Title: Ashes to Ashes
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What if... Phoenix messed up the end of "Rise from the Ashes?"

Here's my little "magnificent octopus;" a story of how very different things in the PW universe could have been, if Phoenix didn't win the last case of the first game. Hope you enjoy it!

Note: Contains significant spoilers for the first two games.

Prologue

“You do have something to show us, right?” asked Chief Gant. “Conclusive evidence that leaves no room for doubt! Something that proves who knocked over Neil Marshall, causing his death.”
Phoenix stayed quiet. While he did have the evidence that Gant was talking about, he knew – as Gant likely did – that it was imprinted with the fingerprints of Ema Skye, the young sister of his client, Lana Skye.
“Mr Wright!” the Judge called out, sternly, “If you have any more evidence, present it now! And if you try to conceal anything, you will be the one appearing before the board of inquiries!”
“Yes, your honour, I do have further evidence.” responded Phoenix. He had hoped to wait a little longer before presenting it, but the game was clearly up now.
“All right! The time’s finally come!” Ema whispered to Phoenix. “Those prints have got to be the Chief’s!”
Somewhat nervously, Phoenix produced the scrap of leather he had removed from Gant’s office safe. “That’s a piece of leather clothing?” asked the Judge.
“Yes.” Phoenix replied. “It was most probably cut out from near the victim’s chest.”
Prosecutor Edgeworth took a closer look at it, and noticed the handprint clearly printed on the leather. “There’s a big handprint here. It must have been made by whoever shoved Marshall onto the sword.” he commented.
A sly grin formed on Gant’s face. “I think Wrighto knows who those prints belong to.”
All eyes were now back on Phoenix. Reluctantly, he revealed who they belonged to. The girl sitting right next to him.
“They’re mine?! So I really did do it?” Ema said, her voice trailing away.
Trying to retake control of the situation, Phoenix yelled at Gant, “But this cloth was found in your safe! That means it’s possible you forged it!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gant replied, with an innocent smile. “I don’t remember any cloth in my safe.”
“Wha- B-But...” stammered Phoenix.
“Give it up Wright, it’s over.” Edgeworth sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that. By presenting that piece of cloth, you’ve tied Ema to Neil Marshall’s death.”
The Judge nodded in agreement, and confidently stated “It looks like we’ve found our killer.”
Phoenix recoiled in utter horror. This had been Gant’s plan all along, and Phoenix had just played right into it! The one piece of evidence that could acquit Lana had instead served to incriminate her sister.
“NNOO! NOOOOO!!!” came the long and anguished scream from the defence bench...



Five years later:

“And with the score at 17-3, the ref has just used the Mercy Rule! It’s another walkover for the Spartans, as if there was any doubt about just how great these guys are! I’ll see you dudes at the next match, this is Larry Butz signing off!”
Life was great for Larry just now. He had a nice job as baseball commentator for the city’s biggest radio station, he was seeing one of the team’s cheerleaders, and thanks to the total thrashing handed out by the city’s baseball team, the Spartans, he had more time to get to the dinner he had arranged with an old friend. As he exited the press area and walked across the car park, he noticed a familiar face among the hundreds heading out of the stadium.
“Hey, Detective! Over here!” called out Larry.
“Oh, hi there, pal!” replied Detective Gumshoe. The detective was a big fan of the Spartans, and would normally be whooping for joy at such a scoreline, but he seemed a little subdued today.
“Things still quiet down at the precinct?” Larry asked.
“Well, the crime rate isn’t too bad. But things are getting quite... well, busy now.” replied the detective, with a slight frown.
“Oh, I get it! There’s no real work to do, so they’re making you guys tidy up the office, huh?” laughed Larry.
“No, we did that just last month. Chief Gant’s finally moving up and out. All I can say is that it’s causing some major upheavals. Speaking of that, whichever Detective gets the lowest performance this month has to move all the stuff out of Gant’s office.”
“You’d better start going down the gym, then, dude!”
“Oh, I’m not worried. Detective Meekins is doing way worse than me, pal!” laughed Gumshoe, as he started off towards the nearby bus stop.
“Alright! I’m off to dine with an old buddy, I’ll see you at the next game, dude!” called Larry, as he climbed into his car.

After a short drive, Larry parked outside the Gatewater Hotel. “Wonder how well he’s doing for himself?” Larry thought to himself, as he walked through to the dining room.
“Good evening, sir. Do you have a reservation?” asked the head waiter.
“I’m here to meet with a buddy. My name’s, uh, Butz.” Larry told him. Normally at this point, people used to either make fun of his name or ask for his “real” name, but since he had taken up his current job, that had all stopped.
“Oh, yes, the baseball reporter! You did a splendid job this afternoon if I may say so, sir! If you’ll please follow me, sir!” enthused the waiter.
Larry was lead to a table, where a familiar, spiky-haired individual was sitting. “Long time no see, Larry!” came the greeting!
“Wa-hey! How’s it hanging, Nick?”
“Oh, you know, I’m getting by.” replied Phoenix.
Over their meal, the two conversed about how their lives had been going. While Larry was able to tell Phoenix of his success stories, including the fact that he had been recently nominated for an industry award for Best Sports Commentator, all Phoenix had to talk about was the successes his girlfriend had experienced in the TV business.
“So, you’ve still got no job then?” asked Larry.
“Not really, just the odd bit of work on my girlfriend’s shows, and a few magazine articles here and there.” replied Phoenix.
“Well, there might be something coming up at the station that’d be just perfect for you!” enthused Larry. “Remember that lawyer guy, what’s his name, Grossman?”
”Oh, you mean Marvin Grossberg?”
“Yeah, that’s the one! He runs a legal advice show every Thursday afternoon, but he’s thinking about retiring in a month or so. I could put in a word with my boss, get you to fill in Marty’s shoes!”
“Look, Larry,” signed Phoenix “Marvin’s a great lawyer. I managed to get my last client sentenced to death, and even got her sister ten years while I was at it. Who’s gonna want to take my advice?”
“WHAT?!” Larry yelled at such volume that it got the attention of everyone in the dining room. “You got me and Miles off those murder charges. Not to mention that Steel Samurai guy and that girl... what’s her name...?”
“Maya. Well, in the end she... uh, look, Larry, can we just talk about something else?”
“OK, then, sorry.” mumbled Larry, as he took a mouthful of food.

The two eventually finished their meal, after which Phoenix suggested that they go back to his apartment for a nightcap. “Sounds like a plan, dude!” said Larry. “Shall we take my car, or yours?”
“Well, I don’t really have a car.” responded Phoenix, with a slight laugh. “My girlfriend uses it most of the time, and she was meeting with her producer tonight.”
”Okay, no problems bro! Just tell me where you live, and I’ll get us there double-quick!”
Larry was good to his word, and they arrived at Phoenix’s apartment ten minutes later. “Nice block!” Larry commented on seeing the building. “You got the penthouse suite?”
“Not just yet. But it’s a nice place anyway.” said Phoenix as he opened the front door. The two took the lift to the second-top floor, and Phoenix led Larry into a spacious apartment.
“Honey, we’re home!” called out Phoenix, not really knowing whether or not she’d be back by now.
“Oh, super-cool!” came the response. A cute, red-headed girl in her mid-20s bounded into the living room and straight into Phoenix’s arms. “How was dinner?”
“Great! By the way,” said Phoenix, indicating Larry, “this is the guy I was telling you about.”
“Hey, dudette, pleased to meet you!” Larry said, as he shook her hand. “The name’s Larry.” He paused for a moment, then asked “Hey, aren’t you that girl from the TV? The one that does those documentaries on ghosts and things?”
“That’s right!” she said with a smile. “You probably, like, know it already, but my name’s Ini, Ini Miney! Why don’t you two sit down, and I’ll get you some drinks.”

Meanwhile, across the city, a young photographer was heading through one of the city’s more exclusive areas, walking home from her evening meal. As she was thinking about how Jake’s burgers really captured the flavours of the heartland, she noticed someone who seemed to be struggling to get in their house. Initially she didn’t think much of it, but as she got closer, she noticed that his key looked a bit strange. Then it hit her – it wasn’t a key at all, but one of the most sophisticated lockpicks available on the market. She had photographed a couple for a newspaper article the previous month, so she was quite familiar with its appearance. Finally, the crook succeeded in opening the door, and quietly entered the house. She stealthily took up a position behind a shrub, took out her camera and pointed it at the door, ready to catch the crook when he left. “A gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do!” she thought to herself.

