The next night Lark was sitting in bed reading when she heard a knocking at
her window. She opened the curtains to find Batman staring at her. She
opened the window and let him in.
"Well, this is romantic." She joked. "Did you bring any flowers?"
Batman ignored her. "We ran some tests on the knife and note."
"We?" Lark asked.
"My superior and I." Batman replied.
"Your predecessor as Batman?" Lark asked.
"That's the guy. Anyway whoever was doing this is very clever. They used gloves when handling the knife. No fingerprints." Batman explained.
"Either that or whoever it is doesn't have fingerprints."
Batman looked at her with some respect. "Good point, and certainly not worth ruling out. But we have one vital clue, whoever it is, they are left- handed. See the note?" He held it out to Lark. "The ink is smudged from left to right, suggesting that the person writes with their left hand and so as they write their hand runs over the wet ink, smudging it."
"And the ink type, paper type?" Lark asked.
"Nothing special. Ordinary ink and paper." Batman replied.
"Hmm." Lark looked at the knife and the note. "I don't think we can rely on the idea that the person is left handed."
"Why?" Batman asked.
"The way the knife was holding the paper against the wall." Lark found a piece of cardboard and tacked it up on the wall. She put the piece of paper on it and used the knife to keep it in place. "That's exactly how I found the knife and note. The knife is sticking in at angle look, the blade is pointing to the left, which would suggest that a right-handed person stuck the knife in."
"Or a left handed person trying to cover their tracks." Batman added.
"Or a right handed person trying to confuse us by writing with their left hand to change their hand writing." Lark said.
"Or it's two people." Batman said finally.
"Exactly. I don't think we can rely on that as a lead." Lark sighed. "We don't have much to go on. The lights were out for such a long time, anyone could have come in and out. When we rebooted the light system everyone had moved around, you couldn't have told if anyone had been near the wall."
"Do you think it was someone in the room?" Batman asked.
"Maybe, but it would be difficult for them to crash the lighting system."
"But easier for them to plant the note." Batman added. "And vice versa if it was someone who wasn't in the room." He walked back over to the window. "I have to go. Keep an eye out at rehearsals, just in case."
"I will." Lark replied as he climbed onto the window ledge. "If you find out anything else let me know. Wait!" She called as he made to jump. "What if I find out something and have to tell you? How will I contact you?"
"I'll know if you need to talk to me." Batman replied.
"And if you don't?"
"I will." He jumped and Lark watched him fly through the night sky.
"So, what are you planning on doing today?" Dana asked. It was a Sunday nearly three weeks later. Rehearsals went ahead as normal for the play and no more death notes appeared during rehearsals, so Lark had almost entirely forgotten about the entire thing. But one thing was still troubling her, and this was the contents of the bottom of her chest of drawers.
"I don't know. I've finished my homework." Lark twiddled the phone cord around her finger as she lay on her bed talking to Dana. "Are you going out with Rick?"
"He's taking me on a surprise date, I don't know where we are going yet."
"I can't believe you two have lasted so long. No offence, but I thought Rick was just a rebound to you." Lark admitted.
"Well, so did I. But it turns out we really clicked, more than I did with Terry."
"I'm glad you two are still friends." Lark replied.
"Me too, it makes everything much easier. I'm surprised he hasn't got a new girlfriend though." Dana picked at her chicken sandwich as she talked to Lark.
"Well, it's only been a month, and as you said he seems to have more important things than girlfriends." Lark said.
"Yeah, working for Mr Wayne must really be hard. Still I bet he gets paid well." Dana added.
"What? Did you say Mr Wayne? As in Bruce Wayne?" Lark asked.
"Yeah, that's billionaire who started Wayne Enterprises. Why?" Dana asked.
"No reason, I just keep hearing his naming cropping up. What does Terry do for him?"
"I don't know." Dana admitted. "He never really told me. Probably something to do with Wayne's business. His business was his life you know."
"Yeah, my grandma told me in a letter once." Lark said, glancing at her chest of drawers, her mind racing.
"Your granny knew Bruce Wayne when he was younger?" Dana asked. "Cool. I bet he was such a heartthrob. My mum told me that every girl in Gotham wanted to date him. And now he's practically a recluse. He barely leaves that huge mansion of his."
"Yeah, listen Dana I have to go. I suddenly remembered that I booked a computer at the library to do more family research." Lark said quickly.
