We continue the invetigation and meet more of the residents of the circus.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this.
DM77's Ace Attorney Justice for All Chapter 16
Trixie's Psyche-locks
December 28, Clockford Big Circus, Circus Entrance
As J and Jaden arrived back out by the entrance, the brown haired boy sees something and said "Huh? Hey J! Look over there!"
"What?" J said looking.
"There's someone over there!" Jaden said and called out "Ex-Excuse me!"
The person turns revealing themselves to be a kemonomimi dark brown skinned girl with white hair with cat ears and a white tail and yellow eyes. A black short trench coat with a belt consisting of 4 pockets on each side and a small cat emblem, a headband around her head and gold stockings and black boots. Upon closer inspection, she also wears shorts underneath her trench coat. She shyly seeing them remains quiet.
"Hello." J said waving but the girl stayed quiet.
"Wow! She sure is a quiet one!" Jaden said surprised. "Excuse me!"
"Wha…Ha…Huh? M-Me?" The Kemonomimi girl said nervous.
"Yes. You work at the circus don't you?" J asked her.
"N-No. I'm just your everyday average Jane." The girl tells them.
"An average Jane who just happens to hang out at the circus? I don't think so." Jaden said thinking.
"Y-Yes I am." The girl said nodding "I've got nothing to do with what's going on here."
'She's lying. Like any regular person would hang around the circus….dressed like that!' J thinks suspicious. "I'm an attorney. My name is Serial Designation J."
"I'm a Keyblade Warrior. My name is Jaden." Jaden said with a nod.
"Well…I…Um…Just happened to be…Umm…Passing by…" The girl said nervous.
"I don't suppose you happen to be some kind of carny?" J asked her.
"Not a c-c-carny…I-I'm a p-performer. Actually, I'm a v-v-v-ventrilioquist." The girl told them.
"Ventriloquist?" Jaden asked surprised.
"He-he-he-he-he-he-he-he….I-I-I'm W-W-W-Whisk…" The girl introduced herself.
"Your name is Whisk." Jaden said and snickers.
"Y-Yes…T-T-That's right…" Whisk said with a nod.
"Ah…Yes, yes, yes…. No alias I see." Jaden said smiling.
"I believe they call that a stage name if they had it." J points out. She looks to Whisk "Excuse me, Whisk?"
"Um…Yes? You mean…Me?" Whisk asked nervous.
"About the murder. I'd like to talk to you about the details, if I may." J said to her.
"R-Really…I'm just a regular normal girl…" Whisk tells her. "I don't k-k-now…A-a-a-a…"
'This girl's so nervous, she's creeping me out.' J thinks annoyed.
"J. Cheer up! Just try and smile!" Jaden tells her. He then smiles at Whisk and asked "Would you mind telling us something about Trixie? Trixie Lulamoon."
"Tri-Tri-Tri-Trixie?" Whisk said to that nervous "S-S-S-She's….N-N-N-Not….V-Very…N-N-Nice."
'Did she just say that Trixie is 'Not Very Nice'?' J thinks to that.
"O…O…O…Oww…My…H-H-Head…Hurts." Whisk said rubbing her head
'Yikes. I hope she is okay. It sounds like she just popped a gasket...' J thinks to that.
"Whisk, so you're a ventriloquist?" Jaden asked her smiling.
"I-I-I-I'm….J-J-J-Just A-A….R-R-R-Regular….G-G-Girl…" Whisk said nervously.
"You already told us that you were a ventriloquist!" J yells out.
"Oh….Y-Y-Yes…" Whisk said to that.
"J! Don't yell at her! You can't do that!" Jaden yells at J.
"I can't help it!" J tells Jaden "She's making me nervous!"
Jaden smiles at Whisk and said "Whisk, would you mind showing me some of your skills as a ventriloquist?"
"W-W-Well…I-I-I…R-R-R-Right…N-N-Now…M-M-My…P-P-P…" Whisk said nervously.
"A-A-A-A-Ah…I-I-I-I-I W-W-W-W-Why…" J said and thinks 'Urk! She's contagious!'
J and Jaden decide to leave it for now and head to see if they can sneak into the room of the Prosecution's witness.
