July 6th, 12:29pm

Outside Alleyway

Entrance

"Seven days?! This victim's been dead for a whole week?" Gumshoe paled, hardly noticing as the medical truck drove away. "That ain't good, sir. This investigation just went from hard to impossible!"

Edgeworth shared the sentiment, but now was no time to give into his fears. "For how many of those days was the body in this dumpster, I wonder? I wish there was a way to be sure."

"Hm… There is always Defense Attorney Gavin's theory." Blackqull tried his best to scrub the bitterness from his voice. "The body had to be near the top of the pile in order to be knocked over by that teen and his friends, so it probably wasn't here the whole week. By his prediction, it was only here the last day or two."

Kay stopped the two prosecutors' musing. "Wait, hold on. Gummy, why do you think this investigation will be impossible just because the body is older?"

Edgeworth looked between Blackquill and Kay. Both were new enough to the field that they'd never encountered a body this old upon initial discovery before. "When the police find the body of someone who was recently murdered, there are more clues present regarding the murder weapon, cause of death, true crime scene, and killer's identity. With a gap of only a few days, the body's internal decay makes forensic details more challenging to discern. Even the most talented of coroners must present their findings with a degree of uncertainty."

"Not to mention, this time gives the murderer a greater chance to cover their tracks. Who knows how well they buried their trail?" Gumshoe finished, a defeated tone to his voice.

"This isn't to say cases with older bodies are 'impossible' to solve. Not for a sufficiently thorough investigator. No, an older body simply presents a wider array of challenges." Edgeworth nodded to Blackquill. "It is one more reason that I am grateful to receive additional assistance on this case."

"Have you ever solved a case like this before, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth hesitated. "I have encountered bodies older than one day only a handful of times in my career. Even in those cases, however, the truth never managed to escape me. For all that the situation seems to challenge us, no killer can erase all their tracks. We simply have to look for any sort of clue the murderer may have left behind. Any clue the victim can give us, as well."

"Don't expect an autopsy report to be completed anytime soon, sir," Gumshoe warned.

"Perhaps not. But I do imagine the coroner can pull dental records relatively quickly. Then we shall know the identity of our victim."

"What should we do in the meantime?" Blackquill asked. "Return to the Prosecutor's Office?"

Edgeworth shook his head. "We need to perform one last sweep of the area. This time with no witnesses present. I don't expect you to search every piece of rubbish, but I do need to know if anything else here could be related to our case."

"Yes, sir!"

"Got it, Mr. Edgeworth!"

Blackquill bowed his head. "I will continue my cooperation."

July 6th, 12:33pm

Outside Alleyway

Dumpster Bin Adjacent

"Back again," Kay said while moving her mouth as little as possible. Gumshoe was already holding his nose. The dumpster area wasn't as fragrant as it had been when the body was there, but the smell was still far from pleasant.

For Edgeworth, a gritting of the teeth was once again sufficient. "Let us be thorough, but efficient. The sooner we finish our search, the sooner we may investigate elsewhere."

-Begin Investigation-

Much as I may loathe being so hands on in this specific case, I can't afford to let anything slip my notice. With that thought in mind, Edgeworth went straight for the body bag. Gumshoe trailed behind him as Kay and Blackquill separated to search the rest of the alleyway and dumpsters.

"Detective, if you would be so kind?"

"Yes, Mr. Edgeworth sir." While he was missing his usual pep, Gumshoe did pick up the bag and hold it open, allowing Edgeworth to peer inside. "Please do be quick though, sir. I'm using both hands now. Can't really hold my nose like this."

"Believe me, Detective, you're not the only one who wants to finish this quickly." The bag still smelt of the corpse it'd once contained. Gritting his teeth even tighter and wincing both at the stench's greater intensity and the thought of just how much it would cost him to get his current suit cleaned, Edgeworth peered into the bag and began to sift around. I won't rest until I've searched every suspicious-looking nook and cranny.

