TURNABOUT INVESTIGATION
A Phoenix Wright Fanfiction by Garnet Red

PROLOGUE
	"Pretzel?"
	"No, thanks, I'm limiting my carbs." Marin's answer came robotically as she stepped under the police tape, brushing stray strands of hair out of her gaze. The crime scene had already been scoured for evidence, numbered markers littering the small flat. She stood straight and crossed her arms, surveying the wreckage, then turned back to the other investigator. Ema's gaze narrowed in return, munching away on the contents of a snack bag on the other side of the tape. Marin tilted her head and put on an incredulous face.
	"Hey, I just finished working here. Give me a minute." Slender and graceful, Ema may have lacked the full figure that Marin possessed, but she certainly made up for it with her appetite for snacks. Marin shook her head and stepped over a chalk outline of where a corpse had once been. A trail of carnage lead from the head and all along the wall where the corpse had likely been shot and then slid to the floor - a smattering of gore on the plain wallpaper confirmed it.
	The violence was nothing new to Marin - heaven knows she's done some herself - but nonetheless she felt a chill that made her tug her sweater down over her torso a bit, straining the threads that were already stretched over her chest. She looked up at an open window, the lace curtains beckoning to her like the ghost of a lost child. "So the killer hopped out through the fire escape?"
	"Well, that's what I wanted to think, too, but we've already got a positive suspect."
	"And that would be--"
	"A Mr. Salvador Valerussi, the tenant who lives in this apartment. The responding officers found him in the kitchen to your right among some empty bottles of bourbon and the murder weapon in his hand." Ema pulled out a set of photographs and waved them in the air. "And I've got shots of the bottle of tranquilizers he washed down with the alcohol. We're going to have to wait until tomorrow to get a good, clean interrogation."
	"Booze hound and a druggie? Sounds like manslaughter to me, probably a dispute over his next hit." Marin huffed and crossed her arms under her breasts, refusing to seperate herself from the center of the flat. The curtains continued to ruffle. "Can I close that?"
	"It was open when we got here. I decided to leave it like that." Ema finished off her pretzel and joined Marin in the flat.
	"Just like this case. Tell me, if it's so tidy and clean - relatively speaking - why did you call me up in the middle of the night?" Marin turned to face Ema, eye to eye, but two strangers in the hallway outside caught her attention. "This is a crime scene, sir, we can't let civilians in. Who are you?" Curious, she made her way over to the tape to greet them. Ema simply rolled her eyes.
	"My name's Lawrence Fiennes, attorney at law--" The young man in the red vest was cut short by a girl in a silly blue micro-mini.
	"And I'm Alizee, legal assistant!" The girl curtsied, tugging her shawl close to herself. Not the best getup for a cold September evening.
	"Bugger off, you two. There's nothing to see here." Ema walked up behind Marin with a look of disdain levelled at the youngsters, who immediately apologized and were on their way. She shook her head as she turned back to the flat. "Don't mind him, he's just another one of those prodigy defense attorneys." Marin couldn't help but chuckle.
	"Hey, he could be another Phoenix in the works." Marin strode over to the kitchen doorway, not minding that Ema had groaned instead of laughing at the reference. "You said he had the weapon in his hand?"
	"Magnum revolver at point blank range. Did a new paint job all over the wall back there."
	"Doubt the landlord will approve of that."
	"The landlady called when she heard the gunshots. Melissa Woodward. She's in room 1A." Ema sighed as she took a look around the living room of the flat. "I didn't answer your question earlier."
	"Why did you call me?" Marin repeated her query.
	"I don't allow for uncertainties." Ema stated quite clearly. For such a dainty figure, her voice resounded nicely against the creaking wood of the apartment building. Marin nodded quietly and stepped out into the hall and past arriving patrol officers.

DAY 1 - INVESTIGATION
12:00 AM
	"Miss Woodward?" Marin took the opportunity to fix her ebon hair in the small mirror set into the door. It was perfectly placed there, she thought, to make sure tenants would make themselves presentable when rent was due. She had to catch herself as the door opened without warning, and a mature woman presented herself, a cardigan folded over her bony shoulders.
	"More from the police department?" Her crystalline voice betrayed her age - she wasn't as old as she looked. Marin presented her badge.
	"My name is Marin Marshall, I'm an investigator from the police department. I need to ask you about what happened earlier tonight."
	"Sure thing. And call me Melissa, my tenants do. When I'm in earshot, at least." Melissa looked curiously at the shorter woman, this Marin Marshall, clearly unintimidated.
	"You're not going to let me into your apartment, Melissa?" Marin squared her hands on her hips, not expecting an answer. In her mind she called the woman something other than Melissa as she reached into her satchel to pull out her notepad and pen. "At about what time did you call the police?"
	"I heard a loud gunshot come from upstairs at around a quarter to eleven. I immediately called the police afterwards."
	"Was there anything suspicious before this happened?"
	"No, nothing out of the ordinary."
	"Were there any people going in or out of the apartments?"
	"No, nothing out of the ordinary. Well, except one thing, but he always visited Sal just about every other day... poor old man."
	"The victim, you mean?"
	"Yes, I saw him as they carried his body out the front door right there in this hallway. His face was covered by the blanket, of course, but you could never mistake that silly afro of his."
	"So you knew the victim, as did Sal? You said he made regular visits."
	"Of course, everyone knows Old Man DeNonno. Or as the children call him, Louie the Cat. He was a friendly homeless man who lived on our street. It sounds silly to say, I know, but he really was a part of this neighborhood. He did odd jobs for people and always helped out. He feeds the strays in the alley before he eats his own meal, that's why he's called the Cat."
	"Do you know if Mr. DeNonno had any family?" Marin had trained herself to take clean, copious notes without looking at the pad, so she could square off directly with whoever she was talking.
	"Hard to say, he was from out of town."
	"A transient?"
	"If you want to call him that." Melissa's expression soured. "That word is disgusting. It sounds like politican speak. Old Man DeNonno deserves more than that."
	"Yeah, I see you have a lot of respect for him. But what about Salvador Valerussi, didn't he like DeNonno as well?"
