A/N: Remember when I said that this chapter of investigation would be the last one? Turns out, this mystery wanted one more to stretch things out. I do apologize for that. Even so, this chapter contains some very intriguing conversations. Enjoy, my readers!
Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth crossed his arms, as his heavy gaze rested on Juniper. "Miss Woods. You will tell me the results of your investigation thus far."
"You don't get to order Juniper around like that!" Robin shouted furiously. "She's not a prosecutor!"
"I suppose you are technically correct there. While I am not obligated to explain myself, I suppose you should know this much," Edgeworth said. "Mrs. Newman is attempting to manipulate this trial to an erroneous conclusion."
Hugh pointed his index finger at Edgeworth. "You, of all people, know that a lawyer shouldn't make claims like that without evidence. So I imagine that you already have the evidence to prove your assertion."
"Naturally. My first evidence is something you've likely heard from Mrs. Newman- that this case has a 'true killer'." Edgeworth shook his head. "This of course is utter nonsense, because a suicide case cannot have a true killer. Ergo, Mrs. Newman is trying to misdirect everyone."
Juniper finally found her voice, and asked, "Why would Mrs. Newman want to misdirect everyone about this case?"
"I do have a theory," Edgeworth said, adjusting his glasses. "But it involves confidential information."
Confidential information… come to think of it, don't I have information that was also kept secret? Maybe it's the same information as what the Chief Prosecutor is thinking about.
"You wanted to know about my investigation, Chief Prosecutor. Well, um, I was in Mrs. Newman's office," Juniper explained. "And Prosecutor Gavin gave me permission to see the case file that Prosecutor Newman presented in court."
Edgeworth raised both his eyebrows at this, but otherwise remained impassive. "It seems you are careful to make sure to investigate legally. Continue."
"The case file was about Prosecutor Newman herself, and a case she handled against a businessman. For unknown reasons, her star witness suddenly testified to the defendant's innocence." At this point, Juniper took a deep breath, to gather courage for what she had to say next. "The case file had a newspaper clipping that mentioned you, Chief Prosecutor. That you made a public statement to have Prosecutor Newman expelled from the office."
"Let me guess. That same article also referred to me as a 'Demon Prosecutor'." Edgeworth let out a deep sigh. "The last thing I need is for you to go running around with ideas in your head spawned from sensational trash without context. Very well, I will explain."
Okay, I've managed to get this far. Hopefully I'll be able to learn a lot from him, given his position.
"First of all, the moniker of 'demon prosecutor' is one I was given very early in my career. I won't deny that I had a long way to improve as a prosecutor," Edgeworth began. "But anyone that is still bringing that up all these years later is not doing it in good faith."
"Even back then, I never believed those rumors, sir!" Ema suddenly exclaimed. "You were always a good person!"
It was unclear if Edgeworth had heard what Ema said, because he continued talking, "At the time that they published that article, Mrs. Newman had been a rising star in the prosecutor's office. In the end, however, all she proved was how completely unfit she was to wear a prosecutor's badge in the first place. All I did was make a statement to that effect, but it was blown out of proportion."
Robin glared up at Edgeworth, clenching her fists. "According to that article, Detective Smokes suspected that foul play may have been involved in that case! I don't think being 'unfit' would have anything to do with it!"
"It appears that you still don't understand why I had you fired. Worthless emotional rants such as those have no place in court." The air around Edgeworth grew ice cold. "As a prosecutor, your mother was entirely responsible for her own case. She failed at the duty, and she paid the price. Going off on unfounded conspiracies will accomplish nothing."
Robin's face grew angrier, but evidently she had no rebuttal. Hugh, despite the cold sweat running down his face, approached Edgeworth. "You claimed to have strong evidence that Mrs. Newman is misdirecting this case. However, I am not impressed with what you've shown me so far."
"That is because I am not finished. Since you know about that old case file, I can discuss what I suspect Mrs. Newman's ultimate motive is: to take revenge on the legal system that she feels has abandoned her."
