I told Mia to meet me in my office once the good Doctor was escorted to her holding cell for the night. Mia had informed me that the poor woman was being held without bail. She looked terrified enough, I'm pretty sure that only an hour in that cell would break her. Though more so than the doctor, I worried for Mia. Never had I seen her so shaken, so…weak! Now wasn't the time for weakness, for who knew what that Prosecutor's office had up its sleeve. Mia really needed to keep it together for this mess.
Ooof! I knocked shoulders with someone in the upstairs hallway. And to make matters worse, it was still sore from the night before. I let out a groan, as a high-pitched nails-on-a-chalkboard voice rang, "Oopsies! My bad!" I looked down to see a small woman with obnoxiously pink coiffed hair in an equally obnoxious pink dress suit. A dress suit that was hastily buttoned and nearly busting at the breasts. This woman could've given Mia a run for her money…if you catch my drift.
"Excuse me Miss…?"
"Miss May! My name is Miss April May!" Did she just come out of our office? "I was just saying good-bye to Mr. Gant!"
She then took a brief moment to 'size' me up. Unexpectedly her voice became more…seductive, "He told me allllll about you, but what he didn't tell me was how…beautiful you are." Miss May approached me slowly, her large chest grazing me as she turned. Her eyes never moved away from me once as she proceeded to press her buxom body into mine. One of her small hands planted itself on my thigh delivering a firm but oddly gentle squeeze. Her other traced its way up my black sweatshirt; her fingertips grazing the fabric slightly. My left hand instinctively tightened around the 9mm I had secretly tucked into the waistband of my jeans. Just my insurance…
Who does this woman think she is?? This was making me incredibly uncomfortable. I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Miss May, I'm deeply sorry but I just don't have the time for this. Now if you'll please excuse me..." I quickly turned down the hallway that led to my office, leaving the strange pink woman behind.
As if my day off couldn't get any worse, two things were waiting for me in the office.
One. On my desk sat a pile of hulking manila folders stuffed to the brim with paperwork,
Two. My hulking partner.
Gant was busy repositioning his shirt and tie…hmm wonder what that's all about. The math was very simple, a disheveled tart stumbles out of our office and Gant is busy 'adjusting' himself. Clearly, however, this didn't seem like a problem to him one bit, as he addressed me as if everything were status quo.
"Lana! Fancy seeing you here! On your day off no less. Oh! And it looks like the medic did a fine job stitching you up!" He guffawed all while clapping those massive gloved hands of his. I continued to walk past him, hoping that I'd narrowly avoid another idiotic and baffling assignment. "Going in to file more paperwork eh? Lana you are an overachiever! I knew you're the best pick for chief Prosecutor!" I dragged myself across the marble floor to my desk…my spartan desk. On it sat my computer, a couple filers, a simple desk lamp, and a photo frame. Gant's desk sat directly across from mine. It looked as if it had been pulled from a 5 star hotel reception area, made entirely of marble. I flopped down into my chair with a huff, and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head, and placed my gun on top of my paperwork.
I looked up at him. "So Gant, who was your friend there?"
I could practically hear Gant gathering his thoughts. "My friend? Excuse me?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't play dumb, who was that woman I ran into in the hallway?"
As Gant turned away, absently gathering things from his desk, he suddenly spoke with a more sober tone. "Oh she was a applicant. Nothing to worry about."
I was dumbfounded. "An applicant? …Applicant for what?"
"A new internship for the detective's department."
"I thought we were having budget issues."
"Well Lana look at your desk. We need someone to file those so you can get back out on the job. The meth problem in this city isn't going to correct itself if you're in here playing secretary and pushing papers. Besides, kids will do anything nowadays just to get that one damn letter of recommendation." Kids? He fiddled with his wall safe for a moment. I leaned back in my chair, and stretched my arms upward.
"So then I take it the interview was a success?"
"I told her she'd hear back from me in two to three business days."
I smiled. "Do I get any say in this?"
"No." He shut the safe and made his way to the door. "And have a good evening Lana." And with that, Gant exited and left a very bad taste in my mouth. Sure this strange murder and Mia's involvement irked me to no end, but Gant's behavior was what bothered me the most at this moment. There's something odd about this April May…but I shrugged it off. It's my day off no less, and there was no reason to burden my mind with worries.
I heaved an exacerbated sigh and picked up one of the photo frames on my desk. Ema. She was away at a boarding school in Boston…on scholarship, and god how I missed her! She wanted nothing more to be a forensic investigator, and I was having nothing less but the best for Ema. After touring school after school we finally decided upon a small academy for the sciences in Massachusetts. I would try and visit her as often as I could, but with my workload it wasn't always easy. I pulled out my phone and started to draft an email to her.
TO: SciNerd
FROM: LSkye
SUBJECT: Hospital Madness
Hey Little Sis!
Hope all is going well at school. Though that hardly goes without saying, I got your progress report and it's looking great! You'll be a forensic scientist in no time flat! ;)
As for me, I'm losing my mind here day by day slowly…as per usual.
I don't know if you have been watching the news but there is quite a case under investigation here at home! The child of Senator Plume was killed supposedly by accidental overdose in the pediatric Oncology ward of the hospital and the main suspect is the child's own doctor!
Sis, please be careful…
A quick text message interrupted my quasi-parental ramblings.
Ran into Gant downstairs, does that mean the coast is clear? Mia.
Clear as crystal. My reply.
