Fair warning that this is my first time actually writing a legitimate Ace Attorney-like investigation, so there's bound to be some mistakes made. I've been playing some of the older cases and trying to figure out how investigations go. Hopefully, as the story goes on, they'll get better.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!

Chapter 4

March 5th, 2:15 PM

C. T. Zen Bank

Lobby

Getting access to the crime scene went a little too smoothly than I thought it would. I better be on the lookout for the twist. The attorney was standing in the middle of the bank lobby. There weren't many people there. Three forensics officers were near the outline of the body, and Phoenix was informed they were wrapping up their investigation.

Where do I start? I wonder if there's anyone I can talk to that isn't part of the law enforcement. That's when he noticed a young woman standing in the corner, seemingly watching the forensics officers. Her gaze was glued on the white outline. She was wearing a simple black suit and black pencil skirt, her only notable feature being her blonde hair, which was tied back in a neat bun.

I wonder if she has any useful information, although she looks pretty scared. If I went up to her, she might faint, she looks so pale. I'll make sure to talk to her later.

He continued looking around the large space, trying to figure out where to officially begin his investigation. He caught sight of a coffee machine near a few red couches. He remembered Robin mentioning how the victim was near the coffee machine. So they got another coffee machine. Hm…I could go for a cup of coffee right now…Wait! This is a scene of a crime! I need to set my priorities straight. Investigate first, drink coffee later. Shaking his head, he turned away from the tempting machine, and his gaze wandered back to the body's outline.

Finally! They're done. Now time to officially start this investigation. He wasted no time going over there and he knelt down to get a closer view. So this is where the bank manager was found when the police came. It's a carpeted floor.

"Grumbling to yourself and trying to ignore me isn't going to do you any good."

Phoenix looked up, recognizing the voice. Oh boy. This is going to be fun. He got up from his kneeling position to get a better view of the two new people at the scene, not that he really needed to.

"Don't talk to me, fop. Can't you see it's snacktime?" Detective Ema Skye began munching vehemently on her snackoos. She was wearing her white lab coat over her regular clothes, with her purse at her hip.

Yeah. Definitely fun.

"Ah. Herr Wright! I should've expected you to be here." Klavier Gavin greeted the attorney. The prosecutor was dressed in his usual plum jacket and leather pants. His chain shined on his chest, showing his former occupation as the lead member of the Gavinners.

Klavier Gavin. Former lead singer and guitar player for the hit boy band, Gavinners. Although the band's long disbanded, he's still known as being one of America's, and the world's, most-wanted heartthrobs. He's currently a prosecutor working under Edgeworth, and a good one at that.

"Wright?" Ema temporarily forgot about her snackoos, and when she saw Phoenix, she smiled and rushed towards him, leaving Klavier behind. "Mr. Wright! I didn't know you were the attorney for this case!"

And then we have Ema Skye. Happy, bubbly, and enthusiastic science student turned grumpy, dull, and unenthusiastic detective who works at the local precinct and has a serious snacking problem. She's a good friend of mine though, and she gets along well with Trucy and Apollo…somewhat well.

Phoenix chuckled a bit, secretly pleased with Ema being in a genuinely happy mood to see him. "Ha ha. Yeah, I took on the case just a little while ago, actually. I'm assuming that Prosecutor Gavin will be handling it?"

Mentioning the prosecutor caused the detective's smile to fade and be replaced by a scowl. "Unfortunately, which means I have to help him investigate." With a quick glance at Klavier, Ema leaned closer to whisper. "I'll be more than happy to help you out though, Mr. Wright."

"Uh…thanks, Ema, but I don't want you to get in trouble." And I'm sure Edgeworth wouldn't appreciate that either, if he was to find out.

She waved a hand that was holding onto a snackoo. "I won't get in trouble. What's the worst he could do, cut my salary?" Her frown suddenly deepened. "One more step fop, and expect a snackoo to get up close and personal with your eyeball."

Phoenix saw Klavier hold his hands up defensively as he stood in place, less than a couple of feet away from the detective. Wow. Never thought I'd feel bad for Prosecutor Gavin of all people. She really doesn't seem to cut him much slack.

"Herr Wright. You're going to be defending Herr Banks at the trial tomorrow, ja?"

