March 14

Prison Courtyard

12:30 PM

Chrysalis Starr

After we left Yuri, Deirdre and I made our way back to the prison to look into a few more things involving the murder. We had to make sure we got something productive out of our investigation for Judge Frost. He wouldn't be the happiest if we didn't find something.

When Deirdre and I arrived back out in the courtyard, we didn't see a trace of Detective Erikson. Instead, we saw another man wearing a prison guard uniform. He was standing near the power box as he played around on his phone. When he looked up at Deirdre and I, his dark eyes became visible. His hair couldn't be seen underneath the uniform hat that he wore as a guard. Only one of his eyes could be seen, as the other was covered up by the brim of his hat.

"Who are you two supposed to be?" the man asked in a monotone voice. He went back to staring at his phone after taking in our presence.

"I'm Deirdre Brigit, the main lawyer on this case. This is Chrysalis, my helper. We're here to investigate the crime scene," Deirdre told him.

"Oh. I see. Well, in that case, I'll leave you to it," the man said. He tucked his phone into his pocket and began to walk away from us, off towards the prison building to go somewhere inside. I suspected that he was going to be heading to his office for some peace and quiet, or just to escape me and Deirdre.

However, Deirdre wasn't going to let him get away that easily. She took a step towards him as he started his journey to the courtyard door. "What's your name? We need to talk to you about the details of this case. You might know something important that we don't. Any information will be helpful," she said. "I'm sure Ms. Rell would appreciate it if you would take a bit of time to discuss the morning of the crime with us. Would it be alright with you?"

The man let out a sigh. "Ulysses Kyllar is the name. I work as a guard here in the prison. I don't know anything about the crime. There. Are you happy?" the man, who we now knew to be Mr. Kyllar, snapped. "Can I go now? I have other things to do that are much more important than talking to you two clowns."

I subconsciously began touching the Magatama that was hanging around my neck. Three Psyche-Locks came springing into place over Mr. Kyllar's heart. Thanks to the spiritual power conferred onto it, my Magatama could see into the hearts of others and tell me if they were hiding anything. It had always been useful, and it was showing such now. I looked to Deirdre before glancing back at Mr. Kyllar. "Hold on. I want to ask you a few questions about the crime. We know that you're involved from the trial today. Your key to the courtyard is the one that went missing the day before the murder. Plus, you're the one who did the metal detection sweep of the courtyard. Ms. Rell told us that too. That means that you're very important in this case," I told him. "You can't hope to lie to us when we know that you have to do with the murder of the victim. It would be best for you to just go on and tell us the truth up front."

Mr. Kyllar let out a sigh. "I don't know what you're on about. If you're trying to get my attention, it isn't working. I still have other things to take care of. Can you leave me alone now?" he asked. "I don't want to talk to somebody as ridiculously nosey as you."

"No. I need you to tell me about the key that went missing the day before the crime. Do you know where it is?" I questioned of him, my eyes narrowing.

"I don't have the stupid key anymore, okay? It went missing after I ran into the suspect for the crime. She must have taken it off me while I wasn't looking," Mr. Kyllar said. "I wouldn't put it past a criminal. Anyone worth their salt when it comes to murder knows how to steal something for a crime scene."

"Where do you keep the key? Is it normally in some sort of special location?" I interrogated. I got the feeling that this would have something to do with proving Yuri innocent. Mr. Kyllar was obviously hiding something, and if I could dig up whatever it was, I'd be one step closer to finding the victim's killer.

"It's in my office," Mr. Kyllar responded. "Why is that important to you at all? You're a kid. What are you, twelve? You look like you're still in middle school, being as short as you are. Children shouldn't be at crime scenes. Go play with your dolls or something, Christy."

I felt my face go red as I glared at him. My hands clenched tightly by my sides, but I wasn't going to let him get to me. "It's Chrysalis. And I know that you're lying about the defendant possibly taking the key. You said that you keep it in your office, yes? Well, I don't know if you're aware of this, but the defendant was confirmed to have come into the prison briefly. She learned that visiting hours in the detention center were over and left. It's one of the basic facts of this case. She couldn't have possibly gotten into your office to take the key," I told him. "So I have to ask... What really happened to your key to the courtyard?"

