One of Every Color
Chapter 10
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Chapter 10
handing it off to the cab driver, so he wasn't surprised when they pulled into
a less reputable section the city. The streets
were lined with rundown apartment buildings, dirty bars, and alleys that
managed to look dark and dangerous even at the height of the afternoon.
might have to say, rather than the location.
Court had gone as well as anyone could have expected, given the
case. Anything she had to complain about
was probably not something he could fix.
dollars and asking him to stick around a while, so he'd have a ride back--the
idea of being stuck in this part of town with just Urami and no way out was not
at all appealing. Figuring he already
knew where Urami would want to meet him, he moved down the sidewalk to put himself
in front of the burnt out shell of what had once been a duplex.
lot in the past few years; he could even still see scorch marks on the
surrounding buildings. There was a frame
that might have once been a window, and a bathtub near the back.
decimated by the fire was the phone booth on the corner that Chassie had been
in that night. It was filthy and didn't
look like it had been used in years, but it was intact.
A single black car pulled up
behind the taxi, which must have spooked the driver.
black stepping out of the vehicle, and with a helpless shrug he pulled away
from the curb.
cab was already driving away. The driver
shot him a grim smirk as if to say "You're on your own."
Urami's best interests to keep him alive as he turned to wait for her.
must have changed vehicles along the way.
She whispered a few words to her driver before heading for
"I thought this would
be…more convenient for you," she told him, turning to face the old
building. "In case anyone followed you.
related party…. Isn't that better than
coming home with me…?"
"Yes,"
He wasn't sure if he was honestly thankful for her discretion, if it
could be called that, but he might as well act like he was.
office."
"I wanted you to see
this…." Urami was still staring at
where the duplex had been, her eyes unfocused.
He imagined she must have been remembering what it looked like
intact. "You didn't come to this
scene in your investigation…did you?"
down--there isn't any evidence left here, and even if there was, it wouldn't be
worth anything. It's been four
years."
"Yes, you're
right…." Urami lifted a hand,
slowly, pointing towards the far corner of the rotting foundation.
numb. "What…?"
"Through the back,"
Urami said again. She lowered her hand
just as slowly. "By the stairs to
the basement. I took the wine from Mr.
Hoff's cabinet. He had a
collection."
knew nothing good would come of it.
"I went into the
basement, and--"
"Urami,"
sudden paranoia. "You don't have to
tell me this. I already agreed--"
"I know…what you must be
thinking." Urami took a few steps
forward, and turned so they were face to face.
"After today…. But that
clinic report is real. I know you don't
like me…but you have to believe that."
For so small a woman Urami
was certainly intimidating, and yet her words actually put
"You really care about her, don't you," he murmured.
convince me." He felt he was maybe
coming to understand her better; in her own, twisted way, her confession was an
offering of trust. As foolish as it was,
he was beginning to honestly believe she had no intention of harming him.
"We are each risking our
lives for each other." Urami tilted
her head slightly, and for once her tone was sincere instead of eerie and
mocking. "It's what friends
do…."
"Since we're being honest," he attempted, "why don't you
tell me the real reason you did it?"
Urami rolled her eyes to the
side. "I was protecting her…."
"From Hoff?"
"…Yes…."
hands in front of her. "Chassie…is
a poor judge of character. She loved
him. When she called me…I knew she would
never forgive Mr. Hoff for what he had done to her.
Nothing like a woman scorned, I
guess.
"But when Mr. Hoff
starting seeing Ann…he connected himself to Mr. Arky, and Bluecorp," Urami
continued. "He could have used
Bluecorp's power against her...which was once quite a bit, as you know.
"Urami…."
that. "You need to stop this,"
he told her seriously. "This isn't
about you, and whatever you think you had to do.
He was treading dangerous territory, but Urami's continued pressure was
only frustrating him in what could have been a much simpler case.
know you're a murderer. I believe that
Chassie is innocent. All right?"
Urami returned his gaze
calmly. He liked to think he was getting
better at reading her, and she didn't appear offended.
conceded. She lowered her head slightly.
"Good."
time. It's just rubble now.
office? I'm not hitch-hiking out of this
neighborhood."
"Of course…."
way back to her car.
They sat together in the back
as her driver pulled away from the sidewalk.
out the window. He wasn't interested in
anything else Urami had to say. Of
course, that didn't keep her from talking.
"The police…they are getting
better, you know," she told him slowly.
"I would know. Their lawyers
are more careful. Pretty soon…they won't
make so many mistakes."
"If you remain so picky
about your clients…you won't be able to keep your practice up for much
longer…."
"I know what you're
offering me. The answer is
no." When they arrest you for setting fire to the Prosecutors' building, it
won't be me defending you,
Urami chuckled.
instead. I'm sure it's much
less…stressful."
She dropped
polite goodbye before driving off once more.
As
there was still something he was missing.
