September 19th, 2029, 12:57 PM
Dark Meadow Cemetery
Payphone Area
There wasn't much to look at… At least, there wouldn't be if the area wasn't swarming with law enforcement and forensics. Officers guarded and combed over the area extensively, trying to find any traces of evidence. Forensic scientists used their equipment in order to find hidden information such as fingerprints, footprints, and more.
Right by the payphone stood Sebastian, facing away from the two young women and standing out from the police with his red coat.
Athena walked up to him and cleared her throat. "Mr. Debeste?"
Sebastian, startled, leapt into the air like a housecat. He whipped around with a frightened expression on his face. "Don't sneak up on me!"
Trucy blinked.
Upon seeing who was facing him, Sebastian cleared his throat and relaxed his demeanor. "Oh, Ms. Cykes. What brings you here– oh. You decided to take up Ms. Boswick's defense?"
His demeanor drooped when he figured out why Athena was there. The young attorney nodded, "That's why I'm here! I just had a few questions for you."
"Did you talk to Kay– err… Ms. Faraday over by the crime scene?"
"Yes, and she said that our questions would be better answered by you."
"Oh, well, ask away, as long as it is information I'm allowed to share. Though…"
He turned to Trucy. "Who are– ahem!" He stopped himself and adopted a more pleasant expression. "Greetings young lady, my name is Sebastian Debeste, the prosecutor for this case. And you are…?"
"Trucy Wright! Nice to meet you!" said the young magician, shaking Sebastian's hand.
"Wright, huh?" he whispered, which both women heard.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way." Athena said, her face adopting a serious expression. "Are you planning on having Blake testify?"
"Mr. Hart? Absolutely not. While his testimony could have been useful. He was so overcome with grief over his father's death that he couldn't tell us anything useful. So no, he won't be testifying."
Athena breathed a sigh of relief.
Sebastian looked off to the side and stared off into space. "His dad must have meant a lot to him."
Athena's ears perked up a little, having sensed something. She decided not to pry.
Athena pulled out the red carnation that was found underneath the victim and held it out to Sebastian with both hands.
But before she could ask him about it, the man recoiled. "Wa– wa– wait! W– Where did that come from? Why do you feel that way?"
Athena and Trucy tilted their heads to the same side simultaneously at his rapid-fire questions and extreme nervousness.
A strand of hair perked out of Sebastian's hair as he realized his blunder. He patted it down and answered. "O–oh. That was at the crime scene, right? It's muddy and crushed."
"Uhhh… yeah?" Athena said.
"What did he think I was doing?"
"I just wanted to know what I symbolized. I have a rough idea, but Kay said that you would be able to identify it more specifically."
"Well…" began Sebastian, his face still red. "That's a dark red carnation, typically used to symbolize deep love and affection. It's an intense declaration of romantic love, which is why I was–"
"Why you were what?" Trucy asked.
"Nevermind. Does that answer your question?"
Athena nodded. "Yes, but there is another flower I need to show you."
"You mean the alstroemeria, right? The one by the grave that wasn't beneath the victim?"
"Uhh… I don't know the name." Athena said, pulling the flower out.
"Yep, that's an alstroemeria. That's a flower you would give to someone who has your support and devotion. It's a strong declaration of friendship. I'm a big fan of it myself, actually."
"So… the gist is that the red one represents love, and the yellow one friendship?" Trucy clarified. "And both are strong ways of showing their meaning?"
"Yes… though I would rather you call them by their proper names, Ms. Wright."
Trucy shrugged and knocked her head with her fist, while also sticking out her tongue playfully.
"Well, I think that's all we wanted to know." Athena said, writing Sebastian's flower knowledge down in her notes. "May we investigate a little?"
Sebastian looked around the scene at the police and assessed what they were doing. Some were still looking around, but most were just chatting with each other, feeling that they had investigated enough. "I think we're just about to wrap up. So go ahead."
Sebastian cleared out the area and ordered the police to head back to the station. Once all but two had left the scene, Sebastian bowed to the two women. "I'll see you in court tomorrow, Ms. Cykes."
And with that, he was gone.
Trucy immediately walked over to the payphone while Athena trailed her. They took a close look at the contraption. It had clearly not been tended to in several years, possibly even decades. Phone booths and payphones of any kind were endangered now that pretty much everyone had a smartphone. However, since there were still people and families that couldn't afford one, the old technology had not been relegated as 'completely obsolete'.
After giving it a once-over, Athena turned to the two cops. "Excuse me, officers? I have a question."
One of them walked over while the other stayed behind. "I heard from Mr. Debeste that you're Ms. Boswick's defense team, and that I should help you out in any way I can. What can I do for you?"