One of the Psyche-Locks around Mr. Kyllar shattered into bits. I didn't savor this victory, however. I had to focus on cracking the other two Locks before he tried to flee the conversation. "You never know about criminals. Plus, for all you know, she could have just snuck into my office to snag the key the morning of the murder. Why didn't you think of that? Huh?" Mr. Kyllar was growing confrontational now, so I knew that I was getting to him. With just a little more pushing, he'd snap and tell me what was going on when it came to the incident of the missing key.

"Someone would have seen her if she had gone to your office the morning of the murder. Nobody has mentioned it. Besides, how would she even get into your office in the first place? It would have been locked. On top of that, the cameras in the prison would have spotted her, but none did, which means that it's impossible for her to have taken the key from your office. That means that only you or some other person besides the suspect could have taken the key from your office," I went on, placing one hand on my chin as I thought.

Another Psyche-Lock snapped. I had to bite my lip to keep from smirking. This wasn't the most difficult unlocking sequence, that I was sure of.

"Then who the hell do you think took the damn key? Unless you can tell me that, then I'm afraid that I won't be able to help you out at all," Mr. Kyllar said coldly. "Go on and tell me then. Who took the stupid key from my office and where is it now? Why can't we find it anywhere, Christa?"

"Chrysalis. And I think it's rather simple... Nobody would be able to get into your office easily... You know, aside from you. Perhaps you're the one who took the key and hid it somewhere to keep anyone from getting their hands on it. What do you say to that, Mr. Kyllar?" I asked of him.

Mr. Kyllar glared at me for a moment before turning on his heel. The third and final Psyche-Lock shattered as he was departing. He walked angrily towards the door. He threw the door open and walked into the building, leaving Deirdre and I alone in the courtyard. I looked up at her with a small hint of a smile on my face. "Well, it looks like we know who took the key now. We just need to find it so that we can use it in court," I smiled to her.

"How did you even do that?" Deirdre questioned, her eyes wide.

I pointed to my Magatama. "This little thing can help me see if someone is hiding something. I figured that the incident of the missing key was more than it seemed, and with a little probing, I found I was right. I was mostly winging it, but in the end, it paid off, so I suppose you can't really find fault in it," I said with a small shrug. "Now, where would that key be...? It can't be in his office, as that would be too obvious... Undoubtedly somebody would have helped him look through the office, and he couldn't risk anyone finding it... As for the courtyard, a metal detection sweep was already done of the area. No metal was found, which means that the key couldn't possibly be out here... Hm... Where could it possibly be...?" I wondered aloud, tapping my chin with one finger.

"Wait... The metal detection sweep! Maybe Mr. Kyllar hid something when he did it. If he was able to hide his results from one area of the courtyard or skip over said region entirely, he could have hidden something here at the crime scene. Nobody would doubt his words if he went over the crime scene a few times, which would have him hiding important evidence right in plain sight where no one would expect it to be. If we can use a metal detector, we can find whatever it is he may have hidden, if he hid anything here at all," Deirdre told me. "I wonder if there's one around here somewhere..."

"What's this about metal detectors?"

We both turned upon hearing the voice of Detective Erikson. He had a metal detector in his hands as he walked towards us. "So you two are starting your investigation back here at the crime scene, eh?" he asked of us.

Deirdre nodded. "Yes. We want to see if there's anything of note we may have missed yesterday... Do you think we'd be able to borrow that metal detector for a minute? There's something that we're looking for, and we think that a metal detector would be able to pick up readings for it," she explained.

"Yeah, sure. Just be sure to give it back once you're done. I'm going to be over here looking through a few case details. Tell me if you find anything," Detective Erikson told us. He handed over the metal detector and walked a few feet away before pulling a small notepad from his coat's pocket, flicking through the contents quietly.

Deirdre turned on the metal detector and began to hover it above the ground. We were quiet for a minute or two before the detector let out a shrill beeping sound upon being put near a bush. Deirdre frowned and got closer, which only made the sound grow louder. I began to part the leaves of the bush to see what was setting off the reaction inside, and to say the least, I was more than a bit surprised at what I found.

