Apollo tapped at his computer irritably. So far his extensive internet searches had sent him scurrying down any number of dead ends. Conspiracy theories about the Silver Diner murders abounded, from aliens to shadowy government agents, they were all there. But prior to the crime, Brandi Snapps seemed to be an ordinary, law-abiding citizen. She didn't even have a speeding ticket. She'd moved to LA from Des Moines for college, had completed two years of a degree in European History at CULA and was apparently working as a waitress to pay at least some of her bills. She was… normal. Dull. Not exactly the profile of a killer. His phone rang.
"Ema?" he answered. "What's up?"
"Where's Gavin?" she snapped. "I've been trying to reach him all day."
"I don't know," Apollo told her. "We're not joined at the hip."
"Not yet, anyway," Ema said snidely. Apollo ground his teeth. "Look, I've got something. It's big. Meet me at the Java Judgement in five minutes. And if you can raise Gavin, bring him along." She hung up before Apollo could object. He sighed and texted Klavier, but if he was where Apollo suspected he was, then he probably wouldn't answer. He was surprised when he got an almost immediate response. He checked the time. He'd need to leave right now. He scribbled a quick note and left it on Mr Wright's desk, before dashing out the door.
Phoenix picked up the note on his desk and frowned.
Gone to meet Klavier and Ema 4 coffee re Silver Diner. See U Klavier's house. AJ.
Apollo was spending a lot of time with Gavin recently, and although they were working together on a case right now, it still seemed a little excessive.
"You look unhappy," a voice said from the door. Phoenix looked up to see Miles leaning against the door post. He swallowed, trying to ignore the way his stomach churned in Miles's presence.
"Hey, Miles," he stuttered. "Umm… what's up?" The prosecutor entered the room and draped himself in a chair.
"I've just spoken to Detective Skye," Miles told him. "They examined the bullets from last night's shooting and found something rather surprising."
"Oh?" Phoenix said stupidly. "Surprising how?"
"The gun is an antique," Miles said. "In fact, they weren't bullets at all. They were musket balls."
"Musket balls?" Phoenix repeated. "Like, from a civil war era gun?"
"Not quite," Miles said. "These were from a flintlock dueling pistol." Phoenix couldn't keep his confusion off his face.
"Dueling pistol? Like, uh, old time England, pistols at dawn kind of thing?" The delighted smile on Miles's face made him feel warm and slightly dizzy.
"Exactly, Wright!" he exclaimed. "Now, these guns aren't illegal, but they are rare."
"I don't understand," Phoenix admitted. "I thought those things only fired one shot. There were at least four shots last night and there wasn't enough time to reload. I've seen TV, it takes ages to reload those things."
"Which means our shooter had multiple weapons," Miles agreed. "And that makes no sense. Flintlock pistols are notoriously unreliable, as likely to blow your hand off as fire correctly. And having to carry several around in order to make multiple shots. It's crazy."
"Is the killer sending a message?" Phoenix asked and Miles eyed him sharply.
"A message," he said slowly, as if the thought hadn't previously occurred to him. "What kind of message?"
"I don't know," Phoenix admitted. "It just seems that if you go to this much trouble, there's a reason." Miles stroked his chin contemplatively.
"I always forget how smart you are, Wright," Miles said. Phoenix stiffened.
"Objection!" he cried. "I didn't come here to be abused!" Miles began laughing, a deep rich sound that vibrated somewhere deep in the core of Phoenix's being. His cheeks reddened, a mixture of embarrassment and arousal.
"I'm sorry, Wright," Miles said once he'd regained his composure. "I didn't mean to insult you. But you cultivate this air of buffoonery and clownishness and it's hard to remember there's a sharp legal mind under there."
"Buffoonery? Clownishness?" Phoenix gaped at Miles in horror. "You think I'm a fool," he said in dismay.
"What?" Miles said distractedly. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Oh I'm ridiculous too?" Phoenix was beginning to feel a little hysterical.
"Wright!" Miles barked. "Get a hold of yourself. You're freaking out." Phoenix swallowed, Miles was right, he was losing it.
"Sorry, Miles," he apologized. Miles nodded at him, a concerned expression on his face.