	"Of course he did. That's why I find it so odd to hear that..." Melissa pinched her nose bridge, hoping to quell an ache between her eyes. "I'm sorry, this is just so much to bear at this hour."
	"I can come back tomorrow to finish, if that's alright with you." Marin glanced at her notes - a little messier than she had anticipated, but it was all there.
	"Of course, dear. I'm probably going to be busy with all the paperwork that's going to come out of this..." Melissa frowned, casting her gaze downwards at the floor, unfortunately blocked out by Marin's considerable bust. She sighed and looked away. "Tell me something before you go, dear. Why are you an investigator?"
	"Because... well, my family's had a tradition of law enforcement. It's my way of contributing to society." Marin shrugged as she gave her canned answer.
	"Hmm. You and I should have switched places, you know."
	"How's that?"
	"You would've been better as a model." With a knowing smile, the landlady closed the door. Marin was left staring at the mirror.

1:00 AM
	Marin knocked on the mahogany door, not with her knuckle but with her noggin, feeling the pull of gravity as her body coped with the lack of rest. Her forehead barely missed the fine, goldplated plaque on the door, but she hadn't even looked at it, already being familiar with the man inside. She nearly slipped forward as the door abruptly opened, a thin sliver of light highlighting his gently angled chin.
	"It's not just your precinct that's spreading rumors now, you know. My reputation is at stake." His voice was even, unfettered by passion. Marin looked up and barely smiled for him, too familiar with his mannerism.
	"I need help, Ashley." She sighed, more tired than disturbed, her fingers distracting themselves again with fiddling with the tenuous cloth on her chest. "Ema--"
	"Detective Skye had her team forward a preliminary report to my office." Ashley let his professional overtones take command of the conversation, his strong fingers pushing a laminated binder through the crack of the doorway. Marin's hand reached toward his, but he dropped the file into her palm prematurely. The smooth skin of his knuckles disappeared into the shadow of his office once again as he abruptly closed the door on the woman. "Insomnia should be second nature to you by now."
	"Ash?" Marin felt her voice crack a bit. She felt something tug at her chest, but she pulled away and walked out of the civic center without another word.

10:00 AM
	"Marin." Ema poked her meatier colleague in the shoulder, reminding herself to hit the gym later that day. "Marin, get up." Marin's eyes didn't exactly snap open, but she readily lifted her head up from her desk, hair and sweater mussed up from sleeping at her work table. Her chest ached from being leaned on so unceremoniously, and she scratched herself all over. "You need to stop treating your office like a second home."
	"Wasn't always my office." Marin mumbled, fumbling with the papers she had been going over earlier that morning.
	"Yes, exactly. You should treat it with some respect." Ema huffed, snatching her rose-colored glasses from her head in a stern gesture. "I need you on this case, Marshall."
	"Ema, why do you keep doing this to me? Call me up on all these obvious cases and such." Marin grumbled, thankful that she had her own private office in which she could slip out of her sweater. The threads were all too glad to snap back to a straighter shape and felt no remorse for the unfortunate uniform blue that had to replace them. Ema just rolled her eyes, and Marin looked up at her questioningly as she blindly struggled to button up.
	"You're forgetting that a number of these 'obvious' cases turn out being more than they seem, thanks to you. Aside from myself, you're the only other real investigator I know in the department." She glanced towards the soundproofed glass windows, though the blinds were drawn. "I have a forensics team to manage, I just don't have the time."
	"Yeah, yeah, I'll get the job done, as always." Aside from spare clothes, Marin also kept dumb bells in her office, which she now set to lifting. "Anything to add to the report?"
	"Two shots were fired."
	"I heard about tha-- two?" Marin stopped mid-rep, her arm bulging comfortably. Ema answered the inquiry with a new folder.
	"Examination of the murder weapon reveals two shots were discharged that night, though witnesses claim only hearing one. Something happened in that apartment."
	"The blast was muffled." Marin fumbled with a drawer, trying to find the proper place to put the weight away. "But the gun doesn't take suppressors. They must've used something else, like a pillow?"
	"That's my girl. But hey, don't hurt yourself, we should get you some breakfast first."
	"Pretzels?"
	"Shut up."

10:15 AM
	Hot cocoa was Marin's drug of choice, or chocolate of any kind for that matter. This morning she had it accompanied by a slice of pizza pie, Chicago style, layered with meat, cheese, and vegetables. Ema had already eaten, and enjoyed a simple cup of tea, made with leaves she brought around with her in a small tin. Marin always noticed the familiar capital letter E was embossed into the palm-size tin. "How're things?"
	"I'm good." Ema evaded Marin's gaze, watching the leaves swirl as she stirred.
	"With Miles?"
	"I'm good." Ema repeated with emphasis. She took her rose glasses down again and set them on the cafe table. "...We've got reservations."
	"Um, don't you always?"
	"What? No, I mean-- this weekend. The hot springs." Ema nodded as she corrected herself, a hard breath coming from her lips before she calmed herself with a sip of tea.
	"Mm, that's nice. Wait, this weekend is your anniversary."
	"Yeah. No. It's not an anniversary." Ema set the cup down on the saucer unsteadily. "I've stopped counting the years."
	"Nearly a decade now, isn't it." Marin had a flattened, sympathetic expression. "He'll come around." Ema shook her head quietly, her finger tracing the rim of her cup. There was a bit of silence as she eyed her left hand, entirely naked, until Marin reached over and squeezed her fingers.

11:15 AM
	After accompanying Ema back to the forensic labs, Marin made her way once again to the crime scene. The police tape, numbered markers and tags were all still in place, though the patrol officers standing guard outside Salvador's apartment had since changed shifts. Regardless of who they were, she knew she was a sight for sore eyes - especially since the only other distraction was a smutty magazine that was being sat on in a vain attempt at concealment. "Stand down, gentlemen," she addressed them. "Investigator on the scene."
