Chapter 4: The Storm

In the dark, the man looked at his hands, then closed them into fists. Lately, he had been feeling desperate. Even after all he did for his girls, they were still afraid. He had given them a safe home, pretty clothes, and warm food. But they cried almost every day. When he punched them, he felt so guilty, so he kissed them on the forehead and said how sorry he was. After three months, the blond girl seemed to have started to like him. She was his favorite. But the other two were riling him up. Why didn't they understand that he loved them? That's why, on that October morning, as he was not in his best mood, the man lost control.

Around 6 p.m., Miles woke up from his nap. He had set an alarm because he didn't want to oversleep. He felt better than this morning. Miles went to the kitchen and made himself dinner. He hadn't eaten in at least ten hours, and his stomach hurt. Miles was not a fan of big meals, so a sandwich sounded good. But his soul was looking for more. So, he had a veggie sandwich with hummus, sour onion chips, and a cookie to honor his cravings. Getting serotonin from food felt pleasing. Miles knew that when he didn't eat for several hours, the stress picked up, leading to meltdowns. But being a workaholic and eating three meals a day could not fit into the same equation.

Satisfied, he got dressed and waited for Mia's call. The Inspector decided to use the remaining time for reading something real, nothing related to the cases, an actual book. Lately, he had been interested in fantasy novels, so he picked the first one he saw on his bookshelf. But, he found himself unable to concentrate on reading. His mind suddenly was full of thoughts about the case, distracting him and making it impossible to focus. Suddenly, the call Miles was waiting for took him off this spiral.

Maya Fey arrived at the station around 8 p.m. During the last few days, she had been working hard, and finally, the results would be revealed. She arranged with her sister a meeting to present all new pieces of evidence with her coworker Ema Skye, a girl with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She always wore a combination of pink and green outfits, her lab coat, and cute pink sunglasses. Ema was the prosecutor's young sister, and she had been working with Inspector Miles Edgeworth since he arrived in Georgia. From a young age, she had always felt fascinated with scientific investigation tools. Lana Skye, her older sister, encouraged her to follow her dreams. So, eventually, they ended up working together.

The two forensics entered the station and prepared the meeting room. Usually, the photos were put on the wall, and a whiteboard was used to explain Ema's conclusions on clue analysis. But since they found out the projector was not broken, showing everything on the wall would make this easier.

"I swear that after we finish, I am eating the biggest burger in the whole of Atlanta," Maya said while checking the files one more time.

"Yeah, we deserve food and some rest." Ema was testing the projector to be secure about the quality of the pictures.

Maya closed the file and left it on the table. "I think we are ready. Come, I'll introduce you to my team."

Both scientific forensics walked through the corridor and arrived at the tables where Phoenix and Apollo were. The two FBI agents had been working since they had come back from that morning's trip. They had called the sheriffs from Jackson and Warm Springs to ask for information about school reports on bullying cases and teacher's testimonies. Phoenix had started to indagate in Regina's friends' school records, just in case. At this point, he had even speculated that maybe Penny saw the kidnapper the night Regina was kidnapped. Maybe it was someone they knew. Apollo, on his side, had been searching all the youth groups, church camps, summer camps, girls scouts, or any kind of place where the three girls could have happened to meet. Both of them were tired and hungry.

"Hey, Nick! Apollo!" Phoenix smiled and looked at Maya. Next to her was a girl. He assumed she was Ema. "This is Ema."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wright and Apollo. Maya has talked so much about you in the lab." The girl said with a broad smile.

Apollo waved at her while working on his laptop. "Nice to meet you!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Skye," Phoenix said.

"Oh, please, call me Ema. Miss Skye is my sister." The girl said. She looked around and stared at Miles' office. "You know where Inspector Edgeworth is?"

"He went home," Apollo answered.

Ema nodded. "I am very keen to finally work hand by hand with y'all. Now, if you excuse me." She said and then went to Kay's table. The two greeted each other with bright smiles and started chatting.

Phoenix looked at Maya. "By the way, today we went to Jackson. We have new testimonies that we should share so we can all think about what to do now."

