Chapter 4—Reunited

September 7, 2017

Miles was often looking up from his newspaper to the exit from the baggage reclaim, only to see that Lana hadn't arrived yet. Ema had invited Miles along to greet Lana when she arrived in England. After each glance, he would struggle for a brief moment to find where he had stopped reading before he had looked up. Russia had recently agreed to recognize Borginia as an independent country. There was one obstacle, though. Both Estonia and Russia had made the first step toward Borginia's total independence, but neither nation had any interest in giving up its land. The borders could not be agreed upon. In particular, Russians in the Pskovskaya Oblast objected to the proposed borders. It was agreed that Pskov was going to remain part of Russia, but all of the Russian land the Borginians wanted was in the Pskovskaya Oblast.

Another issue was a number of Estonians (especially in Tartu maakond) who opposed Borginian independence. A large number of people were going to have to move if they wanted to stay in Estonia. As moving would be expensive, it was understandable that people wanted their homes to remain on Estonian soil. There was also Tartu's cultural history to keep in mind. As the second largest, and one of the oldest, cities in Estonia, few Estonians wanted to part with their claim to it. There was also the claim that the Borginians were only pushing for Tartu because they believed they'd never convince Russia to give up Pskov. No matter what happened, there was going to be some political tension for a while, even if Borginia were to be given its official borders tomorrow.

Miles's cell phone rang. He reached into his pocket and answered it.

"This is Edgeworth," he said.

"M-Mr. Edgeworth, sir…" the voice on the other end said. Miles recognized it instantly as a nervous Detective Gumshoe. "You've gotta help me, sir. They arrested Maggey!"

"On what charges?"

"Murder, sir."

"What evidence did they have against her?"

"Um… Hold on, sir, I'll go get the files."

Miles heard the sounds of rummaging.

"Something going on?" Ema asked.

"Someone Gumshoe is infatuated with got arrested," Miles replied.

Ema gasped. "Oh, no! Is she…?"

"That's what I intend to find out."

"What is?" Gumshoe asked.

"Sorry," Miles replied. "Ema's with me right now, and she was curious about your call. So, about the evidence…"

"Well, first, we've got the autopsy report. The victim was shoved from a height of two stories and broke his neck."

"I see. And what pointed to Byrde?"

"Some glasses were found under his body, and Maggey's wearing her spare pair."

"Circumstantial. What else?"

"Her name was written in the dirt by the victim's finge—"

"That's impossible."

"Huh?"

"If he broke his neck, he died almost instantly. He wouldn't have had time to write anyone's name."

"But we found dirt under his fingernails…"

"That only proves that his finger was used to write the name; it doesn't prove he wrote it."

"It doesn't?"

Miles sighed. "Suppose I grabbed your hand when you had your finger extended and wrote a name in the dirt by moving your hand in the right directions. Does that mean you wrote the name?"

"No…"

"That alone throws suspicion on the case against Byrde. What else pointed to her as the culprit?"

"A witness."

"And what does the testimony sound like?"

"He said he saw Maggey push the victim off the ledge."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, sir. He said she ran away after that and he called the police."

"I see. Do you know who the defense attorney is?"

"It's Mr. Wright, sir."

"So that implies Franziska will be facing him."

"No, sir. Not this time. She hasn't been around the last few days. Probably sick."

It must be really severe if it can stop her from facing Wright…

"I see. So who is the prosecutor?"

"Winston Payne."

Miles laughed. Having Payne face Wright in a dubious case was like sending a fly to kill a frog. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Detective. I'm already suspicious that Byrde was framed, and if Payne is facing Wright in this case, then he'll almost certainly lose."

"You really think so, sir?"

"I remember Byrde; I doubt she'd ever feel the desire to commit murder. You have nothing to be concerned about. If Byrde's innocent, Wright will prove it."

"O-okay… Thanks, sir."

"You're welcome." Miles hung up. He turned to Ema. "From the sound of it, Byrde was framed."

"And Mr. Wright's defending her?"

"Yes. Considering who the prosecutor is, I think a not guilty verdict is almost guaranteed."

"That's good…" Ema trailed off. She looked as though she had something on her mind, but didn't want to bring it up. Miles decided to return to his paper until Ema decided to start talking again. He looked up from his paper from time to time. After finishing the Borginia article, he flipped through the pages.

It was then he noticed Franziska's picture on one of the pages. "Legendary Prosecutor Deprived of Chance at Revenge." The article was a fairly small one. Franziska had fallen ill, losing an opportunity to face Wright in Byrde's trial. The disease itself was unspecified, but the general consensus was that it was the flu.

