Chapter 3: The Investigation

Phoenix woke up in his hotel room. His head was beating, probably because of stress. He cursed in a whisper. The pain had woke him up 20 minutes before his alarm rang. Since this had happened and he knew going back to sleep was not an option, Phoenix headed to the bathroom. With the cold water from the faucet, he washed his face and eyes, trying to perk out himself. He searched for his painkillers and took one with a glass of water. The water from the faucet tasted… funny. But he didn't care, water was water. He got dressed in his usual blue pants and white shirt outfit, where he always added a tie.

He texted Maya and Apollo, telling them that he would wait for them at breakfast. Then, went down ten floors using the stairs, heading to the restaurant. This way, he could activate his body and mind. The hotel wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was clearly expensive. The FBI tried to get them the best stances every time they traveled around the country. Phoenix was simple, he didn't care much about accommodations. A waiter asked for his room number, he took a table for four. Once he sat, the FBI agent checked his phone. Apollo and Maya were on their way. He sighed and passed his hand through his hair.

"Mornin' Nick. "

"Good morning, Mr. Wright. "

Phoenix raised his sight and looked at Apollo and Maya, who didn't look tired at all. "Have you slept well?"

"Yeah, the beds in this place are amazing!" Maya answered. "I'll go get breakfast, Apollo you comin'?"

"Have you eaten, Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked.

"No, but you guys can go first."

Maya and Apollo came back with their plates full. She had a croissant with jam, a couple of toasts, and eggs. He had a bowl of cereal with fruit and some bacon.

"Nick, Apollo is mixing cocoa puffs with fruit again!"

"Miss Fey, I swear is good! You should try it."

"Don't call me Miss, Polly, I am your friend!."

Phoenix smiled due to their childish behavior. He knew they did it to make him laugh. Even if they were adults, he sometimes felt they were his kids. "Maya, as the culinary savvy that you are sometimes you are very closed-minded," Phoenix said, standing up. "Fix your differences while I get some coffee. "

He got up and went to grab some breakfast. Looking around, there were other men and women well dressed in there. Probably business people whose instance would be short, not like his. After a week of reading testimonies, they had nothing. Luckily, the FBI had already sent everything that Maya needed and today the clues from Iris Hawthorne's bedroom were about to be meticulously analyzed. But Phoenix wasn't completely satisfied. He felt that something was missing, something they weren't considering. They had to search somewhere else. His internal fight against Edgeworth didn't make things easy either. They barely talked since the night Phoenix tried to make things clear Edgeworth was always locked down in his office, so dialogue was not opened. "Good morning" and "Good night" were the things that they said to each other when Phoenix opened the door when he arrived and when he was about to go. Those were most of the words they exchanged in a day. Maybe he did it because he enjoyed to bother him. The FBI Agent already assumed that they would be like that, when he solves the case, everything will be done. That's why he had to start working.

When he was back at the table with a coffee, a couple of hard-boiled eggs, and a toast, Maya was eating from Apollo's bowl of cereal.

"Apollo is right, Nick. This is fire." Maya said with her mouth full.

They arrived at the police station with punctuality after dropping Maya at the laboratory. Gumshoe had just got there and he was leaving his jacket at the back of his chair. Apollo sat on his table and started working.

"Good morning, detective Gumshoe." Phoenix greeted.

"Hey, pals! Heard that the FBI has delivered Miss Fey's things."

"Yeah, we will get the results by tonight."

Phoenix left his bag on his table and approached Edgeworth's office. He knocked and entered. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Wright."

Miles was so done. For some reason, Agent Wright had decided to say hello and goodbye to him every day for the past week. He was starting to think that Phoenix was a ghost sent by Hell to torment him, always with that annoying smile. When the door closed, Miles took a deep breath and kept reading the old file he had on his table. Last night, he hadn't slept well; the last thing he needed was stress.

"We are going to Jackson today." Agent Wright's voice surprised him. He was standing in the door, again. Hasn't he just left?

