May 30

Blocker Law Offices

3:00 PM

Anton Burke

I followed Ghastly and Niamh away from the main area where all of the chaos was. I swallowed nervously as it left my line of sight. I didn't like how cramped it was over there. It made me feel lightheaded and sick. Hopefully, I wouldn't need to go back there anytime soon.

I knew I had to go there if I wanted to help Polly get out of jail, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. In fact, it only made me feel more sick to think about, and I wanted to ignore the existence of the agency as a whole. I was just glad I had Ghastly there with me to help keep me calm. I might have started crying if not for him.

I let out a gasp once we rounded the corner around the side of the building. I could see Cotoli and one of his friends there! I think Chrysalis had told me her name was Victoria, but I didn't want to step over any boundaries by calling her by her first name when we barely knew each other, so I forced myself to recall her last name. Eventually, I figured out that it was von Graye, and I nodded to myself just before dashing up to greet Cotoli. "Daddy!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. I smiled in delight when he returned the gesture, a small giggle leaving my lips.

Ms. von Graye looked at me in shock, and she turned her attention to Cotoli a few seconds later. He chuckled before explaining. "I've been dating his adopted mother, who also happens to be our client, for a while. He took to calling me that a few months into our relationship, and it just kind of stuck from there," he told her.

Ms. von Graye nodded her understanding before looking back to me. "You seem rather sweet..." she murmured.

I pulled away from Cotoli as Niamh and Ghastly walked up behind me. "Do you think you'll be able to help Mommy out of prison soon?" I asked him, praying with all I had that he answered with yes. I missed her a lot, and I didn't want her to be alone any longer.

Cotoli smiled and held my hand gently. "I'm doing all I can to help her out. She won't be in there for too much longer, and after I'm finished, she'll be able to come back home. After that, we can all relax like how we usually do," he assured me.

Ghastly nudged Ms. von Graye lightly. "Cotoli's pretty good at hiding his private life, huh? Judging by that look on your face, you didn't hear about this in detail, if at all, until just now," Ghastly said. He laughed to himself and shook his head. "You wouldn't believe how good he is at hiding stuff like that. He's always been the type to keep it professional no matter the circumstances..."

"You got that one right... I had no idea this was a thing... Granted, I'm sure the others at the agency are aware of this since they've been around him longer, but... Wow. Who would have guessed?" Ms. von Graye remarked, laughing nervously. "Anyways, what brings you here?"

"We just got here a few minutes ago. We weren't sure if braving the crowds would be a good idea, and lucky for us, we didn't need to. Detective Erikson found us and said you were waiting out back. Thank goodness for that one. I did not want to have to deal with all of those people. I can barely tolerate being in a room with five, much less what looks like fifty plus the added bulk of cameras," Ghastly answered.

"H-He said you wanted to talk to us about something... Is that true?" Niamh asked, looking up to Cotoli.

I pulled away from hugging him and instead stood at his side as he gave her a response. "That is correct, yes. We were curious about Marcus Moore... We learned a bit more about him just before Detective Erikson left to find you, and we were wondering if we could compare that information with what you told us in court today. Asking if you knew more wouldn't hurt in the slightest either," Cotoli explained.

"We certainly do have a lot of lingering questions about him," Ms. von Graye remarked, though it seemed to be more to herself than anyone else present. "Would you be willing to try and help us out? Any small bits of information will still do us a lot of good."

"I-I don't know anything..." I started off by saying. I didn't want her to ask me about it. I already felt bad since Polly wasn't around, and even if I had Cotoli and Ghastly as support, I didn't want to be interrogated. It was scary to think about.

"Perhaps you should start off by summarizing whatever it is you heard about Marcus Moore from Detective Erikson just before he came to find us. Judging by how serious you look right now, I'm willing to bet that it's rather important," Ghastly told him, yawning. He covered his mouth with one hand before returning his focus to the conversation fully.

Cotoli nodded. "I agree in that it would be a good place to start... However, I would like to warn you ahead of time that this is a lot of information about a subject that is far from nice to discuss... Anton, if you feel that it's overwhelming at any point, I'd be happy to let you step away with Victoria for a moment while we finish talking. I don't want to make you feel sick or upset by discussing something overly serious," he said, looking down to me. He used his free hand to tilt my chin up, silently asking me to look into his eyes so I understood he was serious about this.

