Sayaka walked up the lengthy set of stairs to reach the crime scene, which was once again carted off with yellow police tape. Gumshoe was there with a team of police officers. He had a worried expression on his face. Sayaka noticed this and called out to him.
"Hey, Gumshoe! Are you okay?" Sayaka asked. Gumshoe's attention turned over to Sayaka.
"Good morning, Miki… You here to investigate the crime scene?" Gumshoe asked. His voice was not as bright as it was last investigation.
"Well yes, but I'm a little concerned about you, Detective. You look distraught." Sayaka displayed her caring side. Gumshoe scratched his head.
"Well… I'm not feeling particularly well. The defendant is my girlfriend, Maggey Byrde." Gumshoe dropped a serious bomb on poor Sayaka. Needless to say, she was quite shocked.
"Y-You're dating Maggey Byrde?!" Sayaka raised her voice.
"Yeah… and that's why I feel guilty for trying to come up with evidence against her." Gumshoe was quite sullen. Sayaka felt utterly outraged. Why was Gumshoe being forced into a case where he had to hurt someone he dearly loved? Sayaka was furious enough to ask something.
"Why are you even taking this case when your actions could directly lead to your girlfriend's execution?!" Sayaka shouted. Gumshoe sniffled.
"I have to take any case that's available, Miki. Believe me, I hate this feeling. Unfortunately, this is what pays the bills. Miss Sakura doesn't pay me particularly well either. I'm living off of instant noodles." Gumshoe explained his situation. Sayaka almost wanted to cry.
"That Sakura… she's a huge jerk! She hides evidence, she underpays her detective, what the hell else is she doing?!" Sayaka shouted, clearly enraged at Kyoko. Gumshoe shook his head.
"There's really not that much I can say for sure… but she reminds me of another scary prosecutor. The so-called witch prosecutor." Gumshoe spoke. Sayaka raised an eyebrow.
"Witch prosecutor…? Who's that?" Sayaka asked. Gumshoe shook his head.
"She's so scary that I've blacked out my experiences with her. Every time I try to think about her, my brain simply collapses." Gumshoe's legs jittered as he spoke. Sayaka shuddered.
"One thing's for sure… I hope I never have to meet her." Sayaka's voice shook. "A-Anyhoo, the investigation. If I find the right evidence, I might be able to save your girlfriend!" Sayaka tried to cheer up Gumshoe. She quite liked him.
"There's plenty of evidence here… and an autopsy report." Gumshoe handed Sayaka the autopsy report and gave her passage into the crime scene. Sayaka noticed a damaged door and took a picture. On that same door, she noticed a set of fingerprints, like the did on the cage back at the zoo. The office itself was a total wreck. A lone dormant dynamite stick lay next to the wrecked desk, which contained an office phone with a series of bullet holes. A bunch of shredded books and a blank paycheck lay on the floor near the wall. Sayaka took pictures of all the evidence and wrote it all down in the notebook. Then she turned to Gumshoe.
"There isn't a body outline." Sayaka pointed out. Gumshoe shook his head.
"The body was charred from the explosion. Not much of it was left. You can look at the Autopsy Report if it helps." Gumshoe replied. Sayaka opened up the autopsy report.
"Victim was murdered at 9:50pm on the night of the murder. Killed with a direct dynamite blast to the chest." Sayaka read out the report.
"Between you and me, I doubt Maggey could have thrown the dynamite. She's not exactly adept with her throwing arm." Gumshoe shared a secret. Sayaka took a note before stepping back over the tape.
"Thank you for the time, Detective." Sayaka smiled. Gumshoe saluted.
"Any time, Miki. I hope you're right about Maggey…" Gumshoe waved goodbye. Sayaka descended back down the stairs and looked around the lobby for any witnesses to the crime. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a tall, muscular man with a mop of golden hair. She walked up to him.
"Excuse me, sir… did you happen to witness last night's explosion?" Sayaka asked. The man turned around with his arms crossed. He looked down at Sayaka with a serious expression.
"Indeed, I did. I saw the whole thing from outside my apartment." The man spoke in a gruff tone. He noticed Sayaka's badge. "Attorney, huh? Workin' for the chick?" The man asked. Sayaka nodded.
"Yeah. I believe Ms. Byrde is innocent." Sayaka stated. The man took a deep breath.
