Notes: Was sick for the past couple of days. I think I'm on the mend...sort of. Ah well.
BookJunkie: Glad you really liked that last chapter. Things are still intriguing on the fic hehehe.
"Why all the interest in this case?" Damian demanded as Dick sifted through the rubble that was once the Rheinson. Arson investigators have cleared the scene and attention to this area had already faded hours ago. It was a perfect time to conduct his own investigations.
"Not now, Robin," Batman said in response to his partner. "I'll explain in the car."
"I know it concerns the infant," Robin grumbled, "but you look too worried for this to be a simple murder case."
"It is a simple murder case," Batman paused to look at the boy. "But the perps we want aren't so simple."
"I see."
"Later. I'll explain to you in the car. Right now, we have scum to track down."
The next hour or so has the Duo searching through piles of broken cement blocks and exposed steel beams. Just as Dick suspected though, there was nothing to show in the way of evidence nor clues as to who caused the Rheinson to explode. His mind silently supplied the image of two brothers standing in the middle of the wreckage but Bruce's training quickly shoved that image away.
Evidence, Bruce told him once, without evidence, all you have are assumptions.
And without evidence, there can't be any convictions, wrote the police manual.
Dick gave an inward sigh and stood up. He turned his head to call Robin when something white flashed at the corner of his eye. It was a piece of white fabric; torn, stained and dirty with soot but the stark color still peeped through in patches. The fabric could have been from a passing gawker or one of the uniformed personnel who swarmed the scene but Dick knew it for the evidence it was.
Because it was pinned under a debris pile that was practically at the epicenter of the explosion.
Dick could almost feel the grin splitting his face. "Robin. Bunker. Now."
Alfred was waiting for them when they returned, his stance expectant. "I take it you boys stumbled upon something?"
Dick shook off the pang of trepidation he felt when he first saw Alfred looking at them - how many times had the butler given him that same look when he made some mischief and couldn't put it past Alfred? With one look, Dick found himself confessing his prank of the day.
It was different now though, and he triumphantly held up part of the fabric he found, already sealed in a plastic evidence bag. "If I'm right, this can put either of Chey's murderers in the Rheinson explosion."
"That's wonderful," Babs commented blandly as she rolled in, "but how would you connect them to Cheyenne Freemont's murder?"
"Still working on that." Dick replied dismissively. He was already strolling for the lab area of the Bunker and beginning the process of analyzing the fabric. "This might be the evidence we need to break the case."
"It sounds too easy." Damian announced. His arms were crossed as he glared at Dick and the microscope the man was adjusting. "From what you've told me, Barry Pierce was too careful to casually leave pieces of his clothing behind. And even if he did make a mistake this once, what you have is circumstantial at best."
"He's right, Dick," Babs spoke up. "And I'm sorry to say, but you've hit a dead end if that cloth is all you've got going for you."
"What do you mean?"
Babs rolled towards the Crays and started punching a few buttons. "Autopsy report just came in. One of the bodies found in the Rheinson was John Casey."
"And?" Dick leaned close, his tone half-excited, half-dreading as though he knew this was the break he was searching for but at the same time fearful that it would be snatched away from him. Babs didn't pull any punches and commanded the Crays to display a picture of the body taken from the scene.
"Meet the late John Casey."
And hope faded so quickly it barely left a ghost behind. Dick now saw what Babs had seen when he first came in holding his precious fabric: John Casey was wearing a white polo shirt when he came into the Rheinson, and that fact was written in the police report for all to see.
In the back of his mind, he could see Barry Pierce laughing at him while holding a champagne flute in one hand and a blonde floozy in the other. And outside the window, Chey shouted at him for his failure. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "So they'll get away again..."
Barry Pierce's laugh drowned Cheyenne's wordless screams and Dick barely noticed Babs continuing to type at the Crays. He was Batman now; he should have connected Pierce to the murder in a couple of hours. Bruce could do it. Why couldn't he? He'd failed several times as Robin, as Nightwing, and now as both Batman and Dusty's father.
"Don't give up the ship yet, FBW," she murmured, pulling up a couple more files for the Crays to display. "Barry Pierce may be too careful to leave evidence in crime scenes. But he's not too careful in how he deals with his contacts."
Dick's head shot up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. "You mean...?"
Babs smiled at him. "John Casey. Arrested a couple of months ago but was bailed out by a wealthy benefactor. His cellphone records, retrieved from the telecoms company despite the man's unit being burnt to a crisp, also show frequent calls made by a certain number. The man's finances also reveal several large cash deposits despite his not having a real job."
He stared at the screen for the next few seconds, his eyes darting back and forth as he speed-read the data she pulled up. And when he was done...
He spun her chair around and clutched her to him, declaring, "Babs, you're the greatest!" Then his lips were crushing hers.
Their breaths mingled. It could have been a minute. It could have been forever. But when he pulled back from the kiss, Babs opened her vibrant green eyes and stared at him in wonder. Dick felt his heart skip a beat. She looked so beautiful... His arms were around her, just as hers were around him, and he was grinning widely down at her because he'd found the greatest treasure of his life. And somehow, the world seemed that much brighter.
The sound of a throat clearing shattered the moment. Babs wheeled her chair back and Dick's arms flopped dejectedly to his sides.
"t-t. That's vile, Grayson." Damian scoffed. His arms were crossed, and he appeared to be looking down his nose at them.
The former Batgirl and Robin just rolled their eyes.
"We must be getting back to patrol. You can get back to your 'activities' later." Without another word, the ten year old strode back to the Batmobile.
"He's right, you know." Barbara said, her green eyes twinkling with merriment.
"About the patrol or about being vile?" Dick grinned innocently.
The red head laughed and gave him a light shove. "Go Batman, your city needs you."
He rushed to the door but paused and glanced back at her, his earlier joy floating away on a high-flying cloud. He was almost afraid to ask, but knew he had to; so he poured all his emotions into his eyes and pleaded with her to understand: Will you still be here when I come back?
And she smiled at him. "Go. We'll talk later."
Hope and joy came blazing back. He grinned at her unspoken promise and left.