Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter to this story that I'm sure all of you have been waiting ever so patiently to pop up at any time. Well, that time is now, and I hope that you'll all enjoy it as much as I had making it despite how long it took for it to get out of the messy assembly line known as my cluttered mind.
Now I'm sure you all heard this excuse before from all my other author's notes from this and my other stories, but college is really forcing me to put on the breaks on a lot of my stories. I know how I used to really be on top of all of them, but I have a feeling that those moments of quick updates are going to continued to be slowed down until college either somehow becomes easier or when I'm finished with it. Other than that, I can promise you all that I'm working as diligently on these stories as best as I can.
And for those who would rather that I work on my college work instead of this, then don't worry. In fact, I've only spent time on this chapter after all my college finals had been completed. And that was all from last week. This entire week that I posted this new chapter is my vacation time. When the next week rolls around, that is when I'll be starting the summer quarter of college. Oh, never a day's rest from college classes, you know?
But yeah, for those of you who have followed my sad college woes, you'll know that I've been having trouble with my GPA as of late. Well, all I can say is that it didn't go any lower than it is now, but it also didn't go any higher than it was when the winter quarter was finished. At least I can say that I'm as close as I can be to having at least a 2.0 GPA, a safety line that my college wants me to be above so that they can take me out of academic probation. Because of this, I also won't be posting my chapters frequently since school work obviously comes first, especially in the precarious situation I'm right now in. And I was seriously hoping that I would do well enough this past spring quarter in order to get out of academic probation this summer.
Oh, and I'll also be working at my summer job, so I'm practically juggling both work and classes at the same time. I need to earn money during my least busy school quarter so I could at least be somewhat comfortable when I'm out of college. So truly don't be surprised if you don't see a lot of updates this coming summer.
And on that note, I really do hope that you all will have a nice and enjoyable summer. I know I will despite juggling both work and school homework at the same time. Oh well, that's just how life is these days.
Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. As always, I always read them and take into account any suggestions and constructive criticisms that you may have. I promise that I'm not just trying to siphon reviews from you all so that my story would look more appealing to new readers. And if you like, you can go and read one of my new stories that I started almost a month ago. It only has a few chapters right now, but it's my attempt at writing a horror-survival story. Yeah, I'm really trying to broaden my horizons and leaving my comfort zone of just primarily adventure stories that I had started out writing when I first came here over three years ago. The name is "The Biohazard Outbreak" if any of you are interested, and it's based off of the Sonic characters with a few other connections from another well known survival horror game.
Anyway, here's the evidence list for this chapter that I'm sure most of you have already forgotten from the long wait I've subjected you all to. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
Evidence:
Attorney's Badge: Sonic's badge proving that he's a genuine defense attorney. Ever since getting tied into a murder because of him losing it, he's since taken precautions to make sure that it stays secured within the inside of his gloves.
Shadow's Testimony: Testimony given by Shadow and memorized by Tails. The Prosecutor said that he was quite shocked upon hearing two gunshots coming from in front of his path followed by a splashing sound ten seconds later. He remembered picking up the gun with his bare hands before the witness's screams shook him out of his state of mind.
Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report: A report detailing how Ms. Mae died. She was killed between six-thirty and seven in the morning on 6/23. She was shot once in the chest, but the bullet merely caused her to faint. The real cause of death was from drowning after being thrown into the Mobius River. A horizontal bruise on her waist most likely from being pushed hard onto the harbor railing is proof of this.
Weather Report: A report on the weather on the day of the murder submitted by Detective Silver. It shows that it was a very foggy morning then with the fog at its densest between six and seven-thirty. Visibility was less than ten feet at the dock area without the aid of car headlights.
Pistol: The weapon that was recovered at the Mobius Dock. The ballistic markings on the bullet extracted from Ms. Mae's body matches to the gun. Signs show that it was fired twice. It also bears Shadow's fingerprints. However, Tails seems to think that this gun was used at the lighthouse rather than at the docks and was swapped out at some point with the Fake Murder Weapon.
