Ace Attorney: Mask of Deceit

Chapter 45: Turnabout Regrets - Investigation 2 ~ Part 3

September 6 1:00pm

Local Prison - Hidden Evidence Room ~ Chrysalis Starr's POV

Cotoli and I ran into James again upon returning to the crime scene. I admit I felt a bit awkward. But thank goodness that we weren't the only three there. James was talking to some blue-haired guy in a lab coat.

"Oh! You guys are the attorneys, right?" he asked. "I've got something for you from Miss Kirigiri!"

"Before we do that, introductions?" I suggested. Seriously, how are we supposed to talk to each other if we didn't even know each other's names?

"Oh, right! Sorry!" the guy smiled sheepishly. "I'm Felix. Felix Griffin. I'm a researcher."

"Cotoli Morix." Cotoli introduced. "This is Chrysalis Starr." I gave Felix a small wave. I admit that sometimes I was never the best in front of strangers...

But Felix didn't seem to mind at all. "Nice to meet you guys!" he smiled. "Now, back to what I was talking about... Miss Kirigiri found something, but it had nothing to do with her own research, so she gave it to me to hand over to you."

"What is it?" Cotoli asked.

Felix dug around in his pockets and pulled out a small object: a ring. It was shiny and glittery, the diamond reflecting the light. "It's covered in unidentifiable fingerprints." Felix informed us. "But it's also covered in glove marks."

To me, it looked like a ring a woman would wear if she were married. If this belonged to the culprit, does this mean the killer is some kind of married woman...?

"H-Hold on..." James stuttered, his green eyes wide with shock. "C-Can I see that for a second, please?"

Felix shrugged and handed the ring over to James, who examined it carefully. James apparently couldn't believe his eyes as he turned the ring over multiple times to look at it from different angles.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. "You seem to be really interesting in that ring."

Because he's going to use it to propose to Prosecutor Wood!

Shush, shippy thoughts! Now is not the time!

"This ring..." James muttered. "Would it be okay if I... hang onto it?"

"I don't see any problem with that." Felix shrugged. "What about you, Mr. Morix?"

"I suppose you can keep it if you want to." Cotoli agreed. James smiled a small smile in thanks. Why did he want that ring so much?

James looked like he was about to burst into tears as he slid the ring into his pocket. He was biting his lip in an attempt to hold back the sadness, but I could clearly sense it.

"James," I whispered. "Please don't hide from us anymore. We want to help you. Please tell us what's wrong..."

"... Alright." James finally agreed with a sigh. "I don't see any point in hiding it from you. That ring... is my mother's ring."

"What?!" the rest of us cried in sync.

James nodded slowly. "My father disappeared and my older brother, Albert, decided to leave home to look for him. The grief of it was too much for my mom to take... which is why she passed away."

"Oh my gosh..." I muttered, my hands covering my mouth in shock.

"This ring was all that she left." James continued. "However, I wasn't the one who inherited it, what with me being the younger brother..."

"Your older brother took it, didn't he?" Cotoli concluded. James nodded. "Yeah. Before he left, he took it with him... as a kind of momento of her..."

"So then, how did it end up here?" Felix wondered. "I mean, if he left home, and you haven't seen him since..."

"... Then maybe he was here, on the night of the murder." Cotoli deduced with a frown.

"N-No way...!" I exclaimed.

"That's what I thought..." James sighed. "But why...? Why was he here, I kept asking myself..."

Is it possible he... already knows the answer?

"I didn't want to believe it... not one bit." James shook his head slowly. "But, now that I've seen this ring... there's no more doubt in my mind..."

Wait.

'Now that I've seen this ring'? Does that mean he already suspected Albert of being here...?!"

"It seems that James still isn't telling us all that he knows." Cotoli muttered to me. "Don't try and force it out of him, alright? We don't want him hating us again."

"Alright..." I nodded. If James was like this now... then how would he fare in court tomorrow?

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Mysterious ring is mysterious

Mysterious mystery is mysterious

It's all an Uttar Mistry

(I apologise that only like 3 people will get that joke-)

And yes I did reference Niames in there don't blame me it's like one of my OTPs--

AceAttorneyFan over and out!