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Apollo kicks of his career boldly by defending the only son of a well known gangster family, Wocky Kitaki. But you can't solve a crime without panties. Date: June 15-17, 2025
The case opens with three different crimes being committed - a theft, a hit and run, a murder. Are they all connected? Day 1 Two months have passed since Apollo's first case, and he's hit rock bottom. But early that morning he receives an urgent phone call from Phoenix, and heads for Wright & Co. Law Offices. There he meets Trucy, Phoenix's daughter, whom he met in court during his previous trial. After some confusion, Trucy explains to Apollo that they're not in a law office: she runs the "Wright Talent Agency." Trucy works as a magician, while Phoenix works as a pianist that doesn't play the piano. Speaking of Phoenix, he's nowhere around. Trucy leads Apollo to the Hickfield Clinic, where Phoenix has been admitted after being hit by a car the night before (he's miraculously quite fine). He's under the care of a familiar "doctor" with grabby hands... Apollo isn't that glad to see Phoenix, and is even less thrilled when he's "hired" to find the hit and run driver (as in, "please find him, not that I can pay you"). But Phoenix also promises Apollo that there's another client that needs his help. Apollo and Trucy march off to a side street not far from Phoenix's office, where they meet Guy Eldoon, a noodle vendor. He specializes in miso ramen, a favorite of Phoenix and his assistants for many years. But it turns out it's not the services of a lawyer that Eldoon needs: his entire noodle cart was stolen the night before. Trucy admits that she has a problem as well - her panties were stolen. That's right, her panties were snatched out of the office by an unknown assailant. Add her to the list of "clients". Nearby is the Meraktis Clinic, a rather well off establishment with a police patrol car parked in front. The police won't let them investigate inside, but Apollo and Trucy do manage to sneak into the garage. There they discover a bright green sports car, missing it's left mirror. It seems that this car might have been the one that hit Phoenix the night before. Further investigation uncovers a pink cell phone placed right in front of the rear tire, and then Trucy's panties, which have been shoved into the tailpipe. But they're not just ordinary panties - they're "magic." Trucy explains that she uses the oversized panties in her show, as they're the vacuum of space from which she can draw out any object. Well at least they found them. From there, Apollo and Trucy head to the scene of Phoenix's accident. The street turns out to be between People Park and the main house of the Kitaki Family - a family of gangsters. The front of the gangsters building is covered in paint, and the park is swarming with cops. Apollo is immediately apprehensive, but they meet Plum Kitaki (aka broom lady), who is willing to give them some information. After offering her sympathy to Phoenix over his accident, she reveals that a murder took place in the park the night before. Oh, and she also had a pair of panties stolen. Apollo wants to visit the scene, but the police there don't let him in. But he does discover a rearview mirror in a nearby trash can (a green one), and some slippers. He takes the mirror, and he and Trucy return to the office, where they are met with a young woman who introduces herself as Alita Tiala. She's engaged to the first son of the Kitaki Family, Wocky Kitaki. It turns out he is the one who the police have arrested for the murder in the park. Alita hires Apollo to defend him in court the next day. Thrilled to have an ACTUAL client, he quickly accepts, but when he tries to meet with Wocky at the detention center he's sent away. Wocky is still in questioning. Apollo and Trucy return to the park, armed now with Alita's note indicating them as Wocky's lawyers. The police are still skeptical, but then a man in a purple coat rides up on a motorcycle. Apollo is momentarily stunned silent when he realizes the man looks just like his former mentor, Kristoph. But the man seems to appreciate Trucy's attention to him, and he escorts the two of them past the guards to the actual crime scene before leaving. At the scene, they find Eldoon's missing noodle stand. It's surrounded by blue tarps, and there's a police statue wrapped up where a person would normally stand to pull the cart along. They're not able to do much investigating, though, as detective Ema Skye shows up. Apparently she only recently returned from studying scientific investigation techniques in America (Europe, in the American version). When Apollo tries to ask her anything she ignores him, busy instead chomping down snacks. But she does mention being disappointed that "someone" isn't a lawyer anymore. Apollo and Trucy leave, and meet with Phoenix, who explains that the Kristoph look alike is actually his brother, Klavier Gavin. He also seems to recognize their description