July 3rd, 3:19pm

Expo3 Convention Center

Conference Room No. 2- Backstage

"Nothing. No evidence, no fingerprints... not even a witness. Out of all of my years as a prosecutor, this is the first time I have come up with nothing for an investigation!" Edgeworth was becoming frustrated.

The body had been hung from this location, that much was true. But then, how was it that there was no sign of anything being wrong in the entire area?

"I don't get it, Mr. Edgeworth. How can there not be any evidence here?" Maya put her hand to her cheek in thought. "Even when I used to investigate with Nick, we could always find something that proved to be valuable evidence."

-Clean Backstage added to Logic-

If the rope Richards was tied to wasn't the murder weapon, and backstage is clean of evidence, that could only mean…

"That in itself may be the evidence, Miss Fey." Edgeworth replied, as he searched the area one last time. "If there's nothing to be found backstage, it's possible nothing happened here, either. The body must have been hung most carefully, out of the sight of any witnesses. Perhaps it was carried in here before the conference began, when not many people were here. But either way, the murder occurred in yet another location. A location we have no way of discovering at this juncture."

"Maybe the evidence is somewhere else, Mr. Edgeworth. If there's a crime scene in this building, there's gotta be evidence pointing to it!"

"That's the spirit, Miss Fey. Perhaps a witness could point us in the correct direction." Maya's face brightened as she put her hands together, nodding. They left the area together.

-Moving Body added to Logic-

I know it's a common figure of speech, but saying "that's the spirit," with Miss Fey around… it puts the statement in a whole new light, Edgeworth thought. It had taken him a long time to accept the woman's spirit channeling as the real deal. Even though she'd practiced it regularly in court, he'd always told himself it was simply her acting as the deceased would to give the defense a moral boost.

July 3rd, 3:21pm

Expo3 Convention Center

Conference Room No. 2

He mused on the past as he and Maya were leaving the backstage area. Had they not been watching where they were going, they would have ran into someone once again. Someone who really should have been paying attention to his surroundings instead of his phone.

"Gah! Watch where you're going, dude! I'm in the middle of a status update."

"Mr. Lite, can I ask you some more questions about the murder?" Edgeworth was hoping that Lite might have an answer to something that's been bothering him.

"I told you everything I know and saw earlier, man." Lite, annoyed at the prospect of further questioning, fired back. "What else could you possibly ask about?

"Mr. Lite, I am investigating a man's murder. I would appreciate it if you took the weight of this matter seriously." Edgeworth picked up on the fact that the man wasn't exactly thrilled to see him again, but at the moment, they didn't really have much of a choice. His investigation was short on leads.

"Alright, alright!" Lite threw his hands up, phone in one. "What do you want me to talk about?"

"During the conference. What did you notice?"

Lite rolled his eyes. Edgeworth took it as a bad sign even before the man's testimony began.

-Witness Testimony-

"A Whole Lot of Nothing"

"Like I told you last time, I saw nothing out of the ordinary until the posters came down.

"I doubt anyone else can say different. Don't you think if someone noticed a dead body hanging from the ceiling ahead of time, they would have said so?

"It wasn't until after the banners came down that anyone noticed. After that, everyone panicked and starting running everywhere."

"Not that I was paying much attention. I was too busy… you already know this."

Lite rolled his eyes again as soon as his testimony was over. "Well? Any groundbreaking information you desperately need me to elaborate on? A case-changing contradiction?"

Edgeworth ignored his mocking tone, thinking to himself. I really didn't learn anything new in this testimony. Should I cross examine the witness?

-Absolutely.

-No need.

Since he told me the same story twice, he most likely does not know anything different then what he had told me earlier. At this moment, I see no reason to hold him any longer. Especially if he has no wish to stay.

"Thank you Mr. Lite. I do not have any further questions." Edgeworth told the amateur filmmaker. "If I require your services later on, or in trial, understand that you can be summoned to court to appear before a judge. You may also be summoned before that for the sake of preparing your testimony."

"Great," Lite replied, though Edgeworth doubted the boy had been listening. "Now, I'm going to go home and finish editing a new video for my channel. Can't keep the Liters waiting!" Lite had turned to walk away from Edgeworth and Maya, but before he left he looked towards Maya. "Be sure to check my YouStar channel later. it will show everything but the murder."

"Will do once this case is over." Maya's face beamed after she promised Lite. She watched him leave. "I can't believe I got to meet him in person!"

"Personally, I'm not impressed." Edgeworth grumbled.

Now that Lite has left, I can think over the circumstances of finding the body in earnest. What threads of logic do I possess thus far? Only the moved body, the different crime scene, and-

Of course! The connection between these first two is easy enough, no?

