Detective Comics #403

Issue Details

Synopsis

YOU DIE BY MOURNING Bruce Wayne's V.I.P. office is visited by a mysterious woman who claims that her husband, Mr. Randall will be murdered by morning before running out. That night, Batman investigates the mystery by going to the woman's house, where he learns that the lady and her husband had been invited to a masquerade. The couple is taken to the place of the party on a grim chariot conducted by a mysterious man.  On their way to the party, the couple are attacked by some gunmen in a car and they are saved by Batman, who has been following them closely. After interrogating the killers for hire, Batman learns that someone is trying to murder the couple.   Finally, the unsuspecting couple arrive at their destination in an abandoned house, but they become suspicious when they realize that there is no party in the place. The driver of the chariot descends and pulls a gun, forcing the couple to get inside the house. Inside, the man reveals himself as Van Paxton, a business rival of Mr. Randall, and he informs them about his plan to kill them in order to eliminate competition. When he shoots at Mr. Randall, a woman jumps in front of the line of fire, taking the hit. Paxton is shocked to see that the woman he shot is his wife, Audrey, the twin sister of Mr. Randall's wife, Angie. Batman arrives then and tries to capture Paxton, who falls to his death in the abandoned house's cellar trying to escape from the Dark Knight.   In her dying moments, Audrey confesses having informed Bruce Wayne about the murder attempt on Mr. Randall and that she posed as her sister to get Batman involved in the case and prevent innocents from dying. Unfortunately, she lost her life, but she dies peacefully, knowing that she saved others' lives, unlike Batman, who feels guilt over Audrey's unnecessary death. BREAK-OUT! Robin investigates the escape of two juvenile delinquents from a corrective home. In his investigations, he finds the runaway youngsters and tries to capture them without asking questions. Robin resorts to violence, but he is forced to stop when he learns that the runaway teens are not working on any crimes, but instead they are trying to disband a notorious criminal ring that recruits people from the corrective home into their ranks. After the whole confusion is cleared up, Robin returns to Hudson University.