"I don't understand that. How do you take revenge on something like a legal system?" Sheila asked curiously. "It's not a person."
"This is where her strange actions start to line up." Edgeworth tapped his forehead. "Why bring up a case long laid to rest? Why push the impossible idea of a 'real killer' in a suicide case? Most of all, why manipulate this case to have solely Miss Woods as the defense attorney?"
Come to think of it, that is strange. Why did Mrs. Newman want only me as the defense attorney?
"In court tomorrow, Mrs. Newman is going to bring up the case concerning herself, and paint herself as a victim of an unfair prosecutor's office, in a public venue where it will spread as far as possible." At this point, Edgeworth gazed at Juniper again. "She is likely counting on you being too weak to stop her. That is why during the Starlight Moon case, Mrs. Newman approached you first."
Juniper could feel her breath grow short, as she considered this. Is that what all of this has been about? Does Mrs. Newman believe that I am still a little girl?
"What I want is to get these false charges off of Bailey. I won't let anyone stop me from doing that," Juniper finally said. "But I am also in training to become a judge, and I want to pass the rightful verdict in whatever case I mediate. So if Mrs. Newman is trying to manipulate this case, I will do everything in my power to stop her."
"That is reassuring to hear, Miss Woods. Although, this is why I want to hear more details about your investigation. I need to know if Mrs. Newman has already tried to misdirect you."
"Um, I didn't want to review my investigation until I finished it," Juniper explained meekly. "I feel like I still don't have enough clues to work out this case yet."
Edgeworth crossed his arms. "If you are not willing to divulge your information, then I am having second thoughts about sharing what I know."
"Good thing you aren't in charge of the investigation, then." Diana Newman entered the main hall from the east wing, smirking at Edgeworth. "As the lead prosecutor, I think it would be for the best if the defense got to have a look."
"Your abuse of your authority will not go unpunished," Edgeworth said, glaring coldly. "You may think yourself untouchable now, but I will strip you of that protection." He briefly turned towards Ema. "You know what to do."
He left, and Mrs. Newman sighed. "That man really does not take no for an answer, does he? May as well follow me."
Before anyone in the group could react, Mrs. Newman left as well, forcing the defense team to follow after her. From the main hall, they went towards the east wing again. Mrs. Newman stopped by a stretch of wall next to the door to Bailey's room. "What I'm about to show you, only Bailey knew about. I learned of it when I interviewed her, and the chief prosecutor sat in on that interview. Aside from that, this is a secret."
She took out Bailey's key ring, before selecting what appeared to be a thin wire. She inserted the wire into a small hole in the wall, and turned it. A small door opened out of the wall, and a strong odor followed.
"This room stinks! Close the door!" Sheila cried out.
"That is the smell of garbage, because this is the garbage disposal room," Mrs. Newman explained. "There's actually a furnace in there, but it's been untouched since Bailey's arrest. Normally, the garbage is thrown in the furnace and burned, where the smoke goes up a chimney attached to it."
"This is all well and good, but what is it you wanted us to see?" Hugh asked.
"I don't know, I haven't stepped in this room. However, the Chief Prosecutor seems to think there's something to be found," Mrs. Newman said, gesturing for the group to enter.
"Hang on. As the lead detective in the case, I should be the first to enter." Ema held her breath, and marched into the garbage room.
"You seem really calm, given that you have Edgeworth breathing down your neck," Robin said to her mother. "How do you do it?"
Mrs. Newman ruffled Robin's hair. "A mother is able to deal with any stress thrown her way. I know in what direction I want to take this case, and I won't let anyone stop me."
That reminds me… didn't Edgeworth say that something to this effect would happen? "Where exactly are you driving this case, Mrs. Newman?" Juniper asked nervously.
"I am investigating every possibility that Bailey is guilty. Consider what I divulged earlier: Bailey was the sole person that knew that this garbage room existed, or how to access it," Mrs. Newman pointed out. "So any evidence found in there could implicate her."
