A/N: It's the final phase of the investigation. There are more plot elements to explore. Then, there is a meeting that will throw everything known so far into question. And I mean everything in this story thus far. Enjoy, my readers!

May 6th, 2029

Prosecutor's Office

2:00 p.m.

"Coming in here a second time isn't any easier than it was a week ago," Juniper said, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone else in the office halls.

"It can't be helped. We are defense attorneys walking into the lions' den," Hugh said. "Of course the lions wouldn't be pleased to see us."

"Does it have to be like that? Robin's a prosecutor, and she's nothing like a lion," Juniper said. "If anything, she's more like an adorable kitten."

"You'll change your mind about that when you face her in court again," Hugh said, remembering the previous case he faced her.

They was no need to knock once they arrived at Robin's office. When Robin saw them walk in, she grinned.

"So, this is the part where the defense try to get information from the prosecution," Robin said teasingly. "Oh, but you have me outnumbered two to one. What is little ol' me going to do?"

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Hugh said, smirking. "Whatever you know is going to come out in court, so you could save us some time."

"Oh, but what if I feel like saving something juicy for a surprise?" Robin asked coyly.

"Then we'll brace ourselves. Personally, I'm not that worried," Hugh said.

"If you're not worried, I'll begin with the most important news I've learned." Robin's expression grew more serious. "As I thought, this murder is connected to the case I was investigating before. I think the time has finally come for me to talk about it!"

I think I recently heard something that could be related to this case.

"I heard testimony that the victim was seen walking with a piece of paper with my client's name on it," Hugh told Robin. "What can you tell me about that?"

"I know what you're talking about! I even have that piece of paper with me," Robin said. From a file she had on her, she took something out. "This is a copy, so you can have it!"

Hugh took the paper, and read it out loud. "This is a work contract between Adeline Illusa, hereafter referred to as the 'Administrator' and Carnila Winters, hereafter referred to as the 'employee'."

Reading the finer details of the contract, Hugh felt ill. "... 'The responsibility for maintaining the attractions at the Starry Skies Carnival fall solely on the employee. Should guests at the carnival be injured for any reason, the administrator reserves the right to cease all payment for the employee."

Contract added to the Court Record

"I can see how angry you are, Hugh," Robin said, looking pretty furious herself. "But you have to save your anger, because there's more."

"I get the feeling we're about to find out what kind of person Ms. Illusa was, whether we want to hear it or not," Juniper said nervously.

"As you can see, this contract is terribly unfair! And Miss Winters isn't the only one that got trapped in this," Robin said intensely. "Every employee at Starry Skies has a contract that gives Ms. Illusa all the money, and them all the blame for anything that goes wrong!"

"That's awful!" Juniper exclaimed. "So then, were you building a case against Ms. Illusa for doing this."

Robin nodded. "Today, I was supposed to formally file charges, then have her arrested. Instead, I have to find the person who murdered her."

"That means you believe that this contract is the motive behind this case," Hugh said, looking at it again. "Why does this single out Carnila as the only killer?"

"That, I do have to keep to myself," Robin said shaking her finger at Hugh. "Sorry, but I still have to get a few things approved by the court."

Juniper approached Robin, a concerned expression on her face. "How are you holding up after the last case? I know you took a lot of criticism for how you handled it."

"It wasn't easy to hear people attack me for doing my job," Robin admitted, gripping her left bicep. "And the prosecutor's office wasn't happy either. I was reprimanded for not pressing my case against the defendant enough."

"But Mr. Artisan was innocent! Anyone could see that. What you did wasn't wrong!" Juniper declared passionately.

"It does make me very happy to hear you say that, Juniper!" Robin exclaimed, smiling. "Having you and Hugh by my side does help face the toughest times!"

As much as Hugh wanted to indulge in the warm feelings of talking with his friends, they had to move onto business.

"Now, what specifics can you tell us about Ms. Illusa's crimes?" Hugh asked.

"Surely, you must have noticed that two different rides are broken," Robin said. "And that's not all! Nina Booth, who sells tickets, is also in charge of keeping inventory, despite technically not being in her job description. There more I looked into it, the more I noticed this pattern."

"So you're saying that corners were being cut to save money," Juniper said thoughtfully. "Even at the expense of the employees and the carnival itself."

"And all the money being 'saved' went directly into her pocket" Robin yelled, shaking her fists.

"If this has been going on for as long as you're implying, why it taken this long for charges to be brought against Ms. Illusa?" Hugh asked.

"Because the direct proof are these crooked contracts. And letting her know these were being investigated would give her a chance to hide them," Robin explained. "So I had to make inquiries of a bunch of unrelated stuff first."

That way, your target lets their guard down. Very clever.

"The weak point is this carnival's earning reports, because they don't add up," Robin continued. "I made a request to see the employees' earnings, which didn't make sense either. And that's how I got a subpoena for the contracts!"

"And you would have brought the Ms. Illusa to justice, if not for the killer," Juniper said softly. "That makes it all the more important to find them!"

"Agreed. So we should probably leave Robin to her investigation, while we continue ours," Hugh said to Juniper.

"Okay, then. See you in court tomorrow, Robin!" Juniper said, as they exited the office.

Once they were outside the prosecutor's office, Hugh said, "Could you go on ahead to the detention center, Juniper? Without her sister, Carnila could use some company. I'll stay here to see if I can learn a little more."

"Then I'll see you later, Hugh!"

Hugh waited until Juniper was out of view. Then he said, "I know you're there, Bailey. You can come out now."

Bailey leapt down from a tree that was near the office building. "Your observation skills never ceases to impress, Hugh. What do you require of this humble servant?"