Back at Phoenix’s place, Phoenix and Ini were showing Larry photos from near the start of their relationship. Back then, Ini had a slightly odd taste in clothes, and a longer hairdo. Since she had started making her documentaries however, this had given way to a more reserved dress sense, and smarter, shorter haircut.
“Wow, you really used to dress like that?” asked Larry.
“Yeah, I was, like, totally whacked out back then!” laughed Ini. “Since I’ve been with Phoenix though, I’ve learnt a few things!”
“Yep! Nick’s brains really start rubbing off on you after a while!” replied Larry.
“Oh, come on!” groaned Phoenix. “Hearing you two, you’d think I was some kind of genius or something!”
“Well, you are! I would never have seen through those slimeballs that you helped put away.” Larry told Phoenix
“No, it wasn’t me.” Phoenix said, with a sigh. “Mia was the one who really took care of those trials. I didn’t deserve the credit everyone was giving me.” He paused briefly, then continued, “When I couldn’t count on Mia, I really messed up. I cost Lana her life, messed up Ema’s life, and I couldn’t even protect... her.”
Larry looked on shocked, as Phoenix slumped in his chair. “Her? Who... what happened, dude?”
Ini curled her arm around Phoenix. “It happened when we first met. I was studying this group of psychics, and Phoenix came to meet a girl who was going to do a spirit channelling.”
“A girl?” Larry asked. “Wait, was it that girl in those weird clothes that used to hang around with you?”
“Maya?” came Phoenix’s reply. “Yeah, that was her. Something went wrong in the channelling, though, and the spirit went berserk and killed someone.”
Ini winced visibly at this, before adding. “But the police decided that Maya was still the one to blame for the killing.”
“Whoa...” uttered Larry, amazed. “But you defended her, and found the real killer, didn’t you, Nick?!”
“No,” said Phoenix, “I couldn’t trust myself to do that. Not after the last case. There was only one person I could trust to handle that case.” He looked up at Larry. “Grossberg.”
“Marty?!” asked Larry. “Did he get her free?”
”The evidence was too strong,” replied Phoenix, “and he didn’t really understand enough about spirit-channelling. In the end, he managed set up a plea-bargain with the State, and they accepted a guilty plea for negligent homicide. She got a year in prison, and no-one’s seen her since she was released.”
Sensing that it was perhaps best to change the subject slightly, Ini commented, “I’d lost my sister the year before, so I kind of understood what he was going through. During the trial we started talking, and kind of hit it off. Our relationship just went from there, really.”
“Cool!” replied Larry, perking up, “How long’s it gonna be till we hear wedding bells then?”
“Hey!”
“Oh, whenever one of us, like, actually gets the nerve to propose!” Ini replied, smiling at Phoenix.
“And after that,” continued Larry, “you can have yourselves a bunch of little Phoenixes!”
“Yeah, I’m hoping for at least three!” Ini said.
“N-Now, hold it just a minute!” stammered Phoenix
“Oh, but that won’t be, like, a proper family, will it?” she continued. “We’ll need a dog, a cat, maybe some fish, or a cute little hamster...”
“OBJECTION!” came a yell from Phoenix’s direction.
There was a long pause, before the three had a good laugh. “You still got it, bro, you still got it!” Larry told Phoenix.
“Hey, it was what you wanted to hear, wasn't it? Anyway, let’s get some more drinks!” Phoenix replied, smiling at last.

CRASH! Marvin Grossberg awoke with a start. “What the Dickens?!” he said to himself, before checking the burglar alarm. “Oh no, I forgot to turn it on again.” he thought, as another crash emitted from downstairs. “Sounds like a burglar.”
Marvin reached under his pillow, and pulled out an old police baton, which he wielded intently as he descended the staircase. “Well, if they think they’re going to steal from this old warhorse, they’re going to be very shocked.”

A few more drinks later, Larry was about ready to go home. Being the responsible friend that he was, Phoenix called a taxi for Larry, who promised to pick up his car the next day. Upon making sure Larry got in the taxi okay, Phoenix returned to his apartment, where Ini was waiting.
“I think you should, like, really think about taking that job Larry was talking about.” she told Phoenix.
“Ini, you know why I can’t take the job.” he replied.
“Okay, so you screwed up that case with those sisters. So what?” Ini asked. “No-one’s going to phone a radio station and ask for advice when they’ve been accused of a murder! They’ll be asking for like, advice on little things, like then they’ve been conned out of their money, or broken their neighbour's window!”
Phoenix paused, taking in what she had just said, and then replied “That never occurred to me! But that just proves why I shouldn’t do it – if even you can work stuff like that out when I can’t, I’d be a total screw-up on the air!”
Ini glowered slightly at Phoenix. “What do you mean, ‘even me?’ Are you saying I’m dumb or something?!”
“Uh, no, I’m...” replied Phoenix, slightly nervously.
“Like, chill out, lover boy! I’m, like, just teasing you!” giggled Ini. “At least think about it, won’t you?”
“Okay, sure I will.” Phoenix started towards the bedroom. “It’s late. You coming?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m, like, pretty pooped out!” she replied.

Back across town, Marvin entered his living room, and saw that someone had been through every drawer and cabinet in the room. They were obviously looking for something specific, but he wasn’t quite sure what. Another thud emitted, this time from Marvin’s study, prompting him to investigate.
From within the darkness, a figure cursed “Dratted things, I’ll find them if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Who the devil are you?!” bellowed Marvin as he burst into the study.
“Oh dear,” came the reply, “I’d hoped to leave this place without being disturbed. You should have stayed in bed, old man.”
Only then did Marvin notice what the figure was armed with.

Outside, the photographer continued to wait. “It’s been a darn long time since that crook went in there! Whut’s he stealin’ anyway?” she asked herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by the hail of machine-gun fire from within the house. She paused for a moment in horror, and then steeled herself. “That’s it! I’m goin’ in!”

This bit ended up WAY longer than I thought it would, but here it is:



Dawn had just broken the following morning when Phoenix’s bedside phone rang.
“Answer that, will you?” Ini told him.
“You answer it.” mumbled Phoenix. “It’s probably someone from the TV station anyway.”
“Like, remind me why we even put the phone on your side in the first place?!” said Ini, as she got out of bed and walked over to the phone. “Hello?” she asked as she answered it. “Oh, hi there, Larry. Are you coming to... who’s Nick? Oh, you mean... yeah, I’ll put him on.”
Phoenix sleepily took the phone. “Hey, Larry. You okay after...?”
“No time for that!” yelled Larry. “I’ve just heard from the station, someone broke into Grossberg’s house last night and shot him!”
“Marvin?!” yelled Phoenix, startling Ini. “Is- is he dead?!”
“Ouch! Don’t yell at me Nick, my head’s still spinning!” moaned Larry. “Uh, Marvin’s in a bad shape, but still alive.”
“Thank goodness! Who did it, did they catch them?”
“They’ve got a suspect. Some girl that was prowling around Grossberg’s house just before the shooting. Says she was trying to photograph something.”
“Photograph?” Phoenix thought to himself. “No, it couldn’t be. Not her...”

