-Chapter 5-
December 18, 12:30 PM
Wright Anything Agency
"…."
"…."
Apollo and Wright had returned to the office as soon as the trial ended, trapped in an uncomfortable silence as though neither knew exactly how to progress from here.
To be honest, Apollo wasn't expecting such a large bomb to be dropped at the very end of the proceedings. Sure, he always knew there was a third person on the scene- There had to be, since he knew Ema was innocent-, but to think that the culprit may have stolen evidence files in addition to the murder.
Something doesn't add up here...
To Apollo's surprise, however, it seemed that Wright was equally as baffled by this interesting turn of events. He hadn't spoken a word since he suggested they return to the agency, and even now he seemed troubled by something or other.
"….. Apollo," Wright finally spoke, catching the red-clad attorney off guard.
"H-huh?" Apollo immediately whirled around to face his mentor.
"Well, I think it's time to head over to the police department to see what we can find," Wright replied.
"W-wait! 'We'!? As in, you're coming with me?"
Wright nodded, "This case has taken a rather interesting turn. Besides, it's been a while since I've been out on an investigation."
Wright wasn't wrong when he said it had been a while. Even in the seven years that Wright had spent out of the courtrooms (though not necessarily out of courtroom affairs), he would often find himself wrapped up in some sort of investigation. Yet after Apollo had cleared his name of forged evidence and his "secret mission" had come to fruition, there was little reason to investigate himself, especially considering Apollo was more or less often well of enough on his own or with Trucy to help.
However, with Trucy at school Apollo would be investigating alone otherwise, and naturally Wright would want to help Ema in any way possible.
Yet, even beyond that, Apollo had a feeling Wright's reasons for joining the investigation went deeper than wanting to help Ema.
Why is Wright interested in Gamma? I could just ask him, but I doubt I'd get a straight answer…
Realizing Wright was waiting for Apollo to say something, the younger defense attorney nodded in affirmation.
"Thanks. Alright. Let's head down to the station. There has to be something we looked over!"
December 18, 12:41 PM
LA Police Department
Criminal Affairs
"Wow, it feels like it's been a while since I've been back here…"
Apollo turned back to find Wright, looking around the police department like a kid in the candy store. Apollo wasn't sure if Wright truly hadn't been to the station since his disbarment seven years ago, but he couldn't readily think of a reason for Wright to be there if he weren't actively investigating.
Thinking about it, this case had been the first time Apollo himself had gone to the police department during an investigation. He supposed that, even during an investigation, Wright would have needed a specific reason to go to the police station in the first place.
As Wright looked around, Apollo noticed a set of heavy footsteps making their way towards them alarmingly fast, growing louder and louder with every step until-
"Hey pal!"
Apollo whirled around in alarm to find Senior Detective Gumshoe standing in front of them, taking heavy breaths as he had seemingly rushed up to them incredibly quickly.
Wright didn't seem the least bit phased, and instead smiled.
"Hey, Detective Gumshoe. It's been a while since we've talked in person, huh?"
Gumshoe nodded.
"Mr. Edgeworth's been giving me updates on how you've been doing, but I haven't seen you since that trial three months ago cleared your name! I'm really happy for you, pal!"
Wright smiled, "Thanks."
Aaaand let's just ignore the defense attorney in that trial who helped clear Wright's name… Apollo thought dryly from the sidelines.
"So," Gumshoe smiled, "When are you going to retake the bar exam!?"
Wright's expression turned serious in an instant, and Apollo found himself frowning almost instinctively.
"Gumshoe… when did I ever say I was retaking the bar exam?"
"What!" Gumshoe exclaimed, "Of course you're retaking it! You're Phoenix Wright, pal!"
Wright let out a dry laugh and nodded, "I suppose it's what I'm known for… but I'm not quite ready yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gumshoe asked, furrowing his brow and looking at the ceiling as if trying to work out exactly what Wright meant.
"Gumshoe," Wright began, "The Chief Prosecutor doesn't typically stand in the court room. Do you think someone like Edgeworth would give that up simply to gain a higher position?"
