Chapter Text
February 28th, 11:50 AM
Dye Clinic
“One rule! I give you one rule!” Gant bellowed, having dragged Gregory, Raymond and Nurse Halpert back to the lobby. “Don’t. Mess. With. My. Investigation. You had the entire rest of the clinic to investigate, and what do you do? You start poking around in the one place I forbade you from going. Do you have any idea how much evidence you might have accidentally damaged?”
“I am fully aware, Lieutenant Gant.” Gregory replied, sternly. “The management of the clinic gave us no choice in the matter. We were denied access to Vey Casen’s medical files by the Managing Director, and so we appealed to the Director himself- He required his locket to be retrieved, and thus, I retrieved it for him. Miss Casen is experiencing severe insomnia, and it is necessary for her to-”
“That’s just a theory though, isn’t it?” Gant said.
“…Hm? What do you mean?” Gregory asked.
“After Raymond made that big fuss with Miss Young, I made a few calls to the detention center.” Gant smiled, coldly. “And it seems like she hardly has ‘severe insomnia’. Slept perfectly fine the first night after her imprisonment. Considering that, who’s to say if the change in her behavior has anything to do with insomnia at all! She might have just gotten aggressive because she’s tired of being in prison- Maybe she’s secretly been cuckoo crazy this entire time! With all that interfacing with criminals on a day to day, maybe she secretly began to emulate them-“
“Lieutenant Damon Gant!” Gregory raised his voice. “That is an extremely improper way to refer to any individual, even if they had been properly convicted of charges, which Vey Casen has not. You are acting unprofessionally in a manner which I truly do not expect from you.”
“Quiet! Quiet.” Gant shouted over him, waving Gregory away with one hand as he pinched his forehead with the other. “I- God, I need to watch my mouth right now. This aspirin is not working.”
With Gant’s scolding paused, Halpert took the chance to speak up.
“…Then we can settle this easily, can’t we?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Raymond asked.
“Well, Mr. Edgeworth has now retrieved the locket. If I simply give it to Director Dye, he will grant permission for the medical files to be unsealed, and then we can read it over, confirm whether or not Miss Casen is in real danger, and solve this conundrum once and for all.”
“…” Gant was silent. His eyes were still closed, and Gregory gathered he was focusing on his own breathing, trying to calm himself down.
“…Hmph.” He finally spoke aloud. “I suppose that is the most amicable option. Go ahead…”
“I think not.” Another voice interrupted.
Stepping out of her office, Managing Director Bonnie Young emerged, her eyebrows furrowed behind thick glasses.
“…Dr. Young! I-” Halpert began, but Bonnie interrupted her.
“That half-witted suggestion of yours is absurd. You have taken advantage of the director to trick him into behaving in an untoward manner, and I will not stand for it. To have allowed these… these lawyers to engage with him without my own consent was a violation of patient trust and you know it.”
Is it just me, or did she say “lawyers” with particular vitriol?
Halpert spluttered. “But I-”
“Stand down. I have made myself clear.”
“Forgive me, if I may, but the Director does still have power of veto over you, correct?” Gregory asked, “If so, regardless of what you say, if the Director does indeed give us access, then that’s that. You said so yourself.”
“In cases of uncertainty with regards to clinic policy, the Managing Director must refer to the Director of the clinic for guidance. Director Dye has stated that the file must remain confidential. Therefore, all Vey Casen’s files shall remain confidential.”
“…”
Bonnie bristled. She was becoming markedly more uncomfortable by the second.
…What exactly is she trying to hide?
“I will tell you the relevant information that is on her file. You do not get access to her file. This shall have to suffice for you.”
“It will not. That is not what we discussed with Director Dye.”
“I imagine Director Dye will understand, once I explain it to him, that all you need to help Miss Casen is the select, relevant information that I can relay to you by word. With an affidavit signed by me to that effect, if you must.”
“...”
I don’t like this… but I can’t risk her trying to convince Director Dye to go back on his word and deny us access to the files again. She is, like it or not, the real Director here. We have to work with her.
“I accept your terms.”
Dr. Young nodded, and Gregory noted that she seemed to sigh a breath of relief.
“Now, listen closely, as I do not like to repeat myself…”
--Testimony--
Summary Statement
“The facts are as follows: Vey Casen does her regular check-ups here at Dye Clinic.
“She came in on January 20th as she was having some trouble sleeping, apparently due to paranoia, so I prescribed to her a bottle of Wakeaway X.
“She signed the consent form then. We have that consent form with us.
“By our records, Vey Casen came in on the morning of February the 26th. Nurse Halpert here refilled her prescription and had her sign another instance of the document again. This document we have given to the police.
“That is all. Simple. Straightforward.”
Bonnie Young looked as if she was about to turn away and return to her office again, when Gregory stopped her.
“Wait, wait. There are still some things that are ambiguous.” Gregory said.
“Nothing is ambiguous. You are trying to create ambiguity where there is none.” Young replied.
Gant nodded. “Worthy, I appreciate the… curious spirit, but really, haven’t you already won? You know she is experiencing insomnia. We simply provide her with some benzos to tide her over, and all will be solved. Isn’t that what you were looking for?”
“Then may I ask just a few questions to clarify some points?” Gregory asked.
Dr. Young tapped her arm, impatiently.
“Be quick.”
Two things concern me here, but there’s only one for which I have evidence. I’ll have to loop back to the other one later…
--Rebuttal--
Summary Statement
“The facts are as follows: Vey Casen does her regular check-ups here at Dye Clinic.”
“Hold it! Just how long has Miss Casen been having regular check-ups here?”
“Five years and six months.” Bonnie replied, without blinking.
She didn’t even check a file…
“How come you knew that so immediately?”
“I am the director of this clinic. It is my job to be aware of all our clients- and Vey Casen is one of them.”
That sounds a bit intense… But I suppose it’s not implausible.
“So, the day that Miss Casen came in for her Octobarbital dosage was not her first time coming here?”