Phoenix nodded his head. "Yes, I am."

"Uber-cool. It'll be nice to rock out in court with you once again," Klavier said, snapping his fingers. "It's been much too long since our last courtroom collaboration."

Collaboration? More like confrontation. The last time we were in court, you caught me presenting forged evidence and made me look like an unethical defense attorney. I hardly call that a collaboration, but at least he did apologize for it. And he wasn't completely at fault.

At that thought, Phoenix couldn't help but frown. The person to blame is his own brother, Kristoph Gavin. I'm pretty sure his execution's coming up soon. I wonder how Prosecutor Gavin is handling that impending event?

Klavier of course had no idea what was going through the other man's head. The prosecutor ran hand through his hair, throwing his head back before smiling at the attorney. "I wish we could chat more, but we are here to investigate, ja? I'll see you in court, Herr Wright. Come on, Fräulein. It's investigation time."

Phoenix watched as the duo walked away, or rather, Klavier strutted away with Ema trudging along behind him. That wasn't too bad. At least Ema didn't pelt him with snackoos, but he's right. It's time to investigate.

The attorney turned back to examine the location of the body. Hm...looks like he was standing right near this table. I wonder if he was struck from behind? He noticed a few round circles around the outline. What are those little circles doing there? Could they be something important?

Phoenix noticed a forensics officer nearby and called out to him, only to be ignored. Gee. Thanks for ignoring me.

"Something you need, Mr. Wright?"

"Ema! Er…aren't you supposed to be with Prosecutor Gavin?"

The detective was back in the area with the prosecutor nowhere in sight. She shrugged, finishing up chewing on her snackoo before continuing to speak. "He's talking to the forensics officers, I think. I figured it'd be much more fun to see what you were up to. What did you need to ask that forensics officer?" She asked curiously.

"I wanted to know what the cause of death was for the victim. I never found out."

"Blunt force trauma to his head. I didn't quite catch if death was instantaneous, but I have a hunch it was."

"Blunt force trauma to his head…" Phoenix repeated. "Was there any bleeding?" He stared down at the ground, looking for signs of blood on the black carpet. "I don't see any."

"Wait a second, Mr. Wright!" The attorney watched as the detective stowed away her snackoos and shuffled through her bag. She pulled out a spray bottle. "Luminol testing fluid, a girl's best friend."

A forensic investigator's best friend, to be more specific. "Good idea, Ema. But wait. I'm sure the forensics officers must've checked if there was any traces of blood."

Ema frowned a little. "Mr. Wright. One must never pass up the chance to use luminol. Here you go."

Phoenix accepted the bottle, only to stare at it for a moment. "Would you like to do the honors, Ema? I know you get super excited doing this stuff." I saw that sparkle in her eyes when she brought out that bottle.

"I…well…" She shut her mouth, now frowning and crossing her arms. "I don't get super excited…" She quickly reclaimed the bottle. "But if you insist."

Phoenix held back a smirk as he watched Ema spray the substance all around the body's outline. "Alright then. Now to use my special glasses!" She lowered the glasses on her head so that they were perched on her nose. "Whoa…"

"What? What do you see?"

She pulled out another pair of shades from her bag and handed them to him. "Take a look and see for yourself."

The attorney did just that, and he gasped at the site of a huge, blue stain. "There's…a huge pool right near the head!"

"Mhmm. Which means that-"

"Herr Monet sustained quite the injury when he was hit in the head, ja?"

"Ah!" Phoenix and Ema yelped at the unexpected voice.

"You fop! Are you trying to induce a heart attack in us? What do you want?!"

"I was just checking to see what you guys were looking at. Good find though, Fraulein Detective. The forensics officers didn't claim to find any blood, but you've proven them wrong. I'm impressed."

"Whatever. Any forensic investigator would use luminol to test for blood in this kind of case. After all, he was hit in the head. How can anyone be so sure that he didn't bleed?"

Wow. A simple thanks was probably all Prosecutor Gavin was looking for.

"You're quite right, Fraulein. I'll have to report to their boss about their lacking skills. They could definitely learn a thing or two from you, ja?"

"But sir, you told us not to use luminol so that Detective Skye could get a chance to use it," one of the forensics officers piped in suddenly.