"What?" He asked, confused.

"We are going to Jackson."

Oh, great, he had heard that well then.

"Why?"

"Because I say so."

Miles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. This had to be a joke.

"It is so difficult for you to verbalize more than five words or you are just trying to bother me?" Miles asked.

So, throwing knives at each other will be then.

"You guess," Phoenix answered. "I want to talk to Regina and Penny's parents."

"Wright, I've already done that."

"Not with me, Edgeworth."

"You have the files I wrote."

"It's not enough."

Miles sighed. As he thought, Phoenix was there to torment him.

"I think there is something we are overlooking," Phoenix explained.

Now they were speaking the same language. The Inspector was always open to deducing and pursuing gut feelings. If that was the case, Miles was willing to go with him there, just to demonstrate that nothing was being overlooked and Phoenix was wrong.

"Fine," Miles said. "If you are so sure, Wright."

"Okay, then. I'll tell Mia."

Miles took a deep, deep breath. He even counted to ten. That was everything he needed to calm down before he started to pick up his things.

Captain Fey heard someone knock at her door. "Come in!" She shouted.

Phoenix entered her office and closed the door behind him.

"Hey, Nick! Need anything?" She said with a broad smile when she saw him.

"We are going to Jackson. I feel that we are missing something."

"We, who?"

"Edgeworth and I."

Mia looked at him, skeptical. "Did he agree already?"

"Yeah."

Captain Fey nodded several times, surprised by the situation. "Go then." She said, going back to her work. "And try not to annoy him too much, Phoenix. I am the complain receiver in here."

"Yeah, yeah… Don't worry."

Phoenix waited in the parking lot with Apollo.

"What's your gut feeling about Mr. Wright?" The apprentice asked

"I don't know. It is not a concrete thing. But I want to listen to the testimonies by myself. Maybe some questions haven't been asked correctly or we have to press to get more information."

"I understand, Mr. Wright. Have you asked Mr. Edgeworth about his theories?"

Phoenix remembered the note in the first file he read. He had not asked. "Not yet. But leave it to me."

Minutes later, Miles exited the building carrying his brown bag.

"Your kid is coming?" The inspector asked when he was near them.

"I am his apprentice, Mr. Edgeworth. He has to take me everywhere." Apollo explained.

"Don't say it like I don't want you here, Polly," Phoenix complained.

Miles took his phone and sent a quick text. In less than thirty seconds, Detective Kay Faraday was there too. He was not facing this alone.

"Hey, Apollo! Good morning. You too, Mr. Wright."

"If your apprentice is coming, so is mine."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Okay, Apollo, get in the car."

The car the FBI had lent them was black and looked very expensive. But Miles was not willing to go in it. If he had to suffer, at least he wanted to be comfortable.

"Bro, this car is so cool," Kay said.

"We can use my car, Wright," Miles complained with his arms crossed

"Apollo would drive us, don't worry."

"Is he your apprentice or your private driver?" Miles held back a smile when he saw Phoenix starting to get irritated. "We are using my car and I drive."

The four of them ended up in Miles' car, Apollo and Kay in the backseats, Phoenix the one in the copilot's place. As soon as they hit the road, an animated chat started between Kay and Apollo. The agent and the inspector were silent. Miles thought about how he did not know Phoenix's intentions with that trip to Jackson. He was completely sure that all the work there had been done. Also, making the families and friends testify again would be anything but hurtful for them. But, deep inside him, there was a feeling of curiosity besides his rivalry feeling. Maybe he had failed and left things unfinished. If that was the case, it would not be a good day.

"Mr. Wright, I haven't asked you yet. Where are you from?"

"New York."

"New York guys...'" So that's what Mia meant. Lana told her that they would get help from agents who worked in New York. Lana omitted the part about how they were from the FBI because she didn't want Captain Fey to tell the Inspector. The prosecutor knew Mia always told him everything in advance. Lana who had always encouraged and praised him now wanted Miles to work in unexpected circumstances."Miles, you are the best cop I have worked with in 15 years, but you have to learn how to be spontaneous." She told him once. If he wanted to impress her again, he had to solve the case.

