Part 91: Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes - Investigation (Day 3) - Part 3
Case 5 - Rise From the AshesInvestigation (Day 3) - Part 3
Before we head over to Edgeworth's office, we can show Gumshoe the jar we rebuilt a while ago.

: "Somewhere"?

: Or maybe it's one of those memories people have from "previous lives."

:
(This must be the most uninformative detective I've ever met...)

: Something about it makes me feel uneasy.

: It's like I'm in the Chief's office, and he's yelling at me.

:
(Chief Gant?)

: Where could I have seen that before...?
And now, we're on our way.

:
(I wonder if Edgeworth is back yet.)

: There he is! It looks like he's writing something.

: Huh? What are you doing here?

:
(He sure was quick to throw that paper on the floor...)
There is indeed a paper on the floor now.

: Tough day in court, huh?

: Hmph. I've had to live the past two years with rumors flying around. What's another allegation to me?

: Cheer up, Mr. Edgeworth! I'm rooting for you!

:
(That's Edgeworth for you... Always trying to hide his real feelings.)

: So, what do you want?

: Unlike some people, I don't have all day.
We're going to start by presenting his trophy.

: That has no meaning for me anymore.

: What do you mean, "anymore"?

: That's who I was last year.

: What good is it to dwell on the past?

: He's asking me?

: That makes me kind of mad.

: Actually, something's been troubling me about this shield. Look...

: Do you notice anything different?

: Different...?

: Yeah, don't you remember?
The other shield in the Court Record.

:
(I guess I'd better present this other shield...)
So we do.

: Looks like this was taken when he received the King of Prosecutors trophy.

: Speaking of that,

: there's something that bothers me.

: Yes?

: The trophy Mr. Marshall is holding...

: Yes, you're right. ...

: I remember now.

: Remember what?

: That was the official prosecutor trophy used until that time. There's a story behind it.

: A story?

:
(Sounds interesting.) Would you mind telling it to us?

: It's simple, really.

: "
Contradiction." That's what the award's based on.
More on that later. Question time!

: There's no excuse for what I've done.

: Two years ago, I used false evidence to obtain a guilty verdict. That's what it all breaks down to, and nothing I do can erase that fact.

: But you didn't know, did you? I mean, that the evidence was falsified.

: The Police Department and the Prosecutor's Office share a bond of trust. If that bond is broken, we stand to lose everything.

: The Police Department's error is my error, my responsibility as the prosecutor in charge.

: That fact remains the same no matter what excuses I might have.

: Mr. Edgeworth...

: I take pride in my work. So tell me why! Why has it all come to this...

:
(Even Edgeworth can't keep this kind of emotion bottled up...)

: Are you up for the trial tomorrow?

: Hmph.

: First last year's trial, and now this one. It seems all you do is worry about me.

: To be honest, you're getting on my nerves.

: But Mr. Edgeworth! You can't just walk out on the trial...

: Tomorrow is the last day. It's too late to change prosecutors.

: I'll bet that's what my superiors are banking on.

: What do you mean?

: That list of evidence. It seems too short. Most lists...

: run twice as long.

: It's only half as long as most lists?
(That is odd...)

: I became prosecutor for that case. I may not have been part of the investigation,

: but at the time there was only one thing on my mind:

: I'd use the evidence I was given to prove the suspect guilty!

: Say, we just saw a picture taken around that time.

:
(That picture... Something seemed strange about it...)

: Could you tell us again about what happened that day? The day Detective Goodman was murdered? You were participating in a ceremony over at the station, right?

: I've never cared for ceremonies, but I had to attend that one.

: Those receiving awards can't exactly skip out on the ceremony.

: I finished up at the office in the morning, then drove over to the Police Department.

: You, "finished up" at the office?

: Yes. Just odds and ends - clerical stuff.

: I didn't plan on returning to the office that day.

: That is, until I was asked to take something back.

: Take something back?

: Oh yeah. Chief Gant asked you to hold onto that, didn't he?

: Yes. It was a piece of evidence in a case that was closed half a year ago.

: He asked me to bring it back to the Prosecutor's Office.

:
(That's the story we heard yesterday...) So you came back here to the Prosecutor's Office because the Chief asked you to?

: That's right.

: ...

: This award originates from an ancient Chinese tale. In Chinese, the word "contradiction" is written with two characters:

: the first means "halberd," and the second means "shield." Have you heard this story?

: Me? Oh, uh... sure. Everyone knows that! Why don't you tell it though... for Ema's sake.

: Very well.

: One day, he presented the king with two items. The first was a halberd he claimed could slice through any shield or armor. The second was a shield he claimed could withstand any weapon.

: Hmm... Wait a minute.

: Those claims contradict each other!

: Very perceptive.

: But then again, you've heard this story before, right?

: Anyway, as you mentioned, the very descriptions of these items discredit them both.

: And thus, the Chinese word for "
contradiction" was born.

: Oh, I see!

: So the "chipped shield" and "broken knife" symbolize...

: The ancient tale ends with the merchant at a loss for words, but it's in our nature to pursue matters to their conclusion...

: even if it results in something as ugly as this.

: Wow.

: Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth! I learned something new today!

: That's funny...

: ...

: You'll have to ask Chief Gant. Two years ago, he had the "halberd" part of the award abolished.

:
(Chief Gant...)
And the trophy's description updates with all this. If we present the ID card records...

: It seems everything in this case is designed to cast doubt on me.

: Hey, don't look at me.

: Yes, I went into the evidence room on the day of the crime.

: Chief Gant asked me to do something.

: To take evidence from a case solved six months ago back to the Prosecutor's Office...

