July 20

Happy House Carnival

1:30 PM

Lily Shield

"So let's assume that you're right for a moment," I began to say, placing one hand under my chin. "If you are, that means that the culprit in this case is Mr. Stabbin. That means that we're going to have to find other evidence to show that Mr. Morix isn't the one we've been searching for. It would be rather hypocritical of us to accuse Mr. Stabbin of this case and then turn around before using his testimony against him and for us. Plus, the court could try to disprove it. Without outside evidence, then the prosecution could claim that he was lying about it. Our case would fall to pieces after that."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right," Deirdre frowned. "We're going to need something more substantial. Ms. Mercure, do you have anything that we'd be able to use in this situation?"

"Like I already mentioned, he was lying about having seen Mr. Morix at the scene of the crime. It was just me and him there. He was never in the area. Mr. Morix was only holding the remote for a total of roughly fifteen seconds. I doubt that he could have seen him doing such and then run away. Anybody would struggle with running any large distance in that time. If he glimpsed something so crucial for so brief a time in the first place, then there would be issues regarding its reliability. In a nutshell, you now have multiple ways to disprove his testimony," Ms. Mercure replied. "Plus, if I think about things a little bit more... Maybe he confirmed his guilt in a way. He said that he left the Ferris wheel to go on break for a little bit after letting Cassidy on. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. If we can, then his words can be twisted to our uses. The prosecution can't exactly refute something of that nature. It doesn't work that way."

"If he said something like a confession and we use that, then the prosecution can't claim he was lying since he told us of his own free will," nodded Yuri. "I think I get what you're saying. If we use his words to show that Mr. Morix didn't do it and accuse him in the same breath, the prosecution could say that something is up about the situation. As much as I hate to admit it, that would be correct. However, if we say that a phrase was like a confession, that could go over a bit better."

"Of course, there are no guarantees with any of this. Everything is just pure speculation at this point. Don't try and use this in court for sure. Evidence is everything in court. That's the one thing that I've learned the past few months," Ms. Mercure frowned. "Perhaps you should look around a little bit more. I should go and talk to the prosecution a little bit more. I want them to know that you spoke with Mr. Stabbin. Plus, I can communicate what he told you to them. They're more likely to believe it from a fellow witness and neutral party than their opposition, you know?"

Deirdre nodded. "Alright. Go on and take care of that. We'll make sure that we have enough evidence to show that Mr. Morix didn't commit the crime. Thank you for talking to us today, Ms. Mercure. Any testimony from you regarding the case will be incredibly helpful, should you remember anything else. Feel free to come to us anytime," she said with a small yet graceful smile.

Ms. Mercure suddenly let out a gasp. "Oh yeah! The reason I was a bit late to the crime scene was because I was off saying hello to someone. I'm sure that you know her. Well, of course you do. She works with you guys at Morix Law Offices. Chrysalis Starr," she told us. "I heard that you guys were having trouble reaching her yesterday. I went over to the agency after the trial to talk to her a little bit. She was doing fine, so you don't need to worry much about her. She'll be okay after her brother comes back."

Yuri's eyes went wide in shock. "You were able to go and talk to her? Consider me impressed. Chrysalis is as good as a hermit when she gets upset like this. You deserve a high-five for sure," she murmured before extending her arm out in Ms. Mercure's direction.

Ms. Mercure smiled in satisfaction and clapped her hand against Yuri's palm. "I'm just glad I was able to help you out. Now, you had better make sure that her brother gets acquitted in court tomorrow. She's going to be like that forever if you can't get him out of the detention center," she told us. "Anyways, I should get going. I'll see you guys around a little bit later. Tell me how the investigation goes!"

Ms. Mercure turned on her heel and began to walk away, hands shoved in her pockets. Deirdre, Yuri, and I all watched as she disappeared from sight. Once she was gone, we all turned to face one another. "So what should we get to next? We need to find some form of evidence that Mr. Morix didn't commit this crime. Any evidence at this point could become crucial."

"Maybe we should go back by the crime scene," suggested Yuri.

"I don't know if we'll have to do that. We should see about finding Detective Wattson. She did forensics tests on the hat that we found yesterday. It might be wise to ask if the team has found anything else in the area that we could use. Why go searching for evidence immediately when our crucial piece may have already been found?" Deirdre asked.

