A/N: The weird update schedule continues... as it stands, I only have one more document after this one currently ready to upload. I've been working hard, but I burned one of my hands making ramen, so right now I can only type with one hand. Fortunately, it's my right hand (I am right-handed).
April 8, 1:48 PM, Wright Anything Agency
"That was a lucky break," Maya Valerie said as soon as Jana had finished recounting the events of the earlier trial to her, "so does this mean that Svavarsson is the real killer?"
"…I hope not," Jana said. He was too handsome to be a murderer. "Either way, it seems as though the only way to remove suspicion against Bertrand Nymphicus is to accuse someone else."
"Which would involve accusing your own client of something else too, huh," Maya Valerie said, putting her fist to her chin.
"Well, yes," Jana said, "but he did not hire me to prove him guiltless of sending various threats."
"True," Maya Valerie said, tilting her head as a butterfly started flying around her. Jana had never really questioned where they came from, but it occurred to her now that they might not be the same three butterflies every time. "So I guess this means that Maria was right about Svavarsson receiving the threats."
"Also true," Jana said, "which means it would make sense that his fingerprints would be on the notes."
"Which means he might not be the real killer?"
Jana nodded vaguely. No one else would have a motive for pinning the crime on Nymphicus, though… not that anyone had an apparent motive for killing Glauketas. Perhaps she had been right when she proposed that the intended victim was someone different. But who? Claiming that Nymphicus was the target was more of a sympathy ploy than an actual theory.
"Oh, by the way, Jana," Wright said suddenly, walking into the office as there was a clattering noise from elsewhere in the building, "I picked Copper up from the train station while you were in court."
"…oh," Jana said.
"Don't worry," Maya Valerie said sweetly, "he's not fond of lawyers and lawyering, so he prefers to stay out of the office area." Jana rolled her eyes. Copper's mother was a prosecutor, how could he not be fond of lawyers and lawyering?
"I was planning on sleeping over tonight," Jana said, frowning.
"Valerie, it'd be nice if you'd run these things by me first," Wright said sarcastically. Maya Valerie smiled innocently.
"I don't know what you were expecting, Mr. Wright," Watson spoke up suddenly from her father's desk, which she was rooting through.
Wright sighed. "Don't you three have something to do?"
Watson rolled her eyes and went back to searching Justice's desk. Maya Valerie and Jana stared at Wright.
"Not really," Maya Valerie said.
"You said I was not supposed to go out to investigate until Maria Fey-Armando returned," Jana said.
"Oh, right," Wright said, "yeah, the harbor is pretty far away for you to go by yourself." He turned towards Justice's desk. "Wat, what are you looking for?"
"Um…" Watson said, looking up, "just… some things."
"Shouldn't you ask your father to find them for you instead of rifling through his belongings?" Wright asked, raising an eyebrow. Watson shrugged nervously.
Much to Watson's presumed relief and everyone else's dismay, a newcomer walked into the office area. They had tan skin, straight black hair, blue eyes, and were wearing a full Gramarye stage outfit, which was green and had a Texan flare in the form of a red handkerchief around their neck and blindingly white cowboy boots. Also, no one knew their gender. Quite frankly, everyone was afraid to ask.
"Howdy, ugly," Copper (the androgynous newcomer, in case it wasn't clear) said.
"Was that directed towards me?" Jana said stiffly.
"'Course it was," Copper said, tipping their top hat, "granted, it could apply to anyone in the room, but I hadn't said 'hi' to you yet, had I?"
"You little-!" Jana shouted, swinging her riding crop at them. It vanished in a puff of brightly-colored smoke and streamers and reappeared in Copper's hand.
"Rude," they said, putting Jana's riding crop in their hat.
"Give that back! I need that!" Jana screeched, lunging at Copper. She was interrupted when Watson jumped behind her, grabbed her, and dead-lifted her into the air. How Watson managed to be tall enough to leave Jana kicking at Copper with feet that dangled a foot and a half in the air, considering both of her parents were relatively short, Jana had no idea. All she knew was that she hated it when Watson did this.
"Stop fighting!" Watson yelled, "knock it off!"
"Put me down!" Jana protested.
"Ha ha, you're too short to reach me," Copper said, sticking out their tongue.
"I am as tall as you are!" Jana shouted.
"Seriously, give Jana back her riding crop, Copper," Wright said.
"Please?" Maya Valerie added.
"…alrighty then, old man," Copper said, frowning at Wright. They produced her riding crop out of thin air and handed it back once Watson had put her down. She immediately hit them with it.
"Come on, Maya Valerie," Jana growled as Copper started making a fuss again (and Wright ordered Copper back into the part of the house where they could only bother Misty and Diego), "we have an investigation to attend to."
"Wait a minute, Mr. Wright said you weren't supposed to go out by yourself," Watson said, running to stand in front of the door, "and also that Valerie isn't supposed to help you with your cases."
"B-But it's only investigation!" Maya Valerie protested, tearing up exaggeratedly, "why, Daddy even lets me investigate with him sometimes! Why not Jana?"
"…w-well, I guess you have a point," Watson said, sweating lightly, "but you still can't just-"
"You may come with us," Jana offered.
Watson looked away, scowling. "I was doing something, you know."
"What, ransacking Apollo Justice's desk?" Jana said, then added, "you would only need to accompany us until Maria Fey-Armando arrived."
"Er…" she played with the hem of her running shorts, "Mr. Wright, is that really okay?"
"Huh?" Wright said, "well… yes, I suppose so. If Maria comes back here, I'll just tell her they already headed off with you."
Watson sighed deeply. "Fine," she said, grabbing the doorknob. "Jana, Valerie, you two had better not give me trouble or-"
"What are you so worried about, Watson Justice?" Jana said, smirking and toying with her riding crop.
"We'll be good," Maya Valerie said sweetly.
April 8, 2:33 PM, Los Angeles Harbor
Watson had already introduced herself as Jana and Maya Valerie's babysitter twice and both times had had to suffer the riding crop, not that she seemed to think it hurt all that much. Fortunately, these antics had not prevented their access to the crime scene. There were significantly less cops there than there were the day before, and Detective Noir was nowhere to be seen, although Alois was there, apparently continuing the investigation on his own.
"Ach, kleine Schwester," Alois said, noticing the WAA group, "and… Wat and Valerie. Wie geht es euch?"
"…I don't speak your crazy moon language," Maya Valerie said sweetly.
"It's German," Alois said, pouting, "besides, I thought Onkel Wright banned you from helping Jana with her cases?"
"Apparently that ban only applies to the actual court part," Watson sighed, "Mr. Wright gave the go-ahead for investigations."
"Speaking of investigations, Alois," Jana said, pointing her riding crop at him, "has any progress been made?"
Alois looked at her dubiously for a moment then sighed. "Nien," he said, "in fact, I'd say we've made negative progress. Fräu Detektivin Noir is still aiding in the search for Herr Svavarsson."
"Ragnar Svavarsson has run off?!" Jana said, stunned. Alois nodded.
"Maybe he had a good reason to?" Maya Valerie said.
"Perhaps," Alois said, playing with his hair, "although unless he has a megagut excuse, he… is starting to look more and more suspicious."
"…'megagut'?" Watson said, fiddling with the lapel of her lab coat and looking up slightly.
"'Very good'," Jana explained.
"Ah."
"If he's starting to look more and more suspicious," Maya Valerie said, adopting her 'thinking' pose, "at what point do you drop suspicions against Nymphicus and pursue a case against Svavarsson instead?"
"Probably never," Alois said, shoulders shaking from a bit of laughter, "Das böse Gewissen verrät sich selbst. While I am starting to suspect that Svavarsson is involved with the crime, Nymphicus is still the prime suspect. Those notes were definitely written by him."
"Bellende Hunde beißen nicht," Jana countered, "threats do not a murderer make."
