"I can't believe it's already been a month... Even so, I need to talk to him about why he did it... No sane person would kill a teenager over some stupid online forum."
"I hate working the night shift... Nothing ever happens..."
"Where is he...? He has to be around here somewhere... He couldn't have just disappeared..."
"Hm... That guard seems to be in a panic... I wonder why... Maybe I should go ask... He was coming from the courtyard, it looks like..."
"Is he around here? He has to b-EEEEEEEEK-!"
"What the-?! M-Murder! Call for help! One of the inmates is dead!"
March 17
Morix Law Offices
8:45 AM
Cotoli Morix
About a month had passed since the murder in the parking lot of the agency. A sense of normalcy had come over the agency by now, but the office still felt empty now that Venus was gone. Yuri hadn't been around as much on top of that, so it was just me and my sister.
Speaking of her, Chrysalis came walking into the room not long after. She had her hands, which were hidden by black fingerless gloves, clasped over her chest. She wore a gray sweater over a turquoise shirt with black leggings. On her feet were black combat boots. Chrysalis' lengthy honey blonde hair was tied into a braid that reached her thighs. Her blue eyes were framed by bronze glasses.
"They're going to be here soon. Are you ready?" I asked of her.
Chrysalis nodded as she walked over to the table in the center of the meeting area where we were located. She picked up her necklace, which had two pearls and a teal Magatama on it, and put it on. "Yeah. When they walk in, I'm going to tell them, 'I'm Chrysalis, welcome to our haunted agency.'"
I sighed. "You really shouldn't lead with that. These are the first new lawyers we're inviting to the agency. We don't want to scare them away with talk of ghosts," I told her.
"The truth is going to come out eventually, regardless of if we tell them up front or not. The truth always finds a way out, whether it's in court or out. You know that," Chrysalis said next. She straightened up the stack of case files on the meeting table.
"I know," I muttered, a frown appearing on my face. Chrysalis looked my way with worried eyes before walking to my side and hugging me. I pulled her in a bit closer, comforted by her touch. Even if she was seven years younger than me, she was still able to comfort me easier than my father had ever been able to.
"We should head down into the lobby," Chrysalis told me. "They're going to be coming soon. We want to be ready for when they arrive so they don't wander around and find something they shouldn't."
"You make a good point," I agreed. We headed for the staircase outside the meeting room and started down to the lobby.
The agency that we had called ours for the past two years had five floors. It had luckily been within our budget when we first got it, so we had been here ever since. The bottom floor had the lobby where we often met up with clients. The reception desk, which had previously been run by Venus, though Chrysalis had taken over since then, was also there. The second floor had the break room, the meeting area, and the file room, which had all sorts of case files and books about the law in it. It was our own personal library. The third, fourth, and fifth floors had offices and such. Chrysalis and I were on the top floor. We had a bedroom hiding on that floor as well, though it was behind lock and key so only we were allowed inside. That was where we hung out with our cat, Thea. Because we spent so much time here, we had just moved in after a while when our apartment's rent grew too expensive. It was a large place, but at the same time, it was cozy and felt a lot more like home than one would expect.
Chrysalis took her place behind the reception desk and sat down. She tapped her fingers on the desk without thought, staring at the bell that hung above the door. I sat down in one of the three chairs on the right side of the room. I was facing the matching three on the other side of the room. I had told everyone to be here in a few minutes, so it was just a matter of time before they showed up, assuming they were punctual. I knew Yuri would be late since that was just how she worked, but maybe Deirdre and Lily would be on time.
"So... You mentioned that you were on a case with one of these guys a month back, right?" Chrysalis asked as she continued to watch the bell.
I nodded. "Yeah. Venus' murder. While you were here holding the fort, Lily helped me out in finding the killer. Ghastly and Cassidy locked him up afterwards," I explained.
"Did she seem nice?" Chrysalis questioned next. The tapping of her fingers was almost mesmerizing due to my exhaustion. I had stayed up late the night before to prepare the agency for the new recruits.
"Yes. Her brother is Roberto Shield, a prosecutor working under Ghastly. I'm sure you've met him at some point, am I right?" I asked.
"I think I saw him when I went to pick up Anton. He wanted to go home before Polly, so I picked him up and took him home. Polly was talking to a Prosecutor Shield at the time, so it would make sense if that was the guy, right? Unless there's another guy with the same name, then it must be him," Chrysalis said. She continued to tap on the desk in her boredom.
