Chapter Two: Criminology
Robin paced up and down in his room, impatiently waiting for the package that Jim Gordon had sent him. He'd been keeping an eye open for mail for the past three days, but nothing came. He walked back to his desk and began shuffling papers pertaining to the Eddie Hurst case, trying to fight off his frustrations. His investigation was going nowhere.
The door opened and he looked up to see Cyborg walk in. "Robin, I hate to bother you, but you have visitor."
Robin saw the familiar frame of Commissioner Jim Gordon standing in the entrance.
"Commissioner Gordon! What are you doing here?" Robin asked, very surprised.
"I came to bring you the evidence you requested…and to talk," Jim's face was stern. He wondered why he decided to come to Jump City to see him.
"What is it?" Robin asked.
Gordon looked at him. "Mind joining your friends in the living room?"
"Sure," Robin said, exiting his room quietly.
Robin walked with Jim Gordon into the main room of Titans Tower. Cyborg followed him to where Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven were waiting. They sat down quietly. "Titans, this is Commissioner Jim Gordon from Gotham City. Commissioner Gordon, this is Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire." The man nodded, he shook their hands as he joined them on the couch. Robin waited for the Police Commissioner to speak.
"I brought what you asked for Robin," Jim Gordon began, "But I need to know exactly what you need them for. I'm not comfortable handing over crucial evidence in a murder trial to a minor."
"I want to do my own investigation of Eddie Hurst's trial. I'll need all the evidence I can get."
"I'm just not sure if I should give you the evidence Robin. Now I've watched you work for years, and I respect you, don't get me wrong. But maybe you should leave this one to the Batman. This isn't exactly your arena. This is police business."
"With all due respect, Commissioner, I've been trained by the best," Robin stated simply. He didn't want that to go unnoticed by a man who was an experienced law officer.
"I understand, but as I stated earlier, you're a minor. The D.A. could have my head for this. She plays by the books. You're not even old enough to vote, how do I know that you can handle a murder investigation at your age?"
"Dude, if we can handle Slade, we can handle this investigation," Beast Boy said angrily.
"Beast Boy, apologize to Commissioner Gordon. I respect him as an officer of the law having worked in Gotham City." Beast Boy hung his head and said nothing. "I understand your concerns, Commissioner but I am obligated to protect this city."
"I've never understood why this city entrusts its protection to children. What you kids do is dangerous."
"Excuse me, Sir," Starfire said softly, "But when you say we are 'children' does this mean that we cannot investigate the Eddie Hurst because we are too young?"
"Yes, involving children your age in a murder inquiry is something I wouldn't want to risk," Gordon replied. "Kids your age complicate the situation. I know you have good intentions, but I don't think I can let you do this."
"We're teenagers, Sir. Not children," Cyborg interjected.
"So I gather," Gordon retorted. He looked at Robin. "The reason I brought what you asked for is because I didn't know why you needed them. Now I do, and I want proof that I can trust you and your friends with confidential information."
"You have my word, Commissioner," Robin promised. "If anything happens to the evidence, I will take full responsibility. I'll do everything I can to protect the city. If you decide that I'm not able to handle this investigation, then I won't ask you for anything else. But I will continue what I started, even if you don't help me."
Robin paused for a moment, "I hope I haven't offended you, Sir."
Jim Gordon's stern face broke into a smile for the first time. "You are like your partner, I'll give you that. He always follows his own agenda, with or without me." He put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Well, I'll tell you what Robin, you carry out your investigation. I've done everything within legal boundaries so I know I'll sleep well tonight. If I would have said no you probably would have called Batman anyway."
"Thanks for your help, Commissioner. I guess I owe you one," Robin smiled.
"You know Robin, to be honest with you, when you first appeared in Gotham, I was very wary of you." Robin looked startled for a moment. Gordon paused for an instant, and then continued. "I didn't like the idea of a child becoming involved with Batman's war on crime. I didn't like the thought of someone so young…putting himself in harms way like you did."
"I could understand a little, why Batman does what he does, but I could never understand what drove you to follow him. You're in the prime of your life, and when you'd work with Batman, it seemed almost like you were throwing it away for a rush of adrenaline. It seemed that you were like a junkie who only did it for the thrill afterwards. I felt that you didn't take it seriously. I think that's why I didn't like you very much."
Robin didn't know whether to feel praised or insulted. He remained quiet, concealing his emotions. His face was a study of composure. The Titans on the other hand, were astonished at this news. They waited in silence.
"But…as the years went by and I watched the way you worked with Batman, I realized that you were like him in many ways, and that this was something you took very seriously. I realized you had…I don't know, the will I guess to keep going.
