Apollo gazed at the paperwork with uncertainty, trying to piece together anything from the vague descriptions to the little evidence. No fingerprints, no hair samples, not even a single pill left behind. This killer was careful, and that didn't make his life-Or Klavier's any easier. He had gone to visit him earlier, and he was in worse shape than he was before. His eyes had bags as if he never slept before in his life, his hair tousled and unkempt, and his face-
He just looked so...so broken.
Klavier was getting non-stop hate mail from families of the victims, most calling him names and saying vile things, one even describing how Klavier should be murdered with great detail and contempt. They even had to start checking the mail for hazards so he wouldn't get killed. And despite the murders continuing when he was arrested, Klavier wasn't going to be let out. Police questioned him on who he was working with, but they refuse to accept that he's innocent. Simply shows dumb law could be, he thought.
But despite all that, Klavier still manages to smile, and crack jokes about his forehead, and sing songs from the Gavinners like he was on stage, which always made Apollo happy, knowing that he hasn't given up yet, so he shouldn't either.
Apollo looked at Doe, who was also looking through the files, or more specifically, the pictures of the victims. You figure anyone who'd look at a bunch of corpses would at least look sad, or remorseful. She had this blank stare as if the images didn't bother her, (which wasn't easy, considering it took Apollo weeks to be able to look at dead bodies without wincing.)
She looked up from the pictures and his eyes met hers momentarily and she immediately looked away. She only made eye-contact with Trucy, and Mr. Wright wasn't able to hold a conversation with her because he scared her, (he would be too if Mr. Wright was always 3 steps behind you and gave you the If-you-try-anything-I'll-murder-you-myself look). It was apparent that he didn't trust her, and Apollo was getting there. However, he knew that they were all going to have to trust each other if they wanted to get anywhere in this case.
"All of these deaths were caused by poisoning, right?" Doe said, breaking him from his thoughts.
Apollo nodded, "Arsenic, to be exact. Smart move on the killer, considering how common it is."
"Have we figured out how they're being poisoned?" Doe said, tilting her head slightly, "I mean, it's obvious they're ingesting it, but we don't know how..."
Apollo pondered what she had just said, she was right, they hadn't known how because it hadn't seemed to be important to the case. "I assume it would've been put into food." He replied.
"It's the drinks, Apollo the drinks!" Doe said suddenly looking up and smiling. "The killer puts arsenic in the drinks, and since arsenic is tasteless, they wouldn't realize there's anything wrong with it!"
Apollo raises his head realizing her point, "And a lot of symptoms of arsenic poisoning can be mistaken for simply side effects of drinking to the general public, so no one would worry until it's too late!" Apollo raised his hand for a high-five and Doe looked at him, bewildered. He put his hand back down, looking away as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment.
"So we'd have to have the glasses the victims drank from tested for Arsenic. Do you think it was a bartender? I mean, they have close contact with drinks." Doe said, with slight uncertainty.
"Well the murders occur across different clubs and bars, and unless the murderer has 15 different jobs as a bartender, then that's unlikely."
"Hey Apollo," Doe said, looking worried, "I don't think they're working alone. It just doesn't seem likely. Everything is so...precise, so perfect that it had to be organized beforehand. Who knows how many people could be working together to do this...it's...kind of scary actually."
Apollo froze as a chill went up his spine. Her description made him think of Kristoph, which terrified him to no end. He knew that he wanted Apollo and Klavier dead, and his motives were clear. Get revenge on the lawyers who put him away, and the justice system entirely. But it wasn't just Kristoph, it was everyone who Apollo, maybe even Phoenix had put away. He knew they hated their guts and they would kill to see the tables turned, but there were so many people who wanted them all dea-Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, he felt stifled as if someone was choking him right no-
"Apollo? Apollo!?" Doe got up, visibly alarmed at the gasping lawyer in front of her. "W-whats wrong, calm down, you're okay, you're okay!"
His breathing steadied slowly, as the world came back into focus, "I-i need to go to the bathroom," he said as he ran to the bathroom and heaved. His shirt stuck to his back from the sweat and he felt so cold. He wiped his mouth and flushed the toilet, before coming back to see Mr. Wright holding Doe by the cuff of her shirt. He didn't look angry, but then again, he didn't look particularly anything. He managed to have a smile that looked anything but friendly. Just like him, Apollo thought. When Mr. Wright saw him, he gasped and let go of Doe, and she yelped and backed away.
"Apollo," Mr. Wright said cautiously, "I swear this isn't what it looks like, and if you'd let me explain then I'm sure we could-"
Doe interrupted him, "I-I should go. Goodbye Apollo, Mr. Wright." When
Apollo glared at Mr. Wright, "Well, thanks for scaring her off, I'm sure that you really, really got through to her."
"I thought she had-" Mr. Wright had begun to talk but Apollo was done.
"Thought she had what!? Really, I have my suspicions too, but I thought you of all people would handle yourself better than that. Do you think scaring the crap out of someone who's trying to help us is going to help me? Or Trucy? Or-" his breath had caught in his throat and he felt the familiar sensation of tears pricking at his eyes. He refused to
cry, not now. He had to be strong for Klavier.
Mr. Wright's expression softened, "Apollo, I'm sorry, I know I took things too far, but don't cry, okay? You're going to be alright."
Apollo slowly fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands, and started to cry. First, it was soft whimpers and small tears but it slowly escalated to loud heartbroken sobs. He felt so weak, so helpless. He could barely hold himself together now, how was he supposed to be strong for Klavier? Mr. Wright knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Apollo swatted his hand away, muttering, "No, I-I'm fine." Instead of leaving him, he embraced Apollo. Apollo kept repeating the words "I'm sorry" over and over again through his sobs. Mr. Wright whispered in his ear saying things like, "You're strong Apollo," and "It'll be alright, trust me," comforting him as his sobs rang throughout the halls of the building.