	She examined the area where the body was found the night before. A cursory glance at the updated autopsy and evidence examination revealed that, indeed, there was no residue on DeNonno's head to indicate he had been shot point blank. Marin stepped away to look for the bedroom - sure enough, the bed was ruffled, missing its pillow. She rubbed her forehead a bit and fished out her cell phone, opening it and dialing the first person on her list. A for Ashley.
	"Municipal attorney Pierce's office," Ashley sounded composed as ever, a slight bit of gravel in his baritone the only hint at the late hours. He grunted as he realized the name on the caller ID was too familiar. "What is it, Marin?"
	"Are you going forward with charges against Salvador Valerussi?"
	"Of course, I'm bound by law to resolve the trial within three days."
	"Ash, we need more time than that."
	"After all these years, you still ask for that. I thought you knew better."
	Marin sighed at his attitude, still the overbearing man she had first witnessed in a courtroom. "Is there anything at all?" She was on the verge of nibbling on a thumb when she heard him breath deeply, the kind she knew meant he thought something of her. Marin closed her eyes and purged her thoughts of the memories.
	"I can ask the High Prosecutor for a delay, given the defendant's health. I'll send word to the officers at Prince Memorial Clinic to give you clearance for an interview."
	"Thank you, Ashley." Marin checked her watch. "Listen, after this case--"
	"I'm sorry about last night," he shot it out rather abruptly. Marin stopped breathing until the line was disconnected a moment after.

12:35 PM
	"Good afternoon, Mr Valerussi," Marin displayed her badge, as per usual. She kept her coat strapped tightly at her waist, the deep red-black concealing her uniform blues. The man in the hospital bed looked her up and down and smirked.
	"Oh, I thought someone sent me a stripper. Thank god it's a cop." He rolled his eyes, fingers twitching idly. "You'll have to forgive me for not being more presentable. Seems I took more than a recommended daily dosage." Marin looked down on him from across the room, wondering at the young man being laid so low. She found a chair and dragged it across the linoleum tile, then closed the door and brought out a tape recorder on the nearby table.
	"I'm Detective Marin Marshall. Can I call you Salvador?"
	"Sure. What else do you want?"
	"I want you to tell me what happened last night. What happened in your apartment, and how did Louis DeNonno die?"
	"Wow, you sure are straight to the point." Salvador turned away and looked out the window, then looked back to Marin. "He comes up to my apartment just about every other night, and we play poker and have some bourbon. Chew the fat."
	"So what was special about last night?"
	"Last night... well, maybe had a bit too much to drink. Got into a bit of a tussle and... I shot him, point blank. Painted the wall with his brains. I lost it. I don't know what came over me." The last lines have a bit of a scoff in them.
	"You play cards in the living room?"
	"Uh, yeah, we play and drink on my coffee table there."
	"Is that the case?" Marin thought it was odd the bourbon would all be neatly in the kitchen. "Looking at your supply of alcohol I'd think you'd be able to hold your drinks better."
	"I was under stress."
	"...Stress?"
	"Yeah, rough day at work. Assholes in traffic. Same old stuff."
	"But was it especially bad?"
	"Yeah, it was. You ever have a shit day and want to just unload a couple rounds? I got to that point, and he just happened to be downrange. I shot Louis DeNonno in cold blood."
	Marin might have wrinkled her nose. "You ever have a reason to get mad at him before?"
	"Uh... no."
	"So why now?" Marin rested her elbows on her legs, leaning forward and tilting her head inquisitively. Salvador looked agitated for a guy who was bedridden. "Do you have a prescription for sleeping pills?"
	"No, those were, uh, fenced."
	"Did DeNonno sell them to you?"
	"Yeah, sure. He sure did." Salvador just kept nodding. "You've got the gist of it."
	"He tried to cheat you, is what you're saying?"
	"Hey, I'm confessing to murder, now I'm confessing to drug abuse. Yeah, I got it all. What the hell do you want, anyways? My trial's not even going to last a day."
	"I'm just here to find out the truth, Salvador." She snorted quietly. "One last question."
	"Whatever."
	"Where'd your pillow go? It was nowhere near the scene of the struggle, and yet it went missing?" Marin's gaze narrowed slightly as she saw Salvador trying to think. She almost expected it.
	"I knocked him down to the floor, went to the bedroom and grabbed the pillow to silence the shot. I went out using the fire escape and dumped the pillow in the dumpster outside because it got blood on it." He nodded, sure he got it right. Marin waited a moment to let him process his own words.
	"Sal..."
	"What?"
	"You're lying."
	"Oh, really?"
	"Yeah, really."
	"No way."
	"Your landlady, Ms Woodward, reported hearing a shot loud and clear from the first floor of the building, she called the police right afterwards. If you had used the pillow, she wouldn't have heard it."
	"I shot a second round into the wall, I missed." Salvador shrugged it off, but Marin shook her head.
	"The forensics team has scoured that place. Only one stray round was found - the one you supposedly shot DeNonno with."
	"I still stand by my story." Salvador leaned back into his hospital bed, dark locks of hair settling into the pale linen. "I have to, right? Because it's the truth." Marin sensed she wouldn't get much more out of him and stood up to retrieve the tape recorder. When she looked back to him, something on his hand caught her eye.
	"Can I see your hand for a moment?" She brought out her cell phone and dialed Ema. "Ema? It's Marin. I need you to tell me if this looks familiar."
	"What is it?" He didn't offer it to her, but she took it and held the phone's camera lens up to it. An uncomfortable moment passed. Marin's eyes widened slightly at something Ema said, and after closing her phone she looked back to Salvador.
	"The Abandonato family?"
	"Distant. My mother's side." He covered up the tattoo on the back of his hand. "It doesn't mean anything, now, though. I wouldn't worry about it."

1:30 PM
	"Other than the fact he's related, it doesn't mean anything. All the evidence points to him being guilty. There's no reason for me to cancel or even postpone the trial tomorrow." Ashley gestured with one hand while the other sorted out the case file on his mahogany desk, but his voice carried no sense of the tired determination that was evident in his work. He paused and rubbed the prominent bridge of his nose. "What's more, your little interview with him today just gave me the magic bullet: a spoken confession to an investigating police officer. You're a decisive witness with decisive evidence now." Marin made a harsh sound through her nose, idly unbuttoning the top bit of her uniform to relieve some of the heat and pressure. She stepped over to Ashley's desk and leaned over to examine the file with him. He spied her cleavage at the edge of his vision, but made no mention of it.
