Dahlia paced the tiled floor of the defendant's lobby, thinking as she flipped through the records from the previous trial day."
"How are we going to bag that old fruitcake?" the defense attorney wondered aloud.
"You mean Redd White?" Phoenix said. "With the security tape of course."
"At least we found that article about the KB Security dealing online," Phoenix said. "That should come in handy."
"Yeah, true," Dahlia said. She couldn't help but notice her assistant's black eye. It had formed overnight apparently "I know, but we still haven't even seen what's on it," Dahlia said. "Why'd the office have to upgrade to a DVD player, huh?"
. Redd must have hit Phoenix in the eye at some point. Like when I was running away.
"We'll definitely be able to watch it in court," Phoenix said, interrupting the defense attorney's guilt trip. "I saw a tape player in the hallway on my way over here."
"Really?" Dahlia said, perking her head up. "Maybe we have time to watch it."
As if on cue, Kay Faraday walked into the room. "Hey guys, whatcha talking about?"
"Just discussing some evidence," Dahlia said. She hadn't forgotten about the young girl's Psyche-Locks.
"Whoa, what happened to your eye?" Kay said, looking shocked.
"Well you see," Phoenix said. "Dahlia and I were investigating when we came across this street punk. With a knife. I tried to fend him off, and then he hit me with the butt of the knife. So-"
Dahlia cut him off. "What he means to say is that he got punched in the face by a sparkly businessman in a pink suit."
"He had a bunch of metal rings on!" Phoenix said defensively.
"He was going after me though," Dahlia continued. "Nick took the blow for me; we would have lost some really vital evidence if he hadn't done that."
"Really?" Kay said, looking at Phoenix. "You're like a hero of justice then!"
Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Well, I- I don't know about that but…"
Satisfied that her assistant's ego was in proper conditions, Dahlia pulled her Magatama out from under her hoodie. "Say, I need to ask you something."
"Fire away," Kay said.
"Why didn't you tell anyone the murder was at Bluecorp?" Dahlia said.
Just like before, 3 Psyche-Locks appeared to guard Kay's secret. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight at the time."
"I wish I could believe that but I think there's more to this," Dahlia said.
"What do you mean?" Kay said. "Can you prove it? Uncle Edgey says evidence is everything."
"Ah yes, old Uncle Edgey," Dahlia said. "He told me something very interesting. You've mentioned it too actually."
Dahlia took out the Yatagarasu card. "You're the self-purported Great Thief Yatagarasu."
"Well, yeah," Kay said, pouting slightly. "But like you said, I already told you that. Where'd you get the card anyway? I thought those were like, super secret."
"I stole it when Edgeworth wasn't paying attention," Dahlia said. "Another thing about Edgeworth, he says that you've never stolen anything."
"Well, that's true," Kay said. "I haven't actually stolen anything yet. I'm still working on that."
"Do me a favor as your attorney and never say that in court," Dahlia said. "But I believe you, Edgeworth certainly does. And I know he wouldn't unless he had a good reason for it. Which begs the questions, what is that reason?"
"Well, I've only recently started my career as a Great Thief of Truth," Kay said. "I haven't had time to steal anything yet."
"Then there's only one explanation for all of this," Dahlia said. "If you haven't stolen anything, but the Yatagarasu has, that means there's another Yatagarasu."
Kay gasped, and her first Psyche-Lock shattered.
"Who is this other Great Thief?" Dahlia pressed.
"It doesn't matter," Kay said. Suddenly she was much more serious. "The other Yatagarasu has nothing to do with me. Not anymore. I will catch up to him, and I will succeed him. As a noble Great Thief, I will steal the dark truths and bring them into the light of the public eye. I will steal for the truth, to protect people from lies, no matter the cost."
For a moment, Dahlia thought she saw a tear well in Kay's eyes. However, the young thief-to-be didn't shed a single drop.
"I will stay true to myself and always do what I think is right. I will not turn cold and distant from guilt and doubt," Kay looked away, touching her scarf. "Especially not so cold that I won't even talk to my only daughter."
Daughter… Could it be? Dahlia's gaze softened. Silent memories of her parents flitted through her mind.
"But like I said, it doesn't matter," Kay said. "What matters is that I am a Great Thief. Or at least I will be."
"You're working on it, right?" Dahlia said. "Do you have a specific scandal in mind yet?"
"Well…" Kay said.
"I think you do," Dahlia said. She showed Kay the article about the KB Security information dealing. "You wanted to steal the truth about this, am I right? Which is why you snuck into Bluecorp that day."
"You don't know that," Kay said defensively. "Maybe I was looking into it, but you can't prove that I stole anything."
"You're right," Dahlia said. "I can't prove that because you didn't steal anything. But you were going to."
"What was I after then?" Kay said.
Dahlia presented a photo of Ron DeLite. "You were after Ron DeLite himself, the man who had sold the information. You wanted to get the answers straight from the horse's mouth, am I right?"
"And how was I supposed to do that?" Kay said. "I didn't even know this guy, how was I supposed to know he went to Bluecorp every afternoon?"
"He went to Bluecorp every afternoon?" Dahlia said. "How'd you know that?"
