Chapter 10
The Chocolate Box district was more formally known as Barr Heights. It had earned its nickname partly due to the dark brown stone that made up many of its buildings. It was also rumoured that the name came about because, as with any box of chocolates, there were hard, bitter centres hidden in amongst the rest.
Batman and Robin surveyed one such deceptive looking building from a nearby rooftop.
"So where did you leave the bruiser from the Edge? Hanging upside down off a flagpole somewhere."
"No. Marcus and I have met before, over another matter."
"And…." Honestly, it was like pulling teeth sometimes, thought Robin.
"I remembered he has a thing about enclosed spaces."
"So he's…?"
"Hanging upside down in a nice dark sewer with lots of very loud rats. If Gordon's men don't find him after I radioed in his postion, he'll manage to free himself… eventually. He was coherent long enough to give me this address, and to confirm that he couldn't remember what the man that Brad left with looked like."
"Brad? That the name of the kid from last night?"
Batman nodded, "That's all I was able to find out so far. Apart from the fact he might have been from Chicago."
"Not much to go on." Robin thought again for a few seconds "Is jt likely that Marcus wouldn't remember what the guy the ki… Brad left with looked like? Isn't it his job to remember stuff like that, note the licence plate or something?"
"Yes, but he was too scared to lie to me. He seemed genuinely confused about it, so did everyone else in that crowd who remembered seeing Brad on the street, I listened in on them before I met up with you."
"I didn't see….. oh yeah, kind of the point, right?" Robin looked faintly apologetic at entertaining the very idea that Batman would be seen by anyone whom Batman didn't want to be seen by.
Batman overlooked the interruption. "They recall him leaving, but no details at all about the man involved. Some had even spoken to him, but they were as confused as everyone else, they recall a car, a "cool" car, but no more than that. Just like the motel clerks in Bludhaven and Gotham. It all ties in with the Corinthian's MO."
"You think it's some sort of a power he has?"
"Possibly, he might use drugs, hypnotism, or maybe it is some psychic talent. It'd certainly be very useful for a serial killer. That's speculation at the moment though. Tell me what you see here."
If the change in topic threw Robin, he hid it well, adopting his best professional tone. "Detached two storey building, with an sealed up attic and a basement level too, garden out back, high walls with razorwire on top. One main door at front with heavy locks, one at back, plus basement door at front reached by steps. Rear exit not used much judging by the way the garden is overgrown. Security locks and bars on the outside of the window frames look new. Hard place to get in to, worse one to get out of."
He continued, more confidently since Batman hadn't interrupted him "One sentry on guard, standing in the shadows by the steps down to the basement. Has a baseball bat just within reach."
"At least six occupants. Four male, two female, all kids. That's all I can tell so far."
There was no emotion in the Voice, no sign of approval, merely acceptance of the facts as stated. "You missed the wires of the alarm system on the windows, and there are at least eight people inside and two are adults, Ma Graves rarely leaves the house at night, so she's probably in there, and she'd be a fool not to have an inside minder. Other than that it was a good analysis. You might also note that the fire escape looks up to code, but there are removable bars on the access windows. Someone wants to make the place look good when particular people are around, but otherwise is taking no chances on an occupant making a run for it."
"Here's the plan. First I'll deal with Ma Graves and then I'll talk to her.. guests. I want you to stay here and keep watch."
"Yeah, right. Batman, you just managed to make a seventeen stone professional heavy cry. You think you'll do anything but panic a bunch of kids who're probably already scared? Someone their own age would be better, and unless you think you can slip into this outfit and lose two feet in height, that leaves me."
Batman weighed things up, he was already worried about how involved in the case Robin was coming, but his was reconnaissance, and he was right, they might react to Robin better than to Batman.
This time he did sigh "All right, go in, find out what you can about the set-up there, it'll all be useful evidence for when this place is closed down. And find out as much as you can about Brad. Bear in mind they probably don't know he's dead yet." With that he was gone.
Robin selected the window he wanted and swung to it. He was pretty sure there were no trembler alarms on the bars, too easily set off by birds or the like.