: I have a locker in there as well.

: Did you notice anything amiss when you were in the evidence room?

: That room's always dark and I was in a hurry.

: I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
We should check that paper Edgeworth dropped, too.

:
(I wonder what he was writing before?)

: Come on, Mr. Wright! Let's take a look!

: Are you crazy? Edgeworth is sitting right there!

: Just distract him, I'll check it out.

: Uh... Hey, Edgeworth. Is that Detective Gumshoe out the window there? Oh no! He's falling to the ground!!!

: Hold on. First let me see what this girl's doing crawling around my feet.

:
(He didn't even look.)

: If you can't read, I'll read it for you.

: It says, "Letter of Resignation."

: "Resignation"!? Edgeworth, you don't mean...?

: I'm tired, Mr. Wright. I feel as if... something inside me has died.

: But Mr. Edgeworth! None of it is your fault!

: I know the path I've walked. You don't need to tell me.

: And the path I've walked... hasn't been a just one. I can't forgive myself for what I've done...

: and no one else should forgive me either.

:
(Uh oh. I think he's serious!)

: Mr. Wright!

: Please, you have to do something!

:
(This Letter of Resignation... I wonder if I can use it for anything?)
We pocket it.

:
(He really wrote a resignation letter...)

: Wow! Even when resigning, Mr. Edgeworth is cool and concise!

: Still, it wasn't his fault...

: Someone had to be held responsible. That's how it is in the grown-up world.

: Yeah, but that responsibility means nothing if he just quits!

: Well, not everyone sees it that way.

: To truly take responsibility

: you should have to work the rest of your life for no pay.

:
(Sometimes the "grown-up" world can be tough...)
Now, maybe we can talk to Gumshoe. However, as we enter the parking lot...

: Excuse me...

: Ms. Starr!
(I guess she's out of lunches.)

: You certainly are the curious sort, aren't you? Kind of like

: the first person who sucked a cow's nipple to discover milk. Still, I never thought you'd go digging up that case from two years ago.

: Everyone in this trial was involved in the SL-9 Incident. Not only that, but the murder occurred on the very day the evidence from that case was due for transferal. This can't all be attributed to mere "coincidence."

: ... Aren't you forgetting something?

: You know, that little scene I happened to witness?

: No matter how much of the past you dig up, it won't change what I saw.

:
(Ms. Starr's hatred toward Lana... It all dates back to two years ago!)

: Joe Darke... That's a name I'll not soon forget!

: Still, I don't think I was ever more alive than I was then. Those days were steamier than a bowl of hot gravy! Poor old Jake Marshall, though, must have been going through hell.

: You mean, because of his brother's death?

: They were close, those two.

: After Neil died, something took over Jake. He became obsessed. Seeing Jake like that made her all the more desperate.

: "Her"...?

: Lana Skye.

: My sister...?

: The best of the best were put on that SL-9 case. Of course they were lead by that legendary duo.

: That legendary pair was the reason we were able to keep up our investigation. That's why we're so shocked over how it turned out...

: You mean, with the forging of the evidence?

: Don't get me wrong. Joe Darke got what he deserved.

: Still, it was obvious the evidence produced in court was being manipulated. Items our team never found would suddenly appear, while other items were kept secret.

: But you didn't have proof anything illegal was done...

: I'm proof enough of

: what happened.

: !

: After the case, all of us save Goodman were relieved of our duties... most without even so much as an explanation.

: Then Lana Skye transferred to the Prosecutor's Office and became Chief Prosecutor.

: Lana always wanted to be a prosecutor.

: Nothing's quite as simple as it appears.

: Huh?

: Lana Skye was merely being used as a pawn.

: That's my take on the matter.

: She was being used?

: Daman Gant and Lana Skye...

: They solved all kinds of cases together, didn't they?

: Damon Gant's magnetism in particular was almost unreal.

: His "magnetism"?

: By that I mean his ability to attract evidence. He'd produce the most incredible evidence in the cases he handled.

:
("Incredible evidence"? You mean...)

: Oh, yes. There were rumors about him even back then.

: No one dareds confront him, though.

:
(I take it she's talking about forged evidence.)

: Back then, everyone looked up to Lana. All the detectives wanted to be like her.

: !

: Really?

: Oh yes... myself included. I was a fool, really.

: She hated anything crooked, and always watched out for the other detectives.

: That's why she was so concerned for Jake.

: Mr. Marshall...

: When Jake's brother was murdered, she felt as if she had lost her own brother. If it wasn't for her, I don't think Jake would ever have recovered from his shock.

: That's what makes it all the more infuriating.

: Ms. Starr...

: That's why...

: I'll never be able to forgive her. Why did she have to turn so cold after that...?

: ...

: Lana transferred to the Prosecutor's Office two years ago, didn't she?

: Yes, thanks to "Chief" Gant's powerful influence.

: Chief...

: That's right. Having solved the SL-9 case, his position as chief was secured. There was only one thing left for him to control,

: and then no one could stand in his way:

: the Prosecutor's Office.

: What? You mean... That's why Lana was transferred!?

: If he could control the Chief Prosecutor, he could control the Prosecutor's Office.

: That must have been his goal all along.

: B-but how could he control Lana?

: I don't know, but one thing's for sure. Ever since that case ended, she's never been the same. It's only logical to conclude...

: there must have been a reason for her change.

:
(At last... I'm finally getting close to the bottom of this ugly mess.) Thank you, Ms. Starr.

: You listen to me, Rookie. It takes more than just ingredients to create fine cuisine.

: I hope you turn out to be a better chef than I've been...
Next time: Convincing Gumshoe.