Chapter 1, Pt. 2: "Partners in Crime"
Authors: Justplainsomething, soulless-and-i-like-it
“So I take it you took the deal” Dick smirked, a smug look plastered on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.
The redhead was busy rubbing her sore wrists on her way out of the interrogation room to, so she merely glanced up at him with narrowed eyes, keeping an annoyed look on her face on as she walked towards him.
“Detective Grayson,” Barbara said.
“Okay, dick” Barbara responded, tilting her head as a smile spread on her face, before she proceed to walk forward.
Dick laughed softly under his breath as she passed him by. Barbara spun on her heels and sat down on the edge of his desk looking up at him as one slender leg crossed over the other. She pursed her lips as she looked over at the murder board, scanning over all the notes and pictures hung up on it and cocked her head to the side.
“Assistant DA James Fields, huh? Age 35 with a wife and two kids at home," Barbara told Dick as looking over towards him, "Happily married if you don’t count the mistress he visits on the side,”
“Nice girl, business major I believe,” Barbara replied, before catching Dick looking and rolling her eyes. “Friend of a friend of a guy who owes me one.”
Dick furrowed his dark brow as Barbara merely pushed off his mahogany desk and waltzed towards the board, squinting at the notes scribbled down by Dick, Donna and Wally throughout the case.
“Anyway, shot to the head at point blank range. Gang violence?” Barbara asked him.
Dick shook his head. “We checked, Joseph had no connection whatsoever to any of the mobs in town.”
Dick raised an eyebrow at her. She realized how dumb her question was, and let out a small “Oh, right. Gotham DA,”. She pursed her dark lips, trying to think over any other motive for Joseph’s death.
“Trouble with the missus?” she inquired, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Dick shook his head, “Neighbors heard them arguing the week before he died, but Heather had an alibi.”
“Could have been a hired killer.”
“Possible, but an argument over the in-laws is not a valid reason to kill one’s significant other.”
Dick laughed under his breath, glancing down at the wooden floors before looking back at Barbara.
"So what are all the non-felons around here ruling it?" Barbara asked, still studying the board.
"Suicide," Dick answered, “That's what his doctor is saying, too."
"Crane, the city’s top doctor."
"Wait," her face shot around to look at him. "Crane? As in Jonathan Crane?" Barbara asked.
"I've...I’ve heard some things about Crane. Rumors, and not the good kind," she answered. "Has anyone taken blood samples from Fields?"
"For a bullet to the head?” Dick laughed “Not that I know of, why?"
"Have your boys run it for narcotics. Call it a hunch."
Dick studied the redhead for a couple of moments before picking up the black desk phone, his eyes still trained on Barbara before typing in the number to connect him with forensics.
“Kord,” the voice on the other end answered after a couple of rings.
“Hey Ted, its Dick. Look, I was wondering if you happened to have taken any blood samples from Fields?”
“Uh, yeah, to check that only his blood was at the crime scene. And it was,” Ted replied.
"Any chance you could do a full test, specifically for narcotics." A few minutes later, Dick heard the noise of the phone being moved around and papers being shuffled. “Okay lets see what we got...okay that seems normal and hold one...what?”
“What? What is it?” Dick asked.
“Um...it seems that Fields has traces of Lysergic acid diethylamide, methamphetamine and phencyclidine,” Ted answered.
“Wait, he had meth, LSD and PCP in his system?” Dick asked.
“Traces actually -- it seems he’s been given it over a long period of time” Ted replied, “They also seem to be chemically altered, but the machine wasn’t able to pick up on what.”
“The drugs are probably the cause of his paranoia,” Barbara said to Dick.
“Is someone else there?” Ted asked.
“Oh yeah, sorry Ted you're on speaker, this is Barbara. Barbara Gordon. She’s our new consultant, just started working with us today. She was the one who thought to run the blood test,” Dick smiled slyly as he looked over at her.
Barbara pulled a face at him before saying politely, “Nice to meet you, Ted.”
“Same here,” Ted replied, “I apologize for not being able to meet in person. I tend to hole myself away in the lab.”
“It’s fine, really,” Barbara assured him. “I got a quick question to ask.”
“Did Crane prescribe anything to Fields?” She leaned in toward the speaker.
“Oh," she said before adding, "What’s that exactly?”
Ted laughed, “Serax, it’s a drug to help with anxiety and paranoia.”
“I see...” Barbara replied, “Can you test the serax? See if any of the drugs are in it?”
“I can try, but it might take a while."
