I DO NOT OWN PHOENIX WRIGHT. ANY CHARACTERS YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE ARE PROBABLY MINE
The next morning, as soon as Phoenix and Julie were ready, they hurried over to the police station. Pretty soon, they were sitting with Mia in the visitors' room. Mia was sitting silently in her chair, staring down at her lap. It reminded Phoenix of how Maya had looked when they first met.
"Hey, Mia," he said softly, wishing he could fulfill his urge to give her a gentle hug. "How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm okay," she whispered. "I-I just...h-had never seen a d-dead man before. H-How do you handle it...?"
Phoenix hesitated. He had probably just grown so accustomed to murder cases that he had stopped feeling too bothered by the gore. Poor Mia, however, had suffered her very first view of a result of homicide- in some of the worst circumstances possible, as well. She seemed to actually be handling the situation fairly well.
Luckily, Mia asked another question before he could reply. "Y-You guys don't think I d-did it, right...?"
"Oh, Mia..." Phoenix exchanged a glance with Julie and shook his head firmly. "Absolutely not. You know I'm going to defend you in the trial, right?"
Mia smiled weakly, meeting his eyes. "T-Thanks, Dad."
"So can you tell us what happened yesterday night?"
"Well..." Mia hesitated. "I-I walked into the room, a-and found the victim lying dead on the floor with a stab wound in his back..."
"But what were you doing before you walked into the room?" Phoenix asked gently. "You said you were at a friend's house, right? How did you wind up at the victim's house?"
Just like that, Mia's gaze fell back into her lap. She didn't reply.
Phoenix frowned. "Mia, you know I can't do as much to help if I don't know everything, right?"
"Y-You don't need that information," Mia whispered hoarsely. "I have confidence in you, D-Dad. You can do this without that."
"Mia...?"
However, Mia didn't say anything else. Phoenix bit his lip. It was nice to know his daughter trusted him enough to be able to solve the case without all the information, but he couldn't understand; what could be so bad that Mia didn't feel like she could tell her own father- and now lawyer? She wasn't the murderer, so she surely couldn't have something too horrible to reveal...
As Phoenix fell silent, Julie took over. "Mia, have you been treated well? They haven't hurt you at all, right?"
"No..." Mia met her mother's eyes. "Detective Gumshoe tried interrogating me, then everyone left me alone in the cell."
Julie exhaled slightly. "That's good." She pressed her fist into her palm. "If they had done something else, I..."
Phoenix placed his hand on her arm. "Jules."
Mia chuckled softly. "It's okay, Mom. I don't have a scratch on me." She inhaled deeply. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow, right?"
Phoenix frowned slightly. Their visiting time was probably about to end. "Yes, I suppose. Good luck in there, sweetheart. I'll figure this out."
Mia gave him a weak smile. "I know you will, Dad."
(...)
After Phoenix and Julie left the station, Phoenix's phone began to buzz. "Hello?"
"Nick! I just learned what happened to Mia! I can't believe it!"
Phoenix chuckled softly. "Hey, Maya. So you know now, too?"
"Yeah, and it's so stupid! Mia wouldn't hurt a fly!" His friend sounded really mad.
"Unfortunately, that won't be enough to secure Mia a 'Not guilty' verdict," Phoenix reminded her. "Are you almost ready to investigate?"
"Absolutely!" Phoenix pictured her nodding with determination on the other end of the call. "I'll meet you at the crime scene in a few minutes!"
"You know the address, right?" Phoenix checked.
"Yep!"
"Great. Then I'll see you there, Maya."
Julie watched as Phoenix slipped his phone back into his pocket. "So if you're going to start investigating what happened, I should probably go on and head home."
Phoenix nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. You should rest before the trial tomorrow, okay?" He gently grabbed her hand. "I understand how stressful this is, but unfortunately, the trial won't help lessen that stress. We know our daughter's innocent, but she was arrested for a reason. There is a basis on which to accuse her of the murder, and I can say with certainty that basis will be thrown at us time and time again."
"You're right." Julie sighed, hugging herself. "I never thought our own little girl would wind up in this position..." She shook her head sadly. "Well, I'll be at home if you need me."
"Got it."
(...)
Sure enough, Phoenix found Maya standing outside the apartment complex where the murder was committed. "You look calmer now than you sounded earlier," Phoenix commented when he spotted his friend.
Maya sighed. "There's no point in being so angry. The police are just doing their job- it's not their fault we have personal ties to the prime suspect."
Phoenix gave a single nod before looking up at the apartment complex. "Apparently, the victim was found dead in his own living room. It's not quite a locked room mystery, but it sounds like it might be as rough as one."
"But what was Mia even doing here in the first place, Nick?" Maya asked curiously as they headed inside. "She definitely had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but why was she in the wrong place?"
"I don't know," Phoenix sighed. "Mia refused to say anything; I came here straight from visiting her. I'm concerned that if I can't get that information out of her, I won't be able to prove her innocence."
"Well, maybe we'll find stuff at the crime scene," Maya reminded him, hope glittering in her eyes. "The truth always makes itself known, after all."
Phoenix nodded in agreement, smiling at her optimism. "Yeah, you're right." At that moment, they entered the apartment where Mitchell Ingleman was murdered.
"Glad to see you two could make it," Gumshoe commented as soon as they set foot in the apartment.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Phoenix replied. "What have you found?"
Gumshoe frowned. "Unfortunately, lots of the evidence we've found points to Mia as the criminal. Obviously, that's not true, but I'm not sure what can be done to prove her innocence."
Phoenix frowned in concern. "What have you found?"
"A knife with Mia's fingerprints and the victim's blood, for one thing." Gumshoe sighed. "And the autopsy revealed the knife was the murder weapon- Mr. Ingleman lay on the floor of his own home, bleeding to death from the stab wound."
"Are there any witnesses of what happened?" Phoenix demanded.
"We have one so far," Gumshoe replied, glancing at the ground. "She claims to know exactly what happened between Mia and Mr. Ingleman."
"She's an eyewitness?!" Maya gasped.
"That information is confidential, I'm afraid."
"Right." Phoenix nodded in understanding, despite the dread he felt creeping up inside him. If there was an eyewitness, that would make this case much more difficult.
"Detective Gumshoe!" Everyone whirled around to see a police officer racing into the apartment. "We might have just found more evidence outside!"
"Outside?" Phoenix echoed, confused.
The police officer held up a clear bag. "It appears to be a pair of white latex gloves, covered in blood. They will have to be tested in the lab."
"Definitely." Gumshoe studied the bag carefully. "Where outside did you find these?"
"The dumpster."
Phoenix and Maya exchanged a glance, and Phoenix felt his hopes begin to rise again. If the true murderer used those gloves to cover their fingerprints, then this would be the first bit of real evidence for Mia's defense they'd have.
All Phoenix could do with that, however, was cross his fingers and hope the test results came back in their favor.