Gumshoe shook his head, "Mr. Edgeworth has never been one to seek power. He only seeks the truth, pal! Wait… but if he didn't choose it for power…"
"Then there's a truth Edgeworth is seeking that can only be revealed through his new position as Chief Prosecutor," Wright finished, "Let's just say… there's something I have to do before I retake the bar exam, and it's for the same reason that Edgeworth wanted to become the Chief Prosecutor."
Gumshoe hung his head and pouted, "Why can't you two ever just come out and say what you mean, pal?"
Apollo agreed mentally, placing his finger on his forehead.
Yeah. It's like everything Wright says is a riddle wrapped up in a puzzle. Sometimes I wish he'd just tell me things straight up for a change.
Gumshoe scratched the back of his head and looked to the side, "Well, I suppose you guys are going to go investigate again. Anyway, see you later, pal!"
"Wait," Apollo called out, but the scruffy detective was already on his way out the door and to wherever it was he was going.
"W-wasn't he the lead detective in charge of this case? Where's he going?"
Wright shrugged.
"He might be running a report to Gamma or one of the other investigators. Anyway, let's check out the crime scene before anyone else stops us."
Apollo frowned, looking over to Wright before replying, "But wait… there's nothing at the crime scene, remember? The police cleaned everything up!"
Wright smiled confidently, "Then we just need to find something the police didn't. The speed at which police are expected to investigate means that they often cut corners and overlook minor details for sake of time. Maybe we'll find something important they simply missed."
Apollo nodded in understanding before the two made their way into forensics lab, ready to search for anything they missed.
December 18, 12:56 PM
LA Police Department
Forensics Lab
Apollo was pleasantly surprised to find that the ever-so-agreeable Victor Darke didn't seem to be anywhere in sight when he and Wright entered the labs. He wasn't particularly in the mood to deal with the raven-haired scientist, especially after the trial earlier that day. On top of that, Apollo didn't really see the point in talking to Victor until they had something else to go on.
Wright, on the other hand, had turned around and seemed to be scanning the room for something or someone. It was around the same time that both Wright and Apollo noticed a familiar face from the end of the trial.
Derek Fanne was standing near the corner of the room, looking rather timid and submissive hunched under the gaze of a woman Apollo had not seen here the other day.
The woman was wearing a long lab coat that looked far too big for her, with one end sliding completely off her shoulder and bunching up around her elbow. Underneath the labcoat she wore a very standard light blue blouse and a black dress skirt with dark leggings, complete with a pair of brown dress shoes. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a long ponytail that flowed down her back and stopped just above her waist, slightly wavy but otherwise straight.
The woman was standing cross-armed and was apparently in the middle of scolding Derek when Wright approached her. Noticing Wright and Apollo approaching, the woman frowned and finished up.
"If it happens again, Mr. Fanne, it'd be my responsibility to bring up this absolute blunder for the review board."
"S-sorry, Ms. Newton…"
Fanne walked away, looking rather defeated as he hung his shoulders. Whatever he had done this time, it must've been pretty bad.
On the other hand, the woman's expression immediately brightened as she turned over to Wright and Apollo.
"Now, you two are the here to investigate, I presume? Gamma told me you'd be coming. He told me to answer any questions you two may have. I don't know exactly what he's playing at, leaving the case so open to the defense, but he's the boss."
"Thank you for your cooperation," Wright replied, "Why don't you start by telling us who you are."
"My name is Marissa Newton," the woman spoke, "I'm the head of the forensics department here at the precinct. I'm in charge of things around here."
"And here you'd think that Darke guy was the one in charge, by the way he acts all the time…" Apollo replied dryly.
"Who, Victor?" Ms. Newton shook her head, "Nah. Victor's a protégé when it comes to forensics, but he's way too full of himself, and far too antisocial, to actually run this ship. Besides, I've been working here ages longer than he has. Now, is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"
"Yeah," Apollo piped in, "You're in charge around here, right? Then, you were here yesterday when the incident happened, I presume?"
