Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney
The Ten-Year Turnabout
By Derald Snyder
Investigation Day 1
NOTE: Think of music from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies playing for the rest of this story (unless otherwise specified).
Court Record:
Crime Scene Photos
Crime Scene Diagram
March 27, 1:09 PM
Phoenix Law School
South Hallway
(Well, I guess I'm a celebrity now...) thought Rei as she made her way through a sea of adoring students, who congratulated her and complimented her with statements such as, "That was awesome!" "Way to win a trial, Miss Ryghts!" "Way to beat that stuck-up Prentiss!" "Nice job taking him down a few pegs!"
Salvation came in the form of her boss. "All right, all right, back up and give the lady some air..." The students did as told, as Bartholomew joined his protege. "Excellent work, there, Rei. Even I didn't see that twist coming..."
"W-well, I j-just remembered your advice t-to think o-outside the b-box..." the bluenette responded, blushing.
"Miss Ryghts. A word." Michael Millhouse's voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. All turned to see the spectacled prosecutor standing there with arms crossed, his expression cold and stern. "And shouldn't you students be getting to your next class?" Said students immediately broke up and scattered, not willing to incur the man's wrath.
(Uh-oh, I'm in for it now...) Rei thought, as she and Bartholomew quietly followed Millhouse...
March 27, 1:15 PM
Phoenix Law School
Front Entrance
"Well, I must say, you've managed to open a nasty can of worms, Miss Ryghts," Millhouse began.
"Come on, Mike," Bart tried to argue, "She was just following what I taught her to do..."
"I'm well aware of that, Bart," the prosecutor snapped back. "But to think it took a rookie like her to find such a gaping logic hole in this case... not only does this reflect badly on me, but on my mentor as well..."
"W-well, nobody's p-perfect," Rei stuttered. "Maybe y-your mentor j-just d-dropped the ball th-this time...?" At hearing this, Millhouse seemed to almost keel over, clutching his chest. "Ahhh! I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry! I-I went too far...!"
"N-no, it's alright," Mike grunted as he regained his composure. "It just... seems inconceivable to me that Robarts would overlook something like this..." Straightening up, he heaved a sigh. "In any case, there's only one thing to do now..."
"And that is?" Bartholomew prodded.
"Simple," the prosecutor answered as 'Pursuit- Lying Coldly' began to play in the background. "I'm going to have the original case re-tried!"
"W-what?! Really?!" gasped Rei.
"Yes," Millhouse nodded. "It's the only way I'll be able to set my mind at ease over this..."
"Now wait just a moment, Mike," Bartholomew cut in. "It's been ten years since this case was first decided... Re-trying it so long after the fact is a tall order to say the least! Evidence potentially being lost, witnesses dying or having moved far away... Are you really sure about this?"
"...Yes. I am." Millhouse said after a moment. "For my deceased mentor's honor... for the sake of the truth... I have to know what transpired ten years ago! And if that means the original verdict ends up being overturned, then so be it!" He then turned to Rei. "And on that note, Miss Ryghts... I would greatly appreciate your help in this matter."
"Wh-what d-do y-you need me t-to do?" the horned lawyer asked nervously.
"Isn't it obvious?" Millhouse raised an eyebrow. "I wish for you to defend Paul Peterman in court... the real Paul Peterman. After all, you're the one who got the ball rolling, so to speak..."
"Meep!" Rei squeaked nervously. "B-but I've never d-done a real murder c-case in c-court before! C-can't Mr. Sampson d-do it instead?"
"Not a good idea," her boss shook his head. "My and Mike's friendship is well-known in the legal circles... it's a potential conflict of interest. But you and he have only interacted this once, so it would be better if you lead the defense, Rei."
"I'm sure if you follow Bart's advice, like you did just now, you'll be fine," Millhouse reassured her. "That doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you in the courtroom, mind."
"R-right..." Rei took a breath to calm herself. "...OK, I'll do it. For the sake of the truth."
"Thank you, Miss Ryghts," the prosecutor nodded with a slight smile. "Well then, if we're all in agreement, I'll take you down to the detention center where Mr. Peterman is incarcerated..."
March 27, 1:57 PM
Detention Center
Visitor's Room
"Th-thank you, guard," Rei nodded with gratitude as she walked in and sat down on one side of a clear pane of glass with a small shelf underneath.
"Sure. And don't mind those other prisoners' catcalls," the NPC security guard advised. "After, all if you had gone to prison, it would be a ladies' prison, not this one."
"R... right," the former villain shuddered, trying to put the felons' lustful taunts out of her mind. (I never thought of myself as particularly attractive, but those men are FAR below even my low standards...) She reminded herself that her boss was waiting in the lobby for her, while Millhouse had driven back to his office to try and find the evidence file from the original case...
