【Chengyu】Turnabout: Bloodline

"Mr. Wright?"

Wright looked up from the stacks of papers in his briefcase just as his client, Dr. Benjamin Ward, closed the door to the defendants' lounge behind him.Wang Nixi quickly put away the morning newspaper reporting the current trial situation, and nodded to him.Cheng Butang patted the couch beside him with a comforting smile, and as soon as Mr. Ward sat down, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Won't the prosecution focus on those personal relationships today?" he asked sullenly.

"He may be mentioned again as a reference to potential motives. But if he starts talking to himself again like yesterday, I will report it to my superiors. In fact, his behavior yesterday has attracted the attention of the Attorney General."

"Thank you, Mr. Wright. I just...don't want to be reminded how disappointed Polly is with our sex life...compared to her extreme relationship with my boss." Ward shrugged in frustration , clenched his arms tightly, the stethoscope on his neck and the lanyard made a harsh collision sound. "I'm too stupid to know anything. Polly's right, I don't know anything but work."

"Uh—it's not stupid to concentrate on saving people's lives, Dr. Ward." Wang Nixi said casually from the seat across the room, "We just want you to save more people." Life is here, but to do that, we have to save you first."

Cheng Butang nodded. "For this we need your full cooperation. Do you have any new information to share with me? Do you remember anything from before and after the murder?"

"I've said everything truthfully... when the case happened, I was in the duty room. After talking to you about Mr. Edgeworth, I went back there and took a nap. I seemed to hear the sound of the door being opened. It should be It's the cleaners in the hallway. I know they always start cleaning the second floor at 5am and finally clean the duty room at 6am. They always follow the same schedule because the security company closes at night at 8am, They have to finish cleaning the fourth floor by then."

"Is there anything special about the fourth floor?" Wang Nixi asked.

"The fourth floor is reserved for high-risk patients. There are high-suicide risk wards, convicted criminal wards, and mentally ill patients who are at risk of self-harm and harming others. They are assigned to different areas of the fourth floor and are strictly segregated. Criminals and mentally ill patients must not be mixed together." Dr. Ward lowered his head in embarrassment, as if remembering something.

"Why did the hospital put these people on the fourth floor? Don't they dream of jumping out of the window?" Wang Nixi leaned forward and frowned. "It wouldn't be better to let them live on the first floor."

"The windows on the fourth floor are nailed shut. The air conditioner is on all year round, and even in this heat it's still shiveringly cold. The ventilation system is second to none, so you probably won't even notice the lack of fresh air."

Cheng Butang tilted his head and tapped his chin thoughtfully: "This may be worth noting information, Wang Nixi. The windows on the fourth floor cannot be opened, and there was a night security team stationed at the time of the case There until 8 o'clock in the morning."

"Understood, Butang-san."

"Anyway," Dr. Ward added timidly, "I slept until eight o'clock, when the alarm clock on my phone went off. Then I went back to work, until... I heard the news. Further After that, I can't remember anything other than a statement to the police." He paused. "I had just been told about Polly's affair ... and the Miranda warning."

Cheng Butang scratched his neck. "The officer may have been a little overexcited—sometimes the mere fact of apprehending a suspect is enough to cheer him up. I know you didn't kill your wife, Dr. Ward. After all, at the time you and I'm with Reiji—er, Mr. Edgeworth."

Wang Nixi raised his eyebrows.

"Thank you very much for your trust, Mr. Wright. However, I must say, something has been bothering me."

"what?"

"Well... the director, Dr. Crispin, gave a piece of testimony against me that I went to the pharmacy the day before the case and dispensed some sumatriptan (Imitrex) for Polly to treat her migraines. But there are a few things wrong with it, one is that Polly was never on sumatriptan, she was on another drug called Almotriptan (Axert). I prescribed her from the beginning The one she was given was almotriptan, and as far as I know, she had no adverse reactions, and there was no reason to suddenly change her medication."

"Secondly, it was impossible for Dr. Crispin to see me that day because I was not in the hospital at all. I actually went to a meeting at the Tucson Convention Center in Osaka that day, so Dr. Crispin must have seen someone else. One can get The person who fills the medicine in the pharmacy with my login information. He also has to have the key—the key to control the medicine.”

"What key?" Wang Nixi was scribbling in the notebook as fast as Dr. Ward was speaking.

"They're designed to open specific drug lockers that require more security than normal drugs, such as methadone. There are also types that can be abused, sold, mixed to make illegal drugs, such as crystal meth, Or drugs that can cause serious danger in very small amounts. There are two medicine cabinets, one containing addictive drugs, including painkillers such as morphine, which are most likely to be stolen. The other cabinet contains deadly drugs—so-called poisons, probably.”

