The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout

The Great Deduction

It was unbelievable. All clues lead to Baskerville, everything fit so well, but he wasn’t lying. He truly didn’t attack Apollo.
Something was wrong, really wrong.
“You have that look, Mr. Wright.” Phoenix looked at Sherlock, who had his arms crossed and looked at him with determination on his eyes.”You have the same shining eyes as Mr. Naruhodou. The look of a man eager to find the truth. You believe in Mr. Baskerville’s words, what’s stopping you from keep going? The game is afoot, Mr Wright!”
That was what Phoenix needed to wake up.
“So, Mr. Justice was proven to be innocent of the charges put onto him. Mr. Alexander Baskerville will face a new trial tomorrow for the charge of Attempted Murder, we already have the evidence so it shouldn’t take long.” Summarized the Judge, but just before he could seal his words with the sound of his gavel, a strong scream broke the tension.
“Objection!” it was Phoenix.”This isn’t over yet! I need the witness to testify again!”
“But…Mr. Wright! Your client its free of suspiction now, why do you want more testimony? About what?”
“It’s simple, your Magistry. All the people present today it’s here because they want to know the truth behind Mr. Justice’s attack, they don’t want the culprit to go unpunished.”
“Then we should start another trial in the next days. You only need to accuse Mr. Baskerville, you already proved his crime.”
“That’s the thing, your Magistry.” A strong feeling of nerves of nerves hit his chest, Phoenix swallowed and continued. “I don’t think that Mr. Baskerville is our culprit. This can be our only chance to find the truth.”
“W-what?! Mr. Wright! Are you feeling all right?”
“Y-you…do you really believe me?” there was hope and relief in Baskerville’s voice. Phoenix looked at his team: Athena, Trucy and Sherlock; they all nodded, approving his decisión.
“Please, Your Magistry! Let this trial continue!”
“W-well…does the Prosecution agree?”
“I do. I lost already, let this man have his fun.” Answered Franziska, bowing. Phoenix was amazed but also scared, was this really Franziska?
“Let’s proceed then. About what do you want the witness to testify?”
“About my client, Apollo Justice.”
“What about him, Mr. Wright?” asked Baskerville.
“How did you know that he had Ryuunosuke’s journal? Nobody but him knew about it and I don’t think he told you just like that.”
“Uhhh…that…” he looked nervous, his eyes looking everywhere for Mr. Barrymore, who had passed out. Suddenly, his composture changed. ”Actually, I know him, I think of him as a friend.”
“W-what? Apollo has friends?” said Athena.
“I…can’t believe you at all, Mr. Baskerville. You acussed him of thievery, you almost let him die at the hospital, and yet you claim that you are friends?”
“Miles Edgeworth acussed you of murdering your own boss and almost put you on the death row, Phoenix Wright.” Commented Franziska, smirking.
Touché.
“It wasn’t my decisión, I shall explain everything that happened. A month ago I received a letter from England for Mr. Justice, it was a request for him to go and retrieve his father’s belongings. I had worked on a case with him before, he helped me to obtain a license for owning a weapon. It’s a very hard to obtain document so when he was able to obtain it I was truly impressed, we kept in touch since then and when I received that letter I delivered it to him personally. He told me that I should go see him once he returned from England to see what was his inheritance. I did so and visited Mr. Justice at his office in the morning of the day of the incident, he was organizing all the papers that were all over his office so I helped him for a while. Then he told me about the journal and I instantly recognized it, I tried to buy it from him but when he asked why I wanted it I couldn’t answer him, I remember that he touched his bracelet and absolutely refused to sell it. We argued and then I left his office. At my manor I wanted to ask Barrymore about that new journal but when I was telling him about it I got a call and he exited the room. I was really busy the rest of the afternoon so I didn’t know what happened after. Barrymore arrived later, saying that my journal had been stolen by Mr. Justice but that he had an accident and was currently at the hospital. I was mad, I wasn’t thinking straight after I thought that he had betrayed my trust and I signed the papers for his trial that Barrymore had prepared. Then you arrived at the hospital and I was rude at you, I had no idea of who you were and I only wanted to wake up from that nightmare.”
“But you were there for another reason, right?” asked Athena as she saw Widget’s proyection. She was trying to clean the discord in Baskerville’s heart. “You were feeling angry at that moment, but you also felt pain and sadness.”
“I-I wanted to see him, I really did. I wanted to see with my own eyes because I couldn’t believe that he was a thief. I…I admire him a lot.”
“You…admire Polly?”
