Ok, so leaving the last chapter on a cliff hanger, huh? Let's see how well that goes. Spoilers: it's not going to go well. Poor Apollo. He's not going to be catching a break any time soon.
Chapter Fifteen – Am I Losing my Sanity?
Apollo
I sat in my apartment, staring down at the coffee table, not really seeing it. Everything was spinning around me. I could barely breathe as I sat there. A plethora of emotions were raging inside me and threatened to spiral out of control. How could this be happening? Why was this happening? We had been so careful…hadn't we?
It had been unbearable getting through the day without opening that cursed envelope. Trying to hide it from Trucy and Mr. Wright was the hardest thing I had ever gone through. But I couldn't let them know. If it was what I thought it was, they couldn't know. I tried to act like nothing was wrong. I really did. But I couldn't focus and an anxiety was building up inside of me the entire day.
They obviously noticed something was wrong with me. I could see it in their eyes. So, when Mr. Wright suggested that I take the day off since there was no trial that day, I wasn't all that surprised. I didn't even fight with him. I just silently got up and left.
And now here I was, staring down at the grubby envelope on my coffee table, terrified of what might be in it. Some part of me never wanted to open it. A small portion reasoned that if I never opened it, nothing bad would ever happen. Another small part of me hoped that this envelope wasn't what I thought it was. Perhaps it just looked the same as Mr. Curity's blackmail letter. That didn't mean it had to be the same…right?
There was no use fighting it. Something worse could happen if I didn't open it. I had gone back and forth for about an hour now; picking it up, thinking about opening it, and then throwing it back down onto the table. This was getting ridiculous. I just had to do it quickly without thinking about it. Like a bandage. Holding my breath, I quickly snatched the envelope off the table and ripped it open.
There were two things inside. A letter and a DVD. I sat there for another long moment, trying to gather what little courage I had left. Finally, I slowly opened the letter.
Apollo Justice:
I know your secret. If you don't want the world to know and your reputation to be ruined, you shall do as I say.
I understand that you are working for a certain client. That same person messed up our agreement, so now he must pay the price. Expose your client's secret in court, or I will tell the world yours. Do not tell anyone about this. Especially not Gavin.
There was no name or signature at the bottom, not that I expected there to be one. The letter had been typed on plain paper. It was just as I had feared. This was a blackmail letter.
Fear coursed through my body as I stared at the letter. That meant there could only be one thing on the DVD. Nothing in the world made me want to watch it. I was terrified. Tears were starting to form and my heart was pounding painfully in my chest. I couldn't watch it. I didn't want to watch it.
But I had to.
My DVD player and my TV weren't all that great, especially compared to Gavin's but they were possibly the nicest things in my apartment. They at least functioned properly. I don't know why I was thinking about it then. I was just afraid, I guess.
It took me another half-hour to actually watch the damn thing. And it was much worse than I could have ever imagined. My breath completely left my body and it felt like my heart was about to explode when I saw what was on my screen.
It was footage from the night Gavin and I had agreed to secretly date. The camera was of high quality and in a place where you could clearly see our faces. Worse still, there must have been multiple cameras set up in Gavin's home because this person had gotten footage of both the sitting room and the bedroom. I had no idea how this person had gotten this kind of footage without either of us noticing, but I was already horrified enough without thinking about it.
The screen suddenly became blurred. And so did the room. It took me a moment to realize that I was crying. My blood had gone ice cold and I couldn't even move any more. I just sat there crying long after the thing had ended. All I felt was shame and fear.
How did this happen? Why was this happening? Who had done this? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why was this happening to me? We had been so careful! How did they know? How did they find out? Why were they doing this?
I was having trouble breathing. Everything was spiraling. I was pretty sure I was having a legitimate panic attack. I couldn't remember how to breathe. What was even the point? How could I ever leave this apartment again? How could I ever face anyone?
I didn't know Ed Curity's secret. He never told me! How was I supposed to coax it out of him and then betray his trust like that? What was I going to do? What was I going to do?
My cell phone suddenly rang. It took me a good ten seconds to remember where I had put it and muster up the will to actually fish it out of my pocket. My vision was too blurred to be able to read the caller ID, so I just answered it.