Robin noted that, even though he had just said how tough a place it would be to break in to, Batman expected him to be able to get in without any assistance. He had a feeling he had just been flattered, in a typically Batman-esque way. Plus he would probably have to be ready to do some impromptu grief counselling. He wondered if he really was getting in over his head this time, but it was too late to back down. Batman had given him a mission, and on this case, that was enough to be going on with.
The window he had chosen was dark, but adjoined the only lit room on the upper floor. If he moved quietly enough, no one need know he was there until he was ready to show himself. Once hanging onto to the bars with knees, he found he could reach the window through the bars easily enough. It took him less than two minutes to work the lock, once he'd looped the alarm wire that would otherwise have gone off. It took him another minute to remove the single security bar he needed to be able to slip through…
Ma Graves house, Downstairs
Batman took the more obvious route into the house. The guard out front literally had no idea what hit him. It was the work of a moment to find his keys and gain access to the house through the front door. He could, in theory, have taken Robin with him this way, but he felt the boy had been lagging behind in his infiltration techniques lately and this would be a good refresher for him, at least that's what he told himself. Nothing to do with keeping him out of the dealings he was about to have with Ma Graves.
Ma Graves wasn't hard to find, though the overall decor of the place was rather shabby, the main room was well appointed.
Eleanor Graves was, as far an anyone knew, single, and had no family. She had earned the nickname of "Ma" because of how possessive she was of her "children".
She was in her early fifties now, and had a somewhat matronly appearance; solidly built, she kept her greying brown hair pulled up in a severe bun and wore an everyday looking sweater and skirt combination. Her tortoiseshell glasses completed the general air of some typical middle-class pillar of the community, or a rather old-fashioned schoolteacher. It was an act she cultivated as carefully as Profile did his flamboyance, and was about as genuine.
At present she was sitting down at a large desk, running her finger through an appointment calendar on an expensive looking laptop computer as she spoke into the mobile telephone clamped under her ear. She might have been discussing a bake sale or the like, but Batman listened with revulsion.
"…yes, that'll be for a party of five, and you'd like how many? Yes, I can arrange that. Do you want both girls or would you like a boy and a girl? … _Two_ girls and a boy? Of course, for a customer such as yourself we can arrange a small discount. Look on it as a courtesy gesture. And I hate to bring it up, but the money? Excellent, no that's no trouble at all. I look forward to seeing you." Her voice grew harder for a moment, "No, not here, never at my place of work, you know the rules. The Lazy Pines is very amenable to business transactions of this sort, I've always found. Very… accommodating, if you'll pardon the pun. Yes, I'll make the arrangements."
The phone was taken out of her hand in a smooth movement. She heard a voice, _the_ Voice she'd prayed never to hear again, speaking from behind her chair. How the hell had he managed to get behind her without her noticing?
The Voice spoke calmly; "I'm sorry, but Ms Graves is not available right now. She may get back in touch, but that depends on who she uses her one phone call to contact. Who am I? I'm Batman. See you soon."
With that he shut the phone, cutting off the strangled squawk that was coming from the earpiece. After a moments though he put it in a small pouch in his belt. It'd be easy enough to trace the numbers she had called and those who she had dealt with. That, however, was a matter for later, now he had to deal with the woman herself.
He walked around the desk, letting his cloak billow around him for effect. Behind him she could see, laid out on the floor, Frank, her most vicious minder, whom Batman seemed to have dealt with without making a sound. Maybe he did have the supernatural skills he was rumoured to have. Now the urban legend leant forward, pushing himself close to her face, intimidating as only the Batman could be
"So, Ma, you _actually_ thought you could start up business in Gotham again?"
Her fingers clenched and looked worried for a moment, which gave Batman a small measure of satisfaction, but she recovered her composure quickly. She spoke quickly, with a brittle edge to her voice.
"Of course. Those ludicrous charges you brought against me were fairly easy for my lawyer to have thrown out of court, what with no witnesses being prepared to testify against me, and you being strangely absent from court proceedings. Since then I have been a model citizen. I have a sideline as party planner you see, as well as my work with underprivileged children here at my halfway house. What you heard was simply me arranging a surprise party for the son of a friend of mine. He's new in town and doesn't have many friends yet so I thought a few of the children here might like to attend, to make up numbers. Oh, I know it must sound terrible, it's as if I'm hiring out children like commodities, but it really is innocent."
