April 11

District Courthouse

2:00 PM

Cotoli Morix

"I'd like an explanation as to why you keep calling us back here seemingly for no reason," Officer Hoope declared as she crossed her arms firmly over her chest. "Each time that you do this, you lose even more credibility, and truth be told, I didn't even think that was possible given everything that you've already done up to this point."

"This isn't about us trying to gain credibility from you. This is about finding the truth, and we sincerely think that you three are the ones who are going to be able to tell us what happened at the time of the attack," I replied calmly, refusing to rise to the bait that she was setting out for me. "I believe that it's time for us to hear the true story of what you three were up to at the time of the assault on the two victims. I think that you haven't been fully honest with us, and it would be for the best if you were upfront and said everything that you know before we have to press it out of you."

"What do you want us to say then?" Officer Wills questioned with a slight incline of one eyebrow. "That we're the ones who actually did this? You're being ridiculous if you actually think that's true. Of course we weren't the ones who attacked the victims. We wouldn't have had any reason to do something like that."

"I don't know if I would go that far," I told him with a loose shrug. "I think that you could have had a reason for all of this, and if you would give me the chance to explain, I would be more than happy to tell you why it is that I think that you three should be considered suspects."

Something in Mr. Mennon's perpetual smile began to change. "You can't truly mean to say that you think all three of us are responsible for this, can you?" When he realized that I wasn't joking, his eyes narrowed. "You had better have something to back this up. You've been treating us strangely since this investigation began, but we aren't going to stand for a child formally accusing us of attempting to kill people. You have no idea what you're getting into, and it would be for the best if you backed off and let the adults handle this before it can get out of hand."

"I would argue that it got out of hand the second that the victims were attacked in the first place," I countered. "I was stuck on it for a while, but this was the only explanation that made sense. The knife hasn't been found yet, and I think that it's still hiding somewhere in the building... Somewhere that one of you three hid it to make sure that nobody would figure out where it went or how it's connected to this case. I believe that I have an explanation as to how it was claimed from the police as well. Somebody with inside access to the police department through their job would have easily been able to sweep in and take the knife when nobody was paying attention, and so, the critical piece of evidence from the trial would go missing."

"You're being ridiculous. You truly think that two random police officers would help me out by getting rid of the knife? I think that the prosecutor behind this case just lost it and was irresponsible. People always get too much confidence when they shouldn't, and she paid the price for it. Of course, it was mostly an injury to her pride; I wasn't the one who killed the victim, and now, everybody knows it," Mr. Mennon told me, his eyes still sharp and hard as could be.

"I think that you were the one who did it," I replied bluntly. "There was a witness who said that she saw you commit the crime. You may have been able to smooth talk your way out of it when the entire courtroom was there, but you won't be able to convince any of us right now. We all know the fact of the matter. You were the one who killed the murder victim when it came to the May Lin trial, but you pretended to be innocent at the time because you didn't want to be caught for everything that you had done."

"You've been throwing around quite a few accusations without actually explaining what you think happened at the time of the crime," Officer Hoope snorted. "I think that you've let your imagination get the better of you. It would be for the best if you just stopped with all of this nonsense as soon as possible so that it can't be a bother to any of us anymore. That would make this easier for us. We can go on and arrest that girl over there for everything that we know she did, and from there, the pieces will fall right into place."

I shook my head. "If you want an explanation, then I'll give it to you. One of you police officers stole the knife that was used in the murder of May Lin because you knew that it was critical evidence. I believe that it likely contained a few fingerprints that would explain everything about what happened at the time of the crime. With the knife gone, the next step was to make it seem as if the witness to the crime was lying, so you began concentrating on breaking down her reputation and manipulating the situation to make the world believe that she wasn't telling the truth about her experiences. The defendant was declared not guilty when there wasn't enough for anyone to go off in terms of showing that he did it even though everybody was fully aware of the truth. The stolen knife was all it took for everything to fall apart, and that was exactly what all of you wanted from the beginning."