	"Did Ema call you about the pillow yet?"
	"No, she hasn't. I doubt that will change anything, though, it just corroborates the story more."
	"Well, what the hell else can I do?" Marin slumped down onto the table. "You don't even need a detective like me on this case."
	"A lot, Marin." She looked up at the sound of his voice to see him untying the ribbon holding his platinum tresses of hair back. The fullness of his mane caught the sunlight coming from the window and formed a loose sheen over his shoulders as he stepped around to the other side of his desk, fingering the strip of cloth. "Why are you complaining in the first place?"
	"I'm not sure."
	"That's exactly why I've always trusted your instincts." Ashley walked back towards her, spectacles flashing in the light. "Ema is always going on about how she disallows uncertainties. With the laws these days, she rarely gets to do the full breadth of investigation she wants to do. You're more of an old-fashioned detective, you can fill in those gaps."
	"Ash," she piped up. "What's so uncertain about this case?"
	"I'm getting tired of repeating myself." He set to tying his hair back again, having no apparent reason for letting it go in the first place. He crossed his arms and looked out at the skyline. "Like it's my job to remind you."
	"I'm just tired these days, Ash."
	"Aren't we all."
	"Tired of these people leading these shit lives and doing... shitty things. What the hell is with all this shit? This shit life." For a woman of poise and composure, the profanity rolled off her tongue like familiar kisses. Ashley lent her a sideways glance.
	"I never thought you to be a bleeding-heart sort."
	"One of us has to be." Marin got up from the desk and sorted herself out, straightening her hair and buttoning up. Ashley went back to gazing at the cityscape.
	"Of course, since you broke mine." His voice was still crystal clear and unwavering. Throughout the conversation, not a hint of impatience had wafted from his lips. Marin had gotten used to this kind of speech now, but knowing it wasn't always like this made her hurry on her way out.

2:20 PM
	Marin found herself standing outside the apartment building again, looking up at the window of Salvador's apartment. The requisite patrol car was parked halfway on the sidewalk, and its assigned officers were probably upstairs gorging themselves on donuts. She reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook, skipping over old pages and finally coming to the single sheet she had started late last night. Mostly bare, the only thing that stood out were the words "second shot," circled neatly in black ballpoint. She rang the doorbell for Melissa's room, and the rusted speaker nearby crackled with sound. "Who is it?"
	"Detective Marin Marshall."
	The commonplace buzzer sounded, and Marin opened the door. Stepping into the hallway, she could see the midday light flash off the mirror adorning the landlady's room. It soon swung away and Melissa showed herself with the customary hospitable smile. "Good afternoon, detective."
	"You need to let every guest in?" Marin had kept her notebook out and at the ready, eager to fill that solitary page.
	"Oh, getting to the details already, are we?" Melissa shook her head and chuckled, an auburn ponytail following her. "And no, each tenant has one of those speakers connected to the front door. As old as this building is, it has some nice features. Have you had lunch yet?"
	"Hmm, I'll bite. I had a late breakfast." She followed the landlady into her room. Melissa was particular about getting the door for her, both opening and closing, and invited Marin to sit down in one of the armchairs as she disappeared into the kitchen in the back. Marin, naturally, chose to take a turn about the living room. She noticed that the front door had a simple picture frame hung at eye level. The picture was that of a man and a young girl, what could be her family, but judging by the faded quality it was probably her younger self with her father. A mirror on one side and a picture frame on the other - this was probably the most-accessorized door Marin had ever encountered.
	"Roast beef sandwiches. I visited the deli this morning." Melissa interrupted Marin's inspection of the apartment with an abruptly cheery announcement. Marin nodded politely and uneasily slid into a seat.
	"The patrol officers in charge of monitoring the scene let you off?"
	"The ones who came in for the morning shift, yes, so long as I got them breakfast as well."
	"Ah, alright." Marin took a cursory bite of her sandwich. She almost thought her reason for being here was the cold cuts, dark green romaine lettuce, and mustard over a goat cheese spread. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get to questioning already."
	"Of course. That's your job, after all." Melissa had already polished off a quarter of hers and finished her mouthful in between words. She seemed much less active when Marin brought out a tape recorder.
	"This won't hurt a bit." Marin smirked and set it down on the table. "Can you give me a recap of what you told me about last night?"
	"It was a simple affair. It was around eleven o' clock when Louie showed up to visit Sal. He went upstairs and a short while later I heard a gunshot. I know my tenants aren't violent people, so I called the police immediately."
	"Did you see DeNonno walk into the apartment building?"
	"Oh, no, I didn't answer the door."
	"But Mr Valerussi did. Each apartment has its own control for the front door." Marin nibbled on her pen when Melissa nodded. "And DeNonno always visits at this exact time?"
	Melissa paused, and didn't move at all for a second or two. "Well... yes, of course. He did."
	"Alright. Could you give me a little information about the other tenants here? I'll need to talk to them, as well." Marin offered a fresh page from her notebook. As Melissa complied, Marin stood up to examine the the old picture on the frame. "This is your family?"
	"Hm? Oh, no, that's my father. He was a doctor." Melissa looked up at the sound of Marin removing the picture from the door to take a closer look. "Hold it!" Marin turned around just that second, the picture in her hands, puzzled as to the heightened tone Melissa had just taken. Marin could see the other woman was staring at the door, and she looked back to it to see the outside hall through a glass pane.
	"A one-way mirror? Interesting."
	"Er, yes, it is."
	"So you can see people going in and out after all." Marin put the picture frame back up on the door. She looked back to the tape recorder, which was still going at it. "Did you see DeNonno enter the building?"
	"Yes, I saw DeNonno enter the building."
	"And that's all?"
	"Mm." Melissa nodded emphatically. "That's all there is to it." She stood and offered the notebook to Marin. "The first tenant on this floor, Mr Boot, is out of town this month. I wouldn't wait around for him." Marin thanked the landlady for her time, retrieved the tape recorder, and finally let herself smirk as the door closed, showing the mirror again.