Phoenix quirked an eyebrow as he smirked a little. "Is that so, Prosecutor Gavin?"

The prosecutor tugged at a lock of hair, an almost sheepish grin appearing on his face. "I…may have made that tiny request. I hope you don't mind, Fraulein Detective." When the detective didn't respond, Klavier looked around, only to hear someone mumbling below them on the ground.

Looks like Ema's too preoccupied with her find. Poor Gavin. He's pretty desperate to get in her good graces. I kinda feel bad for him.

"Fraulein? Are you done admiring that bloodstain? We've yet to progress through our investigation. We can't waste time."

Ema glared up at him. "You can't rush science, fop. And I have no intention of getting up until I feel my scientific investigation's complete."

"Heh. Fraulein Detective. I know how much you love your scientific investigation, but need I remind that you're my subordinate?"

Oh no. Ema's giving him a death glare. Prosecutor Gavin is asking to get snackoo'd. I better continue my investigation elsewhere. "How about you two work here, and I'll just…" As the detective began yelling at the prosecutor, Phoenix took a few steps away from them. "Never mind."

The attorney decided to examine the counter next, which was conveniently a ways away from the argumentative pair. Hm...I wonder which one is Mr. Banks's? There were five spaces for the bank tellers, but only three of them had nameplates. "Percy N. Tage." He went to the next one. "Lois Price." He noted that there was a bowl of peppermint candies and lollipops next to the plate. Hm…those candies look pretty good, but I guess if I took one, I'd be tampering with the crime scene and potential evidence.

Finally, the attorney reached his client's area. "Robin Banks." He examined the countertop, and the first thing that caught his attention was a business card holder, which contained a few cards in it. Taking one out, the attorney read it aloud. "Robin Banks. Bank Teller." The card had his phone number as well as the bank's address on it. Not sure how this would come in handy, but might as well keep it in my pocket.

There wasn't much else on the counter, other than a card swipe machine, some brochures about the bank, and a few pens. Phoenix continued his investigation, wandering towards a gated area. Hm…the gate is closed. He noticed a keypad right next to it. I wonder if it's open. He gave the gate a push, only to be met with resistance. As if I expected it to open.

He eyed a door that was right near the gate on the other side. "I wonder what's behind that door…" he thought aloud, not expecting to have someone respond to his question.

"I'm pretty sure it's where they keep the safe deposit boxes, Mr. Wright."

Standing beside him was Ema. Again. I'm guessing she and Prosecutor Gavin have finally stopped fighting. "Makes sense, I guess. Wouldn't want just anyone who comes into the bank to have access to safe deposit boxes."

"Yeah." The detective began munching on her snackoos, only to pause and hold one up to him. "Snackoo?"

"Er…no thanks." Phoenix let out a defeated sigh. I have no idea where to go from here. I need to get more information, or find some evidence.

"If you want to *MUNCH* get more information *MUNCH* or find some evidence, *MUNCH* how about you head over there where the body was found?"

That's what I was doing before Prosecutor Gavin came over and the two of you started arguing. "Good idea, although it would be nice to talk to the detective who's in charge of the investigation. They'd be sure to have all of the information I need." He noticed that Ema's munching was quicker, and she was stuffing snackoo after snackoo into her mouth. Why do I get the feeling something's wrong? Wait… "Ema…you're not the head detective for this case, are you?"

The detective paused her chewing, swallowing hard. She then turned her head to the side, grimacing. "There was a detective assigned to this case before me, but there was a last minute change, so yeah, I am. But I don't know much about what exactly happened here. I'm just as clueless as you are, Mr. Wright."

Ouch, that hurt. But it's nice to know there's someone else here who knows only as much as I do.

"Which is why I thought we could investigate together. Like the good ol' times." She smiled faintly.

Ol' times? We investigated one case together, but she did end being very helpful. And we both need some assistance. "So who does know about this case?"

"Forensics, and the officers who got here on scene when the 911 call was made. Probably the fop too, but I doubt he knows nearly as much as they do."

"Right." I really don't want to have to talk to Prosecutor Gavin and interrupt his investigation. We may be working towards uncovering the truth, but we still have to battle it out in court in order to reach that truth. "First thing's first. We need to figure out what the murder weapon was."