"Wow, I've never been there. Is it as cool as in the movies?"

"If you were born in Manhattan, I guess. But my town in Syracuse is pretty boring."

"Mr. Wright worked in New York City before he joined the FBI," Apollo explained with an enthusiastic tone.

"NYPD?! Like the TV Show?" Kay asked, impressed.

"I was a cop in New York City, yeah. But working there isn't like what you see on TV, tho."

"I bet is waaay cooler," Kay said.

What a hypocrite. Miles thought. The FBI agent was talking about how amazing he was while trying to keep it humble, but Miles didn't buy it. Those words were translated in his mind as: "Look at me I am Phoenix Wright the coolest FBI agent ever." Bullshit.

"Have you been to New York, Edgeworth?" Phoenix's question caught him with his guard low. The FBI seemed to be already an expert on that.

"I went there once." He answered. "It is a filthy city. The rats are huge and I even saw a dead man in the street."

No one said anything. What he said was... too dark. And he knew. Sometimes he said things that he knew he would regret as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"Says the guy from Portland," Kay said suddenly, trying to get back to the previous vibe.

"You are from Oregon, Mr. Edgeworth? I thought you were British." Apollo said and Kay started laughing hard.

"Oh, believe me, he wished." She said and Apollo giggled due to the detective's catchy laugh.

Phoenix looked at him. Edgeworth's previous words sounded mean, but he was right. Big touristic cities had their dark side, and New York was no exception. The FBI didn't feel offended, his attachment to the city was null. Moreover, he felt bad for Miles as he was born in one of the most hated cities in the whole country.

When they arrived in Jackson, they drove through the town. Kay and Apollo were showing each other memes, while silence ruled between Phoenix and Miles.

"I want to talk to Penny's parents first," Phoenix said, breaking the silence.

Miles looked at him. "I don't think that would be ideal"

"Why?"

"Because the media is harassing them, maybe? Haven't you watched the news?"

"I am afraid I have no time to see Georgia's morning reports, Edgeworth."

Miles signed. "Since Penny was kidnapped, the case became famous. His parents have been on the TV news, every day since last month. Now with Iris..."

"I've already dealt with mediatic cases."

Miles felt unlisted. Was the FBI Agent going to treat him like that? "I've already called Mr. Berry, Regina's dad. He is home." Miles said. "Do you want answers? Then we have to start from the beginning. We can call the Nichols after and talk to them in a private space."

"We can't call the Nichols," Phoenix said.

Miles was right, in part. The FBI agent was willing to listen to him, but he couldn't take risks.

"Why?"

"Because, as you said, they are famous. If we call them, they'll call the news reporters."

Miles knit his eyebrows "Why would they do that?"

"As I told you, I've worked in mediatic cases."

Regina's house was a little far from the other houses of the town. It was what you will usually call "the ghetto". The infrastructure was old. The wood was corroded by the heat of the summer and the rain from the winter. Also, the grass hadn't been cut in months. But, the house outstood the others from the surroundings due to the bright red color of the roof and the white roses that were planted under the windows. They got out of the car and noticed how the neighbors were looking at them, curious. The door was open, but the mosquito net remained.

"He knows me. You can do your FBI shit later" Miles whispered to Phoenix. Before the agent could say something, he knocked on the frame of the door. "Mr. Berry, it's me, Miles Edgeworth!"

"I'm still in charge." Phoenix reaffirmed.

A short man appeared behind the mosquito net. He was chubby and almost bald if it weren't for the few blonde hairs that remained in his head. His eyes were blue and his eyebags were prominent.

"Mr. Edgeworth, hello." He said with a small smile. "You've come with friends."

"Yes, Mr. Berry, as I said in the call…"

"I am Phoenix Wright, FBI. This is Apollo, my apprentice."

Miles directed an angry look at Phoenix. The agent won't surrender.