“It was not.” She confirmed, “She had been coming for regular things like the flu and colds for a while. Then…
“She came in on January 20th as she was having some trouble sleeping, apparently due to paranoia, so I prescribed to her a bottle of Wakeaway X.”
“…Paranoia?”
“Indeed. For some reason or another, she declined to say exactly why, she felt that she was being watched. It was interfering with her sleeping patterns, and she was having trouble sleeping.”
…That’s right. Vey got the medication not long after she learned a member of her family had disguised as her to steal a document from the police precinct. I suppose it must have had a larger effect on her than she told me.
“…What exactly do you mean by ‘trouble sleeping’?” Gregory asked.
“Stress-induced minor insomnia.” Dr. Young replied, “It was taking her a long time for her to get to sleep. She just needed to get her body back into the habit of sleeping at regular hours again.”
That sounds important…
“Could you please add that to your testimony?” Gregory asked.
Dr. Young grimaced slightly, but nodded along.
“…As you wish.”
“Vey Casen was experiencing stress-induced minor insomnia, which means it took her a long time to get to sleep.”
“OBJECTION!” Gregory exclaimed, “Director Young, I’m afraid that’s a bit implausible.”
The director stiffened. “Hm? What do you mean? Is it not you that stated that your client was suffering from insomnia?”
“Indeed. I also know that my client was prescribed Wakeaway X. Moreover, I know that if she was prescribed Wakeaway X, her symptoms must have been stronger than minor insomnia!”
Director Young pushed up her glasses. “Hmph. What do you know? You’re not a medical doctor, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” Gregory shook his head. “I’m simply a defence attorney. I am, however, a defence attorney acting on behalf of a certain heir to the very pharmaceutical company which produces Wakeaway X. TAKE THAT!”
Gregory produced the note on the features of Octobarbital he had made earlier that day.
Restrictions:
- Can only be prescribed in the absence of any other effective treatment available to a patient, such as benzodiazepine.
- In practise, this refers to those with a total inability to sleep, and/or a benzodiazepine allergy.
“Jeffery Master himself was the source of this limitation for the drug, so he knows the rules better than anyone- And as he put it, the only time Octobarbital would be adequate would be in the case that Vey Casen wasn’t able to sleep at all- But she could. As you put it…”
“It was taking her a long time for her to get to sleep. She just needed to get her body back into the habit of sleeping at regular hours again.”
“If her insomnia wasn’t serious, why on earth was she put on Octobarbital in the first place?”
“Guh-” Director Young exclaimed. “You… I see that I must explain myself further then. The answer to that is… The answer to that is right on the page you yourself have just provided to me, Mr. Edgeworth. ‘And/or a benzodiazepine allergy.’ While Octobarbital is a bit strong for her, Miss Casen has an allergy to benzodiazepine. It would have been impossible for her to have taken any other alternative medicine, and thus, Wakeaway X was chosen. Pure and simple.”
…It sounds simple enough… But is that really the case?
“…You’d back that up? You are 100% certain that Miss Casen is allergic to benzodiazepine, and that is on her file?”
“I know it.” Director Young replied, looking up. “I must remember the allergies of all my patients, so that I can give them the proper medical treatment they require.”
“Yet you didn’t mention it before…”
“It wasn’t relevant before. I have said multiple times that it is clinic policy to keep the maximal amount of information about any patient’s medical condition secret, unless it is specifically relevant. I had no need to tell you anything about Miss Casen’s allergies to benzodiazepine.”
Gregory shook his head.
“OBJECTION!” Gregory replied, “Not so fast, Dr. Young. I’m afraid you’re wrong. Or if not wrong, then at the very least extremely negligent.”
“Oh really? Why is that?”
“Because of something Lieutenant Gant said just a few minutes ago.”
“Worthy, I appreciate the… curious spirit, but really, haven’t you already won? You know she is experiencing insomnia. We simply provide her with some benzos to tide her over, and all will be solved. Isn’t that what you were looking for?”
Young bit her lip.
“…Ah.”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
“Wait, so that means…”
“If Miss Casen does indeed have the allergy Director Young claims she does, she cannot be put on benzodiazepine sleeping pills, or she might face serious harm.” Gregory Edgeworth replied, “What’s more, she was fully aware that that was the treatment plan that was suggested to be given to her, and she said nothing.”
“I- I didn’t know!” Director Young replied, beginning to panic, her hands shaking. “Truly, I simply didn’t hear what Lieutenant Gant was saying. I- I swear!”
She’s didn’t seem shocked when I reminded her of what Gant said, merely panicked. She’s lying about not having heard it the first time. So why didn’t she say anything about the allergy?
…The answer is she would have. If she was really sure of Vey Casen’s allergy, there was no reason for her to keep it a secret at that point.
Which means…
“Then show it to us.” Gregory said.
“What?”
“Simply show us the part of her medical file that shows her medical allergies. Clearly, if she can’t take benzodiazepine, there may be other treatment options that may pose serious harm to her. It should be separate from the rest of her file, so I don’t think it would pose a serious harm to her confidentiality-”
“No! I… I refuse!” Director Young replied, sweating. “That has nothing to do with this matter!”
“Just like you were certain that her benzodiazepine allergy had nothing to do with this matter? This is basic information needed to save her life, Director Young. Your negligence had a high likelihood of risking her health and safety.” Gregory Edgeworth replied.
Bonnie Young turned away, refusing to look Gregory Edgeworth in the eye.
“…Unless it didn’t, of course.”
Gant narrowed his eyes. “What on earth is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that we were never at risk of putting Vey Casen in harm’s way at all. Because Vey Casen doesn’t have a benzodiazepine allergy after all, does she Director Young?”
Young gripped the files in her hands closer to her chest, still refusing to look him in the eyes.
“First, you lied by omission: You implied that “taking some time to get to sleep” was sufficient reason to prescribe someone Octobarbital, even when it wasn’t. Then, you lied directly: You claimed that Vey had a benzodiazepine allergy, even when she didn’t. All to cover up one simple, yet baffling fact… You don’t have a reason to have prescribed Vey Casen Wakeaway X, do you?”
