Ace Attorney Investigations: Haunting Memories

Chapter Twenty Two

April 3 8:45am

Minami Household ~ Drew Self's POV

I arrived at the crime scene bright and early the next morning. I made sure that I was the first person on the scene so I could get a head start in the investigation. There had to be something which proved Felix's innocence, and I wouldn't go back to see him until I'd found it.

I climbed into the attic and glanced at the white tape which replaced the bodies, which I was thankful for. I wasn't so thankful for the fact that the blood was still splattered in several places, which I tried my best to avoid. It was kind of difficult to unsee it as half the room was covered in crimson. The weapons had also been taken away.

I took a single step forward and felt something underneath my foot. I gasped and stood back, not wanting to accidently destroy whatever I had stepped on. It looked like a key ring of some sort; on the end of the chain was the face of some kind of mascot. I didn't specialize in children's television shows, so I wasn't quite sure on exactly what it was. I'd have to talk to the witness later, the girl Felix called Kotoko.

"Wait a minute..." I whispered to myself, looking back at the chain. I highly doubted Felix would own something like this, so could it belong to the killer? I'd need to get it checked for fingerprints-

"Who are you...?"

I jumped when I heard that voice, supposedly addressing me, out of nowhere. I glanced down the stairs and into the house to see the face of a small girl, a little older than ten, gazing up at me with tired yellow eyes. She was hugging a stuffed rabbit toy with intensity. I guessed that this was Kotoko. "Um, hi." I waved. "Your name's Kotoko, right?"

The girl remained silent, instead running out of sight to the ground floor of the house. After carefully putting the key chain in a plastic bag, I followed after her and found her hiding under the table in the kitchen. I felt a little sorry for her as I watched her trembling. I noticed that she had dropped her toy in her rush, so I picked it up and held it out to her. "Hey," I began. "Do you want this?"

Kotoko nodded. "M-My Daddy got it for me... b-but he's... not here anymore..." she whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"You can have it back if you come out from under the table and tell me what you can about what's happening, okay?" I told her. "Felix is being suspected of doing this, and I'm trying to clear his name. But I can't do that without your help, okay?"

Kotoko hesitated for a few minutes before gingerly crawling out from under the table. I handed her the toy, which she cuddled close to her. "Um... who are you...?" she asked again. "Fee-Fee never mentioned someone like you..."

"Well, I can't give you my real name because I'm with Interpol." I said. "But you can call me N."

"Are you a friend of Fee-Fee's, Mr. N?" Kotoko questioned.

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah. I want to prove that he's not a killer like everyone thinks."

"Um... the others were researching his background earlier." Kotoko told me. "They think that he's killing all these people because he apparently didn't get along well with his own parents..."

"Really?" I asked, eyes widening. "What exactly did the others find out?"

"His parents were Hector and Delpha Griffin. They were scientists who worked at Nava Research Centre." Kotoko explained. "Fee-Fee sometimes worked with them... Well, tried to work with them. They apparently never really paid much attention to him. When Fee-Fee was eight, that's when his... his parents..."

"I see..." I muttered, understanding what Kotoko was trying to say. "They think that his motive of 'freeing the children' is related to his own strained relationship with his family..."

Kotoko looked down towards the floor, some of her hair falling over her face. "It's my fault that Fee-Fee got arrested, isn't it...?"

"No, of course it isn't." I assured her. "False arrests happen all the time. Besides, it's not too late. We can still get him out of this situation."

"But how?" Kotoko asked.

"I found something up there. Do you recognise it?" I interrogated, showing her the key chain. She stared at it for a few moments with wide eyes before slowly shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Y-Yes, I'm sure." Kotoko replied. "I-I've never seen it before."

I frowned as I watched her back away and take a seat on the couch, her eyes fixated on the window. I sighed; there wasn't much point in fighting her. "Well, I'm going to go see Felix. Do you want to come?" I asked.

"Y-Yes, please...!" she exclaimed. She seemed to cheer up after that as she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the detention center.

April 3 9:30am

Detention Center

Visitor's Room

"You're back!" Felix exclaimed with a smile. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, actually." I replied, holding up the ever mysterious key chain. "Does this look at all familiar?"

"Hey, isn't that a piece of merchandise from that TV show?" Felix asked.

"Steel Samurai..." Kotoko muttered.

"Yeah, that!" Felix nodded. "I don't own it myself, I just recognise it from a couple of adverts I saw."

"So this doesn't belong to you?" I smiled. "I found this at the crime scene. If you say that it isn't yours, and we get some tests done to check for fingerprints to back you up..."

"Then I can get out of here!" Felix exclaimed. "You did awesome today! Thank you, Drew!"

"No problem at all," I replied. "Once we get this tested for fingerprints, we can clear your name."

"I'll go do it!" Kotoko exclaimed. I tried to convince her that it was for the best if I requested the test instead, but she wouldn't listen to me. That and she used the 'pouty eyes' trick kids are always using to get their way.

Felix and I watched as she excitedly ran from the detention center, her bubble gum hair flying behind her. "Drew? Are you okay?" Felix asked, snapping me out of my trance.

"Yeah," I lied, still suspicious of Kotoko and what she might now about that evidence. "I'm fine." 

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Apologies if I screwed up Drew's personality all I know for definite is that he doesn't like gory stuff so I made him all uncomfortable around the blood rip

AceAttorneyFan over and out!