Ace Attorney: Mask of Deceit

Chapter 39: Turnabout Regrets - Investigation 1 ~ Part 2

September 5 12:45pm

Local Prison ~ Cotoli Morix's POV

I arrived at the prison to find it overrun with police officers and detectives. Not surprising, considering where the body was found. They must need a lot of people to keep it quiet. I couldn't see Nevada anywhere, despite her saying that she was going to investigate the crime as well. She must have already been at the crime scene, so that's where I headed.

I approached the evidence room with slow, heavy steps. I tried to keep my rapid breathing under control, but it didn't seem to be working. The evidence room was rather small and... let's just say that I don't like small places...

"Hey!! Who the hell are you?!"

I looked up, a gruff voice reaching my ears. A man, a few years younger than me, was glaring at me through his purple eyes. He was leaning over me so much that his hair was pressed against my forehead. I gulped as I swore I could see fire burning in his pupils. "C-Cotoli Morix..." I stammered. "I'm the lawyer on this case..."

"I don't care if you've got some fancy badge to let you in here!" the man yelled some more. "You're gonna need proof that the Supreme Overlord of Ice trusts you!"

I blinked. "Proof...? Supreme Overlord of Ice...? Trust...?" I had heard that second phrase somewhere before. After thinking on it for a while and connecting all of the pieces, I knew what I had to do. "Alright. I'll be back in a while."

September 5 12:55pm

Morix Law Offices

I made my way back to the agency, where the 'proof' was lying. I shifted around in the many drawers in the bedroom. I'd honestly forgotten where I'd put it until my fingers brushed a sharp object. Luckily, I didn't cut myself on the edges of the scissors when I pulled them out of the drawer. "Please say this is what he meant by proof, or I'll be making a complete fool of myself..." I muttered as I slid the scissors into my pocket.

I eventually arrived back at the prison and saw the same man stood there, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He sighed angrily upon seeing me. "How many times do I gotta tell you?! You're not getting in here!"

"What if I showed you these?" I pulled the scissors out of my pocket and showed them to him. "Nevada gave me these. Quite recently, too."

He hesitated before nodding slowly. "Okay... She trusts you, then... Go on in..."

I quickly shoved the scissors into my pocket again and walked into the evidence room, keeping my mind off how small the room was. There was the body of a man wearing a police uniform sprawled out on the floor, blood around his head. I noted that there was no weapon near or around him. The culprit must have taken it with them.

"Mr. Morix!!"

Someone darted into the evidence room, almost tripping over their own feet as they skidded to a stop in front of me. Jade green eyes looked up at me, an emotion resembling desperation reflected in them. "Please let me help you in this case!"

"... James, right?" I asked. "You want to help me?"

"Yeah!" James nodded, his blonde hair bobbing. "This is why!" He held up some kind of golden mask. I knew I'd seen it somewhere before. "This was left behind in the prison!" James explained. "The Masked Gentleman has something to do with this case, I just know it!"

After a few moments of consideration, I nodded. "Alright, you can help me out."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Morix!" James beamed. "Alright, so what do you know about the case so far?" I explained everything I knew up to this point, including Chrysalis being the suspect, but left out the part that the crime scene was an evidence room specifically for her project. I didn't want to risk James panicking if he didn't know, which I was positive he didn't.

"Your younger sister is the suspect?" James asked. "Wow... no wonder you were so quick to take this case..." James used a fist to punch his other open palm, a determined grin on his face. "Alright! Let's look for that evidence!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

September 5 1:10pm

Local Prison - East Wing Corridor ~ D's POV

I stood, hands on hips, gazing at the photo of the suspended body. It didn't make any sense: why would the method suddenly change now? I knew I had both the murder and the assault to investigate, but I was too focused on figuring out this mystery. Unfortunately, the peacefulness of the crime scene didn't last long.

The door suddenly burst open and someone fell to the ground, completely shattering any concentration I had. He was a young man in his late teens. He had short aqua hair and eyes to match, but they were a blue of a darker colour. He wore black clothes under a long white lab coat. "A-Are you the detective in charge of this investigation...?" he asked, looking up.

I hesitated before nodding slowly, flicking some of my lavender hair away from my face. "Yes, I am. And you are...?"

The boy stood up and brushed himself off, a somewhat goofy smile on his face. "Felix! Felix Griffin! As you can probably tell, I'm a researcher. We're here for the same thing, you know! So... can I help you out with this?!"

"The same thing?" I repeated. I paused, looking him up and down while a frown formed on my lips. "How do you know what I'm looking for?"

"I know all sorts!" Griffin replied. "I know that you're currently looking into Genocide Jack, like me! The both of us were drawn to this case because of Jack's involvement in it, right?"

My eyes widened slightly. "How did you know that?" I asked.

"Like I said, I know all sorts!" Griffin exclaimed. "I've done my fair share of research on Jack and I'm pretty much an expert, so I can help you out with this! Heck, I've just looked at that photo you have there and I can already see tons of things wrong with it! So can I help out? Please?"

I glanced back at the crime scene photo before sighing. "Fine... If you have information that I could find useful, then I guess I have no choice but to-"

"Yaaaaaaay! Thanks!" Griffin smiled. "So, uh, what's your name?"

"... D." I replied simply.

"You can't use that trick on me!" Griffin cried, crossing his arms. "I know about you Interpol agents and your fancy-dancy codenames! Come on, tell me your real name!"

I sighed; I hadn't ever given out my real name to anyone since being on this job. Still, it couldn't hurt this time. "My name is... Julia Kirigiri."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME: ACEATTORNEYFAN
AGE: 14
CAUSE OF DEATH: SUDDEN FEELS ATTACK

THAT IS MY AUTOPSY REPORT RN AND SOME OF YOU WON'T KNOW WHY UNTIL LATERRRR

AceAttorneyFan over and out!