	It wasn't exactly hitting the pavement, but Marin enjoyed the few seconds she could spend strolling between doors. She couldn't stand being cooped up in an office, and was slightly disheartened when she had to stop and look at a door. She skipped the first apartment, looking at the note from Melissa: the tenant was out of town. The second, however, was home to a known recluse by the name of Detta Quattrocchi and his girlfriend, Sabrina Polkman. Marin wondered how many Sicilians lived in the city. "Hello? Anyone home?"
	The door swung open rather promptly, a bespectacled, scrawny fellow with matted hair peeling himself from the shadows within. He methodically stepped out and closed the door behind himself, a finger and a definitive hiss interrupting Marin's words. "She's meditating! Please don't make too much noise." He looked her up and down and scoffed. "What's this about?"
	"Detective Marin Marshall. I'm here to inquire about the incident last night." Marin blinked, somewhat offput by the man's harsh demeanor, but more surprised to see a man as short as herself. "You're--?"
	"Detta Quattrocchi, certified entomologist at your service. I certainly hope I can help with this case, it's a terrible shame what happened and the criminal should be brought to justice." Detta adjusted his glasses, and Marin took this as her queue to whip out the handy-dandy tape recorder.
	"I understand you live here with your girlfriend?"
	"Excuse me! Girlfriend is far too casual a word, thrown around by folks like naive 6th graders throw out gang signs. People don't understand its significance, and thus devalue them, though the things they allude to retain potency all the same." Detta seemed to violate his own commandment at not making too much noise, indeed, for a small man he had a vigorous and defined tone. He removed his spectacles and cleaned them with a small blue cloth. "Ms Polkman and I are life partners, you could say, yes."
	"Isn't 'partners' something gay people say?" Marin had absently turned on the tape recorder, catching the latter part of the uppity fellow's speech.
	"As if they had any monopoly on the lexicon." Detta sniffed. "What did you mean to ask me, anyhow, detective?"
	"Ah! Right. I wanted to ask for your testimony, what you saw and heard last night around the time of the murder."
	"Around eleven o' clock, yes?"
	"Precisely. You and your... partner were both awake, or just one of you?"
	"No, no, we're both naturally night owls. Sabrina loves the darkness, it helps her concentrate. She always meditates straight through the witching hour."
	"She meditates in the evenings, until midnight?"
	"Indeed. This isn't a very busy part of the city, so there's not much nightlife to speak about, and thus no noise. Except for last night, those blasted gunshots." Marin narrowed her gaze at hearing that statement. "We live right under Salvador's flat, so we hear some of what goes on up there. It's a good thing the man is single and friendless."
	"But DeNonno visited him weekly, before last night at least."
	"Indubitably, but aside from Old Man Louie he rarely had guests over. Actually, he went out relatively often. Where to, I wouldn't know." Detta shrugged sadly. "Used to be you could set your calendar to his visits. Every Wednesday night."
	"So he would be visiting tonight, if not for last night."
	"Exactly. You know, it's strange, I was surprised that anyone, much less him, would visit yesterday. But..."
	"Yes?"
	"Oh, no, that's all."
	"You sure you can't say? The more I know, the better."
	"Well, at first I didn't think it was him, but I knew was probably wrong. It's nothing, really."
	"Ah, I see... but you can certainly testify that DeNonno entered the building?"
	"You could say that."
	"Just give me a straight answer." Marin shifted her weight to the other foot.
	"I... to be honest, I didn't know it was DeNonno. Like I said, he doesn't visit Tuesdays. I didn't know it was him until the police came and..." Detta looked down and pondered something. "We heard him come in, though."
	"Ms Polkman also heard him?"
	"She did, and she was quite agitated by it. She counts on the relative silence in the evenings, and this threw her lunar schedule off." Marin quashed the desire to clarify what he meant.
	"Do you think I could talk to her? She seems pretty aware of her surroundings."
	"Ah, that is true. She would make a better witness, I'm far too scatterbrained. Give me a moment to bring her out of her afternoon meditation." Detta nodded and opened the door, waving for the detective to follow. Marin saw the insides of this particular apartment were muted in color, with midday sun filtering in through tinted windows. While she examined the occult knick-knacks in the hallway, she was suddenly stopped in her tracks by a furtive, but firm, hand to her breast. Detta looked back and flinched, wiping off his hand apologetically and continuing without a word into the living room. Marin could see why she had been stopped: the woman sitting on the floor facing the window, Detta's "partner."
	Even in the low-light conditions, she could observe the details of the couple's exchange: he gently touched her shoulder, and she simply turned to him to exchange smiles. Hardly a complex ritual to bring someone out of a trancelike state, but mystical nonetheless. Marin thought about the last time she smiled like that, when Ashley would place a hand on her arm and they would face each other with that knowing look in their eyes - all those many months ago.
	"Excuse me, detective?" Marin had been leaning against the wall in the midst of thought, and she straightened up when a disturbingly flat-toned voice addressed her. Sabrina was calm, absolutely unexcited, perhaps too much so when compared to her loose-lipped counterpart. "You seemed lost for a moment. Would you like to sit down first?" As she smoothly kneeled at a tea table, the light brought a bright sheen to the woman's long, raven hair, the same color as Marin's.
	"Of course. I hope I'm not disturbing you." Marin knelt down at the opposite end. "Your, um, partner was telling me about how you were sensitive to sounds."
	"Partner? Oh, no, he's my boyfriend." Sabrina had that lovely smile again on her thin lips. "We're not even colleagues: he's an entomologist, I'm a paranormalist." Marin tilted her head slightly, wondering at this discrepancy. She also noted that Detta had trapped himself in the bathroom.
	"Right... well, on that note," Marin composed her sentence as she set the tape recorder down on the table. "What did you hear, or see, last night around the time of the incident?"
	"There was... a single gunshot." Sabrina held her hands up as though meditating again, her eyes closed as she dove into her memory. "And then footsteps. Many of them. Like a crowd of people, rumbling on our ceiling."
