Alex nervously tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for the District Attorney to arrive. Was it because of what happened to Laura? Was there something wrong with the case? She tried to calm herself down, but then the thoughts of what could be going wrong popped back into her head.
The door opened, and the DA and his assistant walked into the room followed by Dr. Crane. Alex tried very hard to remember their names as the assistant walked up to her and took her hand.
"Rachel Dawes," she reintroduced herself, and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "We heard what happened to you last night, and we wanted to wait… But I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time."
Alex's mouth went dry as she inwardly panicked. "Did something… go wrong?"
"Miss Dawes, I do believe we have enough time to sit down," Dr. Crane said and gestured for Alex to take a seat.
Alex removed her hand from Rachel's and took a seat next to Dr. Crane. If something was, in fact, wrong, then it would be much better for her to be sitting. Rachel gave Dr. Crane an irritated look before she sat down.
The district attorney, Carl Finch Alex remembered, spoke up, "Oh, it's not bad news at all. Some court cases had to be postponed, so we can move yours up far sooner than expected."
"How soon?" Alex asked worriedly. If it was too soon, then Falcone might not have time to get any dirt on Jeremy. It wasn't completely necessary to the case, but it would be good to have.
"In two weeks," Rachel said and gave Alex a worried look. "I heard that Carmine Falcone visited you yesterday."
"Word travels quickly," Dr. Crane said with an irritated tone.
"Falcone said that he was an old friend of the family and offered to help."
"And what did you tell him?" the DA asked.
"I told him that I don't need any help that wouldn't be legally given. I don't want anything to interfere with my case… I have no intention of living under my brother's thumb, in an asylum, or in prison."
Carl relaxed, and Rachel looked a little relieved. Alex peeked at Dr. Crane. He was giving Rachel a smug smile.
"That's good," Carl said cheerfully. "I was honestly a little worried. It's not often that a case regarding a conservatorship gets that kind of treatment. It's likely the courts wanted this case out of the way before our case against your brother goes through."
Alex relaxed a little. Maybe Falcone's information would be useful after all if they could use that information with the assault charge.
Rachel once again reached out to hold Alex's' hand and said, "We'll be with you every step of the way. We just need to show them that you're competent enough not to need the conservatorship."
"So we could get it over with sooner?" Alex asked nervously as Dr. Crane fixated on Rachel with that cold stare of his.
"Yes, we would just need to prep you on the evidence and what they're likely going to ask you," Rachel replied excitedly. "It's important that you remain calm throughout the trial. Any reaction that they can get out of you is what they'll use against you. We're certain that they won't keep Jeremy as your conservator, but we don't want them to transfer that title."
Alex suppressed a shudder and said, "Thank you. I want to move it up. I'll be ready."
Dr. Crane smile and turned his attention back to the DA. "Now… it would be in my patient's best interest for this 'coaching' to be delayed for a couple more days."
Rachel fired back, "I'm aware of her circumstances, Dr. Crane. Miss Arkham, may I call you Elizabeth?"
"Yes, that'd be fine," Alex answered back quickly as she noticed the DA also starting to notice the situation brewing.
"We'll see you in a couple days, Elizabeth. It was nice seeing you again. Hopefully, it'll be under better circumstances soon," Carl said quickly, making sure everything was packed up.
Alex waved goodbye to Rachel, and Carl quickly escorted Rachel out of the room. Dr. Crane looked more relaxed as the door closed behind them.
"Like cats and dogs, huh?" Alex asked, and Dr. Crane chuckled in amusement.
"I guess you could say that. We just often happen to be on opposing sides in the court room. I am pleased that she's decided to take on your case…"
"But?"
Dr. Crane gave Alex an amused smile and answered, "But… it is quite difficult. Miss Dawes has a very keen sense of justice. However… I do believe that she often judges others based on what she wants to believe. Now more importantly… how are we feeling?"
"Confused… upset… angry. The basics," Alex replied with a noncommittal shrug.
"All valid responses to what you have been through," Dr. Crane assured her. "I've spoken with the Gotham PD. They have… apologized on behalf of Detective Flass."