I puffed out my chest, a pouty expression spearing on my face. "I can handle it! I'm strong!" I assured him, not caring that we had an audience. Regularly, I didn't like it when other people I didn't know well watched my public displays of love with my family, but I didn't really care in that moment since I was more focused on showing him that I was capable of standing around and listening to what he had to say.

Cotoli hesitated for a moment, but he seemed to realize that fighting with me didn't have a point. He shrugged to himself and looked back to the other three people we were standing with. "Alright... I do want you to know that offer applies to you as well, Prosecutor Wood," he said.

She jumped upon being addressed, swallowing nervously. "Um... Why would it apply to me as well...? I-I investigate murder cases. I should be able to handle talking about something my uncle did a long time ago," she said, though I could hear her voice shaking.

"It's just... What Detective Erikson told us has a lot to do with your background, if you can believe it. That makes sense given that you share common blood with Marcus Moore, but... Still, what we're about to explain could be a lot for you psychologically, and we don't want to push you too far or anything," Cotoli explained, choosing his words carefully to make sure he didn't upset her.

Niamh hesitated at hearing this, and I knew she was wondering what it was they could possibly say that would hurt so much. I was wondering the same thing, though I didn't say anything. Instead, I squeezed Cotoli's hand just a little bit tighter, and he returned the gesture almost right away.

"I... I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I just want to know what's going on," Niamh finally said, though I could tell she was still unsure about it this was a good idea. Regardless, she hid it to the best of her ability and focused on Cotoli. Her eyes asked him what he had to say, and she swallowed nervously. I didn't think I had ever seen her this nervous.

Cotoli took in a deep breath after sharing a brief, silent glance with Victoria. "Alright... We heard that your uncle went missing after the last murder in a particular lineup of them... It was the murder of your mother. After she died, he disappeared, and he wasn't seen again until he resurfaced to apply for a job at this law agency," he explained.

"I-I see..." Niamh murmured. She didn't say anything after that, though I knew a million thoughts were brewing in her head.

Ghastly frowned and looked to her gently. "Are... Are you okay? How much do you know about your birth family, Niamh? You know, if you don't mind giving me an answer..." He trailed off, obviously unsure of what to say next.

"I know a lot, actually... Before I moved in with you and Mo-er, Prosecutor Lin, I spent a lot of time outside of my adopted family's house. I did all I could to dig around and learn more about where I came from, and I found out basically all there is to know about my past," Niamh replied. She didn't meet his eyes while speaking at all. "Why do you ask?"

"I just didn't want this to be the way you found out if you weren't already aware... I mean, I wouldn't say I know a lot about your past either, so I wouldn't have been the one to tell you, but... Oh, you know what I mean. I didn't want to catch you off-guard by having this be the way you found out and all," Ghastly replied. He looked back to Cotoli soon after. "Go on and keep explaining."

Cotoli nodded. "Of course. After he went missing, nobody knew for sure where he disappeared to. There was no specific reason defined as to why he went missing either, but now that we're sure he was involved with illegal activities, we believe he left because of his involvement with the killers... The Emsthorpe crime ring was responsible for killing all of the people in a string of fourteen murders with the last one being the death of Prosecutor Wood's mother. We think it makes sense that he was working with them for a reason he left as well as how he was able to stay hidden from the public for so many years," he explained.

"I see... I take it that you have other reasons for thinking he disappeared for this reason as well, yes? Going off one piece of evidence for a large deduction such as this just doesn't sound like you," Ghastly remarked.

"Oh, we would never say that if we weren't sure multiple pieces of evidence pointed to it. At first, it was assumed that he left because he wanted to stay out of danger due to being related to an important legal figure, which was why Prosecutor Wood's mother was targeted. However, if he left because he was involved with the Emsthorpe crime ring, that explains why he left after they were discovered to be the culprits. He didn't leave immediately after she was killed, but rather, when the killers were discovered and revealed to the public. That certainly points to it, wouldn't you say?" Ms. von Graye commented.

"It sure would... Color me impressed. Plus, if he was working with a large illegal group like that, it would explain how he was easily able to get his hands onto a falsified legal document like a degree. They would have the resources to ensure a fake was done given how powerful its leader is," Ghastly replied. "So, you think now that he was involved with the Emsthorpe crime ring, and from there, the culprit of the prison case from a few months back, am I correct?"

