Chapter 9

EZ Convenience Store

July 17

4:46 PM

A bell chimed as Apollo opened the door to the convenience store. He took a few cautious steps inside before Trucy followed him in. Other than the hum of a running fan, there was only silence.

He looked around, taking the run-down setting in. This is the place the phone came from. The voice bought it here. The thought sent shivers down his spine.

Then it occurred to him.

He wasn't supposed to be here.

The voice told him that going to the police would lead to Trucy's death. And despite that, he'd done it. Well, technically, he didn't tell the police about the threatening phone call, he'd only told the Chief Prosecutor, but it was close enough that he doubted the mysterious voice would consider there to be a difference.

Thankfully, there was no one else in the store besides them and the (likely) owner, an older man at the register who looked about forty. He had a full head of greying black hair accompanied by a large moustache. The emptiness meant there was less chance someone would find them investigating the phone. It made keeping this side investigation hidden a little easier.

"Hey Polly," Trucy said. "I thought we were going to the prison. What are we doing here?"

He turned around to face her, hesitating. He wasn't going to tell her about the cell phone. He couldn't. Because of that, he'd spent the car ride with Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth thinking up an excuse. He just hoped Trucy would believe it.

"I thought I'd finally do my part and get some stuff for the party. I felt bad that I didn't help out earlier, so this is me trying to make up for it. Grab something you think the guests will like and I'll pay."

"Okay!" she said, smiling before she started combing the aisles, searching for the perfect snack.

Leaving Trucy behind with the potato chips, he made his way up to the counter.

"Uh… Hello," he said, slowly approaching the man at the counter.

"What is it?" He spoke in a thick foreign accent. Cohdopian, maybe?

"I… uh…" He pulled the phone out from his pocket and placed it beside the register for the owner to see. "You see… I'm looking for the person who bought this phone. I found it lying on the ground pretty close to here. I think whoever it belongs to lost it, so I'm trying to get it back to them. And well… I saw you sell phones like it, so I thought maybe its owner got it here."

"Lots of shops sell phones," he said. "No guarantee it is bought here."

Apollo laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I know. But again, I found it right outside here. Do you think you could maybe check to see if your shop sold it?"

The man raised a thick eyebrow, then sighed. He took the phone, got up off his stool, and walked into the back of the store, leaving the door behind him open just a smidgen. Apollo peeked inside and saw him at a computer, phone in hand, typing in something.

He began to sweat. What if he was involved with whoever was threatening Trucy? What if he was communicating with the mysterious voice, saying they had shown up in his shop? What if they realized he'd gone to the police and gotten the location the phone was sold? What if Trucy ended up dead because of it?

As he waited for the shopkeeper to finish in the back, he started to breath heavily. Maybe this was a bad idea? Maybe they shouldn't have gone? Honestly, how hard was it to follow instructions and never hear from these people again?

He watched as the man got up from the chair and came back to the front of the store.

The shopkeeper handed the phone back. "You were right. Phone from here."

Apollo nearly let out a sigh of relief. "T-Thank you. Do you remember anything about the person who bought the phone?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Again, I'm just… trying to be a good Samaritan." He felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek, which, judging by the fact he stopped to stare at Apollo's face, the shopkeeper noticed.

It was summer. It was hot. He hoped that was all the shopkeeper was thinking.

The older man shook his head. "No. They pay with cash. No card, so no information. Lot of people buy phones from shop. Don't remember everyone."

"Uh…" Apollo looked around, noticing a security camera. "You have a camera here, don't you? And I'm guessing your records say when the phone was bought. So… maybe you check the footage to see what they looked like?"

"No. Camera footage is wiped every week. Phone bought last week. Even if phone bought this week, would not show footage unless you are police." The owner cast a suspicious gaze on him.

"Are you police?"

"I, uh… No. I'm not with the police." He looked around the shop desperately to avoid the owner's eyes. "A-A-Anyway, it's okay. Thanks for all your help." He gave him a nervous smile.

"Will you buy?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Uh… will I buy anything?" he replied, not fully understanding the question. Was he asking if he was going to buy the phone or just buy something?

The shopkeeper nodded. "Y-Yes. I'm planning on buying something. I'm just… thank you for your help."