"OK. Have you got anywhere with that yet?" Dana asked.
"One name in particular keeps cropping up." Lark said. "But I need to do something really, really big to check it out."
"What, like go and talk to them? Scary!" Dana gasped.
"Yeah, something like that." Lark admitted. "I have to go. Bye!"
A few hours later Terry pulled off his mask in the safety of the Batcave.
"Do you want to tell me what happened out there?" Bruce asked. "I lost the video link when that guy hit you round the head."
"To be honest I'm not sure." Terry replied.
"Be sure." Bruce said shortly.
"Well, I got rid of the three sidekicks no problem. But the big guy caused me some problems." Terry wracked his brains trying to remember exactly what happened. "I remember I knocked him into a wall, but the place was a derelict building sight and the wall wasn't stable, so it began to collapse."
"What happened then?"
"There was some gas trapped between the walls. I don't think it was poisonous."
"It was some form of chloroform, an old drug used to sedate patients. The derelict building was the old hospital." Bruce explained.
"Yeah, well the gas went to my head I think. The last thing I remember was feeling hazy and falling to the ground, but that whole place was coming down." Terry replied. "Then I woke up on top of a nearby building and the police were carting this guy to prison and he had been tied up."
"And you don't remember doing this?" Bruce asked.
"Unless I was sleep walking it wasn't me." Terry replied.
"Sleep walking under the influence of chloroform is unlikely. So we must assume that there was a third party involved." Bruce sat down and rubbed his chin.
"Well, it's not any of this guy's gang, because he wouldn't be in prison and I would be buried under two tons of rubble." Terry said. "Hang on. I remember something. I think I came round briefly and someone was with me. I just remember a haze of red before everything went black again."
"I think that we will just have to accept that someone else intervened, for now anyway." Bruce turned away. "Go home and get some rest, the effects of chloroform can last a long time. And if you remember anything else about your strange saviour."
"You'll be the first to know." Terry got changed behind some screens and emerged dressed in normal clothes.
"Any more news on Dracula's Nemesis?" Bruce asked.
"Nothing. I had my friend on the lookout but she told Batman that nothing was amiss." Terry replied.
"Just don't get her involved." Bruce replied. "The last thing we need is having another of your friends knowing your secret."
"Well, this is romantic." She joked. "Did you bring any flowers?"
Batman ignored her. "We ran some tests on the knife and note."
"We?" Lark asked.
"My superior and I." Batman replied.
"Your predecessor as Batman?" Lark asked.
"That's the guy. Anyway whoever was doing this is very clever. They used gloves when handling the knife. No fingerprints." Batman explained.
"Either that or whoever it is doesn't have fingerprints."
Batman looked at her with some respect. "Good point, and certainly not worth ruling out. But we have one vital clue, whoever it is, they are left- handed. See the note?" He held it out to Lark. "The ink is smudged from left to right, suggesting that the person writes with their left hand and so as they write their hand runs over the wet ink, smudging it."
"And the ink type, paper type?" Lark asked.
"Nothing special. Ordinary ink and paper." Batman replied.
"Hmm." Lark looked at the knife and the note. "I don't think we can rely on the idea that the person is left handed."
"Why?" Batman asked.
"The way the knife was holding the paper against the wall." Lark found a piece of cardboard and tacked it up on the wall. She put the piece of paper on it and used the knife to keep it in place. "That's exactly how I found the knife and note. The knife is sticking in at angle look, the blade is pointing to the left, which would suggest that a right-handed person stuck the knife in."
"Or a left handed person trying to cover their tracks." Batman added.
"Or a right handed person trying to confuse us by writing with their left hand to change their hand writing." Lark said.
"Or it's two people." Batman said finally.
"Exactly. I don't think we can rely on that as a lead." Lark sighed. "We don't have much to go on. The lights were out for such a long time, anyone could have come in and out. When we rebooted the light system everyone had moved around, you couldn't have told if anyone had been near the wall."
"Do you think it was someone in the room?" Batman asked.
"Maybe, but it would be difficult for them to crash the lighting system."
"But easier for them to plant the note." Batman added. "And vice versa if it was someone who wasn't in the room." He walked back over to the window. "I have to go. Keep an eye out at rehearsals, just in case."
"I will." Lark replied as he climbed onto the window ledge. "If you find out anything else let me know. Wait!" She called as he made to jump. "What if I find out something and have to tell you? How will I contact you?"