Batman just continued to stare. Tougher opponents than Ma Graves had wilted before that stare but, remarkably, Ma had recovered enough composure as she spoke to risk a small, nasty smile.
"Well, it's what my lawyers will say, and you'd have a very hard time disproving it."
"You think so? Marcus might disagree."
Again the flicker across the eyes, calculating, planning "Marcus? I don't think I know a Marcus."
"Really? How strange, he had SO much to say about you, you being his employer."
"Well, I should imagine that this 'Marcus' individual has a lengthy criminal record, and would hardly be a credible witness against me, who was doing a kindness by offering a former felon a chance to reform by working with me."
"Perhaps, but that brings us to the matter of Brad then.",
"Brad? I've met several Brad's as guests before now, so I'm sure I don't know who you mean. I run an open house here Batman, waifs and strays are always welcome here. I'm well known for it."
"I'm sure you are."
"Even if this Brad did exist, I'm sure he would never risk perjuring himself, especially not against someone who sheltered him out of the kindness of her heart"
"There isn't a hope of that, Brad's dead."
Her eyes widened for a second, perhaps confirming a suspicion she'd already had. Batman didn't delude himself that she might have felt some genuine emotion towards the boy. He could all but hear her think, working out how to turn this to her best advantage.
He hammered his point home.
"He was the body that was found this morning, I'm sure you must have heard the news. I believe the term "grotesquely murdered" was used frequently, but that doesn't begin to describe what happened."
"I did hear about that, a terrible thing, but I'm sure that he couldn't have been a guest here."
"I imagine forensics might say something different. He must have left some clothes and effects here, and that of course means fingerprints, hairs and so on. And some of your other guests would confirm his presence I'm sure."
Again, the nasty smile flitted across her face. "Oh THAT Brad. How terrible, what could have driven him back to his old ways. I tried so hard to steer him back on to the straight and narrow."
"Perhaps the other residents might have a thing or two to say about that."
"They'd never be so foolish as to implicate themselves in such a thing. And asking children to get involved in a sordid murder case, no I wouldn't hear of it."
Batman had to admit she was very good at improvisation, adapting an adequate, and doubtless very convincing, new strategy to handle every new fact she encountered. He could see how his earlier case against her might not have been strong enough, and silently cursed himself for his inefficiency, but just after her arrest there had been that business with the Scarecrow wanting to conduct experiments in fear reactions by sabotaging thrill rides at the Terror Towers Park. He pulled himself back to the here and now, self-recriminations could come later.
"If I were to mention that we suspect a serial killer is involved in this instance, and that some have even suggested that the Corinthian was involved. I think that you might find them willing to talk. He's something of a legend amongst street kids."
"The Corinthian? Scaring children with tales of bogeymen, Batman? Your own legendary aura of fear not enough any more? I'm almost disappointed"
Batman changed the subject, attempting to throw her off balance.
"So tell me Ma, are you registered with Gotham Social Services? Have you been investigated by them?"
"Of course. I've had the appropriate inspections of course. No refuge such as mine could possibly exist without the permits."
"Really? I wonder how much of an inspection this place would actually stand up to? If an audit of records might produce some interesting facts about those inspections, and perhaps the inspectors involved themselves. Never mind the uses to which you put the children who stay here. I wonder who recommends them to you, and vice versa."
Ma looked a little less certain than she had before "I have some friends in Social Services who take an interest in the welfare of children in Gotham. They are happy to entrust them into my care."
"Do they? And yet a moment ago you were saying that this was an open house, with no such cases."
"Well, of course I run an open house, but I have some children recommended to me by Child Welfare."
"..and I'm sure that some of those with business interests in the East Side have something to say about that too."
"Now you're just fishing Batman."
Batman had had enough of this, the woman was frustrating as anyone he'd ever met. She was a small time criminal who was arrogant in her self-confidence, calculating in her scheming, and ugly in her thinking. She believed she had every avenue covered, but Batman always had an edge.