The first thing his hands came across (aside from remaining traces of blood), was a small paper about the size of a business card. As he pulled it out, he looked it over. A hooded figure outlined by a spotlight stared back from the confines of the card, glowing red eyes standing out as the only spot of color. It looked like an overdramatic comic book cover.

"What is that, sir?"

"A business card, it seems. An oddly familiar one." Edgeworth couldn't shake the feeling he'd seen that image before. "I wonder if it belonged to the victim."

-"Business Card" added to Organizer-

As Edgeworth tucked the card away, he noticed another item buried at the very bottom of the trash bag. Another piece of paper. This one was too far back in the bag for easy reach, so instead of reaching his whole arm up into the rancid cavity, Edgeworth ordered Gumshoe to turn the bag upside down and shake the item onto the ground. Out came a heavily creased single sheet of paper, rendered nearly unreadable due to its stains, the most prominent of which being… black marker?

"What is this?" Edgeworth picked the paper up. At the top of one side was the format for a printed email, but both the sending and receiving addresses had been scribbled out. The subject line was similarly hidden, but most of the first paragraph remained marginally legible.

Edgeworth read the email's contents aloud, "'I see no merit to pursuing these leads. Remember' redacted name 'the reach and significance of this organization. We are' redacted, 'the world's police. We have neither the time nor the resources to track down the truth of every conspiracy theory your mind invents. You were once a valued' redacted, 'but no longer.'"

"Redacted?" Gumshoe knit his eyebrows together. "I think I've heard of that guy, sir. He's got a new program on Take-2 TV."

"'Redacted' isn't a name, Detective. It means the original text has been removed in some fashion. In this case, with a permanent marker."

"Removed? Why would someone do that, sir?"

"It happens quite often, actually. Take a government document, for example. If part, but not all, of the document contains classified material, the classified section is redacted when the rest is released to the public."

"Oh, I get it. But why would someone do that to an email they printed out themselves? I would think you either want to read the email later, or you don't."

"Indeed." It was a mystery. If one wanted to leave clues to the victim's identity or business at the time of their murder, they would have left the entire message readable. If said individual wanted no one to know the truth, they would have destroyed the evidence entirely. Why this strange middle path?

-Email's Redactions added to Logic-

Not all of the remaining email was redacted, but it was covered in various stains that had bled through paper and smeared the ink. Edgeworth could make out nothing further from this piece of evidence. Perhaps I should get forensics to see what they can recover at a later date.

-"Stained Email" added to Organizer-

"Did anything else fall out of the bag, Detective? Any other belonging of the victim that may be of use to us?"

"Nope! Nothing but those two things, sir." Gumshoe frowned. "It's not much, is it?"

"No, it is not." Edgeworth frowned and had to fight off the urge to fold his arms so as not to stain his other sleeve. "Let us hope Kay and Prosecutor Blackquill have had better luck than us."

"Yeah sorry, Mr. Edgeworth. This time even the former Great Thief couldn't find any truth to steal," Kay said as she walked over from the dumpsters.

Edgeworth sighed ."Kay please. We're in public. With how often you claim that title, I'm starting to think you want your reputation ruined."

"Psh, please. No one besides the three of us and Prosecutor Blackquill are here." Kay waved off Edgeworth's concern before nodding towards the letter in his hand. "I'm going to guess from the stains that that letter was in the bag?"

"Indeed, along with this card." Edgeworth pulled out the business card. "I don't suppose the image might have any meaning to you?"

Kay's eyes widened for a moment before she began to snicker. "Yeah it does, and should mean a ton to you too! That's the Toukai calling card! Your case this morning had to do with one of their hackers! Sheesh, is your memory already on the fritz? Come on Mr. Edgeworth, you're not that old!"

"NGH!" Edgeworth winced and stepped back a bit at that. "I… my mind was elsewhere." Allow me to reflect on this change in my Organizer.

-"Business Card" updated to "Toukai Calling Card" in Organizer-

"My apologies for my slip of the mind. Kay, I assure you my memory is not 'on the fritz'. I've merely been preoccupied with this investigation. My thoughts weren't exactly on a case I wrapped up several hours ago."