"You still haven't answered one of our questions with your ridiculous theorizing," Officer Wills interjected. "Why would we do all of this? Do you think that we were going to be his accomplices from the very beginning? If so, I would say that you're jumping to quite a few conclusions... You know, beyond the ones that you've already been dramatic about."

I nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do think that this was the plan from the outset. You were his accomplices from the very beginning, and the fact of the matter is that you were always willing to go this far for the sake of a not guilty verdict. I think that you three have a much deeper connection than you've originally been willing to imply. There's been something going on behind the scenes with all three of you. For one, Mr. Mennon was easily able to turn to you in terms of a supposed alibi, but I think that this was just a way of you two making it seem like he wasn't the culprit. When he was inside the defendant lobby, he was waiting for his chance to strike out at the victims, and when he did, he used you two to say that he had an alibi when he was actually attacking the victims. That was part of this plan from the beginning."

Officer Hoope stared at me for a long moment before she let out a dry laugh. "You have no idea what you're talking about. All of this has been just conjecture from the very beginning. You can't say that we were the ones who did this because you don't have any evidence. There isn't any proof to begin with that would show that we were involved with the crime. You're being ridiculous, and if you know what's best for you, then you'll leave this subject alone before it can get even more out of hand."

"I think that the two of you are the accomplices to the attempted murder. There's something that all three of you want to keep hidden, and if I had to guess, I would say that it's the reason that May Lin died too. The motive for her murder was never revealed, but I can only imagine that it's because of something that was far from glamorous. Her money wasn't stolen in the aftermath of her murder even though she was notably famous and had quite a bit of cash on her side. Instead, the murder motive must have been something that wasn't material... Such as silencing a witness," I suggested. "In fact, I think that's the reason that this case took place as well. You were trying to keep the prosecutor and defense attorney on the case quiet because they knew that something was going on behind the scenes."

"What do you propose was happening that nobody else was aware of?" Mr. Mennon questioned. "Unless you can offer some type of evidence that all of this happened to begin with, I'm afraid that we're going to have to turn down your offer that all of this actually took place. In fact, I think that I'm going to go right on ahead and reject the theory right now."

"I think that she saw something or came to know some type of information that would be unsavory for all three of you. Given how enthusiastic you were to steal a murder weapon in order to make it seem like one of you wasn't involved with the case, I would say that this fact was incredibly significant. It was clearly important enough to resort to murder in your opinion," I replied. "She came to recognize something that she shouldn't have known, and that was the reason that you killed her."

"Unless you can say what it is that we were hiding from the world, I'm afraid that all of your logic is going to fall short. You need to back up your words with something, and I believe that you have nothing that could potentially help you out with this investigation," Mr. Mennon shot back. "You had better come up with a better plan before you start to-"

He was cut off by the sharp chirp of a phone's ringtone, and Detective Erikson let out a small gasp. "Ah, my apologies," he said with a light wince. He pulled his phone from his pocket and stared down at the screen for a long moment, his eyes starting to go wide. "The two victims from the attack... They've just woken up!"

The atmosphere in the room immediately began to shift, and I smiled to myself. "In that case, I suppose that it's time for all of us to go and pay them a visit. I'm sure that they would be more than happy to tell us everything about their assailant. That should clear up all suspicion and gray area regarding this case. Why don't we go and take care of that now?" I questioned.

When I glanced up to Mr. Mennon, I could see that his smile had completely slipped away, and his eyes had grown dark in a way that I hadn't originally expected. He looked nothing like his casual self anymore, and the idea of manipulating the situation had slipped his mind because he knew that wasn't going to work anymore. The look on his face was one of a guilty man. He wouldn't be able to get out of this anymore, and he was fully aware of such a fact. Everything had fallen apart, and he was officially finished.

"I think that sounds like an incredible eye," Detective Erikson agreed with a firm nod. "The two of them will be more than able to clear up all of the details regarding this case... Though I must request that we limit this conversation to as few people as possible... You three, you're all with me." He pointed to Officer Hoope, Officer Wills, and Mr. Mennon before shifting his attention to myself, Sora, and Chrysalis. "I would prefer it if you stayed here. I'll be back as soon as we have answers."