"Ma, your problem is that you keep thinking about your legal defences and the arguments you'd use as if I actually cared. Oh, I use the justice system when it suits me, but I'm not bound by it the way the Police are, you should know that. I have friends on the streets who would ensure that _everyone_ knows your dirty business, and then it won't matter who you know, who your connections are anywhere. People you've never even heard of yet would hate you enough to put you out of business any way they could."
"Now I might even turn a blind eye to a little mob violence in a case like this, but that sets a poor precedent and might harm the children, and so I prefer to utilise the forces of law this time. I will make sure that every possible charge against you is pursued and that a conviction is gained for every single one of them, and the Police, the DA's office, Social Services, all of them, will help me. And if that doesn't work thanks to your high priced lawyers, only then will I really start to come down hard on you."
"Why go to all this trouble when I could just put you out of business with a few phone calls to your criminal element friends? Surely you know what they do to people like you in prison? They say that sex offenders spend every waking minute wishing for death rather than having to live in prison, but believe me, that's nothing compared to how the other inmates would treat _you_. Because of you a child died last night, died a lonely, terrible death, and all to make you money."
"So don't delude yourself about your position, about your "powerful friends", in prison it's a whole different world."
"I've met more criminals than you can imagine, Ma. Never mind the so-called "supervillains" and lunatics, I've known thieves, hookers, madams, murderers, but no matter how different they may be to each other, the sane ones all agree on one thing, in fact it's possibly the only thing they DO all agree on: Those who hurt children are the lowest of the low. And yet you are _so_ much worse. You _profit_ from arranging for other people to rape and molest children, that's so low they'll have to think up a new word for it."
"So yes, Ma, I could make your life hell, and I will do so without the slightest qualm, but that's not half the hell you'll face from the justice system. From your fellow inmates, the guards. I want you to wake every morning scared to leave your cell, to flinch every time you see someone coming towards you for even the most innocent reason. I want you to feel a little of the terror that you brought to those children each and every day for the rest of your life. And if you actually do come out of prison, it won't be over even then, because I'll still be waiting for you there."
Batman advanced on her, reaching for a pouch on his utility belt.
And Ma Graves did something she though she was far too self-controlled to do. She screamed...
The Chocolate Box district was more formally known as Barr Heights. It had earned its nickname partly due to the dark brown stone that made up many of its buildings. It was also rumoured that the name came about because, as with any box of chocolates, there were hard, bitter centres hidden in amongst the rest.
Batman and Robin surveyed one such deceptive looking building from a nearby rooftop.
"So where did you leave the bruiser from the Edge? Hanging upside down off a flagpole somewhere."
"No. Marcus and I have met before, over another matter."
"And…." Honestly, it was like pulling teeth sometimes, thought Robin.
"I remembered he has a thing about enclosed spaces."
"So he's…?"
"Hanging upside down in a nice dark sewer with lots of very loud rats. If Gordon's men don't find him after I radioed in his postion, he'll manage to free himself… eventually. He was coherent long enough to give me this address, and to confirm that he couldn't remember what the man that Brad left with looked like."
"Brad? That the name of the kid from last night?"
Batman nodded, "That's all I was able to find out so far. Apart from the fact he might have been from Chicago."
"Not much to go on." Robin thought again for a few seconds "Is jt likely that Marcus wouldn't remember what the guy the ki… Brad left with looked like? Isn't it his job to remember stuff like that, note the licence plate or something?"
"Yes, but he was too scared to lie to me. He seemed genuinely confused about it, so did everyone else in that crowd who remembered seeing Brad on the street, I listened in on them before I met up with you."
"I didn't see….. oh yeah, kind of the point, right?" Robin looked faintly apologetic at entertaining the very idea that Batman would be seen by anyone whom Batman didn't want to be seen by.
Batman overlooked the interruption. "They recall him leaving, but no details at all about the man involved. Some had even spoken to him, but they were as confused as everyone else, they recall a car, a "cool" car, but no more than that. Just like the motel clerks in Bludhaven and Gotham. It all ties in with the Corinthian's MO."
"You think it's some sort of a power he has?"
"Possibly, he might use drugs, hypnotism, or maybe it is some psychic talent. It'd certainly be very useful for a serial killer. That's speculation at the moment though. Tell me what you see here."