Ms. Newton frowned a little, "Here at the precinct, yeah. Here in this lab, no. We were actually working in the older labs yesterday, so unfortunately I don't have a lot of the details. It was a total pain working with outdated equipment, but we didn't have much of a choice."
Wright looked over at Apollo, but Apollo had already caught it. He nodded to Wright.
Yeah, there's definitely something interesting about what Ms. Newton just said.
"Ms. Newton," Apollo continued, "You just mentioned that you weren't using the labs here yesterday. Why would that be?"
"Oh, there was another incident in the labs yesterday," Ms. Newton recalled, readjusting her labcoat to position it back over her shoulder, only for it to slide back off ineffectually. "Not like a murder incident, just an accident. One of the burners exploded when someone tried to light it. It didn't do much damage, but it was really loud. We had to get the rest of the burners checked, but it seemed like that was the only one that was faulty. That was… at 11:30 I believe, so about an hour before the incident. Still, we were stuck in the old lab all day yesterday. We still haven't moved everything back yet, either. It's such a pain!"
Hmm, so these labs were closed yesterday… that might be important later.
"You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that incident report, would you?" Wright asked.
"Of course. In fact, as the head of the forensics team, I was the one who filed it," Ms. Newton grinned, crossing her arms confidently, "Lemme guess, you want a copy?"
Wright nodded, "If it's not too much trouble."
Ms. Newton rummaged around in her labcoat before pulling out a thin, manilla envelope with a folded report inside.
"There you go. Not sure if that'll help any, though."
—Incident Report added to Court Record—
"Thank you," Wright nodded.
"No prob! Like I said, Gamma asked me to be helpful!"
"Now, Apollo, you're the attorney on this case," Wright turned to the red-clad lawyer, "Is there anything else you think you should ask Ms. Newton?"
"Hmm…" Apollo frowned, furrowing his brow, "Actually, there was one thing that was bothering me."
"Ms. Newton," Apollo turned his attention to the blonde-haired scientist, "Earlier you were talking to Derek Fanne about something. Actually, you seemed rather unhappy about something he did. What was that about, if I may ask?"
"Oh, that?" Ms. Newton replied, her expression growing serious as she crossed her arms and frowned, grabbing the ends of her oversized labcoat, "When we went to investigate the missing case files, we discovered that the particular cabinet the files had disappeared from had not been locked properly. I'll give you three guesses as to who was responsible for that."
"Out of curiosity," Wright chimed in, "how long were the cabinets left unlocked?"
"Ah!" Apollo's eyes lit up, "Right! If the cabinet was only accessible around the time of the murder and after the investigation, then the culprit might be connected to the case!"
"That's just the thing," Ms. Newton sighed, "the cabinet was unlocked all night. There's no telling when the files were taken. We were trying to determine if the files had anything to do with the case as well, but honestly, with such a broad timeframe, and no more information, we can't call it either way."
Well, there goes that lead. Apollo thought, slumping over a little as she sighed.
"I didn't think things would be that simple," Wright nodded, "Well, thanks for the information, Ms. Newton. Sorry to hold you up."
"Nah, it's cool!" Ms. Newton smiled, "The less time I have to spend watching the lab boys move stuff out of the old lab, the better. Well, I'll be off. If you need anything else from me, I'll be around."
The blonde-haired woman waved as she headed off, leaving Wright and Apollo to their own devices.
"Well, we got more information, but nothing here strikes me as case-breaking," Wright noted, "Let's head to the evidence room and see if there's anything else we can dig up!"
"Right!" Apollo nodded. Ordinarily, the idea of checking the evidence room one more time would've only made Apollo's heart sink at how desperate their case was going, but with Wright here, Apollo felt confident that they'd find something that would help them out with the second day of trial.
December 18, 1:20 PM
LA Police Department
Evidence Room
Apollo's confidence plummeted as he looked around the room.