	"More than two people?"
	"Yes."
	"Did you know if DeNonno was among them?" Marin leaned forward, not minding her chest pressing into the edge of the table.
	"Actually, yes, long before that first gunshot. I heard him in the hallway talking to someone."
	"To Valerussi?"
	"No, to someone else, I think. Old Man DeNonno may be venerable but he's not senile. I'm positive there was someone else with him when he visited."
	"That's... odd that you should say that." Marin sighed, leaning on the table askew. "When the police arrived they only found Mr Valerussi inside his apartment with DeNonno's body."
	"I will testify that there was someone else here last night." Even talking about what must have been a terrifying experience, Sabrina remained poised and controlled. She pointed up at a ceiling fan. "There's honestly no mistaking the sound of a noisy neighbor making your ceiling shake. It was quite a commotion."
	"Or a murder in progress."
	"Precisely. Detta wanted to go upstairs to check on things himself, but I convinced him to stay with me here while we called the authorities." She sighed. "People call him a recluse, but he has a good heart."
	"You did the right thing as citizens." Marin nodded and looked down at her notebook. "Could you tell me about the gunshots? You said there were more than one, I think."
	"Yes, that's about right. The first was loud and clear, but the second one was quieter, though they do have such distinct sounds. I'm positive there was a second gunshot." Sabrina didn't show a trace of doubt in her expression, but this made Marin wonder.
	"I think that's about all I need to know, unless you had something to add?" She nibbled on her lip a bit as she looked to Sabrina for something that would help her actually unravel this case, or at least put the discrepancies to rest.
	"Well, after the commotion stopped, there was a loud clang outside. It was just the fire escape ladder coming down."
	"Did you see anyone using the fire escape?"
	"What? Oh, no, it's nowhere near our windows. We don't even have to use it, being on the first floor and all. It was probably nothing, but when my evenings are disturbed like that I tend to notice."
	"You never know, every detail counts in a case like this." Marin nodded and move to stand. "I should get going, there's not much time to investigate before the trial begins tomorrow."
	"Good luck with the case. Everyone's looking to see what will happen."
	After politely taking her leave, Marin went to the stairs to head up to the last tenant. She was a crucial one, at that, being directly adjacent to Salvador's apartment, she would be the best witness for the case thus far. Regardless, Marin found it crucial to get her thoughts in order in the middle of the staircase, stopping for a moment and leaning on the banister as the facts swirled through her head.
	Marin had, thus far, only found minor discrepancies in witness testimonies and gathered evidence, nothing definite and ultimately not enough to even slow the case proceedings. Though there were suspicions about DeNonno not having been alone that night, without any eyewitnesses there was no point in her investigation. She hoped the last witness would provide something concrete. However, getting to the top of the stairs she saw that the apartment was not adjacent to Salvador's, but rather across from it. The two patrol officers guarding the crime scene were chatting up a slender, redheaded woman in awfully gothic attire. "Excuse me, would you happen to be Jillian Lovelace?"
	The other girl turned to face her with emerald irises. "Yes, that would be me."
	"Very good. I'm detective Marin Marshall."
	"Is that so? Your fellow officers here were telling me how much they, ah, admired you." Jillian tilted her head slightly, a wink betraying some innuendo. Marin cocked an eyebrow at the two men, who shrugged and laughed it off.
	"Can we talk inside your apartment?"
	"Of course, of course." Jillian was bedecked in a palette of black and maroon, and her abode was no different. If the trinkets and such in Sabrina's collection were occult, Jillian's gallery was downright eldritch. Marin averted her gaze and tried to focus on the case at hand.
	"Can I be honest with you?" She sighed as she took a seat in a wrought-iron chair.
	"Eh? About what?"
	"This whole investigation. It's a joke." Marin set the tape recorder out again on the delicate glasstop table. "I'm hoping you have something definitive and concrete to say, compared to the other witnesses I've interviewed. I'm tired of people always guessing and-" She looked up from rubbing her eye at a note Jillian had slid across the table. The piece of paper bore a familiar mark - the Abandonato sigil, alongside the messily written words "Salvador needs help".
	"Louie gave me this."
	"What does it mean, though? What's the story?"
	"The thing is Louie also visits me regularly, the same night he stays at Salvador's place."
	"Can I inquire as to the purpose of his visits?"
	"Er, he delivers my marijuana."
	"...Medicinal, I presume."
	"I have a deposit box just for my medical file. Do you know what myeloid leukemia is?"
	"Forget I asked. Anyhow, what's the scoop?"
	"Well, I was surprised to see him last night, since he regularly visits on this night of the week, not on Tuesday. He told me that this was the last of his stash, and then handed me this receipt after writing something on it."
	"Do marijuana distributors usually write receipts?" Marin raised an eyebrow.
	"Well, Louie does. The stuff is government-grown, he just works as a courier for them. The receipts keep him and his clients accountable for all deliveries."
	"Really now... could you get me those receipts of yours?" Marin perked up slightly at the thought of getting her hands on real, tangible evidence. She watched Jillian disappear into another room, then come back with the aforementioned deposit box.
	"This one contains the government farm delivery receipts. You'll find that each one is dated on the Wednesdays of each week, except for the last one I just gave you."
	"So what else makes this one special? Anything happen after he gave it to you?"
	"Well, I didn't exactly know what was going on until I looked through my door's peephole to see him enter Salvador's room with another man." This made Marin spring out of her chair.
	"What? Tell me what he looked like! I need details!"
	"I'm sorry! I didn't see the man's face, just that he was wearing a coat and a hat. The apartment is just across from mine, so he wouldn't have been facing my door." Jillian tapped her finger on the table for emphasis, and Marin sat down slightly dejected. "So what does the note mean, exactly?"
	"This note? This is a symbol of a gangster family in the region. Salvador must have been in trouble with them."
	"Does that mean the other man was with them?"
	"That seems like what he meant, but what I don't get is why DeNonno ended up taking the hit instead of Valerussi."
	"Don't ask me... I only saw them go in, and then heard the commotion." Jillian was looking down and biting her lip.