If the change in topic threw Robin, he hid it well, adopting his best professional tone. "Detached two storey building, with an sealed up attic and a basement level too, garden out back, high walls with razorwire on top. One main door at front with heavy locks, one at back, plus basement door at front reached by steps. Rear exit not used much judging by the way the garden is overgrown. Security locks and bars on the outside of the window frames look new. Hard place to get in to, worse one to get out of."
He continued, more confidently since Batman hadn't interrupted him "One sentry on guard, standing in the shadows by the steps down to the basement. Has a baseball bat just within reach."
"At least six occupants. Four male, two female, all kids. That's all I can tell so far."
There was no emotion in the Voice, no sign of approval, merely acceptance of the facts as stated. "You missed the wires of the alarm system on the windows, and there are at least eight people inside and two are adults, Ma Graves rarely leaves the house at night, so she's probably in there, and she'd be a fool not to have an inside minder. Other than that it was a good analysis. You might also note that the fire escape looks up to code, but there are removable bars on the access windows. Someone wants to make the place look good when particular people are around, but otherwise is taking no chances on an occupant making a run for it."
"Here's the plan. First I'll deal with Ma Graves and then I'll talk to her.. guests. I want you to stay here and keep watch."
"Yeah, right. Batman, you just managed to make a seventeen stone professional heavy cry. You think you'll do anything but panic a bunch of kids who're probably already scared? Someone their own age would be better, and unless you think you can slip into this outfit and lose two feet in height, that leaves me."
Batman weighed things up, he was already worried about how involved in the case Robin was coming, but his was reconnaissance, and he was right, they might react to Robin better than to Batman.
This time he did sigh "All right, go in, find out what you can about the set-up there, it'll all be useful evidence for when this place is closed down. And find out as much as you can about Brad. Bear in mind they probably don't know he's dead yet." With that he was gone.
Robin selected the window he wanted and swung to it. He was pretty sure there were no trembler alarms on the bars, too easily set off by birds or the like.
Robin noted that, even though he had just said how tough a place it would be to break in to, Batman expected him to be able to get in without any assistance. He had a feeling he had just been flattered, in a typically Batman-esque way. Plus he would probably have to be ready to do some impromptu grief counselling. He wondered if he really was getting in over his head this time, but it was too late to back down. Batman had given him a mission, and on this case, that was enough to be going on with.
The window he had chosen was dark, but adjoined the only lit room on the upper floor. If he moved quietly enough, no one need know he was there until he was ready to show himself. Once hanging onto to the bars with knees, he found he could reach the window through the bars easily enough. It took him less than two minutes to work the lock, once he'd looped the alarm wire that would otherwise have gone off. It took him another minute to remove the single security bar he needed to be able to slip through…
Ma Graves house, Downstairs
Batman took the more obvious route into the house. The guard out front literally had no idea what hit him. It was the work of a moment to find his keys and gain access to the house through the front door. He could, in theory, have taken Robin with him this way, but he felt the boy had been lagging behind in his infiltration techniques lately and this would be a good refresher for him, at least that's what he told himself. Nothing to do with keeping him out of the dealings he was about to have with Ma Graves.
Ma Graves wasn't hard to find, though the overall decor of the place was rather shabby, the main room was well appointed.
Eleanor Graves was, as far an anyone knew, single, and had no family. She had earned the nickname of "Ma" because of how possessive she was of her "children".
She was in her early fifties now, and had a somewhat matronly appearance; solidly built, she kept her greying brown hair pulled up in a severe bun and wore an everyday looking sweater and skirt combination. Her tortoiseshell glasses completed the general air of some typical middle-class pillar of the community, or a rather old-fashioned schoolteacher. It was an act she cultivated as carefully as Profile did his flamboyance, and was about as genuine.
At present she was sitting down at a large desk, running her finger through an appointment calendar on an expensive looking laptop computer as she spoke into the mobile telephone clamped under her ear. She might have been discussing a bake sale or the like, but Batman listened with revulsion.
