Chapter Two

The lights of a thousand cars shone brightly in the night, even as streetlights and houses went dark. On any other night, this would have happened long before midnight.

Kay Faraday had been exhausted before the call came. Now, she couldn't sit still.

"So Mr. Edgeworth, will you be leading the investigation?" she asked, leaning back in the passenger seat. She didn't have a car, so Mr. Edgeworth had agreed to give her a ride to and from the Wonder Bar for the New Year's party.

"Of course not," he shook his head slightly, eyes glued to the road. "I am the Chief Prosecutor; it would be highly irregular for me to stand in court. Or lead an investigation."

Kay laughed. "That's not what I heard. You stood in court for the Phantom case, right?"

"Those were special circumstances. Once the UR-1 incident was resolved, I stepped down and returned the case to its rightful owner."

"Oh right," she glanced out the window at the red light before them. Traffic was sure crazy for one-thirty in the morning. Even with New Year's, it seemed ridiculous. "I can't believe I missed that. I would have loved to sit in a wrecked gallery. I could get a picture or me and the rubble."

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow, trying to discern if she was sarcastic or not. "I can't believe people actually found seats. That's where most of the fallen roof was situated."

"Wait, you mean there were actually people for that? Were people just hanging around the courthouse, thinking 'ooh, a trial in the destroyed courtroom! Let's go watch!'?"

"I'm assuming most of them were reporters, trying to follow the Space Center bombing and murder case. Nicole Swift was there as well, if I recall."

"Nicole! I love her," Kay sighed. "Now I really wish I'd been there. Too bad work comes first, huh?"

She'd been working an investigation that day. Nothing nearly as interesting, of course: a man was convinced his missing daughter was just hiding out with her boyfriend, and she'd spent her whole day trying to find the guy. Only to find out her client was completely off base and his daughter was still lost to the world. That was hard to report. Kay almost felt bad after he paid her, but... What could she do about it? In her current situation, the only way she could make a real difference was to...

No. I said no. Kay thought, trying to force her mind from wandering. She turned to Edgeworth for a reply.

The Chief Prosecutor chuckled softly, "Indeed."

When the red car finally reached the front of the intersection, Kay was shocked when Mr. Edgeworth turned left. "Hey, you're supposed to take a right here."

"Right? I thought your new apartment was this way."

"The prison is east of here! Why are you taking me home?"

Edgeworth looked over at her. "You want to go to the prison?"

"Are you kidding me! When have I not wanted to investigate a crime with you?"

"I told you, I'm not..." he sighed, "very well. But it's Prosecutor Gavin who makes the choice, not me."

"Yay!" Kay clapped her hands together, "Let's investigate the New Year's murder!"

Nothing like a homicide to get a girl out of her funk, right? She could sit through days of traffic for a shot at this. No one had come to her with a murder for years.

"Kay, I worry about you sometimes."

"Oh, calm down! Just because I like investigating homicides doesn't mean I'm gonna commit one, right?"

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Edgeworth glanced over at her. Kay smiled, the same way she had since childhood. He hair might be shorter and her scarf might be worn out, but that didn't stop images of a seventeen-year-old girl from entering his mind.

"Edgeworth, you ask me that every time we see each other. My answer is still no. It doesn't matter how long I investigate. I will always have a passion for the truth!"

"Well, then. Let's match that passion with facts, shall we? What do you know about the victim?"

Kay began to answer, only to realize she didn't know a thing. She knew the name Kristoph Gavin somehow, and not just because his brother was famous... Did she really not remember?

"Some prisoner, right? Why, who was he?"

Edgeworth spent the rest of the ride filling her in on the details. By the time they exited the car, she couldn't tell if her enthusiasm had spiked or dampened. Was it possible to do both?

"Herr Edgeworth," Prosecutor Gavin nodded their way as they approached. At his side was Ema Skye, crouched over a spot on the floor and murmuring profusely. Guards and police officers swarmed the area, bags visible under their eyes. One guard stumbled about the scene, appearing to be drunk.

"Hello again, Prosecutor Gavin. Am I correct in assuming you wish to take this case?"