"New testimonies? We have a witness?"

"No, we found new information about the two first victim's relationship."

Maya smiled. "Us too. We'll discuss it later. Is Mr. Edgeworth coming back?"

Phoenix raised a brow and shrugged his shoulders. "I think so."

After that, Miles appeared. He felt better, and his calm movements were a sign of that. The inspector knew he had to talk to Phoenix, but would do it later. He walked towards Maya and showed a soft smile.

"Hello, Miss Fey."

Maya smiled back. "Hi, Mr. Edgeworth."

The Inspector approached Kay's table and greeted Ema, who smiled broadly when she saw him. "Mr. Edgeworth! Got some rest?"

Miles nodded. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes. But we should wait for Gumshoe, he's getting dinner with his wife. He'll be here in fifteen or so." Ema said.

"Ema, have you seen the video I told you about?" Kay asked.

"Yeah! It was so funny." Ema laughed. "The moment she…"

As soon as the girls started talking, Miles removed himself from the conversation. He looked around and noticed how Phoenix was still working. He doubted but finally decided to approach him.

"Ehm… Have you guys found anything?" Miles asked.

Phoenix looked at him briefly and then returned his attention to his laptop. "No. Just boring lists of names."

"We called both schools," Apollo added. "There are no bullying reports."

Phoenix looked at Apollo and then at Miles. The inspector seemed relaxed.

"Keep working, then."

Fuck. He was supposed to say sorry or something, but Miles was not in the mood to be vulnerable with the FBI agent. He turned around and walked away. Phoenix looked at him as the inspector went back to Kay's table. The FBI agent did not understand Miles, not even a bit, but he had started to be curious about his gestures.

Upon arriving, Gumshoe hugged Ema and gave Miles a pat on the back. As soon as Phoenix noticed everyone was heading to the meeting room, he closed the laptop. When he arrived with Apollo, Mia was already there, talking to Miles.

"Better?" She asked and the inspector nodded. "Have you talked?"

"More or less."

When the captain saw the FBI agent, she smiled broadly. Then, Miles moved away silently. When Maya and Ema were ready, Phoenix and Apollo sat in the first row, and Gumshoe and Mia too. Miles took his usual place: the wall. And Kay sat near to him. Ema and Maya turned off the lights and turned on the computer. Maya stood near the device to slide through the pictures. The first thing that was shown was photos of Regina's mobile phone and call register.

"Okay," Maya said and took some air. "Regina Berry's phone has no fingerprints besides hers. The call register of all times shows, overall, her dad's, cousin and aunt's number. But, there is also a call made on the night of her kidnapping. She called Margaret Nichols, Penny's mom. The phone signal was lost the moment she dropped her phone. The location situates her at her cousin's house before the kidnapping. Also..." Maya passed the photo, and then a picture of Regina and Penny hugging each other was shown. "This is irrefutable proof that the two first victims have a friendship. So, we can conclude that Nichols gave false testimony. Regina and Penny's kidnappings are, without a doubt, related. So, there's likely to be a pattern."

Miles knit his brows. Then, they showed Penny's backpack.

"In Penny's backpack, we did not find anything. Just a bunch of books and snacks. Not conclusive DNA besides hers." Ema explained.

"Not conclusive?" Phoenix asked.

"There are traces of, at least, ten people's DNA, but that's probably due to accidental touches. She goes to high school and anyone could have touched the backpack." Ema responded. "Even though, if there were fingerprints, it would be impossible to extract them. The backpack was contaminated by the litter."

After that, it was time for Iris' room. First, they showed the bed and some hairs found in it, zoomed in with a microscope.

"Here we found Iris's hair and cat's hair." Maya pointed to the hair picture. "The cat is a common species, gray."

"Iris doesn't have a cat," Apollo pointed out.

"Maybe she had petted a street cat or a friend's." Gumshoe theorized. "My kids are always trying to bring cats home."

