Tales of Law and Love

Part I—Evidence and Forgery

Prologue—The Curse of SL-9

February 23, 2015

The young prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, entered his office. It had been two days since he won his "guilty" verdict against Joe Darke. It was an odd case. He knew that Darke was guilty, but some things just didn't fit. For one thing, the evidence list was much shorter than a typical evidence list. To add to that, he had overheard many of the detectives talking about how some of the evidence presented in court was never found by them. To make the case seem even weirder, every detective on the case except Detective Goodman got dismissed or demoted. He suspected foul play, but the only thing that really mattered to him was that Darke got the verdict he deserved. Darke was awaiting trial at a higher court to determine his sentence—probably death.

Being a lawyer was an unsettling job. As a prosecutor, it was his job to prove every defendant guilty. So far, he had won every one of his cases. Admittedly, his first case was not technically "won," but since no verdict was handed down, it was not counted as a loss, either. From time to time, during a difficult case, he would question if the defendant truly was guilty. Regardless, he did his job. He felt like a mercenary. His opinion on the case, his belief about the defendant's guilt, and his thoughts about the evidence meant nothing. All that was important was that he proved the defendant guilty. It was what his mentor had taught him—all that mattered was winning the case. Seeing how some of the defense attorneys tried to prove their points, no matter how ridiculous, he believed von Karma's teachings to be true. Even when defending people who were clearly guilty, they pushed their points. Miles found it hard to believe that his father was one of them.

He went to his bookcase and took out a book. The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Though his bookcase contained mostly case files, there was still room for his own personal interests. On his way to the sofa, he noticed an envelope on his desk. His work was important, so he put the book down and sat down at his desk to open the envelope. He felt a slight bulge inside, making him think it was some form of evidence for an upcoming case. He opened it up and saw a letter inside. When he took the letter out, a ring fell out of its creases. He recognized the ring instantly, knowing then that the letter contained words he did not want to read. Swallowing his fear, he read the letter.

My Dear Miles,

I hope you can forgive me. It's not your fault that this has happened. Something has happened that makes our marriage a bad choice. If I had any say in it, I would have never sent you this letter in the first place. Because of events that I cannot speak of, we must keep our relationship strictly professional. If you can be patient, I promise you this storm will subside. However, for now, it pains me to know that I must break off our engagement.

With love,
Lana

It had only been two weeks, yet it was already over. Lana Skye. She was a high-ranking detective, and likely to become the new Chief Detective once Chief Detective Damon Gant became Chief of Police. Dick Gumshoe, an incompetent detective that Miles often worked with, had introduced them. They became friends and quickly fell in love. She was the kindest lady he had ever met—so kind that she was willing to give him a chance despite his tendency to avoid making friends with anyone. With the exception of Gumshoe, no one had really given him that chance.

Two weeks ago, Miles proposed to Lana, and she accepted without hesitation. They intended to announce their engagement after the case was over, but they never got together to make the announcement, and now there was no announcement to make.

Miles could not understand why Lana would be unable to explain why their engagement was over. She was an honest lady, so he knew that she had no reason to keep a secret from him. Something else was wrong here. Someone must have been forcing her to keep quiet. All he could think about was the case, which had been codenamed SL-9. It was the only lead Miles had, so it made perfect sense to pursue it.

He remembered the name of someone who knew a lot of secrets: Redd White. If anyone had information on suspicious work in SL-9, it would be White. The problem was getting that information without White gaining some sort of power over him. His thoughts then turned to those who White had under his control. Marvin Grossberg was the first person who came to mind. He knew Grossberg had gained his wealth through White, which meant White probably had a hold on him. Grossberg himself probably had no way to defeat White, though, lest his secret be revealed.

