Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Investigation- Day 3

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

Testimony Notes

Avalon Hotel Work Permit

Korsak's Weapons Permit

March 29, 8:37 AM

Samson & Co. Law Offices

The phone rang, Rei picking up almost immediately. "Samson Law Offices, Rei speaking."

"Ah, Miss Ryghts," the voice on the other end spoke, "It's Prosecutor Millhouse. I called to ask if you and Bart could come down to my office at your earliest convenience."

"D-did you f-find out something a bout y-your mentor?" Rei inquired curiously.

"Well... yes and no. It's a bit difficult to explain over the phone though..."

"Okay," Rei nodded. "I'll t-tell Mr. Sampson and hopefully w-we c-can be d-down there right away..."

March 29, 9:19 AM

High Prosecutor's Office

Room 1307

Bartholomew knocked politely at the door. "Mike, it's Bart. You there?"

"Come in," Mike's voice was heard, Bart promptly entering with Rei at his side. "Shut the door, please." Rei promptly did so.

"So what did you find out?" Bart asked.

Millhouse heaved a sigh, before standing up from behind his desk. "Well, I'll be blunt with you- turns out, Clarence Robarts... mostly likely used a false name."

"F-false name?!" Rei gasped. "Y-you mean, he w-wasn't who he s-said he was...?!"

"I couldn't find anything from before he started at the Prosecutor's Office," Mike elaborated. "The only thing I was able to find... was this class roster from about 20 years ago. Except the name is 'Roberts', not 'Robarts'. According to the roster he got a D- on his midterms, then withdrew from the class completely..."

"That doesn't sound like Clarence at all," Bartholomew interrupted. "His knowledge of law was impeccable..."

"I know," Mike nodded. "So I tracked down this Clarence Roberts... turns out he now runs a demolition company on the other side of the city." He held up a picture of the man in question. "As you can see, he looks nothing like the prosecutor we all know..."

"I don't believe it..." Bart gaped in disbelief. "But why would your mentor go so far to hide his past?!"

"I can't say," Mike shook his head. "But this class roster is a potential list of suspects who might know the truth about my mentor's identity... on that note, you can have this copy."

*Old Class Roster added to the Court Record.*

Rei took the paper and began reading through it... "Hmm... Jason Bork, Casey Dodge, Robert Falwell, George Hartmann... S-so if any o-of th-these p-people t-turns out t-to be Dean Schmucker's lawyer f-from t-ten years ago, it w-would explain why y-your mentor had t-to have Peterman t-take the f-fall..."

"But there's not enough time to look at all these people before the trial resumes tomorrow," Bartholomew pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that, Bart," Millhouse sighed... just then, the phone rang, the prosecutor quickly picking up. "Millhouse. ...Oh, really? Excellent work. We'll be over right away." He then hung up. "That was the forensics team at the Avalon Hotel excavation site... it seems they've found something."

"S-shall we head over t-to the hotel, then?" Rei said.

March 29, 10:07 AM

Avalon Hotel

Front Parking Lot- Excavation Site

Rei, Bart and Mike ducked under the tape as they walked to where the excavators were working. "You said you found something?" Millhouse asked the head worker.

"Yeah, a pair of hands," the NPC nodded. "Looks like they're pulling out the rest of the body now..." At that moment one of the excavators turned, revealing something that had no doubt once been a human.

Unfortunately for Rei, upon seeing the badly-decomposed corpse, her breakfast suddenly reversed direction, expelling out of her mouth and onto the street as she doubled over, along with a fair amount of stomach acid.

"Oh my Goddess! Rei, are you all right?!" Bartholomew gasped in concern, placing a hand on his protege's back.

"First time seeing a dead body," Mike observed. "Never a pleasant experience for anyone..." Turning, he shouted, "Hey! Someone get this lady some water!"

Meanwhile, Bart had turned Rei away from the grisly scene, rubbing her back. "Don't think about the body, Rei. Think of something else. Cute things. Flowers. Puppies and kittens."

"O-okay," Rei coughed. Thinking about those things did seem to help a little... then a demolition worker came by with a half-full water bottle, which the horned woman gratefully accepted, taking a long pull and several swallows. "Th-thank you..."

"Well, it seems the shirt he's wearing is consistent with the uniform that Fourth Third Bank tellers wore ten years ago," Millhouse observed. "We'll have to take dental records to be sure, but there's a very good probability that this is our murder victim, Rich Clark." Turning back to Bartholomew and Rei, he said, "Look, Bart, how about you take Rei back to your office and take an early lunch or something? I'll get the body down to the ME right away, and I'll call you when I have an autopsy report."

"Sounds good, Mike," Bart nodded in agreement. "Come on, Rei, let's go back and I'll get you some soup to eat."