"Why is there poison in the hospital?"

“We have a lab on the eighth floor. We’re always trying to find better ways to detect toxic substances — like arsenic, which is still missed in blood tests for initial diagnosis.”

Upon hearing this word from Dr. Ward's mouth, Wright suddenly became nervous.He glanced up in shock, and the pen rested on the paper, staining a dot of ink on the note. "arsenic?"

"Arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical element..."

"I know, it's just..." Wright frowned, and finally raised his pen to save his notes at stake, "The pharmacy must be monitored, right?"

"During the preparation of sumatriptan, the camera was turned off, Cheng Butang-san." Wang Nixi said, "I asked the maintenance personnel, and they said that there is no technical failure, it is only possible that someone entered the security room and turned it off manually. But to do that, you have to have a security room key or master key.”

"The master key can open every door in the hospital, except for the controlled medicine cabinets. The master key will be entrusted to the person with the highest authority present at the time, usually the chief physician." Dr. Ward added.

"What about the medicine cabinet?" Wright whispered.

"The pharmacy is open to hospital staff and outpatients from 9am to 4pm. During this time, only hospital staff are allowed into the pharmacy to prescribe patients, and they need to be accompanied by the person holding the key at the time, And monitor the whole process of their dispensing. The key is also managed by the highest-ranking doctor. Usually the director."

"Director of Internal Medicine, Dr. Crispin..." Wang Nixi stopped writing and snorted. "It all fell on him, didn't it? He found the body and called the police and told them Nurse Polly had committed suicide. He forged a statement against Dr. Ward. Then into the pharmacy and security room. He's still committing adultery with Dr. Ward's wife. Why the hell isn't this guy on trial?"

Cheng Butang shook his head.Could Edgeworth's acting doctor, Crispin... poison his own patients?This is a bit... unacceptable.A doctor, a man who has taken thousands of lives over the years—whose heart is hard enough to poison an unarmed patient, and for no reason at all.

[Can that damn bastard really do it? 】 Cheng Butang shuddered. [Just to make sure Edgeworth doesn't get involved in the investigation into the nurse's murder, and to cover up the crimes he's already committed—he took over Dr. Ward's job and started poisoning Edgeworth? 】

"Mr. Wright?"

"The trial is about to begin." Wang Ni tilted his head curiously.

"I see. Mr. Ward, please don't worry." Cheng Butang patted the doctor on the shoulder, silently but firmly escorted his defendant into the courtroom with a bailiff.

"I like the color, Mitsuru!"

Wright's young daughter looks proudly at her masterpiece, a tiny bright yellow star drawn with marker on the edge of the bandage.Edgeworth looked up, as if he himself wanted to know what they were doing to his bandages.

"Thank you, Chunmei! The cats you draw are also super cute! Did you learn it somewhere? Why do you like drawing so much?"

【"Pleasant", Mei Guan, should say "Pleasant". 】

"We have a calligraphy class in our village, and the master will teach how to write ancient spell scrolls and other things. At the end of each class, we can use the remaining ink to write and draw. I draw this every time!" Chunmei Suddenly clasping his hands together, he gasped excitedly at Yu Jian and said, "You are so pretty, brother Yu Jian."

Yu Jian's face turned red all of a sudden, and he turned his head to pretend to look at the steaming cocoa in his hand.He noticed that as the secret of their blood relationship was revealed, she called him from "Mr. Prosecutor" to "Brother Edgeworth". "Thank you," he replied.

"Wait!" Meiguan jumped up suddenly, and pulled out a mobile phone out of nowhere - Yujian wondered if this was also a kind of magic, and then she squeezed beside her, holding up the camera. "I'm going to send dad a picture!"

The moment his own image appeared on the screen, he seemed a little... at a loss.He even wanted to deliberately avoid the camera, unwilling to see his own reflection against the black background, as if he was afraid of some terrible Frankenstein-like monster appearing there.

But soon, his attention was inevitably attracted by the colorful pictures and words above his head.The gauze is covered with all kinds of heart shapes, pentagrams, small flowers and Hello Kitty patterns, as well as "I<3U Uncle Yujian" and "Prosecutor with a bad face by Maya" scattered in the corner And "Get well soon!" that Harumi had scrawled in shiny pink marker on the bandage on her forehead.

"Three two one, eggplant!" When Maya poked her head out from Yu Jian's shoulder, and Harumi squeezed into the camera from the other side, Mei Guan's face burst into a bright smile that Yu Jian had never seen before.

[I have never been a photogenic creature. 】As the camera clicked, Mei Guan quickly sent the photo to her father, and Yu Jian secretly slandered.