"The body was moved here from another crime scene, that much goes without saying. We will have to search for evidence of this, but I find it hard to believe someone was able to move the body without using a transport of some kind."

"Agreed." Maya nodded, hands clasped together. "But where should we look?"

"I was hoping to find something of the sort backstage, to be honest. But no luck."

"Yeah, that is disappointing."

-Body Maneuvers added to Logic-

Let us see… is there any more I can do with what I have now?

...Somehow, I doubt it.

"It's too bad Mr. Lite didn't have anything for us. I wish we could have talked to him longer."

"Even so, I did find talking to him helpful. Thanks to his testimonies, I can make three observations about the murder."

"Really?" Maya seemed surprised. "What are they?"

"My first conclusion, Miss Fey, is this: The body was either not above the stage until right before it was lowered… or it was too high up for anyone to be able to smell it. Perhaps both."

"Ew," Maya reacted. "Can you imagine?"

"There's no need to imagine, Miss Fey," Edgeworth said. "The body is right over there. And it was hanging next to heated stage lights for who knows how long, so I'm sure the odor is quite-"

"I'm not going over to smell it!" Maya exclaimed in disgust.

Edgeworth allowed himself a small smile before continuing. "Regardless, consider the following: If the body was not tied to the ropes until just before the banners were lowered, the body could have been moved there from the backstage while the conference was happening, which explains why no one witnessed it."

"But wouldn't people have seen it being moved from the backstage?" Maya asked.

"Not if they weren't backstage," Edgeworth answered. "Only the conference personnel should have had access at the time of the conference."

"True… so how did this happen?"

"Simple, really: while the conference was underway and no one was looking, someone backstage tied the already dead victim to a stage rope, moving it over people's heads while their attention was elsewhere. After all, most people would be more interested in the speaker onstage than they would be in what's above their heads."

Maya was silent for a minute, processing the new information. "That all makes sense, but… why would the murderer do such a thing? Why would they want the body to be found by hundreds of people at once?"

"I'm afraid I still don't know," Edgeworth confessed. "Whoever this was, they wanted people to know Mr. Richards was dead. They wanted to cause hysteria and confusion."

"Well, they succeeded there. I'm completely stumped, and everyone in that crowd was frantic."

"And with that, it seems we're on the same page, Miss Fey." Edgeworth was glad that he at least had reasons for what could have happened to the body, but in his mind he was still wishing there was evidence for him to use.

His wish was quickly granted... but not in quite the way he expected. The sound of police chatter as the door opened just confirmed his suspicions.

"Mr. Cachè. You're back sooner than expected."

"Not my choice, I assure you. But since I'm not one to hide evidence, and the lady specifically requested I hand this off to you…"

"A lady?" Edgeworth was curious. "Who might this woman be and what did she have to give to me?" It better not be who I think it is…

"During my investigation, I was able to get a photo of the exact moment the body was found." the PI said, handing it to Edgeworth. "Some reporter, by the sound of it."

It isn't. A sigh of relief. "Do you know who this reporter was?"

Cachè shook his head. "She didn't tell me. Just told me to give it to her 'second mentor'. I asked her to clarify, and she gave me your name."

"...I see." Edgeworth weighed the benefits of seeking her out at a time like this, wondering if she could have witnessed more.

In the end, he decided it probably wasn't worth the trouble. "This photo of the body as it was found should prove to be a valuable piece of evidence." Edgeworth accepted it despite the source, utterly ignoring the message written across it.

-"Picture of Richards" added to Organizer-

Edgeworth stared at the PI for a second, considering what to say next. Should he thank the man for being so forthright, or have expected nothing less?

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to make a decision, for right as he opened his mouth, a dispute erupted between Hackins and a police officer.

"Hey, where did you get these?"

"Give those back! It's none of your business, you-" The boy tried to defend what he'd been holding onto, to no avail.

"Excuse me, officer," Edgeworth stepped in to mediate. "What did you find on Mr. Hackins' person?"

"These papers! Looked like they belonged to the victim, to boot."

"I beg your pardon?" This was certainly unexpected. Why would Hackins have those hidden away? "May I analyze the item in question?"

The officer handed Edgeworth the pages. There were three in total, all handwritten. They appeared to be an outline for a speech of some kind.

"'Welcome to the Capsul conference, it's a pleasure to be meeting with you all, and it is with great pleasure that I bring you the details for-'" Edgeworth read aloud, then stopped. "This is the victim's speech! He was supposed to give it to the audience at the Capsul conference. The one he never showed up to."