"Would it kill you two to speak English?" Watson interrupted. Jana looked away, a bit embarrassed. On one hand, she found Denglisch irritating too, but on the other hand, it was a personal policy of hers to apologize as little as possible.
"I want to see the victim's room," Maya Valerie piped up.
"I don't see why not," Alois said, looking around the crime scene again, "I'll go with you." They headed to Glauketas' quarters.
"There isn't much here," Watson pointed out after a few minutes of "reinvestigating", which ended up mostly consisting of of Maya Valerie making fun of Glauketas' personal effects. Alois shrugged.
"This is going nowhere," Jana sighed, "Alois, have you searched Ragnar Svavarsson's quarters yet?"
"Nein," Alois said, "we're still waiting on a warrant." Who needs warrants anyway? Jana thought, irritated. Uncle Kristoph sure didn't think they were necessary.
At that moment, that cop Johnson arrived with Maria in tow. "Prosecutor Alice, sir!"
"For the last time," Alois groaned, "my name is not Alice. I am a man!"
"Oh, please-" Jana began her sarcastic comment, but Watson kicked her.
"Anyway, sir," Johnson said, "the search warrant for Svavarsson's quarters went through!"
"Excellent," Jana said.
"Also!" Johnson continued, "I found this suspicious woman loitering around the boarding ramp!" Behind him, Maria sighed deeply.
"T-That's not a suspicious woman," Alois said, "that's the defense attorney's assistant."
"Apparently I needed a badge in order to get in on my own," Maria growled.
"Is that why defense attorneys pin their badges to their clothes?" Maya Valerie said, "so that they don't have to actually present it in order to get in?"
"I… don't think it usually works that way," Watson said, "anyway, Maria, you can take over babysitting for me. I need to go." She ignored Jana hitting her with her riding crop again.
"Well then," Alois said as Watson jogged off, "shall we investigate Herr Svavarsson's quarters?" They went to the next room over, which was being unlocked with a key on loan from Goemon.
"I take it that that's Satsuma's room?" Maya Valerie said, pointing at the only inhabited room on this deck that they hadn't gone into.
"Ja," Alois said. Maria looked at it suspiciously, hand over her mouth. I wonder what she is thinking about.
Svavarsson's quarters didn't entirely look like they belonged on a Japanese battleship. They were lushly decorated in furs, mostly, and was that a deer head on the wall? Wait, no, that was a reindeer. Did he kill that animal himself?! Jana thought, stunned. It was a lot bigger than she thought it would be. There were also numerous wood carvings scattered around, although Jana didn't see any carving equipment, so Svavarsson may have just acquired them somewhere instead of making them himself.
"Impressive," Maya Valerie commented. They began their search - most of the officers assigned to the case were either searching for Svavarsson or rechecking the other rooms, so it was just the WAA party plus Alois, who wasn't keeping a very close eye on them. Maya Valerie filled Maria in on what little had happened while she was out.
"So, Alois," Maria said, "care to elaborate on how you think Svavarsson is connected to the crime?"
"I don't know yet," Alois replied, "nor do I have any evidence. But I think we can rule out them being accomplices," he added.
"Perhaps Svavarsson is the real killer?" Maya Valerie said sweetly.
"Nein," Alois said, frowning, "I'm certain Herr Nymphicus was the one who planted the poison. However, I am starting to think that Jana's theory about Herr Glauketas being an unintentional victim theory was correct."
"Who do you propose was the actual target, then?" Maria said.
"Herr Svavarsson, who else?" Alois said, "which would mean that the notes in Herr Glauketas' quarters were planted… most likely by Herr Svavarsson."
"Why would he do that?" Jana said.
"Hm," Alois said, playing with his hair, "this is all conjecture, of course, but let's suppose that Herr Svavarsson knew somehow about Herr Nymphicus' plot to poison him - possibly because he was the actual receiver of the notes. Herr Svavarsson could have, in his attempt to dodge Herr Nymphicus' attempt on his life, set it up so that Herr Glauketas was the one who ate the rice instead of him."
"On accident?" Maria said.
"Ja," Alois said, "although if he knew that the rice was poisoned and did nothing to prevent Herr Glauketas from eating it, he would be almost as schuldig as Herr Nymphicus."
"English, please," Maya Valerie said sweetly.
"Entschuldigung, guilty," Alois said, grinning, "'schuldig' means 'guilty'."
"How would he have had the opportunity to dodge the poisoning in the first place?" Maria said, raising an eyebrow.
"Perhaps he was the one who set aside Herr Nymphicus' rice," Alois said, "I suppose I'll need to ask Fräu Doktor Goemon a few more questions about dinner that night. Anyway, I suppose that after that, Herr Svavarsson could have found the opportunity somehow to plant the threatening notes in Herr Glauketas' quarters, which would also make him guilty of tampering the evidence."
"If he was technically not guilty of poisoning Kit Glauketas, why bother planting anything?" Jana protested, "the existing evidence would surely point to Bertrand Nymphicus."
"He may have been covering up whatever he did to get Herr Glauketas to eat the poisoned rice in his stead," Alois said, "besides, he may have also felt that there wasn't enough existing evidence to properly indict Herr Nymphicus. Don't you ever read the old case files at your firm?"
"…no," Jana said, playing with her riding crop.
"He's talking about the Engarde trial," Maria explained.
"Ask Onkel Wright about it sometime," Alois added. Jana frowned.
"Is that what you're looking for, then?" Maya Valerie said, "evidence that proves that your theory about Svavarsson's involvement is correct?"
"Leichter gesagt als getan," Alois said, sighing, "but ja, that's what I'm looking for, at least. I suppose you three will end up accusing him as soon as you can."
"Oh, never without evidence," Maria said, smirking sardonically.
"Well, would this work?" Maya Valerie said innocently, holding up a piece of paper.
"Let me see that," Jana said, grabbing it.
"Hands off the evidence!" Alois protested.
"Don't worry," Maya Valerie assured him, "I brought my own gloves." And of course Jana was, as always, wearing hers.
Jana turned over the paper and immediately grimaced. "What does it say?" Maria asked.
"I am not going to read this out loud," Jana said quietly, "it is another one of those threatening notes."
"I'll send this to the lab for confirmation," Alois said, snatching it from Jana. He stuck his head out into the hallway. "Forensik!"
"I think that makes it obvious that Svavarsson planted the notes," Maya Valerie said.
Jana nodded. She still thought Svavarsson was too handsome to be a murderer. She glanced at Maria, who was obviously troubled. "Thoughts, Maria Fey-Armando?"
"I…" Maria said, holding her hand away from her mouth, "there's something bugging me about the notes, but I'm not sure what."
"What is there to bother you?" Jana said, "You were right about Ragnar Svavarsson being the real recipient."
"Am I?" Maria said, "I'm not so sure. Remember how we ruled out Satsuma?"
"Because she didn't know about them?" Maya Valerie said.
"Which meant that someone would have been hiding them from her, which doesn't make sense because she would have been more than capable of handling Nymphicus on her own," Maria said. She gestured towards a longsword hanging on the wall. "I'm wondering if Svavarsson knows how to use this thing?"
"I believe he does," Alois said, walking back towards them, "he mentioned something like that during our initial interrogation."
"Something like that?" Jana said.
Alois nodded, playing with his hair. "I believe we asked him about his relationship with Herr Nymphicus, because Herr Nymphicus had mentioned during our interrogation of him how much he hated Herr Svavarsson. Herr Svavarsson told us that Herr Nymphicus hated him, and the feeling was mutual, but he wasn't afraid of Herr Nymphicus because if Herr Nymphicus tried anything, Herr Svavarsson could easily fight him off. Something like that."
"I thought so," Maria said, "so I'm wondering… if we go with Jana's theory that Nymphicus was the target of the threats, and assume that Svavarsson was the real killer… it doesn't make sense. Why try to poison Nymphicus? Why not wait until he tried something and fight him off then, since he was capable of it?"
