Bernie had met Buddy at a coffee shop near Cheyenne's workplace. She was on a coffee run, frantic with trying to remember her co-workers' orders, when he stepped into line right in front of her. Her temper frayed and she icily told him that she never invited him to cut in and that he ought to go all the way to the back of the line if he wanted to get his coffee.

He turned slowly to snarl at her but she didn't let his size intimidate her. She was in a rush and he wasn't and if he didn't get out of her way, she'd lose her job and she'll sue him for being a stubborn ass. The coffee shop was rapidly growing quiet as people turned to stare. With so much attention on her, Bernie wanted to flee right then, but her mind kept going through all the coffee drinks she'd memorized and she wasn't backing down.

Then Barry Pierce showed up.

A quick whispered exchange, and Buddy was mumbling 'sorry' to her as he moved off with his brother to the back of the line. Tense moment done, Bernie gave her orders to the barista and managed to run back to the studio just in time for the next fitting.

The next day, she found Buddy in the coffee shop again and this time, she wasn't in a hurry. So she went up to him and apologized for losing her temper. He was surprised at first, but he returned her apology with an offer to talk; they'd been drinking coffee and talking at least once every day after that.

"I didn't know Barry had been watching me that first day," Bernie admitted. "He must have seen me come out of the studio and run to the coffee shop. It must be why he stepped in to stop Buddy from punching me out."

"Why would you believe that?" Red Robin asked.

"Because Barry's been looking to get back at Cheyenne for months." She snorted. "Whenever Buddy and I talked, he'd always ask about Cheyenne. If she was a slave driver at work. Whether she was seeing someone. Buddy said it was because he was looking to match her and his brother together; that they were childhood friends who haven't seen each other in a while." She shook her head. "I must have been an idiot to believe them."

"The Pierce brothers are masters at manipulating people." Tim offered, but it was a weak comfort and they both knew it.

Bernie shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I believed him and that was that. I told him what he wanted to know. But everything I told him was pretty unimportant. And then..." Her voice broke. A teardrop fell to splatter her clenched fists. Tim wanted to pat her shoulder or something similarly awkward (Dick had always known what to do in situations like this, not him) but she wasn't done. She took a deep breath and continued, "and then Trish got sick.

"She and Cheyenne were close; they'd been working together for years. When Trish called to say she was sick, Cheyenne went out and bought her pastries from Trish's favourite bakery. She was supposed to drop them at Trish's place, grab some designs Trish had been working on, then come back to work. Only..."

"Only...?" Red Robin prompted.

"Only Cheyenne came back white-faced and breathless. She didn't even have Trish's designs. The moment she went in her office, she called me and told me to help her pack. Then she announced that she was going out of town for a few days to meet with a client. I was also told to pack my things and to go with her."

"And you came to Gotham."

Bernie nodded. "We stayed in the Red Crescent for two days. I'd been calling Buddy off and on for the whole trip just to talk. He knew where we were. And he said he'd come by to see me in Gotham while Cheyenne was off meeting with her client.

"But there was no client. She just came to Gotham to meet with this guy, Dick Grayson."

"Bruce Wayne's adopted son." Tim supplied nonchalantly. Dick had pretty much told him the same thing, only from his point of view.

Bernie nodded again. "He was all she came to Gotham for. As soon as they met up, she packed up again and started going back to California."

Tim frowned. He figured that must be when Cheyenne gave Dusty to Dick. But something in how Bernie said the last part had him asking, "You weren't going back with her, were you?"

Bernie shook her head and her shoulders, straight while she was talking, now slumped in misery. "Buddy had called and said he was coming to Gotham. I didn't want to ask him to turn back around so I asked Cheyenne if I could stay here for an extra day or two before going back. She agreed and I stayed at the Crescent."

"And you met up with Buddy?"

"Sure. Buddy came and we went out for dinner that night. The next day, I was on my way back to California alone while he stayed to finish some business."

"And when did the police interview...?"

"After dinner, when I went back to the hotel. There were a couple of cops waiting for me."

"What happened to Buddy?"

"He left as soon as he saw them. I didn't think much of it at first, and I was too surprised to find cops wanting to talk to me so when one of them asked if I was Trish Edgwood, I didn't think to correct him. And then they told me about the accident..." she trailed off, her eyes unfocused as she rehashed her memories.

"When did you know it wasn't an accident?"

"In the news. When I just got back to California." She dropped her gaze and said brokenly, "I asked Buddy about it and he said it wasn't anything. But when I came in early for work the next day, I overheard some of the cutters saying Buddy and his brother were suspects."

"They are." Red Robin confirmed with a nod.

The tears that had been collecting in Bernie's eyes now fell down her cheeks in a torrent. "I-I've been an idiot!"

Tim's thoughts fled at the sight of her tears and he immediately started trying to comfort her - he didn't want to attract any more attention than he did with his uniform out in public. "Easy, easy. You couldn't have known..."

"But I should have!" she choked on a sob and suddenly she was clutching at his arms, her face desperate. "I started putting everything together that morning. Buddy never said where he was coming from while I was in Gotham, nor did he say when he arrived. But I thought I'd seen him hanging around the Crescent hours before we went out to date!"

"It's possible he came early to arrange..."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, you don't get it! If Buddy had been at the hotel before Cheyenne left, he would have seen the baby! He knows about Cheyenne's baby!"