I let out a gasp. "Deirdre! A gun is in here! I think it might be the missing murder weapon!" I cried out. "There's a key down there too! Maybe it's the key that went missing the day before the murder! Plus, there's a little chunk of white hair down here too! It got caught in the branches of the bush!"

Detective Erikson had his notepad back in his pocket in an instant as he walked closer. "What?!" he exclaimed in shock as he crouched down beside me to investigate what was inside the bush. I took a step back to allow him some space. He looked just as surprised as I had upon finding all that stuff.

Detective Erikson put on some gloves that he had pulled from his pocket and fished the gun and key out of the bush. He examined the gun with a frown before taking it and the key with him as he dashed from the courtyard. I looked to Deirdre, my eyes still wide from shock that we had actually found the gun. I can be a bit pessimistic at times, I must say. I wasn't expecting us to even find it, but now that we had, I knew that our case had completely changed compared to this morning.

"It looks like Mr. Kyllar did in fact hide the fact his section of the courtyard from his metal detection sweep," frowned Deirdre. "I simply don't see how he'd be able to do multiple sweeps and still not catch the gun and key. I suspect that he hid it intentionally to keep anyone from growing suspicious... But the real question is... Why? Why would he do something like this? He must have had some sort of dark intentions behind it..."

"Maybe it's because he's the killer," I suggested. "I can't think of any other reason for why he would hide the gun and the key. For the key, I think that he hid it to keep Yuri under suspicion. Nobody would listen to the words of a simple teenage girl who was on trial for murder. The police would think she was lying when she was telling the truth since guilty until proven innocent is a thing. The words of a respected prison guard would be put above her testimony. He might have used this to his advantage... If Mr. Kyllar told everyone that she had taken his key and used it to infiltrate the courtyard to kill the victim, people would believe him due to his status, even though we know well that Yuri wouldn't do anything of the sort. He manipulated the police's thinking by anticipating it when he killed the victim. It would make sense... I just have to wonder, why would he frame Yuri? The two likely haven't crossed paths at all before the murder..."

"I suspect it might have been for the sake of convenience. If Yuri was right there, he wouldn't need to do much to frame her. Her mere presence at the scene of the crime would have her under scrutiny from the police. All it took was the claim that she might have taken his key to push him over the edge and frame her for the crime," Deirdre told me. "As for the murder weapon, we can't look over it at all right now since Detective Erikson took it away, likely so the forensics team could perform any necessary tests on it... We'll have to wait until later before we can see what the gun was all about. Until then, there's one more question that I have before we can go on with the crime. The prosecution neglected to mention this during the trial today, so I figured that I'd take this time to talk to you about it. I know that you've heard of the Oracle of the Law since we mentioned it yesterday during our investigation."

My shoulder went tense immediately. I sure did know about the Oracle of the Law. I didn't know who they were. Nobody did. What I did know, however, was that they were the one responsible for the death of Venus... One of the only rays of hope in my life during my darkest time was Venus, and because of that damn spy, she was dead. She could be channeled, sure, but it wasn't the same as being able to see her daily and have her light up my world. Sure, I was a bit more stable now compared to how I had been when I met Venus, but that didn't lessen the pain. If I ever learned of who Oracle was, I would surely get my revenge on them so that they'd be unable to hurt me or anyone else that I knew ever again.

Deirdre and I approached the outline of the body. I realized quickly what Deirdre was going to ask me about. There was a bloody message left near the body that spelled out a message to Oracle. Whoever had done this had a bone to pick with Oracle for whatever reason, but I still did have a question about why the message was left at this crime scene, as it didn't make a lick of sense when you took a step back to think about it logically.

"What do you think this message means?" Deirdre asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Whoever did this hates Oracle with a burning passion like I do. But it doesn't make sense... Everyone knows that Oracle is a young female from the trial a year ago. The one public exposure of Oracle was in a trial. They were exposed to be a young woman when they received knife scars on the back of their hands. However, nobody knows more than that... I do wonder why anybody would leave this message at a crime scene like this. The victim could not have been Oracle, so I don't get it..." I murmured, shaking my head to myself as I spoke. It made no sense.

