Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!

Chapter 6 – Turnabout Business

Background: It's been about two weeks since the last chapter. Serena has managed to get her best friend an apartment to rent out, which just so happens to be right next door to hers, allowing Sabrina to visit her often. As for our lawyers at the Wright Anything Agency, they've been working hard on some court cases which they had gotten. Kay has finally gotten hired at the Prosecutor's Office, and Serena's started her work as medical consultant for a couple of cases.

Athena was in the office with Iris. The young defense attorney had noticed that Iris seemed a little upset. "Hey Iris. Is something bothering you?"

"Hm?" Iris had been spacing off, only to hear Athena ask her something. "No, there's nothing bothering me."

"My sensitive hearing tells me otherwise." Athena stood up from her desk and sat down next to the woman. "Come on. Tell me what's up. It's not nice seeing you all sad and depressed."

"Well," Iris began, wringing her hands in her lap. "It's…it's Feenie."

"Mr. Wright? What about him?"

"He's…he's been a bit distant these past few weeks."

Hm…Now that she mentions it, she's right. Mr. Wright's been acting pretty strange lately. I can tell he's hiding something. It was true. Phoenix had been rather quiet recently, and he had been leaving the office a lot with telling anyone where he was going or why.

Athena didn't bother to tell Iris of her suspicions, though. The poor woman was already worried. "Has he told you anything?"

Iris shook her head. "That's what has me worried. He's hiding something, Athena. I want to ask him what it is, but…I don't want to intrude. But…" She held her hand to face. "He just seems so tense. I hope everything's alright."

Athena tapped her earring as she thought. She didn't notice that Apollo had walked into the agency. She snapped her fingers. "I figured it out!" She turned to Iris, but then frowned. "But…it's not that great, Iris."

"What is it, Athena? What do you think is wrong?" Iris asked eagerly.

"Well, I hate to say this Iris, and it's only a possibility, but…maybe…maybe Mr. Wright's having an affair."

"WHAT?!"

Athena and Iris covered their ears. "Check the volume, Apollo!" Athena yelled.

"Athena! Did you hear what you just said?!" Apollo demanded incredulously.

"I know what I said, Apollo. But apparently, you didn't hear me. I said it's only a possibility."

"What exactly are you talking about anyway?" He sat down across from the two girls, and Athena had the now distraught Iris explain the situation.

Hm…so he's hiding something from the two of them too.

"What do you think Apollo?"

He looked up at Iris. "Hm…I think you're right in suspecting that he's hiding something, but I'm not so sure he's having an affair. Mr. Wright could never do something like that. Especially to someone as nice as Iris."

The three of them heard the door open, and in walked Phoenix.

"Hello Mr. Wright!" Athena said a little too brightly.

"Hello Athena, Apollo, Iris." Phoenix hung up his blue coat and walked into the office to his desk. Athena followed him, and Apollo was right behind her.

He didn't notice Athena's all too cheery greeting. There's something wrong here. Apollo regarded his boss carefully.

Athena started the questioning. "So Mr. Wright. Where did you go?"

Phoenix was leaning down to get something out of one of the cabinets. "Hm? Oh, just out."

"Just out, huh?"

Phoenix looked up at her. "Uh…yeah. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Athena replied all too nonchalantly.

"That's-" He was cut off by the sound of a door shutting, and he saw that Apollo had shut the door behind him.

"You're lying, Mr. Wright." Apollo walked up to him, crossing his arms. "And we want to know why."

The two younger defense attorneys stood on either side of his desk, and basically had him cornered. What is going on here?! Why do they have me cornered? And why are they not arguing with each other?! Something's seriously up here. Phoenix straightened up. "Who's says I'm lying?"

"My bracelet," Apollo answered, tapping it.

Phoenix cleared his throat. "If you must know, I was out on important business." Before Athena could even let a word slip out of her mouth, he continued. "Private business which is none of your business."

She slammed on his desk. "Mr. Wright! I demand to know! What-"

"Hey everyone! Guess who's officially out of school for the summer?! ME!" An energetic voice called out from outside the door.

"Quick! Act normal!" Phoenix whispered the instant before Trucy opened the door.

Apollo and Athena looked to each other and started yelling. "Apollo! Why do you have to yell so loud?!"

"Why do you have to be so nosy?!"

