Episode 2: Turnabout Travels

"Not a day goes by without me thinking about her…and each day I know who's at fault… You caused this to happen; you're going to pay for what you did to her!"

"NO!"

The man suddenly felt his balance shift and suddenly he fell down the stairs, crashing to the bottom with a sickening crack and thud, remaining motionless as the life drained out of him…

May 13, 5:03 am

Wright Anything Agency

As Phoenix slowly awoke from sleep, he could hear his cell phone going off. Looking at the clock, he groaned as he slowly reached and picked it up. "…This is Phoenix Wright…"

"Oh good, you picked up! Sorry to bother you Mr. Wright, but I need your help! I've been accused of murder and I need to find a lawyer." It was definitely a man's voice and he definitely sounded desperate.

"Are you at the Detention Center right now?" Phoenix asked. "It may take a bit but I can meet you down there."

"Yeah… about that… see I actually live in Chicago…"

"Ch-Chicago!? Listen mister…?"

"Bryan. Jake Bryan."

"Mr. Bryan, that's a three hour flight and I really only take cases in my district. I'm sure you can find an attorney in Chicago easily."

"But not as good as you! At least, that's what my friend's daughter always says; she was the one who gave me your number after all."

"How did she…nevermind…" Phoenix sighed. It certainly sounded desperate and if this guy needed him, it had to be bad. "…Alright Mr. Bryan, I'll represent you but like I said, it's going to be a three hour flight at least…"

"Thank you Mr. Wright, I'm most appreciative."

"I still can't believe I just agreed to this…" Phoenix thought as he hung up the phone. Still, it was too late now to refuse. He knew he was going to have to pack and get a ticket immediately. He then left a note to Apollo and Athena letting them know before waking up Trucy. "Wake up sweetie, we're going on a vacation…"

May 13, 7:13 am

Flight 113 to Chicago

"Wow, not only is this my first time flying but this is my first time traveling out of state!" Trucy said as she looked out the window. They had taken off only a short while ago and were now about thirty thousand feet in the air.

"You better get used to it because this may be the only time I defend out of state," Phoenix said as he closed his laptop and laid back in his seat.

"So what were you looking at?" Trucy asked.

"Information on our case," Phoenix said. "Because of the time difference we're going to be behind and possibly at a disadvantage so we need to catch up quickly." He then explained the case itself: Jake Bryan was being accused of murdering his friend, name not yet given, by pushing the man down the stairs of his own house. Cause of death was a broken neck.

"Wow, so they both got into a fight?" Trucy asked.

"Seems that way, but Mr. Bryan will hopefully be able to tell us more once we arrive." Little did I know once I got far enough into this case it would take a turn for the worse…

May 13, 9:27 am

Detention Center

Downtown

"It's been almost half an hour already…" Trucy said as the two of them waited inside the detention center.

"Yeah, even for a place like this that's unusual…" Phoenix thought. However, they didn't have to wait much longer as the door on the other side opened and one of the guards escorted in Jake Bryan.

Bryan looked to be somewhere in his mid to late thirties, had short brown hair that showed premature balding in some areas and was a little shorter than Phoenix. He also looked as miserable as any other person he's defended. "Mr. Wright," he said gravely. "You actually kept your word and came."

"Of course Mr. Bryan," Phoenix said, deciding to ignore the part about keeping one's word. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as one would expect," Bryan replied, shrugging. "At least the police haven't been bothering me too much."

"That's good," Phoenix said. "Now, perhaps you can tell us what happened?"

"Certainly. My friend Dan Sweeney, the victim, well, he and I were chatting at his house last night over a few drinks, that's all. It had been a few hours and I decided to turn in. Luckily, my house was right next to his so I could just walk over. Next thing I know, early in the morning the police come to my door, ask me questions and not long after I'm put under arrest!"

"So in other words, you were the last one to see him alive?" Phoenix asked.

"That's right, but I swear there had been no fight and we never went upstairs for anything." Bryan then sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I have a feeling Dan may have stumbled on something and fell down on his own. He wasn't quite in control of himself."

"If the police haven't found anything to incriminate Mr. Bryan yet, he could very well be right," Phoenix thought. "So is there anything else?"

"Oh right, one other thing," Bryan said. "I'm not sure who, but I guess there had been some witness who called the police in the middle of the night."

"Then we need to find out who this witness is," Trucy said, a determined look on her face.

"If we're lucky enough to get the information from the police," Phoenix said calmly. "Well, thank you for the help Mr. Bryan and getting us caught up. Now we have to build up our case."