Photograph: A picture that was taken by Amy Rose. While it does show the scene of the crime before the police arrived, it also seems to show another incident in the background just underneath the bright lighthouse light. It looks almost like the same exact scene that had unfolded and led to the death of Prosecutor Flora Mae. As such, it has brought about an investigation of the lighthouse in order to figure out some answers.
Blood: A small spot of blood found on the railing of the lighthouse at the Mobius Docks. Tests are required in order to determine just who it belongs to, although it is speculated to have belonged to the victim, Prosecutor Flora Mae.
Fake Murder Weapon: A proposal brought about by Tails that the weapon the police took from the scene at the docks was not the real murder weapon. It's believed that there might have been a change sometime between the moment it was filed and before the case officially made it into court. It's currently just speculation and needs more evidence in order to be considered a stable possibility.
Profiles:
Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog currently assigned to defend Shadow from a grave murder charge. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Miles Prower: A twelve-year-old two tailed fox who likes to go by his nickname "Tails" and is now working at the Robotnik Law Firm as their local detective. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Knuckles Echidna: An eighteen-year-old red echidna who is a detective at the local Precinct and now assigned to the Shadow's case thanks to the efforts of Senior Detective Silver. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Salemand Eres: A twenty-two year old black cat with unusually bright red eyes. He came to Dr. Robotnik's Law Firm in order to employ the help of Vector to find his little brother. However, his actions make him seem rather suspicious.
Shadow Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old ebon furred hedgehog who became a prosecutor at sixteen in a country that allowed bar exams at younger ages. He's currently the suspect in this case. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.
Silver Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken charge of the initial investigation. He seems to have made it his personal mission to solve the mysteries behind the LK-9 Incident that he was involved in during his time as an intern.
Flora Mae: A prosecutor from the Prosecutor's Office. She was Shadow's coworker and was discovered to have been murdered only after Shadow heard the sound of gunshots at the dock and quickly went to investigate it.
Amy Rose: A sixteen-year-old pink furred hedgehog who attends Mobius High as a Junior and is a proud photographer of her school's newspaper. She heard the crime taking place while taking her daily summer morning walk and stumbled upon Shadow with a gun in his hands.
Mephiles: An old hedgehog of sixty-five with over thirty years worth of experience in the court of law as a prosecutor. His ruthlessness in the courtroom are well-known by all who work within the courtroom. There are rumors that he forges evidence and fixes witnesses' testimonies so cases will go his way because of his impossibly no-lose record, but all are unfounded.
Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who keeps watch over the lighthouse. He prefers to be called Max. He used to be a very successful entrepreneur in the seafood business along with his sister Lois before it was bought out from them by his partner and transformed into a shipping goods business.
Lois Pryce: The sister of Max Pryce who had died in the events that led up to the events of the lighthouse being used as a base for the start of the LK-9 Incident. She used to be business partners with her brother in a seafood business before it was bought out from their third partner and transformed into an shipping goods business.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik: The owner of the Robotnik Law Firm were both Sonic and Tails work at. Strangely enough, he is mentioned in the Letter that was discovered in the lighthouse basement by Silver regardless not being mentioned by name but through description.
Vector Crocodile: A local prosecutor who is friends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. He has decided to continue with his work as a freelance detective along with Charmy Bee despite the conviction of his friend and partner Espio that caused shadows about the integrity of his work that soon quickly dissipated.
Chapter 20: An Ironic Twist of Fate and Truth Pt. 6
"Come on; there's got to be something here that the police and detectives overlooked," Sonic growled out as he continued to search the docks for any kind of evidence that would help in his case to acquit Shadow. "Of course, I mean no offense to you, Silver. It's just that I know Mephiles had some kind of ulterior motive to hide the fact about the murder captured in the lighthouse background of Amy's picture for a reason, so there has to be something here that proves the 'murder' that happened here was just for show!"