of the detective. He tells Apollo to find a white powder hidden under a hat in his office to give to her (Apollo: "It had better not be drugs..."). He does so, and Ema finally opens up, having recognized the powder. Not enough to tell Apollo anything about Phoenix, though. Ema warms up to the pair, and offers them the autopsy report. The victim is Pal Meraktis, surgeon of the Meraktis Clinic Apollo and Trucy tried to visit earlier. He was shot once in the right temple, and the body was discovered slumped over the noodle cart as if he were trying to pull it along even while dead. On the scene is also a short sword, where they discover Wocky's fingerprints. There's also a trashcan, wherein they find...Plum's panties. Hooray! The pair then head for the detention center, hoping to meet Wocky before visitation is up. He turns out to be a young punk of a kid who looks like a fox. But Apollo doesn't have the chance to talk to him, as he's already in a fight with his father: a very large, intimidating man in a cute yellow apron. Wocky insists that he's not afraid to stand trial and doesn't care if he's declared guilty. He also accuses his father of being a loser and a weakling. Before Apollo can get a word in, Wocky is hauled off, as visitation is over. On the way out, Wocky's father (Winfed) takes Apollo aside, and assures him that Wocky really is a good boy. Apollo promises to see Winfed's son set free.
Day 2 Court begins, and standing at the prosecutor's desk is Trucy's "prince" from the day before: Klavier Gavin, prosecutor. He's one cool customer, and early on in the proceedings adopts the nickname "Herr Forehead" for Apollo. The Judge is pleased to see him, as apparently Klavier has been busy with his band lately, and hasn't been showing up in court as much. But Klavier assures him all is well. Rather that start out with a description of the crime, Klavier suggests they hear from Wocky himself, who is prepared to tell the court his motive. The Judge allows it, and Wocky takes the stand. He declares in the loudest way possible that Dr. Meraktis was a quack and everyone should be glad he's dead. Apparently, six months ago Wocky was involved in a fight with a rival family, the Katagi. He was shot in the chest, and the bullet became lodged dangerously close to his heart. He underwent surgery at Meraktis's clinic and thought everything was all right. But just recently he had another checkup, and it turned out that the bullet was still inside him. Meraktis never completed the surgery at all, and never gave any indication that Wocky wasn't completely healed. Not that the bullet scares him, or so he claims. He says that part of being a man is being prepared to die at any time. Klavier taunts him, applauding his spirit - after all, with the bullet so close to his heart, chances are he could probably drop dead at any time. That shuts Wocky up at last, and the Judge dismisses him from the stand. The first witness is called: Wesley Stickler, a third year science student at Yuumei University (sound familiar?). In his testimony, he says he was coming home from shopping when he cut through the park, and saw the victim with the noodle stand facing down the defendant. Wocky shot him head on a with a pistol, and then panicked and ran away. The pistol, which bears no fingerprints and was shot twice, was recovered from the scene (and is entered into evidence). Apollo objects, saying that according to the autopsy report Meraktis was shot through the temple, thus making it impossible for Wocky to have shot him head on. Stickler amends his testimony: when he saw Wocky with the gun, he called out to the pair for them to stop. Meraktis then turned his head towards him, distracted, and that's when Wocky shot him. The objection is squashed. Apollo persists, pointing out there aren't any fingerprints on the gun. If Wocky ran away right after the shot was fired, he wouldn't have had time to wipe off fingerprints. He and Klavier are back and forth over the possibility of the defendant wearing gloves, and at what point he might have taken them off. There was a sword at the scene as well, bearing Wocky's fingerprints - maybe he was brandishing THAT at the doctor instead of the gun. But in the end, Klavier wins and Apollo is out of options. The fact still remains that Stickler saw Wocky shoot the doctor, and he has no evidence to contradict him. The Judge is about to hand down the verdict, when suddenly Trucy screams. Standing with her behind the bench is a tall, dark figure holding a knife! The court goes nuts, except for Klavier, who doesn't seem phased at all. The man demands that trial be recessed for the next twenty minutes or Trucy will be in trouble. Just before the pair disappears seemingly into mid-air, Trucy manages to tell Apollo to come to the defense lobby. Court is recessed, and Apollo charges back into the defense lobby, there discovering Trucy safe and sound. He's nearly reduced to tears as he curses the gangsters for such underhanded tactics. But Trucy calms him