"Exactly," Alois said, grinning, "Herr Nymphicus is the only one who would actually make sense as the killer."
"But he isn't," Maria insisted.
"Oder was?" Alois said, "Maria, I know how much you'd like to believe in your client… but are you aware that Jana studied under Onkel Kristoph, not Onkel Wright? She couldn't care less about her clients, just her verdict."
"I know," Maria said, glancing at Jana, who rolled her eyes, "but despite what Nymphicus has done, I know for a fact that he didn't kill anybody."
"Were those his exact words?" Alois said, putting his hands on his hips.
"Yes, they were," Jana said.
"Valerie, back me up here: that wording is vague enough to fool the Magatama, ist es nicht?" Alois said.
"Well… maybe," Maya Valerie said, looking down, "I guess if he meant 'anybody important' when he said 'anybody', and considered Glauketas to not be anybody important…"
"I've heard that's how Herr Engarde tricked Onkel Wright a long time ago," Alois said, grinning, "that was the case that broke his win record, did you know that, Jana?"
"This will not be the case that breaks mine," Jana said stubbornly.
"It's only your third case," Alois pointed out.
"Exactly!" Jana snapped, "I will not bear the humiliation of losing so early in my career! Not like you!"
Alois rolled his eyes. "I specifically asked Onkel Miles to assign me to prosecute Ace," he said, "I was expecting to lose. The only thing I regret about that trial was your horrible attitude afterwards!"
"That's enough," Maria said, stepping in between them, "save the arguing for court, you two."
"Hmph," Jana said, turning away.
"Puhh," Alois said, also turning away.
"I'm glad I get along with my siblings," Maya Valerie said cheerfully.
"You should go now," Alois said after a tense moment of silence, "I'll have Forensik look over this room in more detail in a bit, and I can't have you three getting in the way."
"Oh, come on-" Jana started, but Alois put his hand up.
"The only thing we have to do now is to wait for Fräu Detektivin Noir to find Herr Svavarsson," he said, "and then, whatever is going on here… we'll find out in court morgen… tomorrow," he added, catching Maria and Maya Valerie's confused looks. "In the meantime, you might as well go harass your client some more. Maybe corner him into giving you a more definitive answer as to his guilt," he snickered.
"Well, maybe we'll do just that," Maria huffed, "Jana, Valerie, come on." She turned on her heel and marched out the door. Maya Valerie looked at Jana, shrugged, and followed her out.
"I still say that the murder method does not make any sense," Jana said to Alois once they were alone.
"Was meinst du?" Alois said.
"If Bertrand Nymphicus were to kill someone…" Jana said, crossing her arms, "I would expect it to be more violent than a poisoning. Something here does not add up."
Alois shrugged. "Perhaps he realized that he would get caught and tried to minimize the chances of that," he said, playing with his hair, "so he used a method more difficult to track down. And that," he added, smirking, "is why Herr Svavarsson would have planted the notes, ja? It's just like what Fräu Andrews did back, was, 36 years ago?"
Jana frowned. There was one possible line of defense gone. At least it hadn't happened in court.
"Do you still maintain your client's innocence?" Alois said.
"No one is truly innocent," Jana replied, "but I do maintain that my client is not guilty of the murder of Kit Glauketas."
"On the grounds that he hired you to prove that," Alois finished for her, "well, viel Glück in court tomorrow."
"Do not worry about me, worry about yourself," Jana said, sneering, "tomorrow I will have the evidence needed to establish reasonable doubt."
"As long as that evidence didn't come from Onkel Kristoph, that's fine," Alois said, smiling, "because as long as Maria's here, the truth will come out whether you want it to or not." Alois walked out. Jana took another cursory glance around Svavarsson's quarters and also left.
She found Maria and Maya Valerie standing by Satsuma's door. Maya Valerie had fingerprinting powder out. "What are you two doing?" Jana asked, heading over.
"Oh, there you are," Maria said, "Jana, take a look at this. I knew something was wrong…" She was gesturing towards the door. The fingerprinting powder had stuck to it, but it hadn't just revealed a bunch of fingerprints from whoever had happened to touch the door since the last time anyone had given it a wipedown. What Maria was probably trying to point out were the areas where the powder had stuck in large rectangular shapes - definitely not a fingerprint.
"What is this?" Jana asked.
"Adhesive," Maya Valerie replied gleefully.
"Most likely from tape," Maria said, hand to her mouth, thoughtful, "it's not concrete proof, but… this means something."
"And what is this something?" Jana asked, playing with her riding crop.
"Remember how Nymphicus said that he posted the notes?" Maria said, "well… where did you think he posted them?"
"? Wouldn't he have posted them on some sort of communal bulletin board?" Maya Valerie said.
"That is what I assumed also," Jana said.
"What if he taped them to a door?" Maria said, pointing at the fingerprint-powder-rectangles.
"…check Ragnar Svavarsson's door," Jana said, realizing Maria's implication.
"Where did you get that, anyway?" Maria asked Maya Valerie as she started dusting Svavarsson's door.
"I found it hidden in Daddy's office," Maya Valerie said sweetly.
"Does he still do that?" Maria said, "How has no one reported him?"
"I am fairly certain that the only person who actually mistook the fingerprint powder for cocaine was Apollo Justice," Jana said.
"I don't think there's any adhesive on Svavarsson's door," Maya Valerie said finally.
"Which means," Maria said, holding her hand up to her mouth again, "that I was wrong. The true recipient of the notes…"
April 8, 6:00 PM, Wright Anything Agency
Work was over for the day. The only people in the Agency right now were the Wrights (Edgeworth included, Miles excluded) and Jana. And Copper, unfortunately. At the moment, Edgeworth was cooking dinner, Wright was reading the newspaper (specifically, the comics section), Misty was talking to Diego about the Kurain Channeling Technique again, Copper was practicing some sort of magic trick that involved Wright's wallet, and Maya Valerie and Jana were hiding out in Maya Valerie's pink-walled, frilly room - the one which had previously belonged to Trucy, and before that, Maya Fey (although back then it had technically been a guest bedroom).
"…in short, I believe the case tomorrow is 'in the bag', as you Americans say," Jana said.
"You're American," Maya Valerie pointed out.
"A-Anyway," Jana said, blushing, "so, what is Uncle Miles making for dinner?"
"Good question," Maya Valerie said as another butterfly seemed to appear out of nowhere, "the last time I went into the kitchen, he was chopping something up and complaining that Daddy forgot to get something at the store… again… but then I think he sent Misty down to pick whatever Daddy had forgotten up…?"
"Ah," Jana said, "and how long ago was that?"
"…half an hour ago?" Maya Valerie said, putting her fist to her chin, "when I went to go to the bathroom." Jana nodded. That was approximately half an hour ago… which meant that dinner would probably be ready soon. Which was good, since the trial had gone right through lunch.
"Hey, ya two-faced rattlesnakes," Copper said, walking into the room, "supper's ready."
"Thank you," Maya Valerie said sweetly, "now get out of my room." Copper shrugged and left. "Well… let's go eat."
Dinner that night turned out to be sausage, potatoes and dumplings. Fantastic, Jana thought. The Wrights always seemed to eat German food while Jana was over, at least, so Jana wasn't entirely sure if they were accommodating her or if it was just Edgeworth's von Karma upbringing, since as far as she could tell he was always the one cooking. Could Wright even cook? Was that something he was capable of?
"So, Jana," Edgeworth said once everyone had actually started eating, "Alois told me that the case you two are working on is getting rather complicated."
"…yes," Jana said, "although it is a pity that the defendant was not, in fact, the victim."
"Going that badly, huh?" Wright said, grinning foolishly.
"No," Jana snapped, "I have this completely under control."
"The defendant is a terrible person who must burn for his sins," Maya Valerie said sweetly. Both Wright and Edgeworth frowned and glanced at each other.