	"I'll definitely have the prosecutor's office call you about being a witness in this case."
	"Um, thanks?"
	"No, thank you." Marin smiled. She gathered up the receipts and the recorder and bade Jillian farewell. Stepping out into the hallway, she only found one officer at the crime scene.
	"He's on a donut run. Did you want one?"
	"Ah, no, I'm watching my carbs." Marin nodded politely and made her way downstairs. She stopped in the middle of the staircase again as something hit her - both of the tenants she had visited told her that DeNonno's visit last night was most unsual. The landlady, however, acted as though nothing was amiss about it. Marin tapped her foot as she pondered what to do, eventually finding herself face-to-face with the one-way mirror again.
	"Oh, hello again, detective." Melissa opened the door after some energetic knocking on Marin's part. "Is there something you needed?"
	"I just wanted to check some facts. You said that DeNonno visits weekly?"
	"Of course, one night out of every week. There was nothing out of place about him visiting last night."
	"Melissa, your tenants say he visits on Wednesdays, not Tuesdays."
	"Oh, is that so?" Melissa hadn't opened the door all the way, her bony fingers clenching on the wood.
	"Just seemed out of place. I was hoping you'd clear that up."
	"Well, I don't know what to say." The two women locked eyes for a moment.
	"Another question. This is a one-way mirror, very peculiar to have in place of a peephole, because you can get a good look at people's faces through this."
	"What's your point, detective?"
	"My point is you should have seen that DeNonno brought a man with him when he visited." Marin crossed her arms, waiting to see a response. She realized that badgering witnesses before they were put on the stand wasn't procedural, but she didn't want to waste time waiting for the trial. She needed the facts now before the Abandonatos could pull whatever strings they had.
	"You don't know that for sure."
	"I have an eyewitness who saw the second man. You must've seen him."
	"Really, now? Who was it?"
	"They don't know, but you would have had a good look at the mystery visitor, wouldn't you?"
	"I'm... I think you've got this all confused."
	"I think you're hiding something."
	"What? That's preposterous. What could I be hiding?" Melissa's brow furrowed, not enjoying the interrogation at all. Marin decided to bring out Jillian's note from DeNonno.
	"Does this symbol ring any bells?"
	"...That's the Abandonato family crest. But what does it have to do with anything?"
	"You seem awful knowledgeable about the underworld. Most laypeople wouldn't be able to identify this."
	"Perhaps I've learned a few things."
	"Out with it, Ms Woodward. I don't have all day, and with a crime family involved, this could come down on a lot of people's heads." Marin huffed. Getting people to say something worthwhile was tough.
	"...I'd rather not say anything that might get me on their bad side." Melissa nodded sagely and closed the door. Marin was left looking at the mirror again, wondering to herself. If Melissa was willing to stay silent because of the Abandonatos, then who else might be under their thumb? Salvador himself seemed the likely answer, as the circumstances surrounding the murder itself were still foggy, and he was the only witness to the crime.

4:00 PM
	"Well, that's troublesome. But it doesn't say anything concrete as of yet. The only account of the murder itself places Valerussi at the scene of the crime as the perpetrator." Ashley had rolled up his sleeves, exposing the light coat of hair on his muscled forearms as he looked over the testimony transcipts. "At best, he would be an accomplice to crime. Either way, this mystery man would be a decisive witness."
	"I don't even know where to start looking." Marin lounged on the couch in Ashley's office, her uniform slightly unbuttoned to give her chest some space. "What's more, going after that guy means entering Abandonato territory. That's like opening up a can of wasps."
	"Worms. Though a wasp's nest would be more apt."
	"Whatever. This is hopeless."
	"Not entirely. There's one more witness you have to interview, aside from the unidentified person."
	"Valerussi?"
	"Correct, mon frer." Ashley organized the growing case file on his desk. "Marin, this is what you signed up to do. Dirty, old-fashioned gumshoe work dealing with witnesses and persons of interest. You know what needs to be done."
	"Alright, but don't cry if I come back on a stretcher."
	"No, you can save the gang infiltration for later. Right now I want you to get testimony from Valerussi." He walked over to Marin and sat in an armchair opposite from the couch. As always, he displayed little persona apart from the air of a straightforward businessman. "And then we can have dinner."
	"Sure thing. Wait, what?" Marin was busy blowing a bit of hair out of her face when she suddenly registered what Ashley had said. "You mean together?"
	"Detective Skye's idea, some kind of double-date thing. Mr Edgeworth will be with her." He coughed. "She's a friend to both of us, so she knows what it's like between you and me."
	"Doesn't she have enough to worry about with Miles?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"They've been together for years now, and there's been no word about any... you know, marriage." Marin scratched an itch on her collarbone. "She's been getting restless about that, especially in the past months, after you broke up with me."
	"You still talk about it so casually." Ashley snorted.
	"Ash..." Marin sat up and looked at him, though he didn't return the favor. He rarely did.
	"In any case, we should spare her the illusion, then. We should both be there to support her, hm?"
	"...Right." The two remained wordless for a time, Ashley's expression unshifting as ever. Eventually, Marin got up and gathered herself, ready for one last interview. "Do you know if a defense counsel has been selected yet?"
	"Actually, I was informed of his identity earlier today."
	"Anyone you know?"
	"Just some hot-shot rookie." Ashley shrugged. "Considering Valerussi's testimony, I don't know why he took the case."
	"Ah, alright. Can I have his contact info?" Marin wandered over to Ashley, who produced a business card.
	"Anything else you need before you go?"
	"Wish me luck?"
	"Good luck." Ashley nodded, then waited for the door to close behind Marin before resting his face in his palms.

5:00 PM
	"Lawrence Fiennes, attorney at law." The young man shaking Marin's hand looked all too familiar to her, with his loud red vest and pants, and a ridiculous hairdo. "It's a good thing you called me in advance, Detective Marshall. I should be present at any interviews my client gives."
	"I ain't your client, kid, get outta here." Salvador seemed like his usual spunky, bedridden self. He shrugged at Marin. "Don't know what's gotten into him. Somehow he convinced the DA's office that I was his client in this case. I just think he's ruining his career."