I nodded my understanding. I did know why he was requesting that we not come along because of the circumstances, but I still wished that we could have been there to hear the full truth behind what took place. As it stood, we were just going to have to settle for hearing about what happened secondhand, though I supposed that this wasn't the worst way for us to hear about the fact of what took place. At the very least, we could trust that this was going to be the truth. There wasn't a reason or way that this could be fabricated as long as it came straight from the mouths of the victims.

I watched silently as Detective Erikson started to lead his small entourage out of the room before turning in the direction of Chrysalis and Sora. "I suppose that all we can do for now is wait."

Sora nodded. "Yeah... I guess so."

April 11

District Courthouse

2:45 PM

Cotoli Morix

We were in the courthouse for quite some time, simply waiting for any signs of Detective Erikson or the others who were in his small group. I glanced over in the direction of the door what seemed like every handful of seconds, a frown on my face. I just wanted to know what was going on, but I knew that it was going to be a while before we were granted that privilege. This was a large undertaking, and it would take some time for everything to be figured out in full.

When Detective Erikson did finally return, the energy in the room shifted like the flip of a coin. I perked up along with the two girls who were sitting at my sides. I glanced at him solemnly. "What happened?" I questioned. Judging by the fact that he was alone, I could pretty easily conclude everything that had happened while he was away and speaking with the victims of the case.

Detective Erikson nodded with a light yet vague smile on his face. "Well, I can say that you three were able to figure out what happened at the time of the crime," he told us firmly. "The truth was revealed loud and clear when the victims started to speak to me... Mr. Mennon was the one who attacked them in the time after the trial drew to a close. From there, the two officers stood outside to supposedly corroborate his story of innocence, but in truth, they were trying to pin it on somebody else."

"And I just so happened to be the first one who found the scene of the crime," Sora murmured with a light nod when she no doubt remembered the way that she had been so abruptly ambushed by Officer Wills in the aftermath of her discovery of the attack. "I see... That all makes sense."

"So... Have Officer Wills and Officer Hoope been taken into custody?" I questioned carefully. "It sounds like the victims confirmed that Mr. Mennon was the one who attacked them, but if his accomplices are still going to be able to get away, then I don't know what it is that we're supposed to do. People like that can't just be allowed to roam free as long as we know the truth about what they did. It would present potential danger to everyone else both in the courthouse and in the immediate area of the building." I could see Chrysalis and Sora both nodding their agreement out of my peripheral vision, and that only confirmed my resolve all over again.

Detective Erikson paused at those words before he shook his head. "In the end, there wasn't enough evidence to prove their involvement. The victims didn't see them in the area at the time of the crime, so they weren't able to say if the two of them truly were accomplices. The knife used in both this case and the murder was never found, so it isn't as if we can test for fingerprints... It is safe to say that there was a lot that happened at the time of the crime though, and we're going to be doing a deeper investigation into the potential involvement of those two as soon as possible to make sure that they weren't involved with something that we aren't yet aware of," he explained.

"How could they just get away when we know that they were involved with the murder?" Chrysalis questioned, her expression growing overcast. "Everybody knows that they must have been somehow tied up with all that, and they can't just hide from that because it's convenient for them. There has to be something out there in terms of evidence that will change the way that we look at this case."

"We're still looking around at the crime scene, but for right now, Mr. Mennon is in custody. That's what I'm choosing to look at as the primary note of victory," Detective Erikson said with a shake of his head. He paused for a long moment before he glanced up to me. "You know... I must admit that I'm impressed with everything that you were able to do in this investigation. There wasn't much in the way of evidence that could have shown who was responsible for this crime, but you were able to figure it out regardless. Plus, all of that happened without you needing to look at the crime scene even once. I would say that you know what you're doing when it comes to this sort of thing."