“Well, this shore is a turn-up for the books, ain’t it Mr. Lawyer?” asked Lotta, who was entirely too cheerful for someone in her situation.
“Lotta, why can’t you just stay out of trouble for once?” groaned Phoenix, from across the partition in the Detention Centre’s visiting room.
“Whaddya mean ‘for once?!’ I’ve never been arrested in my entire life! They just made a mistake this once, that’s all.”
“What were you doing there to begin with, anyway?”
“Well, I was walkin’ home from my supper, when I noticed someone breakin’ into a house on Orchard Drive. So, naturally, I hid behind one of the bushes, and got ready to take a photo of ‘em when they left!”
Phoenix paused for a minute, taking this in. “Didn’t you think to call the Police at any point?”
“Heck no!” snapped Lotta. “You think I’d let Detective Suedeshoes and his gang stampede in like a herd of buffalo and ruin my shot? Nope, I was gonna get the shot, then take it to the police! After I’d negotiated a sweet deal with all the papers, of course!”
Phoenix held his head in his hands. Lotta had improved as a photographer, and gotten some great shots into the newspapers, but she sure hadn’t gotten any smarter since they first met. “This is going to look real bad at your trial, Lotta.” he told her. “I don’t suppose you got a photo of the real gunman did you?”
“Funny you should mention that!” Lotta growled. “Whoever it was knocked me out and stole my camera! When I came to, I was surrounded by all those gorillas from the Police department.”
“So you’ve no proof that anyone else was there, and no proof that you were trying to take any photos.” Phoenix sighed. “This doesn’t look good at all Lotta.”
“Well, that don’t matter, do it?” beamed Lotta. “Cos’ I’ll be havin’ you saving my skin in the courtroom, won’t I?”
“Look, Lotta, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I don’t do that any more. I’m retired.”
“Huh?! Now wait a minute, Buster! If you think I’m gonna trust my neck to those silly little state attorneys, you’ve got another think coming!”
“I- I can still try and find you the best lawyer in the city and get them to defend you, if you’d like.”
Lotta turned away from Phoenix “I’ve already got that detective looking for a lawyer for me. If you’ve got nothing else to say, then you should just stop wastin’ your time here.”
“Lotta-”
“Yes or no, Mr. Lawyer?” Lotta carried on staring at the wall. Phoenix looked at her for a minute, then quietly exited the room. He had barely gotten to the end of the corridor outside when Detective Gumshoe came flying around the corner.
“Hey, watch it, Detective!” Phoenix said, as he narrowly avoided a collision.
“Sorry, pal!” the Detective replied. “Hey, it’s you! Been a while since we last met! When was it, the Maya Fey case?”
“Yeah that was the one.” sighed Phoenix.
“So, have you come out of retirement for this case, then?” Gumshoe asked, enthusiastically.
“No. No, I was just visiting Lotta.”
“Oh. Right.” replied Gumshoe with a disappointed look on his face. “I was hoping you were going to defend her. You see, I’ve just been calling around all the independent lawyers in the city. It looks like they’re all busy; they’ve been hired as one team in the big gang case that’s going on right now.”
“Really?” asked Phoenix, taken aback. “All of them?”
“Pretty much. There’s only two registered lawyers that haven’t been hired – Grossberg, and you, pal!”
“Me?! But I’m not a lawyer anymore!”
“Looks like you never took yourself off the list of registered lawyers. I’d say that makes you Lotta’s number one chance, buddy!”
“But I can’t...”
“Why not?! You don’t really want her trusting herself to one of those state lawyers, do you?”
“No, I’d just mess up, like I did in...”
“Now, look here, pal!” shouted Gumshoe, at such volume that Phoenix literally jumped off the ground. “You’ve won four trials, and lost one! That means you’ve got a 75% success rate!”
“Uh, no it doesn’t. Four wins out of five cases is an 80% success rate.” replied Phoenix.
Gumshoe paused. “Oh, right, 80%, then.” He then resumed shouting, “So, you’ve lost ONE of your cases! Do you know what the success rate is for the average state lawyer?”
Phoenix thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“It’s thirty-something percent! You’re more than twice as successful as most lawyers, and you think you’re dumb or something?! You don’t deserve that badge of yours!” Gumshoe yelled, indicating Phoenix’s wallet.
Phoenix took the wallet out, and opened it. Inside was the attorney’s badge he had received all those years ago, which he no longer displayed, but still kept around as a memento of the things he had once achieved. “How did you know..?”
“I had a hunch.” replied Gumshoe, who then opened his own wallet, and took out a small badge, upon which the words ‘California Traffic Patrol’ were engraved. “My first job when I joined the force. I transferred to homicide after a year, but I’ve always kept the badge with me.” He then put it back in his pocket and added “You can always try and change what you are, but you can never forget what you have been.”
There was a long silence, as Phoenix gathered his thoughts. “You know, detective, you’re absolutely right.”
“Really?” asked Gumshoe, with a chuckle. “I thought you were the one who’s ‘Wright!’”
“Don’t start that... how strong is the evidence against Lotta?”
”By the looks of it, mostly circumstantial. We haven’t found any of her fingerprints in the house, nor the weapon that was used to shoot Mr. Grossberg.”
“How is Marvin, anyway?” asked Phoenix.
“He’s got a good chance of pulling through. Most of the shots hit him in the arm and shoulder, it’s just one that went through his lung that’s causing the trouble. It looks as if whoever shot him either wasn’t familiar with their weapon, or they just couldn’t see Grossberg very well in that light.”
“Or both.” added Phoenix. “Doesn’t exactly help Lotta mind you...”
Gumshoe checked his watch, and then said “Uh, look, I’ve got to go to the prosecutor’s office right now, and deliver the evidence for the case. Do you reckon you could tell Lotta whether you’ll be defending her, or if she’ll need a state lawyer?”
“Yeah, of course. Thanks a lot Detective. Thanks for everything.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you around, pal!” Gumshoe called out, as he walked back the way he came.
Phoenix returned to the visiting room, where Lotta was still sitting. She turned to face him, and asked, “Thought it over, Spiky? Will... Will you help me or not?”
Time seemed to pause for Phoenix, and though he didn’t remember saying anything, Lotta started leaping for joy.
“Way to go, Mr. Wright! I knew you’d come through for me!” she whooped.
At this point, something inside Phoenix took over, and he sat down and looked intently at Lotta. “Okay Lotta,” he said, “I need you to tell me everything that happened last night. Absolutely everything.”

That night, Ini returned from the TV station to find Phoenix working with a mountain of paperwork. “Wow, that radio job has a, like, really long application form, huh?” she asked.
“No, it’s not that.” Phoenix told her. “I’ve, uh, agreed to defend someone in court tomorrow.”
“Wow, really?” she replied. “You’re getting back into that business?”
“Probably not, but I’m going to do just this one thing. Apparently some crime boss has commandeered all the good lawyers in the city.” he replied.
“Oh, so it’s not gonna be a tough case then?”
“I don’t think so, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of evidence for the prosecution.” Phoenix put his pen down and frowned. “Trouble is, I don’t really have any strong evidence, either.”
“Well, what’s the one thing you could really do with proving in the trial tomorrow?” she asked.
“That she had a photograph of the real assailant. Since her camera got stolen though, I can’t prove that.”
“And since you can’t,” continued Ini, “what would be the next best thing?”
“I suppose that would be proving that she was there to take photographs rather than to commit a robbery.” he replied. After a brief pause, Phoenix realised something. “Wait a minute, I have an idea where I can get some proof!” He stood and started walking towards the door. “Mind if I use the car?” he asked.
“Go ahead!”
“Great! I’ll see you later!” With that Phoenix quickly exited the flat, and ran down to the car park.
As Ini watched from the kitchen window, Phoenix got into their car, and drove off down the street. “He’s got great brains.” she told herself. “It’s just a pity that he never uses them properly!”

