"Now as you undoubtedly know, even supposedly random killers usually have a kind of pattern," said Crane, as Harley once again sat in his cell, studying the Joker file. "Have you found any kind of connection between the Joker's victims?"

"Well, the criminal one," replied Harley. "But that doesn't tell us much other than the fact that he doesn't like criminals. But most people don't, present company included."

"They're not just casual criminals though, are they?" asked Crane. "They're gang members. Which leads me to suspect a vendetta against Gotham's gangland specifically."

"The Three Families," murmured Harley, studying the photos of the Joker's victims. "Maroni, Falcone, and…"

She trailed off. "It's not Valestra anymore though, is it?" she asked quietly.

"No, Salvatore Valestra was murdered three years ago," replied Crane. "No one knows by whom. I believe the police suspected one of his associates of murdering him, an underling who wanted his position, I suppose."

Harley said nothing, but her mind flashed back to Valestra dragging her into his car, his hands and mouth all over her body, and then the shattering of glass and being pulled into the arms of her savior who would go on to brutally murder him as revenge…

"Harley?" said Crane, noticing the faraway look in her eyes. "What is it?"

"Jack Napier murdered him," murmured Harley. "For me. Valestra tried to assault me, and he…saved me, and murdered him. Then he took over the gang but they…they killed him."

Tears came to her eyes. "I saw his death in your fear vision," she whispered. "My worst fear came true. That's why I left Gotham."

"Well, I tried to warn you," sighed Crane. "And him, but his worst fear wasn't death."

"What was it?" she asked.

"It was you finding out what he truly was, and despising him for it," replied Crane.

Harley managed a smile. "That was an irrational fear," she murmured. She wiped her eyes, trying to focus back on the present. "So now the Three Families are Maroni, Falcone, and?"

"I believe there are two men running what used to be Valestra's gang," replied Crane. "Buzz Bronski and Chuckie Sol."

"Buzz Bronski is the one who murdered Jack," replied Harley quietly. "So that makes sense."

She studied the papers again, flipping through them. "That's odd," she said at last.

"What is?" asked Crane.

"The gang members the Joker has killed – it's only been Maroni's and Falcone's guys," replied Harley. "I'm not seeing men from the other gang here."

"So there is a method to his madness," said Crane. "Why would that be?"

"Maybe he's a friend or associate of that gang?" asked Harley. "Or he could be working for them to take down the competition?"

"If that were the case, it seems like the gang would make him go public," replied Crane. "Especially now that Maroni has been taken down – there's going to be a power vacuum, and you think the side employing the insane serial killer would want to advertise this, to strike fear into their rivals' hearts if nothing else."

"Not everyone is as obsessed with fear as you," retorted Harley.

"Crime bosses are," retorted Crane. "Much of the power of the mafioso comes from fear. One would think the Joker would be a weapon they would eagerly deploy if they could control him."

"Something tells me a guy calling himself the Joker isn't easily controlled," replied Harley. "But maybe he's their secret weapon, which is why they're keeping him secret. Or he might have avoided killing those gang members in order to make a deal with their leaders. Maybe he sees them as the most likely victors in the coming gang war, and wants to be on the winning side."

"I'm not sure anyone on any side should trust someone calling himself the Joker too much," replied Crane. "I'm sure he has some nasty prank in store for whoever wins. If he does want to make a deal with them and they accept, they must be desperate. But as far as I know, Batman does not have the same scruples regarding the gangs – he seems to attack gang members whatever their affiliation. So it looks like the theory that he and Joker could be the same man is incorrect."

"I never really thought they were," replied Harley. "Their modes and methods are completely different. But I do still think there's a connection between them, and that one inspired the other."

"Very likely," agreed Crane. "But I still don't think we're any closer to finding out who either of them are, or where they're hiding out."

"Well, maybe we are," said Harley. "If the Joker is working with, or at least hoping to be on the side of what was formerly Valestra's gang, it would make sense that he's based in their territory."

