Details Epilogue

Two Months - Week Five

Dick

There's a serial killer in town. Not one of the fancy ones either. This one is just a regular run-of-the-mill nutjob, someone who isn't doing it for the attention or the fame. GCPD are doing their best to track down the 'Night Ghoul' as all the crappy tabloid magazines are calling, but it isn't going great. It's been a week, and this psycho's killed six people already, all with the same M.O; single women violently bludgeoned to death in their sleep with anything heavy the killer could find lying around. As you might expect, without the big guy around to front this operation, Commissioner Gordon isn't keen to bring a fourteen year-old in on the action. After Derrick Combs and that whole thing with Dmitri Black where I got a gun jammed against my head in a game of chicken, I don't think he really wants Robin, Dick Grayson or any other kid near him or his work for the foreseeable future.

Not a problem though. Sneaking into morgues and crime scenes is a skill I've already had a couple of years of practice in doing. Just like in the circus, the whole nature of breaking and entering is about timing and precision. And, in fairness to the GCPD, six murders in almost as many days means they can't physically guard all the crime scenes as much as they'd like anyway. The first victim, Hannah Gaines, was a paediatric nurse at Gotham General. She was only twenty-four and lived alone in a Park Row apartment not far from Crime Alley. I took a good long look around her place after slipping in through a window.

The bedroom's a bloodbath, but the rest of the apartment is untouched. The killer must have gone out the bedroom window, since the amount of blood means they would've left some if they'd used any other exit. According to the police report I leafed through after sneaking in the GCPD building during the graveyard shift, they found no fingerprints on the murder weapon, a set of bathroom scales. Bludgeoned to death with her own bathroom scales. It's just….yeah, this one's a real sicko.

I went to the morgue too. I didn't look at the bodies though, just read the coroner's reports. By the time I got there, they'd already racked up four bodies. Took me three hours to read all the reports thoroughly. Heather Grainger, Hattie Goyo, Hailie Gordon and Hannah Gaines were all killed using different blunt objects that ended with the same result; death from a cerebral haemorrhage. I saw the pattern of ages and names too. All the victims were under thirty, all worked in hospitals, and had the same pair of initials, HG, no middle name. They were also physically similar too, all brunettes under five-five.

Today's Sunday. There hasn't been a killing reported so far. I've just finished touring all six of the victim's apartments. Friday and Saturday's victims were Hannah Gerwin and Hope Grisham, both trainee nurses doing their internships at different hospitals downtown. It can't be a coincidence. Bruce would say the same thing. He'd say there was a 'commonality' between them, something to tie all the stray pieces together and complete the jigsaw. Then he'd find it. And I'd….watch him do it. Because the big guy's the genius and I'm just along for the ride. Like Holmes and Watson. Plus, it's all happening way too fast for me to keep up. I need at least a few days to try and deal with one murder, let alone six.

But I do find one clue in Hope Grisham's apartment that might help narrow down the killer's identity. Unlike the other victims, Hope managed to fight back. But she didn't scratch him. She cut him. I find a scalpel covered in dried blood stuck inside the mattress. I'm not surprised the CSI boys missed it on their initial sweep through here last night and even this morning. There's a hole in the mattress, but the whole thing is too drenched with blood to be visible to the naked eye. I had to feel around on a hunch because I'd literally looked everywhere else I could think of. But now I think I've got a DNA sample to run through the databases. I'm just hoping to get a hit.

I get back to the cave around eleven. I told Alfie I'm just doing regular patrols this week, nothing special. So, I'm trying not to look him in the eye too much or he'll realise I'm lying. He's already at the command centre, waiting for me. I get off my bike and make sure the scalpel is stashed in my utility belt and definitely out of sight. I give him a wave in climbing the stairs from the vehicle park to the command centre and try to be casual.

"Hi, Alfie. Another quiet night. No injuries to speak of."

"Forgive me if I do not take your word for it, young man. Kindly dress over to the medical bay and remove your tunic for me." He says with more than a hint of suspicion in his voice. I resist the urge to suck my teeth and look away. I nod instead.

"Sure thing. Whatever you want."

He doesn't find anything. For normal people, this would be enough, but the very fact I don't have any bruises or cuts of any kind make him even more suspicious. He looks me square in the eye, because I was dumb enough to take my domino mask off, and calls my bluff. "You've been working on that ghastly serial murderer case currently swarming in the media, haven't you?" His voice is not kind and I understand why. I promised him when the story broke on Monday that I wouldn't look into it. I promised I'd leave it to the professionals.

"I've just been looking at it, Alfie. I haven't actually been working on it." I tell him with a slight wince.

He reacts by shoving my own notebook in my face. "This contains excerpts that could only have come from coroner reports. It also features extensive notes regarding criminal psychology and possible motives, as well as several crude drawings of Batman. I found it under your pillow. This suggests you've been working on it all week."

"Okay, I wasn't expecting you to call me out this quick….."