“HOLD IT!” Lieutenant Gant said, massaging the bridge of his nose. “What are you even trying to say, Worthy? We know that Casey has Wakeaway X, she even admitted that it was her own medicine. The fact that she had it in her possession can’t be argued.”
“No, it can’t. Vey Casen certainly has on her hands a prescription for Wakeaway X. But she doesn’t need it.” Gregory replied, “There are other sleeping pills on the market that could have worked just fine, ones that weren’t nearly toxic enough to require a death liability waiver to be taken in the first place.”
Director Young had stopped shaking now, but her face still turned away, hiding her expression.
“For curiosity’s sake, Director Young, does this clinic stock any of them?”
Nobody else seemed to grasp the implications of what Edgeworth had just said except for Director Young, who turned back to look at him with a terrified expression on her face. Her eyes pleaded with him to stop talking.
“Earlier, Nurse Halpert took me to the storage room to explain a clerical mishap that had occurred which resulted in the erasable date and signature. While in there, I noticed that all the medicine there had the same naming conventions. Coldkiller X, Feverbreak X, Wakeaway X… Now, Director Young, would I be mistaken in thinking that every single one of those medicines is produced… by the Master Group?”
Director Young’s mouth was dry. “…Yes. Though of course, that is not all the medicine we stock…”
“Yet all the medicine you stock is labelled using the same label printer. A label printer which, I learned from Nurse Halpert, only prints one size, since all the medicine you stock is stored in identical containers. Isn’t that right, Director Young?”
“...I’ve noticed this printer doesn’t have any option for label size. Wouldn’t you need a variety of label sizes for different types of medicine?”
“Oh, all of the pill bottles we use are the same size and shape, so we don’t need an extra option.”
“…Yes, it is.” Young replied, as realisation began to dawn on both Raymond and Lieutenant Gant.
“Would I be correct, Director Young, if I were to say that in fact, there is not a single piece of medicine being used in this clinic that is not produced by the Master Group?”
“It’s the best option!” Director Young snapped, “They provide the highest quality of medicinal products on the available market! Of course, we’d use them, why wouldn’t we?”
“Let me answer your question with another question Director Young, one which you have still failed to answer: Does your clinic stock any sleeping pills aside from Wakeaway X?”
“…No.” Young finally replied, “…No we don’t.”
“Wakeaway X ‘can only be prescribed in the absence of any other effective treatment available to a patient, such as benzodiazepine.’” Gregory Edgeworth recited. “Then I suppose that answers that mystery, doesn’t it?”
--Testimony Complete--
“That has to be medical malpractice, right?” Raymond asked. “Like, Wakeaway X is crazily dangerous, and to not even give a patient even the option to pick another sleeping pill…”
“It is not.” Director Young replied. “It’s part… of a contract. We receive cheaper prices for using exclusively Master Group products. As a result, we can pass on that cheaper price to our patients. It is on balance, a perfectly ethical and legal agreement.”
“So why did you lie about it?” Gregory Edgeworth asked. “You claimed that Vey Casen has a benzodiazepine allergy when she didn’t, just to cover up this very contract. That doesn’t seem like the behaviour of someone who thinks their actions were perfectly legal and ethical.”
“I- tsk. This is exactly the reason why. The moment this was revealed, I knew people like you who have no idea what the necessary decisions to run a clinic would react to this information. ‘Medical Malpractice’. I- I would never-”
“More importantly, the matter is now closed.” Lieutenant Gant replied, “Vey was taking a sleeping pill too strong for her- That’s probably part of why she’s acting so strangely. We get her onto some other sleeping pill, and that’s that. Problem solved, no?”
“No.” Gregory replied. “Because it raises an entirely different question- One I have about the security in this place.”
Gregory glanced at the security camera in the room they were in.
“…Director Young, is that security camera currently filming us?”
“…Not right now. I’ve turned it off to save film. With Lieutenant Gant’s permission, of course.” Director Young replied.
Lieutenant Gant nodded, silently.
He’s been trying his best to keep silent in general. I get the sense he doesn’t trust himself to run his mouth right now. Perhaps he’s suffering from sleep deprivation too.
“Of course. Why exactly is it, then, that you need to save film?” Gregory asked. “I mean, surely, with that contract of yours with the Master Group, you can afford it.”
“I have already told you. We pass on all the benefit we get from that to the price of the products themselves. We don’t waste it on luxuries such as high-tech security cameras…”
“H-Hold it!” Trina interjected. “I’m sorry Ms Young, but… I’m afraid I must contradict you!”
Everyone’s head turned to Nurse Trina Halpert.
“Our prices have gotten a tiny bit cheaper, it’s true… But most of the money has really been going into our salaries.”
Bonnie Young glowered at Trina, her eyes staring down the nurse as she spoke.
“Trina…”
“I didn’t know about the contract, I’m just a nurse after all, but I did notice right after you took over, our medicine all switched to the Master Group. At the same time, around half of all the medical staff here quit. I remember they were grumbling about ‘Lukeofte’s values’. I can guess now it was because of that decision.”
“Trina, I am ordering you-“
“Right after that, I got a huge pay rise. A ‘loyalty bonus’. It was a bit crazy, honestly, but I assumed it was just your way of thanking me for staying and keeping the clinic afloat. That it was taken out of the budget that would have gone to their pay checks, and in a few pay cycles it’d go down again. But it just… stayed. Every year it’s gotten bigger, and bigger, and…”
Director Young was looking increasingly uncomfortable. “Trina, please, I am begging you, this is- This is entirely irrelevant, I-”
“I… I never brought it up with anyone, because it really has been too good to be true. I’m going to be able to pay off my mortgage next month. I’ll have a home that’s really mine, enough to raise both of my kids in. A whole family. But I cannot stand by and take all of this… all of this blood money, if you’re actively sacrificing the wellbeing of our patients to do it. Why are you doing it? You deliberately gave a patient a sleeping pill far too strong and dangerous for them just for what? To give me another 20% pay rise? To keep me from leaving too?”