"No matter how hard it got, whether it was the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler or Two Face, even when they knocked you down you still got back up. You showed a lot of guts back in Gotham, kid." Jim chuckled softly. "Besides, six years seeing you time and again made you to grow on me. Now I'm actually starting to like you."
"Thank you, Commissioner. That's a lot…coming from and you. I don't hear that every day."
"You're welcome kid. So, let me show you what I brought you." Jim Gordon removed a package from inside his coat. He opened it carefully and removed its contents.
"I have more in my car," he looked at the Titans. "These are the photos taken at the crime scene. It's pretty graphic."
"Let me see them," Robin took them from him. "I…I…I've never seen anything so horrible before," he said hoarsely. "What did he do to them?"
"He butchered them with his bare hands," Jim Gordon explained. "They were in the homicide division. Fine men they were, close friends of mine. We…we worked together for years," his voice choked as he struggled to compose himself. "And now they're gone, God rest their souls…Just like that."
"I'm sorry Commissioner," Robin replied.
"Ah, don't worry about me. I can't let my emotions interfere with duty. I brought the pictures of his wife and coworkers for you."
Robin handed the other photographs to Cyborg. He stared at the most horrific images he had ever laid eyes on. There was blood everywhere. The looks on the faces of the dead were gazes filled with pain and terror.
The bodies were caked in blood, dry and sticky. It trailed paths down their eyes and noses. The red fluid stained the street and the walls. How could one man do this to six people?
Starfire stared at the images, stunned. She knew the atrocities that Slade was capable of. He had sent Terra in as his mole to destroy them from the inside. She had seen what he had done to Raven, nearly destroying the world, but nothing had prepared her for what she saw. It was almost too much for her to take at once. She felt nauseous.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to go to my car. I have more for you." Jim Gordon got up and walked out of the room.
"Robin…Are you sure you want to do this? He's right, you know, we are just kids." Beast Boy commented.
"Beast Boy, Commissioner Gordon trusts me with this evidence. If he didn't think it could handle this he wouldn't have come here."
"But isn't this a little…advanced for you?" Cyborg asked.
"Cyborg, I've done investigations before," Robin answered; then he said have to himself, "except I was always with Batman."
Cyborg looked at him with interest. Robin didn't talk about Batman much. In fact, he didn't even mention him except on rare occasion when he talked about his fighting techniques or detective skills.
"So are you gonna do this all by yourself?" Beast Boy asked.
"No, no, I'd wear myself out," Robin laughed. "I'm going to need you guys to help me."
Commissioner Gordon opened the massive door and walked inside. "Well Robin, here's the rest of it. Hope this'll help."
"Your guys couldn't find anything else?"
"We don't handle this stuff. We leave that to the C.S.I. guys."
"I see. Who was the officer who conducted the investigation?"
"Detective Harvey Bullock conducted the investigation. He wasn't very happy about it. He was quite angry that Batman hadn't stopped Hurst before it happened."
"I thought Bullock didn't trust Batman," Robin commented. "He didn't think the city needed his help."
"He still holds that opinion. But he says he should have been there, just the same."
"Well, Commissioner, what do you have for me?" Robin asked.
"I have the shirt that belonged to Eddie Hurst's wife, a bloody shoeprint, and the damning evidence that put Hurst on Death Row, his blood stained clothes."
"Where did they get these?" Robin took the air sealed evidence from Commissioner Gordon.
"G.C.P.D. discovered it when they searched Hurst's house."
"And the shoe prints?"
"Also found in the house."
"Is that all?"
"Just one last thing: the trial manuscripts," Jim Gordon handed him a large stack of papers, "Hope you enjoy reading, it's really long."
"Don't sweat it, Commissioner. I'll have plenty of time to read it."
"I think it's time I'd better be heading back to Gotham," Jim Gordon said. "I'll keep in touch and see how things are going."
"You don't have to leave so soon, Commissioner. You're welcome to stay," Robin smiled at his longtime ally from Gotham.
"Sorry Robin; gotta get back there. I'm still on duty." Jim smiled. "Let me know if you find anything." Jim Gordon got up from the couch and looked at Batman's partner with a sense of pride. "It's time to let Gotham's Finest get to work; I'm getting in the way of your business."
"Thanks for dropping by," Robin smiled. "This means a lot to me."
"See you around kid," Jim Gordon saluted and walked out of the room.
"Let's get to work guys," Robin said determinedly. "We've got quite a bit to go through."
"So where do we start?" Cyborg asked.
"Cyborg, you said you had a virtual reality program you were working on, right?"
"Yeah, sure did. I still need to tweak a little bit more. Like I said, it won't be ready 'til next week."
"Could you get that done in three days?"
"Three days!" Cyborg gawked at him. "You're not serious!"