"Kay was right, he really does like playing fair."
"Did you do a forensic analysis of the payphone? What did you find?" Athena asked.
"Well… what do you think?"
Trucy turned to Athena and raised an eyebrow. "It's a payphone, Athena. It's probably littered with fingerprints."
"Well, not as many as you may think." the officer continued. "Not a lot of people use it, but there were enough old prints on there to seriously mess with the investigation. We couldn't identify anything specific here, so they're doing some more research at the lab."
"Ugh… So much for that. I guess I'll have to wait until the trial tomorrow to see what they discover."
Athena gave the officer a quick 'thank you' and added a note about the payphone to her notes. She and Trucy continued looking around for any leads, but they couldn't discover anything of note. They assumed that every other piece of evidence had already been confiscated as part of the police investigation.
Trucy gave Athena a look, which the young attorney merely shrugged at. Trucy called out to the officers, "What else did you all discover?"
The officers adopted nervous expressions. "Well," one of them said, "the only person with a full list of the evidence collected here is Mr. Debeste. I know some things were found, but I don't know what they are." He turned to the other officer. "Do you?"
"Not really, all I remember is that they took a blank piece of paper with them. No clue where they found it or how it's significant."
"Guess we're waiting on even more information. I better be prepared for anything Mr. Debeste throws at me."
Athena stretched her arms. "I think we're about done here, Trucy."
"Where to next?" Trucy said, bouncing on the tips of toes.
Athena thought for a moment before giving her answer; "Let's take Charity's advice and check out the caretaker's shack. If we're lucky, Mr. Belle will be there, and we'll get to talk to him."
Trucy grinned. "I've been waiting for this part! Let's go ransack his place like a couple of great thieves and steal the truth!"
"Yeah! Wait, what?"
September 19th, 2029, 1:16 PM
Dark Meadow Cemetery
Caretaker's Shack
Trucy and Athena walked up to the shack. Trucy immediately went for the handle, but Athena grabbed her hand and used her other one to politely knock. There was no response for ten seconds… twenty seconds… thirty seconds, until Trucy decided that she was done waiting and quickly twisted the knob with her free hand.
"Gah! Trucy!" Athena exclaimed
The young magician just grinned. "We're in! C'mon, Athena!" she said while walking through the door, pulling Athena along with her as the psychologist's hand was still holding onto her own.
Trucy turned on the light switch and the shack was illuminated, revealing that it was quite small, being just one room, but also quite homely. It was clear that Ricky had spent quite a bit of time in it. Towards the back was his desk, which was stacked with books, journals, and files, many of which had accumulated quite a bit of dust. On either side of the desk were two filing cabinets, some open, some closed, some partially open. Two windows on either side of the shack allowed a bit of natural light in.
Once inside, Trucy wriggled her hand free from Athena's and began sneaking around and examining every corner of the room like she was in a spy thriller.
Athena shook her head and began looking around herself until she saw a glint in the corner of her eye. She turned around to where they had entered from and saw a hanging rack off to the side. On it was a gray jacket and a keyring with a few pairs of keys on it.
"I assume that's to lock and unlock the shack, but I'll have to ask Mr. Belle to see." Athena mused as she made a note about the keys.
Suddenly, her attention was ripped away by a loud screeching noise. Athena covered her ears and whipped around to see Trucy rifling through the filing cabinets.
"Can you keep it down?"
Trucy turned to see Athena's pained expression, which caused her eyes to soften. "Sorry Athena. I wasn't thinking. That must have hurt."
"Don't worry about it, just warn me next time." Athena said, cautiously removing her hands from her ears.
"But hey, check this out!" Trucy said, pointing at a drawer she had just opened.
Athena walked over to her and looked inside the drawer. Inside was something she wasn't expecting: a gun with a holster.
"That's odd… Why does he have a gun?" Trucy wondered.
"Probably to ward off grave robbers or something." Athena theorized.
"It's probably not important since the murder weapon was something else, but I'll make a note of this, just in case."
Suddenly, Athena's ears perked up. "Trucy, close that drawer!"
Trucy didn't ask questions and immediately but quietly pushed the metal drawer in. Then she looked around the room until she spotted a steel folding ladder propped up against the wall. "Hey look Athena! A stepladder!"
Catching her cue, Athena walked up to the stepladder to scrutinize it. "Yeah it is. I wonder why the caretaker would need a stepladder."
As if on cue, the man himself, Ricky M. Belle, walked in, his shovel in hand and propped up on his shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw the two girls.
"I don't know why he'd need it, Athena, but let's just appreciate the fact that he's using such a complex form of machinery."
"Excuse me? What are you doing here" asked Ricky, perturbed.