"Would you like it?" Maya asked softly, Mei Guan and Chun Mei had already started grabbing their after-school snacks—they were attracted by a box of marker pens and Yu Jian's bandages as soon as they got home, Only now can I take care of this traditional project.

He turned his head in the direction of Maya's voice, and felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, her warm body leaning against him from behind. "Well. These paintings are rich in color, very classical art style."

"No, you're serious." The girl giggled and tightened her arms slightly. "You deserve to be part of this family. I mean, we're all just a bunch of kids with grown-up bodies, stumbling up after losing half our family. But we've finally found each other now, so you I can't escape it anymore."

Edgeworth smiled self-deprecatingly, and covered Maya's hands on his chest with his hands.

"Wright Chengbutang and Meiguan also like you, you bastard, so much, so you better die."

"You're right, Miss Ayori."

"If you dare to call me 'Miss Lingli' again, I will call you the ugly prosecutor for the rest of my life."

"Is that describing my expression?"

"I really can't imagine that anyone else can put on such a stinky air 24 hours a day like you." Maya feigned anger, reached out and lightly touched his bandaged temple. "But seriously, how are you...feeling right now?"

"I'm fine. There are a lot of things to pass the time today, such as the videotape of the great general and the 10000-piece puzzle that Chunmei asked me to put together for her." He paused, feeling Maya leave him, "I never felt It's been so peaceful. It's been quite pleasant."

Maya fell down on the sofa next to Yujian, with her hands on her knees. "So, will you stay?"

"Stay?" He frowned and looked at her.It was a beautiful and young face, but she was actually the Patriarch of Kurin-no-Sato, just like he was the Chief of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

"Yes. Stay here. With Wright and Mitsuki." She shrugged, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed by Edgeworth's blunt gaze. "It's not your responsibility, you shouldn't stress about it, but...they're really happy, Edgeworth. I don't know what happened to Wright, but Mitsu--it's like she approves of you as her The other half of my parents, she—”

She looked in the direction of the kitchen, where two girls were chatting excitedly in front of the refrigerator.

"Last night, when Harumi and I went to Meiguan's room for the night, the three of us talked. Although I didn't want to admit it, Meiguan was really worried about her father. Now Wright is a good father, but she always I can't help worrying that one day he'll be sloppy again—"

"I highly doubt that he will. If he dares to stuff his socks into his slippers again, he should know what I will do to him." Yu Jian said disgustedly, took a sip from his glass.

"I think so too." Maya chuckled.

"Aunt Maya!" Meiguan's crisp voice suddenly came from the kitchen, "Can I go to my room with Chunmei to have some snacks?"

"Sure, baby. But if you drop your food on the bed, you're going to change the sheets yourself, okay?"

"No problem!" Meiguan replied loudly, pulling Chunmei out of the living room in a hurry.

Yu Jian raised his head and looked at the head of Kurin-ryu who was sitting beside him.She crossed her fingers and laid them quietly on her lap.Suddenly, he realized that the girl who always followed Wright's ass had grown up.

"I think, you mean Wright and Mitsu would be happier with me? In Mitsu's case, I might be able to remind her father to be restrained so she can rest assured that he won't be too drunk all the time Like mud, wearing slippers, playing cards, sluggish." He rested his lips on the cup for a few seconds, "Wright seems to be just happy to have an adult company for him..." Thinking of this, his eyes shuddered His cheeks couldn't help flushing.

Maya was silent.He didn't want to interrupt her meditation, but just bent over to get his mobile phone on the coffee table.At this moment, a soft female hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and made him stop.

"Yujian Lianshi."

The Chief Prosecutor froze, the cup was still close to his mouth, and the warm steam made the lower part of his glasses foggy and indistinct.

"It never occurred to me that I was actually related to the little guy who satirized me as a 'novice lawyer' during my first trial."

He turned his head little by little, slowly facing the soul of this woman who had died many years ago.He tried to pin the crime of killing her on Maya and then Wright.His eyes focused on the unique features of her chest, and Maya's originally loose Japanese-style robe now looked like it was about to burst.

"Hello, my brother." She smiled.

"Miss Aya... Chihiro." Yu Jian replied hesitantly, before he spilled the large cup of hot cocoa in his hand in shock, he put down the cup just in time. "Mayake, she...?"

"The psychic medium? Exactly. If you haven't noticed, it means she's done it very skillfully."

Her fingers were already crossed like that, Edgeworth thought, but said nothing more. "Indeed." He admitted.

"I'm afraid you and I have a lot to talk about." Her voice, which was completely different from Maya's, made Yu Jian feel a chill that seemed to come out of his spine. "So I hope you can sit comfortably."

TBC