Well, a few people are reading, but no one's giving feedback, so I'm wondering if they're bored. I hope this chapter merits a review or two.
While Dick was getting reacquainted with his aunt, Bruce was poring over maps of Gotham City and news articles. Having Dick out of the way yielded results in less than an hour. By the time Alfred got home, he thought he knew what his next move was.
"I think Dick was wrong about the first half of the riddle," Bruce told his butler. "I don't think it was a red herring, but I don't think that 'taste' was the operative word. I think it was 'danger.' Look at this." He held out a newspaper clipping.
Alfred studied the clipping a moment. "Autumn entertainment... exhibitions of daring do..."
"Daredevils. The exhibition is on the east side of Gotham, and there are several churches in the area."
"Supposing you're right, is that the location where the princess is being held?"
"I can't know until I check it out. I've only got until noon, and the police haven't found anything useful."
"If you don't find her today..."
"I've made arrangements to loan the money to the Lorandian royals if necessary, but that's a last resort. The kidnapper said he wanted an answer by noon, so we'll give him one. If I haven't found the princess by then, maybe telling him that we're working on raising the money will buy us some time."
"All right. Do try not to get killed, sir."
"I always do my best."
"Oh, by the way—I'm told the Northwest Wing should be completely restored within two weeks."
"That's what they said last week."
"They seemed more sincere this week."
Bruce was in the hall, heading for the library. "Don't wait up," he called.
Alfred glanced at his watch. "It's barely eleven... going to be gone that long?" he muttered.
"So, do you still get along with your neighbors?" Dick asked as his aunt walked with him around her little property.
"Oh, yes. Missus Meyer and I have a little friendly competition over our tulips, and there's a little boy across the street now, Ryan? He always puts my newspaper on the porch when the paper boy misses. Such a sweet thing."
"Good. I don't want anyone bothering you."
"Who's going to bother an old fuddy-duddy like me?"
"Psh, you're not old, Aunt Harriet. What are you, forty?"
She laughed loudly. "Oh, if only, you little flatterer."
Dick paused by a flower bed. "Well, Missus Meyer has her work cut out for her—these tulips look fantastic."
"I didn't realize you knew a tulip from a daffodil."
"Sure... Dad used to say my mind was a steel trap... for useless information."
"What a thing to say! It's not useless."
"He just said that because he didn't think I was focusing on important things. To many comic books and not enough geometry. And he may have been right. I probably could have spent my time better."
"Oh, that reminds me." She looked at her watch. "Let's go back inside, Dick; I want to keep an eye on the news. There's a special broadcast going on about the princess of Lorandia."
"Holy hostage, how could I forget? The police commissioner is supposed to answer the kidnapper's demands today."
They hurried back inside and Dick turned on the TV. Commissioner Gordon was seated behind a desk next to news anchor John Mason. After a few disjointed comments Dick didn't understand, Mason gave an explanation.
"For those of you just tuning in, Commissioner Gordon is here to give an answer to the demands of the riddle-loving kidnapper of princess Ellora of Lorandia. He will give this answer just before noon. In the meantime, Commissioner, what do you think Ellora's chances are?"
"That's hard to say," Gordon answered. "So far the kidnapper hasn't given us reason to think that he'll kill her, but it's hard to trust a guy making demands like this."
Dick watched with interest, hoping Gordon's observation was correct, and that Ellora would come out of this unharmed.
"I'll start making some sandwiches for lunch," Harriet said. "Tell me if I miss anything important."
"OK."
"The first message contained three riddles, isn't that right?" Mason asked Gordon.
"Yes. If only we had solved them earlier, we might have been able to protect the princess."
"Can you tell us what they were?"
"The first was, 'when is a horse not a horse.'"
Dick did a double take. It was the riddle Bruce had casually told him about a few days earlier. "Well, of course," he muttered. "I should have realized those riddles were part of this, but..."
The men on the screen finished listing the riddles and discussing their answers.
"I hear there's a new riddle to be solved, too," said Mason.
"Yes, he's sent another one," Gordon confirmed.
"What is it?"
"I'm afraid I can't release it to the public at this time."
Dick shook his head, trying to make sense of his thoughts. If this is the first time they're making those other riddles public, how did Bruce know about them? Is he like... a detective secretly working with the police, or... He remembered that Bruce knew the royal family—maybe they had told him about the riddles even before revealing them to the police. Or... "Holy psychopathy," he murmured. What if Bruce is the kidnapper? What if he was trying out those riddles on me, to see if it would take the police long to work them out?
Harriet came back then to ask, "What would you like to drink, Dick? Root beer? Lemonade?"
"Lemonade would be swell, Aunt Harriet."
