A/N: Last time, we laid down foundation for this case. So now, the investigation will start in earnest! Join Juniper as she investigates this case. Enjoy, my fair readers!

April 26, 2029

Detention Center, Visitor's Room

2:20 p.m.

As Juniper entered the detention center, she felt nervous. She was about to meet her second ever client as a defense attorney. Defending Myriam had been easy- she was someone that Juniper knew as a friend. This was someone that Juniper was meeting for the first time, so if they were innocent, Juniper would have to learn to trust them.

Opening the door to the visitor room, Juniper got her first look at her client- a man around Hugh's age, with his hair in a shaggy bob. His hair was dyed in a rainbow of colors- which contrasted with the man's black eyes, and the heavy bags under them.

From what Juniper could see, he wore a bright yellow shirt, which had random tears in it, and a pair of loose shorts in dark green.

"My eyes! Those clothes are hurting my eyes!" A voice called out behind Juniper- it took her a second to recognize that it came from Widget, as Athena and Hugh had come with her.

"Sorry about that, Junie," Athena said sheepishly, grabbing Widget with her hand. "I think I'll step out and let you talk to your client."

"I still appreciate you accompanying me here, Thena!" Juniper exclaimed. Once Athena left, Juniper and Hugh approached the man sitting on the other side of the glass pane.

"Hello. My name is Juniper Woods, and I represent the O'Conner and Co. law offices," Juniper said, clasping her hands together. "I'm here because you asked me to be your attorney. So could you tell me about your case?"

The man was sitting slumped in the chair. When Juniper asked her question, he bowed his head. Juniper heard the man sniffling, and she could now see tears falling down his face.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, was I not supposed to ask that?" Juniper exclaimed, panicked.

"It's okay. You only asked that because you're my attorney. Give me a second to collect myself." The man took out a red rag, dabbed at his face, then lifted his head. "I guess to start out, my name is Andres Artisan."

"Mr. Artisan, my name is Hugh O'Conner. As the head of the O'Conner and Co law offices, I assure you that you are in good hands with Miss Woods," Hugh said, smirking confidently. "So don't be afraid to talk to us."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. O'Conner. It's not that I'm afraid to talk. It's just that…" Mr. Artisan hung his head again. "I can't think about what happened. It's… too painful."

At this point, Juniper knew that they couldn't continue this conversation without a little extra help. "Thena!" Juniper called out. "Can you come back in here? We need your help!"

There was no answer. Wherever Athena had gone to, it was too far away for her to hear. Given Athena's sensitive ears, she might have left the detention center entirely.

Left with no other choice, Juniper sat herself down so she could be eye level with Mr. Artisan. "I understand with you are going through. I've… been accused of murder before. And I've lost someone close to me, too. So if you are going through something similar, then I know your pain."

It was a theory that Juniper had. Because Mr. Artisan's demeanor… it reminded Juniper of herself, when she had been accused of Professor Courte's murder.

Mr. Artisan lifted his head. "Then perhaps I can trust you after all. Where do you want me to start?"

"From the beginning. What are you being accused of?" From the conversation up until now, Juniper had an idea, but she wanted to hear it from Mr. Artisan.

"I've been accused of murder. The victim… she was… she was…" Tears welled up in Mr. Artisan's eyes again. "She was my best friend."

Juniper's hands went up to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "You lost your best friend? My condolences, Mr. Artisan. Could you tell me about her?"

"Her name was Skylar Scribe. She was an author, and one of the kindest people I ever met," Mr. Artisan said. "She was one of the first people to tell me that she liked my art."

"Art? Mr. Artisan, if you don't mind my asking, does that mean you're an artist?" Hugh asked.

"Yes, I am. To explain it more…" Mr. Artisan pulled out a pencil from his shorts. "Skylar and I collaborated. We created manga together- I drew the art, and she was responsible for this story."

"So the two of you worked together. So then, I need to ask you this, as a formality." Juniper did her best to look Mr. Artisan in the eyes. "You didn't kill Miss Scribe, right?"

"Of course not," Mr. Artisan said with a second's hesitation. "I would never even think of harming Skylar. Losing her has been like losing half of myself."

