Looks like it's the end of the road for us. Ambassador Alba's extraterritorial rights basically grant him diplomatic immunity, so even if we have the evidence to prove he is guilty, we can't arrest him. Agent Lang leaves us for a moment to take care of some business. We've come this far, so let's not stop here! Gumshoe will investigate Babahl while Franziska will go investigate Allebahst, so we're left with the Theatrum Neutralis. Before we start our investigation, Edgeworth erases the now useless Passionflowers data from our Organizer.
Investigation: Theathrum Neutralis[edit]
Edgeworth recalls how Ambassador Alba seems to be agitated over something. You get the Agitated Alba logic. Mr. Coachen apparently counterfeited bills using the embassy's printing press because of the extraterritorial rights. You get the Coachen's counterfeiting op. logic. Alba himself has a special kind of extraterritorial rights that protects him if he commits any crime in this country, so unless we can somehow remove his status, we can't harm him.
Go into Logic Mode and connect Renovations with Coachen's counterfeiting op.. The ink and the plates for the counterfeiting must've been stored in a secret location, but once the embassy renovations started, Mr. Coachen had to find a new hiding spot or dispose of his tools. So who was most able to benefit from this? Select Quercus Alba when prompted. If Manny Coachen was dead, Alba would have all evidence of the counterfeiting erased, ensuring that he would never be caught for this crime. You get the Motive to kill Coachen logic.
Next, connect Agitated Alba with Motive to kill Coachen. If what Ms. Yew said was true, Alba might be the killer of Manny Coachen, which could also be the reason he was trying to stop our investigation. Mr. Coachen could have been the one to betray Alba by hiring a thief to steal the real Primidux Statue, so the ambassador killed Mr. Coachen as a result. Now we must find out how he did it.
Examine the photo near the flower wreath. It shows the Steel Samurai with the two ambassadors before they presented him with the bouquets. Examine Alba's bouquet. Edgeworth hasn't seen the yellow flower in the picture before, but he feels like it resembles something he has seen. Deduce the yellow flower and present the Allebahstian Knife. The handle of the knife blended in with the flowers, which could be how it was carried over to Babahl! The Commemorative Photo is added to your Organizer. The knife in the photo and the knife we have are both missing one petal, meaning that it is the same knife! The Allebahstian Knife is updated in your Organizer.
Edgeworth concludes that Alba was afraid that we will find out where Mr. Coachen was really killed. This has to be a place where the Allebahstian ambassador and the Babahlese secretariat can be at the same time. Present the Theathrum Neutralis. It is the only place he could've done the deed, and if it did happen here, it would remove one of his extraterritorial rights of committing a crime on Allebahstian soil!
Our next move would be to check out the immigration records of both countries. Franziska is already one step ahead of us, though, having obtained the security footage from both embassies. The Security Footage is added to your Organizer.
We'll check Allebahst's footage first. There was no one there during 5:21 PM, Ambassador Alba walked through there during 5:22 PM and the Steel Samurai followed at 5:23 PM. Choose to investigate the 5:23 PM footage and examine the cart. Edgeworth notes the odd shape of the bulge underneath the doll, but we won't be able to find out anything unless we have the real thing to inspect. The Pushcart is added to your Organizer.
Next, we'll inspect Babahl's footage. No one passed through there after the show, which means Mr. Coachen never returned to his embassy. With that, our investigation is complete!
Stalling the ambassador[edit]
Ambassador Alba enters the Theatrum Neutralis. He claims that he is "overcome with regret" and is taking a plane home to Allebahst. We can't do anything about it, but Ambassador Palaeno comes to help convince him to stay a little longer. Alba only lets us ask one more question, so Edgeworth asks about his alibi during Manny Coachen's murder.
Bad Ending Nine: If you fail your logic here, Alba forces Edgeworth out. He says that we won't meet again but he will pray for success. This is before you finish the investigation.
Testimony: Quercus Alba[edit]
- Frankly, I still don't understand why I am being placed under suspicion here.
- Under your hypothetical scenario, Mr. Coachen and I were fellow smugglers.
- But to get to the point, I was in Allebahst the whole time.
- So, it's simply not possible for me to have killed him in Babahl. That is my alibi.
Rebuttal: Ambassador Alba's Alibi[edit]
Press statement 2 to get a new piece of testimony.
- In that case, what motive would I have had to kill my co-conspirator?
Present DeMasque II's Note at this statement. Mr. Coachen had planned to steal the Allebahst Primidux Statue and replace it with the old one. If he was killed, Alba could pin all the evidence and guilt of smuggling on him. Alba says that it is still a hypothesis and that he has already answered our one question. Even Palaeno's efforts to persuade him are in vain.
Kay now steps in to stall Alba from leaving. She tries to intimidate him by claiming she has evidence of the smuggling that her father obtained when he snuck into the Cohdopian embassy. Although she's simply bluffing, it is enough to force Alba to go against us one more time, but this is the very last time he'll let us do that.
Testimony: Quercus Alba[edit]
- The last time I met with Mr. Coachen was here at the Theatrum Neutralis.
- After that, I was in Allebahst the rest of the time, as I stated earlier.
- In any case, I did not see Mr. Coachen again after that.
