And now the case begins in earnest!

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney

Turnabout Of The Night

by Derald Snyder

Investigation- Day 1

November 12

Detention Center

Visitor's Room

K-Sha had been waiting for Rei and Uni when they touched down at the Basilicom, taking on the task of escorting the lawyer to the prison where her friend was being held while the goddess got some much-needed rest. So now here they sat, waiting for the vampire hunter to be escorted from her cell...

"Don't be too off-put by her," K-Sha advised. "She can be a bit gruff, but her heart's in the right place. It took me a while to get used to her in the Order, but she seemed to genuinely care for me unlike the others, who just saw me as a fellow mercenary- tolerated but not trusted."

"B-but she t-trusted you?" Rei guessed.

"And vice versa," the schoolgirl confirmed. Just then, a door opened on the opposite side of the glass. "Oh, here she comes..."

Rei blinked at the sight. At first glance, she would have mistaken her client for a male barbarian, save her C-cup size bust. She was dressed in brown leather armor that covered her chest and torso, with a short, tattered skirt that showed off her quite well-toned legs. She also wore metal gauntlets on her forearms and a headband with a small dark red jewel set in the center. She had long blond hair with red highlights that grew past her shoulders. Her face was average, not cute nor ugly, her eyes a cold, cobalt blue as stared at her visitors.

"K-Sha. So good of you to come here." Her voice was indeed low and gruff, like a soldier who had seen several battles. "And who might your companion be?"

"She's going to be your legal representation in court," K-Sha explained. "Miss Rei, meet Simone Rondo, codename Castlevania. Simone, this is Rei Ryghts, attorney-at-law and former final boss."

"D-did you have to t-tell her th-that last part?!" Rei groaned, ducking her head.

"...I see," Simone said after a moment. "Miss Ryghts, this might sound odd, but I wish for you to look into my eyes." As an afterthought, she added, "Don't worry about not blinking."

"Um, okay..." Rei grunted nervously, locking her eyes with the hunter's cobalt orbs.

After a few terse seconds of staring, Simone nodded in apparent satisfaction. "...The eyes are the window to the soul, and I can see no malice in yours. Very well. If K-Sha trusts you, then I shall put my trust in you as well."

"Um, th-thank you," the lawyer nodded in relief.

"She does that with almost everyone," K-Sha stated. "Don't worry too much about it. Anyway, Simone, could you please tell Miss Rei what happened, from your perspective?"

"As you wish," Simone agreed. "It was just past midnight. I was scouring the streets of Lastation City, searching for creatures of the night, when I suddenly detected a vampire in the area. Please don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing," Rei shook her head. "Go on."

"Okay. Anyway, I pursued the vampire through an alley and came out into a small parking lot. I saw what I believed to be the vampire, and attacked with my Combat Cross- it's like a morning-star whip- and he crumpled to the ground. I thought it was strange- most vampires aren't felled in one hit- so I went over to check on the man, only to discover he was not my quarry. I must stress that he was wounded, but still breathing- my strike had merely rendered him unconscious."

"Right," the lawyer nodded.

"So then, after I checked his pulse," Simone continued, "I left him and continued my pursuit of the vampire... but to no avail- the fiend had eluded me. So I retired to my camp until morning... When I saw on the news that the same man had been beaten to death, I promptly went to the authorities to tell them what happened... to make a long story short, they got the wrong idea, and so here I am."

"Hmmm..." Rei closed her eyes in thought. "I'll be frank with you, Miss Rondo... this case isn't going to be easy. After all, you already admitted to striking the victim... most people will immediately make the jump to 'you didn't stop hitting him'..."

"My Combat Cross was confiscated upon my arrest," Simone said. "Unless someone tampers with it, it should only have a small amount of the man's blood on it, from where I struck him."

"That would help prove your version of events," K-Sha nodded. "Unless the prosecutor is corrupt and tampers with evidence..."