"I'll know if you need to talk to me." Batman replied.
"And if you don't?"
"I will." He jumped and Lark watched him fly through the night sky.
"So, what are you planning on doing today?" Dana asked. It was a Sunday nearly three weeks later. Rehearsals went ahead as normal for the play and no more death notes appeared during rehearsals, so Lark had almost entirely forgotten about the entire thing. But one thing was still troubling her, and this was the contents of the bottom of her chest of drawers.
"I don't know. I've finished my homework." Lark twiddled the phone cord around her finger as she lay on her bed talking to Dana. "Are you going out with Rick?"
"He's taking me on a surprise date, I don't know where we are going yet."
"I can't believe you two have lasted so long. No offence, but I thought Rick was just a rebound to you." Lark admitted.
"Well, so did I. But it turns out we really clicked, more than I did with Terry."
"I'm glad you two are still friends." Lark replied.
"Me too, it makes everything much easier. I'm surprised he hasn't got a new girlfriend though." Dana picked at her chicken sandwich as she talked to Lark.
"Well, it's only been a month, and as you said he seems to have more important things than girlfriends." Lark said.
"Yeah, working for Mr Wayne must really be hard. Still I bet he gets paid well." Dana added.
"What? Did you say Mr Wayne? As in Bruce Wayne?" Lark asked.
"Yeah, that's billionaire who started Wayne Enterprises. Why?" Dana asked.
"No reason, I just keep hearing his naming cropping up. What does Terry do for him?"
"I don't know." Dana admitted. "He never really told me. Probably something to do with Wayne's business. His business was his life you know."
"Yeah, my grandma told me in a letter once." Lark said, glancing at her chest of drawers, her mind racing.
"Your granny knew Bruce Wayne when he was younger?" Dana asked. "Cool. I bet he was such a heartthrob. My mum told me that every girl in Gotham wanted to date him. And now he's practically a recluse. He barely leaves that huge mansion of his."
"Yeah, listen Dana I have to go. I suddenly remembered that I booked a computer at the library to do more family research." Lark said quickly.
"OK. Have you got anywhere with that yet?" Dana asked.
"One name in particular keeps cropping up." Lark said. "But I need to do something really, really big to check it out."
"What, like go and talk to them? Scary!" Dana gasped.
"Yeah, something like that." Lark admitted. "I have to go. Bye!"
A few hours later Terry pulled off his mask in the safety of the Batcave.
"Do you want to tell me what happened out there?" Bruce asked. "I lost the video link when that guy hit you round the head."
"To be honest I'm not sure." Terry replied.
"Be sure." Bruce said shortly.
"Well, I got rid of the three sidekicks no problem. But the big guy caused me some problems." Terry wracked his brains trying to remember exactly what happened. "I remember I knocked him into a wall, but the place was a derelict building sight and the wall wasn't stable, so it began to collapse."
"What happened then?"
"There was some gas trapped between the walls. I don't think it was poisonous."
"It was some form of chloroform, an old drug used to sedate patients. The derelict building was the old hospital." Bruce explained.
"Yeah, well the gas went to my head I think. The last thing I remember was feeling hazy and falling to the ground, but that whole place was coming down." Terry replied. "Then I woke up on top of a nearby building and the police were carting this guy to prison and he had been tied up."
"And you don't remember doing this?" Bruce asked.
"Unless I was sleep walking it wasn't me." Terry replied.
"Sleep walking under the influence of chloroform is unlikely. So we must assume that there was a third party involved." Bruce sat down and rubbed his chin.
"Well, it's not any of this guy's gang, because he wouldn't be in prison and I would be buried under two tons of rubble." Terry said. "Hang on. I remember something. I think I came round briefly and someone was with me. I just remember a haze of red before everything went black again."
"I think that we will just have to accept that someone else intervened, for now anyway." Bruce turned away. "Go home and get some rest, the effects of chloroform can last a long time. And if you remember anything else about your strange saviour."
"You'll be the first to know." Terry got changed behind some screens and emerged dressed in normal clothes.
"Any more news on Dracula's Nemesis?" Bruce asked.
"Nothing. I had my friend on the lookout but she told Batman that nothing was amiss." Terry replied.
"Just don't get her involved." Bruce replied. "The last thing we need is having another of your friends knowing your secret."
