Hello everybody! It's been a month since I've last made an update to this story. Unfortunately, school has been being bad to me lately and I've found myself playing the desperate game of catch-up that I've unfortunately lost. It's near the end of the quarter, and I've already done the math in terms of the points and grade. They don't add up to a promising number, so I've basically failed one of my classes. Oh joy... But yeah, that's the reason why I haven't been updating any of my stories lately. I'm really starting to think that going to college was the wrong path for me... Oh well, got to live with my mistakes, right?
Anyway, I'll just keep this short this time around since it's late in the night on my end and I want to go to bed. Let me just say that I've revived one of my stories on here, "The Curse of Destati Communion Elementary." It's a horror story that I've decided to revive because I was feeling bored and wanted to write something new. Hope you all take the time to read it. So until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
Evidence:
Attorney's Badge: Sonic's badge proving that he's a genuine defense attorney. Ever since getting tied into a murder because of him losing it, he's since taken precautions to make sure that it stays secured within the inside of his gloves.
Shadow's Testimony: Testimony given by Shadow and memorized by Tails. The Prosecutor said that he was quite shocked upon hearing two gunshots coming from in front of his path followed by a splashing sound ten seconds later. He remembered picking up the gun with his bare hands before the witness's screams shook him out of his state of mind.
Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report: A report detailing how Ms. Mae died. She was killed between six-thirty and seven in the morning on 6/23. She was shot once in the chest, but the bullet merely caused her to faint. The real cause of death was from drowning after being thrown into the Mobius River. A horizontal bruise on her waist most likely from being pushed hard onto the harbor railing is proof of this.
Weather Report: A report on the weather on the day of the murder submitted by Detective Silver. It shows that it was a very foggy morning then with the fog at its densest between six and seven-thirty. Visibility was less than ten feet at the dock area without the aid of car headlights.
Pistol: The weapon that was recovered at the Mobius Dock. The ballistic markings on the bullet extracted from Ms. Mae's body matches to the gun. Signs show that it was fired twice. It also bears Shadow's fingerprints. However, Tails seems to think that this gun was used at the lighthouse rather than at the docks and was swapped out at some point with the Fake Murder Weapon.
Photograph: A picture that was taken by Amy Rose. While it does show the scene of the crime before the police arrived, it also seems to show another incident in the background just underneath the bright lighthouse light. It looks almost like the same exact scene that had unfolded and led to the death of Prosecutor Flora Mae. As such, it has brought about an investigation of the lighthouse in order to figure out some answers.
Blood: Blood found on the lighthouse balcony railing with the forensics report brought by Knuckles. It shows that the blood belonged to Ms. Mae and proving that she was at the lighthouse the moment she was murdered.
Fake Murder Weapon: An idea conjured up by Tails while exploring the lighthouse. After hearing Charmy's testimony, the thought of a fake weapon being in play is now a reality. A fake gun was found by the bee inside a clock and bears Shadow's fingerprints. Being that Shadow never entered the lighthouse before, this is proof that this was the gun seen at the docks the moment after the 'murder' witnessed by Amy Rose.
Max's Testimony: Testimony that has been memorized and recorded by Tails. According to Max, he was alone in the lighthouse on the morning of the murder. A phone call had interrupted his morning rituals, but he does not remember the contents of the call except that it was supposedly an older man speaking.
Bullet Casing: A casing found on the lighthouse balcony and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. The ballistic markings on it matched exactly with the bullet that was extracted from Ms. Mae. It also proves that the gun found on the docks was actually used and moved from the lighthouse.
Doctor Reports: Paperwork found in the lighthouse living room and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. They prove that Mr. Pryce visits the doctor every week for his condition. They also seem to indicate that he lives with a caretaker because of the fact that such complicated reports were sent to his house.
Letter: A piece of mail found in the lighthouse basement and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. The contents seem to indicate that Mr. Pryce had some prior knowledge of the fake murder taking place on the Mobius Docks. While a handwriting analysis could not be done on the contents because of the lack of a reasonably suspicious person to compare it to, Mr. Pryce's fingerprints were found all over it.
Firecracker: The Red Paper found stuck on the side of the Mobius Docks and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. Tests prove that it was once a Firecracker before it had exploded, and the black mark on it was from the explosion. The tape that is still on it has some burned fibers that belonged to a rope.