down, and assures him everything's fine. With a little bounce, out from behind her pops a tall wooden mannequin with a cape and a hat - the "dark figure" that had supposedly kidnapped her. It was a trick all along. The doll, "Mr. Hat", is a prop she uses in her show. Apollo yells at her, saying there are some things you just can't do, especially in court! But Trucy scolds him, accusing him of breaking his promise to Winfed (that he'd set Wocky free). She was just buying them some time. She then explains to Apollo that, according to what her father told her, Apollo has the same power she has: the power to "see through" people and read their body language, thus indicating when they're lying. In the same way that a poker player learns to read other players and their "tells," so too can Apollo use his "power" in court to determine when a witness is hiding something. Unlike Trucy, his power comes from his bracelet. And that's the reason why Phoenix has never lost a poker game - he always had Trucy with him. She could read the other player, and would let Phoenix know when he or she was bluffing. She insists it's not cheating since it's not like she can see the cards themselves. Apollo isn't quite sure about that, but he listens to Trucy's explanation a to how he can use his power in court. Court resumes, and though the Judge is confused to see Trucy perfectly fine, Klavier seems to have known all along. Going back to Stickler's testimony, Apollo notices (using the Minuku System) that whenever Stickler is unsure, he fingers the corner of the pages in his book. When Stickler testifies to how he contacted the police on his cell phone his "tell" gives him away, and Apollo objects. He presents the cell phone he and Trucy found in Meraktis's garage, which turns out to be Stickler's. Since the phone was discovered beneath the tire and wasn't crushed, it couldn't have been there very long - in fact, it could only have been left there the night of the murder, just after Meraktis's car was used to smash into Phoenix. Stickler couldn't have had his cell phone to call the police like he said he did. Stickler admits that he left the scene after the murder, and used a payphone to call the police. But during his revised testimony he mentions the noodle stand, and the "Noodle" lettering across it. Apollo quickly points out that the letters on the stand should read "Eldoon" - Stickler read it backwards. Stickler's testimony was that he was to the left of Meraktis and the noodle stand, as Meraktis was shot in the right temple when he turned to face him. But the only way for him to have misread the lettering would be if he was standing on the RIGHT of the stand, where the lettering was reversed. And if he was to the right, it's possible that Meraktis never turned his head as at all, as Stickler himself would have had a clean shot to his right temple. Klavier asks if Apollo is accusing Stickler of the murder. But Apollo has other plans. He declares that Stickler is guilty of a different crime, and presents Trucy's panties as proof. That night, Trucy's panties were stolen, and she chased the criminal in the direction of Meraktis's garage - where they found the panties AND Stickler's cell phone. Not only that, but if Stickler was standing to the right of the noodle stand, he would have been right next to the park's trash can. And what happened to be in the trash? Take that - it's more panties! Klavier: "How many panties are you carrying in your pocket, Herr Forehead?" Apollo: "These are the last!! Honest!!" Stickler admits that he stole the panties. But he swears he's not a pervert. He went to Trucy's show a while ago, and saw her act. Her panties are magic - they defy physics! As a devoted student, it was his duty to uncover the secrets of the mysterious panties. The Judge declares that the witness is no longer credible. He dismisses him from the stand and decides he can't declare a verdict at this point. Both sides need to investigate more. Court is adjourned, and the pair return to the office, where they meet briefly with Alita. She thanks them for their hard work. They then make their way to the Detention Center, where they AGAIN fail to meet with their client. But Stickler is there as well, having been arrested for his panty-filching. Though he lied about his phone and his position at the crime scene to cover up his other crime, he stands by his testimony: Wocky threatened Meraktis, and when Stickler cried out to them, Meraktis turned his head and was shot. Back to the investigation. Apollo and Trucy find Eldoon, thinking he'll be glad to know that his noodle cart is safe. But he's as upset as ever, since the cart is part of a crime scene now and he still can't conduct his business. He remarks that Meraktis is in his way even in death! When Apollo probes this statement further, Eldoon admits that he and Meraktis knew each other. In fact, Eldoon used to be a doctor as well. But his small clinic couldn't compete with Meraktis, whose clinic had strong connections to the