.

July 2 12:15 PM

Harbingine Cemetery - North Side

Julius was still needy of more evidence. Last time he had Apollo helping him. This time he would be working with Orbis.

"You think this would be where Adrian wants to be buried?" Orbis assumed.

"Well, that and the fact that I don't know about any other cemeterie-"

"Aaaaachooooo!"

Orbis only gazed wide-eyed at Rigget behind them. The grave-keeper was rubbing his nose by the time his presence was acknowledged.

"Sorry."

"You sneezed into your sleeve, I hope." Orbis assumed sarcastically.

"I said I was sorry!" Rigget repeated, scraping his hand. "It's just my darn allergies acting up, again."

"I know." Orbis continued. "You're allergic to sunflowers, correct?"

"Yep, see?" Rigget held up the guilty plant.

"What?!" Julius barked in shock. "Then what in the world are you holding it for?!"

"Throwing it away, genius!" Rigget snapped back. "You think I'm a dummy?"

"Wait," Orbis requested, "but a sunflower's what your... Customer ordered."

"Forget the customer!" Rigget dug his spade once again into his hair. "Next time that blue-boy comes by, I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"

(Blue-boy? Adrian?) "Um... Just where is this gravestone, Mr. Rigget?"

"It's on the south side... And take this with you." Rigget walked up to Julius and quite literally stuffed the sunflower into his pocket. "I don't care how you take care of the stupid thing. Just do it, and do it now!"

"Ah... Um, okay..."

Sunflower added to Court Record

July 2 12:20 PM

Harbingine Cemetery - South Side

"He said that the grave was on this side." Julias muttered.

"Wait," Orbis interrupted, "who's that over there?"

"That's... Vera!"

The shy lady stood in front of a gravestone. Like last time, she chewed her nails. Last time, this might've been from nervousness, but now this seemed more out of agitation. She finally noticed Julius and Orbis. "Hm? Oh... Hello... Can I help you?"

"Uh no... Actually, maybe. Do you know any grave here that Adrian Hawkfenn might've been interested in?"

"... Hawkfenn...? You mean this?" Vera gestured toward to the gravestone she was looking at.

What Julius saw chiseled into the gravestone seemed nigh unbelievable. "What in the world?! 'Morina Hawkfenn, beloved daughter and sister'?!"

"Mr. Hawkfenn's younger sister." Vera explained with a surprised face. "He never told you about her?"

"Never!" (Why didn't he tell me he had a younger sister?!)

"So... Vera, is it?" Orbis began. "Why are you here?"

"Well," Vera nibbled her nails with that same agitation, "I... Used to know her... She was one of the first people to welcome me to the outside world, when we passed by each other."

(She's gonna have to find a better excuse than that, I think...)

"Are you looking for the detective?" Vera asked suddenly.

"Huh?... Hey, now that you mention it... I don't see him anywhere. Where is he?"

Vera flipped to another page on her book and started sketching. "He went to the police station... Saying something about forced entry."

"Forced entry? Someone broke into the police station?"

"Is that where we're headed next?" Orbis assumed.

"I guess..."

July 2 12:45 PM

Police Station - Evidence Vault Entrance

"Let's see..." Julius reviewed. "This is where the officer directed us to... But we still don't see the detective." (Not to mention the coincidental circumstances that brought us here. Adrian was just here the same night as his murder...)

It was a small room. In one corner stood a dumpster. The kind found in urban neighborhoods. Next to it was an iron door constantly guarded by a security camera, which was planted directly above it's target. Aside from that, there was the hallway where Julius walked in from, and another hallway to the side.

"Ahoy!" Cried a voice. Bulder's... "Nice to see you youngsters here!"

"Could you perhaps stop with youngsters?" Orbis asked patiently. "I'm only 17, you know."

"What happened?" Julius asked. "Vera Misham told us there was an incident of breaking and entering."

"That's right." Bulder confirmed, whipping his notepad out. "About an hour before that murder, someone broke into the evidence vault."

(That would make it around... 4 in the morning.)

"Should've been a cakewalk," Bulder continued, "except..." He looked at the camera. "The only footage we got from security was an officer passing by."

"Then how did he get by the camera?"

"Think of it this way youngsters," Bulder brushed his wig, "I was trained for these puzzles and I still can't figure it out..."

(Y'know, using the word "youngsters" isn't gonna help with that wig...)

"What is the evidence vault, exactly?" Orbis mused curiously.

"The evidence vault is for the storage of evidence pertaining to closed cases. Once an unsolved case becomes two years old, the evidence is moved here from the evidence lockers. The vault is just behind that iron door."

"Two years?" Orbis quoted, gazing upwards in thought. "Isn't that a bit hasty?"

"That's what I think, too. But I don't make the rules."

Julius changed the subject. "Who was this officer passing by?"

"Turns it it was your new suspect, Snipe."

(Thiffing was down here just an hour before the murder?) "Would it be too much to ask to see that footage?"

"Huh?!" Bulder replaced his wig and began adjusting it. "Whoa there, son, I allowed myself to help you last time, and I could try again, but sooner or later, my luck will run out."

"Are you sure? Because this technically isn't part of my case yet."

"... It isn't? Oh yeah, you're right! This has nothing to do with Mr. Nerio!"

(... Did he just realize that?)

"Here!" Bulder handed him the tape. "This is the footage."

