A/N: The second investigation will have it's second half this chapter! The rest of the clues in this case will be given to everyone. However, first a certain enigmatic person has something to say. Enjoy, my fair readers!

February 24, 2029

Beauty of the Breeze flower shop

3:00 p.m.

As Hugh and Juniper entered the flower ship, it looked much the same as last time: The petals of different flowers floated around them, and the giant fans running also chilled the interior of the place.

"So. You've returned here." A voice behind them suddenly said.

Turning around, Hugh caught the sight of a familiar hat-obscured face, dressed in her uniform as usual. "It's you again. Robin told us your name is Bailey."

"Knowledge of my name is acceptable, as long as you lack knowledge of my visage," Bailey said. "After all, it would be the least of what you do not know."

"You keep saying that we "don't know'," Juniper said. "But what is it that we don't know? Why aren't you just telling us?"

"...I fear for the future if someone like you is in the legal system. Someone who can't accomplish anything on her own," Bailey said, her head turning towards Juniper. "And someone that can't see what's right there."

"What?! Why are you… *cough cough*" Juniper closed her eyes as she started coughing.

Hugh narrowed his eyes at Bailey, but with her face hidden he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Yet, Hugh got the feeling that Bailey harbored bitter feelings towards Juniper in particular- he just didn't know why.

"So are you going to say anything useful, or are you going to just spout more cryptic words that mean nothing?" Hugh asked coldly. "We're here following a lead in a case."

"Perchance, do you mean the blossoms that the erstwhile actor bought from here?" Bailey said. "So sad that they never reached their intended recipient- cruel fate stopped the blossoms' path cold."

Those words stopped Hugh cold- if he understood them correctly, Bailey was saying that Miss Moon never received the bluebell flowers from Mr. Scene. This was very important information.

"...So you can be helpful when you want to be. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Hugh said.

Bluebell flowers updated in the Court Record.

Since Bailey was here, there was something else that Hugh wanted to know. "I assume that you're working with Robin on this case. May I ask something else?"

"You're free to do as you wish. Just as I'm free to do what I wish," Bailey answered.

"I have a feeling that there's more to Emmett Strong than meets the eye. I already have my suspicions, but I'll ask anyways: What is the exact nature of his relationship with Miss Moon?"

"The manager and the actress… the former seeking roles, and the latter embracing them," Bailey said, turning her back to them. "In that regard, Mr. Strong is the most devout manager that I've ever seen."

"After today's trial, I'm not so sure about that," Hugh said, adjusting his glasses. "This is the first leading role that he's ever gotten for Miss Moon. Why is that?"

"You're thinking of it the wrong way. This is the first leading role that Mr. Strong finally landed for Miss Moon," Bailey said, looking up. "Some could call it a miracle. But behind the miracle is sweat, blood and tears. Behind that miracle, is the profile of a man begging for a single audition, day after day."

"...! So that's Mr. Strong's true nature. I knew it." For most of this case, Mr. Strong hid behind an indifferent facade. But during the trial earlier today, Hugh got a peek of how Mr. Strong was really like. It was more important than ever to confront him at some point.

"If that will be everything, I will take my leave…" Bailey started to step away.

"*cough cough* Bailey, I don't know why you're so mistrusting, but I want to change that," Juniper said suddenly, clutching at her chest. "I believe we can work together and solve this case. We're both Robin's friends, so-"

"Friends? You call yourself Robin's friend?" Bailey looked behind herself at Juniper. "Miss Woods, I want you to consider one thing, and one thing only. How can you be friends with someone… you know nothing about? You only met Robin a little over four moons ago, after all."

Then, Bailey shined her flashlight into Juniper and Hugh's eyes, and in the next second, she was gone.

Hugh could only stand there, stunned, as he considered the implications of the last thing that Bailey said.

"We only met Robin four months ago? Does Bailey mean when we learned that Robin was a girl?" Juniper asked, clutching her proof of friendship.

"Don't take what she said so seriously. Our friendship with Robin can't be summed up by something so arbitrary," Hugh said in his best reassuring tone. "It's because we're best friends that we're able to work in court to find the truth."