mafia which kept it well off. Two years ago Eldoon was forced to close shop entirely, falling back on the noodle stand for his living. Apollo and Trucy return to the Kitaki home, and try to give back Plum's panties, but she says they might as well keep them. She tells them a bit about Alita: she's not thrilled about her engagement to Wocky. It seems she was very insistent in coming on to him. It's a bad time, since the family is in need of money - clean money, and a lot of it. She doesn't explain further than that. Apollo & Co. are FINALLY able to meet Wocky in detention. He's not happy to see them. He still insists he's not at all worried about getting convicted, since it's all part of the "manly" gangster lifestyle he enjoys. In fact, it's rather bad ass of him. When asked about Alita, he mentions that she seems to have something in her past she'd like to forget. He loves girls like that who need protecting. Makes him more manly. He's also pissed off at his father, Winfed, who is trying to make their family turn to honest business. He views giving up the gangster lifestyle as the actions of a coward. Apollo asks him directly if he killed Meraktis, but Wocky is surprisingly uncertain. He remembers facing him down, and running away afterwards, but the middle part is a bit hazy. Back to the park. Just outside they find Klavier's motorcycle, and then Klavier himself, surrounded by squealing fan girls. He explains that his bike won't run because the tailpipe is stopped up. Car or motorcycle, an engine can't run if the tailpipe is blocked. As he wanders of, Apollo checks the trashcan one more time, and this time takes the slippers with him. There's a toe print on the inside that he makes a note of. "Meraktis Clinic" is written on the sandals as well. Back at the crime scene, Ema is in a bad mood. She complains about Klavier being so careless and annoying. She also mentions that Klavier is the one who got Phoenix's lawyer badge taken away from him, but when Apollo tries to get more information out of her, she tells him he ought to ask Phoenix himself. Ema then shows off her latest science kit for taking footprint molds, though she's been having some trouble with it. With Apollo's help they make molds of the three different footprint sets around the scene: one belonging to Wocky, one to Stickler, both where they should be. But there's a third footprint, right next to the noodle car and pointing away from it. It has a strange leaf pattern in the middle. Recognizing it, Apollo pulls out the sandal he found in the trash, which is covered in paint and has a leaf shape in the bottom. It's a match, but they still don't know who the slippers belong to. Apollo and Trucy return to the clinic and speak to Phoenix. He admits that it was Klavier he lost to seven years ago (Klavier was only 17 at the time, but hey, he was taught in American, land of child-lawyers). He was then disbarred for having forged evidence. He won't say if he really forged the evidence or not, leaving it up to Apollo's judgment. After their last experience in court together, Apollo isn't sure what to believe. They continue the investigation by returning to Meraktis Clinic, and this time are let inside, thanks to the endorsement of Detective Skye. The waiting room has dozens of pairs of Meraktis slippers, and also several stacks of noodle bowls. Off to the side is a pair of blue girl's sandals, which they take into evidence. As they're investigating, they hear a thudding sound from the back office. They take a peek inside, and find Meraktis's office to be a total mess, as if someone has broken in. There's a lamp on the floor that has been unplugged, and there's a red mark on the cord (more evidence~). Set into the back wall is a safe. Using fingerprint powder, they're able to figure out the safe's combination, and take a peek inside. There's a bullet sunk into the back of the safe that Apollo pries out, as well as several hospital documents. Inside they find Wocky's medical chart and X-rays, taken before and after his surgery - they clearly show that the bullet is still inside him, and thus are evidence of criminal malpractice. Even more surprising, they find Alita's name on the chart listed as the head nurse in charge of his case. Apollo and Trucy take the blue sandals they found back to the crime scene, where Ema compares it to the toe print in the slippers found by the scene. She determines the same person wore both sets of shoes. At the detention center, Wocky confirms that the blue sandals belong to Alita. In fact, he's the one that bought them for her. He also admits that he and Alita met at the clinic while he was recovering. She complained often about her job, and Wocky offered to take her away from it all. She then asked him to marry her right then, and he agreed. Wocky doesn't seem to understand what this all means: Alita asked him to marry her even knowing there was a bullet still lodged in his chest. Lastly, Apollo and Trucy show off the clinic reports to Eldoon, since his used