-"Richards' Speech Notes" added to Organizer-

"Now why would this kid have a thing like that?" Cachè's suspicions were coming back. Edgeworth could see it in the man's eyes.

"What? No way!" Maya protested. She seemed to have a hard time believing he was a thief.

Edgeworth turned to the child, who was still struggling. "Where did you find these?"

"Oh, nuh-uh! No way am I riding this ride again! I don't have any more to say about this to you grown ups! I'm done with this murder business." He looked like he was about to cry, and for all Edgeworth's determination to find answers, he wasn't willing to traumatize the kid further.

"Officer, will you take this kid to another room? I don't think it's good to keep him in the same place as a dead body."

"Yes, sir!" The small party watched as Hackins was led away. Edgeworth would question him again when the kid had calmed down.

After that, he turned back to Mr. Cachè, who was ready to pounce.

"I have two answers that I can give you, Mr. Edgeworth, but both are just a matter of opinion," Cachè piped up, enigmatic smile on his face. "Will you entertain an opinion that isn't your own, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Here we go again. I don't quite understand what Cachè thinks he's going to gain from this, but I suppose hearing him out can't hurt.

So he just shrugged. "Very well. Mr. Cachè, please tell me your theory on how you believe Cody Hackins got the papers."

-Argument-

"A Kid in Trouble"

"For me, this is just one more piece of evidence that implicates the kid. Hear me out before you explode, alright?

"The victim was supposed to give an important speech, right? It would make the most sense he had these papers on his person. So he could practice and all that.

"This kid was poking around backstage when the body was discovered. I bet that's where he found them.

"That's right: he took them from the victim's body. And he still appears to be the last person to see the victim alive.

"Face it: this kid just keeps getting in more and more trouble."

Edgeworth waited until the man was finished before voicing his objections. "You have no proof that's where he got the papers. For all either of us can prove, he picked them up off the floor in a hallway."

"Perhaps. But the fact that he even had such a thing is bad enough. Add the fact he was trying to hide it only makes things worse."

"Of course he hid it! He's a scared kid who wants nothing to do with this," Maya spoke up in Cody's defense. "Isn't your son about Cody's age? I would think you'd be a bit nicer to him. He's only ten."

Cache refused to let up. "Samuel knows better than to get tangled up in things like this. Do you have anything to rebut me with, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Hm… I lack evidence at the moment, but so does he. I may be able to argue my way out of this one regardless. What should I do?

-Pursue a rebuttal

-No need

Edgeworth took no time at all to make his choice. "Why, I believe I can, Mr. Cachè. Would you care to repeat your argument just once more?"

"Certainly. This should be interesting."

"Glad you think so."

-Rebuttal-

"A Kid in Trouble"

"For me, this is just one more piece of evidence that implicates the kid. Hear me out before you explode, alright?

"The victim was supposed to give an important speech, right? It would make the most sense he had them on his person. So he could practice and all that."

"HOLD IT! We have no way of knowing that."

"But it is the most plausible explanation, no? Unless we find evidence that contradicts this assertion, I see no reason to change it, Occam's Razor and all."

"You were a prosecutor long enough to know that cases don't always unfold in the most plausible of ways," Edgeworth pointed out. "As have I, in fact."

"That may be true, but usually we only consider alternate theories once evidence has contradicted the main one." The former prosecutor raised an eyebrow. "Or do you have a better theory?"

I may, but this isn't the place to present it. Edgeworth remained silent, remembering what he'd been told. Such a thing may come in handy after all.

"This kid was poking around backstage when the body was discovered. I bet that's where he found them.

"That's right: he took them from the victim's body. And he still appears to be the last person to see the victim alive."

"HOLD IT! There's another place from which Hackins could have reasonably found the papers."

Cachè scoffed, clearly nonplussed. "Oh, and where is that?"

-On the backstage floor

-From the true killer

-In the Capsul office

"After you left, Hackins confessed to me why he'd been arguing with the victim. As it turns out, Richards had caught him lost in Capsul's office area. He yelled at Hackins for being where he shouldn't, and escorted him back to the convention entrance, where you saw them."

"...Their office, you say?" That complicated the investigator's argument. "But wait. How do you know he wasn't lying to you to hide where he found the papers?"

"At the time, I didn't even know such papers existed. Hackins had no reason to believe I would find them, and thus no reason to cover his tracks for such an eventuality. Admit it: this scenario is far more likely than a child robbing a body!"

"Urgh!" Cachè spent a second taking damage. But only a second. "I guess the only way to know for sure is to investigate the Capsul area myself."