That secret was Misty Fey, the "spirit medium" who identified Yanni Yogi as the culprit from the DL-6 Incident. However, Yogi was acquitted, which made the police distrust Fey. The police's desperate course of action was kept a secret, though. When Grossberg sold that secret to White, White leaked it to the press so he could have a hold on Grossberg. Before long, the price White paid for that information was paid back. That made Grossberg a bad choice for information. As for Fey, she disappeared from the public eye. That was when it hit him: Fey. Misty Fey had two daughters, one of whom was a lawyer. Fey's daughter, Mia, would have had a personal reason to hunt White.

Mia knew what it meant to be a defense attorney. She always trusted her clients, even if they were clearly guilty, just as Miles always believed the defendants to be guilty, even if almost everyone else believed they were innocent. The first time they met in court, the case ended in tragedy for both of them. Every subsequent meeting led to a "guilty" verdict. With that history, it was unlikely that Mia would have any reason to help Miles. Still, knowing her determination, he had a strong feeling that she was trying to find a way to defeat White.

Miles went to his bookcase and took out a phone book. He flipped through the pages and found the F section rather quickly. Seeing the number, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for Fey and Co. Law Offices. The phone was picked up on the third ring.

"Fey and Company Law Offices," the familiar feminine voice said.

"Ms. Fey, this is Miles Edgeworth," Miles responded.

"Mr. Edgeworth, why are you calling me?"

"Are you familiar with Redd White?"

There was a pause. That alone was all the evidence he needed.

"Yes…" Mia responded hesitantly. "I… I know about him."

"I would like to ask a favor of you, then."

"Mr. Edgeworth, I'm in no position to help you out."

"This is not for professional reasons, Ms. Fey. I suspect White has a hold on someone I care about. I wanted you to search for a connection between him and the Joe Darke Killings."

"Shouldn't you have a detective do this? I'm not the kind of person to investigate Mr. White's past."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You say that, but you have a clear motive to investigate White's actions."

"What motive would I have to risk my own life investigating him?"
"DL-6."

There was no answer.

"Your mother was employed by the police to channel the victim. However, the suspect she named was acquitted. The police kept your mother's involvement in the case a secret from the public, but White discovered that secret and leaked it to the media. As a result, your mother went into hiding. Thus, you want to defeat White and clear your mother's name."

Mia remained silent for a while. Then, "Mr. Edgeworth, this isn't something I can just dig out of my files. Besides, I've got a case right now. I don't make much money as it is, and looking away from a case to help you would make it impossible for me to keep my office up and running."

"I'm not asking you to divert time from your cases. When you're not busy, I would like you to investigate White's involvement in the case. If money is an issue, then I'll pay you whatever you demand for the job."

"It's not just money, Mr. Edgeworth."

"It's the way I've defeated you every time in court, correct?"

Mia didn't answer.

"You have a grudge against me because of your defeats in court. Ergo, you do not want to help me."

Again, no answer.

"I'm not so greedy as to just seek out White for myself, Ms. Fey. If White is indeed connected to the case, then it's Ms. Skye who is suffering more."

"Ms. Skye?" Mia finally answered. "You mean Lana Skye?"

"Yes. She recently… told me there was something she could not speak of. She has never kept secrets from me before, so the only explanation I can think of is blackmail."

"Why should you care?"

"Because she just recently broke off her engagement to me."

"Hah! Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"If you don't believe me, then go talk to Ms. Skye herself. She and I fell in love about a year ago and got engaged two weeks ago. However, just today, I got a letter from her with her ring."

"I'll think about it. If you've been telling the truth, I might help you. Of course, if something regarding SL-9 pops up in my current investigations, I'll tell you."

"Thank you, Ms. Fey."

"I'm sorry, I just thought I heard you say 'thank you,'" Mia said with a laugh.

"What did you really say?"

"Think what you want of me. I do not find this amusing. If someone made light of Mr. Armando's situation, I believe you would be offended, too."

Mia sighed and then hung up. Miles did not know for certain that Mia would help him, but due to her past friendship with Lana, he believed Mia would help.

"I look forward to destroying whatever high-priced defense attorney you hire, Mr. White," he said to no one. Miles had always wanted to strike down a criminal as powerful as White, and with Lana being blackmailed, that would make his victory all the sweeter.