"I don't wanna say she's innocent. But at the same time, I don't wanna say she's guilty. That's up to you and that Sakura lady to decide." The man spoke boldly. Sayaka sighed. Of course Kyoko was working this case. She knew exactly what Kyoko was capable of, so she had to be on edge at all times.
"I'm going to try and prove that Maggey isn't the guilty party. Something tells me that something else happened behind the scenes." Sayaka boldly claimed. The man put his finger on his chin.
"It could be Maggey, it could be someone else, it could be any of 'em. Mr. Axelrod was infamous for shorting his employees on their checks. I'd totally get it if any of them wanted to kill him." The man spoke firmly. Sayaka took note of Axelrod's poor payment habit.
"On the topic of the murder, what were you doing when you saw the explosion?" Sayaka asked.
"Me?" The man asked. "Oh, I was simply playing cards with my buddy Mitch. We were playing blackjack when the explosion went off. It happened right as Mitch drew 22 and busted." The man detailed what he was doing that night. Sayaka nodded.
"Okay, then. Thank you for your time and honesty, sir." Sayaka bowed. The man smiled.
"If you wanna talk to Mitch, he's probably checking out the assembly line. He works here." The man pointed Sayaka in the direction of his friend, another witness. Sayaka went to the door in the back of the lobby, where there was a sign that read: El Bombi Assembly Line.
"Looks like this is the place." Sayaka readied herself as she stepped into the large room full of self-operating conveyor belts, which assembled sticks of dynamite and rolled them into packs of nine, where they would be put in boxes. Sayaka snapped a photo of the assembly lines as she spotted a thin male figure. He had messy orange hair covered up by a hat. She advanced towards him.
"Excuse me sir, would you happen to be Mitch?" Sayaka asked. The man turned around, showing his short orange beard.
"Yes. I am Mitchell Riley. By any chance did you speak with Greg Keeler earlier?" Mitch spoke in a softer tone than his friend.
"Yes. He told me that you work here and that you witnessed the crime at the same time he did. Do you care to share your perspective?" Sayaka asked. Mitch eyes up her lawyer's badge.
"Sure. Although mine's not much different from his." Mitch answered. Then he took a deep breath. "Greg and I were playing a round of blackjack. It was late at night when I drew that bloody eight. If I had gotten a seven, I'd have hit 21 and won the game. But that eight, along with the ensuing explosion, served as yet another reminder of my poor luck." Mitch explained what he saw. Sayaka nodded.
"The two stories sound consistent with one another." Sayaka responded. "Since you work here, did you have any knowledge of the leadup to the crime?" Sayaka asked. Mitch took off his hat.
"Not really. No one ever discussed an assassination attempt, even in the break room where Axelrod couldn't hear us. Although I did notice someone looking at me suspiciously." Mitch gave his account of the workday before.
"Did you know the person who looked at you?" Sayaka asked. Mitch shook his head.
"Nope. She was a new girl at work. Nobody knew her name. But I can assure you it was not Maggey Byrde." Mitch gave away a crucial detail.
"So Maggey didn't look suspicious to you?" Sayaka asked. Mitch smiled.
"Not at all. In fact, the day before the murder, she said that she was in line for a promotion to Project Manager. It would have been career suicide for her to kill Axelrod there. She would have become one of the few employees to recieve a living wage." Mitch explained his perspective. Sayaka smiled.
"Alright! This proves that Maggey had no motive to kill Axelrod. Thank you for your time, Mr. Riley." Sayaka bowed. Mitch put his hat back on.
"Whatever you do in court tomorrow, make sure the truth comes out." Mitch smiled as Sayaka took off for the exit. But Kyoko was at the door with an annoyed look on her face.
"Oh… it's you." Sayaka groaned at the sight of Kyoko, who bit into an apple.
"Did you ever finish that apple?" Kyoko asked.
"Huh? I didn't think you gave it to me for eating… so I threw it away." Sayaka admitted. This pissed off Kyoko, who pinned Sayaka to the wall.
"Listen here, Miki! I'm gonna obliterate you in court today! To avenge my loss, and that apple you carelessly wasted!" Kyoko shouted. Sayaka winced in pain with her ears ringing. Then Kyoko let go. "Don't ever waste food again. If you do, you're a dead girl!" Kyoko made a glaring threat as she left the building. Sayaka decided to go to the detention room to meet Maggey. She had enough of Kyoko for a little while.