"Yes... Gusuthrou Amstepse used an anagram to hide his true identity while he was under an alias to commit a murder..." Cotoli murmured. His eyes suddenly shot wide open, and he looked to Ms. von Graye with an intensity in his gaze I hadn't ever seen before.

"I heard what you just said too!" Ms. von Graye cried out. "You said that it was an anagram of his true name, and with it, he was able to hide his true self from anybody who might have gone snooping... There's always the possibility that he instructed Marcus Moore to do the exact same thing, which means that he could have been hiding under an anagram alias for all those years! He would have been in plain sight, but nobody would ever realize it was him!"

"If he was using an anagram name, we can throw his name into a generator that swaps the letters around and see if anybody local fits the letters perfectly. If so, that would mean that we had likely figured out who the culprit was. I somehow get the feeling people who work together on organized crime have similar methods of keeping themselves hidden, so it would make a lot of sense," Ghastly said next. His words started to speed up the longer he spoke, and I could tell he was getting excited. "This puts us on the cusp of figuring out where he's been hiding all these years, and we could arrest him since we have the reason that he's a murder suspect!"

"I don't think the anagram name will allow us to figure out the truth right away, but it certainly will make finding and exposing him much easier. If we get lucky, we can send people after him before the day ends. If he gets overly violent, chances are we'll have found our culprit. After all, I highly doubt that a member of an organized crime group like the Emsthorpe ring is known for being docile," Cotoli said. A smirk had appeared on his face. "I certainly am glad we had this revelation. It narrows down the search range considerably, and it's a strong place to start given what we know about other members of this crime group."

"With that settled, I feel better than ever about figuring out where he is. That's a great step to take towards finding the truth when you consider how clueless we were just a few minutes ago. At this point, all we need to do is put it into action," Ms. von Graye grinned. I noticed she and the others were deliberately avoiding the possibility that this wasn't the case. They could deal with that if it wound up happening, but they didn't want to dampen spirits by pointing out that their deductions could have been false. I didn't want to make them sad by saying it either, so I kept my mouth shut and just relished in the great deal of happiness this seemed to bring them.

"I'm glad that we came to this conclusion," Cotoli said next. "It's going to be vital to have that starting point as we try to press on towards the truth. We can always ask the people back at the agency to help us out with finding the man whose name happens to be an anagram of Marcus Moore. We haven't gotten any updates on what they've found yet, but I'm sure they'll be popping in to say something sooner rather than later."

"The people back at the agency?" Ghastly echoed. "Who are you talking about?"

"We sent everyone else who wasn't helping to investigate back to the agency. They're looking through profiles to see if we can find someone who happens to fit the same description as Marcus Moore. He looked oddly familiar, and we were thinking that we had possibly met him or someone like him at some point. However, none of us could put a finger precisely on where we had seen him before, so we let them handle it while we went to look around here," Cotoli explained. "I'm hoping that they'll be able to tell us who the man really is to all of us sooner rather than later."

"I have faith that they won't fail us," Ms. von Graye smiled. "They know what they're doing, and they'll be sure to tell us as soon as they figure something out. I'm expecting a phone to buzz any second now, and then we can go back and see what's going on."

"For now, I think we should focus once again on asking Prosecutor Wood what she knows," Cotoli suggested. Everyone turned their attention towards the young woman, myself included.

Niamh shifted uncomfortably underneath all our gazes. "I-I promise you when I say I don't know anything else... When he went missing, I was only three years old. I don't know if I ever met him before he went missing. I heard everything I know about him from my cousin, and he learned everything about him from his mother. I don't know anyone who would be a direct source about him, and even if I did, I don't know if they'd be able to tell us much about a man who went missing over ten years ago," she said.

"Plus, he was known for being far from kind and sociable, so I doubt people would have fond memories of him... In fact, most would probably opt to avoid him altogether," Ms. von Graye murmured with a shake of her head. "I can't really say I blame them, given that we know believe that he was involved with a ring of serial killers out for revenge against the legal system... I don't think I would want to associate with somebody of that nature either, no matter how well he tried to hide it. You can tell when people have a lot of hate in them, and it would probably be easy enough to sense that he was up to something malicious."