"You're grounded, understand? You promised me. You promised me that you would not investigate this particular crime, that you would allow Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD to work on the problem independently of your influence…."

"I have a sample of the killer's blood. I need to run it through the computer databases and then deliver what I find to the GCPD as soon as possible. Bruce's analysers work four times as fast as the GCPD's equipment. If I manage to get it done tonight, they could have the guy they need by midday tomorrow." I tell him, getting off the examination table. "They missed a scalpel during their sweeps. It could help them solve this case before anyone else gets killed."

Alfie still doesn't look all that impressed. "You will still be grounded for two weeks, Master Dick. Even the most noble of deceptions are still deceptions."

"I'll take that if we agree that I get to supervise the blood analysis tonight. You can do the intelligence report and send it to the Commissioner. I won't fight you on any of that, I promise."

"Your promises carry very little weight this week, young man. I will allow it, against my better judgement, but you must be willing to volunteer a sincere apology to me right now before we proceed any further. So?"

I know when to surrender. Alfie's right. I'm wrong. That's what it all boils down to in the end. I nod my head, take a deep breath and begin talking it up. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Alfie. I shouldn't have hidden what I was actually doing and I fully understand my actions were wrong and deserving of punishment. With that said, I hope you'll be able to accept my apology and believe me when I say, I'm sorry for betraying your trust this week. Even if I had good intentions, it doesn't justify my behaviour and…."

"That's quite enough verbosity for one lifetime, Master Dick. I accept your apology. Now, let's attend to the matter at hand…."

We get the blood sample from the scalpel and stick it in the analyser inside of ten minutes. What normally takes the GCPD labs one to three days to check-up on takes our machine about forty minutes. It's another WayneTech prototype that was never financially viable. Price tag's around sixty million US, give or take five-hundred thousand for shipping and installation costs. I don't understand any of the financial details, and frankly, I don't want to know either. I just know it does a really good job of nailing down suspects. Without Bruce, that's enough for me.

"Got a bite!" I yell as soon as the analyser flashes MATCH FOUND on the screen. "Knew it was worth scoping out the apartment! Knew it!"

Alfie still looks far from impressed with any of this stuff. "A match does not constitute a suspect. There could be a legitimate reason for this person's DNA…."

"Being on a bloody scalpel? Come on, Alfie…."

"All I am saying is that we should be armed with all the facts before jumping to conclusions. It is the cornerstone of effective investigatory techniques."

He's right. I dial it down until we've had a good, long look at the record of our match. Name is Anthony Merluzzo. He's got a rap sheet for small-time stuff, petty robbery, possession of a controlled substance, a couple of DUIs….nothing that explains a sudden jump to serial killer status. It is a bit weird. But that's before we dig through some hospital records on Tony and find he was admitted to Gotham General about a year ago with head trauma, some kind of car accident. Looks like his girlfriend at the time was involved in the same collision. She made it to the hospital, but died on the operating table? No, she made it out of surgery in one piece and then died a couple of days later. On-duty nurse said it was….septic shock? That quick? Wow, doesn't add up. Nurse's name gives us a clue: Harriet Gowan. Twenty-three at the time of the report….brunette. Hmm. Starting to get a picture of things now.

"Are you getting the same vibe about this whole thing that I am, Alfie?" I ask as we're both sat at the command centre with all the records and news reports up on the screen for comparison. "This guy just finished an intense course of physical therapy, still got memory issues and some other problems upstairs, and went out for revenge on the nurse that he thinks caused his girlfriend's death. But, he couldn't remember her name. So, he just started killing every nurse he could find that was similar to Miss Gowan in name and appearance…."

Alfie is looking at the mounting evidence with a furrowed brow. "That random? There are so many unanswered questions regarding this man's motivations and how he could even begin to acquire such intimate information about medical personnel in such poor mental condition…."

"Bloody scalpel in Hope Grisham's bed, Alfie. This guy's blood." I point to the mugshot of Merluzzo. "Guy whose girlfriend was possibly killed by a nurse, a trainee nurse, with a name and physical attributes almost identical or similar to all the victims so far. They can ask him all the nagging questions later. Just get him off the streets before he kills another innocent girl…."

Alfie holds up a hand to stop me going on any more. "I was not alluding to the idea that Mr Merluzzo is an unlikely suspect. I am merely appalled his motive is both that simple and complex at the same time. Adding this tragedy and brain trauma into the mixture is just a cruel twist of fate. I will pass this information along to Commissioner Gordon. With any luck, it will prove compelling enough to secure Mr Merluzzo's arrest and perhaps his incarceration, depending on more substantial evidence coming to light to corroborate our findings. You will go to bed and begin your punishment."

"Can I sleep in Bruce's bed again?"

"You might as well, given you have been doing it for the past three nights running." He sighs.

