The sounds of the inmates yelling at the guards made Alex fidget with her shirt as she waited for Pam to enter the visitation room. She didn't miss this place one bit. There was more shouting followed by a sudden and piercing silence that scared her more than the noise. Hopefully, they had been peacefully silenced, but Alex doubted that was the case. Fighting the urge to peek out the door's window, she checked the clock. It had been about 20 minutes since she'd arrived. Maybe Pam just didn't want to see her today. As she was wondering if she should just try to come back another day or go out and ask Oswald to wait another 20 minutes, the door slammed open, and Pam strode into the room before collapsing into the chair in front of Alex.
"I heard you wanted to see me," Pam said irritably, not looking directly at Alex. "So kind of you to make time for me in your busy new life."
Alex sighed as Pam bristled, and Alex said calmly, "I have been busy, but it isn't because of anything fun. My brother's been doing his usual thing… having people plant car bombs… hiring assassins. You know how it is."
As soon as Pam heard "car bombs" her arms slowly started to uncross, and her angry pout turned into worried rage. She looked into Alex's eyes and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?! Send me a letter or something…"
Alex covertly pressed the button in her pocket. As the audio jammer's button locked, she took her hand out of her pocket and said, "Because I didn't want to scare you. And because… I don't trust that someone here wouldn't take a peek at my mail before it got to you. I didn't want you to get hurt since my brother couldn't get to me… not that he didn't try."
"So is he in prison now?"
"Kinda… He got caught trying to hire an assassin by the police."
"Stupid bastard," Pam mumbled before letting out a sigh. "I guess the stupidity is a good thing though."
Alex nodded, thinking how much more frightening her life would be if Jeremy was an evil mastermind. Were there any villains named Jeremy Arkham? She didn't remember, but then again not everything was as she remembered it.
Alex dropped her voice to a near whisper and asked, "I know this is going to sound a bit strange, but… Has there been anything weird going on here since I've been gone?"
"So you really are an undercover agent," Pam joked before lowering her voice. "There has actually. A few people have gone 'missing' lately. I heard a couple of the nurses talking about it. Apparently a few patients have been 'transferred', but one of the nurses said that her friend works at one of the places they were supposedly transferred to…"
"And they never showed up?"
"Exactly. Plus… one of the nurses suddenly stopped showing up for work. There was a rumor that she'd ran away with some guy, but she was the nurse that was practically hanging off of Dr. Crane's arm. I don't think that she would have just ran away with anybody. However… I'm not exactly the best judge of 'people behavior', so maybe it's just a case of careless gossip."
Alex felt a shiver go up her back as she remembered one of the nurses who had always looked at Alex with spite. She doubted that woman would have given up so easily. A hand touched hers, and she looked up to see Pam giving her a concerned look.
"Now can you tell me what's really going on with you? Coming here to play detective isn't really like you."
Alex held onto Pam's hand as she answered, "There's something wrong going on here… I just want to make sure that you don't get caught up in it."
Pam gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and said, "Hopefully, I won't be here much longer. Dr. Crane is going to speak for me about my good behavior… I'm just not sure what to do when I leave."
"You wanted to go back to college, right? Finish what you started?"
"Yeah, I know I said that, but…" Pam trailed off as she looked into the distance.
"It's hard to picture it right now?" Alex asked, and Pam gave a slight nod. "It's okay to take it slow. You don't have to rush to the university the second you get out. I'll be there, Pam. Besides… I just got a mansion, which I'm sure my dear brother left in tip-top condition… But I'm sure that there's more than enough room for two."
Pam smiled sadly and gently squeezed Alex's hand one more time before she let go. "I've been let down by most of the people in my life. My family, boyfriends, teachers… But you… all I'm saying is… I want to trust you, but…"
"Like I said… it's okay to take it slow. I understand. You don't have to trust me right away. I'm just asking for the chance… Because I think you're worth it. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you can leave. It won't upset me. I might worry about you, but I won't blame you. Take all the time you need to think about it. Besides… I can't even really live there at the moment. Who knows what kind of sketchy shit Jeremy did before he left. I might have to have a team of commandos clear it out before I can even change a lightbulb."
Pam laughed and replied, "Thank you, Lizzie… for everything. I'll let you know when… I figure things out for myself."
"No problem at all."
Pam gave her another small, sad smile before she left the room. Alex stretched as she got out of her chair. Pausing for a moment, she took out her cell phone. Bruce had asked her to send him a message before she talked to Dr. Crane, but he still hadn't replied from the text she'd sent earlier. Despite her annoyance, she shot him another message. It couldn't hurt. Putting her phone in her pocket, she paused when she saw the guard waiting outside.
"This way, Miss Arkham. Dr. Crane would like to speak with you before you leave," the guard said before starting to walk down the hallway.
After a second of hesitation, she followed him down the familiar hallway to Dr. Crane's office. The guard waved for her to enter the empty office. Freezing in place, she decided to take a look around before walking into the room. The guard's eyebrow went up as he seemed confused by her sudden reluctance.
"Miss Arkham!" Dr. Crane called, and Alex turned to see him quickly walking toward her. "You can go now, Mr. Jones."
The guard nodded but gave Alex one last curious glance before he left. Was he simply surprised at her hesitation or did he know something she didn't? Alex watched as he vanished into a doorway. She didn't remember him working here when she was here, but then again she had tried to avoid the guards unless she needed their protection. Dr. Crane cleared his throat, and Alex turned to see his hand over his mouth.
