Dr. Young watched Edward as he left, her heart sinking with each step he took away from GCPD. She'd pushed him too far. She'd expected too much. Edward's trust issues ran deep, far deeper than she had time to address in this case and what exactly did she expect? That he'd be so grateful to her that he'd confide in a woman he barely knew? She shook her head and looked down at her feet. Just like with the Joker. She'd overestimated her abilities again and now things had gotten out of her control. Concern turned into anger as she clenched her fist. After everything that had happened to him, was he really so arrogant that he thought he was the only one who could investigate-Penelope stopped herself. Yes. Yes he was.

"Doc?"

Penelope nearly leapt out her skin when she heard the voice. She looked behind her and saw Aaron standing in front of the door, a questioning look on his face.

"One of the uniforms told me that you and Nigma were getting into it out here. You OK?"

Penelope nodded, then took a breath to collect herself. "I'm fine, Aaron."

Aaron nodded, then looked around. "Speaking of Nigma, where is the jolly green asshat?"

Penelope bit her lip. "He's gone. We found a lead on Eric Brewer's computer and he just left. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me."

Aaron sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Well, Bullock and Montoya are back from Barnes' office. The Commissioner wants us to go over what they found out."

Penelope sighed and turned to head back into GCPD to inform the Commissioner of what had occurred, ignoring the stares of the officers who had witnessed her exchange with Edward. This was going to be a very awkward conversation.

Gordon sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of him while Penelope recounted what she and Edward had uncovered that day, from going to the college, to what they on Eric's computer and ending with his decision to track down Lonnie Machin on his own. Bullock and Montoya stood by his desk, Montoya with a guarded expression on her face, Bullock with a thunderous one. When she finished, Gordon pinched his brow and sighed.

"I'll send the laptop to our computer guys to confirm what you and Nigma found. In the meantime, I don't want any of this to leave this office. Understood?"

Penelope nodded. "Of course." She hesitated, but curiosity got the better of her. "Commissioner, you've worked with Hill for years. Did you ever hear anything about this?"

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Hill's never been the cleanest person, but something like this? No." He nodded his head at Bullock and Montoya. "What did you find out at Barnes' firm?"

"According to Barnes' receptionist, Eric Brewer was called into Barnes' office two days before Barnes' murder. She didn't hear what they spoke about, but she said that Brewer looked distraught when he left. He never came back to the office after that. Barnes left with a box of files that night."

"It sounds like Barnes might have found out what Eric was up to." Penelope mused. That gave Eric excellent motive to kill Barnes, but the timing wasn't adding up. If Barnes had known about the theft and had confronted him, why the time gap before the murder? And why hadn't he done anything about it?

"Anything else?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah," Bullock added. "Day after that, she said some guy in a suit came by the office to talk to Barnes. Said they had an argument in the office and Barnes nearly called security to get the guy to leave. Before he left though, he told Barnes that he had 'an arrangement to honor'. She didn't know what the argument was about exactly, but that she thought she heard Brewer's name mentioned."

A man in a suit...Eric's roommate had mentioned a man in a suit had come by looking for him. "What did this man look like?"

"White, clean shaven, about 5'10," Bullock said. "Why?"

"Oh shit," Penelope heard Aaron say. "You think that Nigma's right? That they guy who was at Brewer's dorm room is the killer?"

Penelope felt all eyes in the room on her and wanted to sink into her seat. "It's...a possibility now. We need to actually find out who he is before we come to any conclusions."

Bullock let out a huff. "Why don't we just ask the genius what he thinks? Oh wait. We can't. Why's that Doc?"

Penelope felt her face flush. "That wasn't my doing, Detective. Nigma left of his own accord."

"You sure didn't do a lot to stop him," he accusingly. From what we heard, you just let him stroll right out of here."

Penelope glared at the detective. "And just what was I supposed to do Bullock?" She asked. "Detain him? On what grounds?"

"Being a pain in the ass for starters. Or how about conspiring with Anarky?"

"That's not what's happening," she said. "Machin and Nigma don't have any prior history of collaborating and Nigma said he'd come back-"

Bullock snorted. "And you believed him? Just like you believed Joker when he told you he wanted to be cured?"

Penelope's jaw dropped in outrage, but before she could say a word in her defense, Gordon had got up out of his seat. "That's enough Bullock!" he shouted at the man. He sat back down and looked at her reassuringly. "Nigma will do what Nigma will do," he said in a softer tone. "I never expected that you'd be able to keep him under control. That's too much to ask of anyone."

Penelope bristled slightly. She didn't need Gordon to defend her. "I understand that," she said. "And I am well aware how difficult Nigma is to interact with. But quite frankly, no one in this room is helping the situation by assuming the worst of him."

A silence filled the room. "Excuse me?" Bullock asked. "Are you actually defending the freak?"

"No," Penelope said. "After everything that he's done, I can't expect you to like him, or want to work with him. But treating him as if he's one step away from relapsing doesn't help anyone. It's only going to put him on the defensive and make him more likely to fall back into his old habits!"

