Chapter 12—Torture

September 7, 2016

Lana had heard about the trial. White was almost certainly going to be a witness tomorrow—whether he liked it or not. Too many of the people involved knew about his involvement, and Wright would probably learn from one of them, the bellboy, Miss May, or even Maya. Every one of them had some connection to him, which meant one of them would probably spill the beans.

The Bar Association had contacted Lana shortly after the trial—they intended to penalize Miles for keeping White a secret from the court. Worried about him, she explained the situation to them and took the blame for the incident. Miles had no idea that White was going to be an important witness, not to mention it was she and Gant who had told him that White's testimony was unnecessary, so they agreed to consider it a miscommunication rather than a deal.

Afterwards, she called Miles and told him what she had done. She knew Miles. He took great pride in his perfect record. As a whole, Miles was a very proud man. He didn't seek revenge for insults, but he did take them much harder than most. Most people thought of him as conceited, but that was far from the truth. He cared about others, even if he didn't always show it; the porcelain cat statuette she kept on her desk was proof of his other side—he had given it to her about a week after their first date. He didn't show much fondness of people who gave him trouble, but he still respected those who deserved respect, and as such, expected others to respect him. Even then, he was kind to anyone who took the time to befriend him, such as Gumshoe. However, when there was a problem with an investigation, an outsider might think that Miles hated the lovable idiot.

Someone knocked on the door to Lana's office. The "shave and a haircut" rhythm told her it was Gant. He was probably terrified since White was in danger. After all, ever since White found out about his forgeries, Gant had been doing everything the tyrant demanded of him.

"Come in," Lana said. A very nervous Chief Gant entered, closing the door behind him.

"What happened!?" he cried, his face covered in sweat. "I thought Worthy had the case covered!"

"Wright managed to get his hands on some evidence that Detective Gumshoe missed," Lana replied.

"WHAT!?"

"Wright acquired a cell phone with a recording on it and came across a wiretap in Miss May's room."

"How the hell did he find her!? May's location was supposed to be classified!!"

"I'm guessing a slip of Gumshoe's tongue."

Gant growled, his teeth grinding against each other. "Get that oaf in here right now!"

Lana picked up the phone and dialed the Department.

"Criminal Affairs," Chief Detective Wynn answered.

"Gumshoe's needed at the Prosecutor's Office," Lana said.

"That's where he is, ma'am. He said he was worried about Mr. Edgeworth."

"I see. Thank you." Lana then dialed the PA extension. "Detective Gumshoe to the Chief Prosecutor's Office."

A moment later, a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," Lana said. Gumshoe peeked in and entered, sweating. The area around his left nostril looked bloody.

"Y-you called, ma'am?" Gumshoe asked.

"Yes, I did. Do you know how Mr. Wright managed to acquire the defendant's cell phone?"

Gumshoe gulped. He knew. "No, ma'am," he lied.

"If you think you can avoid a salary cut by lying, think again. How did he get the cell phone?"

"I d-didn't notice the recording, so I gave it to him. He said that Ms. Fey was worried that the collectible strap might—"

"A purple Steel Samurai strap?"

"How did you know?"

"It was confiscated at the Detention Center and shown to me. My sister has that same type of strap on her cell phone. Even someone with your salary could easily afford it."

Gumshoe hung his head. He had been duped again.

"How could you be so stupid, Detective!?" Gant demanded.

"I know…" Gumshoe whimpered. "Mr. Edgeworth was really huffy about it, too, and when I told him that I was tricked into telling Mr. Wright the witness's—OOF!!"

Gumshoe was cut off by a gloved backhand to his right cheek.

"YOU TOLD MR. WRIGHT WHERE THE WITNESS WAS!?" Gant exploded.

"I-i-it was an a-accident, sir!"

"I oughta fire you on the spot!"

"I'm sorry, sir! I really am! I didn't know!"

"Chief," Lana interrupted, her cold armor filtering out the concern in her voice. Gant, red with fear and anger, turned his head to face Lana. "Mr. Edgeworth has not lost yet. There will be no problems with the commissioners unless the killer is acquitted, which is unlikely with Mr. Edgeworth leading the prosecution."

Translation: White will let you live as long as someone other than himself is proven guilty. With Miles prosecuting, it's unlikely that Maya will be acquitted.

There was no decisive evidence that White was the killer, but it was very likely. And since White had a stranglehold on Gant, forged evidence would be needed from Lana, meaning Ema's well-being depended on an innocent person taking the fall for killing Mia.

Lana had met the defendant once when she was in law school. Maya was visiting Mia for a few days. She was only eleven at the time, and almost as cute as Ema. Lana's memory was that Maya was a very mischievous girl who sometimes let her tongue get ahead of her brain. Still, Maya loved her sister as much as Ema loved Lana. It was inconceivable that Maya was guilty.

However, Gant had demanded that Maya be made to look like the killer. What a way to repay Mia for her friendship—getting her innocent sister proven guilty of a crime she did not commit—all for the sake of Ema.

The telephone rang. Lana picked it up.

"Public Prosecutor's Office," she said into the receiver.

"I'm contacting you on behalf of our CEO," a voice on the other end said. "I'll put Mr. White on the line."

White… Lana thought. Just who I wanted to talk to.

The receiver crackled a bit.

"White?" Lana called. "That you? What are you doing calling me at a time like this!?"

"Hello," White's voice said. "Chief Prosecutor? I've changed my mind. I want to testify tomorrow."

"What's this about?"

"The Mia Fey case. I witnessed the murder, you see. And, thus, as a very important witness, I would like to testify."

