~~ Chapter 5 ~~
Matt waited as Bridget was allowed into the small conference room.
"Good mornin' to you, Mr. Murdock," she said as she walked over to the table.
"Good morning, Ms. Clancy. Are you getting along all right?" Matt made a swift scan of her as she sat down. Her heart rate and breathing seemed normal; the institutional smell of the prison soap almost overwhelmed anything else, but he found no traces of adrenaline-induced sweat.
"It's been easier since Dick brought me some of my textbooks," she replied. "I planned to do some studying and reviewing this summer anyway, and I've certainly had the time for it, that's for sure. This place makes even biochemistry look interesting!" She laughed in genuine amusement.
Matt smiled along with her. "I'm glad to hear that. I came by to check on you and to bring you up to date on what we've found out." He leaned on his elbows and laced his fingers together. "I believe Dick told you about the two other police killings?"
"Uh huh. He also explained that just as the D.A didn't want t' complicate their case by bringing the additional murders in, you can't really use them to prove I wasn't th' murderer."
"Right. But since we know you aren't the killer, we can use the other murders to figure out who is. Has Dick told you about the other homicide?"
"No! There's another one?"
"Yeah. Dick, Barbara, and I were able to piece together that the common thread in the three murders we knew about was not that they were police officers -- it was that their fathers served together in Vietnam. That led us to check on the other members of that unit -- Navy SEALs, in case you wondered -- and sure enough, there was another murder victim. Not my favorite way to prove a hypothesis, but still ..." He smiled grimly.
Matt continued. "Dick just got back from Texas, where he talked to the one surviving member of the unit who hasn't lost a son. Out of that, we've got a possible suspect: the half-Japanese daughter of a unit mate who died. Barbara is now trying to track her down, as well as the two remaining potential victims."
"Wow. It's been weird enough to find myself embroiled in a cop-killing spree, but to find out it's really some kind of Vietnam revenge plot is rather mind-boggling."
"It's certainly not what I had envisioned either," he agreed. He paused and then said briskly, "All right, I also wanted to let you know I'll be meeting with the D.A.'s office this afternoon. It's mainly to get permission for Dick and me to investigate the murder scene, but I'm sure we'll spend a little bit of time talking about the case. At this point I plan to refuse to consider any offer they might make unless you direct me otherwise. Okay?"
She nodded. He waited.
"Oh! Sorry again, Mr. Murdock! Yes, I want you to refuse any offers. Oh, and that reminds me ..." Her voice trailed off, and Matt detected her biting her lip.
"Yes?"
"When we go to trial, there's probably going to be an even bigger media circus than there was at my bail hearing, right?" There had been cameras and reporters everywhere when Bridget had been charged with Munroe's murder.
"Assuming we do go to trial, I'm afraid you're right."
"I wanted to tell him when he came by last, but I couldn't get th' words out properly. I want you to make sure Dick doesn't attend the trial," she said in an emphatic tone.
Before he could ask why, she continued, "It's not that I don't want him there; he's been a wonderful friend. But he doesn't need that kind of publicity -- not after what happened with Bruce Wayne."
"I'll tell him," Matt said diffidently, "but I'm not sure he'll listen to me."
She sighed. "It's funny," she said. "When I knew him in Bludhaven, I just thought of him as my cute tenant who actually paid his rent on time. We had fun together, and he was the one to encourage me to pursue my dream of medicine. He even told me about the Wayne Foundation scholarship, and I still didn't suspect a thing. It wasn't until after I moved to Gotham City and saw a newspaper article that mentioned that Bruce Wayne had officially adopted his former ward, Richard Grayson, that I made the connection."
"It was a surprise?"
"Complete and utter surprise." She laughed. "I'd even met Bruce -- he came by once to visit Dick, who introduced him to me as his friend, 'Bruce.' "
"Does Dick know you know?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't know. When I figured out who he was, I almost called him up to yell at him for not tellin' me, but then I got to thinkin'. It seemed pretty obvious to me that Dick came to Bludhaven to be on his own. He probably worried that if I knew about his background, I might treat him differently. This way, I and his other friends got to know him for himself."
"Well, I'll try to explain your reasons to Dick, but I can't guarantee anything."
"I know -- he can be pretty stubborn about supporting his friends." She smiled.
Matt reached inside his jacket and brought out a small tape recorder. "I do have one more item to cover with you. The witness who placed you at the bar with Munroe the night of the murder is back in town finally, and I want him to hear what you sound like." Jerry the bartender had stayed with his daughter an extra week because she had experienced some complications following the delivery. Skip informed Matt that Jerry would finally be back at work today.
He turned the tape recorder on. "Let's start with the basics. Why don't you tell me your name, where you were born, that kind of thing."
She nodded and said, "Okay. My name is Bridget Siobhan Clancy. I was born in Hong Kong, but my birth mum abandoned me, and I was placed in an orphanage." She smiled, and Matt could also hear the smile in her voice. "An Irish missionary couple wanted to adopt a Chinese baby girl, and they picked me. We stayed in Hong Kong until I was around two, and then we moved to Bhutan. Daddy's a doctor, so he worked in a clinic there, while Mum tried to get to know the other women who lived near us." Her voice grew grimmer. "The thing is, Bhutan's official religion is Tibetan Buddhism -- Christianity is against the law. When I was around four, officials found out my parents were missionaries. They took my father into custody and ... tortured him." Her voice broke slightly, but she forced herself to continue. "They couldn't get my mum or me because she managed to get us to the American embassy -- Mum was an American citizen. Eventually, they were able to get Daddy released, and we went home to Ireland. He recovered, but he was never really strong enough to go back to the mission field. So we stayed in Ireland." She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Murdock! I didn't mean to go off like that. I guess being in prison bothers me more than I thought."
