Friday August 12th 2016– 2:00 PM
That declaration of love . . . what was it? Real? It sounded real . . .
Miles entered the courtroom and took his place next to Phoenix. That man had not changed up his demeanor at all since that declaration. Miles, however, was flustered beyond recognition. Phoenix smiled at him and said, "Perhaps I should have waited to say something until after this trial?"
Miles wanted to say something in return; witty or snarky, but his voice was gone. Phoenix slid him a glass of water and said, "Drink up. Need you to focus, okay?"
"I know!" Miles found his voice, cracked as it was. He did drink the water, though, and eyed the prosecution and the person who took the stand. A one and the same Redd White that Phoenix had been tracking for a great length of time. White glowered back at only Phoenix, who held a cocky grin back at him.
"I always get the last laugh." Phoenix whispered to Miles.
"I bet you do . . ." Miles acknowledged. He wondered if Phoenix outmatched him now, fearing that no matter how much he studied and learned, Miles would still always trail behind Phoenix. It was not a feeling he was used to, as Miles always outshone Phoenix in the academic world when they were younger.
Phoenix had grown, though. Shaped by experience, loss, grief, and hard work. But, somehow, it was not jealousy or a blow to his pride that Miles felt just then. It was relief. He needed Phoenix's cleverness to outwit White and Purohit. They were now and had forever been a team.
Miles felt a rush just then. Something in his chest. It was welcomed but unknown to Miles and he would have to examine it closer later. He placed it all aside and focused on their new task of convicting White before the day ran short.
The Judge hushed them all with his gavel and said, "Mr. Redd White. A witness placed you at the scene of a murder. I hope you understand just how serious that is."
White held an upstanding image and shimmered back, "Salutations, Mr. Judge! I do not know of any witnesses that could have possibly observationed me at a place in which I have never been to, but I will humor this courtroom with a testimony most glorious! Will you hear my declaration?"
"Uh, yes. Well, Mr. Purohit? Are you ready to begin?" The Judge asked.
". . . Yes." Purohit hesitated.
"Hmm." Phoenix whispered, "Looks like we're undergoing a change of heart."
"Understandably so. I would hate to be the one who worked White." Miles said.
"Hmm." Phoenix frowned.
"What?"
"It's . . . uh, nothing."
"Is the Defense ready?" His Honor prompted.
"We are, Your Honor." Miles said, soon forgetting about Phoenix's odd display just then.
"Very well, let us begin." The Judge said.
Purohit started off as normal, requesting for a name and occupation. White glimmered and sparkled, catching the light of the courtroom just right to flaunt. "You wish to know the title of my personage?"
Purohit sighed. Long. And loud. He then said. "Yes."
"Oh dear! I thought for a moment that my locutions confused you! I am Redd White, but my friends call me Blanco Nino. The CEO – el presidente – of Bluecorp."
". . . Is that good enough for the court record?" Purohit's eye twitched. Both Miles and Phoenix could see it from across the room.
"Someone's a bit done with Blanco Nino's crap, huh?" Phoenix sniggered.
The Judge blinked in perplexion, "Uh . . . Yes?" The Judge took a step further and eyed the transcriptionist, who nodded.
"I have it, uh, with a denoted disclaimer at the bottom." She said and that seemed to be good enough for the Judge.
"Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. White, please tell us about your alibi in the time frame which the murder occurred." Purohit said. Phoenix raised an eyebrow. Miles folded his arms. They were going to fabricate an alibi . . . this already was off to an annoying start.
"I could not leave the premises of my fine beautiful building. The fire alarm was pulled by some nefarious creature and I had to stay at the building to do a head count and file reports. I was at Blucorp until 8 PM as you might imagine."
"Here is the police report to prove it." Purohit said, giving the Judge and official police statement that corresponded with White's word.
"Well, that does seem more decisive than the eyewitness's statement." The Judge agreed.
"As I said before, the old man was confused." Purohit suggested.
"Hah. Goddammit. Must be nice to have the entire police department under your thumb." Phoenix said.