"D-don't worry, I've d-dealt with th-that sort of thing b-before," Rei said. "D-do you know who th-the p-prosecutor is for y-your case?"

"Not a clue," the hunter shrugged. "All I've heard is that my trial was delayed until I received proper representation... but now that you're here, they'll probably get moving as soon as possible..."

(Which means tomorrow morning,) Rei mused. "W-well, In that c-case, we should g-get moving and t-take a look at th-the crime scene, and t-talk with any p-potential witnesses... Oh, but first," she opened her briefcase and took out some papers, "C-could you fill these p-papers out and make this official?"

"Very well," Simone assented. "I wish both you and K-Sha good luck..."

November 12

Paler Sunscreen Industries

Parking Lot

As Rei and K-Sha exited the taxi, they saw that a significant portion of the parking lot had been blocked off, with a chalk outline nearby the door. A few markers were placed here and there around the outline, and a single dark-haired man with a full beard was pacing around inside the perimeter...

"Look, Miss Rei!" K-Sha pointed. "Is that who I think it is?"

"...I-it s-sure looks like him," the lawyer nodded. "Well, h-hopefully th-that will m-make things a little easier..." The two women walked up to the police tape. "E-excuse me, D-Detective Thomas?"

The man turned around, revealing that it was indeed Harold D. Thomas from The Revengers investigation. Upon seeing them, however, his face immediately wrinkled into an angered expression. "Oh no! Not you again! What are you doing back here?!"

"Acting as Simone Rondo's representation, worm," Rei growled back. "Do you have a problem with that?!"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you got me in last time?!" Thomas yelled. "You made a complete fool out of me!"

"You brought it on yourself, maggot!" the ex-villain retorted. "You shouldn't have jumped to conclusions in the last case-!"

*RATATATA!* The loud noise that rang out caused the two to scream as they jumped a half-foot in the air! Turning, they saw K-Sha standing with her machine gun pointed in the air, the barrel smoking from discharge. "Knock it off, both of you! What happened last time doesn't matter, what matters is this case!"

"Y-you shouldn't shoot your gun in the air like that..." Thomas grunted.

"I made sure to avoid the skyscrapers," the schoolgirl stated as she put her gun away. "Now apologize, both of you!"

"I-I'm so very sorry," Rei bowed her head. "I h-had a rough f-flight here with Uni..."

"Y... yeah, I'm sorry too," Harold sighed. "It's just, I've been guarding this crime scene on Lady Noire's orders for almost two days straight... I've only been getting by on water from the drinking fountain inside..." His stomach then growled. "Urgh.. so hungry..."

"Here, detective," K-Sha pulled out an energy bar. "I make sure to keep one on me in case I suddenly get sent on a mission... it's a bit dry, but it's better than nothing."

The man's eyes lit up on seeing the bar. "Heck yeah! Gimme that!" He snatched the energy bar right out of K-Sha's hand, unwrapping and scarfing it down ravenously. *Om nom nom, crunch crunch, gulp* "...ugh, you're right, it was a bit dry."

(He practically inhaled that energy bar...) Rei thought, sweat-dropping. "W-well, now th-that your stomach's settled, maybe y-you c-can tell us about the c-case?"

Thomas put his hand over his mouth to muffle a sudden belch, before nodding. "Excuse me... yeah, sure. First things first..." He reached into his trench coat, pulling out some papers. "Here's the autopsy report for the victim, Demitri Paler. He's the CFO- chief financial officer- of this sunscreen factory here."

*Demitri's Autopsy Report has been added to the Court Record.*

Rei took the report and read it over. "Cause of death... multiple blunt-force traumas from a mace-like weapon."

"No surprise there," K-Sha deadpanned. "Several wounds all over the body..."

"Yeah, sounds like that hunter wanted to make absolutely sure the 'vampire' was dead," Thomas said, trying to suppress a chuckle.