He left the owner to go fetch Trucy. He wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible. By the time he'd found her, she had picked out some pretzels. He paid for them with cash, then left the store without saying another word.

The air seemed fresher when he had finally stepped outside. He took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. The shopkeeper may not have been working with the mysterious voice (his bracelet hadn't gone off when the man said he didn't know who bought the phone), but that didn't stop the entire atmosphere of the place from feeling wrong, somehow. Now that he was outside, his general sense of uneasiness was fading. He followed his deep breath with another sigh of relief.

"Polly, what's wrong?" Trucy asked. "You're acting weird. You look like you're nervous. Is something bothering you?"

"Just this case," he said. It wasn't a lie, was it?

"I understand," she said, turning her gaze to the ground.

"Anyway, it's about time we head to the prison. I don't have a lot of evidence, and I really doubt I'll be able to get through the trial tomorrow with what I have now."

She turned back up to him, smile on her face, like that whole business between the two of them about Gavin never happened. Her voice fizzed with enthusiasm. "Then let's find some evidence, then!"

It made him happy.

He started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the prison, Trucy following along beside him. Even though the shopkeeper had given him nothing on the appearance of the person who bought the phone, Apollo still managed to glean a little information on its owner. Knowing the careful planning the mysterious voice had placed into their 'demonstration' earlier, the fact the phone was bought from a place that wiped their camera footage every week wasn't a coincidence. That meant, whoever the voice was, they were probably a Los Angeles native who frequented the area, knowledgeable enough to know what shops don't keep many camera records. It didn't narrow things down much, but it was a start.

Apollo had just finished that thought when he noticed a red dot dancing along the sidewalk. He froze and he felt his entire body clench up.

No. NONONONONO!

How did they find out?

Even though the shopkeeper wasn't in on it, they must have had someone watching the store. And since he was there, they probably realized he had gone to the police.

And now…

Before he even knew what was happening, he was in front of Trucy, standing between her and the laser sight. It was his mistake. If anyone was going to pay for it with their life, it should be him. It was his idea. He asked Mr. Edgeworth to take them there.

Tears were welling up in his eyes, and his throat was all clenched up. He may not have looked it, but he was ready.

For a second or two, he watched the laser sight. However, instead of moving towards him, it instead spun around in small circles. And now that he looked at it closer, it seemed to be coming from nearby. Very near.

He let his sight drift away from the red dot for a second to where he figured the light was coming from: the alleyway beside the convenience store. There, he found a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk, back propped up against the building, pointing something in his hand towards them. It looked like a laser pointer. One of the ones Apollo saw the professor use all the time in his university lectures.

A laser pointer! Seriously?!

"Hey," Apollo yelled out into the alley. "Can you stop that? Those things can burn someone's retinas, you know."

The man turned to look at them and scowled at Apollo. But, he still put the pointer away. Letting out one more sigh of relief, Apollo finally let his body relax.

"Polly," he heard Trucy say. "What was that about? You looked scared."

"Oh, it's nothing, Trucy." Can't tell her. Can't tell her.

"But Polly," she said, moving around him so she could look him in the eyes, "you're crying."

"O-Oh! I…" I have to think of something. Quick! "You see Trucy… I had a really traumatic experience involving laser pointers as a child." Apollo felt his spikes drooping over his face as he forced those words out. Really? That was the best I could come up with?

"R-Really, Polly?" Trucy said, so shocked she placed a hand over her mouth. "I had no idea. Maybe you should talk to Athena about it."

She… believed me! Didn't see that one coming.

"I'm okay," he replied. "I'll work… it out on my own someday. You don't need to worry about me."

"If you say so," she said, before turning back around and continuing on her way towards the prison.

Apollo composed himself and followed her, before shooting one last glance back into the alleyway. The homeless man was gone.

Something felt off. What was a homeless man doing with a laser pointer?

Author's Note:

Here's Chapter 9. I hope you all enjoy it. It was a fun one to write. If this were an actual case, I would imagine there would be a save point in between the last chapter and this one. What's just begun is Part 2 of the first day of investigation.

I hope your excited to see what comes next.

If you like the story or have anything to say about it, please leave a review. I always appreciate comments.