Part 76: Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes - Investigation (Day 2) - Part 2

Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes
Investigation (Day 2) - Part 2

We begin by heading for the police station.



: It's even busier here today than it was yesterday.
: The detectives are running around so fast they're blurring.
: (I suppose it makes sense-- a detective did get killed in their own department.)
: So... the evidence room. The scene of the crime!
: According to the pamphlet we got at the front desk...
: Here it is!
: (She's like a kid at an amusement park.)
: Ooh, a real crime scene! Let's go take a look!

But first...



You may have remembered the evidence being kept in a room off of Criminal Affairs last time. That is, apparently, a different evidence room, because it has nothing to do with what we're looking for at all.



: Wow, everyone looks deadly serious here...
: Well, there was a vicious murder of a detective in this department, after all.



: Ugh... It makes my head hurt.
: Well, first things first. I want to check out the crime scene here.
: Yes, you sound "dead"-set on investigating!
: But don't mess up, or we could wind up... dead!
: I doubt anyone wants more mysteries or dead bodies around here right now. (But... it doesn't look like anyone's going to help us much, either.)

So, instead, we should check out that security guard office.





: What's with the decor in this place? It's very... eccentric.
: According to the pamphlet, this is the guard station for the evidence room.
: So, beyond that door is the evidence room... the scene of the crime?
: It sure seems that way...
: Oh. Ohhh...
: What's wrong?
: It's those cacti! They're so prickly... so imposing! It's hard to think straight.
: (If you can't handle the cacti, stay out of the desert...) What I want to know is, if this is a guard station, where is the guard?
: I have a feeling I know who this guard is already...

Let's take a look around.



: Look, on the floor, a lasso!
: Hmm... looks like it's set up to trap something.
: A trap, here?
: Wait, I know!
: Maybe someone was trying to catch a wild bull in here...
: But the lasso missed!
: You sure have an active imagination.



: The evidence room is beyond that door.
: Let's just walk in! ...
: It won't open.
: You thought it'd be open? (I think we'd need someone's permission to go in there first...)



: It looks like there's a video feed from the evidence room here.
: There's a light blinking below the monitor.
: It says "Recording"!
: I bet we could use this computer to check on who went in and out of here!



: This swinging door makes the place look like some kind of saloon!
: But look, it's nailed shut. You can't get in that way.
: Of course not! If you went in through here...
: The cactus would fall over. Ouch!
: I'd say it'd be more of an "Yeeeeaargh," myself.



: Yipes, that sure is prickly. It must be the real deal.
: I would think just one big one would be sufficient.
: This cactus...
: is a lot like my sister, actually.



: M-Ms. Skye?
: Encased in a cold, rigid shell, with thorns pointing in every direction...
: Just like her.
: ... You know, I've been looking at this cactus a while now, and I don't see the resemblance.
: ...
: It's more an attitude thing than a physical similarity.



: There's a security guard uniform hanging here.
: It looks more like a costume than a uniform, honestly.
: A leather jacket, leather pants, a leather...
: What was that called again?
: A punchy? A paunchy? A pinchy?
: I know! A poochy!
: Hmm...
: Wait, maybe that wasn't it.
: (It's a "poncho," but I think I'll keep that information to my self for the time being.)

That's about all we can do in here now, so it's time to find someone who can get us past that door.





: (This place is charged with frantic energy, as always.)
: Please!!!
: Huh? Wasn't that...





: Detective Gumshoe!
: Now's no time for chit-chat, pal. I'm a busy man!
: What I really need is a steak lunch from Lunchland.



: ...
: ...
: (I think I just heard the sound of his heart breaking.)
: Now's no time for despair!
: We've caught our criminal!
: Now we just need evidence!
: The criminal... you mean...?
: You heard about the stabbing in the Police Department evidence room, pal?



: Another detective... was killed at the Police Department!?
: And the perpetrator? Do you have a suspect?
: Well, there was a suspect.
: Just arrested 'em, in fact.



: But, Detective Gumshoe, who was it?
: Listen, pal, all I know is I need me a steak lunch, pronto!
: Standing around here talking isn't going to fill my belly!

He goes to leave.

: W-wait! Don't leave!
: If you want to know more, head on down to the detention center, pal.
: Questioning should be over, so I figure he's down there having a good cry.
: Later!

And he leaves for real.

: He ran off to the evidence room...
: Well, this investigation is off to a running start.

To get to the detention center, however, we have to stop by the office.







Here, we can chat with Ema.



: Well... where should we begin?
: Oh, well, isn't it obvious? We should begin with that, y'know... that thing.
: The mystery of the victim I guess. How could one man, Detective Goodman... be killed in two places simultaneously?
: Oh, well, you see...
: We should go to the Police Department... the evidence room, was it?
: Uh...
: I'm not being very useful here, am I...
: (No, no! You're being very... helpful.)



