[Repost] Part 14
Adachi Tohru was either the best or the worst liar that Nick had ever met.
The interrogation had gone normally enough, at first. There'd been the usual round of opening questions: name, occupation, etc. while Nick stealthily manuevered the magatama into a position. But once they got to the subject of Adachi's modus operandi, the interrogation started to get ... weird.
"How'd I do it the first time, huh?" Adachi smiled and shrugged, looking sheepish. It formed a strange contrast with Shirogane's absolutely monotone translation. "You know, I don't think you'd believe me even I told you."
Nick glanced at the magatama. Not even a flicker. "Try me?" he said, repressing the urge to sigh. "I've probably had weirder, to be honest."
"Like the circus!" interjected Maya. "And the circus again! And his dead ex-girlfriend!"
"Yeah, like -- " Nick stopped suddenly. Something told him that telling Adachi about Dahlia was not the best idea in the world. "Um, Mr. Shirogane? Don't translate that last part."
Shirogane nodded. "As you wish." And then he tilted his head to one side, words flowing into the usual curious patter of Japanese syllables.
"The circus? Sounds like fun," said Adachi. His smile widened: a perfect mask of affability. "Though it wasn't really a circus trick. Definitely something much bigger than that." And then he turned towards Shirogane and said something that the detective did not repeat.
"Huh?" Nick blinked. "Er, I didn't get that last part."
Shirogane reddened slightly. "An inappropriate comment, Mr. Wright," he said. Though his expression remained as calm and collected as ever, the hand on his hip tightened its grip. "I do not think that translating sexism would contribute to the conversation at hand."
( Sexism? This ... isn't going to end well, is it. ) Phoenix decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Instead, he shook his head. "Back on topic, then," he said. He had the entirety of the Court Record spread out in front of him ... not that it consisted of much, at this point. An envelope with pictures, the usual stack of profiles, and the police report, which he'd already pulled out of its manilla envelope. "The police report's a little ... um, lacking. To put it nicely."
"Lacking, huh?" Adachi shrugged cheerfully. "I guess that's the best a backwater police department can do." Then he leaned forward, almost conspiratorily. Although that smile hadn't left his face, his eyes looked very keen and sharp indeed. "Not that it matters," he continued, staring at Nick with one eye. "You've already decided I'm guilty. So what's the point in confessing anything else?"
Suddenly, the air-conditioning in the detention center seemed oppressively cold. Nick shivered. He had to admit that he'd given that possibility more thought than he should have. Despite the overwhelming number of murder cases he'd handled, it had never been the case that his client had been already been declared guilty of a previous murder. Other crimes, sure. Murder? Not so much. But even as those thoughts drifted through his mind, he couldn't help but remember Edgeworth's initial phone call. Edgeworth was just as devoted to the truth as Nick himself was. If there weren't something bigger going on, this whole conversation wouldn't be happening to begin with.
( Exactly. What am I doing? ) Straightening up a bit, Phoenix forced himself to look Adachi in the eye. "Mr. Adachi," he said, quietly but firmly, "I once had an amazing mentor. She taught me everything I know."
"Oh? How nice."
Phoenix shook his head. "Not just nice. She was ... " A glance at Maya. "Anyway, she told me something very important. That you always have have to believe in the innocence of your client." Just saying the words made him feel lighter, like cutting through a thick fog of doubt. "And I do, Mr. Adachi," he continued. "We'll do our absolute best to find out the truth."
Whatever reaction he'd expected out of Adachi, it certainly didn't match what actually happened. Adachi stared for a long moment, as if in shock. Then he seemed to draw himself up as well, head cocked at a strange, alien angle. In the glare of the detention center's florescent lights, his eyes seemed strangely ... gold-colored. "The truth? You really think you can figure out the truth?" A thick laugh curdled up from his chest. In the same instant, Nick's magatama glowed brightly -- and he was suddenly blinded by a flurry of police tape. It coiled around Adachi, sending strands of yellow and black up to the ceiling, across the interrogation window, onto every available surface. If they were supposed psych locks, then they were unlike any that Phoenix had ever seen before. The line of tape seemed to curve into itself, with no beginning or middle or end. And no apparent points of entry, either. Adachi almost seemed suspended in midair, trapped in a strait jacket of yellow and black.
His client leaned forward, smile looking more and more deranged by the minute. "I kind of doubt that, Mr. Wright," he breathed. "But it might be fun to watch you try."