"Ah! It doesn't make a difference, it's still spotless!" the red-clad attorney frowned, running his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Hey, don't write things off just yet," Phoenix replied, smiling, "Just because we can't see anything doesn't mean there's nothing here. Now, let's start off with the room itself. Aside from the missing trophy, does anything seem out of place to you?"
Apollo glanced around the room, looking for anything that seemed unusual. Unfortunately, everything looked in place to him.
No. There had to be something. If there wasn't anything, Wright wouldn't have asked him to look. Wright likely knew the answer already, but this wasn't about Wright's investigating skill, it was about his own.
Wright wasn't "ready" to retake the Bar exam. Whatever Wright had meant by that, it meant that Apollo would have to keep filling Wright's shoes until the ex-defense attorney stepped back into the ring, so to speak.
Apollo had to find something— anything at all that would help with their case.
His eyes scanned the whole room, looking for anything out of place. His hyper-attentiveness was definitely helping him out a little, but since he wasn't trying to perceive a person, his bracelet wasn't giving him any cues. Trying to take care not to strain his eyes too much, Apollo's gaze gravitated towards the corner of the room, where they fell upon an initially innocuous-looking filing cabinet.
"Hey," Apollo pointed to it, getting Wright's attention, "That cabinet… it's not flush up against the wall. And it looks crooked, don't you think?"
"Wow, you're right," Wright grinned, "Nice catch, Apollo!"
Wait… so you mean, when you said look for something out of place, you didn't actually know there was literally something out of place here!?
Wright moved over to the cabinet and pulled it out of the way, revealing the space behind it. Sure enough, there had been something behind the cabinet. Something both Wright and Apollo recognized instantly.
"Wait, this is Ema's bag!" Apollo exclaimed, running over to it and picking it up, "But what was it doing behind a filing cabinet?"
—Ema's Bag added to Court Record—
Phoenix Wright grinned, "Wait a minute, Apollo, don't you realize what this means?"
"What this means?" Apollo paused for a moment, looking at the bag in his hands, "I don't know what this means. Why would Ema hide her own-"
Apollo froze as the realization hit him. Ema wouldn't hide her own bag. Even working under the assumption that Ema was the killer, and Apollo knew she wasn't, there wouldn't be a point for her to hide her own bag at the scene of the crime. Carrying it off with her wouldn't look suspicious, since it belonged to her, and leaving it behind would only implicate her further. The fact that the bag was hidden at all meant that someone else had hidden the bag.
And if someone else had hidden the bag…
"There was definitely someone else in the evidence room on the day of the murder!"
Wright nodded, "Exactly. Now, the question is to find out why."
Before either of them could begin to figure out why the killer would hide Ema's bag behind the cabinet, the sound of the evidence room door startled the two of them.
Whirling around, the two came face to face— or rather, mask— with Gamma, who was arguably the biggest mystery of this case yet.
"They really did a good job of cleaning this place up, huh?" Gamma looked around, "Ah, so you two were already in here."
Already? What's that supposed to mean? Apollo pondered as Gamma stepped further into the room.
"That was an impressive show in court today, Gamma," Wright replied, "In this day and age, it's nice to see there's a rookie who won't jump on an easy win."
"I'm flattered to hear that from such a respected defense attorney," Gamma replied, "However, I didn't come here to talk about today's trial. Unfortunately, since I plan to investigate here, I'll have to kick you two out."
Considering we wouldn't even be allowed in here if it weren't for you, I'd say we don't have much room to complain. Apollo thought dryly.
"Wait," Wright frowned, placing his hand on his chin, "Say, Gamma, before we leave, would you mind answering a few of our questions?"
"Huh? Asking the prosecutor for help, are we?" Gamma asked, tilting his head in confusion, "I hope you're not trying to trick me because I'm a rookie. Well, at any rate, I'm curious as to what you'd have to ask me, so go ahead."
"Thank you," Wright nodded, "I want to ask you some questions about the case. At the end of the trial, you received a notice that an entire case file had gone missing. Ms. Newton already told us the filing cabinet the case had been stored in was left unlocked, but I'd like to hear what you know about the case."