"If you say so, Mr. Edgeworth." Kay's voice still held a teasing tone. Before Edgeworth could continue to rebuff her claims, Blackquill came back out from the very end of the alleyway.

"I could not find anything back there." The man's voice sounded slightly incredulous. "At least, nothing that would likely have any bearing on the matter at hand."

Edgeworth sighed once again. "In that case, perhaps you two could take a look at this note as well. Maybe you'll be able to spot something or make sense of it." He handed the stained email off to the pair.

In the meantime, Edgeworth wanted to examine the calling card again. If he'd been distracted enough to not remember his first encounter with this piece of evidence, perhaps there was something else he'd missed.

Toukai, the online group of hackers. When I first encountered them, one of their agents was responsible for attempted infiltration of a large corporation. Why would their card be found on the victim in this case? So far, Edgeworth had uncovered no evidence this murder was related to a hacking. Though considering how little his investigation had uncovered thus far, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

First, Edgeworth examined the front of the card. The figure featured on the card had its face obscured, making it difficult to tell if they were male or female. Their only clear feature was piercing red eyes which glowed from their sockets. Perhaps their laser vision gave them the ability to see into machines and find the truth and that was why Toukai used them as their mascot? Quite the flair for the dramatic.

Aside from a fleck of blood on the corner, the calling card was spotless. On the front, at least. Remembering a mistake from early in his career, Edgeworth flipped the card over.

Here the bloodstain was larger. This time, however, it was not enough to obscure the text handwritten onto the card in slanted, pointy calligraphy. Edgeworth read the message aloud. "'Send target and instructions to'... an email address. Another one, it seems."

What target? What instructions? Did the message relate to Toukai, or was it scrawled onto the back of the group's card by coincidence? Was the writer of this message the victim, the killer, or someone else entirely? "Curiouser and curiouser."

-"Toukai's Calling Card" updated in Organizer-

-Writing on Card added to Logic-

Edgeworth could see nothing else of interest on the card, so he put it away. "Did the two of you notice anything of interest on the email?"

"What is this stained in, Mr. Edgeworth?" Kay asked, shaking her gloved hands in disgust. "I can see the dried blood, but that's not all there is."

"The black is a form of marker, I believe. As for the darker shade of brown…" Edgeworth recoiled, "I dare not make any guesses."

"Ew!" Kay groaned, then recovered. "Anyway, I had an idea."

"What is it?"

"The last time we encountered a calling card from Toukai, it was at the scene of a hacking carried out by their agent. What if this man was the victim of an attack of theirs? They might have released a virus on the victim's computer. He printed out his emails so they wouldn't be fully lost!"

"Hmm." Blackquill considered the notion. "That may explain why this email is in paper form, but it does not explain the sections that have been blacked out. Who made the redactions, and why?"

"You don't think Toukai is behind this murder as well do you, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"What? Of course not!" Kay bristled. "Toukai is a noble group of online thieves who seek to reveal the truth! The incident a few days ago was a complete accident. Toukai may hack people's machines, but they would never order a murder."

"Don't get mad at me, pal! You're the one who suggested Toukai was involved somehow. I just used my 'Logic'. Right, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth glanced from Gumshoe to Kay, then shrugged. "I don't have proof suggesting either at the moment. We still don't know how this card came to be in the victim's possession, nor are we likely to find that answer here."

"So we can leave?"

"Yes, we will depart soon."

-Confusing Toukai Connection added to Logic-

Edgeworth had investigated sparse scenes before. Those cases had ended in a conviction. Just like this one would. Edgeworth had to remind himself of that as he closed the investigation in the alleyway.

-Investigation Complete-

"Soon? What exactly are we waiting for, sir?"

"We need to choose our next destination. To do that, we need to consider the evidence we have gathered thus far. I also wish to be found by forensics as soon as they have any information about our victim. As I said, a dental record search could be completed any time now."

"Both those things can happen back at our office." Blackquill crossed his arms. "They are not sufficient reasons to hold up the city's garbage collection."

"I suppose they would like to clean out this alley…." Edgeworth stopped to think about it. As he was considering his options, two new people entered the alleyway. One in a specially marked police uniform, and one in a short skirt.

