Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

Return to the Turnabout, Part 1

"I wish I didn't have to do this... It was supposed to be a simple operation..."

*BANG*

"Wait... That was...!"

*BANG*

*SPLASH*

"Who's there...?! Ah! Is that...?!"

"I wish it didn't have to come to this, but this is what you get."

January 26

Defendant Lobby No. 1

9:35 AM

Deirdre Brigit

I found myself tapping my foot impatiently on the ground before me as I sat on the couch. I shot a sideways glance at Mr. Morix, silently begging him to find something to talk about. He didn't seem to notice, instead looking over the case file we had been handed half an hour ago for what felt like the hundredth time.

My name is Deirdre Brigit. I work as an attorney at Morix Law Offices, an agency focused on finding clients innocent in court. The owner, Mr. Cotoli Morix, is the one helping me out with this case. Of course, his help would probably be much more helpful if either of us knew what we were doing...

"Do you know where she is?" I asked of him.

"I'm afraid not. I don't know any more than you do," Mr. Morix told me with a shake of his head. "She should be here soon though. I can't imagine the defendant would be this late to her own trial."

"Sorry we're late."

I looked up when I heard the voice. A tall man was standing there with a rugged and tired smile on his face. There was a girl at his side. She had short blonde hair and wore a white lab coat over a purple shirt. She had pale blue jeans on with white tennis shoes. Her eyes were blue and distant from behind her violet glasses. I noticed her fingers, which were hidden by black gloves, were intertwined tightly.

"Hey there, Detective Erikson," Mr. Morix said with a smile, rising to his feet. "I'm glad to see you."

"I'm sorry it took us so long. The traffic was awful," Detective Erikson explained. "At least I got her here on time. I know you don't have much time to ask for details, but it's something, right?"

"We appreciate it regardless," Mr. Morix assured him. "You must be Aria Claris."

The young girl looked up silently. Despite appearing to be about my age, she was half a foot shorter at least. When we met eyes, a flash of recognition crossed her eyes. Something about her felt familiar to me too, but I didn't make any blatant remarks on the matter.

"I'll leave you three to talk," Detective Erikson told us before walking away. "Trial starts in twenty minutes," he managed to call over his shoulder before leaving earshot.

I looked down at the young woman, Aria Claris, it seemed, and smiled gently in hopes of consoling her. "What have you been charged with?" I asked gently.

"Murder," Ms. Claris answered bluntly.

I glanced over to Mr. Morix, praying he had something to say to me on the matter. I hadn't been given the chance to look over the case's details, and from what I could tell, the file he had didn't contain much information anyways. He didn't respond, instead shrugging loosely.

We had been assigned to this case a few hours after closing time the day before. Mr. Morix had called me at nine to say we had a trial to take care of. I didn't know anything about it, as apparently the case was open and shut. We had been given the case last minute when the previous lawyers bailed and said they couldn't do it.