October 17th, 12:30 PM
Not Global Studios
"Can I ask why we haven't left yet?"
The question simply hung in the air for several dragging seconds. Matty's attention was still primarily focused on the half-finished burger in his hands -the third of its kind- and he was taking a disproportionately long time to consider his answer.
Finally, he set the burger down, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and cleared his throat.
"Nope."
Somehow, Phoenix didn't find herself surprised by the response. She sighed.
"In that case, is it unreasonable for me to remind you that we only have this afternoon left to solve this entire case?"
"Yep."
Another sigh. (At least he spared me the suspense...)
It wasn't as if Matty hadn't been enthusiastic about the investigation to begin with. On the contrary, he had been the one loudly plotting out an entire elaborate plan for the search during the drive toward the studio. However, this only lasted until their route took them past his favourite restaurant.
Thinking back, Phoenix wasn't sure why she had expected Matty to get through his lunch efficiently. After all, there were few things Matty took more seriously than food, or more specifically, burgers. To a self-proclaimed connoisseur of fast food such as Matty, the act of ordering and eating a meal from a cheap restaurant was not a simple process in the least, but rather, "a carefully measured routine to make sure they don't start cutting any corners", as he personally described it.
"They still have corners left?" Phoenix recalled responding with.
She would have been lying to claim that she wasn't hungry as well, however. She made no complaints when Matty pointed out that the trial's proceedings had already left them a few minutes late for lunch, but by this point, it seemed trivial considering the aggravating slowness with which her assistant was actually eating his food.
Finally, at roughly the 35 minute mark, which Phoenix would grudgingly admit was a significantly shorter time than average, Matty discarded his tray and stood up.
"Arright." he said energetically, as if he were somehow unaware of his partner's growing anxiety. "Let's go, we've gotta save the Steel Samurai!"
"Gladly." Phoenix deadpanned, heading for the door.
October 17th, 12:52 PM
Global Studios
Main Gate
"Tell me that old crank isn't back at the gate yet." Matty said as he followed a few steps behind Phoenix on the way toward the studio entrance. Phoenix glanced hopefully toward the security booth, but to her dismay, a very familiar pair of dark glasses was staring back.
"Well, I'd love to be able to tell you that, but..." she began.
"Objectioooonnnnn..." Matty groaned.
"You two again?" Oldbag barked from the booth. "Don't any of you kids have homes these days?"
Phoenix beat down to urge to remind him of the rather obvious reason for their presence. She and Matty passed through the gate without a word. Oldbag managed about two syllables of loud protest before his usual coughing fit struck.
"So, where to first?" Phoenix asked once they were well out of earshot.
Surprisingly, it seemed that the extended lunch break had not caused Matty to forget his plans. "Well, like I said back in the car, we oughta track down the director and producer first." he answered.
"Right. The police might be questioning them right now, though, so I guess we should just check over the whole place until we find one of them."
The main lot was vacant, as the police were redoubling their efforts in searching the area around the trailer lot.
"I'd rather not run into Edgeworth right now, to be honest." Phoenix said, making for the path to Studios One and Two.
The walk was about as quiet as it had been the previous day, but Phoenix didn't seem to notice; she was once again preoccupied, running through everything she knew about the case in her head.
"Looks like they cleared that giant mess outta the way." Matty piped up, grabbing her attention. It seemed he was right; the majority of the debris was gone, leaving only a few broken tree branches scattered around the edges of the path. "You think we oughta check out Studio One?"
Phoenix considered it. "Well... that assistant from the other day did say that the path was open until the same night as the murder, so I guess it's worth looking into."
"Cool. There's gotta be something worth seeing in this studio." Matty said, taking a head start down the pathway.
October 17th, 1:24 PM
Global Studios
Studio One
"Huh." Phoenix said, looking around the lot in surprise.
Studio One was hardly worth calling a 'studio', now that she saw it for herself. The lot was relatively small, and occupied only by a few company trucks and a rundown building.
"Uh... ignore what I said earlier. Strike it from the record, or whatever." Matty said, turning back toward the footpath.
"Hold it." Phoenix cut in, taking a hold of his collar. "We still need to check the place out."
"Fine..."
Mercifully, a smaller and more vacant area meant a shorter and less aggravating search. It took only a few minutes to thoroughly inspect the row of trucks parked in the lot, so as they approached the small building in the corner, Phoenix and Matty were still enjoying an upbeat conversation.
"See, the show hits a delicate balance of strong writing and great choreography." Matty said as part of his effort to explain the appeal of The Steel Samurai to Phoenix.
"Hang on, strong writing?" Phoenix repeated. "So, what I heard from yesterday's episode was...?"