Both girls turned their attention to the man, who was looking at them with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, sir!" Athena apologized. "We're Charity's lawyers, and we wanted to talk to you. Since the door was unlocked, we let ourselves in and waited until you got back."
"We were just discussing your acquired taste in tools! A true professional uses a stepladder!" Trucy added.
Ricky breathed a sigh and shot a glance at the stepladder. When he turned back to Trucy and Athena, his raised brow was even higher than before. "It's just a ladder."
Trucy jerked back and clutched her heart, as if she had been shot. "Unbelievable…"
Athena narrowed her eyes. "Sir, 'ladder' doesn't do the device justice! Look at it: it's like two ladders stuck together, and can thus stand on its own without a wall!"
Trucy stopped pretending to be dying and looked at Athena with sparkling eyes and a wide smile.
Athena took notice and looked back at her. "What are you smiling about?"
"Oh, I'm just happy we're on the same wavelength."
Ricky shook his head. "That just sounds like lawyer nitpicking. There's no need to specify, this is the only ladder in the room, so why call it anything else?"
"'Lawyer nitpicking'? Ironic…" Athena and Trucy thought simultaneously.
"Anyway, you said you wanted to ask me some questions?" Ricky asked while heading over to his desk.
"Yes, if you don't mind." Athena answered.
"I'm not here to obstruct either side's investigations, so go ahead, ask me anything." Ricky pulled his desk chair out from its place and turned it around, then he sat in it.
"Let's see… What should I ask him first?"
Athena's mind went back to Ricky's behavior in court, so she built her questions from there. "I'm curious… Why did you choose until you were in court to accuse Ms. Boswick?"
Ricky's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. "To be honest, it was just a hunch that I gained through my observations of her that night. I was… paranoid that no one would believe me based on just that. It wasn't planning on sharing my thoughts at all, but then you kinda dragged it out of me."
"Sorry."
"No, you and Mr. Debeste were right, my theory allowed for her to become a suspect and save an innocent boy from being pronounced guilty of the murder of his own father."
"Honestly, I couldn't see Blake being found guilty in that trial. The prosecution's evidence was flimsy, and Mr. Debeste was hyper-fixated on arresting Charity."
"I also wanted to make sure that she couldn't escape," he continued.
"Escape? Why were you afraid of that?"
"Well…" A long pause. "You should never underestimate someone who is running away from their wrongdoing. People will change their identity, travel to a different country, and think of every possible excuse to avoid due punishment for their actions. The point is, I knew that girl was going to be testifying in court with me, so if I was going to share, it would have to be there, where she couldn't escape without being fully dismissed."
"That's some next-level paranoia." Athena mused to herself.
"Based on what I've seen, you are right about how far people will go to hide and run away from their crimes." Trucy said.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I know you said you were one of that girl's lawyers, but aren't you a magician? I've seen you on TV before."
Athena elbowed Trucy playfully. "Geez, you really have been taking off, huh? It feels like everyone's recognizing you even without your hat!"
Trucy just grinned before turning back to Ricky. "Yeah, I'm a magician, so legally speaking I'm not a lawyer, but I am helping out Athena here."
Ricky laughed out loud. "I thought I recognized ya! You know, I'm not exactly well-versed in what's popular nowadays, but I have heard of you from just overhearing people. It's inspiring to see a youngster reach stardom so early!"
"He seems to have loosened up a bit." Athena observed.
"Anything else you need from me?"
"Just one more question; it's about that calling card."
Ricky's smile disappeared and a straight, serious expression replaced it. "What about it?"
"Where did you find it?"
"Oh. I found it underneath the victim."
"Underneath? WAIT! Did you move the body?"
"HUH? NO! It was poking out underneath him! That's all! I noticed it when I shined my flashlight on him!"
"He freaked out quite a bit," Athena observed. "Oh, sorry for jumping to conclusions. So it was underneath the victim, but poking out enough to where you could see it?"
"You got it."
Athena nodded and jotted that down in her holographic notes. "Great, I think that's all I wanted to ask you about."
"Let me know if you two need anything else."
"Thank you. Ready to go, Trucy?"
"Yep! Lead the way, Athena!"
As they were leaving, both girls heard a sigh from behind them. They turned around. "Is something wrong?" Trucy asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, just glad to know we still have plenty of young go-getters in our world."
"...You say things like that a lot." Athena said after a quick pause.
"Do I? Well, when I compare myself in my early twenties to youngsters with ambition like you two, I think about how much more I could have accomplished if I just tried harder."
"Mr. Belle… Are you unhappy with your life right now?" Trucy asked bluntly.
"T-Trucy!"