"Okay..." the former goddess nodded, still a little queasy. (Puppies and kittens, puppies and kittens...)

March 29, 11:11 AM

Samson & Co. Law Offices

*ring, ring* "Samson Law Offices, Rei speaking."

"Hey, Miss Ryghts, it's Detective Snooper," the voice on the other end replied.

"Oh, Detective! Did you find Korsak-" the woman abruptly belched loudly, her stomach still not completely settled. "O-oh no! I'm sorry! So, so very sorry! I d-didn't mean to-!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Snooper assured her. "Not the worst thing I've heard over the phone, believe me... Anyway, yeah, I found Korsak's current address. I was about to go over there to question him, but I thought maybe it'd be a good idea to bring you along... maybe you could use your final boss rep to make him talk if he clams up..."

(Honestly, I'd rather not...) Rei thought to herself, before recalling what Millhouse had told her yesterday... "W-well, I suppose I c-could d-do that... th-though I hope I won't have t-to."

"For what it's worth, I hope not either," Snooper agreed. "Alright then, I'll be there in a few minutes..."

March 29, 11:39 AM

Donald Korsak's Residence

The unmarked police car pulled up and parked in front of a small, nondescript grey house, Rei and Detective Pericles getting out. "S-so this is th-the p-place?" the former goddess asked.

"Yep," Snooper nodded. "Now we just gotta see if he's home, and hopefully convince him to testify in court tomorrow..." The duo walked up to the door, Snooper knocking three times. "Hello, anyone home?" There was no response.

"I g-guess he's n-not home..." Rei sighed in mild disappointment. "Should we t-try b-back later...?"

"Freeze!" A male voice suddenly spoke up from behind the two, who quickly turned to see a short, dark haired man pointing a .38 revolver at them. "Whadaya think you're doin'?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy," Snooper raised his arms in a defensive gesture. "You're Donald Korsak, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," the man confirmed. "Who're you?"

"Lowee City Police, Homicide," the detective replied. "We just wanted to ask you some questions..."

"Like I'm supposed to believe ya?" Korsak retorted. "There's been a rash of thefts 'round here lately, how do I know you ain't thieves tryin' to get in my house?!"

(He's not listening to reason!) Rei thought desperately. (At this rate we're both going to be shot dead...!) Then suddenly an idea came to her, taking a deep breath as her expression changed from fear to disdain. "Worthless maggot, why would we want your money? Do you even know who I am, fool?!"

Korsak's eyes narrowed briefly. "...now that ya mention it, I think I have seen ya before somewhere... but where?"

"Try the final boss of Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, worm."

"What...? AHHHHHH!" Korsak took a step back in shock and disbelief. "R-R-R-R-Rei Ryghts?!"

"Bingo," the horned woman grinned sinisterly. "You pathetic little man, thinking that puny gun will save you from the likes of me! So, let me ask you.." She leaned forward slightly. "Do you feel lucky, punk? Do you?"

"Uhhhh..." The man took a step back, then another... "No. No I do not! Lemme outta heeeeeere!" With a cry of fear, he turned and bolted, jumping into his car and peeling off, leaving tire tread markings on the pavement.

As soon as he was gone, Rei collapsed to her knees, heaving a huge sigh of relief. "Th-thank g-goodness he d-didn't c-call my b-bluff..."

"...geez, remind me never to bump into you in a dark alley," Snooper shook his head. "Even if it was just an act... Well, anyway, looks like this was a bust. Might as well go back to Millhouse and tell 'im what happened... probably gonna get a pay cut for botching things up..."

March 29, 12:18 PM

High Prosecutor's Office

Room 1307

"I-I'm so very sorry!" Rei bowed repentantly. "I-it was my f-fault Mr. K-Korsak went into th-the wind! Snooper d-doesn't d-deserve any of the b-blame..."

"All right, enough," Millhouse held up a hand. "It's touching of you to stick up for Detective Pericles like this, but it's not necessary."

"Y-you mean you're NOT cutting my pay for this?" Snooper asked incredulously.

"It's not your fault Korsak got the jump on you," the prosecutor shook his head. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he intended to ambush you... after all, Dean Schmucker could have used his one phone call to tell his partner the jig was up."

"He d-did seem t-to show up rather q-quickly..." Rei mused. "S-so now what d-do we do?"

Just then the desk phone rang. "Millhouse," the prosecutor answered. "...Oh, good. Tell the ME thanks for the rush job. I'll send Detective Pericles over right away." He then hung up. "That was the ME's office, the autopsy report's ready. Detective, if you could go down there and get two copies, one for me and one for Miss Ryghts..."

"Yessir, Mr. Millhouse!" Snooper saluted, before marching off happily.

