Ace Attorney: Crashing Fates

The Waterside Turnabout, Part 4 (Chrysalis)

KJ Jett (also known as Venus' boyfriend before she died) came running into the courtroom, hair disheveled as he did so. He was never the strikingly tidy type, so it's not like this was unusual...

"We were investigating the pool where the victim was drowned, but we ended up finding something stuck in one of the vent type things!" KJ exclaimed. He raised what I was sure would be the dramatic piece of evidence that would finally bring this case to a close once and for all.

Instead, he raised...

A white cloth.

I tried not to look too disappointed in the police force when he walked the soggy cloth over to the defense bench and dropped it, sending chlorine soaked water flying at my face and covering my glasses. I growled angrily and rubbed my glasses. Thomas was rubbing at a spot on his fedora. I guess he loves hats or something...

"A piece of white cloth?" Thomas asked doubtfully. "You really think that a white cloth could prove Anton innocent of murder? I'm not so sure, honestly..."

KJ gasped, offended quite clearly. "'A piece of white cloth?!'" he exclaimed. "I will have you know that this isn't an ordinary piece of white cloth! It's actually quite extraordinary!"

"Then what exactly is so 'extraordinary' about it?" Polly asked the purple haired bailiff.

"This is something from a serial killer who appeared nine years ago!" KJ exclaimed. "Nine years ago, so in 2021, there was an incident in which the killer was proven to be one by the name of the Gentleman Murderer."

Thomas gaped. "I heard about them... But they haven't been seen since that car crash when they left behind a note explaining their intentions or something like that..." he whispered.

"What exactly does this piece of slop have to do with the case at hand or the Gentleman Murderer? It just looks like trash, if you ask me," Polly scowled, glaring down the cravat looking thing intensely.

"So you're saying that this cravat could prove that the culprit is in fact the Gentleman Murderer?" the judge asked of KJ.

KJ nodded. "Why else would it be there? One of these things hasn't shown up in nine years, and I checked with people down in the evidence room of the local precinct. The fabric from the last mess involving the Gentleman Murderer is still there and hasn't been touched in ages," KJ explained. "That means that this piece of cloth must have been left behind by him."

"A killer from nine years ago returning to kill an egotistical swimmer?" Thomas hissed at me doubtfully. "That doesn't sound too likely. Just because the victim was a little rude doesn't mean that somebody should return after being gone to the public eye for nine years. It doesn't seem that likely."

"Most criminals have larger plots than you think. They aren't as transparent as one would expect them to be," I explained. "I'm positive that doing this was part of something bigger that we have yet to engrossed completely in. But don't worry. We'll be in the sights of a mad criminal soon enough, Thomas."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about all of this?" Thomas asked. "Because, I may tell you, it does not."

I shrugged. "Eh. Just a comment from my past experiences with criminal masterminds. And there have been a lot of them. And the future is bound to hold countless others. Just wait and see-"

Polly sighed to cut me off. "If you're done with your poetic speeches, the judge looks quite confused about something. We should let him ask his questions so he doesn't burden the trial later on," she told the court.

A few snickers rose up from the crowd watching in the gallery, though I don't think the judge noticed. I guess he hasn't gotten his eyes checked in quite a while.

I could say the same about his intelligence, but that would be rude, so I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

The judge nodded. "Who exactly is this Gentleman Murderer?" he asked. "Why have I not heard of him yet?"

"I thought you would have, what with your age... Even I have, and I'm 25..." Polly murmured, shaking her head. "The Gentleman Murderer is a serial killer who made their first appearance nine years ago, where they caused a car crash. It was mass destruction. About fifty feet worth of flames from a massive collision."

"That sounds quite destructive indeed!" the judge exclaimed. "But how did he get the name Gentleman Murderer if it was a car crash? Car crashes aren't considered murder more often than not..."

"The killer left a note behind at the scene of the crash, right next to the corpse of a single mother. The note explained that he was to be known as the Gentleman Murderer as long as they lived and that they would leave a cravat at the scene of their crimes," Polly continued. "And there, tied around the woman's wrist, was a white cravat. It was singed from the flames of the crash, which is only natural. Nine cars hit one another and sixteen people were killed, making the Gentleman Murderer more monstrous than the typical serial killers."

"That's insane!" the judge gasped. "And the culprit has not yet been caught for his crimes?!"

"Nobody has even the faintest idea on who the killer could be, making the Gentleman Murderer a complete enigma," Polly frowned. "But I suppose that they finally came out of hiding after all these years to tease us over his freedom."

"I hate this guy already..." Thomas muttered, though judging by the fact that his knuckles were white from clenching so tightly, he had far more distaste than just 'hate' for the Gentleman Murderer that kept on popping up... I wondered what it was all about...

"Can you see now who the killer is? I think that this cloth shows it more than a little clearly," KJ declared.

The judge nodded. "I guess it's true that the killer was not the defendant, but rather, the Gentleman Murderer..."

Uh, I thought that was obvious, Your Honor. No offense, Royal Beardness.

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I posted a quiz on my instagram about who knows trivia about my life and I think I made it too hard oops-

-Digital