Miles searched his bookshelf for an old case file. Another prosecutor was investigating a larceny and apparently the victim had ties to another case. He ran his finger over every book he could reach. He glanced up at the top of the bookshelf, which touched the ceiling of his office. I really hope it's not one of those.
He almost sighed in relief when he found the file he had been looking for. He pulled it off the shelf and heard a loud thumping sound. He looked at the file, then at the bookshelf. Should I put this back? No wait, I think it came from the wall behind it. Miles walked over to where the wall was bare and wondered what had caused the noise. Coldstare's office is on the other side of this wall, is she okay?
Growing concerned, Miles put the file on a small table and stepped out of his office. He knocked on Maria's office door.
"It's not locked," he heard Maria say from inside.
Miles opened the door and stepped inside. Maria's face was shoved in a book, looking like nothing had happened.
"What brings you here?" Maria said.
"I heard a loud thumping noise from here, are you alright?" Miles said, slightly confused and immensely suspicious.
"I'm fine, Edgeworth; that was just Missile bouncing off the walls."
"Literally?"
"He was protecting me from a bug," Maria said, putting air quotations around "protecting."
Miles didn't buy it. He looked at Maria skeptically, but he couldn't make eye contact because her book was in the way. He didn't know what was going on, or how to find out. Maria certainly wasn't going to tell him. Miles considered letting it go, then he noticed what Maria was reading.
Miles raised an eyebrow. "Coldstare… Why are you reading that book upside down?"
"It's more mentally stimulating that way," Maria said, completely unfazed.
"Is it now?"
"Yes, is that all you wanted to know?"
"Actually, there is one more thing."
"What would that be?"
Miles walked over to Maria, who held the book closer. He lowered the book away from her face. She glared at him, but Miles didn't really take notice.
"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?" Miles asked.
Maria crossed her arms, looking peeved. "What does it matter?"
"You lost them, didn't you?"
"I…" Maria was reluctant to admit it.
"Let me guess, for some reason you bumped into the wall and knocked your glasses off."
Maria rubbed her arm, looking defeated. "Yes."
"Would you like me to help you find them?"
"No, I have an idea. Missile!" Maria said, and the little dog skipped over to her.
"Find my glasses, boy," Maria directed.
Missile barked and began sniffing around. He searched around the room, and yapped again when he found them under Maria's desk. He picked them up with his mouth and the prosecutors heard a cracking noise.
"No! Missile, drop it," Maria said. She went over to the dog and kneeled down. Missile dropped the now broken glasses and Maria examined his mouth the best she could.
"Does he have any glass in his mouth? Can you tell?" she asked Miles.
Miles checked the dog's mouth and said, "No, I think he's okay. What about your glasses?"
"They're not going to help anyone," Maria said and sighed. She held up the broken frames with the cracked lenses. The right lens was completely shattered.
"Do you have any spares?" Miles asked.
"I have a pair at home, I'll have to go get them," Maria stood up and went over to her coat hanger with a coat and a purse on it. She reached out to grab her purse, but missed by a couple inches.
"Coldstare, how bad is your eyesight?" Miles said, worried.
"I'm fine," Maria said defensively.
"Coldstare, how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Well, since your entire hand is up, technically the answer is five."
"You're not driving," Miles said.
"What?"
"First of all, I'm holding both hands up. So by your evasive logic I'm holding up ten fingers."
"Who puts up both hands?"
"Someone who suspected you had a way of avoiding the question. I'm not letting you drive."
"Would you prefer I walk then?"
"I'm over here," Miles deadpanned.
"Be quiet!"
"Would you like me to drive you?" Miles said in a nicer tone.
"I can't ask you to do that, you don't even know where I live."
"Tell me where you live, then."
"I'm sure you don't want Missile in your car. And I don't want to leave him alone in room with broken glass."
"Missile wouldn't be a problem. Unless he plans on eating the headrest I don't mind at all."
Maria sighed in submission, "Fine. Here, Missile."
Missile walked over to Maria and she put his leash on. She opened the door and walked out with Missile and Miles. Miles was glad that Maria didn't run into anything; her eyesight was obviously very bad. They didn't say anything as they walked down to the lobby and into the parking lot. Miles unlocked his car and got in the driver's seat. Maria put Missile in the back seat and herself up front next to Miles.
