Touch of Light in the Darkness
Chapter 1
By Kali
"What are you working on?" Dinah asked as she wandered into the room.
"An old case. This guy," Barbara began, as she pointed at the face profiled on her computer screen. "Is scheduled to be executed in 5 weeks."
"You think he's innocent?"
"Don't know. Some of the facts surrounding the case just didn't sit well with me."
"Oh."
"Yeah. It was after my father had stepped down as Commissioner. The new one seemed more interested in a conviction than finding the perpetrator."
"Aren't they, like, the same thing?"
"Not necessarily," Barbara answered as she shuffled through files on her desk. "Political pressures can be fierce."
"So, what are you planning on doing about it?"
"Well, that's why I asked you to come in here."
"Oh?"
"I need a favor. A big one."
"You don't mean?" Dinah began, her voice narrowed in apprehension.
Barbara folded her hands into her lap, as she scooted her chair towards Dinah. "Yeah, I'm afraid that I do mean that. I'll understand if you say no. There's always the likely possibility that he's lying about his innocence. And, if that is the case, then you'll..."
"See him commit the murder."
"Yeah."
"But if he didn't, then we could save an innocent man's life."
"Yeah, if we can use the information that we gain to prove that he didn't do it."
"I'll do it. But how?"
"Being the daughter of the former Commissioner has its advantages," Barbara grinned.
*******************************************************************************
Helena came into the room and placed Chinese take out onto one of the tables. "Dinner is served."
"Thanks," Barbara commented absentmindedly.
"So, what are you two up to?" Helena asked.
"Trying to clear the name of an innocent man before he dies in the chair," Dinah responded. Not looking away from the computers screen. "Barbara, what was that?"
"Don't know, lets look at it again," Barbara said. She squinted her eyes at the screen, as she digitally enlarged and enhanced a section of an image. "Nothing."
"Surveillance tapes?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, that's always fun. Looking through hours worth of tapes with the hopes of finding the tiniest of clues. Usually ends up being pointless"
"True, except in this case we're counting on it, to save a man from death row. Him," Barbara said emphasizing the last word as she handed an old paper file to Helena.
Helena opened the file and saw various police report documents, affidavits, and newspaper clippings regarding the case.
"How did you become convinced of his innocence?" Helena asked.
"Dinah touched him."
"Ah, detective work by cheating," Helena commented blithely.
"Pride Goethe before the fall. The mission is to save lives. Not to inflate one's own ego. Your father understood that," Barbara reminded her.
"Speaking of my daddy, the dick... With no offense intended towards my pseudo-brother... Do you know how intimidating it is to be the daughter of the "World's Greatest Detective?" I mean, how am I supposed to live up to that? Barbara's the detective in this group, not me."
"Helena, you've hardly even tried," Barbara chastised.
"Silly, question. But, um, how did Batman get that title, if most of the city's populace don't even know of his existence?" Dinah asked.
"His peers in the business ended up calling him that."
"Yeah, along with other names," Helena said. "One can imagine what they must have thought about my parents getting together."
"Helena, don't..." Barbara chided.
"You know Hel, your Dad was great at what he did... But, your Mom... Well, just try to not let her mistakes drag you down," Helena mimicked. "Gah! The condescension was enough to make one ill. They didn't know my mom, other than by her rep. Yet, they feel more than qualified to pass judgment on her."
"Sore subject, huh?" Dinah apologetically asked Barbara.
"Yep," Barbara nodded.
"Better to just let it drop?"
"Uh huh."
"So, anyone for a game of Clue?" Dinah inquired.
"Huh?" Helena asked, stopping her diatribe in mid-sentence.
"It might help put us in a mystery solving mood," Dinah commented. Noticing Helena's contemptuous frown, she added, "Or in the very least, keep us occupied until the computers finishes looking through the surveillance camera files."
"Or, we could just eat dinner."
*****************************************************************************************
"So, what are we looking for?" Helena asked Barbara as she passed the Cashew Chicken to Dinah.
"Well," Barbara started, as she placed her chopsticks back on her plate. "We know where he was the night of the murder. Window shopping for a present for his daughter."
"And no one saw him do this? No alibis?"
"No, unfortunately, he was just another face in the crowd. Unless of course..."
"One of the stores had a surveillance camera..." Helena started with a sly grin.
"That caught him in the act of being a loving father," Barbara agreed with a nod.
"But, even if we found proof of where he was when the murder occurred. Wouldn't we still need to prove that he had no connection to the planning of it?" Dinah asked in-between bites.
"Not necessarily. One of the prosecutor's star witnesses positively identified him. Now, either the witness was blowing smoke, on something that impaired her judgment, or was just plain mistaken. The point is, a time stamped video alibi would blow her testimony out of the water and punch a giant sized hole into the D.A.'s case against him."
"You know, I'm surprised that those surveillance videos still exist after all these years," Helena commented.
"Yeah, well, your mother's partly to thank for that. Her crime sprees led to more stringent security methods," A male voiced answered.
"Ah, Dick! How nice of you to stop by!" Barbara exclaimed with a grin.
********************************************************************************
"You know, they've been talking a long time," Dinah commented as she pushed around the remaining food on her plate with her chopsticks.
"Yeah, former lovebirds tend to do that."
"Really? They were...?" Dinah asked with a grin.
"Yeah, they'll deny it. But it was obvious to anyone and everyone, except them. Alfred, Drake, and I used to bet on just who would be the first one to admit their feelings to the other."
"Alfred did that?" Dinah asked incredulously.
"Yeah."
"Cool! So, what is he like? Dick, I mean."
"Just your typical over-protective brother type. Very good at the detective stuff. That's probably why he's here. He and Barbara worked together on that case years ago."
"Yet, they hit a dead end?"
"Yeah."
"So, this is sort of like an unsolved mystery to them. How romantic!"
"Huh?"
"An old case bringing them back together, after all this time."
"Well, actually, they've talked about another case just last week."
"Oh. Where was I?"
"Asleep."
"Oh."
"Anyhow, Dick's cool. He's got a great sense of humor and more charm than you can shake a stick at. Barbara's an idiot for letting him go. But, don't tell her that I told you that. Okay?"
"Okay," Dinah nodded with a smile. But her smile quickly turned into a frown. "I hope we can find the proof we need to clear that man."
"Yeah."
"I saw what it was like. How awful it was for him. Living day in and day out in that horrible place, facing a death sentence for something that he didn't even do. It was... is... hell on earth."
"Yeah," Helena nodded grimly.
Disclaimer: Birds of Prey characters belong to DC. This little fan fic is meant as pure, harmless fun, and as such no profit is being made from it.