It took Athena a little bit of time and more than a little effort, but she regained her composure. As she stood up straight at the witness stand, Apollo's vision nearly tore from her towards Clay.

What am I missing here? There was another murder involved at the same place as Director Cosmos'? That's so improbable...but not quite out of the question, I guess. What happened back then? How was Athena involved? Is it in any way connected to this...

"That is Miss Cykes' testimony, in exact form, reported word for word at the request of the time-eating defense." Simon's voice was tight. "Fool Bright! Distribute the autopsy reports!"

"Happy too!"

Apollo did not bother to lift his head as the copy of the autopsy report was slapped down on his stand. He read it over. There were several lines, but there were only two that mattered.

Cause of Death: Stab wound

Death was instantaneous.

"The facts of the report are clear. Cosmos died from a single stab wound from a knife." Apollo did his best to keep himself composed, despite the fear Blackquill managed to put in his heart. "And Clay Terran was the culprit."

"OBJECTION!"

Apollo slammed a fist on the table. "I don't see any direct evidence linking the body to my client."

Athena shook her head. "I believe I talked about the phone system before."

"What of it?"

"I called everyone who I knew who would be in the center that day. The only person I was not able to reach was C...Mr. Terran, who was supposed to be in the loading dock for the day. And I tried multiple times."

"He was not there?"

"Of course not." For once Blackquill had an expression other than a scowl; it was a smirk.

"I believe my other witness can help shed light on this. Judge, I would like to summon Aura Blackquill."

The Space Center had been given a thorough inspection, with each room searched.

But as Kay Faraday knew, there was always some room for error.

She weaved through rooms, letting her eyes scan her surroundings. She knew she had an extended warrant, and so did Edgeworth. It could not hurt to be thorough here.

She put a hand to another door, having already mentally checked off the main lobby, kitchen, and dressing room. A push gave her access to the landing dock. After taking a few steps, she looked down.

There was a small lighter, colored a plain white. On one side was a little picture of a ringed planet. Almost anyone who wandered on this item would have dismissed it as a curiosity. Kay would have too, if it were not for the rules and regulations she had memorized.

The management, in particular the late Captain Cosmos, had been very specific: no unaccounted firestarters. All the information had been in the logbooks.

Kay had plastic gloves on, but only as an extra precaution. She pulled out a pair of thin pliers, scooping up the lighter.

Another clue in the bag...another rush towards the finish line...

Aura Blackquill was a tall woman, with long hair tied behind her head. Curiously, she did not wear a jacket or jumpsuit, as Apollo had expected. Rather, she wore a dark yellow kimono, with a wide belt colored with midnight blue. Her eyes, darting from side to side behind her pale pink visor, seemed to stay on Athena a bit too long. She nearly stumbled into the witness stand before righting herself and settling down behind it. She took a deep breath, and then looked towards Prosecutor Blackquill.

"Simon, I..."

"Name. Occupation. Please." Blackquill's words dropped like stones. He watched the woman as she resigned to the and did her best to clear her throat.

"Aura Blackquill, head of security."

On cure, and without prompting, she delivered her testimony.

"We had planned to recover the Hope Capsule that day and retrieve the moon rocks inside of it. They were very rare, very valuable, so we took every possible precaution. There was a blackout, and the Hope Capsule went missing for a time."

Apollo pointed at the witness. "So, you believe my client caused the blackout to steal the moon rocks, and that he killed the director because the man got in his way?"

"Yes. Off-world treasures could net you a pretty penny, especially to foreign organizations."

"And how would you know my client even knew how to cause such a blackout?"

"We have solar panels on the roof. If they are in any way damaged or disabled, we have a Plan B...in the form of a diesel fuel generator below the center. The failsafe did not work on the day of the murder. My only thing I can think of is that the extra generator was tampered with. Only someone who knew the center inside and out would be able to pull that off."

Apollo grit his teeth. This hard case was going to be even harder.

-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 42; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.