Chapter Fourteen

Lonely Memories Shared

Once Gavin and Apollo had eaten a brief but awkward lunch, they walked their way over to the intersection Piercen had described. Just as Athena had feared, both cars had since been removed from the scene of the crime so as to not disrupt traffic. Only a single police officer continued to stand guard.

"Excuse me, officer?" Gavin walked up to the man with his chin high. When the officer glanced at them with a sense of derision, he continued to speak, pushing Athena's chest out so her badge caught the sunlight. "My colleague and I are the defense team hired for one Piercen Payne. We understand the supposed homicide happened at this location?"

"If you wanted to check the cars, they've been moved to the Criminal Affairs parking lot. They're being searched as we speak. The other driver's over there as well. Police are questioning him."

"Thank you, sir, but I actually wanted to ask about this area here. Why have you been assigned to guard it if the main bodies of evidence have been removed?"

"Same reason you're here, I'll bet." Gavin tilted Athena's head slightly, indicating he wanted the policeman to continue. "Making sure the police didn't miss any evidence, of course!"

Wow, you're a lot better at this than I am. The first time I tried to engage with a police officer in this country, he thought I was still in high school! Athena would have given more voice to her jealousy... if she wasn't curious to know how Apollo was handling 'her' sudden change in demeanor. She wished Gavin were looking at him right now.

Just as Athena was thinking that, Gavin turned his head to listen as Apollo spoke. "And have you found anything, sir?"

"Not a thing."

"Well, we might as well search the area anyway. Right, Athena?"

"Right, Apollo. Let's do this!" Oh, now Gavin remembered to act like her. "Au revoir, officer!"

"Yeah, yeah." Without another word, the officer trudged back to his post at the lightpole. Cars whizzed through the intersection at high speed, making casual conversation difficult.

Apollo had to try a few times to get Gavin's attention. "I'll check the field to the side of the accident. Debris might have flown into the grass. Is that okay, Athena? Um, Athena?"

This time, Gavin didn't face Apollo. "That building over there... do you see a sign that states its purpose?"

Athena focused on the area Gavin was looking at. Across the street from where they stood was a dull grey building with at least ten floors. Its shadow blocked the afternoon sun from touching the lawyers' feet. But there was something odd about it. Not the way it looked, not the seeming lack of light from any of its windows... but something far more menacing.

Memories.

Apollo answered Gavin's question, but Athena didn't catch it. Instead, her mind was filled with flashes, the ghosts of sensations she was denied when Gavin possessed her body. The high pitched whine of machines, the plush of spongy cloth in her ears, the low pitched whispers... the bitter taste of medicine on her tongue. Then, when she walked into an examination room... a small blonde boy? Waiting for her? With an equally blonde woman?

"Woah, Athena! What's wrong?" Gavin sent a glance down at Widget. The machine's color was flashing rapidly between deep blue and yellow... with small spots of red in between. "Have you been there before?"

"I think I have. It was a long time ago, though." As soon as Gavin gave voice to those words, the sensations numbed again. All Athena was left with was the distinct feeling she had something in her ears again. "I'm sorry, Apollo. There's no way it's related to our case."

"No, that's okay. Here, about you search the field on this side of the road? I'll check the sidewalks and try to examine the roadway when I have the chance. Just... face away from that place if it bothers you. And if you want to talk about it-"

"I will. Thank you." Gavin turned on her heel, strolling into knee deep weeds.

You don't need to be rude to him. He was just trying to be nice to me.

"You know that building as well?" His voice was hardly above a whisper. After a second of hesitation, he knelt close to the ground, feeling around the plants for anything that could be used in their current case. "What is this nonsense about headphones?"

As well? What could Gavin possibly mean by-

Wait. You saw my memories?

"Felt and heard, more like. Your inclination towards auditory stimulus is powerful. Not just in your senses, but your memories as well."

It used to be too powerful for me. I took a long time to get a handle on my ability. What could this mean? If Gavin had experienced her flashback, does that mean those people she'd seen were connected to him somehow? If so, Athena had a guess as to what else she'd seen just now. That little boy... was that Prosecutor Gavin?

"It was. But enough about the past. We need to search for evidence." Just as Gavin said that, he lifted her hand into their shared line of sight. Grasped in her partially gloved hand was... a badge of some kind?

What is that?

"Haven't you seen one of these before? It's a taxi driver's license. Based on its location and timing, I would guess it once belonged to the victim." Gavin turned the badge over, running Athena's finger over the print inscribed on the back. "Travis Danver, I see. I hope this man didn't have any grand aspirations when he died." He tucked the badge onto the hem of Athena's skirt, then continued to search.

Other than a few more bits of scrap, ones which could not be confirmed to have come from the collision, Gavin found nothing else. Returning to a standing position, he called out for Apollo. "I might have found something!"

