Disclaimer: Don't own Capcom or Phoenix Wright...or the Sahara desert.
Back at his office, Phoenix sat at his desk sporting an absent look. The picture of Rachel Darkstar lie face down in front of him. His body was still, but his mind was in overdrive.
Demarco…how can I save him?
"Help me then, Phoenix Wright!"
"I don't want to run anymore…"
He helped me in the Doe trial, the least I could do is help him. But where to start? A year had already passed from Darkstar's death, so witnesses were scarce and he doubted that Gumshoe would let him get his hands on some evidence with Franziska watching his every move. Like all of his previous cases, this one seemed hopeless.
Banging at the door roused the distraught attorney. Who could it be now? He asked himself as he unlocked the door.
"Nick!" Maya shouted and wrapped her arms around her lover, kissing him on the cheek. "Missed me?"
"Maya," Phoenix said as if she were an oasis in the Sahara, "I really need you right now."
"And me too, Mr. Nick!" Pearl yelled fiercely as she stepped into the office. "We're gonna be your assistants again and save Mr. Demarco!"
"Thanks, Pearls," Phoenix brought the young girl closer to him in a hug. "I need all the help I can get. The only thing I have is this picture of the victim, Rachel Darkstar."
"Hmm," Maya formed a plan as she released Phoenix's waist. "Maybe I can channel her!"
"Great idea, Maya! Then maybe we could get a lead!"
Without further delay, Maya summoned the spirit of Rachel Darkstar and was enveloped in vast darkness. She felt her body ethereally floating in a frigid vacuum of loneliness and loathing. This was definitely unlike her usual channeling. There was so much negativity inside this spirit and it threatened to engulf her. When she finally felt her spirit rise to the surface of consciousness, she awoke to a pale faced Nick and a frightened Pearl. The office had been thrashed. Charly, the plant, had been knocked over, there were papers everywhere. "What happened," Maya whispered weakly, still recovering.
"Apparently," Phoenix choked out in utter shock, "Rachel and Demarco had a couple issues."
"Did you find out anything at least?" Maya asked desperately.
"Yeah," Phoenix regained the color in his face, "Demarco used to be a defense attorney. That explains so much. He had actually defended Darkstar in a murder trial."
...
"You see, Mr. Demarco Jurney had been a defense attorney just out of law school when he was called upon to defend his fiancée from a murder conviction." Franziska von Karma explained to Detective Gumshoe.
The two law enforcement officials were at a local café, trying to unwind as they studied the case file that sat between them. Around them, people ate and socialized normally, unaware of the duo trying to resolve a year old murder. Gumshoe slurped his coffee, waiting for the prosecutor to fully reveal the suspect's background.
"He had barely won the case, but afterward it had been brought to light that he had forged evidence in the trial. Now," Franziska waved a finger in Gumshoe's face to emphasize her point, "forging evidence is a fatal mistake that could destroy the career of any attorney. It did just that to Mr. Demarco Jurney. He had lost everything. Even his fiancée had left him after that, and then was killed. It appears he left town right around the murder and slipped out from under the scrutiny of the public eye but ah-" she picked up her tea and sipped it daintily, "a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime."
Gumshoe spaced out, his gaze accidently falling on a little girl sloppily eating a large sandwich. He couldn't help but wonder how Phoenix was doing on the case. Just what hope did he exactly have for a defense?
...
Pearl lay fast asleep, cuddled in Phoenix's lap. Maya rested her head on his shoulder. She could hear the steady rhythm of her boyfriend's heart beat. There was more than that though. She could hear his frustration, his anger, his confusion. She glanced at Phoenix's stoic face. He was looking forward, locked on something she couldn't see.
Just why was he racking his brain over defending Demarco? Especially since all he had was just a picture of the victim. Not even a damn autopsy report. He could just drop the case. But he knew he'd never do that. He became a defense attorney to protect, even if it was against impossible odds.
"Are you willing to sacrifice your life?"
"You're not even half the lawyer she was, Trite."
"You still have much to learn…"
"I didn't do it! Why won't anybody believe me?"
The trial was tomorrow. Phoenix tightened his arm around Maya and nestled his head against hers. He could hear her lightly snoring. "You think I can save him?" Phoenix asked Maya rhetorically, not expecting an answer because he believed the spirit medium was fast asleep. He was startled by her response
"There's not a single doubt in my mind, Nick."
...
In his holding cell, Demarco rocked back and forth on the concrete, fear whirling in his eyes. He thought he was gone. After all, it had been a year. A year hoping that he would come back to nothing, nobody would be waiting for him. She was dead. He was gone. Nobody would remember his heinous crime. It would've been the perfect chance to start over and leave everything behind. If only he'd known that in Kurain Village, he would resurface. If only he'd known how thoroughly the world had broken him. If only he'd known how futile and childish a miracle really was.