I get up and prepare to move away. Alfie gently takes hold of my forearm before I get out of range. "I am grounding you only because I love you, Richard. Whilst I am pleased you are able to take your punishment in good spirits, do not treat its ramifications lightly. You cannot go out and conduct these kinds of investigations behind my back. You cannot neglect your schoolwork for the sake of trying to catch a murderer in this awful city. Even if Master Bruce were here now, I would insist he work alone. He may forget you are a child, but I never do. Never." He lets go of my arm and returns to the screen. "Go to bed. I will see you in the morning for breakfast."

Okay, I feel a little more like an asshole now. It's not a great feeling, but I deserve it. And I'll take it. I think about hugging him, but he doesn't look in the mood. "I just wish he'd come home." I say. "Things make more sense when he's here. Don't you think?"

Alfie lets out the longest sigh. "Perhaps so. Please go to bed, young man. I would rather discuss this another time. You have school tomorrow and your priority should be that. Goodnight."

I don't push it. I do as I'm told. Because it's Alfie and I love him. I shower in the bathroom down the hall from Bruce's room, stick on my jammies and then crawl into his big, old antique bed to settle down for the night. I sleep on his side of the bed because it smells of his soap and cologne. I haven't slept this well in months. The last three nights have just been magic, even with hunting down a serial killer as a distraction. Tonight's no different. I'm out like a light less than twenty minutes after closing my eyes.

I have a good dream. Bruce comes home and we're watching TV together, just him and me. It feels so real that I'm half-convinced he's downstairs waiting when I wake up in the morning. But then I go downstairs and realise that, just like every other day, he's still gone. One day, right? One day I'll come down and he'll be sitting there and everything will make sense again. It has to eventually, right?

I have to wait until Alfie drops me off at school to check what the media's reporting on Merluzzo and the Night Ghoul murders. Howie's already got the newsfeed cued up when I get into class. Merluzzo's mugshot is all over the place. All the reports are saying he's confessed to the killings, based on 'irrefutable forensic evidence' presented to him upon his arrest just before midnight. It says he was about to step out with burglary tools when they got him. I feel pretty good about myself this morning, despite being grounded for two weeks. I did it. I helped crack the case wide-open. The big guy would be so proud of me. I just know he would. It's that thought that gets me through the rest of the day. I try my best in every period I have, do well on a French test for once, and drag my team to victory on the basketball courts in gym class. When Alfie picks me up at three-thirty, I've got no complaints.

"I trust you have been informed of Mr Merluzzo's arrest?" Alfie asks as he drives us home.

I nod my head. "Yep. Not been any other killings either. It's looking promising, Alfie. It looks like we helped stop a serial killer. So, what chores have you got lined up for me to do? Polishing the silverware and scrubbing the ballroom floor?"

"They are on my list, yes. I also have tasks involving the rose garden and the freezer compartment of our refrigerator. You will be busy during the next fortnight, young man. I can guarantee you that at the very least."

I nod my head again before staring out the window. It's still a nice day outside. Sucks. "Whatever you want me to do, Alfie. A promise is a promise." I sigh as we pass a park I was going to spend Wednesday afternoon with the guys. It was still worth it. How could it not be? I helped save lives by getting that guy off the streets. Two weeks of curfew and no TV is nothing compared to what standing by and doing nothing would've done to my conscience. Bruce is right when he says we can't stop all the bad people in this city, but it makes me feel a hell of a lot better when we stop some of them, especially the worst ones like Merluzzo.

"How progresses the weeding, Master Dick?" Alfie asks me late in the afternoon when I'm on my knees in the rose garden, yanking out weeds by hand and sticking them in a nearby bucket. Despite feeling sore and cold, I give him one of my best smiles.

"Nearly done. What's next? The freezer?"

Alfie flaps his hand. "We've got two weeks, young man. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The ballroom and weeding is sufficient for the first afternoon of your punishment. Come inside and get cleaned up before dinner. Then we shall see what time is left for homework. Studies must never be neglected, especially with this 'parent's evening' nearing us. I only wish to hear good things from your teachers, only good things."

"They all love me too, Alfie. You'll get no complaints when you turn up in a few weeks' time." I tell him confidently in getting to my feet and brushing down my jeans. "I always put on a good show."

Alfie smirks at me. "Your attitude does you a great deal of credit, Master Dick. Most young men would not take this kind of castigation in good spirits. I feared that perhaps the sobering reality of the tasks expected of you during the next fortnight would make you less receptive now that the adrenaline of the Night Ghoul's captive has worn off."

"Look, that first week was rough, but, I don't want to use Bruce as an excuse for acting like a brat. He wouldn't want it and you don't deserve it. When he gets back, I want him to be proud of how I've handled myself. I'm probably going to tear his head off anyway, but at least he won't be able to put the blame anywhere else but on himself." I reply as we take the long walk back towards the main house.

"I will make sure to give him a full statistical analysis of your contributions during his absence when he finally returns. Cold, hard data always has a peculiar way of making him smile, especially if it relates to your performance levels. He is very proud of you."

I grin a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm awesome."