"Great, what do you have?" Apollo was quick to come over. "I didn't find any evidence, but look: a storm drain."

Gavin leaned over slightly to see what Apollo was gesturing towards. "Yep, that is... what that is. What about it?"

"Well, what if the murder weapon hasn't been found by the police because it fell into the storm drain after the crash?" Athena could only assume that comment had earned Apollo a glare. "What? it happened in a case once."

"Not yours, though." Gavin didn't even bother to elaborate on what he meant by that comment. "No, Apollo. Look at this. I think I know the identity of our victim."

Apollo took the badge from Athena's outstretched hand. "Travis Danver... we should check this for evidence. I don't see any blood, but who knows whose fingerprints we might find."

"How do we do that? I thought only the police had forensic officers on their side."

"Mr. Wright used to keep a set of fingerprinting dust in the office. Trucy liked to play with it when she was little, so Mr. Wright bought her another set as a Christmas present," Apollo explained. "She told me during court recess this morning."

"Then we should run this back to her." If Athena didn't know better, she would think Gavin was smiling right now. "Why don't you see if she and Mr. Wright are still at the office? I'm sure Trucy would help if we asked. And while you do that, I'll head down to Criminal Affairs and start examining the cars."

Apollo sighed, hair horns flopping over as he slouched. "Why do I have to run and get Trucy?"

"Because this is my case? Oh, come on Apollo! I'm dying to see the real evidence in this case. I promise I won't do anything crazy without you." Did... did he really use her body to bat lashes at Apollo? Even if Apollo took it as teasing, it was... weird. "Please?"

Apollo practically rolled his eyes at Gavin's antics. "Okay, I'll go back to the office. This won't take long."

"Thanks, Apollo! See you at Criminal Affairs." Gavin ran off from the scene, pointedly not glancing at the mystery building as they passed. Behind them stood Apollo, scratching his head in confusion.

Athena hadn't realized how close they'be been to Criminal Affairs until they arrived at the building. Athena didn't think she'd ever been down to Criminal Affairs before. Good thing Apollo hadn't realized that, huh?

"Free of Justice, finally. Now it's time for the real investigation to begin," Gavin murmured under his breath, careful not to draw the lone officer's attention. He slipped down the crosswalk before the officer even acknowledged their absence. Athena couldn't help but notice that he was careful not to glance at the unmarked building as they walked past.

Why do you want Apollo gone? He's just trying to help you investigate. Athena processed the situation a second more, coming to a horrible conclusion. We... we aren't sneaking off to forge evidence, are we?

"Of course not, Miss Cykes. You don't think I did that for all of my cases, do you? This is my first case to pose as you in court. It would be a needless risk to add forged evidence to a case that can be easily won on my own." He let loose a small chuckle. Even though it was Athena's own voice she could hear, the sound still struck her as menacing. "As for why I wanted relief from our dear Justice... let's just say I find it patronizing to watch my own wayward apprentice attempt to guide me around a crime scene. And here I thought you were old enough to not require any sort of nannying."

That's not how it is at all. Apollo doesn't look down on me. He helps me. Athena wished she could sigh. At least she still could in her mind. And you don't know that this case is going to be easy. We haven't even seen all the evidence yet.

"Then save your needless worrying for when we do finally gaze upon the evidence, Miss Cykes. Perhaps we'll even catch a glimpse of our courtroom opponent while we're there." What sort of emotion was Athena picking up on the edge of Gavin's voice, just now? Whatever it was, it most certainly didn't sound good. "Until then, would you be so kind as to limit the amount you would have me seemingly talk to myself? You and I both now that psychiatric counseling is the last place we want to be."

"Are these the cars involved in the accident on Christmas Day? The one that ended in the arrest of my client, Pierce Payne?"

"You betcha!" A young woman of roughly Athena's height approached from behind one of the vehicles, proudly rubbing the area beneath her nose. She had a definite bounce in her step as she approached. "This yellow boy here," she slapped the roof of the taxi cab, "was the victim's car. Yesterday morning, it got into a nasty scrape on the passenger side with Mr. Green right over there." She gestured to her right. "So you're the suspect's attorney, huh? Don't think I've seen you around before."

"No, we haven't met before. I'm Athena Cykes, actually."

"Wait... the Athena Cykes? The one who was in the news about a week ago for the space center trial?" Gavin nodded, causing the woman to squeal. "Oh, Mr. Edgeworth told me everything about you! I'm so sad I missed my chance to see him prosecute in court again, but I hear it was amazing. It's been a years since he stood behind that bench."

"Mr. Edgeworth told you about me? Well, who are you?"

"Kay Faraday, at your service. At this time, I'm filling in as the detective for this case." Kay gave Athena's outstretched hand a shake. A vigorous one, by the looks of it. "You were supposed to get Detective Skye for this one, but she's still hungover from last night and called in sick. She also has a forensic exam at the end of the month, so I don't know when she'll be back."