"It sounds to me like everything he did pointed to him not being a nice person... Now, we just have the proof to back it up... I'm glad that we found out all that we did about him, but until we can send out a party to search for him, there's not much we can do," Ghastly murmured. "Perhaps it's time for me to run off and find Detective Erikson again. He should be able to handle getting a few officers on the job to find out where he's been hiding. Plus, they'd have access to records regarding who could have a name that's an anagram of Marcus Moore."

"On top of that, we now know that he is involved with the Emsthorpe crime ring. If we keep that in mind, we can look through the file on the Emsthorpe group to try and find more information... Well, I don't know if we can do that personally, but we can ask for help in finding that stuff out. I somehow doubt we would be let into top-secret police evidence rooms just because we asked nicely, but we can ask others if they have any ideas that could further connect him to the group," Ms. von Graye said next.

"I-I never would have guessed that he would be involved with a-assassins... Zach never mentioned liking him much since he abandoned their family so early on, but... I never would have expected somebody I share common blood with to get involved with an illegal crime ring," Niamh mumbled.

"I understand that... You want to think of the people you're related to as good people, but he clearly is far from being great as far as morality is concerned," Cotoli frowned. "I know that this is a lot to take in... I'm proud of you for pressing on despite that though."

Niamh flushed under the sudden attention, and she shifted uncomfortably. "Thank you for the help... I-I have a lot of thinking to do in the near future, but before that, I want to try and solve this case. I can sulk around and wonder about how awful my uncle was after we clear Prosecutor Burke's name for the murder... We can't spare a moment yet, but when we can..." She didn't finish her sentence, instead letting the words die out before they left her lips. She stared at the ground and sighed. "Yeah. That can wait."

"You're taking this like a champ. After we're finished with this case, I'm going to take you out for ice cream. How does that sound?" Ghastly asked, looking down to Niamh with a smile. When she opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head to cut her off. "Nope. You can't fight this. I'm your father, and I get to tell you what to do every once in a while, and after we're finished here, I demand that you take a deep breath and relax while we go out to eat ice cream. Do you understand?"

Niamh hesitated before sighing. "Fine... I understand," she mumbled.

"Can I come along for ice cream too?!" I exclaimed, a wide grin appearing on my face. It had been ages since I had been given the chance to hang out with Ghastly, and freeing Polly from the detention center was going to be a cause for celebration.

"Of course," Ghastly smiled, reaching out one hand to rustle my hair. I giggled at the touch, not even caring that he was messing up my hairstyle. I could fix it later.

"I'm glad that we got this chance to talk. We're going to keep looking around and such, so maybe you could tell Detective Erikson about what we've discussed today," Cotoli told him. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Of course. We'll take care of things. Until we meet again, have a nice time looking around. We've got you covered," Ghastly said with a yawn. He didn't bother to cover his mouth with his hand this time, instead stretching his arms over his head. "I don't know what you're up to next, but you should go and talk to Polly sometime soon. She's probably lonely out of her mind, and I can't imagine that she's having a fun time right now."

"We don't want her to be sad or lonely, so we'll take care of that as soon as we can," Cotoli nodded. "Did you already go to see her? If so, how has she been doing since the trial came to a close?"

"Miserable," Ghastly answered quickly. "To put it simply, she was not happy. We went to talk to her as soon as the trial ended, and she was moping constantly. I think she's counting on you to get her out of there more than ever before. We needed another day to look around due to someone thinking it was a good idea to push the trial to court in a day, but... To her, she's thinking of it as another day she has to spend in the detention center. That means another few meals she'll be eating there, another night she'll be sleeping away from home... She was hoping to avoid that, and the idea of sticking around gives her a headache."

"I-I can't blame her for not liking it... I don't want her to suffer in there any longer than she has to. I was only there for a day when I was arrested last year, but I-I still hated it... I wouldn't wish that f-fate on anyone..." I said softly. The more I thought about Polly being stuck in that stupid place, the guiltier I felt. I wanted to run and get her out of there immediately, but I knew that wasn't an option. I could feel myself missing her more than I had been a few minutes ago, and the sadness hit me like a tidal wave. I frowned, looking down nervously. I just wanted her to be freed before she could suffer anymore, regardless of if I had any control over it.