"Miles Edgeworth! This is the sort of case the city assigns you these days?" Franziska scoffed, the beginnings of a smirk on her face. "Come back to Germany with me if you ever bore of your duties as a rubbish man."

"Franziska, good day to you too. What brings you to this section of the city?" Edgeworth did his best to keep the mood light. "How was your day in court?"

Franziska answered Edgeworth's questions in reverse order, her smirk switching to a scowl. "Frustrating to a truly foolish extent. I have no desire to speak of it. I am here because as I was concluding my business with Dye Young Hospital, one of my witnesses received the call about your body. It seems our cases have crossed paths once again, Miles Edgeworth."

"How so, Franziska?" Before she could answer, Edgeworth noticed the forensics officer out the corner of his eye. He bowed to the man as a way of apologizing. "Forgive me for ignoring you until now. Do you come with news of the victim's identity, officer?"

"I do." The officer drew out a piece of paper. "After cross-referencing the victim's dental records with police files on active missing persons cases, the coroner determined John Doe's real name to be Wess T. Bower, chief reporter for a disreputable online newspaper."

Online newspapers? What was wrong with paper ones? Why did everything need to move to the internet in this day and age? That wasn't relevant to Edgeworth's investigation in the slightest, but it was the first thought that came to his mind. "I… see. Thank you for that information, officer. I will add Mr. Bower's information to my list of details in this investigation." Edgeworth took the paper from the officer's hand for use in his Organizer."Any news on the autopsy?"

The forensics officer shook his head. "Not yet, sir. The age of the body is complicating matters."

"I suspected as much. Thank you for your time." Edgeworth watched as the uniformed man left, then turned to his small gathering of helpers. "Wess T. Bower, hm? Now, why is that name familiar to me?"

"It is as I told you, Miles Edgeworth. Wess T. Bower was meant to be my contact when I first arrived in this country." Franziska gripped her shoulder as she spoke. "I must have told you the name at one point during your hacking case."

"No, that isn't it." Edgeworth was confident he'd heard the name somewhere else as well. Somewhere he visited more recently. Hm… do I have anything with me that can explain this sense of deja vu I've acquired?

Edgeworth shuffled through his Organizer until his eyes landed on the Missing Persons poster he had accepted from a certain private investigator. He'd received it at the end of a daylong case just before receiving shocking news, and as such hadn't thought about it for the past three days. Now it all came back to him. "TAKE THAT!"

Kay spoke first. "A poster? Where did you get that, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Do you remember the day after one of my witnesses was admitted to the hospital? I had intended to use the time to refine my case, but you and the detective convinced me that was unnecessary and that I ought to take a day off instead. I did so. For my day of vacation, I joined an old friend of mine at the Expo3 gaming convention."

"You got tickets for that?!" Blackquill's head shot up. "I wanted to go, but they were all sold out when I looked!"

Prosecutor Blackquill enjoys video games? I suppose everyone curates their own set of hobbies. Edgeworth certainly couldn't judge. "Yes, and while my friend and I were present at the convention, we ran into an ex-prosecutor turned P.I. named Joseph Caché. When he wasn't chaperoning his child at the convention, he was tasked with investigating the whereabouts of Mr. Bower, a man who went missing several days before his now-predicted time of death."

"Hm." Franziska wasn't impressed. "Well, Wess T. Bower was once a talented Interpol agent himself. Unfortunately, a case several years ago proved too much for him to solve, and he drove himself insane searching for leads. Interpol was forced to let him go. After that, he took to peddling conspiracy theories for like-minded lunatics on the internet, occasionally sending his work to former co-workers. My boss always ignored his findings… until this time. This time, I was supposed to hear him out in person to determine if his 'case' had any merit." Franziska held a hand out to her brother. "You know where the story goes from here, Miles Edgeworth."

So this man was an eccentric ex-investigator with Interpol connections? I best remember this.

-Victim's Interpol Ties added to Logic-

Now, let's see what I can deduce with this information. Edgeworth turned his thoughts inward, focusing on the tendrils of Logic curled up in his head.