"I am. If I can't go to Gotham in person to search Eddie Hurst's house, then I'll go in virtual reality. I can get blue prints of the model of his house off the internet. I'll need you to build me a 3-Dimensional model of it so I can go inside and look around."
"So you can go to his house without actually going there? Will it work?" Beast Boy asked.
"It should, I have enough crime scene photos for Cyborg to reconstruct his house in our computer."
"What should we do?" Starfire asked.
"Starfire, can you and Raven go to the Library and look up newspaper articles concerning Eddie Hurst's trial?"
"Of course," she replied. "Do you want me to go now?"
"If you wouldn't mind. Raven, can you research the three other victims of Hurst's murder rampage?"
"Sure," Raven replied. "Come on, Starfire," the alien nodded and the two headed out the door.
"Dude, what should I do?"
"I'm going to need you to smell some of the evidence," Robin replied. Beast Boy gave him a funny look.
"You're expecting me to smell that stuff? You're kidding! Dude, that's disgusting!"
"Beast Boy, you can morph into a dog and smell the evidence. That's easy enough for you to do. Besides, I need to make sure you know what Eddie Hurst smells like so we can track him if he escapes."
"Okay Dude," Beast Boy morphed into a bloodhound and began sniffing around the evidence.
"Beast Boy, you can't smell anything through a plastic bag." Robin carefully opened the tightly sealed evidence. "Now smell it. Beast Boy continued sniffing and smelling, making sure he had the scent in his memory.
"So Dude, what are you going to do?" Beast Boy asked.
"I'm going to look at the transcript for Eddie Hurst's trial," Robin replied as he began reading. The trial had lasted a month and the prosecution had presented a strong case. They had said that Eddie Hurst had perpetrated the murder of his wife and two coworkers, attacking them as they walked outside the club where they had worked.
The defense said that Eddie Hurst was away at the time of the murders and that he had a legitimate alibi. They said that Hurst loved his wife very much and would never harm her in any way. The prosecution responded with the evidence taken from his house. They used the shoeprints and the blood on his wife's shirt, claiming that Eddie's bloodied fingerprints were all over it. Robin put down the transcript.
"I'm going to take a look at the shirt and the shoe print," Robin said, standing to his feet. He took the evidence from Beast Boy and walked into his room. He began rummaging through some cabinets that he had placed in his room. He kept some much needed equipment in his room, although Cyborg's high tech equipment was located in the main room, that wasn't what Robin wanted. He needed some luminal.
Luminal was what forensic scientists used to show where blood was located, even if it had been cleaned up by the perpetrator. Often, it was used to look for D.N.A. at crime scenes. Now he was going to use it to see if he could find any connection to Eddie Hurst.
Batman had taught him forensics when he was in training. It was part of what Batman was, a vigilante and a detective. Robin had put forth all his detective skills to search for information on Slade, but he hadn't been able to discover much. Whoever Slade was, he kept his personal information on tight security.
Robin quietly went over to a drawer and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves. He removed the lid from the luminal and pulled the shirt from the plastic seal. He sprayed the luminal on the shirt and quickly switched off the main light and turned on a blue light. Florescent blue light illuminated certain places on the shirt where blood was. The glow would only last about 30 seconds.
He peered down at the shirt and spotted a clear, non-smudged fingerprint that was on the side of the shirt, as if someone had grabbed the person from the side. He frowned, that didn't make sense. According to the prosecuting attorney, Eddie Hurst attacked her from behind. And this print was on the side of the front of the shirt, not the back. Robin quickly grabbed some chalk and used it to cover the fingerprint so he could use the fingerprint's residue to have the fingerprint on hand in case he needed it.
He also decided to use Cyanoacrylate, aslo known as superglue to find more fingerprints. He placed plastic over the clothes, creating an airtight seal around it. He then insereted the warm Cyanoacrylate through a neeedle into the plastic, he then took the shirt out into the kitchen.
It would only reveal fingerprints after it cooled.
"Nobody touch this!" Robin said to Cyborg and Beast Boy. "This is going into the fridge." They gave him confused looks, but said nothing. He placed the evidence in the freezer, he'd have to wait awhile before the cyanoacrylate would becme solid so he could remove it to have a sample of the fingerprints.
Robin's insight into the criminal mind was very keen. He had extensive training and intuition. From what he knew about this case, the evidence seemed to pinpoint Eddie Hurst as the murderer. But there was something, deep in the corners of his mind that told him something didn't fit. He wasn't quite sure what it was. The bloodstained shirt showed that the victim had been brutally murdered. It wasn't easy to convict or clear a man of a crime. He knew that it took more than one piece of evidence to condemn a man to death. He would have to examine the shoeprints and the photos again
He sighed and walked back to his room. This investigation was far from over. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair. For the first time, he wondered if he was getting in over his head.