A short while later, Phoenix was stood outside Jake’s All-Night Grill. “Lotta had her camera when she was here.” he thought to himself. “If someone can verify the time that she left, that should give me something to work with tomorrow.”
Phoenix opened the door to the restaurant, and was greeted by the smell of hickory smoke, and the sound of Country-Western music. “Good evenin’ pardner!” came the voice of the owner. “What can I do you for?”
There was no mistaking the Wild West garb of the owner. “Officer Marshall?” asked Phoenix.
“’Fraid that’s ex-Officer Marshall. This happens to be my claim these days.” Jake replied, in a slightly mournful tone before perking up. “Can I interest you in any of our specialities?”
“Not tonight, thanks. Do you remember seeing this girl last night?” asked Phoenix, holding up a picture of Lotta.
“Hmm. Well, we had a mighty fine number of folks down here watching the Spartans’ match last night.” Jake told Phoenix indicating the restaurant’s big TV screen, which was currently showing an old John Wayne film. “It’s plum hard to remember everyone that passed by this way.”
“Oh, okay.” sighed Phoenix.
“But, we do have a special offer!” said Jake, with a smile. “I suppose you could call it, buy a meal, and get a free side order of information!”
“Oh, great.” Phoenix thought to himself. He quickly scanned the specials board, and thought, “Well, it’s been a while since I had BBQ ribs. I just hope his information’s actually gonna be useful!”
After putting in his order, Phoenix sat down and started to watch the film. He quickly became engrossed in it, and almost didn’t notice when Jake bought a steaming rack of ribs to his table. “One rack of ribs,” Jake told Phoenix, “coated in my own special sauce. Spent years perfectin’ it, pardner, getting it to capture the spirit of Texas in jus’ the right way!”
Phoenix made a start on the ribs, and to his surprise, they were very good. “Mm, these are nice!” he said. “I always thought it was Angel Starr that was the great chef?”
“That’s right. In fact, she was my pardner to begin with!”
“Pard- er, partner?” asked Phoenix.
“Yeah. Chief Gant had me drummed out of the force a few days after that trial, and Angel helped me set up this place. We worked a year to get it up to speed, but there was something she had to do. So, I carried on running this place, and she followed her own trail, walkin’ under the moonlight, travelling towards her destiny...” he carried on, looking vaguely into the distance.
“Jake!” called out Phoenix, realising they were straying from the point. “Now, was Lotta here or not, yesterday?”
“She was, pardner. Lotta’s one of my best customers! Comes here at least twice a week, can’t get enough of my special Ranch Burgers! And between you and me, I think she might have just the slightest crush on yours truly.” Jake answered, with a gleam in his eye.
“Right. Did she have her camera with her?” asked Phoenix.
“Yep.” came the response. “Had a little accident with it and all, I put a little too much sauce on her burgers, and it got on her camera case. No harm done though.”
“Good! Do you have any footage from your security camera?” Phoenix asked, indicating the camera near the door.
“Ah, between you and me pardner,” whispered Jake, “that’s a dummy camera. I could never have put all the wires in for a real camera.”
“Oh, right.” Phoenix answered, disappointed. “Could you possibly write an affidavit, just to say that Lotta had her camera?”
“That I can!” Jake answered, producing his pen. Phoenix gave him a piece of paper, and Jake wrote down the affidavit in surprisingly clear writing. “That good enough for you?” “That’ll do just nicely, thanks.” said Phoenix, as he put it into his briefcase.
“Just one more thing to take care of now, pardner!” said Jake. “The bill. That’ll be fourteen bucks!”
Phoenix started to reach for his wallet, but then he had an idea. “Actually, Lotta’s agreed to cover my expenses for this case. Would it be okay if she paid you the next time she was here?” he asked, with a grin.
“No problems.” Jake said, making a note of it on the bill. “Just know that the next time you’re here, you pay your own way!”
“Okay then. Thanks for the food and the info; I’ll see you around, Jake!” said Phoenix as he walked to the exit.
“Farewell, stranger!” Jake called.

As Phoenix drove away, he thought, “I’d hoped to get more than that, but at least Jake’s verified that Lotta had the camera. And he didn’t mention anything about her having a gun.” His route happened to take him through Orchard Drive, past Marvin’s house. “Maybe the cops are done investigating the house now?” he thought to himself as he pulled up outside.
No sooner had he stepped out of the car, than someone shouted “FREEZE!” out of the darkness. Phoenix immediately froze in position, until he heard the words “Oh, it’s you pal.”
“Detective?!” asked Phoenix, noticing Gumshoe standing by the front door of the house with a torch. “You nearly scared me to death.”
“Ah, sorry, didn’t realise it was you.” Gumshoe replied, with a reassuring laugh.
“What are you doing here at this time of the night?” Phoenix asked, as his heart-rate slowly returned to normal.
“Those goons down at the precinct!” yelled Gumshoe. “They’ve got me watching the house to make sure no-one tries to gain access! As if I’d have nothing better to do tonight!”
“Were you meant to be doing something important?” asked Phoenix.
“That ain’t the point, pal!” Gumshoe said, “I’m freezing out here! They could have at least given me a flask of coffee or something!”
This gave Phoenix an idea. “Well, there’s an all-night restaurant a mile or so back. You could go there and get a coffee, and I could hold the fort here until you get back.”
“Really? You’d be enough of a pal to do that for me?” Gumshoe asked enthusiastically, before scowling at Phoenix. “Wait a minute! I know what you’re trying to pull! You want to get me out of the way so you can look around this house! Well, I’m not falling for it. I’m gonna carry on guarding this place, even if I have to wait another ten hours for a coffee!”
“Okay, okay, relax!” said Phoenix, slightly taken aback.
“Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the offer. But I really can’t afford to have my performance rating slip this month.” Gumshoe said, in a suddenly much calmer mood.
“Oh well, it was worth a try.” Phoenix thought to himself as he started walking away. Just then, as Gumshoe flashed the light of his torch across the lawn, Phoenix noticed a glint in the grass. Quickly moving over to where it was, he started feeling through the grass.
“You found something?” asked Gumshoe, as he noticed what Phoenix was doing. “Cos’ if you have, it’s evidence, and that means I have to take it.”
“I dunno, I just noticed something.” muttered Phoenix, who then felt something metallic in his hand. He then held it up, and Gumshoe shone the torch on it, revealing a discarded bullet casing.
“Oh, it’s one of those.” Gumshoe commented. “We found a load of them near the crime scene. Detective Meekins must have dropped one when he was taking the evidence back to the van.”
“Detective Meekins?” asked Phoenix, surprised that the total klutz of an officer he met at his last case had made it so far, before adding “Would anyone mind if I took this?”
Seeing the look of hope on Phoenix’s face, Gumshoe smiled and said “Nah, we got plenty of those from the crime scene. Can’t see how missing one’s going to make any difference.”
Phoenix nodded in acknowledgement and got back into his car. “See you at the trial tomorrow!” he called out to Gumshoe.
“You can count on it!” came the detective’s reply, as he carried on shining his torch around the lawn.
“Detective Gumshoe, you’re a star!” Phoenix thought as he drove himself home. “This bullet might be just what I need to save Lotta’s skin!”

The following morning, Ini pulled up outside the courthouse. Looking at her passenger, she smiled and said “My Phoenix, back in action! Feeling confident?”
“I think we might be in with a chance!” answered Phoenix.
“I’d go in with you, but we’re supposed to be, like, deciding what our next show’s gonna be on today, so I bought one of these for you.” Ini handed Phoenix one of her latest publicity shots, upon which the words “To Phoenix, my biggest fan, love Ini!” were written.
“Wow, thanks.” said Phoenix, with a nervous laugh. “I’d better get going.” He reached across and shared a kiss with Ini, before getting out of the car. The two waved to each other, and with a roar, the car sped off into the distance. “I always thought men were supposed to be the more aggressive drivers?” Phoenix jokingly thought to himself, as he ascended the courthouse steps for the first time in five years.
Inside, he guided himself through the crowd of lawyers and journalists (who were probably there for the mob trial, he reasoned), and made himself to the lobby of the second court room.
Lotta was waiting there, flanked by a bailiff. “Howdy do, Mr. Lawyer! Reckon things are lookin’ good for us?” she asked
“I’ve picked up some evidence from Marvin’s house, and gotten an affidavit from Jake Marshall. If the evidence is as circumstantial as Gumshoe says, we can probably sew this up today.” Phoenix told her.
“Jake?” asked Lotta with a smile. “Aw, he’s a real honey! Whence this is all over, I’ll go straight round there and order an extra big sirloin, to show my thanks!”
“Yeah, speaking about that...” Phoenix began to say, but was interrupted by a bailiff announcing that the trial was about to begin.
“What was you gonna say?” asked Lotta.
“I’ll tell you later.” said Phoenix.