"Sonic, you're going to get yourself kicked out of the scene by the police if you keep tramping around like that," Tails warned his older brother as he was engaged in a calmer version of search and carefully examining even the smallest of things. "I want to clear Shadow's name just as much as you do, but going about like this in a crazed frenzy isn't going to help him. The last thing you need now is a lack of evidence in court tomorrow because you couldn't compose yourself at the crime scene."
"We've already been checking this place from top to bottom for the past few minutes," the cobalt hedgehog responded as he continued on with his wild search. "I'd have expected to find something by now. It's already five in the afternoon; we only have a couple more hours' worth of searching before we have to go back to the office and get set up for tomorrow's court day. I need to find something now!"
"But running around is a good way for you to miss whatever it is you're looking for," Silver suggested as he was nearby leaning against what was most likely his own car with his arms crossed. "I'm sure that the police did more than just a good job looking for evidence once they heard that Mephiles was going to be the prosecutor. He's a real stickler for everything being done just right, and he'll unleash his wrath on those who don't perform to his standards. Oh, and I take no offense from your earlier comment, Sonic."
"Geez, does he think he's the high prosecutor for the country or something?" the attorney asked as he took the detective's advice and actually slowed down a bit. The police that were nearby still looked at him with suspicious eyes, but that could not have been helped thanks to his previously rushed behavior. "I didn't think that prosecutors had that kind of authoritative power over the police."
"Prosecutors do have certain powers over police and precinct detectives like me, but Mephiles's position is just below that of the high prosecutor," the detective explained with a shake of his head as if he did not agree with the process. "Because of that, he does have more control than other prosecutors over the precinct whenever he's associated with a case. However, only the high prosecutor can have control including during times when they're not overseeing a case. That's the only difference between the two."
"Well, I guess we're pretty lucky here since we have nothing to do with the police," the two tailed fox responded as he walked over to the side of the dock and looked down at the calm waters below. "And I'm an on-scene detective hired directly by Dr. Robotnik, so the prosecutor can't do anything to stop me from investigating. He can't exercise his authoritative power over me in this case."
"To be perfectly honest, I shouldn't even be allowing the two of you here on the scene," Silver admitted with a slight frown as the other two turned towards him with questioning eyes. "Mephiles specifically said that he only wanted a certain amount of police officers and the detective in charge of the investigation, which happens to be me, here gathering any kind of evidence. He wants information from this place that only he would be privy to. So consider yourselves lucky that I happen to be in charge of the scene and allow you here. If it were any other detective, you'd have had no chance of examining this area."
"But then won't you get into some kind of trouble if you're caught?" Sonic asked with concern before he bent down and picked up a pebble under the apparent misguidance that it was something important and throwing it over his shoulder. "I haven't the chance to get to know Mr. Wonderful's behavior, but I doubt it's good when someone disobeys orders he has authority to be giving out. I don't want you to be sticking your neck out on our accord. Not that I don't appreciate it or anything like that."
"Well, I'm honestly not particularly fond of the old man myself," the senior detective responded with a sigh and small shrug of his shoulders. "And besides, it's not like he can get me fired or anything like that. In order to get rid of anybody who dared to oppose him, the prosecutor would do anything in his right and power to dig up some juicy work-related secret on the worker and present it to their boss. And judging from both the amount of secrets and their severity, they would either be suspended or fired."
"Ugh, he'd ruin other people's lives just so he could have his chance at keeping his perfect track record in court?" Tails rhetorically asked in disgust as he shook his head at the thought of detectives and officers getting in trouble for no good reason. "People make mistakes every day and occasionally disobey their superiors. That's no reason as an indirect superior to get them in trouble with their direct boss!"
"That's exactly the kind of man you'll be fighting against for the next couple of days. To him, he's the revered king on a chess board with the courtroom playing the role of queen enforcer and the evidence as his army entourage. Everybody else is just a lowly pawn left alone in the front lines for him to both use and dispose of whenever he pleases. Thankfully for me, I happen to have an impeccably clean track record, so I have no fear of retribution from either him or my boss," he added with a hint of smugness barely detectable in his tone. "I can afford to not follow his orders word for word every now and then. I guess you could consider me a super pawn in that I have my own freedom to do what I want and can't be disposed of that easily by the likes of him."