“You are exaggerating.” Director Young replied, pushing up her glasses with a shaking hand. “It is simply my policy to reward my employees for good behaviour, your reaction is entirely unwarranted, and merely indicative of a lack of self-esteem…”
“I am being paid $190k a year! I know doctors that aren’t making that much in major hospitals!”
The rest of the people present fell back at the number.
“Almost two hundred thousand a year?” Gregory asked, shocked.
Raymond closed his eyes, thinking. “…I considered being a nurse at one point, so I looked into the figures. That’s… about double the median salary.”
“I am simply- This is outrageous!” Director Young snapped, “I can tell there are implications here, and I despise them. You… You lawyers, with your roundabout ways of saying things, and suggestions of impropriety, I… I refuse to sit with it any longer.”
“You mean to say…” Gregory asked.
“If I am forced to defend my management methods from this slander, I shall.” Young replied, regaining her calm and pushing her glasses further back up her nose. “Now, where do I even begin…”
--Testimony--
Acting as Manager
“My management style is different from Lukeofte’s, obviously. He excelled at people skills, and enrolling people in his big ideas. I do not.
“Thus, my strategy became to focus on earning more money, and maintaining loyalty through being a… perhaps overly generous employer. Some of the former staff reacted violently to this, perhaps because of my lack of people skills making it hard to explain myself.
“However, I excelled at impersonal things. Autopsies, for one thing, but also contracts and logistics. I made smart decisions to cut down on costs and work on alternative revenue streams.
“The Master Group Contract was one such decision. The police contract was another- In fact, I had even begun working on it before Lukeofte’s accident had occurred. It was one of the events that had made me his apparent heir here.
“That is all this is. I admit it is unorthodox. I admit, in edge cases, it has resulted in poor results for some of our patients… But part of the responsibility of a manger is making tough decisions.”
“…I still feel like it’s really, really sketchy.” Raymond admitted.
“Sketchy, yes, but not illegal.” Gregory replied. “There is a case to be made for medical negligence in the case of Vey Casen in particular… but it would not be a watertight one.”
But I do get the sense that she is hiding something from us. This is the truth… But it’s evidently not the whole truth.
What exactly is she so keen to hide?
--Rebuttal--
Acting as Manager
“My management style is different from Lukeofte’s, obviously. He excelled at people skills, and enrolling people in his big ideas. I do not.”
“Hold it! Why do you think this is the case?”
“Because I have been told so point blank.” Young replied, coolly. “I am known by my colleagues to be overly blunt, and emotionally cold. I also do not have the same grand vision or ideas that Lukeofte had.”
“…I wouldn’t say that being blunt equates to poor people skills.” Gregory replied.
“You are incorrect. It is an objective fact that my lack of patience for people wasting my time is part of what makes people distance themselves from me.” Young refuted.
“Honest bluntness can be refreshing.” Gregory replied, sternly. “Dishonest bluntness is maddening. Perhaps that is the distinction that you lacked.”
Bonnie Young stared at him through her thick, not quite opaque glasses.
“…Fascinating.”
“What?”
“Nothing of importance. Regardless of what you might say, I could not be an inspiring, mission-driven leader like Lukeofte…
“Thus, my strategy became to focus on earning more money, and maintaining loyalty through being a… perhaps overly generous employer. Some of the former staff reacted violently to this, perhaps because of my lack of people skills making it hard to explain myself.”
“That’s your explanation for why people left?”
“Yes. Many of the people who were working here didn’t care about the relatively low pay, and simply chose to be part of this clinic due to their belief in the possibilities that Lukeofte created. I too was initially one of those people.”
“What was Lukeofte’s decision?”
“…Democratising medical knowledge, supporting evidence-based medicine, and fighting against large corporate monopolies.” Bonnie Young replied.
Her tone remained level, but I got a sense of… wistfulness in that statement. As if she were nostalgic.
“…Does the Master Group Contract not directly contradict that vision?”
“…I lost people before I did that, too. The purpose of a vision is to enrol people into the work you are doing. If you are unable to do that, then a vision is worthless. It was my colleague’s lack of confidence in me that led me to abandoning those principles, not the other way around.”
“Were you simply not proving them right, in that case?” Gregory asked.
“…Tsk.” Young’s head turned to the side. She didn’t reply any further.
I suppose that’s as close to an admission that I’m going to get…
“You mentioned that you were focusing on earning money… How exactly did you do that, then?”
“I may have not been good at managing people…
“However, I excelled at impersonal things. Autopsies, for one thing, but also contracts and logistics. I made smart decisions to cut down on costs and work on alternative revenue streams.”
“What does that mean?”
“Dozens upon dozens of small decisions. Minute changes, small cost-saving measures… they add up.”
“To hundreds of thousands of dollars?”
“You would be surprised.” Director Young replied.
I would indeed.
“…Hold it! These cost saving measures… would you say that putting less film in the security cameras is one of them?”
“…Yes.” Director Young replied.
“Setting the label printer to only one size, bulk buying your pens… these are also part of those measures?”
“Yes.” Director Young nodded, more decisively.
Too decisively.
“Would you mind putting that in a statement for me, please?”
“…Fine.”
“The bulk purchase of the pens, the settings on the label printer, and being strategic about when to refill the film of the security cameras… These are all measures to save money for the clinic.”
Gregory Edgeworth rolled that statement in his head. There was something about it that was odd to him.
It just doesn’t make sense. They are objectively small measures. To be generating such a profit from them would not be possible.
Or at least… generating a profit just from the money saved from them would not be possible.
All of these tactics… not just these ones, but the increased salaries too. There’s another explanation for them, isn’t there? Another reason why she bulk bought boxes of erasable pens. Why the label printer automatically prints Trina’s name. Why the security cameras in this clinic are skimped on despite having a contract to manage evidence for law enforcement.
“Director Young… Has your clinic ever been audited?”