"Ohhh, you must mean the new villain. They haven't revealed his name yet, but he's from the distant Klih-Shae Empire, where the royal family speaks in entirely 80s and 90s catchphrases." Matty explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"... I should've guessed." Phoenix said. "Now," she reached for the front doors of the building, "tell me this is unlock- aaaand it's not."
"Hmm. That sucks." Matty replied. Without another word, he moved over to a nearby window.
"Shouldn't we just ask for a key...?" Phoenix asked, watching him struggle with the window frame.
"Nah, this'll be-" he pulled up against the battered frame, "much... faster..."
With a small cracking sound, the window popped open. Matty turned back to Phoenix. "'sides, you really wanna go ask that old fart out front for another favour?"
"Point taken."
A few seconds after Matty had disappeared through the open window, the front door swung open. The building's interior was easily the most interesting part of Studio One. The walls were covered in bulletin boards, which were in turn decked with posters and charts displaying artwork and what Phoenix assumed to be notes from the production staff's brainstorming sessions. There was also a table in the centre of the room with a few chairs scattered around it.
"Aw, cool!" Matty said, staring at a brightly coloured picture. "It's got a bunch of concept art for the Samurai from before the show started!"
Phoenix smirked. (Better not interrupt Matty while he's going fanboy.)
Initially, it didn't appear that she would be likely to find anything helpful in the small room, but something caught her eye as she passed by the front doors again. One of the poster boards nearest to the doorway was hanging at a slant, as if it had been knocked off centre at some point. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a sizeable dent in the board itself as well as the walls surrounding it.
(Maybe someone got into a fight in here...?)
Her train of thought was interrupted a few seconds later, as Matty said, "Boss, there's someone coming into the lot."
As Phoenix looked up, Matty added, "It's that assistant from the other day."
Sure enough, shortly afterward, the doors opened again, and Pryce Nichols entered the room. He looked distracted, and jumped when he noticed Phoenix and Matty.
"Gah-! ... Jeez, you two scared me." he said. After a pause, he asked, "How'd you get in here, anyway?"
"Uh..." Matty began.
"Wasn't locked." Phoenix lied.
"... Really? Don't tell Mr. Vasquez that. He'd fire me in two seconds." Pryce said. His reason for being there seemed to return to him, and he added, "It's good that I found you, though. There was a detective looking for you. I said I'd check around."
"A detective? Was this detective a redhead woman?"
"Yeah. I dunno what she wanted from you, though."
"Hmm. We'd better track her down, then." Phoenix said.
"Wait, wait. D'you know where the director and producer are?" Matty asked.
Pryce thought for a moment. "No idea about Ms. Manella, but Mr. Vasquez was talking to the police last time I saw him. Everybody's supposed to meet up here soon. You should able to talk to them then."
(First good news I've heard all day.)
The doors opened for a third time. This time, an unfamiliar man entered. He wore a suit decorated with an unbelievable number of sharp edges, looking strikingly similar to the many eccentrically dressed characters on the posters. His short dark hair was slicked down, and he wore a stylized pair of sunglasses.
"Nichols, who're these two?" he asked in a sharp voice.
(I doubt this guy could possibly look any more Hollywood if he staked his life on it.)
"They're, uh, WP's legal team." Pryce answered, hiding his sudden nervousness rather poorly. The newcomer didn't notice, however, as he was -Phoenix assumed, at least; the glasses made it rather hard to tell- focused on her and Matty.
"Lawyers, heh? Yeah, the cops were tellin' me 'bout what you've been up to. What're ya doin' here, though? Shouldn't you be over at the trailer lot with the rest of them?" he asked the question forcefully, as if hiding a demand under his choice of words.
"Just following up on a hunch." Phoenix said. "Are you Dai Vasquez?"
"Could be." he answered, pulling up a chair. "What's it to you?"
"If you have the time, I'd like to ask you a bit about Ms. Hammer's murder."
Vasquez paused. Tilting his sunglasses downward slightly, he gave Phoenix an unnerving stare for a few seconds before turning to Pryce. "Nichols, where da hell is Salina?"
"No idea, Mr. Vasquez." Pryce said.
Vasquez gave an impatient sort of growl.
"Tell ya what, lady; you go find Salina and drag her ass here, and I'll talk to ya 'bout Hammer." he said.
(Oh, this guy's gonna be just delightful if he shows up in court...)
"Sounds fine." Phoenix replied. "We needed to talk to her, as well."
"Well, that's just dandy. Now get the hell outta here." Vasquez barked, motioning toward the door.
(You don't need to tell me twice.)
October 17th, 2:03 PM
Global Studios
Main Lot
"All I'm saying is that it might've helped to ask what this lady looks like, Boss."