"Wright, I don't think you are a fool. Or a buffoon or a clown," Miles said firmly. "But you do like to pretend to be any or all of those things if it means people underestimate you." Phoenix flushed. "And I sometimes fall into that trap myself," he added.
"So, what now?" Phoenix asked, desperate to change the subject. Miles looked thoughtful.
"I'm not sure. I feel like we have a number of pieces of the puzzle, but I don't know what the shape of it is yet. I think we're missing something."
Taka was restless. Not her usual restlessness, that usually indicated that Simon had been neglecting her. This was different, and it was making Simon nervous. She pecked listlessly at the food he offered and wouldn't settle for more than a few minutes. Perhaps he ought to take her to the vet.
There was a tap at his door and he growled out a curt invitation. His mood lightened when Athena poked her head around the door.
"Have you had lunch yet?" she asked, knowing full well he had not. "I've got noodles!" He gave her a slow, grateful smile.
"Come in, Athena. No I haven't eaten yet." Athena bounced delightedly into the room and gave Taka a respectful bow. The bird ignored her.
"Is Taka OK?" she asked, her brows diving over her nose. Simon shook his head.
"I don't know. She's unsettled, and I don't know why." Athena peered at the hawk, apparently searching for some kind of clue. "I'm going to call her vet once we've finished eating." Athena nodded in agreement and placed the boxes of noodles on Simon's desk.
"I have a new client!" she announced and Taka squawked at her.
"So I've heard," Simon said easily. "I thought you might take her case."
Athena eyed him uncertainly. "You're not unhappy with me over the St John case are you?" Simon shook his head.
"No. I told you, it's fine. The case starts tomorrow, if you wanted to see it." Athena chewed her lip and Simon sighed. "Only if you feel like it, Athena."
"OK," she agreed.
"Now, tell me why you don't think Ms Kresky killed Ms May," Simon challenged smilingly.
"Two things," Athena said, scooping noodles into her mouth. "One, I just don't sense any animosity towards her cousin. April May was beaten to death with a statuette. It was brutal, and probably personal. Two, the timeline Detective Monroe has proposed is just impossible. Lisa Kresky was seen entering April May's apartment at around 10:30pm by two witnesses and she swiped her parking pass at her condo at 11:17am. It's a thirty minute drive between the two locations, assuming no traffic. So if she arrived at 10:30, she had to have left by 10:50pm at the very latest. The time of death was placed between midnight and 3am. I know estimates of the time of death are just that, estimates. But there's over an hour's discrepancy."
Simon stared at her, his eyes distant as his mind turned the facts over in his head. "That's more than a little awkward for the prosecution," he said finally. "Who's prosecuting?"
"Winston Payne," Athena said grumpily.
"Ugh," Simon dismissed. "He's useless. No intellectual curiosity. It's a strange quality in a prosecutor. So, tell me, if Ms Kresky didn't kill April May, who did?"
"I don't have any other suspects," Athena mused.
"No CCTV?" Simon asked and Athena shook her head mournfully.
"The camera near Ms May's apartment was broken. Had been out of service all week, apparently."
"That cannot be a coincidence," Simon observed.
"No, but it doesn't get me anywhere. If someone disabled it, they did so without being caught on the camera's last pictures."
"What does the detective on the case think?" Simon asked.
"Monroe? He thinks Ms Kresky did it." She noticed the look of disdain on Simon's face. "Not a fan of Detective Monroe?"
"Man's incompetent," Simon spat. "And corrupt!"
Athena stared at him. "Corrupt?" she said in surprise. "I'd heard he wasn't the most… effective detective but corrupt?"
"I've caught him fabricating evidence in several of my trials," Simon said witheringly. "I told him to cut it out. I even brought my concerns to Edgeworth-dono, but he said that Monroe had friends in high places, and that we didn't have enough evidence that he was responsible for faking the evidence, as opposed to one of his underlings."
"Would Payne care if the evidence he used was fake?" Athena asked and Simon glowered.
"I don't really know," he said. "Payne and I don't exactly get on."
"Well," Athena said brightly. "I suppose I'll just have to see what happens."
Simon nodded, chewing thoughtfully. "You know, something about this case bothers me," he said finally. Athena raised an eyebrow at him and sat back, letting him collect his thoughts. "It's the name," he said finally.