"H-Hello?" I said, barely managed to hold it together.
"Polly!" It was Trucy. "Are you ok? You seemed kind of out of it when you left this morning and just now you sounded kind of…off."
"I'm fine," I replied after taking a deep breath. "I just…it's nothing. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Were you just calling to check up on me?" I asked in a dull voice.
"N-No," Trucy admitted. "The detention center called. Apparently Mr. Curity wants to speak to you. He said it's really important." Fear gripped me like an icy claw and I felt my stomach drop like a rock. I only barely managed to catch Trucy's next words. "I know Daddy said to take the day off, but I think you should really talk to Mr. Curity…"
"I'll go," I told her. "If he says it's important, then I have to hear him out."
"Great!" Trucy replied. "I'll meet you at the detention center then!"
"What? Wait! Trucy!" But she had already hung up. I sighed with frustration, throwing my phone onto the table. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want Trucy to see me like this. I didn't want anyone to see me like this.
I sat there for a long time, staring blankly in front of me without actually seeing anything. I couldn't think at all; my mind was just completely empty. I didn't know what to do. If I didn't show up, people would start to worry about me. They'd come looking. They'd find out.
When I finally found the will to move, it happened very slowly. I took the incriminating footage and the blackmail letter and I took them to my bedroom, hiding them under my mattress. I rarely had visitors, so there was no way they could be discovered.
Just relax, Justice, I told myself as I headed out the door. Whoever this person is, they only want one thing. I don't even know Mr. Curity's secret! Was there a way to convey that to whoever was blackmailing me? But why did they have to choose me to begin with? And there was an even scarier question that I had all but refused to acknowledge until now.
How did they find out about us?
It took me longer than it should have to get to the detention center. Trucy was waiting impatiently for me at the front entrance. She looked like she had been waiting there for a while.
"Polly, what took you so long?" she asked when I approached her. Then she saw the state I was in. I had tried my best to look presentable and stable, but there was only so much that I could do. "Are you ok, Apollo?" she spoke in a gentle voice. "Your eyes have lost their sparkle."
"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm just…exhausted. This case is taking its toll on me."
She didn't look convinced. She could probably see the redness in my eyes and how I avoided her gaze as I spoke. But Trucy knew that she wouldn't be able to get anything else out of me. And it wasn't like I was lying about the case taking its toll.
Visiting hours were almost over, but we were allowed in to see our client, fortunately. Curity seemed to be in just as bad of shape as I was, if not worse. He looked like he hadn't slept for a few days at least, but he was still clear-eyed when we saw him.
"Ah, Mr. Justice," he greeted me with a smile. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it. Miss Wright here had told me you weren't in the office when I called."
"Well, I never rest when there's work to be done," I told him, keeping my voice carefully light. "So, what do you need?"
"Your defense for me has really moved me," he told me. "What you've done for me so far…I will never be able to forget it." I tried not look nervous. I had a bad feeling about where he was going with this. "I wanted to tell you that I wasn't completely honest in the trial the other day." I stared at him.
"What do you mean?" I wondered, though I had a feeling about what he meant.
"I did keep the blackmail letter," he admitted. "But I didn't want to submit it to court because it also has the secret that I've been closely guarding and which had landed me in this mess in the first place."
"Really?" Trucy gasped. "But that letter could easily clear you of murder."
"I know," Curity sighed. "I know I should have told you earlier, but I couldn't stop thinking about what I had to lose. But seeing you in that court inspired me. You made me realize that it's better to face this head on than to try and run away." He wrote something down on a piece of paper he had in front of him and slipped it to me. "This is my home address," he told us. "There's a nightstand in the bedroom with a false bottom. That's where I hid the blackmail letter. You can use that as evidence for the trial tomorrow. Ask Linda to show you where the key is."
"Linda?" I repeated, confused.
"My wife," he explained with a gentle smile.