"That report cannot be true."
"It's got the official police stamp on it and everything. As far as it goes for us right now, it is very true. This is why it is such a pain to get anything remotely accomplished."
"Well, what do we do now?" Miles asked, unsure how they could argue with forgery that was utterly convincing. They would have to disprove it, but how?
"That document has signatures, probably belonging to his pawns. If it is known that they submitted a false claim, it will be their hides on the line." Phoenix thought about it for a moment.
Miles said, "He left the fire alarm details decidedly ambiguous."
"Yeah. I noticed . . ." Phoenix said.
The Judge hammered again, "I understand that the defense participants are both new to this, but are we ready to conduct the cross-examination?"
White shouted, "My dear Judge! Do you not think it will be a fantastic waste of productivity? There is no arguing the fine police report."
"We will not forfeit the right to cross-examine," Miles stated.
"Tch." White shrugged.
Police Report
Date : Wednesday, August 10th
Time : 5:32 PM
Description of Events: An employee pulled the fire alarm. All employees on staff were vacated to the parking lot and an investigation took place. No fires or other emergencies were discovered, so it was pulled in error.
The police and fire department excused all of the employees after taking witness reports. Key officers and the CEO remained onsite until 8:00 PM.
End Time : 8:00 PM
Miles had a thought about those fire alarm details – a way to worm in his attack on Phoenix. From there, they could carefully dismantle White's lie and the false report. The reason he hesitated was because Phoenix hesitated.
"Is it another trap?" Miles asked.
". . . If it is, it is our only option." Phoenix said. A wishy-washy answer for someone usually so bold.
"We will deal with that as it comes, then." Miles agreed. He then asked White, "From what it sounds like, you do not know who pulled the fire alarm. Is that true?"
Direct. If White answered negatively, then it would be a point against him.
Purohit asked, "Why is that relevant?"
Miles replied, "We should be thorough. That report is vaguely written."
"It states what is relevant to the trial at hand: Mr. White did not leave the premises until after the tragic murder occurred. That is all that matters."
"Do you recall why we had White summoned in the first place?" Miles argued.
"Hmm." Purohit answered nonverbally, trying to get away with not recognizing that piece of evidence.
"For the court record, I want you to say it with certainty: Do you recall how the events at Bluecorp tie into the events at those apartments?"
". . . I do."
Miles smiled, "A reminder for the room: an assault and a murder. The timestamp shows that the assault occurred at 5:28 PM on Wednesday August 10th. That assault happened a few minutes before the alarm was pulled.
"Recall all of the facts so far. A statue that states the time, the time and date of both events, and the people involved share commonality. If there truly is nothing odd about these events, then White should have no fear in testifying about them?" Miles argued.
"It is hard to deny what is written clearly in front of us." The Judge said. "But . . . I would like to hear this. If the pieces do not fit, then we will release Mr. White from the stand."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Miles wrote to Phoenix, 'I want to show them the full clip now.'
Phoenix smiled. "First, before we state our claim, Mr. White – there was a question for you that was not clearly answered. Do you know who pulled the fire alarm?"
Purohit remained silent. White hesitated, thinking on which is better. 'Yes' he did, the truth? Or 'No' he didn't, and deny?
"Er. No. I cannot say it was ever revealed . . ."
"Okay. Please have that amended to the testimony." Phoenix requested. White knew, though. Phoenix said to Miles, "You know, I recognize some of those names on that report. Not like personally, but I've seen their names in documents at Bluecorp."
"If there is a way to prove that connection, it would certainly solve a few headaches." Miles said.
"You are right. I am not sure that I do beyond my word, though. Alright, the full clip is ready for you."
Miles was ready to start linking events together in chronological order, similar to the mock trial. "This is the clip from which the photograph of the assault was pulled. I will show the full clip now."
. . .
. . .
. . .
The video played to completion. White blocked Phoenix in, struck at him, missed his mark, and then Phoenix retreated. It was all there.