I nodded. "Okay. Let's go and do that then. Plus, she could have something on Mr. Stabbin already. If so, then we can take that information as well." I shot a glance down at Yuri, my eyes locking on the cut on her cheek. "A bandage wouldn't hurt at all either..."

Yuri puffed out her cheeks. "Lily, I'm fine. A little cut never killed anybody. It's not like I was stabbed twenty-seven times in the chest. I just got hit by a rock," she whined. She crossed her arms and sighed. "You treat me like I'm a little kid. I'm not. I'm a whole fourteen years old."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her body. "Aw... You're so cute!" I gushed. "Even if you're technically not a little kid, you're still the baby of the agency, being only fourteen. Even Chrysalis is old in comparison to you, Yuri."

Yuri struggled to pull away from my embrace. When she finally wormed her way out, she shot me an angry glance and an eye roll. I ignored her anger and giggled to myself. Deirdre smiled gently at the exchange, but she didn't say anything. A small laugh left her lips.

"Anyways, we have to do some investigation!" Yuri exclaimed, clearly desperate to change the subject away from her obvious youth. I could have sworn that I saw a dusting of pink rise in her cheeks. "Let's get to looking around. If we're unprepared for the trial tomorrow, either the prosecution or Chrysalis will fry us. No matter which one it is, we're as good as screwed if we keep messing around like this. You guys know that."

"Okay, maybe you're right. Let's get focused on looking around," I agreed. "Do you think that the detective will be over by where the body was found? If you ask me, that might be the most logical place to look..."

"I agree. I bet that she's over in that vicinity as well," Yuri nodded. "Let's head on over there. She has to have something for us, right? I would be surprised if the police hadn't found anything since this investigation kicked off a few hours ago."

We made our way over to the area near the Ferris wheel in silence. I got the feeling they were thinking about potential solutions for this case. I couldn't think of anything, so I eventually gave up on trying to come up with things. I was sure that we'd be able to get something to use by the time we finished up at the carnival, so I wasn't exactly worried.

Sure enough, we found Detective Wattson standing by where the body had been discovered. The tape outline was covered up by the debris from the Ferris wheel, but she didn't seem to be focused on it. Instead, she was on the phone. She was holding up her cell phone with her shoulder. She murmured a few words into the phone before letting out a sigh. Detective Wattson pulled the phone away from her cheek and ended the call she was on. Judging by the way she was carrying herself, she was disappointed about something.

"Hello, Detective Wattson," Deirdre said to break the awkward silence surrounding the detective.

The second that she realized we were there, Detective Wattson's demeanor changed entirely. She began to smile brightly as she walked over to us. "Hello there, loves. Are you here to look around for potential evidence?" she asked, though I got the feeling that she already knew the answer.

I nodded. "We need to find something to show that the defendant didn't commit the crime," I explained. "Any evidence that you have will be much appreciated. Well, assuming that you have something..."

Her cheery disposition dissipated. She shook her head and looked down. "I don't have a thing. I was just on the phone with the forensics team. They could have sworn that they found something, but in the end, it was just a mistake in their science. We can't find anything in the area. There's only one useful piece of evidence that we have to use at this point, which would be the hat. However, there isn't any other way that we can think of to use the hat in the trial tomorrow. As unfortunate as it is, there isn't anything else to use tomorrow. I'm sorry about that," she told us sadly.

Yuri smiled brightly in her direction. "It's okay!" she chirped at the kind detective. "I'm sure that we can figure something out regardless of if you have anything new or not. Though I am a bit surprised you didn't have anything..."

"If we're being perfectly honest, I am as well. I was anticipating some other news to have come to light by now, but it seems that wasn't meant to be. This case is somewhat lacking in evidence in comparison to other cases that have taken place in the past. The issue here is the explosion. It destroyed the crime scene, which we theorize was a Ferris wheel car, which means not much exactly remains for us to look into," Detective Wattson told us, shaking her head slightly. "It's unfortunate, but we'll have to make do with it for the time being."

"That's okay. I'm sure that we can figure something else," Yuri assured her, but despite this, I got the feeling that she was at least a little bit disappointed that there wasn't anything that we could use from her. I was a bit upset about it as well, but we would have to go along with it. Besides, it's not like it was really her fault. The crime scene went up in smoke the day of the explosion. Nothing could have salvaged a small Ferris wheel car in a huge explosion like that. As irritating as it was, that was just the way of this case.