The interrogation had gone normally enough, at first. There'd been the usual round of opening questions: name, occupation, etc. while Nick stealthily manuevered the magatama into a position. But once they got to the subject of Adachi's modus operandi, the interrogation started to get ... weird.
"How'd I do it the first time, huh?" Adachi smiled and shrugged, looking sheepish. It formed a strange contrast with Shirogane's absolutely monotone translation. "You know, I don't think you'd believe me even I told you."
Nick glanced at the magatama. Not even a flicker. "Try me?" he said, repressing the urge to sigh. "I've probably had weirder, to be honest."
"Like the circus!" interjected Maya. "And the circus again! And his dead ex-girlfriend!"
"Yeah, like -- " Nick stopped suddenly. Something told him that telling Adachi about Dahlia was not the best idea in the world. "Um, Mr. Shirogane? Don't translate that last part."
Shirogane nodded. "As you wish." And then he tilted his head to one side, words flowing into the usual curious patter of Japanese syllables.
"The circus? Sounds like fun," said Adachi. His smile widened: a perfect mask of affability. "Though it wasn't really a circus trick. Definitely something much bigger than that." And then he turned towards Shirogane and said something that the detective did not repeat.
"Huh?" Nick blinked. "Er, I didn't get that last part."
Shirogane reddened slightly. "An inappropriate comment, Mr. Wright," he said. Though his expression remained as calm and collected as ever, the hand on his hip tightened its grip. "I do not think that translating sexism would contribute to the conversation at hand."
( Sexism? This ... isn't going to end well, is it. ) Phoenix decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Instead, he shook his head. "Back on topic, then," he said. He had the entirety of the Court Record spread out in front of him ... not that it consisted of much, at this point. An envelope with pictures, the usual stack of profiles, and the police report, which he'd already pulled out of its manilla envelope. "The police report's a little ... um, lacking. To put it nicely."
"Lacking, huh?" Adachi shrugged cheerfully. "I guess that's the best a backwater police department can do." Then he leaned forward, almost conspiratorily. Although that smile hadn't left his face, his eyes looked very keen and sharp indeed. "Not that it matters," he continued, staring at Nick with one eye. "You've already decided I'm guilty. So what's the point in confessing anything else?"
Suddenly, the air-conditioning in the detention center seemed oppressively cold. Nick shivered. He had to admit that he'd given that possibility more thought than he should have. Despite the overwhelming number of murder cases he'd handled, it had never been the case that his client had been already been declared guilty of a previous murder. Other crimes, sure. Murder? Not so much. But even as those thoughts drifted through his mind, he couldn't help but remember Edgeworth's initial phone call. Edgeworth was just as devoted to the truth as Nick himself was. If there weren't something bigger going on, this whole conversation wouldn't be happening to begin with.
( Exactly. What am I doing? ) Straightening up a bit, Phoenix forced himself to look Adachi in the eye. "Mr. Adachi," he said, quietly but firmly, "I once had an amazing mentor. She taught me everything I know."
"Oh? How nice."
Phoenix shook his head. "Not just nice. She was ... " A glance at Maya. "Anyway, she told me something very important. That you always have have to believe in the innocence of your client." Just saying the words made him feel lighter, like cutting through a thick fog of doubt. "And I do, Mr. Adachi," he continued. "We'll do our absolute best to find out the truth."
Whatever reaction he'd expected out of Adachi, it certainly didn't match what actually happened. Adachi stared for a long moment, as if in shock. Then he seemed to draw himself up as well, head cocked at a strange, alien angle. In the glare of the detention center's florescent lights, his eyes seemed strangely ... gold-colored. "The truth? You really think you can figure out the truth?" A thick laugh curdled up from his chest. In the same instant, Nick's magatama glowed brightly -- and he was suddenly blinded by a flurry of police tape. It coiled around Adachi, sending strands of yellow and black up to the ceiling, across the interrogation window, onto every available surface. If they were supposed psych locks, then they were unlike any that Phoenix had ever seen before. The line of tape seemed to curve into itself, with no beginning or middle or end. And no apparent points of entry, either. Adachi almost seemed suspended in midair, trapped in a strait jacket of yellow and black.
His client leaned forward, smile looking more and more deranged by the minute. "I kind of doubt that, Mr. Wright," he breathed. "But it might be fun to watch you try."