"So, what will happen to me?" asked Fricassee

"We will figure that out after we hear the results." said Marshall. "You are not off the hook yet."

"Indeed." said Edgeworth. "I did not concede you are innocent. I merely said the results of the autopsy must be seen first."

"If the results point to you, we will have to throw you in jail." said Marshall.

"I…I didn't kill her, I swear." said Fricassee.

"No need to swear." said Kay. "if you are innocent, the evidence will do all the talking.

"Listen to the bambina." said Marshall. "She knows how this works. Words are useless here. The only think that counts here is the golden language of proof."

"In other words, don't leave the town, pal." said Gumshoe. "We might need you again."

"Okay, I see."

"And one more thing." said Edgeworth. "Something I feel you ought to know."

"What is that?"

"You know…for the past six months…Ms. Haik had been in a relationship."

"A…a relationship? With whom?" he seemed shocked.

"I am not at liberty to say that. Nevertheless, I can attest to that fact.

"I…I had no idea."

"I thought you wouldn't."

"If I knew…I wouldn't have…"

"That's the takeaway here." said Edgeworth. "The fact she refused to give you a chance didn't have to do with if you were good enough for her. It had to do with the fact that she was already taken."

He lowered his head. "What have I done?"

"Okay then." said Marshall. "This whole thing is cute and all, but we have a body waiting for us."

"Let's go." said Kay in a sad voice. "There is nothing more to do here. Nothing we can do."

The four of them left and went to the morgue. There, Marshall led them into a room. A doctor was standing there and Marla's body was lying on a bed.

"Oh, there you are." he said. "I was expecting you."

"Glad to hear from you, Carl. Meet my friends. This is prospector Miles Edgeworth, detective Gumshoe and Kay Faraday. Guys, this is Carlos Casstel, the mortician of the town."

"Nice to meet you." said Edgeworth.

"You too, Mr. Edgeworth. I've heard about you. You are quite well known."

"Thank you."

"Have you heard about me?" asked Gumshoe.

"Uh…no, can't say I have."

"Awwwwwwwww!"

"So, Carl, what do you have for us?"

"Anything that can lead to the murderer?" asked Kay.

"Uh…murderer?" asked Casstel.

"I mean…" said Kay. "All this time we've going on the assumption that it was murder."

"I'm afraid your assumption was mistaken."

"Wh…what do you mean?" asked Edgeworth.

"She suffered a blow to the head. As you can tell by her clothes, she was hiking. She probably lost her footing, fell down and hit her head. There are also some minors bruises and injuries on the rest of her body indicating a fall.. But her head most likely landed on a rock or something."

"But couldn't she have been struck?" asked Kay.

"Yes, it is possible, but I don't think it's that likely. The most likely scenario is "Unfortunate accident."

"Then why did she get so…like that?" asked Gumshoe not being able to even look at her.

"That's a fair question." said Edgeworth. "Her face has almost completely been scratched off."

"I know." said Casstel. "And there is a reason for that."

"What?"

"Coyotes."

"Coyotes?"

"Yup. Wild beasts!" said Marshall. "I know that better than anyone! There are plenty of them around here."

"But they are all gathered in one area." said Casstel.

"Where?"

"In a mountain about an hour from here. it's called: Sherman's hill."

"Sherman's hill?" asked Kay.

"That's right, bambina." said Marshall. "That's the most dangerous mount around here. And not just because of the coyotes. It's really steep. One wrong step in enough to…you know."

"We've heard that before" thought Edgeworth. "Ms Haik was supposed to be there according to Mr. Etrol. Could it be…was this just an accident all along?"

"So…you think she fell off that mountain?" asked Gumshoe "But then who did she end all the way over here?"

"The coyotes are to blame from that." said Casstel. "They probably smelled her dead body. They attacked her, mauled her and then dragged her body through the desert. Then they left her where you found them."

"My god!" said Kay. "That sounds horrible!"

"It must have been!" said Marshall. "The bambina was lucky she was already dead. It would have been a living Hell otherwise."

"I think we can close the case now." said Casstel. "There is nothing else to address."

"I assume so, pardner." said Marshall. "Turns out you were right, prospector Edgeworth. Mr. Fricassee didn't kill anyone. She just had an unfortunate accident, After what happened with her boss, she probably went to the mountain. She always said climbing helped her relax. It helped let off steam."

"She would have been pretty stressed." said Kay.

"So she went hiking in that mountain to relax." said Gumshoe.

"But she tripped." said Marshall. "And gravity did the rest."

Edgeworth kept looking at her body.