That was enough to make me flush, and I just shook my head as I looked down nervously. I hadn't expected all of this praise all of a sudden, and I would have been lying if I said that I knew how to handle it. "Oh, um... It's nothing, I suppose. I just wanted to do what I could to help find the truth behind this case," I told him simply. "The culprit was found though, and even if it'll be a bit longer before the accomplices are shown to be involved, I would say that this is a step in the right direction. I'm happy with how this has turned out already."

Detective Erikson smiled to me. "Are you planning on going into a career that could give you the chance to do something like this more often? I think that we could certainly use a few people like you on our side when it comes to finding the truth," he commented.

I hesitated before nodding. "I've been hoping to become a lawyer. I'm in school right now to hopefully reach that goal within the next few years," I replied.

Detective Erikson nodded his understanding, his smile softening ever so slightly. "In that case, I hope that we're able to cross paths once again in the future... I believe that you have a promising path ahead of you, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next." He tipped his hat in my direction before he started to walk away. "Thank you for all your help today. Until we meet again."

Detective Erikson left soon afterwards, no doubt off to handle all of the other details involving the case, but my smile remained long after he vanished from view. I shook my head gently as I stared down at the floor. That was the last thing that I could have expected to hear, but the words still warmed my chest in a way that I didn't know how to describe. Detective Erikson truly was too kind.

"He's right about one thing," Sora cut in as she nudged me gently. "You were amazing today! I don't think that I would able to sit here and talk with you guys if you hadn't come in to save me, and I doubt that I'll ever be able to thank you enough. It really does mean the world to me."

"What are you going to do now?" Chrysalis questioned. "I mean, you kind of... Your future has been changed because of everything that's happened, and I know that there's a lot that you still have to figure out about your life. What are you going to try and do from here?"

Sora paused before she shrugged loosely. "I'm going to try and talk to Prosecutor Yin and Mr. Yang when I get the chance. I think that they would be able to help me when it comes to figuring out what to do next. I don't really have anybody else to rely on when it comes to what I'm going to do from here, so... I figure that I might as well talk to the people who wanted to help me in finding the truth. It's a relief to have at least something to latch onto now."

I nodded my understanding. "I think that's a nice place to start," I told her with a gentle smile. "I know that nobody really knows what's coming next, but... I think that you're going to figure things out one way or another. You've got a lot of promise, Sora, and... I believe in you."

Sora's face lit up, and she grinned at me proudly. "Thanks for everything," she murmured. She stared at me for another long moment before she let out a small sigh. "What about you two? I know that you said that you're going to be taking law classes, but... I don't know. Surely there's at least something else that you have in mind, right? Oh, or here's a good question! Is there anything that I can do to help you when it comes to making it up to you guys? I mean, you did so much to help me today, and I feel like the least that I can do is try to repay that debt after everything that's happened today."

I hesitated at those words. "I..." I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but actually getting the words out was a much more daunting task, and I had no idea how I was supposed to handle it. Then again, I supposed that this was going to be my best chance to figure out the truth behind the inquiries that had pushed me to come to this trial in the first place, so I might as well take advantage of it. Who knew if or when I would ever get another chance like this? I had to try and see what I could learn.

I sighed and nodded. "As a matter of fact... There is something that you can do to help us out," I told her carefully. "You see... We think that you might be able to offer us answers on a matter that's... Rather important to us."

Sora stared at me in confusion for a long moment, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she questioned. "You aren't going to ask me to do anything illegal after you just got me out of legal trouble, right? I really don't think that would be a great use of your time."

I shook my head. "No, of course not... I was just wondering... It's about your father. We think that... We might know him." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chrysalis' gaze harden. It seemed as if she had picked up on more about today's situation than I had originally thought, though I supposed that it was hardly surprising. Chrysalis was much more perceptive than she let on, especially considering her young age.

Sora's eyes went wide as soon as she heard those words. "Wait... You might know my father?!" she cried out. "You have to tell me what's going on then! I don't know anything about him, but I really do think that I have a right to hear about what he's been doing without me and my mother!"