“Barrymore always said that Kura’in respected my family, that our place as ambassadors carried a lot of meaning and was very important. But it isn’t in that way, ever since I was a kid nobody threated me like normal, to them I was some weird guy whose father was powerful. And as I grew up I realized that not only the children behaved like that, it was everyone around me and I hated to live like that. I always wanted to be like them, to be free, to travel around the world. But then my father died and I took his place sooner than expected.” Baskerville looked more relaxed, it was like he had been holding all those feelings for so long. Athena smiled as his heart calmed as well. ”But then I met Mr. Justice, he treated me just like everyone else. I mean, I heard that he dethroned Queen Ga’ran so maybe a simple ambassador was nothing to him, but that wasn’t what surprised me. It’s the way the people threats him, he’s like a hero to them, like somebody they can always count with. Everyone greets him, wishes him a good morning and even give him food and yet he doesn’t feel powerful, he just smiles. He’s everything I want to be, I wanted to learn how to be like that…”
Phoenix felt really proud of Apollo, to hear that he was so loved and respected just make him feel incredibly happy. He remembered that young red lawyer, always screaming but with his heart burning with passion for his work all the time. He had seen him at his worst moments, those in which not even him was capable to help. But now, he was sure that this was his best time, he was getting all the love and appreciation he deserved. He wished him to recover soon with all his heart.
“To someone to hurt Mr. Justice…I can’t really think of anyone. When I visited him again at the hospital I realized how wrong my actions were, how much damage I had done as well. When I saw all that people supporting him I remembered what I truly wanted to ask him, what I wanted him to teach me. I couldn’t retire the charges or Barrymore would be really mad, but I tried to help, I was the one who called Ms. Von Karma to tell her about the sword but it was all I could do without Barrymore’s permission. I never thought I would end up being accussed as well…”
“Barrymore. He looks important to you.”
“He basically manages my life. He knows and plans everything I do, he has served my family almost his entire life. But he has been acting weird, he hid so much info from me from this case. He just told me that the stolen item was the journal and sword.”
“Mr. Baskerville, your motive sounds like just emotional foolish talk for me…how do you explain the mask and sword then? Only you can access to them.” Argued Franziska.
“I…I can’t. I can swear that I have the only key to the mask’s place, the sword could have been stolen but you need the key to even touch the mask. You may think I had a reason to attack Mr. Justice, but Mr. Wright? He was attacked with the same mask, I have no reason, and an alibi! I was talking to England’s man in charge of the correspondence. He can confirm it.”
“That’s true, we never knew why they attacked us.” Athena looked like she was deep in thought.”It could be to stop us from defending Apollo.”
“What’s more, the attack was different. When we were attacked there was also a dog and it was at the inside of the Baskerville mansion. Apollo had no bites and was attacked at his office.” Said Phoenix.
“Then we’re not dealing with a serial murderer that plans everything, Mr. Wright.” Sherlock spoke, looking at nowhere while thinking.”Their movements aren’t concrete, something must have triggered the attacks. In Mr. Justice’s case it was him bringing back the journal, can you think of something that caused them to attavk you? What where you doing when you were attacked?”
“We were investigating our case, we paid a visit to Baskerville’s mansion but exited soon. Mr. Blackquill and me discovered that…Karma…” Phoenix fliched, as the pain reminded him of his injuries he remembered the moment before the attack. He and Simon looking at the empty place of Karma, talking about katanas and how they could hide small things within it’s hilt. That was it, that triggered the attack, they had discovered where the legendary lost pages were. But as he put more thinking into it, the truth of who had attacked them became clear, after all, there was just one more person in that room. “Barrymore…”
“You discovered Barrymore?” asked the judge. Phoenix touched his arm unconsciosly.
“We discovered where were the lost pages of Naruhodo’s journal. He heard us, he was the only person in that room!”
“B-Barrymore?! Are you serious?” babbled Baskerville.
“Can he access to the mask, Mr. Baskerville?” asked Athena.
“Yes…yes he can but just why? Why he would do that?”
“He may think that he acts in your name.”
“N-no, he never does that. He’s very loyal and calm!”
“But it’s the only one who could have taken the mask, he also knew about the journal and was the only one in that room at tha--
“OBJECTION!” suddenly, Barrymore himself ran to the witness stand, red like a tomato again. “Thank god I awakened just now! To think that you’re now acussing me, you have no heart, lawyer!”
“Mr. Barrymore, it’s a good thing that you’re back. What do you have to say to the defense’s acussation?” asked the Judge.
“They are wrong! Really wrong! I was indeed at that room when this man was there, but I didn’t attack anyone! I’m not the only one who could have heard your conversation, we have cameras, the one watching them could also hear that!”
“And how do you explain the mask?”
“It was stolen a day before, you also said it.”
“Why you didn’t report it?”
“I was too busy, you have no idea of how much work I have!”
“Mr. Baskerville said that you disappeared the day it was stolen, also Ms. Ettary witnessed the thief, sword and mask in hand.”
