Venus Rinko

Venus Rinko is a character who appears in Quiet After the Hurricane, Web of Mistrust, and Future Assassin's Blade. Despite being deceased as of the first case in the saga, Venus still returns though spirit channeling multiple times in the series, most often to aid in the discovery of the Oracle of the Law's true identity.

Appearance
In Turnabout on Ice, Venus wears a pink knee length dress with long sleeves. She wears white tights and pink ice skates with it. Venus' long, puffy, chocolate brown hair is down and her pink sections hang over either shoulder. Venus' skin is slightly tanned and she has a blue eye (right) and a brown eye (left).

Before and after this case, Venus has her hair styled the same, though her outfit is different. She now wears a black jacket with violet highlights over a pink t-shirt. A brown sash hangs over her left shoulder. She wears jeans that go from pink to purple and then orange in sunset shades. She wears black ankle boots with this ensemble.

Personality
Venus can be rather two faced. Most often, she is happy and quirky, though not as much so as her youngest sister. She is kind and sweet to everybody she meets and trusts people until it is shown that they are deceptive. Venus is a generally social character who gets along with those around her, causing her to become a good friend of the other protagonists of Future Assassin's Blade.

Venus' other side is much more serious and tells things as they are. She is honest and little more hostile when she becomes serious over things such as the Oracle of the Law project. Venus is defensive and cryptic when such is the topic of conversation, and this will cause people to get angry with her, as Lucas Red commonly shows throughout Quiet After the Hurricane.

Before the Story
Before the events of the series, Venus was born daughter to Carson and Tatiana Rinko, Chief of Detectives and his wife respectively. Venus had two older half siblings, Anthony and Abilene Umber, though none of them knew. Venus ended up the middle child after her younger sisters, Cassidy and Yuri were born. About this time, a criminal was executed for a crime. His wife was enraged by such and attempted to kill Tatiana, who was holding Yuri at the time. Carson took this as a hint that being with his family was dangerous, just as it had been with his original family.

Venus became an ice skater so that her shows could help provide for the family. She began this career around fifteen and continued with it up until her death in Quiet After the Hurricane.

Future Assassin's Blade
Venus first appeared in case on, Turnabout on Ice. She was practicing when Cotoli Morix and Chrysalis Starr. Venus introduced herself as their tour guide, as they had won backstage passes. Venus left to change her shoes for the tour, only to realize her shoes were elsewhere. Venus removed her skates and exited. When she returned, Venus expected to change shoes and set up for the show, only to encounter the body of the show's director, Bob John. He had Venus' ice skate lodged in his head and a cut from said skate on his chest. Venus picked up the matching skate and watched the scene, where Chrysalis and Cotoli reappeared to find her. Faith Dohim, another skater, fell from the closet, having been knocked unconscious by the killer. Amelia Frost, yet another one of Venus' costars, stumbled upon the scene and called the police. Detective Phoenix Kasai arrested Venus for the murder. At the request of Yuri and Cassidy, Cotoli took on the case against Prosecutor Ghastly Bespoke. Venus next made an appearance the day of the trial, where Chrysalis led her into the courthouse. The two were chatting and getting along quite well when the bailiff made the announcement about court going into session. Venus was calmed down by Chrysalis' assurances everything would turn out fine, which sparked their friendship.

Quiet After the Hurricane
Venus was asked by Anton Burke to meet in the parking lot of the Gatewater Hotel so they could discuss the Oracle of the Law's true identity in Turnabout Ignition. Venus had gotten chocolate at Yuri's request before meeting Anton. They climbed into a car and began to take their leave, though Buff Guiy interfered by slamming a car into the one Venus and Anton were in. Venus' heart condition caused her to die instantly from a heart attack, though Anton survived. He was suffering from amnesia afterwards, however, not remembering the crime enough to testify in his own trial. There was a witness to the crime, though: Chrysalis. She was being threatened by the killer so he could get away free, so she ended up being forced to testify under an alias.

At the start of Turnabout Breakdown, Venus was channeled by Lily. Venus and Yuri had a happy reunion before a body was discovered. All those present at the agency were whisked away for questioning. Venus left Lily's body during this, most likely leaving the officers perplexed.