The bell above the door let out a clinging sound as it opened. I turned to look at the entrance, where I saw a young woman standing in the doorway. She was holding onto the handle tightly, clearly nervous based on the look in her eyes. "This is Morix Law Offices, correct?" she asked.
The woman had black hair tied into a bun on top of her head. A few loose strands flowed around her face, blowing gently in the breeze from outside. Her skin was pale, a stark contrast from the dark blue eyes hidden behind white glasses. She had a sky blue suit jacket on over a white shirt. She had a pencil skirt of the same blue on. Her heels were white and shone in a dull way under the agency's main lobby light.
"You must be Deirdre," I said, rising to my feet. "Deirdre Brigit, correct?"
The woman nodded slowly. "Yes... Are you Mr. Morix?" she questioned.
"Indeed I am," I replied. Chrysalis got up as I said this, her eyes solemn as she stared at Deirdre. She was ready to retreat into her shell of shyness if Deirdre looked her way even though she had just arrived.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morix," Deirdre said, extending her hand for a shake.
I accepted it with a nod. "As to you," I replied. "We're planning to begin the proper introductions when the other newcomer arrives. She'll be here in a few minutes, I hope."
I wasn't going to hold everybody back from meeting one another if Yuri was late. She usually was, so I knew what to expect by now. It was best if everybody just met her later on. That would make things easier for everyone.
"I understand," Deirdre told me. She looked around the room, taking in the scenery. "You have a nice place here, Mr. Morix."
"Thank you," I smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that."
"Are you starting this without me?"
The bell above the door rang out a second time. This time, the one standing in the doorway was Lily, a bright smile on her face. Once she was inside, she waved my way. "Hi, Mr. Morix!" she exclaimed.
"Hello, Lily," I greeted. I smiled to her and gestured for her to come closer. "We were just about to introduce ourselves."
"Where's Yuri?" Chrysalis asked, looking my way with a raised eyebrow. "We can't start it up without her being here, can we?"
"I figured that she was going to be late, so I figured we might as well get started early and let her introduce herself later on. You know how she is," I told her.
"Yeah, I do... Wise decision on your part," Chrysalis nodded.
"Who is this?" Lily asked, looking to Chrysalis. She gasped at being addressed so suddenly, causing her to look down in silence. Chrysalis had never been the best when it came to meeting new people, something I knew well, so I figured it was best to just leave her to her silence for now.
"This is Chrysalis. She's my little sister," I explained. "Chrysalis, this is Lily Shield. She's the one I took the case with last month."
"Thanks for finding Venus' killer," Chrysalis told Lily, her face deadpan. She was probably wondering if it was safe to trust Lily.
"It was my pleasure, Ms. Morix," Lily smiled to Chrysalis.
"It's Starr. Chrysalis Starr. Cotoli and I are half-siblings," Chrysalis explained. "And just Chrysalis is fine. You don't need to be so formal. We're coworkers, after all."
"My name is Deirdre Brigit. It's nice to meet you, Chrysalis," Deirdre said. She held out her hand for a shake, so Chrysalis shook it. She didn't look a bit more at ease with Deirdre than she had with Lily, so her trust examination was still going on.
"Nice to meet you too..." Chrysalis responded softly. She shuffled back to my side once they were done shaking hands.
"I'm Lily. I'm glad to meet you, Deirdre," Lily piped in next. "You look pretty nice today. That jacket really goes with your eyes."
Deirdre's face went pink at the compliment. She began to twirl a strand of her black hair over her finger. "Thank you..." she said quietly.
Lily giggled and shot her a thumbs-up. "No problem. I just say it like it is," she told Deirdre.
Chrysalis looked at Lily a little bit closer, a gasp escaping her lips in the process. "Hey... You're wearing a Magatama around your neck..." she whispered.
Lily looked down, fingering her necklace. She hadn't been wearing it the day of Venus' trial, so maybe she had forgotten it or something. There was a pearl on either side of the Magatama. The stone was a red color. "Yeah. I'm a spirit medium. You're wearing one too. Are you a medium as well?" she asked.
Chrysalis nodded and looked at her necklace as well. Her Magatama was teal, also framed by pearls to make it match Lily's even more closely. "I am... Cotoli and I come from a medium family, or at least a branch of one. I ended up with the ability to channel over him though," Chrysalis replied.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my own stone. It was deep blue in color. "I have one, too. It's for the purpose of seeing if people are lying. It was blessed with spiritual power to be able to do that," I told her.
"Mine is the same," Lily said. "It's pretty useful for finding out if witnesses are telling the truth, wouldn't you say?"
