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madimpossibledreamer...It has also come to my attention that I was absurdly optimistic about Shadowed Suspicion. I'll still endeavor to be absurdly optimistic and actually meet such standards, though.
Main Points:
Ace Attorney AU
Chapter II of Turnabout In Law
Summary: Edgeworth and Wright visit the Detention Center.
First case of Edgeworth & Wright!
Word Count: 2,120
Rating: T
October 13, 11.34 A.M.
Detention Center
Visitor's Room
Edgeworth stepped into the visitor's room, fairly confident. A moment passed, accompanied by a strange sensation, which took a moment to analyze. Suddenly he realized that he hadn't been accompanied into the room. His…friend? No time to overanalyze that now, Miles. Figure out why he isn't here.
He turned to see Phoenix, looking a lot younger, standing still, as if he would draw the attention of a particularly venomous snake if he so much as moved a muscle. Then the man bolted.
"Nrrrgh." Should he go after his fellow lawyer? It might be important, after all. Or should he do his job, what he came here to do? Why did Wright have to complicate everything? It seemed that was all he excelled at.
He looked back up to see a red-haired woman, smiling bravely through tears at him. "I'm not going anywhere."
He nodded. "I apologize for the rudeness of my fellow lawyer. If you'll permit me to make a brief call…" Of course, with her permission, he could tear after Wright, but, cold as it was, perhaps exploring whether the two knew each other or whether she knew anything regarding Phoenix's behavior without the other's presence might be beneficial. And it wasn't as if he was abandoning the man entirely.
The lady nodded. He made it brief, asking Maya to find and corrall a wayward Phoenix Wright. "You owe me burgers for this." He could hear the annoyance in her words. As far as he was aware, Phoenix and Maya had made a peace of sorts, but it appeared Maya still did not appreciate being saddled with what was practically babysitting duty.
At least it wasn't Larry.
He permitted the slightest of apologetic smiles to appear on his face, and bowed. Ruby Lemures giggled. He felt it was permissible to sit at this stage.
While small talk would potentially be useful to judge the accused's mood, as well as potentially discover the reason behind Wright's strange behavior, he decided to open with a very straightforward statement. "Your husband, Beige Lemures, contacted our office this morning, looking for lawyers for you."
Tears appeared again. "He is so thoughtful!" She might be…a little too upset, perhaps. But the brightening up at the mentioning of her husband's name was real. Another thought occurred to him—were the Lemures the sort of couple that would murder a man together, then cover up for each other's mistakes?
He allowed his gaze to sharpen a little. "Unfortunately, he was distraught and so wasn't able to tell us much. Could you tell me more about the murder?"
She flinched a little on the word 'murder', but drew out a silken handkerchief from her bag and dabbed at her eyes a little. "O-of course, Mr…"
"Edgeworth." He nodded. "I have already been told your name."
"Y-yes. Mr. Edgeworth." She took a deep breath. "It's been a dreadful few days. N-not the wedding, of course. That was beautiful. I couldn't wish for a better husband. He's a famous African explorer who's truly enthusiastic about his work, but of course that isn't the best thing about him. He's warm and gentle and funny. He loves me for the fact that we can discuss literature together and go on picnics and…" A smitten sigh.
Perhaps it was best to interrupt here before she went on for hours and used up the visitor's hours. "And you haven't gone on your honeymoon?"
A blush, coupled with a troubled look in those grey eyes. "Well, we have—er, not that that's any of your business," she hastily added. Thank you for not elaborating. I'd rather not know about that. "But that's not…that is, Colonel Lemures…that is, my husband…he'd spent most of his money on a recent trip to Africa. All his normal expenditures, of course. But then we met when he was returning, and, well…it was love at first sight!" She clasped her hands together dreamily. "And so he found that he had quite a lot of unusual and unexpected necessary spending to do. At least…" She lowered her voice. "I would've been fine with a much less expensive wedding, and less gifts, but my husband seemed to think he needed to lavish as much on me as he could, or perhaps I would run away. Which is simply silly. I love him! What need do I have for shiny baubles when I already have something far more precious?" Another sigh, as she fixed her now-frowning gaze at somewhere far beyond the visitor's glass in front of her. "Perhaps, of course, he felt he had to do it, not for my sake, or for his, but for his family. The Lemures are used to grand exhibitions with style, you see."
"Would it have bothered them more to have a simple wedding, or that you ended up spending their money?" Might as well continue with the direct approach.
The shocked intake of breath indicated that maybe he'd overplayed his hand, just a little. But after a moment or two, she relaxed, drooping a little miserably, and continued, so perhaps that had been the right move after all.
"Both, I think. I know at least that my husband's uncle, Moss Lemures, was more than a little unhappy that I wasn't from a rich family. My husband likes him, just thinks he's 'a bit of a meddler but not a bad old chap'…" Not a bad impression. "…but I…I'm not so sure. I'd like to like him. I'd like to like the whole family. But I'm afraid they don't like me."
"Enough that one of them would commit murder to frame you for it?" Phoenix would probably have been scolding him for lack of tact by now. Or perhaps Maya (though she'd go on to say something else blunt herself by now).