"I really hope you're not just saying all that so we'd feel better about putting you in potential trouble," the cobalt hedgehog replied as he continued on with his investigation by looking over the railing. "I don't want to end up being responsible for what might actually turn out to be a crazy… Wait a minute," he suddenly said as he leaned further over the railing as if trying to get a better look at something. "Tails, do you think you could you come and take a look at something with me?"
"Sure, did you find something interesting?" the fox asked as he came over and followed his brother's lead. He then said after looking towards where the other was pointing at, "Are you talking about that Red Paper kind of flapping against the side of the dock?"
"Yeah, that might be something important," the attorney stated before standing straight up and looking back towards Silver. "Hey Silver, do you think you can get something for us? I think we found something that might be evidence."
"Are you serious, Sonic?" the senior detective asked with eyebrows raise in mild surprise as he stopped leaning against his car and approached the dock railing. "I thought that the police already found and collected everything that was worth looking over considering who that it was Mephiles watching over things. Where'd you find this supposed evidence?"
"It's just flapping around against the concrete side over the railing," the younger one explained just as the other approached the area. "I doubt that it's just a piece of trash that got caught on the concrete. The wind isn't even blowing in our faces. Seems kind of suspicious how it seems to just stay there, doesn't it?"
"You do know that the chances of something like that being evidence are pretty low, you know? Then again, I suppose it doesn't hurt to give it a quick look. That and I'm sure you're both not going to let me hear the end of it if I refuse to help you with this."
Without saying anything, Silver walked over towards a nearby officer and instructed him to get the red thing that was flapping against the side of the dock. For a few seconds, the officer made his way over to a squad car and began digging around in the trunk before pulling out what looked to have been a long grab-arm. When he came back, the officer looked over the railing before putting the grab-arm down and carefully peeling the red object off the wall.
"Is this what you wanted, sir?" the officer asked as he pulled the object towards him and took it into his gloved hands and handing it to Silver whose hands were still gloved back when he had investigated the lighthouse.
"That's perfect, officer," the senior detective stated with a nod of his head as he began to examine the Red Paper. "Thank you for your help. You can go back performing what it was you were already working on."
"What the heck is that?" Sonic asked as he looked over Silver's shoulder and had a hard time figuring out what the strange object was. All he could figure by looking at it was that it was as thin as a piece of paper with some kind of black smudge on it and stuck on a small piece of tape. "It just looks like some kind of dirty scrap of paper that got caught on the port wall because of the tape."
"I highly doubt that's the case, Sonic," Tails responded as he carefully examined the object. "Even if the wind did carry this thing all the way here, it's impossible for the tape to have gotten caught on anything. It seems more likely that it was placed there by somebody for some strange reason."
"Whatever the case, I'll go ahead and get this thing examined back at the Precinct when I get back later," Silver announced as he carefully pocketed it into his coat pocket. "I agree with Tails that it's too unnatural that we would find it where it was. I really can't guarantee it's related to this case, so don't go getting your hopes up."
Before anybody could say anything else, they were distracted by some kind of scene suddenly taking place. When they turned their heads towards the source, they saw a couple of officers trying to calmly talk to a man who was dressed in clothing that looked typical of what a child would wear. The colors were rather loud and somewhat distracting, and the way he carried himself was almost reminiscent to that of a child.
"What is going on here?" the senior detective asked as he walked over to the disturbance; Sonic and Tails followed closely behind. "Can you one of you officers please tell me why this man is causing a scene?"
"We're sorry sir, but he's quite adamant on wanting to walk through the scene," one of the officers trying to diffuse the situation responded as the strange man seemed to be calming down somewhat. "We explained to him why he couldn't pass through, but he's just refusing to listen. Perhaps you might have more luck with him than us."
"If you think it'll work, then I suppose it's worth a try," he stated with a sigh before continuing to walk towards the man while dismissing the two officers with a wave of his hand. He then said to the strange man once he was within earshot, "Hello there, sir! Is there something that I can do for you?"
