J.J. "Jake" Gittes is a private detective living in Los Angeles. Before becoming a private eye, Jake was on the police task force, working for the District Attorney of Chinatown. But after tragic events happened to a woman he cared deeply about, he decided to quit the force and open his own business. He figured it would be a lot less dangerous than working in Chinatown. (This story takes place before the movie "Chinatown").
Jake and the Batman
11 PM
"I can't believe my nephew has me coming all the way across the country to a shit-hole place like Gotham City. I thought the hot garbage smell was bad in L.A., but Gotham, YOU TAKE THE CAKE! Everyone was walking around the city looking like street bums… and the clowns… WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THE CLOWNS IN THIS DAMN TOWN? 'Hey mister, give me a dollar'… that's all I hear. 'Come on mister, just one dollar.' It's pathetic. Now, I find out that my nephew has suddenly come up missing. I told him not to come to this god awful city, but he just couldn't listen- decided to chase some broad named Jeanie all the way across the DAMN country… Well… I guess love will do that to a man. Plus, WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THIS DAMN RAIN? RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! This newspaper I got over my head ain't gonna keep my hat dry for too much longer. I'm gonna need to find some shelter and get a fresh start in the morning. The last time I spoke to Jack, he sounded distraught- told me Jeanie had just been in a terrible car accident. So, I'll probably check Gotham General first… then, maybe the morgue."
7 AM
BUZZ! The motel room's alarm clock goes off, waking Jake.
Jake rolled over to shut the alarm clock off, but none of the buttons he was pushing seemed to shut off the annoying sound.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! HOW THE HELL DO YOU SHUT THIS DAMN CONTRAPTION OFF!?" He blurted. "SHUT UP ALREADY!" He demanded as he ripped the cord from out of the wall, finally making it go silent.
He then tried turning on the light just above his head, but just as he pulled on the chain, the light bulb sparked, causing Jake to get startled. "JESUS CHRIST! DOESN'T ANYTHING WORK RIGHT IN THIS GODDAMNED TOWN!?"
Jake leaned over to pick up the phone. He was a little hesitant at first because of what just happened with the lamp, but upon doing so, he could hear a dial-tone. "Wow! Something actually DOES work!" He said with surprise as he dialed the operator. "Patch me through to Gotham General Hospital."
Seconds later, "This is Gotham General. How may I direct your call?" The operator asked.
"Yeah. I'm looking for someone by the name of Jack Napier. He's a tall skinny beanpole- with a long face- thinks he's funny."
"I'm not seeing anybody by that name." The operator responded.
"Okay. Why don't you try Jeanie Kane."
"Sorry, nobody here by that name either."
"Oh. That's right. I completely forgot- they got hitched a few months back. Try Jeanie Napier, please."
Seconds later, "I'm sorry, Jeanie Napier is deceased. She died a few nights ago."
"Really?" Jake replied. "From a car accident, right?"
"It does say here that she was in a car accident. She was pronounced dead on arrival."
"Could you go ahead and give me the address you have listed for Jeanie- it's not in the directory?"
"I'm not allowed to give you that information, sir." The operator replied.
"Pff… Thanks for the help." Jake said, hanging up the phone.
He sat and thought for a second. "Well, that sucks. Jack's wife died and now he is nowhere to be found. I hope the poor guy didn't jump off a bridge or something. Well… I guess if he ain't at the hospital- I'll just have to try the morgue."
He then picked up the phone again and asked the operator to patch him through to the morgue, but after patching him through, there was no answer.
"Great! Just Great! I'm going to have to go down there!" He exclaimed while looking out his window. "AND WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THIS DAMN RAIN!?"
8 AM
Jake stepped out of a cab, covered his head with his overcoat to avoid the downpour of the rain, and knocked on the door to the morgue. Nobody seemed to be coming to the door, so he started pounding on it harder. "C'mon! The bodies are already dead! I'm sure they have time to wait!"
Finally, the door creaked open. Behind it stood a tall, morbid looking black man. His facial tone and lurching physical appearance made him look like the walking dead. "May I help you?" The mortician asked.
"Yeah, my name is Jake. I'm a private investigator. I'm looking for someone. May I come in from out of the rain?"
"You may enter." The mortician replied, stepping aside to allow Jake in. "Who is it you are looking for?"
"A guy by the name of Jack Napier. His wife Jeanie is probably somewhere in this joint also."
"Jeanie Napier was cremated a few days ago. There is nobody here by the name of Jack Napier."
"Cremated? Under whose authority?" Jake inquired.
"It doesn't say."
"They barely made any money. How the hell did the funeral get paid for?"
"It says here that Bruce Wayne paid for all the expenses."
"Who the hell is Bruce Wayne?" Jake piped up.
"Ha!" The mortician laughed.
"What's so funny about that?" Jake wanted to know.
"Bruce Wayne is one of the richest men in Gotham City."
"Why did this guy, Bruce Wayne, pay for the funeral?"
"I don't know, sir. Perhaps you will have to ask him that question yourself."
9:30 AM
Jake walked up to the front doors of Wayne Manor and knocked loudly. Just like at the morgue, nobody was answering very quickly. "What takes everybody so damn long to answer their freakin' doors around here?" Jake bellowed, knocking harder.
Suddenly the door opened. "May I help you, sir?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah, my name is Jake Gittes. I'm a private detective. I'm looking for a guy by the name of Bruce Wayne."