"Hey, the less time I have to spend in the same room as that guy, the better off I'm gonna feel. Just being near him for two minutes gave me every bad vibe in the book."
This exchange marked the end of Phoenix and Matty's argument. Phoenix had firmly refused to make any further contact with Vasquez until they had met with the director, in spite of Matty's insistence that it was the best choice for locating the woman efficiently. After deciding that the next best person to ask on the matter would be Detective Gumshoe, they had returned to the main studio lot.
Unfortunately, the detective was nowhere in sight, with only a few police officers and detectives scattered across the area, most likely on patrol duty.
"Oh, Deb?" responded the first detective that they asked, "Yeah, she was still over by the trailers with Prosecutor Edgeworth last time I saw her."
"Terrific..." Phoenix muttered as Matty thanked the detective.
"Boss, is it really gonna kill you to run into Ms. Edgeworth just once? How d'you even know if she's gonna try to talk to you?" Matty asked as they set off for the trailer lot.
Phoenix sighed. "I don't know, honestly. Part of me knows that we need to get on with the investigation, but another part just feels like it's a really bad idea to see her right now."
"Well, we can argue about your parts later. Now come on." Matty said, grabbing her wrist.
(Note to self, don't rely on Matty for emotional support.)
October 17th, 2:12 PM
Global Studios
Trailer Lot
It took Matty a few seconds to notice that Phoenix wasn't next to him anymore.
"Boss, are you-" he stopped as he turned around, seeing no sign of her. Taking a few steps back, he found her making a poor attempt to act nonchalant at the gate. "Boss..."
Phoenix grinned nervously. "Don't worry, I trust you. You can find her by yourself."
"Y'know, Boss, you insult my maturity almost every single day," Matty began impatiently.
"I know... I'm sorry, Matty, but please just do this for me. It'll only take you a minute."
Something about her tone caught Matty's attention; there was a hint of desperation in Phoenix's voice that he wasn't used to hearing. He sighed.
"... Fine. Just don't run off anywhere cool without me."
Matty caught no shortage of strange looks from the police as he walked through the lot. He had become used to Phoenix enthusiastically flashing her badge whenever an officer approached them, but as he lacked any similar identification, he could only hope that none of the investigators became suspicious. He caught sight of Detective Gumshoe a short distance away, glancing impatiently around at the crowd. She noticed him as he approached.
"Oh-! I was hopin' I'd run into you, kid." she said.
"Same here." Matty replied.
"Why's that?" Gumshoe asked, surprised.
"Me and Phoenix need to talk to the studio's director, and we figured you'd know where to find her."
"Ms. Manella? Yeah, Ms. Edgeworth was havin' a chat with her a little while ago. She'll still be around here, somewhere. Now, 'bout why I needed to talk to you two..." Gumshoe trailed off, looking around. "Say... where's Ms. Wright, anyway?"
"Hiding." Matty answered flatly. Seeing the detective's confused expression, he added, "From Ms. Edgeworth."
"Ah. I get ya. Can't say I blame her; Ms. Edgeworth's been a terror since the trial this mornin'. I shouldn't keep talking about her behind her back, though. Anyway, I needed to confirm somethin' with you two. I can't leave this area until we're done with the initial search, so it's good that ya came by. You remember that kid that was here, yesterday, right? The one with the camera?"
"Hard to forget." Matty said, remembering the picture the girl had taken.
"Well, Ms. Edgeworth is in the middle of findin' witnesses for tomorrow, and that kid's on the list of possibilities. Did she say anythin' yesterday to suggest that she was here on the day of the murder?"
Matty thought back to their brief encounter with the girl, trying to recall as many details as possible. "Sorry, Detective. I can't think of anything."
"It's fine, kid. Honestly, the way Ms. Edgeworth's goin' after every possible lead, I doubt she'll care. I wouldn't be too surprised if she finds some way to drag in every person on the list."
"Where is she right now, anyway? Matty asked.
"Ms. Edgeworth? Like I said, she was talkin' to witnesses last I saw her. She's probably done with Ms. Manella by now, so you should be able to find her over behind the trailers." Gumshoe answered, flipping her records book open.
"Why behind the trailers?"
"It's about the only quiet place you'll find in this lot."
"Fair enough."
Matty was becoming quite curious about what exactly was in Gumshoe's records book that kept her attention so focused on it, but the question would have to wait. He headed off for the parked trailers, which were still mobbed by police officers.
Behind Powers' trailer, he spotted a familiar prosecutor speaking to another detective, and a few steps away, a short woman he didn't recognize.