It seemed like Juniper wasn't entirely convinced, because she kept rubbing her proof of friendship. Meanwhile, all Hugh could do was look at the door where Bailey must have walked out of.

Just when Hugh thought he finally understood Bailey a little, she threw out such a venomous accusation. At the first chance, Hugh would contact Myriam to tell her about Bailey. They needed to learn more about her.

February 24, 2029

Detention Center

3:30 p.m.

Before they could advance their investigation, Hugh needed Miss Moon's permission to investigate her dressing room. So he stopped by the detention center to visit his client.

What he did not expect was for Mr. Strong to be visiting as well. Except there didn't seem to be much conversation happening- Mr. Strong and Miss Moon weren't looking at each other, and a tense silence hung in the air.

"Excuse me? I have questions for the both of you," Hugh said, which caused both their gazes to turn towards him.

"...I definitely have nothing more to say to him, that's for sure," Miss Moon said.

"..If that's how you really feel, Miss Moon, then I will not object to your wishes," Mr. Strong said quietly.

Maybe first I should take care of this misunderstanding.

"Miss Moon, what did Mr. Strong tell you about how he got you this role?" Hugh asked. The answer to this question would decide a lot.

"Mr. Strong called me up one afternoon to tell that I had an audition for an upcoming movie," Miss Moon said. "And it turned out to be 'The Thrill of the Chase'. I, of course, earned the role with my well practiced acting skills."

"I don't doubt that, Miss Moon. But do you know how Mr. Strong got you that rehearsal?" When Mr. Strong's eyes widened, Hugh knew he was on the right track. "From what I've heard, Mr. Strong begged to Global Studios for that one audition for you."

Starlight stood up so abruptly that she accidently knocked her chair over. "Emmett, is this true?"

Mr. Strong put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, sighing. "I am your manager, Miss Moon. Even as I find you roles to act in, I am also meant to keep our relationship purely professional."

"You've said that over and over again, Mr. Strong. But you've never explained why you keep this distance from Miss Moon," Hugh said. "If there's ever a time to explain yourself, it's now."

At first, Mr. Strong didn't say anything. In this silence, Miss Moon said, "My attorneys told me yesterday that I've behaved… badly towards you. But I've always thought that we were close enough that you knew I didn't mean it." Tears began to form in Miss Moon's eyes. "You're my manager, but you're also one of my closest friends."

"No, you can't speak like that. One day, Global Studios is sure to assign me another actor. So I can't allow myself to be anything more than your manager," Mr. Strong said, even as his voice shook.

"Don't give me that!" Miss Moon yelled, slamming her hands down. "We've been through so many movies… you've been with me since my very first role. This is the time when I need you the most. So why are you still pushing me away?"

"Truth be told, I was unsure if Mr. O'Conner and Miss Woods would be able to prove your innocence. In fact, as I explained in court earlier, I even doubted your innocence for a moment," Mr. Strong confessed, taking his hands out of his pockets to ball them into fists. "I'm furious at myself for being so unprofessional."

"Emmett, forget about being professional! Just for a moment, stop being my manager," Miss Moon said. "And tell me honestly. Do you believe I'm innocent?"

For the first time, Mr. Strong looked directly at Miss Moon, his eyes meeting her eyes. "If I were to speak personally, Starlight, then I do believe that you are innocent."

"There, was that so hard, you stubborn old man," Miss Moon said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Although I admit I haven't appreciated you as much as I should have either."

"It looks like Mr. Strong and Miss Moon have finally settled their differences," Juniper said, a relieved smile on her face.

"Yes. Now we should all be on the same side, and we can all focus on catching the true culprit," Hugh said.

"Of course. I assume that you've made progress in your investigation," Mr. Strong said, assuming his professional demeanor once again.

It's a good thing both of them are here- I don't want to have to explain all of this twice.

"First of all, both the rehearsal and the movie set seemed to have all been a trap," Hugh said. He explained about the hidden knife rigged to stab Mr. Scene.

"...I had my suspicions before, but now I'm really starting to believe Director Shine's behind this," Miss Moon said. "After all, she did change the script out of nowhere a few days ago."

