In the Shadow Of The Bat
Chapter 33
Rene Montoya was a good private investigator, in part because she didn't give up on a case. She chased all avenues, followed every lead and didn't stop until she ran out of options. And her being somewhat connected to superheroes meant she had a LOT of options.
This 'Jean-Paul Varley' case was also more interesting than most. A Gotham resident, his father had been murdered then he just dropped out of sight. He reappeared later working in security at Wayne Enterprises. Then he disappeared AGAIN before wandering the country, financed by unknown means. He appeared off and on in towns near Gotham, before apparently being declared dead. But no body was found, interestingly enough.
Public records were scanty. He had a drivers license, but according to the computers owned no property. He hadn't registered to vote either, once he was legal age. He HAD been a computer security student at Gotham University, but no one seemed to remember much about him other than him being a quiet type.
The next sign that something was off was when she hit Wayne enterprises. The few people who even remembered Varley echoed the 'nice but quiet' description. What was interesting was that he was personally recommended for the job by Wayne... then given severance by a memo by Wayne.
'Why would the chief executive of Wayne Enterprises be getting involved with this?' Rene wondered as she ran through her phone lists.
"Commish, hi." Rene smiled. "I'd normally just call Harvey, but I wanted to check in with you."
James Gordon sounded amused as he replied, "I got your latest package of reports, good work."
"So how's dating Lady Blackhawk?" Renee teased.
Gordon made a surprised noise. "How did you hear...?" he asked.
"I have my sources," Renee smirked. "Make sure you rest up and get plenty of viagra."
Gordon coughed uncomfortably. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I'm digging into a missing person's case... can you check the files for Jean Paul Varley?" Renee asked him.
"Hmm," Gordon typed then noted, "Not much. He had been ticketed for public drunkenness a while back. He ended up on the street, a few officers had run ins with him. Other than that he stayed off our radar until his supposed shooting."
"Supposed?" Renee noted.
"No body, minimal blood evidence. Mind you, we also couldn't find Varley so...," Gordon shrugged. "Sorry I wasn't much help."
"No problem," Renee reassured him. They promised to meet up again, then hung up.
Renee sat back in her chair, considering the situation. She was tempted to try contacting Oracle about this, but that felt kind of like cheating. With a sigh she got up, grabbed her overcoat then headed out into the Gotham afternoon.
The Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed everything Renee had found out so far, but added that Varley's car had been impounded after he supposedly died. A individual later came in and paid cash to get the car out of hock...
"I don't suppose you know who it was?" Renee asked the cute teller whom she had been flirting with for a few minutes.
She blushed slightly. "I really shouldn't say..." she answered.
Renee slipped her a folded in half fifty over the counter. The teller then covertly slipped it into her pocket.
"It was Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne's ward. Isn't that freaky?" she confided.
"It is," Renee conceded. "Thanks!"
"Uhm, here's my number," the teller passed her a card with something scribbled on it as she added, "call me."
Renee smiled but kept going.
The Land Deeds office in Gotham had been burnt down during the whole 'No Mans Land' mess, but had reopened after the city was restored. But while the original records had been saved digitally, they swiftly reverted to paper filing. Which meant you had to go in yourself, usually.
"Hey, Montoya!" the older man at the desk smiled. Jackson May was a ex-cop who, upon retiring, decided life was too boring and went working for the city. They got along OK, in part because Jack had been a good cop, at least by Gotham standards.
"May, good to see you," Renee nodded.
"Sorry, but all the cute clerks are at home," Jack noted. "They may have heard you were coming in and didn't want the heart break," he teased.
"I'm not THAT bad," Renee protested, but guiltily thought of the girl's number in her pocket.
Jack just snickered. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked briskly.
"Need to do some digging for a name," Renee admitted, "I'm working on a missing person case, and I'm hoping they may have purchased or transferred land."
Jack kinda blinked at her. "You DO know how many documents come through here daily, right?" he asked rhetorically. He shook his head, "Do you have a time frame at least?"
"Nope," Renee shrugged.
"Well, good luck," Jack said as he ushered her over to the public files.
Renee dug through the filing cabinets, working back from that week looking for any references to Varley. She didn't have high hopes, but if he used his name on a land purchase or transfer, it should crop up here. Most of the afternoon was gone before she found it, a file about, of all things, rebuilding a church downtown.
'Father Varley?' Renee blinked, but decided to photocopy the papers anyway. With a wave to Jack, she headed back to her office.
Renee unlocked her office door, went inside then closed it. "I know you're here," she said aloud, turning to see a dark figure.
"Montoya," Batman started.
Renee smiled slightly, "You folks REALLY need to be better sat cleaning up after yourselves in the real world. I assume Varley was one of your crew?"
Batman accepted that calmly, probably because he was expecting it. "He was," he conceded, but didn't say who.
Renee went to her desk and put together a file, then passed the papers over to Batman. "Motor Vehicles has photos of one of your side kicks getting Varley's car, you need to have someone get in there and get rid of them," she pointed out.
"Thank you," Batman noted.
"I also included details on who sent me after them, but there's not much. They travel by rented car, used cash in large bills and obviously used aliases," Renee said. She smiled grimly, "They DID want to meet at the Iceberg Lounge for the final trade of money for info."
"The new Penguin has been interested in him," Batman nodded. "Are you going to give them what you've found?"
"I'm going to pass on the police side, because that's all out there anyway, but other than that I'm going to tell them I hit a wall and refund half my fee," Renee shrugged.
"I appreciate that," Batman nodded. He started to add something...
"YES, I'll have someone shadowing me. Batwoman and Black Canary," Renee anticipated him. "Hopefully we can pick something up."
"I'll keep in touch," Batman moved to go.
"We assume the new Penguin offed Cobblebot," Renee said before he could go, "and yeah, that's terrible. But have they done anything else criminal?"
"So Oswald is a freebie?" Batman asked flatly.
"If we had a functional criminal justice system in Gotham he'd have been a lifer already," Renee answered evenly.
Batman didn't answer, and Renee realized he'd already left out the window. "I HATE when he does that," she growled out.
Renee got home not long after, unlocking the door and heading in. Whimsically she called, "Honey I'm home!"
"Welcome home," Kate Kane smiled warmly as she emerged from the kitchen, wearing a stylish outfit with the top half unbuttoned.
"Oooh!" Renee grinned.
Kate laughed, "I was getting changed, you..."
Renee smiled, "I can't help it." Somewhat more seriously she continued, "Do we have anything planned for Saturday?"
"Just the usual head breaking and butt kicking," Kate noted, referring to their Batwoman and Question identities. "Why?" she asked.
"Wanna go to the Iceberg Lounge and possibly meet some crazy cultists I may have pissed off?" Renee offered wryly.
"Sounds fun," Kate smiled.
To be continued...
Notes: This may or may not tie into the chapter I had the big brawl happen at the Lounge. I haven't decided yet. I had Renee get hired to look into Jean Paul earlier but kinda forgot, so here it is. Based this on stuff I've read on actual real world Pis, which mostly involves records searches and hitting government offices rather than gunfights and such.
The justice system in Gotham really makes no sense. There is NO WAY in a realistic justice system that the majority of Batman's non crazy villains could avoid jailtime, but they mostly do.
Lady Blackhawk dating Gordon is a thing from my other Batman fics, but I thought I'd toss it in here too.