Ricky laughed. "Not so much that. Sure, I don't have the most glamorous job out there, but it's good, honest work, and someone's gotta do it. I'm more unhappy with how I've spent my life so far, especially when I was around your age."
Neither Trucy nor Athena had anything to say, so Ricky continued: "There are people looking up to you two. No matter who you are, there are people who will notice you. Even the smallest admirable qualities can have an impact on someone. Just something to keep in mind."
"I think he means just Trucy, right? Who's paying attention to me? I'm just a lawyer: a top ten contender for a child's list for 'Most Boring Professions'."
"Well… Thanks for the… kind words?" Trucy said, a little confused. "See you around."
With that, the young magician left, with Athena trailing behind.
September 19th, 2029, 1:16 PM
Dark Meadow Cemetery
Caretaker's Shack
The two girls walked together in silence, neither paying very close attention to their surroundings. Athena kept pondering what Ricky had said to them, and how true his words were.
"Where are we off to next?" Trucy asked.
Athena shook her head free of her internal ramblings to focus on the present. "Well, I think that's all in terms of investigation, so let's head back to the detention center. I do want to make a quick pit stop first, though."
"A pit stop?"
"Yeah. Just bear with me."
Trucy raised an eyebrow at the vague response. "Okay. Lead the way."
September 19th, 2029, 1:30 PM
Lotta Hart's Apartment
Front Door
Athena and Trucy took a bus to the neighborhood that Lotta lived in and walked over to the address that Athena had written down on Widget. Their destination was a large apartment building with a few dozen rooms in total. They walked up the metal staircase to the third floor; then Athena found the door she was looking for and knocked. Some muffled fumbling was heard inside the room before the door was swung open by one Lotta Hart.
"Who izzit? Oh! Afternoon, Cykes! And Trucy, too!"
"Bonjour, Ms. Hart!"
"Long time no see, Lotta!"
"Good to see ya two! What brings you here?"
Athena flashed a peace sign at her. "I wanted to stop by and see how you and Blake were doing."
"How nice of ya! Come on in!"
Lotta stepped out of the doorway and allowed Athena and Trucy inside. Athena took a quick moment to take in the details. It was an average-sized apartment, best suited for just one person. On the tables and walls were many framed photos of Lotta and presumably her friends and family. You could easily tell that the woman was a photographer at heart.
There was a couch off to the right, which is where Blake was sitting. He was playing some mobile game, albeit quite poorly, as his mind seemed to be preoccupied with something else entirely. Lotta walked over to her small dining table and pulled the two chairs out from it and positioned them so that they were facing the couch, then she took a seat next to Blake and told the girls to take a seat.
While Trucy tried to strike a conversation with Blake, Athena spoke to Lotta: "So how have you two been? Have you sorted out Blake's situation?"
"I got most of the young'un's stuff out of Prince's house. Since Prince wrote me down as his first choice for Blake's caretaker in his will, adopting him was a pretty easy procedure, but he didn't say anything about the house, so it was repossessed, except for Blake's stuff." Lotta answered. She pointed over to a few totes stacked up by the wall.
"The victim had a will?" Athena asked. "I wouldn't expect him to have that kind of thing written out." She quickly checked the information she had on Princeton Hart. "He wasn't THAT old."
Lotta winced. "No, but Prince was paranoid like that, you know? He was prepared for just about everything, including if he… kicked the bucket early."
"...If you don't mind me asking, why do you think he picked you? Did he not have any other family?"
Lotta folded her arms and glanced at her nephew. "I'm his sister-in-law, and I think he jus' picked me because he trusted me. When my sis– his wife passed away, they were having trouble with expenses, so I helped 'em out a bit, and he always called me to take care of Blake when he couldn't be home."
Athena nodded, "I see. Sorry if that was a personal question."
"Yer fine, Cykes.
Athena remembered what Sebastian had told her, and decided to find out if he was telling the truth. "Did the police stop by to talk to Blake?"
Lotta nodded, "Yeah, but not one-on-one. They talked to the both of us to see what else they might be missing. The prosecutor guy didn't tell either of us that we needed to testify once we were finished."
"Huh, guess Mr. Debeste is honest after all." Athena mused.
"Ah right! I have something I needa show ya!" Lotta said as she whipped out her phone. After a few seconds of tapping and scrolling, she showed Athena a photo in her digital album. It was of Blake and his dad, standing under the light of a streetlamp in the darkness, both smiling.
"Is this–?"
"It's a photo from that night, the last photo I have of Prince still livin'. I'm not sure if it'll be any help, but I figured that I'd try to help out where I can."
Athena took a long look at the photo. Nothing jumped out to her immediately, but she did have the nagging feeling that it was important. "You have my number, right? Can you send that to me?"
"Huh? Oh, 'course!"