Once he was gone, Rei couldn't help but ask, "S-so why d-does he g-get his p-pay c-cut all the t-time anyway?"

Mike heaved a sigh at this. "Well, the thing about Detective Pericles is, he's competent enough to not get fired outright, but incompetent enough that he gets used often as a scapegoat by... prosecutors with lower standards, shall we say. If it gets shown that evidence was lost during a trial, or even worse, outright forged, the prosecutor can just point at Snooper and say 'It's not my fault, that stupid detective is the one who messed up! I'll cut his pay for this screw-up!' Or something along those lines, anyway..."

"Th-that's t-terrible!" Rei gasped in disbelief. "D-doesn't he ever c-complain?!"

"Oh, he complains plenty," Millhouse muttered, "but even if disciplinary action is taken, the prosecutor usually only gets off with a slap on the wrist. That's just the way it is around here... which is why I've been trying to change things from within the system. But it's been a very uphill fight... one I often undertake alone." He then looked Rei in the eye. "That being said, Bart has helped out too, by usually managing to get acquittals in spite of the high odds... but he's still only one man. That's why I hope you can follow in his footsteps... There are several prosecutors who are *ahem* smart enough not to engage the great Bartholomew J. Sampson in the courtroom... but they might let their guard down with you."

"Y-you don't say..." the former goddess grunted, her heart feeling heavy with the expectations placed on her. "W-with all d-due respect, sir, I th-think I'm g-going to t-take things one c-case at a t-time..."

"That's fine," Millhouse nodded. "But hopefully, if this case comes to a satisfactory conclusion, it will convince more potential clients to take a chance with you... that's why I decided to have you handle the mock trial to begin with. Though I certainly didn't expect this case to have so many twists and turns..." His phone then rang again. "Millhouse. ...What's that now? Oh, you're Donald Korsak's lawyer?" Rei jerked her head up slightly at hearing this. "Yes. Yes, I see... Look, I'm sorry for what happened with Rei Ryghts, but she believed her life was in danger... No, no, I understand... I assume you're calling about your client testifying in court? Well, tomorrow is the last day allowed, you know... That hardly seems fair, Mr.- ...No, she's not like that in the courtroom, unless the witness is lying to her face... *sigh* Alright, fine, I'll agree to your terms. ...great, thanks. Goodbye." He hung up, sighing and shaking his head.

"S-so wh-what's g-going on?" Rei asked. "A-am I in t-trouble...?"

"It's nothing like that..." the cobalt-haired man shook his head again. "Simply put, Donald Korsak's lawyer agreed to have him testify tomorrow, but on one condition..."

"A-and that is...?"

"He reserves the right to end the cross-examination at any time, if he feels his client is being unnecessarily harassed or badgered, be it by the defense or the prosecution."

"What the hell?! That's not fair!" Rei suddenly cried. "What if that worm decides to cut me off just when I've caught that damned gunslinging midget in a lie?!"

Millhouse did a double take at the abrupt shift in personality. "...Language, Miss Ryghts. But for what it's worth, I agree with you... but it was either this, or no testimony. And he used your earlier scare of Korsak as justification for the condition..."

"Grrrr..." the ex-villain stomped her foot in frustration. "That sleaze had better be grateful that I can't transform anymore, because otherwise I'd be seriously tempted!" Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Prosecutor Millhouse?" Snooper poked his head in. "I got the autopsy reports you requested..."

"Good work, Detective," the prosecutor nodded as he took his copy, Rei being handed one as well.

*Autopsy Report added to the Court Record.*

"H-hopefully the d-descriptions aren't t-too graphic..." Rei said as she looked the report over.

"They usually aren't, unless the manner of death was particularly gruesome..." Mike stated as read over his copy. "Dental records confirm that our dead man is Rich Clark... .38 caliber slug recovered from the body... skeletal analysis confirms he was shot at least twice..."

"Th-that's consistent with wh-what Mr. Peterman t-told me..." Rei nodded. "Too bad for you, worm, this definitively disproves your theory that the body was disposed at sea by my client..."

"I wish you wouldn't shift personalities so quickly..." Millhouse muttered. "Then again, given the trauma you suffered from your transformation into a CPU..."

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the former goddess apologized. "I-it j-just happens sometimes...!"

"...Guess it's something we'll just have to get used to, then, huh?" Snooper observed. "So, anything else I can do, sir?"

"You can take Miss Ryghts back to Bart's office," Mike instructed. "So she and Bart can go over their strategy for court tomorrow... At the very least, I hope we can end the undeserved suffering that Peterman's gone though due to my mentor's faux pas ten years ago..."

"I h-hope so t-too," Rei agreed. "S-see you in c-court t-tomorrow, then..." With that, she left with Snooper...

*To be continued...*