"What'd he do?" Misty asked.
"I am not at liberty to say," Jana said.
"He's a jerk," Maya Valerie explained.
"Like Copper?" Diego muttered.
"Diego, be nice," Wright said.
"Yeah, listen to your old man," Copper said, sticking their tongue out at Diego.
"Stop calling me 'old man'," Wright sighed.
"Whatever you say, old man," Copper replied. Misty put her head in her hands.
"Maybe we should change the subject," Diego said, glancing away from Copper.
"I agree," said Edgeworth, "Wright. How is your case going?"
"…fine," Wright said, frowning, "although I thought you told Blackquill to stop doing that 'iaijutsu' thing in court."
"I did," Edgeworth sighed, "Looks like I'll have to have a talk with him again."
"Don't tell him I was the one who told on him," Wright said quickly.
"Hey, Daddy, can I go up to Kurain tomorrow?" Misty asked suddenly.
"Has anyone actually invited you this time, or do you intend to show up unannounced again?" Edgeworth said.
Misty poked at her potato with her fork. "Of course I was invited," she said stubbornly, "you can ask Mairwen if you don't believe me."
"Maybe you should this time," Maya Valerie said pleasantly.
There was a short pause. "Misty, put your cellphone down when you're at the dinner table," Wright said. Misty cringed - she had been hiding her phone under the table.
"I bet she's texting Mairwen," Diego offered, laughing.
"N-No I'm not," Misty protested. Wright raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I am," she admitted, "but there's nothing suspicious about that!"
"Not in and of itself, no," Wright said, clearly amused, "but you're still at the dinner table. Besides," he added as Misty shoved her phone back into her pocket, "why don't you actually ask Mairwen beforehand once in a while, as opposed to just telling her to say that she invited you?"
"You can't prove anything," Misty responded promptly.
"Misty, you do this all the time," Diego grumbled, "besides, if we just looked at your phone…"
"There are no incriminating texts on my phone!" Misty protested.
"Yeah, 'cuz you deleted them already," Copper said, tipping their hat.
"Copper, hats off at the dinner table," Edgeworth said at the same time Maya Valerie said, "Stay out of this, Copper!"
"This is your fault, Edgeworth," Wright said.
"It's clearly yours," Edgeworth replied.
"So is that a yes or not?" Misty asked.
"I don't see why not," Wright said, "except I expect you to pay for your own train tickets tomorrow."
"What!? Hey!" Misty said, almost dropping her fork, "…Valerie, can I borrow eighteen bucks?"
"I can give you nine," Maya Valerie said, "in return for a favor that I'll decide later."
"…nine bucks will only take me one way," Misty said.
"Maybe you should just stay in Kurain if you love it so much," Diego suggested.
"Diego! Be nice!" Wright said. Diego shrugged.
"Well… I guess I could borrow the other nine from Aunt Maya," Misty said, biting her nail, "but what do you want from me, Valerie?"
"She just said that she will decide later," Jana spoke up.
"That sounds worrisome," Edgeworth commented.
"Don't do it, Misty," Diego said, "Valerie is evil."
"Diego…" Wright said warningly.
"What?" Diego said, crossing his arms, "it's true!"
"I'll back that idiot up on this, even," Copper said, their little hair spikes (usually hidden by their hat) bouncing perkily.
"Shut up, I don't want you backing me up," Diego said sourly.
"I'm, I'm not evil," Maya Valerie said, tearing up.
Wright sighed. "Diego, now look what you've done!"
"I'm a victim in all this!" Diego said, slamming his hands on the table.
"Is it too much to ask for a nice, peaceful meal around here?" Edgeworth sighed.
"You knew what it was like you married me," Wright retorted.
"…I've made worse decisions," Edgeworth said, shrugging.
"So, I'll need that money by tomorrow morning," Misty said, eyeing Maya Valerie warily.
"Of course," Maya Valerie said, smiling warmly, then leaned over to Jana and whispered, "Can I borrow nine dollars in cash?"
"That favor had better also benefit me," Jana whispered back, slipping a ten-dollar bill out of her pocket and into Maya Valerie's hand. Maya Valerie smiled warmly at her, too.
"So… Misty'll be at hick mountain, Jana will be off investigatin' and I assume Valerie will be with her, the old man will be investigatin' his own thing, and gramps here will be workin' with that bunch of weirdos he calls prosecutors," Copper said, counting on their fingers, "which means… I'll be alone here with Diego?"
"Ughhhh," Diego said, slumping over onto the table.
"Stop calling everyone 'gramps'," Edgeworth said.
"I intend to finish this case in court tomorrow," Jana said haughtily.
"How dare you call Kurain Village 'hick mountain'!" Misty yelled.
Wright sighed. "Copper, you know I try to keep at least one adult in the office at all times."
"What about that time you left us alone with Wat?" Maya Valerie said.
"Um, Wat's an adult," Wright said, putting his hand behind his head, "isn't she?"
"She's 20," Edgeworth said, taking a sip of his drink.
"I keep forgetting that," Misty said, putting her finger to her chin.
"She does look awfully young for her age," Wright said.
"I think it's mostly the fact that she doesn't have her badge yet," Maya Valerie said, "I'm sure that by the time I'm as old as she is, I'll have my badge."
Everyone else (except Jana) groaned.
"Don't we have enough lawyers in this family?" Diego said, laying his head on the table. "I mean, Dad's a defense attorney… Dad's chief prosecutor… Trucy's a prosecutor… Miles is a finance attorney…"
"There's nothing wrong with being a lawyer," Wright said defensively, "it's just that… Valerie, can't you find something a little more… harmless to do with your life?"
"H-Harmless?" Maya Valerie said, tearing up again.
"Ack! I - I didn't mean-" Wright started.
"If you become a defense attorney, then the streets of Los Angeles will be filled with criminals," Edgeworth said bluntly.
"That's really mean, Daddy," Maya Valerie said, large tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Edgeworth!" Wright said, clearly offended, "Really! Making Valerie cry…!"
"She's faking," Edgeworth said at the same time Diego, Copper, and Misty did.
"You guys are awful," Maya Valerie sniffled, "Isn't that right, Jana?"
"Of course it is," Jana said, placing her riding crop on the table where everyone could see it. Edgeworth rolled his eyes.
"Of course it is," a cold voice said, and Dahlia materialized on the scene, "Really, you two, not letting your own daughter do what she wants with her life…"
"I don't think any of us want life advice from you," Wright said, not even looking at the resident ghost.
"True," Dahlia said, "considering I'm dead. And it's your fault."
"Give it a rest," Edgeworth grumbled, "you were executed by a court of law. If Wright had anything to do with it, it was only hampering the trial with his idiocy."
"Come on," Wright protested weakly, "that was decades ago."
"It never stops being ridiculous," Edgeworth replied.
"Yeah, have you seen that sweater?" Misty snickered, "I feel bad for laughing, but…"
"Will I never live that down?" Wright sighed.
"No," everyone else answered.
"Although I wish Mommy could have knitted us sweaters like that," Misty added sadly, "they may look dumb, but they were really well-made."
"I think I still have the ones she made you and Miles when you were really little somewhere," Wright mumbled.
"They're ugly too," Dahlia said, flipping her hair.
"What? The children or the sweaters?" Copper said.
"Both," Dahlia replied.
Jana frowned. "Iris Wright was your twin sister. If her children were ugly, that would imply that she herself was ugly, which would imply that you are ugly."
"The ugly genes came from Phoenix," Dahlia said, sneering. Wright laid his head on the table, sighing.
"Wow," Misty said, "okay, forget I said anything."
"But even if she wasn't ugly, Iris was still worthless and I'm glad she's gone," Dahlia continued, flipping her hair.
"Can we not talk about this?" Wright asked.