to be a doctor. He grows deadly serious and explains that Wocky is even worse off than they thought. The reason Meraktis didn't remove the bullet had to have been because he couldn't - Eldoon admits that even he wouldn't have been able to complete such a surgery, as the bullet is stuck very close to the heart and surrounded by major blood vessels (specifically, the aorta). Even the slightest mistake would rupture the vessels and kill Wocky instantly. He even sympathizes with Meraktis, and the helplessness he must have felt when confronted with such an operation. He tells Apollo that whoever this X-ray belongs to only has about six months left to live. Apollo is shocked, and admits that the X-ray is already six months old. It's a miracle Wocky is even still alive. Eldoon says they should forget the trial and get Wocky help as soon as possible, but there's nothing they can do. The trial has to finish.
Day 3 At court the next day, Phoenix shows up, claiming he had nothing better to do. He's interested to see how Apollo fares. Alita is called first to the stand. She says that she didn't come forward with her testimony sooner because she loves Wocky, but she can't go on hiding the truth. Wocky told her about how he stole the gun from his family's collection, and that he was going to make that quack doctor know what it felt like to have a bullet in his chest. Since the family's guns are safely guarded, no one but Wocky could have gotten it and used it in the murder. Apollo objects - if Alita really did speak to Wocky after he removed the gun, she could have stolen it from him herself. Alita breaks down a bit, revealing her true nature: she doesn't really care about Wocky after all. Having worked with Meraktis she knew Wocky was going to die from the bullet and didn't care enough to tell him. But that doesn't mean she killed anyone. In fact, she went to Meraktis to warn him that Wocky knew the truth and wanted him dead. That's how her sandals ended up at the clinic. Apollo questions why she left the clinic without them, in that case, and at first Alita can't answer. But Klavier rescues her, suggesting she merely mistook another patient's shoes for hers, and wore those. Alita hastily agrees. She insists that she's not hiding anything. Apollo feels a reaction from his bracelet. As Alita repeats her testimony, he catches on to her tell: when she mentions that she had no other reason to return to the clinic other than to warn Meraktis, he notices here twirling her engagement ring. He presents Wocky's clinic report to her as proof that she had another motive after all. If anyone saw those X-rays with her name on them, Wocky would know that she deceived him, and she'd be next on the gangsters' hit list. Alita admits that she went to the clinic the night of the incident, hoping to get and destroy the documents incriminating her. Trucy is impressed with Apollo's power, having caught onto a tell that not even she noticed. Klavier doesn't seem to have any idea what it was Apollo did that got her to tell the truth. But Alita insists that nothing else happened at the office while she was there. She tried to get the reports from Meraktis, but he thought that she'd been sent by the Kitakis, and refused to give up a thing. She gave up, and that was it. But Apollo objects again and produces the bullet he pulled from the safe. Something DID happen at the office. All they have to do is check the striations on the bullet to see if it matches the Kitaki gun: since the gun was under strict guard up until the night of the murder, it would prove that the bullet could only have been shot within a very specific window of time. Klavier is taken aback, and has to admit he's impressed. Court adjourns for 30 minutes while tests are run on the gun and bullet. The Judge reports that the bullet indeed matches the Kitaki gun. Apollo then accuses Alita of being the murderer - other than Wocky, Alita was the only one who could have used the weapon that night. Wocky leaps onto the stand, confessing to the murder all over again to protect his lovely girlfriend. But Alita is dismissive of him, laughing off his concern. Stunned, he steps back again. Alita continues to deny that she shot anyone. Klavier interrupts, suggesting that if Alita really did go to Meraktis, and the safe was open, why didn't she take the chart which incriminated her so horribly? Apollo suggests that she was prevented somehow, and that's why she had to return to the scene the next day - she was the one he and Trucy heard in the office when they were there the day before. Klavier then brings the case back around to the shooting event at the park itself. Whatever happened at the clinic doesn't change that they've already determined Stickler saw Wocky shoot the doctor. When Apollo suggests maybe the shooter was somewhere else, Klavier challenges him to show where. He even air guitars the penalty up higher than usual (yes, you can air guitar a penalty). Apollo presents the inside of the noodle cart itself. As proof he