"Is that really what happened? It seems logical. But…for some reason…I am getting the odd feeling there is something out of place here. What could it be? Wait a minute…that's…that's it!"

"Eureka!" he said.

"What's wrong, pardner?" asked Marshall. "Did someone steal your cattle?"

"Every time he does that, it means he has seen something wrong." said Kay.

"That's right." said Edgeworth. "I'm sorry, Mr. Casstel, but I disagree with your theory."

"O, what grounds?"

"Looks here." he pointed to her hands. "He hands…they are smooth. No scratches, no marks."

"What about it?" asked Casstel. "I mean, she probably didn't land on them."

"That's the issue. People who fall off of a cliff usually put out her hands to break the fall. Granted, that usually doesn't work, but It's still impulsive. But she didn't do it. Why?"

"Maybe her reflexes weren't working." aid Gumshoe.

"Nah, her reflexes were better than anyone's." said Marshall. "She would have tried doing something to break the fall, I can tell you that."

"But there is also something else." said Edgeworth. "Her clothes."

"What about the clothes?"

"Look, her shirt, her shorts, they still have their price tags on."

"Oh, that's right." said Kay. "Weird. I always rip them out when I buy clothes."

"Me too." said Gumshoe.

"Exactly!" said Edgeworth. "Any sane person would have done that. There is only one way to explain it: these clothes are brand new!"

"Brand new?"

"You said she had been hiking for a long time, right?"

"Yeah. For years."

"In that case, she must have had hiking clothes. She had no reason to buy new ones."

"Then why did she?" asked Gumshoe.

"That's the question." said Edgeworth. "The same goes for her boots."

"They look like normal hiking boots." said Kay. "Like the ones you see in stores."

"Exactly like the ones in stores." said Edgeworth. "Too much so."

"I'm not following." said Casstel.

"They have no marks. They haven't been torn or ripped. They should have after being used to walk on such rocky terrain. They look like they have never been worn before. Like they are fresh out of the box."

"Hmmm." strange indeed." said Marshall. "Maybe there is something worth investigating here."

"Detective." said Edgeworth. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it, sir?"

"Can you take off one of her boots?'

"Uh…why?"

"Trust me. I have a feeling."

"Okay."

Gumshoe pulled off one of her boots. Edgeworth looked inside and smiled happily.

"As I thought.

"What?" asked Marshall ."You found gold in there?"

"You could say that."

He out his hand inside and pulled out a small item.

"What is that?" asked Kay.

"It's a silicon package" said Edgeworth. "These are usually put inside new shoes at stores."

"Well, she couldn't have been hiking." said Marshall. "Not with that thing in her shoe!"

"Then…what does that mean?" asked Casstel.

"It's simple, doctor Casstel." said Edgeworth. "Your hypothesis was mistaken. She never wore those clothes. They were put on her…after she was already dead. After she was murdered."

"Now things are getting saucy." said Marshall. "And you know what goes well with sauce? Pork ribs."

"You think we can find some on Sherman's hill?" asked Edgeworth. "If that's where she was before the coyotes dragged her away, we need to look there."

"Good idea. Even without the ribs, we can still find some gold up there. A desperado is never left empty-handed. Come on, we can take my jeep. Better than to walk all the way there."

"Wait a minute…" said Casstel. "Actually…there was something wrong. Something that has puzzled me."

"What is that?" asked Marshall.

"You see, on her hair, I found residue from ashes."

"Ashes?"

"Not just ashes. Ashes from a cigar or a cigarette. It's like was smoking over her body.

"Hmm. Strange indeed." said Edgeworth. "How does that come into play?"

"We will find out eventually." said Marshall. "For now, our answers lie in Sherman's hill. Let's move!"

Half an hour later, Marshall's jeep stopped in front of a big hill. There was nothing but sand and rocks all around, no signs of life.

"Wow! This place is truly deserted." said kay.

"You got that right, bambina." said Marshall. "There is no life here, other than those wild coyotes. No food, no water and no civilization for miles. And unless you have a car, like we do, no way home."

"I certainly wouldn't want to get stranded here." said Gumshoe.

"And I don't want to stay here longer than I have to." said Edgeworth. "So, let's just get this over with."

"Follow me." said Marshall. "I know this place like the palm of my hand."

Marshall walked ahead and the others followed him. Suddnely, as they walked, Gumshoe noticed something.

"Hey, look sir! There is a nice little bush there!"

Edgeworth looked.

"Indeed. A bush does seem to be growing behind that rock. But it doesn't feel right."