Kay studied him closely. She's seen him at the Wonder Bar, but hadn't gotten close enough to really talk to him. He was cute, in a typical, mass-media sort of way. She guessed she was just too old to get into his music when he was popular. Still, he was nice enough.

"I will investigate, ja, but prosecute..." he winced. "Perhaps you should find another for the job," his expression continued to darken as his gaze swept over the cell. "I'm not sure I can-"

Mr. Edgeworth nodded, silencing his subordinate, "I understand. Thank you for coming in at these hours."

"Not a problem, Herr Edgeworth."

Ema must have finished whatever it was she was investigating, because it was at that moment she looked up. "Kay! What are you doing here?"

"I came to assist with the investigation!" Kay shoved on a smile, putting in as much confidence as she could muster. "Assuming Prosecutor Gavin wants me, of course."

"Call me Klavier. And sure, assist where you'd like," he offered a smile back, but it looked more forced than hers did. "The more, the merrier, ja?"

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. I think I'll like this guy.

"Wonderful. Kay Faraday, Ace Investigator, on the scene and ready to report!" She'd given up the part about her being the Yatagarasu, because that wasn't what she was anymore.

Subconsciously, Kay's hand reached beneath a fold in her scarf, feeling the cold metal of her Yatagarasu badge. Why had she ever given up on her dream? Maybe if she'd been active, the Dark Age wouldn't have...

No. That wasn't her job right now. She'd chosen something else, something that wouldn't put her in jail with Uncle Badd. Or dead with her father. Or...

Kay pulled her attention back into the room, trying to be as "serious investigator" as she could: the cell was tiny, barren, and shaped just like any other piece of the prison. With the way it was so clean and organized, if it hadn't been for the piece of paper littering the windowsill, she would have thought it was vacant.

"Where's the body?" Kay turned to her detective friend, watching her as she sprayed Luminol over the floor.

"They'd removed it before we got here, but we did get the pictures they took. See?" Ema handed her a small photo before Kay could say a word.

It was a blonde man in a purple suit, oddly clean for the place he was in. He had collapsed near the window face down, little pieces of glass scattered near his face. If it hadn't been for the skin color, she would have mistaken him for Klavier.

"I'd heard about him. So... He was Klavier's brother? They look like twins."

"Yeah," Ema spoke at a near whisper. "He was arrested almost two years ago. For murder."

"Someone killed a murderer? That's not too uncommon. People think it's justice nowadays."

Ema shook her head angrily. "Well they're stupid. He was already in prison. Why would somebody come in and kill him now?"

Kay mulled it over, trying to think. Crimes in prison were tricky matters, and she'd handled very few of them. "Was he on death row for what he did?"

"No. He's gotten one charge of second degree murder, maximum sentence of life in Solitary." Ema opened her mouth to continue, but didn't say more.

"Maybe that's it. Someone thought he didn't deserve to keep his life at all, and figured 'if the courts won't execute him, I will.' I've seen it happen."

"Still stupid. They took their petty revenge, and now they're no better than the guy they killed."

"Hm," Kay didn't feel like discussing it further. "So, how did he die?"

Ema shrugged, "They haven't done the autopsy yet, but it sounds like some kind of poison. He collapsed around midnight, right here in his cell."

"Poison... So what's the Luminol for?"

"You see the broken glass in the photo?" Ema pointed it out in the photo, "it was sweeped up after being inspected. They came off the victim's glasses after he collapsed. I'm trying to see if he bled from it at all."

"Oh. I thought that might've been from a weapon." For no reason at all, the image of a man getting struck woth a flower vase entered her head. Was that a case she'd handled, or her last trip to the florist? "So, have you found any blood yet?"

"Yup, I found it right here," Ema pointed to a small spot next to the officers as they set up a body outline. Why they hadn't done that before moving the body, Kay didn't know. "It's really small, though. I bet no one noticed it until now."

"Hm..." Kay squinted at the area. She could see the tiny spots, but just barely. "Hey, can I ask something?"

"What?"

"Why was this declared a murder? You say it was poison, but all you've told me is the victim collapsed. Could he have died of something else?"

"No can do," the forensic's guy piped up. "We found traces of poison over the mouth and hands while the body was here. That's when this was ruled a homicide."

