Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 3 (Polly)

Once the black haired girl had stopped pointing at Anton and saying 'cinnamon bun,' we were ready to begin the investigation. I gestured for the other four to follow me to the crime scene.

When we were just outside the room, I turned to Cotoli and Anton. "Cotoli, stay here and watch Anton," I instructed.

"Wait, what-" Cotoli began.

"Just do it. You can tell me how it happens later. Maybe I can convince Chrysalis to turn it into a romance chapter," Rinko giggled.

Cotoli's eyes dodged all of ours. "Let's talk about that another time."

Anton walked over to my boyfriend and hugged him. "I-it'll be okay, D-Daddy." He started calling Cotoli 'Daddy' after a mess involving evil alter egos. Don't ask. Tora was there. A lot of Tora.

"Thanks, Ant," Cotoli smiled, looking down at him gently. In the current lighting, I could tell his eyes were red and slightly puffy. He had been crying over it last night. Chrysalis had been the same way when he was arrested two years ago. Ghastly let her stay at the house, since it was before he moved out with Sora.

All of that aside, Tenniswood and Rinko walked into the restroom. I followed once I was sure that the two of them would be okay.

The crime scene was just the same as I had seen it late last night. The body was still there, surrounded in blood.

I saw Rinko gulp upon observing the corpse. "Why would anybody do this?" she murmured.

"Do you guys want to hear about the motive we found yesterday?" I asked. Regularly, I wouldn't be this generous, but this case is...how would you put it...'personal.'

Tenniswood nodded. "Please."

"The police theorize that the defendant was jealous of the victim's part in the play." I couldn't bring myself to actually call the defendant by her first name. It oddly made me feel awful. "I think that motive isn't as strong as it could be, though."

"Do you yourself have any better ideas?" Tenniswood questioned.

"I think that a much more proper motive would be one directly linked to her last trial," I told her, crossing my arms.

"The case where Bal Gam was arrested?" Rinko asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. The supposed motive was that the victim figured out about her secret. This ended up being the motive for the real killer as well. Wouldn't something similar also possibly apply to this trial as well?"

Rinko frowned. "That motive... Would be pretty decent... If she were the killer, that is." Her frown became a smirk. "Niamh and I intend on proving that she isn't the killer in court tomorrow. We'll find the real culprit for sure!"

The door opened to show Prosecutor Anthony Umber standing in the doorway. He walked in, hands in his pockets, as if this case was nothing at all. "The defendant isn't talking. You know her, so you come down and get her to cough something up."

"Does he have any idea how ironic that is?" Rinko whispered to Tenniswood.

"Probably not," the lawyer replied.

I sighed. "Fine. I'm on my way."

"And you two," Anthony said, pointing to my companions. "Get out of my crime scene." He hadn't met either of their eyes the entire time. Was he just being his usual antisocial self, or was there something more?

Anthony jerked a thumb to the door. Tenniswood followed his directions, but Rinko hesitated. She stared at Anthony for a few more seconds. When they finally locked eyes, both of them looked surprised over something. Their eyes were wide.

It took Tenniswood grabbing Rinko's hand before she finally left. I wondered why she and Anthony had gotten into a stare down in the first place...

//November 28, 2029. Interrogation Room No. 5, 11:03 AM//

When I walked into the interrogation room where they were keeping Chrysalis for the time being, I noticed that she was being rather...spacey.

"Chrysalis?" I asked, taking a seat across from her.

She didn't seem to notice, much less care, that I was there. She was holding onto her left wrist tightly, barely paying attention to anything else.

"Chrysalis," I repeated, this time much more stern.

"Huh?" The honey blonde finally looked, up still messing with pastel flower wrist band around her wrist. "Oh. Polly."

"Who's been here before me?" I questioned.

"Just Prosecutor Umber and his sister," she answered. Chrysalis was being rather stone faced today. Unusual...

"Anthony said that you aren't talking. That's actually why he called me down here," I told her.

"Yeah. He keeps on pressing me about the people at the agency. When I say that I don't know any secrets about any of them, he yells that I'm lying. It's like he has some lie detecting ability like Yuri does..." She stared out in the distance. "Would that be possible...?"

"...You're thinking of GC-9, aren't you?" I crossed my arms. That case was none too pleasant.

"It's like there's something I should be remembering about that case, but my mind goes blank. Though there is this one image of Venus, Cassidy, Anthony, Abilene, and Yuri all standing together, all their blue eyes shining. That's about it, though," Chrysalis said.

Why would she remember something like that about GC-9? I made a mental note to ponder that later. "Could you just tell me about the night of the crime?"

Chrysalis nodded. "I was just getting ready for the show. The lead actress, Saya, still hadn't shown up when Niamh and Yuri arrived. I began giving them a tour when I decided that I might want to get into the lead costume, since she wasn't there. I went to change, but that's when I found the body. Though there is one odd thing about everything..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The lights in the restroom were off. They're supposed to be on at all times on show nights," Chrysalis answered. "Anyways, after I screamed, Shane came running in. Niamh and Yuri were close behind. That's about it before I was arrested."

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem." Before I knew it, Chrysalis was back to her distant staring. If I had to guess, she was thinking about the scene with the Rinkos and the Umbers.

But I couldn't stop thinking about the odd thought of the lights being off if what Chrysalis says is accurate.

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Note to readers: I have newspaper for homeroom this year in school. Once we finish our article, we get free time. I finished mine about a week ago, so I get to type during school.

I know it's random, but I like blurting about random things that happy the Dij here.

And things that don't make me happy. Like how I still haven't figured out what part I got in my current play and we perform in a month. .-.

Either way, I am going to slink into SU world now.

-Digital