“Call us when you’re done, Ted,” Dick said as he went to hang up the phone.
“It was nice speaking to you Ms Gordon” Ted said quickly on the other end, “I hope next time we talk in person.”
She smirked. “Same here."
As he finally hung up, Dick turned to Barbara.
“Sorry if it tastes bad,” Dick apologized, handing the redhead a mug as he sat down across from her in the break room. “The machine hasn’t worked correctly since like '93.”
“It's fine, my machine doesn’t work at all," Barbara said as let the cup warm her hands.
“No wonder you're a night person,” he teased as she narrowed her eyes at him and took a sip of the dark, caffeinated concoction in it.
“So, what exactly have you heard about Crane?” Dick asked. Barbara froze up mid-sip.
“Nothing,” she answered, hiding her bright pink cheeks behind the cup.
Dick smirked and lend closer. “Well, you definitely heard something. You’re all flustered, which might I say is really cute.”
Barbara looked like she was about to leap over the table and wring his neck, but she slowly putting down her cup, her pink cheeks slowly fading back to its ivory color.
“Things” she answered, looking away.
“You know people get killed for talking to cops,” Barbara interrupted calmly, keeping her eyes trained on him, “Especially in this city. Especially with this squad.”
“So you don’t trust me?” Dick asked, leaning back in his chair.
Barbara scoffed, “Oh, I trust you. I just don’t like you.”
“Good to know” Dick replied.
“I thought you already knew.”
“Oh I do, I’m just figuring out where we are in this little partnership of ours,” Dick told her, glancing down at his cup.
“Listen here, Dickie,” Barbara leaned in closer to him with narrowed eyes. “I don’t like you," she hissed quietly under her breath, "All you are to me is just my get out of jail free card. And that’s it.”
Dick placed a hand on his chest and pretended to be hurt by her words. “And to think you were so polite just minutes ago.”
Barbara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from biting his head off. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Okay look,” she opened them and looked over at Dick, “You can ask me whatever the hell you want to for the rest of our partnership, but if I don’t want to answer it, you don’t bug me about it. Clear?”
“Good,” Barbara replied and took a sip of her coffee.
There was a rap at the door and Dick looked over to see a young patrol officer sticking his head into the room.
“Detective Grayson, Kord’s on the phone for you."
“Jonathan Crane, you are under arrest,” Dick announced as he entered the therapist’s office, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.”
Barbara stayed at the doorway, just like Dick had asked her (nicely) to on their way into the building. She kept her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.
Crane looked up from his desk and placed his pen down as he asked, “What crime have I exactly committed Detective?”
“Murder,” Dick answered, “The murder of assistant DA James Fields”
Crane laughed, standing up from his desk and walking around it. “I believe I have an alibi for the night of his death. I was at a dinner with a couple of friends.”
“At a restaurant that you bring your own wine to,” Barbara told him, taking a step forward.
“A waitress recalls you leaving between the hours of 9 and 10. You had told your friends you were going back to your office to grab the bottle you left behind,” Dick explained.
“We also found traces of LSD and PCP in your office, the same drugs found in Fields system the night he died,” Barbara spoke up, walking closer to the men.
Crane laughed, “That doesn’t exactly prove I killed the man.”
“True, but the blood splatter on your desk we found under a UV light does,” Dick told him, “If the tests show its Field’s blood, you’ll be off to the slammer.”
“For-ever,” Barbara added mockingly.
Crane looked between the pair and there was a complete personality change. Before either could reacted, jumped forward and grabbed Barbara’s shirt sleeve, pulling her towards him as he spun her round and snatched the letter opener from his desk. He pressed the cold metal against the curve of her neck.
“One step closer and I slice her throat open,” Crane hissed as Dick moved his hands up in the air, away from the gun holster at his side.
“Take it easy, Jonathan,” Dick calmly told, stepping forward. “It’s over - you lost.”
Crane stared at him for a few seconds, before beginning to manically laugh, “Over? Oh no Detective, it’s only just begun.”
The knife moved away from Barbara’s neck out towards Dick, and Barbara saw her chance. She threw her head back and slammed it into Crane’s face. The therapist stumbled back, nose gushing with blood and the letter opener slipping from his grasp as Dick pulled out his gun and pointed it at him.
“Don’t move,” he ordered and Crane slowly moved his hands up.
Dick looked from Crane’s bleeding nose and back to the redhead, “Nice moves.”
Barbara shrugged, “What can I say, I’m not the damsel in distress type.”