“I- I beg your pardon?”
“The fact that every single one of your documents ever since you took over has been signed with erasable pens struck me oddly. It made little sense that it would be possible for that to happen without anyone ever noticing.” Gregory replied, “Unless of course, you had. Because you had deliberately arranged it.”
“I-“
“Bonnie Young, you said that all of those measures were designed to save money. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if the purpose of all those measures… was because you were paid to?”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Bonnie Young yelled, “How- I- No! I would never- That- I refuse to-“
“You would never what, Director Young?” Gregory asked, more confidently. “You would never arrange it such that all of the documentation for where medicine goes can be erased and replaced with whatever you desire? You would never arrange it such that it would be possible to sneak into the storage room of your clinic without being seen by the cameras? You would never arrange it such that once they got in there, all they would need to do is press a single button, and every drug they labelled would appear completely official? You would never pay the people who work at this clinic unbelievable amounts of money such that they would always think twice before reporting anything that seemed just a tiny bit off or a tiny bit suspicious about your dealings?”
Trina gasped.
“I… the men in suits… I was always a little bit weirded out by them, but I assumed it was just something that I didn’t understand…”
“ENOUGH!” Bonnie Young yelled in reply, “Enough, enough, ENOUGH! I… I cannot abide by this slander- It’s more than slander! Blatantly false accusations! I’m… I’m… I’m…”
Crying erupted from Young’s office.
“Those cries… they sound like…” Gregory began.
“The cries of a toddler.” Raymond finished.
“All she really wants to do is manage the morgue and take care of her granddaughter.”
“Her granddaughter?”
“Adorable kid. Stops by the clinic sometimes. Her mum, Bonnie’s daughter, died in childbirth, and she’s been taking care of her ever since. She was extremely depressed for a long time, but really got her act together after Director Dye’s accident. She’s trying her best, but it still never feels like enough.”
“…Karin.” Young cursed under her breath. “I… May I be excused for just a moment?”
The rest of the group parted, as Young went into her office. Not long after came out, and in her arms sat a young child no older than three, grabbing Bonnie’s shirt tightly. The director’s glasses had fogged up, her expression invisible behind their thick lenses.
“…I plead my fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.” The child carrying director said, slowly rocking the toddler to sleep. “My silence cannot be used against me in any criminal proceedings or court of law.”
A deep silence spread across the room. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
It was broken by Lieutenant Gant.
“You… Did you work with Mrs Portsman? Were you the one who let her escape?”
“…” Director Young looked away.
“Answer me. Answer me right. Now. If you want your granddaughter to be treated favourably when you’re in custody…”
“Hold it right there Lieutenant Gant!”
Everyone turned their heads towards the noise. Standing in the lobby, face red with anger, was Merlin Stone.
“…Mr. Stone! I was wondering where you’d gotten off to. Now, if you, Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Shields could kindly remove yourself from the premises, I have an interrogation to do-“
“Interrogation for what? Mr. Edgeworth’s only proven that Director Young is doing something suspicious. It doesn’t necessarily mean she’s done the suspicious thing that you’re thinking of.” Merlin replied. “…I should know. Sometimes, secrets are kept for reasons beyond the crime you’re looking at.”
“Portsman’s disappearance is inexplicable.” Lieutenant Gant replied, “There was foul play afoot, and you really expect someone who so clearly engaged with the criminal underground to not have been involved? Your own employer has practically proven it!”
Gant and Merlin both turned to Gregory.
Gregory shook his head.
“Merlin is right. We’ve jumped ahead far too much, and there are still assumptions that have been made. I agree Director Young has done something suspicious, but I am still at a loss as to what exactly she might have done.”
Her involvement in Casen’s framing feels obvious… But there are still unanswered questions even if she were involved.
“…I have a theory.” Merlin replied, “I don’t think it’s perfect, and I don’t know all the information you do, Mr. Edgeworth, but I think it explains what happened here two nights ago almost in its entirety.”
Director Young looked up, but in line with the right she had invoked, said nothing.
“Well then, if you’re so certain, be my guest.” Gant smiled. “If it’s not convincing, though, then I’m afraid that Dr. Young here is going to be a bit preoccupied answering questions from me.”
Merlin shook his head.
“After this, Lieutenant Gant, you’ll be preoccupied asking questions to somebody else…”
--Deduction--
The Unlikely Escape
“Jinxie Portsman’s escape is odd, extremely odd. It seems like she simply got incredibly lucky… But I don’t think that’s the case.
“Initially, Jinxie was handcuffed to the bed in her room. Apparently, after she cried out in pain, an officer came up closer to examine her, at which point she knocked him out, stole his key, and used it to unlock her handcuffs.
“…However, I don’t think that’s true. I examined the officer’s neck, which was still bruised from the attack, and I noticed something… two deep marks on either side of his neck, and two lighter ones in the front. Exactly where they would be if you used two hands to wrap around someone’s neck and push into the airway with both your thumbs. By the time the Officer approached, both her hands must have been free.
“Yes, the key to this oddity is likely found in the room itself- The handcuffs must have been broken open!
“Obviously, the strength to do that is not in the ability of a regular person, but Jinxie Portsman was an experienced killer. On top of that, she was an athletic person regardless. I don’t doubt that if she tried her hardest, it would have been possible.
“For our next clue into what happened, we have to look at a different case- The case of the mysterious body in Vey Casen’s garage. And for that, we only need to take a look at the photograph of the body itself!
“In that photograph, the victim is wearing a hospital gown. Much like the one that Jinxie was wearing. In fact, I reckon, the exact same gown.
“Jinxie Portsman, after her escape, knocked out and killed the victim. Then, after swapping clothes with her, broke into Vey’s garage and left the body there.
“Thus, with a new set of clothes and in a new disguise, she was able to escape the rest of the city unnoticed.
“However, you may notice that my deduction so far assumes that Jinxie Portsman was at peak athletic ability. How could she have done all those things with a broken leg?