Urami had certainly gone out of her way to further convince him of
Chassie's innocence, which didn't seem necessary given how much effort he'd
already devoted to her case. He hadn't
even thought their first day of court went that poorly, considering it was
Miles they were up against and Hotta's limited credibility.
friend, but something was sticking at the back of
that worked on Chassie. His testimony
would make the case absolute. Since I
have all weekend, I might as well do what I can to find him, too
more.
*****
"Is that so…?
Thank you, Detective."
Miles hung up and frowned
down at the report he held in his hand.
He was still getting over the surprise of discovering it, so it wasn't
difficult for him to accept the other news Gumshoe had to tell him: Dr. Hotta's
clinic report was legitimate. They were
able to match the handwriting on it to other, older reports issued by the same
doctor, and there were no signs of any kind of forgery.
thoughtfully at his cravat as he read this new report over again.
Hotta, and though it still had to go to the lab for processing, he was already
trying to find an explanation.
It certainly complicates things.
did she risk
hide it?
He was still considering when
he heard a car door close, and paranoia made him glance up.
perfect timing. He probably could
have avoided him, keeping the evidence to himself as
"Wright!"
leaning against the side of his car.
"Over here."
at the clinic, either. As he drew
closer, Miles noted that he looked exhausted, even though it was still fairly
early in the afternoon. He frowned.
"Hm?
"He's overseas,"
Miles admitted. "We won't be able to
subpoena him for testimony. But I did
find this." He handed the paper
over.
the transformation Miles had experienced earlier: confusion, shock, and more
confusion. His crooked eyebrows drew
together. "This is a birth
certificate."
"I noticed."
"For…is this real?" He
looked back to Miles, the fatigue deepening the lines in his face in light of
this new discovery. "Chassie had a
Miles nodded grimly.
yet. We'll have to check the document
for forgeries, and of course do a
Detective Gumshoe to put in an order to have the bodies exhumed."
"Wait--wait a
minute."
died in the fire, that was Chassie's son?"
"If this document is
real, Chassie has a son," Miles reasoned.
"He had to have ended up somewhere.
When we pulled the bodies out of that building four years ago, we tested
the baby against Mr. Hoff--it was his son.
We couldn't find any documentation on the birth so we assumed Ann was
the mother." Miles plucked the
certificate out of
kept this hidden. But now that we have
it, we can reexamine the baby, and check it against Chassie's
against the car Miles was also using. He
really didn't look very well. "I
take it she didn't tell you," Miles surmised.
his naivety, but from the look of
himself. He wondered how much of a
burden it must have been, to be that trusting.
"Wright…."
"Which means…Urami was
trying to distract me."
"She's only badgering me because she's hiding something else."
He looked to Miles, and his
face was so tired and distraught it could have softened a heart even harder
than Miles'. "What am I doing,
Edgeworth? Really.
Miles folded his new
evidence, tucking it into his coat. Only
the inks on it would serve useful, so he wouldn’t have to worry about
preserving any fingerprints. "I
can't tell you what to think, Wright.
But if it makes you feel any better, the clinic report you presented in
court today turned out to be legitimate."
"No kidding?"
and devoid of people at the moment, they were still too out in the open for his
liking. He patted
"Get in," he instructed.
"Let's take a ride."
"A ride?"
watched, puzzled, as Miles moved around to the driver's side.
"Just get in the car,
all right? We need to talk."
His wording must have caught
into the passenger seat.
still isn't the time to worry about things like that.
not exactly easy to forget, either.
He himself had spent most of the night before over-thinking the
encounter, trying to determine what it meant and what he intended to do about
it. If it were anyone else but
Miles took his seat behind
the wheel and pulled them away from the clinic.
First things first.
told
precedence to the case at hand.
"Our lab wasn't able to find any evidence that Dr. Hotta faked any
of the information on it. It's…a sound
alibi."
It was a sobering admission
for him, as his friend must have realized.
"Keep looking,"
Miles said immediately. "There's
more to this case than just whether or not Chassie started the fire
herself."
"You won't find
anything,"
"She's covered her tracks too well.
They're both going free."
Miles frowned.
"I took this case
because I wanted to save an innocent woman."
prove she didn't do it. That's
enough."
Miles glanced at him;
raised in him a strange sensation of anxiety.
They drove on a few minutes in silence until he spotted an
opportunity. Miles turned hard into the
driveway of an old, abandoned restaurant.
sports car swerved to the back of the lot.
The property was closed in by a high wooden fence on one side, and tall,
thick shrubbery on the other. It wasn't
much, but it was the closest to privacy Miles could rely on at the moment.
He shut off the engine and unbuckled,
and turned as much as he could in his seat so that he was facing his
passenger. "What happened when you
left court today?"
"Geez, Edgeworth, are
you trying to--"
"Talk."
was no match for Miles' interrogation face.
He relented with a quiet sigh.
"I talked to Urami."
Miles' fists tightened in
sudden protectiveness. "Did she
threaten you?"
"No--no,
not…exactly."
me."
face, drawing out the clues he needed from it.
