"Did the victim have an animal as well?" I asked Ms. Anderson.
She nodded. "Yes. A dog. I'm honestly surprised Zephyr and Thea haven't torn one another apart yet."
Thea jumped down from Yuri's arms and nuzzled Ms. Anderson's ankles. "Aw! That kitten is so kawaii!" Yuri grinned. I stared at her in confusion, not understanding what she was saying at all.
"No objections here," Ms. Anderson smiled, reaching down to pick up her cat. "I wonder where Zephyr is...."
As if on cue, a German Shepard ran into the room, barking. But the noise didn't seem to be angry, but rather, affectionate. The dog jumped up on Ms. Anderson, making her fall to the ground clumsily. "Hey, boy," she whispered, rubbing behind the dog's ears. "You sure are sweet."
"So, this is Zephyr?" I asked, motioning to the dog.
Ms. Anderson nodded. "Yes. This is the late Harry's pet dog, Zephyr."
"So, could you tell us a bit about the murder and the victim?" Yuri questioned.
Ms. Anderson stood, brushing dirt from her shorts. "Yes. The crime was this morning. Harry's sister and a few of her friends came to visit. I was out until right before the crime. When I walked in, I saw the four of them all drinking tea together like nothing was wrong."
"Drinking tea? Isn't that the slightest bit unusual? To be having tea with a criminal?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah, but Harry was on the good side of everybody here," Ms. Anderson answered, looking away silently. "Anyways, right after the three of them had left, Harry started choking. I asked what was wrong, but he collapsed, dead. It was more than a little frightening, to say the least. To see somebody die right before your eyes...."
"Wow," was all I could say.
"Yeah. Is there anything else?" Ms. Anderson asked.
"If it's not too hard on you, what were convicted for?" I questioned.
Ms. Anderson began rubbing her gloved fingers together, but showed no other signs of being unnerved. "...I don't want to talk about it."
I could hear discord behind her voice. Did something happen at her trial? But this discord...it seemed like there was something deeper than that.
"My bad," I apologized.
"No need to apologize!" Ms. Anderson exclaimed. "It's nothing."
"So, what else do you know?" Yuri asked.
"Well, Kira most certainly isn't a killer. I've known her for a while now. She's far too nice of a person to kill anybody," Ms. Anderson replied.
"We believe in her innocence as well," I began. "You know this crime better than we do. Who do you suspect?"
What? There's nothing to lose from asking. I know it isn't like me, but there's no harm in it.
"I think that the criminal is...." Ms. Anderson began.
I heard the cell door open, so I turned to see who it was. But I hesitated for a second upon seeing Ms. Anderson, frozen on the spot, eyes wide.
"H.T.!" Yuri exclaimed. I turned, for real this time, to see Mr. Annasc standing in the cell doorway.
"So, you two are the lawyer girls Ms. Galle mentioned?" Mr. Annasc asked, tossing his head sideways so that his hair moved. I groaned. Men. He walked into the cell and eyed Ms. Anderson. "Ah, and you must be Ms. Anderson. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is H.T. Annasc, attorney at law."
Ms. Anderson backed up a few steps before running into the wall. She gasped as the concrete touched her back. Ms. Anderson picked up Thea suddenly before running out of the room, Zephyr bounding off behind her.
"That was...odd," Yuri commented.
"Agreed," Mr. Annasc said, clearly confused.
"I'm going to go after her," Yuri told us, walking for the door of the cell.
"Why don't we all go?" I suggested. "It's not like we have anything else to investigate."
"The body does look pretty normal for a poisoning case. You know, collapsed dead person," Mr. Annasc said.
"When I see it, there's just one thing I think of," Yuri grinned.
"And what is that?" I asked, ready for some Yuri Logic.
She clapped her hands onto her cheeks. "I see dead people!"
"You'd make an epic meme," I told her sarcastically, which resulted in me getting a gentle sock on the arm.
"Let's go after her now," Mr. Annasc told us.
//July 14, 2028. Prison Hallway, 11:07 AM//
We finally found Ms. Anderson curled up in the corner of a prison hallway. I approached her quietly. "Ms. Anderson?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't bolt again.
Ms. Anderson looked up at me and gasped when she noticed Mr. Annasc. She stood and tried to make a run for it, but Yuri grabbed her hand. "Why are you so nervous? He's with us," she told Ms. Anderson.
Ms. Anderson sighed and nodded. "Alright. Why are you even here, Mr. Annasc? Niamh and Yuri are already the defense team."
"I was sent down here to get you to talk about the crime. I have the ability to get criminals to confess," Mr. Annasc answered.
"The police had to resort to other methods, then?" Ms. Anderson asked glancing at Yuri out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes. Their other cough-up person was out today, so they called me," Mr. Annasc said.
"Cough-up...." Ms. Anderson began walking away silently. But she turned back for one second to hiss one thing at us. "And this time, don't follow me."
As the girl disappeared from view, I cocked my head in confusion. "This girl sure is strange."
"I agree one hundred percent," Yuri nodded, bewildered.
"I wonder what her deal is," Mr. Annasc whispered.
Ms. Anderson's past.... I wondered if it would be important to the case at hand....
//July 14, 2028. Hidden Evidence Room, 11:19 AM//
"Right this way."
The sound of clicking could be heard as a door opened. Two people around the same height walked through before the door closed.
One crouched down on the ground. "You're sure this room will help me get to the bottom of this?"
The other person nodded. "Yes. It will...Lily."
------------------------------------
hA
TAKE THAT
THE CLIFFHANGER
This case reveals one big plot twist in the second half of it and flashes back on VY-3 from book one. Venus' murder? Yeah...it gets a bit of a mention. And this time, it explains the discrepancy between the intro and the video shown in part 4 or 5.... I forget.
YAY
THIS IS FUN
And I foreshadowed quite a bit in the last chapter at the end.... Though nobody will get it. Oh well.
-Digital
YOU ARE READING
Ace Attorney: Secrets Beneath Secrets
Fanfiction"I can't tell you that." Those are words Lily Shield has been hearing a lot, especially from her closest friends. Too many secrets seem to be floating around her existence as well as those around her. But that's to be expected when she's trying to c...