December 28, Lodging House – 1st Floor, Krusty's Room
They enter the room and see it was syled like a clowns room with many objects. Jaden looking around said "Hello…?"
"KABLAMMO!" A voice calls out and laughs. It blonde to a yellow skinned mand with white face makeup with aqua-green hair in three tufts on the sides and top of his head and a red clown nose. He was wearing a light purple, short-sleeved shirt and lime green clown pants with red clown shoes, a light blue bow-tie, and white gloves. He then screams out laughing "CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE THE BIG WEINER! The one millionth visitor to the room of Mr. Krusty the Clown, AKA ME!"
'Mute ear receptors….Must…Find…Mute ear receptors…' J thinks to all this.
"To celebrate this momentous occasion, would you care for an organic grape? Just one!" Krusty said grinning holding some grapes and chuckling "Did you get my joke right there?! Hoohoohoohahaha!" J looks at him blankly "I welched on giving you more than one!"
"Umm…" J said to that.
"No, no, no!" Krusty said seriously "If it was funny, it is your duty as a living being to laugh! People who don't laugh are usually last-seen in Lan-sing. Catch my drift?" He chuckles then does his trademark laugh. "Hoohoohoohahaha!"
"Umm…Jaden?" J said looking at him.
"Hoohoohoohahaha!" Jaden said doing the same laugh.
'This is like some Solver nightmare…' J thinks to herself.
"Come on! It was funny!" Jaden said nudging J. "Clowns are always funny in my book!"
"In my book, they're just funny looking." J said shrugging.
"You sure do have great taste in clothes, boy! Look at that garb!" Kruty said chuckling. "You look just like Gretta Garb….OH! Hoohoohoohahaha!"
J sighs and siad "I'm going home…"
"No! J! You can't!" Jaden tells her.
"You know, I can excuse a bad joke or two…But this stooge keeps laughing at his own jokes! That's what I object to!" J tells him.
"Okay, okay…I get it." Jaden said nodding "But you have to admit he is kind of funny…"
'Final paycheck…No, I do not have to admit that, because he isn't!' J thinks to herself.
"Hoohoohoohahaha!" Krusty laughs out.
"Could you please tell us more about the Clockford Big Circus?" Jaden asked Krusty.
"It's a Clockfull Big story…You sure you got that kind of time?" Krusty said laughing
'And the hits just keep on coming…' J thinks sighing mentally.
"This circus has been in business for 20 years." Krusty tells the two looking serious. "We all performed under the guidance of the Ringmaster, Harvey Clockford."
"Twenty years?! Wow!" Jaden said amazed.
"Working in the circus is never east, especially nowadays…With movies, TV, and bowling, there is just too much competition." Krusty continues to tell them.
"But…But…I LOVE THE CIRCUS!" Jaden tells him
"I love it too…That is why I've been here for 20 years." Krusty said laughing. "We work hard to keep the show running. No one sends in the clowns on us!"
"J! He just made a joke! Laugh!" Jaden said serious.
"Har! Har! Har! Har! Har! Har!" J said with a forced laughter.
"The Ringmaster was a real big shot in the circus world. A real class act." Krusty said sadly. "Even when there were no customers, Harvey would use his own money to pay me. Because he knew that I had a family to care for…He was happy to take care of his employees."
"I see…" Jaden said sadly.
"How could anyone do that to such a wonderful man…?!" Krusty said angry.
"Krusty…" J said looking at him
"Wiggidty-wiggidty-wiggidty WHAT?" Krusty said chuckling.
"Ugh…" J said frustrated
"I'm sorry Krusty" Jaden said with a grin. "J was built without a sense of humour."
"Don't worry about it…. How can you fault someone for being built that way?" Krusty said chuckling.
"Let's talk about the murder." J said seriously
"Ahh…Let's see…It must've taken place around 10PM last night." Krusty said thinking as he lights a cigarette "After rehearsals were finished, I was tuckered out, so I came back here. After I went to bed…That's when I caught a peek of it…"
"'Caught a peek…?'" Jaden asked surprised
"Of the crime." Krusty told the two.
'Just as we suspected…This guy's the eyewitness to the crime!' J thinks
Krusty thinking then tells the two "The Ringmaster was truly ahead of his time. He would always add new elements to the show."