"Did I miss anything?"
"Uh... it seems like the kidnapper's a nut job. He's been sending the police riddles about his crime."
"How bizarre."
"Yeah."
"Are you all right, dear? You look a little pale. We can turn it off, if it's upsetting you."
"No, I'm fine," Dick said quickly. "I want to see how they handle this. I've always liked Princess Ellora."
"So have I. She's such a pretty, talented girl. And so young. Well, I'll be right back."
Dick took the opportunity to pull himself together. If Bruce had anything to do with the kidnapping, then he was in a good position to expose him. He should go back to Wayne Manor, gather evidence, take it to the police, and then he could live with his aunt permanently and everything would be fine.
Still... as eccentric and secretive as he was, Bruce didn't seem like a criminal. If he were one, surely Dick's father would not have felt so confident of his character that he would want his son living with him. Maybe he suspected Bruce was up to something illegal, and he wanted me at Wayne Manor to figure it out. But that didn't seem like his father either. He was a pillar of moral conviction to be sure, but not one to put his son in danger if it could be avoided.
Whatever Bruce was hiding, there was no need to alarm Harriet about it. Dick did his best to keep his expression calm when she returned with their lunch on a tray.
"It's five minutes to noon," the reporter said. "I'll hand it over to you now, commissioner."
"Thank you, Mister Mason," said Gordon.
The view changed so only Gordon was visible.
"Speaking for the Lorandian royal family and the Gotham police force," Gordon said slowly, "my answer to the man holding Princess Ellora hostage is this: Ellora's life is priceless, but we have not had time to collect the money you asked for. We believe it can be done in a matter of a few weeks. The king is in communication with his officials to raise the money even as this message is being broadcast. There is no need to harm the princess. You are being taken seriously, and the money is being collected."
"I do hope that riddler listens to him," Harriet said, nibbling a sandwich.
"Me too," said Dick. He tried not to think about how huge Wayne Manor was, and how easy it would be to hide a hostage there. Perhaps she was in the Northwest Wing, where repairs were still going on. Dick had never tried to explore that section of the house...
"I've just received a bulletin," Mason said. "It seems that the princess is free! She was found in her parents' hotel suite just minutes ago. We don't know yet exactly what condition she is in, but it is believed that she is not seriously hurt."
"Wonderful!" Harriet exclaimed. "I wonder how on earth she got back."
"We're going live now to our reporter at the Hightower Hotel."
"Doesn't Bruce own that hotel?" asked Harriet.
"Um... I'm not sure," Dick answered.
Another reporter was shown standing by the Lorandian king. "Thank you, John. Andrew Jenkins here with King Elroy of Lorandia. Your Highness, how was the princess discovered?"
"The queen and I were watching the broadcast in our suite," the king answered. "She went into the bedroom to fetch something and found our daughter lying on her bed."
Jenkins stepped aside so the camera could get a view of the royal suite, which was swarming with police and medical personnel. Now and then, a glimpse of the queen and princess could be caught. "Trained emergency responders are working to ensure that the princess is unharmed. From here, it looks as if she is not injured, but she does seem very tired."
"It is our fear," said the king, "that she was probably drugged. But we should be grateful of course that the villain has returned her to us."
A doctor emerged from the jumble then and approached the reporter.
"This is Doctor Carey," Jenkins said for the benefit of the viewers. "Doctor, what can you tell us?"
"The princess has been sedated," the doctor answered, "but we believe she is otherwise unharmed. She should be just fine in the long run."
"Has she said anything about her kidnapper?"
"The police have asked me not to reveal anything about the case, but I can tell you that she says she was rescued by Batman."
"Batman?" Jenkins, Dick, and Harriet exclaimed together.
"From what she described, there's no mistake," Carey said firmly. "Even allowing for something lost in translation."
"You hear that, folks? Batman is back in action!"
The reporter launched into a history of Batman's exploits in Gotham City as relevant photos appeared on the screen.
"I always thought there must be some mistake about Batman," said Harriet. "He did so much good for Gotham, and then they said he was a murderer... I just don't think that can be true. Doesn't this show he's a good man after all?"
"I don't know," said Dick. "I hate to say it, but... what if Batman and this Riddler are the same man? He could have created this whole caper just to make Batman look good so people would trust him again."
"What a dreadful thought. I do hope you're wrong."
What if I'm right... and what if they're both Bruce? He would know his way around the Hightower Hotel if he owns it... Holy conspiracy theory. Dick was beginning to feel overwhelmed. "Well, at least the princess is safe. That's the most important thing."
How did Batman rescue the princess? Find out next time—the most thrilling is yet to come! Please take a moment to leave some feedback.