"Or the kidnapped has a cat," Ema suggested. "Iris was wearing her pajamas. If she touched a street cat, those hairs would be in her regular clothes, but probably not on the bed. And she might have washed her hands before dinner. At least she brought it home, which we can assume didn't happen. Also, by the analysis, we found it is a cat that's been vaccinated."

"So, the kidnapper has a cat. Well, that's better than nothing." Mia said. "Girls, please continue."

The next picture was Iris's book. "We found nothing special in the book, but in the window..." The window was shown. "We found soil, probably from the garden. But, also traces of asphalt, grass, and paint. The same substances were on the floor. We assume they are from the kidnapper's shoes. There are no fingerprints or footprints. They cleaned the window and wore gloves."

"The asphalt and the grass are explainable. But the paint is what stands out. We know what kind of paint?" Phoenix asked.

"Synthetic, color blue. I could send it to Quantico and try to find the brand. By now, we know it is the kind of paint used in houses or furniture." Maya explained.

"This is all we have, I am afraid," Ema concluded. "We wished we had more. But the kidnapper seems to be very clever."

"I insist; This is very helpful info, thank you for your hard job, girls," Mia said with a big smile. She then looked at Phoenix. "Y'all should tell us what you found today so we can plan our next moves."

The FBI Agent nodded. Maya and Ema turned off the computer and sat down after turning the lights on. Phoenix stood in front of everyone. He looked at Miles, waiting for him to join, but the Inspector moved his hand like he was telling the FBI agent: "I'll let you do it." Phoenix nodded slightly. Confidently, he explained their trip to Jackson. How they found out about Regina and Penny's relationship and Ms. Nichols's confession. He omitted the part of the fight, Miles appreciated that. Then, Phoenix told them how Apollo started looking for any kind of relationship between the three girls.

"There is a lot of info, I know, but if we work together, maybe we will find something. I think it would be useful to go to Warm Springs and talk to Iris's friends. If the girls knew each other somehow, concreting the kidnapper's profile would be easier. Also, Apollo already has a theory."

The apprentice smiled and stood up too. "When I was young I remember going to summer camps. Maybe the victims went together to some kind of camp, day trip, journey... An obsessive instructor could be a potential profile."

"It is a good theory," Mia said and stood up. With her arms in her waist. "Okay, then. Tomorrow we will come back and work as hard as we can. You can leave now, please rest."

Kay stood up quickly and went next to Ema. "Wanna grab dinner?"

"Of course!" The forensic said exited while picking up her things. "I am soooo hungry."

"We should grab dinner together," Maya suggested. "I am craving a cheeseburger and spicy noodles!"

Miles left the room quietly and walked to his office. He took some files to bring home and put them in his bag. The inspector thought about how he felt about the results. He made an effort to help a desperate man keep things calm with Penny's parents, but, in the end, the lie was meaningless. At least, they had a physical clue that the two first girls knew each other. Miles still felt bad about the fight, but maybe just forgetting about it would be the solution. He was determined to solve the case and Phoenix's presence could not be an obstacle to that.

"Edgeworth." Phoenix's voice surprised him. The FBI agent was at his door. "What do you think?"

"About what, exactly?." He asked, closing the drawer

"The results."

Miles approached the door and Phoenix moved to let him get out and close the office. "Be more specific, Wright." He said while locking the door.

Phoenix observed him. "Regina and Penny's photo."

"Useful," Miles answered and put the keys in his bag. "Mr. Nichols has to tell us the truth now."

"The cat hair?"

"Our guy is a cat person, I guess." Miles turned around and crossed his arms on his chest. "Why you ask? I am sure you have already plenty of theories and conclusions out of the minimal info that we have."

"Of course I do."

Miles sighed and started walking through the hallway, leaving. "We have nothing, Wright. Just a chaos of clues and testimonies that leads us to nowhere."

"Why so pessimistic?" Phoenix asked, following him.

"I am not pessimistic, I am realistic." The inspector turned around again and faced the FBI agent. The proximity felt weird. "Wright, I have to go, bother me tomorrow."

Phoenix looked at him and stepped back. "Good night, then"

Miles sighed again. "Good night."

