The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout

The Great Messenger

The court was forced to take a recess. After the discussion about the color of the vest, the judge decided to call Mr. Alexander Baskerville to the witness stand. It was Athena and Phoenix's last chance to uncover the whole truth.

"Well, we now know that the Hound mask wasn't reported as stolen because it was used the day after and it could only have been taken by its owner, Mr. Baskerville..." summarized Athena.

"But, do you really think it was Mr. Baskerville?" asked Trucy "I...sincerely can't believe it"

"What...why Trucy?"

"When we visited Polly at the hospital he was there, he looked really concerned and he also let us take Polly to another hospital."

"He also visited Apollo in his office the morning of the day of the attack, if he wanted to do something then, why waiting? I can't understand either..." commented Phoenix. "We also still have to check that katana before it gets out of our reach."

"You really think that's important? It's a century old item, what can it do for us?" asked Athena.

"It's actually very important, Ms. Cykes." Nahyuta entered the room, he looked like he stayed up all night. "There's a high posibility that it, along with the journal, it's connected to your case."

"Mr. Sadmadhi! You're back. You found something?" Phoenix got up so fast that his head spinned.

"Yes. There was a hidden compartment at Mr. Holmes' house, not even the English goverment knew about that. Actually, we have to return this as soon as our case is over." Nahyuta showed him a new notebook, pink and really beautiful; a leather bag and a letter. "You have heard of Susato Mikotoba?"

"Susato..." Phoenix held the notebook carefully, he couldn't help but to feel that she once was someone very loved, he had felt how much Naruhodou loved her by reading his journal and meeting him in his dreams. He sat on the coach again to check it, it was filled with a lot of notes on japanese and just a few of them in english.

"I read them but I couldn't finish, it's her journal. She talks mostly of her everyday until Naruhodou's death, she wrote a little about that to soothe her grief and then it all turns into notes and detailed records from her findings, the entire Naruhodo Case is written there. Until the day she received this letter." Nahyuta opened the letter for Phoenix, who read it immediately.

"HOLY S-" He stopped, seeing Trucy. It was the letter she once received from Baskerville where he confessed everything and asked for her silence. It was just the piece of evidence Phoenix needed. "This letter! Prosecutor Sadmadhi!"

"Sorry to dissapoint you, Mr. Wright, but it's false." Nahyuta hung his head. "It's Susato's handwritting, she wrote it herself"

"W-what?" Phoenix couldn't believe it "Susato...forget evidence?"

"I wouldn't blame her, this case destroyed her life. Anyone would be capable of that under that circunstance..."

Phoenix looked at the letter, now seeing that even the paper was one of her own journal pages. A evidence so obviously forged wasn't likely from her, a cautious enough woman to have kept all that evidence so well hidden. There had to be a reason.

Thinking about the secret compartment at the well known Shelock's flat he checked the journal very carefully again, a task rather hard thanks to his injured arm.

"Daddy, you should know better than to read a women's diary."

"It's evidence! I wouldn't do it if it was otherwise."