"I was thinking the same thing." Edgeworth agreed, though not enthusiastically. "I would ask the boy, but he's still quite agitated, I imagine."

"Will the police allow me to enter the Capsul area more easily than they do here? Or will I have to fight my way through there as well?"

Edgeworth considered the question. On one hand, he had no reason to allow an outsider access to anything related to the murder. The police had enough on their hands guarding the conference room from a crowded convention. Edgeworth would have thought the organizers would cancel the event in the wake of a murder, but so far, it had yet to happen.

But on the other… such a tactic clearly wasn't effective. Edgeworth remembered the type of prosecutor that Cachè had been. Edgeworth was that type of prosecutor. Not having official authority had never been enough to deter him from an investigation, and it seemed this older man was the same way.

The man had already proven himself an honest, if difficult investigator. Edgeworth wasn't about to assist him, but perhaps it was counter-productive to hamper the PI in his pursuits.

And so he answered: "Unless the investigation finds more reason to believe Capsul's area is directly related to the crime at hand, it will be no more closed off than the rest of the convention center. While I imagine the convention organizers may choose to close off the entire building in the future, they have not yet. Does that answer your question, Mr. Cachè?"

"It does," the man grunted, a begrudging look in his eyes. "Now if you don't mind, I'm off to do my own work. Don't expect me to just hand you anything else."

"Trust me, I don't require such assistance."

"Hmph." The investigator turned to the door, about to step out through the exit when-

"Mr. Cachè, wait!"

Maya ran up to him, a bashful set to her face. "Mr. Edgeworth mentioned you were a prosecutor, once. Tell me… why did you resign?"

"I hardly see how that would be relevant to this investigation." It didn't seem as though he was going to answer her. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just… you seem to be against prosecutors and the police. But being a private investigator, don't you basically do the same thing as them, just without all the court stuff? I don't get it."

The older man sighed, turning to face Maya. "Being a private investigator allows me to seek the truth without taint. I don't have to worry that my investigations will be perverted by a corrupt justice system because I handle every aspect of them, working with clients directly. It doesn't pay as well, but it's far more honest a work. Not to mention… it allows me to close the book on a difficult chapter of my life."

Edgeworth didn't know any of this. All he remembered was that one day Cachè had been a valuable member of the Prosecutor's Office until… something. And whatever it was, Edgeworth never saw him again. It hadn't mattered to him at the time, but now…

What had happened to Joseph Cachè that made him so resentful?

Maya wanted to know too. "A difficult chapter? What happened? Was it a case?"

The PI shook his head. "In a way, but not one of mine. About three or four years ago... I got very sick. With cancer. The doctors said they couldn't do much. I really thought I would die. I thought a lot about my life during that time.

"It was thanks to my wife and son as well as McNeal, my closest friend, that I had the strength to fight on. They're the ones who convinced me to push forward with my treatment. We tried everything, and those three… they were always there for me. Through everything. After almost two years of fighting, I was lucky enough to make a full recovery.

"It was three Marches ago that I was well enough to go back to work. But when I returned. it seemed like where I used to work was gone. Or rather, that it never had existed.

"I came back to see some of my worst fears realized; prosecutors having been caught tampering with evidence, manipulating cases and witnesses, and even a case of murder that had been covered up for years. But that wasn't even the worst of it.

"Imagine for a moment, if you will, the utter betrayal I felt to find that office higher-ups, people I had worked under for years, were weak-willed and allowed to tamper with vital cases, That police leaders used the Prosecutor's Office to take control of the law, manipulate it as they saw fit, and even murder a man in fear of being caught.

"When I came back, I saw these symbols of justice, these noble pillars of the law to be just as criminal as those they had sworn to stop and deal justice to. That's what it was like, coming back in the wake of those momentous cases.

"All these years I had done my best to serve justice, to seek out the corrupt and make sure they got their due, only to find that the people I held in esteem and placed my trust in, who I trusted to be as devout in their commitment to the law as I was, were corrupt as well.

"After realizing just how fleeting life is, I knew could no longer live it without thinking. And unlike some I may know, I couldn't continue working alongside what I foresaw, correctly might I add, as a failing system. So, while he went on to try and play damage control, I decided my path lay outside the legal system. My wife was supportive of me. The next day, I turned in my badge for the last time.

"And that's it. To this day, I do investigative work for individuals who harbor the same distrust of the courts that I do. My latest case is a missing persons, someone who knew too much and might have been killed for it. No way are the courts going to deliver justice for him."

Edgeworth wanted to object, but the time didn't seem right. Not after a confession like that.