After two weeks of trips to Jackson and Warm Springs, they had nothing new. The paint results revealed it came from a multinational brand with various locations in Georgia, so getting something out of that was nearly impossible. Mr. Nichols finally recognized that he had lied and told them that he had picked up Penny from Regina's cousin's birthday party. Talking with the teachers was not useful either because none of them noticed weird behavior in any of the girls, and there was no relation between the schools' activities. Between the work days, they had two for rest. The team was tired, and desperate to find something. Phoenix continued to check files on his computer. Regina's crush, Billie Jones "Max" was a freshman in college. He was in Duke, Virginia, thanks to an arts scholarship. Max was in Jackson when Regina was kidnapped but left in August, before Penny's abduction. He was at the birthday party that night and left right after Regina. Going to North Carolina would be too much for Edgeworth? Phoenix thought.

"Wright."

The agent heard the inspector's voice. When he raised his head, Phoenix saw him in front of his desk. Miles looked calm, with no knit brows, and no tight jaw. He started at him for a few seconds.

"Did your brain finally explode or something?" The inspector asked. He then heard a little giggle coming from Apollo.

"What?" Phoenix asked, confused when he suddenly was taken out of his thoughts.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Have you guys finished the report I asked for?"

Apollo and Phoenix look at each other.

"You haven't." Miles assumed. "You are truly a disaster, Wright…"

"Mr. Edgeworth, I forgot," Apollo explained. "I didn't have lunch today and I am tired."

The inspector looked at both of them. "And you haven't eaten either?" He asked Phoenix and the FBI Agent shook his head. "You should get something, Wright. Starving would affect your work. And ehm... Apollo needs to eat, he is young."

"But, I am twenty-five…" Apollo thought. He looked at them, confused, but also surprised. That situation was new. Was Mr. Edgeworth worried about his mentor?

"Yeah... I promised Maya that we would get dinner early."

Miles nodded. Phoenix thought the inspector was going to say something else, but he didn't and went back to his office. Why was the Inspector worried about them not eating when he almost did not eat himself? Phoenix still did not understand Miles. In the past couple of weeks, they've spent whole days together, but their dynamic had not changed at all. Phoenix had been observing the inspector. Somehow everyone seemed to like Miles, even though he was quiet and serious most of the time. He was determined to find out why. But, by now, Phoenix knew Miles still didn't want him there, so everything he could do was try to work and avoid any fights.

Miles closed the door and approached the window. The sky was becoming overcast by the grey clouds. The morning reports announced that the rainy season would start sooner this year because of a sudden temperature drop after a hot summer. A big storm was about to hit north of Georgia in a few hours and curfew had been announced by the local government. In the station, they had been working since early in the morning because they might have to leave at any moment, and probably the next day would be a rest day. He liked those days, the rain made him feel nostalgic for his hometown. Miles sat on his chair and kept writing that week's reports. The inspector finally got used to the FBI agent's presence. But, Phoenix hated him and Miles was aware of that. He had also noticed how he had been looking at him like he was trying to control everything he did. That was annoying. If he showed concern, it was because he worried about how Phoenix behaved at work, nothing else. Miles would never admit that his empathy was so big that even reached the FBI agent.

"Mr. Edgeworth." Apollo's voice made him raise his head. "I am going to the coffee shop, want anything?"

"No, thanks. If you want anything, I can go."

Apollo smiled. "Mr. Edgeworth, you always go. Sure you don't want at least a tea?"

"Mmm… Tea sounds nice. Here." Miles lent him his reusable cup. "Take my cup. I want an Earl Grey, no sugar, please."

"Heard, sir." The young agent said after he took the cup.

When Apollo left, Miles smiled. He liked Phoenix's apprentice.