Picture: a photograph given to Sonic by Knuckles who had received it from Salemand Eres. It shows a picture of a white-furred lion with occasional blue spots on all fours like a wild animal and looking at the camera and smiling. Amazingly, his face looks almost child-like despite his rather strong-looking body. It's clear that he has the rare genetic disorder Feralisis Syndrome.
Fingerprints: Prints found in the lighthouse by Charmy Bee. They were on a cup shoved all the way towards the back of a kitchen cupboard as if in a haste with a cup of tea still in it. This proves that it was used recently. They belong to the victim in the case, Ms. Flora Mae, but Vector recognized the prints from the LK-9 Incident and realized they actually belonged to Ms. Lois Pryce. This proves that these two people are actually one.
LK-9 Case File: A case file summarizing all the information gathered by police and detectives at the height of the LK-9 Incident. A copy of the file was given to Sonic and Tails by Vector in hopes that it would help them obtain the answers they seek about the case. There are four sections in the case file that have yet to be reviewed by the two.
Vector's Account: Testimony recorded by Tails and detailing what Vector saw in the courthouse lounge on the day of Knuckles' acquittal. He said he saw Mephiles entering the lounge for the first time in his entire career and watching over Sonic's case. He then said the old prosecutor left the room after hearing Shadow exclaim that Ace be held in protective custody.
Profiles:
Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog currently assigned to defend Shadow from a grave murder charge. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Miles Prower: A twelve-year-old two tailed fox who likes to go by his nickname "Tails" and is now working at the Robotnik Law Firm as their local detective. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Knuckles Echidna: An eighteen-year-old red echidna who is a detective at the local Precinct and now assigned to the Shadow's case thanks to the efforts of Senior Detective Silver. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Salemand Eres: A twenty-two-year-old ebon black cat who's looking for his missing brother. As revealed by Vector, he is a member of Interpol currently on an assigned mission in Mobius and using his current name as an alias. His real name is unknown to all except Vector. It is suspected that he might know something concerning the LK-9 Incident.
Shadow Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old ebon furred hedgehog who became a prosecutor at sixteen in a country that allowed bar exams at younger ages. He's currently the suspect in this case. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Silver Hedgehog: A nineteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken charge of the initial investigation. He seems to have made it his personal mission to solve the mysteries behind the LK-9 Incident that he was involved in during his time as an intern two years ago.
Flora Mae: The victim in this case who was a prosecutor at the local prosecutor's office. She was proven to have been at the lighthouse at the moment of her death. Because of her fingerprints found in the lighthouse, it has been proven that she is in actuality Ms. Lois Pryce, Max's sister who has been thought to have been killed in the LK-9 Incident.
Amy Rose: A sixteen-year-old pink furred hedgehog who attends Mobius High as a Junior and is a proud photographer of her school's newspaper. She heard the crime taking place while taking her daily summer morning walk and stumbled upon Shadow with a gun in his hands.
Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who seems to have a mental problem and trapped with a seven-year-old mind. Through excellent execution of evidence, Sonic and Tails have thrown doubt on the thought that he is actually mentally challenged and is just as capable as any other man his age.
Mephiles: A sixty-five year old veteran prosecutor whose ruthlessness is well known both inside and out of the courtroom. If not trying to leave a strong impression in all his cases, he expects nothing but obedience and cooperation from the officers and detectives overlooking the collection of evidence in the cases he's working on. He's known to get any officer or detective who dared to defy his direct orders in trouble with the Precinct.
Lois Pryce: The sister of Max Pryce who had died in the events that led up to the events of the lighthouse being used as a base for the start of the LK-9 Incident. She used to be business partners with her brother in a seafood business before it was bought out from their third partner and transformed into an shipping goods business.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik: The owner of the Robotnik Law Firm were both Sonic and Tails work at. Strangely enough, he is mentioned in the Letter that was discovered in the lighthouse basement by Silver regardless not being mentioned by name but through description.
Vector Crocodile: A twenty-three-year old local prosecutor who is friends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as well as Shadow's coworker. He has decided to continue with his work as a freelance detective along with Charmy Bee despite the conviction of his friend and partner Espio that caused shadows about the integrity of his work that soon quickly dissipated.