I nodded. "Yeah. This thing has saved my life more times than I can count. I'm sure you'll find it to be just as useful as I have. You end up using it quite a bit in the criminal defense profession, especially when cases aren't what they first appear," I went on. "You might even use it in your first case."
"Speaking of spirit mediums, I have a question, if you don't mind," Lily said next. She began to frown, so I was worried that we were in for something bad.
"Go on ahead," I told her, caught off guard at her sudden change in attitude.
"There wouldn't happen to be a ghost in here, would there? I just feel like I can sense an otherworldly presence here," Lily remarked with a small frown.
"Ha! I told you that the truth would come out!" Chrysalis exclaimed, pointing to me triumphantly. "The fact that this agency is haunted cannot be hidden any longer!"
I let out a small sigh. "I suppose that you were right. I'm just glad we didn't lead with that."
"What is all this about ghosts?" Deirdre questioned, raising an eyebrow my way.
"I think there's a ghost or spirit here. It's a little part of my spiritual power that tells me that," explained Lily.
"You'd be right. This was the only place within our budget when we first got it, so we ignored the fact that it was haunted at first. I could sense it the second we first walked through the door. Now, we have the option to leave, but this place is like home now. We can't just leave it. So we just live with the agency's friendly ghost. We haven't had anything weird happen yet, so they've got to be friendly," Chrysalis told Lily. "We don't know who it is though. We haven't gotten any indicators that it's a boy or a girl, a name, appearance, or anything else for that matter, so we can't channel them and ask why they're haunting this agency of all places."
"I doubt that anybody died in here, so there has to be some other reason for it," Lily said next. "Maybe if we don't get any cases we can look into it."
"Whoever it is, they've been here for a long time. The building was about to be taken down since it had been abandoned for nearly thirty years. That's how we were able to afford it despite it just being me working here. We don't know what it was before it was abandoned, nor do we ever expect to find out," I explained. "It would be nice to know though, I must admit. The mysterious ghost of a Morix Law Offices will have to remain a mystery until we can learn about what happened thirty years ago."
"I can look into it. I'm sure there's somebody out there who knows," Chrysalis said. "There aren't any secrets that are fully hidden in this world. There always was or is someone who knows the full truth behind the situation. It's just a matter of figuring out who that person is to get the information you seek."
Before we had the chance to say something else, Chrysalis' phone went off. She picked it up from the surface of the reception desk and turned it on. "I can't stay," she sighed. "I have another place to be, it seems. I should head out."
"Get a bag together before you head out," I told her.
"I know. You can never be too safe." Chrysalis smiled my way as she headed for the elevator. "I'll be out in a few minutes. You make sure the new girls don't cause any trouble, okay? Can't have them wrecking the agency on their first day, can we?"
I laughed as she stepped into the elevator and closed the door. She waved before disappearing completely from view. I reciprocated the action before turning back to Deirdre and Lily.
"I may not have any sort of lie-exposing stone like you three, but I hope I can still be of assistance," Deirdre said next to change the subject back to what it had been before.
"I heard that you took classes on psychology before graduating from college. I was also told from one of your professors that you were a star student when it came to psychology as well," I told her. "There is no doubt in my mind that you'll be able to help us out with this skill of yours."
"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Morix. Is there anything in particular that you think I would be of use for?" Deirdre questioned.
I nodded. "You'd be surprised at how many witnesses came close to breaking down on the stand for some reason or another. I'm sure that a bit of psychology will be helpful with making sure that they're alright," I said next.
"Last month, when Mr. Morix had me helping out on a case, the first witness nearly broke down completely," Lily told Deirdre. "We ended up helping her out, but your psychology would have been a help for sure."
"I might have to put you on the next case we get to see what your skills are like in action," I said to Deirdre.
"I'm sure that it's nowhere near as impressive as you are in court," Deirdre cut in. She was red with embarrassment by this point thanks to the flattery she had received. "Even so, I can do my best to show that I'm worthy to work at your agency."
"You'll do great. I can promise that much," I smiled to Deirdre. She somehow grew even more red and flustered at these words.
We didn't get the chance to say much else. Lily's phone went off this time around. "I'm sorry," she said. "I forgot to silence it before I came in here... Wait, it looks like there was a murder at the prison."
"Yeah. That's where I'm going."
Chrysalis walked out of the elevator, backpack strapped to her shoulders. "I got a text about it, so I need to go and check it out. Maybe you guys could head to the detention center to speak with the suspect," she said. "See you later." She walked to the door and left through it so Deirdre, Lily, and I were the only ones there.