"I want to go home!" the man exclaimed in a rather childish tone as he crossed his arms and let a childish pout approach his facial features. "My home is just through here, but these strangers are keeping me from walking through."
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but this area is right now subject to a criminal investigation. We can't have members of the general public just walking through. I hope you can understand."
"But I just want to go home," the man repeated with his same childishly defiant pout as if he did not hear a single word the detective said. "I live just right there in that lighthouse. Why can't any of you people understand that? Do I have to call the police and say that you're all blocking the road?"
"You live in the lighthouse?" Tails suddenly asked with an intrigued look on his face after hearing that fact. "That's an interesting thing to know. If you don't mind me asking, could you tell us what your name is?"
"And who are you? I'm not supposed to be giving my name to strangers. My big sister told me that people might use it for bad things."
"Uh, we work for the police buddy," Sonic responded in a matter-of-fact tone while looking at the man as if he were insane. "We make it our job to know who it is that's trying to go through a crime scene."
"… … …My name is Max Pryce," the man answered after being silent for more than just a few seconds. "I've lived in that lighthouse for the whole of my life."
"This is Max Pryce?!" the cobalt hedgehog exclaimed. "He doesn't sound like the kind of guy who once owned a successful business. He sounds more like some kind of child going on a temper tantrum!"
"Maybe he's just suffering from some kind of neurological disorder," the two tailed fox suggested with a shrug of his shoulders before suddenly getting an idea. "Mr. Pryce, did you say you lived in that lighthouse ever since you were born?"
"Don't call me mister," Max responded with that same childish pout adorning his face again. "I don't like it when people treat me like an adult. And yes, I've lived there for my whole life."
"Hmm, do you mind if I asked you a couple of questions regarding the lighthouse?" the fox asked, being careful with his words so as to not sound insulting to the man who seemed trapped in the mindset of a grade school child. "My name's Tails, and I work for the police. There are some questions that we have about your house."
"…I guess it is okay to tell you about my house. I mean, you haven't said or did anything that makes it seem like you're trying to keep me from going home. Do you promise that I get to go home after talking with you?"
"I promise to try my best in getting you home."
"Okay then!" the man suddenly exclaimed as his attitude quickly changed from pouting little boy to an overexcited child. He then asked with a wide smile quickly approaching his face, "What do you want to know about my house?"
"Tails, are you sure you should be asking this guy questions?" the attorney asked in a low tone with skepticism in his words. "He seems to be a bit disturbed if you ask me."
"That doesn't mean he can't still give us some information we may need," Tails responded back as he continued to smile at Max. "It actually might prove to be useful to us to hear what he has to say."
"I trust you know what you're doing here then," Silver said with a small frown as he stepped back a bit. "I'll stand by and make sure he doesn't do anything crazy, but don't say anything that'll push him that far. It's clear that he's not necessarily mentally sound, so be careful with your questions."
"I'll be careful," the two tailed fox assured the other before turning his full attention back to Max. "Alright Max; do you think you could tell me a bit about what was happening inside your lighthouse two days ago in the morning? It's important that we know what was going on that day since it'll help us out with our mystery."
"Oh, a mystery!" Max exclaimed happily with a big smile coming to his lips upon hearing that he would be helping out with the investigation. "I'll be more than happy to tell you anything if it means I get to solve a mystery!"
Argument: Inside the Lighthouse
I was at home sleeping all night long. When I woke up, I fixed myself some breakfast and decided to read the newspaper. While I was eating, I heard the phone ring. I answered it, but I didn't really understand what the other person was talking about. After that, I just spent the whole day by myself.
End Argument
"…What the heck kind of an explanation is that?" Sonic asked with a look that could be construed as disgust on his face. "That sounds a lot like something a seven-year-old school kid would cook up! How is that supposed to help us get any information on what happened in the lighthouse that morning?"
