4. Don't Play July 20
After feeding him, Jeanette Ducard went to her desk. She swept up most of the papers off of it, and took them to her room. She closed and locked the door, leaving Dr. Crane to do what he wished. He took a book from her bookshelf, and sat down on the couch to read.
In her room, she carefully arranged the articles on her bed in an order only she understood. Then, she smiled, satisfied, at them. "Well," she said to herself, "might as well ask my dear brother about this doctor." She walked over to her nightstand and picked up the phone. She dialed the number, then let it ring a few times.
"Hello? Renee? It's Jenny." Pause. "Yes, yes, I know. I'm sure he's in a lot of pain, but this is important. Oh, fine." A longer pause. "Of course. I'm sure he's fine, sis. No, no, I'll call him later. No, I'd rather not. Okay, bye."
She hung up, then sighed. "Can't even trust my own sister these days," she said thoughtfully, then shook her head. She walked to her door, then stopped. She frowned. "I think I'll just stay in here a bit longer," she whispered. She turned back to her bed, and looked at the articles for a while. Then the phone rang, startling her.
"Hello? Glad to hear it, sir. I hope you feel much better soon. Yes, of course. What? Oh… I was just wondering what should be done with any of the inmates we find. Turn them in? Okay. What about the psychiatrist?" she asked carefully. "You don't know? Well, you should decide something. He's bound to turn up sooner or later." She laughed. "No, I haven't. But you'd be the first to know as soon as I do." She frowned. "I'm hurt. You think I would mess with you, my own brother? In law, yes," she added to his response. Then, she sighed. "I will, sir. Well, let me know when you decide. I'll spread the word. Okay, thanks. Bye."
She hung up and stared at the phone for a few minutes. "Figures. Now I have him, and I don't know what to do with him… Maybe I should ask the police what kind of reward they'd give… Or I could ask Batman," she added with a smile.
Then, she picked up the phone again. "Hello, may I please speak to Lieutenant Gordon? Thank you." She waited a few minutes. "Hello, James. This is Jenny. How are you? Good, good. So, have you rounded up all the inmates yet?" She smiled at his response. "Oh, you know me, James. I'm not an idealist. What's the reward for Crane?" she asked, getting right to point. "Really? Excellent. Well, I'll let you know if I find him. Thanks. Take care. Bye."
She smiled to herself. "Well, he's in good hands for the time being. Gordon will realize that I have him, I'm sure. But he can't find me, so it's nothing to be concerned over. The batman, on the other hand…" she trailed off… "He could be a problem. Hm… I think I'd better talk to Lisa," she said thoughtfully.
"Hello?" she said into the phone again. "Hey, Lisa. This is Jenny. What's up?" Pause. "That's cool. So, have you gone out with the billionaire again? Really? Is he as empty-headed as he seems?" She laughed. "Is he? Interesting… I don't suppose you could give me his number? Thanks!" She wrote down the number on an article. "So, business done, what's up with you?" She listened for a while. "Oh, no, not much. Just playing all the angles again. I know, it'll probably get me killed. But these things happen," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "This time? You know that Dr. Crane character? Yeah, well, he's in my living room." Lisa laughed. "No, really, he is. Yeah, I know, only I would do something like this. What's he like? Why, aren't you happy with your brainless billionaire? Well, yeah, sharing can be annoying. Anyway, trust me, the doctor is not your type. No, I don't think I have a type, but thanks for asking."
Jenny listened a little longer. "Yes, well, you're a socialite. Trust me, he's not. He's very quiet and cold." She laughed. "Yes, I'm sure you've seen pictures of him. He's better in person, trust me. But stick to your vapid rich men. They're what you want. This guy is brilliantly insane. You couldn't stand him for an hour," she said apologetically. She laughed again. "No, of course not. I could hardly play every angle if I were tied down. But never fear, precious. I won't be keeping him. You'll soon see a picture of him in the paper behind some bars or in a straight jacket." She listened for a moment. "Alright, I'll let you go. Remember, this conversation never happened. Good. See you at work. Bye!"
She hung up, shaking her head. "That girl would do anything for love. Poor thing. I'd best not invite her over for a while," she added thoughtfully, looking at her door.
After sorting the articles for another half hour, Jenny turned to look at the phone intently. "Well, I might as well give him a call. I'll just hope he can't trace it," she added with a sigh.
She lifted the receiver and dialed the number she had gotten earlier. Her hands were trembling. She'd never tried to talk to this batman character before. He was probably a little insane. But, thanks to her sister, she knew his history. She supposed that she would be messed up, too, if she'd watched her parents killed. But that would require having some parents, wouldn't it? she thought bitterly. However, he still seemed a little scary. Which was an odd thing to say, seeing as she had a madman sitting on her couch. But he wasn't obsessed with bats… Why bats?
The phone rang once, twice. "Wayne's residence," a pleasant voice said. The butler, she thought.
"Hello. May I speak to Mr. Wayne, please?"
"What is the purpose of your call, miss?"
She smiled. "I thought he might be interested in me."
The voice on the other end radiated disapproval. "I'm sorry, miss, but he is not here at the moment. If you have a message, I could pass it along." Unspoken was the threat that she had better have something worth telling.
"Well, I was just wondering if the Batman was still searching for the Scarecrow."
There was a shocked silence. "Who are you?" the butler demanded.
"I may be a friend. For the right price," she added.
"One moment, madam," he said coldly.
Jenny smiled. "Easy," she whispered.
"Hello?" Bruce Wayne said. He didn't sound like the fool he pretended to be. Good.
"Hello, Mr. Wayne. How are you?" she asked, a little nervous. She spoke a little hoarser than usual to mask her voice.
"Dispense with the pleasantries, miss. Where's Crane?" he demanded.
"Patience," she replied, keeping the tremor from her voice. "What will you give me for him, should I find him?" she asked.
"You don't have him?"
"That's really none of your business," she replied.
"I'm not a twisted cop you can play to your advantage, miss. If you don't have him, then this conversation is over. If you do have him, then I'll do you the favor of taking him off your hands," Bruce said coldly.
Jenny suppressed a shiver. "What if I don't want him off my hands?" she asked, more to annoy him than anything.
"You can't be serious."
She laughed. "It's been a pleasure, Mr. Wayne. But I think I'll take my business to more interested parties. Say hi to Lisa for me," she added, to put him on edge, then hung up. Well, she thought, that didn't go as expected. I think I'll keep the bidding to the more reasonable men I already have connections with. I hate bats…
