The Questioning

"Does it really have to be me, sir?"Gumshoe stared out the two-way mirror, a frown on his face. The suspect was staring at the floor, his right arm grasping his left unconsciously. "I... I don't want to..."

"You're the only one available," the head detective scorned. "I'm much too busy for this. Just go in there and question him already... Or do you want your salary to go down again?"

"No sir... Sorry sir..." Gumshoe walked over to the door to the questionig room, his head down.

The head detective sighed. "I'm sorry, Dick... This is just how it has to be."

"I know, sir... I know..." He opened the door and stepped into the questioning room. "Mr. Edgeworth..."

The prosecutor glanced at Gumshoe before going back to staring at the floor.

"You have the right for an attorney for this questioning... Do you have one sir?" Gumshoe swallowed and shifted uncomfortably at the following moments of silence. " Do you... Do you want me to call Phoenix Wright?"

The detective saw Edgeworth's slight shake of the head and he frowned, a bit worried. "No sir?" He sighed and turned on the tape recorder between them. "Well, alright... You... You're suspected..." He took a deep breath and swallowed, having a hard time saying what he needed to be saying. "You're suspected of mur- of shooting a man with a pistol." He waited for a response from the prosecutor, but wasn't surprised when he didn't get one. "Where were you the night of December 24- last night?"

Edgeworth clenched and unclenched his hand on his sleeve and he seemed to take a deep breath, as if to speak, but he didn't answer.

Gumshoe closed his eyes for a moment. They knew exactly where he had been; they had arrested him on the scene of the murder. That question had been to get him to open up, to get him comfortable with talking to him. Why wasn't he saying anything? He could trust him! He knew that, right? "Mr. Edgeworth... I know you must be scared, but..." The detective put a hand on his friend's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. "You have to talk to me, sir. You have to!" He glanced down at the tape recorder, its presence reminding him that he had a job to do.

Gumshoe slid a picture of the victim across the table for the prosecutor to look at. "Here's a picture of the victim we pulled out from Gourd Lake... Can you tell me who he is?"

Edgeworth creased his brow for a moment, staring at the picture intently. A barely perceptible look of confusion crossed his face before vanishing as he turned his gaze to the wall above Gumshoe's head.

"What were you doing at Gourd Lake that night?"The detective drummed his fingers against the table in front of him, his anxiety beginning to show. "Mr. Edgeworth?"

At the sound of his name, the prosecutor turned his gaze to his worried friend's face. Their eyes met for a moment before Edgeworth turned his gaze away, back to the floor.

Gumshoe opened his mouth as if to ask another question, then closed it again. He turned the tape recorder off with a click. "Mr. Edgeworth..." his voice shook slightly, and he had to take a breath to strengthen it. "Mr. Edgeworth... I don't think you did it. I know you didn't do it!" He pressed his palms onto the table and leaned toward Edgeworth. "I'm on your side, sir! I can help find you innocent! I can find the real murderer! All I need for you to do is tell me! Tell me what happened that night on Gourd Lake." He stared intently at Edgeworth, his deetermined gaze not wavering.

Edgeworth didn't meet his gaze. He chewed on his lip, still saying nothing. His silence was like a knife; a knife stabbing into Gumshoe's chest.

"Please sir! Can't you see? Can't you see that you're just making yourself look more guilty by not saying anything?" He slammed his hands on the table, leaning closer to him.

Silence, still not a word from Edgeworth.

"Please sir! I know I've screwed up in the past, but... I can do this! Just tell me what happened!" It took all the willpower he had to keep his voice from getting hysterical. "Is... Is that it, sir? Do you not think I can handle this case? Is that why? Because I'm a failure?" His eyes watered, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments. When he opened them, he found his gaze meeting Edgeworth's. They stared at each other for what seemed like an endless amount of time, neither moving. The prosecutor's face was an impassive mask, not giving a single hint to his real feelings. Finally, Edgeworth reacted with a tiny shake of his head. Gumshoe thought he saw a shadow of something pass through his friend's eyes. What was it? Regret? Concern? With Edgeworth, it was hard to tell.

"I-I'm going to find the real killer, s-sir," Gumshoe said after Edgeworth looked away again. "I-I promise! Everything's going to be okay... Even if you don't want to talk to me... I'll do it! I promise."

Edgeworth shook his head, just barely, but Gumshoe caught it. "I promise," he repeated softly, turning away so his friend couldn't see his watering eyes. "Even if no one believes in you- even if you don't believe in yourself, I'll always believe in you, sir... Even if I'm too much of a failure to help you..." He began to walk away.

Edgeworth looked up, his eyes misting slightly. "Detective..." But by then it was too late; Detective Gumshoe was gone.

A/N This takes place as 1-4 is taking place. Inspired by Gumshoe saying that Edgeworth said "not a word" to the police, and Maya's quote.

Maya: Detective Gumshoe was really worried about you!
Edgeworth: ...

Interrogating him must have been really hard on Gumshoe....