Now that Edgeworth and Gumshoe have been kicked out of Edgeworth's own office, you'll have to find some clues in the hallway.
Investigation: Hallway[edit]
Begin by examining the leftmost sofa, and then examine the object under it. Looks like it's the stolen file! Edgeworth explains to Gumshoe that it's a case from the previous prosecutor that used his office. The Stolen File is replaced with the Stolen 0-Series File. Now talk to Maggey:
- The victim: Seems like Faith played basketball with Portsman outside his office.
- Maggey Byrde: Maggey talks about her unlucky life. Nothing notable about this.
Now present the Master Key to Maggey. Nothing new, but Maggey's sure that the Master key was stolen. She also says that she recently used it! You have a new topic to talk about.
- Used the master key?: Maggey recalls that a prosecutor needed her help since he lost the key to his office. Then she remembers that it was Portsman! Talk about this new topic.
- Forgetful Mr. Portsman: Apparently, Portsman wanted her to open the door to his office for him, and he later called Maggey to close his office door as he returned at about 1:30 AM. You will receive the Used the master key logic.
Time for some logic! Connect Master key was stolen with Used the master key. Edgeworth realizes that she couldn't have used the master key at 1:30 AM because the master key was stolen! Maggey says that it was lost, but she didn't want to admit it, so she pretended to lock the door with her house key! That means Portsman's door must still be unlocked! Mr. Portsman's Office is added to your Organizer.
Now move to the right. Hey, there's Winston Payne from the previous games, offering us help! But that's not our concern here. Examine the door with the basketball hoop next to it; this must be Portsman's door. Examine the doorknob, and Edgeworth notes that it's locked. Wait, what? Deduce the doorknob and present Mr. Portsman's Office. Maggey didn't lock the door, so how is it locked tight? Edgeworth says that to find out the reason, we must examine some fingerprints; select Prints on the doorknob. Looks like only Portsman and the victim's prints are on here, but there's one set of prints missing! Whose? Present Maggey Byrde's profile. If she unlocked this door, then shouldn't her prints be on this knob? Mr. Portsman's Office is updated in the Organizer. Edgeworth then notices something and the view pans down.
Examine the paper sticking out from underneath the door. Looks like it's a note Faith left for Portsman; apparently, Faith brought some evidence Portsman had requested, but Portsman was out at the time. The Note Left by Victim is added to the Organizer. Now examine the base of the basketball hoop. Edgeworth notices that it's been moved. The Basketball Hoop is added to the Organizer. Now go and examine Edgeworth's door, then examine the doorknob. Looks like the door was unlocked with a key and the prints were wiped clean.
And with that, your investigation is complete!
Bad Ending 5: If you run out of logic here, Portsman steps out of Edgeworth's Office, announcing the investigation is over while also arresting Byrde and taking her away, leaving Edgeworth speechless.
Second Confrontation[edit]
It's pretty obvious who's the criminal now. Prepare yourself, as you're going to confront the murderer, Jacques Portsman. Portsman isn't very keen on admitting his guilt, so Edgeworth must force it out of him.
Argument: Jacques Portsman[edit]
- I have no idea what sort of hair-brained idea you have in mind, but...
- ...there's a mountain of evidence that points away from me being the culprit.
- Besides, how, may I ask, do you propose I unlocked your door and got in here?
- Look, I feel bad doing this to you, but I've got work to do, so we're done here.
Rebuttal: Mr. Portsman's Rebuttal[edit]
Present the Master Key on the third statement. Portsman says that he never touched the key. However, he had another way of using it; Present Maggey Byrde's profile. Edgeworth explains that the door Portsman asked Maggey to open was Edgeworth's, but Maggey herself says that she opened Portsman's. Edgeworth rebuts that Portsman could have easily exchanged the door plates, and he would have had another good way of tricking Maggey into thinking it was his office: Present the Basketball Hoop. Since it stands out so much in the hallway, it can leave a strong impression. Furthermore, there are marks at the base of the hoop that suggest it's been moved. However, Portsman claims it's all conjecture. Looks like its time for another cross-examination!
Testimony: Jacques Portsman[edit]
- Now you're just spouting nonsense.
- I had the girl open my office door.
- After that, I was in my room the entire time.
- You don't have a single reason to suspect me!
Rebuttal: Conjecture's Rebuttal[edit]
Present the Note Left by Victim on the third statement. The note says that Portsman wasn't in his office when Faith arrived, meaning that Portsman was somewhere else during that time! However, Portsman asserts that Maggey opened the door to his office. Present Mr. Portsman's Office. Maggey's prints aren't on the doorknob, and Edgeworth's doorknob has been wiped clean! The victim must have heard noises from the opposite room upon coming in, went in, and saw Portsman, who shot him. By then, Edgeworth came and was threatened by him! Portsman now says that Edgeworth's claim is too circumstantial and that he has a solid alibi. Let's hear what it is.
Bad Ending 6: If you run out of logic here, Portsman says that Edgeworth is trying to pin the murder on himself, believing it's a swing and a miss. Portsman also says that unless there's evidence to disprove his alibi, he'll take Maggey into custody.