Apollo took the elevator and left the police station. He checked his mind list: a cappuccino for himself, a black coffee for Mr. Wright, and an Earl Grey for Mr. Edgeworth. Apollo felt the cold air hitting his face and running through his shirt. He raised his head and saw that the sky was getting darker. Atlanta's streets were practically empty: the people walking around were heading home and very few cars passed by. The citizens took the curfew seriously. When he arrived at the regular coffee shop, it was closed. Apollo felt disappointed, but he thought maybe because of the storm, they had to close. He was about to go back, but he noticed another café across the street with the lights on. "The Rock Boy Café" was written on the sign. Apollo crossed the road and came in. The coffee shop decoration was minimalistic, with a scale of greens and whites. The yellow lights and the wood furniture gave a cozy vibe. There was no one else. Apollo approached the bar. On the counter, some pastries were shining through the glass.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Comin'!" A masculine voice responded. Then, a blond man with tan skin and deep blue eyes appeared from the back and smiled at him. "What can I do for you?"

Apollo stared at him for a few seconds. "Woah, he is cute… "He thought.

"Um…" Don't be nervous, Apollo. "Can I get a hot cappuccino? Also, a hot Americano and an Earl Grey tea? The tea has to be sugar-free and served in this cup, please."

The barista looked at the cup that Apollo lent him. It was a light brown plant-based cup with green details. "Picky boss, uh?" He joked and picked up the cup.

"I guess he is." Apollo giggled. He then leaned on the bar, placing both arms on the top. "Why are you still open? The other establishments had closed already due to the storm."

"We opened recently, and I can't afford to close in the afternoons. I was about to go, tho. But you showed up." The blond guy said while making the drinks. "I should ask you the same. Why are you still working? The storm is about to blow up."

"I work at the police station across the street. We are busy with a case, but I guess we will leave soon."

"Uuuh… So, you're a cop." The barista said with interest.

"A federal agent." Apollo tried to impress him.

The barista smiled and placed a basket made of cardboard on the counter so Apollo could carry the drinks. "Can I have your name, agent?"

"My name?" He asked, nervous.

"For the cup."

"Ah! Yeah… Apollo."

The blond guy repeated it in a lower voice while he wrote it in the cappuccino cup. Then, he placed everything and handed it over to Apollo. "Here's your order, Agent Apollo."

The young agent smiled. "Thank you. Ehm… What's your name?"

The barista smiled back. "Klavier."

Apollo entered Miles' office with a big smile. His cheeks were still red. The inspector looked at him when he received his tea. "Thank you. You good?"

"For now on, Mr. Edgeworth, I believe we should go to the cafe across the street. It is better."

Miles was confused, but he contained a laugh when he saw the young agent so excited. "Alright then."

When Apollo left, Miles smelled his tea. It smelled good, like a good quality one. He waited a few minutes. When he tasted it, the inspector knew Apollo was right: that coffee shop was undoubtedly superior. He kept working while drinking his tea, but not even thirty minutes passed when Mia showed up. "Y'all, we got to start to get to gettin'. It is blowing up a storm out there, and it will hit sooner than we thought."

As soon as Miles heard that, he stretched his arms and turned off his computer. He yawned softly and then started to pick up his things. He could not wait to arrive home.

"Hey, Miles!" Kay said, entering his office. "Can you carry me to your house?"

"Yeah, sure." He answered and turned off his lamp. "But, why so sudden?"

"My roommate is having her boyfriend over. And also it has been a while since we don't have a sleepover you and I."

"I already told you." Miles walked through the door. "You can come and live with me."

"I know, I know... But your neighbor is plum crazy". Kay followed him after he closed the door.

"One day, I will end up adopting you." He joked. "So you could take care of me when I am old."

Kay giggled. She looked at how the FBI agents were also picking up their things. "Yo', can we invite Apollo?

Miles knit his brows and kept walking. "No."

"Why?" Kay asked with a childish tone. "I'll be fun."

"Because it is my house, maybe? And I know that inviting Apollo means inviting everyone."

Kay rolled her eyes. "You're boring." But then, she smiled. "Y'all living, Mr. Wright?"

Miles opened his mouth, but it was too late to stop the young detective. Phoenix and Apollo approached them.

"Yep," Apollo said. "Are you taking the sub with the storm?"

"Nah. Tonight I am making company to this old guy, he is scared of storms."

