Part 91: Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes - Investigation (Day 3) - Part 3

Case 5 - Rise From the Ashes
Investigation (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.