"You're talking about Oracle's public sighting, correct?" Deirdre questioned, to which I nodded. Deirdre closed her eyes in thought. "I wonder about what this might be... Perhaps this is something of a warning message to the Oracle, as if to tell them that they won't be around for much longer. That would make it something along the lines of a threat... That means that the killer might have an idea as to who Oracle is behind the mask and public image."

My eyes went wide. "Wait... You think that the killer might know Oracle? The killer knows who Oracle is and is planning to do something to them?" I asked.

Deirdre nodded hesitantly. "Maybe. It's just thinking for the time being. I can't say anything conclusive at the moment since we know little to nothing about the Oracle and their true identity, but it might end up being something of significance. We can't say for sure as of now, but we can keep it in the back of our minds for the time being. You never know what details might end up being important in the trial, so we should keep it in mind as of now. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah... But if the killer knows who Oracle is, that news is bound to become huge. After all, Oracle is well known all over the city for exposing corrupt dealings. There are all sorts of disputes about if they're just or not, but nobody knows for sure. Many people want the Oracle dead for their exposures in the past. Prosecutors known for forging evidence have fallen to Oracle's might in the past, so other forgers target them as well. If this news went public, then all sorts of attempts would be made on Oracle's life. They wouldn't survive a week unless they created an entire new alias to hide under until the danger blew over. It would be nothing short of disaster for Oracle and their associates, so none can say how chaotic the legal system would become," I said quietly.

"Do you think that Oracle perhaps has something else to do with this case? I find it a bit odd that the killer would write something like that if it didn't have any sort of purpose relating to the murder... If Oracle is involved, then that could easily turn this case on its head," Deirdre remarked to me.

I shook my head quickly. "No way is Oracle involved in something like this. Oracle only ever dives into the huge cases that are all over the media. Something like this would undoubtedly be beneath them. Thinking that they're involved will just distract us from finding the real killer. It's best if we just forget about them until the case comes to a close. That will keep us focused on finding the one who killed the victim," I told her.

"You seem to know quite a bit about Oracle, Chrysalis," Deirdre said. "Have you been looking into them in your spare time, perhaps?"

"Something like that... Cotoli, Venus, and I were looking into it for quite some time. Ever since Oracle hit the public in the news after a televised interview, we've been looking into them. I used to think that they were just some other mystery that we'd need to solve at some point or another, but I don't think that anymore. These days, I just hate Oracle with a burning passion... If they hadn't popped up, Venus would still be alive. Of course, we never knew that she was potentially associated with Oracle, as that would be just ridiculous. She was only nineteen. What reason would she have to get involved with a huge spy that was all over the news? It was like asking for trouble," I frowned. "Cotoli and I... We don't like Oracle quite so much anymore. It's not as interesting as it is dangerous. Oracle has a habit of dragging down others with them. The lawyer who first mentioned them on a press conference died after the interview about expanding his law agency. Oracle isn't a simple figure that we can look to for help. They're just a beacon asking for all sorts of danger to come their way."

"Perhaps I can hear more about Oracle once this case has come to a close. I never got the full story behind the case last year where Oracle was exposed, so maybe one of you can explain it to me," Deirdre suggested. "Now, we're obviously distracted by the murder, but after Yuri is freed, we should have the time."

"Cotoli will be the professional on the matter. After all, he was the lawyer for the exposure case last year. I wasn't there watching the trial since I had some other things to do that day. I think I was babysitting Anton or something. Can't exactly remember. Point is, he has much more information than I ever will, so he's the best one to ask. Once all of this has ended and things are calm again, I'm sure he'd gladly explain what happened to you and potentially Lily. You seem interested in Oracle, Deirdre. Is there any reason in particular that you want to hear the story about Oracle? Do you want to know who they are too?"

"It's mostly curiosity... I get the feeling that Oracle's true identity will end up being important one day, so I might as well learn as much as I can about them for now," Deirdre responded. "But for the time being, that can wait. Maybe Detective Erikson will be back soon with some news regarding the gun that was found in the bush. If that really is the murder weapon, then we'll have to learn as much as we can about it to use in court tomorrow. If it has something to do with Mr. Kyllar, we should be able to corner him with this new piece of evidence on top of what we've already gathered so far."