"But that's not Simone's style!" K-Sha mildly protested. "She only ever uses enough force to get the job done! I should know, I fought alongside her a few times when we were both in The Order!"

"Yeah, well, good luck getting anyone in court to believe you on just your word..." the detective muttered, before something occurred to him. "Oh yeah! Speaking of Miss Rondo, there were a couple of items that we confiscated when we arrested her besides the murder weapon... but these two don't seem relevant to the case at hand..." Reaching into his coat again, he pulled out two items- a mechanical device of some sort with a screen, and a flask of water. "She said to give 'em to you for safekeeping, Miss K-Sha, so..."

"Oh, thank you," the school girl nodded as she accepted the items. "I have no idea what this device is, but this jar is probably holy water..."

"What, to purify vampires?" Thomas snarked.

"S-something like that, I guess..."

*Holy Water has been added to the Court Record.*

"W-well, at least we'll h-have something t-to d-defend ourselves with in c-case a vampire attacks..." Rei stated.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, Miss Rei, it wasn't funny," K-Sha shook her head.

"I-I was o-only half-joking... *ahem* A-anyway, detective, anything else you can tell us about the case?"

"Well, there were photos taken, but I don't have 'em on me," Harold shrugged. "You'll probably see 'em at trial... Oh, by the way, the prosecutor for this case is gonna be a veteran by the name of Willard Heinlein..."

"UGH!" Rei abruptly shuddered. "You did NOT just say the name 'Willard Heinlein'!"

"Wait, you know him?!" the detective asked incredulously.

"White hair, handsome face, purple pinstripe suit?"

"Bingo."

"Dammit..." Rei groaned. "That maggot used to be a prosecutor in Lowee City! He was arrogant and overconfident to the extreme! Acting more like he was putting on a show than trying to convict a man! Though I admit..." Her mouth curled up in a sinister smile. "That made it all the more satisfying when I pointed out critical evidence that he'd overlooked, and exposed his incompetence to the whole courtroom! Lady Blanc promptly fired his ass after that, and I never saw him again..."

"Sounds like you ran him right outta town," Thomas observed. "Doesn't sound like the man I know, though... he's always poring over every piece of evidence that we bring to him, and he doesn't bring the case to trial unless he's confident about the outcome."

"Sounds like he learned from his mistakes," K-Sha postulated.

"Yeah, I think it'd be a mistake for you to underestimate him this time," Harold nodded.

"I'll take that under advisement," Rei deadpanned. "So then, were there any other witnesses to the crime?"

"There was one guy, a night shift worker," Thomas confirmed, "but he's bein' kept under close watch by Prosecutor Heinlein, since he didn't look too well... that being said, I can take you to talk to the victim's brother, if you want..."

"Th-that d-doesn't sound like a b-bad idea..." Rei agreed. "Lead the way, detective..."

"Let's just hope he's in the mood to talk," K-Sha said...

November 12

Paler Sunscreen Industries

Production Line

(Looks like no one's working today...) Rei thought as she, K-Sha and Detective Thomas walked into the factory, looking around at the unmoving manufacturing equipment. Then she spotted a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit with a bow tie and cape pacing around. He had pale skin and short black hair with a widow's peak. "I-is that him...?"

"That's the guy," Thomas nodded. "The CEO, Vlad Paler. Hey, Mr. Paler!" he called out.

"Vat is it, Detective...?" the man turned to face the trio, revealing black eyes and a pointed nose. "Vho are these young ladies?"

"The defendant's lawyer and friend," the large man said.

"H-hello!" K-Sha greeted, bowing politely.

(Wow, he sure looks like a vampire...) Rei mused inwardly. Deciding against voicing that thought, she said, "G-good evening, Mr. Paler. I-I'm Rei Ryghts, attorney-at-law..."

"Rei Ryghts?" The man blinked, nonplussed. "Is vis some kind of joke...?!"