"The name?" Athena said, confused. "What name?"
"April May," Simon said. "It's… familiar."
"Oh!" Athena replied. "It's probably because she went to jail because of Mr Wright. She was involved in the Redd White case. You know, he murdered Mr Wright's mentor, Mia Fey."
Simon stared at her, his face paling. "Athena, don't you think that's rather… odd?"
"Odd? You mean, because of the other murders? The ones related to the serial killer?"
"Yes," Simon said, looking very disturbed. "How did we miss this one?"
Athena stared back at him, a cold feeling sliding down her spine. "You think it's one of those?"
"Well, it's a very strange coincidence if it is not," Simon said finally.
"Well, Mr Wright didn't catch it because the request for assistance came from Ms Kresky's brother," Athena told him. "He didn't mention Miss May's name, just that his sister was accused of murdering her husband's lover."
"Fair enough," Simon said. "But I was actually talking about the police."
"Well, you said yourself Monroe is incompetent," Athena said after a moment.
"Perhaps," Simon said. "But now I have to get involved personally. Payne is going to pitch a fit."
Apollo sat in the coffee shop, fidgeting as he waited for Klavier and Ema to arrive. He heard rather than saw Klavier when the rockstar entered, his voice tugging at his insides in a way Apollo couldn't describe. And then he slid into the booth opposite Apollo, a vision in blond and purple.
"Hey," Apollo said, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. Klavier flashed his 1000 watt smile and Apollo felt his stomach flip over.
"Forehead," the blond said, sounding genuinely happy to see him. "What's the big news?"
"I don't know," Apollo admitted. "Ema was being all secret squirrel about the whole thing."
Klavier's teeth flashed as he grinned again. "It makes her happy," he commented. Apollo peered at him.
"Since when do you care about making Ema happy?" he asked curiously. Klavier shrugged idly but there was an edge in his eyes.
"Detective Skye has had a… difficult life. Much has been taken from her. Little given."
Apollo frowned at that sad summation of Ema's world. "I know that," he said carefully. "But you two don't really get on." Klavier gave a strained smile.
"It's complicated," he said and Apollo kicked himself. Why hadn't he spotted it before? Klavier was in love with Ema and she barely gave him the time of day. He quashed the unaccountable feeling of disappointment and focused on his sympathy for his friend.
"Well, she's hard to get close to, it's true," he agreed. "She finds it hard to trust people."
"She trusts you," Klavier noted. Apollo gave him a crooked smile.
"Because I treat her like a person, not a potential conquest. And I don't bug her for details about what Lana did. Or Joe Darke."
"Are you saying I treat Ema like a potential conquest?" Klavier said curiously. "I certainly don't press her for salacious details on the crimes that have touched her life."
"What? No, I didn't mean you," Apollo said loyally, although he kind of did. After all, Klavier flirted like most people breathed. Unconsciously and wholly without thought. "But a lot of people treat her like a curiosity. And then, when she got older and more uh… womanly… a lot of guys would hit on her not because of who she was but because of her connection to Joe Darke. Creepy dudes with a serial killer obsession." Klavier pulled a face.
"Mein Gott!" he exclaimed. "That's disgusting."
"Men are disgusting," Ema announced as she flopped gracelessly next to Apollo. "Now have I got some evidence for you." She brandished an envelope at Klavier and then let it drop onto the table. Klavier eyed her for a moment and then picked it up. He opened it and slid the contents out onto the table. There was a tox screen report, what looked like a DNA analysis report, a plastic evidence bag containing a syringe and another plastic evidence bag contained some duct tape. Apollo reached out and snagged the tox screen report.
It was actually several reports, one for each of the victims. The screens were negative but a line handwritten at the bottom of each one had been highlighted with a yellow Sharpie.
GHB screen is technically negative, however some possible traces were detected but they were outside the limit of detection and could be a false result.
Apollo puzzled over that for a moment and then picked up the syringe bag. Inside he could see a label that said "GHB traces detected". He then reached for the duct tape bag but there was nothing useful that he could see. So he pulled the DNA analysis report towards him and his eyebrows shot up.
"Brandi Snapps?" he blurted out. "I don't understand."
