Chapter 10

Commissioner Gordon returned the following day with the rest of the information from the case. This time he was playing with all the evidence instead of some of it. Edward looked through some of the new photographs he hadn't seen before. Gordon watched Edward look through the folder.

Edward paused on a photo from the most recent murder. A heart shaped cake with twenty seven candles shoved into it was displayed on the dead girl's counter. "Commissioner... how old was Miss Donaldson?" Edward asked suddenly.

Commissioner Gordon pulled out a copy of her death certificate information, "She would have been twenty three in March, but she was twenty two when she died."

Edward stared at the photograph for another minute or two before Gordon questioned him again. "Why do you ask?"

Edward sat the photograph before him. "How many candles do you count? I count twenty seven."

"Yes, twenty seven. Why?" Gordon looked at him. "You think the killer did this?"

"Baked the cake? No, I don't believe he had the time to do so, but I feel he must have been the one to stick candles in her cake... how old was her boyfriend?" Edward asked curiously.

"I'd have to look into that, but I remember on his driver's licence he wasn't older than my nephew, who's twenty five." Gordon told him.

Edward looked at the next photo. "It's probably nothing, but I want to make sure we don't have a vital clue staring us in the face. Another question I have is, what is his birthday, because people generally don't put candles on a cake unless its a birthday or anniversary."

Gordon nodded. "We might have a lead then."

Edward looked through the rest of the evidence before closing the file and leaning back in the chair with one leg crossed over the other, and a hand on his chin. "Anything else come to mind?" Gordon asked curiously.

"I want a list of everyone born on New Year's Day, Groundhog Day, and Valentine's Day. If you have the people born on St. Patrick's Day in custody then I don't need that information. This will help me determine who's behind it." Edward informed him calmly.

Gordon nodded. "All right, I'll get it to you." He picked up his police radio off his shoulder and began phoning in the command.

Edward looked up at him curiously. "It should be here within the hour, why don't you take a lunch break, Edward?" The commissioner suggested.

Edward nodded and stood up. "Very well. I'll be back after." He headed to the lunch room.

The progress was coming along nicely. He could taste his freedom just around the corner. Passing by the other patients he smiled to himself, knowing he wasn't insane, and he didn't belong there. Soon those walls wouldn't hold him back anymore.

The lunchroom was full like it typically was, which was why he often skipped lunch. Edward grabbed a plate of what they were serving that day, chicken soup and a garden salad. He had to admit, it looked and smelled better than breakfast had. Walking to a mostly full table, he sat himself down beside Jervis, the one man he normally avoided like the plague.

Jervis was quite looking into his tea. His eye was bruised, and Edward held an ounce of pity for him. "You can always report him you know?" He said before spooning some of the soup into his mouth.

Jervis nodded, a bit shaky. "I did, but they told me to go away..."

Edward expected this. One day Boles would go down for it, and he would be the one to bring him down. Edward decided to make that a promise to himself. He continued to eat, not bothering to keep conversation with Jervis. The man was a mess after his night in solitary, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Finishing his lunch quickly he headed to Dr. Quinzel's office again. Gordon looked up at him. "Good timing. We just got the list a few minutes ago." He handed Edward the printouts.

"I pride myself on punctuality, Commissioner." He smirked, sitting down to look over the list.

Edward started with people born on Valentine's Day. He was surprised at just how many people were born on that day. Going down the list he found one name in particular that struck him as very interesting. "How old is Mr. Alberto Falcone?" Edward asked, not looking up.

Commissioner Gordon's brows ascended a bit. "You suspect Alberto Falcone?"

"Well I didn't say that, but if he's twenty seven at the current point in time, then yes I do. Strongly." Edward looked up at him.

Gordon sighed and picked up his police radio again hoping one of the guys in the department had a clue as to how old Alberto was. Edward waited patiently. This was his only lead, but he felt he was right regardless. Gordon got off the radio and looked at Edward. "He's twenty seven."

Edward closed his eyes, nodding slightly. "As I thought." He set down the pages on top of the file folder. "It's Alberto Falcone. He's your killer. Now if I would have been there to see the crime scenes I would have more clues, but alas I was never there. He's the man I suspect, and I suggest you check him out, and look for that knife of his."

"Do you realize how hard it will be to convict Alberto Falcone of murder? His father is Carmine Falcone, and they've done well covering up their crimes. About as well as you." Commissioner Gordon's tone sharpened a bit with frustration. "Also, what if you're wrong?"

"I'm not wrong." Edward said simply, making no comment on Gordon's comment of his own crimes. "I feel you'll be able to catch him, especially with his guard down."

"Why are you so confident about this? What if his father is helping him cover?" Gordon asked.

"Mostly because I know his father hasn't a clue it's Alberto. His father is a mob boss, and all of Carmine's kills have been clean, and to the point. Alberto is playing around with his kills." Edward held up a picture of the bludgeoned Mr. Newbury to prove his point. "Two perhaps three blows to the head for an amateur would be good enough to consider the man dead, especially once the blood was gushing from his head. For Alberto it was a game of piñata. Another thing I've noticed is that baseball bats are something Carmine sends his guys out with when someone doesn't pay up. The similarities are striking are they not?"

"Alright yes, a baseball bat is something Carmine uses for people who don't pay up. Everyone knows this. Someone could have even staged this in fact to resemble a Falcone crime." Gordon argued.

"That's highly possible, but explain how someone knew Valentine's Day was Alberto's twenty seventh birthday to have put the right amount of candles on the cake?" Edward asked.

Gordon looked at him and sighed. "Alright Edward. We'll look into it."

"Good. I always knew the police needed someone with a good head on their shoulders to lead them in the right direction." Edward leaned back, smirking darkly.

"Narcissistic bastard..." Gordon mumbled before heading out with the file.

Dr. Quinzel looked at Edward pointedly. "You could have been less arrogant about it."

"That just wouldn't be my style, doctor." He grinned, feeling accomplished.