"Mr. White." Miles said after the footage ended and the room went quiet, "I believe you said that 'it was never revealed' who pulled the alarm. But you pursued Mr. Wright from the office and should have seen him. Why did you not testify to this knowledge?"
A loaded question. Because he could not without outing himself.
White looked concerned for a moment, then said, "Well . . . I never . . . left the office after the fact."
The Judge finally came back down from his shock and said, "That was attempted murder!"
Purohit shrugged, "So it is. But Wright managed to escape. Another investigation will be conducted to resolve this matter. However; Mr. White never left Bluecorp and could not have killed Miss Fiona Frost."
Phoenix asked, "Did you hear that clock? Polly the Parrot and Mr. Yanni Yogi both agreed to hearing that same clock. Once it hits something on impact, it will read the current time. How did the clock move from one crime to the other?"
Purohit shrugged, "Someone else must have had a similar model."
"There are only two in existence." Miles reminded.
Purohit replied, "That you claim. There is no proof to the contrary."
Phoenix challenged, "Well, if you do not like that as an explanation, maybe your men can confiscate the clock and have it scanned for blood residue? After all, if it was never outside of the office, then it should not have blood stains."
"It would have blood stains from your injury." Purohit claimed.
"It bled internally, but the skin never cracked. You can read up on it in my medical report." Phoenix grinned. He was waiting for that one. Purohit seemed to visibly react to that refutation, and he pulled out a report from the Hotti Clinic.
". . . That is . . . correct . . ." Purohit set the report down and sighed. ". . . Your Honor, I request that the bailiff . . . do as the defense appeals and contact the detectives. Have that statue found and taken to forensics. Mr. White, where is the statue now?"
". . .Hmph." White shook his head.
"If you would please cooperate, Mr. White." Purohit requested.
"You are all forgetting one spectatulactic thing! I never left Bluecorp so that statue will not have bloodstains! I attacked Mr. Wro-Wright here because he was a trespasser and a liar. Isn't that right, Mr. 'Verrier'?"
"Oh, we already established my alias. Do not worry yourself over my identity, Mr. White." Phoenix said in return.
Purohit explained, "Mr. White. Phoenix Wright went through the proper channels to carry out an investigation on Bluecorp. You assaulted an international agent."
"Wh-What?" White laughed nervously. "Ah, hahaha! Yes, I was merely testing his reflexes! I knew that he was an agent, of course!"
"Do you want to add that to your testimony?" Phoenix scoffed.
"Er." White started to sweat a little bit, but recaptured his charisma from earlier, "You still have nothing on me. I was never at those apartments. If you want to speak on that playful altercation, then we should do this another time?" White said.
Phoenix shook his head, "That altercation was far from playful. It broke most of my bones and will take 18 months to fully heal. It's a good thing that it will recover at all."
18 months . . . that was the first time Miles heard the recovery time estimation. Phoenix Wright would have to figure out how to live without one of his hands. Phoenix already showed great displeasure to this handicap.
Phoenix continued, "If it caused that much damage to my hand and wrist, could you imagine what it would have done to my head? Besides, there is a reason why you assaulted me, remember? You had a copy of my prosecution registration form and accurately assessed that I would be launching a separate investigation into you."
"That's absurded nonsense!" White claimed.
Miles stopped the footage at Phoenix's prosecution papers and said, "It is not nonsense, it is the truth. You taunted Wright with this information beforehand. Would the court care to hear what Mr. White said to Mr. Wright at this time?" These rhyming names were starting to wear Miles down, but he did not show it. He also did not wait for a response and played back Mr. White's goading.
"Er. That is . . ." White folded his arms, "Prosecutioner! A little help?"
". . . You are beyond help. As far as the assault goes, anyway. Mr. White, I think it is time you explain what you did with that statue now."
"Aren't you supposed to be representing me?" White asked.
". . . Your innocence rides on that statue coming back clean. For murder, anyway." Purohit said flatly.
"What do you mean?" White demanded.
"It is not that hard. You are videotaped striking at someone. The events at Bluecorp are indisputable. That is on you and you alone."