I'd finish the email later. I tossed the device aside, nearly knocking Ema's photo on the floor. Quickly, I repositioned it, exactly how I like it. Reaching into the bottom drawer of my desk, and digging through a mess of paperwork, I pulled out my other favorite photo. It had seen better days, as it's corners were tattered and curling. But it's poor condition belied the utter significance it had for me. It was a picture of my mother in a hospital bed, long brown hair draping her beautiful face; arms clutching a little bundle wrapped tightly in a blue blanket. Sitting by her side with a bright smile and mousy brown hair looking happily at the small bundle was a 13-year old Lana Skye. I flipped the photo over; in near perfect cursive read, The day Ema Skye was born, 7lbs 8oz. My heart lurched in my chest, as it always had whenever I looked at this picture; not even two years after this photo was taken, both my mother and father were torn away from Ema and I…in a car accident. Anger, sadness and rage all bubbled inside me as I swiftly put the photo back in its hiding spot. This affirmed my purpose in life, to be the mother that Ema has never had. I wanted so badly to provide her with the best life she could possibly live, and to keep that bright face of hers always smiling, to keep her mind always curious and thirsting for knowledge. She was the most precious thing in my life.
Sitting back I rubbed my temples furiously. My head felt like it was coming apart at the seams, and the knocking only made it worse. Knocking?
From behind the door: "Could a couple of gents trouble a beautiful dame like yerself for a few minutes of her time?" I said nothing, but the rolling of my eyes could speak volumes. A brief silence. "Come on Lana, open up! It's Jake and Nick!"
I chuckled softly, "Damnit, I know who it is, give me a minute." I trudged over to the door, and swung it open. There stood Jake and Nick Marshall, both smiling warmly at me. Despite all that had been happening today, I gave a genuine smile of my own for these two harlequins always knew how to brighten my day. I waved them in as I returned to my desk.
"Just wanted to remind you of our 'appointment' tonight." Nick began while walking inside.
"Appointment?"
Jake doffed that ridiculous hat of his and held it gingerly to his chest. "Yes bambina, a very important one. One that you're not going to want to lose…but will anyway…"
My blank expression was the only response I could offer to their obscurity.
"Jesus Lana, it's poker night!" Guffawed Nick.
"Oh! Yikes, must've completely slipped my mind!" I brought a swift hand up to cup my cheek, but I didn't realize which cheek I had struck. The stitches in my mouth screamed in protest causing me to wince loudly.
Jake let out a loud gasp, "Oh my pretty Bambina, what happened to yer face!" Nick furrowed his brow; he already knew why.
"We ran into the reason downstairs Jake… Gant looking pristine, and you a total mess…another successful sting huh Lana?"
I nodded painfully. "Routine drug bust late last night. Bagged another tweaker. Got me with a switchblade."
"In yer mouth!? What'll it be next time bambina, a gun??"
"I can only hope." I muttered. "Guys, I don't think I'm up for poker night. I think I'd like a quiet night at home doing paper work. And to be honest, this child's cancer ward murder has me addled. Consider this a...mental health day."
Nick sighed wistfully. "It is a strange case indeed. And it's going to be a real doozy for the defense. From what I hear the evidence they've found is pretty damning. Mia Fey is one heck of a defense attorney but she'll be up against Edgeworth…the 'Wunderkind'." The last words of his statement were drenched with vitriol. My headache suddenly decided to get worse. "And you know how he works…just like Von Karma."
This day was just getting brighter by the minute. "The doctor looks so terrified." I muttered looking at nothing in particular. "Like a deer in headlights."
"Well sure, if I killed a 10 year old kid, I'd be terrified too!" Said Jake, absently sipping from a flask. Great job following the personal conduct regs Jake! He brought down the flask and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"You honestly believe she did it?"
Nick shrugged. "Too early to make a call Skye. The entire prosecutor's office is jumping on this case and Edgeworth's got an entire army behind him. Imagine the PR they'll get when they win such a high profile case! Senator Plume's up for reelection! What if she drops out??"
I waved my hand in front of my face as if to swat away invisible spider's webs. "Enough about this please. It's making my stitches hurt." I pulled the cords of my hood to conceal my face behind the soft fabric.
Jake was taken aback but then gave a sly smile, "Why so touchy bambina?"
Apparently Mia's going to have it rough and you assholes spared nothing in telling me; that's what's wrong! My mind then decided it was prudent to wander to something else that was bothering me. "Did either of you see a short pink-haired lady?"
Both men shook their heads.
"Seriously? You didn't see a woman with bright pink hair walk down that hallway not even two minutes ago??"
They shook their heads a second time.
"Lana?" My attention was instantly drawn to the timid voice coming from the door frame. Jake and Nick turned as well. Mia. She didn't expect me to have company, let alone a prosecutor like Nick.
"Oh wow, what're you doing up here Miss Fey? You do know that Lana isn't on the investigation team for this case. You should go see Goodman or Angel Starr!" Said Nick. I blanched for a moment, it never once crossed my mind that I wasn't tapped to take on this case. Damn you Gant!
Mia approached and coughed slightly, "Well why not Lana? She's part of the 'incredible duo' right?"
Nick laughed, "That and our Narcotics unit…well she pretty much is the narcotics unit of this district! And this case does not involve illegal use and/or shipment of illicit drugs. So by simple logical deduction, Miss Lana is not involved in this case."
Mia simply gave a nod.
Oh yes, today was shaping up to be a most superb day off indeed.