"New elements…?" Jaden asked him.
"When you've been a performer for a long time your act starts getting a bit stale." Krusty explains as he smoked.
"Hmm…" J thinks on that.
Krusty sighs and said "I realize that even my act can get a bit long in the tooth…Sometimes my jokes can be a bit…Umm…Old-fashion."
"'A bit long in the tooth?'" J asked at that.
"But that make-believer takes things too far!" Krusty said slamming his fist on a table.
"Make-believer?" Jaden asked him.
"The magician! The one who braggingly calls herself the great and powerful!" Krusty said annoyed. "She had the gall to say to me, 'You're one of those funny types, right?' What does she mean 'one of those'?! Well the joke's on her now…"
"On her…?" J said to that.
"Yep! She got on everyone's nerves!" Krusty said nodding. "The day of the murder…" He stops himself.
"Go ahead." J tells him.
"Nope. No way! Just forget I said anything!" Krusty said with a chuckle.
'I bet he's still hiding something about Trixie…' J thinks. "Back on topic, you say you saw the crime. Do you mind telling me what you saw?"
"Well, the police troopers told me that I can't share my story with others." Krusty tells the two. "'Don't say a work, buddy!' I'm just going to have to let these lips stay zipped!"
"That's not fair!" Jaden said to that.
"I guess you're right…Maybe I can tell you a few details." Krusty said smiling. "But only if you can get old stiff drone here to make with the funny…!"
"Stiff drone?" J said to that. "Wait…Do you mean me?"
"J! You can do it!" Jaden tells her. J groans and clears her throat.
"What's the matter?" Krusty asked her arms folded.
"Just getting ready. do you know why clients come to me, Serial Designation J, to defend them?" J said beginning her attempt at a joke "Because justice begins with J!" However, Jaden and Krusty were looking at her unamused by the joke.
"At least her expectations are low." Jaden said to Krusty.
"I wouldn't let her quit her day job." Krusty said nodding.
'Yeesh, cut a drone some slack. At least it was funnier than Binky over her.' J thinks to that.
"It wasn't the greatest joke I've heard, but you did try, so I'll tell you what I saw." Krusty said with a smile and shrug.
"I'm sorry she's incapable of being funny, Krusty." Jaden said looking down.
We flash back a bit to the night of the murder as Krusty said "That night…Once I had tucked myself into bed, I heard this amazing noise. It was incredibly loud. It sounded like a giant 'THUMP'! Once I heard it, I jumped out of bed. That's when I saw…"
We then see what Krusty saw, the Ringmaster Harvey Clockford laying face down over a small box under a street lamp, standing over the deceased a figure in a cloak and top hat.
"Without question. Without a doubt. It was that magician!" Krusty tells them.
We return to the present as Krusty continued "That's all I saw…But it just proves how terrible that girl actually is!"
'He knows more about Trixie than he is letting on…' J thinks about it she presents Harvey's profile first however.
Seeing it Krusty gets sad and said "I've been friends with Harvey since before the circus began. He was so selfless. He always thought about others before thinking of himself. I'll find a way to return the favor…He always took such good care of me. I wish I would have thanked him more than I did…"
J then presents Fubuki's profile and Krusty said "That's the Ringmaster's daughter, Fubuki. Ever since she was a little girl, she's been watching the circus performances. Cuter than a little Lillipup. If only my Sophie was that cute…"
"Sophie?" Jaden asked him.
"Ah….Sophie is my daughter. She lives with her mother." Krusty said sadly.
'It's true what they say about the tears of a clown…' J thinks and then presents Whisk's profile.
"Ah, Whisk….How's she doing?" Krusty asked cheering up.
"She's a ventriloquist isn't she?" J asked him.
"That's right! Boy was I surprised when they told me her secret!" Krusty said nodding "She's got a second mouth where her belly button should be! Hoohoohoohahaha! Just kidding…"
"Whisk wouldn't tell me a single thing about the murder." J tells him.
"Ahh…That's a simple problem to solve." Krusty said shrugging "She won't talk if she doesn't have her mask to hide her face and her puppet Pup-Mon!"