Charmy Bee: a young eight-year-old bee who happens to be employed with the Chaotix Detective Agency. Apparently, he was sent to investigate the lighthouse by a third party who had employed the agency to do so. As such, he has arrived at the courthouse in order to testify about this matter at the very last minute.
Ace Sleuth: A former senior detective from the local Precinct who is now behind bars for having murdered his fiancée. Since his conviction, Shadow has had the man living at an undisclosed location and under witness protection because of the potential importance he might have in solving the LK-9 Case.
Leukis Kruger (luke-is crew-grr): Salemand's eighteen-year-old younger albino lion brother who has been afflicted with the rare genetic disorder Feralisis Syndrome. He is apparently a member of Interpol with his name simply a code name. According to Salemand, he has been missing for a few days. As accidentally revealed by Vector, his real name is actually Leon.
Chapter 25: An Ironic Twist of Fate and Truth Pt. 11
For the next couple of minutes, Sonic and Tails patiently waited inside Vector's office for either Salemand or the crocodile to enter. In the meantime, the two decided to keep themselves busy by looking at the various things belonging to the prosecutor that were practically strewn all over the room.
"Hey Vector!" a familiar voice announced just as the office door was opened. "I've got some files from that case that I thought you might be interested in looking over. I know it's a bit late to be figuring out new stuff, but it's better than after the statute of limitations is up."
"Hey Silver," the cobalt hedgehog greeted the senior detective as he immediately greeted the new person before turning his gaze towards the door. "If you're looking for Vector, he just left to make a call a couple of minutes ago."
"So I just missed him, huh?" Silver said before letting out a small sigh and making his way to the crocodile's desk. He then put on top of said desk a couple of files that were in his hands. "Hmm, it must've been a pretty important call if he isn't hanging around in the hallway. I was hoping I could get his opinion on some things that I found while digging for some information regarding the LK-9 Incident."
"You're still looking into that?" Tails asked as he tore his gaze from the wall with the headphones and saw the silver furred hedgehog taking a seat. "I figured that you might've given up by now seeing as how the statute of limitations is going to be up tomorrow."
"As long as I still have time to look into it, I'm not stopping," the senior detective simply replied with his arms loosely crossed. "While the details of this case really intrigue me, this is literally the very first case I was introduced to when I first started my internship two years ago. Apparently, the detective I was studying under happened to be one of the head investigators for the LK-9 Incident. At the time, I worked my butt off on the case so I could prove to everybody here who thought I was too young that I could handle myself. I even managed to get in a couple of new points across that the veterans missed.
"However, my thoughts on it changed somewhere along the line," the detective continued on with his apparent reminiscent rant while Sonic and Tails listened intently. "When I was in the interrogation room and being taught how to talk to witnesses in accordance to the current situation, I learned that there was more to the job than just receiving cases and trying my hardest to solve them. You and Tails were called in that day because of a new development that the police found during their third year of investigating. My mentor was questioning you then and had me on the other side of the glass watching how things were done. I guess you can say then that was when I actually saw the truth to being a detective and what we strive to do for victims of terrible crimes."
"…Wow, I really can't see you as this naïve detective like you said you were even as just an intern," Sonic responded after hearing the short monologue. "Even when we met for the first time, you sounded like a pretty serious guy. I can't imagine you as anything other than a guy who's serious about his job."
"You do know that I have a life outside of this, right? Anyway, I think that's enough about the whole reminiscent thing. What I'm more curious about is why you and Tails are here. I never really expected to see you both in here of all places."
"Well, we came here looking for information on both a certain individual and the LK-9 Incident," the two tailed fox responded as he automatically diverted his gaze back to the files that Silver had brought with him and left on the desk. "We figured that we could figure something out about who Shadow wanted us to ask about and ended up learning more about the incident we were involved in at the same time."
"And speaking about figuring stuff out, you said while coming in that you discovered some stuff concerning the LK-9 Incident," the cobalt hedgehog quickly changed subjects as he brought his gaze to the file that Silver brought in with him. "Do you mind sharing what you figured out with us?"