I felt two comforting hands on my body, one on each shoulder. I looked to both sides, recognizing the people near me as Ghastly and Cotoli. Ghastly was on my left while Cotoli was standing to my right. I met the former's eyes first before looking to Cotoli. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I rubbed at my face violently. "Thank you..." I murmured, swallowing dryly. I didn't want to cry when there were more important things to take care of, but all my powerful emotions were crashing down onto me at the worst time possible. I had been trying to keep calm up to that point, but my attempts were failing horribly now.

"No problem," Cotoli smiled, pulling me into a small hug. "I know that it's scary right now, but that doesn't mean it will turn out horribly. In fact, we have everything under control. It will all be okay."

I returned the hug, unsure of what else to do. I stayed there in his arms for a while, feeling Ghastly's hand on my shoulder still. Soon after, he pulled himself into the hug, and while I would have normally felt crushed underneath the weight from both sides, I didn't mind it. In fact, it was oddly comforting despite the lack of room to move around, and I felt a small smile creep onto my face. I didn't know what I would do without them in my life. Chances were, I would be a lot sadder.

I didn't say anything as Ghastly and Cotoli both pulled away. They looked to each other slowly, seeming to have something on their minds that they weren't saying out loud. I didn't know what it was, but I also didn't try to figure it out. Instead, I watched as they both took steps backwards.

"We're going to go and talk to Polly," Cotoli finally said after a silence that felt like it lasted an eternity. "If all goes well, Chrysalis and the others will have figured out what we found so familiar about Marcus Moore along the way. As soon as we hear about that, you three will be the first ones to know. After all, we'll need your help if we want to track down the culprit, and you're going to be a huge help in figuring out the truth."

"We're happy to do everything we can," Ghastly told him with a firm and conclusive nod. "It's the least we can do for you given how much information you gave us a few minutes ago. When you throw in the anagram deduction, one could argue that we're in your debt for all you've done, but I think we can work out the details on that one later. You know, when our good friend isn't in danger of being incarcerated fully for a crime she didn't commit." He let out a laugh before yawning once again. "I need a nap after all this is over..."

"How about we consider the debt settled for now, and after we're finished on this case, you can treat us to ice cream? You know, after you've had your nice nap that you need so much given all you've done," Cotoli teased, nudging Ghastly lightly with his shoulder.

Ghastly rolled his eyes in response. "You just don't understand the importance of naps. You're always so focused on being productive... It would do you some good to take a few steps back to stop and smell the roses in between a pair of lovely, relaxing naps... I'll show you the glory of sleep one of these days. It's just a matter of time at this point, Morix," he said, referring to Cotoli by his surname as a way of teasing him further.

"We can debate that another time. For now, let's finish the investigation. You can't exactly sleep when there are other things to take care of first," Cotoli told him. He turned his attention down to me, smiling lightly when our gazes met. I returned the grin excitedly as he spoke. "You be sure to stay safe, Anton. Don't do anything I wouldn't approve of."

"What about my impeccable judgement?" moaned Ghastly, giving Cotoli a light glare. "I know how to protect the young people. I can keep them from getting hurt. I am a responsible, solemn adult who knows exactly what he's doing. It would be best if you avoided making any unfair judgements."

Cotoli didn't give him a serious response, instead laughing to himself. "We have other things to focus on for now. I trust that you'll take care of talking to Detective Erikson. Again, give us any updates you might hear. We'll tell you about what Chrysalis and the others find as soon as we're aware of it. Until then, I wish you good luck," he told Ghastly.

Ghastly seemed to realize that Cotoli was finished with joking around, and he nodded seriously. "Alright. As soon as we find anything, you'll hear about it. We don't want to hold out on you. If we want Polly out of the detention center, we need you to be aware of all the clues and minor details." Ghastly looked to Niamh next before turning his attention to me. "Now that we've settled this conversation, it's time for us to get going. Come on, you two."

I didn't object, and neither did Niamh. We waved farewell to Cotoli and Ms. von Graye before going around the corner to the front of the law agency once again. I wasn't looking forward to going back into the chaotic crowd of people, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make if it meant freeing Polly from the detention center. I wanted her home more in that instant than I ever had before, and I wasn't going to let her down now. She was counting on me, and after all she had done to help me in the past, this was the least I could do for her in return.

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