October 13th, 10:38 AM
Haunted House
The first thing that stood out about the house was that it was decidedly toasted. The second was that it was big – a gothic two story affair with an expansive lawn wrapped around it, giving it a fairly wide berth from the other houses on the street. And the third was that it was swarming with police officers.
"Oh great," Nick muttered, "looks like they're not done with the crime scene..."
"Is it really okay to be here?" Mob looked around nervously, sticking close to his legal team.
Maya stroked her chin in thought. "Maybe the fire slowed things down? It must make it harder to find evidence."
"You've got that right, pal."
The three of them nearly jumped out of their skins, but Nick and Maya's eyes widened at the familiar voice. And when they whirled around, they found that it wasn't just the voice that they recognized – a familiar well-worn coat, a familiar shadow cast upon them by a pair of broad shoulders, a familiar beaming grin spreading across a familiar scruffy face.
Nick's jaw dropped. "D... Detective..."
"GUMSHOE!" Maya cried, suddenly forgetting where she was and launching herself at the detective, nearly tackling him in a hug.
"Whoa-! Careful, pal," he chuckled, staggering to maintain his balance, but he returned the hug with enough force to nearly lift her off the ground. "Long time, no see!"
When Gumshoe and Maya finally broke apart, the detective turned to Nick with a warm twinkle in his eye and grabbed his hand, pumping it with enthusiasm. He'd let his beard grow in more fully, and new lines had started to spider from the corners of his eyes where they crinkled when he smiled. "The circumstances kinda suck, but... it's good to see you two troublemakers again."
Nick was surprised to catch a smile of his own creeping at the corners of his mouth, and he gripped Gumshoe's hand tightly. "Troublemakers? Us? Since when?"
Mob must have been confused, but he watched the scene with a polite smile, as if thinking, Aww, that's nice.
"And who're you, pal?" Gumshoe asked, not unkindly, leaning down a little to talk to Mob without towering over him so much. "You seem pretty young to be a lawyer!"
Mob looked startled at being addressed directly. "Oh- um, I'm Kageyama Shigeo, I'm just–"
"A consultant," Nick interjected quickly, clearing his throat a little. "Or... something like that." He doubted Gumshoe would let Mob into the crime scene if they mentioned that he worked at Reigen's office. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
"Consultant, huh?" Gumshoe squinted a little at Nick out of the corner of his eye, but held out a hand and a somewhat goofy grin to Mob all the same. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Kageyama!"
Mob was nearly lifted off his feet by Gumshoe's emphatic handshake. "N-Nice to m-meet you too," he managed, trying to keep his balance as Gumshoe happily shook his hand, even as he turned back to Nick.
"I'm guessing you two are defending that Reigen guy?" Gumshoe asked, laughing a little. "I had a feeling you would, with your track record 'n all."
Nick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Haha, yeah..."
"Ghost killers is kind of our niche," Maya shrugged.
"Got all your papers in order, pal?"
"Always do, Detective."
"Heh, that ain't how I remember it, Mr. Wright."
"Y-You can let g-go of my hand now," Mob said mildly.
"Ah-! Sorry pal!" Gumshoe let go and scratched the back of his head, apologizing profusely. Nick smiled. Some things never changed.
"Maya, how about you and Mob head into the house?" Nick asked, his voice low. "I'll talk to Gumshoe and see if I can buy you guys a few minutes to find the spirit in there."
"Roger!" Maya smiled.
"Hey, Detective?"
Gumshoe finally stopped fretting over Mob, turning to Nick. "Yeah, pal?"
"Anything you can tell me about the murder?"
"Oh, yeah, of course! Sorry, my head must be in the clouds, geez..." While he dug around for documents, Maya motioned for Mob to follow her and the two of them slipped off down the front lawn to the house.
"Here we go, autopsy report, let's see... vic's name was Perry Norman, 37, apparently an occult junkie. No close family but looks like he was identified this morning by another psychic he used to be a regular client of, which lines up with what your guy Reigen said." Gumshoe frowned, his brow furrowing as he read. "I'll be honest with you, pal, this one's a mess. It looks pretty bad for your client."