"But why would Director Shine want to kill Mr. Scene? I see no benefit to murdering one of the lead actors of her movie," Mr. Strong said. "And framing you, Miss Moon, would essentially sink this movie."

This was true. Motive was the one area where Hugh was stuck when it came to thinking of Glinda Shine as the killer. "As it happens, when I interviewed Director Shine she was talking on the phone. And I overheard her talking about holding auditions."

"This was not mentioned to me," Mr. Strong said, narrowing his eyes. "So if this is about 'The Thrill of the Chase', then Director Shine is acting as if Miss Moon has already been found guilty."

"It's far from decisive proof of anything, but I am definitely keeping that in mind," Hugh said.

"Oh, we haven't mentioned this to you yet, Miss Moon," Juniper said. "But on the day of the murder, did anyone give you flowers?"

"Huh? No, I didn't receive flowers from anyone," Miss Moon said. "Was someone supposed to give me flowers?"

"Actually, we learned that on the day of the murder, Mr. Scene bought you a bouquet of bluebell flowers," Juniper explained. "The flowers themselves have disappeared, except for one found in the rigged movie set."

"Mr. Scene bought me those flowers?!" Miss Moon exclaimed, clutching at her chest. "I never saw him with them. Of course, I don't think I ever saw Mr. Scene alive the day of the murder."

This more or less confirms what Bailey was saying back at the flower shop. That's good to know.

"I remember you telling us you wanted to do the pivotal scene of the movie in one take, to prove to Mr. Scene that you were just as good an actor," Juniper suddenly said.

"Yes, what about that?" Miss Moon asked.

"This is just my guess. But the only reason I can think that Mr. Scene would buy that bouquet of flowers for you is because he believed you'd be able to do that scene," Juniper said. "So I think Mr. Scene's always believed in your acting ability."

"...I'll never know for sure if you're right, Miss Woods," Miss Moon said. Then Miss Moon stood up as straight as she could. "But as soon as my innocence is proven, I will put my entire being into perfecting my role for 'Thrill of the Chase'. From one actor to another, that is what I can do for Mr. Scene."

After hearing this exchange, Hugh could begin to see the central contradiction in this case: There was certainly motive to frame Miss Moon, and perhaps even murder her. But there was no discernible motive to harm Mr. Scene, much less murder him in such an elaborate fashion.

"I hope to wrap up this investigation soon. But there's one last area that I haven't checked yet," Hugh said. "And that's your dressing room, Miss Moon. Do I have your permission to investigate inside?"

"You do, Mr. O'Conner. But I must ask that you leave investigating my closet to Miss Woods," Miss Moon said.

"You can leave that to me!" Juniper exclaimed.

February 24, 2029

Global Studios filming lot

4:00 p.m.

As they entered the movie studio, they spotted a person they hadn't seen in a while- Icarus Iscariot, who seemed to be studying the cliffside set.

"Mr. Iscariot! What are you doing here?" Hugh called out to the man.

Icarus turned on the heels of his feet, facing Hugh and Juniper. "Alas, I feel as if it's been a fortnight since I've laid eyes on you."

"It's only been a day." Still, it was true that Icarus had been scarce throughout this investigation, and Hugh knew nothing about him as a result. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"If it's only a few. I've been summoned by Miss Moon's bane to be her blade," Mr. Iscariot said.

"Oh, so do you mean that Robin's called you to be a witness?" Juniper asked.

When Icarus nodded in response, Hugh was taken aback. He'd barely started questioning him, while Robin seemingly had already done so, and was going to have Mr. Iscariot appear in court tomorrow.

"Correct. For the briefest of moments, I saw something. And as much as it pains me, it will be what sends her to the stocks," Mr. Iscariot said.

"My first question is related to that. What did you do on the day of the crime, Mr. Iscariot?" Hugh asked.

"As the understudy, I was not invited to the rehearsal. But I had my own business in this studio, so I arrived earlier enough to care of said interests," Mr. Iscariot said. "My hope was to leave before it started. But on the way to the dressing room, I saw that fateful moment. As much as I want to tell you now, the prosecutor asked me to wait for tomorrow."

