Here you go, another chapter.

Disclaimer: All rights of the Ace Attorney Franchise belong to Capcom. Chris is Chris Ketchum's OC.


Turnabout Arcade-Investigation

Chris returned to the office to sort through his notes and contemplate what he learned during the trial. All he could figure out was that the person Hilary saw was not necessarily Jared.

'If the murder weapon wasn't a ball, which isn't possible anyway, and if there really is a third party... Hm.' Chris was lost in thought for a minute before Phoenix arrived back at the office.

"Chris" Phoenix greeted him"How was the trial? Sorry I couldn't be there."

"Oh, hey uncle. Its okay" Chris smiled"Must have been a tough one. Everything was a bit vague. Say, who was the Prosecutor for Maya's Trial?"

Phoenix shugged"Manfred Von Karma's daughter, Franziska was the Prosecution. She likes to whip anyone who provokes her from what I experienced, but enough about that, so when you said everything was vague, I assume you mean that you have not yet figured out the truth behind Jared's case?"

Chris nodded"Yeah, both Prosecutor Whiteshore and I are going to look into it. Whoever the killer is, his or her frame game was pretty weak from what I could tell. The cops just pretty much arrest anyone without gathering information, first, I guess. So, has Maya's innocence been proven, yet?"

"Not quite" Phoenix replied"A photograph that Prosecutor Franziska hid supposedly showed Maya, but it was impossible to tell for sure whether she was guilty of killing Dr. Gray or not."

Chris shrugged"Must be pretty tough, wish I could help you."

"Its okay" Phoenix assured his nephew"Just do your best while I continue investigating Maya's case."

Chris nodded"I believe in you, and I believe in Maya, too. She's definitely friendlier than her aunt seemed to be, no one that nice could possibly have a motive to kill anyone."

"We can't judge a book by its cover, Chris. But I agree with you that its likely that Maya is innocent" Phoenix reminded him"Its basically a locked-room case, which means I'll just have to use what possibilities that I can. Well, I must be off."

"Same here" Chris chimed, heading out of the law office, wondering if he'll have a chance to go visit Maya at the Detention Center sometime. But he shook his head to clear his thoughts as he went back to the Arcade.

Alicia was waiting near the entrance as the young Attorney approached"Hey, Chris. I spoke with my brother at the Detention Center an hour after the trial was put on hold for the day."

"How is he?" Chris asked, curious.

"Stubborn, but I asked him about the shadowy figure that young guy claimed to have seen, but all Jared knew that it wasn't him. While we're here, I'd like to resume this investigation with you, maybe we'll find more clues" Alicia offered.

"I don't see why not" Chris nodded.

The two began to head back to the Arcade, Chris was happy to have an Investigative Partner for the case, even if it was temporary. It calmed his nerves somewhat, though he was naturally calm and collected himself.

Detective Seeke and a couple of police officers had just arrived the same time the two of them did. The Detective grinned"Hey, Chris. Prosecutor Whiteshore sure went easy on you."

"You think so? I thought she wasn't pulling any punches, I wouldn't expect her to" Chris shrugged"So, you investigating things, here, too?"

Kenderick nodded"Yes, Prosecutor Whiteshore is even more determined to find the truth now more than ever, she's very determined once she sets her mind to her job. Well, I doubt that we'd find anything on the bottom floors, we checked already. Although I'm hoping to squeeze out some more info on that Crank guy."

"You think he could be a suspect?" Alicia asked.

Kenderick shook his head"Probably not, and as far as we know, the Defendant was the only one who was visibly at the scene of the crime. Then again, Murderers can be quite crafty, some may even try to lie and cheat their way out of trouble."

Chris nodded"Yeah, I saw some of my Uncle's cases before I joined his Law Firm. Oh, and can I ask you for some more information?"

"I've got nothing new, and Prosecutor Whiteshore insists that nothing be kept from the Defense. False Charges are a filthy business, and some of her colleagues don't share her sense of honor" Kenderick grimaced"Well, don't let me interfere with your investigation. I'll be right behind you if you're going to speak with Crank, now."

"Thanks, Detective" Chris smiled, entering the building with Priscilla.

The Arcade had fewer customers than yesterday, likely due to the investigation. The Arcade's Mechanic was busily fixing the cabinet he was working on and making sure its working again.

Alicia took a breath and stepped forward"Mr. Crank, sir."

"Huh?" The somewhat irritated mechanic grumbled and looked up"What? I'm busy, here."

"Its us, Chris and Alicia" Chris spoke up.

The Mechanic's expression softened a bit"Oh, you two. You really stuck it to the Prosecution, I reckon. And don't get me wrong, Priscilla's a nice girl. Though she's actually been feelin' conflicted, I heard that Detective muttering something to himself yesterday."

"Conflicted?" Chris asked.

"Beats me, and its none of my business" Crank replied, shaking his head"So, what do you want from me, now? I gotta finish doing repairs on this cabinet before I head home."

