Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Mansion, Part 7 (Yuri)

Lily, Chrysalis, and I walked up to the body. Or, where it used to be, rather. The corpse had been removed and replaced with white body tape around the outline. The bloodstains remained just as clear as ever, however. I gulped. At age 16 and working on things like this for two years, I still wasn't used to the gore of these things. 

"Blood writing is still here. Good," Chrysalis said, nodding slowly. She looked down, as if lost in thought. Chrysalis' expression was pretty much unreadable. That is, until her eyes suddenly lit up and she pivoted on her heel. "I have an idea of how to catch the killer in court tomorrow! I'll see you guys back at the agency later!"

I didn't even have time to wave before she was out the door. I was just that confused about her sudden desire to leave. I looked at Lily to see if she had any ideas about this. She shook her head with a shrug in sync with me. Even if we weren't officially 'partners,' we still appeared to be on the same page.

"What are we supposed to do now?" I asked. "We heard what the witness has to say, we got weirded out by the duck hybrid, and we can see that the body is no longer here." Don't ask about the duck hybrid thing. It's something Chrysalis said, so it's bound to make the equivalent of zero sense.

"I guess we could head down to the detention center to see Niamh," Lily shrugged. "We still have to tell her about our progress in the investigation today.," Lily suggested. I nodded in turn. It wasn't such a bad idea. Especially when I hadn't gotten to go and see her after the trial today. 

"Let's do it!" I exclaimed. I was more than ready to see her. 

//November 2, 2029. Detention Center, 3:21 PM//

Upon entering the detention center, I could hear nothing other than yelling from a nearby interrogation room. I flinched at the sound. Geez! How loud can the detectives be?!

"What's his middle name?!"

"Why does it matter?!"

"It's for me to know and not you! Just tell me!!"

"...William."

"Thank you for talking with me."

The voices alternated between female and male, beginning with female. Niamh held her hands over her ears as the voices rose in volume. "The voices a bit too loud for you to take?" I questioned.

Niamh nodded with a frown. "Yeah. Those two have been at it for almost twenty minutes now."

"Any idea who they are?" Lily questioned. "They seemed kind of familiar."

I realized that I, too, was getting a sense of deja vu. "Yeah," I frowned. "I get the feeling I've heard those voices before. Though I can't hear all that well through the wall."

"I think that it's Detective Jade and..." Niamh hesitated after saying the first name. I guess I figured out who the female person was: Detective Jo Jade, also known as Chrysalis. But the male person... Who was that? I've heard them before, but where from?

"Detective Jade and who?" Lily asked.

"...Mr. Bal Gam," Niamh finished.

I gasped and tensed up. My hands flew to my mouth at light speed. "Y-you mean H.T.?!" I shouted, more than a little louder than intended. The guard stared at me like I was insane. He's not entirely wrong, but that's beside the point. "I thought he was in jail, though!!"

"Detective Jade must be interrogating him for information," Lily guessed.

"But why would she need to interrogate him? Cases involving him were all solved a year ago," Niamh wondered aloud.

"Chrysalis' sudden leaving must have had something to do with this," I assumed. "What were they talking about, Niamh?"

"Detective Jade asked Mr. Gam about 'his' middle name. I'm not sure who that is, but Mr. Gam finally answered 'William' after they argued for nearly twenty minutes," Niamh replied. "I don't know why that would be relevant, however."

"I can tell you, if you're interested, that is."

'Detective Jade' walked in the door on Lily and I's side of the glass. "I think I found something decisive to prove your case in court tomorrow, girls."

"Ah! Chr-er, Detective Jade!" Lily exclaimed, catching her slip up before anybody could hear too much than they already had. The guard stared at both Lily and I like oddballs now. It's not like I'm not an oddball.

"What information did you find?!" I asked in excitement. This could finally free Niamh from that crummy detention center.

"I was just talking with Bal Gam. I was asking him about his brother's middle name. It's all part of my plan to corner the true killer in court," Chrysalis continued. "My suspicions were confirmed: the blood writing wasn't a falsification, but rather, a misinterpretation. T.W. doesn't have to stand for Tenniswood. It could also stand for Timothy William."

"You mean that he...?!" Lily began. "He's the real killer?!"

Chrysalis nodded. "Yes. It's the only logical conclusion. The killer is none other than Timothy Gam."

"And we can use the blood writing as well as the testimony from Mr. Gam to indict him!" I exclaimed.

"Mr. Gam is a criminal. He could have possibly lied," Niamh pointed out. "The prosecution could easily take advantage of his criminal record to reject your theory."

"I'm going to go and get some records for you guys, then. I can easily give them to you tomorrow just before court goes into session. And the face that I'm a 'detective' doesn't harm either," Chrysalis told us. "See you guys around."

"See you later, then," Lily told her, waving.

"I hope that you guys are right about the real killer. We can't have an innocent person going to jail and a killer running loose," Niamh frowned. I guess that the fact of her fate being in hands other than her own didn't settle well with her. It didn't settle well with me, either.

"I know we are," I confirmed. "It's the only possible way."

A killer running loose.

The words echoed in my mind, unwilling to leave.

A killer running loose.

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This case isn't very exciting compared to the next three, but it's needed for the plot. Oh my gosh, I really want to get this case over with but I don't want to type the last three chapters ngooooooooh.

I am really sorry for procrastinating on this chapter for five days. I just didn't have the motivation since the other cases are exciting and this one is not. I know I've said this about five times now, but it's very true.

Anyways, it shouldn't be as long in between chapters. Though my busy schedule started last week on Tuesday, so I won't be on as much on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday due to theatrical shenanigans.

Here comes a long awaited sign off from me!

-Digital