I hesitated once again before I nodded gently, unsure of how to phrase this. "We... We came to see this trial because we theorized that there was a connection regarding your mother between her and a man that we know rather well. Today... You mentioned your father, saying that he was alive but had left you, never really having much of an interest in getting involved with your life. In fact, he doesn't want anything to do with you even in the aftermath of your mother's murder."

Sora nodded. "Yeah... He doesn't want to even tell me his name. I really don't know what I'm supposed to do about all that, but I hate it. I want to find out more about him, even if it's just so that I can push him out of my curiosity forever, but... I can't really do that given the circumstances of him trying to hide from me all the time."

I looked up to meet her gaze, carefully, still struggling when it came to phrasing my thoughts on the matter. "The truth is... The man that we think might be your father... He goes by the name of Carlton Starr. He... He's Chrysalis and I's father, and we believe that he... That he could be connected to you as well."

Sora immediately stopped in her tracks. She had previously been expressive and dramatic on the matter, but she came to a complete halt as soon as she heard those words, looking more like a statue than an actual person. It took her a long moment to come to terms with what I was trying to say, and she opened her mouth and clamped it shut again numerous times as she tried to push out the words. "You... You can't really mean that... Right?" she questioned.

I nodded. "I do mean it. Our father... He mentioned your mother at one point a long time ago, and he seemed surprised when he found out that she had a daughter. I could just see it in his eyes that he knew something... When you said that your father wanted nothing to do with you even since your mother has passed away, I knew that this had to be the case. He... He isn't a kind man, and I know that he wouldn't want to look after another child if it could be avoided."

"So he's not doing anything to help you when you need help the most," Chrysalis told Sora with a deep frown on her face. "I can't say that I'm particularly surprised... That's how he's always been, and I'm not sure that anybody is ever going to be able to change him when it comes to something like that."

Sora continued to stare at us as I went on. "I know that we don't have anything beyond mere suspicions, and I really don't want to get your hopes up, but... We came here in search of our own answers on the matter. If there's a way that we would be able to see what's going on here... If we could figure out if you really are our sister or not... That would be more than enough when it came to making up for everything that we did to help you," I told her. "If you don't want to investigate this, then that's perfectly fine as well. The last thing that either one of us wants to do is pressure you into something that you have no interest in doing."

Sora shook her head frantically. "No, I want to know the truth! And if the three of us really are related, then..." She changed her position so that she could swing her arms around both of our shoulders. Chrysalis was pulled in awkwardly while I was left at my full height still thanks to how much taller I was than Sora. "That means that we have a lot of sibling bonding time to make up for, and you guys are kidding yourselves if you think that I'm going to let you get away from something like that. Even if we aren't related, I want to stay in touch with you both. After all, you've done so much for me today, and I think that we should stay friends after all of this."

I nodded gently and smiled in her direction. "That sounds amazing," I confessed to her. I didn't think that I had liked the idea of anything else better in quite a long time. It truly was amazing how charismatic she was, and she was certainly taking the news much better than I could have ever expected. Today was turning out well for all of us.

Sora rose to her feet and let out a small sigh. "Well, I guess that we should try and go talk to the victims of this case soon. I have a lot to ask them," she declared. "We can find our answers soon enough too. How does that sound?"

She reached one hand out in my direction, and I was all too happy to stretch out and take it, a smile on my face. Despite my uncertainty, I knew that everything was going to be fine. Call it a gut instinct, but I knew that we were going to be okay one way or another.

...We didn't know it at the time, but that case was the start of something much larger than any of us. The truth about our blood relations came out from there, but... There was a lot that we had yet to understand. That day was our first encounter with what would come to be known as Occisor, and that group was slated to change everything that we had known up to that point. We were together, but there was still so much that we did not yet understand... And we wouldn't fully recognize the fact of the matter until the day that we met the final member of our family... On the day of the GC-9 Incident three years later.

TURNABOUTBLOODLINES

END

End of case four baby!

-Digital