Phoenix sat behind his desk at the Wright Anything Agency, drinking in the silence with his coffee. With Apollo and Trucy still out investigating, he was alone in the office. It's kind of nice, I don't usually have time to myself. I forget how peaceful this place can be without Chords of Steel practice or Mr. Hat working on his material.
The door swung open, revealing a smiling face framed by ebony hair. "Nick! I'm back!"
Good thing I see 'peaceful' as a synonym for 'boring'. The attorney put his mug down and smiled back at the young woman. "Welcome back, Maya. Finished shopping, I take it?"
Maya nodded her head, a white plastic bag hanging from her arm. "Yep! I promised Pearly I'd get her a couple books from the city."
"Her reading skills have certainly improved over the years," Phoenix said.
"I know, she's even taught me a few new words!" Maya said. "So what have you been up to while I was gone?"
"You're looking at it," Phoenix said, staring off into space.
"Boring!" Maya said in a singsong voice. "I'm not going to be in town forever, you know. Let's find a case or something!"
"Believe me, I would love to," Phoenix said. "It feels like I should be doing something, after everything that happened…"
Maya put her bag down on the couch and walked over to her old partner. "Hey, don't make that face. Edgeworth's going to be fine, remember? Apollo said so."
"I know, but he still got hit with a bullet within walking distance from this building. And Kay, of all people in the world, got blamed for it," Phoenix said.
He remembered meeting Kay a couple times when she was a teenager. She had been an interesting girl, to say at the least, unlike Edgeworth in nearly every way possible. Yet they got along quite well, somehow.
"Yeah, maybe you should have taken that case instead," Maya said.
"Nah, Apollo knows what he's doing. You know, nine times out of ten," Phoenix said. "I mean if I had recognized Kay on the phone I would have taken the case personally, but she's still in good hands."
"I guess so," Maya said. "Maybe we can get Edgeworth flowers or something."
Somehow I doubt he'd swoon over a bouquet of tulips.
Just then, the Steel Samurai's theme began to play. Recognizing it as his ringtone, Phoenix took his cell phone out of his pocket and hit the call button.
"Phoenix Wright speaking," the lawyer said.
"Mr. Wright? Hello, my name is Laine Rover," said the man on the other end of the line. "I'm in need of a lawyer."
"Well, you've come to the Wright place," Phoenix said, winking at Maya.
The spirit medium rolled her eyes.
"Good, I don't suppose you could come to the detention center any time soon?" Laine said.
"No problem, we'll be right there," Phoenix said. He hung up and looked at Maya. "Looks like we might have a case."
"Awesome! Let's go!" Maya said, clapping her hands together.
The detention center was like it always was; dull, concrete walls with a matching floor and ceiling. Separating prisoners from guests was a large glass panel and a counter.
Phoenix and Maya walked up to the counter and came face to face with a man who looked to be in his late forties. His windswept, blonde bangs cast a shadow over his brown eyes, which looked at the duo with a sharp gaze. He kept his arms behind his back in a careful, reserved manner and smirked confidently.
Maya took a casual step to the side, so that part of her was hidden behind her partner. I guess that smile is a little… off putting. I feel like I'm being examined.
The man flicked his hair out of his eyes and crossed his arms, creating a much more welcoming presence. His face no longer cast in shadows, Phoenix could see the face mask he was wearing. "Ah, you must be Mr. Wright."
Phoenix released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and rubbed the back of his head. "That would be me. This is my assistant, Maya Fey."
"Nice to meet you," Maya said, appearing to have relaxed as well.
"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Fey. They call me Laine 'Long Rifle' Rover," Laine said, making a finger gun and winking. "Achoo!"
"Bless you," Phoenix said. "Have a cold?"
"Yeah, but it's starting to get better I think," Laine said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's more annoying than anything else, ask anyone. They're all tired of me sneezing so much."
"Heh, I know how you feel. I get colds all the time. One time I sneezed my face mask right off," Phoenix said.
"Well, hopefully that doesn't happen to me," Laine said. "Achoo!"
"So, why do they call you 'Long Rifle'?" Maya said.
"Long rifles are my weapon of choice. I used to hunt a lot, still do sometimes," Laine said. "You know, when I'm not being arrested for murder."