There was no question in Juniper's mind- Mr. Artisan was innocent. In fact, this was something that any person could see just by looking at him, or at least Juniper though so.

So that made her wonder- why had Mr. Artisan been arrested for Miss Scribe's murder? And since he was requesting Juniper's aid, was he really being brought to trial?

Who would be the prosecutor that would press charges against someone so clearly distraught? I can't even imagine who would be so cold.

"I believe you, Mr. Artisan. You asked for my help in your time of need," Juniper said firmly. "So I will fight for your innocence in court tomorrow!"

"Hearing that again… it does bring me great relief," Mr. Artisan said. He took the pencil and wrote something on his palm. Showing his hand to Juniper, it turned out he'd written "Thank you so much" on it.

"Now that we know that Mr. Artisan is innocent, it's time to focus on more specific questions," Hugh said. "Since he is your client, Juniper, you will be the one to ask them."

"Right. I will do my best!" Since they knew nothing about the case, Juniper went with an obvious question. "If you don't mind my asking, what did you do on the day of the crime?"

"I don't mind… Skylar and I were hanging out," Mr. Artisan said. He drew on his palm again, this time showing a car on it. "I drove her to a convention center for business that she had there. If I remember correctly, she wanted to buy a book."

"So as well as being an author, Miss Scribe was a reader. I wonder what book she was going to get?" Juniper asked out loud.

"I doubt that has got any bearing on the her death," Hugh deadpanned.

"You're probably right, Hugh. So what happened after that, Mr. Artisan?" So far, Juniper didn't see how Andres ended up being arrested.

"I left to go get something to eat on my own. After that I went to go meet up with Skylar again, but…" This time, Andres drew a giant X on his palm. "I couldn't find her anywhere. And she didn't answer any of my phone calls."

"That is definitely concerning. Did you report Miss Scribe missing?" Hugh asked, adjusting his glasses thoughtfully.

"I did ask around, but no one I talked to had seen her. Finally, I was forced to leave in my car to go back home. But then, I heard the sound of something in the trunk of my car. I parked it in the convention center's parking lot so I could check the trunk. And-"

At this point, Mr. Artisan shuddered, hugging himself. "I'm sorry, I can't talk about this anymore. I ask for your understanding, Miss Woods."

"It's okay, Mr. Artisan!" Now Juniper wished they weren't separated by a pane of glass, so she could reach over and give Mr. Artisan some kind of reassurance. This train of thought caused Juniper to hit upon an idea. "If you want, you can call me Juniper. And… can I call you Andres?"

"You… really are kind, Juniper," Mr. Artisan said, a small, sad smile appearing on his face. "Now I really wish we had met under different circumstances."

"This is a really difficult time for you, Andres. If you need time to yourself, I'll go and start getting your case ready." Juniper said, smiling at her client.

"I appreciate it." Mr. Artisan stood up, and left the visitor's room.

Juniper turned to Hugh. "So do you want to go looking for the crime scene? Mr. Artisan wasn't able to tell us where it is, but we could try to use what he told us as help."

"In a city like Los Angeles, there are a good number of convention centers," Hugh said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But we could use Miss Scribe's actions to narrow it down. She went to the convention to buy a book."

April 26, 2029

Los Angeles convention center, parking complex

3:30 p.m.

As it turned out, the convention center in question was none other than the biggest one in the city- of the events going on there at the moment, one of them happened to be some kind of national writing contest. Following their instinct, Hugh and Juniper made their way to the nearest parking complex, and indeed police cars were parked at one of the floors.

Here, there was a small, white-colored car, with a dent in the the left door. The trunk of the car was wide open, and there was police tape blocking it off. Juniper approached carefully, wondering if it was okay for her to be here.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you two here."

Recognizing this as Ema's voice, Juniper exclaimed, "Detective Skye! I'm guessing you are the lead detective of this case."

"Got it in one," Ema said, her mood unusually serious. "I suppose that means that your agency is taking on this case?"

"Yes. In fact, I am the lead defense attorney. What can you tell me about this murder?" Juniper asked. Since Mr. Artisan hadn't been able to tell them anything, she was hoping that Ema could fill in the blanks.

Ema didn't answer right away, instead playing with a lock of her hair, pursing her lips. When Ema finally did talk, she said, "With all due respect, young lady, I recommend you drop this case as soon as possible."