"Wait, I'm confused. Are you saying you're not... normally a detective?" Athena watched as her vision shifted downward. She could only assume Gavin was slumping over the way she often did when confronted with the weirdos of a given case. "What's your regular job?"

"Assistant to the Chief Prosecutor. But don't worry: I didn't always sit behind a desk and take his calls. I know what a police investigation is supposed to look like, and I'm here as a favor to Edgeworth to make sure the police and the prosecutor both do their jobs right." Kay beamed, oblivious to Gavin's growing doubts. "what can I do for you today, Miss Cykes?"

"I want to investigate the cars for evidence, if the police will let me. But before I do that, is there any way for me to speak with the witness? You know, the man who was driving the other car?"

"Hmm..." Kay went fishing through her purse as she thought about the request. "I don't see why I wouldn't allow a defense attorney to investigate as well. Unless the prosecutor of the case says otherwise, I figure I'll let you as long as someone is here to supervise. As for the witness, I think he's done being questioned. You can go inside and ask for him, if you'd like."

A detective (or rather, a substitute for one) willingly turning over evidence to a defense lawyer? Now there was a surprise. Best not to look the gift horse in the mouth, as it were. "Thank you, Miss Faraday. I'll be back soon." Gavin turned and was about to leave when he stopped mid-step. "Oh, and if you see another lawyer dressed in red, he's with me."

"Got it! See ya later."

And with that, Gavin dove into the immense complex that was Criminal Affairs. He had to ask someone where the witness for his case was being held, but considering how few people were still on staff the day after Christmas? He might as well have said nothing and listened for the sound of voices. That's what Athena would have done. It wasn't as though the witness was being quiet.

"I'm telling you, that's all I saw! I have no idea where any weapon might have-" He stopped in his tracks when he saw Athena. "Great, who's this lady? Your daughter?"

"Athena Cykes, defense attorney." Once again, Gavin used the overhead lighting to flash her badge in the witness's eyes. "You're the man responsible for the car accident yesterday, correct? Mr. Ageire, was it?"

Ageire nodded once in acknowledgement of his name. "Well according to my insurance company, I'm at fault. But if the driver was dead at the wheel, then that car wasn't exactly safe on the road, now was it? Least I'm not being charged with manslaughter anymore. So I don't need no defense attorney anymore." He threw his buff arm in their direction, nearly smacking Athena in the face. "So scram."

"I'm not here to defend you, actually. I represent Piercen Payne, the man currently accused of the murder of his taxi driver. Could you come with me for a minute?"

"Where are you taking this witness?" The police officer, a rather standoffish man, stepped between them and their witness. "I have orders to keep Mr. Ageire here until the prosecution has sufficiently questioned him."

"Where is the prosecutor, anyway?" Athena caught that tone in Gavin's voice. He didn't actually want an answer to that question. But why? Did he not care? Did he already know? "It's bad form for a prosecutor to not at least observe the police investigation before taking their findings to court."

Actually, of all the cases I've been around for, the prosecution only appeared once on the investigation. That said, there may have been a few extenuating circumstances regarding Athena's initial experiences with this country's court system. She was beginning to realize that now.

"Prosecutor Gavin had another case to try this morning. There aren't a lot of prosecutors around for the holiday season, but he promised he'd handle things. He said he'd be here once the paperwork was filed."

Prosecutor Gavin? But that's... Athena did her best to convey the sounds of a gasp. You don't really plan to go up against him in court, do you? He's your brother!

"And?" Gavin asked curtly. To make it seem natural, he continued. "Why don't I just ask this witness a few questions while we wait? We can do it in the interrogation room. I'll be in and out before the prosecution even arrives in this building."

So that was the reason Gavin wanted this case. Athena should have known Gavin didn't care about the Paynes or car accidents. No, there was always an ulterior motive with him.

As Gavin led Ageire into the interrogation room, he put on a friendly facade before diving into questions. But no casual banter was enough to shake Athena's terrible feeling about the direction this case was leading them towards.

A/N's: I apologize once again for taking so long to update this fic. My problem is that while I know what I want out of this middle arc and I know how this fic ends, I don't know exactly what I want to use to fill in the between spaces. If this chapter feels like a whole lot of nothing, I'm sorry. But it's important for where I want the story to go. As of now, I predict this fic will have thirty chapters total, give or take. We have one investigation chapter after this, a chapter set in the interim, and three more chapters to cover trial time. Then we'll be at this story's final arc: the one I am most excited about.

Also, this chapter is 100% unbeta-ed. Scollard is vacationing on another continent at the moment. Hope he likes what he reads when he gets back.

Thanks for waiting, hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you on the far side!