"Pup-Mon…?" Jaden said to that
"If Whisk doesn't have her ventriloquist puppet and mask to avoid facing people while talking to them, you'll barely get a word out of her." Krusty explained.
"Really?" Jaden said surprised
'Hmmmm….Master and puppet…' J thinks on it. She then presents Trixie's profile to Krusty.
Krusty seeing it said chuckling "Hmph! If she thinks she can kill the Ringmaster, it's only just that she should die, too!"
"Krusty!" Jaden said taking offense at that.
"Sorry, I crossed the line. But she truly is a disgusting human being." Krusty said looking down.
"Why do you hate her so much?" Jaden asked.
Krusty chuckles and said "Let me tell you this one story…The morning before the murder, something terrible happened. Trixie clonked Whisk right over the head, as hard as she could."
"Whisk?" J said and thought 'The ventriloquist with the speech impediment?'
"You should go to the cafeteria and investigate for yourselves." Krusty suggested smiling
"The cafeteria?" Jaden asked.
"Let's just say there's Gotti be something interesting there…" Krusty said laughing "Hoohoohoohahaha! Ahh yes…The Clockford Big Circus is very big, isn't it?" He then hands a map to the two "You should always carry a map with you to get around…"
"Ah! Thank you!" Jaden said taking it and looks at it "Umm…This is an atlas!"
"Hoohoohoohahaha!" Krusty laughs at that. "Oh…I kill myself. Really. I'm dying here…CORONARY! CORONARY!"
'Now he's just laughing to hear his own voice…' J thinks sweat dropping. She adds the Circus Map to the Court Record.
J and Jaden then use it and head for the Cafeteria.
December 28, Big Top, Cafeteria
The two arrive at the cafeteria and it was a mess, like he hasn't been cleaned since the day of the murder. "Eww…This place is gross." Jaden said looking at the room.
"This must be cause of last night." J said thinking. "They didn't have time to clean up after dinner because of the murder."
"That reminds me…. What was it that Krusty said?" Jaden said thinking.
"He said that yesterday morning, Trixie 'clonked' Whisk over the head here." J said thinking about it.
"He also said that, 'There's Gotti be something interesting there.'" Jaden adds smiling but asked "J? What's 'Gotti be intersting'?"
"Don't ask…" J told him and Jaden hmphs at this. She looks around and first sees a stand with a cloth with 'Trixie' written on it "This is stranger…There's nothing on top of this stand."
"Look here…Trixie is written on it. It must be his VIP table." Jaden said looking at it.
"It's it a bit small to be a VIP table? You won't be putting a ten course meal on this." J points out.
"Well, he could still eat hamburgers, right?" Jaden points out.
J looks and sees a broken bottle on the floor and thinks 'What's this? …Must be a juice bottle or something?'
"Ahhh…Watch out J! There's broken glass all over the floor!" Jaden tells her.
"Hmmm…A broken bottle just lying in the middle of the floor." J said thinking.
"Do you think it means anything?" Jaden asked her.
J thinks and said to herself "…'There's Gotti be something interesting there.'"
"Huh?" Jaden said confused
"Looks like we're going to have to go back and meet with her." J tells Jaden.
"Her?" Jaden said thinking.
J adds Brocken Bottle to the Court Record. She then leaves with Jaden back to the Detention Centre.
December 28, Detention Centre, Visitor's Room
J and Jaden arrive back and Trixie upon seeing them smiles and poses dramatically and said "Oh! It's my two sweeties! Welcome to the Detention Centre!"
J mentally sighs and thinks 'Did she just call me her sweetie?! AGAIN?!'
"What's on today's agenda? What can I help you with?" Trixie asked them smiling.
"Well, we've gathered quite a few clues…" J began telling her.
"WON-DER-FUL-LY FAN-TAB-U-LOSO! I mean fabulous!" Trixie said smiling.
"That's why we came to meet with you again." J told her looking serious.
"Wh-Wh-What's w-w-wrong?!" Trixie asked getting a bit nervous "Quit making such a scary face!"
"Okay then Trixie…Let's make this 'absolutely fabulous'!" J told her.
"We heard a lot about you at the circus, Trixie." Jaden said smiling.
"Ahhh, you must mean from the dinosaurs? How were those Jurassic geriatrics?" Trixie asked nonchalantly.