"It'll only take a moment of your time" Chris assured the older man"Can you tell me something about your boss? I hear he's been feeding Prosecutor Whiteshore information."

Crank hesitated, then replied, scratching his chin in thought"You think the Manager is a suspect? I sure hope not."

Chris shook his head"No, but there has to have been a third party involved in the murder. Least that's what I think."

The Mechanic blinked"You reckon so? Either way, this murder mystery has been bad for business. Luckily, the Manager's doing what he can to try and keep this place up and running."

"What can you tell us about the manager?" Alicia asked.

"He's a shrewd businessman" Crank replied"Although since his wife passed away... Well, he and his son haven't exactly been the same. His son actually hangs around the second floor a lot, what with his old man being busy. Oh, and the Manager's name is Arcadia Smithson. If you want to meet him, his office is on the second floor. His son's kinda quiet, but a good lad. Sorry I can't be of anymore help than this."

"Its okay" Chris assured him, walking away.

Alicia followed, waiting until they were near the stairway before saying"Chris, I've met the Manager's son once or twice, I think he can help us."

Chris' eyes widened in surprise and turned"Really?"

"Yes" Alicia nodded"Although he's... Well, I think he has problems speaking, something happened that damaged his vocal chords. But I'm sure he's nice, he and my brother and I are old friends from our Junior High School days."

Chris took in this piece of information"Wow, that's good to know. All right, let's go speak to the Manager's son and see if we can learn anything new."

The two went up the stairs, stopping when they caught sight of a dried-up bloodstain. Chris frowned"Hm. Think this could be related? The blood's been mostly wiped away, but I think this could be a clue."

"Hey, you're right" Alicia looked at it for a moment"Well, let's get going."

The two reached the top floor and walked to a working Shooter Game Cabinet. Alicia walked over to the side to see the person playing the game"Excuse me?"

The Player, a young man with brownish hair, brown eyes, a white sweatshirt and jeans, stopped as soon as he finished playing and turned to the woman, speaking in a somewhat hoarse voice"Alicia... Its good to see you again. How are you?"

"Fairly good, thanks" Alicia smiled"Oh, and do you have your I Pad, Zachary?"

"Not at the moment, I left it at home, my voice is slowly coming back" he said. He had a thin scar near his throat.

Alicia shrugged and handed him a notepad and paper"Well, you shouldn't be exerting yourself. Anyway, I managed to hire a Lawyer for Jared, he's investigating his case."

"Good. I was worried about how the two of you must be handling this" Zachary smiled, accepting the notepad before turning to Chris, writing down on the notepad.

Chris smiled"Hey there, I'm Christopher Wright."

Zachary smiled and wrote down on his notepad, tearing a page and handing it politely to the young Lawyer.

'Its nice to meet you, Chris. I'm Zachary Smithson, the Arcade Owner's son.' After he finished reading, the young Lawyer frowned"Okay, its nice to meet you, but why can't you speak to me, normally?"

"I was in an accident" Zach wheezed, gasping when he realized that he had overexerted his voice before continuing on paper'It damaged my vocal chords and I barely pulled through.'

Chris nodded"Okay. Well, I won't push you anymore than I have to. Do you know something about the murder of Victor Thompson?"

Alicia suddenly had a worried look on her face, but trusted Chris to prove her brother's innocence. She didn't want her boyfriend to fall under suspicion, too if it looked like this conversation was going where she's afraid it is.

Zachary simply wrote down'I heard a crash around the same time Victor's death happened. My guess is that he landed hard on one of the game cabinets on the floor below after he took an nasty fall.'

Chris nodded"Okay, thanks for the info. Can we go see your dad? Is he here?"

Zachary nodded, pointing in the direction of the office a short way away"I hope your investigation goes well." He turned back to insert a quarter into the game cabinet he was playing on earlier.

"Is there something wrong? He looked like he was feeling guilty about something" Chris asked Alicia.

Alicia sighed"He has a lot on his mind, actually. He won't tell me what it is, but I want to help him. Chris, you don't suspect him of anything, do you?"

Chris recognized the implication in Alicia's voice and thought carefully about his next answer"Its too soon to say, but so far, he and his dad may be the only key witnesses without an alibi."

"Chris, you can't mean to accuse him of murder!" Alicia cried.

"I..." Chris paused, feeling somewhat torn"I don't really want to, but sometimes the truth hurts, my dad drilled that into my head. Well, let's continue on with our investigation."

Alicia reluctantly nodded and followed Chris to the Manager's office. An older man with brownish hair flecked with black was calculating the money his arcade is making when he looked up"Hm?"

"Hey there" Chris greeted with a smile"I'm Christopher Wright, a Lawyer" he showed the man his badge"Crank told me about you."