"Federals, huh? Then come in." Mr. Berry said and opened the mosquito net. "Hello again, detective."

"Hi, Mr. Berry." Kay greeted him with a broad smile.

They sat on an old green sofa and Mr. Berry sat in his red armchair. There were some seconds of silence. Miles wanted Phoenix to say something and start asking questions to that man, but the FBI agent was having difficulty arranging his thoughts.

"I'll go make some tea if you don't mind." Regina's dad said and he left the living room.

Miles looked at Phoenix. "We are here, now what?"

Phoenix tried to tie up everything that was in his mind. What should he ask first? He didn't know and Edgeworth's intense look wasn't helpful at all.

"Wright, if you have made me drive here just to... "

"Shut up," Kay said. "Let him think."

Miles crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. He was impatient. The Inspector always had the questions ready before asking them, so when people were too spontaneous, he felt frustrated. Phoenix's mind was working fast and it took him a couple of seconds more to get where he wanted. He had to ask about the girl, not about the kidnapping or the case. Mr. Berry came back with a tray where he had put a teapot and cups for everyone.

"Serve yourselves." The man said as he seated again.

"Mr. Berry." Phoenix started, leaning towards him. "I wanted to ask you about your daughter."

"I already told Mr. Edgeworth." Regina's dad took a cup of tea with both hands and then took a tiny sip. The water was still boiling. "But I don't mind if you ask me some questions, agent."

"Alright em... The testimonies said that she was problematic, what do they mean by that?" As Phoenix started his questions, Apollo noted everything in his notebook.

"She is not problematic. This town is full of gossip, mostly lies. She probably isn't an A+ student, but she always puts dedication into her studies." Mr. Berry started, taking sips of his cup. "She has never got suspended either. But people talk bad about her because of where we live and the people she gets along with."

"What do you mean?"

"People are very classist around here, Agent Wright. I am a single dad who works at the thrift store. In a three thousand people town, that calls attention. Regina wears her older cousin's old clothes and some days she forgets to shower. So, you can imagine what things are like for her."

"Did she ever get bullied?"

"Define bullying, Mr. Wright." Mr. Berry paused. "If you mean physical aggressions, no. If you mean ostracism, yes."

Miles was holding a teacup between his hands and was observing the liquid inside.

"Do you know if there is someone who wanted to hurt her, maybe an ex-boyfriend?"

"No. Regina had a crush on this guy… Billy Johns, everybody calls him Max. But they never dated, he is older, already in college, and is a friend of her cousin. But he is a nice guy, a softie, who would never hurt her."

"Mr. Berry… Regina always walked home from school?"

"Yeah, we don't have a car." Mr. Berry finished his tea and left the cup on the table. "I've already talked about this with Mr. Edgeworth, but…" He paused and looked at Miles. "If you don't mind, I will mention it, Inspector."

Miles looked at him back and nodded.

"Regina and Penny were friends."

Apollo raised his sight from the notebook and stopped writing. He looked at Mr. Berry, then at Phoenix, and finally at Miles. "But… The testimonies…"

"Penny was invisible." Regina's dad said, his tone was getting tired and his face showed how angry he was about what he was talking about. "She was a smart kid, but at the end of the day, she was also isolated. Nobody saw her with Regina because nobody cared. I saw them together, sometimes Penny came here to do homework. Ms. Nichols knows too."

"Are you suggesting that Ms. Nichols lied?" Apollo asked and Mr. Berry nodded.

"Margaret was a friend of my wife, Jessica. But, when she married that rich man, she stopped talking to my wife. She didn't even come to the funeral 5 years ago."

They were at the door soon after, after finishing the tea. Mr. Berry was tired and torturing him with more questions was not an option. Phoenix got what he was looking for, a flaw, a contradiction.

"Thank you for receiving us, Mr. Berry. We will get Regina back." Phoenix said, confident.

"It was nothing, agent. It feels great to be listened to." the man said with a blue tone. "Thank you for coming. Bye." And then, Mr. Berry closed the door. Miles swore that the man was about to cry.