"Apologies… I rushed over when I heard that you'd arrived. I didn't want to miss you," Dr. Crane explained with an embarrassed smile. "There's a coffee shop down the street that just opened… Would you like to try it out with me?"
Dr. Crane gave her a hopeful smile, and Alex felt the guilt settle in her stomach. What if she was just being paranoid about the doctor? He'd always been kind to her, and it's not like she had any proof that he was up to anything.
"Sure. Let me just message my ride," Alex said and quickly messaged Oswald that he could leave and come back in about a half hour if he had plans. She also sent a message to Bruce. She still had no idea if he'd even read the first, but she supposed that she would find out later. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's get caffeinated."
Dr. Crane chuckled and locked the door to his office. As he escorted her out of the asylum, Alex's phone started ringing. She apologized to Dr. Crane and answered, "Hello?"
"Ah… um… Lizzie?" Oswald answered, his voice sounding flustered and strained.
"Yes. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"My mother… she's… she fell down the stairs at the house. She's in the hospital, and I… I don't know what to do."
Oswald sounded a little lost, so Alex replied with as much confidence as she could muster, "Here's what you're going to do. Go to the hospital and see how she's doing. I can wait at the coffee shop or the lobby. Let's take this one step at a time, okay?"
"Yes. Okay, I'll do that. I'll let you know as soon as I know… what's going on."
"Good. Take some deep breaths and go check on her. I'll be waiting."
Oswald sounded genuinely choked up as he thanked her. Alex reassured him one more time before getting off of the phone. She looked up to see Dr. Crane giving her a curious look as they walked out of Arkham's front entrance.
"My friend who came with me… His mom's in the hospital."
"Oh, dear. Nothing serious I hope."
"Not sure. He said that she fell down the stairs… I'm sure he'll call when he finds out. That coffee is sounding really good now."
The sound of a chime came from behind her, and before she could react, Dr. Crane pulled her into him as a bicyclist raced past them. Dr. Crane held her for a moment more before letting her go.
"Ah, thanks," Alex thanked him and brushed her hair away from her face.
"Anytime," Dr. Crane answered with a smile and led the way to the coffee shop.
The shop was pretty cute for Gotham. In the time that she'd been there, she'd noticed that most of the establishments were either targeted toward the poor or marketed to the rich. There was a chalkboard sign outside with the day's specials. The interior was decorated with plants and weathered but comfy furniture. Dr. Crane led her to a table near the window, and Alex slid into the chair. Despite Dr. Crane being the one to invite her here, she thought that this place suited Pam more than him. Alex would have to take her someplace like this after she got out.
"So… how have you been doing? I see that you've already made some friends," Dr. Crane said as he leisurely looked at the menu.
"I've been… pretty busy. Made a couple new friends. Oh, and I got a job."
"Oh? Where?"
"I'm going to be a secretary working for Wayne Enterprises… I just hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew," Alex confided in him. She'd noticed him tense at the mention of Wayne Enterprises.
"You're a bright woman, Miss Arkham. I'm sure you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to, but… I am worried that Mr. Wayne may not have the best of intentions."
Luckily a waitress came by to take their order and gave Alex a little more to think about her answer. After the waitress left, Dr. Crane's piercing blue eyes settled back on her.
"I don't think he's as bad as everyone thinks. If anything… I think he feels sorry for me, and if it ends up being something more than I feel capable of doing, then I can always find something else. Besides… I've got a lot more going on. It'd be nice to have a job… feel normal."
"I heard about your brother… apparently, he's trying the insanity defense. Dr. Wiggins will be visiting the jail Friday to check the validity of his claims."
Alex bit her lip and struggled not to shout out that it was just a lie as the waitress set their order on the table. She thanked the waitress and felt Dr. Crane hands on hers.
Dr. Crane gave her a sympathetic look as he said, "I understand your hesitation… Your brother is more than likely faking insanity to get a lighter sentence, but… we do have to do our evaluation to make sure."
Alex nodded, and Dr. Crane slowly let go of her hands. After taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, "What about Pam's hearing? Do you… think she has a chance of getting out of the asylum?"
"Of course. I suppose that she was quite happy to see you."
"Well… she was a little mad at first, but once she heard about the car bomb—"
"The car bomb?!" Dr. Cran interjected, nearly spilling his coffee.
"Oh, yeah. The night of the Wayne charity ball… Jeremy had hired some goons to plant a bomb on the car I arrived in."
The muscles in Dr. Crane's jaw tightened before he took a deep breath and relaxed. His eyes fixated on her for a moment before he said, "It sounds like your brother… is a real piece of work… You do know… Insanity does run in the Arkham family. I just want you to be prepared for the possibility of Jeremy being judged insane. It could be a symptom of him spiraling. These actions are not the work of someone of sound mind."
Alex took a sip of coffee and considered his words. Jeremy wasn't exactly acting like a well-adjusted person, but she doubted it was anything other than the actions of a spoiled brat trying to get rid of his competition.
Dr. Crane must have seen her hesitation because he continued, "But you can rest assured that should he end up in prison or the asylum he will no longer be able to hurt you."
Alex nodded as she stirred her cup. She'd just have to hope that Dr. Wiggins would make the right call. And if not… well, she would need to come up with a backup plan.