"Sonic, don't forget that this man might be suffering from a neurological disorder," Silver reminded the cobalt hedgehog before he got even more heated up at the situation. "I suggest that you just leave everything with Tails seeing as he has more patience than you with things like this."
"Just because he's not talking like an adult doesn't mean he's not telling the truth," Tails added as he kept eye contact with Max and smiled at him which was returned eagerly. "We're just going to have to approach this more carefully. Anyway, let me go ahead and ask him some questions about what he said."
"Oh, I just hope you really can get something out of this crazy guy," the attorney responded with a sigh before shaking his head and leaning against the port railing as if what they were doing was not worth the time. "But besides that, just what are you trying to get out of from these questions?"
"I just figured it'd be important to hear what he has to say being that he lives in the lighthouse," the fox said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It might actually provide us with something that we can use to counter Mephiles's claims that the place isn't where Ms. Mae was really murdered."
Begin Rebuttal
"Anyway, you say that you were home for the entire night the day before the murder," Tails quickly recapped as he diverted his full attention back at Max. "Did you wake up at any time for any reason?"
"I can't say that I did," Max quickly answered without any hesitation before giving out an innocent smile. "My whole family always said that I could sleep through a war if it ever came to our doorstep."
"So you didn't wake up even to use the bathroom?" the two tailed fox asked once more for the sake of clarification.
"I always make it a habit to use the bathroom before going to sleep, so I didn't even wake up for that," the man answered with a serious face.
"I suppose that would make sense. If you don't mind me asking then; what time do you usually wake up to have your breakfast?"
"Oh, it differs every morning. Sometimes, I wake up as early as six in the morning where I would wake up at almost twelve in the afternoon on other days."
"Well, could you just tell me what time you woke up a couple of days ago?" Tails asked, his patience starting to slowly wear thin because of all this. Even Sonic and Silver were rolling their eyes at how pointless this was quickly becoming. "That's all I'm really interested in this time around."
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Max exclaimed, his words now sounding akin to that of a smart aleck kid. "That would've made it sound less confusing for me. Not that it mattered either way since I don't remember when I ate breakfast two days ago."
"So much for that idea," the fox murmured under his breath while trying to keep his welcoming smile on his lips. Trying to get any worthwhile information from this man about the morning of the murder was quickly proving to be a tough challenge with each passing second. "How about the phone call? I know you said that you didn't really understand what the person was saying, but was there anything about the call that stuck out to you?"
"From what I heard, it was obviously a man talking," the man responded as he gave off a thoughtful look. "I'm guessing that he sounded kind of old. I mean, his voice definitely didn't sound like any of you three's."
"And what about anything that this guy might've said to you?" Sonic suggested as he hoped that they were finally getting somewhere. "Did anything he say strike you as either strange or unusual?"
"I already said that I didn't understand what the man said, you meanie!" Max insulted as he let out a huff of his breath. Sonic's cheeks immediately grew a dark shade of red in anger. "If I don't understand anything, then why should I have to pay any attention to it? It's not as though I'd get a better understanding of what he was saying if I kept listening. And besides, my sister would kill me if I raked up another big phone bill."
"How many sisters do you have?" Silver quickly asked before the cobalt hedgehog had a chance to say anything against having been insulted. "If you do, could you tell us if any of them live with you?"
"Just one, but she's the greatest older sister a guy could ever ask for! Seriously, she always took care of me whenever I was sick and mom and dad were too busy at work. Unfortunately, now she's busy with her own work now that she's gotten older. I haven't seen her for almost two years ever since she went abroad for work."
"And what exactly is your sister's name?" the senior detective asked despite already knowing what it was.
"Her name is Lois. She has the same last name as me, so I guess I don't have to say that part. That and she hasn't had a chance to marry yet, so no chance of her having a different last name. She did have a boyfriend once, but they broke up pretty quickly."
"W-wait a minute; isn't Lois already…!" the defense attorney was about to say before being suddenly jabbed in the ribs by Silver's elbow. This immediately caused him to shut up and groan in slight pain from the action.