“It’s easy. Her leg was never broken. It was all a hoax, in order to get Jinxie Portsman out of direct police surveillance, and into a location with much laxer security. And there’s only one person who could have helped to arrange that.”
“The key to the mystery that night… is that Rip Lacer arranged Jinxie Portsman’s escape.”
Merlin looked up expectantly at Gregory Edgeworth. Gregory nodded.
“…It’s a sound theory.” Gregory replied, “And one I’ve been pondering myself. If Lacer were not somehow involved in the events of that night, I would be most surprised.”
“It’s a stupid theory.” Gant replied, in turn.
Everyone turned to look at Gant.
“Tsk. I’ll come out and say it- I despise Lacer. I really, truly do. But there is no way in hell that he could have possibly hidden the fact that Jinxie’s leg wasn’t broken. I was personally wondering if she had faked it, so I investigated- Several people, including the police medic, witnessed the fact that Jinxie’s leg was bent wrong and swollen back at the precinct. It’s not clear in the security footage- It’s a bit grainy in that regard, but the way she’s leaning against the wall in each of these photos implies the same thing to me.”
“…Ah.” Merlin frowned.
“And if that’s not true, then really, your whole premise falls apart, doesn’t it?” Gant replied, shaking his head. “You haven’t really proven anything-“
“Well, I wouldn’t discount all of his information.” Gregory interrupted. “I think there’s value in it. It seems close to the truth.”
“It’s based on a fundamental mistruth.” Gant shook his head.
“So when that is corrected, the rest of the deduction will naturally fall into place.” Gregory replied, staring him down.
Gant glanced from Gregory, to Merlin, to Raymond.
“Tsk. Why even bother with them? You did it during the locker case too, and the Schneier case. Waiting for one of your assistants to make a wrongful deduction before you come in with a correction. You could just make the deductions on your own, why bother with letting these… lackeys of yours do it?”
“Because I am not omniscient, Lieutenant Gant.” Gregory replied, stern. “I do not know what I do not know- As is the same with any person, I have my own biases and blind spots. Thus, any perspective, even an incomplete one, shows a valuable part of the picture, and a new angle from which to approach a problem.”
Gregory turned to Merlin.
“Your logic is quite sound, Merlin. You've learnt well. Now, let’s see what there is to correct…”
--Course Correction--
An Unlikely Escape
“Jinxie Portsman’s escape is odd, extremely odd. It seems like she simply got incredibly lucky… But I don’t think that’s the case.
“Initially, Jinxie was handcuffed to the bed in her room. Apparently, after she cried out in pain, an officer came up closer to examine her, at which point she knocked him out, stole his key, and used it to unlock her handcuffs.
“…However, I don’t think that’s true. I examined the officer’s neck, which was still bruised from the attack, and I noticed something… two deep marks on either side of his neck, and two lighter ones in the front. Exactly where they would be if you used two hands to wrap around someone’s neck and push into the airway with both your thumbs. By the time the Officer approached, both her hands must have been free.
“Yes, the key to this oddity is likely found in the room itself- The handcuffs must have been broken open!”
“HOLD IT!” Gregory replied, “There’s no way you could have known this, Merlin, but that’s impossible. The handcuffs were clearly unlocked- They show no signs of damage.”
“But… her hands have to have both been free to have made those marks. How else could she have managed to get both her hands on the officer’s neck?”
“That part, I totally agree with.” Gregory hummed. “…The problem here then, is not that she was out of her handcuffs, but how she got out of them. She must have managed to get her hands on a key of her own…”
Gregory’s eyes widened.
“EUREKA! The tape!”
Gregory removed from his pocket the piece of duct tape, which he had found down the side of the bed, near the locket.
“I found this piece of tape down by the side of the bed. It felt odd to me- Why would it have been there? What purpose could it have served? Perhaps, only one… to hold the key in place for Jinxie Portsman to get it.”
“Of course!” Raymond exclaimed, “That way it’d be hidden, but, since it wouldn’t fall all the way down the bed, it would be in a place that Mrs Portsman could easily reach without being noticed!”
Merlin nodded. “…That makes sense. In fact… that actually explains Jinxie’s actions even better!”
“How so?” Gregory asked.
Merlin nodded, getting back into the groove.
“Alright, the key to this oddity is likely found in the room itself- The tape hidden behind the bed!
“If an accomplice had left a handcuff key there earlier, stuck to the wall with the tape, she could have easily unlocked her own handcuffs. Yet, as she was still injured, she still needed to lure the police officer close to her to be able to knock him out. That was why she acted so suspiciously- She was deliberately baiting him to come closer!
“For our next clue into what happened, we have to look at a different case- The case of the mysterious body in Vey Casen’s garage. And for that, we only need to take a look at the photograph of the body itself!”
“HOLD IT!” Gregory shook his head. “Your argument is that Jinxie Portsman was able to disappear by swapping clothes with the victim?”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much all the information we have on her, isn’t it?” Merlin frowned, “I thought it made plenty of sense…”
“You’ve forgotten one key thing, Merlin. TAKE THAT!”
Gregory presented the autopsy report that they had received the previous day.
TIME OF DEATH: 6AM-1PM (FEB 26TH) - Considers Temperature conditions at crime scene, which extends possible time of death further back significantly.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Octobarbitol Overdose. Chemical makeup similar to Wakeaway X brand found in pill bottles.
NOTES: Only external injuries found appear to be minor skin rupture on wrists and ankles. Timing of injuries made unclear due to coldness of body, but markings suggest that injury was caused by bound rope around wrists and ankle
“There are two major problems with your theory, which need to be settled. One major one is that the time of death doesn’t match up- Jinxie Portsman was brought to the clinic far later than 1pm, which has been given as the latest possible time of death.”
“O-Oh.”
“The second is the distinct lack of any major wounds- How Jinxie could have managed to bind the victim and feed her Octobarbital without injuring her is unclear, especially considering her injury likely hindering her ability to do any restraining manoeuvres.”