Despite the redactions in the victim's email, there was one phrase that stuck out to Edgeworth more than any other. "We are redacted, the world's police"... what organization likes to call themselves the world's police? The one whose longform name is literally "international police", perhaps?

The Email Redactions, viewed in the light of the Victim's Interpol Ties, suggest that… oh, I see. His first match of the case: a smashing success. "I believe the email we have in our possession was sent to Mr. Bower from an individual at Interpol. Mr. Bower redacted the details himself to prevent others from learning of his network of connections."

"You say you have an email from the victim? Show me, Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska accepted the piece of evidence from Edgeworth, careful not to touch any stains. She read as much as she could, then nodded. "I can confirm this communication was sent by my boss. He initially refused Wess T. Bower's case, but their conversation continued beyond this point. After another round of back and forth, my boss agreed to send me here."

"I see. Thank you for your insight, Franziska."

-"Stained Email" updated in Organizer-

Already Edgeworth had uncovered one helpful lead through deduction. Still, there was more to discover. Back to the Logic board.

We know Interpol eventually responded to Bower's request that Hakari be investigated, but the fact remains that he was refused initially. I wonder… would Bower's activity among the less reputable denizens of the internet be what put him in touch with Toukai?

Edgeworth put his two Toukai-related bits of Logic together. There was some Writing on Card that contained contact information. Contact information for Toukai, perhaps? If Bower were being ignored on the regular channels, could he have spoken to hackers in the hopes of forcing Interpol's hand? If he was the one who asked Toukai to infiltrate Hakari, that would explain the Confusing Toukai Connection.

"I… have one possible explanation for why Toukai's calling card was found on Bower's person."

"What is it, sir?"

"Frustrated by Interpol's refusal to consider the evidence, Bower contacted Toukai with the address on the back of the card and asked them to find and release information related to his case. He's the one who set Toukai's sights on Hakari."

Franziska shook her head. "That would be exactly the type of foolish ploy a foolish man such as Wess T. Bower would employ. Fed up with no one taking him seriously despite the fact that, until this point, he'd only been giving Interpol false leads that went nowhere, I would not be surprised if he reached out to more criminal sources."

"Foolish perhaps, but it does seem to follow a rather disturbing trend as of late." Edgeworth frowned, thinking back over the last few months. "The general public is finding it harder and harder to reach out to us."

"Speaking of the general public, you probably should let that private investigator you met know what happened." Blackquill spoke up. "He was trying to find the victim, wasn't he?"

"Indeed." With that, Edgeworth pulled out his cellphone and, after confirming from the poster, dialed Caché's number.

After two rings the phone was answered. "Who is this?" A male voice answered, sounding somewhat distracted.

"This is Prosecutor Edgeworth. I am speaking to Joseph Caché, correct?"

"Oh! Yes, you've got the right number, Prosecutor Edgeworth. Please, hold on a moment." After that Caché's voice got muffled, but Edgeworth could make out the words 'Sam' and 'work'. After a moment, Caché got back to Edgeworth. "Sorry about that. Had to ask my son to quiet down a bit."

"Oh." Edgeworth wasn't expecting that. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

"No, it's fine. I just happen to have my son here today in my office since my wife is at work and Samuel is out of school for the summer."

"Right. Well, I was calling to inform you about an update regarding your missing person case."

The line was silent for a moment before a long sigh was heard. "Bower is dead, isn't he?"

Miles couldn't keep the surprise off his face at that. "Yes. How-"

"Did I know? Bit of an educated guess." A sad sounding chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Between the fact that he's been missing for over a week now, the fact that you're the one calling, the mess he'd apparently gotten himself into before he went missing and that you didn't say he's alive, this was the first thought that popped in my head." Another chuckle, this one a touch sardonic. "Wonder what that says about me if murder is the first thing I'm thinking of.

"Regardless, thanks for calling me. While it's unfortunate that we couldn't find him while he was still alive, at least I have a conclusive answer to the case. Far too many missing person cases never get solved at all. At least this way the family has a resolution."

