A Twisting Knife

Monday August 22nd 2016 – Afternoon

Gregory entered the room an hour-and-a-half later to quiz his son and . . . other son on what they learned in safety. He found them hiding giggles like they were eleven again – and he didn't have the heart to punish them for it. To see them pick right back up where they left off was warming – Miles needed that energy to relax his uptight views on life. Instead, Gregory decided to address the other elephant in the room; an issue that he merely placed on the backburner for when the White case officially ended for them.

"Phoenix." Gregory said.

"Sir." Phoenix replied back.

"I wanted to ask you, once more, about those letters your father sent to you. Perhaps the last one or two missed your grasp, but surely you knew of the others?" Gregory sat down and faced the two young men. His interrogation was gentler this time, now knowing that Phoenix meant well in his life choices. Gregory trusted Phoenix, mostly, though he needed to know the extent of the damage inflicted by Mr. Wright's actions.

"Do you have a fax that connects internationally?" Phoenix asked.

Gregory blinked a few times. "Yes. The office does. Why?"

Phoenix retrieved his phone and dialed out. He put the phone on speaker and a woman picked up, diving right into a rant, "It's been several months! Why haven't you returned any of my calls or emails? How rude of you to ignore me so! I demand an explanation for that!"

"Who is this?" Miles asked.

"Oh? Who are you? You sound handsome."

"Aunt Annie," Phoenix interjected, "I was busy with my job. I'm with the Edgeworths right now."

"Edgeworths? OH! I remember! That Gregory was a real refined vision of a man."

Gregory cleared his throat, "Um. Phoenix. Am I to assume you called your aunt to fax over those letters?"

"Oh, is that him? Goodness, you men sound so husky!" Annie continued to flirt and Phoenix just rolled his eyes. Then Annie asked in confusion, "Letters?"

"Actually, I wanted you to fax over those letters and explain why you kept them from me all this time? Withholding mail is a federal crime, y'know?"

"Wait, what's this about – oh. You mean those letters." Annie's voice suddenly dropped.

"See? Told you I had no idea about them until you said something." Phoenix winked. "I have no interest in reading any of those things, but Mr. Edgeworth asked about them."

"I burned them." Annie said. "Sorry. They're nothing but ash now."

"Eh. All for the best." Phoenix shrugged.

"This sounds rehearsed," Miles spoke before he could catch himself. The look Phoenix gave him was unlike anything Miles ever witnessed from his friend.

"Does it? Well, regardless, the letters are destroyed, and I am not going out of my way to learn what was written on them." Phoenix explained, suppressing vitriol.

Gregory said, "You burned them? Did you read them at all?"

"Why? What's it to you?" Annie asked, growing more defensive with each invasive question. "My brother was not a good man – and anything he had to say to Phoenix deserved fire. I didn't tell him about the letters because there was no point in putting him through more heartbreak."

"That might be the truth, but I must know: did you read them?" Gregory reiterated, assuming knowledge of the contents held bearing somehow.

"How did you learn of the letters, anyway?" Annie proposed her own.

Gregory answered her, "I looked into Phoenix's circumstances when we learned of his return visit and found that Dennis Wright's appeal is in a few months. I simply wanted to know if he attempted to establish a meetup with Phoenix in that final letter."

Phoenix's face fell even darker. He said, "I have no intention of seeing him. Ever again. I am not contacting him and I'm not accepting his letters."

Gregory nodded, "I am taking steps to ensure of that, Phoenix. You do not need to be so defensive. Neither of you do."

"So. Denny's trying for an appeal, huh?" Annie sounded flat. ". . .What's the fax machine number?" Gregory read it off and Annie confessed, "I did not burn the letters. I did not open or read them, either. I'll send them over. Talk to you later, Phoenix."

"Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Aunt Annie."

After a few moments of silence, the machine nearby printed off the received letters, and Phoenix stood up. "I'm going to head out. See you later."

"Phoenix." Miles went after him, ignoring the several pages printing off in the distance. The difference between Phoenix and Miles shone clearly in moments like this – Miles would be delighted to receive mail from his father, had they been apart for any duration longer than a week. Phoenix ran away.

Once they were outside, Phoenix stopped in the parking lot and sighed. He waited for whatever enlightening wisdom Miles would dole out this time. Miles said nothing on his reaction, though. He was out of his depth this time, knowing nothing of abusive father figures. Instead, he reminded Phoenix, "You said I will always be able to find you. I am holding you accountable to that."

"I just want some air." Phoenix said. The Edgeworth Law Offices lacked a bright red sportscar that was now being worked on after the insurance had a copy of that evidence. "Besides, there's gonna be moments where I just wanna be alone."