Just then, the door opened on the other side of the glass, Rei sitting up straight as she watched another guard escort a prisoner in... He was indeed quite short, only 4'7", with an average build. He was, of course, dressed in a black and white striped prison uniform, a pair of old spectacles resting on a pointed nose that turned slightly downward, over hazel-green eyes. He had dark brown hair, with a mid-sized bald spot, and his mouth was turned down in a perpetual scowl.
"M... Mr. Paul Peterman?" Rei hesitantly asked as the man slowly walked up to the glass and sat down.
"Who are ya and whaddaya want?" the man growled in a harsh tone, yet one devoid of all hope.
"M-my name is Rei Ryghts, attorney at law." She was mildly surprised when Peterman showed reaction except a silent glare. (Oh, right... he was imprisioned before I...) Putting that thought of her head, she continued, "I-I'm here t-to act a-as y-your d-defense counsel..."
"HA!" the prisoner barked. "Ha ha ha! Is that supposed to be a joke? There, I laughed! You happy now?!"
"I-I'm being serious!" Rei insisted. "Th-they're g-going to re-try your c-case...!"
"Like I'm supposed to believe that?!" Peterman snapped back. "I ran out of appeals years ago! And every other attorney I've had never had any fight in 'em! And neither do you, from the looks of things! Why should I bother with such a farce when I already know the outcome?! To hell with you! Go crawl back into whatever law office you crawled out of!"
At this, Rei gritted her teeth, feeling that dark force welling up within her again... "YOU PATHETIC, UNGRATEFUL MAGGOT! If you would bother to listen to me for one second, I'd've told you that I found contradictions in the original testimony, and convinced the original prosecutor's protege to re-open the case! But noooooo! You're so busy wallowing in your worthless self pity, that you give up before I even say anything! Well, if that's how you're going to be, then to hell with you! Enjoy spending the rest of your pathetic existence in prison, worm!" With that, she got up and turned to walk out...
"...w...W-wait, WAIT!" The fisherman suddenly called out.
"Oh?" Rei looked back over her shoulder. "Change your mind, worm?"
"May-maybe I was a bit hasty," Peterman grunted. "I thought you didn't have any fire in your belly, b-but I was clearly mistaken... I-I'll hear you out."
"Alright, fine." Rei turned back and sat down. "I'll give you one more chance..."
"O-okay..." Peterman nodded. "Y-you said you convinced the original prosecutor's protege to re-open the case?"
"He should be going through the evidence right now," Rei confirmed. "Although, he's mostly doing it to uphold his mentor's honor, seeing as he's already passed..."
"Robarts is dead? HA!" the fisherman scoffed, before catching himself. "I-I mean, no offense, but that guy fooled me into thinking I actually had a chance to get acquitted in court... but during the actual trial, he just stood there stone-faced while that damn witness spun his (censored) lies! No better than all the rest!"
"Michael Millhouse isn't like that," Rei insisted. "H-he's good friends with my b-boss, s-so he knows th-that prosecution isn't j-just about g-getting a g-guilty verdict..."
"Is that so?" Peterman raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that with a grain of salt... and how'd you convince him to re-open the case, anyway? Somethin' about the witness testimony...?"
"R-right," Rei nodded, explaining to Paul about the mock trial and how she managed to win despite the original case ending in a guilty verdict... "So, Mr. Millhouse d-decided to-t see how his mentor m-messed up so b-badly..."
"That's simple, he just wanted a guilty verdict!" the prisoner muttered. "Didn't matter to him how messed up the witness' testimony was..."
"I w-wouldn't know, I n-never m-met him myself," Rei shrugged. "A-anyway, I need you t-to t-tell me what happened, f-from your p-perspective..."
Paul Peterman gave the horned lawyer a long look. "...Alright, I suppose I can tell my story one more time." Taking a deep breath, he began, "It all started when I was turned down for a loan at Third Fourth Bank by Mr. Clark. I wasn't exactly happy w'that, so a few days later I waited at the rear entrance at closing time, so I could give that bastard a piece o' my mind... When he came out, though he just walked right on by, ignoring me completely! So I went after 'im, ranting and raving the whole way, until we got into an alley, at which point he stopped."
"I thought that maybe he was gonna finally hear me out, but he turned to his right, gasping and raising his hands! I saw someone past the garbage can off to the right, saying somethin' along the lines of 'so you decided to screw us over, huh?' Then, BLAM-BLAM! The guy was shot twice in the chest and collapsed against the wall! I screamed and ran for my life, not stoppin' until I got on my fishing boat, putting out into deep water so they wouldn't chase me down."
"After an hour or so out on the sea, I came back t'the dock, at which point it occurred to me that I had to tell the police what I'd seen. So I took a cab over t'the police station and told the guy at the desk what happened, at which point he led me into one of the interrogation rooms."
"Why d-didn't you j-just call them instead?" Rei interrupted.