White exclaimed, "Ah! I know! since that footage of me is taken illegally, it can't be used to convict me of any crime. Isn't that right?"
Purohit sighed. "No. Now tell us about the statue already."
"But it is! I know it is!"
"Wright's investigation was stationed. He is Law Enforcement and you attacked him while he was on duty. It is not the same thing." Purohit explained.
"Looks like Purohit really is done with White." Phoenix said.
Miles nodded,". . . Indeed. White does not want to divulge that statue's current whereabouts. You do not assume he was so foolish as to leave it right in his car?"
Phoenix shrugged, "Maybe."
The Judge said, "Well, Mr. White? Will you tell us about that statue? What did you do with it after striking Mr. Wright?"
". . .I evoke the right to remain silent. I want to talk to my lawyer." White said.
Purohit folded his arms and said, "You may do as you wish, but you are still a suspect until the statue can be disproven. If you stop speaking now, it may be worse for you later on."
"Tch. That ostentatious statue is in the office of that secretariat. Are you happy now?" White asked.
"Very well. Which secretary?" Purohit nodded.
"The lovely Miss Julia."
The Judge deliberated on the issuing. Another break? Suspension until White speaks to an attorney? He finally did voice his thoughts, ". . .That statue needs to be collected and undergo forensic investigation. It seems as though this trial has come to a pause."
No one spoke up. Miles hated to let it end here, but White's stubbornness put a stop to their roll. How much damage could another day cause if this finished for the evening?
"With those factors in mind, I believe we should adjourn for the day and resume tomorrow at 10:00 AM." The Judge decided.
"Not just yet." Purohit said.
"Do you have something to add, Mr. Purohit?" The Judge asked.
"Finding blood residue will not take long if it exists. It is the scavenger hunt that will take the most time." Purohit said.
"What do you mean?" The Judge inquired.
". . .Mr. White was brought in by police force after the defense's insinuations. They scoured the building for the supposed weapon. Here is a picture of her office, the one belonging to the secretary, Julia Whittaker. If you compare the footage of Wright's assault to this picture, the statue would have been placed back on the desk. Clearly, it is not there. If you look at any other photographs, you will notice that it comes up in none of these. That is all."
"Mr. White." The Judge looked at the man still on the witness stand.
"Why is Purohit suddenly condemning White's case?" Miles asked.
Phoenix understood it somehow, though, "Once the assault was revealed, Purohit must have realized a full acquittal is impossible and that White would no longer cooperate with his main project. White is now baggage to Purohit."
"Is that the sole reason?" Miles really, really did not approve of Purohit or his tactics.
"Well, as you said before, White getting out of actual investigators' ways gives us more room to maneuver. Purohit might be planning a different alliance now."
Miles glared at Purohit and said, "As if anyone would ally with someone so willing to betray his own side. He even tried to deceive us with a 'friendly gift'."
"I know." Phoenix closed his eyes.
Purohit tapped his fingernails on the desk and said, "Mr. White has lied about the statue and the detectives are still searching for it. The fact of the matter is, we already know that the statue was used as a weapon once. It is probable that it was also used twice."
"Well, someone else must have taken it during the fire alarm commotion. I still never left Bluecorp that night until after 8 PM." White countered.
"Ah." Miles had an idea. White might have just carelessly given them an opening, "Are you claiming that you never wielded that statue again after 5:30 PM on August 10th? You have not seen the statue since then?"
"That's right!" White stepped right into it, "Even low-level members of society like you piranhas can understand something that simply! It was never in my possetations after that evening!"
"That is a lie." Miles declared.
"What?" White said.
"My poor car had its windows smashed in the day after the murder."
"So? Who gives a shit about some nobody's car?" White fumed.
". . . I think this should clear it up?" Miles asked rhetorically, while he presented all that he needed to about the attack on his car at 'Verrier's' house. It was very clear what crashed into the window – a statue that resembled the thinker and the attacker was unmistakably White.
"Another crime with that statue . . . go figure." Purohit said unimpressed.