In The Disastrous Turnabout, Venus was still alive, so she played a large role. She sat with her sisters and Estelle Burns, in all truth Chrysalis in disguise, in the gallery. Venus watched 'Estelle' tell Cotoli and Lucas who the culprit was. Estelle was pulled onto the witness stand to prove the honesty of an evidence piece. After Estelle returned to the gallery, Cole Immis, the killer, shot at Venus, Estelle, Cassidy, and Yuri. Nobody was injured, though Estelle was shaken up by the experience, as well as being finally pinned down as the Oracle of the Law. Venus helped console Estelle afterwards. She was approached by Hana Bullgard, a prosecutor on the case and offered to help with the project, though she was never accepted for it. In present time, Venus spoke with Cassidy, who had been killed shortly beforehand. She said that Estelle would be the one to pull Yuri from despair once this was over before the case came to a close.

Venus was channeled by Lily multiple times during Turnabout on the Waves to inform Lucas of the Oracle of the Law's true identity through cryptic hints. Lucas stayed up late attempting to determine what Venus' words meant, as is displayed about halfway through the case. The two get angry with one another over the project, though they eventually decide to tell one another what they knew in one month's time. Venus was channeled by Rosalie Libra as proof of the culprit's guilt. The culprit knocked everybody unconscious before taking their leave. In the mysterious finale of the case, Chrysalis spoke with Venus about blaming herself for the latter's murder.

At the conclusion of The Festive Turnabout, Venus was channeled by Chrysalis for a Rinko sister reunion. Her cameo was for only a third of a chapter, though it did continue with foreshadowing to the Oracle's true identity.

In The Undercover Turnabout, Venus holds up her end of the bargain she made with Lucas and finally tells him who the Oracle of the Law is. Before doing so, she uses Chrysalis' spirit channeling to her advantage and helps Interpol locate her. As the agents search, Venus reveals Chrysalis' true identity to Lucas. She explains the nature of the project to him before departing. She pops in a few times during court throughout the case. At the end, Venus is present when Chrysalis confessed to the project being all her doing.

In the epilogue, Venus comments on how proud she is of Lucas for figuring the case out himself. She also realizes why people call her stalker, result of her being deceased being used to her advantage.

Web of Mistrust
Venus only appears in case four, Turnabout Reignition. She asks for Niamh Tenniswood and Lily to defend Yuri in court through Chrysalis. Venus briefly visits Yuri before leaving Chrysalis' body. The next time that the spirit appears is on the second investigation day, where she explains the quarrel between the Williams and Rinko families from fifteen years prior. Venus tells Lily and Tenniswood about how her mother was shot at when she was younger. This provides the attorneys with the motive they need to prove Yuri not guilty of the attempted murder.

In the epilogue, Venus is longing for her family, half siblings and their mother included, to reunite at last one day. She says it doesn't seem possible in her eyes.

Chrysalis Starr
Venus and Chrysalis were close friends until the former's death. Venus was one of Chrysalis' closest accomplices on the Oracle of the Law project. Chrysalis comforted Venus when she was placed on trial in Turnabout on Ice. Venus was consoled by her words and in turn became one of Chrysalis' best friends. The two spent much time together during the two years where they knew one another.

Cotoli Morix
Venus became Cotoli's investigative partner in Future Assassin's Blade. They solved four murders together and only became closer, even reaching first name basis with one another. The two get along quite well and are happy to spend time with one another, as is displayed throughout the fourth Quiet After the Hurricane book.

Yuri Rinko
Venus and Yuri spent a lot of time together as children, often waiting for their father to return home. They played with their sister, Cassidy, as well as one another to pass the time. Yuri looked up to Venus right up until her death and even offered to help out with the case surrounding her murder.

Cassidy Rinko
Venus and Cassidy were also close as kids. The two of them often told their youngest sister what they remembered about their father. Being the older sisters, they had to help Yuri out at home while their mother was out late working to provide money for the family on a whole.

Ghastly Bespoke
Venus and Ghastly are on good terms, helping one another out of legal issues when it became necessary. The two get to know one another better and better throughout the course of Future Assassin's Blade. Ghastly is one of the nicer prosecutors, especially when it came to Venus helping out a lawyer.

Quotes
-"Wait, how am I alive?" (when being channeled for the first time)

-"That man that's dead on the street... Is my killer."

-"Yuri... She was arrested again! And she was shot! You have to go and help her!!" (begging for Lily and Tenniswood's defense)

-"In that case, it's nice to meet you two! I'll be your guide. Name's Venus. Venus Rinko."

Trivia
-Venus wasn't supposed to exist, as she was never listed as Yuri's sibling by her creator, so she was spontaneously created.

-Venus has a heart condition, though as of now, it was only displayed in the case of her death.

-Venus would be the heir to the Rinko name if she were still alive.

-Venus is the only Rinko sister not to have white and black hair, having pink and dark brown instead.