At the start of the recording, there was nothing new, aside from the fact that the dumpster was not in view, neither was the small gap of space between it and the door. True to Bulder's words, there was Thiffing, walking through the hallway Julius had also gone through. Reaching the main part of the room, Thiffing turned to his right, as if to walk down the other hallway, of which the starting point was also excluded from the footage. That was all Julius saw.

"That's all that was in there?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. The video cuts out right there, like the camera was disabled.

"Disabled?"

"Yeah, we have no idea how it happened. That's what we're trying to figure out right now."

Evidence Vault Security Footage added to Court Record

(Well... This wasn't a complete waste of time, I suppose. At least now we know that Thiffing had been here just an hour before the victim's death. This might actually have some connection with the case. Good thing detectives aren't trained mind-reading right now...) Julius' eyes settled on something. "Hm?" He looked at the lock that held the door, the one that led to the evidence vault. "Isn't this a rather simple lock for an evidence vault?"

"Oh, that? It's tons more complicated than it looks. Observe!" Bulder took out a small key and turned the lock. The detective grasped the lock and lifted upwards... Revealing a fingerprint lock.

(Wow... I gotta admit, that's creative.)

"Like I said, it's very complicated. You'd have to become a police officer just to figure out how to pick it. And even if you do manage to pry it off, your tool's not gonna leave without a distinct mark." Bulder pointed out a small feature of the lock: three sharp teeth placed right on the optimum place to insert the wire.

"So anyone who tries to pick at this lock will get three scratches on their tool." Julius reviewed.

Evidence Vault Lock added to Court Record

(These might become important later on. Perhaps I need an overall picture.)

Evidence Vault Entrance Photo added to Court Record

The picture captured most of the room: the door, the dumpster, the camera, and the one hallway that Julius had yet to explore. "Where does other hallway lead to, anyway?" He finally asked.

"That leads... Well, it doesn't really have any special destination, it just leads to another part of the building. See, the door at the end of that hallway is a one-way. You can only go through it in one direction."

(So according to the security footage, Thiffing passed by and apparently went through that door.)

"You know what?" Orbis mused aloud. "Since we're on the subject, we might as well talk to him. After all, we did label him a suspect, didn't we?"

"Correct."

The two prepare to return to Thiffing's apartment.

Court Record

Evidence:

- Attorney's Badge: This badge is a must for all attorneys. Taking the defense bench without one is a federal offense.

- Recall Ring: Apparently, a ring that allows me a glimpse of someone's past. A souvenir from my first trial.

- Adrian's Bloodstain: A bloodstain on the sidewalk. This is where Adrian was shot in the right shoulder.

- Lester's Footprints: Found near the cemetery's northeast exit. Another set was found near a grave stone. Turns out they belong to the victim.

- Lester's Autopsy Report: Time of death was around 4:45-4:55 AM. Death was caused by loss of blood due to a bullet wound in the left shoulder.

- Cemetery Diagram: A map of the cemetery, showing killers, the victim and other things.

- Casino Ad: A flyer advertising the Nerio Casino. It provides, for lack of a better word, a small map of the casino.

- Thiffing's Vest: A vest dropped by Snipe Thiffing, near the Nerio Casino.

- Thiffing's Address: Apartment 13, Direct Apartments. The building is a straight shot from the casino.

- Adrian's Letter: Adrian's last words to me before he died. Right now, I don't have time to read it.

- Handgun: A .38 handgun. It's been proven to be the murder weapon.

- Ballistic Report: The report for the rifling marks on the murder weapon.

- Sunflower: This the flower that Mr. Rigget claims to allergic to. He asked me to get rid of it

- Evidence Vault Security Footage: Apparently, Thiffing had business at the police station just before the murder. It shows him walking by the evidence vault. The camera was disabled immediately afterwards.

- Evidence Vault Lock: A very complicated lock. Even when successfully picked, the tool won't escape without a special mark.

- Evidence Vault Entrance Photo: Someone had broken into this vault. I don't know if anything's been stolen...

Profiles:

- Adrian Hawkfenn - Age 36: My former mentor... He died just recently, and I have reason to believe he was the intended victim of this case.

- Casey Nerio - Age 41: My client for this case. Currently runs the Nerio Casino.

- Homer Lester - Age 29: The victim of this case. Was homeless before his death.

- Gaten Bulder - Age 39: The detective for this case. As far as detectives go, he certainly wasn't what I was expecting...

- Gray Rigget - Age 37: The grave-keeper, though a bit confused about his occupation. A witness to the murder.

- Snipe Thiffing - Age 27: A firearm consultant. Recently part of Detective Bulder's investigation.

- Phoenix Wright - Age 37: A legendary attorney. Apparently a very good friend of Adrian's.

- Apollo Justice - Age 26: Another attorney. Employee of the Wright Anything Agency. Sub-ordinate of Phoenix Wright.

- Athena Cykes - Age 21: Another attorney of the Wright Anything. Energetic co-worker of Apollo Justice.

- Orbis Fey - Age 17: The same kid that gave me my ring. Apparently banished from Kurain.

- Vera Misham - Age 23: Close friend and former client of Apollo. Currently working with police as crime scene sketcher.

- Director Hotti - Age ?: So-called "director" of Hickfield Clinic. Certainly not someone I'd make friends with...

- Brutus Contammis - Age 25: The prosecutor for this case. Practicing law for three years, he has earned the nickname "Prosecutor Hades".

Yeah, that last piece of evidence was just kinda tacked on there...

THX & God bless

~RLS legacy