“I… Hmmm. That… is true…” Merlin frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that. But yeah, it’s hard to imagine Jinxie murdering someone, carrying their body to the garage, breaking in without a trace, leaving them there, and escaping all with a broken leg, even if the time of death lined up.”
“Yet you are onto something. The hospital gown does remain unexplained, it simply needs to be aligned with the information we have for the autopsy report.” Gregory crossed his arms. His mind began to turn.
… I find it hard to imagine any killer successfully kidnapping someone with no major wounds, and getting them to swallow Octobarbital pills, whether it be Miss Casen, Mrs Portsman, or anyone else. Yet… It has to have happened.
…Or does it?
“…Unless… HOLD IT!” Gregory exclaimed, “The cause of death! Octobarbital!”
“Oh yeah, right, that’s a third thing.” Merlin frowned, “It’s not clear how Jinxie could have gotten her hands on a bottle of Wakeaway X…”
“But what if she didn’t need to? What if we’ve been mistaken all along?” Gregory asked, retrieving the note on Octobarbital from his pocket. “Notes on Octobarbital’s General Usage: Used in Anaesthesia, as a Hypnotic… and for Euthanasia.”
Raymond gasped.
“That would explain why she was wearing a Dye Clinic hospital gown…”
“We already know that this clinic uses exclusively Master Group products,” Gregory continued, “I imagine, then, that the Master Group also produces the chemicals used in this clinic’s carrying out of euthanasia- Without being able to go all in on using Octobarbital for commercial purposes, it’s obvious that they’d invest in using it for what they could.”
Merlin stood still. “You mean to say… that you believe the victim came from the hospital morgue?”
“Yes, I believe I do.” Gregory nodded. “It aligns with the facts, doesn’t it? Portsman could hardly have carried out a murder and escaped from the city at the same time whilst injured. It explains the connection that crime has with Dye Clinic. It explains why the only wounds on the body were rope burn, that is, the culprit tied up the body for ease of transport. It even explains the inability for the police force to find the victim’s identity- Nobody is unaccounted for, as nobody has officially gone missing.”
“You’re right about that, sir. Nobody is missing. No bodies are missing either.” Merlin looked to Gant. “I only just learned this too, but when von Karma investigated the clinic, he also looked into the possibility of the victim coming from the morgue. He checked, and all the bodies stored there are fully accounted for. There are no missing bodies.”
Oh.
“Oh.” Gregory stopped. “Ah. That… Hmm. You’re sure he was telling the truth?”
“I can vouch for him.” Lieutenant Gant replied, “I was there. They opened each of the little doors in the wall of fridges, and all of the ones that were meant to have them had two little feet sticking out.”
If that is true, it fully disarms this entire argument. Yet I feel too close to the truth.
…To know for sure, I need to see my line of reasoning through.
“Suppose for a minute, that I am still correct.” Gregory said, pondering aloud. “The victim must have been kept in a fridge for some time- That would push the possible time of death further back than the autopsy report puts it now, since it was made taking into account merely a cold room, not a cabinet below freezing..”
“It’s not true though, I’ve just proven-” Lieutenant Gant tried to interrupt, but Merlin glared at him to let Gregory talk his thought process out.
“The victim thus could have died before 6 AM, by at least a few hours,” Gregory concluded, “Nurse Halpert, did any patients undergo euthanasia in the early hours of February 26th or the late hours of February 25th?”
Nurse Halpert was trembling.
“…Yes, sir.”
“Why are you nervous?”
“…Sir… You have the evidence already. You can prove yourself whether the victim in your case was the last person to undergo euthanasia at our clinic.” Trina said, “Because at 11pm on February 25th, in line with her last will and testament, Ivana Dye was given a fatal dose of Octobarbital.”
Gregory’s eyes widened. Quickly, he removed the golden locket he had retrieved from Ivana’s room from his pocket.
It was closed. He hadn’t yet had an opportunity to look at it.
“…In this locket is the picture of Ivana Dye.” Gregory explained to Merlin and Gant, “I retrieved it on behalf of Lukeofte Dye, the former director of the clinic, in exchange for access to Vey Casen’s files.”
He clicked it open.
In the locket was the picture of a woman in a lab coat, smiling. It was an older picture, yellowed significantly with time. Yet, though now wrinkled and no longer smiling, Gregory knew it was a face he had seen before.
On the body that had been found lying in Vey Casen’s garage.
Gant stared at it for some time, then stared at Gregory, then stared at the morgue.
“…What on the Goddess of Law’s green earth…”
Merlin too was in shock, but quickly shook it off.
“You were right then… I couldn’t have guessed… But it does still make sense…”
“How on EARTH could that possibly make sense?” Gant exclaimed, staring at Gregory’s new assistant.
“Like so,”
“For our next clue into what happened, we had to look at a different case- The case of the mysterious body in Vey Casen’s garage. And for that, we only needed to take a look at Lukeofte Dye’s locket!
“The locket shows us that the victim found in Vey Casen’s garage was none other than Ivana Dye herself, who underwent euthanasia the previous night. Thus, she wasn’t really murdered at all, merely relocated.
“However, the question remains of how a body is still in the morgue in her place. Jinxie Portsman can’t have achieved this on her own… She must have had an accomplice.
“While Jinxie Portsman took the body and placed it in the garage, her accomplice moved a new body, either taken from a different hospital or some sort of fake body, and put it in the fridge in her place.
“All the deductions so far have also required an accomplice. Someone who allowed her to break her leg putting her in the clinic; Someone who placed a handcuff key in her room allowing her to escape; Someone who after Jinxie left, moved a new body into the fridge to keep that fact hidden.
“There’s only one person who could have helped to arrange all of that that.”
“The key to the mystery that night, as I deduced earlier… is that Rip Lacer arranged Jinxie Portsman’s escape.”
“The fact still remains that Rip Lacer must have been involved.” Merlin nodded, “That’s obvious, isn’t it? He still just so happened to stop guarding the outside of the door when Mrs Portsman escaped. He was still the one who arranged everything.”