Alex gripped onto the table. While she certainly hadn't liked the detective's methods, she had agreed with him on one thing: Laura's cause of death was suspicious. Alex looked back up to see Dr. Crane moving to the opposite side of the table where Rachel had been sitting. He gingerly touched her hand and said, "You don't appear to be pleased with that information."
"I… I don't think Laura would have killed herself. She's far too… selfish."
Dr. Crane was clearly amused by her answer and asked, "Then who would be the person with the most to gain from her death?"
"Well… I was the person that she was targeting, but… there's no reason for me to kill her. If anything, she was a mild nuisance, not a criminal mastermind. But maybe… there is one person who'd have a motive… Jeremy."
Dr. Crane tilted his head in confusion and replied, "But she was his puppet. I doubt he'd want to throw her away so easily."
"If he could use her to cast doubt on me, he would. She wasn't doing a very good job of making me look bad. However, that night we found her… if I had walked into that room and touched her, then this would be completely different. That knife… they probably couldn't pull prints from it considering how much blood was on it. How easy would it have been for Jeremy to cast doubt on my sanity if I'd been found with her body?"
Dr. Crane looked at her thoughtfully before he leaned forward and whispered, "The cameras' feed had been looped. For over half an hour before we found Miss Thorne's body. You need to be careful."
Alex gripped onto his hand in shock. No wonder the detective had been so focused on her. There was no proof other than Dr. Crane and Nurse Brody's testimony. If Alex hadn't hesitated, then who knows if she'd still have a case for the conservatorship. The feel of Dr. Crane's other hand resting on top of hers made her look back to him.
"I don't mean to worry you… Miss Arkham. I just need you to be careful. You can continue to stay in the room with your friends. It'll be harder for your enemies to strike with multiple witnesses."
Alex nodded and slid her hands away from Dr. Crane's.
"Thank you, doctor… for everything."
"It's no problem at all. Your friends will be delighted to hear the good news."
Alex smiled as she got up and walked quickly to the door. It was good news. After she got out, she could work on helping get them out. Rachel didn't like Dr. Crane, but she seemed to like Alex… or at least "Elizabeth". Perhaps that would come in handy.
As she got back to Franny and Pam's room, they got off the bed and walked over to her. Alex shut the door and checked to make sure the window was fully closed before she turned back to them. They watched and followed her from the door.
Alex proceeded to tell them what she knew about Laura in a hushed tone. Pam's eyes went wide as she realized the circumstances.
"Somebody's trying to set you up!" Franny whispered angrily.
"Pretty sure that somebody is Jeremy. Not sure how he would have gotten someone in here to murder Laura and make it look like a suicide."
"There are people you can hire for that. This is Gotham after all," Pam said quietly and shrugged.
Franny nodded in agreement and said, "At least Dr. Blue-eyes was there. He's pretty handy, isn't he?"
Alex nodded in agreement, but she wasn't sure. Was it just a coincidence that he happened to be walking down that exact hallway at that exact time? Or was there something more sinister going on?
"Well, I'm starvin'!" Franny said, breaking through Alex's darker thoughts, and hooked her arm around Alex's. "Let's grab something good… or mediocre really, but beggars can't be choosers."
Alex smiled as Pam rolled her eyes. Franny led the way to the cafeteria, and Pam followed behind them. After getting their food, they found a seat at the back of the cafeteria. Guards were posted around the cafeteria. What were they expecting? Usually the guards weren't this close during mealtimes.
"Was there a memo I didn't get?" Pam whispered to them as she stared down the guards.
"Maybe it's backlash from Laura's uncle," Franny answered quietly. "He's some kind of bigshot mob guy, and he raised hell about her death. This will probably be the new status quo for a few weeks, and then they'll resume ignoring us."
Alex felt like she was being watched. She quickly looked to her left and saw a couple of people look away. It was like they were expecting something. Suddenly there was a loud bang from outside the cafeteria. The guards ran toward the sound, but Alex looked up to see the people who'd been looking her way had gotten up from their seats and were staring her down.
"We need to go," Alex said as she grabbed Franny and Pam's hands and ran from the cafeteria.