"It's simple," Ema said. "None of the bodies officially had GHB in their bloodstream. But it's hard to detect and expensive too. So it's not part of a standard tox screen, it has to be specifically requested. I put in a request, but unfortunately it's been too long since the victims died and if it was present, it's long gone. The lab reported that there could have been a trace amount, but you see here it says below the limits of detection? That means there could be some there, but the machine that runs this test isn't reliable at these low concentrations." Apollo screwed up his face as he tried to follow Ema's breathless recital. "So anyway, this syringe was found at the Iris Hawthorne crime scene. A lot of inmates use drugs and GHB is popular, so nobody apparently thought to mention it to me. That's when I requested the tox screen on all the victims. But it was too late, like I said. But check out that duct tape!"
"I don't get it," Apollo admitted.
"There are skin cells on it," Ema said patiently. "Brandi Snapps' skin cells, in particular."
"OK," Klavier interjected. "Come on, Ema. Spit it out."
"This duct tape has Brandi Snapps DNA on it and traces of GHB. I think she taped a syringe of GHB to her leg or arm or some other place where it would be easier to reach but hard to spot. When she goes to commit the crime, she rips off the duct tape, grabs the syringe and jabs her victims and then takes the syringe with her when she leaves. But she left the duct tape behind, not realizing it would tie her to the crime."
Klaver and Apollo gaped at her.
"This is… pretty definitive," Klavier said at last. "Ema, you are a genius." Ema flushed with pleasure at the unexpected compliment.
"So, let's go talk to Ms Snapps," Apollo said impatiently. "Then we can get my client off the hook!"
Blackquill as just leaving his office as Edgeworth arrived, looking rather harried. Taka was in her travel cage and seemed unusually subdued.
"Edgeworth-dono," he said respectfully and nodded out a slight bow. "Forgive me, but I have an appointment."
"No problem," Edgeworth said, cursing internally. "It wasn't important."
Simon canted an eyebrow at him. "What do you need?"
"I've been asked to visit a prisoner, one with special standing. I rather hoped you'd come with me. Your understanding of the prison's internal politics and your expertise in psychology would be rather useful," Edgeworth said, sighing.
"Gavin's not around?" Blackquill asked and blinked at the flicker of unease that passed over Edgeworth's face.
"He would not be… appropriate," Edgeworth said finally.
"I see," Blackquill said. That rather narrowed the list of possibilities, he thought.
"I must take Taka to the vet," he said apologetically. "Can you postpone the meeting?"
Edgeworth eyed him for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, if you can make it later this afternoon, there should be no issue."
"Set it for 3pm," Blackquill advised. "That should give me enough time. I'll meet you there."
"Thank you," Edgeworth said gratefully. "I won't keep you any longer." He patted Blackquill on the shoulder and then turned back down the hall. Blackquill watched him leave and Taka squawked at him.
"I know," he said. "I don't see who else it could be. But why does he want to talk to Edgeworth-dono now?"
Brandi Snapps was sullen and uncommunicative when Apollo and Klavier met her at her apartment. "I'm a victim," she sulked. "Why are you people constantly bothering me with all these questions?"
"It's just routine," Klavier assured her with a charming smile. Apollo gritted his teeth."We have one tiny piece of evidence we don't understand and it could provide a doubt in the mind of the jury. One the defence could exploit." Klavier hadn't introduced Apollo, merely called him his 'colleague' precisely so he could perform this kind of maneuver. Apollo wasn't sure it was legal or even moral but he kept his mouth shut. Sometimes watching an artist at work required you to suspend petty things like morals he supposed. And Klavier was glorious right now, like a cat poised for the strike. There was a lump in Apollo's throat that was entirely due to his excitement at getting his client out of a trial and not at all because the performance of the beautiful man in front of him.
"Well," Ms Snapps hedged, muting the TV. "In that case…" Klavier produced the duct tape and Apollo saw her eyes flare in horror and recognition before her expression went flat.
"I don't understand," she said coldly.
"This duct tape contains skin cells, from where the adhesive was stuck to someone's skin. DNA analysis revealed those skin cells to be yours." Klavier told her. Apollo watched her expression as she imperceptibly relaxed. Well, not imperceptibly to him.