Athena gasped. "I am not nosy! How dare you call me nosy?!"

Trucy laughed, shaking her head. "Looks like everything is normal here at the Wright Anything Agency!" She skipped out to where Iris was and started talking with her.

Apollo and Athena watched as Phoenix followed Trucy out. They stopped their fake fight.

"He's definitely hiding something, Apollo. And we're going to find out what."

"We are?" Apollo asked, a defeated tone in his voice.

"Yes, we are, Apollo." She propped her hands on her hips. "We're going to find out what Mr. Wright's hiding if it's the last thing we do!"

I really hope it isn't the last thing we do.

"And seriously?! How could you call me nosy?!"

"It's not like it isn't true, Athena."

"Hey!"

"Alright Mr. Edgeworth. I got your message and came here as soon as I could."

"Please, sit down Ms. Sterling. I'm afraid they haven't done a complete autopsy report, but I do have a preliminary one here, if you'd like to take a look."

She took the file from him and started reading it over. "You wouldn't happen to have the pa...I mean, victim's medical history, would you?"

"Yes, but he didn't have any major diseases or illnesses at all. He seemed to be a rather healthy individual."

She nodded, still focused on the file. "So they haven't determined the murder weapon…" She looked up. "No cause of death either?"

He shook his head. "No. We're still waiting for the updated autopsy report."

"Right…" She read over the report one more time, then sat back in the chair. "So they just found him dead at his home. No stab wound." She flipped through the file once more. "Do they have a description of what the victim looked like?"

"Yes, it should be on the second page of the report."

Serena flipped to said page and read through it. "Hm…jaundice…" She frowned. "This…isn't enough to determine a possible cause of death. Did anyone see the victim or interact with them before he died?"

"Yes, I have that here in the police report. The testimony of the maid." He passed the papers to her, and she read through them.

"'Sir was acting rather odd. He seemed rather confused, and he complained he felt a sick, as if he was going to throw up. He also said he was in pain.'" She put the papers down. "So once the police get the final autopsy report done, they'll bring it to you, right?"

"Yes, that's correct." He leaned forward a little. "Do you have any idea what could be the issue, Ms. Sterling?"

"Well, from the looks of all this, and given that testimony, I want to say that this victim suffered from acute liver failure."

"Liver failure?"

She nodded. "That's just one possibility, but given these signs and symptoms, I say it's highly probable."

"So…that means no one couldn't have killed him. Am I mistaken?"

"That's…where it gets complicated." She looked up at him. "See, there are many causes for acute liver failure. There's hepatitis and cancer, not to mention the rarer diseases. But then, on the other hand, it can also be caused by drugs too, namely acetaminophen overdose."

"Ah, I see what you mean. Can it happen within a day, or is it something that develops over a period of time?"

"There are two situations for that case. Either the victim consumed more than the recommended dose of the drug, or he severely overdosed on it. For the former, it would take a few days, and for the latter, it wouldn't take too long at all."

"Right."

"So…I hate to say this, but I suppose there is the possibility that someone 'helped' the victim overdose on a drug enough to cause them liver failure and kill them."

"Hm…That is a possibility."

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Detective Gumshoe entered the room. "I've got the autopsy report!"

"Detective, please be a little more quiet, and thank you." Edgeworth accepted the report.

"Hello there, Dr. Sterling! How are you?"

Serena smiled at the detective. "I'm fine, Detective Gumshoe. How about you?"

"I'm doing well, thanks! I'll see you later, Mr. Edgeworth. Bye Dr. Sterling." He left the room.

"He seems so sweet," Serena commented as she turned around in her chair.

"Hmph. He can be a little overexcited, though." He read over the report. "It would seem that you're right, Ms. Sterling?" His eyes went to her. "They found copious amounts of acetaminophen in the victim's body."

Serena nodded. "I was worried you'd say that. The question now is whether this was a murder or a suicide."

"Yes, that's what we'll need to find out." Edgeworth filed the papers together, and then pulled out another folder. "If you don't mind, Ms. Sterling, I do have another case to take a look at."

She shrugged, smiling. "No problem. I'm still out of work, remember?"

"Of course." He pulled out the papers. "This is a case involving a car accident."

Serena took the papers from him and read through them. "Closed TBI…hm... That doesn't make any sense."