"I know you said that you were looking into that case, but I don't think this is something that you're allowed to see," Silver replied as he shook his head at the suggestion. "I mean, information from cases like that is considered classified to all but the senior detectives and who they choose to disclose it to. I know Vector wants to figure it out for Knuckles' sake being that they're practically childhood friends; so I allowed him access to the files."
"I mean no offense to you, but don't you think you're being a bit hypocritical?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow at the response. "You're allowing Vector to have access to the information despite him not being able to do so himself and are keeping us in the dark? I really hope you're not playing favorites here or anything like that."
"Hmm, it sounds Sonic's attitude is starting to rub off on you, Tails," the silver furred hedgehog observed with a light chuckle. "However, I assure you that I'm not playing favorites here. It's just that Vector and I have a better chance at discovering any information that's pertinent to the case being that we both have detective skills and backgrounds. On the other hand, you two are versed in the way of the defense attorney and are not necessarily well-equipped to handle on-scene investigations and the gathering of intel from cases that are currently outstanding."
"Humph, as if that has anything to do with it!" the defense attorney replied with a huff and childish pout. "I'd like to think that as victims from the LK-9 Incident, we have the right to know what's been discovered and whether or not the case is actually moving forward. And besides, we've done a little bit of digging into the case ourselves and discovered some information we never knew."
"…I can't really argue with you on that," the detective admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know about the case. I doubt, though, that you'll really be able to figure out anything worthwhile that hasn't already been discovered by either me or the detectives working on this at the time."
"Well, we're happy enough that we're getting new information and not having to fight for it this time around," the two tailed fox said with a sigh that sounded both tired and aggravated. "We first talked to Shadow and didn't really get much apart from the leftover leads he had yet to follow up on before this case. It's because of those leftover leads that we even decided to come over and visit Vector in the first place. And when we asked him questions both from Shadow's lead and what we've discovered over the course of this current trial, it was like trying to pull teeth from a grown man!"
"Considering how tomorrow's the last day the case is going to be considered legally open and solvable, I'm not too surprised that they both gave you a hard time. In all honesty, it's not really common practice to be sharing information on a case whose statute of limitations is almost up to someone who doesn't even know the first thing about it. And as I said earlier, even I'm skeptical that me telling you the details is going to be a productive use of your time. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be concentrating your energy on Shadow's case?"
"Yeesh, you make it sound as if we're young kids trying to impress our teacher," Sonic said as he continued giving off his pouty face. "And don't worry about whether or not we can come up with some new explanations. We're really just collecting as much detail as we can in case the LK-9 Incident does get brought up in court tomorrow."
"I somehow doubt that you hearing the information right now is going to help you much. Just make sure you don't let this all distract you from defending Shadow from his murder trial. I know that you can only wait for Mr. Pryce's testimony now that he's considered a person of interest, but don't let a five-year-old case take up all your time. I'm sure Shadow wouldn't let you hear the end of it whether or not he's found not guilty tomorrow when he hears that you've devoted so much time on this."
"Eh, what he doesn't know won't hurt," the cobalt hedgehog simply replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now how about you start telling us what you know about the case before we end up dragging this night on more than it should be?"
"When you put it that way, I guess cliff notes are going to be the most logical choice of explanation," Silver admitted with a nod of his head as he got himself into a more comfortable position on the chair. "Alright, make sure you're listening carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself twice on this.
"You already know about how this whole case started, so I'm not going into that," the detective began. "When the news first caught wind of the unfortunate incident, you can imagine how much air time it got. I can't say I'm surprised at that since a well-known police detective and defense attorney were murdered. It's just unfortunate that the two of them happened to be you and Shadow's respective relatives."
"That still doesn't explain why both of us along with Tails and Knuckles were roped into it in the first place," the defense attorney replied with a shake of his head as if he were not hearing what he wanted to hear. "We all just happened to be in the courthouse lobby at the same time some random men just barged in and took us hostage. I still remember how they threatened to kill us then and there if we dared to make any kind of loud noise and act like we were in trouble."