White stammered, "But – but . . .! Okay, so? Perhaps I held onto the statue so no one could find my other situation out! So what I smashed some idiot's sportscar in? I still did not murder anyone, and you cannot prove otherwise!"
Miles grumbled, "You want to say that all again?"
Phoenix deflected and said, "Before you try anything else, that footage was taken on personal property, to which you were trespassing. It is also perfectly legal and relevant. Do you know what else is special about that property?"
White grumbled. Purohit remained silent. Actually, the damn man was thoroughly checked out again. Phoenix finished his thought, "It is my property. After he attacked me with the statue, he thought to finish the job."
"I want to speak with my lawyer now." White clamored.
"You may." Purohit said., his eyes springing back to life.
"That is my decision to make?" The Judge blinked.
"White is no longer needed and is clearly about to evoke his right to remain silent. White need not be here to figure out where this path shall lead us."
"Are you not the prosecutor?" The Judge asked.
"Hmm? I am unable to formulate a rebuttal and have no desire to prolong this trite affair. Either White speaks and spews more lies, or he leaves, and we come to the conclusion it is meant to take. The statue either does or does not have blood residue on it. However, White clearly has been up to more than shady affairs and will be tried separately on them. That is all."
The Judge engaged White, "Well, Mr. White? Are you evoking that right?"
White was careful with his words now, "What can I testify on? I do not know what happened at those apartments and I will no longer speak on anything but."
Purohit reminded White, "Yes, the murder happened at 6:20 PM. Only Miss Ruby Frost was present during the crime. According to the police report for your fire alarm escapade, you were present during its aftermath. It is a solid alibi. However, the weapon you used in other attacks made a cameo in the murder of Miss Fiona Frost. Until that is explained, you are still a suspect. Do you understand your position at present?"
"So why are we questioning me and not her?" White pointed at Ruby.
Purohit answered, ". . . She lacked decisive evidence against her. We are forced to explore other alternatives."
White groveled, "But I cannot fit into this equation! So surely you must see how much of a time waster this is?"
Purohit coughed, "Well, do not waste any more and just answer honestly what you do with the statue."
"I – After I used the statue to smash the windshield, I returned it to Julia's desk. If it is gone, then it is likely that she is back in possetations of it? All I am saying is that I did not have it after that night . . ."
Purohit kneaded his forehead, really reeling in how much he wanted to lay into White for being an idiot. Miles caught on to it and could only guess Phoenix did as well. Purohit said, "I am just confirming your story. It was after the incident with the window smashing that you returned the statue to the desk?"
"Yes." White said confidently. "After."
"Kay." Was all Purohit had to say to that.
Miles did not have to think too hard on this one. White made it positively easy for him to dissect. "You used the statue on 5:30 PM on August 10th and it stayed with you until sometime after you smashed into my car. You carried it with you in your own car for that amount of time, is that correct?"
"Um. Yes." White said.
"So. You had the statue until the morning of August 12th, which is today, by those estimations. You also had the possible murder weapon in your possession in the same interval as the murder took place by your claim."
White practically screamed, "Wait hold on a minute! That's not what I meant! Uh. Of course, after that . . . unpleasantriness with Wright I had to deal with the fire alarm and so it was unattended for several hours. Someone could have taken it and returned it."
Then an idea hit White.
"Someone like the pair of defense lawyers over there? They look like a two-man team and would definitely have the resources to pull off a stunt like that."
Miles slammed his dominate hand into the desk and said, "What? That is impossible. Wright was at the Hotti Clinic that night, treating the wound you gave him."
"And after he left that clinic?" White asked.
". . . After?" The three lawyers said practically in unison with the same brief pause.
"You know, after Wight left the clinic, he could have taken the statue, killed the girl, and returned it to that desk."
Purohit looked at Miles and Phoenix, like 'do I really have to explain it or can one of you?' Eventually, Purohit said, ". . . The clinic released Wright long after the murder occurred. It is strictly impossible."