"Er…Ms. Sterling. Excuse me for interrupting, but I was wondering what was meant by TBI."

She looked up. "Of course! TBI stands for traumatic brain injury." She went on about it. "There's a closed TBI, meaning that the brain moved within the skull, versus a penetrating TBI, in which case a foreign object actually entered the skull. For example, a closed TBI can result from a car accident where the passenger gets violently jolted in their seat. A penetrating TBI would be like…" She shuddered. "Stabbing someone in the back of the head." She frowned.

"That being said, I don't think you could jump to the conclusion that the car accident was the reason why the victim died. You could also get a closed TBI if you got hit extremely hard by an object."

"The person in the car with the victim said that the jolt was very strong, and that his friend was presumably dead before the police came." Edgeworth frowned now, crossing his arms. "But you bring up a good point. There still is the chance that this friend was lying. If I recall correctly, he wasn't too cooperative with the police."

"Not to mention, if the jolt was as violent as he said it was, it's surprising that he came out of the accident without some significant damage."

"Hm…it would seem there's more to this than we thought." He sighed. "Thank you, Ms. Sterling. This surely will prove to help out in court."

"No problem. Who's going to be taking over the cases, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Kay…I mean, Prosecutor Faraday will be working on the car accident case, while Prosecutor Blackquill will be working on the drug overdose case." He noticed how she paled a little when he mentioned Simon. "Will that be an issue, Ms. Sterling?"

"Hm? Oh, no," she said, smiling nervously.

"If you're worried about Prosecutor Blackquill, don't be. He can be quite rough, especially during your trial, but he surely won't be as…callous as he was then with you." At least, I do hope so.

She sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I have to admit, I was a little worried. Thanks." Just then, her cellphone rang. "It's…from the hospital. Um, please excuse me." Serena answered the call as she made her way to the door. "Yes, this is she?...Yes? I am, why?...What? This isn't a prank, is it?!" She was standing the doorway. "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy I am!...I will. Thank you. Bye." Serena was beaming as she turned around and entered his office.

"Some happy news, Ms. Sterling?" I've never seen her this happy before.

She nodded enthusiastically. "The hospital called. They want me to come back to work, starting this weekend!"

"Wow. Congratulations. I can only imagine how pleased you must be."

"I really am. It'll be nice to be back in the ER again." She had calmed down by then. "Is there anything else, Mr. Edgeworth?" He shook his head. "I should probably get going then."

"Thank you again, Ms. Sterling."

"You're welcome, Mr. Edgeworth. See you." She left the office.

As Edgeworth was putting away the papers, his door opened and someone came in.

"Mr. Edgeworth. Who was that lovely lady who just left your office?"

"Why hello Kay. Yes, I am doing well, thank you for asking. I hope you're doing well also."

"You're avoiding the question, Mr. Edgeworth. Who is she?"

Edgeworth watched as the newest recruit to the Prosecutor's Office made herself comfortable in the chair. "She's our temporary medical consultant, Serena Sterling. Why do you ask, Kay?"

Kay smiled cheekily. "Oh Mr. Edgeworth. Even after all these years, you still manage to attract ladies to you, don't you?"

"W-what?! What nonsense are you spouting off, Kay?! Ms. Sterling is merely helping us out is all. She isn't here because she's attracted to me!"

"Of course she isn't." She still had the naughty smile on her face. "Anyway, you said you had a case for me."

"Yes, I do. It's about the car accident that occurred yesterday in which the driver was found." He handed Kay the case file.

She glanced at it for a quick moment. "Looks good, Mr. Edgeworth!"

You barely even looked at it! Goodness, I hope she'll be more serious. "Kay. This is your first case. Do you think you can handle it?"

Kay pouted. "Mr. Edgeworth! How could you possibly doubt me like that?! Of course I can handle it!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a device that was all-too-familiar to Edgeworth. "Especially since I have Little Thief with me!"

Edgeworth sighed. "Kay. The least you could do is rename it so that people don't get the wrong idea about it."

Kay snorted. "As if! How could rename my precious Little Thief?!" She hugged it to her. "Come on, Little Thief! We've got some investigating to do."

He shook his head. "Oh, Kay. You do worry me too much."

Not exactly a fun chapter. I've got the next one in the works. Please feel free to leave a review or private message me. Thanks!