Morix: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Deception, Part 1

Of course, everything that we had been enjoying regarding peace fell apart the morning before. Cotoli and I had been enjoying ourselves when we received a phone call from the hospital saying that somebody had gotten hurt. We rushed over there to find out that Polly had been attacked while at someone else's house. She had gotten a concussion thanks to a blow to the back of her head. The culprit was unknown unfortunately. 

That was when the media got a hold of it. A suspect was arrested, and he was brought down to the detention center. Cotoli and I, needing to know the truth as soon as possible, volunteered to take on the case. It would be a heavy emotional burden to bear, yes, but we wanted to know what had happened, and being the primary investigators would be the best way for us to learn everything we could possibly have been curious about. 

We had volunteered to defend the suspect, one Collack Strann. Mr. Strann had invited Polly over to his home the day before to speak with her. They seemed to be able to talk to each other about matters of importance, though I didn't know the exact details. Polly was still recovering, and we hadn't been able to speak with her since the attack. She was meant to be testifying, though I wasn't entirely sure as to if that would be a good idea. 

As for Mr. Strann, we hadn't been able to hear from him much either. Since we took on his defense so late into the day, we didn't get to speak with him before the detention center closed. We were going into this trial completely clueless, and I was not at all happy about it. Cotoli didn't seem too pleased with the idea either, but he was hiding it much better. While I was tense and couldn't stop frowning, he had a neutral expression on his face as he stared at the floor in consideration of what we were going to have to do. 

If all went according to plan, we would be able to speak to both Polly and Mr. Strann during the trial. Chances were that they would be testifying at some point or another. If there was another witness, I hadn't heard about them, and neither had Cotoli. He surely would have mentioned it if there was someone else we would need to speak with during the trial. 

Luckily for us, we were going to be able to cooperate with the prosecution. Since Polly was occupied in the hospital due to her attack, Anton had stayed at the Prosecutor's Office for most of the day yesterday. It felt like it had been a thousand years since I had seen him though it had just been a few hours. 

Lily's older brother, Prosecutor Roberto Shield, volunteered to take on the case to find the case. Anton was practically glued to his side afterwards, not wanting to be left alone when he was the one who could lead him to the truth. Prosecutor Shield seemed to have a soft spot for the boy and was happy to watch over him. They likely weren't able to get in much investigating either, but they still probably prepared as much as they could. 

Cotoli nudged me gently, snapping me out of my daze. I felt like I was going to jump six feet in the air from surprise. I was more spaced out than I initially thought, it seemed. 

"What is it?" I asked once I had somehow regained my composure. 

"I think that our client has arrived," Cotoli replied, taking my hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze to calm me down after my brief moment of panic. I relished in the action, glad to have him there to reassure me when I got jittery and nervous. 

I looked up to see a man had entered the defendant lobby. I didn't recognize him, so I figured that he was the client Cotoli had mentioned. He had white hair and skin so pale that it seemed to combine with his hair in some places. There were a few streaks of black here and there, though they were somewhat difficult to see due to how small and few they were. He had deep blue eyes so dark that the ocean would not survive being swallowed by them. He wore dark clothing as well, though I didn't observe it in further detail.