"No, sir," Thomas shook his head. "Miss Ryghts is a certified lawyer... I should know, I've worked a case with her before..."

"I p-promise, th-the rumors about me a-are exaggerated," the former villain affirmed. "W-we j-just wanted t-to ask you about y-your b-brother..."

"BAH! Vit is an absolute travesty vat has occurred!" Vlad declared with a flourish of his cape. "My dear Demitri, beaten to death by some crazy vool voman thinking he vas some sort of vampire! Just because ve dress nicely and have pale skin, vich I might add, is the reason ve started vis sunscreen business to begin with! Do I look like I have blood-sucking vangs?!" He pointed to his mouth.

"N-no sir," Rei replied, keeping her head bowed. "Y-your t-teeth look p-perfectly f-fine t-to me..."

"Exactly! Now, I admit that ve go to the hospital sometimes and play vampire for the kids, but that is no reason vor that voman do to vat she did! I vant to make an example out of her!"

"Vlad, honey..." a smooth, velvet female voice spoke from a distance. "You know it's not good for your blood pressure to get so upset..." Turning, Rei saw a tall, slightly curvy woman with skin only slightly less pale than Vlad's... she had dark brown eyes set into a perfect porcelain face, her long platinum-blonde hair billowing past her shoulders in waves... she was dressed in a white evening gown with thin shoulder straps, a cigarette on a long holder held in her left hand. Upon seeing her, a certain song suddenly jumped into the lawyer's head:

Who-oa, here she comes~

Watch out boy, she'll chew you up~

Who-oa, here she comes~

She's a man-eater...~

"My dear Lisa..." Vlad sighed as he turned to the woman, "how can I not be upset about something like vis?! My dear brother is dead!"

"And you think I'm not upset?" Lisa retorted. Taking a brief pull from her holder, she exhaled a small cloud of smoke before continuing, "But that's no reason to take it out on these ladies... I'm sure they're just trying to do their jobs..."

"And you really shouldn't smoke in the vactory..." her husband sighed.

"Oh, Vlad, always a stickler for the rules... it's not as if there's any production going on right now..." Lisa pointed out as she flicked a little ash off the lit end. "Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Lisa Paler, Vlad's wife. And you are?"

"K-Sha. I'm a friend of the accused."

"Rei Ryghts, attorney-at-law. And no, I'm n-not a f-final b-boss anymore."

"Oh, you're THAT Rei Ryghts?!" Lisa's eyes went wide at hearing that, taking a drag from her cancer stick to calm herself. "...come to think of it, didn't someone portray you as the villain in that Revengers movie?"

"That WAS me, ma'am, with all due respect," the lawyer asserted. "B-but th-that's not important r-right now. Is th-there anything y-you c-can t-tell us about the victim?"

"About Demitri? Well..." Lisa's face turned thoughtful. "The reason he went outside is because... well, the 'atmosphere' inside here when production's running doesn't- didn't really agree with him. Goddess, it's so hard to believe he's gone..."

"S-so he went o-outside t-to g-get some f-fresh air?"

"That's right. Both Demitri and I are night owls, so we take turns supervising the production line while Vlad's sleeping. I may be a so-called 'trophy wife'," she gestured with her holder, "but I'm a trophy wife that actually does something!"

"Lisa, please..." Vlad facepalmed.

"You and your brother-in-law are together while your husband is sleeping?" K-Sha mused. "I'm sure it's all business, but..."

Lisa frowned at this. "I don't like what you're insinuating... my relationship with Demitri is- WAS purely professional. We even make sure to keep our interactions in view of the security cameras, so Vladdie can be assured nothing illicit is happening!" She took a pull from her holder, blowing another cloud of smoke.

"My vife vas not really my brother's type anyvay," Vlad pointed out. "He even advised against my marrying her in ve virst place! That should tell you all you need to know!"