"Wait, what? Why would you say that?" Juniper asked, covering her mouth in shock.

"For starters, this case has more or less already been wrapped up," Ema said, with the same bland tone as before. "As soon the trial begins tomorrow, it will end in a guilty verdict."

"That can't be right! Anyone can tell that Mr. Artisan is innocent just looking at him!" Juniper exclaimed.

Now Ema was actively averting her eyes from Juniper. "The evidence tells a different story, young lady. I'm telling you this for your own good."

"My name is Juniper. I'm pretty sure I introduced myself to you during the Miss Moon's case two months ago," Juniper said.

"I think I remember that. But I guess it slipped my mind at some point…" Ema said, still not really paying attention.

"We have every intention of defending our client to the fullest. So is there any other reason you think we should not take on this case?" Hugh asked coldly.

"There is another reason, Mr. O'Conner. As you might have noticed, the crime scene is nearby," Ema said, pointing to the white car. "However, the police has already removed the victim's body and taken it to Criminal Affairs for the autopsy, so I do have it ready. I was one of the first to see the body and…"

For the first time, there was fear on Ema's expression. "I've seen many crime scenes over the years. But the state of the victim might be one of the most unsettling I've ever seen."

Juniper remembered how talking about Miss Scribe's body had caused Mr. Artisan to break down completely. Now she was starting to feel immensely scared by what the body looked like.

Then Juniper gripped her right wrist, gripping her proof of friendship in the process. As always, she felt herself begin to calm down.

Hugh is right here with me. And if Robin were here, she'd probably tell Detective Skye off. Tell Ema that I'm much more capable than she thinks I am.

Juniper breathed into one of her sunflowers, her heart rate settling with each breath she took. So I need to prove to Ema that I'm capable! I can't let down the people that believe in me!

"Detective Skye, if I don't learn about the crime scene I can't defend Mr. Artisan. So please, show me how the body looked like when it was discovered." Juniper said firmly.

"If you are insistent on taking such a hopeless case, I guess I can't stop you," Detective Skye said. She dug around inside her carrier bag and took out a large photo. "Here it is."

Juniper took the picture, studying it- and she immediately felt sick to her stomach. It was of the inside of Mr. Artisan's trunk, and there was the body of a woman inside of it, presumably Skyla Scribe. She looked closer to Juniper's age, and had gray hair that she wore in cornrows, along with a simple red dress.

Skylar's bright blue eyes were wide in death. More disturbing was that her face was tainted with the same color. Around her neck were handprints, which gave Juniper a pretty good idea of what happened to her.

Photo of crime scene added to the Court Record

"The first time I saw that, I had to sit down," Ema said from behind Juniper. "This is why I kept warning you to drop this case. It can't be easy to see this happen to a girl so close to your age. She was only twenty."

"*cough cough* Skylar was only twenty? *cough* Who could do something so horrendous? *cough cough cough*" Juniper clutched at her chest, feeling like she needed to sit down too.

Mr. Artisan was being unfairly accused for Skylar's death. Accused of doing something so brutal to his best friend. So even as she kept coughing, Juniper managed to force out, "The *cough* autopsy report, *cough cough* Detective Skye."

"Are you sure you are going to be okay? I can't have you hyperventilating at a crime scene!" Ema snapped.

This time, Juniper needed her inhaler, so she quickly took that out of her purse and breathed in the medicine. When she stopped coughing, she said to Ema, "I'm fine. I… want to find out who did this."

"You're unexpectedly stubborn. Maybe you got that from Athena," Ema said, pouting. Digging into her carrier bag again, she handed more paperwork to Juniper. "Here is the autopsy report then."

As soon as Juniper received it, she studied it closely. "Let's see… 'The victim is named Skylar Scribe. Her cause of death was strangulation. Handprints were found on her neck, but no fingerprints could be lifted from them. Her time of death is believed to be between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m'."

Autopsy Report added to the Court Record.

Already, Juniper could see a potential problem in the case against Mr. Artisan. "Detective Skye, according to the autopsy report, there are no fingerprints on Miss Scribe's neck. So how can you say that Mr. Artisan is the culprit?"