"The murder weapon. One of the officers said that they found an object right near the victim, and that they suspected it to be the murder weapon."

"Oh? What's the object?"

"A binder. It has a list of a whole bunch of products from some shop, although we have no idea what shop it's from yet."

"You mean to say that a binder was used to kill the manager?" Phoenix asked, the skepticism evident in his voice. That's odd. Can a binder really inflict that much damage on a person?

"That's what they said, although I can understand why you'd be skeptical about it. Apparently, the sharp end of the binder was used to hit him in the back of his head, causing him to bleed. Maybe the culprit hit the victim really hard with it."

"That's a possibility. Was there blood on the binder?"

"Yeah, and it belonged to the victim."

"What about fingerprints?"

"Apparently, there were two sets of fingerprints found on it. One set was unidentified, and the other set matches Mr. Banks's fingerprints."

Phoenix groaned. Just great. That's definitely what I wanted to hear. "Wait. So whose are the other fingerprints?"

"They're not sure yet. It's still being looked into."

Hm…I'll have to wait until the trial tomorrow to learn more about this binder, but for now, I'll keep note of it. "I wish there was some way we could at least get through this gate, but for that, we'd need to know the code."

"Mr. Wright. When will you learn that science is the bestest friend you can have?" Ema shook her head. "You can just use a fingerprinting set!"

"Oh. Right. I forgot about that." He stared at Ema, who stared right back at him. "Er…"

"Well? Where is it?"

Phoenix frowned. "Where's what?"

"Your fingerprinting set, obviously." Ema rolled her eyes.

"Oh. I don't have it with me. It's at the office." Please don't get mad and snackoo me.

"That's the kind of thing you need to keep with you at all times, Mr. Wright!" The detective scolded him as she reached into her bag to pull out her own set. "I think I should be the one to dust for fingerprints, since you didn't have your set."

As if I'd try to get in your way of scientific investigating, Ema. "I have no objections. Dust away."

In a matter of minutes, fingerprints could be seen on the keypad. "According to these fingerprints, the code for this lock is…15689." Pulling a glove onto her hand, Ema entered the code, and with a small beep, the gate unlocked. "Ah, science. What would we do without it?"

Phoenix nodded, pushing the gate open and walking into the area. Finally. Time to find something useful! The attorney did a quick glance of the area. "So this is where the bank tellers stand when they're working. Looks pretty normal, at first glance."

Against the wall was a long shelf. On it were pamphlets for the many services the bank offered, along with some applications. "Doesn't look like there's anything interesting on this side," Phoenix said.

"Then you probably wouldn't say the same about this side," Ema replied, causing Phoenix to turn around. She was looking at the areas where each teller stood. "Looks like they can personalize this area with whatever they want."

"Yeah. Looks like it." So Mr. Banks stands between Lois Price and Percy N. Tage… Phoenix started with examining Percy's area, which had a few small pictures of some children. Well…Percy seems like quite the family man. The attorney stared at a picture frame in which a happy family was posing at the foot of some stairs. I should put that picture we took at Christmas on my desk. It'd make it look more personable.

There was a notepad also in the area that Phoenix noticed. "There's something written on this." He leaned down and read what was written on the front page. "P, dash, 20. N, dash, 64. D, dash, 157. Q, dash, 398." There was more written, but he didn't bother to read the rest. "Ema. Do you have any idea what this means?"

The detective glanced over his shoulder to read the paper. "The only thing that comes to mind seeing that is bingo. Maybe this…Percy person likes to play bingo?" She suggested.

Phoenix refrained from making any comments out loud, although the grimace on his face spoke volumes. That's…probably not it, Ema. "I don't know if this has anything to do with our case, but might as well make a note of it." He skipped one area and went to the one that belonged to Lois Price.

"Hey Mr. Wright. Here's another notepad, but this one only has one number on it. 1000. I wonder what the significance of that number is."

"No idea, but it probably wouldn't hurt to keep it in the back of our minds," Phoenix responded as he examined the area further. Just as he had noticed on the countertop on the other side, there were more candies in the area. "This person seems to be quite fond of candies. They have so many here."

"Candy does taste good, but nothing beats snackoos," Ema mused, taking out a bag of snackoos.