"Lana!" Miles heard Ema chirp. He looked up from his newspaper and saw Ema run to her sister and hug her tightly. He folded his newspaper and walked in Lana's direction, feeling a smile form on his face as he approached her. Ema noticed Miles approaching and let go of Lana. When Lana looked in Miles's direction, she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. Miles took Lana's hands in his own as they leaned forward for a small kiss.

"It's wonderful to see you again," Miles said when their lips parted.

"And this time, nothing's going to come between us," Lana replied with a smile.

"Yes." Miles sighed happily. "I feel as though we've never been closer than we are now. All that happened…"

"It only served to strengthen our bond." Lana let go of Miles's hands. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Lana turned to Ema. "You and Alice will have to lead me," she said. "I don't know where you parked." They started walking in the direction of the car park. "So how's everyone adapting?"

"The cats were going nuts back when we first got here," Ema said, "but they've calmed down now. I'm just doing fine. I've made a whole bunch of new friends, and I've learned so much about forensics!"

Lana smiled. "And what about you, Miles?"

"Getting used to London was rather easy for me. I had purchased an apartment before I even arrived, and I've found a good home for Pess."

"A good home?"

"A defense attorney I met was willing to take care of him. Apparently, his own dog needed a companion."

"That's good to hear. Is he doing well?"

"From what I've heard, he's doing wonderfully. Mr. Gavin seems to enjoy his company, too. Supposedly almost the polar opposite of his own dog."

"That's great. You're not too lonely without him, are you?"

"It sometimes bothers me, but now that you're here, I doubt I'll have to worry about being alone again for a long time. I've been putting a lot of work into cleaning my apartment now that Pess is gone. Hopefully, you won't even notice his traces when you visit."

"Thanks. It'll be nice to visit you without sneezing every three minutes. And what about a job?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Miles replied. "I'm a prosecutor."

"You should see him prosecute!" Ema exclaimed as they walked out of the terminal. "He's amazing! He gave up a guilty verdict once to make sure the defendant got the right sentence."

"That was a relatively simple case," Miles stated. "It's the complex cases that I need to master—cases like the ones Wright usually ends up handling."

"You're making progress, though, from the sound of it," Lana said. "Finding the right path is hard to do in one step."

"Of course. Now, what about you? Now that you're in England, you will finally be able to prosecute."

"That's true—assuming I can get them to overlook SL-9."

"That's been taken care of. I discussed the situation at length with the courts, and they agreed that your actions could not be held against you."

Lana closed her eyes and blushed slightly. She opened her eyes again and looked to Miles, smiling. "Thank you. Sometimes, I feel as if we're already married."

"Likewise." Miles looked to Lana. "I don't think I'm ready yet, though… But I'm close; I can feel it just by looking at you." He paused as he looked into her eyes and took in the smile he had waited half a year to see again. "Your smile really does your name justice. You shine with an angelic aura."

"Miles…"

"So how did you fare? I imagine prison wasn't a fun place for you, but given your crime, it probably wasn't Hell."

Lana sighed, losing the red tone to her face that had developed. "You're right in saying it wasn't Hell. Still, I'm glad to be out. It actually reminded me of dormitory life back in college—communal showers, cellmates, a few amenities available… The main difference is that we were forced to stay in our cells most of the time—not to mention one of my cellmates had a grudge against me."

"Angel Starr, I presume."

"Yes. Nothing serious broke out, but she just wasn't ready to let the past go. I suppose I can't blame her; my actions have—"

"Lana," Miles interrupted, knowing that she was going to be saddened by thinking about what her actions did. "That no longer matters. What matters is that you regret it. If the criminal truly regrets their crimes and realizes that what they did was wrong, there is no need to punish them any further. Laws and sentences exist to make sure that those who commit crimes without regret have other reasons than guilt to avoid breaking the law.

"Besides, thanks to all the forgeries you pointed out, those who were convicted with illegal evidence were allowed to appeal their cases. I know it was too late for some, but you did the right thing in the end. Anyone who hasn't forgiven you is someone you don't need forgiveness from." He paused. "Look to the future, which for you is brighter than even your smile." He looked to Lana again. It was difficult not to see how wonderful she was feeling. He thought he saw her eyes forming tears.

"See?" Ema commented to Alice as they entered the car park. "I told you they're a good couple!" At that point, both Miles and Lana laughed.

"I guess I owe you an apology, Mr. Edgeworth," Alice said. "I was rather skeptical when I heard that you were dating Lana. You're almost nothing like my brother."

"Consider your apology accepted," Miles replied.

"Speaking of siblings, Miles," Lana said, "Franziska decided to visit me in prison for some reason."

"Really? Hm. That's not like her at all."

"I thought about it, too. I get the impression she wanted to look mentally strong."

"How so?"

"Well, if I had thought you really were dead, then she would look the more stable of the two of us."

