The Odetnim conference attendants were in a state of panic. The either didn't hear prosecutor's words or they didn't care. The general public was never very composed in situations like this. Upon realizing as much, Edgeworth turned away from the body to speak to the crowd. He wished he had a microphone as he made his address.
"Everyone please calm down! There is no need to panic. My name is Miles Edgeworth and I am a prosecutor."
The shouts turned to murmurs. "A prosecutor? Already?"
"I promise everyone that I will investigate and get to the bottom of this horrendous crime that you have witnessed here," Edgeworth addressed the audience, who (mostly) heard him. They were finally starting to settle down when Edgeworth saw the man he had crossed paths earlier at the scene. What was he doing here? Had he followed Edgeworth in? Where had he left his children?
Curious, Edgeworth approached him once more. "Sir, this is a murder scene, may I ask what business you have in being here?" I need to close off the crime scene. Did anyone call the police in this mess? Where is the convention's security?
Edgeworth was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed the man's introduction. "I know it's a murder scene. That's why I'm here."
What? "I'm sorry? And you are?"
"Joseph Caché, private investigator."
Caché… is it? No, it couldn't be. Edgeworth felt the memories rushing back. How had he not seen it before?
"You!"
"You know him, Mr Edgeworth?" Maya asked, arriving on the scene in time to hear their exchange. Edgeworth could have sworn she'd been just behind him.
"...Yes, Miss Fey. I do know him. He used to be a prosecutor. Had been with the district for twenty years, if I recall."
"I resigned years ago," Caché added with a clipped tone. He didn't elaborate, leaving Maya to wonder why Joseph Caché had left the prosecutor's path. Edgeworth's mind, however, was on something else entirely.
This is clearly a matter for the police to attend to. Why is he here? Is he trying to investigate the murder?
"Mr. Caché, this a matter that should be left to the police, not a private investigator. Surely you understand the magnitude of this crime," Edgeworth told the PI, who looked away, an irritated glint in his eye.
"Please, we both know that the police force often needs a guiding hand in these investigations, particularly the detectives. You're aware of this, I'm sure." Edgeworth grit his teeth at the PI's clear disdain, preventing a rash rebuttal.
When he was ready, he continued. "Be that as it may," Edgeworth began, his voice betraying no indication of how jarred he was. "I believe that it would be far better for a certified member of the Prosecutor's Office to be the one to oversee the investigation."
"And I believe that it would be better for someone with more experience to be on top of the case. I can easily tell this one is not going to be easy, and I would hate to see you fail due to hubris."
Edgeworth found himself bristling and took a deep breath to calm himself. "I believe my record of cases stands for itself as proof of my experience. And at present, I am the only qualified person here to investigate the crime." This time, Edgeworth couldn't entirely keep the bite from his voice. To his surprise though, Mr. Caché merely laughed.
"Ah yes, your record! Last I recall, it was pretty good, with plenty of victories. Almost suspiciously so."
"Are you questioning my integrity?" Edgeworth's voice was low, and one could clearly hear the anger in it. None of this was new to him, of course, but it had been a while since someone was so direct. He thought he'd left those years of his life behind.
"Let me put it this way, Prosecutor Edgeworth," the PI began, his voice low as well with a clear undercurrent of harshness. "There are very few on the official side of the law whose integrity I haven't questioned. It's been this way for a couple of years now. Make of that what you will. Now, I'm going to start my investigation at the stage, but rest assured I'll be making sure everything stays in order."
With that, Mr. Cache swept off, leaving a dumbstruck Maya and an infuriated Edgeworth.
For a moment Edgeworth just stood there, trying to gather his wits.
That was… unexpected. He'd seen the signs like anyone else. It was no secret the general populace is less trusting of the police than before, but even so. Had something been personal for this man? For the life of him, Edgeworth could not remember why the man had left the Prosecutor's Office. He'd been dealing with issues of greater importance at the time.
"Mr. Edgeworth, are you okay?"
Edgeworth shook himself out of his reverie, offering Maya a shrug. "Of course, Miss Fey. You'll have to forgive me for slacking. I'll have to have Mr. Caché removed when the police get here. I suggest we start our investigation with the victim's body." Whatever the man believed, he couldn't change the fact his presence on a police investigation was trespassing.
"Wait… investigation? With you?" Edgeworth nodded, causing Maya to jump up and down. "This is so exciting! I haven't been on an investigation since Nick-" Maya cut herself off, putting her hands together in excitement.
And I thought I left Kay behind today.
-Begin Investigation-
As the two approached the body, Maya's enthusiasm dampened considerably. Edgeworth asked a blue-faced convention employee to lower the rope with the body attached, laying the corpse on its back.
Edgeworth knelt down, studying the corpse in more detail. I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious-looking nook and cranny.
The victim was a middle-aged man, less than ten years Edgeworth's senior. Still, he had the beginnings of wrinkles on his face, and his skin had a clear blue tinge, indicating strangulation. His light brown hair was short , and his build slightly bulky. The way he was dressed, Edgeworth would guess the man was a company higher-up of some sort. Edgeworth would have to find a witness who could confirm the victim's identity. But for now, it was best to examine the body himself.
"It seems fairly obvious the man was strangled, but that tells me nothing."
Maya shuddered. "Look at how the rope was tied. It looks like a…" she gulped, "a noose. Do you think he hung himself, Mr. Edgeworth?"
And he would have done that in the middle of a gaming convention… why exactly?
Still, the medium had a point. If Edgeworth wanted to investigate this case as a murder, he first had to confirm it wasn't suicide. At least the circumstances already ruled out accidental death.
Lucky for Edgeworth, it didn't take much thought. A look at the rope told him the whole story. "The rope isn't tied like a noose exactly. Look at the knot right here." Edgeworth pointed to the knot at the back of the victim's neck. "This knot isn't one that can be adjusted after tying. The victim couldn't have put his head in after making the knot. I've heard of some outlandish suicides, but I've yet to encounter someone who tied a rope while it was around their neck tight enough to kill them, but not enough to knock them out before finishing."
"Yeah… I guess you have a point. That doesn't seem very likely." Maya couldn't bring herself to touch the body. "So you think it was murder?"
"I do." Edgeworth confirmed. I should make a note of this.
-"Knot Details" added to Organizer-
"Let's see. What else does the body have to tell us?"
"Um… Mr. Edgeworth? Do you want me to call the police and let them know you're on the case?" Maya asked, hand over mouth. "If they don't know, they might send another prosecutor."
"That would be most helpful, Miss Fey." Edgeworth had a suspicion she was doing this to get away from the body, but he didn't mind. It wasn't as though she were used to inspecting corpses on investigations, after all. Not that it was her first time seeing a body…
He turned back to the body, studying the man's neck in more detail. These marks… are they truly from the strangulation?
They were far wider than the rope currently around the man's neck, and deeper than Edgeworth would have expected. While hanging from a stage rope like this would indeed kill a man, the rope wasn't tied in a way that would leave marks so dark. Had the man been strangled somewhere else?
"Whatever was used to kill this man, I can guarantee it was not this rope," Edgeworth said to himself. "So how did he end up in this situation?"
-"Stage Rope" added to Organizer-
-Different Crime Scene? Added to Logic-
"If he wasn't killed with the rope around his neck, what was he killed with?" Edgeworth wondered. "How will I find the true murder weapon?"
"A different murder weapon? Already?" Maya was back. Edgeworth had no idea how much she'd heard. "No wonder you work alone. You figure everything out so fast, you don't need any extra help."
"Thank you, Miss Fey, but I hardly work alone. Did you get in touch with the police force?"
"Yep!" Maya nodded. "And just in time, too. They were about to send their best prosecutor over here!"
"Their best prosecutor? What do you mean?"
Maya shrugged. "I don't know. They just said 'Prosecutor The Best'."
Edgeworth caught on right away. "Ah... I see. I suppose it's no concern of ours." He'd have to apologize to the young man later.
"I guess. But don't worry, Mr. Edgeworth! The police are on their way with a team." Maya was pumped up. "What next?"
"I don't think the victim's body can tell us any more at this time. I want to know more about who this man is and what it was like when he was discovered. Everyone who was in this convention room was a witness."
"So we have to ask someone…" Maya thought it over. "Who should we talk to?"
While Edgeworth and Maya were looking around, Edgeworth had time to see the other ropes hanging around the room, most of which held promotional posters. Posters for none other than…
"So this is the company that was given rights to the Steel Samurai." Edgeworth noted. "Pity we weren't here when they announced it."
Maya slumped. "I'm not sure I would've wanted to be here when they did. It's not as though the presentation went well."
"I suppose."
-"Steel Samurai Banners" added to Organizer-
Edgeworth and Maya were looking at the crowd of attendants when Edgeworth spotted a blonde man with a phone in his hand. He seemed to be typing something very rapidly. Maya looked to the prosecutor, who shrugged.
As the two of them approached, the man failed to look up. Edgeworth cleared his throat. "Excuse me, sir, my name is Miles Edgeworth. I am the prosecutor investigating the murder that happened today. I would like to ask if you could tell me how the body was discovered." That caught the man's attention. He looked up, but didn't say anything.
"I'm Maya Fey, Mr. Edgeworth's... assistant." Maya introduced herself with slight uncertainty.
Assistant, hm? I suppose she's acting as such. Edgeworth decided not to correct her on the matter.
"Wow. Police got here fast." He turned away to type something else, muttering aloud as he typed. "'Rapid response… former demon prosecutor on the prowl… ditched the teenager for someone older, but clearly has a type.' And... send!"
"And you are…?" Edgeworth tapped his sleeve impatiently. And why are you familiar with me?
The man scoffed, almost insulted. "Allen Lite. I run the SpotLite."
"And what is the SpotLite, exactly?" Edgeworth inquired to butter the witness up. He certainly seemed proud of it, whatever it was.
"Aw, man, you've never heard of my show? You ain't that old!" He sighed, running his fingers through his air. "I stream fun stuff online. Video game let's play's, reviews, unpackaging vids, collabs… everything the modern gamer wants. And when I can get tickets to attend gaming events like this one, I livestream the conference."
Maya gasped. "Wait! I do know who you are!" Her face went serious. "You saved my life, Mr. Lite. I was stuck for days when your latest let's play got to the finale."
I take it this man is popular on some online video-sharing network? Edgeworth internally groaned. Must he be given two technology cases in a row?
"So I take it you were videoing the Odetnim conference, Mr. Lite?"
He cringed, clutching his phone to his chest. "Yep. Usually videos like those are really big hits, but… I might have to take that last one down. I don't think I got any footage of the dead guy…"
"But you saw it?" Edgeworth questioned. "When the body was being lowered, I mean?"
"Yeah. Me and three hundred other traumatized convention goers. Total buzzkill, am I right?"
"Would you be willing to offer your statements on the matter?"
"Can I post it online later?"
"No." Edgeworth was firm. "Releasing evidence before trial can compromise the investigation."
The man rolled his eyes. Lite didn't look younger than Edgeworth, but he certainly acted like it. "Fine. I guess I can be your witness."
"Thank you, Mr. Lite. Now please tell us about you saw before I arrived."
"I guess…"
-Witness Testimony-
"The Grand Reveal"
"So I'd started my vid feed and began with my usual opening. Place was as packed and loud as you'd expect.
"One of Odetnim's Spokesmen, Reggie something-or-other, gave the introduction, got the crowd hyped... you know how it is.
"When he got to a certain part of the conference, he announced that Odetnim was given the rights to the first ever Steel Samurai game. Big news.
"On the conference guy's cue, banners hanging from the ceiling were lowered down... pity they weren't the only things that dropped.
"When people saw the body, they screamed. I dropped my video phone, and had to protect it from getting trampled.
"Only thing I can remember after that is screaming. Can't imagine anyone saw much different."
The video-maker sighed, his testimony over. "I swear, if YouStar takes my video down for 'inappropriate content'," he used air quotes to accompany the last two words, "I'm gonna be pissed. It's not like I knew what was gonna happen." He whipped his phone out. "But wow are the comments blowing up. I bet this is gonna go viral!"
Edgeworth found it vaguely concerning the man was more concerned with virality than the fact he'd witnessed a murder, but he supposed self-absorption wasn't a crime. Irritating as it was.
"...Thank you, Mr. Lite. I think I have a better grasp of what happened when the body was discovered."
-"Lite's Testimony" added to Organizer-
"Great. So, have I finished my civic duties?"
"Er, not quite." Edgeworth stopped Lite from leaving. "I need you to clarify a few details for me. I assure you this won't take long."
Lite rolled his eyes, putting his phone in his pocket. "I guess I can stay a few more minutes. Not like I was planning a response video or anything…"
"You can do so after we're finished here, Mr. Lite. Now please repeat your testimony."
"What, did you already forget it?" He sighed, then went into it.
-Cross-Examination-
"The Grand Reveal"
"So I'd started my vid feed and began with my usual opening. Place was as packed and loud as you'd expect.
"One of Odetnim's Spokesmen, Reggie something-or-other, gave the introduction, got the crowd hyped... you know how it is."
"HOLD IT! And no one noticed anything out of place during this time?"
"How would I know?" Lite shrugged. "I was paying attention to two things: my vid and the guy on stage. If anyone saw something weird, they didn't tell me about it."
"And about your video… I'm curious. Did you happen to catch anything strange with your camera?"
"Dunno. Haven't checked it since I filmed it."
"..." Edgeworth didn't know how to respond to that.
So Maya stepped up. "Do you think we could maybe… see your video, Mr. Lite? I don't have a video phone, so I can't pull it up on my cell."
"Sure thing, baby doll. Anything for a Liter!"
"A lighter?" Edgeworth raised an eyebrow.
"One of my subscribers," Lite explained, whipping his phone out to show Maya. "It's only a few minutes long, since I was cut short."
"If possible, could you fast forward to when the body was discovered?" Edgeworth asked.
Lite scoffed, but did as he was told. Edgeworth and Maya watched with their breath held as they scanned the crowd. Edgeworth did his best to tune out the witness's ceaseless banter. No wonder he never used this man's channel.
"...don't think I'm ready for this. Steel Samurai is about to go from a kids TV show to an extended universe sensation. Do you want me to upload a let's play when it comes out? Leave your comments below."
"I'm not seeing anything…" Maya frowned. "Everything looks normal to me."
Edgeworth hated to admit it, but he was in agreement with Maya. It looked like a normal conference to him. The video wasn't focused on other conference-goers, but even so, Edgeworth couldn't detect even a hint of suspicious activity.
"And now… it is with great honor that I announce to you… This company, in full co-operation with Global Studios, is prepared to bring you…"
The camera panned around as banners dropped from the ceiling. It had scanned about half the room when-
"Holy shirtsleeves!"
The image blurred up as the phone fell. A few seconds later, the video feed cut, never settling on a clear image.
"Well that was unhelpful."
"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't livestream the moment of the murder for you. Pretty sure I'd have my account revoked if I did that." He put his phone back in his pocket. "But hey- no dead bodies in my videos. That's a good thing, right?"
For you, maybe. I think it would be quite helpful if I had an image of the scene as it was before I arrived.
"Well, Edgelord? Any other questions?"
"Edgeworth. My name is Miles Edgeworth," he corrected sternly. "And yes. Please continue your testimony."
"When he got to a certain part of the conference, he announced that Odetnim was given the rights to the first ever Steel Samurai game. Big news.
"On the conference guy's cue, banners hanging from the ceiling were lowered down... pity they weren't the only things that dropped.
"When people saw the body, they screamed. I dropped my video phone, and had to protect it from getting trampled."
Lite paused. "I just showed you this in my video. Is there any point to me still being here?"
A fair question. Edgeworth didn't know if there was anything else for the witness to tell him. And it wasn't as though the man was eager to speak…
Still, it was best to make sure. "Please finish your testimony, Mr. Lite."
The blonde wasn't enthusiastic, but he complied.
"Only thing I can remember after that is screaming. Can't imagine anyone saw much dif-"
"HOLD IT!"
Edgeworth jumped, looking from side to side. Who had said that?
"There's no need to waste time on this pointless badgering any longer." Edgeworth turned around to see Caché walking towards, dragging a vaguely familiar young man behind him. "The only person worth investigating is right here."
"...A young boy?" Maya stared at the PI in confusion.
"Mr. Caché. Are you accusing this child of personally strangling a grown man?"
"Of course not. I'm not so desperate to pin blame that I would just place it on the first person I see." Edgeworth didn't miss the implication the PI was making. "However, I do have reason to be suspicious of this child. Certainly more so than a grown man who happened to be here to play pretend as a professional news anchor."
"I run a gaming channel! Not a news vlog," Lite objected.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Lite," Edgeworth dismissed the witness, turning to face the older man. "And this suspect of yours is…?"
"Let me go, old man!" The child struggled against Caché's hold, messy hair poking out from under his baseball cap.
"Not sure. Refuses to respect his elders and actually tell me," Caché said, ignoring the child's struggles.
Maya gasped. "Wait. Is that..."
The doors burst open, several police officers filing in. "Police! This crime scene is under our official jurisdiction."
"Hold on," Edgeworth interrupted the familiar spiel. "Where is Detective Gumshoe?"
"Assigned to another case. No detective is currently available to assist in this investigation." What? "In the case of the murder, the Police Department and Prosecutor's Office assign investigative authority to Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth."
Another officer salutes. "At your service, Mr. Edgeworth!" He saw the child. "Has a suspect already been captured?"
"Mr. Caché believes he has captured a possible suspect for the crime, officer. I have not yet had the opportunity to question this young child." Edgeworth informed the officer, who looked towards Caché and the boy.