Lily unlocked her phone to read the notification that had popped up. Deirdre and I both peered over her shoulder to see what it was. It appeared to be a news article.
"'This morning, a body was discovered in the courtyard of the prison in the city. The victim has yet to be confirmed, but a few rumors state that it is Buff Guiy, a man convicted of the murder of Venus Rinko a month ago,'" Lily read. She turned to me with a gasp. "Mr. Morix! That's the culprit from our case last month! And if this article is to be believed..."
"He's dead," I frowned. "Keep reading."
"'Guiy's body was found suspended from the prison's main watchtower that overlooked the courtyard. He was shot to death early this morning,'" Lily continued.
"It sounds like we have ourselves a case," I remarked. I looked to Deirdre. "It looks like you'll be able to show off your psychological skills a bit sooner than expected. Someone has to get arrested for this crime. We might as well see if we can defend them."
"M-Me?" Deirdre asked, her eyes going wide in shock. "I-I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't have any real experience in the courtroom..."
"You need to start somewhere," I told her. "I'll send Yuri your way when I hear from her. She's a nice complement to your personality, so she can probably help you out in your investigation. Lily and I can look over the agency for today. You go out and investigate the case."
"Well... You seem rather confident in me, so I suppose I could try to do that. I won't let you down, Mr. Morix," Deirdre nodded. "I'll do what I can to prove our client innocent... Lily, did the article mention anyone being arrested for the crime? I might need to drop by the detention center before going to the crime scene to make sure that I can defend them."
Lily scanned through the article a little longer before shaking her head. "'No suspect has been announced for the crime yet,'" she read. "This article came out a few hours ago though. I just didn't get the notification until just now. I bet there's somebody as a suspect now, but you can't really go to the detention center and ask to see someone you don't know the name of."
"I'll surely figure out who it is when I get there. I'll see you later," Deirdre said. She turned on her heel and headed for the door, waving to Lily and I before disappearing from sight.
I pulled out my phone next to text Yuri. She was bound to see it soon regardless of how late she was. I was sure she'd like to help out on Deirdre's first case, so she'd appreciate the gesture. I just hope she didn't end up coming to the agency before hearing she was supposed to be down at the prison to help Deirdre...
March 17
Prison Courtyard
10:00 AM
Deirdre Brigit
When I first arrived on the crime scene, the first thing that I noticed was the large number of police officers. I had managed to get past the guards by showing my attorney's badge. As for the rest of the officers I would just have to hope that they didn't get too mad at me being on the scene.
There was already tape outlining the body. The corpse itself was lying on the ground as a few people crouched over it. Other inspectors were searching through the bushes scattered around the courtyard. It was rather green in this area. I suspected that there was another outdoor area of the building that was much less natural in appearance, which would explain the lack of cement.
I walked over to the body, hoping to get at least a glimpse of it. However, one of the officers spotted me and pushed me away. "No kids allowed at the crime scene, girly," he said roughly. I stumbled backwards, trying my hardest to not fall backwards in front of so many people. I watched the officer turn back to his work, muttering something inappropriate under his breath as he did so. I glared quietly, hoping I wouldn't have to face anyone else quite so hostile.
I figured that it was best to stay away from the body for now, as I didn't want to end up in trouble again quite yet. There wasn't much else I could do though. Without looking at the body, I wouldn't know any details about how he died, which would be important when it came to tracking down the killer in court. I assumed the trial was set for tomorrow, so I had to look at the corpse as soon as possible.
"You must be the defense attorney on this case."
I turned upon hearing the voice. I saw a pair of people walking towards me. They both looked like detectives judging by the way nobody had freaked out upon their arrival. The shorter one was a woman. She had green hair that reached her hips. The top layer was tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were green, but they were hidden behind large brown glasses. She had a black jacket with matching leggings on. Her boots were black and reached her knees. A lime green shirt was beneath her jacket. I also noticed a black backpack was on her back.
The second person was a man. He had black hair that was left untamed. Most of it was hidden beneath a flat green hat though. He had a large brown coat on over a gray shirt. He had black trousers and shoes on as well. His wrist had a gold and silver watch on it that shone in the overhead sunshine despite clearly showing some signs of age. His green eyes were staring at me tiredly. I was pretty sure that he had been the one to speak to me since the voice had been masculine.
"Y-Yes, I am the attorney on the case, as a matter of fact," I said. "My name is Deirdre Brigit. Who might you two be?"
"I'm Toby Erikson, the lead detective on this case," the man replied. I noticed that he had a file in his hands. I couldn't tell quite what it was, but I assumed that it was something to do with the case.
