Madeleine rested a hand on her hip and chewed her lip, considering him. He wondered what she was looking for. Finally, she said, “Go back to the building. If you want to find something, you’re going to have to get inside.”
Inside.“And is that a hunch, or do you know this because you used to work with the Nightwalkers?”
She just shrugged. “I might know some things.”
“Do you know who the Nightwalkers’ boss is?”
“So many questions. I can’t answer everything for you—go figure out something on your own.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth? You just told me to suspect everyone.”
She looked pleased. “Youshouldsuspect me, more than anyone,” she replied. “But it sounds to me like you want to get to the bottom of the Nightwalkers, and that the police don’t want you involved anymore. I may have exactly the information you need, but you’re the one who needs to use it.”
This was what he had come back for—information that Draccon had been trying to work out of her for months.Keep a level head. She might crawl in.Bruce wondered if hewantedher to, just to see what she could do. “You know I’ll probably pass this information along to the police. Why would you tell me this, when you’ve stayed silent in front of them for months?”
A playful light had entered Madeleine’s eyes. “Because, Mr. Wayne,” she said, “I suppose I’ve grown rather fond of your visits.”
Even though everything in him warned him to stay away, that this was a girl who had blood on her hands, who might work with an entire organization of killers—he still wanted to stay here, wanted to keep talking to her.I have to,he told himself, justifying the feeling.I’m getting further with her than any of the police have. I’m their only shot.
“And what will I find, once I’m inside?” Bruce asked her.
She touched a finger to her lips teasingly, then waved farewell to him as she headed back toward her bed. “Check the north wall’s lower bricks in the building. I’ll let you decide whether or not that turns out to be useful information.”
Bruce turned away, too. She could have just lied about everything, but it still didn’t stop his heart from beating loudly in his chest.Useful information.Her words had taken hold in his mind, and he felt compelled to follow them.
“You hate this band,” Dianne said as she looped her arm through Bruce’s. He had to lean down to hear her properly.
Together with Harvey, they were heading to a summer concert held on the greens of the new park in central Gotham City. The air was surprisingly chilly tonight, the result of a week of irregular storms, and in the sky, a few lingering clouds were lit up by the sunset in hues of pink and gold.
“I don’thatethis band,” Bruce lied. “I just think the Midnight Poets are overrated.” But in the back of his mind, he was thinking about the surrounding neighborhood. The park was only a few blocks away from the corner of Eastham and Wicker, where the Bellingham Industries & Co. building had been bombed. If he could find a good moment to get away from the crowd, he could take a closer look at the intersection, perhaps get inside and follow Madeleine’s clue.
Bruce hoisted his backpack higher, feeling self-conscious about the things he’d brought in case he’d need them. A bolt cutter, to get past any locks that might be on the building’s doors. A knife. Aski mask. Gloves. Items a criminal might pack, if anyone were to look through them. His thoughts flickered back to Madeleine for a moment, and the memory of her small, secret smile. What else did she know that she refused to tell the police?
“Bruce?” Dianne nudged him hard enough to jolt him back to the present. “Isaid,what’s not to like? They’re billed as the next great indie.”
“Hey, obviously someone likes them,” Bruce replied, recovering quickly. He gave Dianne a wry grin. “Far be it from me to stop you guys from listening to an awful show.”
Dianne grimaced at him and rolled her eyes. Bruce knew she could tell that his mind had wandered somewhere else. “Well, if we see them playing at a Super Bowl halftime in the future, I’m totally going to rub it in your face.”
“You’ve been acting weird ever since graduation day, Bruce,” Harvey chimed in as he munched on a churro, spraying sugar crumbs everywhere. “It usually takes a lot to set you off like that. What’s happening at Arkham? Is it getting to your head?”
Bruce hesitated. The most he’d mentioned to either of them was that Draccon had finally begun…not warming up to him, exactly, but letting him in on a few aspects of her detective work. The rest of it, though—the conversation with Madeleine about the Nightwalkers—he hadn’t brought up to either Dianne or Harvey.
So Bruce shrugged. “Maybe some. Arkham’s been a noisy place, with the inmates heckling me all the time.”
“Maybe Detective Draccon will find a way to shorten your sentence,” Harvey said, “so you don’t have to deal with that every day. That doesn’t sound healthy at all.”
You have no idea.“I’ll ask her,” he replied.
Harvey looked ready to ask more questions, but Dianne just sighed and quickened her pace, forcing them to do the same. “Can we skip the asylum talk today?” she said, saving Bruce from elaborating more. He felt a twinge of relief when she cast him a subtle wink and then nodded toward the park, where people were filling up the grass with picnic blankets and lawn chairs. A few silhouettes lingered behind tree trunks, waiting for security to look away before climbing up to sit on the branches. “I mean—do you guys realize that this will be one of the last times the three of us all hang out together in Gotham City?”
“We have the whole summer,” Harvey replied. “You’re not leaving until the end of August, right?”
Dianne held up all her fingers. “Ten weeks,” she replied. “Yeah. Mylolareminded me of that this morning—she nearly sobbed into her rice and eggs.”
The number sank in. Bruce felt a sudden pang as he realized how little time they had left together.
The three of them reached the park, and the topic of their future was dropped as they hunted for a good spot to sit. They finally settled on a clear patch of grass and waited for the band to come onstage. While Dianne argued with Harvey about the best song and Harvey tried to get her to sing the lyrics out loud, Bruce found his thoughts wandering to Madeleine.