From the first sight of her, it was quite clear that he had never seen the woman before in his life. She was certainly distinctive enough to be sure of that. Her clothing was eccentric to the point that it made his acolyte gear look practically boring. An overlarge sweater with the face of the Steel Samurai patterned across the front was the most immediately eye-catching part of her outfit, followed by what was likely to be the most noticeable piece of headgear he had ever seen. Perched atop the woman's head was a spectacularly flashy paper fan attached to a baseball cap. The fan was patterned with a combination of Japanese symbols and illegible scribbles that Matty suspected the woman had added herself. On the less cringe-inducing side of her attire, she wore a round pair of glasses, which, in spite of being easily twice the size of any ordinary pair, were still somehow the most natural-looking part of her clothing.
Without warning, she suddenly turned toward him. Her large glasses appeared to be magnifying her eyes, giving an inhuman edge to her stare.
"MIGHT I JUST SAY, SIR," she abruptly shouted across the twenty foot gap between them in a discordantly uneven voice, "YOU HAVE AN INSPIRINGLY UNIQUE OUTFIT."
Matty stared back, drawing a complete blank on how best to respond. "Uh..."
"I THINK YOU MAY HAVE JUST GIVEN ME THE CREATIVE SPARK I NEEDED FOR MY NEXT PROJECT." the woman continued, her voice overpowering the ongoing rumble of sound from the police force.
"Wouldn't it be better if you came over here to talk to me...?" Matty called back hesitantly.
The woman waited a few moments to respond. "I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT."
She walked toward him, stopping considerably closer to him than he would have liked. Her magnified stare was still looking over his clothing. Matty took half a step back, but the woman immediately moved forward to keep the distance equal.
"IT'S AN ENCHANTINGLY BOLD DESIGN." she shouted with the same volume as before. Matty recoiled in surprise.
"Jeez, lady, I'm right in front of you-!" he yelped.
"Oh. Right." the woman replied. She wasn't shouting anymore, but her voice was still significantly louder than necessary. "I'm sorry, but your outfit really caught my attention."
"So I gathered." Matty said, still attempting to recover from the shock.
"I'm Salina Manella, the director of The Steel Samurai." the woman went on, confirming the fear that had quickly grown in Matty's mind.
(Phoenix is gonna love this one...)
"Matty Fey." he responded.
"So, you're half of Wanda's lawyer, then?"
Matty opened his mouth to respond, but he seemed to freeze in place as his mind properly registered what Salina had said. Several seconds passed, during which his mouth simply hung open, failing to produce a response.
(I hope he finds her soon. Mr. Vasquez didn't really seem like the type to sit patiently and wait for someone.)
Phoenix hadn't left the gate since Matty's departure. Her resolve to avoid Edgeworth until the trial wasn't weakening in the slightest, but she was beginning to feel guilty for having sent her assistant off without any clear idea of who he was searching for. She was briefly considering a quick check around the outer edge of the trailer lot for any sign of either of them when a startlingly loud voice sounded over the distant rumble of noise from the police force.
"They give you a badge, don't they? You should wear yours openly, so everyone knows who you are. I'd bet a badge would make your robes look even better if you attached it to just the right place-"
The speaker came into view, following very closely behind Matty. Her outfit immediately caught Phoenix's attention; somehow, the absurdity of her appearance made Matty's channeling robes look nearly sane.
"And here she is." Matty interrupted loudly. "That's my boss, Phoenix Wright, over there."
Phoenix idly wondered whether Matty had been hoping that the woman would approach her instead and give him some space, which was understandable as she instead decided to shout over his shoulder.
"HI, MA'AM. I'M SALINA MANELLA."
Phoenix looked back in partial disbelief. From what she could see, Salina didn't seem to be displaying any sort of reaction to Matty's obvious discomfort, which left her uncertain as to what would be the best response. In the moments that followed, her assistant's expression began to suggest that he was considering some violent response of his own, and she opted to defuse the situation.
"It's... nice to meet you, Ms. Manella, but we don't really have time to talk. Mr. Vasquez asked us to bring you to Studio One."
"OH! WE SHOULD GO, THEN. DAI DOESN'T LIKE WAITING."
Salina pushed past Matty and took off at a startling pace after her reply.
"Your ears still doing alright?" Phoenix asked, approaching Matty. The latter gave a frustrated sigh.
"Never been better." he growled. Without another word, he walked off after Salina.
October 17th, 2:30 PM
Global Studios
Studio One
"Hah! Lady of the hour!" Vasquez barked from the office doorway.
"HEY, DAI!" Salina shouted back, waving energetically. She rushed toward the small building and vanished through the doorway, leaving Phoenix and Matty on the outside step with Vasquez.
"You two wait out here." he said in place of a thank-you.
After the door swung shut, Matty let out an angry sort of growl, taking Phoenix by surprise.
"Something wrong?" she asked in concern.
"It's just..." Matty struggled to find words to describe his frustration for a second or two, "I don't even really want to talk to this guy."