"It's not like you can do anything to stop me," Dahlia replied, then continued, "I mean, it's no wonder you went and married Edgeworth as soon as Iris died in absentia."
"Iris died twelve years ago!" Wright protested, "It just took me seven years to pick up the pieces and move on - I wasn't waiting for her to be legally declared dead - if I thought there was even the smallest possibility that she was still alive, I'd still be looking for her!"
"Wright, just ignore her," Edgeworth said, putting a hand on Wright's shoulder.
"…may I be excused?" Misty asked, looking nervously between Dahlia and her father.
"Yes," Edgeworth said, "don't forget to put your dishes in the dishwasher."
"…we should go, too," Maya Valerie whispered to Jana as Misty got up - so did Copper and Diego. Dahlia and Wright had started arguing in earnest. Jana nodded.
9:30 PM
"Lights out, girls," Edgeworth said, poking his head into Maya Valerie's room, where Maya Valerie and Jana were both in their pajamas, and Maya Valerie was in fact already in bed, while Jana was on a somewhat beat-up old couch that smelled like coffee.
"Of course, Daddy," Maya Valerie said innocently. Edgeworth flicked the lightswitch and left.
"Anyway, as I was saying," Jana said, pulling a flashlight out from behind the couch, "Mama says that I can get a whip once I get my driver's license, and Papa says that a motorcycle license is basically the same thing."
"Neat," Maya Valerie said, "say, Jana, we should tell scary stories."
Jana raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah," Maya Valerie said, rolling over and dangling her head off the bed so that she was looking at Jana upside-down, "I mean, we usually do that, right?"
"I suppose."
"But you never have any good ones," Maya Valerie said, frowning.
"Then you ought to go first," Jana said, pointing at Maya Valerie.
"Hm…" Maya Valerie said, "well, okay. I guess I'll start with…" she sat up, and Jana tossed her the flashlight, which Maya Valerie held under her chin. "I believe it was 33 years ago," she said in a spooky voice, "when Metis Cykes was brutally-"
"Must you always do your father's old cases?" Jana interrupted, frowning.
"What? What's the problem?"
"The Phantom isn't really that scary," Jana said dismissively.
"Y-Yes he is," Maya Valerie said, theatrically tearing up again, "of course he is. Don't you know he was suspected to be involved with my mother's death?"
Jana rolled her eyes. She knew full well that Maya Valerie didn't buy into anyone else's theories of what had happened to Iris. In fact, she had a few theories of her own: namely, that Iris' disappearance was completely voluntary, and that she may even be still alive. Maya Valerie considered that Iris had run away because she was scared that her twin children would be like her and Dahlia (…which she did have a point there) although how exactly her father was involved seemed to change depending on how charitable she felt towards him at the moment. Sometimes she thought Wright had actively helped Iris vanish and may even know where she was currently, while other times she thought that Wright had figured out why Iris had fled but didn't know where to, and had made up a story about a kidnapping and murder to conceal Iris' cowardice and betrayal from their children. Occasionally Maya Valerie even considered Wright to be as much a victim in all this as she and her siblings were, in that Wright genuinely did not know that Iris had left on her own.
Jana herself had no theories on the disappearance of Iris Wright. She was inclined to agree with Maya Valerie, since a lot of what she said made sense, but she had only been two when it happened, after all, and wasn't really related to her, even through the same tenuous connections she had with her 'cousins', the Wrights, therefore it didn't really matter to her.
"Well, if you don't want to hear about Daddy's old cases, what am I supposed to do?" Maya Valerie said, back to her normal, sugary self.
"Tell a real scary story," Jana suggested.
"You always say mine are really lame, though," Maya Valerie said.
Jana closed her eyes, thinking. "Actually," she said slowly, remembering some comments from earlier in the day, "there is one case I am interested in hearing about."
"…is this so you don't have to read through any of the actual case files?" Maya Valerie said.
"…yeeees," Jana said sheepishly, "Anyway, remember how Alois compared Bertrand Nymphicus to this Engarde man? Do you know about that trial?"
"Hmm," Maya Valerie said, putting her fist to her mouth and looking down slightly, "I think I might have read that case file once... wasn't that the only time Daddy lost to Daddy in court?"
"...yes?" Jana said. Would it kill the Wright kids to distinguish their fathers somehow?
"Let's see," Maya Valerie said, "okay. March 2018..."
April 9, 9:50 AM, District Court, Defendant's Lobby #9
A tense silence reigned over the defendant's lobby. Maria was keeping a nervous eye on Nymphicus. Jana was tapping her foot impatiently.
"Jana," Maria sighed, not taking her eyes off of Nymphicus (who wasn't even doing anything), "what on Earth are you waiting for?"
"I told Alois to meet me before trial started," Jana growled, "I want to know if they successfully located Ragnar Svavarsson."
"You'll be finding that out in a few minutes anyway," Maria pointed out, "besides, just because Alois is your brother doesn't mean he has to-" Alois walked in, grinning somewhat apologetically. Maria sighed.
"Did you find him?!" Jana demanded immediately.
"Beruhige dich, Jana, bitte," Alois said, holding his hands up defensively but still grinning, "ja, we found him, but when we tried to talk to him he said he'd only explain his actions in court."
"So you're calling him as a witness?" Maria said.
Alois nodded. "Which is why I came here," he said, glancing at Jana, "not because you texted me in all caps - I came to warn to you that no one knows what exactly is going to happen in there today, nicht einmal mir."
"I can make a pretty good guess as to what he is going to say," Jana mumbled, folding her arms.
"Meinetwegen," Alois said, rolling his eyes, "Maria... I'm sure you realize as much as I do that the only way you two could possibly get a 'not guilty' verdict here is by 'finding' the real killer, nien?"
"Um, yes," Maria said, her notebook out again.
"And I also realize that, if my suspicions are correct, it would be easy to pin the blame on Herr Svavarsson," he continued, playing with his hair, "so... I need you to keep a tight leash on Jana."
"What?" Jana said, readying her riding crop.
"Ach, it's just... if it's the only way she could get a 'not guilty' verdict, I'm sure she would have no qualms about putting a relatively innocent man behind bars," Alois continued, still talking to Maria, "so if you two are going to indict Herr Svavarsson..."
"If that happens, it will be for Glauketas' sake, not Nymphicus'," Maria assured him.
"I knew I could count on you," Alois said, smiling brightly, "Danke." And he left.
"What were you guys whispering about over there?" Nymphicus said, striding up to Maria and Jana.
"That is none of your concern," Jana said, pointing her riding crop at him. Nymphicus rolled his eyes.
"Court is about to begin," the bailiff announced.
April 9, 10:00 AM, District Court, Courtroom #9
"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Bertrand Nymphicus," the Judge said.
"The prosecution is ready, your Honor," Alois said, looking deceptively relaxed.
"The defense is ready, your Honor," Jana said, feeling about as relaxed as Alois looked. All she needed to do was corner Svavarsson and this trial would be all over.
Easier said than done.
"If the court will recall," Alois said, "yesterday's trial ended rather suddenly when it was revealed that the testimony of one Mr. Ragnar Svavarsson was absolutely essential to this case."
"Yes," the Judge said, "because his fingerprints were on the decisive evidence?"
"Exactly right, your Honor," Alois said, smiling, "however, this fact hardly changes the prosecution's theory - we believe that there is a possibility that Mr. Svavarsson may have tampered with the crime scene somehow, but his motive was to ensure Mr. Nymphicus' conviction."
"I see," said the Judge.
"Objection!" Jana said, "the prosecution is leading the court!"
"I was merely explaining my theory," Alois said, grinning and leaning forward, "anyway, with that said, the prosecution calls Ragnar Svavarsson to the stand."
Svavarsson took the stand, and he looked not in the least concerned about the heavy suspicion currently being directed towards him. In fact, he looked downright jolly.
"Witness, name and occupation, please," Alois said, hands in his pockets.
