"Renee, why won't you listen to me? We only took a brand new one, because we knew it would have to be insured!"
Just when did I loose all control over my own case, Montoya thought. She gripped the steering wheel of the car a little harder, in frustration. Here she was driving a stolen car, with Harvey TwoFace Dent in the passenger seat. She was going crazy, that had to be it. She did not even dare to look over at him, knowing that if she did so, her look would surely kill him.
"The car goes back, Dent!"
"But, it's got your fingerprints on it now, Renee."
Dent seemed to have a gift for pointing out the obvious.
"Let's get something straight right now. You ARE under arrest; you know that, don't you? You WILL be going back to Arkham when this case is solved. The only reason that you are still a free man right now is that it would raise to many questions if you were to disappear. You wanted to help, so deal with the consequences. Now, as I said, the car goes back!"
Montoya was in no mood to listen to his excuses either. When he started to respond, she cut him off.
"Just shut up, and sit there! Just…. Sit!"
She had absolutely no idea how she was going to explain this to Gordon when she saw him. She supposed the best thing to do would be to tell it like it was and request that Dent be left in her care until the case was solved. Gordon had always trusted her judgment; she hoped that he would continue to do so. She firmly believed that Dent could help her on this case. He knew all the victims and the suspects.
"Renee…May we ask you a question?" Dent spoke quietly, as if afraid of invoking her wrath. Gritting her teeth together, she decided against shooting him. He had been nice enough to return her gun to her, once he found out that they were on there was to a crime scene.
"What?"
"What happened? Where are we going?" He sounded more than a bit confused. They were driving past the outskirts of the city, into County territory. County was normally the Sheriffs Department's territory, not the GCPD's.
"Their bodies were found, Harv." Montoya really did not have the extra energy for fighting him, so she simply told him what he wanted to know. "When we get there, you are to stay in the car. Is that understood? I'm going to be in enough trouble over this."
Dent opened his mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Montoya pulled the car over on the tree lined street several hundred feet from where the crowd of emergency vehicles was gathering.
"Good luck, Renee."
Shaking her head, the detective got out of the car, and walked down towards the crime scene, cursing her luck all the way.
*****************************************************************************************
Hours later, Montoya was back in her room at the Gotham Arms. Gordon had a plainclothes cop drive both Dent and herself back to their respective living quarters. She had somehow managed to convince Gordon that it was in the cases best interest to leave Dent on the outside. It would be her responsibility to make sure he did not get out of line.
The snow had preserved the bodies and preliminary investigations showed that cause of death was strangulation in each of the singers. Montoya was waiting confirmation from the coroner on that. All of the girls had been severely bruised all over their bodies, and had been found nude. They had lifted several tire treads from the area and she hoped to compare them to the employee's vehicles later. She needed one good solid lead, and so far they were few and far in between.
Renee glanced over at her watch: it was going on seven in the morning. She would have just enough time to grab some sleep, before heading of to the Two of Hearts to do some digging, before rehearsals started. They were scheduled to start at four, so she planned on getting there at two. That would still give her six good hours of sleep, if she were to fall asleep right away.
Unfortunately, sleep was not forthcoming. Too much had happened that night, and her mind would not quiet itself. There were still to many unanswered questions. Why had Morley tried to hide Dent from her? Why make it seem like it had been his idea to go to the police? Those questions were fairly easily answered. Morley had been trying to protect his benefactor. But still more questions crept into the detective's head, as she fell into a restless sleep.
Just when did I loose all control over my own case, Montoya thought. She gripped the steering wheel of the car a little harder, in frustration. Here she was driving a stolen car, with Harvey TwoFace Dent in the passenger seat. She was going crazy, that had to be it. She did not even dare to look over at him, knowing that if she did so, her look would surely kill him.
"The car goes back, Dent!"
"But, it's got your fingerprints on it now, Renee."
Dent seemed to have a gift for pointing out the obvious.
"Let's get something straight right now. You ARE under arrest; you know that, don't you? You WILL be going back to Arkham when this case is solved. The only reason that you are still a free man right now is that it would raise to many questions if you were to disappear. You wanted to help, so deal with the consequences. Now, as I said, the car goes back!"
Montoya was in no mood to listen to his excuses either. When he started to respond, she cut him off.
"Just shut up, and sit there! Just…. Sit!"
She had absolutely no idea how she was going to explain this to Gordon when she saw him. She supposed the best thing to do would be to tell it like it was and request that Dent be left in her care until the case was solved. Gordon had always trusted her judgment; she hoped that he would continue to do so. She firmly believed that Dent could help her on this case. He knew all the victims and the suspects.
"Renee…May we ask you a question?" Dent spoke quietly, as if afraid of invoking her wrath. Gritting her teeth together, she decided against shooting him. He had been nice enough to return her gun to her, once he found out that they were on there was to a crime scene.
"What?"
"What happened? Where are we going?" He sounded more than a bit confused. They were driving past the outskirts of the city, into County territory. County was normally the Sheriffs Department's territory, not the GCPD's.
"Their bodies were found, Harv." Montoya really did not have the extra energy for fighting him, so she simply told him what he wanted to know. "When we get there, you are to stay in the car. Is that understood? I'm going to be in enough trouble over this."
Dent opened his mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Montoya pulled the car over on the tree lined street several hundred feet from where the crowd of emergency vehicles was gathering.
"Good luck, Renee."
Shaking her head, the detective got out of the car, and walked down towards the crime scene, cursing her luck all the way.
*****************************************************************************************
Hours later, Montoya was back in her room at the Gotham Arms. Gordon had a plainclothes cop drive both Dent and herself back to their respective living quarters. She had somehow managed to convince Gordon that it was in the cases best interest to leave Dent on the outside. It would be her responsibility to make sure he did not get out of line.
The snow had preserved the bodies and preliminary investigations showed that cause of death was strangulation in each of the singers. Montoya was waiting confirmation from the coroner on that. All of the girls had been severely bruised all over their bodies, and had been found nude. They had lifted several tire treads from the area and she hoped to compare them to the employee's vehicles later. She needed one good solid lead, and so far they were few and far in between.
Renee glanced over at her watch: it was going on seven in the morning. She would have just enough time to grab some sleep, before heading of to the Two of Hearts to do some digging, before rehearsals started. They were scheduled to start at four, so she planned on getting there at two. That would still give her six good hours of sleep, if she were to fall asleep right away.
Unfortunately, sleep was not forthcoming. Too much had happened that night, and her mind would not quiet itself. There were still to many unanswered questions. Why had Morley tried to hide Dent from her? Why make it seem like it had been his idea to go to the police? Those questions were fairly easily answered. Morley had been trying to protect his benefactor. But still more questions crept into the detective's head, as she fell into a restless sleep.