	"We'll see. If he can turn this around, it may just be a big break." Marin nodded calmly at Salvador. As she took a seat, she noticed the girl in the blue shawl and top hat fiddling with a video game in the corner. "So, about that testimony."
	"Hasn't changed, not a word of it." Salvador sighed and shook his head. "You ought to give up, Mr Fiennes, I'm a hopeless case."
	"You can't just plead guilty in this case, Mr Valerussi!" Lawrence piped up, clenching his fists.
	"Mr Fiennes, let me do the talking." Marin waved her hand, and the fiery attorney sat down with a brooding expression. "Now, Sal, I just wanted to ask if you have any involvement with the Abandonato clan at present."
	"No, not really. I already told you, this tat means nothing now."
	"Maybe it does." Marin produced a photograph of Jillian's note. "This is a note your neighbor, Lovelace, received from DeNonno shortly before he entered your apartment." She handed it to Salvador, who looked more than a bit surprised to see it.
	"...So what? Doesn't prove anything."
	"Lovelace saw the other man enter your apartment. So did Ms Woodward."
	"Like I said, it doesn't prove anything. It doesn't prove I'm not Louie's killer. That other guy is just a ghost. You're chasing ghosts."
	"Right there!" Lawrence jumped up again. "He's lying through his teeth, I can feel it." Marin just gave the young lawyer a weird stare.
	"And how do you know this?"
	"Magic." The girl in the corner piped up, still engrossed in her video game. Marin shook her head and waved for Lawrence to seat himself again. She looked down at her hands for a moment, then back to Salvador. "Look, Mr Valerussi, I know the Abandonato family have some amount of pull on people in these parts. They can get people to change their testimonies. Did they change yours?"
	"Nope. Nothing doing."
	"So what are you protecting?"
	"No one." Salvador looked up. "Nothing." Marin leaned back in her chair and thought some more.
	"We have concrete proof that the Abandonato are involved in this case. The fact you killed a man with whom you had no quarrel, and he was trying to help you that night with troubles from a gang you've severed ties with... something just seems weird."
	"What are you saying?"
	"What I'm saying is that if DeNonno had reason to believe you were in trouble with the Abandonato, then you are definitely still involved with them on some level." She took a breath before giving her next statement. "Mr Valerussi, if you agree to provide information about the Abandonato clan, we may be able to work a plea bargain with reduced charges."
	"And protection."
	"Yes, that too." Marin smiled slightly, seeing him take the offer eagerly.
	"...That would be nice. But can you make that kind of offer?"
	"I'm working directly with the prosecutor in this case, I could probably get him to agree."
	"I'm gonna still be in jail for a while, though, huh?"
	"Yes, but you'll be relatively safe. I've worked with witness and informant protection before." Marin looked over to the young red-clad lawyer, who was looking at her with bemused awe. "Something the matter?"
	"I thought I was supposed to be the one saving his sorry butt."

EPILOGUE
	The trial had been cancelled in favor of a plea bargain hearing, but due to the judge's busy schedule it had been shunted to the following week. The prison visiting room wasn't the usual place for court proceedings, but with all the proper officials present it seemed like business as usual. Marin sat beside Ashley, in charge of presenting the police department's results from the investigation in place of Ema, who was returning later that day from her weekend trip with Miles. Salvador sat in a folding chair in the middle of the chamber, dressed in prison fatigues, ready to give his side of the story.
	"I don't need to make any sweeping remarks. I owed money to the Abandonatos. Actually, I stole it from them. I've been working with their rackets over the past year, and I skimmed a little off the top of transactions. I was gonna use the cash to get out of town and build a new life for me and my fiancee, but word was getting around and I got paranoid, started embezzling more dough. You see, Erin Lucius' family is actually allied with a rival gang, and my folks didn't want me getting tied up with any of their people, so... I was able to keep our relationship a secret, but eventually they did some snooping around and found out I had hidden their missing money. Their goon came to take it, but when I refused to tell him why I was saving up the money, he tried to take me out. I grabbed my gun and fired the first shot that everyone heard, and then there was a bit of a tussle. He knocked me down and drugged me, and next thing I know I wake up and poor Louie..." Sal hung his head, wiping a tear from his eye.
	Ashley stood, taking his cue. "Your Honor, the prosecutor's office and police department have agreed to offer protection and security to Salvador Valerussi and his fiancee, Erin Lucius, in light of his cooperation with other ongoing investigations involving the activities of the Abandonato crime syndicate. His extensive work in their racketeering will provide us with plenty of valuable information."
	The judge overseeing the case simply nodded. "The developments in this case have been, in a word, interesting. I certainly hope you have plenty of knowledge to spare, Mr Valerussi, as even with these reduced charges, you will be spending time in prison."
	"I can take it, sir."
	"For all our sakes, I hope you can. This case is dismissed." The gavel rang differently against the concrete and steel walls. The bailiff stood up to accompany Salvador away, but was beaten by a tearful woman with platinum blonde hair. Ashley silently gathered his things as Marin watched Erin and Salvador embrace each other.

	"Open and shut case, huh?" Marin sipped on some hot chocolate, a warm respite for her in the windswept airfield.
	"As usual. With the laws the way they are these days..." Ashley trailed off as a private jet landed a ways down the strip. "Ah, that's them." Sure enough, the small craft taxied down to where they were waiting. The door opened and Ema was soon bounding down the steps with an unusally bright smile on her face. She lept over and squeeze Marin in a hug, spilling the hot chocolate on the ground as they spun together.
	"Ema! What's gotten into you?" Marin readily hugged her friend back, but moved back and waited for her to settle down. Ema held up her hand, wordless, light flashing off a pristine diamond. Marin soon had the same silly grin on her face and returned the favor, leaping onto Ema. The two girls laughed for a bit before Ema had to go help Miles gather their luggage.
	"It's nice to see the pieces coming together, isn't it?" Marin sighed as she watched the detective and the prosecutor in the distance fumble and bicker over their things.
	"It is." Ashley reached down to take Marin's hand in his, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

END