Kay winced, and another Psyche-Lock broke. "Well, I've done my homework. You can't prove I was at the scene of the crime when the crime occurred."
"Actually, I think I can," Dahlia said. "It would certainly explain a few things if you were there."
"Like what?" Kay said.
Dahlia presented the record of the previous trial day. "There was something that the prosecution mentioned that caught my attention. He said the police were notified of the murder via an anonymous tip from a young lady using a payphone. But the curious thing is the police arrived before the witness, April May, could call the police. And if April May wasn't the young lady who called the police, there's only one other person who could have done that."
Kay pointed at herself sheepishly.
Dahla nodded her head. "That's right; you were the one who called the police. You must have seen one outside of Bluecorp and reported the crime. But you saw that the killer was on the move, and you didn't want to let them out of your site. Which is why you left such a vague, fast message before hanging up."
"Or I saw one outside the mall," Kay said. "That's where I was found after all."
"Alright, you want more proof?" Dahlia said. "Because there's one more thing that's been bugging me. But if I put you into the equation, it all adds up."
"What?" Kay said.
Dahlia pulled out the security tape. Kay gasped.
"You know this is, don't you?" Dahlia said. "This is the tape from the security camera inside the crime scene. I found it under one of the shelves."
"Did the killer hide it?" Kay said.
"Think about it," Dahlia said. "Why would the killer hide such incriminating evidence at the crime scene? Why not take it with him, or destroy it? No, whoever hid this wanted to keep the footage safe. Because it recorded everything that happened in that storage room. Including the murder, and possibly hints of the information dealing."
"Who hid the tape then?" Kay said.
"I think we both know the answer to that question," Dahlia said.
The final Psyche-Lock shattered into oblivion. Kay smiled sadly. "Yeah."
The chains rolled away, and Dahlia hid her Magatama.
"I'm really sorry," Kay said. "I know it doesn't make up for it, but still. I was worried that you would think I was lying if I told you everything."
"So you lied instead?" Dahlia said sarcastically, but not testily.
Kay grinned. "Yeah, not one of my best ideas."
"So what did happen?" Dahlia said.
"Well, you were right. I wanted get some hard evidence about the KB Security stuff and find out where it all went. I had a hunch, so I snuck into Bluecorp and confronted him. He got all freaked out though so I didn't get much out of him," Kay said. "But that's when I noticed the security camera."
Kay crossed her arms and tucked her chin into her scarf. "I realized that when Mr. DeLite met with the guy he was working with it would be recorded. So I crawled through an air vent and hid in the room next door. A few minutes later, I heard a gunshot."
"Did you ever see the killer?" Dahlia said.
"I didn't catch a face," Kay said. "Right when I got back in through the vent the killer was leaving. I remembered the security camera and found the tape still in there."
"How'd you get so high up?" Dahlia said.
"Oh, I used the stepladder," Kay said.
"Stepladder?" Phoenix said, beaming. "Whoooop! I'm not alone!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dahlia said. "So what'd you do next?"
"I went outside and saw a man pushing a suspiciously covered cart," Kay said. "I noticed a payphone and called the police. As I was dialing, though, the man got into a car and put the cart in the back. I heard him say "mall" so I knew where they were going. I couldn't just leave it at that, though. So I ran after them. By the time I caught up, well, you know how that turned out."
"Do you remember what the man looked like?" Dahlia said.
"He's hard to forget," Kay said. "He had purple hair, and this really bright pink suit. Not to mention he kind of… shimmered."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," Dahlia said. "Because it looks like we've got the same target here."
Phoenix and Kay tilted their heads. Dahlia just smiled enigmatically.
"Thank you, Kay," Dahlia said. "I think I have everything I need to win the trial now."
"Don't thank me," Kay said. "I haven't even stolen anything yet and already I've broken my creed. I'm sorry I hid the truth."
"You told the truth in the end," Dahlia said. "Your father would be proud."
"You know, he didn't even come for the trial," Kay said. "He used to take me to the police station when I was little. That's how I met Uncle Edgey. When he was studying to be a detective, he would come to the police station all the time. We saw each other in the courthouse too. He would play with me, and sometimes he would even get me a Swiss Roll from the vending machine."
Dahlia smiled. She makes Edgeworth sound like such a big softy. It's kind of sweet.
"I think my father started to get stressed with… his job," Kay said. "And when I got older, he kind of ignored me. So I that's why I have to be a great Yatagarasu. To show my father the path of righteousness isn't always the easiest, but that I can take it."
Before Dahlia could say anything I response, a bailiff entered the room.
"The trial's about to start," the bailiff said.
"Alright, let's finish this," Dahlia said.
"Stepladder? Whoooop! I'm not alone!" Phoenix cheered.
9-4-9-15-20. 9-20 space 9-19 space 10-21-19-20 space 1 space 12-1-4-4-5-18. Larry thought to himself. Wait, why am I thinking in that childish code? Ugh, Wright. Why couldn't you just leave me be?
9-4-9-15-20. 9-20 space 9-19 space 10-21-19-20 space 1 space 12-1-4-4-5-18. = Idiot. It is just a ladder.