"Indeed." Edgeworth could understand the thought process. It wasn't too far off of his own philosophy on how one should view the search for truth. "In addition, I feel it necessary to let you know that the case is under suspicion of being a murder, just as you feared it may be. I don't suppose you have any information that could be of use to the investigation?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I have quite a few things that could be 'of use' to you. Can you meet me in the lobby of the Gatewater hotel in say, an hour? It would save you a lot of time as opposed to coming to my office."

"Yes, I can do so. Do you mind if I bring anyone else along?"

"It's your investigation, Prosecutor Edgeworth. Feel free to bring along anyone you wish. Now, I'll see you and your group in about an hour." At that, the line went dead. Edgeworth pocketed his cell.

"So, what was that last bit about? Asking to bring others along?" Kay asked, her excitement visible as she seemed to bounce on the balls of her feet. "Where are we going?"

"Gatewater Hotel. As for your other questions, the last time Mr. Caché and I spoke, he confessed to me that he was not impressed with the current state of our Prosecutor's Office. It was one of the reasons he quit several years prior." Edgeworth didn't feel like recapping the whole story. "This case was his before it was mine. I did not wish to surprise him with other prosecutors, detectives, or assistants. That is all."

"Well, he doesn't have to worry about me. I have to call Interpol and tell them about Wess T. Bower's ultimate fate." Franziska shook her finger. "I will see what I can acquire with regards to his past correspondences. Cases too, if my supervisor allows it. Expect me again soon, Miles Edgeworth."

"Farewell, Franziska. Thank you in advance for any assistance you are able to provide."

"Of course, Miles Edgeworth. What else am I supposed to do while I am in this country?" Franziska crossed her arms. "You are aware of where matters stand in my case at the moment."

"I am. Thank you regardless, Franziska." Edgeworth bowed, watching as Franziska walked away. She didn't want to hang around the smell any longer than she had to.

"Mr. Edgeworth, I must confess. There is someone I must meet today before much longer. I suspect that after today, I will have no chance to contact her again." Blackquill didn't look Edgeworth in the eye as he spoke. "I promise to return to your side in the near future... if you will still have me."

"Of course. I can't imagine a reason I wouldn't appreciate your help, Prosecutor Blackquill." Edgeworth wouldn't be bringing any fellow prosecutors along with him to Gatewater Hotel after all, it seemed. "Your time here is entirely voluntary. If there is something else you must take care of today, do as you must."

"You are most gracious, Mr. Edgeworth." Blackquill bowed deeply before turning to depart.

"So it's just us three, then. Oh well." Kay shrugged. "You ready to visit the hotel, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Ah, not quite. Mr. Caché said he wouldn't be at the Gatewater Hotel right away. Since we have a bit of time, I suggest we make a brief stop by my office. We may acquire lunch from a spot nearby and freshen up in privacy." Edgeworth certainly wasn't about to show up to a fancy hotel smelling as he did. It'd gotten so bad that his nose no longer detected any other smell.

"Yes, sir! Can't wait to get my lunch on you, Mr. Edgeworth."

Of course you can't.

To be continued…

Organizer

Profiles:

Miles Edgeworth
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Description: Me. What can I say? Currently High Prosecutor for my local district.

Dick Gumshoe
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Description: A homicide detective, one of the many assigned to this district. How I nearly always end up working with him, I cannot say.

Kay Faraday
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Description: My self-styled assistant, best known for her claim of being the second Yatagarasu. Soon, her aspirations will be focused on higher education more than stealing from others.

Simon Blackquill
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Description: A new prosecutor on the scene, one who just finished trying his first case in court. Appears slightly uncertain of himself, but a respectful man besides.

Petunia Gardner
Age: 68
Gender: Female
Description: A retired landscaper who was tending to her home garden when her attention was drawn to the victim's body. Did not call the police until the next morning.

Apollo Justice
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Description: A teen orphan. Was wandering the street with the intent to vandalize when he noticed a corpse in the night. Identified by Gardner the morning after, though his current companion was not.