"So you don't know where you sister is at now?" Tails asked with an eyebrow raised in question while inwardly feeling some pity for the man. "That's a shame; I would've liked to talk to her about a couple of things."
"Well, then I suppose I'm the next best thing!" Max stated excitedly as he childishly pointed his left thumb at himself. "Is there anything else you want to know about either me or my house? I'm all ears to anything you want to ask."
"…Just one more thing," the fox responded after giving it some thought. "Are you sure that you were by yourself in your house for the entire morning two days ago?"
"I'm as sure as sure can be," the man replied with a firm nod of his head, his black hair weaving around a bit from the action. "I've lived alone for a long while ever since my parents just suddenly disappeared, and my sister told me to never open the door for anybody unless it was family or the police.
"Now that I think about it, Lois hasn't called me for a while now," he continued on in a sort of random fashion. "Maybe I should go home now and see if she left me any messages. Can you please take me home now? I need to make sure she didn't leave me some kind of important message on my phone."
"Your sister sometimes leaves you messages when she's gone?" Silver asked as he tried to stall for a couple of minutes. He knew full well that Max would not be able to go back to the lighthouse for a good while, so he did not want to upset him just now in case they might hear something important.
"Only when she's gone on extended trips. Other than that, she only calls me for quick status reports like every night. I know she means well and is just worried about me, but I just wish she would stop bugging me for these status reports. I mean, it isn't as though I'm going to burn down our house, you know? What's the worst that could happen with her gone?"
End Rebuttal
"Tails, I really think this is going nowhere," Silver stated as he shook his head at the waste of time they had just witnessed. "You're not really getting anything useful from him, and I don't think that's about to change anytime soon."
"Either that or he's going to come up with some way to insult one of us again," Sonic responded bitterly, clearly still peeved at having been insulted earlier. "I'm so not going to forget about this anytime soon."
"…I guess you're right," Tails admitted after a short pause. "Thank you for telling me about what you did in your house two days ago, Max. It was very helpful."
"Does this mean I can go home now?" Max asked as his eyes seemed to shine with a sort of innocent childish hope.
"I did promise you that I would try my best to make that happen, and the best person I know who can get you home would be Detective Silver right here," the two tailed fox responded as he pointed towards the silver furred fox. "If you follow him, I'm sure that he'll do everything that he can to get you home. And if he still can't, then I know he can at least let you stay somewhere instead of camping out in the cold."
"…Alright," the man conceded with a slightly disappointed tone in his words before quickly replacing it with a peppy attitude. "Thank you for trying to help me, Tails. I really hope that what I told you ends up helping you solve your mystery. Alright, Detective Silver; can you take me to wherever it is I can ask to go home now?"
"Of course, just go ahead and follow me," the detective said as he walked towards his car, clearly unfazed at having the burden of helping the mentally unstable man tagging along closely behind him find shelter.
"Geez, who would've thought that Maxwell Pryce was actually a man with a brain of a child," the cobalt hedgehog responded once said man and detective were out of earshot. "How can he possibly live on his own like that? It's a wonder how he actually didn't manage to burn down the lighthouse by now."
"That's what I find surprising, as well," the two tailed fox unconsciously stated as he crossed his arms and looked deep in thought. "Even when I was seven, I didn't have much of a concept of what things around the house were extremely dangerous. But that's beside the point," he quickly added before shaking his head and looking back towards the lighthouse. "If what Max said is true about him being alone all morning on the day of the murder, then there's no way that a murder took place on top of that lighthouse."
"But we have the Photograph from Amy Rose that proves otherwise!" the attorney refuted as he raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Unless you're saying that Amy was in cahoots with the murderer, I'd have to say that it's pretty hard to set up a pretty incriminating picture of Shadow while also capturing a murder scene on the top of that lighthouse so that they appear at the same time and correct fashion."
"That's not what I'm saying at all," the young one said with a tired sigh. "All I'm getting at is that we've either been following the wrong lead the entire time or that what Mr. Pryce just told us was a complete lie. At this point, I don't know what to believe right now."
"Then how about try believing in the evidence we found at the lighthouse? I mean, I really doubt that some Blood on the lighthouse railing and a Bullet Casing miraculously found their way there. And if those two things weren't enough, then how about that Letter that Silver found in the basement that seems to indicate Mr. Pryce involved with something illegal…? Wait a minute; how can he be involved in something illegal if he has at the least the mindset of a seven-year-old?"
"Oh yeah, I'd completely forgotten all about that Letter," Tails admitted as he suddenly remembered Silver showing it to them before saying he would bring it back to the Precinct for further investigation. "If Max's mindset is truly akin to that of a seven year old, then he doesn't have any reason to be receiving letters of a threatening nature like that. There's something strange about this man, but we've got nothing to really prove otherwise. At least we got his testimony in case we ever need to use it in court?"
"And just how is Max's Testimony going to be any use to us? He's either telling the truth to the best that he can or either lying to us by playing the mentally challenged card on us. Either way, what he said is useless unless we can ascertain whether or not he's a trustworthy person for information."
"Regardless, you'll never know if it might end up saving your butt," the two tailed fox countered his older brother. "And besides, we're right now hard pressed for any kind of evidence we can get concerning this lighthouse. Don't forget that this was the only reason why we managed to get a suspension from the Judge, so don't go discounting every single thing surrounding that place just because it sounds fishy."
"I'm just as desperate as the next defense attorney who might take this case if I get hospitalized for an ulcer because of this, but even I'm not so desperate to go about scavenging for things that sound a lot like trash," Sonic explained with a shake of his head before letting out an exhausted sigh.
"Then how about we call it a day before you really do get an ulcer here and now? It's already starting to get late, and I really doubt that we're going to find anything more here apart from what we've already discovered. That and you need to start getting ready for tomorrow's court battle with Mephiles tomorrow."
"Oh, why'd you have to go and remind me about that old stupid jerk?" the cobalt hedgehog whined as he was taken by the arm by his little brother and walked away from the crime scene. "I can only imagine just what kind of torture he's going to be subjecting me to tomorrow. He's probably going to object to every single thing I say like he did earlier this afternoon and force me into another desperate corner like the one I'm in right now. Oh, why couldn't Shadow have gotten himself in trouble when there was another prosecutor other than him overlooking the case for the state of Mobius?"
And even after they had long since left the vicinity of the crime scene at Mobius Docks and boarded a cab back to Dr. Robotnik's Law Offices, the defense attorney continued to whine about the trouble the case has given him. All Tails could do was lend a sympathetic ear and suffer through the onslaught as best he could. Even the poor cab driver was so annoyed after hearing the first five minutes that he actually turned up the radio in an attempt to drown out the other. If this was not any indication as to how crazy and desperate tomorrow's court proceedings was going to play out for them, then the two tailed fox could only guess how things really will turn out.
New Evidence:
Red Paper: Found stuck on a piece of tape that was stuck on the side of the dock where the murder was discovered. For some reason, there is some strange black mark on it.
Max's Testimony: Testimony that has been memorized and recorded by Tails. According to Max, he was alone in the lighthouse on the morning of the murder. A phone call had interrupted his morning rituals, but he does not remember the contents of the call except that it was supposedly an older man speaking.
Lost Evidence:
Red Paper: Found stuck on a piece of tape that was stuck on the side of the dock where the murder was discovered. Silver has taken it with him so he can have forensics look it over.
Updated Profiles:
Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who prefers to go by Max and lives in the lighthouse now under suspicion as being the real crime scene. Apparently, he seems to suffer from some kind of neurological disorder which causes him to have the mindset of a seven-year-old. He seems to believe that his older sister, Lois, is still alive.
Mephiles: A sixty-five year old veteran prosecutor whose ruthlessness is well known both inside and out of the courtroom. If not trying to leave a strong impression in all his cases, he expects nothing but obedience and cooperation from the officers and detectives overlooking the collection of evidence in the cases he's working on. He's known to get any officer or detective who dared to defy his direct orders in trouble with the Precinct.