Testimony: Jacques Portsman[edit]
- If memory serves, you came back to this office at around 2 AM, correct?
- And it was then that you had that unfortunate confrontation at gunpoint with the culprit.
- But at exactly that time, I was down in Criminal Affairs!
- Ask around. I'm sure the other detectives will corroborate my story. It's the perfect alibi!
Rebuttal: Portsman's Alibi[edit]
Perfect alibi, indeed. Unfortunately, there aren't any contradictions here, so press everything for now. Edgeworth has nothing to work with, but you do receive the Mr. Portsman's Alibi logic.
You will automatically enter Logic mode. Connect Mr. Portsman's Alibi with Another handgun. There were two bullets shot that night, but only one shot from the murder weapon. The killer had to use the victim's gun, so he couldn't have prepared another gun. That means an entirely different person must have been there! You will receive the Another visitor logic. Connect this with Files in disarray. The files could have been rearranged by these two different people, one before the murder and one after. Edgeworth explains the whole sequence of the murder, but Portsman cries "Objection!", now saying that the second person should be the prime suspect.
Testimony: Jacques Portsman[edit]
- That thief you ran into should be your real suspect, wouldn't you say?
- We should be out there looking for that thief right now. They might still be nearby.
- I hate to repeat myself, but as I've already said, I was training in my room.
- And when Jim came to deliver some evidence to me, I was down at Criminal Affairs.
- So I can't be expected to know what happened around here after I left.
Rebuttal: Portsman's Alibi, Pt. 2[edit]
Press the fourth statement. Faith brought two things from a previous case, a gun and a pendant. Portsman will add this statement to his testimony:
- He brought me two items, a gun and a pendant, that are related to yesterday's case.
Present the Note Left by Victim at this new statement. Portsman claims he only brought two pieces of evidence, but the note says three! Portsman hid a piece of evidence! Edgeworth will order Gumshoe to search him. And he finds... a Video Tape. However, something is interesting on this tape. Examine the bloodstain at the back of the tape. The blood is still fresh, so it could be the victim's! Portsman chews on his medal, breaks down, and faints.
What really happened[edit]
Jacques Portsman wanted to steal something from Miles Edgeworth's office. He knew Edgeworth was out, but he didn't have the key to the door. Thus, he hatched a plan: he moved his basketball hoop outside Miles Edgeworth's office and swapped the room plates, then requested for Maggey Byrde, the security guard on shift at the time, to open the door for him. Maggey, not knowing that it was Edgeworth's door, opened it with the master key. Portsman entered and started his search, looking through the files, which he rearranged wrongly afterwards, and the secret safe.
At this time, Portsman's partner, Buddy Faith, arrived at the hallway, bringing with him three pieces of evidence that Portsman had requested: a gun a pendant, and a tape. Finding that Portsman wasn't in his office, he left a note for him under the door. However, he suddenly heard noises coming from Edgeworth's office next door... the office whose occupant was out at the time. Suspecting a thief, he grabbed the master key from the guard booth and entered the office, only to catch his partner red-handed within. After a brief conversation, Portsman snatched Faith's gun from him and shot him, silencing the sole witness to his crime. However, Faith's blood splattered onto the tape that Faith was holding. Thinking quickly, Portsman wrote Gumshoe's name with Faith's blood to pin the crime on him. Exiting the room and taking the master key and the bloodstained tape from Faith with him, he requested that Maggey close the door for him. Maggey, who couldn't find the master key, pretended to lock Edgeworth's door with her house key. Once Maggey left, Portsman wiped the doorknob clean to conceal his presence there, and returned the master key to the guard booth, before going down to Criminal Affairs to establish an alibi.
Sometime later, another thief came to steal something from Edgeworth's office and found that the door was unlocked, and helped themselves in. Though they found Faith's body, they ignored it, and stole the 0-series file they were looking for, rearranging the files correctly in the process. This is when Edgeworth returned to his office. Hearing Edgeworth coming, the thief hid. Entering his office, Edgeworth was greeted by the smell of blood, and quickly discovered Faith's body, but was suddenly held at gunpoint by the thief. Assuming this person was the murderer, Edgeworth vowed that no one would get away with murder in his office. In response, the thief turned and fired a round, almost hitting Edgeworth's jacket but knocking its frame down. The thief then escaped, taking some pages from the file and leaving it under a sofa in the hallway. Edgeworth then called the authorities to report the murder.
Epilogue[edit]
Maggey thanks Edgeworth for proving her innocence. Gumshoe notes that there were rumors that Portsman was corrupt, doing things like forging evidence and not taking cases for vague reasons. Gumshoe also mentions rumors that a huge organization is behind this. This will become important in the future. Edgeworth says that one piece of evidence didn't have any significance; present the Stolen 0-Series File. It is not known what the thief was up to and why they only stole some pages of the file. Just then, an officer will give Edgeworth something he found in his office: a card with a raven mark on it. Edgeworth and Gumshoe both recognize it; it's the calling card of the Yataragatsu - a famously methodical thief that steals evidence from corruption from major companies and presents it to the press. Edgeworth then mentions how this relates to a case from two days ago...