"That's all right, Bridget," he replied gently as he turned off the recorder. "It sounds as if you needed to get that out of your system. Are you sure you don't want me to contact your parents?"
She bent her head. "Not yet, please," she said quietly. "I'm not looking forward to trying to explain to them that I was involved in an affair with a married man. Let alone that I'm in jail, charged with his murder."
"You didn't know he was married," Matt said, trying to comfort her.
"If I hadn't been having sex with him, I probably wouldn't be in this situation," she stated. "My parents won't say anything to me, but I know that's what they'll be thinkin'. To be honest, it's what I've been thinkin' as well." She shook her head slightly. "I know better -- they raised me better than this. Until this happened, I hadn't realized just how far I've drifted away from what they taught me."
Matt thought for a moment and said tentatively, "Then maybe your being in here isn't a complete loss?"
She smiled slightly. "I've been thinkin' about that as well."
"Well, that's all I need for today. Did you have any questions?"
"Actually, I do. It's a small thing, but it's been botherin' me," she said hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"I know she doesn't fit the profile of the killer you're looking for, but why am I a more logical suspect for the police than David's wife? Don't they usually suspect relatives in this sort of thing?"
Matt gave her a sardonic grin. "She was their first choice. Unfortunately, she had a much better alibi than you. It was about as airtight as you can get."
"What was it?"
"Apparently, after she left you and Munroe, she went on a bender -- she was picked up for public intoxication and disturbing the peace about two hours before he was killed. At the time of his death, she was in the drunk tank."
~~~~~~~~~~
Matt walked into McMurphy's, his white cane in hand. As usual, an intense assortment of smells assaulted him. Fortunately, the lunch-hour rush was over, so he was able to make out the form of Jerry behind the bar. As he walked further into the room, Jerry looked over and saw him.
"Hey, Mr. Murdock! How've you been?"
"Ah, Jerry! I've been fine. How're your daughter and grandson?" He walked over to the bar, sat down on a barstool, and put away the cane. "Coffee, please."
"They're gonna be okay," Jerry replied as he poured coffee into a large mug and added cream and sugar. "I gotta tell ya, I was scared when the doc started talkin' about 'internal bleeding' and stuff like that. But Violet's gonna be okay. The docs let her and the baby go home a couple of days ago, and she was well enough to fuss at me for hovering, so she's definitely on the mend. Do you wanna see some baby ... Aw man, sorry about that, Mr. Murdock!"
Matt gave Jerry a resigned little smile. "It's okay, Jer." He took a sip of the strong coffee. "Did Skip mention that I was asking about you?"
"Um, yeah," Jerry replied, still embarrassed about his faux pas. "He said you and some other guy came by lookin' for me last week."
Matt nodded. "That's right. I wanted to ask you a few questions that'll help me with one of my clients."
"Sure thing! Ask away."
"This is about the Munroe murder. My client is the woman you identified to the police as having been here the evening he was killed."
"I know what I saw, Mr. Murdock," Jerry said defensively. "She's the one I saw in here."
"But what did you hear?" asked Matt. "Did you speak to her? Hear her voice?"
Jerry thought for moment. "Sure, I guess so. Yeah, she gave me her drink order -- martini, I think it was. Then I heard her and the guy talking."
"And nothing about her voice struck you as unusual?"
"No. Should it have?"
Matt pulled out the little tape recorder. "I recorded this earlier this morning. I promise you, this is how my client normally sounds." He played the tape, although he cut it off before Bridget's account of her father's imprisonment. Jerry's mouth hung open.
"That's what your client sounds like?" he exclaimed.
"Yes. You can see why I wanted to talk to you. The combination of her looks and her voice should have been striking enough for you to mention, if you'd really heard Ms. Clancy."
"Well, I can definitely swear that the woman who was in here sounded nothin' like that!"
"And you'll tell the police?"
"You bet!"
"Great! Thanks for your help, Jerry. I really appreciate it." Matt paid for his coffee and left.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Where do you get off, interfering with witnesses like that?" yelled Sharon Carpenter, the Assistant D.A. who was prosecuting Bridget. Matt had just informed her that she shouldn't count on Jerry Flanagan as a witness. She was not happy.
"My client wasn't there, Sharon," Matt replied calmly. "Your witness got the ID wrong. Wouldn't you rather find out now instead of while we're in front of a jury? Seems to me, I did you a favor."
Sharon made a low growling sound. Matt smiled innocently.
"Look," he said, in his most reasonable tone, "all of your evidence is circumstantial at best. You just lost your main eyewitness against my client. Why don't you just drop the charges so the police can keep looking for the real killer."
"Oh, sure! And I'll go take a summer vacation on the moon, while I'm at it!"
"I hear it's lovely this time of year."
Sharon growled again.
"Oh, by the way, I need your authorization for my investigator and me to visit the crime scene."
"Sure, fine, whatever. Here. Just leave." She scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Matt.
"Thanks, Sharon. I always enjoy our little talks. We should do this more often." Matt smiled as he left.
After Matt got back to the office, he made a call. "Dick, it's Matt. Jerry's retracting his ID of Bridget."
"That's great!"
"Yep. I still couldn't get a dismissal, but A.D.A. Carpenter is not a happy camper at the moment. I was also able to get authorization for you and me to take a look at the crime scene."
"Cool! I've got the late afternoon shift today, but I can come by tomorrow morning. Will that work?"
"That'll be fine."
"I'll be there around 11:00."
"See you then."
Matt hung up the phone. He couldn't say why, but he had a feeling that things were about to start happening. Soon.
~~ End Chapter 5 ~