"Why's that?"
Matty paused, staring suspiciously at Phoenix, as if he suspected a joke.
"Matty-?"
"Because he's an asshat!" he suddenly exclaimed.
In spite of herself, Phoenix couldn't help but laugh. Taking a moment to calm herself, she replied, "Well, that might not be the exact choice of words I would've used, but-"
"You agree, though, right?"
Briefly succumbing to laughter again, Phoenix responded, "I guess I do. He's not exactly subtle about it."
"He knew that he was sending us to track down the most annoying person in the studio, and he wouldn't even thank us for it afterward!"
Matty continued on in this manner for quite a while, with Phoenix quickly deciding to close the office's open window to avoid any chance of Vasquez hearing the tirade. This turned out to be a good decision, as Matty's rant eventually reached a point of rivaling the worst of Oldbag's. Even after Matty had gradually calmed down, it still took another ten minutes for the studio staff to finish with their meeting. The door swung open, and Salina exited first. Mercifully, the brief chat that had occupied their walk back to Studio One had been enough for them to conclude that she had nothing helpful to say, which left the impending interview with Vasquez as their last remaining goal.
"Nichols. Out." they heard Vasquez snap from inside the small building. Pryce exited in a hurry a few seconds later. Once he was off the lot, Vasquez leaned out the doorway. "All right. Come in." he grunted, holding the door open.
Nothing appeared to have been moved around in the room since their last visit. Matty dropped onto one of the chairs at the centre table immediately, looking like he hoped to get the conversation over with as quickly as possible. Phoenix was about to sit down as well when she noticed Vasquez still standing at the door.
"Why're you locking the door?" she inquired.
Vasquez looked toward her for a moment. "... Just a precaution." he said dismissively.
(Against what, exactly?)
Once sure that the door was secure, he moved to the table. "Ask away."
"Er..." Phoenix mumbled, suddenly unsure as to where she should start.
"I'll give ya a quick warning, lady." Vasquez cut in, his tone unclear. "The cops already wasted enough of my time today. I don't wanna find out that we arranged this meetin' just so you could stutter at me all damn day."
Phoenix thought she noticed a flash of anger cross Matty's face for a split second, and quickly replied, "Right. Sorry. Like I said earlier, we need to talk to you about Ms. Hammer."
"Riiiight. Janine. Sure, shoot."
"What sort of relationship did the two of you have?"
"Business. When Janine wanted to talk, it was about work. Her pay, the roles we had lined up for her, the whole deal."
"Did you talk to her at all on the day of the murder?"
"Yeah. She came 'round just before we started the practice that day."
"What did she want to discuss?"
"What else? Work. She was gettin' kinda... kinda nervous about some of the stuff the studio's planning for next year."
"Hmm..." Phoenix considered this. (Doesn't sound like this really matters.)
"And before ya ask, no, I'm not tellin' ya about what those plans are."
"No problem. Could you tell me what sort of things the police asked you about?
"Wasn't much I could tell 'em. They mostly just wanted to know what I was up to during that evening."
"Alright. What about Ms. Hammer's past with the studio?"
"What about it?"
"We talked to Ms. Powers in the detention centre the day after the murder, but she didn't have many details about Ms. Hammer's time here."
Vasquez stood up from his chair. Taking a few steps away from the table, he said, "Yeah. I could tell ya a bit about her. Powers and Hammer joined the studio two years ago. They wanted to work as stunt doubles for our two stars at the time, but as things turned out, they ended up replacing them instead. See, I'd had a few, uh, 'disagreements' with the two guys we had in those roles, and I figured it'd be best for the studio if we let them go instead of draggin' it out."
Phoenix was about to inquire further when Vasquez added, "Course, if I'd known what Hammer was gonna do..." he trailed off. He had said it in an undertone, as if it weren't really directed at Phoenix.
"Did you run into a problem with Ms. Hammer, as well?" Phoenix asked.
Vasquez looked toward her in surprise for a brief moment. It seemed that he hadn't expected her to hear him. "It was two years ago, lady. It's got nothin' to do with this."
(Wait... why's he suddenly defensive about it?)
"I'll be the judge of that." Phoenix replied firmly. She partly regretted it afterwards, as Vasquez momentarily shot her a fierce glare.
"I'll warn ya again." he growled. "Don't push it. But, alright, I'll tell ya about it." he paced over to the window. Casting a quick glance around the lot, he drew the blinds shut and began to slowly walk around the room. "This was just a few months after we hired Wanda and Janine on. We were goin' through a practice for a few scenes, just like a few nights ago. Wanda had gone home for the night, but Janine was still here, working with another one of our actresses. Girl's name was Marlene."