"Murder, huh?" Phoenix said. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I can tell you all about the case, I was part of the initial investigation," Laine said. "Fat lot of good it did me."
"They must've had some pretty solid evidence to arrest an officer," Phoenix said.
"Yeah, you would think," Laine grumbled. "Personally, I think that prosecutor chick was ready to arrest anyone."
"Who's the prosecutor?" Phoenix said.
"Her name is Coldstare," Laine said.
"Coldstare?" Maya said; her mouth agape with shock. "Nick, isn't that-"
Phoenix nodded his head. Coldstare is the prosecutor, and if I remember correctly Apollo said she was part of a certain other case. Maybe there's something I can do after all. He slipping his hand into his pocket and grasped a smooth jade stone. The stone was cool to the touch, but he could feel energy radiating from within. However, I'm not going to defend a guilty man. Let's see what my Magatama has to say about this guy, just to be safe.
"So why were you arrested?" Phoenix said.
"Well, my fingerprints were found on the murder weapon," Laine said bashfully, brushing his hair back over his face. "And they caught me putting it in my pocket."
"And why did you do that?" Phoenix said, not sure how else to respond.
"Well, it's a little embarrassing," Laine said. "During the investigation I accidentally touched the murder weapon. Then I kind of panicked and put the syringe in my pocket."
What is the procedure for hiring police officers anyway? A raffle?
"Don't give me that look, I'm usually better than this," Laine said. "You don't support a family by slipping up and getting arrested all the time."
"You have a family?" Maya said. She turned to Phoenix. "Nick, we have to help him!"
No locks so far, guess he's telling the truth. The spiky haired lawyer smiled. "Well, Mr. Rover, you've got yourself a lawyer. Just one thing, are you innocent?"
"Would I call you if I wasn't?" Laine said. "Alright, I'll say it. I didn't kill that woman, as sure as my name is Laine Rover."
"Good enough for me," Phoenix said. Because I didn't see any Psyche-Locks.
"So then you'll take my case?" Laine said. "Thanks, Mr. Wright."
"Thank me when you're out of prison and back to putting criminals in," Phoenix said.
In the defendants lobby, Phoenix watched Maya pace around the floor as she talked to him enthusiastically. It's been a while since I went to court with a Fey by my side. Sure, Pearls comes to watch sometimes, but it's not the same.
"So when does the trial start again?" Maya said.
"Let's see," Phoenix said, looking at his watch. "Twenty minutes, probably."
"Twenty minutes? That's forever!" the spirit medium said, unceremoniously flopping on the sofa.
"Relax, it'll go by quickly. We've actually already been here for a while," Phoenix said.
"Really? It feels like it's only been a few minutes."
"Time flies when you're having fun," Phoenix said. "Excited for the trial?"
"Actually, I think I'm just happy to be hanging out with you again," Maya said, shifting her position so that she was upside down on the couch. "Training to be the master is really important to me, but I'm alone most of the time. I mean I'm used to it, but I like talking to you."
Phoenix smiled at his assistant. "Well then, I'll be sure to keep you company as long as I can."
"Thanks, Nick!" Maya said, beaming.
Just then, the doors swung open and a man walked in.
"Mr. Rover, hi!" Maya said, turning right side up again.
"Ms. Fey, Mr. Wright," Laine said. "I take it you're prepared?"
The defense attorney nodded his head. He had spent the day before the trial talking to Ema, who had told him the basics of the case and given him a copy of the autopsy report.
"I was able to collect the info I need for the trial. I'm positive there won't be any guilty verdicts passed down today."
"That's exactly what I was hoping to hear," Laine said, pointing a finger gun and smirking.
"I've got to say, you really got yourself in some hot water here," Phoenix said. "Your shoeprint was found at the scene, and your fingerprints were on the murder weapon."
"Like I told the prosecutor, the detective, and everyone else that asked; I was walking around all day and it was an accident," Laine said, flicking his hair and scowling.
"That all makes perfect sense to me," Phoenix said, rubbing his chin. "Kind of surprised Coldstare didn't take that into account. Unless she found something else to incriminate you…"
"Doubt it, I think she was just pressed for time," Laine said.