When I first met Bailey, her attitude convinced me she was an enemy. Even so, she seemed to know more than we did about Robin. So a week ago, while we were investigating Skylar's murder…

"Very well. I'll leave the investigation of this case to you."

Hugh waited until Juniper and Athena were gone. Then he said, "You were in the detention center, weren't you? Come out, Bailey!"

"To think that you could sense my presence. You are skilled indeed, Mr. O'Conner," Bailey said, exiting from the detention center.

"You've been following us this entire time, haven't you? No, more than that. You've been watching us since as far back as Juniper's first case," Hugh said. "What I want to know is why?"

"Because my sole duty and purpose is to protect Juniper Woods," Bailey explained. "An honor given to me by someone I would never disobey."

"By Robin?" Hugh asked.

Bailey shook her head. Hugh decided to set this aside for the time being. There was an urgent question that needed to be addressed.

"Who are you protecting Juniper from? You've alluded to there being someone that's been behind a lot of what's happened these past few months," Hugh said. "If you knew, you should have told us!"

"...Juniper Woods cannot learn the identity of her foe, under any circumstances," Bailey said, looking up. "However, I have seen you in court. I believe I can trust you with this information."

"Then how do you know I won't tell Juniper after you tell me? She is my best friend, after all," Hugh pointed out.

"Because once you learn the name of the enemy, you will agree that Juniper must not know."

Bailey kept her word, and she was right. I must keep this a secret until the time is right.

"We heard you trip on your feet earlier today, in the detention center," Hugh said. "To be so clumsy is unlike you."

"I know. There is something that I learned, that is making me reconsider everything I thought I knew," Bailey said, shame in her voice. "I believe apologies may be due, when this is over."

"That you are reflecting on this makes me glad," Hugh said. "It is difficult to admit when you're wrong."

"If I have not approached you before, it's because I am a protector. And we are those that live in the shadows, never needing any gratitude," Bailey said. "Because the safety of our cherished friends is reward enough."

"I know exactly what you speak of, Bailey." In all his years of friendship with Robin and Juniper, he'd done many things for them in secret. The only time he'd been caught was when he'd tried to get himself arrested so Juniper would go free.

Perhaps due to being several years older than either of his friends, Hugh felt a compulsion to watch over them. Right now, he was more worried about Robin. "Is it true that Robin is in trouble with the prosecutor's office?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The case was supposed to end in a swift guilty verdict, and the office publicly declared as much," Bailey said, tipping her hat down over his face. "And so Robin's actions have left them with a rather large egg on their face."

Right. One of the witnesses relied on the highest authority among prosecutors to back up his testimony, and we exposed that lie.

"The winds do not favor Robin. If she steps out of line again, she will be banished," Bailey said.

"She'll be fired?!" The situation was far more serious than Hugh thought it was. "Then we must take down the mastermind behind everything as soon as possible."

"I must as you to wait just a little longer, Hugh. My plan is almost complete," Bailey said. "And so my role will also come to a close as well."

"Bailey…" Hugh decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a while. "Why don't you tell me who you really are?"

"Huh? Why do you need to know that?" Bailey asked nervously.

"Because we trust each other, don't we? We're working together to protect our friends," Hugh said. "I don't think there's a reason why you can't tell me about yourself."

Bailey took a few steps back. "I wish it was not so, but there is a reason why I must hide myself. I… I must go now!"

As always, Bailey blinded Hugh's eyes with a flashlight, and in the next instant she vanished.

"To think that she would have a secret so urgent… once we've worked together to solve all the mysteries in the background, I hope Bailey gets to live a normal life," Hugh muttered to himself.

May 6th, 2029

Detention Center, Visitor's Room

2:30 p.m.

"Hello again, Hugh. You were gone for a while," Carnila said.

"Because I wanted the investigation to be as thorough as possible." Hugh noticed that along with Juniper, Shelly was here too. Ema must have dropped her off here.

"I collected all the evidence and questioned all the witnesses. And I do not believe the prosecutor has a real case against you," Hugh said confidently.

Carnila let out a relieved sigh. "Oh thank goodness. I'm so happy to have picked you as my attorney."

"Even so, there are a few things that need to be cleared up first," Hugh quickly said. "Ms. Illusa was witnessed walking somewhere with your contract in hand. What do you have to say about that?"

"She probably wanted to talk to me about how my pay fits in the overall budget," Carnila said, folding her hands in her lap. "I am important in keeping the carnival functional, after all. But we never met."

"You know, we were shown the contract. And it is very unfair to you," Hugh said, watching Carnila for a reaction.

Carnila shuddered, looking down. "Yes, it's true that Ms. Illusa was far from an ideal boss. But she still gave me a job, and I couldn't support Shelly without it."

"I know this must be hard for you to consider. But who do you think killed your boss, then?" Juniper asked.

"As much as I don't want to think about it, one person does come to mind," Carnila said. "Harry acted very suspicious the day before the murder."

"Harry, you say?" It was true, the man's attitude rubbed Hugh the wrong way. "There is evidence pointing towards him, so I'll keep him in mind as a suspect."

"I think that might be all we can find in our investigation," Juniper said. "So let's go back to our office to put the last touches on our case!"

"I want to help too!" Shelly exclaimed.

"Then we can all go to the office and help each other," Hugh said, smiling.

"I believe in you, Mr. O'Conner!" Carnila said. "So please do your best in court!"

"I will, Miss Winters." If not just for my pride as an attorney, but for you and your sister to stay together.

To be continued

A/N: Next time, we will enter court. Who is the killer hiding in the case? How will Hugh expose them? I hope everyone can figure out alongside the characters. See you next time! Please review.