There were only so many things that could upset
"You really are no good with criminals, are you," he said
thoughtfully.
"How can you be
"I don't know how you deal with these people."
gaze fixed on the dashboard. "I'm
doing everything I can for Chassie, and she's still lying to me!
and that she couldn't have done it. That
should be enough. That's all a defense
attorney is supposed to do."
"You're wondering,"
Miles hazarded carefully, "if this new evidence will somehow lead us to
the real arsonist."
"Why else would she hide
it? It certainly proves Chassie's
innocence even more--why would she set fire to a building her own son was in?"
not your job to catch criminals, Wright."
"I know,
but…."
free. She's only going to hurt more
people, and I can't forgive her for that.
Not for…what she almost did to you…."
Miles' eyes widened slightly
as he watched
way Miles only felt when around him. He
reached out, closing his hand over
"Listen, Wright,"
Miles told him seriously. "You've
been lucky until now. Even most
detectives aren't as good at finding the truth as you are…well-meaning as they
might be." He shook himself
slightly and continued. "But you
can't do everything. You just worry
about doing your job, and I'll worry about mine.
"But…."
"You trust me, don't
you?"
his stern eyes with greater conviction.
"Of course."
"So trust me."
His bright blue eyes darted briefly down to their joined hands,
prompting the same from Miles, reminding them each of the contact of skin
against skin. It was foolish of them to
be so easily distracted from their serious talk.
was another reason I wanted to talk to him, Miles recalled as he reached
out with his free hand to undo
about yesterday, either. But he
didn't feel like "talking" about it at the moment.
tongue feathering quickly over dry lips.
He was vulnerable and much too tempting.
Miles leaned in.
kiss. Each was soft and almost hesitant
in their affections. Miles wasn't used
to the slow pace, but it was…charming, in a way.
Neither was as emotional as they had been the day before, and it allowed
them greater objectivity. Miles
wondered, briefly, if
with and change his mind….
But
He even shivered a little as he tried to lean in for a deeper kiss.
would turn to uncertainty when faced with this second chance, he found himself
more eager than ever. There was honest
admiration in
his former lovers.
They drew apart as slowly as
they'd come together.
comments to wait for him to say what was on his mind.
difficult thoughts. "Edgeworth…."
he confessed.
Miles continued to watch him,
uncertain if the sudden weight in his stomach was a feeling of
disappointment. Not that he knew how to
handle this situation any better than
never been with a man," he surmised.
"Well…no."
eyes lowered to their hands once more, making Miles wonder if they were easier
to look at than his face. "I never
had…the inclination, really. Or the
opportunity…."
Miles let go of him.
was only natural, but it reminded him of the situation they were really
in. He was still too pragmatic in his
relationships to be fooled by one afternoon of sweet kisses.
But
his attention; his eyes narrowed in curiosity as he drew his fingers along the
back of Miles' palm. It…tickled, a
little, enough that Miles was content to let him do as he liked.
"Wright."
fingertips. "I'm really not very
good at this sort of thing, you know."
"I know." He traced
Miles' fingers with his own, and the softer web of skin between each
knuckle. "Neither am I,
remember?"
Miles shivered, not sure if
it was because of
making. How either could be so
effectively enticing was beyond him. "I'd
like to think we're…good friends by now," Miles continued, though his
mouth had gone dry. "And you know I
can't say that about a lot of people--"
"Is this the 'let's not
ruin our friendship' speech?"
"It's…no.
own inability to communicate his jumbled thoughts.
took
is."
ease. "For two lawyers, we're sure
awful at expressing ourselves."
Miles sighed.
thin smile.
They met each other's gaze
again and, thankfully,
good friends," he assured.
"I trust you. And after
yesterday…" He blushed darkly.
of mind, that maybe…it's more than that.
Would that be so awful, if it were?"
"No," Miles
answered too quickly. "It
wouldn't."
between them and this tenuous attraction; he had never had a lover like
he trusted and those he went to for pleasure were not one and the same in his
mind.
would happen if those lines finally blurred, let alone…how it might change
him. The thought was as intimidating as
it was exciting.
inexperienced. What if
mistake? Miles' fingers
tightened. What if I just end up hurting him?
As he considered,
those fears.
kiss. The added pressure coupled with
his partially-restrained enthusiasm was almost enough to convince Miles that
inexperience wasn't so terrible a hurdle after all.
Miles pulled back
reluctantly. "We still have a lot of
work to do," he murmured, stretching his cramped fingers.
"And we're still in a parking lot."
Miles buckled as well, thinking
things over as he started the car back up.
"I'll come over tomorrow," he decided.
around both our places tonight. It
should be all right, by tomorrow evening."
"Really…?"
"You gonna bring dinner and make it a date?"
lot. "I don't 'date'," he
protested. "But…I will bring
dinner."
"Huh?
"I said I'll bring
something," Miles insisted. He
never backed down from his word.
"I'll be there at six."
Miles cast a quick glance at
was blushing again, and looking very pleased with himself.
"All right.