"Do you have any ideas on what else we could do?" asked Deirdre, closing her eyes in thought. "I'm sure that there's something for us to use around here... If there isn't any physical evidence, there has to be some form of logic that can be used in this situation."

"I can't think of anything, but there must be something. Mr. Morix couldn't have done it. There is always an explanation for why somebody did or didn't do something. While we can't exactly take the words of either suspect for what they are due to the laws of the courtroom, there's something else we can use for sure," Yuri remarked.

"Wait a moment... About the hat that we found... That doesn't exactly match up with the facts," I cut in. "If that hat belongs to Mr. Stabbin, who we have as a prime suspect, then that makes no sense. Assuming that every carnival worker only gets to have one hat, then why does he still have a hat? If he's the culprit, then he must have dropped it at the scene of the crime."

"I don't know who it is you're talking about, pet, but I do know something about the hats they use here. While every employee is normally given one, there are more. The hats that they use here have been discontinued since they began being put into use. To keep from going through the supply, the hats are all kept in a storeroom near the Ferris wheel. Unfortunately, it was absolutely destroyed in the explosion since it was behind the Ferris wheel. It's off the grounds open to visitors. Only staff is allowed back there," Detective Wattson told us. "There's always the possibility that somebody went there the day of the crime."

"I had no idea there was an area behind the Ferris wheel. I thought it was just open grass that nobody was allowed on," Deirdre remarked, her eyes wide.

"Not exactly. That building is always here regardless of if there's a carnival in town or not. It's been abandoned after talk of hauntings and ghosts spread about. However, the carnival uses it anyways as a supply area. Extra supplies for rides, extra uniforms, and extra hats are all kept in that area. Most of the time, it's off limits to the employees as well. The bosses don't want anybody getting into the hats since they've been discontinued," Detective Wattson went on. "A Ferris wheel car fell into the building with the explosion. It was nearly entirely burned to the ground in the chaos. Luckily, there was nobody else in the area, so nobody was killed in the fire that ensued."

"It sounds to me like we should pay this place a visit," Deirdre suggested.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," frowned Detective Wattson. "Like I mentioned, the place has been burned to the ground. Nothing has been left behind. Also, upon further examination, every single employee at the carnival still has their hat. Nobody lost theirs, the day of the crime or otherwise. The case of the extra hat could have something to do with the burned storeroom though. I'll leave that to you to determine. I should probably head down to the precinct. Just before you all arrived, I was on the one with somebody from the forensics team. The head of this case's forensic analyses, Jasper Kent, wants to talk to me about the case. I trust that you won't do any meddling."

"Honestly, what even is there to meddle with? This place is a bit of a mess," Yuri said with a shrug. "I mean, this area is covered in pieces of concrete and metal from a falling Ferris wheel. I don't think that there's much to mess with now that the body, hat, and picture have been taken away to be evidence for the case."

"Oh yeah. There's that picture," I remarked as Detective Wattson waved and walked away. "It has eight people in it, right? I think I heard Yuri mention it yesterday at some point."

"That's right. I swung by the agency after our investigation to pick up a few things I had forgotten in all the chaos and ran into you," Yuri nodded in recollection. "I remember that. Yeah, there is a photo that was found at the scene of the crime. It has eight people in it. It was taken during a case two years ago at a factory."

Ilet out a small gasp. "That picture might have been used in the case on the lake. There was a picture of eight people that was taken after a case at a factory found near the body in that case too. In the end, it was the crucial piece of evidence used to seal away the culprit once all had been said and done. In a way, I guess that we owe a lot to that picture," I told them. "You probably remember that. If I recall correctly, you all were in the gallery during that case watching over me."

"We were. We saw everything that happened since we were curious about the case you and Chrysalis were on," Deirdre said. "Anyways, I don't know how that picture could possibly involve this case. It was found next to the victim, sure, but I don't think there's any other way it could be pulled into this mystery. Maybe it was there just by coincidence."

"That's a possibility. I can't say for sure. I don't think anybody can," Yuri muttered with a shake of her head. "I wish I knew the reason for that picture. I mean, I was there for that case, but I don't know a thing about the picture."

"What?" Deirdre asked in shock.