Lotta quickly sent Athena the photo, the latter of whom entered it into the court record.
Once she had done that, Athena decided to glance towards Blake, who was engrossed in a magic trick that Trucy was performing.
Trucy held up a card with her right hand. "Is this your card?"
"Yeah!" he answered enthusiastically.
Trucy flicked the hand with the card. "Are you sure?"
Blake's eyes widened. "What? Where'd it go?"
"Right here!" Trucy declared, holding up her left hand, which held a plastic baggie with a card inside.
"How'd it get in there?" Blake said, half-asking, half-demanding.
Trucy wagged her right pointer finger, which no longer held a card. "How'd it get in there, you ask? Are you sure?" she said with a grin.
She flicked her left hand, and the boy's eyes widened. "What? It was just there! How'd you get the five of spades in there?"
"Well quite frankly, I don't know my dear volunteer!" Trucy responded, her voice a bit muffled.
"...Is there something in your mouth, Trucy?" Athena asked.
Trucy faked a wince. "Well, I was pretty hungry, so I felt like eating literally anything." she said while opening her mouth and pulling out a card. "But wait! Is this not your card?" Trucy held up the card she had just pulled out of her mouth.
Blake's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "It is! It is! It's even got my signature on it–" suddenly he clammed up and tried composing himself. "I– I mean… Yeah, that's cool… or whatever."
Lotta laughed heartily at Blake's attempts of sounding mature.
"That's gross, Trucy." Athena pointed out.
Trucy rolled her eyes. "Relax Athena, no one's touching it but me. However, if you REALLY want to–"
"Ick. Pass."
"That's what I thought."
Athena, not wanting to continue her losing streak against Trucy, turned her attention to Blake. "Hey Blake, settling in okay?" she said, offering the warmest smile she could muster.
Blake's good spirits from Trucy's mini-performance were still present in his response. "Yeah, I've been playing Siege: Umbral Myths ever since I got back, and Aunt Lotta's been helping me set up my room."
"That's wonderful, Blake. I'm glad to hear that you're doing okay." Athena responded. She turned to Lotta. "Did you actually have another room for him to stay in?"
Lotta instinctually scratched the back of her head. "Err, no, 'fraid not. He's staying in my bedroom, and I'm moving most of my stuff to a closet that I wasn't using very much. I'll be sleeping on the couch in the meantime."
"'In the meantime?'"
"I'll be looking for a larger house for the two of us to stay in. I have the money for it, I've just never bought one because I've never needed more than this apartment. But… the situation's different now."
Athena nodded. "Good, it seems like he'll be properly cared for. I wish you good luck on finding a house!"
"Thanks!" Lotta nudged her nephew. "By the way, Blake. Isn't there something you wanted to tell her?"
Blake straightened up in realization, then he shyly looked down as his cheeks flushed red. "Th– Thank you for defending me, Ms. Cykes."
Athena smiled. "It was my pleasure, Blake." She then looked between Blake and Lotta to address them both: "If there's anything I can do for you two, please don't hesitate to contact me."
"Or me!" piped up Trucy. "I know I'm not a lawyer, but I can help out with other stuff! And I'm sure Daddy feels the same way!"
"Thanks a lot you two! We'll keep that in mind. Won't we, Blake!"
"Yes! I mean– Yeah, whatever."
Trucy giggled. "Hey, what's that behind your ear?" she said to Blake. She reached near the boy's left temple, an action that caused the young boy to flinch and blush. When Trucy pulled her hand back, there was something in it. "Why… it's a flyer for my next magic show! I knew I misplaced one of these! Silly me!"
She knocked the top of her head with her left hand and stuck out her tongue playfully. Athena grinned and rolled her eyes.
Trucy held it out to the boy. "Here! You can have it! I hope you consider coming. All of my best tricks are reserved for my shows!"
Blake didn't even try to hide his amazement this time, he just wordlessly accepted the paper with his mouth wide open.
Trucy stood up and bowed. "Thank you! Thank you!" she said, basking in the glory of a nonexistent applause. "Now, as my last trick, I, Trucy Wright, will be performing… drumroll please."
There was no drum to roll so Athena just repeatedly smacked her palms against her legs, eventually being joined by Lotta."
"...The Dramatic Exit!"
A moment passed, then Trucy jerked her head in a direction. "What's that?" she exclaimed, pointing away from the doorway out of the apartment. When everyone turned away to look, she dramatically tip-toed her way to the door and out of the room.
Athena and Lotta both laughed while Blake stared in the direction that Trucy had left in.
"I better go too. I have a client to meet up with."
"Thanks for poppin' by, Athena! Have a good one!"
"You too!"
Athena stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind her. "Now, where did Trucy run off to?"
