Chapter Four

Day Two. February 12, 9:45 a.m., District Court Defendant Lobby No. 3

That feeling of dread I used to experience during my first few cases had settled into my stomach. I had enough evidence to present my case, but there was still an overlying sense of unease. I was missing something. Actually, I was missing a lot of somethings, and the most infuriating part of it was that my own client was the one hiding those things from me! How could I possibly defend Gumshoe if he wouldn't let me into his trust?

"No matter, I've done it before," I muttered to myself. Lana Skye had adamantly stuck to her "guilty" plea the entire time, even when I'd finally uncovered the whole truth, and I still managed to win the case. Hopefully, once I turned over a few loose stones, the detective would make things easier on both of us and just tell me what he was hiding.

"I don't think you're going to pull a miracle out of your sleeves this time, Wright." I glanced over at the speaker, and found myself face-to-face with Edgeworth.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, startled. "Ah, wait. Why else would you be in the defendant's lobby? You're here to wish Detective Gumshoe luck, right?"

He blinked, then looked as though he'd had something disagreeable for breakfast. "... Something like that."

"Hey, pals! Am I interrupting?" Speak of the devil. Detective Gumshoe bounded up to us, looking from one to the other as though he weren't sure who he should address first.

"Detective," greeted Edgeworth, his cool, arrogant mask sliding back into place. "I don't look forward to this trial today."

"N-neither do I, sir," stammered Gumshoe, looking miserable and subdued. "I'm sorry, sir. But don't you worry, I'm not going to say--"

"That's enough, Detective!" the prosecutor snapped. He paused, shook his head, and to my great surprise put a hand on Gumshoe's shoulder in an almost... comforting gesture. "I've done all I can. You'll just have to trust in Wright here to do his job... whatever that may entail."

"S-sir!" Gumshoe had that disturbing hero-worship sparkle in his eyes. "Does that mean...?"

"Good day, gentlemen. I'll see you in court, Wright." With a final, cordial nod to the both of us, the prosecutor strode away through the double doors of the courtroom.

I think my jaw must have been on the floor, because Gumshoe gave me a concerned look and asked, "Hey, pal, you okay?"

Closing my mouth and swallowing hard past the dryness in my throat, I fixed my client with an incredulous stare. "He... Edgeworth... He's prosecuting you?!"

"I know, isn't it awful?" Awful, nothing. Gumshoe looked as though he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "I never wanted to put Mr. Edgeworth through something like this..."

"Edgeworth?! What about you? You practically live for that man! I can't even imagine..."

"N-now, pal, it's not like that!" Gumshoe looked around nervously. "Not so loud! I don't want him to hear you saying things like that about us."

"Huh?" I blinked. Why was the detective acting so suspiciously? What did he think I meant? "I was just saying, you're always at Edgeworth's beck and call. You find his evidence, his suspects, and his witnesses. Hell, you even get his books down from the high shelves, don't you?"

"H-how did you know about that?" Now Gumshoe was looking really rattled.

"I didn't. I guessed, and you confirmed it." The detective gave me a stricken look. "Edgeworth isn't good with heights, and who else would he trust with that personal fact? You said yourself, you two have a 'close, trusting relationship.' My point is, you'd do anything to stay in his favor, right? Having him prosecute you must be torture..."

I trailed off then as something clicked in my head. No, it couldn't be... Could it?

"What is it, pal?" I think that if Gumshoe sweated any harder, he'd need to change his suit. "Why do you have this weird look on your face? You look like you just thought of something horribly disturbing, like... Oh no!" He clapped his hands over his mouth. "D-don't look at me like that, Mr. Wright! It's not what you think!"

"You... and Edgeworth..." I swallowed hard. "Detective, what exactly is your relationship with the prosecutor? Is he the one you're trying to protect?"

Detective Gumshoe shook his head violently, hands still clasped over his mouth. "Mmph-mn. Mm moph shayim mmyphm!"

"What?"

He took his hands away from his mouth and repeated, "I'm not saying anything! You hear me, pal? Do what you think you need to do, but I'm not saying a word about anything that has to do with Mr. Edgeworth! I'll take it to my grave, if I have to!"

I was speechless. This was just too much to take in all at once. However, little fragments of ideas began swirling into place with this new discovery. This was why Gumshoe wouldn't tell me what had really happened. Somehow, Edgeworth was involved in all this, and I had to find out how! If I didn't, it would mean sending an innocent man to his death, for no greater crime than protecting the person he cared about.

"You really love him, don't you?" I murmured, almost to myself. I glanced up at Gumshoe to gauge his reaction, and the simple, helpless look in his brown eyes told me all I needed to know. He looked like he wanted to say something, but just then court was called into session. It would have to wait.

February 12, 10:00 a.m., District Court, Courtroom B

That feeling of dread turned into a sort of queasy, butterflies-in-the-stomach flutter as I announced that the defense was ready to begin. The prosecution did the same, though I didn't really pay attention to his opening argument. It was the usual, generic, "The prosecution will prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." Nothing fancy at all. Down went the gavel, and Edgeworth called his first witness. I kept stealing peeks at him as the testimony was give, but he seemed as cool and collected as usual. I was so distracted by Edgeworth that I didn't hear most of the testimony, and had to ask the witness to go over it again. The judge was not terribly happy with me.