Gregory nodded. “…I agree. Yet… there’s another hole in your reasoning here.”
Merlin frowned. “Oh?”
“Motive.” Gregory replied, “Earlier, there was a clear reason for Jinxie to have used the body in the way that she did, to steal its clothes, and hide the evidence. Yet now, we have Jinxie Portsman going through an awful lot of effort to relocate a dead body for apparently no reason. We have no motive for Jinxie Portsman to have framed Vey Casen for the murder of Ivana Dye.”
“Oh, right.” Merlin frowned, “I… hadn’t considered that.”
I need to think this through. We’ve made progress… In fact, we’ve practically proven Vey Casen’s innocence, yet there’s still unanswered question revolving around Jinxie Portsman’s escape that make it all murky.
One, is why the framing happened at all. It seems like an added layer of complexity for seemingly little reason. The second is the one that Gant has been struggling with for the past two days- The seeming evaporation of Jinxie Portsman. Now we don't have a clear way for her to have gotten out of her hospital clothes, so she's unlikely to have been wearing a disguise.
…Perhaps if Portsman has no explanations for either, we need to change focus onto Rip Lacer. Why would Lacer be involved in such a complicated plot to frame Vey Casen, either? What reason would he have to take Ivana Dye’s body and have it be put in Vey Casen’s garage?
He doesn’t. Not really. He would have a dozen other tools at his disposal to frame Vey Casen for a crime if it was truly what he wanted, and arguably much less riskier ones.
Which means the motivation for it must have been the opposite… It’s not the taking the body out of the morgue that’s the key… It’s putting the replacement body in.
…
…Oh dear god.
“Where did Jinxie Portsman go?” Gregory said aloud. “That’s the question you’ve been asking all this time, isn’t it, Lieutenant Gant?”
Gant stared at him, his patience clearly running over. “What, have you been deaf? Of course I have! I have almost three dozen police officers running around Japanifornia just to find out where she is! The moment she left this clinic, it’s like she’s been a ghost!”
“It seems impossible, doesn’t it? It doesn’t make sense for Jinxie Portsman to have successfully escaped this clinic with a broken leg and no change of clothes. The facts don’t line up. Unless that is… she didn’t.”
“…What?”
This is a long shot by far… But if it’s true, it changes our understanding of the entire case.
“Director Young, you will give us permission to check the morgue.” Gregory said, turning to the director. “You will give us permission to check the identity of the body being kept in the unit marked for Ivana Dye.”
“Hold on, what are you saying, Worthy?” Gant asked, “Weren’t we just on Jinxie Portsman? Why are we talking about Ivana again?”
“Because we were wrong this entire time. Though I disagreed with the reasoning, I thought agreed with Merlin’s conclusion- That Rip Lacer arranged for Jinxie Portsman’s escape. But we were wrong. He didn't help Jinxie Portsman escape at all."
"So you agree that he's innocent in all this, then?" Gant replied, still confused.
Gregory shook his head. "Quite the opposite. He's still guilty of a crime. In fact, it's possible, guilty of a much, much greater crime."
Merlin gasped, falling backwards. He shot a glance to Raymond, who was beginning to understand the truth as well.
“Oh my god.” Merlin eventually spoke up. “The key to the mystery that night… is the opposite of what I deduced earlier. Rip Lacer didn’t help arrange Jinxie Portsman’s escape…
“Rip Lacer helped arrange Jinxie Portsman’s murder.”
Gant blinked for a second, before he understood.
“No. No, no, no. It makes… It makes too much sense.” Gant slapped his forehead, “How could I not have seen it, it… No, she must have escaped…"
Gregory shook his head. "You've checked every route out of the city already, haven't you? She can't have escaped. She must have been hidden. And we now know that there's a refridgerator in that morgue that is supposed to be empty, the occupant of which has been removed and been laid down to rest in the garage of my client, Vey Casen. Yet as you said, two little feet are still sticking out of it.
“We need to check in person.” Raymond said, “Director Young, do you give us permission to-“
Without waiting for the director’s response, Gant slammed open the door to the Staff Area, and began making his way to the Morgue. Gregory followed him, Merlin, Raymond and Trina not far behind.
February 28th, 11:50 AM
Autopsy Room/Morgue
They arrived just as Gant had identified the drawer marked for Ivana Dye. Before he opened it, he hesitated.
Then, he opened the door. A pair of feet were visible, cool mist pouring out of the cooler.
This is as far as von Karma must have checked. Gregory realised.
Then, after a deep breath, Gant took the second step. There was a handle for the tray which the body was lying on, for the coroner to remove them from the cooler. Gant’s hand wrapped around it and pulled it out.
From his place by the doorway, Gregory couldn’t see the face of the body clearly. But he could see the face of Damon Gant. He stood still for a moment, shook. Then, moving on from surprise, his face took on another, more terrifying look.
Anger.
“OFFICER BOB!”
Soon, an officer came barrelling in through the door, saluting as he entered.
“Sir! What’s the matter, sir!”
“I need you to make a call to the precinct, calling off the manhunt. The Cortisol Killer has been found.”
“Sir, yes sir! I knew you could do I-”
“Quiet.” Gant hissed. “That’s not all. Tell them, also, that I require them to immediately locate Detective Rip Lacer.”
“…For what reason, sir?”
Gant looked back at the body. Gregory edged closer to look at it, and saw exactly what he had feared.
“Because Rip Lacer is now officially wanted on suspicion of murder.” Gant replied, “On suspicion of the murder of Mrs. Jinxie Portsman.”
Organiser
Attorney’s Badge
Newspaper Article
Crime Scene Photo
Garage Door
Wakeaway X Bottle
Gant Interrogation Notes
Dye Clinic Floorplan
Security Footage
Informed Consent Form
Garage Air Conditioner
Rope
Gloveprint
Medicine Cabinet
Autopsy Report
Octobarbital Notes
Erasable Pens
Label Printer
Handcuffs
Dye’s Locket
Duct Tape