"Oh! Oh I knew that, I was just testing all of you!" White laughed so hollowly. "And what about yourself, Mr. Magenta?"
"My suit is not that purple," Miles argued.
"Bigger picture here, Miles." Phoenix scolded, which was out of character for him. He was absolutely infuriated, from his expression to his tone to his tense body language. Miles remained calm, though. Not by any actual effort, but because he really did not take White's accusation too seriously. With as much as White put Phoenix through, Miles did not blame his partner for his apprehension.
White made his case, though, "Yes. That evening I broke Magenta's windshield, I went to pay my former employee a visit. They were at that house at that time, together, and plotting. I am absolutely sure of it."
Purohit pursed his lips, like he sucked on a sour lemon, and asked Miles, "What were you doing at Mr. Phoenix Wright's house on that evening, Mr. Edgeworth?"
Miles wasn't sure where Purohit was going with this, but he had no reason to lie. "I was investigation this case."
"You knew that Wright and Verrier were the same person?" Purohit asked.
Phoenix said, "No he did not. It took him several rounds to figure that out, but he did in the end. What is your point?"
Purohit shrugged, "Something like that is difficult to prove either way, so I will move passed it. I hand this off to you, now."
The cross examination began without the Judge's say-so. He was kind of invalidated by the courtroom initiating it on their own. It happened a lot.
Miles asked White, "Do you always greet former employee's by breaking in windshields? What was the motivation behind that?"
White looked over at Purohit for guidance. The prosecutor shrugged at him and said, "I was not in your head when you made such a reckless decision. Either you were bored or you were malicious, but I would guess you did it because you thought the car belonged to Wright."
White frowned, "Oh. Yeah. Actually, that's why I did do that . . ."
Phoenix jumped on White, "Oh? If that's the case, what made you so certain the Edgeworth was over? You came specifically to meet me. And you weren't just over for tea and biscuit, so why don't you just be honest and say why you really did visit me that night."
White owned up to it, but only in terms by what they actually had against him, "To send you a message about crossing me."
Phoenix laughed, "And that's why you proceeded to break and enter the house? Before you lie, I have video evidence of that, too."
"You – your front door was wide open!" White said.
"I had break-ins on multiple nights."
"Really?" Miles asked. Did Phoenix mention it before? This case was starting to give him whiplash.
"Yes. On the night of the murder, after I came back from the clinic. Some other visitors come by my house. It was not White, but other members of Bluecorp. I then left the house as I found it since I would need it for evidence later. Mr. Edgeworth showing up when he did . . . was not in my original plans. I was waiting for you, White."
Now it was Miles' turn to be upset. He whispered harshly, "Phoenix. You didn't set yourself up as bait,did you?"
". . . I did. I knew he would stop by again. That's why I didn't reveal myself to you sooner. He was after me and I was hoping to catch him in the act. I didn't want you getting caught in the crossfire."
"You could have been killed!"
"This is why I love you, Miles."
Miles didn't have a response for that beyond getting flustered. Phoenix smiled at him, though.
Then Phoenix looked at White and said, "You were after me. You went to my apartment, then my house after your initial scouts came back empty handed. Fiona being at the apartment was more of an opportunistic attack on your part."
White yelled, "Nonsense! I have no motive against the lovely Frost ladies! Besides, as it is well established by now, I did not leave Bluecorp until 8:00 PM, so you are talking in circles."
Miles shook it off and said, "It was Miss Ruby who claimed you had murdered her other sister, Ursula. There is bad blood between you and the sisters."
"Did she? I do not recall." White lied.
Phoenix said, "You made their lives miserable. You were constantly trying to silence them."
White laughed at him, "You have no proof of that."
Phoenix whispered to Miles, "He never contacted them directly. I should have seen through the text conversation sooner. It's the only thing we got, though."
Miles asked, "Do you have all the steps ready to counter it?" Phoenix loaded his emails. Chief Skye sent him back the reports on their Noah Beatty's lost item claim and proof of his attendance to one of Bluecorp's seminars, and so Phoenix nodded.
