Batman tried the window to Dana's room. Despite the chill in the air, it was cracked open, and he had no trouble getting inside.
He looked around the space, taking it in. He'd been up here a few times, but it felt alien, private. There wasn't much to see--no obvious signs of struggle other than a stuffed tiger that had fallen to the floor beside the bed.
He had arrived at school after being questioned, unsure what to think. If Dana was missing, it was bad. It had certainly been bad the last time. But he had to check if she'd turn up in class. And he needed to talk to Max.
She wasn't there. Max had no idea where she was. Neither did anyone else. He asked Max to trace Dana's cell. She'd been ticked when he wouldn't explain why, but agreed anyway.
At one o'clock, he couldn't stand it any longer. He ditched school for the rest of the day, wondering what Nakamura would think. But Terry couldn't worry about that now.
He'd spent the rest of the day searching their usual hangouts. No one had seen her. Finally, he'd put on the suit and come here.
He sifted through her sanctum, feeling like a voyeur. In her private life there were such odd juxtapositions. On her bed the sheets were made but the pillows were rumpled. Massive textbooks for her medical training lay on her desk next to the cheap fantasy and sci-fi paperbacks she liked to read. And on the wall, family pictures from her childhood vied with--
Terry paused. Pinned over her desk was a photo of Dana with Terry behind her. Terry held two fingers up behind her head; Dana fixed the camera with a wide eyed leer. Both looked on the verge of breaking up with laughter.
He remembered taking that picture with her. A cheap booth on the wharf, the night still muggy with August heat. It seemed like a lifetime ago. But it had only been last summer.
A noise brought Batman back to the present. Someone was in the hall outside. He made it out the window just as he heard the door open.
"Dana?"
He recognized her father's voice. The contempt he'd heard this morning was replaced with something forlorn. Crouching on the roof, he could just see the man as he came to the window and looked out.
He thought Mr. Tan would say something. His face was frozen in a mask. Tears would have been less revealing. But he stood silent for a few moments, shook his head, and closed the window.
"Batman?"
He rose from his crouch. "Yeah, Max. You got something?"
"You gave me Dana's cell phone number. You wanted me to trace it."
Terry paused. "And?"
"Somebody just turned it on."
He stood up. "Where?"
"On the West Side. Terry, what's this about?"
"Nothing. I just need to find her. Where on the West Side?"
There was silence on the radio. "Max?"
"You think something's happened to her, don't you?"
"I don't know. What makes you think so?"
"This is how you were the last time."
"Max..."
"GPS puts the phone at 217 West Belmont."
Terry was about to fly off of the roof, but he paused. "Did you say 217 Belmont?"
"Yeah. Probably a convenience store or something."
He shook his head. "Not any more."