"Do you want to be alone now?" Miles asked.

Phoenix paused, then answered, "Not really. It's different when it's you."

"You do not want to be alone, unless it's me?"

"You know what I mean!" Phoenix hid a laugh in his outburst. Of course Miles knew, he just wanted to cheer Phoenix up and it looked like his tactic was successful. Sooner or later, Miles would have to acknowledge Phoenix's love confession and decide what to do about it. Miles never really fancied himself a romantic, nor did he envision a life that involved marriage, but he found himself going absolutely soft for Phoenix. That didn't mean physical attraction was at play, though; rather that Miles had a persistent emotional connection to Phoenix, despite all his antics, the looming tragedy, and their time spent apart.

"If you need time to yourself, I will respect that. But I do not want you disappearing with no way to trace you, again."

"Do you want a key to my house?" Phoenix asked. "Well, soon to be my house?"

Phoenix's threw Miles' train of thought off course. "I - suppose that would be one way to keep track of you."

"If you want, I can show you how to track my phone's internal GPS. It's not that hard, since new phones come with location and maps pre-installed."

Miles folded his arms, "That is more disconcerting. How about we stick with a spare key in my possession?"

"You wanna move in?"

"I don't think that will be –" Although, Phoenix did have a yard that Missile could run around in.

Phoenix nodded, "Missile can come, too."

"How are you doing that?" Miles grumbled as Phoenix read his mind once more, a repeated occurrence that sat unwell with Miles and his skepticism. Phoenix, unwilling to give up his tricks, merely shrugged and looked aimlessly toward the horizon.

Miles said, "I am not living in a house with those hideous lawn displays. You will have to remove them before I even step foot in that house again."

"Hm. Back to this, then?" Phoenix sighed animatedly, pretending to be perturbed. "Well, you're probably right. It's kind of tacky to have them up year-round."

"Finally. Some sense."

"But - We are coming up to where it is acceptable for them. So, I'll remove them in November for Christmas stuff! How's The Nightmare Before Christmas sound to you? I got a Jack Skellington– might need some other characters, though."

Now Phoenix was negotiating. This goes back to his love for arguments, no doubt. "Make the walkway accessible and take down the props when each holiday ends." Miles demanded in a counter condition.

"That's the best part, though!" Phoenix laughed. "Oh, did you want to see yourself react to the traps? It's amazing. You're very photogenic, y'know? You'd make an excellent star."

Miles' eyebrow twitched once outside of his control. Speaking of photogenic . . .

"I am not watching your home horror movie, thank you very much. I do wonder why it is you don't seem to be photogenic at all, though."

"That's kinda mean. You calling me 'ugly'?"

"No. I haven't seen a single piece of footage that wasn't blotted out by a streak or a flare." Miles stated, though he lacked the conviction to truly believe it was anything more than a coincidence.

Phoenix crossed his arms, saying nothing in response to that. They both watched a familiar red car pull in, only to realize it was just Larry and Ray coming back from the park with Missile. Phoenix laughed and said, "I can't believe you rented a twin car to Larry."

Phoenix completely ignored Miles' last observation.

"It is not a 'twin'. Mine is superior." Miles let it go for now.

"Hm. Sure." Phoenix shrugged. Missile trotted ahead like he was the pack leader and sat by Miles' legs for head scratches.

"Sup, dudes." Larry said.

"Uncle Ray has returned!" Ray announced with his arms out for a hug, getting a blank stare from Phoenix and a raised eyebrow from Miles.

"Do what now?" Phoenix finally asked.

"Y'know, Mister Edgeworth suddenly has three kids and I decided, 'hey, I must be the uncle'! So, you may address me as 'Uncle Ray' from now on, it's okay."

"No." Miles refuted instantly. He then remembered Raymond trying something similar when he was younger and was denied then, too.

"I already got a crazy aunt. I don't need a crazy uncle, too." Phoenix pursed his lips.

"I'm heartbroken." Ray pouted.

"You'll live." Miles dismissed.

"I guess Larry truly is the golden child." Ray joked, pat Missile on the head, then went inside. The three childhood friends and their dog continued their discussion outside, feeling a nice breeze rustle by.

"So, what do we wanna to do today?" The golden child asked.

"Miles is trying to get me to remove my Halloween decorations." Phoenix answered, giving Miles a sly side-eye.

"What! Those are cool, though!" Larry backed up Phoenix, "'Sides, Edgey, didja even see yourself, man!? With a few more shots, we could def make a buck off this thing."

"You showed Larry?" Miles' face contorted.

Phoenix's smile turned into an infuriatingly haughty grin, "Yeah. What can I say? You're a natural talent, Miles."