The Manager sighed"That Mechanic is a bit loose-lipped, anyhow, I'm Arcadia Smithson, the owner of this fine arcade. What are you two doing here? Is something else broken? I already have Crank repairing one of my arcade's broken consoles."

Chris shook his head"Nothing like that, I just want to ask a few questions. You know Victor Thompson?"

"Yeah, he was a bright young man" Arcadia nodded"I hear that he was an aspiring Game Designer. Why ask me, though? I try to make a point of not betraying customer confidentiality."

"He was killed" Alicia spoke"Haven't you heard?"

"Humph. Well, can't help you there" Arcadia grunted.

Chris took in this information silently, taking a moment before speaking"I took Jared's case and came to the conclusion that a third party was responsible, based on the testimony of Hilary, another of your customers. He said he saw someone's shadow, but didn't specify who. I met your son and asked him about it, all he knew is that Victor must have fallen from this very floor. If its not homicide, I've no idea what it could be."

Arcadia blinked"How do you know that Hilary wasn't seeing things? And why did you think to ask my son?"

"Alicia said he'd be able to help" Chris replied"And during this investigation, I've been mentally whittling down the list of potential suspects. And there was a dried bloodstain, which would mean that maybe the real crime scene was up here."

Arcadia chuckled darkly"How would that many any sense, boy? You're just grasping at straws." He absentmindedly reached for the telephone"If you're done wasting my time, I'll have to report you for harassing me."

Alicia stepped forward"For your information, Mr. I happen to be an aspiring Police Officer, I'm going to join them one day."

"Let me handle this" Chris interrupted, then turned back to Arcadia"I hear you've been giving information to the Prosecution."

"You know about that?" Arcadia narrowed his eyes"You know, just because firearms are prohibited in the Arcade doesn't mean that I can't silence you, its all confidential stuff. I can't have you finding out about my little cover-up scheme. You're every bit as nosy as that other Lawyer I've heard about."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked"And I'm warning you, I'm a black belt in Origami."

Arcadia chuckled"Paper folding? That's a no-good bluff that don't work on people who know what Origami is." He reached into his sack to pull out a hard, round ball"You see this? This little memento of my Bowling Champion days is a sort of good luck charm."

"Your son mentioned he was in an accident, do you know what is was?" Alicia pressed.

The Arcade Manager put down his ball"He was riding his bike to a bowling competition when he got involved in a little car accident. He barely survived. Now, if that's all, please leave immediately."

Chris thought he had seen a dried bloodstain on the dark red ball, but didn't think much of it as he said"I'm sorry to hear about your son's accident. Alicia, I'm sorry I suspected him for a moment."

"Its okay" Alicia assured Chris before addressing Arcadia"One more thing. How do we know that you had nothing to do with this case?"

"You're pushing my buttons, missy" Arcadia sighed as he dialed on his phone and called"Hey, found Jared's killers right here."

"Objection!" Priscilla and Kenderick burst into the room.

"Oh, there you are" Arcadia chuckled darkly.

Priscilla's eyes were narrowed"I overheard everything just now. First you feed me potentially false information, now I catch you attempting to file a false report. I would press charges, but we've more important things at hand."

Chris breathed a sigh of relief"Thanks, Prosecutor Whiteshore."

"I'm just doing my job" Priscilla told the brunette Attorney before turning to address Arcadia"Mr. Smithson, as key witnesses, I would like to request your and your son's presence in the courtroom, tomorrow. Unfortunately, that means your arcade will be closed for tomorrow. In fact, this place is on lockdown until after the trial."

Arcadia smiled"If you want me to give testimony in court, then fine. My son and I will both be there. We've actually been watching quietly from the gallery earlier today." He couldn't refuse.

"Well, I guess tomorrow Is when we'll find out the truth, then" Chris smiled optimistically.

"I wouldn't count on it, and this time, the gloves are coming off for real" Priscilla stated"I have a few more things to discuss with Mr. Smithson, you're free to go."

Chris nodded and began to leave with Alicia.

"Mr. Smithson was scarier than I thought" Alicia remarked.

"Well, he sounded like he was troubled by something" Chris mussed as he got out his notebook to jot down what he learned so far.

Alicia glanced at him"You think so?"

"Call it a hunch, but there might be more to Thompson's death than we thought" Chris replied"I'm heading back to the Law Offices to get my facts straight and prepare for the trial."

"I'll watch from the stands like usual" Alicia nodded.

Chris headed back to the law office as they exited. Tomorrow's trial was sure to be interesting, especially since Mr. Smithson was hiding something. The young Attorney supposed he was lucky that Priscilla seemed to be on his side, but there was no telling with her.


Finally got this chapter up, sorry for the wait. And Chris Ketchum, sorry I didn't wait for your response to the email I sent you. I just hope I'm making enough sense, here. I also apologize if I made Chris OOC at any point.

Anyway, I hope this chapter was enjoyable, I tried my best to make the investigation segment look interesting.