Gamma paused, as though filtering through the information he knew and sorting out which parts he should share, "Without revealing too much, the case was designated as HC-4. It was a case from two years ago that technically went unsolved. I have no idea why that case in particular went missing, but I can almost assure you it's unrelated to this case."
Apollo's bracelet tightened around his wrist, and the red-clad attorney's eyes widened.
H-he's… he's lying! Now's my chance!
"HOLD IT!"
Wright jumped at Apollo, turning to look at him in confusion until he noticed Apollo rubbing his wrist near his bracelet.
"Gamma, there was something odd about what you just said. Do you mind repeating it?"
"Hmm… that's a weird request, but sure…"
This is it, I'll catch that lie of yours!
Apollo focused his eyes on Gamma as time seemed to slow around him.
"The… case… was… designated… as… HC-4... It… was… a… case… from… two… years… ago… that… technically… went… unsolved…. I… have… no… idea… why… that… case… in… particular… went… missing…, but… I… can… almost… assure… you… it's… unrelated… to… this… case….
W-what!? I can't find it! I can't find it at all! I know he has one… I subconsciously picked up on it… so where….
"G-Gah!"
Apollo squeezed his eyes shut and doubled over, having strained them earlier by meticulously scanning the room. Gamma's tell was particularly hard to find, an Apollo couldn't use his perception on him in this state.
"Apollo, are you okay?" Wright asked, placing a hand on the red-clad lawyer's shoulder.
"Yeah… I'm fine… I just-"
Behind them, both Gumshoe and Ms. Newton made their way into the evidence room, leaving the otherwise small room quite crowded. Gamma turned around and nodded.
"Alright, you two are here. Let's begin the investigation," the masked man replied, "If Mr. Justice is fine, I'm going to have to ask you two to leave immediately."
"Right, thank you for your time, Prosecutor Gamma," Wright replied.
The older lawyer guided Apollo out of the evidence room, weaving around the three investigators around the door and making their way back out into the lab.
December 18, 12:56 PM
LA Police Department
Forensics Lab
Not too long after Apollo and Phoenix left the evidence room, Apollo stood up straight again, fully recovering from the incident before. Turning back towards the evidence room doors, the red-clad attorney sighed.
"I'm sorry, Wright," Apollo frowned, "I couldn't get more out of Gamma…"
"It's alright," Wright reassured, "You put a lot of strain on your eyes to find this bag… I get why you couldn't perceive Gamma for very long. Still, that wasn't like you. Usually you find a person's tell right away."
"I know…" Apollo frowned, "I don't get it either. I could tell he was lying, but I couldn't find anything giving him away. I looked everywhere for the smallest movement… but there wasn't anything…"
"Hmm…" Wright frowned, "That's strange. I wonder why you couldn't-"
"Hey! It's you!"
An angry voice behind Apollo made the two lawyers jump, and the two were met with the scowling face of Victor Darke.
Wonderful. Just who I wanted to see. Apollo thought dryly.
"You made a fool of me in court today, Mr. Injustice." Victor scoffed, "I hope you're happy. Luckily for you, I am unbiased in my work, or I might've thrown the test results out of spite."
Yikes! He really isn't happy to see me…
"Anyway, I see you've brought someone different along to fumble around the crime scene. Wright, was it? I've heard a lot about you. Too bad you've sided with this loser in court."
Uh, actually, I believe I sided with him… Apollo remarked internally, You know, considering I work for him and all.
"Well, anyway, you look like you're at a loss for what to do next. That doesn't really surprise me. I bet you were gonna ask anyway, but feel free to question me. I'll crush all your hopes and dreams before court tomorrow!"
Apollo glanced at Wright as the man slumped over, an exasperated look on his face. He was sure to cast a sympathetic look towards his boss before turning towards Victor.
"Alright," Apollo nodded, "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask about. Ms. Newton said there was an explosion in the labs here yesterday. Could you tell us anything about that incident?"