"My name is Ragnar Svavarsson!" Svavarsson boomed, "I'm a naval historian, subordinate to Hyla and co-worker to both Bertrand and Kit, may he be having a fine time in Hel's embrace..."
"What? Ach, nevermind," Alois said, "Mr. Svavarsson, I assume you know why you're here today."
"Of course, of course," Svavarsson said, removing his cap but still smiling winningly, "you wish to know how I was involved in the crime."
"He's awfully upbeat," Maria commented, frowning.
"Your fingerprints were on the threatening notes found in Mr. Glauketas' quarters," Alois said, "furthermore, barring your involvement, Mr. Nymphicus had no apparent motive."
"Of course he did," Svavarsson said confidently, running one hand through his glorious beard, "after all, he sent those notes to Kit, didn't he?"
"Quite frankly, Mr. Svavarsson," the Judge said, "we suspect that you planted the notes." Jana sighed.
"...ah," Svavarsson said, switching to a more serious expression, "I see how this is." He replaced his cap.
"Therefore, we would like to ask you to explain why your fingerprints were found on the notes," Alois said, "and, if you can, tell us what you believe Mr. Nymphicus' motive was."
"Very well," Svavarsson said, and he put his fists on his hips and laughed. "A motive... well, Bertrand wasn't exactly famous for getting along well with other people, was he? Although I do grant you that if he was going to start poisoning his co-workers one by one, he'd likely start with me." He tilted his head, his grin manly and rugged. "So how do you know that wasn't his intention?" He laughed again. "Kit needn't have died - I suspect Bertrand really did intend to poison me, although the way he went about it was certainly questionable. Did he really think that I hated him so much I'd eat the food off his plate just to spite him?"
"I see," said the Judge, "now, why were your fingerprints all over the decisive evidence?"
Svavarsson shook his majestic head. "I'll plead the fifth on that count... for the time being." The crowed broke into discussion, which the Judge silence with a few swings of her gavel.
"Very well then," she said, "Ms. von Karma, your cross-examination please."
Jana nodded. Where to start with this one? "Witness," she said, "I am curious about dinner that night. Who was there and what exactly happened?"
"Oh," Svavarsson said, running his fingers through his beard again, "well, dinner that night was actually a bit of a celebration, which is why the only thing we had to set aside from Bertrand was a plate of rice." He put his fists on his hips again, sticking his chest out manfully. "You see, Satsuma had been on 'shore leave' for the past few weeks and was ready to return to us the coming Monday, so Friday night we had ourselves a little party. Everyone was onboard that night, including Bertrand, although he didn't join us."
"And what happened after this?" Jana asked.
"Well, it wound down when Satsuma had to leave. I set aside Bertrand's food and escorted her home. I didn't return to the ship until the police asked to see me there on Monday."
"So you were the one who set aside Nymphicus' plate of rice, huh?" Maria said, putting her hand over her mouth.
Svavarsson laughed. "Yes, it does seem rather suspicious, doesn't it?"
"Mr. Nymphicus could have easily added the poison after Mr. Svavarsson and Ms. Blackquill left," Alois said, "don't forget, Dr. Goemon did witness the defendant loitering around the kitchen after everyone had left."
Hmm. "Going back to the motive," Jana said, "you raise a fair point: it makes no sense for Bertrand Nymphicus to poison his own plate."
"Maybe finally cracked," Svavarsson boomed, "of course I don't know what was going through Bertrand's head... but maybe he did specifically target Kit after all!" He shook his fist, scowling now - he looked like some sort of vicious dragon, the likes of which you find on the helms of longboats. "Maybe his plan was to kill us all - Kit was only the beginning..."
"Objection!" Jana threw out, "That is conjecture! The witness clearly holds animosity towards the defendant!"
"Objection sustained," the Judge said, "Ms. von Karma, do you have any more questions for Mr. Svavarsson?"
Jana nodded. "He said he would plead the fifth 'for the time being'. I believe it is time for him to tell us why his fingerprints were found on the threatening notes."
"If you must know," Svavarsson said, "hmm... how should I put this?" he said, stroking his beard, "Well. The paper the notes were written on - Bertrand would periodically borrow paper from me. I suppose that's how my fingerprints got on them."
The court was silent for a minute.
"Why did you plead the fifth over that?" the Judge asked, stunned.
"That... is a very flimsy excuse, Ragnar Svavarsson," Jana said, twisting her riding crop in her hands.
"...we don't have a way to counter it, though," Maria muttered.
"Actually," Alois said coolly, pulling out a piece of paper, "the witness is lying through his teeth. We found stationary in Mr. Nymphicus' room that matched the paper the threatening notes were written on perfectly... and Mr. Svavarsson's fingerprints were nowhere on the unused paper," he said sharply, slamming his fist into the wall behind him. Finally, Jana though, smirking, he's taking this seriously.
"!" Svavarsson recoiled, holding his hand to his side like he'd been wounded in glorious battle. "H-How..."
"Even if the paper is manufactured, the chemical composition of each 'batch' of paper will be slightly different," Maria said, glaring at Svavarsson.
"Ah, I see," Svavarsson said, grimacing as if in pain, "my area of expertise lies in boats, not paper manufacturing..."
"Witness, tell the truth!" Jana said, banging her desk.
"I... I..." Svavarsson said, leaning heavily on the stand, sweating.
"...witness," Alois said lightly, a small smile on his face, "why don't you just confess?"
"C-Confess?" Svavarsson said, narrowing his eyes at Alois. Oh no... Jana thought. She could see where this was going.
"To planting evidence," Alois said, leaning towards Svavarsson, hands in his pockets, "to ensure that Mr. Nymphicus would be convicted."
"...oh, yes," Svavarsson said, pulling himself up to his full height, his charismatic grin reappearing as the gallery's noise level ramped up, "Prosecutor Alois... what you say is true. I knew that Kit's killer could only be Bertrand, but I was worried that he would get away with it... so, yes, I forged evidence." He shook his fist, laughing madly. "I needed to make sure that Bertrand would pay for what he did, and I was willing to go to any length... even if it was, technically, illegal."
Jana smirked as the Judge attempted to restore order in the court. "Objection," she said coolly, wagging her finger at Svavarsson, "witness. We will need to explain yourself better than that." She hit the bench with her riding crop. "Firstly, explain at what point you planted the notes in Kit Glauketas' quarters? After the body was discovered, there was no opportunity to do so."
"I - oh," Svavarsson said, sweating, "excellent question, Miss von Karma-Gavin."
"Explain yourself!" Jana demanded.
"Well, there's only one explanation, isn't there?" Svavarsson sighed, drawing himself back up, "I discovered the body before Bertrand." Once again the gallery broke out into discussion.
"Why didn't you call the police?" Maria demanded, slamming her hands on the desk. Svavarsson looked away, frowning slightly, fingering one braid. "Witness! Answer me!"
"I... had to make sure... that Bertrand would be convicted," Svavarsson said, still not looking at the defense. "It wasn't immediately obvious from the crime scene, but... I knew. I knew it was him."
"Explain how you knew it was Mr. Nymphicus, witness," Alois said, his face impassive, as soon as the Judge had managed to settle down the peanut gallery.
"Who else could it possibly be?" Svavarsson said viciously, "Those notes - even if they had nothing to do with Kit, he still wrote them. Bertrand Nymphicus is a man more than capable of murder." The gallery broke into low-key whispering, but Jana ignored it.
"Speaking of those notes," Jana said, extending her hand towards Svavarsson, "how exactly did you come into possession of them in the first place?"
"What?" Svavarsson said, now yanking on the little beard-braid.
"You heard me," Jana said, "you did not simply produce those notes out of thin air. Why did you have them in the first place?"
"I - of course, they were... directed towards me," Svavarsson said, frantically scanning the gallery.
"Please elaborate on this point," Alois said.