Phoenix took his position inside the defence bench, and propped the photo of Ini up beside him, so that it would at least feel like someone was beside him that day. Looking around the courtroom, he spotted a bald, bespectacled figure opposite him. He wondered who it was for a while, then thought “Winston Payne. I remember him, he was the prosecutor I won my first case against. Hopefully he won’t give me too much of a hard time today.”
A few minutes later, the Judge strode in. Phoenix immediately noticed that this one was a different person to the judge who oversaw his trials – he looked vaguely similar, but had a smaller beard that was greyish-blonde instead of white. He took his seat, and banged his gavel until the court was silent. “The court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Lotta Hart. Ms. Hart, you stand accused of the attempted murder of Mr. Marvin Grossberg. How do you plead?”
Lotta briefly looked at Phoenix and smiled before confidently pleading “Not guilty!”
“Will the prosecution please give their opening statement?” asked the Judge.
“Yes, your honour.” replied Payne. “Today, the prosecution intends to prove that two nights ago, Ms. Hart forcibly gained entry into the house of Mr. Grossberg with the intention to commit robbery. Furthermore, when confronted by Mr. Grossberg, Ms. Hart opened fire at the unfortunate gentleman with intent to kill.”
Lotta glared at Payne and was about ready to start yelling at him, but Phoenix indicated to her to be quiet.
“The prosecution now calls the defendant to the stand.” continued Payne.
“That’s unusual, usually it’s the detective who gets called first.” Phoenix thought to himself.
“Ms. Hart,” asked Payne, “Two nights ago, what were you doing?”
“Well,” Lotta answered, “I was jus’ walking down Orchard Drive, coming home from my supper, when I noticed someone trying to break into Mr. Grossberg’s house. So, when they went in, I hid myself so that I could get a photo of the burglar when he left.”
“You didn’t think to call the police at any time?” Payne asked, intently.
“Whut’s with y’all askin’ that anyway? Mr. Spiky-Hair over there asked it me yesterday! What does it matter if I didn’t? Don’t change the fact that there was a burglar there, do it?” shouted Lotta.
“Oh, no, Lotta!” Phoenix thought to himself, before realising, “So, that was Payne’s idea. He knows his evidence is weak, so he called Lotta in the hope that she’d say something bad in front of the judge!”
“Hm, so Mr. Wright felt it necessary to ask that question as well, did he?” commented Payne. “What happened when you entered the house?”
“Well, all the lights was out, but I could tell where the gunshots were comin’ from, so I got there quick as I could.” she told the court.
“And what did you see when you got there?” Payne asked her.
“The gentleman who owned the house had been shot in the chest; I went to help him, but someone thumped me on the head. When I came to, I’d been moved over to the other side of the room, and consarn it, someone had nicked my camera!”
“Really? And how did you know that it was ‘the gentleman who owned the house?’” asked Payne.
“Well, DUH!” said Lotta. “You just said that’s who he was, you old fool!”
“Oh, er, right.” stuttered Payne. “Well, why don’t we see what the detective in charge of the crime scene has to say about it? Witness, you may leave the stand, I now call Detective Dick Gumshoe.”
“Well, maybe I don’t wanna leave the stand.” Lotta said, icily. “Maybe I just wanna stay here and show the court how y’all are spinnin’ lies about a poor young woman!”
The Judge banged his gavel. “If you refuse to leave the stand or make any further outbursts, you will be held in contempt of court, Ms. Hart.” he said, with a stony expression.
Lotta left the stand grumbling, and Gumshoe took her place. “Detective Gumshoe, you are the detective in charge of the crime scene, correct?” Payne asked him.
“That’s affirmative, sir!”
“Could you please tell us about the details of the crime scene, and the attempted murder?”
“Yes, sir. There were two rooms that had been ransacked by the burglar; the living room and the study. We don’t as yet know if anything was taken, since Mr. Grossberg hasn’t yet regained consciousness. It appears he interrupted them while they were searching his study.”
“Yes, I believe I informed the court of that, Detective.”
“The crook then opened fire with an automatic weapon. The shots hit Mr. Grossberg in his left arm, shoulder and chest. We believe that the intent was to kill, but the attacker couldn’t see well under the poor lighting conditions.” continued Gumshoe.
“Just a minute, detective.” said the Judge. “Could the assailant’s motives been to disable Mr. Grossberg, rather than to kill him?”
“No, sir. If that was the intention, they would probably have aimed for his legs. The bullets took an upward path through his body, which disproves that theory. Anyway, it seems that one of the bullets ricocheted and partially cut through the cord of one of the ceiling fans. At some point after the shooting, the cord snapped and the fan hit the shooter, knocking her out until we arrived. We found the fan on top of her head, and a corresponding bruise on the back of her skull.”
“Detective,” asked Phoenix, “was the murder weapon found at the scene?”
“Um, no it wasn’t, sir...” Gumshoe began to say before being cut off by Payne.
“There was a large volume of discarded gun casings in the study. Obviously these were fired from an automatic weapon which was used by the defendant. She just hid it well before resuming her robbery.” he said quickly.
“Really?” asked Phoenix “Because most rapid-fire automatics tend to be quite large. I’d have thought it’d hard to hide one of those.”
“Not necessarily!” responded Payne, confidently. “There are many models which are relatively compact, and could easily be hidden in a sufficiently large space. Anyway, Detective, did you find any evidence that the defendant had been there to take photographs?”
“No, sir.” Gumshoe answered. “We couldn’t find any camera there.”
“You see? Obviously this story about trying to photograph the ‘real’ killer is a poor excuse of an excuse!” said Payne, chuckling slightly at his own joke.
“Mr. Payne. Do you have any problem with the defendant’s claim to have been at a restaurant immediately before the attempted murder?” asked Phoenix.
“What’s your point?” came Payne’s reply.
Phoenix smiled. “A simple yes or no will do. Does the prosecution dispute the whereabouts of the defendant immediately before the crime?”
“Hmph.” said Payne. “For what it’s worth, the prosecution does not dispute that.”
“Is there a point to what you just asked?” the Judge inquired. “Or are you simply trying to buy time for your client?”
“There is indeed a point to this.” Phoenix said, producing a piece of paper. “Time for the first salvo.” he thought to himself.
“Where are you going with this?” Payne asked, getting the slightest inkling that he might have just walked into a trap.
“This is a signed affidavit by Jake Marshall, the owner of the restaurant that Ms. Hart was dining at. Mr. Marshall states that he clearly remembers seeing the camera on Ms. Hart’s person that night.” Phoenix told the court. “Your honour, would you care to verify it?”
“Wha-?!” yelled Payne, as the Judge took the letter.
“Hmm. This is an unusual step, Mr. Wright. Normally we would insist on testimony from the witness himself.” The Judge told Phoenix.
“That’s true,” Phoenix thought to himself, “but I really need that note to be accepted by the Judge!” Quickly thinking of an explanation, he looked up and told the Judge, “I realise that, your honour. However, Mr. Marshall did not have any other relevant information that he could have testified to this court about, so I had him write out this affidavit instead, to save the court’s time.”
“Now that you mention it, that does seem like a prudent act. Well done, Mr. Wright.” The Judge turned to Payne, who was now visibly sweating. “Mr. Payne. Can you explain what happened to the camera?”
“Ugh...” said Payne, “She could have taken it home, then gone to Mr. Grossberg’s house?”
Phoenix shook his head. “Ms. Hart’s registered address is six miles from the restaurant, which she left only twenty minutes before the police were called. She couldn’t have gotten home, then back to Mr. Grossberg’s house in the time she had.”
Payne emitted a small yelp of frustration, then quickly said “But Jake Marshall was dismissed from the police force for assaulting another officer and dereliction of duty! Surely any testimony from him has to be suspicious?”
“How does an incident that occurred five years ago affect what he says today?” shouted Phoenix. “If you have any reason to doubt the truth of this affidavit, then tell the court!”
There was a pause, as Payne realised he had no answer to this. “Hmm, in light of this and the lack of a murder weapon, the prosecution’s case looks weak.” said the Judge. “Mr. Payne, the evidence you have appears quite circumstantial. Do you have anything more concrete to back up your claims?”
Payne sighed. “Okay. I’d hoped that this wouldn’t be necessary, but I do have a witness that can clear this up. If it pleases the court, I request a thirty-minute recess to call and prepare my witness.”
“Wow, Payne really thought he could sew up the case purely with what he’s presented up to now.” Phoenix thought to himself. “I wonder where this trial’s going to go now?”
The Judge nodded. “Request granted. The court will now take a thirty minute recess.” With that, he banged his gavel to signal the start of recess.