"…yes, that'll be for a party of five, and you'd like how many? Yes, I can arrange that. Do you want both girls or would you like a boy and a girl? … _Two_ girls and a boy? Of course, for a customer such as yourself we can arrange a small discount. Look on it as a courtesy gesture. And I hate to bring it up, but the money? Excellent, no that's no trouble at all. I look forward to seeing you." Her voice grew harder for a moment, "No, not here, never at my place of work, you know the rules. The Lazy Pines is very amenable to business transactions of this sort, I've always found. Very… accommodating, if you'll pardon the pun. Yes, I'll make the arrangements."
The phone was taken out of her hand in a smooth movement. She heard a voice, _the_ Voice she'd prayed never to hear again, speaking from behind her chair. How the hell had he managed to get behind her without her noticing?
The Voice spoke calmly; "I'm sorry, but Ms Graves is not available right now. She may get back in touch, but that depends on who she uses her one phone call to contact. Who am I? I'm Batman. See you soon."
With that he shut the phone, cutting off the strangled squawk that was coming from the earpiece. After a moments though he put it in a small pouch in his belt. It'd be easy enough to trace the numbers she had called and those who she had dealt with. That, however, was a matter for later, now he had to deal with the woman herself.
He walked around the desk, letting his cloak billow around him for effect. Behind him she could see, laid out on the floor, Frank, her most vicious minder, whom Batman seemed to have dealt with without making a sound. Maybe he did have the supernatural skills he was rumoured to have. Now the urban legend leant forward, pushing himself close to her face, intimidating as only the Batman could be
"So, Ma, you _actually_ thought you could start up business in Gotham again?"
Her fingers clenched and looked worried for a moment, which gave Batman a small measure of satisfaction, but she recovered her composure quickly. She spoke quickly, with a brittle edge to her voice.
"Of course. Those ludicrous charges you brought against me were fairly easy for my lawyer to have thrown out of court, what with no witnesses being prepared to testify against me, and you being strangely absent from court proceedings. Since then I have been a model citizen. I have a sideline as party planner you see, as well as my work with underprivileged children here at my halfway house. What you heard was simply me arranging a surprise party for the son of a friend of mine. He's new in town and doesn't have many friends yet so I thought a few of the children here might like to attend, to make up numbers. Oh, I know it must sound terrible, it's as if I'm hiring out children like commodities, but it really is innocent."
Batman just continued to stare. Tougher opponents than Ma Graves had wilted before that stare but, remarkably, Ma had recovered enough composure as she spoke to risk a small, nasty smile.
"Well, it's what my lawyers will say, and you'd have a very hard time disproving it."
"You think so? Marcus might disagree."
Again the flicker across the eyes, calculating, planning "Marcus? I don't think I know a Marcus."
"Really? How strange, he had SO much to say about you, you being his employer."
"Well, I should imagine that this 'Marcus' individual has a lengthy criminal record, and would hardly be a credible witness against me, who was doing a kindness by offering a former felon a chance to reform by working with me."
"Perhaps, but that brings us to the matter of Brad then.",
"Brad? I've met several Brad's as guests before now, so I'm sure I don't know who you mean. I run an open house here Batman, waifs and strays are always welcome here. I'm well known for it."
"I'm sure you are."
"Even if this Brad did exist, I'm sure he would never risk perjuring himself, especially not against someone who sheltered him out of the kindness of her heart"
"There isn't a hope of that, Brad's dead."
Her eyes widened for a second, perhaps confirming a suspicion she'd already had. Batman didn't delude himself that she might have felt some genuine emotion towards the boy. He could all but hear her think, working out how to turn this to her best advantage.
He hammered his point home.
"He was the body that was found this morning, I'm sure you must have heard the news. I believe the term "grotesquely murdered" was used frequently, but that doesn't begin to describe what happened."
"I did hear about that, a terrible thing, but I'm sure that he couldn't have been a guest here."
"I imagine forensics might say something different. He must have left some clothes and effects here, and that of course means fingerprints, hairs and so on. And some of your other guests would confirm his presence I'm sure."
Again, the nasty smile flitted across her face. "Oh THAT Brad. How terrible, what could have driven him back to his old ways. I tried so hard to steer him back on to the straight and narrow."
"Perhaps the other residents might have a thing or two to say about that."