"Robin's not going to make this easy for me, isn't she?" Hugh smirked. "It's not like I expected anything less."

"Wasn't it mentioned in court that you watched the rehearsal? If you had other business, why did you stay in the studio?" Juniper asked, tugging at one of her pigtails.

"Director Shine asked this understudy to watch the rehearsal, and how could this understudy refuse," Mr. Iscariot said, covering his face with his right hand. "I could not expect for Mr. Scene to meet the bloody end that he did."

Once again, Hugh couldn't see anything immediately wrong with these statements. Trying another angle, Hugh said, "As Mr. Scene's understudy, how did you see him?"

"Do you know how man reaches for the sun? Do you know how we yearn to fly? That is how it is," Mr. Iscariot said, reaching his hand upwards. "Mr. Scene was a man permanently out of my reach. I could only stand in the shadow that he cast. Yet stand in that shadow I did, honing my craft quietly…"

Could this… could this finally be be an introduction of a motive? It's hard to understand what Mr. Iscariot is saying… but it's possible that he has a motive.

"How about Miss Moon? You worked alongside her too, didn't you?" Hugh asked.

"That ambitious woman, just as grand as her namesake," Icarus said, now clenching his hand in a fist. "Miss Moon is a talented actress, to be sure. But her green eyes shine with a desperation… perhaps the very desperation that caused all of this.

Hugh was not surprised to hear Mr. Iscariot pin everything on on Miss Moon. Still, this questioning had unearthed some new, critical information. Finally, Hugh could see the faint shape of this case's truth take shape.

"I have one more question. On the day of the murder, how did Mr. Scene look to you?" Hugh asked, watching Mr. Iscariot carefully.

Icarus stopped his posing, standing completely straight. "Mr. Scene was every inch the actor that he always was. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"I see. Thank you for talking with us," Hugh said. "I'll save the rest of my questions for court tomorrow."

"Fate has put us on irreconcilable sides. But we must fulfill the roles that we've been assigned. So I bear you no ill will." As soon as he finished saying that, Mr. Iscariot exited the movie studio.

"I suppose if Mr. Iscariot had to exit stage left, that was the line to do it on," Juniper said.

Hugh chuckled at Juniper's joke. "Meeting Mr. Iscariot was unexpected, but now we have a good idea of how we want to approach the trial tomorrow. But we still need to do what we came here for."

February 24, 2029

Global Studios filming lot, Starlight Moon's dressing room

4:10 p.m.

As they entered the dressing room, Hugh's eyes were blinded by the bright, colorful costumes that were draped around the place.

"Miss Moon seems to be rather messy," Juniper noted as she looked around. Aside from the costumes, there was a large mirror, and the expected assortment of makeup. Then Juniper noted something.

"This dresser… it looks like there's supposed to be something here," Juniper said, putting her finger on a pale spot on the dresser.

"I think I know what's supposed to be there. Look over here, Juniper."

Juniper looked over to where Hugh was pointed, and saw that on the floor was a statuette covered in blood. "Ah! Come to think of it, didn't the autopsy report mention a head wound on Mr. Scene?"

"Yes. This entire case, we didn't have an explanation for it. But it looks like now we do."

Award filed to the Court Record

Autopsy Report updated in the Court Record

Just looking at the statuette, Hugh noticed something- there was an area on the award where a plaque was supposed to be, but it wasn't there. "We found this in Miss Moon's room, but that doesn't mean that it belonged to her, right?"

"Right. Considering what we saw earlier, this award could have been from Director Shine's office" Juniper said, thinking about the collection of rewards on her desk. "So will that be all for our investigation?"

That looks to be the case. Let's go back to the office." Hugh said.

Right now, there are two suspects for Mr. Scene's murder: Icarus Iscariot, and Glinda Shine. I don't know which of them is the true culprit. But at least one of them is putting on a grand act. And I'm going to expose them in court tomorrow!

To be continued.

A/N: We will return to court next chapter. Hugh and Juniper are on the trail of the real killer. Just who is behind this murderous production? I look forward to seeing everyone's theories. See you next time! Please review.