"Well, now I know how you all managed to get kidnapped in a building that was riddled with law enforcement. I can't say I blame you for cooperating with your kidnappers being that even I would've been scared about what was going on. However, I can't really say why you four were brought into all this trouble. The best thing that I along with the police who were working on this case at the time can come up with is that you all happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Sonic, why don't you concentrate on something that you think you can get an answer to rather than asking something that's really only for your benefit?" Tails asked as he shook his head at his older brother's apparent lack of adequate questioning. "Do you mind if we asked you how it was you ended up becoming interested in our case? Vector already kind of gave us a bit of information on that, but I'm sure you might be able to add more to it."
"Well, counting the time I was interning, I've been with the detective force for three years at the least. Half of that time was me interning with the latter half being what I am now, a senior detective. After interning for a full year, the detective I was mentoring under had taken an interest in the LK-9 Incident. At first, I had just figured it to be just another poring procedure that I had to watch so I can figure out how to act as a professional detective. However, when I saw him questioning you and Sonic that day about what had happened during the time you were kidnapped, I realized that there was more to the job than just standard procedure. I had never been in your shoes before, but I really felt for the situation you had found yourselves in. I guess that's when I took an interest to the case; it was the very first one that made me into the senior detective that I am today. If it weren't for that, I'd most likely still be wondering how to act like a compassionate and professional detective right now."
"Wow, I didn't think that you seeing us then would've had so much effect on you," the two tailed fox said with a surprised look on his face. "I guess you could've become a slouchy detective if it weren't for that."
"You'd be surprised at the things I've seen as a detective that end up changing because of one seemingly small detail. Anyway, we're getting off the subject here. I became interested in the case mainly because of you two, but it was also because my mentor had me working on that case for most of my internship. To be perfectly honest, that was the only case I was familiar with by the time I became an actual detective. That's pretty much my story on how I became interested in the LK-9 Incident."
"…That was kind of more than what I asked for, but okay," Sonic replied with a shrug of his shoulders as if he were not interested in what was just said. "So you only became interested in the whole thing because of seeing us for the first time. How about we move onto the next question now?"
"…I guess your impatience isn't something that's going to change anytime soon," Silver said with a sigh that sounded oddly irritated. "Anyway, I can't say I really learned a lot more about the incident since the day I became a full-fledged detective. I have, however, had access to a lot of files regarding the case because of my position as senior detective. As a way to satisfy my curiosity and ultimately my way to pay tribute to my late mentor who had passed away a month after me becoming senior detective, I've read and practically memorized most of the files from front to back."
"Wow, that's pretty impressive," Tails replied with surprise clear in his tone. "How do you find time to study up on the case while conducting your other business at the same time? I doubt that you get much free time to do anything much since something always manages to pop up. Wouldn't you get confused if you were doing two things at once?"
"That's exactly why I've enlisted Vector's help on this," the silver furred hedgehog simply responded. "While he's just as busy as I am with his job as a prosecutor, he has more free time since he's technically not working on a case at every waking moment of his life. That and his side job of running a private detective agency allow him some resources to investigate certain matters he finds worth checking into. Apart from his court appearances, he's not as busy as me most of the time. It's because of him that I've been able to discover some worthwhile answers; however, they hardly lead to the ultimate answer that I'm trying to get at."
"And that would be who ended up murdering both my uncle and Shadow's sister," the cobalt hedgehog concluded as he seemed slightly deep in thought about something. "Does this lead up to what you said when you came in here tonight about files that the crocodile wanted to take a look at?"
"I would suspect that to be the case, but I'm not overly sure since I've yet to ask him about it. To be perfectly honest, he's seemed more charged up about the LK-9 Incident ever since the current trial with Shadow started up. I can't help but feel that the two right now are connected somehow."
"Oh, believe me when I say that they're most likely connected," the defense attorney answered with a snort. "I don't know if you heard what I did in court today, but I said that Mr. Pryce was the most likely culprit in the murder of Flora Mae. I also learned that he was involved with the LK-9 Incident along with his sister who had been posing as the current victim in my case this entire time. Vector said that one of his friends tipped him off about the possible connection long before I even figured all this out, so I'm not surprised that he became more immersed on that case these past couple of days."
"Hmm, I've been too busy with the other stuff I have on my desk that I haven't had much of a chance to catch up on what happened today with the trial. And are you sure that Prosecutor Flora Mae was in actuality Lois Pryce? That's a pretty outrageous claim to make no matter how you try to make us look at it."