Hugh rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess that is your job, but is it too much to hope that you could make our job a little easier?"
Now that Mrs. Newman is here, this may be the only chance to ask her some questions that have bugged me for a long time now.
"The reason I asked is because the Chief Prosecutor told me something. That you are trying to get revenge from being disgraced many years ago." Juniper could feel the eyes of everyone else around her, but pressed on. "I want to know more of the kind of person you are."
"We've known each other for years, Junie. You're breaking my heart." Mrs. Newman delicately put her hand on her cheek. "But I will say this- the idea that I want revenge is not true in the slightest."
"But I remember those days immediately after the case! You were being painted by the media as a disgrace, and were on the verge of being fired!" Robin cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.
"But I didn't get fired. I held onto my job, even if I was banished to prosecuting petty theft for years on end," Mrs. Newman said, her eyes taking on a hard edge. "I now also have some very good friends that are helping me. I'll be fine as long as I have them."
"You must be talking about Amara, former queen of Khura'in," Hugh said thoughtfully. "It's indeed hard to imagine anyone being able to go against you with that kind of support."
"Oh, it's not something you have to worry about. It's just a little insurance," Mrs. Newman said delicately. "This case must be seen through until the very end."
"I want to defend Bailey from this attempted murder charge. I don't believe that she would ever try to kill Detective Smokes, for any reason," Juniper said firmly. "You seem to have your reasons for doing what you do… but I have to do my job too."
"It looks like tomorrow's trial is going to be intense, then. I look forward to seeing what shape that determination of yours will take," Mrs. Newman said.
"Don't think this conversation is over just yet," High interrupted. "I would personally like to know exactly what happened in that prior case everyone keeps talking about."
"Everyone! I have finished investigating the garbage room," Ema said as she joined everyone else in the hallway. "There did turn out to be evidence in there, and I have inspected it."
"I do remember that the Chief Prosecutor gave you a command before we arrived here," Mrs. Newman noted. "Can you tell us what it was, Detective Skye?"
"There shouldn't be an issue with that. I was given a task to make sure that no forged evidence could be slipped into this case," Ema answered. "I have as such personally inspected all evidence in the case so far."
"Then why was the autopsy report completely wrong about the cause of death? That alone caused so much trouble!" Robin yelled.
"Good question. I'm not in charge of autopsies, so I don't know what could have gone wrong there," Ema said, her tone much more serious. "But believe you me, I am looking into it."
"Setting that aside, it would be for the best that the defense and prosecution review all the evidence found in the garbage room." Mrs. Newman said, stepping aside to let Juniper get closer.
Juniper did so, at which point Ema took out an evidence bag, which had what appeared to have a handkerchief in it. The handkerchief seemed to be covered in dried blood and dried chocolate.
"Of course, this is going to the forensics lab. But I suspect that this has the victim's blood on it," Ema said. "Possibly thrown up after he ate the chocolate to die."
"Okay, but what's that funny symbol on it?" Sheila asked, looking up at the evidence bag from her shorter height.
Juniper crouched down to see it from the little girl's view, and saw that part of the handkerchief had some kind of pattern made out of blood. This looks like… part of a sun?
Ema put the evidence bag away. "That's another question to be answered by my inspection. Still, it doesn't look good for Ms. Courte."
Dirtied Handkerchief added to the Court Record
"That isn't the only person that has something incriminating against her," Hugh spoke up. "During the earlier conversation, there was something that was really bothering me. The Chief Prosecutor cited that Mrs. Newman approached Juniper during the Starlight Moon case. This is correct, but there is also no way that Mr. Edgeworth should have known this."
"If I remember that day correctly, I was investigating the crime scene with Hugh. But the only people allowed on the crime scene was us, Mrs. Newman, and…" Juniper's eyes widened. "The police. Detective Skye nearby when we talked with Mrs. Newman."