Nick gritted his teeth. Fantastic.
"Why, because of the fire?"
"Mostly, yeah," Gumshoe sighed. "The corpse was burnt to pretty much nothin' and there's not a whole lot we can get from it at this point. But forensics determined the cause of death to be a knife wound to the throat. Lines up with what the firefighters who arrived on the scene told us. No prints on the murder weapon, but I can't really see the vic stabbing himself in the throat."
"Great... what about witnesses?"
Gumshoe shook his head. "None that saw the actual crime, but a few people in the neighborhood saw the two of 'em going into the house. One even picked your guy out in a lineup. And the guy who identified the body confirmed that he was a customer at Reigen's office."
Nick chewed back a grimace. "There's still a chance somebody else was in the house, though, right? Maybe a squatter? Or somebody else who came in afterwards?"
"Well..." Gumshoe scratched his chin, thinking. "Definitely no squatters, there's no traces of anybody livin' in this house for years. I guess it ain't impossible for somebody else to have come in through the back where the neighbors couldn't see, but there's no signs of a break-in or nothin'. And your guy didn't say anything about a third party, either. He was pretty clear about bein' the only other person in the house."
"Besides the spirit, you mean."
Gumshoe pulled a face. "Aw, c'mon, don't start with that. You know I've seen some crazy stuff working with you guys but..." He let out a long breath, looking around, maybe to make sure there weren't any officers in earshot. When he leaned in, his voice was quiet. "Maya 'n her family are the exception to the rule, pal. You know how many people like this Reigen guy I've had to pull in for fraud? They've all got the same schtick. His is textbook."
Nick's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like he hadn't thought the same thing when he met Reigen, but he still didn't like hearing it from the prosecution.
"Y-You never know, Gumshoe," he said, trying to laugh it off. "I mean, I didn't even believe in ghosts before I met Maya. And I bet if you met a real psychic, you'd change your mind about that, too."
"Yeah, well, lemme know when you find one, pal," Gumshoe said drily. He let another breath whistle out between his teeth, looking Nick over from head to toe, suddenly scrutinizing. "Hey..." he started, hesitant. "Maybe this ain't the best time or place for it, but... you doing okay, Mr. Wright? I heard about your friend Apollo leavin' from Mr. Edgeworth."
The question took Nick by surprise, and he found that he wasn't sure how to answer. For a minute, he just sort of... stared. Then he cleared his throat, a little unnerved at the hollow feeling in his chest. "I'm okay," he lied. "It's just... busy without the extra hands."
Gumshoe squinted a little, but didn't press. "...Well, I'm sure you'll be able to find some extra help," he said bracingly, clapping Nick on the shoulder. "Must be plenty 'a lawyers out there dying to work with the famous Phoenix Wright!"
"Heh, I dunno about that, but... thanks. We'll get through it." Gumshoe gave his shoulder a squeeze, and that same old grin flashed across his face.
"Anyway, you're here for the crime scene, not for me," the detective chuckled, tucking his papers back into his bag. "I'll make a copy of the autopsy report and anything else you guys need and have 'em dropped off at your office before the afternoon's up. Or you can swing by the precinct if you've got the time."
"Thanks, Gumshoe." A warmth started to spread from the pit of Nick's stomach and he smiled. "It's good to see you again."
Gumshoe started to turn red from the tips of his ears and he rubbed his nose, his grin going a little gooey. "You too, pal."
Nick probably should have paid more attention to his surroundings as he presented his credentials and got past the patrolman into the house, but his mind started to wander. He thought about Gumshoe and the strange ache that hadn't left his chest since he saw him. He thought about being back on a case with Maya for the first time in a long, long time. He also thought about Gumshoe's beard and how he couldn't tease Maya by resting his elbow on her head anymore. She was tall enough to meet his eye, now.
He thought about Apollo, too. How the mention of his name made that ache in his chest so much sharper. And for some reason, he thought about the look on Reigen's face when he saw Mob in the visitor's room.
But his train of thought was suddenly derailed when he heard loud, familiar bickering coming from upstairs.
"I am not letting a teenager into my crime scene, Maya."
"You let Trucy into your crime scenes all the time!"