Kristoph Gavin
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Description: A defense attorney known for staying calm during his trials. Appeared on the scene of the crime to defend young Justice. Before that, he was Blackquill's opposing counsel in court.

Wess T. Bower
Age: 52
Gender: Male
Description: The victim of this case. Was once an Interpol agent until one case ruined his investigation abilities forever and he became an online reporter of conspiracy theories. Was already missing for several days at the time of his death.

Franziska Von Karma
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Description: ...Franziska. How else can I describe her? She's came to the city to investigate a tip Interpol received, but her contact (Wess T. Bower) never showed. He may well have been dead at the time of their scheduled meeting.

Joseph Caché
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Description: A former prosecutor who now works as a PI. He was investigating Bower's disappearance as a missing person's case before learning of his death.

Evidence:

Prosecutor's Badge
Type: Other
Description: My badge. It allows me to do my job, and is to be kept in my pocket at all times.

Caché's Flyer
Type: Other
Description: A missing person's poster for one Wess T. Bower. The name and face are unfamiliar to me. I received this item a few days ago. Not sure why it is still on my person.

Gardner's Testimony
Type: Testimony
Description: Gardner saw a group of teenage boys from across the street the night before she called the police. Claims they had spray paint in their possession, but fled without using it upon discovering the body.

Can of Spray Paint
Type: Evidence
Description: Full can of blue paint that is applied via spraying. Found near dumpster. Bear's Justice's fingerprints.

Justice's Testimony
Type: Testimony
Description: Justice and his friends happened upon the body while out last night by complete chance.

Victim's Body Bag
Type: Evidence
Description: A large black trash bag in which the body of the victim was stored. The outside of the bag is littered with fingerprints, Justice's among them.

Business Card updated to Toukai's Calling Card
Type: Evidence
Description: A mysterious business card of some kind. The design is most irregular. Check
Update: Has someone's email address on the back.

Stained Email

Type: Evidence
Description: A printed out email found in the victim's possession. The paper has been stained many times with different substances, making even the unredacted sections illegible. Check
Update: Email was sent to Bower by Interpol as a way of rejecting his case.

A/N's: PTV and Ajani are responsible for the writing of this chapter. Both wish to leave notes.

PTV: So it's been almost four months since we updated. First update of AAI3 for the crazy year that is 2020. The good news is that with all this quarantine, I have more time to write. I'll be doing more especially once my online classes wrap up. Now, my efforts are split between this fic, some SW projects, and my original works, but still. Here's to hoping the next update doesn't also take us four months. It shouldn't, but who really knows?

In the wide gap between updates, a fan has blessed us with a version of our "game"'s cover that uses the actual character models, which can be seen here (sans spaces): imgur kcvcySD Thank you, DarkKnight2000!

Here you learn the identity of the victim. Writing a finale case is both stressful and fun in that you get to tie pieces from previous episodes into the current episode. For example, I need to go back and read Episode Three before writing the next chapter to make sure I write Caché's character in a consistent manner. Ajani was always better with his characterization than I was, just another reason I'm so glad he's back around to help me with this fic. I haven't heard from RJ in a while though, which makes me sad. Same goes for The Scollard, this fic's beta. In these times, I can't help but wonder how they're doing.

Speaking of Ajani, I think I'll turn things over to him now. The virtual floor is yours, my friend.

AA: Thanks Pierce. So I hope everyone is staying safe. 2020 really has been crazy, hasn't it? Honestly, it feels like the world has gone to hell in a handbasket within a month.

Regardless, I hope everyone enjoyed this update. Don't worry, Blackquill and Franziska will be back, one sooner than the other. In the meantime, Miles will be revisiting the Gatewater Hotel. Let's see just how well the Bellboy has been taking care of it since the last time it was around, eh?

Anyway, until next time, stay inside and read fanfiction or play video games or take classes… just, try and stay inside guys. And if you do go out, make sure to be safe.

PTV: Agreed. Thanks for reading, stay safe, don't forget to leave your thoughts/comments below, and I will see you on the far side!