"I suppose that makes sense… Even though she's got some sensitive points, she always does try to appear strong."

"And who better to look strong in front of than someone who recently lost the man she loved? She'd seem invincible." Lana half-sighed, half-laughed. "I think I rubbed her the wrong way by being strong."

"Don't let it bother you. Franziska's under a lot more stress than she wants people to think. She'll calm down in enough time, but for now, she needs to handle things on her own."

"Um…" Ema cut in, "you never said anything about a sister…"

"Franziska's not my sister, per se, but she and I are very close. You know I was raised by von Karma after my father died, right?"

"Yes…"

"Franziska is Manfred von Karma's second daughter. She looked up to me when we were a lot younger, but now she tends to think of me as more of a rival than a role model. She doesn't express it much, but I know she still cares about me to some extent."

"See that car?" Alice interrupted, pointing to a small blue car parked near the back. "That's mine."

"Hm…" Lana sighed. "We might have a problem, then. I don't think all my bags are going to fit in the trunk."

"That's an easy problem to solve," Miles said. "Some of the bags will be put in the back seats and we'll take the Underground. That's how I got here, after all. All you need to do is switch trains at King's Cross St. Pancras and take the Circle, Metropolitan, or Hammersmith and City line to Barbican. Alice and Ema can meet you at the station and take you to her flat."

Lana chuckled. "You mean you don't have a car?"

"There's no need for a car in a city with such great public transit. Besides, the traffic here makes San Diego look good."

"Yeah!" Ema chimed in. "There are actually parts of the city where the traffic is so bad that they make you pay a toll just to drive through them!"

Lana looked out at the parked cars.

Why…? Right.

"Lana?" Alice cut in. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh," Lana managed to say, returning to reality. "No, nothing's wrong."

"You were staring at the cars."

"I just thought about the Prosecutor's Office parking lot."

"Oh…" Ema said somewhat sadly, apparently recalling the murder.

"I wasn't thinking about that," Lana said. "You can guess what I mean, right, Miles?"

"Of course," Miles answered. "That's where I confessed my love to you—and where we shared our first kiss."

"In a car park?" Alice asked, apparently thinking it was a silly place to confess one's love.

"Yes. I had noticed my feelings for her a few weeks earlier, but it was only that morning, after dreaming about her, that I realized I was not just infatuated. I managed to catch Lana as she was about to leave for home. She had been there to deliver a report to someone."

"By that time, I knew I was in love with Miles, too," Lana added. "But I didn't want to cause him any unnecessary stress; he was dealing with five cases at the same time, and I could tell he was under a lot of pressure. I didn't realize that part of his stress was his feelings for me."

"Let's see if I can recall my exact words…" Miles paused for a moment, thinking as he tried to redraw the scene from memory while Lana's bags were loaded into the car.

Miles saw Lana opening the door to her car and realized he had to act now. He had decided that morning that he was going to tell her the moment he saw her. He had an entire afternoon to gather the courage to do so, and he knew that it was best just to keep the confession simple and to the point lest he wander away from doing so while talking to her.

"Lana," he called. "I'm glad I caught you."

"Is something wrong?" Lana asked as Miles approached her.

"No… nothing's wrong... but I need to see you."

"What is it?"

Miles closed his eyes and struggled for a moment.

"I love you," he finally said. He felt the slight pressure on his heart lift as the words left his mouth.

Lana gasped slightly, then smiled as she placed her right hand over her heart. "I love you, too," she replied with a pleased sigh. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. You're under so much stress already…"

Miles took Lana's right hand and held it in both hands. "I can already feel some of it lifting."

"And then we kissed," Miles said, "and the rest is history."

"And what a good time to end the story," Alice said as she closed the trunk. "We'll meet you at Barbican."

"Hold it!" Ema interrupted. "Do you mind if I tag along? I've never been on the Underground before."

Lana looked at Miles, smiling. "I don't mind at all," she said.

"Likewise," Miles said.

Alice waved good-bye as she got into her car. Miles, Lana, and Ema stepped aside so she could back out of her parking space and leave. Despite the comfort provided by being together, no one was able to find a topic to talk about. Perhaps it was better that way; Miles never thought too highly of small talk—too surface-level for his preferences. Ema shared stories of forensic science—in great detail. Lana, being the loving sister she was, paid attention and occasionally gave her input. From time to time, Miles commented, but he was mostly quiet during the trip to his stop. He bid the two sisters farewell when he got off and switched to the train to his apartment.

I'll have to watch some of Lana's trials; I'm sure to learn something. The sooner I know which path is right, the sooner she can walk that path with me. I already get the feeling that the ring will leave my hands before long. Despite all that happened to her, she's still the same incredible woman she always was… I suppose that's one of the reasons I love her; she's as strong as she is kind—even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside.