Chapter 4: Books and Chilled Coffee

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"Forgetting is like a wound. The wound may heal, but it has already left a scar."

– Monkey D. Luffy, [One Piece]

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"Finally, I am done." Bruce sighed as he completed reading all the books in the Wayne library. It took him an entire week but he had at last done it. From books on advanced physics, chemistry, and biology to philosophy, politics, economics, and business, he had read it all.

So much continuous reading was almost becoming unhealthy for him since he didn't even sleep much for the last few days. But that didn't matter to him. What mattered was that he had done the impossible, he had read or maybe, he should say seen and remembered, every book in the huge Wayne estate library. Of course, an average speedster or Kryptonian could do the same thing in a few minutes. But he was sure that his reading speed was much better than the other ordinary human geniuses out there on Earth.

*Knock Knock* A sudden knock on the library door brought Bruce out of his deep thoughts.

"Come in," Bruce said as he closed the last book in his hand and kept it on the shelf.

"Do you plan to spend the rest of your life cooped up in this library Master Bruce? I heavily recommend you stop studying so much and enjoy your life a little. You are young right now, you should enjoy the world and all it has to offer. How about I contact some of the players from Gotham Knights to play a mock baseball match with you?" Alfred offered. He wanted to get Bruce out of the library and into the fresh air as soon as possible. He was really worried that Bruce was succumbing to depression or some other mental condition while always staying in the mansion.

"No thanks Alfred, I am good. Anyways, what about the cave? Is it done being refurbished? Are the equipment and machines here yet?" Bruce enquired as he wanted to start working on some inventions as soon as possible.

"*Sigh* It's almost finished, Master Bruce. We are paying the workers double their wages just to complete the construction by tomorrow. As for the machines, equipment, and other tools, most of them have already arrived and have been placed in the cave." Alfred said with a sigh.

"Good, very good. Oh and please make sure that none of the workers hired for the job ever leak the information about the cave in our backyard." Bruce said as he stretched his body.

"I already made sure of that Master Bruce. After all, it won't be good for the reputation of the Wayne family if people hear that the young master of the family is building secret science laboratories in the basement of his mansion. I even created a fake paper trail showing that the high-grade expensive machines and tools that we got were donated by the Wayne Corporation to a non-profit science research foundation." Alfred said with a severe expression.

Bruce was a little surprised at the fact that Alfred could do illegal stuff like making a fake paper trail since he was always shown to be a really honest and honorable person and basically, a good human being in the comics, movies, and even the animated series. But on second thought, this was quite reasonable especially since Alfred was a retired soldier who had seen and experienced a lot and also he was the chief butler of the Wayne family. He knew his way through the politics and ways of the rich even if the Wayne family didn't employ such dirty tactics much.

"Thank you, Alfred. That'll be all." Bruce said, quite pleased with the butler.

"Also, the main reason I am here young Master Bruce is that the Gotham police are coming to take your statement. I had delayed them till now since you were not in a good mental condition but they are insisting on an official statement from you today. I know that talking about the incident would be hard for you but I too think that you should tell them whatever you can remember from that night. It might potentially help them catch your parents' murd... the criminal." Alfred resisted mentioning the death of the Wayne couple directly in front of Bruce.

"Ok. I don't think I remember too much about that night but I'll say whatever I can remember." Bruce said as he nodded at Alfred.

"Thank you, Master Bruce. I'll go and prepare some snacks and maybe some English tea, you do seem to have taken a liking to the tea I make, for the last few days." Alfred smiled as he turned around and walked away to prepare for the 'guests' that were coming.

'Now, what do I remember from the Wayne couple's death?' Bruce thought to himself as he tried to remember various versions of the same event from the comics and the movie.

In every mainstream version, the couple gets killed by a thief who wanted all their valuables on them. In some, it's a mistake while in some it's a deliberate murder. There are even versions where the thief was actually hired by the Court of Owls to get rid of the Wayne couple so that they could quite easily take control of Gotham.

'Now, what's the name of the thief? Cold coffee or something? Goddamn it, why don't my photographic memory work for my memories from my previous life?' Bruce clicked his tongue in annoyance. He remembered the names of almost every big hero and villain but it was the identities of these small-time characters that he had forgotten.

'Maybe I should keep a journal but again the number of times, people had stolen information and items from the Wayne manor or Batman himself is too much for me to write a physical journal with such sensitive information and keep it in the mansion.' He thought as he prepared to go to the living room since he could already hear a car slowly approaching their mansion.

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<(Jim Gordon pov)>

"I am telling you, Jim, I am sensing something weird with this Wayne family murder. I don't understand why the young Wayne boy couldn't give his statement earlier. It has been more than a week. I tell you I smell something funny in this. I say we arrest the butler. In cases like these, the Butler is always the murderer." Harvey gave his expert opinion as he looked at me with a facial expression like the solution to the case was obvious and I was the idiot to not see it.

"It's not that simple Harvey. The butler, Alfred has a solid alibi. I suspected him too at first but I simply didn't find any reason for him to do it. Also, he doesn't exactly have the personality to commit such a crime." I say as I rang the bell beside the door.

"Whatever you say partner, but remember people in Gotham are never as they really appear to be. They are sick twisted bastards who can betray you at a moment's notice." Harvey said as he adjusted his belt and cowboy hat.

The door was soon opened by the butler himself who greeted both of us politely and led us to a sofa in the living room.

The young Bruce Wayne was already sitting on one of the sofas. He looked thinner than normal as his eyes had turned red due to lack of sleep and had sunken in his face.