"The investigative authority belongs to Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, sir. Please let the child go so the proper authorities can question him," The officer had said to Caché who narrowed his eyes. For a moment, Edgeworth thought he was going to protest. But the PI merely nodded and handed the kid over to Edgeworth.
"Do make sure to do this correctly, Prosecutor," Caché whispered to Edgeworth. "I would hate to have to report any misconduct to McNeal."
With that the PI walked off leaving Edgeworth dumbstruck with one thought bouncing in his head.
He knows the Chief Prosecutor? Hmm... Edgeworth turned away from the others, taking a moment to reflect.
I had known this man was going to be difficult. But what was he here for? What history did he have with the Prosecutor's Office, and why did he leave?
And this murder. What did it mean? How had the victim been hung above an audience of hundreds without being discovered? Who was this man? Where had the man been killed? And with what?
Some vacation day this was turning out to be.
To be continued...
Organizer:
Profiles:
Miles Edgeworth
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Description: Me. What else can I say? Currently High Prosecutor for my local district.
Maya Fey
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Description: Once a legal assistant, Miss Fey is a spirit medium set to become the village leader of Kurain. Called me out of the blue for the sake of attending the Expo3 Convention together.
Amy Riter
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Description: Sole writer of the Turnabout Lawyers games at Capsul. Richards was her boss, and very involved in the creation of the game.
Noland Richards
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Description: Owner of Capsul gaming company. Was meant to give a speech at the convention, but never showed up.
Joseph Caché
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Description: A former prosecutor, now works as a PI. Insists on investigating the case for himself, and had an almost personal distrust of the legal system.
Allen Lite
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Description: A moderately popular online gamer. Was in the audience at the Odetnim conference when the body was discovered.
Evidence:
Prosecutor's Badge
Type: Other
Description: My badge. It allows me to do my job, and is to be kept in my pocket at all times.
Map of Convention
Type: Other
Description: Shows all areas available to the public at the convention. Capsul was in room number 13, while Odetnim occupied number 2.
Knot Details
Type: Evidence
Description: The knot tied at the back of the victim's neck. Cannot be adjusted after tying, and very difficult for the victim to have done himself.
Stage Rope
Type: Evidence
Description: The rope used to hang the victim's body from the ceiling. Mostly likely tied by someone other than the victim, and unlikely to be the true murder weapon. Other ropes of this type held promotional posters.
Steel Samurai Banners
Type: Evidence
Description: Hanging from various places around the crime scene. Odetnim was given the rights to the Steel Samurai video game, it seems.
Lite's Testimony
Type: Evidence
Description: The victim's body was found during the Odetnim conference. The body and banners were lowered on cue by Odetnim employees.
A/N's: PTV, RJ, and AA all worked together in the writing of this chapter. All three wish to leave notes.
PTV: Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers! Consider this a gift from us to you, to show our thankfulness. For all our non-American readers… it's still a gift for you guys, occasion-free.
So now you know a little bit more about the murder scenario, and about the mysterious man from the last chapter. AA is, of course, the mastermind behind this particular character, as he is for quite a few of ours. But I guess you could say we swapped out one mysterious male character for another. Sure Maya recognizes who he is, but did you all?
AA: As always, I look forward to seeing the guesses in the comments. Also, how many of you noticed a certain side mention of a certain member of Ninten- I mean Odetnim?
Anyway, Caché was a real treat to be writing. As the man behind the concept for the character I was in charge of writing him. And I must say, I enjoyed having him spit-fire towards anyone and everyone I could have him do so to. Perhaps a bit too much in the case of Miles.
Caché is actually very important to me as a character. But in the interest of keeping you guys guessing, I'm keeping the reason why a secret till the end where I plan on giving a short character study on him.
Anyway, I've droned on enough. RJ, you want to add anything?
RJ: Happy Thanksgiving to our readers! Thank you PTV and AA . It was awesome working with you two, in this chapter. Agreed, reading the guesses on the character Maya knows will be great. Also really enjoyed your character AA, his interactions with Edgeworth were great! I have a lot to be thankful for but one of those things was the opportunity to write in this collaboration. Everyone involved in this project is awesome and it is such a honor to get to write with you all.
PTV: I guess we'll have fun reading the reviews. Since it's Thanksgiving, I also want to say that I am thankful for everyone on this project, both former and current. Thank you RJ, AA, and KS, for writing this with me. Thank you TLG, wherever you are now. Thank you Emmy and The Scollard for beta-ing for us. Thank you SME (my real life moirail) for our cover art, and for all our years together. And thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and submits ideas to make our story great. I hope we continue to have your support throughout.
Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you on the far side!