Variations on a Turnabout
Michiyo Ichimaru
Chapter One
When Klavier Gavin came to him asking to take on a case, he knew he shouldn't have expected something good to come of it. But still, this was too messed up a little too much. "Let me get this straight, Prosecutor Gavin… the defendant isn't talking. So why on earth do you think that I'd be able to get him to talk?! He can't ask for a defense attorney if he's not capable of speaking, if that really is the case." Klavier sighed.
"Oh, I know that. Still… I'm not sure that's the case. And if anyone could get him to talk, they'd need two things: a pure heart and pure intentions. You could convince him, Justice. I know that it has to be you if the truth is to come out." He said, patting Apollo on the back and casually walking away again. Apollo wished he could just walk away like that. But no… he was supposed to see this case through… why? Because Klavier Gavin asked him to.
Upon arriving at the Dunham Medical Center's mental ward, Apollo wasn't so sure.
This was his first time visiting a mental ward, and the first alarm went off when he realized that the door locked automatically behind him. As the loud click echoed in the empty room, he involuntarily shivered. Now he couldn't leave even if he wanted to. So he decided that, sadly, there was nothing left to do but move forward in search of someone who could help him.
At the first door, the name "Mark Evita" was nicely engraved in the plate. Across the room there was a reception area with tables, but Apollo wanted to find one of the men in charge that he could ask questions and find Eyes Golden. Opening the door quietly, Apollo peaked in to see if anyone was there. Sadly, the room was totally empty.
It seemed that Mark Evita was a doctor, from the looks of his office. Apollo wondered if this was the man who was in charge of Eyes Golden's care. Eyes Golden had been admitted immediately after the murder, but it seemed like they had plenty of time to assess his mental state. In a murder case, it probably had greater priority than most of your average cases.
"Ah. Hello. May I help you?" A somewhat aloof voice said quietly in Apollo's ear. The man was not standing a whole foot away from Apollo and he looked somewhat... wary. Apollo jumped nervously, trying to back out of the room and failing when he realized how close this man was. The man was strange in a sense, he thought from the moment he got a good look at him.
In fact, he didn't really look like a doctor. He looked like an average man… one who was very suspicious of Apollo. But he didn't let his average attire stop him from looking completely superior. Apollo could see it in his eyes as he looked down at him.
"Uhm... hello! My name is Apollo Justice, I'm a defense attorney. I'm here to speak to a Mr. Mark Evita about..."
"Say no more!" The doctor cut him off mid-sentence. The suspicious look disappeared and now he looked absolutely delighted. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Justice. I heard you are quite an amazing attorney. However, I hope you have some charisma too, because you'll need it. I doubt you'll be able to pry open the sealed lips of Mr. Golden any time soon. For weeks he's refused to talk to anyone about anything. And it's our job to be good at these kinds of things."
There was no doubt in Apollo's mind that none of the people who came to talk to him were truly sincere in their spoken word. Just like Mark Evita had said… it was their job. What did they have to care? They got paid either way, and they probably thought he was a murderer without question. However, Apollo knew he had to be the one to do it... to get to the bottom of this case and help a possibly innocent man, alone and scarred by the visions of a friend and companion's death.
How could he NOT be sincere? Gavin himself believed that this man was innocent, and that was a big hint right there. Klavier Gavin didn't say anything he didn't mean... and he was as honest a prosecutor as any. If he thought there was something strange about this, there was definitely a good reason to investigate.
It was very different here from the doctor's office. Mr. Evita led him down a long hallway, past many doors. For Apollo, the second alarm went off when he saw the first bolted door. These rooms belonged to other patients both like and very different from Eyes Golden, the man he was going to see. He knew he shouldn't have, but Apollo felt himself becoming very nervous and anxious about meeting Mr. Golden.
Mr. Golden's room wasn't barred, but it was as white and plain as all the others. Mark went in first after rapping on the door twice. But he didn't pause after rapping. The room itself was very barren. It was a small, thin framed white bed, a bed-side table and matching set of drawers for clothes and such. Eyes didn't have anything so the room remained bare and white. Too white…
The man was sitting on the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest, hugging his legs tightly too him as he looked and regarded his new guests. "Mr. Golden, there's a man here to see you. This is Apollo Justice. He's a defense attorney here to talk to you about the case. Please cooperate with him. He's not here to judge you, he's here to help you." Eyes nodded, a motion Apollo almost missed, as small as it was. Then Mark left, leaving Apollo alone with Eyes Golden.
"U-um… Eyes Golden, is it? I've heard a great deal about your case from the prosecution and there are a lot of good questions that need answering. To be honest, there's a lot that doesn't fit at all. My goal, Mr. Golden, is to find the truth. To do that, I need your cooperation. I don't know it all yet, but there are people who question you as the killer. As long as there is room for doubt, it deserves to be investigated."
Eyes didn't move or say anything.
"I'm sorry… I'm sure it must be hard for you. These people have probably tried saying a lot of things to comfort you about your situation. For you, it doesn't look good right now. But… that's not what you want to here, is it? Your situation is the last thing on your mind."
Now Eyes was very interested. He looked at Apollo curiously and anxiously.
"Rachel Sweet… the victim. That's what you're concerned about, right? You were friends, so it only makes sense. Everyone's been comforting you, saying that if you come clean you can get a good deal in court or that if you didn't do it you should fight back and prove them wrong. Isn't that right? But… they are right in a sense. But… what you want to here… the truth is… to give Rachel Sweet peace, we have to find the truth. It's the only way. She wouldn't want an innocent man to pay for her death, and it would be sad to see the killer go free. It would torment her…"
Eyes looked away for a second. "For… Rachel?" His voice was cracking from disuse, but he was still speaking. "I… would never… couldn't… kill Rachel. Loved… Rachel… best friend." There were tears in his eyes.
Apollo smiled. "You have the motivations of an innocent man. For Rachel, let's find the truth. Let me defend you, Eyes Golden, so that we can find the killer and let Rachel Sweet's soul be put to rest.
"Yes." Eyes Golden said, smiling. And that marked the beginning of Apollo's investigation.