Maria told Miles where she lived and they drove off. A few minutes into the drive, Miles realized he was starting to feel awkward. The silence felt unnatural, like he was supposed to be saying something. It didn't get any better when he stopped at a red light.
"So what exactly did happen?" Miles said. It was the first thing that came to his head.
"It was as you said, I knocked into the wall," she hesitated to continue. "A book was stuck in my bookshelf. I, uh, overestimated how hard I needed to pull to get it out."
Miles realized the conversation would only make things more awkward and changed topics. "You live pretty close to the Prosecutors Building."
"I moved here because of the job offer. I thought it would make sense to live nearby."
"That's right; I forgot you're from another district. Is it much different from here?"
"Not really, same rules apply. Although to be honest, I've met some much more interesting people here. Inside and outside the courthouse."
Interesting, that's a good word. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Depends on the individual."
Miles nodded his head, but realized Maria couldn't see it. "True."
They soon reached Maria's home and got out of Miles' car. Maria felt around her purse for her keys, at last taking them out. She held them close to her face, trying to find the right one. Miles just watched as Maria eventually figured out which key was which and unlocked the door. Just how impaired is the poor girl?
"Come inside, I should only be a moment," Maria said.
Miles stepped inside to find a comfortably decorated living room. He watched nervously as Maria maneuvered around the room and disappeared to another room. He waited for something to break, but heard nothing. He looked at Missile, who had stayed in the living room with him. The dog ran off and came back with a green rubber ball in his mouth. He looked up expectantly at Miles.
"I'm not here to play, Missile," Miles said.
Missile dropped the ball by his feet and sat down, still looking up at him. Ugh, no one does puppy dog eyes better than a puppy.
"Alright, one throw," Miles said and picked up the ball, much to Missile's delight.
Miles tossed the green ball to the other side of the room and watched the dog go after it. A smile crept onto his face when Missile came back and dropped the ball again. Miles looked away and tried to ignore him. In truth, he loved dogs, but something held him back. He glanced at Missile and found that he hadn't moved. Miles caved in and threw the ball again.
When Missile came back, Miles knelt down and rubbed his head. "I guess you are a good boy, Missile."
The dog barked in reply and Miles felt the smile come back. Missile picked up the ball again and silently pleaded.
"You're one scary police dog, you know that? Last time, I mean it," Miles said and threw the ball.
As he threw the ball, Maria walked into the room with a pair of black plastic framed glasses on. She saw Missile go after the ball and looked at Miles. He tilted his head slightly and smiled sheepishly.
"Nice glasses," he said. They actually are quite lovely on her.
"Thank you, but they're not as good. I'll have to order a new pair later. I hope Missile didn't pester you too much," Maria said with a knowing smile.
Miles slipped his hands into his pockets. "Not at all. We should probably get back."
"Sounds good."
Miles, Maria and Missile got back into Miles' car and rode to the Prosecutors Building. Miles parked the car and they all went up to the 12th floor.
As they walked up the stairs, Miles said, "Hey, Coldstare, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Maria said.
"I can't figure out if you're nearsighted or farsighted. You held up the keys close to your face to see them, which suggests you see better up close. Yet you were able to navigate around without running into anything, which to me suggests you see better from afar. So which is it?"
"I see better up close," Maria said. "I can still make out basic shapes from afar, though. I take advantage of that and use my other senses as well. It was a while before anyone realized I needed glasses to begin with."
"You hid it?"
"I suppose I did. If I couldn't see something clearly I'd give a vague description, and I don't rely as heavily on my sight to move around."
Something clicked when she said that. So that's how she reads and walks at the same time.
"It wasn't until I was moved to the back of the class that it became obvious that I couldn't see very well," Maria said.
"How old were you?" Miles asked.
"Around 10, I think," Maria said after giving it some thought.
"My, you've had glasses for a while now."
"You get used to it pretty quickly."
They arrived at their offices and Miles and Maria opened their doors, respectively.
"Oh, Edgeworth?" Maria said.
"Yes?" Miles said.
"Eh, thanks," she said and stepped into her office.