He paused after saying this, leading Matty to interject with, "... You said 'was'?"
Vasquez stopped pacing and glanced at Matty. He took off his sunglasses. "Yeah. I did. I'm gettin' there." he said in a noticeably quieter voice than before. Resuming his slow walk, he continued, "See, Marlene was... she joined the studio around the same time I did, about six years back. Anyway, like I said, she was in the practice with Hammer. Nothing seemed outta place until we were nearly done. They were just starting one of the faster parts of the choreography when..." he paused again, this time uttering a low sigh. "... there was an accident. Marlene ended up dead."
Phoenix nearly fell out of her chair. "What-!? You're saying that Ms. Hammer accidentally killed-"
"That's right." Vasquez cut in forcefully. "It was a damn mess. One minute, everything was on schedule like normal, next minute everything's gone to shit and there's a body on the floor."
"B-but, nobody else has ever mentioned this on the case-"
"Cover-up." Vasquez said flatly.
"... What?"
"I said it was covered up. We kept it away from the media. The studio was already on thin ice back then, we'd have been sunk if the media got their hands on it."
Phoenix exchanged a questioning glance with Matty.
(Something's not right here... Yesterday, Pryce told us that Mr. Vasquez considers his actors expendable. If he wanted to protect the studio, he could've just let Ms. Hammer take the fall for the accident. Why would he cover the whole thing up...?)
"We're done." Vasquez said sharply, ending Phoenix's train of thought.
"Could I ask you one more thing before-"
"We're done." Vasquez repeated. "Leave." he motioned toward the door.
"But-"
"You wanted to talk about Hammer, and that's all I'm tellin' you. That accident has nothing to do with her dying, and if you can't believe that, don't bother coming back. Now get out." he crossed the room and threw the door open.
"Let's just go, Boss." Matty urged, heading for the door.
After a second's hesitation, Phoenix stood up. She followed Matty to the door, but stopped on the threshold.
"Will you be a witness in the trial tomorrow?" she asked over her shoulder.
"That's what the cops want, yeah." Vasquez answered impatiently.
"Alright. Thanks for your time, then, Mr. Vas-"
Phoenix stopped as the door slammed shut inches away from her face.
"See? Asshat."
"Matty, did something seem off about that guy's story?" Phoenix asked once they reached the studio's pathway.
"You bet." Matty answered.
"Like, for instance, how he says that the studio covered up the accident two years ago, which doesn't make any sense if we consider what Pryce told us yesterday? Y'know, how Mr. Vasquez usually just fires people if they end up in legal trouble?"
"Yeah, that bothered me, too."
"We'd better look into this. I'm starting to suspect that we're missing something important here. If that accident really isn't related to Ms. Hammer's murder, there's no way he would've gotten that defensive talking about it."
Detective Gumshoe was leaning against the information booth nearest to the studio entrance. She snapped her records book shut as she caught sight of Phoenix and Matty approaching.
"Were you two just talkin' to Vasquez?" she called across the empty lot. Getting two affirmative nods in response, she straightened up and approached them. "It's not really my place to ask, but did you get anything out of him?" she asked as they met up in the middle of the lot.
"A possible lead." Phoenix responded.
"Izzat so? Sounds like ya did better than us, then. Stubborn jerkwad wouldn't give us an inch."
"Well, uh, sorry to hear that, Detective-" Matty said, grabbing Phoenix's arm, "but we don't have any time to talk about it right now."
Once Matty had led her a short distance away from the detective, Phoenix asked, "Why're you suddenly in such a hurry?"
"We can't just tell her about our lead, right? We oughta get going so we can at least try to get ahead of the police on something."
Phoenix tried to think up a counterargument, but nothing surfaced. "OK, good point. Where d'you think we should start, though?"
Matty dropped his gaze to the ground as he thought it over. "Welllll... I guess there's a chance the police might have some info about the accident, but if the studio covered it up..."
"There's gotta be something. I don't care what kind of 'connections' the guy has, there's no way he could've completely buried it."
October 17th, 3:40 PM
Criminal Affairs Department
A young police officer greeted them at the entrance. It didn't take more than a quick flash of Phoenix's badge to convince him to bring them into the evidence room, but once inside, the process slowed down.
"Sooo... You know when this accident happened, but that's it?" the officer asked after being given a quick summary of what they were searching for.
"That's about it." Phoenix confirmed.
"Huh. Well, ma'am, I can see what's here. Can't promise that it'll be quick, though."
Unfortunately, this statement rang very true. Even after nearly forty minutes of listening to the officer digging through file folders and occasionally rattling off a case summary, they hadn't found anything involving Global Studios.
"Maybe we should stop looking through the suspicious deaths?" Matty suggested.