"And I'm Jo Jade. You could call me Detective Erikson's... I'm his temporary assistant," he woman said. "So... You're the one defending the suspect, huh?"
I nodded. "Yes, I am. I haven't heard much about the case, I'm afraid. Would one of you be able to tell me the details?" I asked. "I came here from my agency upon hearing a murder had taken place, but I didn't hear the finer points."
Detective Jade nodded cheerfully. She took off her backpack and pulled a notepad from it. After flipping through the pages, she began to summarize what she had written down. "The crime took place between five and six this morning. The victim was one Buff Guiy. He was 46 years old when he died. His gender is male. Last month, he was convicted of the murder of Venus Rinko and was given the sentence of jail for life. The victim was shot once, which killed him instantly. The bullet was embedded in his heart. We are unable to figure out where the bullet came from. The ballistic markings don't match up with any guns here in the courtyard, or in the rest of the prison, so we don't know which gun did this or where it is. Unfortunate, wouldn't you agree?" Detective Jade told me. "We have a witness for this crime, but she didn't see the killing itself, instead walking in on the defendant standing in front of the body."
"Who is this witness? I need to talk to them before the trial tomorrow," I said. "I doubt they've left the crime scene, so they must be somewhere in the prison."
"The witness is one Pandora Rell. She works as the assistant to the warden of this prison. Since he was out for the night, she was watching the prison. She heard a scream coming from the defendant, so she came running to see what was going on. That's when she saw the suspect standing near the body," Detective Jade went on.
"The body was found suspended from the watchtower looking over the courtyard. The rail around the top of it was the perfect size for the victim's foot to slip through the gap. He was hanging upside down when the body was found. The crime scene was messy because of the body being moved, so there was blood everywhere. We can't pinpoint exactly where the victim was killed because of this. What we do know is that he was suspended from the prison's watchtower after he had died, though," Detective Erikson explained.
"I see... It sounds like this case is going to be a bit difficult to solve," I observed.
"I agree... There isn't much evidence to support if the victim was or was not killed by the defendant. The details behind this crime are mostly unclear, I'm afraid," Detective Jade said. "Hopefully you'll be able to gather at least a little bit more before facing off against the prosecution tomorrow."
"Speaking of the prosecution, who will I be going up against?" I asked. I didn't know any of the local prosecutors, so I wouldn't immediately recognize them, but I was sure that Mr. Morix would be able to fill me in on at least something regarding the prosecution since he had been a lawyer for two years.
"Prosecutor Polly Burke is leading things tomorrow," Detective Erikson explained. "She will be assisted by Anton Burke, her adopted son. I'll be testifying for her tomorrow to provide a summary of the case."
"I see," I said with a nod. I made a mental note to ask Mr. Morix about this Prosecutor Polly Burke a bit later on. "I'll have to see her a bit later on. Maybe she'll have some information for me."
"I doubt you'll get much from her. She's a bit hostile, I'm afraid," Detective Erikson warned me.
"Speaking of Prosecutor Burke, I'm going to go and give her the autopsy report. I need to head to the precinct after, so I hope I'll be able to leave this to you, Detective Erikson," Detective Jade said.
Detective Erikson nodded. "It will be fine, detective. Don't run into any trouble," He told her. "I'll tell you what I gather from the investigation after it's wrapped up for today."
"Thank you," smiled Detective Jade before dashing off to deliver the autopsy report to Prosecutor Burke.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about the case?" I questioned of Detective Erikson.
"I can give you the autopsy report to start off with. Do you need it still?" Detective Erikson asked.
"No, I haven't gotten it yet. Do you have an extra copy?" I asked next.
Detective Erikson nodded and began shuffling through his small stack of files. Once he had found the one he was looking for, he handed it to me. It had a large label that read 'AUTOPSY REPORT' on it in bold letters, so it was obviously what I had been asking for.
"If there's anything else you need, feel free to ask. I'll get these guys cleared out for the time being so you can look at the body," Detective Erikson said. He gestured for all the officers in the immediate area to scatter, which they did quickly. He clearly held quite a bit of influence here.
"There is one question I have," I piped in.
"What is it?" Detective Erikson questioned.
"Who is the suspect for this case? I haven't heard their name yet and assume you'll be able to tell me," I said.
Detective Erikson nodded. "I sure can. Her name is Yuri Rinko."
I'm back and it's 12:48 Thursday morning. It's technically Thursday. Update time!
Only one update this week. Sorry. I hope this is okay.
I don't have anything to say so I hope you enjoyed!
- Digital