"Pressed for time, why?" Maya said.
"You probably heard about that attempted murder that also happened in the park," Laine said. "When that happened, headquarters urged the police to close the case."
"Why would they prioritize an attempted murder over a murder?" Phoenix said.
"The police was pretty convinced the Kitaki girl killed herself, actually," Laine said. "But Ms. Coldstare was dead set on proving it was murder. If she didn't find a suspect soon, chances are they would've shut her down."
Huh, Ema didn't mention that. "So then this might've been a suicide?"
"Well apparently it's a murder," Laine huffed, rolling his eyes.
I'm sensing some bitterness… Phoenix looked at his watch again. "Oh, we should get to the courtroom. It's almost time for the trial to start."
"Good luck, Mr. Wright," Laine said.
The defense attorney looked at Maya and grinned. "What'd I tell you? Over before you knew it."
A few minutes later, Phoenix stood behind the defense bench with the young spirit medium at his side. Parallel to the team stood a brunette woman wearing half rimmed glasses and a stern expression. On her desk was a black binder, which she kept one hand on.
A single, sharp pounding sound echoed throughout, bringing all eyes to the bearded figure overseeing the lavish room. "Court is now in session."
"The prosecution is fully prepared, Your Honor," Maria said.
"The defense is ready as well, Your Honor," Phoenix said.
"Very good," the judge said, nodding his head. "Ms. Coldstare, your opening statement?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Maria said. "A young woman who went by the name of Ashi Kitaki was murdered one morning in People Park, before it opened. Found clutched in her hand was the instrument of her demise, a syringe filled with poison. The police were lead astray into thinking she had killed herself, but as the court will soon see, it was all a twisted plot formulated by the defendant himself."
Phoenix observed his new courtroom opponent as she spoke, a hand on his hip. "What was this 'twisted plot' exactly?"
"I believe the most efficient way to explain it would be to have the detective in charge of the investigation testify," Maria said. "If there are no objections, naturally."
"Are there?" the judge said.
Phoenix shook his head. "Of course not."
"Then bring the detective to the stand," the judge said.
Ema approached the witness, munching on a Snackoo. She put her hand in the bag and took another one, popping the treat into her mouth.
"Name and occupation," Maria said.
"Ema Skye, I'm a detective in the homicide division," Ema said.
"Detective Skye, testify to the court about your investigation and your reasons for arresting the defendant," the judge said.
"Of course, Your Honor," Ema said.
Testimony
The victim died at approximately 7AM, she was reportedly working at the time.
Cause of death was a lethal injection of Necoephedrine, a poison. Here's what we believe happened.
The victim had been on parole due to a past crime, and Rover was the one monitoring her.
What the defendant did was coat the tip of the syringe in poison, like a dart.
When someone came, he shot the syringe from a distance and made it look like the victim killed herself.
Then when the witness left, he finished off the job with the poison inside the syringe.
As evidence, we ran some tests on the area and found the defendant's shoeprint.
The more crucial evidence, however, is the defendant's fingerprints lifted from the murder weapon.
And of course, let's not forget that he tried to slip that evidence in his pocket without anyone noticing.
"Hmm… This is already turning out to be an interesting case," the judge said. "This certainly is incriminating for the defendant."
"Objection!" Phoenix said. "Officer Rover has no reason to kill the victim!"
"Objection!" Maria said. "While the defendant's motive has yet to be revealed, one can easily ascertain when a motive to kill would arise."
"Is that so?" Phoenix said.
"As you'll recall, Mr. Rover was in charge of monitoring the victim during her parole," Maria said, crossing her arms. "Now I can't speak from personal experience, but I doubt the bond between parole officer and convict is particularly strong. It's entirely possible that a motive arose sometime during that period."
Phoenix rubbed his chin, thinking. Well, I guess I don't have anything to refute that right now. I'll just have to find a hole in this testimony.
And thus, the curtain falls on this chapter. So, yeah, we'll be taking a bit of a detour in the Edgeworth-Kay case. I promise to get back to it soon, though, in due time. Until then, hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Thank you for reading, please tell me your thoughts! :D