Hugh pushed up his glasses. "Logically speaking, the only way that the Chief Prosecutor could have learned about our encounter with Mrs. Newman is if someone told him after the fact. The only person that could have done that is the one that was in range to overheard that conversation, which is you, Ema."
"You were eavesdropping on me, Detective Skye? Certainly didn't expect something so underhanded from you," Mrs. Newman observed.
With every deduction, Ema's face grew paler. When Hugh finally finished, Ema turned away. "So what if I did tell him? It's not like you guys talked about anything illegal."
If that's all it was, then why didn't Detective Skye bring this up before? She's acting pretty strangely in general, but I can't put my finger on what. If only Athena were here, so she could use her Mood Matrix…
Then Juniper remembered something from earlier- that Athena had done a therapy session over the phone, to none other than Mrs. Newman. It's possible that she might be busy, but I have to at least try.
Taking out her cellphone, Juniper hit the speed dial button for Athena, who picked up promptly. "Hello, Junie! What can I help you with?"
"Um, the investigation seems to have weighed pretty heavily on Detective Skye. I know this is sudden, but could you do a therapy session on her?" Juniper asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ema's shoulders stiffen.
"With how grumpy Ema can be, she probably could use some therapy," Athena said brightly. "Put the phone on speaker, will you?"
Juniper did so, and held it out, after which Athena continued talking. "Hey, Ema! So what's wrong?"
"You mean besides everything? This case has been a pain in the butt since the start," Ema said morosely. "The defense, the witnesses, the prosecution, everything has been annoying."
"That is a rather rude thing to say when most of the people you mentioned are in earshot," Mrs. Newman pointed out.
"Oh? I noticed a note of joy in your voice when you mentioned the prosecution. One of the people in this case is Miles Edgeworth, the Chief Prosecutor. If I remember correctly, you admire him."
Athena's words hit the mark, causing Ema to rear back. "Grrr… that analytical ability is annoyingly effective for not being based on hard science!"
As usual, Thena's ears are unlocking a truth we couldn't have reached otherwise. I want to help push this along… what is the best way to do that?
"Could you tell us more about your history with Edgeworth?" Juniper asked. "It seems like you've known him for longer than any of us here."
"I mentioned before that I know what it's like, to be a little girl that no one takes seriously. I was a witness when my older sister was on trial for murder, but the court didn't seem to be listening to me," Ema explained, her voice tinged with sadness. "That's when the prosecutor intervened, telling the court to give me time to testify. That was Edgeworth, when he was only a regular prosecutor."
"I've heard of this, when I was studying to be a prosecutor! It's a really famous case for us in this profession," Robin said. "Edgeworth went out of his way to give Ema a chance to say what she wanted, even if it wasn't related to the case on trial!"
"Maybe that's why I didn't mind working with you, Robin. You're a bit like that yourself," Ema said, putting a hand on her hip. "You made a mess of the Andres Artisan trial, but you did give him a chance, like Edgeworth did for me."
"Wait a moment," Athena said over the phone. "That thing you said. It's mostly happy, but now there's a trace of sadness in it. Especially when you mention the Chief Prosecutor."
"But what reason is there for me to be sad?!" Ema demanded.
Hugh put his hand on her chin thoughtfully. "This conversation started because we learned that Detective Skye has passed along information to Edgeworth. Could it be that she's conflicted with something about that?"
Ema's face fell, but she didn't say anything.
"If it has something to do with the Andres Artisan case, that's when Detective Skye concealed evidence from me," Robin said, anger in her eyes. "Did the Chief Prosecutor tell you to do that?"
"Of course not!" Ema shouted indignantly. "It was my interpretation of his orders-!"
Ema clapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. Mrs. Newman looked at Ema with severe expression. "It seems we are about to learn exactly what our fair detective has been doing in the background."
Bailey told me to look into my own past cases, which is why I've pursued this line of questioning. But just what is it that we're about to learn?
A/N: Next time really will be the end, I promise. Even if it takes twenty pages, I want to wrap things up. As I work on this, mull over the revelations of this past chapter. See you next time! Please review.