presents the slippers, and the strangely positioned footprint angled away from the cart. Only someone climbing out of the cart could have made such a print. But wouldn't Meraktis notice if there was someone in the cart? Klavier argues there wasn't even room in a noodle cart for a person to hide. But then Apollo presents the noodle bowls he and Trucy found at the clinic. If someone took all of the bowls out of the cart, there would easily be room for a small woman like Alita. The Judge admits that Alita seems to have opportunity and motive for the murder. He asks for her to testify again. She does, and again the Minuku System catches her - when she talks about Meraktis, she reaches for the scarf around her neck. Apollo asks that she remove it. Alita refuses, but the Judge backs Apollo up, and she has no choice. Removing the scarf reveals a red mark around her neck, which Apollo explains as having been from the lamp cord he and Trucy found. Alita has no choice but to admit it: when she went to Meraktis, she had Wocky's gun. She ordered Meraktis at gunpoint to open the safe and give her the incriminating documents. But just as the safe was opened he turned on her, knocking her to the ground. Though the gun went off, Meraktis wasn't hit, and he strangled her unconscious with the lamp cord. And that's just it - strangled her UNCONSCIOUS. The mark on her neck is proof of that, proof Apollo himself insisted she present. So if she was unconscious, there's no way she could have snuck into a noodle cart and shot Meraktis in the park. The Judge agrees, but then Klavier interferes, and asks for her to stay on the stand a while longer. Grinning, he claims he "just wants to know the truth." Maybe they don't know what happened after Alita fell unconscious, but if you think about it logically, there's only one answer that makes sense. Apollo figures it out. He declares that, having immobilized Alita, Meraktis shut the safe up, and stole Eldoon's noodle stand. He cleared it of the noodle bowls and shoved Alita and the gun inside, and dragged it to the park. His intent was to cast both in the river. But on the way he ran into Wocky, brandishing his short sword. As they argued, Alita must have woken up inside the noodle cart. When she heard Meraktis about to tell Wocky the truth - that she had been helping to deceive him all along - she panicked, and found the gun. Just as Stickler called out, she fired. Since Stickler was to the right of the noodle cart Meraktis turned his head right, and that's how Alita hit him in his right temple. After Wocky ran and Stickler left to call the police, she slipped out and dumped her slippers in the trash. Alita congratulates him on a charming story, but there's one big problem: Meraktis had a car. A sports car, even. True it had been in an accident earlier, but the car wasn't damaged enough that it couldn't still drive. If Meraktis really did go through the trouble of taking a body to the river, why would he steal a noodle cart instead of just using his car? Klavier tells Apollo to consider very carefully. Consider ALL the evidence he's obtained during the case. Apollo grins, and presents...Trucy's panties. Just before the murder took place, Stickler stole Trucy's panties and hid them in the tailpipe of Meraktis's car. They remained there until Apollo and Trucy discovered them the next day. So from the time just after Phoenix's accident until the next morning, Meraktis's car wouldn't have started. After all, the engine wouldn't run with a stopped-up tailpipe, just like Klavier had said. He had no choice but to steal the cart. Alita shrieks, and is defeated. She admits to everything. She even hired Apollo from the no-name law office thinking there was no chance in hell he'd be able to prove Wocky innocent. She's taken away, and Wocky is declared not guilty. In the lobby, Trucy congratulates Apollo on a job well down. Wocky, however, is not so thrilled, and he gives Apollo an earful for getting his lovely fiancé locked up. But then Winfed shows up, and scolds Wocky for being foolish. Just as they're about to get into it again, Apollo steps in. He reminds Wocky of his condition, and how serious it really is. Winfed isn't trying to "go straight" because he can't handle being a gangster. They found a doctor, best in the world, that would be able to handle Wocky's operation. But it was their gangster lifestyle that got Wocky wounded so badly in the first place, and Winfed refused to resort to that to get the money needed for the operation. Wocky is momentarily stunned, but he's back to normal quickly. He calls his father a bunch of names and storms out. But Winfed is satisfied, and believes that Wocky will understand once he's head of the family. He gives Apollo his heartfelt thanks. Trucy suggests they go back to the office. After all, they make a great time. Apollo is hesitant, but he agrees. After all, he still wants to know just what happened to Phoenix those seven years ago... |
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