- So you see, there is no time span in which I could've killed him. Wouldn't you agree?
Alba now doubles the punishment to our health bar if we press a wrong statement or present the wrong evidence. Avoid pressing any of the statements, or you will be striked.
Rebuttal: Alba's Alibi, Part 2[edit]
Present the Commemorative Photo at either statement 1 or statement 4. It shows that Alba bought the knife to the theater, meaning that he killed Manny Coachen there. Alba doesn't care at all, as he still has extraterritorial rights even if he did murder in this neutral area. All hope seems lost...
Not so fast!
Agent Lang arrives just in the nick of time! He announces that Quercus Alba's diplomatic immunity has just been revoked. He had Interpol request that the imperial house of Allebahst relieves the new Mr. Alba of his status as an ambassador, effectively removing the second layer of his extraterritorial rights!
Mr. Alba is still not willing to surrender. He says we still don't have enough evidence to prove that he killed Mr. Coachen. The bouquet was left at the hall, so anyone could've used it to kill Coachen. He also says that we don't have a way of explaining how Coachen's body ended up in Babahl. It looks like we have a chance to make him testify again.
Testimony: Quercus Alba[edit]
- I killed Mr. Coachen in this theatre using a knife that was stuck in my bouquet?
- I left that bouquet in the theatre! Anyone could've taken the knife from there!
- Besides, Mr. Coachen's body was discovered in Babahl, right?
- There is no way for me to have transported his body from the theatre to Babahl!
Rebuttal: Alba's Alibi, Part 3[edit]
Present the Pushcart on statement 4. From the security footage, the pushcart had an unnatural bulge in it. Present the Notes on Coachen's Body. It was likely Mr. Coachen's body that was causing the bulge. Alba says we don't actually have the pushcart, so it is all just a theory.
Hold it!
Gumshoe suddenly arrives with the very pushcart we need! He says he found the cart at the edge of the open-air stage but didn't the Steel Samurai family only visit Allebahst? You now inspect the cart in detail. Examine the bloodstain inside the cart. It is likely Mr. Coachen's, which proves that his body was moved using the pushcart by the Steel Samurai! Alba moved the body into Allebahst, where he could tamper with it, then smuggled it across the border and into Babahl. Let's hear what he has to say for himself.
Testimony: Quercus Alba[edit]
- After I returned to Allebahst, I had my picture taken with the Steel Samurai, shaking hands.
- Then, just as I was about to start my speech, the Yatagarasu appeared.
- I feared for the national treasures, so I raced back to my office.
Rebuttal: Movements in Allebahst[edit]
Press all the statements, but you won't find any contradiction. We still couldn't bring Alba down after all...
Hold it!
Larry and Ms. Oldbag make a timely appearance... but what can they do? Larry did find the Iron Infant doll, but it is completely wet. He says he found it in Babahl, in the middle of the pool. He lost it in the Rose Garden but found it in Babahl. It somehow managed to move across the border! We've just uncovered another smuggling route. As for how this is possible, choose Bilateral Symmetry when prompted. Since the embassy was built with bilateral symmetry, searching Babahl's counterpart to the Rose Garden can let us find something out! Present the area near the wall where the pool should be.
Gumshoe phones Edgeworth after going to investigate the open-air stage. He reveals that there is a reservoir under the stage in Babahl! Since the infant managed to move between these two bodies of water, that means they are connected somewhere underground. Lang points out that while a doll could move between the two pools, saying that a dead body could do the same is too much of a stretch. Alba did have Shih-na as an accomplice who could've helped move the body. One problem with this theory is that the pool is too deep, so if she were to attempt that, she would've drowned.
It seems that Alba has won again, but we can still figure out how the body was moved. For Shih-na to move the body over from Allebahst, she would need to get rid of all the water. There was an opportunity for this, too. Present the Fires in Babahl. The water in the reservoir was used to put out the two fires in Babahl, which could drain the reservoirs enough to let Shih-na use the connecting pipe. Alba says that the pools are very deep, though, without any ladders or footholds to help move a person up or down the pools.
But there is a way for a person to move up and down in the pools. Present the Fountain Spouts. The level of the water can be controlled using these. The fires and the fire-fighting efforts directed by Shih-na were all part of the plan to empty the pools!
Alba turned off the fountain spouts in advance, then pushed the cart with the body into the pool in the rose garden. Shih-na started the fire then stayed in the pool until the fire-fighting efforts begun, which lowered the water level in both pools to let her down to the bottom. She then pushed the cart into Babahl and waited for Alba to open the fountain spouts once more, which returned the pool to its normal level while letting Shih-na and the body float to the top. After that, she moved the body into the secretariat's office and escaped using the fireplace passage.
Alba still says we have no proof that the connecting pools were used, but we do have evidence that can prove that. Present the Pick. We found this slightly wet pick near the open-air stage, but it isn't a pick at all! Present the Allebahstian Knife. The flower on the handle of the knife lacks a petal, and the "pick" fits perfectly in that position. That proves that someone smuggled the body, along with the murder weapon, across the border using the pools!
Alba is still not convinced that we've created the perfect argument. He does not intend to ever surrender, so we'll have to use every piece of evidence to bring him down. This is the end of the line, and we'd better be prepared to fight to the finish!
The chapter now ends.