"Trixie, you aren't very popular with the other performers, are you?" Jaden asked her.
"Yes, yes, yes. My dear, that what they call jealousy. J-E-A-L-O-U-S-Y." Trixie tells him. "They are absolutely jealous of my absolutely fabulous self! People who really understand can see the obvious differences between us."
"People who really understand?" J asked confused.
"For instance, my sweetie pie." Trixie tells them.
'Hmm, so Fubuki understands her, huh?' J thinks on it
"I plan on getting married to her. She is truly my sweetie pie princess." Trixie tells them.
"Wow! That's so cool!" Jaden said smiling
"It's already in the works." Trixie tells them.
"Oh?" Jaden asked intrigued.
'That's strange. Fubuki never said anything about actually marrying this joker…' J said thinking about it. She then asked, "You met with the Ringmaster on the night of the murder?"
"Yes. I was with him around 10PM. Once I was done with practice." Trixie said smiling posing dramatically. "I went to his room right after we finished."
"They found the Ringmaster's body in the plaza in front of the lodging house." Jaden said thinking on it.
"Yeah, I heard about that…" Trixie said nodding "He needed to step out for a bit, so I waited in his room for him to return."
"…Huh?" Jaden said surprised.
We see a flashback on the night of the murder in the Ringmaster's office. Trixie was looking over a piece of paper she wasn't wearing her cape and hat.
Harvey approaches the door and turns back to Trixie and said "Sorry Trixie. I have something I must attend to right now. Do you mind waiting for me right here?"
"It's pretty cold outside. Where's your coat?" Trixie asked looking at him.
"It's alright. I'll be right back." Harvey assures her "It should only take about 10 minutes."
We return the present where Trixie was finishing telling them that scene and J asked "And then?"
"I waited for him." Trixie said simply "But he never came back…"
"Did he go to the plaza where the body was discovered?" J asked her.
"Possibly." Trixie said thinking "The snow had tapered off a bit, but it was still very cold outside. But I have no idea what he went off to do…"
J thinks it was time to deal with the Psyche-Locks. She summons her Logic Solver Keyblade and said "Take that!" The world darkens and the three Psyche-locks appear for 'Meeting with Harvey' secret. J looks at Trixie and said "Last night, you met with the Ringmaster, correct? To negotiate your salary, and such?"
"Exactly…We reached an agreement about the salary for my 6-month-old contract." Trixie said smiling.
"That's the truth? The whole truth?" J asked her.
"What do you mean?!" Trixie said to that.
"You just went to his office to negotiate your new salary?" J said to her.
"I hate lies, and I hate liars even more! What are you insinuating?!" Trixie asked her. "Do you have any proof that I did something other than negotiate my fee last night?"
"Take that!" J said as she presents to Trixie the Ringmaster's Papers
"Th-Tha-That's!" Trixie said worried seeing them.
"It was on the table in the Ringmaster's room." J tells her. "You weren't lying when you said that you received quite a raise…"
"Is there a problem with being well-compensated?" Trixie asked with a shrug and smile.
"Not with the compensation…Just with the date." J said and looks at her frimly "This is dated a week ago." Trixie sweats and remains silent "Trixie! You finished your contract negotiations a week ago!
"F-Fa-Fab-Fabulous!" Trixie just said sweating. J fires a beam from her Logic Solver Keyblade at the right Psyche-lock and destroys it. Trixie recovers and said "…Alright. I'll tell you the truth. That night…The Ringmaster called me to his room!"
"He called you? Why did he do that?" J asked her.
"Sorry sweetie…That's private." Trixie tells her
'The Ringmaster called her…I wonder if there was some sort of problem?' J thinks about it "Um…Trixie? Perhaps you could share with me what you two spoke about?"
"Well…Not if I don't have to…" Trixie said in response.
"Isn't this why the Ringmaster called you into his room that night?" J said and presents the Brocken Bottle saying "Take that!" Trixie sweats again "Isn't this why you were called to the Ringmaster's room that night?"
"Wh-Where did you get that?!" Trixie asked nervous.
"The cafeteria…But you already knew that, didn't you?" J told her.