"No. At least, not if that was the only motive. I'd like to think that it was only a terrible dream, a horrible nightmare, but no matter how long I sit here, whenever I open my eyes, the nightmare returns. I-" She gulped. "I'm afraid that, yes, one of them did it. They're an interesting group, but there's something…Something about the house. It feels like it's watching you, judging you, creeping into your mind. And how they act when they're all gathered together in the same room. I-I'm afraid I had hysterics that night. I couldn't make myself actually tell anyone what I was feeling, at least, not in plain words. I'm afraid I had my husband absolutely frantic, but I was absolutely certain something awful was going to happen. Eventually, someone brought me some sleeping pills, and I took them and went to sleep. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of the night, wide awake, and I went to go get something-milk, maybe, if they had any in the mansion. I wasn't thinking very clearly. I wanted to sleep again, but I was restless. And then, I tripped over that body at the foot of the stairs, and then the police were called, and everyone's questioning me, and I just want to forget. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to remember the blood or that horrible, horrible face…!" She covered her face with her hands.
"I don't mean to make things worse, but if we find the truth, we can lay the ghost of the memory haunting you to rest, Mrs. Lemures." If nothing else, she wasn't lying about the fear.
The handkerchief made a reappearance, and she dabbed at her eyes. "Y-yes. You're quite right." She paused. "I saw a shape. I don't even know if it was a murderer, or whether I wasn't the first who discovered the body and they fled because they didn't wish to be accused. I screamed and fainted. It was a person…or a monster. I didn't think it was a human at the time. I'm not sure what I believe now."
"Could you tell me about the other occupants of the mansion?" This, here, was the important part. Were any of the others viable suspects?
"W-well, the victim…was the head of the family. Raven Lemures is the nephew. I don't think it was him. He's one of the few in the family who welcomed me. He's really very nice. From what I hear, Moss Lemures owns several theme parks, and he ruined someone's life for embezzling funds from him. That's his chief dislike of me, I think. It seems like his thoughts revolve around money. The maid, Ivory Snow, looked after me for a while when I was having my hysterics last night. She told me that I wasn't the only one to get weird feelings about the house, and Uncle Moss scolded her for being too superstitious. Cerulean Lemures is…odd. She defended me to Moss, saying something about how ‘someone good with manners is worth more than the richest man in the world without a shred of proper manners,’, but I’m not sure that she was talking about me. And my wonderful husband said that it was a bit of an old family dispute.”
It would not be the first time a friendly face concealed a cunning dagger. ‘Uncle’ Moss seemed a viable suspect, however, given his love of money. It would be prudent to test the strength of each family member, see if they could have killed in such a manner. On the other hand, he supposed none of them, including the possible client, could be ruled out. A machine or contraption for murder, while outlandish, would not be out of the question. And there was always the fact that the police had Ruby Lemures in custody. The police often overlooked small clues of large importance, and weren’t always the most bright or thorough, but they did not often, in Edgeworth’s experience, arrest a suspect without a murder weapon or at least a fair suspicion of the murder weapon or how said murder was committed.
“Are you acquainted with my colleague?” he asked quietly. It never hurts to ask unexpected questions to perhaps disturb the usual equilibrium and perhaps gain new facts.
Mrs. Lemures shakes her head. It’s the most sure she’s been about anything all day. “No. I’d remember that hairstyle.” It is rather true that Wright’s is, indeed, memorable.
“Were you made aware of why you are the chief suspect?” This was usually, but not always, at least partially explained or hinted, if only by the questions being asked.
“N-no.” That got a raised eyebrow from him in surprise. “I was the one to find the body, b-but beyond that…” She has tears in her eyes again, which makes him feel even more awkward. He realizes, not that he’ll ever admit it to anyone, even Maya-chan or Phoenix, that he has the social grace of an elephant.
She’s lying. Oh, it’s not as if they told her, but she has at least a hunch. Which makes him realize something else.
“Where is your wedding ring?” he asks suddenly.
She startles, tear-soaked handkerchief flying from her hands. She glances down at her left hand before letting out a strangled sob. Ruby frantically throws the chair to the side and falls to her knees, out of sight, though he can hear desperate shuffling on the other side of the glass.
He stands, feeling more than a touch of guilt. If he were half the gentleman his father was, this was precisely the wrong thing to have done. He does attempt to be kind to women in his own awkward, stumbling way, assuming they’re not murderers or adulterers or what have you, but whatever Ruby’s crime is, he’s beginning to guess it’s certainly not the one of which she’s been accused. He can’t know that for sure, of course, not until the bitter end, but…
Instinct tells him that if he walks away now, justice will not be served. He’s learned to listen to his gut feelings, however repulsive the phrase.
“Mrs. Lemures!” There is no answer. He peers into the room to see her scrabbling around on the floor like a dog on the scent, her well-manicured and polished fingernails now torn and bleeding. “I will take your case.” He can think of nothing else to say, not while she seems perfectly incapable of speech herself, and he has the feeling he should leave before the detention center guards throw him out for agitating the suspect like this. At least one of them should emerge from this encounter with dignity intact. He bows deeply, resolving to assuage his guilt by pursuing this case with the utmost diligence, then turns and strides out as the guards rush to his client.