"Aren't you the one with a theatre degree?" Miles challenged.

"I'm not a 'natural' like you, though." Phoenix flirted.

Larry nodded, missing the subtle undertone of Phoenix's comment, and agreed, "Uh-huh! Banish the zombies, Edgey! Stand up to the vampire lord! You got this, man! We need to star you in some big things!"

"What? More horror?" Phoenix asked.

"I was thinkin' more like a porn."

"Ah. Ehh." Phoenix shook his head. "I doubt that he'd go for that."

"Excuse me?" Miles asked daringly. He would tear into them if they weren't careful with their next choice of words.

Phoenix cleared his throat but offered nothing in response while Larry – unable to pick up on Miles' mood shift – started to say, "You know, get a lovely lady and fu – OW!"

Larry couldn't finish his thought since Phoenix forcefully kicked his shin. Missile jumped at the sudden commotion and ran behind Larry to sniff him.

"What the hell, man?" Larry shouted as he leaned against the door and rubbed his injury with Missile putting his nose against it.

"Quit being a baby. It didn't hurt that much." Phoenix rolled his eyes. "If you completed that sentence, my kick would've been higher."

"Dude! You straight up punted me! Jeebus!"

Miles watched the pair with a face unchanged. Phoenix at least grasped that last suggestion went too far for a joke, though he resulted to violence as a first tool to silence Larry. Phoenix whistled, then said, "So, Larry, How's Julia doing? She come back after White's hearing?"

Easily distracted, Larry said, "Oh, yeah. She called me and set a date. We're doin' lunches again once she's back home. She's an amazing woman!" Larry went very lovestruck on Miles and Phoenix, then went inside – presumably to daydream. In a follow up investigation, Phoenix found her phone on White's desk. Unfortunately, that left Larry waiting on her to contact him until she retrieved that device.

"I should probably check in with Ruby." Phoenix mumbled.

Their entire conversation gave Miles another angle to work with, though. He was curious about Phoenix's lack of decent camera captures. "You went to theatre for a reason, correct? Have you performed stage plays?"

"A handful of times." Phoenix said.

"Any of them on film?"

Phoenix shook his head with an accompanying, "Nope".

"I was hoping to see one of your performances." Miles said

Phoenix twisted his face, tempted to say something. He just went with it, damned be the consequences, "I'll give you a performance later, Miles."

"You two are children."

"Sorry – it was there. I couldn't help it."

Miles rolled his eyes, "I know better than to live with you. You would not keep those thoughts to yourself, Wright. I am not setting myself up for that."

"There's plenty of room for you, though. It's meant to be a family home."

"And I take it that offer is also extended to Larry, if he wanted a place to live?" Miles tested those waters.

"Pft. No. Why would I offer that to Larry?" Phoenix laughed.

"Ah, so it really is extended to only me because you have ulterior motives."

"No. If Larry lived with me, I'd have to make sure all of my insurance polices are up to date. I'll probably come up to a destroyed house or bike, a flooded backyard, or maybe even a fire? Not gonna happen – no way. Besides, I know you shower on a consistent basis. I'm not convinced Larry does and I don't want that place smelling like unwashed man." Phoenix made a show of hurling.

The house was dark, but Miles remembered it being orderly and had a clean fragrance. Miles wanted to agree with Phoenix on choosing who boards with him carefully, but Phoenix then tacked on, "The ulterior motives are secondary."

"Yeah, I thought as much." Miles turned to the office door to hide a smile from Phoenix. He shouldn't encourage this but he found it amusing at the same time.

"Going back in?" Phoenix asked.

"I don't have a car until the windshield is repaired, which means I will have to solicit Larry for help. I am surprised that car is still in one piece, but he really needs to figure out a better situation. I will only rent for so long."

"True." Phoenix shrugged, then followed Miles back in with Missile. The golden boy cuddled up to the golden child, but the pair of lawyers cued in on Gregory's face scanning over the letters.

"Your father still has a way with words." Was all Gregory had to say.

"I'm sure." Phoenix said, moving his gaze to the television and watching the cartoons Larry tuned into.

Miles walked over and took a page, wanting to know exactly what was written on those letters. They were dated around the original court date – an anniversary, if Miles remembered correctly. The letters were nasty and venomous, or at least the first few handfuls were.

"They started screening content after a reform," Gregory said in response to Miles' growing disgust, "He couldn't get away with being so horrible through mail after a few years in."

'You are the reason for ruining my life.' Miles read further down the page. Dennis ruined his own life; that had nothing to do with Phoenix.

'I wish you were never born.'

"These are," Miles glanced toward Phoenix's direction, then hushed. Gregory and Miles went to a different office and closed the door, "These are awful."