We exited the building a few minutes later, and headed straight to the address that Mr. Curity had given me. I was totally silent as we walked, a feeling of dread slowly starting to fill every bone in my body. It was becoming harder and harder keeping it together. Trucy was kind enough to not pry into my thoughts as we walked. That, or she was lost in her own thoughts. Either way, it made for an uncomfortable silence.
Eventually though, she decided to speak.
"I didn't know Mr. Curity had a wife," she commented.
"Me neither," I replied, barely registering what she had said. They had to be the same. The person blackmailing Mr. Curity had to be the same person blackmailing me. And that meant that this person was a cold-blooded killer. And that meant I couldn't mess around with him. I had to do what he said, no matter what.
"I wonder why he didn't say anything before," Trucy suddenly said. I slowly lifted my head to look at her, confused.
"What?"
"Mr. Curity," Trucy explained. "I wonder why he didn't say anything to us about having a wife. Do you think there's something going on between them?"
It took my brain a moment to catch up.
"I don't know," I replied eventually. "I guess we're going to find out."
She gave me a concerned look and I already knew what she was going to ask.
"Are you-?"
"I'm fine, Truce."
We didn't talk again until we got to the address Curity had given us. His house was a modest one. It was certainly a lot smaller than Gavin's place, but at least it was nicer than my apartment. I wouldn't even give it a second glance if I had just been walking by.
It didn't take long for a woman to open the door after we knocked. Unlike her husband, Linda Curity was a small and skinny woman with long, curly hair; though she and her husband both shared a kind face.
"Oh, you must be Ed's lawyers," she greeted after we introduced ourselves. "Ed told me you would be stopping by today. I'm Linda, by the way. I'm just so grateful for what you're doing for my husband. Come inside, please."
We both thanked her before stepping inside. The interior of the house was just as small and cozy as the outside. Not a single thing was out of place and there was strong mix of practical with stylish. Pictures lined the walls of the couple in various places. There were even a couple of portraits of the late Night Stick.
"How long has your husband and Mr. Stick been friends?" I asked, looking over the pictures. Mrs. Curity turned to smile at me.
"They've been friends since they were in college," she told us. I nodded. That's what her husband had said as well. "I remember those days. Ed would tell me about his new friend and how they were going to be police men together and make the world a safer place. That was their dream, at least. I just can't believe Night is dead." I blinked in shock.
"You knew your husband even back then?" I questioned. She nodded with a smile.
"We were high school sweethearts," she explained. "We went to different colleges, but we were determined to make our relationship work. We would write each other letters every day and see each other on the weekends."
"Aw! That's so romantic!" Trucy cooed, clasping her hands together. It made me wonder all the more why Mr. Curity hadn't spoken about his wife until now.
"Mrs. Curity, your husband asked us to grab something of his and said it was in the false bottom of your nightstand," I explained. "He said you had the key."
"Oh yes, of course!" Mrs. Curity replied. "If you'll follow me, I can show you exactly where that is."
She led us down a short hall with a narrow staircase at the end. The three of us climbed the stairs, where she opened the first door on the left at the top. The bedroom was just like the rest of the house; cozy and modest. The nightstand Curity had been referring to was probably the nicest and fanciest thing in the room.
"The police combed through the entire house when they arrested Ed, but of course they didn't know about the false bottom our nightstand has," Mrs. Curity explained as she went over to a nearby closet and started rummaging through it. "Of course, we use it so little ourselves that I almost forgot about it."
She eventually turned back around, holding a rather dusty box marked "wedding." She set it on the bed and Trucy and I gathered around as she opened it. Inside were lots of wedding photos, along with a wedding veil, a couple of champagne glasses and other wedding memorabilia. She started digging around inside the box and I noticed one of the pictures was of the newlyweds posing with their Best Man and Maid of Honor; the Best Man happened to be Night.
"Your wedding must have been lovely," Trucy sighed with wonder.
"Oh, it was," Mrs. Curity replied with a smile. "It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're defending him so passionately when everyone else immediately wrote him off as the murderer. Aha! Here it is!"
She pulled out a small key from the bottom of the box and carefully handed it to me. It was a bit rusty, but perfectly usable, and it had an intricate design on the handle, despite being so small. It certainly matched the carvings on the nightstand.