"Th- They were taped to my door. A new every other day. I didn't tell anyone else on the crew about them... I was going to burn them, but I thought if Bertrand tried anything, I could-" Svavarsson started, tugging on his beard nervously, "someone could use them to secure Bertrand's conviction."
Maria nudged Jana with her elbow. Ah. "Objection!" Jana shouted, almost gleefully, "Ragnar Svavarsson. Your claim that Bertrand Nymphicus taped the threatening notes to your door contains a glaring contradiction."
"You're bluffing," Svavarsson said, no, hissed.
Jana smirked. "I do not bluff," she said, wagging her finger, "I believe that evidence is everything in a court of law."
"Then show us some evidence, Ms. von Karma!" the Judge said, banging her gavel to quiet down the gallery... again.
"Naturally, your Honor," Jana said, "witness. Explain how, if the notes were taped to your door, the tape did not leave any adhesive behind when you removed the notes?"
Svavarsson laughed, although it sounded less ringing and more hollow. "Well," he said, "clearly Bertrand used some high-quality tape that didn't leave any residue behind! He is fond of the finer things in life, as evidenced by his taste in women," he added, smiling charmingly.
"Actually," Alois said, and Svavarsson's smile vanished, "we did recover some tape in Mr. Nymphicus' quarters. It was very cheap..."
"But that's hardly the most interesting thing about this," Maria said, flicking her hair out of her eyes, "is it, Jana?"
Jana almost laughed. "Yes, there is one other thing," she said, "Ragnar Svavarsson... we did find adhesive residue on a door, although it was not yours."
"What?" the Judge said.
"You did?" Alois said.
"Don't you dare," Svavarsson said in a low voice.
"Yes," Jana said, extending her hand, "the door that the notes were in fact taped to..." Pause, for effect... "was that of Satsuma Blackquill."
"What?!" Alois said, recoiling.
"What?!" the Judge said, also stunned.
"WHAT?!" a woman in the gallery yelled. Her surrounding co-spectators began murmuring.
"No!" yelled Svavarsson, "No! Don't!"
"Which means," Maria said calmly, "if the defendant were to commit a crime, the target would surely be Ms. Blackquill... and it wouldn't a simple poisoning."
The Judge, Alois, even Svavarsson appeared to be at a loss for words while the gallery only got louder and louder as Satsuma ran down towards the witness stand, screaming, pushing past the bailiff. "Svavarsson-dono!" she was yelled, "Svavarsson-dono! Tell me - tell me it isn't true-! They're lying!"
"...Satsuma..." Svavarsson said, turning to look at her, "Satsuma, I..."
"Nymphicus-dono would never do that!" Satsuma shouted, tears starting to stream down her cheeks as the bailiff struggled to overpower her.
"Ms. Blackquill!" the Judge said, "Please! Return to your seat!"
"Svavarsson-dono!"
"Satsuma," Svavarsson said simply, turning back to the court and closing his eyes. Suddenly he pulled a long, wooden horn carved to look like a dragon out of nowhere and put it to his lips, blowing into it furiously. The sound that came out of the dragon's mouth reverberated deeply around the courtroom. At first it sounded sad and perhaps a little frightened, but then it gradually became filled with pain and rage and danger. It was like a ship-wrecking storm distilled into one long note. When he was finished, Svavarsson slammed his horn down onto the witness stand with a powerful blow that shook at least the defense bench. His eyes were wild and his hair was floaty, like lightning was coursing throughout it. "I did it to protect thee," Svavarsson said in a voice like thunder, "That Nymphicus scoundrel was unfit even for dogs. He must suffer for his sins!"
"...is that a confession?" Jana said, doing her best to act unimpressed.
"Nay," Svavarsson said, holding one fist up, "thou hast no proof; all that ye have against me is naught but circumstantial."
"Svavarsson-dono!" Satsuma cried again, still refusing to return to gallery.
"For Ms. Blackquill's sake, I'd like the defense to outline their theory as to what happened," the Judge said kindly.
"The prosecution has no objections," Alois informed the court.
Jana nodded. "Last year, the defendant, the witness, and Satsuma Blackquill were involved in a 'workplace love triangle' in which both Ragnar Svavarsson and Bertrand Nymphicus pursued Satsuma Blackquill. Ultimately, Satsuma Blackquill rejected both of them." Jana folded her arms. "Following this, Bertrand Nymphicus began posting extremely graphic threats to Satsuma Blackquill's door. However, Ragnar Svavarsson, for whatever reason, thought it best to conceal these notes from Satsuma Blackquill: he took them off of her door and kept them for himself. Then, last Friday, he felt as though his 'protection' of Satsuma Blackquill needed to go one step further and attempted to poison Bertrand Nymphicus."
"However," Maria said, taking over, "Mr. Svavarsson forgot to plan for Mr. Glauketas and his habit of stealing food. After Mr. Glauketas' death, Mr. Svavarsson was the first person to discover the body... and instead of calling the police, he thought to use his accidental victim as another way to get rid of Mr. Nymphicus. He took the threatening notes which he had saved just in case Mr. Nymphicus did make an attempt on Ms. Blackquill's life and planted them in Mr. Glauketas' room to make it look as though Mr. Nymphicus was out to kill Mr. Glauketas from the start. At the same time, he also searched Mr. Nymphicus' room, presumably to find a good place to plant the container of potassium cyanide, which he had already wiped of his prints."
"...I see," said the Judge, "Ms. von Karma... are you sure about this theory? You're accusing your own client of some very serious crimes."
"Bertrand Nymphicus is guilty of some very serious crimes," Jana said, clenching her fingers, "but murder is not one of them."
"Well, witness," Alois said casually, "how do you respond to this?"
"Those maidens are lying, of course," Svavarsson rumbled, "it is true that I did conceal that scoundrel's threats from mine precious Satsuma, yet if I were to kill Nymphicus, would it not be better for him to die by my hand in glorious combat? There is no honor in a poisoning!"
"...which is exactly what you meant by it," Satsuma said in a low voice, staring holes into the back of Svavarsson's head (by this point the bailiff was content with making sure she didn't join Svavarsson at the witness stand). "Someone who makes threats like those... deserves no honor."
Svavarsson frowned, running his hand through his beard - Jana could almost swear she saw electricity arc when he did that. "Thou speakest the truth," he said at length, "however, thy logic is flawed. If I meant to make Nymphicus look to be the murderer by planting the deadly poison in his quarters, would not it make more sense to put it in an obvious place?"
"If it were in an obvious place," Alois said, "then we would have suspected that it was planted in the initial investigation. Then again," he added, shaking his head, "I assume the defense means to say that the reason why Mr. Nymphicus' room was such a mess when we started searching it was because Mr. Svavarsson was looking for a hiding spot that only a careful investigation would turn up?"
Maria put her hand to her mouth. "That seems about right," she said after a moment's pause.
"How, then, would a search like that lead to the conclusion that he should plant the cyanide in a hidden compartment in Mr. Nymphicus' desk?" Alois said, leaning forward, "Wouldn't it make more sense to bury it somewhere in the mess?"
"Fair point, lad!" Svavarsson laughed, and it sounded more like an avalanche than bells.
"Wait! Hold it!" Satsuma yelled, starting forward again. That poor bailiff, Jana thought. "Svavarsson-dono - he knew! He knew about the desk!"
"Foolish wench!" Svavarsson exclaimed, recoiling and dropping his horn.
"What? He did?" the Judge said.
"Yes!" Satsuma said, "He was the one who made the false-bottomed drawer in the first place!"
"Your Honor, that is not admissible as testimony," Alois said, completely neutrally.
"No," the Judge said, "it isn't. Ms. Blackquill, please-"
"Nay, let her speak," Svavarsson rumbled, "she speaks only the truth... I did know about the secret of the desk. Which means," he added with a wolfish grin, "that it would not make sense for me to search Nymphicus' quarters! What would I stand to gain by that?"