We didn't get the chance to talk about it further before the door opened. Detective Erikson was coming out, a frown on his face. I had no doubts that it was something to do with the gun that we had found. It would make no sense if it didn't involve the weapon.

"We can't say for sure yet if this is the gun that took the life of the victim, but the chances of it are looking pretty good so far. We're going to need forensics to test the ballistic markings to ensure that this is the true murder weapon, but it'll be a while before we get the results back. I'll be sure to tell you when we hear what the deal is involving the gun," Detective Erikson told us. "Do you guys have any problems with me doing that?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't think so. But I still do have a quick question for you... Do you think that maybe you'd be able to do another test for us? When we found the gun, we found a little piece of white hair in the bush as well... Would you be able to figure out who the hair belongs to? It might be able to help us track down the killer. Since it couldn't have been Yuri, this could point to the one who really committed the murder. Please?" I asked, practically begging.

Detective Erikson nodded. "If you have the hair with you, I can certainly take it to forensics and ask if they can test it too. They shouldn't have any problems with it, so I should be able to get the results back to you when I get the results back for the gun. If it's the defendant, we'll be able to tell you. It might take a little while to track down whose it is if the hair doesn't belong to her, though... Her hair wasn't at all uneven when we arrested, so it's unlikely that it came from her. Don't be surprised if there's a wait. Sorry about that," Detective Erikson told us, a small frown appearing on his face.

"That's alright. Just so long as we can get the results before the trial tomorrow, we should be fine. We just need to be able to prove that Yuri didn't do it, and this hair might be our key to that. Speaking of the key, do you think the police will be doing anything with it now that it's been found? Maybe testing it for prints or something? The key was the most debated piece of evidence in court today. It's pretty much the lock on figuring out this case. I figured that maybe the forensics team would want it for something or another," I said. "We can give it to you if you think that you'll need it later on in the investigation."

"I think that it might be best if I take it to forensics along with the clump of hair. Where are they?" Detective Erikson questioned. "Still in the bush."

"You got it. We haven't touched them since you took the gun. We were just talking about the note written in the victim's blood," I told him.

Detective Erikson walked over to the bush and fished out the key and hair, putting them both into their own plastic bags so that he could take them to forensics without at all tampering with them. "Thanks for the help on this. I'll give you the results as soon as I can. Prosecutor Burke won't exactly approve of it, but I know that she's fond of your brother, so maybe she can make an exception for you. Plus, Mukuro wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I did something to get Yuri arrested. She thinks that the defendant is a sweet kid," Detective Erikson said with a small chuckle. "I'll be seeing you two around, I take it?"

"Yeah. We'll look around here for a little longer before going to find Mr. Kyllar again. We spoke with him earlier, but I get the feeling that we have to speak to him at least a little more before the trial tomorrow," Deirdre explained to him. "He seems to know a bit more than he lets on, I'm afraid."

"The police gathered that much from him during questioning. While he is an effective prison guard, Mr. Kyllar can be more than a little stubborn during interrogation. He keeps exercising his right to remain silent when it comes down to the matter of the key. We keep trying to push something out of him, but it isn't working out very well. Perhaps you'll be able to get at least a little bit of information from him despite his tight lips," Detective Erikson said. "I'm wishing you luck on it though. Nobody can predict how he'll react. He's a bit of a wild card in that regard, but there isn't much that we can do about it now."

"Thank you for all this, Detective Erikson," I smiled at the man. "We'll see you later. Good luck in talking to Mr. Kyllar and the forensics team."

Detective Erikson smiled in response and waved as he headed back into the building. He was a kind guy. I was glad that he was the detective on this case since he was so nice to us. I hoped silently that we'd be seeing him again before the trial tomorrow so that we could get our information and test results early.

Boop. An update.

I've been typing this between working on my Fire Emblem Fates rewrite (which may or may not be out right now I don't know this is pre-typed). It's pretty fun so far. Also it's very detailed and about 35 pages long and I'm still not finished with it as of the time I'm typing this (Tuesday).

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the update. Another one is coming later today. Until then, farewell!

-Digital