Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

Turnabout Below, Part 8

May 30

Blocker Law Offices

1:45 PM

Victoria von Graye

I wasn't sure what I expected when we arrived at the scene of the crime, but I didn't think it would be this crowded. Somehow, it was even more cramped, and there were more people around than there had been the day before. I cringed at all the noise. I didn't like this at all. I mean, I hadn't been fond of how things were before, but it had somehow gotten even worse. I did my best to ignore it, but I didn't think I would be able to do such a thing. This elephant in the room was nearly suffocating.

"I didn't realize so many extra people would be showing up," Mr. Morix murmured. "But they don't all seem to be police officers..."

"No. It seems to me more like they're reporters," I realized, seeing the many people holding cameras. Others had microphones, and I knew they had to be from local news stations. "I guess the media decided this case was interesting enough to merit an intense investigation..."

"I guess they found out the victim died at the time she was murdered," Mr. Morix sighed. "I don't remember how much of a stir her disappearance caused in the first place, but I guess it had a lot of people wondering what could have happened. Now, that's all blowing up in our faces, and we're somehow going to have to keep our sanity as we press on with our investigation."

"If we can find Detective Erikson, we can take him outside and chat with him then," I suggested. I got onto the tips of my toes, looking around wildly to try and figure out where he could be. Not for the first time, I cursed my lack of verticality. If I was just a tad bit taller, I would have been able to find him more easily, but instead, I had to rely on Mr. Morix.

"There he is," Mr. Morix said, pointing nearby. I couldn't exactly see what he was pointing to, but I grabbed the edge of his sleeve and followed him as he wove in and out of the crowd. I nearly stumbled a few times, tripping over the feet of people I didn't know. I apologized what felt like constantly until we arrived at our destination. I was only a few feet away from Detective Erikson before I could take in his full appearance. I sighed. I didn't think it could get any worse, but the universe saw it fit to prove me horribly wrong.

The next two minutes or so consisted of me following the two taller men through the crowd once again. Detective Hayes stayed next to me, though I could tell he was not fond of this situation in the slightest. He glanced over at me nervously every once in a while, but that didn't do much to soothe the reporters all around us. I was just glad nobody recognized us as being heavily involved with the case. I wasn't exactly in the right head space for an interview that would be broadcasted all over local television, nor did I think I ever would be.

Mr. Morix gestured for us to follow him around to the backside of the building, away from the prominent entrances, and I let out a sigh of relief. I looked between the three men before me before gazing downwards with a sigh. "This is... This is exhausting," I murmured, unsure of how else to put it. I didn't know how Detective Erikson could handle it. I never would have lasted a full day in managing crowds like that. Detective Hayes, who seemed to be much closer to my behavior, still didn't seem to be able to take the situation all that well. I could tell the noise was overwhelming.

"At least we won't need to worry about it right now," Mr. Morix pointed out. "Now, Detective Erikson... We have a few questions for you, if you don't mind. We finally uncovered the time of death. Well, we at least found a concrete date thanks to the testimony of a witness."

"I heard about that, yes... The day the victim was deemed missing was actually the day she was killed. I can't say I'm particularly surprised, but we didn't have any evidence to officially declare it to be true up to this point, so all we could do was wait," Detective Erikson shrugged. "Either way, what is it you wish to start off by discussing?"