"He was alone when he died. Is suicide a possibility, still?"

"Where would he have gotten the poison? He's an inmate: all his stuff is carefully checked over before but reaches him in the mail, no one's allowed to give him anything on visits, and ever since atroquinine was found on an envelope sent to him over a year ago, we've added toxic screening to the list."

Kay turned around at the sound of a rough male voice. "And you are?"

"Warden Gustav Arden. I'm the one who called the Chief Prosecutor," the man turned to Klavier Gavin, who's been talking to the cell's normal guard. "You the prosecutor he put on the case?"

"Ja. I am Klavier Gavin," he reached out his hand, which the warden didn't take.

"You're the victim's brother., right? Sorry for your loss."

Klavier ignored the man's condolences. "I was with the Chief Prosecutor when he received the call. He wanted to start the investigation as soon as possible. Is there anything you'd like us to start with?"

"Not really. There's a lot of weird stuff about the murder though. For one thing, I..."

Kay tuned the conversation out, taking the moment to look at the crime scene photo once more. They probably weren't going to find any wounds, but what other clues might the body provide?

Hm... What was he doing when he died?

Well, he fell near the window... Could he have been looking out of it? Watching for fireworks? He had died at midnight after all. That's right when the fireworks had started.

Kay looked around. Everyone was either testing for toxic reactions in other places (a few had been sent to the kitchen, to see if it had been in the victim's food), or talking with Klavier with a serious face. She pulled her gloves out of her coat pocket, put them on, and went over to inspect the window.

The window itself was small and barred, just like any other window in the prison. It was still completely black outside, save the occasional light from a tall building or another. It likely would have been lighter out before the fireworks, with everyone in the city celebrating.

But that wasn't what Kay was looking for. Her eyes landed squarely on a folded sheet of paper laying on the sill. Next to it, a regular pen. Had he been writing when he died?

Kay looked down at the photo one more time, struggling to see in the dim light. Sure enough, he had slight stains on one of his hands. That had to be ink.

Just as Kay picked up the piece of paper, Klavier and the warden finished their conversation, and the Prosecutor's eyes turned to her. She was allowed to do this, but it still felt like getting caught red handed.

"Kristoph was writing that when he died, ja?"

"Yes. Like I told you, he's been behaving strangely for days now. Writing letters every day all day, muttering to himself... I thought he was startin' to go mad," the man standing at the entrance must have been the guard. Hey, are all the guards in this place male?

"What does it say, Fraulein?"

Kay's ear twitched. She couldn't decide if the name annoyed her or pleased he'd. Still, she unfolded the letter and began to read aloud:

"Lady Justice,

You promised me this was my last day. Very well. I will hold you to your promise. You owe me, after all. And despite what you are capable of, I've never known you to leave a debt unpaid.

I cannot say I don't deserve my death. When news of my assassination came, I was almost relieved. Better you than someone else. Besides, the end of this game leaves me free to start a new one. I look forward to seeing you on the other side. You are the only one who has seen me for who I truly am. For better or worse.

But for now, I'm afraid it's time to part. Our truth is yours to create. Twist my case as you will, so long as I never return here.

I will cooperate. Let's see if you will keep your end of the bargain, shall we?

As always,

Kristoph Gavin"

The room was silent. Even the officers who had been investigating had stopped and listened to Kristoph Gavin's final words. Even Kay, who always tried to speak in moments like these, didn't know what to say.

"...he wrote to his murderer?!"

A/N's: And the investigation beings, whoo! Sorry I took awhile to pump this out: I was trying to figure out how to convert a crime scene investigation from the game into fanfiction format. Hopefully I didn't do too badly.

God, I love Kay Faraday. I can't wait to take her character places... Even if I haven't figured out how exactly it's getting there yet. For now, I'm just trying to progress with the murder piece of the plot and lay the groundwork so I can weave in the rest.

Speaking of the murder, I'm so happy. I finally figured out how to bring in the suspects! I'll probably get them in in a chapter or two. Next one goes back to Trucy.

As always, thank you for stopping by to read my story, shout out to Rosage and MadFox for their in-depth advice through PM, please review, and I'll see you on the far side!