"May I ask why you need to speak to Mr. Wayne?"
"It's about a broad named Jeanie. Jeanie Napier."
Alfred's eyes widened a little. "You're too late. It is my understanding that Mrs. Napier perished in a car accident nearly a week ago. Our condolences, sir." Alfred responded.
"I know about the accident. I need to ask Bruce a few questions as to how he knew Jeanie."
"She was an employee at Wayne Enterprises. She performed housekeeping duties." Alfred informed him.
"Does Mr. Wayne always pay for his employee's funerals?" Jake retorted. "Is Mr. Wayne here? I'd like to speak to him about all this, personally."
"Mr. Wayne is currently occupied with other business at the moment. I will tell him that you stopped by." Alfred replied.
"It's alright, Alfred! I'll speak with the gentleman!" Bruce yelled out from atop the staircase. "I'll be right down!"
Seconds later, Bruce made his way down to the front door. He was wearing his robe. "Please come in." Bruce said, rubbing his eyes after seeing the light from outside, while inviting Jake in.
"Burning a little bit of the midnight oil, Mr. Wayne?" Jake asked, noticing the dark rings under Bruce's eyes. "What's been keeping you up at night?"
Bruce simply bypassed the question. "So, you want to know about my association with Jeanie Napier?"
"Your butler just told me how you knew her. I want to know why you paid for the funeral." Jake persisted in finding out.
"I paid for the funeral because nobody else came forward to help pay for it. Her husband was M.I.A. and she doesn't have any known relatives living in or near Gotham City. I figured it was the least I could do since she was an employee of mine."
"If she had no living relatives in the area, who identified the body?" Jake inquired.
"I'm not sure. I assumed her husband did before he went missing."
"Did you see the body?"
"No. It was a closed casket."
"Hmm… something seems fishy… and I'm not talking about that smell coming off the harbor." Jake piped up. "Did she ever say anything about her relationship with her husband?"
"I believe she made mention that he was a comedian at the Gotham Laugh House. But, apparently it wasn't going too well for him. That's why she was picking up extra shifts at work. But that's all I really know."
"Yeah, Jack was terrible at making people laugh. Every time he told a joke… crickets. Last time I had spoken to him he had just found out about Jeanie's accident."
"Oh. It sounds like you might know more about their situation better than I do." Bruce replied. "How do you know her husband?" he asked.
"Jack is my nephew. You couldn't miss him if you saw him. He is a tall lanky guy- always wearing bright purple suits- couldn't land a punchline to save his life."
Suddenly, that comment triggered Bruce's memory of a tall lanky guy wearing a bright purple suit on the night that he stopped a robbery from happening at Ace Chemical- The same night of Jeanie's accident. He never saw the guy's face because he was dawning the Red Hood leader helmet. The last thing Bruce remembered about him was that he fell into a vat of toxic waste after jumping over the side rails at Ace Chemical. But, that wasn't information he was willing to share with Jake. Instead, Bruce simply told him that he had never met Jeanie's husband before.
"One last question. Would you happen to have her last known address? It's not in the directory. I wouldn't mind hanging out around there to see if my nephew comes back."
"Sure." Bruce replied. "Alfred, could you get me the directory of my employees at Wayne Enterprises?"
"I'll fetch it right away, sir."
11 AM
Jake had made it to the address Bruce had given him. It was a rundown apartment complex in the Narrows. And, just like every other place he had been to that day, nobody was too quick to answer the door. He had already assumed nobody would. That wasn't going to stop him from getting inside to check for clues.
He went around the backside alleyway of the apartment complex and pulled down on the ladder of the fire escape. He then started making his way up, but the ladder was so old and rusty, it suddenly broke after most of his weight got on it, sending him falling about ten feet towards the hard concrete.
THUD! CLANG! Jake and the old rusty ladder hit the ground.
"ARGH! FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS TOWN?" Jake yelled out while picking up his hat and brushing off his nice suit.
Just then- it started raining hard. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!"
He quickly looked around at his surroundings. He noticed a large dumpster sitting a few feet away. He then got behind the dumpster and started pushing with all his might- trying to get it closer to the fire escape. His feet were slipping due to the lack of traction he could get from his nice dress shoes. Finally he pushed it close enough to be able to climb the fire escape.
After making it to the apartment, he checked the window. Luckily for him, it was already unlocked. He then opened it up and made his way in.
Jake looked around the place. It was a bit messy. A kitchen chair had been knocked over and a broken glass laid on the floor as well. It looked like there might have been a bit of a struggle at one point. Perhaps a lover's spat, Jake thought to himself. Jack was known for his mood swings. Some days he would act like he was on top of the world, and then the next day he was a clown. He came across some photos on the wall. They were pictures of Jack, Jeanie, and some of their other friends. He put a couple of the pictures in his pocket in hopes of finding one of their friends, so he could ask them some questions.
He also checked the bedroom closet. Something didn't seem quite right to Jake. It seemed like Jeanie's wardrobe was a little thin and Jack's closet looked full. Then he looked over towards the floor, near the side of the bed. He couldn't make out what he was looking at, so he walked over to get a closer view.
He bent down to pick it up. "What the hell is this? It looks like a clump of hair that has been painted green."
Then, he looked under the bed and found a pregnancy test. It was positive.
He stood back up and looked in Jack's closet again. Most of his clothes were still there… Most of the clothes- other than his bright purple suits.