“That was your client! You just proved that his vest was red and that he had no apparent motive, but nothing else! He still had the sword, how do you explain that?!”
“Will this guy destroy all our theories just like that?” moaned Athena.
“Do not desperate young lawyer, we still have a chance.” Sherlock, who just a minute before was really quiet, suddenly looked excited and his face had a great smile. Trucy was at his side, holding a map. “We won’t obtain other thing from your attack other than we know that it was the same assailant and mask but there was a dog. We must focus on Mr. Justice’s attack, this young lady had the courtesy of sharing all yor evidence and notes with me, now I’m able to deduce what exactly happened there.”
“Mr. Holmes, please shut your mouth. You have no interest in this case, old ghost.” Barrymore clearly ws mad, but Sherlock just smiled.
“That’s were you’re wrong. I’m looking for nothibg but the truth, and I will have it…” he started to walk around the courtroom, Trucy following him. She showed the mmap of Apollo’s office to the court.”So, Mr. Wright, young lawyer, young magician…are you ready for this Great Deduction?”
“Just start already you fool.” Franziska was losing her patience.
“Ms. Von Karma! I will need your help as well! Can you please tell me why Mr. Justice was the main suspect of the robbery?”
“He sword and journal were found at his possession, also, he was said to vist Baskerville Manor before the incident.”
“That’s right, now we have to think the opposite, Mr. Wright. If he didn’t steal the sword, how did it reach him? Who took it from its place? The only ones who could have taken the mask without robbing it were Mr. Baskerville and Mr. Barrymore.”
“But none of us ever stepped on that office! I heard it from the officers, the paper in the floor captured the prints.” Argued Barrymore.
“But, that could be altered. Baskerville was at that office the same morning, why didn’t they find them?”
“Because Mr. Baskerville put in order some of the sheets, he said it himself.” Answered Athena.
“So, we have the prints of only the people who entered after.”
“But they were only Apollo’s, and he was attacked from the front.” said Trucy.
“Exactly, we have to find out just how the assailant managed to hide their prints. Maybe they attacked Mr. Justice outside the office?”
“Nonsense! Acording to your map, the boy was found at his desk, he had to be attacked there.” Barrymore was looking at the map very closely.
“Are you implying that our assailant was floating? This isn’t the first time the defense argues that.” Franziska, remembering the old times.
“No, Mr. Justice was attacked elsewhere! Look at this photo of the crime scene.” The photo showed the scene just as Phoenix and Simon discovered it, all left untouched minus Apollo.”There’s a splatter of blood next to the sofa, that’s where he was attacked.”
“It’s way too little blood, there’s more at his chair.” Barrymore.
“Indeed, but considereing that the sword got stuck in Mr. Justice’s body it’s normal that there isn’t a lot of blood. And there’s more at the chair because he moved, he made his wound worse by walking over there.”
“W-what, but why?” Phoenix was impressed, but his heart ached by thinking about the poor Apollo.
“To leave you some clues, Mr. Wright. He wrote in his journal, right? An admirable determination, just like Mr. Naruhodou’s…”
“Oh, Polly…” murmured Trucy.
“That’s our next step; his words. He wrote “Hound”, he HAD to see the mask at some point. His door was locked, what if he was being chased by said Hound?”
“But he never entered, there are no prints.”
“What if he didn’t have the need to enter? There’s a detail that caught my attention. Mr. Justice’s wound had small shards of glass. And if you look at where he was attacked, if you think how he could have seen the Hound…”
“The window!” screamed Phoenix, getting pale.”They attacked him from the outside thanks to the window!” exclaimed Phoenix, realizing the shocking truth.
“You truly carry Mr. Naruhodou’s blood, Mr. Wright.”
“But wait, the glass entered his body… how could that happen?”
“That window was pulverized, maybe the shards fell into his vest and when the sword stabbed him the blade pushed them. He also moved and opened his wound, the glass could have entered then. A dozen different things could happen, but one thing is sure: the window was broken to reach him.”
“Maybe you can tell us the truth now, Mr. Barrymore?” Sherlock looked at him, changing his smile for a serious face. Barrymore had his fists clenched in anger.
“Me? Why should I know? You have no way to prove that I was there!”
“Just tell me if our theory sounds good.”
“It’s completely insane! The window, you say? How do you explain the cuts all over his arms? He was bleeding even before entering that office, your map shows it!”
And then, Sherlock smiled.
“I never mentioned Mr. Justice’s cuts.”
“…”
“During all the time I’ve been in this courtroom, not even once we mentioned that wounds. This was a trial to define if he was a thief, not to find his assailant, after all. And yet, you know about that.”
“Kgh—“
“Mr. Barrymore, you saw Mr. Justice before he entered his office!”