"Yes, but their territory is a third of Gotham," retorted Crane. "Maybe more if they make a move to take over Maroni's territory now that he's out of the picture. It's a huge area to search, particularly when trying to find a man who doesn't want to be found. Like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Harley said nothing. "You used to help the police with their cases sometimes, didn't you?" she asked at last. "I remember that's how you found out I was helping Jack break the gang out of jail, because the police commissioner came to see you to ask about me. Was that the only time you helped them?"

"No, I would frequently assist with psychological profiling of suspects," replied Crane. "The police often relied on my expertise to assist them, and more than a few criminals are behind bars now thanks to my methods."

"Better hope you stay out of prison then," retorted Harley.

"I don't think there's any danger of that," retorted Crane.

"I wouldn't be too sure," replied Harley. "The hearing could go either way. If you're not ruled insane, you won't be staying here – you might be sent to a regular prison with regular criminals, which I know would be a fate worse than death for you. And would probably result in your actual death if anyone in prison found out how you helped put them there."

"What's your point?" demanded Crane.

"My point is that you must have had connections in the police force at one time," said Harley. "Why don't you give me the names of a couple people to contact there?"

"Why?" asked Crane, puzzled. "You think they have information about the Joker they haven't shared with the public?"

"Probably," agreed Harley. "They might have held back information so as not to panic people, or because they're trying to put together a case against him. It can't hurt to ask, but it would help if I had the name of someone to ask. I won't tell them who sent me – I doubt your psychological expertise would be as trusted anymore."

"No, I suspect not," agreed Crane. "Well, aside from Commissioner Gordon, I was mostly consulted by Detectives Bullock and Montoya. The latter will likely be more helpful than the former. Detective Bullock was always very skeptical of everything I had to say – I frequently caught him rolling his eyes, and he often made some scathing remarks in response to my diagnoses. But Detective Montoya was much more appreciative of my expertise, and she seemed very nice. I suspect she'd be more helpful to you in your quest for information."

"Great," said Harley, writing down the name. "I'll stop by the station after work and see what she knows. Thank you," she said, rising.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" said Crane suddenly.

"No, not at all," replied Harley. "What is it?"

"What do you hope to gain by all this?" asked Crane. "You're going through an awful lot of effort to find a man who will likely kill anyone who disturbs him on sight. You don't have a death wish, do you?"

"No, of course not!" snapped Harley.

"Then why do all this?" asked Crane. "Why spend so much time and effort trying to find a man that any sane person would be trying to avoid? It doesn't make any sense from a psychological standpoint, so you have to help me understand what you hope to accomplish."

"I don't have to do anything," retorted Harley. "You're not my teacher now, and you don't need to understand why I do the things I do. You're considered insane, after all…"

"Yes, but I'm not the one acting insane," retorted Crane. "And I can't understand why you are. I know you, Harley…"

"You don't know me," she interrupted. "And you never did. Otherwise you never would have told me to stay away from Jack."

"Why not?" asked Crane. "You've made a great success of your life without him. By my reckoning, his death is the best thing that could have happened to you."

"Then you're not as much of an expert in human behavior as you like to think," retorted Harley. "You have no idea what agony the last few years have been without him. You have no idea of the constant pain and torment I've been living with. You have no idea what it's like to wake up every morning wondering why I should even go on, why I shouldn't end it all right now. Because I feel nothing, and I haven't since the day he died. You don't know what it's like to live every day with an unbearable burden pressing down on you, like you're wrapped in a weighted blanket perpetually separating you from every bright and beautiful thing left in the world. Like there's a dark, heavy cloud engulfing your body and dulling your vision, ensuring that you feel nothing but its suffocating presence. I would do anything to escape from that cloud, to rip off that blanket, to feel anything again. That's why I'm doing this. Because the only real passion I ever had aside from Jack was the really interesting mental cases, the really dark and disturbed individuals, the extreme personalities. If I can find one of those, maybe I can distract myself from my misery. Maybe I can shake off this eternal numbness and feel something, anything, again. It's certainly worth a try."

She left him without another word.