So, in this chapter, we're going to see what sort of testimony Ema has. And believe me, it's going to have some shocking information. I've already figured out what happened and all that, I just need to make it not too obvious. Also, Klavier's going to visit someone unexpected in this chapter.

Chapter Twelve – It's A Dangerous Game

Klavier

"Please state your name and occupation."

"Ema Skye, Detective," the Fraulein answered, shoving a mouthful of Snackoos into her mouth as she spoke. I smiled at her.

"Can you give us an overview of the case and why the defendant was arrested?" I asked.

"Well, we have plenty of reason to suspect Ed Curity," she started, chewing on one last snack before her testimony. "He provided false evidence during Sparky Highnote's case and he knows the layout of the crime scene. And even though we haven't found the murder weapon yet, we do have security footage of him hanging around near the scene of the crime."

"That's all kind of shaky evidence, don't you think?" the judge asked, surprised.

"Well, that's why it was decided to have a jury trial," I pointed out, leaning back and smiling at the hidden cameras. "We have strong evidence, but nothing decisive. We have a motive, a crime scene, and the elimination of other suspects."

The judge nodded thoughtfully.

"This has been a rather unusual case," he agreed. "Very well, Mr. Justice. Your cross-examination, if you please."

Apollo was stooped over the table, looking over a bunch of files, and gave little indication that he had heard any of what we had said. He muttered under his breath to Fraulein Wright before turning towards the detective on the stand.

"You say that the defendant was lingering around the crime scene," he said. "I assume you're talking about the security tape of the arena."

"Yes," Fraulein Skye replied. "It is pretty much the only evidence we have at this point."

"I'd like the prosecution to submit the security footage into evidence," Apollo demanded. "If this is the only thing we have, then the answers have to be in the tapes."

"Of course, Sch-er…Herr Forehead," I replied, catching my mistake just in time. I brought out the tapes and handed them over to the judge and Apollo. Our fingers brushed each other and I tried not to shiver at the contact.

The big screens opened so we were all able to view exactly what happened that fateful day. While there was no security camera in the actual security room, the was one in the hall that led to it. The hall was a dead end, though there was one or two rooms down that hall as well. Unfortunately, neither of the doors could be seen on that camera.

"There were only three people who walked down that hallway," Fraulein Skye announced as the recording began. "The defendant; a janitor, who has no motive; and a patron, who never went beyond the camera's sight."

We watched as Herr Curity walked past the camera several times, speaking into a radio. A patron approached Herr Curity, apparently asking for directions. They talked for a few minutes before the person finally left. The defendant left the hall for a little while, but eventually coming back with what appeared to be a switch blade knife. He lingered in the hall while the janitor approached. The janitor himself went down the hall with a large cart, went into one of the rooms, then left a few minutes later. Finally, Herr Curity strutted back down the hall, towards the security room. Several moments later, he returned, looking panic-struck and without his pocket knife.

"Now, after he's done the deed, he realizes that he left the switchblade in the victim's back," Fraulein Detective told the court. "So, he waits until someone else has discovered the body and uses his authority as head of security to go back into the room and clean up the evidence before the police arrive."

"Then he submits a week old security tape of Herr Highnote and Herr Stick going down that hall together instead to throw us more off the trail," I added, recalling that moment with anger. After all, Sparky wasn't just a band member, he was my friend!

"Makes sense to me," Herr Judge said, nodding. "Well, Mr. Justice? Do you have any problems with the security footage?"

"I do, actually," Apollo replied, folding his arms. "Several things, actually." I felt my heart do a flip as I stared admiringly at him. Mein Schatzi was so observant! "First of all, did anyone else notice that the victim doesn't show up in the security footage at all?"

There was a moment of absolute silence. The judge looked absolutely baffled.

"What do you mean, Mr. Justice?" he asked.

"Well, you would think that the security footage would show not just the killer but the victim entering that hallway," Apollo pointed out. "That camera is pointed at the only entrance to that hallway, so we should be able to see the victim walk by at some point. Not only does he never appear, but I have collected witness testimonies stating that they never saw Mr. Stick that day until they found his body."

There was a sudden outbreak of noise from the gallery. The judge had to bang his gavel several times in order to bring silence back to the room.

"Mr. Justice, what is the meaning of this?" the judge boomed. "If the victim never entered the hallway or security room, then how did his body end up there?"

"I believe there are couple of explanations to explore," I piped in, snapping my fingers rhythmically. "Either Herr Stick was not killed at the time we think he was, or he wasn't killed in the place he was found."

"Which brings me to the second thing I found odd about the footage, which is the janitor," Apollo replied, smiling at me. Gott, I had to stop myself from fainting every time he smiled at me like that. "What makes the prosecution so sure that the janitor is not related to this case?"

"He had no motive," Fraulein Skye replied.