In her office at the nearby JFA-TV station, Ini was looking through her file of paranormal phenomena when her phone rang. She pushed the speakerphone button, and answered, “Hello, this is Ini Miney.”
“Miss Miney,” said the guy who was manning the switchboard, “I have a Ms. Fey on the line, wishing to speak to you.”
Ini glanced around, slightly nervously, then picked up the phone’s handset and switched off the speakerphone. “Okay, you can put her through.”
“Ah, my dear Ini.” came the voice of Morgan Fey. “Might I inquire how you are these days?”
“Uh, fine. Look, I didn’t think we needed to get in touch with each other again. We’ve both got what we wanted, right?” Ini said quietly into the phone.
“Well, I’d just like to comment how interesting and informative your documentaries are.” Morgan’s voice told her. “You treat the subject with real interest and respect, and I find that a very admirable trait.”
Ini frowned. “If you wanted to tell me that, you could have just sent me a fan letter. What is it you really want?” she asked.
“Oh, just a little idea I had. As you may know, my daughter, Mystic Pearl is now the Master of Kurain Village.”
“Yes?”
“The youngest Master in the village’s history, and one of the most powerful. I was just thinking that she might be the perfect subject for one of your documentaries! After all, she will be world-famous one day, so she might as well get an early start.” continued Morgan.
Ini thought it over for a moment. “To be honest, I don’t think my producer would go for that. We could do one on Kurain Village in general, and devote maybe a third or so to Mystic Pearl, but not one based entirely around her.”
“Oh, that simply won’t do. I’m sure some other TV station would be willing to give Pearl the attention she deserves.” Morgan’s voice suddenly became slightly colder. “And if they do, I’ve already got an idea who she might channel, as a demonstration for the cameras.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” asked Ini, her voice now containing more than a hint of panic.
“Well, there’s a certain doctor who might have something to say. Or even your own sister. Now that would be a turn-up for the books, wouldn’t it? Imagine what messages she might have for you after all this time?” coolly came the reply.
“Stop it!” yelled Ini. Fortunately, no-one else noticed. “I-I’ll talk to my producer, see if I can’t persuade him about the idea.”
“I have no doubt you’ll be successful!” said Morgan in a mockingly encouraging tone. “I’ll look forward to seeing you in the near future!” she added, before hanging up.
Ini held her head in her hands for a few minutes, before dialling up the producer’s office.

The recess had been relatively uneventful for Phoenix, who had enjoyed a coffee and listened to Lotta telling a few stories about how she’d gotten some of her more famous photos. Payne looked significantly more flustered however, having had to get his witness to court and prepare them.
The Judge banged his gavel to signal the end of recess. “The court is now back in session. Mr. Payne, would you care to continue?”
“Yes, your honour. There is a witness who clearly saw the defendant on the night of the attempted robbery and murder. The prosecution now calls Mr. Matthew Engarde to the stand.”
A murmur spread around the courtroom. Engarde was a fairly well-known television and film actor, which led to the unusual sight of him being given a round of applause as he took the stand. This wasn’t his first visit to the courtroom either; a few years previously, when he had been starring in The Nickel Samurai, he had been accused of the murder of fellow actor Juan Corrida. Just when it looked like Engarde was going to be declared guilty, a bizarre twist occurred, as the assassin that had murdered Corrida contacted the court to take responsibility for the kill, and revealed that his client was in fact Engarde’s manager!
“Pleased to be here!” said Matt. “But, like, can we get this over and done with ASAP? I’m meant to be at a real big signing right now.”
“Of course. Can you please state your name and occupation?” Payne asked.
“I’m Matt Engarde, actor currently starring in Samurai War! Coming to the cinemas next month!”
A cheer went up from the gallery, which led to the Judge tapping his gavel a few times. “Order, order! The witness will refrain from reckless promotion of his new film, good though it may be.” he said.
“Okay, sorry dude!” Matt replied, with a wink.
“Mr. Engarde,” asked Payne, “can you tell us what you saw two nights ago?”
“Well, I was holding a little party for the stunt team I worked with on Samurai War – just to show them my appreciation for not letting me break my neck!”
“OBJECTION!” shouted Phoenix. “I thought you did all your own stunts, Mr. Engarde?”
“W-What does that have to do with anything?” Payne asked.
“No, I’ll answer the dude. I really do perform every single stunt in my films; I just have my stunt team there to make sure absolutely nothing can go wrong!” Engarde said to Phoenix.
“Could you please stick to the facts of this case?” asked Payne, with a sigh.
“Okay. Well, you see, my kitchen window happens to face, what’s his name, Mr. Rosenberg’s house.”
“Mr Grossberg, you mean?” said the Judge.
“Yeah, that’s him! Anyway, I’d gone to my kitchen to get some more nachos, when I saw that girl with the afro walking up to his front door. Just after that, I noticed that she was holding a camera bag.”
“A camera bag?” asked Phoenix. “How did you know that’s what it was?”
“Oh, you know, I’m a famous star! Photographers come from all over to get snaps of me! At first, I thought she was going to try and get a photograph, but when she opened her bag, I noticed that it didn’t have a camera in it.”
“You mean the bag was empty?” the Judge asked.
“No, I mean it didn’t have a camera in it, because it was full of tools! She took one of them out, and started working on the front door.” Engarde replied.
A murmur went around the court. Payne added “Your honour, Mr. Marshall’s affidavit does not mention that he saw the camera, it only mentions the case. In light of this, it appears that Ms. Hart’s intention was to use her camera case as a way of hiding her burglary tools. Since she is a well-known photographer, this would allow her to transport them without suspicion.”
“Damn!” Phoenix thought, as the murmuring of the crowd increased. “He’s used Jake’s note to turn the situation back on us!”
“I see.” said the Judge. “Were any of these tools found on the scene?”
“Only the lockpick and a small flashlight.” Payne answered, presenting a plastic bag which contained them. “Because the defendant was wearing gloves that night, there are unfortunately no fingerprints on them.”
“Gloves?! Why didn’t Lotta mention she was wearing a pair?” Phoenix thought to himself, angrily.
“Very well. The court accepts these items into evidence...” the Judge began to say before Payne cut him off.
“Just a minute, your honour! While there are no fingerprints on them, the flashlight does have the name of its owner engraved on it.” Payne held up the flashlight, to reveal the initials “L.H.” roughly scratched onto its side.
“There are a lot of things that L.H. could stand for!” said Phoenix. “There’s no proof that it belongs to my client!”
“Oh, so the defence would like us to believe that it’s just a coincidence that Ms. Hart was found with a torch that bears her initials?” sneered Payne.
“Maybe the real burglar scratched my client’s initials into the torch to try and frame her? As you said, she’s a widely known photographer, and even if the murderer didn’t know who she was, they could have easily gotten her name off of her press card!” theorised Phoenix.
“I see.” said Payne. “And yet you have presented absolutely no solid evidence that anyone other than Ms. Hart entered the house!”
“Hmm... Mr. Wright, do you have any proof that there was a third person there?” asked the Judge.
Wright looked annoyed, and replied, “I’m afraid not, your honor.”
“Anyway, witness, what did you do after that?” Payne continued.
“Well, I tried to phone the police, but for some reason I couldn’t get through.” Engarde said.
Phoenix looked suspicious. “For some reason?” he asked. “Did you really phone the police, Mr. Engarde?”
It was Payne who answered. “The police switchboard had malfunctioned that night, and a lot of calls were failing to get through. This is documented in the court record.”
“Oh, that’s just great.” thought Phoenix. “Nice to know our police department’s in such good shape!”
Engarde continued, “Anyways, I had guests to attend to, and I thought that someone else might have a bit more luck. So, I carried on making the nachos, and a few minutes later, I heard a bang! After that, I tried calling the police again, and that time I got through.”
“Your honour,” added Payne, “In addition to Mr. Engarde, another of his party-goers saw Ms. Hart enter the house from an upstairs window, and everyone there has stated that they heard a series of bangs at around the same time. Their statements are on record.”
“Hmm.” said the judge thoughtfully. “The state’s case isn’t the strongest I’ve seen, but there does seem like a good chance that it was the defendant who indeed perpetrated this crime.”
“Now, why don’t ya come over here and say that!” piped up Lotta.
“Hold it!” called out Phoenix, figuring it was best to keep Lotta quiet for the time being. “The witness has not testified that he saw my client with the weapon used to shoot Mr. Grossberg. There’s still nothing to connect her with the weapon.”
“Well,” said Engarde, a little unsure, “I thought I might have seen a gun-shaped object in the camera bag, but it was a little dark.”
Payne quickly butted in, “As I mentioned before the recess, the weapon could have been quite compact, small enough to fit in her camera bag along with her tools. There’s also the possibility that the weapon actually belonged to Mr. Grossberg, which would obviate the need for the defendant to bring a weapon.”
“So, you can’t even prove what kind of weapon was used to attack Mr. Grossberg?” asked Phoenix.
“As I previously stated, it was obviously an automatic rapid-fire weapon of some description. There are too many possible guns that could fit this description.” Payne responed. “Until we find the weapon, it is therefore both impossible and pointless to speculate.”
“On the contrary,” said Phoenix, who flashed a wicked smile, “I have a fair idea of what weapon was used.”
“What? How?” asked Payne, disbelieving.
Phoenix held up the discarded casing he had retrieved the previous night. “This is a discarded bullet casing, retrieved from the scene of the crime.”
“Wh-Wha-What?!” yelled Payne in horror. “Where did you get hold of that?”
“Please pay attention,” replied Phoenix with a confident smile, “I believe I just stated that it came from the scene of the crime. This bullet is of 7.15mm caliber; a very rare size. So rare in fact, that it is used by only two rifles in the world.” Phoenix took out a pair of pictures and displayed them to the court. “The first is the Schweinjäger DS-332; a rifle that is not manufactured or sold in this country. The second is the AMK-95B, which is only used by the army, and impossible to get hold of without a range of special permits.”
A now visibly angry and sweating Payne yelled out, “So, obviously one of those is the weapon!”
“Obviously,” stated Phoenix, “but if either my client or Ms. Hart got hold of one of those weapons, there should be import documents for the Schweinjäger, or recorded permits for the AMK-95B. Do you have either of those?”
Payne could only yell out in frustration.
“And those weapons aren’t exactly small. If Ms. Hart was carrying one of them around, why didn’t Jake Marshall mention it in his affidavit, and why has your own witness not mentioned anything about it?”
As Payne seethed, Engarde grumpily added “Well, now you mention it, those guns look kinda familiar… I guess that girl might have been carrying one.”
Phoenix asked, “You mean that you’ve only just now realized that my client was carrying a giant assault rifle? That doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you easily forget! Oh, and Mr. Payne, did the other guest that saw my client mention a rifle?”
Payne’s silence told the court everything it needed to know.
“Mr. Engarde,” said Phoenix, “your testimony could send my client to jail. Is there some reason you want that to happen, because that’s what it looks like from where I’m standing.”
“Hmph. I’ve never met Ms. Hart in my life.” muttered Engarde.
“Wait a secon’…” called out Lotta. “This is to do with that murder case four years ago, ain’t it?”
Engarde grunted. “Maybe.” he said.
“Yeah, that’s it!” said Lotta, realizing what this was all about. “I snapped that photo of your boss in that Nickel Samurai suit. Trouble was, we didn’t realize it was your boss, an’ we all assumed it was you!”
There was still no answer from Engarde.
“Now I get it!” Phoenix added. “Lotta’s photo could have sent you to prison, had it not been for the real assassin admitting to the murder and telling the court who his actual client was. That’s why you want to see her jailed, isn’t it?”
Engarde turned his head to Phoenix. “I have no comment to make.” he stated.
“Your honor, this calls Mr. Engarde’s entire testimony into question!” Phoenix told the Judge. “He has a motive to want my client convicted, and therefore cannot be considered a reliable witness!”
Suddenly, Payne yelled out an “OBJECTION!” which startled just about everyone in the courtroom. “I-I hope you’re not trying to indict the witness as the true assailant! Because you have no evidence! Absolutely no evidence!”
“No, it would be impossible for Mr. Engarde to be the attacker, wouldn’t it?” said Phoenix. “Your guests would have noticed that you’d gone missing.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve at least got some sense.” Engarde replied, testily.
“So, where does that leave us?” asked the Judge.
“There is no substantial proof that my client attacked Mr. Grossberg.” Phoenix told him. “Only that she was found unconscious in his house. It’s possible that in reality, the true attacker knocked her out on being discovered, shot down one of the ceiling fans, then set up the scene so that it looked as if she’d had an accident and knocked herself out.”
“Can you prove that theory?!” Payne asked eagerly.
“You haven’t done much of a job of proving yours.” responded Phoenix. “Mine has as much proof. In fact I’d say more, since we still haven’t found the weapon.”
“The weap-!” shouted Payne. “Your honor! I request that the remainder of this trial be adjourned until tomorrow.”
“Why?” asked the Judge.
“Due to my having to prepare for the trial, I did not have time to research into what type of gun was used in the attack. Now that Mr. Wright has done this, I can run checks into whether either Mr. Grossberg or Ms. Hart ever obtained such a weapon.” Payne told him.
“That’s ridiculous! It took me less than an hour to go on the internet, check that bullet type and find out what rifles used it!” Phoenix yelled at Payne. “How could you have not had time to check?”
“I can offer no excuses.” admitted Payne. “However, if you grant me another day, I can do the checks, and maybe the police will find the murder weapon in that time.”
“The police have been searching for that weapon for the last 36 hours. What makes you think they’ll have any more success in the next 12?” the Judge asked.
“Uh, well, I… that is…” mumbled Payne.
“I will grant another half-hour recess. That should be enough time for you to conduct searches of the relevant records. If you can find any proof that such a weapon was ever purchased by either the victim or defendant during that time, I will be prepared to continue this trial.”
Payne frowned slightly. This wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. “Thank you, your honor.” he said.
“But be warned, Mr. Payne! If you cannot find satisfactory proof during this time, I will declare my verdict after the recess, which begins now.” The Judge then banged his gavel.