"We use a lot of duct tape around the diner," she said easily. "Mostly for fixing the sign out front, which the owner is too cheap to get replaced. But we use it for other things too. In fact, on the day of the murder, I used it to repair the corner of the cake display. That must be where it came from."
"Well, Fraulein, there's a small problem with that," Klavier said smugly. "There are also traces of GHB on the tape." His face didn't fall when Brandi looked confused rather than guilty. Apollo could tell he was disappointed and his bracelet agreed. He tried not to think about how attuned he was to the rockstar's moods that he almost hadn't needed the bracelet to tell him how Klavier was feeling.
"I don't know what that is," Brandi said, unconcerned.
"It's a drug," Apollo told her. "You probably know it as the date-rape drug." Brandi's face didn't alter. Damn she was one fine actress, Apollo thought. But his ability didn't lie. She hadn't recognized the name GHB, but she knew what was in that syringe.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I didn't rape anyone at the diner," she said sarcastically. "I was too busy not getting killed."
"I don't think you understand," Klavier said smoothly. "This drug can be used to incapacitate a person. Yes for nefarious purposes like sexual assault. Or for other nefarious purposes, such as murder. Especially if our would-be murderer is small and weak and her victim is large and strong."
Snapps' face paled. "Are you suggesting…" She swayed. "I need a lawyer."
"Yes," Klavier agreed. "You do."
"I need your help," Athena announced as she walked into the temporary Wright Anything Agency office. Phoenix smiled warmly at her.
"Of course," he said. "What can I do for you?"
"This case," Athena said. "You definitely didn't see who the victim was?"
"No," Phoenix agreed. "The email from Bob Kresky said his sister was accused of killing one of her husband's former lovers, and that she was being framed for the crime."
"Her name was April May," Athena said bluntly.
Phoenix blinked at her and then his face paled. "You don't mean…"
"Yes," Athena told him. "As in Redd White's assistant. She got out of prison, and was living a relatively quiet life. Lisa and Bob Kresky are her cousins."
"This is another one for the serial killer, isn't it?" Phoenix said, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands."
"Simon thinks so, and I agree," Athena said. "So far the police seem convinced it's unconnected but I think Simon is going to try and change their minds."
"So what do you need from me?"
"It's not enough to secure an acquittal for Lisa," Athena said, one hand on her hip. "I need an alternative suspect."
"Right," Phoenix said. "And I assume there's nobody else connected to the case who seems likely?"
"There's nobody else period," Athena explained. "The only people involved so far are Lisa, who visited Miss May on the night in question, Miss May herself of course, and Eric Stevenson who is Lisa Kresky's ex-husband."
"Does he have an alibi?" Phoenix asked.
Athena nodded. "Rock solid. He was on a plane flying to Santiago at the time."
"Exotic," Phoenix commented. "OK, so that means there must be another person who knew Lisa Kresky, April May and Eric Stevenson, including their sordid history."
"And hated Miss May enough to beat her to death with a statue," Athena added. Phoenix's face paled further and she bit her tongue. Bringing that up probably hadn't been smart.
"It doesn't really fit, you know," Phoenix said after a long pause.
"What do you mean?" Athena asked.
"All the other deaths, Max Galactica, Will Powers, I-I-Iris Hawthorne, were accused of crimes that they were later acquitted of."
"I thought Iris went to prison," Athena said pointedly.
"Yes, but for accessory, not murder itself. So I could see how a murderer might think she got off lightly. But Angel Starr and April May don't fit the same pattern."
"So maybe your hypothesis of the killer's motive is just wrong," Athena said. She pondered it for a moment. "You're trying to fit the facts to your theory, instead of letting the facts take you where they lead."
Phoenix gave her a smile. "You're right," he agreed. "Sometimes I get carried away."
"OK," Athena said, grabbing a dry-erase pen and bouncing over to the whiteboard. "Let's think this through." She started writing the names of the victims on the board.
"Wait, Athena," Phoenix said. "Let's not do this now. Come over to Klavier's house tonight for dinner. Bring Simon. Then we can put all our heads together."
"OK," Athena said dubiously. "But do you think Mr Gavin has a dry-erase board."
"I'm sure we can figure it out if he doesn't," Phoenix assured her.