"Hold it!" Apollo interrupted. "We can't be sure of that, can we? There may be no obvious motive, but Mr. Curity had no obvious motive either."

I leaned over and gave him my most charming smile. I could see the start of a blush form on his face and I felt my heart melt further.

"Where are you going with this, Herr Forehead?" I asked.

"I'm saying that the janitor is the only other person who could possibly have committed this crime," he pointed out. "Think about it. He would have all the tools needed to clean up a crime scene, he also knows the layout of the building, he has access to the security room, and he can fix up his cart to easily hide a body in it."

"So, what you're saying is…?" the judge questioned, struggling to keep up.

"I think we have more reason to suspect the janitor than Mr. Curity," Apollo concluded. "The real killer must have killed the victim in a separate location, moved the body to the security room, then blackmailed the defendant into framing someone else."

"But why on earth would anyone go through that much trouble?" Fraulein Skye wondered.

"We…haven't figured that out yet," Fraulein Trucy replied sheepishly.

"My guess is that wherever the actual scene of the crime is gives away who actually killed the victim," Apollo added, looking over his notes. "That, or someone had a huge vendetta against Mr. Highnote or the defendant."

Mein Gott, Apollo was so smart! I couldn't believe he had managed to pull things around so quickly! I, too, had noticed something odd about the security tape, but I had been so focused on Herr Curity that I didn't even notice the lack of the victim!

"Well, given the circumstances, I don't think the jury can pass judgement on the case quite yet," the judge was saying. "The defense and prosecution need to find the answers to these questions before tomorrow: where was the crime committed? How was this janitor involved? Was the defendant blackmailed into murder or forgery? And, if possible, who this mysterious blackmailer could be? Court dismissed!"

Then he banged down his gavel, signaling the end of the session. I couldn't help but stare across the room at mein Schatzi, who was sighing with relief and talking to Fraulein Wright. I smiled warmly at them. I knew he wouldn't let me down.

Something possessed me to approach them, and I made my way over with the smile still on my face.

"Way to turn it around, Forehead," I told him when I was in earshot. "I can't believe it never donned on me that the crime had taken place elsewhere."

"I noticed the problem while we were going over the tapes yesterday," he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I guess the cops just assumed that he was already there or something."

"Where do you think he was really murdered, Prosecutor Gavin?" Fraulein Trucy asked, turning to me excitedly. I bent over to look them in the eye.

"I have no idea," I replied. "We're going to try and retrace his steps. I'm more worried about the police at this point, actually."

Apollo and Trucy exchanged surprised glances before looking back at me.

"What do you mean?" Apollo wondered.

"If Herr Curity turns out to be innocent, this will be the second time in the same case that the police arrested the wrong person," I pointed out. "People already have little faith in the judicial system. Who knows what this case is doing to us overall."

"Wow, I didn't think about it like that," Fraulein Trucy said in a small voice.

"Do you still think he did it, Prosecutor Gavin?" Apollo asked. I let out a long sigh, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"I hardly believed he did it in the first place," I confessed. Why I thought that, I wasn't going to tell them. I didn't need Apollo thinking that I based all of my decisions off of him. I mean, this time I did, but he didn't need to know that.

"So, what are you two planning on doing now?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light and casual. Apollo smirked at what I was obviously implying.

"Trucy and I were going to find clues to where the original crime scene was and try to track down that janitor," he answered. "Then I promised Trucy that I would go with her to see a movie with this actor she likes."

"Well, I can certainly call you when we've found this janitor and heard his story," I told him before Fraulein Trucy could wonder why I would be interested in what Apollo was doing after work. "I've asked Detective Skye to bring him in already."

"Thanks," Apollo said with a sigh of relief.

I gave them both a warm smile before saying good-bye and taking my leave. As I was walking away, I could hear Fraulein Trucy say "You and Prosecutor Gavin seem to be getting along a lot better," in a sing-song voice and Apollo hiss "Shut up, Truce!" at her. The smile on my face grew as I imagined him getting all flustered.

"If only you knew, Fraulein," I muttered under my breath. "If only you knew."


I had gone back to my office in order to track down all the places Herr Stick frequented in order to find the true scene of the crime. I also intended to call the arena and ask about the janitor. Then there was also that farewell concert Sparky and I were planning. Not to mention all of the other cases that had started to pile on my desk. In short, I was glad that Apollo was going to be busy, because I was up to my neck in work.

So, I wasn't terribly pleased when I had barely started and my phone began buzzing with text messages. My annoyance quickly dissipated when I saw that they were from Apollo. He must have known how busy I was because he told me to call him when I was free and that he had already decided what our next date would be. I was eager to text him back, putting way too many x's and o's in my reply.