"A-Ah," Jana said, grimacing - then realized something. "Clearly, then, what you were searching for was not a hiding place."
"And if you found what you were looking for," Maria said, smirking, "then I doubt you would've already destroyed it. Your Honor! The defense requests a search be done for any objects in Mr. Svavarsson's possession that originated in the defendant's room!"
"Haven't you already searched Mr. Svavarsson's quarters on the Yamoto, though?" the Judge asked, eyes wide.
"You forget, your Honor," Alois said, smiling softly, "that Mr. Svavarsson has been spending an awful lot of time on shore in the past few weeks. In fact, the night of the murder he wasn't even on board. Clearly, he was staying someplace - in fact, the prosecution knows where exactly he was staying." He leaned forward. "I suppose the defense wishes to search Mr. Svavarsson's hotel room."
"That is exactly right," Jana said.
"Ha!" Svavarsson said, "I wish ye luck! I will not allow mine living quarters to be searched by hands lacking a warrant! I will fight ye every step of the way."
"...Alois, how soon can you get a warrant?" Jana said, frowning.
"It will... take a while," Alois said, sweating slightly.
"In the meantime, I suppose Svavarsson intends to burn whatever it is he took out of Nymphicus' room," Maria said drily.
"Assuming such a thing exists in the first place," Alois said, recovering, but not smiling.
"Which of course it does not!" Svavarsson said triumphantly, "and since it does not, ye have no evidence tying me to the murder!" He laughed victoriously. "I am no shedder of innocent blood - Nymphicus is!" He continued laughing wildly.
"...Svavarsson-dono..."
His howling laugh stopped abruptly. It seemed to hang in the air. For the first time since Satsuma had forced her way down from the gallery, Svavarsson turned around.
"Svavarsson-dono, I don't want to believe that you're the one who killed Glauketas-dono," Satsuma growled softly, looking at him with a very dangerous gleam in her eyes, "but just because there is no direct proof that you did does not mean that you didn't."
"...treacherous woman..." Svavarsson whispered.
"Look me in the eye, Svavarsson-dono, and tell me that you didn't kill Glauketas-dono in a mad attempt to kill Nymphicus-dono," Satsuma barked, then put her hand to the handle of her sword. "Tell me!"
Svavarsson stared at Satsuma for a long, long time. Then he sighed, and turned back to the court. He gripped the witness stand with both hands and looked determinedly at the floor. "All this for a ferocious maid who will love me no more than the sea loves a sailor..." he muttered to himself, then looked up. "I grant ye my permission to search mine lodging at the inn without a warrant," he said, "you will find an album of pictures, taken and compiled by that scoundrel Nymphicus... every picture is that of mighty, lovely Satsuma, none taken with her knowledge. I took the album from Nymphicus' quarters after I discovered unfortunate Kit's lifeless body."
"Is this a confession?" Jana said, tapping her riding crop against her palm.
"Yea," Svavarsson said, "verily, it is... I conspired to grant Nymphicus an honorless death fit for creatures the likes of his... and yet mine plans were imperfect, and it cost the life of Kit Glauketas, who deserved nothing less than a warrior's death for his bravery and loyalty. I am deeply, truly sorry..."
Silence fell over the courtroom.
"Well," the Judge said at length, "I believe Mr. Nymphicus' innocence in this matter is very clear - namely, that Mr. Nymphicus is hardly innocent at all. In fact, one might even go as far to say that the true tragedy here is not that Mr. Svavarsson committed murder, but rather that he mistakenly killed Mr. Glauketas instead of Mr. Nymphicus... but I digress. With this in mind, this court finds the defendant, Mr. Bertrand Nymphicus NOT GUILTYon the charge of murder, at least."
Confetti fell and a miserable Svavarsson and an extremely angry Nymphicus were led off in handcuffs while Satsuma watched, looking like she was strongly considering committing seppeku. The cheers of the crowd seemed just a little sardonic.
April 9, 5:44 PM, Gavin Estate
"So you're not planning on continuing Herr Nymphicus' defense?" Klavier said, strumming on his old electric guitar. Jana liked to watch him practice.
"I do not consider a plea bargain to be a proper victory," Jana said, shrugging.
Klavier laughed. "If it weren't for the hair color, I'd think you weren't really my daughter and that Franziska just cloned you." He shook his head. "Anyway, that's just as well. Herr Blackquill is clamoring to be the prosecutor for Herr Nymphicus' next trial. Knowing him, he'll probably seek the death sentence..."
"Das Todesurteil... for criminal threat and stalking?" Alois said from where he was leaning against wall.
"Ja," Klavier said, "I can understand that. The victim here is his daughter, after all... and if someone's threatened your kids, even if they didn't harm them, ach, well..." He shrugged, glancing subtly at Alois. "Herr Nymphicus' guilt is clear, nien?"
"Very clear," Alois said.
"Then Herr Blackquill will probably spend the whole trial 'suggesting' the Judge make the sentence heavier and heavier," Klavier said, "should be a fun trial to watch, anyway."
"If I am not doing anything, I will be sure to attend," Jana said, grinning.
"Wouldn't that just be rubbing it in Herr Nymphicus' face?" Alois said.
"I assume that's the point," Klavier replied.
Jana frowned. "There is something that still does not make sense."
"Was?" Alois said, "oh, why Herr Svavarsson would hide the notes from Satsuma in the first place?"
"Yes," Jana said, "Did he simply have no faith in Satsuma Blackquill's ability to defend herself?"
"You'd think she'd be more capable of defending herself than he was," Alois said, playing with his hair, "she's been professionally trained in using that sword of hers..."
"Ach, did you two never ask why she was on 'shore leave' for that past few weeks?" Klavier said.
"...nien," Alois said sheepishly, "we didn't think it was particularly relevant."
"Tell us," Jana commanded.
"Fine, fine," Klavier said, putting his guitar down, "just in case Satsuma was keeping this private, you are not to tell either Blackquill that you know about this, got it?"
"Got it," both Alois and Jana said.
"Well, as you know, Satsuma was adopted twenty years ago," Klavier said, playing with his hair, "following the death of her mother, who was a prosecutor. But the reason why she had no father to begin with was because he had died due to a rare blood disease shortly after she was born... and that blood disease is something that Satsuma inherited."
"What?" Alois said, shocked.
"Ja, it's true. That's why she's a naval historian even though what she really wanted to do was join the Navy like her mother had done before becoming a prosecutor," Klavier said, "and it's also why Herr Blackquill had the opportunity to adopt her in the first place - her only living relatives were unwilling to take care of her due to the expensive treatment that she required. Anyway, don't worry about her," he added, catching Alois' expression, "medicine has really advanced since she was born. Her predicted lifespan gets longer every year. But that's why she was on 'shore leave'."
"She was receiving treatment for her blood disease," Jana said, "I see."
"I... I had no idea," Alois said, clearly distressed.
"She has a tendency to hide it," Klavier said, shrugging, "because she thinks it makes her vulnerable. Which it does - treatment takes quite a lot out of her, literally." He didn't elaborate on the nature of the treatment itself. "So that's probably Herr Svavarsson felt the need to protect her like that... in the state she's in, she would have a very difficult time fending off an attack."
"I suppose he must have tried to kill Bertrand Nymphicus because Satsuma Blackquill was just returning from several weeks of treatment," Jana said.
"Ja, that makes sense," Klavier said.
"And... he hid the notes from her in the first place so that he wouldn't worry her...?" Alois said.
"Why bother, though?" Jana asked. Svavarsson's actions still didn't make sense to her.
"Ach," Klavier said, laughing, "you'll understand when you're older, Jana. ...love can be like that."
A/N: Incidentally, the computer I've been typing these up on (not the same one as the computer I'm using to upload them) has no spell-check... so let's just pretend the typos are keeping to the spirit of the source material. Hehe.