"One, I don't have a cell phone, and two, I was afraid the killers were lyin' in wait somewhere to whack me or whatever," Paul answered. "Anyway, after a few minutes o' waitin', a detective shows up and starts grillin' me hard. I didn't understand at the time why he was bein' so harsh on me... until he stood up and said, 'Paul Peterman, you're under arrest for the murder of Rich Clark.' Threw me for a loop... I admit I kinda flew off the handle there, forcin' the guy to pepper-spray me, after which I got tossed in a jail cell. And the rest is history."
Rei nodded solemnly. "I have t-to ask... d-did you g-get a g-good look at th-the shooter?"
The fisherman just hook his head sadly. "My memory's not what it used to be... the thing that's burned most into my mind is seeing that clerk collapse in a puddle o' blood..."
"D-do you remember seeing a c-clown t-toy in the alley n-nearby where you were standing?"
Peterman blinked. "Now that you mention it... I think I did see something like that. But what does that have to do with anything?"
Rei breathed a sigh of relief. "OK, good. That matches the crime scene photo taken from the witness' apparent perspective. So that WAS you standing there, just like I'd argued in the mock trial."
"...But can you prove it in a real courtroom?" the prisoner looked Rei straight in the eye.
"I-I think I c-can. B-but it depends on w-what Dean Schmucker has t-to say when he t-testifies..."
"He's a lyin' bastard!" Peterman shouted suddenly. "And it's been ten years, so he probably won't be able t'keep his story straight this time!"
"F-for your sake, Mr. Peterman, I hope y-you're right," Rei sighed, before opening her briefcase all pulling out some papers. "OK, s-so let's make th-this official, p-please sign these p-papers..."
"I'll have to take them around to him," the guard spoke up.
"Let's just hope this's the last time I have to sign legal papers," Paul grunted...
March 27, 3:04 PM
High Prosecutor's Office
Room 1307
After informing the precinct of Rei's intention to act as Peterman's attorney, Bartholomew drove himself and Rei over to the prosecutor's office building to meet with Michael Millhouse. But when they got there...
"Dammit..." the prosecutor groaned as he sat at his desk, looking over a folder that seemed practically empty...
"Hey, Mike!" Bart greeted. "We got Peterman to agree to have Rei represent him in court... what's wrong?"
"Hey, Bart. Everything, that's what," Mike groaned as he slowly stood up. "I found the original evidence file, but..." he took the folder in front of him and turned it upside-down... causing only one sheet of paper to float down.
"W-what? That's it?!" Rei gasped.
"That's it," Millhouse nodded solemnly. "The whole file's been purged, save for this one work permit, which seems to be completely unrelated to the case. The only other evidence is what was specifically prepared for the mock trial..."
Bartholomew sighed and bowed his head, saying, "I warned you something like this, might happen, Mike... Do you still want to go through with the re-trial?"
"We're already past the point of no return," Millhouse stated. "I just got a call from the courthouse, which informed me that the re-trial's been approved... on a more positive note, I did manage to locate the original witness."
"Y-you found Dean Schmucker?" Rei pressed.
"That's right. Apparently he works as an accountant now," Mike confirmed. "I've sent Detective Snorkel Pericles to compel him to testify tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow... W-w-wait, WHAT?!" the former goddess cried in shock. "Th-the trial's tomorrow?!"
"Tomorrow was the only day they had clear on the docket," Millhouse nodded grimly. "At least the judge is one of the most fair-minded and unbiased people I know... though I can't remember his name for the life of me."
"I think I know who you're talking about," Bartholomew nodded. "I actually got his business card once, but I couldn't make out his handwriting at all... He does his job well though, and that's what matters. In any case," he turned back to Rei, "it looks like your best bet tomorrow will be to see if you can get any new information out of Dean Schmucker during cross-examination..."
The former goddess just nodded at this. "I j-just hope he'll c-crack as easily as the student w-witness did..."
"Speaking of which..." Millhouse opened a drawer, retrieving some papers. "Here's a copy of the notes Trevor Turnaround used for the mock trial. It's basically a transcript of Schmucker's original testimony, as well as what he said during interrogation by the police. On a side note, I heard Professor Justus made Trevor stay after in order to pick up all the notes he dropped when he 'confessed'..."
*Testimony Notes added to the Court Record.*
Rei winced at this. "W-well, his b-breakdown was a little o-over th-the top..."
"I quite agree," Bartholomew nodded. "Someone's been playing too much Gyakuten Saiban lately... Anyway, we should be heading back to the office, so Rei can prepare for tomorrow..."
"Right. Well, you may as well take this evidence too," Mike handed the work permit to his friend. "Maybe you can figure out it's relevance to the case, because I sure can't..."
*Avalon Hotel Work Permit added to the Court Record.*
(Avalon Hotel?) thought Rei. (That's not exactly in close proximity to the crime scene...)
"Right then," Bart nodded, "See you in court tomorrow, Mike. Or Rei will, anyway... Let's hope the truth wins out."
Millhouse nodded as he waved them off. "Make sure you're well-rested for tomorrow..."
"I-I will," Rei nodded as she and her boss left.
*To be continued...*