"Then I guess it's lucky for us we managed to obtain evidence that helps to supplement our admittedly wild claim," the two tailed fox explained as he tried to remember the explanation he got from Vector earlier. "When Charmy had brought the victim's prints from the lighthouse back for processing, Vector said he saw some notable similarities to that of the supposedly dead Lois Pryce. Acting on those suspicions, he had them compared and discovered that the victim from our case and the supposedly dead woman were in fact the same person. In essence, there was no third murder victim in the LK-9 Incident; rather, she purposefully acted as though she had been killed and was living a completely different life this entire time! Why she became the victim in our current case now is another question altogether."
"…Perhaps she was killed for the same reason why the victims from Sonic's past cases were killed," Silver randomly brainstormed as he leaned back in his chair and looked deep in thought. "If you think about it, all of the cases that he has solved thus far all found the true culprit to be guilty without having established a clear motive for their actions. What if, and I'm speaking hypothetically here, their motive for conducting those murders was simply to get you four on the hook for crimes you never committed? Even I've noticed that you four who were involved with the LK-9 Incident are all being framed one by one. By ruining your lives, the person orchestrating all of this will also inevitably take out of the equation anything that would potentially revive the LK-9 Incident from the Precinct archives. That seems to be a more than reasonable conclusion with what we already know."
"But if that's the case, then that would mean somebody desperately wants to make sure the LK-9 Incident doesn't see the light of day again," the young fox concluded as he tried to think deeper into the subject. "However, that doesn't explain the roles of the victims who ended being used in the true criminal's scheme of framing us all. They most likely died for a specific reason rather than just being a complete random target. I remember from Sonic's first case that the murderer said something about the victim having figured out he was smuggling things off of certain ships. In the case involving Ace Sleuth, he said that he begrudgingly killed his fiancée simply because she looked through and called all the foreign numbers on it. And in the case that saw Espio as the true culprit, we only discovered that he was somehow tied to the case because of some of the LK-9 case files found in his home. If they are all truly following the instructions of one person, then that would mean their leader is quite calculative. I doubt this person would just ask them all to kill random people for the sake of getting us framed."
"Hmm, you do raise a good point there, Tails," the silver furred hedgehog agreed with a thoughtful hum of his breath. "The thought honestly didn't cross my mind until you brought it up. If a person is that calculating to plan out three murders so carefully where one single specific person is singled out to be the only true culprit, I doubt they would just up and order a random person to be killed. It wouldn't fit with their overall calculative behavior patterns."
"If that's the case, then wouldn't it be possible that the person trying to frame all of us has some sort of vendetta against those he had his lackeys kill?" Sonic asked as he tried to offer his two cents in the subject. "I kind of remember Ace saying something after confessing to murdering his fiancée that it was because his boss figured out she was snooping at the secret numbers that she was to be killed. Is it possible that the other two murder victims from my cases were also killed by the true perpetrator's personal vendetta against them?"
"If you're going with that argument, then you're forgetting to put the murder suspects from your first case and the incident that took place here a few weeks ago into the equation. What reason would the person behind your framings want them dead? While Ace's fiancée has a reason, the other two don't."
"…But what if we already know about the reason the victim in Sonic's first case was killed?" Tails suggested as he took a moment to think about it. "Remember what I said earlier about the murderer from Sonic's first case saying that he was caught smuggling goods off of ships by the victim? Even when assured that his secret was safe, he still ended up being killed. Is it possible that the smuggler reported to the person he might've been delivering the goods to and was then ordered to kill the witness?"
"…Are you insinuating that the person trying to frame you all for murder is actually affiliated with a smuggling group?" the detective asked as he raised his eyebrows a bit in question at the claim. "That's honestly a pretty strong claim to make. Take into account that everything we've been saying up to now is hardly supported with any kind of evidence and we're engaging in nothing but pure hearsay. While I admit that the possibility of everything that we've said tonight to be the truth is good, they won't amount to anything to anybody else without any kind of concrete proof to supplement it."
"Then how about we remember all the claims we've made tonight and see what we can figure out before tomorrow morning comes around?" the cobalt hedgehog suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. "If it's proof we need that what we're saying is the truth, then we should at least make some sort of effort with what little time we have left to figure out these answers. I doubt it'll end up finding itself if we just keep talking about it."