Just then, something poked her right cheek. "Boop."
"Gah!" Athena recoiled and whipped her head around to see Trucy with her finger outstretched and a grin plastered on her face.
September 19th, 2029, 2:38 PM
Detention Center
Visitor's Room
Athena and Trucy took a bus over to the detention center, as Athena had a few follow-up questions for her client. The two stood outside the visitor's room, as Charity was apparently already meeting with someone. Trucy returned to studying her grandfather's notebook.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing a young woman that Athena couldn't recognize. She had medium-length, shiny black hair that was tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were a light, almost ethereal shade of blue. She wore a black suit jacket with purple highlights over a long, dark blue dress. Around her neck was a beautiful piece of garnet, held by a silver necklace, which did a horrible job at hiding the massive scar that streaked diagonally across her neck.
Athena couldn't help but stare as the young woman walked past her with a straight face. She continued to keep her gaze on her until the woman had left the building. Athena shook herself free from her subconscious staring and walked into the visitor's room, with Trucy behind her.
Charity was already there, eyes closed, with an unreadable expression. Sensing that someone other than the guard was in there with her, she opened her eyes. "Oh, Ms. Cykes. You're back?"
"Yeah, I think I've got all of the information I'm going to need for tomorrow's trial."
"Good. How's it looking?"
"Nothing definitive, but I at least have a better understanding of the crime scene."
Charity nodded. "Oh. Well, you're a good lawyer. I'm sure you'll find a way to win."
"I'm glad you have faith in me, Ms. Boswick. I think my game plan for your trial is going to be the same as Blake's: disprove the prosecution's accusations. It'd be nice to find the actual culprit, but considering that this person hired an assassin, I find it pretty unlikely that they'll come to light during the trial. It could be anyone."
"That sounds good. Anyway, since you're here, I assume you have some things to ask me?"
Athena nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Okay, fire away."
Athena gripped Widget. "Let me ask you again: "Does that graveyard have any significance to you?"
Charity paused. "No, it does not."
Athena heard it. Now she was certain. "Ms. Boswick, you are not being honest with me."
Charity stared at her for a long moment, which made Athena's nerves slowly spike. Then, Charity closed her eyes, allowing Athena a moment to breathe. Then slowly, but surely, a smile curled up her lips, as Charity's eyes opened just as sluggishly. "Interesting…" she said out loud, with a little more emotion than usual. "What makes you say that?"
Athena gulped. She looked to Trucy for support, but the young magician was too engrossed in studying the notebook that everything else may as well have been as insignificant as the dust in the room. "Well, I think that graveyard does have significance to you, and that you intended to visit it that night."
Charity's smile creeped into a grin. She leaned forward, almost touching the glass with her nose. "Go on…"
"Creepiest client ever!" Athena screamed in her head.
"Umm, so first there was the gravestone, the one that the victim died at."
"Hmmm… What about it?"
"So, it says the person buried there was born in 2010 and died in 2026, meaning that he was 16 when he died."
Charity's left eye twitched. "And?"
"It's 2029 now, meaning that if he was still alive…"
"He would be around 19." Charity answered. "Please don't tell me you think I knew him just because we were close in age."
"D-Don't worry! I know that's weak! But… It is a clue! The clincher for me was what we found by the grave."
"Which was…?"
"Let's see… There were two flowers that we found there. Which one is linked to Charity?"
"TAKE THAT!"
Athena held up the dirty red carnation. "That night, you visited that grave to deliver that flower, because he used to be your lover!" she declared.
Charity recoiled as her eyes went wide. "Wh– What in the world gave you that idea! I didn't do that!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"OH YEAH?!"
"YEAH!"
"Children, children," chastised Trucy. "You're bickering like Daddy and Aunt Maya. Calm down and hug it out."
Charity coughed and retained her calm demeanor once more. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Cykes, but there are two problems with your theory."
Athena, slightly embarrassed from her inner child being let loose, answered with a meeker voice than usual. "Oh… What would those be?"
Charity held up a finger for each counterargument she brought up. "1: I have never been in a romantic relationship with anyone in my life, so I'd have no reason to give such a flower to anyone, dead or alive. 2: Can you even prove that I'M connected to the flower in any way?"
"...Ugh." was all Athena could say.
Athena thought her embarrassment couldn't get any worse until Widget challenged that assumption: "Curse my inner romantic!"
"WIDGET!"
Trucy and Charity both lost it. Charity slammed her palm over her mouth in an attempt to cover her laughter and doubled over. Trucy was not so generous. She intentionally made her laughter loud and bombastic. She was so caught up in it that she lost her balance and fell to the floor, still wheezing and slamming her fist on the ground. The guard moved his head towards them and raised an eyebrow. It was the first time Athena had ever seen the visitor's room guard move an inch in her entire career as a lawyer. Athena just stood there, soaking in the shame as her face flushed further and further.