"You invited yourself to my house, Detective Faraday," Miles said. He noticed how Phoenix was looking at him, so he looked away and crossed his arms.

"Anyways, he won't let me invite you, so we could make a video call later. You up?"

"Sounds lit! At nine?"

At that moment, both Phoenix and Miles felt like those parents who waited for their kids to plan the next time they would see each other.

The rain started as they arrived at Miles' apartment. Kay was already wearing her pajamas while Miles cooked dinner. She confessed in the car that she had the sleepover planned since the storm was announced in the morning. She knew that Miles did not need to be anticipated because he was always willing to have her over. When they arrived, he opened the couch, placed clean blankets and pillows, and gave her a pair of sleepers. Kay knew she was chaotic, but Miles' patience helped her to balance. The young detective was sitting in a chair, looking above the kitchen aisle at how Miles cooked.

"What are you making?"

Miles was wearing a black apron over a white T-shirt and green checkered pajama pants. He cut meticulously the carrots. "Summer stew."

"With tomatoes?"

"With lots of tomatoes."

Kay's belly growled after that response. The aroma of Italian herbs and tomato paste invaded the kitchen in question of minutes. The young detective settled the table and then sat down. She was on her phone while waiting for dinner. Around twenty minutes later, Miles put the steaming pot on the table with a silver ladle in it. He served the stew in both bowls and then sat down in front of Kay. Then, she put her phone away and smelled her plate.

"Smells incredible." She said.

Miles just smiled. "Thank you. Hope you enjoy."

Miles silently listened to Kay speak about her roommate and Ema while they had dinner.

"By the way, have you reconciled with the New York guy? You two are together all the time." Kay said, curious.

Miles sighed. "We work together, remember?"

"Yeah, but you like him?"

"I… tolerate him. He hates me."

"I'll tell you what." Kay drank some beer she had taken from Miles' fridge. "He feels the same."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah."

Kay giggled. "You're in denial."

"Let's just change the subject. Have you asked Ema out yet?"

She blushed. "Hey! Don't twist the conversation on me!

When they finished, the young detective's belly felt stuffed. She had eaten two whole bowls of stew and left the pot empty.

"If your neighbor wasn't nuts, I would come live here ASAP." She said, leaning back in the chair. "Your food is always fire."

Miles smiled and started to gather up. He washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. After, he took off the apron. He did not like to get his clothes dirty while cooking, eating, or washing the dishes, so he wore the apron as much as he could. Also, it made him feel like an actual chef. Miles went to the living room and Kay was already on the couch playing games on her laptop. He approached the window and saw a flash of lightning crossing the sky, followed by thunder. The rain had stopped, but the storm was above the city and the wind had started to rise. Even the windows were starting to tremble.

"I am about to call Apollo. Wanna stay?"

"I don't know if the signal would hold up stable much. You guys should probably just text each other"

"You shy to talk with Agent Wright off work?"

Miles turned around and knit his brows. "No. I am just saying…"

"Maybe he sleeps shirtless."

"What?" Miles asked, stunned by the unexpected piece of information his brain just received.

"You imagined it?" Kay asked. Oh, she was having fun.

Miles hesitated. He had and he was trying to delete that mental image from his mind.

"No." He denied it and then left to brush his teeth.

Kay giggled. She loved to tease Miles.

Apollo and Maya were also wearing their pajamas. They had moved to Phoenix's room to spend the night, thankfully the couches were big enough to sleep on them. As soon as they arrived at the hotel, they both had dinner. Phoenix told Apollo that when he finished, they should go to the hotel's gym. There were almost no people staying for that week and they had to take advantage of that and practice self-defense. So they've been working out alone at night for the past few days. After an intense combination of strength and cardio workout, they went to Phoenix's room. Maya was already there watching a TV Show. Apollo showered first, and now was sitting on the couch next to the forensic.

"Kay just texted," Maya said, showing Apollo her phone. "Give me the laptop."

Apollo did so. Maya turned it on and then she logged on to Skype.

"Nick, we are calling Kay now!" She warned him. He was in the shower and probably did not hear it. When Kay appeared on the screen, they both waved. "Hey Kay!"

