and the amount of the drug that was administered." He sighed. Darien could've swore he saw a hint of sadness on the officer's face.
"Why is the victim's face covered?"
He shrugged. "Officers said that it was meant to be respectful to the victim. They thought she was dead. We're getting the image with the face developed."
"And who exactly was this victim?"
"Young woman. Around 26 years old. Not married."
"What was her occupation?"
"Doctor."
Darien looked up in disbelief. "Doctor?!"
"Yup. Young, but very good. One of the best in the area, I've heard and have been told."
The phone rang as Darien read through a record of the doctor's report. "Hello? Yes, that's me…Right…Excellent! Bring it in!" He hung up and seemed excited. "We just got the picture I was telling you about."
Darien nodded, his attention still on the doctor's report. He glanced at the physical description section. "Black hair, brown eyes. 5 foot 5. Occupation: ER Doctor." The rest of the information was about the head injury, the stab wound, and the drug, all of which Officer Bentley had just mentioned briefly.
There was a knock on the door. Officer Bentley called out for the person to come in. Another officer handed him an envelope and left the room.
"So do you know the identity of the victim?" Darien asked as he accepted the envelope from the officer and began opening it.
"Yes. Every officer was able to immediately ID her at first glance."
"Oh? So who is the victim?" Darien asked nonchalantly. He finally got the picture in his hand. His face went deathly pale at what he saw.
Cliffhanger! At first I wasn't going to make this a cliffhanger because I have a good portion of the second chapter done; however, I thought I would be a little evil and leave you hanging. Can anyone guess who it might be? (I'm sure you will!).