: Poor Mr. Edgeworth...



: After all, you were in the defendant's chair just last year...!
: ...!



: Ah, about the killing at the Police Department, right.



: (But I can't help but think... Someone at the Police Department doesn't like Edgeworth...)

Now, to the detention center.





: Still, I do feel better about things. A little.
: I mean, they caught the person who stabbed Detective Goodman, didn't they?
: Uh, yeah, I guess they did. (Best to not go too far down that road right now. Things will just get confusing.)



Imagine this accompanied by an annoying megaphone feedback squeal sound effect.

: Wh-what was that!?
: Sir! That's what I'm saying! Me, a perpetrator? I-I-I'd say I-I-I was the perpetrated against, sir! That's whaat I'd say!





: Wait, I know who you are...



: I'm here, sir, at the request of the Chief, sir! I've got your report, sir!



: No, sir! I'm not, sir! I'm a little lost patrolman, like a little lost lamb, sir!
: Oh, I get it.
: You're here to deliver a report?
: No, sir, I, uh, how should I say this...
: (Wait... he isn't... is he?) You... Officer Meekins... You didn't... did you?
: Err..........



This is why I hate Officer Meekins. Every time this sprite shows up, the same annoying whine sound effect plays. Be happy that I am not subjecting you to it.

: What...!? Whaaaaaaaaat!?
: (Now this is an unexpected turn of events...)

But still, we may as well question him.



: Sir! I'm a patrolman with General Affairs, sir! SIR!
: Ow. I can hear you fine, Officer Meekins.
: I had some business that day, sir, and so I went to the evidence room, sir... The guard office in front of the room was empty, sir!
: So, normally there's a guard at the evidence room?
: That's right, sir! Because evidence is kept in the evidence room, sir! Now, the security officer...
: was none other than Officer Marshall!
: (M-Marshall!?)



: That's when I saw him, sir!





: (What the heck is this guy doing?)
: So what happened then?
: After that, sir, I... I...
: everything went white! I saw red! I blacked out! And... when I came to,
: I was here. In the detention center.
: (How long were you out!? Days!?)
: Um, might I ask... what happened to your hand?



: Sir! There was no one to bandage me, sir! So I did what I could to wrap it up, sir!



: Yet another similarity between this case and the one at the Prosecutor's Officer...
: First things first... tell us how you hurt your hand!



: Um, I don't mean to pry, but you are the perpetrator, correct? You killed Detective Bruce Goodman in the evidence room... right?
: Sir...
: Please don't look at me with those sad puppy dog eyes, sir! If oyu have to label me as perpetrator or victim, sir...



: Um, I would, but you happen to be in detention. And alive and well at that.
: Ah, yes, well, that's true, sir. I suppose you could say that.





: Well, sir, if I had to label him as a "stranger" or a "total stranger"...
: Then I'd say he leans heavily on the "total stranger" side!
: So... you didn't know him?
: Sir! I work in a tiny department, devoid of light or other creature comforts!



: I don't know any detectives!
: So, if he was a total stranger, why did you stab him?
: Sir! I had n-no intention of killing him, sir! None!
: N-nor do I have any recollection of k-killing him, sir!
: (At least someone around here is more confused than I am.)



: And your hand... that happened when Detective Goodman was stabbed?
: Well! You see, sir,
: I, er...
: Don't you think that you should just confess?
: But, sir! Sir! But! There was nothing I could do!
: "Nothing you could do"...?
: Sir, to tell the truth, sir, when it happened...
: When the detective pointed that knife at me, I just hollered, sir!



: And the next thing I knew, I was unconscious!
: The next thing you knew you were... huh?
: Then, when I opened my eyes...



: I was alone in the evidence room, sir! All alone! Alone because...
: Because Detective Goodman had disappeared!!!
: What!?
: Then when I looked down, I was gushing blood from my hand, sir!
: Oh, the shock! Oh, the sorrow, sir! Can you imagine how I felt?
: (The victim's body... disappeared...?)
: Hmm... That's some story.

If we present the switchblade knife...

: Officer Meekins, this is for you!
: Eeeek! I-I'm scared of knives, sir!
: It's okay, I just wanted you to take a look at it.
: That's it, sir! Last night, sir! That's the one!
: I was an apple, sir, in my dream, sir, and I was... I was being peeled!
: On second thought, you don't have to look at the knife.
: (Hmm... He's overreacting to the knife, but I guess he's been through a lot.)

...yeah, we'll give him a break. I need a break from that goddamn megaphone anyway.

Next time: Slightly fewer annoying sounds.