"It can't be right!" said Marshall. "There are no bushes here! This place is a dead zone! No plants or bushes here!"

"Hey, I know that bush for somewhere." said Kay. She approached and pulled it. It came off easily.

"Hey, it's just a tree-hat! I knew I.."

Righ then that hat's owner, Randy Flash, jumped up from behind the rock and grabbed it.

"Give me back my hat, you little brat! Are you trying to ruin my cover?!"

"You!" said Gumshoe. "What are you doing here, pal?"

"Waiting for the aliens. They are bound to appear anytime soon! And If you keep distracting me, I'll miss them. And then I'll sue the crap outta you!"

"Hit the road, buddy!" said Marshall ."This is crime scene! We need to be alone and we will use force if necessary."

"Ha! You can't scare me!" said Flash. "You don't mess with the press!"

"And you don't mess with Texas!"

Marshall grabbed him and kicked him a few times, sending him running away, towards the base of the mountain.

"There you go, pardner! He won't be bothering us again!"

"Great!" said Edgeworth. "He was only going to be a burden!"

"Yes!" said Kay. "I look forwards to not see him again."

As they walked up the path, they found something. The soil was disturbed in one part, as if a struggle had taken place there. There was also dry blood there.

"Hey, look at that!" said Kay.

"This must be where it took place." said Edgeworth. "I guess this is where she was lying when the coyotes found her. The soil was disturbed from them trying to eat her and dragging her away."

"Look, they is a giant boulder over there." said Gumshoe.

Edgeworth looked Indeed there was a rock there.

"Maybe that's where she hit her head." thought Edgeworth. "It is a pretty big rock. Landing on that would…"

"But wait a minute!" said Kay. "Don't you think that boulder is lying too far for where her body was?"

"Maybe she was lying closer to it." said Edgeworth. "The sings of a struggle indicate the coyotes grabbed the body, not where it was before they did."

"Good point." said kay. "Aw, and I thought I was on to something."

"Don't worry about it, Kay." said Gumshoe. "You are getting better."

"That's right, bambina." said Marshall. "You need time to get better, but you are on your way there."

"So she was lying here." said Edgeworth. "If only we had a better image of what actually happened."

"Hey, I can do that." said Kay and pulled out little thief.

"What is that fancy gizmo you got there?" asked Marshall.

"You will see." said Edgeworth. "It is actually quite useful. It can help us piece information together."

"Okay then. Go ahead, bambina. Show me what you can do."

"Okay." said Kay. "So, the body was lying here. Do you want me to input the coyotes?"

"No need. Just put her closer to the boulder."

"Okay. Got it, now time for this great thief to take central stage!"

She pressed a few buttons and the whole mountain was covered in a sea of green. Marshall was taken aback.

"Sweet chilly tacos! What is happening here?!"

"Right, this can be shocking if you haven't seen it before." said Kay. "This is little thief. It enables me to recreate crime scenes based on the evidence we've collected and the testimony we've heard. We can practically see it as it was."

"Hmm. This does feel like it's out of a science-fiction movie." said Marshall. "But it can't hurt to give it a shot."

"Well then," said Edgeworth. "let's look around."

First he approached the victim. She was lying one the ground. Her head was near the large boulder.

"Hmm. So, she was hiking up there." he said, pointing towards the upper path. "She lost her footing, fell and her head landed on this boulder, killing her. It does seem like an accident actually."

"But there is no blood on the boulder." said Kay. "Wouldn't there be if she had died while hitting it."

"Good point." said Edgeworth.

"See? You are getting the hang of it!" said Gumshoe.

"There is something on it, though. A handprint."

"A handprint?"

"It looks like somebody's hand was covered in dirt and then touched this boulder. I doubt it was the victim. Someone else was here."

"You think somebody moved the boulder here during the murder?" asked Kay.

"I didn't say there. There is no evidence suggesting that. It could have been placed here at any point before the murder."

"But it feels strange." said Kay.

"And not just that." said Edgeworth. "Like I said earlier, she should have put her hands out to break the fall. If she had, they would have been broken, but she could have survived."

"It does fell odd, doesn't it?" said Marshall. "But then again, why do gold-diggers head South? Just because something feel natural, doesn't mean it is the only possibility."

"I agree." said Edgeworth. "In fact, there are a ton of probabilities here. However, our estimation of the likelihood is very limited from down here."

"What do you mean, sir?" asked Gumshoe.

"She fell from up there. We still don't know what made her fall." he said. "We should go up there and observe the situation."