Alex could hear loud footsteps from behind them and turned back to see a group of inmates chasing them with something in their hands. By then, Franny and Pam had realized the situation and were also sprinting at full speed. As they neared the room, the door closed shut, and an inmate smiled gleefully from the window. Alex kept going past the room, leading them further down the hall. The room where she'd met the detective could lock from the inside… She just prayed that it was open. The footsteps weren't getting any farther, and it was only a matter time before the inmates caught up to them. There was a sharp pain in her shoulder, but she kept moving. The room was just ahead, and the door, thankfully, wide open. Alex pulled Franny and Pam inside before quickly closing the door.
"OH, LIZZIE!" Franny shouted as Alex locked the door.
"What's wrong?" Pam asked before gasping.
Alex reached for her shoulder. It was a knife. One of those psychos was throwing knives.
"Don't take it out!" Franny said, grabbing Alex's hand. "I… I read it somewhere. You can do more damage trying to remove it… and the blood…"
Alex gripped Franny's hand reassuringly. "I'm not going to take it out. I have no intention of bleeding out in this hell hole."
There were sounds of fighting outside the closed door. Alex hoped that it was the guards as she fell to the ground. Standing was too much at the moment. The adrenaline likely blocked out the pain for the moment, but her body was already starting to feel heavy. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to block out the noise. After a few minutes of yelling, there was one voice outside the door.
"Miss Arkham! Can you unlock the door?"
Relief flooded through her as she recognized Dr. Crane's voice. The sound of the door unlocking made her look up to see Dr. Crane checking her wound as Franny and Pam hastily tried to explain in the background. Dr. Crane yelled for a guard to get the first responders before turning his attention back to her. She didn't like how sticky the back of her shoulder felt. That wasn't good.
A man in a uniform came into the room, and soon she was face-down on a stretcher. She felt someone holding her hand but couldn't turn to see who it was. The world faded around her, and she awoke in a hospital bed. There was a heated conversation taking place outside the room.
"Hello?" Alex said regretting how awkward it sounded immediately after.
Dr. Crane and Rachel quickly appeared in the doorway, looking relieved. Dr. Crane pushed past her and touched Alex's good arm.
"How are you feeling?"
"Pretty great… until the drugs wear off," Alex answered, checking out her bandages. "So… how long do I need to be here?"
"Another few hours at least. They're going to want to monitor you a little longer. If the knife had gone a little deeper…"
Alex sighed and tried to get comfortable on the bed. The world around her felt strangely fuzzy.
"I'm sorry, Rachel… Miss Dawes, I mean," Alex apologized trying to focus on her words.
"Rachel is perfectly fine. And why are you sorry?"
"The whole… pre-trial thing. I'm a bit fizzy… fuzzy. That's the one."
"Don't worry about it. We can push back the trial date if we need to."
"No. No pushing it back. Just give me a couple days. I can do this. I made a promise."
"What promise?" Rachel asked kindly.
"We're going to the beach… and the carnival… and camping."
"That's a long list," Rachel replied with a smile.
"And she'll need rest," Dr. Crane said with a meaningful look to Rachel.
"Very well. Goodbye, Elizabeth. I'll be back to see you in a couple days."
Alex gave her a wave with her good arm and turned to see Dr. Crane sit down next to her. He wiped his glasses before turning his attention back to her.
"And you… need to go back to sleep. We can go back to Arkham after the doctors say that you can go."
"They're so pretty…"
"What are pretty?"
"I said that out loud? Oh no," Alex put her hands in front of her now flushed face. "Forget I said anything."
"But now I'm curious," Dr. Crane said with a teasing note in his voice. "Is it me?"
Alex hoped that the medication would be merciful and erase her memories as she admitted, "Your eyes… They're very pretty."
"Thank you. I think your eyes are also very pretty."
"I'm going to sleep now," Alex replied sleepily, keeping her hands in front of her face. "Do me a favor, doctor?"
"Yes?"
"Forget everything you've heard and everything you will hear from now until the medication wears off."
Dr. Crane chuckled and replied, "I will do my very best."
Feeling somewhat relieved, Alex drifted back to sleep with a smile.