"Good." Bullock said.

Penelope looked at him. "Why is that good?"

Bullock set his jaw and gave her a look. "You say you know what he was like Doc, but you don't. You only saw him when he was at Arkham. You never saw him as the Riddler." Bullock took a breath, then continued. "Five years ago, we got called to a scene of one of his heists. He left some kind of puzzle box for us to crack open. There was this rookie, a kid named Jamie Callahan, who volunteered to solve it. He was a bright kid, just three months out of the Academy. He'd have made Detective by now. Anyway, he gets about halfway through the thing when one part of the box opens up. Kid stuck his arm into it." Bullock clenched his fist and paused for a moment to collect himself. "Turned out Nigma fashioned it as some kind of guillotine thing. It took off Callahan's arm at the elbow. Kid almost died at the scene from blood loss. You know what Nigma said when we told him what happened? He said, and I quote: 'Well, that's what happens when you stick your hands in where they don't belong. That box was for Batman.' Just like that, this kid lost his job and was on permanent disability and all he cared about was his stupid game with Batman." Bullock glared hard at her. "So tell me Doc: Why shouldn't Nigma rot in Arkham? Why does he deserve a second chance?"

Penelope took a long moment to collect her thoughts, but nothing came to her. From the looks on Montoya's and Aaron's faces, they agreed with Bullock. Not even six months ago, Penelope had agreed with Bullock too. When and why exactly had she changed her mind? Had she really? Or was Edward right? Was she only using him for her own sake? No. She'd seen for herself there was an emotional depth to Edward that very few people knew even existed, let alone seen. She had to believe in that. Before she could say anything, Gordon cleared his throat.

"It's not up to any of us to decide what Nigma deserves," he said quietly. "All we can do is deal with the situation as is. We need to focus back on the case. Renee, I want you to call the receptionist and Brewer's roommate in to talk with a sketch artist. We need to nail down who exactly was talking to Barnes the day he died."

"What about Nigma?" Penelope asked.

Gordon shrugged. "If he comes back, great. if he doesn't, we need to figure out how to contain whatever he might do."

"Really Commissioner?" A smug voice sounded from the door. "Do you have so little faith in me?"

Penelope spun her head around fast. There, leaning against the open door frame, was Edward Nigma. How long had he been there? How much had he overheard? He tipped his hat and flashed a cocky grin. "Oh, don't look so surprised Dr. Young. I did tell you I'd be back."

Gordon was up in an instant. "God Dammit Nigma! Shut the door!" he shouted. "How long have you been there eavesdropping!?"

Edward shrugged. "Is it really eavesdropping if I'm the topic of conversation? But I digress." He entered the room fully and shut the door behind him. He walked up to where Dr. Young was sitting in front of Gordon's desk, ignoring the glares shot his way by Bullock and Montoya. "I take it you've heard about what Dr. Young and I discovered?"

"I have," Gordon said. "I also heard about your jackass stunt with Machin! What the Hell were you thinking Nigma?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "I was thinking that I would uncover the best clue to Brewer's whereabouts, but your concern is touching, truly."

Penelope's relief that Edward had returned in one piece turned to curiosity. "What did he tell you?"

Edward gave her an indulgent smile and reached into his pocket. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bullock and Montoya tense. Edward pulled what looked like a USB out of his coat pocket and held his hand out to her. "It seems that that unfortunate business we found on the boy's computer wasn't the only occurrence. According to Machin, this USB has a record of all Hill's indiscretions."

Penelope hesitated for a moment, then took the USB out of Edward's hand, then placed it on Gordon's desk. "What about Eric Brewer?"

"According to Machin, Brewer says he didn't commit the murder, but that he saw who did."

"Detectives Bullock and Montoya said that Barnes' receptionist saw the same person Eric's roommate did." Penelope interjected.

Edward's smile became even more smug, if such a thing was possible. "Well then," he said. "It seems that once again, I was right. Eric brewer's not our killer."

Gordon narrowed his eyes. "Do you believe Machin?"

"Lonnie's an earnest type. He's not likely to lie."

"So where is Brewer?" Bullock asked, patience running thin.

"That Machin doesn't know," Edward answered. "He did tell me that he might be in contact though."

"So we're waiting to hear from Anarky?" Montoya questioned. "How do we know he won't just sneak Brewer out of the city?"

Edward chuckled a bit. "Oh, Lonnie knows better than to double cross me."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "That's reassuring."

Edward was about to retort, when the sound of a ringing phone cut him off. The other occupants of the room realized that the sound was coming from Edward's own person. Edward reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his phone. He stifled a cursed when he looked at the screen.

"Machin?" Penelope asked.

Edward nodded, then gave her a pointed look. "Keep your voices down. All of you. I'll put him on speaker." Edward pressed a series of buttons on his phone, then lay it out on Gordon's desk. "Lonnie!" he said jovially. "That didn't take long."

"Eric's been in touch," a younger voice sounded. "He's willing to talk."

Edward's face lit up. "Lonnie, you are a Godsend. When and where?"

"Not to you."