"I agree." said Marshall. "A vulture can't see its prey if it's not high enough. Sometimes you need to change your viewpoint."

"Then let's go up there!" said Kay.

They climbed a bit further and reach the upper path. There, there was more to be found."

"Here it is!" said Kay. "The ground is disturbed on the edge. Probably, that's where she fell from."

"I agree." said Edgeworth. "She walked too close to the edge, slipped and…"

"Hmm. I wonder if it's so simple." said Marshall.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this whole thing smells. It smells worse than a can of rotten beans."

"Can you be more specific?" asked Gumshoe.

"Look. The length of the disturbed area is too big. She couldn't have been standing up when she fell. It almost feels like she was lying down."

"Lying down?" asked Kay.

"Yes. And if she lay down here, rolling down the cliff to her death would have been very easy."

"But why would she lie down here?" asked Edgeworth. "It makes no sense!"

"Exactly, pardner."

"What?"

"It makes no sense. Why would she do that? And yet, that's what the evidence is suggesting. If the evidence says that's what happened, there must be a way for it to make sense."

"You think she was already dead?" asked Edgeworth. "And somebody rolled her body down there to make it look like an accident?"

"Does a blind donkey drink water from the pond?"

"What?"

"Yes, I do."

"Hmmm. Now that I look at it from up here, it does seem odd."

"I know!" said Gumshoe. "Look, if she really fell from this part…then she should have landed exactly where the ground was disturbed. Not near the boulder."

"That would appear to be the case." said Edgeworth. "She never landed on that boulder."

"So I was right?" asked Kay.

"Yes, Kay. I believe you were right."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! I know it! See? You never would have figured that out on your own!"

Edgeworth didn't like that last comment, but didn't want to disappoint her.

"That's the good thing about teamwork."

"So, she was already dead." said Marshall. "The killer dressed her in new hiking clothes, brought her here and threw her off the cliff to make it look like an accident."

"That's the obvious conclusion." said Edgeworth. "Poor woman. It looks lie somebody wanted her dead."

"But who?"

"I don't know that yet."

"Did you notice this?" asked Gumshoe.

Edgeworth looked at more closely at the disturbed area on the ground. He noticed some small threads on it.

"Hmmm. They appear to be…threads made from synthetic fiber."

"You think it's from clothes?"

"No, they are too thick for that. In all likelihood, they are from a carpet or a rug."

"A carpet out here? Why?" asked Kay. "I don't understand."

"Nobody understands why the cacti lean west." said Marshall. "But they do."

"No, they don't!" said Gumshoe.

"Detective, he is being metaphorical." said Edgeworth. "Anyway, I will collect this fibers. They could be valuable evidence."

"Hey, look up there." said Kay.

She pointed to an even upper path.

"What is it, Kay?

"See there? The edge of that path is disturbed. It almost looks like something was dropped from there."

"You think the body fell from all the way up there?"

"No. But…what if the boulder fell from there?"

"Could it be?"

"Doesn't hurt to take a gamble." said Marshall.

They all got up there. There, they noticed there was a big mark on the ground.

"Hmmm. That mark seems to be about the same size at the boulder down there." said Edgeworth. "Maybe it fell from here after all."

"Something like that doesn't fall on its own." said Marshall. "The biggest of boulders are rolled by the smallest of men."

"Ah, I think I get that one." said Gumshoe.

"Hey, there's a mud puddle here." said Kay.

"Yeah, it's probably a leftover from the raining period." said Marshall. "It seldom rains here, but when it does, it's rough."

"If I recall…" said Edgeworth. "There was a dirty handprint on that boulder."

"You think someone touched that puddle?" asked Kay. "And then pushed the boulder off?"

"It seems possible, doesn't it? But the question who would do that and why."

"I don't know that." said Marshall. "I told you, very few people come here at all."

"It seems this place isn't devoid of any visitors, though." said Gumshoe.

"What do you mean?" asked Kay.

Gunshot picked something up from the ground.

"This had been dropped here. And it looks fresh."

Edgeworth took It from Gumshoe and observed it. It was a cigar.

"Someone was smoking that bad boy all the way up here?" asked Marshall. "They must have a lot of guts."

"A lot of guts…or a lot to hide." said Edgeworth.

"What do you mean?"

Edgeworth held the cigar so that everyone could see the mark.

"Lion Heart?" said Kay. "Does that name sound familiar to anyone else?"

"Nope. Not me." said Marshall.

"It does to me." said Edgeworth.

"And what does it tell you, pardner?" asked Marshall.

"That someone back at the town has a lot of explaining to do."

To be continued.