"We'd like to talk to Cecilia Dove," the policeman growled. Clive frowned, wondering what his sister had done, and stepped away, letting the police in and directing them to the sitting room. The day before, he'd managed to carry Cecilia to bed as she had slept for so long it was already night and she had still been asleep.
"Larisa! We've got guests!" Clive called and the maid came rushing down instantly, briskly walking into the living room while Clive walked up the stairs and knocked on Cecilia's door. She sounded healthier than ever.
"I'm coming!" Cecilia called, placing down her pen. With Clive back, her brain was functioning well and she had scrawled scientific calculations on three sheets of paper and was still trying to discover why humans sleep. She followed Clive down to the living room while he explained the police were there. Cecilia stiffened, knowing they were here because of the shooting. This would be Clive's first time hearing of it, and he would be disappointed in Cecilia's behaviour. Cecilia sat down on the sofa next to Clive, keeping away from the policemen.
"So, Miss Dove. Have you been to Scotland recently?" a policeman asked.
"Can't say I have," Cecilia replied. The lie was completely hidden - you couldn't have detected it even if you were a professional. She was just far, far too good.
"Our tapes disagree. May we use your television?" the other policeman asked.
"Yes, you may," Cecilia replied, knowing this was going to lead to her in prison for life. The policeman who had asked if he could use the television placed a tape in and the footage rolled. Cecilia's body froze up as she saw herself on screen, holding a gun to the man's head. Everyone in the footage was speaking, but the words seemed like gibberish to Cecilia. As she pulled the trigger in the footage, it seemed to echo in the room. Cecilia gripped Clive's arm for comfort as she watched herself retrieve the bullet out the brains that had been splattered on Layton and leave, then she watched him throw up and call the police straight afterwards. The policeman thankfully turned the video off quickly, seeing both Larisa and Cecilia's faces growing pale.
"So, Miss Dove, would you like to explain why you put a bullet through this man's head and traumatized the good Professor?" one of the policeman asked. Cecilia sat there, her eyes wide and her face pale. She was unable to move, unable to speak. Clive had never seen his sister like that before.
"Can I get you two to leave the room for a bit?" Clive asked the policemen calmly. "I'll try and get her to calm down. Larisa, get our guests some tea then I want you back here." Larisa escorted the policemen out and left Clive and Cecilia alone for a bit of family time. The second the policemen had closed the door, Cecilia started crying. Clive let her cry until she couldn't cry any more.
"I'm sorry, Clive! I just... I just got the letter and... Then I saw him and..." Cecilia still could hardly speak. Eventually, she was ready to speak to Clive. "Did you hear everything said on the tape?"
"Of course," Clive replied.
"Then you know why I shot him?" Cecilia asked softly. Clive nodded. "I'll leave you to speak with the police, then. I don't think I can bear it." Clive nodded and let Cecilia return to her room. Cecilia collapsed on her bed and slept. The policemen left the entire household tense and the next morning, Cecilia answered the door only to be arrested and driven off. Clive wasted no time in driving after her and when he arrived at Scotland Yard he was told to wait before he could see Cecilia. A few hours later, the police got nothing out of Cecilia and called Clive in to help them get something out of Cecilia. Clive sat calmly in the interrogation, next to Cecilia, who was obviously stressed. She was chewing on her nails and fiddling with the ribbon in her hair.
"So, Cecilia, why did you do it?" the policeman asked. Clive didn't need to assist with this question. With him there, Cecilia had been given a boost of courage.
"Watch the tape. I do state my motive in there. Or ask Hershel. He heard everything. I was planning on killing him, too, but I decided he was a bit too smart to kill off," Cecilia said coldly, returning to her normal nasty self.
"Okay," the only policewoman, the policeman's partner, murmured, scribbling something down in a notebook. "So, where did you get the gun?"
"Ugh, are you idiots? I have a license! I bought it out of a shop!" Cecilia groaned. "Clive. License." Clive fished in his pocket - he had borrowed Cecilia's gun license for a while, and he still had it in his pocket. He pulled it out and placed it in the middle of the table. The policewoman pulled on a glove and took it as evidence.
"Where is the gun now?" the policeman asked. Cecilia pulled it out of her pocket and placed it on the table. "But we searched you!"
"They were bribed with a mere 50 each. How much are you paying your people?" Cecilia replied. "Give them a raise or something. They were very nice to me." The policewoman growled.
"That's enough, Cecilia!" Clive burst out. He regained his composure for a second. "Will you stop taunting them already? What the hell did they do to you?" Cecilia stayed quiet, knowing she had incurred her brother's wrath. Clive turned to the policeman and policewoman. "I would like you to hold off any further interrogation until a certain Hershel Layton arrives. And for him to arrive, you must call him." The interrogators looked at each other and nodded, then Cecilia was thrown into a cell for the wait. Clive had to wait in the waiting room and every minute was agony. Absolute, sheer agony.
Professor Layton sat opposite Cecilia and Clive. They had finally been allowed to talk, after Cecilia had been fully searched without a bribe and Clive had been searched. Layton had been searched, but his search was not as long as Cecilia's had been. Cecilia had even been forced to remove her ring, which could do absolutely nothing. The police were certain it was a grenade and had taken it from her.
"Cecilia," Layton said, the cold and harsh qualities to his voice startling him. "What you did was wrong." Cecilia's gaze remained unfaltering, almost as if it was burning into Layton's very soul. "And what you did to me was equally wrong."
"Professor, I hadn't exactly planned on shooting a man's brains into your face," Cecilia pointed out with a laugh that sent the hairs on the back of Layton's neck to stand up. "I had not planned on the very murder at all. It was only when I recognised him that the plan became evident - I shoot both your brains out and make a run for it. I knew I shouldn't have let you survive."
"Then why did you let me survive? Why didn't you kill me?" Layton asked. Cecilia rolled her eyes.
"Hershel, I didn't kill you because you're a talented man. That is all," Cecilia said. "I did not call you here to tell me what I did was wrong. I called you here because I need help."
"Help? What could you possibly need help with?" Layton asked.
"I need you to get me out of prison. If you do this, I promise never to shoot another person, and I owe you unlimited favours," Cecilia said. Layton looked her up and down.
"No," he said. "I'm not going to break the law for you, Cecilia."
"Very well. Then do me a favour," Cecilia said. "I need you to get me a famous attorney from the USA, then. His name is Phoenix Wright."
"That I can do for you," Layton replied. "When will you need him?"
"From the 29th of June onwards, until my trial finishes," Cecilia said. Layton nodded and left.