"Tch, so you heard about that, huh?" Victor frowned, "Yeah. It was a real pain to deal with. One second, I'm performing a DNA test, the next second, there's a deafening bang, and a large fireball erupts from one of the burners over there! We all had to clear out of the lab, but what gets my blood boiling is thinking about the incompetent buffoon that caused the whole mess!"
"Hmm," Apollo frowned, "That's strange. We were told by Ms. Newton that the explosion was just an accident…"
"Hmph," Victor frowned, "Yeah, it was, allegedly. But honestly, that monkey is so incompetent I wouldn't be surprised if he did something wrong! Too bad I wasn't looking! I could've caught him screwing up and blowing up the lab! Maybe he would've even gotten fired!"
Yeesh! This Victor guy sure has a bone to pick with whoever it is he's talking about.
"Uh, this 'monkey', as you called him… he wouldn't happen to have an actual name, would he?" Apollo asked.
"It was Fanne! Derek Fanne! That good-for-nothing clutz who's always obsessing over your defendant! I bet he broke the burner with his idiocy!"
"Hmm," Wright pondered, tapping his chin in thought. Apollo turned around to face his boss.
"Victor seems to have a lot to say about Mr. Fanne, and none of it's good. Maybe we should try asking about their relationship."
"Good idea," Apollo nodded. Turning back to Victor, Apollo continued with their questioning.
"Mr. Fanne's your coworker, right? Why do you sound so angry whenever you talk about him?"
"Tch, are you kidding!?" Victor fumed, stomping on the ground with enough force that it jingled the little cat bell around his neck, "Derek's a total joke! How he passed the forensics exam at all is beyond me, let alone how he kept his job for two years! He's a complete dunce at everything he does, and he always has that goofy smile on his face. Even if he messes something up big time, he'll still go back to smiling like nothing even happened! And he won't ever shut up about Detective Skye! It's always 'Skye' this, and 'Skye' that! I'm sick of hearing that stupid name!"
YIKES! I'm almost sorry I asked…!
"Hmm… I think there's just one more thing I want to ask you."
"What!? You've already got me riled up talking about that incompetent fool! What else could you possibly want to pester me with!?"
Apollo let his shoulders slump as his hair spikes drooped down in front of his forehead, but he pressed on regardless.
"What do you know about the HC-4 Incident?"
Victor scratched his head.
"HC-4… that's the name of the case file that disappeared, isn't it? I've heard that name being thrown around recently. However, I don't really know much about the case. I'm sure it's not really related to the case."
Damn... I thought for sure, since Victor worked in forensics, he'd have an idea about the case.
"Alright, thank you for your time," Apollo replied. As soon as he spoke, Victor scoffed and turned around, rushing off without saying anything more.
"Hmm…" Wright frowned, "We can't investigate the evidence room until Gamma is done with his investigation, and it doesn't appear there's anyone else we can talk to here. Any ideas, Apollo?"
"Hmm, I don't know," Apollo frowned, "I guess we could go down to the other evidence lab to talk to Ms. Newton again… But wait! We don't know where it is, do we?"
Wright shook his head, "And there's no one around to tell us either… Hmm… maybe it's time we visit Ema down at the detention center. What do you say?"
"Ema?" Apollo asked, puzzled, "But I thought I told you, Ema doesn't remember anything about the incident."
Instead of replying, Wright merely grinned, making his way towards the elevator to leave the precinct. Apollo sighed and followed his boss, sighing internally at Wright's ever-present coyness.
To Be Continued...
AN: It's been WAY to long since I last updated this, and for that, I apologize. It took the Phoenix Wright anime and news of Phoenix Wright 6 to jolt me back into a mood to write for this series, but now that I'm back, I'm going at full steam. I've also been working on another story that I haven't updated in a criminally long time, so if you're one of my readers who has me followed, but was waiting for an update to that particular tale, I won't keep you waiting much longer I hope. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and as always, reviews are appreciated!