May 18

Warden's Office

11.07 AM

"Hello?"

Apollo cautiously poked his head around the wood and glass door. Two minutes of knocking hadn't prompted a response. His shoulders slumped when he saw that the room was empty.

"No-one's here," he said dejectedly. "Great. Now what?"

"Cheer up, Apollo!" Trucy replied. She ducked under his arm and entered the room. "Let's investigate this room while we're waiting!"

"And look for what, exactly?" Apollo asked. Trucy ignored him and made a beeline for the filing cabinet. "Hey!"

"Keep a lookout!" Trucy instructed as she began to open drawers.

Apollo glanced nervously over his shoulder and then quickly slipped inside the office.

"Trucy, what are you doing?!" he hissed. "Those are official documents! You can't just rummage through–"

"Look at this, Polly," Trucy interrupted, handing him a few sheets of paper stapled together. "All the prisoners were moved around at the same time Mr. Gavin and Mr. Armando were put in the same cell, and most of the guards were reassigned to different wings and patrol schedules, too."

"Hmm." Apollo looked over the papers. "Then Gavin wasn't being singled out when he was moved."

"Maybe moving everyone is a regular thing around here," Trucy suggested.

"Maybe," Apollo replied. "I wonder how often they do it..."

He lifted his head and looked sharply at the door, ears picking up the sound of footsteps…accompanied by a soft jangling noise.

"Quick, put these back," Apollo said, thrusting the papers at Trucy. "Someone's coming!"

Trucy hurriedly slipped the papers back in the filing cabinet and closed the drawer. Both siblings attempted to look casual as the footsteps grew closer.

The office door opened and a tanned, dark-haired man entered the room. Apollo couldn't help but stare – he wore a cowboy hat and his prison guard's uniform was almost hidden by a poncho.

"You folks lookin' for Warden Peace?" the man asked.

"Y-yes," Apollo replied. He pulled the paperwork that Klavier gave him out of his pocket and showed it to the guard, along with his badge. "I'm Apollo Justice, I'm Kristoph Gavin's attorney." He indicated his sister. "This is my assistant, Trucy Wright. We're here investigating the murder of Diego Armando. We were hoping to check out the crime scene and were told to report to the warden first."

The man was gazing at Trucy.

"Wright, huh?" he remarked. "Little lady, your father isn't…Phoenix Wright, is he?"

"That's right!" Trucy answered with a grin. She could see the man doing the math in his head, and continued, "He's been my daddy as long as my real one, anyway."

The man shook his head slightly, a faint smile on his face.

"The range sure ain't as big as it used to be," he murmured. He looked at Apollo's paperwork and attorney's badge carefully, then extended a hand. "Jake Marshall at your service, partner."

Apollo shook it, wincing slightly at the strength of Jake's grip.

"We've been expecting Gavin's attorney since early this morning," Jake explained. "The warden's having coffee right now, but he told me to come up and wait for you." He gave Apollo his badge and paperwork back. "This all seems in order. Come with me, I'll show you what you want to see."

Jake led them out of the office, holding the door open for them. As he started up the corridor, the soft jangling sound returned. Apollo looked down and saw that Jake was wearing cowboy boots, complete with spurs.

(You have got to be kidding…!)

"So, you know my daddy, Mr. Marshall?" Trucy asked as they walked through the corridors.

"Know him?" Jake answered with a smirk. "This old cowpoke still owes him a favour."

"Have you worked here long?" Apollo interrupted. He wasn't keen on starting the man on a trip down memory lane.

"A few years now," Jake replied. They reached a security door with a number code lock. "Stay close," he warned as he punched the buttons. "We're entering the cell blocks."

They passed by rows of cells, each housing two or three inmates. Apollo stole glances at the men from the corner of his eye, suddenly grateful that so far he'd only helped put away three people for murder, two of which were currently in the hospital wing and the other was in the women's prison on the other side of town. He moved closer to Trucy, not at all comfortable with the way some of the prisoners were leering at her.

"Did you know the victim? Diego Armando?" he asked, trying to distract himself from the stares they were getting.

"I used to know a man named Diego Armando," Jake replied, "a cocky, smooth-talking hombre who duelled with my baby brother across the courtroom." They reached a staircase and he directed them to climb up it. "But that was a long time ago. When our paths crossed again, I barely recognised him. He'd turned sour inside…angry."

Apollo looked back at him.

"Angry?" he huffed. He remembered the hunch he'd had with Kristoph, and asked, "Were the other prisoners afraid of him?"

Jake shrugged. "I can't speak for four hundred other men."

They reached the top of the staircase and began to walk past more cells.

"You must have some idea," Apollo pressed. "You work here, don't you?"

Jake shot him a stern look.

"I work here," he confirmed, "but I don't fraternise. Partner, working in here is like walking barefoot through a field of rattlesnakes. You get too close…" He shot Apollo with double-barrelled fingers.

"They'd kill you?" Trucy asked in alarm.

"Heh." Jake adjusted his hat slightly. "Some of 'em will try it…but what I mean is, it don't pay to get chummy with these guys. You start makin' believe they're your friends, then they'll ask you to do them a favour – just one, it seems reasonable at the time…and bam." He smacked his fist into his palm for emphasis. "Suddenly you work for them. Cos if you don't, they're gonna tell your boss about that first favour, and you're gonna get fired. Or worse: if you've been dumb enough to tell them about your family, they're gonna threaten them." They turned a corner and went through another security door. "Now Kristoph Gavin, he had most of the greenhorn guards and a couple of seasoned hands working for him."

"Well, I guess that makes sense…" Trucy mused. "Otherwise he wouldn't have had that big fancy cell all to himself."

"Yep," Jake answered. "He lost that in the big reshuffle, though. Made him pretty mad."

Apollo nodded thoughtfully, then remembered what had started the conversation in the first place. "If you can't speak for the prisoners, then tell me what you thought of Armando. What was he like to…" He searched for the right word, and sheepishly settled on, "…guard?"

"You ever worked on a ranch there, boy?" Jake asked.

Apollo shook his head. "No."

"Well, here's some advice if you ever do," Jake continued. "When you're working with cattle, always watch out for the bull." He glanced back at Apollo and elaborated, "See, the steers'll behave, go quietly…but the bull's unpredictable. If he gets ornery…" Jake tilted his hat over his forehead and smirked. "…well, we lose more greenhorns that way."

Apollo stared at him, his antennae drooping over his forehead. (Why can no-one ever give me a straight answer?!) "…Thanks."

The cells they were passing were empty, and as Apollo looked towards the end of the corridor he could see why – the wall was blackened with soot. They were reaching their destination.

"Laundry room is under this wing," Jake explained. "That's where the fire started. It came up that staircase there at the end of the corridor, directly opposite Armando and Gavin's cell. I understand there's an accident investigation team working to determine the cause of the fire."

"Where are the prisoners who are normally held here?" Apollo asked.

"Some of them have been rehoused in B Wing," Jake replied. "Most of 'em are still in the hospital under observation." They reached the cell where the murder took place. Ema was standing inside, her back to the entrance.