Mrs. Curity showed us where to place the key and how it worked, and a moment later, the bottom of the drawer opened up to reveal the secret bottom. Only one thing was in there: the blackmail letter. I hesitated in picking it up and looking it over. All of my problems would begin again once I learned the contents of this letter. But I had to do it. I was never going to solve any of what was going on if I didn't read it.
Besides, Trucy was already picking it up and starting to look through it, and I had to quickly snatch it out of her hands. The letter was in the exact same style as mine. Typed and formal. It sent a shudder through me just looking at it.
Ed Curity: it read,
I know your secret. If you don't want the world to know and your reputation to be ruined, you shall do as I say.
I am aware that you are engaged in a secret relationship with one Night Stick that you have been hiding from your wife for years. Well, thankfully, you won't have to worry about that anymore, because Mr. Stick has just been murdered, as you are no doubt aware.
But that doesn't concern you for the moment. What does concern you is this: I understand that a certain rock star will be performing at the arena in which you work. In the upcoming investigation, you shall present security footage that makes it look like he is the culprit. I know there is some.
Unless you want your marriage to be left in shambles and for the world to know your shame, then you will NOT disappoint me. Do not tell anyone about this, especially your wife.
Once again, there was no signature or any indication of who this person was. I couldn't believe what I had read. In any other circumstance, I would be overjoyed at this undeniable proof. Any other time, I would only be thinking about my client's well-being. Any other time, I wouldn't be getting blackmailed myself.
"This is it!" Trucy said, breaking me out of my thoughts. "This will get Mr. Curity off the hook in no time!" Her voice was a mixture of excitement and apprehension.
I knew how Mr. Curity felt now. His world had crumbled all around him and he had been clinging onto one last thread of hope. He was absolutely terrified, I knew. He must have cried for hours, like I had.
"May I see it?" Mrs. Curity asked timidly.
"S-Sorry," I replied quickly, folding up the letter and putting it in my pocket. "This is crucial evidence. We can't let those not part of the case to see this." I couldn't break her heart like this. Not to her face. It was better if he told her himself.
"I understand," she replied with a note of dejection in her voice. Trucy gave me a look as Mrs. Curity began packing up everything and putting it back in its proper place. Then she led the way back down to the main entrance of the house. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned to us.
"I love my husband," she told us in a soft voice. "No matter what. I just want him to come home safely."
"Y-You have nothing to worry about, ma'am," Trucy reassured her, taken aback by the woman's words. "Your husband is in safe hands with Apollo Justice on the case."
I tried not to flinch as we said our good-byes and finally left. I don't remember if I succeeded. The two of us stood in front of the house for a long while, not looking or speaking to each other. We were both lost in our own thoughts, as it were. Eventually, I broke the silence, though the voice didn't seem like mine.
"I'm gonna go home and prepare for the trial tomorrow," I told Trucy, not looking at her. "You should go home as well, Truce. Mr. Curity's going to need all of the support he can get tomorrow."
"Apollo," Trucy said in a gentle voice, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You'll be ok, won't you? Mr. Curity needs you, you know. And he needs you to be well." She hesitated before adding, "I need you to be well."
"Thanks, Trucy," I replied. "But I'll be fine."
I wanted desperately to believe my own words. I wanted some sort of indication that my life had not gone to absolute shit in just a few hours. Something that would reassure me that everything was going to turn out fine. Or that this was all just one huge nightmare. Anything.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Truce," I told her, before turning and making my way down the street, hands in pockets and eyes fixed on the ground in front of me. I didn't turn around when Trucy called my name. I barely registered when it started raining. It was nothing compared to the storm that was raging inside of me.
I couldn't tell if my face was wet from the rain or from my tears. I didn't know how I was keeping it together. But I did know one terrifying fact. Either I was going to be able to get a handle on this dark secret, or it was going to completely consume me.
It has actually been a lot longer than I thought since I posted a new chapter of this! I'm so sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long! Next chapter, we're going to be switching to Klavier's point of view and finally put an end to this particular trial, though it won't be the end of the case's mystery! And hopefully, the next chapter will be out sooner.