"We're j-just making sure all o-our b-bases are c-covered," Rei jumped in. "I-is th-there anyone e-else y-you know around h-here th-that had a-any sort o-of g-grudge against your b-brother?"

"Not as var as I know," the CEO shrugged. "Lisa?"

"Nothing more than the usual," the sexy woman said. "Demitri could be quite strict in making sure the night shift didn't slack off, but I highly doubt any worker here was sore enough about it to kill him- especially in such a brutal manner!" She took another pull from her holder, before flicking it- which caused the cancer stick to fall out and onto the floor. "Oh, bother. JANITOR!"

A few seconds later, a man in an orange janitor's uniform with a matching cap ran up, holding a broom and dustpan in hand. His hair was shoulder-length and brown in color, the cap pulled down low, hiding his eyes. "Y-yes ma'am?"

"Would you kindly clean up this mess I've made?" the woman requested.

"Yes ma'am. Right away ma'am," the janitor agreed, starting to sweep up the cigarette and ashes.

"I vish you vouldn't use him as your personal lackey..." Vlad sighed, facepalming again.

"It's called job security," Lisa countered. "At least I'm giving him something to do other than twiddling his thumbs on his mobile device... Anyway, are we done here?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Rei nodded. "Hopefully w-we'll f-find out th-the t-truth about w-what happened t-to Demitri Paler..."

"Ve already know vat happened!" Vlad declared angrily. "That voman has already all but confessed to ve crime!"

"She only confessed to hitting him, not finishing him off," K-Sha shot back. "C'mon, Miss Rei, let's go before I pull out my machine gun..." The brunette turned and stomped off.

"How rude..." Lisa sighed as Rei jogged after her companion, Detective Thomas following at a distance.

November 12

Paler Sunscreen Industries

Parking Lot

"Well, that was a complete waste of time," K-Sha sighed forlornly.

"N-not f-for me, it wasn't," Rei said. "A-at least now I have a b-better idea o-of what happened..." Looking over the crime scene again, she asked, "By the way, Detective... wh-what are th-these markers supposed t-to represent?"

"Most of 'em are blood spatter," Thomas explained. "Already tested them, and they all belong to the victim... But this marker next to the body is where we found a footprint, which we already matched to Miss Rondo's footwear..."

"Oh yeah, I can still see it," K-Sha realized, pulling out her mobile device. "Looks like there's a few blood drops on top... might as well take a picture, just to be safe..."

*click!* *Simone's Footprint has been added to the Court Record.*

"Any o-other f-footprints in th-the area?" Rei inquired.

"Nothing that was clear enough to match to anything," the detective shrugged helplessly.

"But that leaves open the possibility that someone beside Simone was here, right?" K-Sha theorized.

"...I guess so," Harold reluctantly agreed. "But good luck trying to argue that in court... Anyway, now that you've gotten a look at the crime scene, I'm gonna call the boys and tell 'em to clean up. Mr. and Mrs. Paler want to try and get their plant back up and running as soon as possible, you know..."

"Even without a CFO t-to c-crunch th-the numbers?" Rei wondered, before suddenly yawning.

Thomas shrugged, "Well, I'm sure the victim wasn't the only number-cruncher there... Paler Sunscreen ain't exactly a small business, you know. Anyway, looks like you should get some sleep, think that jet-lag's catching up with you."

"I think you're right..." the lawyer sighed.

"You can sleep at my apartment," K-Sha offered. "All I've got is the couch, but it's better than nothing..."

"That's fine," Rei nodded. "If you remember, I was sleeping in a sleeping b-bag on the floor of my d-dressing room d-during The Revengers' filming..." She yawned again. "Anyway... I suppose I'll see you at t-trial tomorrow, detective..."

"Me too," K-Sha stated. "Even if all I can do is offer emotional support to Simone..."

"See you tomorrow then," Thomas nodded as the two ladies left to call a cab...

*To be continued...*

Seems like a somewhat normal case so far... don't forget to review!