Miles initiated their rebuttal, "Fiona Frost ran into trouble all that week. Someone set her house on fire, then taunted her about it. That is why she came to this city. There is a text message exchange on her phone, seen here."
Purohit asked, "Did you verify the contact? The number shows without a name."
Miles answered, "We did. It belongs to a man by the name of Noah Beatty."
Purohit smiled softly, "Well, good for you. How does that implicate White?"
Phoenix pulled up the lost item claim, dated a week back, "This is why. This phone was not in Beatty's possession when these messages were sent. If you have someone compare the speech patterns from the unknown sender to White, you will find similarities in their style."
Miles added the second part, "Noah Beatty was registered at one of the Bluecorp's motivational entrepreneurship speeches. The day he claims to have lost his phone overlaps with that seminar."
Purohit nodded. "Bailiff, have the conversation analyzed next to something else of White's. . . . Impressive. But indecisive. I do not suppose you found Mr. Beatty's phone?"
Miles shook his head, "No. We did not. We do know that it was not in Beatty's possession."
The Judge spoke, "New possibility now exists. It looks like there was more to Miss Fiona's case than we first anticipated, the poor girl." The Judge then slammed his gavel, probably for effect at this point, and said, "Let us take a ten-minute break so Mr. Purohit can check in with the detectives. We need to find that statue."
White demanded, "I should be free to go. I have testified and these people have found nothing against me."
The Judge shook his head, "No. You have not been cleared yet. The bailiff will escort you to a waiting room."
"I demand to get a phone call!" White persisted.
"Allowed. Dismissed for recess."
#
Friday August 12th 2016– 3:30 PM
Outside the courtroom, Miles and Phoenix stood together with Ruby.
"That was some stunt you pulled." Miles said with his arms crossed.
"Are you still upset about the whole bait thing?" Phoenix asked.
"Of course I am! How reckless can you possibly be!?"
Phoenix laughed, "Ah, I love being bitched out by the people I care about. It makes me feel loved."
Miles grabbed at his maroon suit sleeve, "You are incorrigible."
"Don't I know it?" Phoenix winked.
"Well, you lovebirds sure are thorough. It's hard to imagine this is what the two of you are really like." Ruby said and the boys hushed. Miles and Phoenix almost forgot she was standing there. "What? Your lover's spat was drawing attention to us."
Miles shook his head, "We are not lovers."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Denial is a river in Egypt. Anyway, I get the feelin' that you're close to nailing him. It's the first good feelin' I've had in a while."
Phoenix nodded, "Glad to hear it."
Miles looked around for his father. How could he not be back yet? Nothing happened to him while he was out, right? Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was clasp, gone just as quickly, and a familiar voice said, "I had to eat out in the lobby, but I could hear the entire thing. You and Phoenix had a handle the entire time."
"Thank you, Father." Miles slacked his tense shoulders.
Gregory nodded then said, "Though I do agree with my son, Phoenix. You are a bit careless. I am definitely making you both watch safety videos."
Miles protested, "Why am I lumped in with him?"
"Don't think I don't remember the stunts you pulled recently, Miles. I feel like we could all benefit from safety training. Not tonight, but by the time we are out in the field again." Gregory said, then pulled out the tap from his pocket, "I listened to this on the way back. It does have that final confrontation with her and White. I wanted to make sure you understood that, Ruby. It isn't going to be a pleasant thing for you to listen to."
She folded in on herself. It was the weakest any of them ever saw her. ". . . Do it. Bury that asshole. Show the whole world the rotten fuck that he is."
"Okay." Gregory said with a hint of sorrow. It was times like these where he wished he could let the defendant sit away from the processions. The finale to this case rested in proving where White truly was that night and it would be done through this recording and that statue.
Notes:
I think I finally tied it all up. Some humorous dialogue sort of pulled from the game. Gotta keep some of the source material, you know?
I am so GLAD this arc is just about done. It's exhausting, haha! I'm ready for some WrightWorth / EdgeWright stuff.