"Where else would we check?" Phoenix asked.
"I dunno. I mean, I know the guy's suspicious as all hell, but if Mr. Vasquez really did want to protect Ms. Hammer for some reason, maybe he made sure the police only ever considered it an accident?"
"I hadn't thought of that. Good idea."
In a rare occurrence, Matty's intuition turned out to be spot on. The officer handed Phoenix a folder on request once the name 'Global Studios' cropped up.
"Let's see... Accidental death... by impalement, yikes... this sounds about ri-" her breath caught in her throat as she spotted something on the document.
Matty leaned forward to see the page. "What's up?"
"The... victim's name." Phoenix mumbled. "I think it all fits."
"And the name is...?"
"Marlene Vasquez."
"This is it! This has to be it!" Matty said excitedly for what had to be the seventh time. They were pulling into the studio parking lot as he reread the file yet again.
"There's still something it doesn't answer, Matty." Phoenix said, stopping in her usual parking space.
"What?"
"Why did Mr. Vasquez cover it up in the first place? If Marlene was related to him in some way, why would he have gone so far to protect Ms. Hammer after the accident? It'd make sense if it was the other way around, but..."
They exchanged a few ideas on the way back to the front gate. As the neared the entrance, Oldbag stuck his head out of the security booth.
"Hey-!" he barked as they passed by. Both ignored him completely.
"You think we should tell the detectives here about it?" Matty asked.
"I don't know. I can't see how we'd really be worse off if Edgeworth found out about it, but I'm still not sure if-"
"HEY!" Oldbag repeated in his full shouting voice. Against her better judgement, Phoenix glanced back.
"Is something actually wrong?" she asked.
"For once, no. But if you keep up that tone, there just might be." Oldbag said, leaving the booth. He approached them, but even up close, it was impossible to read his expression behind the glasses and moustache. "When you were walking in, I heard one of you say something."
"What's that?"
"Marlene. Haven't heard that name in a year or so, now." Oldbag answered.
"Makes sense. What about it?"
"You two're digging up dirt on Vasquez, aren't you?"
"Maybe not exactly, but-"
"But you're lookin' into the accident two years ago?" Oldbag insisted, his expression remaining impenetrable.
"Yes. Why, do you know something about it?"
"You bet your stupid little badge I do." Oldbag said.
Trying to ignore the insult, Phoenix asked, "What have you got, then?"
"Blackmail." Oldbag replied promptly.
"What...?"
"Vasquez. The producer. He's been blackmailing Hammer for two years now. Ever since she offed his sister."
"What-?"
"It was a fine little setup he stuck her in, too. Covered the accident up and used it to take control of Hammer's career."
"Wh-... Why didn't you mention this earlier!?"
Oldbag grunted dismissively. "Nobody asked."
Without another word, he turned around and returned to the security station. Phoenix watched him in astonishment.
"Er... thanks...?" she called to his retreating back.
"Don't mention it." Oldbag shouted back. He stopped just inside the booth's doorway and looked back. "I mean that! Don't mention it!"
(...)
"Well." Matty said. "That was different."
"I... I think Mr. Oldbag might've just given us exactly what we need!" Phoenix replied in disbelief.
"I almost hope he didn't. I'm never gonna live it down if that old crank saves our asses."
October 17th, 5:04 PM
Global Studios
Studio One
Phoenix knocked sharply on the locked door. There was a brief sound of muffled footsteps before the handle turned. As the door opened, Vasquez's voice growled, "That better not be- SON OF A-"
The door slammed shut again. Vasquez's face had been partially visible just long enough to register who was knocking before he refused them entry.
"Mr. Vasquez!" Matty shouted. "We need to talk to you again! Open the door!"
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Matty was taking in a breath to shout again when the door opened.
"I'll give you one sentence to keep my interest." Vasquez said.
"Only need two words, actually: Marlene Vasquez." Phoenix said. Vasquez stared directly into her eyes. After a few tense moments passed, he kicked the door open fully and backed up into the room.
"What the hell d'you want with my sister?" he demanded once Phoenix and Matty had entered.
"Details." Phoenix said simply. "Did Janine Hammer kill your sister?"
Vasquez looked furious. "... Without a doubt." he said, his voice trembling with suppressed anger.
"Was it an accident or not?"
"If it hadn't been, I wouldn't have let Hammer live to see the investigation." he said, his voice stability failing him.
"One more question. If you used your sister's death to blackmail Ms. Hammer,"
"I'M. WARNING. YOU." Vasquez snarled.
"Why is she dead now, and who killed her?" Matty finished the question.
Vasquez turned his glare on Matty. "That's over the line, Slick."
He held the furious glare for only a split second before whirling around and throwing the office's door open violently. Turning his head to the side, he shouted, "You know what to do!" and stormed off into the trees lining the side of the lot.