"I was there for the case. I was one of the assault victims in that mess of a case. Anton was there too, but for some reason, neither one of us was notified that the photo was being taken. I didn't end up hearing about it until after the fact. I asked Venus why she was keeping a photo on her desk. She never did that since she always hated pictures. When she answered, she said it was because that was an important thing to her. I don't know why it was so vital to her, but I guess we can try and figure it out another way. There are still five other people we can ask about it. While three of the people in the picture are unable to answer our questions, we can have the others get in on it," Yuri explained.

"All of this is incredibly suspicious, if you ask me. If something really is wrong regarding the picture and why Yuri didn't know about it, then why didn't she hear of the picture before it was taken? It seems odd that somebody would leave out their own sister in an important picture," I frowned.

"I guess that we can figure something else out about it later on," Deirdre said. "I don't know if we'll be able to figure it out at the moment. For now, we have an investigation to continue."

"An investigation? I don't know about that. There's nothing at the crime scene, no new evidence, and we talked to the only other witness. Plus, we also had a little chat with Detective Wattson regarding the storeroom and learned more about the explosion. I can't really think of much else that we still need to hear about. Unless one of you can come up with something, I'd probably consider us finished for the time being," Yuri remarked. "Maybe it's about time for us to go and talk to Mr. Morix about what we've found so far. He definitely wants to hear about all of this. He'll be really happy to learn that we have a suspect in mind too."

"That sounds alright with me," I nodded. "Plus, he's one of the people that was in that picture found near the body. Maybe he can tell us more about it, such as why Yuri was missing at the time. If there are no objections in the courtroom, let's go and do it."

Deirdre chuckled lightly at my joke. "I don't have any issues with it. Yuri, you're the one who suggested it, so I'm going to assume that you're okay with the change of location too."

"You don't even have to ask. I just want to know why I was left out of the picture like that. It makes no sense. I'm a good kid. I don't like being excluded, and I shouldn't have been," Yuri asserted, placing her hands on her hips. "Whoever proposed leaving me out is going to get a sound thrashing when I find out who it is."

"Down, girl," I told her with a small smile. Yuri rolled her eyes, but I could tell that she was doing it in good fun, so I didn't poke or prod her for it. "I'll meet you guys there. Since I came in my own car, I can go in that. Until we meet again, try to avoid the impending disaster the witness was preaching about."

I could hear them chuckling as we parted ways, which brought a smile to my face. Despite the tense situation, we were getting along pretty well.

July 20

Detention Center

2:30 PM

Yuri Rinko

Mr. Morix was already sitting on the other side of the glass when we arrived. His head was resting on his arms as he looked down at the counter before him. I could tell that he was asleep. I tapped on the glass, which stirred him into consciousness. "Hey," he remarked simply as a yawn left his mouth. "I'm glad to see that you're back. You must have news about the investigation for me, right? I can't think of any other reason that you would be here."

"As a matter of fact, there is a reason that we're here," I told him with a frown. "There's a certain picture that you left me out of. I have beef with you because of that, Cotoli Morix. You will feel my fury, all 4'11 of my fury."

Mr. Morix stared at me in confusion. I could have sworn that I saw a little bit of shock in his eyes as well, likely due to being addressed by his full name. "I'm afraid I don't understand," he said, blinking as he tried to come to terms with the bright light of the room. That was what he got for sleeping on the job and excluding me! As soon as he got out of there, I'd have to punch him! Well, I say punch him, but I really mean tap him lightly on the arm. I don't have the strength to do much else.

"Two years ago, there was a case at a factory. While there, then there was a picture taken of you and seven other people. Those people are Venus Rinko, Cassidy Rinko, Chrysalis Starr, Sora Lin, Pieter Fury, Ghastly Bespoke, and Polly Bloom. Does that ring a bell?" asked Lily, going into a serious interrogation persona. While she was probably trying to come off as solemn, it just seemed goofy and fun in my eyes regardless of her intentions. Don't judge me for that. I just know when goofy things are happening. Call it my superpower or something.

"Ah, I remember that picture," Mr. Morix nodded. "It was taken after GC-9, one of the worst cases that I have ever worked on, if not the worst because of all its aftershocks." He sighed and looked down. "GC-9 did nothing but cause grief for everyone involved. Five people were injured, one was killed, and on top of that, it brought about the Oracle of the Law project. There aren't many other cases I can think of that have had so many negative impacts, which says quite a bit, if we're being perfectly honest..."

"Wow... I knew the case was bad, but I didn't realize it was this awful," Deirdre whispered with a shake of her head. "Regardless, we aren't exactly here to just talk about that murder. We want to hear about the picture you took. A copy of it was found at the scene of the crime."