"They'd never be so foolish as to implicate themselves in such a thing. And asking children to get involved in a sordid murder case, no I wouldn't hear of it."
Batman had to admit she was very good at improvisation, adapting an adequate, and doubtless very convincing, new strategy to handle every new fact she encountered. He could see how his earlier case against her might not have been strong enough, and silently cursed himself for his inefficiency, but just after her arrest there had been that business with the Scarecrow wanting to conduct experiments in fear reactions by sabotaging thrill rides at the Terror Towers Park. He pulled himself back to the here and now, self-recriminations could come later.
"If I were to mention that we suspect a serial killer is involved in this instance, and that some have even suggested that the Corinthian was involved. I think that you might find them willing to talk. He's something of a legend amongst street kids."
"The Corinthian? Scaring children with tales of bogeymen, Batman? Your own legendary aura of fear not enough any more? I'm almost disappointed"
Batman changed the subject, attempting to throw her off balance.
"So tell me Ma, are you registered with Gotham Social Services? Have you been investigated by them?"
"Of course. I've had the appropriate inspections of course. No refuge such as mine could possibly exist without the permits."
"Really? I wonder how much of an inspection this place would actually stand up to? If an audit of records might produce some interesting facts about those inspections, and perhaps the inspectors involved themselves. Never mind the uses to which you put the children who stay here. I wonder who recommends them to you, and vice versa."
Ma looked a little less certain than she had before "I have some friends in Social Services who take an interest in the welfare of children in Gotham. They are happy to entrust them into my care."
"Do they? And yet a moment ago you were saying that this was an open house, with no such cases."
"Well, of course I run an open house, but I have some children recommended to me by Child Welfare."
"..and I'm sure that some of those with business interests in the East Side have something to say about that too."
"Now you're just fishing Batman."
Batman had had enough of this, the woman was frustrating as anyone he'd ever met. She was a small time criminal who was arrogant in her self-confidence, calculating in her scheming, and ugly in her thinking. She believed she had every avenue covered, but Batman always had an edge.
"Ma, your problem is that you keep thinking about your legal defences and the arguments you'd use as if I actually cared. Oh, I use the justice system when it suits me, but I'm not bound by it the way the Police are, you should know that. I have friends on the streets who would ensure that _everyone_ knows your dirty business, and then it won't matter who you know, who your connections are anywhere. People you've never even heard of yet would hate you enough to put you out of business any way they could."
"Now I might even turn a blind eye to a little mob violence in a case like this, but that sets a poor precedent and might harm the children, and so I prefer to utilise the forces of law this time. I will make sure that every possible charge against you is pursued and that a conviction is gained for every single one of them, and the Police, the DA's office, Social Services, all of them, will help me. And if that doesn't work thanks to your high priced lawyers, only then will I really start to come down hard on you."
"Why go to all this trouble when I could just put you out of business with a few phone calls to your criminal element friends? Surely you know what they do to people like you in prison? They say that sex offenders spend every waking minute wishing for death rather than having to live in prison, but believe me, that's nothing compared to how the other inmates would treat _you_. Because of you a child died last night, died a lonely, terrible death, and all to make you money."
"So don't delude yourself about your position, about your "powerful friends", in prison it's a whole different world."
"I've met more criminals than you can imagine, Ma. Never mind the so-called "supervillains" and lunatics, I've known thieves, hookers, madams, murderers, but no matter how different they may be to each other, the sane ones all agree on one thing, in fact it's possibly the only thing they DO all agree on: Those who hurt children are the lowest of the low. And yet you are _so_ much worse. You _profit_ from arranging for other people to rape and molest children, that's so low they'll have to think up a new word for it."
"So yes, Ma, I could make your life hell, and I will do so without the slightest qualm, but that's not half the hell you'll face from the justice system. From your fellow inmates, the guards. I want you to wake every morning scared to leave your cell, to flinch every time you see someone coming towards you for even the most innocent reason. I want you to feel a little of the terror that you brought to those children each and every day for the rest of your life. And if you actually do come out of prison, it won't be over even then, because I'll still be waiting for you there."
Batman advanced on her, reaching for a pouch on his utility belt.
And Ma Graves did something she though she was far too self-controlled to do. She screamed...