"Has it been easy for me and my family? No, it hasn't. As I've mentioned, money isn't as present anymore, and my wife's started working as well. But we don't regret it. At the end of the day, we feel like we're doing the right thing. At least I can go to bed at night without worrying about the standards I'm setting for my son."

It was with the room captured in silence that Cachè made his exit. As the door closed, the various police officers and forensic investigators got back to work immediately, though a few seemed to do so in a dazed way, as if they were pondering over the words they heard.

But Maya and Edgeworth? They just stood there, both taking in the story they were just told. Maya was the first to speak.

"Wow. Rethinking your life after looking in the face of death?" The medium turned to Edgeworth. "You'd know something about that, huh?"

"I don't see it that way." Edgeworth's reply was strained. He was reminded of someone completely different. "Come: we need to go to the Capsul conference room and speak with the witnesses there."

I… didn't know that about Mr. Cachè. But I must agree: its connection to the current investigation is tenuous. He made his choice, and I made mine. When I see something wrong in the system, I don't have the luxury of running. Never again.

Whatever flaws may exist, I will take it upon myself to fix them. And I'll start with this case here.

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. His body was found strangled in the Odetnim conference room.

Joseph Caché

Age: 46

Gender: Male

Description: A former prosecutor, now works as a PI. Insists on investigating the case for himself, and harbors 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.

Cody Hackins

Age: 10

Gender: Male

Description: A convention attendee. Was seen arguing with the victim before the man died, and was caught snooping backstage at Odetnim's conference.

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.

Caché's Claims

Type: Evidence

Description: A summary of assertions made in Joseph Caché's testimony, with the claim that Richards and Hackins were seen arguing shortly before the Capsul conference among them. Check

Picture of Richards

Type: Evidence

Description: A picture taken of the victim as his body was lowered towards the crowd. It was given to me by Cachè, and bears a message that is addressed to me. Check

Richards Speech Notes

Type: Evidence

Description: What the victim was going to say at the Capsul conference he never showed up to. Were found on Hackins person, though it isn't clear why.

A/N's: PTV, RJ, and AA all share partial responsibility for the creation of this chapter. The three of them all would like to leave notes.

PTV: Sorry this chapter took a while to put out. It was actually finished a week or two ago, but we wanted it to go through betas first. And now we have it ready for you, in its best condition. This chapter may not be as eventful as others, but that's no excuse to slack on quality.

And now, you also have Cachè's backstory. You can thank Ajani for putting that together. I personally really like what he did with the character. Did you want to elaborate on anything, Ajani?

AA: Well, I originally said I'd do the character study on him at the end, but you know what, now is as good a time as any.

Cachè was an interesting mix of a few things. As far as story goes he was meant to be a face to the general public at the time of this story. Disgusted and fed up with the what was going on in the law enforcement, and wanting to do something without having the oversight of people who he could no longer trust. The average Joe if you would. (Which btw, was actually pointed out by PTV!) However, the most important bit of Joseph is what he means to me personally.

My father was a prosecutor whose name was in fact Joseph (so yes, Cachè is named after him) who got cancer and never ended up going back into law. He unfortunately died three years ago and I miss him to this day.

My father taught me alot, and was one of the strongest men I've ever known. I like to think I'm doing a nice homage to him with Joseph's character.

Funnily enough, the job he ended up taking after he got cancer actually put him in constant communication with our community, helping people out on his own. Not actually a PI, something else entirely, but for story purposes, I figured PI would be the way to go.

(For those curious, he was referring to the whole Lana Skye and Damon Gant incident earlier. In the story he would have come back to work right after that fiasco and that was the final straw, knowing the office he worked in and the police he worked with couldn't be trusted, that even their heads were corrupt. Yes, Lana had her reasons, but as a leader, one has to be able to put aside personal feelings for the good of the people and Lana kinda failed at that.)

At this point I'm kinda rambling. Tl;dr, Joseph Cachè is a memorial to my dad, and I hope I'm doing him justice as an honest and morally strong man. While it isn't a perfect replica (my father was actually rather quiet, as opposed to Cachè who has to be loud and ready to be confrontational for the story) it gets the core points across and I hope you've enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy him.

RJ: I agree with PTV, what Ajani did with the backstory for Cache's character was great. The conversation between he and Edgeworth was awesome. Poor Edgeworth it would be really disappointing to be in his position and get nothing during the investigation, luckily for him we were able to add to the logic and organizer, as this chapter progressed. Looking forward to our next writing session together.

PTV: Once again, thank you for reading, don't forget to leave your thoughts in the box below, and I'll see you on the far side!