And she begins eating snackoos again. Hopefully, she won't munch so loud that I can't hear myself think. I can't imagine how Apollo and Trucy investigated with her all those times. "It doesn't look like there's anything else notable here."

"What about the calendar? There's a circle around February 28th. 'Meet with BF.'"

"BF? What's BF?"

"Maybe it's meet with her best friend?"

"Or it could be boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I guess it could be that too," Ema grumbled, going back to munching on her snackoos. "You don't *MUNCH* think it's *MUNCH* important, do you?"

"Not really. I mean, I can't see how it would be related to what happened today."

"Okay, let's move on then." Ema took a few steps and stopped. "This is where your client stands, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I really hope I find something interesting here. "Let's see…" Compared to the other two tellers' areas, Robin had numerous things in his space. "Here's a simple alarm clock." Phoenix pointed to a round, red alarm clock with the two bells on the side.

"I bet it makes a really loud noise when it's set," Ema said, leaning forward to read the time. "Well, it's displaying the right time, and apparently, he sets it to one o'clock. Why does he set it at one o'clock?" She wondered out loud.

"Well, the bank reopens at one, doesn't it? Maybe he uses it as a reminder."

"Or maybe he likes to take naps after lunch and sets an alarm so that he wakes up in time for when this place opens again. I do that sometimes at the precinct when I don't have a case to work on."

Somehow, I can see that happening with you, Ema. "What else has he got here?" There was a mug on which there was a message. "Bankers have dollars and sense. Heh." He chuckled at the pun, only to get an odd look from Ema. "Get it? Sense as in the word sense, and sense as in cents, like coins."

"O-oh. Right. I knew that," she mumbled. "But that probably doesn't have any relevance to the case either."

"Yeah. Just some comic relief, if anything," he responded. "That's all there is to see here." Phoenix turned around to see another object against the wall away from the counter. "It's a piggy bank."

"A very shiny piggy bank. It looks like it's made of steel." Ema grabbed it with one gloved hand. "Whoa…it is made with steel." She shook it a bit, and a jingling sound could be heard. "And there's money in it too."

"I wonder how much." Why would there be a piggy bank in a bank?

"What's the point of having a piggy bank in a bank? Hm…maybe they keep it here because it's cute."

That doesn't explain why it has money in it. "It is weird, don't you think? They must keep coins and dollar bills in a safe place that isn't a piggy bank."

"They probably keep it in some secret, barely accessible place." Ema stepped away from the space and walked all the way to the other side, away from the gate and the safe deposit boxes doorway. "Here's a computer…and a money counter."

Phoenix followed her. "You're right." There was a sign on the computer's screen. "Broken. Complaint for repair work filed on March 5th." What's this computer used for? Maybe Mr. Banks can tell me. After doing some more examination, Phoenix shook his head. "That's all we'll find on this side, I think."

"So what's your next move, Mr. Wri-"

"Fraulein Detective? Where are you?"

"Ugh…" Ema groaned, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I can hide under this countertop. He wouldn't be able to find me."

"Ema. Just go and see what he wants. Who knows? He might have gotten some more information on what happened."

"As if. I'm sure our investigation was much better than his, but I probably should go see what he needs. The last thing I need is for him to get me in trouble. But what will you do?"

"I think I might head back to the detention center and have another chat with Mr. Banks, see what else he has to say about the case, if he's out of questioning, that is."

"Alright then. I'll see you court tomorrow, Mr. Wright. Good luck."

Phoenix waved to the detective as she trudged off, and he then went through the gate and went to the front entrance. He suddenly stopped to turn around and look into the bank once more.

I never did get to talk to that woman. I could stick around a little more and try to find her.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard someone cry out in pain, along with a familiar voice shouting. I'll just assume she's not here right now and leave. Hopefully, she doesn't have any important information I could use in the trial. I'll have to wait and see.

I know the intros for Klavier and Ema weren't necessary, but I kinda wanted to experiment with how Phoenix would describe them to someone who's never met them before. Also, I know Ema seemed just a bit too happy in this than is usual for her character, but I like to think that investigating with Phoenix brings back memories from back when she was her happy, fun-loving self. That, and there's science too, and we all know how much she loves science!