Once they were next to the car, Phoenix stared at Miles. "You knew?"

Apollo and Kay exchanged a look.

Miles hesitated. "Yes."

Phoenix's expression changed radically, he was very angry. "Why? Why didn't you tell anyone, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he told me not to, Wright," Miles answered, crossing his arms and pressing them into his chest, like armor. "What the fuck do you want me to do? Imply that a whole town is lying? And then what? I have no clues, no witnesses."

"I told you something was being overlooked and you… you fucking deny it!"

"It is my duty to protect the people involved in the investigation."

"Okay, whatever," Phoenix said, raising both of his hands. "Let's just go to the Nichols'."

"Haven't you had enough?"

"Limit yourself to driving, Edgeworth."

Miles had fucked up, but Mr. Berry told him not to say anything, that he would talk when he was ready. He did not expect Regina's dad to tell Phoenix about it, and now he was a liar. He drove back to the town center, heading to the neighborhood where the Nichols lived.

"Mr. Wright, I am hungry…" Apollo said in a lower voice. He knew his mentor wasn't in a good mood. But Phoenix turned around and smiled at him.

"I have to interrogate Ms. Nichols. I would take less than 20 minutes, then we can grab lunch. You hungry too, Kay?"

The young detective nodded.

The neighborhood was similar to where the Hawthorne's lived in Warm Springs. That probably was a pattern. Miles looked around, worried.

"What are you doing?" Phoenix asked.

"Being sure that there are no TV channels around." He parked two houses away from the Nichols'. "We have to be sure."

The FBI rolled his eyes and got out of the car. There was nobody on the street. Once on the porch, Phoenix rang the doorbell. Miles was tired, too tired to complain, to even talk, so he decided that he would let Agent Wright win that day. A woman opened the door. Her long brown hair was tied up into a bun. She was wearing long black leggings and a loose sports shirt. Her face was red, so she was probably working out when they arrived.

"Inspector, what a surprise!" She said when she saw Edgeworth.

Phoenix knew she was nervous. "Hello, Ms. Nichols. I am Phoenix Wright, FBI. Can we come in?"

She was confused. "My husband is not home."

"It will take just a minute of your time."

She doubted, but eventually let them in. "I was doing my aerobic class." She explained, turning off the TV where some women were doing dance moves. "How can I help you?"

The decoration was expensive and everything looked very clean. Even sitting down on the bright white couch felt scary. Miles stayed standing up, and Kay sat near him. Margaret Nichols rubbed her hands on her thighs, leaving sweat marks.

"Ms. Nichols… Can I call you Margaret?"

"Sure."

Apollo stared with attention at Phoenix's words and movements. Those were key when the time of interrogating a witness.

"Margaret, where is your husband?"

"Working, in Atlanta."

"I know you are probably tired, Margaret, about the questions, the media bombing information about your daughter…" Phoenix said, calmly, leaning towards her.

"Yeah, it's been tough…"

"And I understand. But, I need you to tell me the truth."

Ms. Nichols was stunned. She rubbed her hands again. Her face was red, but not because of the effort of the workout. At any time, she would start shaking.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Penny knew Regina, they were friends." The FBI agent said. "Denying it will just make our investigation harder, Margaret. I know you don't want your daughter to be related to Regina Berry, I know you like playing the only victim in this, and I know you and your husband enjoy the attention from the cameras. But you owe this to Jessica Berry."

Margaret Nichols started to cry and covered her face with her hands. After two minutes, she started talking. "They were friends, yes… My husband didn't want me to tell, he has a reputation… Regina was not good for Penny, we had to protect her."

Phoenix gave her the handkerchief box that was on the center table.

Miles and Kay were surprised about how it was possible that they'd been there five minutes and Ms. Nichols was already confessing. Phoenix didn't sound cold at all. He made her feel understood.