Trixie winces and said "O-Of course…" J fires another beam and the left Psyche-Lock destroying it, one was left to go. Trixie then said "It fell and broke on the floor."
'She's still hiding something else.' J thinks and said "Trixie."
"What is it my sweetie?" Trixie asked with a smile recovering.
"It didn't fall and break on the floor. You used this bottle to…" J said and presents Whisk's Profile saying, "Take that!"
"W-Whisk…" Trixie said sweating nervous. We see a flashback where an angry Trixie was yelling at a nervous Whisk while reaching for the bottle. In Whisk's hands as well yelling back at Trixie was a wooden puppet with a long metal nose, in a red tailed hat, white gloves and blue overalls
"You nailed her over the head with this bottle, didn't you?" J asked Trixie. Trixie winces never nervous now. J added "And that's why you got called to the Ringmaster's room that night."
"F-F-F-FAAAABBBUUULLOUS! You might as well be a great and powerful magician!" Trixie said with a big smile as J uses the Logic Solver to destroy the final Psyche-lock and the chains disperse and both return to the real world. The magician smiling explains "The trust is…Yesterday mounting during breakfast, we had a run in."
"You mean you had a fight with Whisk the ventriloquist?" J asked her.
"You could put it that way." Trixie said with a shrug.
"Why did you fight with her?" Jaden asked confused "Whisk seems like such a quiet girl."
"We fought about my sweetie pie." Trixie told them.
"You mean Fubuki?" Jaden asked surprised.
"That ill-bred kemonomimi cat girl told my sweetie pie princess that she was in love with her!" Trixie told them. "Would you put up with that?"
"'Ill-bred'! Are you talking about the same Whisk?!" Jaden asked more surprised.
"'Told her she was in love with her'! Are you sure this is Whisk we are talking about?!" J asked just as surprised.
"All I can say is that she made me mad, and I had to tap her on her hard head!" Trixie said with a shrug. "That's when the Ringmaster called me and I realized that it was my chance!"
"Your chance?" J asked her.
"That's when I went to his room, and I laid it all out on the table." Trixie tells them. "I asked him to 'Let me marry my sweetie pie!'"
"What?!" Jaden said shocked
"The Ringmaster told me that it 'sounds good to me!'" Trixie said and poses dramatically "That's why my sweetie pie is MY sweetie pie! And no one else's!"
"Hmm…I see…" J said nodding to that thinking.
"Since Whisk was causing me to much trouble, I realized I had to shut her up." Trixie tells them.
'…Shut her up?' J thinks at that.
"Um…What do you mean by 'shut her up'?" Jaden asked Trixie.
"You don't know or maybe you did and briefly forgot, do you my sweeties?" Trixie asked them. "Pup-Mon can't say a word…Not without Whisk with her mask on."
"Pup-Mon…?" Jaden asked.
"The puppet. The ventroliquist's puppet." Trixie tells them "His full name is Puppetmon."
"But…A puppet doesn't talk." J told her.
"I know! That's why I hid it along with Whisk's black cat mask she wears to keep her nerves at bay!" Trixie said with a grin. "Before the police troopers came and took me away of course…If that puppet stated flapping off at the balsa, I'd be screwed."
"You hid him? You mean the ventriloquist's puppet?" Jaden said surprised
"You are so smart, dear!" Trixie said with a smile.
"Ummm…Where did you hide him and the mask?" Jaden asked her.
"What? Dear…" Trixie said to that. "You aren't thinking of trying to add him or her to my defence, are you?"
"Well…Whisk does seem awfully lonely without her puppet." Jaden said sadly.
"FABULOUS! That should have taught her a lesson!" Trixie said dramatically posing. "Okay…I hid Pup-Mon and the mask in the same place in the Ringmaster's room. You don't mind going there and getting Pup-Mon and the mask for me, do you my sweets?"
"No problem! None at all! Thank you Trixie!" Jaden said with a smile.
"You know I can't stand to see my sweeties in a jam!" Trixie said with a smile.
'Then don't go hiding puppets and masks!' J thinks to that.
J and Jaden then head to leave back to the circus.
Well that is another Psyche-Lock down, now it's time to find a missing puppet. See you next chapter.
Please Read, Review and Suggest. Thank you.