"What? Why now? I thought you said you didn't want to go to court?"

"Quietude…!" White barked. "I told you I changed my mind, didn't I? Oh, and one other thing. Send the police over here right away. The man is standing right in front of me. He looks dazed but could be violent!"

"What? What man?" What is this creep raving about?

"Are you even listening? The executioner! The hatchet-man! The liquidator… The killer, man!"

"Chief Prosecutor Jacobson was dismissed a year and a half ago."

A voice on the other end was screaming something (it sounded like "What!?"), so White probably didn't hear her.

"Mr. White…" Lana started, "this isn't another one of those…"

"Chief Prosecutor," White said again. "I do not believe you are in a position to freely offer your opinions to me, correct? I'm telling you to send the police, now!"

White hung up before Lana could respond.

How could anyone mistake my voice for Mr. Jacobson's!?

"What did he say?" Gant asked.

"He says that the real killer is in his office," Lana replied. She turned to Gumshoe. "Detective, get to Redd White's office on the double. Mia Fey's killer is there. Arrest him."

"If you can get us out of this mess," Gant started, "we'll reconsider firing you."

"Right away, sir!" Gumshoe exclaimed. He dashed out, not wanting to waste a single second.

Mia… forgive me…

At least if someone else was arrested, Maya would not be convicted. Even so, it was likely that White just wanted to dispose of a troublemaker and decided to get him convicted of murder.

"That… was lucky…" Gant sighed once Gumshoe was gone.

"I told you things would be fine," Lana said. "And Mr. Edgeworth even gets to keep his perfect record. I imagine he'll be happy to hear that."

"He kept it?"

"I contacted the Bar Association and put in a few good words for him. They decided to let it slide since White's testimony was supposedly the same as May's."

"Did you do that because you thought little Worthy hadn't done anything wrong or because you still love him?" Gant asked, trying to divert his mood to something he could make light of.

"Both," Lana replied coldly.

Gant guffawed loudly enough to shake the light fixture in the ceiling, clapping the whole time.

"If you still love him, why don't you just marry him?" he asked.

"That's none of your business, Chief."

"I don't care what you do with your life, Ms. Skye, just as long as you don't get me in trouble. Go ahead! Marry him, for all I care!" He paused.

Here it comes…

"Oh, I get it," he teased. "You're worried you might let your little secret slip, aren't you?"

"You have to die eventually," Lana said, maintaining her serious composure. If he was going to try to torment her, then she would do the same.

"Hah! The doc says I'll probably live to be ninety at the least!"

"Not if you're murdered or you get some lethal disease."

"Oh, you think someone'll kill me?"

"I know at least one person who wants you dead."

"And you think you could get away with killing me? Worthy would never marry you then! And what about your precious little sister? She'd be crushed to see you put on death row!"

"Maybe I'll just hire Shelly de Killer," Lana said. She would never really hire an assassin; she'd have to live with that torment her whole life. "I hear he's got a perfect record."

"You're bluffing."

"Maybe I am, but you have no way of knowing that for sure. Perhaps that suit of armor in your office will come to life and quarter you, or maybe you'll be followed home and shot. De Killer's pretty creative, Chief. Can you imagine all the possible ways for him to kill you? Why, you'd need a—"

"That's enough," Gant interrupted. "There's no way you'd do that. I know you, Lana; you may act cold, but you're not. You couldn't bring yourself to kill me."

"You've changed me, Gant. What may have been impossible for me once is now almost routine. However, let's not dwell on this topic. I'm sure you've got plenty of other things to do than argue with me about the person I know better than any other."

Gant looked to the door. He looked normal, but Lana could tell that she had gotten to him. After all, what would a selfish man like Gant be more paranoid about than his own well-being? She was starting to understand why some people drew pleasure out of torturing others. After all the torment Gant put her through, the thought of him fearing for his life pleased her.

All this for you, Ema, she thought as Gant left the office. How many innocent people will I have to kill before we're free? At least ten people have been put on death row because of me. You'd probably never forgive me if you learned what I was doing, even if it was for you.

Lana's thoughts paused. Am I really forging evidence to protect Ema anymore? The real reason… I'm worried. As long as Ema knows nothing, I'll be happy. As long as Miles has no idea that innocent people have died because of me, I'll be able to marry him once I'm free. It's all for myself… I'm becoming just as selfish as Gant…

She placed her elbows on her desk and her chin in her hands.

Will I even be able to live with myself when this is all over? Even if Ema loves me and I marry Miles, will I get over it? I've done so many horrible things. Even if I was blackmailed, I might have only done them for myself. Miles and Ema would never forgive me if they learned the truth. I really am just doing this for myself…

Lana felt tears forming in her eyes. She felt as though she had just learned she was responsible for her parents' deaths.

Gant… You've turned me into a monster. I told myself I'd never become like you…

No… Her hands tensed up. She formed her hands into fists and rested her chin on her knuckles. It's not just for me… Even if they'd be living a lie, Miles and Ema will be happy once this is over. I can return to normal and be the loving sister I want to be… I can marry Miles… I can only imagine how much joy I'll draw from seeing Ema's adorable smile again… and Miles…

That's what sets me apart from you, Gant, she thought, feeling much stronger now. My motives may be selfish, but the pleasure I draw from the end will be from the happiness of others at my freedom, not my own relief at being free. I'll never truly be like you, Gant. When I'm free, I'll be the same lady I always was—kind, caring, and pleased by the happiness of others. You only care for your own happiness, but I'm not like that. I feel for others… that is what gives me the strength to fight you.