"What's he-" Matty broke off as a group of men in dark clothes emerged from next to the small building. They entered the room, all staring at the two of them.
"Huh. Ya don't look like I imagined." quipped a stocky man in a heavy-looking coat. Without warning, two of the intruders darted around behind Phoenix and Matty, taking a firm grip on their arms.
"What the hell-!?" Phoenix aimed a kick at the shins of the man behind her.
"Who-oa-! Lady's got a temper!" he laughed.
"Not as much as this one!" answered the man restraining Matty. Matty was furiously struggling, doing everything in his ability to continue his futile effort to free himself.
"Who the hell are you, anyway!?" he demanded.
"Connections." Phoenix replied grimly.
"We-ell, lookaddat!" said another of the men. "She did her homework, too."
Taking a step toward Phoenix, he leaned close to her face.
Instinctively, Phoenix swung her head forward and knocked him back.
"Gah-! Dat wasn't smart, lady." the man said. He swung his arm back and aggressively backhanded her face.
"Get the hell away from her!" Matty shouted with a startling amount of force. With a violent shove, he knocked the man holding him backward, and managed to free one of his arms. He aimed a punch at the face of the attacker, which made its mark with a loud crunch. The man gave a pained grunt, clapping a hand to his nose.
Before Matty could react properly, the man holding his other wrist shoved him to the floor. The punch victim stooped down next to him and took a crushing hold of his free hand.
"Matty-!" Phoenix shrieked, still unable to free herself. The man was uttering a quiet stream of obscenities as he removed his hand from his face. His nose looked bent far out of shape from the force of Matty's punch. Phoenix saw him take a hold of one of Matty's fingers and turned away just in time to avoid seeing what happened next. She could not, however, block out the sickening crack that followed or Matty's scream of pain. His agonized yell continued for several seconds as the man pulled him back upright.
"Alright, kid. You've still got yourself nine good fingers left. Unless you wanna make it eight, you'll-"
-BANG-
The door swung open again. This time, Detective Gumshoe rushed in first, flanked by five other officers.
"FREEZE!" she ordered, pointing a gun at the unoccupied group of attackers.
"Shit..." the man restraining Phoenix muttered. He released his hold on her wrists and she darted toward Matty, who was hunched over, covering his injured hand.
"You two! Out the door!" Gumshoe barked, keeping her eyes and gun trained on the panicked group.
Matty slumped against Phoenix, breathing raggedly. She pulled him onto her shoulder and moved toward the door. Once outside, she saw a second group of police positioned around the doors.
"Ma'am, is your friend hurt?" one of them asked urgently.
Matty groaned an impressive string of curses through his shaking breaths.
"Garrett! Stanton! Call it in and get him first aid!" the officer shouted to two others.
"On it!" one of them, a woman, shouted back. Both darted forward, lifting Matty off the ground.
Phoenix watched them quickly leaving the lot. She suddenly became aware of how panicked her own breaths were. Her legs collapsed from under her, leaving her slumped down on the dirt ground.
"Ma'am, are you injured?" the officer asked.
"No..." she replied, struggling to stand back up. The entire situation couldn't have taken more than a minute by her estimate, but her mind was clouded with sudden fear and panic. "How did you know to come here...?"
"Debra saw you two heading over here alone. She thought something seemed off about it, so she brought us along after you."
"Huh... Tell her I said thanks, then..."
"Becker, get her to the ambulance with her friend. Just in case." the officer ordered.
Ten minutes, the two of them were sitting in the back of an ambulance. The adrenaline brought on by the panic had worn off, and Phoenix was no longer able to stem the steady flow of tears making its way down her face.
Matty was still in obvious pain, with a paramedic tending to his hand. "Hey, Boss...?" he started. Phoenix couldn't manage a reply. "Boss... Nix, please stop crying... That's hurting me a whole lot more than my hand is." Phoenix very much doubted that, but she gradually forced herself to calm down. She was amazed to see Matty smiling at her as she looked up.
"Heh... guess I'll have to take a break from beating you at video games, huh?" he said shakily.
Phoenix was beginning to doubt her previous concerns about Matty's emotional integrity as she listened to him in disbelief.
"Might not be able to help you out tomorrow, though. S-sorry about that..." he said before his strained expression finally cracked and he began to groan in pain again.
"Matty..." Phoenix mumbled.
"J-... agh... Just make sure you get that guy in court tomorrow, OK? For the sake of my finger, I mean."
Whooooaaaa
I did an update thinggggg
There is very little I can say to express my apologies for the lateness of this one. I've just about pulled up everything already in previous chapters.
I don't like rewriting filler from the game, dammit