“So, congratulations on solving your first case” Dick congratulated as he walked the redhead back into the precinct.
“Thanks” she replied with a smile, “Couldn’t have done it without you”
Dick smiled and followed Barbara back to his desk as he spotted Officer O’Malley heading towards him in the corner of his eye.
“Detective,” O’Malley nodded to him, "I just heard news from the DA on Crane." The cop sneaked a glance towards the redhead he had arrested the night previous, who cocked an eyebrow at him and smiled.
"What news on Crane?" Dick spoke up.
O’Malley frowned at her but brought his eyes back to his conversation with Dick, “Seems Crane’s on his way to Arkham.”
Dick blinked, “I’m sorry, what?”
“Arkham, Crane’s not going to a trail, he’s going to Arkham,” O’Malley said.
Barbara didn’t even blink before Dick was heading back towards the elevator, mumbling something under his breath in a language she didn’t know. Confused, she watched as he pressed the button and headed into the elevator.
"Hey!" Barbara managed to speed her way in next to him before the doors closed.
District Attorney Harvey Dent looked up from behind his desk. Dick was storming into his office in a fury, Barbara following close behind an amused look on her face.
“Detective Grayson, long time no see. What are you doing-”
Dick slammed the file down on the desk. “Care to explain this to me what the hell this is?”
Harvey opened it up and then skimmed over the papers calmly.
“Well, it says here that Jonathon Crane is dubbed legally insane and will not be tried, but instead sent to Arkham Asylum to seek help for his disorder,” Harvey replied, looking up at Dick as he finished.
“Yes, I can see that,” Dick snapped. “What I want to know is why?”
Harvey shut the file and slowly placed it down on the desk before clasping his hands together.
“I had Dr. Strange hold a session with Crane; he diagnosed that Crane has Paranoid Personality Disorder. He had been suffering from it silently for years and, in a moment of insanity, killed James.” Harvey sighed. “James was a good man, and a close friend. I know Dick, I know ... he deserves justice for what happened, but I can’t put a sick man in prison where he can’t get the help he needs.”
“He is a murderer, Harvey. He was in control when he did it,” Dick stated. “James and his family deserve justice.”
“I empathize, but it’s already been done,” Harvey told him. “At the moment, Crane is on a bus headed to Arkham and there is nothing I can do about it.”
As Dick and Harvey continued to argue, Barbara looked around the office, studying every detail of it and then filing them into memory as she did. She noticed by the bottle of scotch on the mahogany coffee table, a small, clear, orange prescription bottle full to the top with little pills located next to it.
“By the way, who is your lovely friend?” Harvey asked, catching Barbara’s attention.
“Harvey, don’t try to change the subject,” Dick snapped, but Harvey stood up and walked towards her.
Barbara wasn’t fond of lawyers. For her whole life, they had been the enemy that could put Barbara away if she ever got caught. She always saw them as just snobbish men in Italian cut suits with briefcases who thought they owned the place.
But that’s what she thought of every man who walked around in a pressed suit and carried a briefcase.
“Harvey Dent, District Attorney. Pleasure to meet you,” Harvey told her, shaking her hand.
“Barbara Gordon, consultant,” Barbara replied.
“Well, where did you find this one Dick? I’d love to know where I can get one of my own." He flashed a dazzling smile as he brought Barbara hand to his lips.
Barbara gave a small smile, quiet enjoying the complements she was receiving and how they irritated Grayson, who coughed loudly.
“Anyway, I think we are done here,” Dick said walking past Harvey and linked arms with Barbara, leading her towards the door. “Good to see you again Harvey," he said with no enthusiasm.
“You too Dick, take care now,” Harvey flashed that smile again. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Gordon.”
Barbara gave a small waved over her shoulder as she was dragged out of the office. Dick shut the door behind him and sighed.
“So,” Barbara removed her arm from Dick’s as they walked towards the elevators, “that was Harvey Dent.”
“He really is as charming as the papers say he is.”
“He’s a pain in the ass truthfully, but he’s good at what he does,” Dick replied. Barbara nodded in agreement, a clever smile started to appear on her face.
“He’s kind of cute” she told Dick, looking straight in front of her, “in a dashing older man sort of way.”
Dick stopped in his tracks, glaring at her. She laughed at the way he reacted to her pushing his buttons, twirling towards him as she heard the elevator doors open.
“I’m jok-ing,” she articulated to him with a beaming smile as she stepped into the elevator. He smirked back.
"Only if you're buying," she said with a shrug, but added, "partner."
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