"I guess that's really all we can do now," the two tailed fox conceded as he took a pen along with a piece of paper that he made sure would hold no significant importance to Vector from the desk. "Let me start putting them down so we don't forget about it. The first thing we started brainstorming about was the motive that all the murderers in Sonic's cases and the incident that took place in this building for committing their murders. We say that it's most likely to get the four of us on the hook so we can never have the chance to bring back the LK-9 Incident if it were to ever be mentioned again. It'd no doubt be a very effective method had it worked since we were the only living direct witnesses to that incident.
"Secondly, we came to the conclusion that all the unfortunate victims in all these cases weren't killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time; rather, they were a part of an even bigger plan that stems away from our framing attempts," he continued while writing down everything they covered. "As a way to justify our thoughts, we used what we heard from the murderers' mouths to give reason as to why each victim was murdered. We did say that it was quite plausible that each murder was directed by one mastermind, but we have yet to garner any kind of concrete proof that what we said is the truth. It would be the only explanation that makes sense, however, since we believe the true mastermind to be a calculative person.
"And thirdly, with everything that has been said tonight, we've come to the thought that the mastermind in all this is most likely involved with some kind of smuggling ring. With only the events from Sonic's first case as our source for this reasoning, we're really not in a good place to prove that to be true. However, being how we know that the mastermind is truly a calculating person, it's probably not too much of a stretch to believe he might be in a crime spree as complex and risky as smuggling. I mean, customs and all that these days are pretty much on the ball with it comes to attempts at smuggling. It'd take a very calculative mind to actually conduct such illegal business without the fear of getting caught."
"In other words, you just compiled a list of things that we found to be a highly possible truth but lacking the concrete evidence to make it definite," Silver summarized once he noted that Tails was done with his long summation. "I don't know if we can get even one of those things answered by tomorrow, but I guess we can take a stab at it. However, the only way we're ever going to get a good chance at some answers is to ask somebody from the inside about everything. While I know that Shadow has put Ace Sleuth in protective custody, I doubt that he would know so much about either his boss or his intentions. The man hardly seems like the type to be the mastermind's right-hand man or at least trusted advisor."
"…But maybe he'll be able to tell us if there's anybody living or even just visiting the city that's quite close to their leader!" Sonic suggested as the thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Considering the position he's currently in, I doubt he'll put up much of a resistance in giving us the information. And if he does, then we can play the revenge card by reminding him who it was who ordered him to kill his fiancée."
"I rather we avoid trying to guilt and anger the man into answering our questions if possible," the silver furred hedgehog replied as he shook his head slightly at the thought. "It's not a tactic I'm personally fond of integrating into my questionings unless circumstances dictate otherwise. However, I do admit that your idea sounds like the best course of action, especially when you consider how tight on time we are in order to be obtaining answers for the LK-9 Incident. Now we just need to wait for Vector to come back so we can ask him to take us to where the former senior detective is being held. Apart from Shadow, I've heard that he's the only one who knows where the man is."
"Unfortunately for you, Ace isn't high enough on the chain of command to know of anybody of such high standards," a voice different from the three suddenly spoke up in a calm and cool tone. "Thankfully for you all, I just happen to be a much better choice in reciting to you the information that you seek."
Startled by the sudden appearance of a different voice, the three people immediately turned their attention towards the door. Once in their sights, they noticed two people standing past the doorway. One of them was clearly Vector what with his rather tall and burly frame hard to miss even in a crowded area. The other person was a cat in pure ebon fur and piercing ruby red eyes that both Sonic and Tails immediately recognized despite having not seen those distinguishing features for two long and hectic days.
"S-Salemand!" Sonic exclaimed as his mind finally registered who was standing in front of the doorway. "Is that really you?"
"Long time no see, Sonic," the cat simply answered in a cool tone as he crossed his arms and gave off what looked to be like a cheeky grin.
New Evidence:
Notes: Notes taken by Tails depicting what he, Sonic, and Silver had discussed regarding possible connections with Sonic's cases and the LK-9 Incident. It's speculated that all the murderers in the previous cases were orchestrated by one mastermind who seems to be in some kind of smuggling ring. Without any concrete proof, however, this ends up to be nothing but conjecture at this point.