"I didn't know about that... Then again, it's not like I know much about the case as the suspect. I spend all my time locked up in here with no extended knowledge of the trial set to decide my fate. It isn't exactly the best system, if you want my personal opinion. Granted, opinions don't exactly matter much in the court of law, but it's not like I have much else at my disposal," Mr. Morix said. "Anyways, tell me what you need to know about the picture. Chances are that I can give you an answer. I know pretty much all there is to know about that picture."

"For some reason, last month, it was found at the scene of the crime, but not exactly because of regular reasons. It was found in a bag of evidence regarding the Oracle off the Law. I don't know why though. Do you have any idea as to why somebody would have it?" Lily asked. "The defendant, Neptune Mercure, was investigating potential leads as to who the Oracle of the Law could be. Why would a picture like that be with evidence to find Oracle?"

I shot her a pouting glance. I had wanted to ask why I was left out of the picture first, but I was just going to have to wait. Fine. Even if I had to wait, I wasn't going to forget. I was just going to be even more angry when I finally did get my answer.

"Well, a few months ago, there was the murder case at the prison. That was when Yuri was the one behind these bars. During that case, there was an announcement over the intercom of the courthouse when somebody from the Occisor group declared that the case was the origin of the Oracle of the Law project. I suspect that she was trying to gather up as much evidence as possible regarding the case to try and learn more," Mr. Morix replied. "I don't know why else she would want to have something like that. I think she and Cassidy were friends, so Cassidy could have given her a copy if she had asked about it at any point. They seemed to be close nearly instantly, and Cassidy was always the trusting type, so I can't see her denying a request such as that. If you were looking for a breakthrough in the case, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"That's alright. We did say that any information would be helpful," Deirdre remarked, but I could see a frown on her face.

It took me a moment to understand what was happening. It wasn't until Mr. Morix spoke again that I understood.

"I'm afraid that photo has nothing to do with Oracle aside from being associated with the same case," he told us with a shake of his head. "If you were hoping for something more, it seems the universe is out to disappoint you. My apologies for that."

A little pang at the back of my head told me that he was lying. I had always been good at detecting when people were being dishonest. That was what made me so good at work like this. Of course, it always worked better with people that I knew well, so Mr. Morix wasn't exactly immune to my special skills.

Before we could ask anything else, a young man appeared through the door out into the hallway. He looked to be rather nervous. "Um... The detectives need to question you again. Sorry to cut this meaning short..." he whispered.

Mr. Morix smiled at him. "It's alright." He turned back to us next. "Sorry our meeting was cut short. How about we talk more about this tomorrow? I can do it before or after the trial, whichever one is better for you. Call it gut instinct, but I think this questioning session is going to take quite a while."

Lily nodded. "Okay. We'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Morix," she said, waving as he rose to his feet and walked out of the room.

After he was gone, her arm dropped. Her lips curved downwards into a frown. "Something was wrong with him during that conversation," she murmured. Lily took off a necklace that was around her neck, showing the charm, which looked like half of a yin-yang symbol, to Deirdre and me. "Do either one of you know what this is? Did I ever tell you about it?"

"It's a Magatama," I said. "Chrysalis and Cotoli both have one. They say that it's a relic charged with spiritual power that can show if people are lying. It can be used to unlock the secrets within somebody's heart."

"Exactly," Lily nodded. "This charm shows me locks over a person if they're being dishonest. They're called Psyche-Locks. I see them sometimes during investigations, but I don't always bring them up. The truth comes out in court more often than not. Plus, pressing people outside of court in an unstable environment without armed guards can be risky to your health if they grow violent, you know?"

"I get what you're saying, but why does that matter right now?" I asked. I already knew what she was about to say, but part of me was still trying to deny it. I didn't want to believe that what she was saying was true.

"I saw Psyche-Locks on Mr. Morix while we were talking to him about the photo. I can't say anything for sure on the matter, but if you ask me, something was going through his head, and he was lying," Lily told us. "Again, I can't say anything and be perfectly positive of it, but if you ask me, there's only one reason that he would have Psyche-Locks while talking about how Oracle relates to that case. Mr. Morix knows how the Oracle ties into the murder better than most people, and that photo has a lot to do with them. They're probably in that picture, and Mr. Morix knows who they are."