Long after a majority of the police officers had left to go home, Gerard and Helen stayed behind. Helen began research on her computer, while Gerard went through the Joker's file.
"Stephens! I may have something!" Helen shouted from her desk.
Gerard walked over to Helen and leaned forward to get a look at her computer screen. What he saw confused him.
"Ivy Town General?"
"It doesn't say much, but get this. I made some calls, and a doctor on staff at Ivy recalled a young teenager, no more than sixteen, coming into the hospital with two slits on each side of his mouth."
"The scars."
"My thoughts exactly. Now, here's the problem: Ivy Town is located near New York."
Gerard ran his fingers through his hair. "We can't just ask Jim for a vacation. If he figures out we're trying to track The Joker, he'll pull us from the force."
Helen shrugged. "No one says that Gordon has to know. We don't have shifts on the weekend, remember? Two days is enough time to leave for Ivy Town and return before we have to go back to work."
"It's risky. We might get called in to take over for someone." Gerard warned.
"I wouldn't have chosen this line-of-work if I didn't know that there was risks."
On Saturday morning, Helen and Gerard headed to Ivy Town. For being located near New York, it sure wasn't a large city. This did make the hospital easier to locate, and when they arrived, they went to the emergency room.
It was nothing like the emergency room at the hospital in Gotham. There was people with cuts and bruises, and possibly broken bones. What Gerard had seen in the local emergency room was far worse. A friendly-looking nurse with a smile on her face and freckles on her nose, approached the two cops.
"Good afternoon. I trust since you are here, you are having some sort of medical trouble." The nurse said.
Gerard took his badge from his pocket and showed it to the nurse. "We're with the Gotham police."
The nurse frowned. "Gotham is not exactly nearby, officer."
"We understand that, Miss, but we have reason to believe that one of the doctors here had treated a suspect." Helen explained.
The nurse began to smile again. "Which doctor?"
"Doctor Taylor." Helen said.
"You're in luck, he's on call today. Of course, he always insists on being here to do what he can. The poor man is nearing 70, he should take it easy."
"Where is he?" Gerard asked.
The nurse pointed to a plump man with thin gray hair, an even grayer mustache, and the typical white coat. Gerard and Helen thanked the nurse and approached Doctor Taylor who was just putting some charts into a slot.
"Doctor Nicholas Taylor?" Helen asked.
"Yes?"
"Doctor Taylor, I'm Gerard Stephens and this is my partner, Helen Coleman. We work for the Gotham City Police."
"What is this about?" Doctor Taylor asked.
"Sir, according to a news article dated in 1987, you treated a sixteen-year-old patient with slits on his cheeks." Helen said.
"I remember it well. It was a miracle that boy survived. I was so afraid of how much blood he was losing."
"What do you remember about that case?" Gerard asked.
"Well, the boy was in a great amount of pain. He was barely conscious, but he was alert enough to answer my questions. Never gave me his name, but told that "Mickey was being bad. He wanted to kill me." And then, he fainted and was kept overnight for observation before his mother or some other female relative picked him up from the hospital."
"Do you remember that woman's name?" Helen asked.
"I believe her name was Carly or Carrie. She didn't bother with a last name. She desperately wanted to get the boy out of here."
"Thank you for your help, Doctor Taylor." Gerard said.
Gerard and Helen left the hospital and went to a hot dog stand across the street for lunch. They discussed what they learned as they walked down the street, hotdogs in hand.
"It's not much to go on, Coleman." Gerard said.
Helen sighed. "I know."
"How are you even sure this boy was The Joker?"
"Because I saw the article. I saw his picture. You can't forget a face like The Joker's. You won't believe how many times I've tried."
"All right. So, we know he was sixteen when he got the scars, someone named Mickey tried to kill him, and The Joker was picked up from the hospital when someone named Carla or Carrie asked for his release."
Helen shrugged. "I guess we better find this Mickey, or better yet the woman that took The Joker home from the hospital."
Gerard nodded in agreement. When a cold wind blew by, Helen hugged herself. Gerard stopped, set his hotdog down on top of a trash can, and put his coat around Helen.
"Thanks."
"Wait till you've seen how bad an early winter can be in Gotham." Gerard said.