"Those voicemails and texts that he sent to Phoenix were just as bad. There was plenty of evidence to that nature. Why they let him send out those letters to the child he abused, I will never understand – but by the fourth letter, they are different in tone."

Miles flipped to the fourth page.

'October 30th, 2007

Phoenix,

This time of year reminds me of your mother. Your mother was into spooky stuff, you know? Something about channeling ghosts and the family tradition. Goes to show how much you and her are so alike. You must miss her, huh? Sorry things ended that way but that's just how things are sometimes. She got sick and I didn't know what to do with you or that unfortunate aftermath – but I'm guessing your Aunt's doing everything in her power to replace Faine, huh?

Tell Savanah I said hi. I wanted to see your grandmas soon but they've all refused to meet me. Especially Nyx, but that was probably a given. Maybe Savanah will give me some of her time. Maybe you and I can figure out a way to put this incident behind us and enjoy this time of year again.

Oh, that reminds me. Happy Halloween, Phoenix.

~Dad'

"He replaced outright abuse to," Miles shook his head – this letter angered him more than the verbal abuse.

"Manipulation. Trying to rewrite the events to his own favor. He attempted to misdirect his family into believing his lie."

"I doubt he truly want to rekindle."

"More like silence and control. Phoenix still does not want to read these, right?" Gregory asked.

"Correct." Miles nodded, then flipped to the final letter.

"It is probably better that way. Dennis' words can't warp his mind if he cannot hear them to begin with. If the courts find his behavior rehabilitated, we have to do all we can to keep Dennis from meeting Phoenix. I just hope that Annie and Phoenix are telling the truth about not reading these letters. She's right – he doesn't need this on his mind."

Miles nodded, then asked, "Who is 'Savanah'?"

"Annie's real name. She probably didn't like 'Anna' as a shortened name. I recognize 'Nyx' as Faine's mother, though. Nyx Will'O or 'Phoenix Will'O'. Faine said the name 'Phoenix' was passed down through her ancestral line."

"Odd tradition. Is grandma 'Nyx' still alive?"

"I am not sure. She lived in the Mitama Reserves, so it would be difficult to look up."

"Phoenix told me he visited a village recently – Kurain, I believe, the weekend before Fiona's murder. Crowning a 'Master' or something along those lines."

"Then he would likely know about 'Nyx'. Kurian is the head village of Mitama. Dennis, Savanah, and Faine all lived in the reserves at one point in their lives." Gregory concluded.

"Strange. Dennis writes about the tradition from a third party, if you look at his phrasing." Miles pointed out.

Something about channeling ghosts and the family tradition.

"If I remember correctly, Dennis' father separated from his wife then moved out of the Reservations. He remarried and was deceased before Phoenix went to preschool, though his step-grandmother filled that role. Phoenix's step-grandmother was too ill to take him in, but otherwise had a decent relationship with her. I do not know about his biological grandmother."

"So, the Wright clan separated?"

Gregory nodded, "The Kurain teachings placed a high value on their female line and ignored the men. Grandpa Wright took Dennis to get him out of that environment – but Faine and Savanah grew up together in it – if I remember this right, they were raised by mothers only. Faine said she wanted out of that culture, so Phoenix wouldn't doubt his own self-worth. It was easier to move into the Wright family than keep my own name." Gregory remembered her saying.

"You don't think Dennis killed Faine because of that cultural aspect, do you?" Miles proposed as a possible motive.

"I can't say for sure. There might be resentment from their upbringing."

Miles left it alone for a moment, then turned to the final thirteenth letter.

'November 20th 2015,

Phoenix,

I am sad to say that we never spoke since this entire unfortunate affair started. It's hard to carry on a one-sided conversation, though that's not much different from when we were still living together as a family. But we can change that in a year and a month's time. Once my trial is complete, I will be a free man again. I would like to see you after my release so we can finally have our reunion done right.

Hope you have a good Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all that I have – aren't you? I'll count anticipation for seeing you as a reason to be thankful in a few days, myself.

See you Christmas 2016, my dear child. Have a wishlist ready – I'll let you know what's on mine when we see each other again.

~Dad'

"No. He will not get the chance." Miles stated.

"If we act now, we can start a restraining order." Gregory agreed, "We need to talk to Phoenix about that, at least. It's in our favor to keep these letters from reaching Phoenix. Pay attention to him – if he starts to question its contents, let me know. It's bound to get under his skin eventually."

"Right. Understood."

Christmas 2016… That was coming up on them in a hurry. That left them with a checklist and a time limit, though the Edgeworths were accustomed to it.

Notes:

Gregory really needs to show these dads how to dad, for real...