While Payne sped off to his office on the second floor, Phoenix and Lotta waited confidently outside the courtroom.
“We’re nearly there, Mr. Wright!” Lotta said, beaming. “That ol’ coot of a lawyer’s never gonna find the proof that he needs! As if I’d be goin’ around importing high-powered rifles from Europe!”
“Let’s just hope that Marvin wasn’t doing that, as well!” answered Phoenix with a laugh, though slightly worried on the off-chance that he had been doing that. “Speaking of which, why didn’t you mention the rifle yesterday?”
“That’s the weirdest thing.” she replied. “I didn’t notice any rifle on the guy! All he had was a briefcase, and the gizmo he used to open the door!”
“That certainly is strange…” Phoenix said. “If he didn’t have it when he went in, where did it come from? Marvin never seemed like the sort to own that type of gun.”
“Let’s not worry about that!” Lotta told Phoenix. “Either way, you’re rippin’ that other guy to shreds!”
“Well, don’t give me too much credit just yet.” he replied. “Payne’s totally blown this case. I think even a state lawyer could have handled it just nicely.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a bit of class about having your own lawyer!” she answered.
“Of course there… hold on! You wanted me to represent you because you thought it looked better than having a state lawyer?” asked Phoenix, in shock.
“Sure as!” Lotta responded. “A gal’s gotta keep up appearances, a legendary photographer even more so!”
Phoenix looked slightly dejected. “I thought you wanted me because I had a better record than the state attorneys.” he said.
“Oh, that’s a nice little bonus!” Lotta cheerily replied. “But it’s all about the image!”
Phoenix wasn’t quite sure what to say to that; however, the conversation was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.
“Hello?” answered Phoenix.
“Like, hi there!” came the response.
“Oh, hey Ini! How are things?”
“Okay! How’s trial going?”
“Well, all being well we might well have victory in about twenty minutes.”
“Cool! Look, could you, like do me a really big favor?”
“Sure thing.”
“My producer’s coming round for dinner tonight, and he’s like, really into French food. Could you stop off at that French supermarket after the trial and get a few things for dinner?”
“Aren’t there any good French restaurants around? I thought there was one near the prosecutor’s office?”
“Huh?! How am I supposed to know how to get to the protes… prostit… proceed… oh, wait a minute, I know the one you mean. No, it got closed, like three years ago, it was something really messed up. Apparently the chef poisoned someone.”
“Really? Wow... Alright then, I’ll pop to that supermarket and get something nice!”
“Ah, you’re a star, Phoenix! I’ll see you tonight!”
“Okay, love you, babe!”