Finally, after a minute (or an eternity, if you're Athena), everyone had calmed down.
"Sorry Ms. Cykes, that was… hee… rude of me." Charity said, trying to maintain her signature emotionless appearance, though clearly still recovering from laughing.
"You're fine…"
"Was that all of the evidence you had?"
Athena's embarrassment dissipated as a smirk replaced it on her face. "Nope! While you and Trucy were… enjoying yourselves… I figured out how I can prove that you were lying!"
"About what? The carnation?"
"Nope! That was a swing-and-a-miss for me! Just that the graveyard has significance to you!"
"Don't disappoint me again."
"Hey…" Athena whined. She cleared her throat and pulled out the other flower. "This was also found at the crime scene."
Charity grinned in amusement. "Oh goodie, another flower."
"You're smiling now, but this flower will reveal the truth!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"OH YEAH?!"
"YEAH!"
"Athena! Get to the point!" Trucy exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, this flower… Do you know what it is?"
"An Alstroemeria, right? I think that's the right shape."
"Wow, you actually know it? Nevermind. It symbolizes… something. I forgot. But broadly, it's a sign of friendship."
"Remind me not to gift you a flower when you win."
"I will. I don't want one anyway. So, while its meaning is interesting, what's more telling is where it was found," Athena explained. "It was right next to the body, while the other flower was beneath him. You can tell by the positioning that the flower was intended for that grave, but then that begs a question: Why was it next to the grave and not on top of it like the other flower?"
Charity's eyes widened, but she continued to listen.
Athena noticed, which upped her confidence. "It can only be because the person who put the flower there couldn't place the flower right on top of the gravesite, maybe because something– or someone was already there." Athena raised her pointer finger to Charity. "Therefore, the only people who could have left that flower there were the three witnesses, and you happen to be the only one who would have been close to Trevor Ether's age when he died!"
Charity closed her eyes and folded her arms. A long silence passed over them with Athena keeping her seriousness intact all throughout. Finally, Charity sighed and placed her hand on her forehead.
"You sure have a knack for digging up a girl's past, Ms. Cykes. You're right. I did intend to visit Trevor's grave that night."
"Success!"
Athena pulled up Widget's holographic screen. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? I just want to make sure there are no secrets between us so that I can do my job better."
"Where should I start then?"
"From the beginning, please. Though if you're absolutely sure about not sharing something, that's okay."
Charity avoided eye contact with her lawyer. "Well, as you can guess, Trevor and I were friends until he suddenly passed away– he was murdered. I started missing him a little when I was at the convention, so I decided to visit his grave after I left."
Athena imagined losing one of her closest friends at such a young age: Junie, Trucy, Apollo, Simon. She couldn't even fathom it. "I can't imagine how that must have felt. I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. We… may have just been friends, but he meant the world to me. He was one of the best friends that I ever had."
"Hence the flower," Athena thought.
"Because you did actually want to go to the graveyard, did you make up the shiny object?"
"No. I know I saw something shine in the corner of my eye. I may have been intending to go there, but the glint was what made me curious, and the crying made me outright concerned."
"I see, so you were just omitting your intentions."
"...Yes."
Trucy, who was now fully invested in the conversation, jumped in: "But that begs the question: Why did you hide it?"
Charity sighed. "I just don't want to bring Trevor's death back into the public eye. The police had already failed in the past, and I really don't want them to open his case back up again so that they can mess up any further."
Athena's eyes widened upon processing the information. She slammed her hands on the desk. "Wait! They never found his killer?"
"Well… they did have a suspect, but he was found Not Guilty. They never found someone else."
"...Do you trust the verdict?"
"I watched that trial, and given the evidence, I have to say yes. Everything was pretty definitive."
"I see…" Athena said as she stared off into space and played with her earring.
"One case at a time, Athena." Trucy pointed out.
"Right. One last question for you, Ms. Boswick."
"Go ahead."
"Do you know who put the red carnation on the gravesite?"
Charity narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. "I don't see how that's relevant, Ms. Cykes. Judging by the mud on it, I assume it was found beneath the victim?"
"Uh… yeah, it was… Oh."
"Exactly. That means it could have been anyone visiting the grave before the victim died, thus, irrelevant."
"She sure was quick to shut down that line of questioning. She's right, though. It probably doesn't matter."
Athena closed Widget's holographic screen and gave Charity her full attention. "That's it. I'll see you tomorrow, and I'll do everything in my power to get you an acquittal."
