Ace Attorney Investigations: Haunting Memories

Chapter Eighteen

April 2 11:45am

Interpol Headquarters ~ Julia Kirigiri's POV

Q set to work immediately, opening his laptop and searching for the files on Shane Driscoll. I stood by a window whilst I waited, staring down at the city below. "Okay, I found the files." Q announced, and he began to read through the information. "Shane Driscoll, 34 years old at the time of his conviction, arrested for the murder of six individuals fourteen years ago. He was imprisoned for a time, although he escaped custody. It doesn't mention what happened to him."

"You mean he was never found?" I asked. "So our current NK claims he is not Driscoll, and yet Driscoll is still missing..."

"He could by lying," Q suggested. "He could just want to mess with our way of thinking. He could be Driscoll, claiming to be someone else."

"Perhaps..." I agreed. "But I still want to know what happened to Driscoll. If he's still alive, then I'm going to bring him to justice."

"Um, why do you want to catch Driscoll so much?" Q asked. "I know he's a criminal, but you seem really determined about it..."

I looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes. "If you really want to know," I began. "Then look at the list of Driscoll's victims. That should be a better explanation than any I could provide."

A small sigh escaped my lips as I listened to Q type away on his laptop. I didn't want him - or anyone else, for that matter - to find out about my previous connections with this killer. However, if it was just one person, then I deemed it acceptable.

I saw a frown on Q's face when I looked over at him. "Have you found the answer you were looking for?" I asked, walking over to his desk with crossed arms.

"Jin and Sidney Kirigiri... Were they your parents?" Q asked. "And... they were killed by Driscoll?"

I simply nodded in response. "I'm sorry... I had no idea." Q said, his guilt quite obvious. "Judging by the date shown here, you were only fourteen when it happened..."

"That's right." I nodded. "I didn't expect my parents' corpses of all things when I entered my house on that day. I decided to become an Interpol agent so I could track down the one responsible... and all criminals. Someone needs to bring the lawbreakers to justice, and that someone might as well be me."

Q remained silent after my somewhat long winding speech, so I again broke the silence. "... That wasn't all Driscoll did to me." I said. I hesitated, regretting my words after I'd said them. I'd never talked to anyone about my past before, much less to a co-worker. So why was I doing so now? Even I didn't understand, but there wasn't much point backing out now. I turned back to Q, who was patiently waiting for me to continue, and slowly removed the leather gloves I always wore on my hands. 

Q gasped and his eyes slowly widened as he stared at my hands: covered fingertips to wrists in burns and scars. "Awful, aren't they?" I asked. "I received these scars when I was eighteen, still in the middle of my training. I encountered him... Driscoll. I grew reckless and chased after him, ignoring the orders of my superiors... and this was the result."

"I-I see..." Q nodded.

"... To be honest, you're the only person I've ever told about any of this." I confessed, feeling my cheeks become warm. The sudden heat in my face must have been plainly obvious in contrast to my naturally pale complexion. "I've been thinking a lot about my past ever since this case started. I never thought I'd say this, but... it feels... somewhat refreshing to talk about myself for a change."

"Maybe you should do it more often." Q suggested with a smile. "I know it's our duty to combat crime, but... you always seem so serious about it. Even we're allowed time to relax, you know."

I slipped my gloves back on as I listened, regaining my composure. "... I'll think about it. For now, shall we get back to the investigation...?"

Q paused. "O-Oh, right! The investigation! Yes!"

A small smile spread across my lips as I watched Q hastily get back to work. He seemed rather flustered, and something about that fact amused me. "We need to find out what happened to Driscoll." I reminded him. "There must be some files detailing what happened. I'll check back in ten minutes."

Q nodded, and I left him to his work as I retrieved my cell phone from my pocket. I dialled Griffin's number and waited for him to answer. I hoped that he hadn't done something stupid like drop his phone somewhere; I needed to make sure Kotoko was doing well. Luckily, after just a few moments of listening to the ringing, Griffin picked up the call. "How's the investigation going?" he asked.

"I'll let you know later," I replied, causing him to groan in disappointment. "On another subject, how is Kotoko?"

"She's fine. She fell asleep on the couch a while ago." Griffin answered. "Her brother hasn't been back yet, which is weird. According to what Kotoko said, he should have been here by now."

"Consider yourself lucky." I said. "I dread to think what he would do if he found you inside his house... or maybe not. Maybe a night in the cells might snap you out of your daydreaming tendencies."

"H-How can you be so cruel...?!" Griffin gasped. "How come you care so much about Kotoko and Sebastian, but not me...?!"

"... Because they can get work done." I simply replied before hanging up. I was hoping he didn't notice my hesitation before I answered, as I was going to reply with something completely different before I remembered who I was talking to.

I walked back into Q's office to check on his progress. "I was actually just about to call for you." he said. "I found the files, but... I don't think you'll like what you see."

Simultaneously worried and curious, I joined Q behind his desk and glanced towards his computer screen. He was right; I didn't like what I saw.

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Jubastian confirmed

Julia sharing all her secrets with Sebastian confirms it

Make it a hashtag trend or something idek-

AceAttorneyFan over and out!