"That's– she's– that's different!"
Nick held back a groan and took the steps two at a time.
When he got to the top, he found Mob looking at him like a deer caught in headlights, sweating profusely. Behind him, Maya was bickering with a woman in a lab coat, who had spread herself out not unlike a starfish in the doorway to what Nick assumed was the crime scene, barring the way. Childish, but effective.
"Trucy works for– well, actually she owns your agency!" Ema said stubbornly, gripping the doorjamb like a vice and planting her feet firmly against the sides. "That's a random middle schooler! Are you guys holding field trips now?!"
"C'mon," Maya whined, trying to peer over Ema's shoulder. "The body's not even in there anymore! He can handle it!" Mob seemed to disagree slightly, paling at the mention of a body.
This was not going well.
Nick coughed. "Morning, Ema."
Ema jumped, turning red. "H...Hey Mr. Wright," she said, clearing her throat and trying to look as dignified as she could, still splayed out in the doorway. "I dunno what you two are thinking, trying to bring a kid in here, but I'm gonna have to put my foot down this time."
Maya nodded at Ema's high heels lodged in the doorway. "You mean feet."
Ema scowled. "I'm not fooling around, Maya!"
"He's a consultant," Nick said hesitantly, cursing his luck. He'd suspected that Ema would be on the case, but he'd hoped that they might be able to bide their time and wait until she was occupied in some other part of the house to have a minute alone at the scene. But then, he wasn't sure what he expected, sending Maya alone to sneak in. Sneaking wasn't exactly her specialty.
"A consultant." Ema looked at him like he'd just sprouted antlers. "Not to be disrespectful, Mr. Wright, but I'm almost offended that you thought I'd buy that."
Mob looked down at his uniform sadly, as if regretting his wardrobe choice. Nick grimaced.
"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm serious, Ema."
"Mmhmm. What kind of consultant, then?"
"...The psychic kind...?"
Ema looked ready to slap him. "I'm this close to throwing you out of my crime scene."
"Um... detective?"
Ema looked startled, glancing over at Mob. She must not have expected him to address her directly.
"Yeah, kiddo?" she said, trying to look stern. "If you need me to call your parents to get you, I can, just so you know."
"N-No," Mob said quickly, his mouth going a little funny at the mention of his parents. "That's okay. I was just wondering if you've ever seen Miss Maya's spirit channeling before."
Ema's eyes narrowed. "Yeah... why?"
"Oh, that's good. Could you give me your hand for just a minute, then?"
Ema stared. "Are you gonna... read my palm or something?"
"Erm, no, nothing like that."
Ema looked at him suspiciously, but extended a hand all the same. When Mob took it, Nick thought he saw a faint crackle of electricity, and Ema let out a yelp and yanked back her hand.
"What the hell was that, a joy buzzer?!" she hollered, turning red with anger. "You've got some nerve, kid, I've got half a mind to–"
Her voice suddenly died in her throat and she went pale, staring at that same point above Mob's shoulder that Nick kept seeing draw people's eyes. He looked at Mob, a little alarmed, but Mob just watched Ema quizzically.
"You can see it, right?" he asked.
Ema nodded slowly, her expression slowly shifting from alarm to confusion to mild disgust.
"Ah, I'm glad," Mob sighed, looking relieved. "Mr. Wright, Miss Maya, could I...?"
Nick and Maya glanced at each other, a little uncertain, but they slowly held out their own hands to Mob. He took one hand in each of his own, and suddenly, Nick felt something like an electric shock. He and Maya both cried out, pulling away, but that crackling sensation spread from Nick's hand down his arm and seemed to wash over his whole body, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was like a concentrated form of that energy that he felt back in the office and the visitor's room. He and Maya looked at each other again, both a little shaken, but each confirming that the other was all right, they turned back to Mob.
"Yo," said what looked to be a bit of snot floating above Mob's shoulder.
Nick must have jumped nearly a foot in the air, letting out a noise that he was not at all proud of.
"That's Dimple," Mob said simply, as if that even begun to explain it.
"... I'm gonna let you guys take it from here," Ema said weakly, stepping out of the doorway.