"Simple. We have eyewitness testimony that states that they saw Mr. Artisan strangling the victim," Ema said, playing with her hair.

"Aaaahhhhh!" Juniper screamed, snapping her pigtails into her eyes. That was the last thing Juniper expected to hear.

"And let me guess- we aren't allowed to question this witness because the prosecution is interviewing them," Hugh said, sighing wearily.

"Exactly. Honestly, this investigation should have been closed by now," Ema said, scowling. "But no, here I am again, looking for some clue or other."

"You've investigated here multiple times?" Juniper asked curiously. Now that was something Juniper hadn't heard of before. It was possible that the prosecution wanted to build the most solid case as possible. But Juniper still felt that any prosecutor could see that Mr. Artisan was not the culprit.

"I know what you're about to ask next- if you can investigate the crime scene," Ema continued. "Honestly, knock yourselves out. I don't care anymore."

There was something unusual, not to mention disconcerting, about how Ema was acting. Thinking about Mr. Artisan alone in detention, however, Juniper decided to set that aside for the time being.

Approaching the car again, Juniper looked into the trunk. White rope was being used to outline where Miss Scribe's body had been laying. From what she could see, nothing looked too out of place there were small bits of garbage, and cans of car oil. Then Juniper spotted something small.

It was a scrap of what looked like paper, under where the body would have been. Leaning down to look at it, Juniper noticed that it was wallpaper with a book pattern. "Where did this come from?"

"That? It's just a scrap of garbage. I kept it there to preserve the crime scene, but I don't think it's a clue," Ema said.

Still, it's bothering me for some reason. I should keep this in mind.

Wallpaper Scrap added to the Court Record.

Next, Juniper inspected the car itself. However, Juniper quickly realized she didn't know enough about cars to know if anything was strange. "Hey, Hugh! Could you come over here?"

"What do you need?" Hugh said, joining Juniper near the car.

"Since you're so familiar with these kinds of machines, you might be able to pick up on something that I'd miss," Juniper said, stepping aside to let him inspect the car.

Construction machines are different from cars, but I do maintain my car too. Let me see…" Hugh investigated the vehicle carefully. Then his eyes widened as he looked at the trunk's lid. "The lock of the lid is broken. I think we have a good idea of why.

Surely Detective Skye would have noticed this. So why would she still suspect Mr. Artisan?

Broken Trunk Lock added to the Court Record

Now, however, Juniper realized that she couldn't spot anymore clues in the trunk of the car. "I assume you looked inside the car, Detective Skye. So did you find anything?"

"Not anything that is related to the murder," Detective Skye said, taking out her phone and scanning through it. "Of course, I went through it with my forensics. And no one touched the car besides Mr. Artisan and Miss Scribe."

Juniper could see the prosecution's case start to take shape. At first glance, it did seem like a pretty solid case against Mr. Artisan. But Juniper knew that somewhere, there had to be a flaw.

"Come to think of it, I haven't asked who is prosecuting this case. Could you tell me?" Juniper asked Ema.

Ema raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't already know? I thought that was the entire reason you took on this case."

"What are you getting at, Detective Skye?" Hugh looked concerned at Ema's words.

"It's Prosecutor Newman that's heading up this case. In fact, I imagine that she's interviewing the defendant right now," Ema answered.

As soon as Juniper heard those words, everything around her seemed to go dark. Robin… is the prosecution for this case? And she interviewing Mr. Artisan? Then, surely Robin should be able to see that there's no way he could do this.

Juniper staggered, her legs going weak. So then... why? Why is Robin prosecuting him?

It seemed like Hugh was thinking similar thoughts, given the scowl on his face. "The detention center is so far away, we won't have time to go there and talk to her. We can only find out what's she thinking at court tomorrow."

That was right. Tomorrow, Juniper would defend in her second ever trial. Going up against Robin, defending the distraught Mr. Artisan against these horrible charges. But he requested Juniper's defense personally. So Juniper needed to do this…

To be continued.

A/N: Yes, this investigation is already over. My readers must be thinking this is very short for an Episode 3 investigation. Once again, this was intentional: Juniper is going into the trial with the absolute bare minimum evidence. So this will be the toughest battle yet. See you next time! Please review.