"Hi, y'all." She said. "How ya' doing? Did you have dinner?"

"Yeah, we ate pasta. But we are waiting for room service, Apollo and Nick have to eat. Ya' know, gym bros." Maya said and made Kay giggle.

"Where's Mr. Edgeworth?" Apollo asked.

"He is hiding. And Mr. Wright?"

"Showering."

Phoenix came out of the bathroom wearing a white tank top and blue pajama pants. "Who are you talking to?" He asked while dying his hair with a towel.

"With Kay," Apollo said and Maya turned the screen so he could see her.

"Hi, Mr. Wright!"

"Hi, Detective Faraday." The agent approached the laptop and waved to her.

Miles came back to the living room. "Kay, I am going to sleep."

"Come and say hi first."

He approached the couch and looked at the screen. When he saw Phoenix, Miles felt a bit awkward. "Oh. Hi, Wright."

"Edgeworth! Hi." Phoenix smiled. "Going to bed already?"

"Yeah… I am uh… tired."

Maya, Apollo, and Kay observed the interaction. After some silence, Miles looked at Kay. "If you need something, I'm in my room. Have fun." Miles said and waved at Maya and Apollo. Then, he went back to his room.

"Good night, Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya and Apollo said.

"I will be in the hallway," Phoenix said. He took his phone out of his pocket and left the room.

"They are so weird," Maya said. "I think they don't notice how similar they are."

"I know," Kay said. "They would figure it out."

"Anyway… Apollo flirted with a guy today!" Maya screamed with enthusiasm.

Kay dropped her jaw. "No shit! Tell me everything!"

They talked for about two hours. Apollo had his second dinner: a Caesar salad. For a while, Phoenix was also there, eating, but he did not join the conversation. Once he finished, he brought the plates to the door and left again. Around 11 p.m., the rain started again, but this time the thunderstorm was hitting hard. Suddenly, the screen froze. Maya hit some buttons, but Kay would not be back.

"Maybe she had a blackout." Apollo looked at his phone. "There's no signal."

"We will call her in the morning." Maya turned off the laptop. "She will be fine. Luckily, she's at Mr. Edgeworth's house."

"I was talking with Athena and the call got cut off." Phoenix came back. "Do you have signal?"

Apollo shook his head. "Nope. Kay even got a blackout. Were you able to talk to the superintendent?"

Phoenix nodded. "I talked to Andrews before dinner. I updated her about the case."

"Did she… say something?" Apollo asked.

"Same as always: Keep it on and don't fuck up."

"I am going to bed," Maya said, yawning. She placed her hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "I'm sure that Ms. Andrews is satisfied, Nick. Don't overthink it."

Suddenly, the lights went off. Kay tried to refresh the page. But, swearing at the screen and hitting buttons would not fix the problem. There was a blackout in the building. She turned the computer off and went to Miles' room. Her eyes got easily used to the dark. Every few seconds, a lighting illuminated everything, but just for an instant. The Inspector was sitting on the bed, legs crossed. He was wearing his glasses and a bunch of files were spread in the sheets. To be able to read, he was using a tiny flashlight.

"Weren't you gonna sleep?"

"Logic does not sleep. A new idea came to my brain and it fits in my theory". Miles looked at Kay and pointed at her with the light. "Did you have fun?"

"I was having fun." Kay blinked as the light hurt her eyes. "Until the lights went off."

"Shit happens," Miles said and returned to his reading. Kay approached the bed and took the file off from his hands.

"It is time for bed, Dad." She joked.

Miles chuckled. "Fine." He took off his glasses and organized the files on his nightstand. "Good night, Kay."

"Good night." She said with a smile and went to the living room. With the sound of the rain, she fell asleep quickly.

Around 4 a.m., Miles received a call. The storm had not ended, it was still raining pretty heavily. With his eyes closed, he answered the phone.

"Inspector Miles Edgeworth."

"Inspector, sorry for bothering you." It was Jackson's Sheriff. After the pause, Miles heard a long sigh. "We found a body."