"Mr. Wright, is there something on your mind that is more important than this case?" he asked archly.

"Yes... I mean, no! No, your Honor!" I corrected myself quickly. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

"Hm. See that it doesn't." He nodded to the witness.

Detective Jane Rayne gave me her usual scowl and repeated her testimony. "Detective Gumshoe was seen at the Dippy Donuts shortly before closing time, sitting at a table. After the shop closed, he exited the front door and went around to the parking lot behind the building. There he met with the victim, a tabloid reporter named Poppy Rotzi. They had some sort of argument, a struggle ensued, and he shot her in the head. He was found at the scene of the crime holding her body and covered in her blood, among... other things. The murder weapon was still in his hand."

The judge indicated that I should begin my cross-examination, so I stood and approached the witness stand. "Detective Rayne, when we spoke previously, you mentioned that two shots had been fired, and two bullets had been found. Would you please explain?"

Rayne looked briefly startled, as if she hadn't expected me to remember. Scowling, she nodded. "Yes, there were two shots fired. During the struggle, the gun went off and shot the defendant in the shoulder. Then, he shot the victim in the head at point-blank range. The second bullet went clear through her skull and out the other side, lodging in a telephone pole just behind the victim."

"How close would you say that telephone pole was, exactly?"

"Objection!" Edgeworth shouted. Ah, I was beginning to wonder when he'd speak up. "What relevance does the distance of the telephone pole from the victim have to do with the crime? Unless you're suggesting that the telephone pole did it."

This brought a chuckle from the audience, and the judge banged his gavel for order. "I see your point, Mr. Edgeworth. Mr. Wright, does this have any bearing on the case?"

"Yes, your Honor, and I would appreciate it if the prosecution wouldn't interrupt without good reason," I responded smoothly. Edgeworth gave me a mocking bow and gestured for me to continue, knowing full well that he'd already made me look foolish. Fine. If you want to fight dirty, we'll fight dirty. Just don't whine to me later when I have to drag whatever part you played in all this to light. "If the witness would please answer the question?"

"Not far at all. I'd say about three feet, maybe less."

"And was there any blood on the pole or on the bullet found buried in it?"

This gave the detective pause. She frowned, then replied, "No. Not a trace."

The judge looked confused. "Mr. Wright, does this have any significance?"

"It absolutely does." I drew myself up for a dramatic reveal. I had to ask just a few more questions. "Detective Rayne, would you please describe the victim's wound to the court?"

"It was a single shot to the head, point-blank range. This was obvious from the small entrance wound in the forehead, surrounded by gunpowder burns, and the large exit wound in the back of her head."

"I would think that an exit wound like that would leave a big mess on whatever was behind it, wouldn't it?"

The detective seemed to realize what I was getting at, because she gave me a tight-lipped grimace and looked directly at me, unblinking. "Yes, it would."

"But it didn't hit the telephone pole, presumably the object that was standing the shortest distance behind the victim. So where, detective, did that mess go?" I folded my arms in anticipation of her answer.

"... It was on the defendant's shirt."

This was my big moment. I pointed to Detective Rayne, arm outstretched, and delivered my final blow. "Therefore, the bullet found in the telephone pole was not the bullet that went through the victim's head. That can only mean that when the second shot was fired, Detective Gumshoe was standing behind the victim!"

"Objection!" But Edgeworth could barely be heard over the ensuing tumult. The audience was in an uproar.

"Order! Order!" the judge shouted to silence the cacophony, pounding his gavel repeatedly.

"I object to the defense's claim," Edgeworth repeated after the noise had subsided. "This doesn't prove that the defendant did not shoot the victim, it only changes where he was standing at the time! He could have grabbed her from behind and shot her in the head just as easily!"

"Objection!" I shot back. "It proves everything! Why would the detective grab the victim from behind when they were talking face-to-face only seconds before? And why would he shoot her in the head at such an awkward angle, through the forehead, when it would mean shooting himself in the shoulder?"

This caused another ruckus, and after a round of gavel-banging, the judge looked to Edgeworth. "Well? Does the prosecution dispute this theory?"

Edgeworth gritted his teeth. Finally, he grudgingly admitted, "... It is a plausible theory." I smiled triumphantly, certain now that I'd won the argument. "However, it is wrong."

"What?" I stared at the prosecutor incredulously. How could he possibly continue to argue against the evidence? Especially when it was Gumshoe's life on the line!

"Do you have something to back up this claim, Mr. Edgeworth?" the judge asked, looking almost as stunned as I felt.

"Someone, actually. The prosecution would like to call its next witness to the stand..."

I had a sinking feeling I knew the name already. The worst part was, it was my own fault she was here.

"The prosecution calls to the stand... Miss Ida Baker."