Bryan chuckled. "Ah yes, gathering evidence and all that." His face then fell. "I know I should be feeling confident in you Mr. Wright but it's hard. I've never been arrested in my life…"

"Don't worry Mr. Bryan," Trucy said. "Daddy and I will solve this case and prove your innocence. You can count on us!"

Phoenix could remember a certain friend from long ago always saying that when he was still a young attorney. But now, he had the confidence that he can prove this man's innocence and would be willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

May 13, 10:09 am

Sweeney's House

Downtown

As was expected by any crime scene, the entire was surrounded by yellow tape and police cars. However, it seemed that the police were doing most of their work outside. "It looks like we may have an opportunity to do some investigating of our own," Phoenix said once they arrived.

Unfortunately, it didn't take them long to be noticed. "Hey buddy, yeah you."

"Huh?" Phoenix looked around and saw a man who was wearing a black trench coat. Why anyone would be wearing a coat in this weather Phoenix had no idea but other than making him stand out, it made him look suspicious.

"You're that lawyer for the suspect, Bryan, right?" he asked.

"That's right, and you are…?"

"Call me Damien," the man said. "Let's just say I'm a regular around these parts. See that small building next to Sweeney's house? The guy had his own little juice bar and sold drinks to everyone. Good business too and even I went there a few times. Of course, with Sweeney dead now I think that's the end of it now."

"Uh, thanks for the information," Phoenix said. "Did you witness anything going on the night of the murder?"

Damien hesitated for a moment but kept his cool. "Sorry Mr. Lawyer, I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Nothing personal, I just don't want to catch any unnecessary attention."

"Unnecessary attention?" "Right, well thanks again anyway Damien."

"I know Apollo is better at it than I am, but something really seemed off about that guy," Trucy said.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling he did witness something and someone's keeping him quiet," Phoenix agreed. But now was the time to start looking for clues, and they had to hurry before they caught any unnecessary attention from the police.

Upon entering the home, they could see the tape on the ground next to the stairs, no doubt where the body had been before. "So from what we know, Mr. Bryan and the victim had a couple drinks last night downstairs," Phoenix began. "Because of this, the victim was at least slightly intoxicated and probably had to hold onto the railing."

"Oh I get it!" Trucy said. "If we find fingerprints on the railing, then it'll prove whether Mr. Bryan was here during the time of the murder or not."

"Exactly," Phoenix said, smiling. Perhaps her sights were focused on being an ace magician, but she could always have a future in the world of law. "Unfortunately, we're probably going to need someone else to do a fingerprint analysis. For now, all we can do is look for anything that the forensics crew might not have picked up."

Of course, the police did a fine job of sweeping through everything, but that hasn't stopped Phoenix Wright in the past. The two of them split up: Trucy looked upstairs and Phoenix looked in the living room. In the middle of the room there was a small table where two cans laid. "Yeah, better that I search through here…" he thought.

At first it didn't seem like there was anything important and Phoenix was about to move on until he noticed something small and square on one of the chairs. Going over and picking it up, Phoenix saw it was a picture, the date on it being a few years ago. The person in the picture, a woman who appeared to be in her thirties, was smiling with the background of the ocean behind her. It was possible this was someone Mr. Sweeney had known. He then pocketed it and went back to where Trucy was.

"Daddy, I think I found something," Trucy said upstairs.

"What is it?" Phoenix asked.

"Take a good look." Trucy was right at the top, looking at the carpet. "It's hard to see, but there are indentations that suggest shoeprints, and it looks like whoever they belong to is about a size nine."

"Size nine?" Phoenix hadn't taken a good look at Bryan's feet when they met, but it was possible that because of his shorter size, those footprints could belong to him, which would be very bad indeed. "So these have to belong to the murderer. If he was standing at the top and the victim was standing a step below, it would be easy for the murderer to push him down the stairs. And then there's this." He then took out the picture he found earlier.

"Oh, who's that?" Trucy asked.

"Not sure," Phoenix said. "But it's obviously someone the victim knew… and I wonder if Mr. Bryan does too."

"Wait, you're not saying we may have… found a motive, are you?" Trucy asked, surprised.

"It's possible, but we can't determine that yet," Phoenix said. "We need to gather more evidence."

"Evidence I do not believe you are authorized to collect." Phoenix heard the words downstairs and stiffened. It was then he realized the two of them may be in trouble.

(A/N: I know you guys have been waiting awhile for this and I'm sorry to keep you waiting. After a long time I can finally say I'm getting back into these stories. I know it would seem easier to put each part into one chapter but I think it's better to cut the material into smaller parts so you don't end up getting either bored or confused. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and like I said, I'll do my best to represent the characters as they are in the games but if not, please let me know.)

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