"I am sorry," Margaret said. "I am just a housewife... I didn't know what to do. My poor Penny... I should have protected her better." She wiped her tears. "She was feeling so sad when Regina vanished... And I didn't listen. I told her to forget about her because she had probably escaped with some punk. But, she insisted and said that Regina would never do that."

"Ms. Nichols," Apollo said. "Was Penny with Regina the night she was kidnapped?"

"Yes."

They stopped by a dinner in the town. It was the typical American dinner with typical American food. The decoration was vintage, 50s style. There was a picture of a bunch of kids who seemed to be famous actors pinned on the wall. Kay had pointed out before that Jackson was the town where a famous show was being filmed. Miles hoped for the crew of this series not to appear during the time of the investigation. They sat at a table far from the others that were already occupied. A young waitress served their lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for Kay, a hamburger with french fries for Apollo, and black coffee for Phoenix and Miles.

"Now what should we do, Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked while eating.

"I guess now we have to change our perspective. Regina and Penny knew each other, so we have to find out if somehow, they knew Iris Hawthorne."

"But Iris lives sixty miles away. There is no way they met," Kay said after devouring one of her sandwiches.

"Maybe they went to some kind of summer camp together," Apollo suggested. "The kidnapper could be an instructor or a volunteer."

"What we have clear now is that there is a connection for the kidnappings. Now we have to find it." Phoenix said after drinking some coffee. "We probably need to call Regina's aunt and ask her for Penny, also for Iris. We should also change our perspective, the kidnapper probably knew the victims. After we get Maya's results, we will search for any evidence that proves there is a connection between the victims."

Miles stayed quiet and listened carefully. His conclusions were similar to Phoenix's, but what he suspected was beyond any current evidence. His theory was purely logical, but baseless, so he had to wait for the forensic results too. They got back to the car after Miles paid the bill. The Inspector turned on the radio as soon as he pulled up, he didn't want to listen to his thoughts. Phoenix was still mad at him, he didn't blame the agent. Miles would not apologize and the FBI agent would not forget about it any time soon. Not that he cared, of course.

As soon as they arrived at the police station, they had to keep working. Phoenix and Apollo went to their tables to transcribe everything and write their new conclusions. Miles decided to go to Mia's office. The Captain had left for lunch, so he waited for her. After half an hour, she came in.

"Inspector, you are back." She said, smiling while sitting in her chair. "I was having lunch with Maya and Diego. Have you waited long?"

"No."

Mia softened her smile. "How was the investigation? Did you guys find something?"

Miles took a deep breath and then another, and another. "I fucked up."

"Why do you think that, Miles?" The Captain asked, worried.

"Because I knew Regina Berry and Penny Nichols knew each other. I've been calling Russel Berry every week since his daughter was kidnapped because I was worried about him, but when Penny was taken, he told me she was a friend of Regina, but everyone said they didn't know each other. And he told me not to tell anybody because he did not want to have problems with Mr. Nichols, so I did so. But today he told Wright and then he called me a liar and we fought." Miles was talking so fast that some words got tumbled up. "He is so annoying and believe me when I say that I have tried to work with him, but he does not listen to me and does whatever he wants. And he thinks I am a bad cop when he is sooo dumb."

Mia listened to Miles. She remembered telling Phoenix not to irritate the Inspector.

"Look, Miles, you are tired." She said calmly, stopping him from talking. "Go home, get some rest, and then come back in the afternoon. I'll call you when Maya and Ema come. You've just met Phoenix, you just have to know each other better. You two have more things in common than you will think. And, if he keeps bothering you, communicate, tell him how you feel."

Miles nodded. "I'll try" He murmured.

"Now go home."

The Inspector left the Captain's office and got his things. Apollo saw him go and looked at Kay, who wasn't even surprised.

"Is Mr. Edgeworth okay?" The FBI apprentice asked the young detective.

"Yeah… He just gets easily overwhelmed, you know what I mean." She answered. "Don't worry, he'll be back in the afternoon."

Phoenix listened to the conversation. He looked at the now-empty office and then went back to work.