Penelope watched as Edward's face fell. "Come again?"

"Eric knows that his father hired you to look for him. He won't speak to you. No cops either."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and sucked in a quick breath. "You realize Lonnie," he said, "That that doesn't leave me with a lot of options."

"That's not my problem," Machin answered. "Don't you know anyone trustworthy?"

"Lonnie, I am a reformed super criminal with an enemy list that starts in Gotham and ends somewhere in the Midwest. Do you think I know anyone trustworthy?" He snapped. Edward looked up from the phone and for a moment, made eye contact with Penelope. His eyes lit up, as if he'd had an epiphany. "Lonnie," he asked in a smoother tone. "Would Eric be willing to talk to a doctor?"

Penelope realized in an instant what Edward intended to do. Judging from the dark looks on the others faces, they did too. There was a brief pause before Machin responded. "What kind of doctor?"

"A psychiatrist," Edward answered. "I know from experience that she's trustworthy."

There was another long pause. "Gotham Cathedral. One hour. Eric will talk to her and her alone. If any cops show up, he'll take off and you'll never find him. Agreed?"

"One condition," Edward stated. "I won't approach Eric, but I will accompany the doctor. If Eric steps out of line, I will dispatch him."

"Done," Machin answered. "And tell the GCPD to not bother trying to trace this number. We'll be long gone by the time those pigs catch up to us." A click sounded and the line went dead.

Gordon looked furious at Edward. "Did you just volunteer a civilian to meet with a murder suspect by herself, without her consent?" he ground out.

Edward rolled his eyes. "No Commissioner. I volunteered to accompany Dr. Young while she meets with a witness to a murder. There's a slight difference."

Gordon pounded his fist on his desk. "Absolutely not Nigma! If you want to risk your own life pulling some attention seeking stunt, that's your decision! You do not have the right to risk the life of one of my personnel!"

"You heard Machin," Edward stated. "This is the best way we have to find out what Eric knows. And she won't be in any danger."

"What?" Aaron scoffed. "You're going to protect her? Because you're such a stand-up guy?"

"Excuse me," Penelope interrupted. "It seems to me that this is my choice to make. And I'm going to do it."

Everyone in the room looked at her, expressions ranging from shock, to anger, and in Edward's case, amusement.

"You don't have to do this Dr. Young," Montoya said. "I can go as you. He won't know the difference."

Penelope shook her head. "If Machin's right and Eric did see Barnes' murder, he's going to be distraught. He needs to be able to completely trust whoever he speaks to. If we trick him, he'll shut down. I might be the best person here to get him to open up." She looked at Gordon. "I can do this."

Gordon sighed. "I don't like this one bit," he said. "I'm sending Cash along with you, to keep an eye on you."

"I can find a way to watch the church without being seen," Cash affirmed. He then turned to glare at Edward. "And keep an eye on you, Nigma. You try anything funny and I'll send you back to Arkham myself. Got it?"

Edward let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course."

"Bullock and I will go bring in the witnesses," Montoya said. "Call us if you need anything."

Gordon gave them a nod and Bullock and Montoya left the room. Edward turned to Dr. Young expectantly. "Shall we be off?"

Penelope nodded, then got up to leave the room. Aaron followed her. As they exited, Aaron leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Nigma said he knew from experience that you were trustworthy. What did he mean by that?"

Penelope took a quick look behind them. Gordon had called Edward back and, judging by the expression on their faces, was continuing to read him the riot act. Once she was certain she wouldn't be overheard, she whispered back to Aaron, "I'll tell you later." Aaron didn't look pleased by this explanation. "I promise." she reassured him.

Aaron grunted. "Sure Doc. Just keep your eyes open around him. He might not be a crook anymore but I trust him about as much as I trust Croc. I'm going to get my car and head over to the cathedral. I'll see you there."

Penelope nodded, relieved that Aaron dropped the subject for now. As he left, Edward approached her, looking unreasonably smug. "Well, that was pleasant. Now, let's go get our witness."

Penelope kept her composure as they exited the building and went into the parking lot. As soon as they entered her car however Penelope rounded on him. "What in the Hell were you thinking Edward!?" she hissed. "Didn't it occur to you to ask me first before you volunteered me for this?"

Edward looked taken aback by this. "This coming from the woman who not three hours ago was willing to come with me to meet a notorious criminal," he sassed. "Do you want to partner with me or not? I do wish you'd make up your mind."

"And not three hours ago, you refused to even consider letting me come along. What changed your mind?"

Edward said nothing at first. "You said you wanted me to trust you," he finally answered sullenly. "This is me trusting you. Satisfied?"

Penelope looked surprised. Had she done it? Would Edward be willing to tell her about Strange now? Penelope out that out of her mind for now. First thing was first. "I will be when we talk to Eric and finally find out what's going on." she answered. She put her key in the ignition and started her car. Edward leaned back in the passenger seat and reached out to touch her radio. "Don't touch anything." she warned him.

Edward leaned his head against the window and sulked. "Were you this pleasant when you worked with Selina?"