"Thank you, Ms. Cykes."
The door on Charity's side of the room opened, revealing a guard. "Charity Boswick, we have some more questions for you."
Charity stood up. "Good timing, huh? Guess that's my que to leave." She followed the guard through the door and out of the visitor's room, leaving Trucy, Athena and the other guard.
Trucy stared at the door she had exited through. "She hides her pain pretty well."
"Yeah, I had that impression as well." Athena continued.
A moment of silence passed over them, then Trucy turned to Athena. "So, where are we off to next?"
"I think that's everything, so it's back to the office to organize the evidence and make a plan."
"Sounds good!"
September 19th, 2029, 3:27 PM
Wright Anything Agency
Upon entering the agency, Athena beelined for her desk and sat down on the swivel chair. Trucy followed and sat on top of the desk while Athena sorted through the evidence.
"Would you like me to come with you to the trial tomorrow?" Trucy asked.
Athena looked up. "Can you? Are you not busy?"
"Nahhhhhh, we're in the middle of a pretty big gap between my performances, so I don't need to practice."
"Great! I would really appreciate it if you came to the defense bench with me! Maybe you could get some more insight before you decide to study law or not."
Trucy placed a finger on her chin. "Now that you mention it, this is a good opportunity. Maybe I can even use magic!"
"...Not on me, please."
Trucy giggled. "Nahhhh, it'll be to distract the prosecution."
"Hmmm… I think they would normally call you out. Then again, this is Mr. Debeste. It could be funny."
"Okay! If the case ever becomes hopeless, I'll pretend to kidnap myself to buy you some time!"
"What? Don't do that!"
"I did it for Polly, though!"
Athena stood up and slammed her palms on her desk. "How did he ever put up with you?"
Evidence
Princeton Hart's Autopsy Report: Victim died from a stab to the heart between 9:45 PM and 10:15 PM
Rusty Knife: The murder weapon. Has lost all of its luster and therefore doesn't reflect light.
Princeton's Corpse Photo: A photo taken by the police when they found the body
Convention Flyer: Details a bunch of relevant information for a convention that took place on the night of the murder, including how there is a fireworks show that goes from 10:10 - 10:25 PM
Graveyard map: A map of where the body was found and the general layout of the cemetery
De Killer's Calling Card: Found beneath the victim according to Ricky M. Belle.
Trevor Ether's Tombstone: The place where Trevor Ether was buried at the young age of sixteen. It's where Princeton was lying when his body was discovered. Charity used to be friends with Trevor.
Red Carnation: Was lying beneath the victim, and is covered in mud. I know it loosely has something to do with romantic love, but I don't know much more than that.
Yellow Flower: Was lying near the victim. Charity placed it there when she visited the graveyard that night
Payphone: The payphone that Charity used to call the police since she forgot she had a phone. Fingerprint analysis is inconclusive as of now.
Keys: Found in the caretaker's shack. They likely lock and unlock the shack.
Gun with Holster: Found in a cabinet in the Caretaker's Shack. I wonder why Mr. Belle keeps it?
Lotta's Picture: A photo of the victim and Blake on the night of the murder.
Profiles
Athena Cykes (20): Me, myself, and I. I'm an employee of the Wright Agency and a psychology expert.
Phoenix Wright (36) : My boss. He's an infamous defense attorney known as the "Turnabout Terror".
Lotta Hart (34): Technically the client. She requested our services for the defense of her nephew, Blake.
Blake Hart (13): The defendant. He was out with his father on the night of crime. They got separated, and the next time they reunited his father was dead.
Princeton Hart (41): The victim. A single parent that took care of his only child, Blake.
Sebastian Debeste (27): The prosecutor for this case that kinda reminds me of the Chief Prosecutor in his mannerisms. He doesn't seem to like Charity Boswick.
Charity Boswick (19): A straight-faced college student. She was the first person on the scene aside from Blake and was the one who called the police. I find her a little unnerving.
The Judge (?): The Judge.
Ricky M. Belle (43): The second witness to the crime. Discovered Shelly de Killer's card at the scene and provided a decent theory for why Charity could be the assassin's client.
Shelly de Killer (?): An infamous assassin who has operated for several decades and has never got caught. Mr. Wright seems to have a history with him.
Trucy Wright (18): Mr. Wright's daughter and the owner of the Wright Anything Agency. She's a stage magician with an incredible work ethic. She enjoys torturing– I mean having me along for her magic shows.
Iris (35): A student at Jargon University that is studying psychology and criminology. She's an old friend of Mr. Wright.
Kay Faraday (27): A detective and self-proclaimed Great Thief Yatagarasu. She's very fun-loving and free-spirited. She seems to know Mr. Debeste very well.