My next interruption was less welcome. I don't how long I was working when I suddenly got a call from the prison, asking me to come down. They stubbornly wouldn't tell me what it was about, so I assumed that it was either the janitor or Kristoph who wanted to speak to me. I was surprised, therefore, when I was led into the room and saw who was seated across from me.

"Daryan?" I gasped, narrowing my eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"Relax, Gavin," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I just want to talk. I wanted to apologize and explain myself to you." I couldn't help but stare at him in shock. Daryan apologize? He never apologized for anything! Or was ever reasonable!

"You…don't have to explain yourself, Daryan," I muttered, looking down at the table.

"Yes, I do," he replied urgently. "I feel terrible about what I've done and I thought if I could at least talk to you, I would feel at least a little better about it. Please Klavier, just hear me out, ok?"

I wanted to deny him, but he sounded so sincere that I couldn't ignore what he said. And I had always wondered why he had done it. It kept me awake more nights than I possibly cared to admit. We needed closure.

"Ok, fine," I conceded with a sigh. "I'll hear you out. But don't think things will change between us. I still can't forgive what you did."

He let out a sigh. "I understand," he replied. "I wouldn't forgive me either. But I didn't have much of a choice. The Chief Justice had demanded that I bring him that cocoon. I mean, his son was dying, after all. Believe me, I didn't want to. But he knew that we were going to Borginia, and he forced me to get him a cocoon."

I couldn't tell if I was sold on his story or not. It made sense, I supposed. Daryan was already a rock star, so it couldn't have simply been a money issue. I would have been fine if it weren't for two details.

"But you murdered a man in cold blood and you framed a child for murder," I pointed out to him. "Even if I could forgive the smuggling thing, I can't look past that."

"I know," he sighed. "I don't blame you. I can't justify that." He looked sadly past me. "I just hope that someday I can make it up to that boy."

He looked so genuine and sad that I could feel my anger towards him falter. I wanted to trust Daryan. I wanted to believe him. But he had already broken my heart before, and I wasn't sure if I would ever be willing to forgive him. He and I had been closer than I had ever been with Kristoph. He had been more than my band mate.

But what was truly the difference between him and Kristoph? Why was I willing to still talk to Kristoph but not Daryan? Was it because I hadn't felt as betrayed by Kristoph as I had been with Daryan? Kristoph had murdered two people and used me to get Phoenix Wright disbarred. Why was I willing to forgive him when Kristoph had done much worse?

I thought back to when I first visited Kristoph in jail. I had come to him because I wanted to know why he had done those things. Why did he kill two people and ruin so many lives? I remember being shocked by the state he was in when I saw him.

Kristoph had completely fallen apart. I remembered I could barely recognize him. I could tell he had been sobbing; his hair had been a mess and he had been holding himself and rocking in his chair. He looked stunned when I sat down across from him, like he couldn't believe that I was actually there. Then he was overjoyed. He said he didn't think I'd ever want to see him again.

I had asked him a simple question. "Why?" Why did he do any of this?

Kristoph had broken down further, shouting his answer. Fear. He had been afraid of being forgotten; of never amounting to anything if he didn't become famous; of the people who had the potential to ruin everything he had worked for. Now he was afraid of never seeing me again. Of never getting to apologize to me.

Looking over at Daryan, I could see that he hadn't fallen apart quite like Kristoph had. His hair was shorter now, but I believed that was court ordered. Something about being afraid that he would sneak a weapon in through his pompadour or something. I could still tell that he was having a rough time, though.

Maybe it was what Kristoph had said. I could still remember him telling me about how Daryan constantly complained about me while in prison. I could remember him boasting when Kristoph had first gone to jail. Kristoph had said Daryan felt "betrayed" by me, but…

"You weren't just my friend, Daryan, you were like family to me," I told him softly. "And then you betrayed me. Do you really expect me to just forget what you did?"

His eyes widened with surprise. "I'm so sorry, Klav," he said. "I-I didn't know you felt that way about me. I know we had started to drift apart, but…" He stared down at the floor for a long moment. "I…I want us to be that close again, Klav. I know you don't care about me, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to redeem myself."

"I-I never said I stopped caring about you," I muttered. It was getting hard to breathe all of a sudden. What was the difference between him and Kristoph? "Look, Daryan. You need to prove to me that you've changed. You need to show me that you're worthy of forgiveness."

"I will," he promised, perking. "I'll do whatever you say. I promise you I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you, to Machi and to society."

"Th-That's all I can ever hope for, Daryan," I replied. "That's all I can ever hope for."

I'm going to end this chapter here because I really have nothing else for them to talk about. And I thought that would be a good line to end it on. Next time, Apollo's picking the date activity and we'll also see what's up with that janitor. I hope I haven't been too confusing with the case. Just remember: I'm going off of the first chapter which was originally just going to be an excuse for Klavier to ask Apollo out.