Winston Payne frantically searched through the databases on his computer. “Come on, there must be something, SOMETHING I can use!” he thought to himself. “Why do my cases never go according to plan? I mean, it’s not like I’m a bad person… all I want to do is get criminals the sentences that they deserve! Is there really anything so bad about that? No, of course not! But someone up there hates me, someone wants to…”
“You’re not doing such a good job of this, are you, Mr. Payne?” asked a voice from the door.
“What?! Who’s there?” Payne asked.
“I don’t know why anyone expects anything of you. I mean, here’s an attorney, his confidence shattered, no trial experience for five years, and he’s destroyed your case.”
“H-How dare you?! Get out of here!” shrieked Payne.
“That’s how it’s been for your whole career, hasn’t it? Always living in the shadow of the other prosecutors. No-one’s going to remember you as a master prosecutor, are they? Heck, I’d be surprised if anyone remembers you at all.”
“Alright, that does it, just who do you think you are-?!” Payne began to shout, before turning to the door and freezing. “Hold on, I know who you are, you’re…”
“Yes, old friend. You never thought I was going to let you slip away, did you?”

As the recess ended, everyone took their places, ready for the trial to resume. However, as the Judge prepared to restart the trial, he noticed a very conspicuous absence. “Where’s Mr. Payne?” he asked.
There was a silence. “Maybe he needed the toilet and there was a really big queue?” Phoenix suggested, trying to be helpful.
The Judge shook his head. “Frankly, I’m tempted to simply end this trial here and now. However, we must follow procedure, and wait for the prosecution to return.” After a brief pause, the Judge added “Nonetheless, I think I shall assign Mr. Payne a penalty when he returns, to remind him of the importance of being punctual.”
“Poor old Winston.” Phoenix thought to himself. “Never gets a break.”
“Bailiff!” called the Judge. “Please locate Mr. Payne for us, and tell him to get here as soon as possible.”
The bailiff exited, and a few minutes passed. Lotta sidled over to Phoenix and asked, “You don’t think Mr. Payne-in-the-butt’s managed to find anything, do you?”
Despite his best efforts not to, Phoenix laughed and said “I dunno, Payne’s normally a good time-keeper, if anything. Maybe he just…”
“Attention! A security lockdown is now in place.” came a voice over the tannoy. “No-one may enter or leave the courthouse until further notice. I repeat; a security lockdown is now in place…”
A huge racket erupted from the public gallery. “What’s going on here?” “Maybe there’s a robbery or something!” “You don’t reckon it’s those gangsters next door?” were just a few of the things that could be heard.
“Order! Order! ORDER!” yelled the Judge, banging his gavel to little avail.
Phoenix and Lotta looked at each other in shock. “Phoenix…” whispered Lotta, barely audible in the commotion.
“No, it couldn’t be…” Phoenix mumbled.
Just then, the bailiff burst back into the courtroom. “Your honor! The prosecutor, he’s… Prosecutor Payne is dead!!”

Sigh... I love AU Fanfiction.

Before I gush all over the place, two nitpicks for you.

One: Put an empty space between each paragraph/dialogue change. It hurts my eyes to read it like this.

Two: Was Gant still Chief of Police when he got Marshall fired (though I guess his arrest would fire him anyway)? If so, I can't see why he'd keep Gumshoe around after he almost got him convicted.

Crazy good, though... wonder how many more characters you can cram into a case...

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Okay. I was unsure about whether or not to do that, but I'll start doing it with the next chapter.



Yeah, I had to have a good think about that one (at one point, I was considering having Meekins as the detective), but I reasoned that Gant would have been inclined to go easy on Gumshoe, since he ended up helping Phoenix get the evidence that he destroyed his own case with.



Not too many more after this chapter, I'll be mostly focusing on the ones from Rise from the Ashes and Reunion and Turnabout. Anyway, thanks for the advice!

Whoo....where to begin. I suppose with this;



Secondly....the world's certainly changed. No cheery Maya, no Fearless Attorney, no...well, nothing's the same, almost. It's good that you detail or at least give footnotes to what happens without the Ace Attorney. We see how some people, who truly are innocent, are convicted; without Phoenix, there is no miracle for them either. Dayumn, that's depressing, but in a detached way (save Maya's incident). And what's even worse is that everyone takes this for fact: nobody discovers the truth. Phoenix doesn't seem to realise just how he may be needed; like he's too weak to live out his ideals in life.


Everyone seems to be in character - you've taken care into crafting out their futures, I see. Larry's okay and doing okay for himself; good for him, the usually unlucky sap. Wright's formerly unwavering spirit seems crushed....that hurts. That really hurts. Ini Miney, who now has a bigger role...I wouldn't expect her and Phoenix to 'click', but it seems to have done her some good; she's certainly become a bit smarter/doesn't act so dumb in public anymore. But if only Phoenix knew the truth...GAH! The drama!!

Lotta Hart...it was about time she took the defendant's seat. A bit 'odd yet fitting', I suppose, how her case was the one to pull Phoenix out of retirement. She certainly has the spunk to demand it of him (and the silly "real" reason why she wanted him too!). Gumshoe seems to be Gumshoe.
Morgan Fey...I should have expected her to plot world domination for Pearl's sake. It's insane, yet amazing, how deep she will dig just to build the child an elevator to the stars. You can tell that she's going to force her way as more than just a side attraction in this story.

The trial itself is excellently executed as far as the game goes; it feels rather like a real case, only a bit fairer on the 'good guys'. We can see that Phoenix still has the gift; in fact, he arguably never lost it. Even when he's "on his own" without Mia to help hold the steering wheel, the man just dismantled Payne's case with a rocket launcher. You even capture the vibe of the "light comedy" moments when Matt Engarde shows up and advertises.

Much pity was shed for poor Payne in his final moments. You give him character and depict him as one of the few prosecutors who seems to care about convicting a bad guy. And now we have a teaser mystery to guess who his murderer is.

...Honestly, I can't get it out of my mind, I think it's Gant. Payne has no friends, from my knowledge, and yet he knows his assailant. Aside that, and that he's moving out of the office, I still feel as if Gant would fit; when I saw the first chapter develop, I had sort of seen another rise from the ashes, where Gant would get his and Wright would regain his confidence - yet it seems as if he's gone and washed his hands.

Where the story heads next, I see a few possibilities. One: a new prosecutor comes for the case, and pulls false evidence out of their hat, screwing Wright over (as he always is). Two: a new case comes and for reasons yet unknown, Phoenix takes that. And there's always the side-plot.

What I'm trying to say is, you have me hooked. This is good work, and please continue!

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Great story I hope you update soon! I want to know who killed Payne and who was at the scene of the crime when Lotta was accused.

Other then that I got a question does this take place after GS3 or somewhere in the middle like between case 3 or 4?
I know it takes place way after JFA and Mr Engard's case which brings up another point.

JFA Case 4 Major Spoiler



As for who killed Payne I really doubt it was Gant who did it after all Payne never worked with him on any cases including the bonus case five on AA, the prosecutor on that case was Miles Edgeworth. The only person he might come in contact working under Gant would be Lana Skye since she handled with evidence for the prosecution.

Besides in my opinion Demon Gant took care of all the major players involved in case 5.


Major Spoilers for AA Case 5


In the face of this I highly doubt gant killed Payne who was probably a below average prosecutor at best besides we learn from gumshoe that demon is moving on to bigger and better things like maybe mayor of LA for example?

As for the person who was in grossburg's house that night there only one person that I know who it couldn't have been.

JFA CASE 4 Major Spoilers



The person I think that killed payne even though it's unlikely is .

I'm probably vague in my argument in some spots so I'll guess I have to wait for the next chapter to be proven wrong.

I have just finished reading the whole thing... Not only that I love Alternative Universe stories, this one is really good and really presents the whole "alternative GS1/2 universe", not only aftermath of a single case, which would have no impact on next ones.

Lana sentenced to death, Maya being held in prison, Engarde continuing his "fresh like a breeze" game, whence being (or at least, I suppose) the same cold-blooded bastard he was in the "real" 2-4 case at the same time, Andrews convicted in his place, Ini as Wright's girlfriend (this one caught me off guard ), SL-9 investigators relieved from their posts, Gant continuing his "tyrannical reign"... kind of "GS butterfly effect", and very convincing one. One lost case made the whole GS2 virtually non-existent.

This alternative "GS2" looks very promising, and I am looking forward to the next chapter. I am sure you will do it the Wright way

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