It seems the kid was really suffering from the inside due to his parent's deaths.

"Good morning umm, detective?" Bruce looked at us both in a questioning manner.

"I am Jim Gordon and this is my partner Harvey Bullock. I am sorry to disturb you Bruce but we need your cooperation to get the criminal who is responsible for your... parents' deaths." I say a little uneasy at mentioning the death of his parents in front of him.

Bruce's eyes seemed to widen a little at the mention of our names. Perhaps he recognized us. Well, I can't deny that I am not famous in the department right now due to the recent battle I am waging against the cartels in Gotham.

"We need to ask you some stuff kid. We know that this is a difficult time for you but answering our questions will make our job a lot easier to arrest the one responsible for the crime since you were the only eye witness there." Harvey said as he picked up a cookie from the plate in front of him as he happily munched on it, uncaring that he was talking to a child who was recently orphaned.

I guess, he is either a natural asshole or that's what working in the Gotham police department for a long time does to you. Or maybe in his case, both.

"Sure. Ask away. I don't remember all the details from that night since everything is a mess in my memory but I will gladly help you with whatever information I can remember." The young boy said with a downtrodden expression on his face as he didn't seem to mind Harvey.

"Okay then, let's begin," I said as both I and Harvey got our notepads out of our pockets to take down details and important notes about the incident.

I asked him all the questions that I could think of that could give us some clues about the murderer but most of the answers were disappointing as they didn't really provide us with a solid lead.

According to Bruce, there was only one man who had tried to mug the Wayne family but he couldn't get a good look at his face due to the darkness of the night. That one man had shot all three of Wayne's family members before he escaped.

The Wayne couple of course was spot dead but the young Wayne had survived as the bullet had barely missed his heart and had been a flesh wound. His medical records and the forensic reports confirmed his statement as well since all three bullets were shot by the same gun.

In short, we got no additional helpful details besides confirming the points we had already guessed and knew.

"I see. That will be all I guess. Please get in contact with us if you remember anything more to add." I said trying to hide the frustration in my voice at not getting a more helpful clue in catching the criminal bastard.

"I will definitely do so," Bruce said in a sad voice as he seemed to have guessed what I was thinking.

This kid really seems to be down. Maybe, I should bring my daughter the next time I visit. She is almost the same age as him and could be friends with him. She might be able to cheer him up. He looks like he really needs a friend and a playmate.

"Oh and next time, you should prepare a cup of hot joe next time. We Americans aren't really a fan of tea. We prefer either hot coffee or some chilled whiske..." Harvey was again starting to be a jerk as he started his useless banter with Alfred but I quickly stopped him with an elbow to his side.

Sometimes I wonder how I even work with him.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Bruce suddenly looked up at Harvey with wide surprised eyes.

Shit, was he insulted by this. I knew bringing Harvey with me was a bad idea. I should have left him in the car. Hell, my little daughter is probably more sensible than him.

"Umm, Chilled whiskey?" Harvey asked in doubt.

"Yes, but you also said a cup of Joe. Yes, I finally remember. Thank you, Mister Harvey. You just did a huge favor to the Wayne family." The young boy said as he had a joyous expression on his face.

Did the kid finally crack or something? Maybe losing his parents, being shot, and then listening to Harvey's bullshit was too much for him.

"Thanks?" Harvey replied as he looked at me trying to make sense of what was happening.

"The man who killed my parents. He had mistakenly said his name in front of me after he shot me, thinking that I was dead. He said that his name was Joe Chill." Bruce said as he looked at me directly in the eyes.

Everyone in the room was quiet for a few seconds including the butler Alfred and even Harvey.

This, this was huge. If this was really the real name of the murderer, then we will be able to arrest him.

"Thank you, Bruce. This would be a huge help to our investigation. I promise you that we will definitely get the criminal and give him the punishment he deserves. This is my promise to you." I said as I shook his hand.

"Let's go, Harvey. It's time for us to leave. We have a criminal to catch." I said as I marched towards the door in a hurry. We will need to act soon if we want to catch him. I just hope that he hasn't left the city yet.

We got in our car and drove straight to the department headquarters. We will need to keep this under wraps and not let this Joe Chill guy get a single chance to escape.

***

<(Bruce Wayne pov)>

I wonder if I did the right thing by telling the cops about Joe. I mean in some versions of the comics, the guy even got his redemption arc or something which I am sure he wouldn't get this time if he gets arrested.

Although, again in some versions, he was actually evil and had even made his own criminal empire later by doing illegal stuff.

Well, truthfully I don't care. I don't either like or hate Joe Chill. I don't even know the guy. He might have killed previous Bruce's parents but not 'mine'. I have no connection with him. Whether he lives or dies, simply doesn't matter to me. And I am definitely not going to go out of my way to take revenge on that guy. I have much better and more important things to do as well as more dangerous people to worry about. So, I am sure that the police will be much better suited to take care of him. He would get life imprisonment at the minimum due to his crimes, especially if I make sure to pull some strings through Alfred.

Also, the Wayne family has some pretty good lawyers.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as I saw Alfred beside me looking sombrely at the police car leaving the mansion, his eyes glistening with traces of tears. He seems to have become emotional at the recent conversation.

But again, Joe Chill would probably not survive after he gets arrested especially if the Court of Owls has a hand in the murder of the Wayne couple in this reality. They would make sure to sever all connections linking them to the case.

I guess this in a way is an experiment for me to find out if the Court of Owls has anything to do with the murder of the Waynes in this reality or not and the result of this experiment ultimately depends on if Joe Chill will remain alive or not.

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