Detective Comics #802

Issue Details

Synopsis

CITY OF CRIME PART 2 - THE SECRET KEEPERS The Gotham City Fire Department tries their best to rescue all the people trapped inside the burning building in Park Row, while they also try to contain the fire from spreading, but there is still too many people that won't be saved unless someone else joins the rescuing efforts. Robin gets inside the building, wearing a special suit to resist the fire that is consuming the place. Soon, he locates a baby and a girl trapped on one of the apartments and without wasting any time, he takes them away from the fire just when the building starts collapsing, piece by piece. The firefighters know that they have to retreat, but just then their radio is hacked by Batman, who has gathered a bunch of people on the rooftop of the building and tells the firefighters to set up their rescuing nets as the survivors are going to drop down to safety. The people starts dropping one at a time and before they're all done, an old lady informs Batman that there are some girls trapped in one of the rooms below. The news are reporting the events live on TV and Penguin is informed about the events. He turns on the TV on his private room at the Iceberg Lounge and learns that Batman is at the scene, which causes him to tighten up his security measures and inform his people about the situation.  Batman locates the room with the screaming girls and breaks the door down only to find a grim scene. Robin is waiting on the front building, not worrying about his partner. However, when the building collapses entirely, Robin worries for a second, after which he noticed Batman is already safe on the rooftop of the front building. Robin climbs to meet Batman and soon he discovers that Batman has carried the body of a pregnant woman to the rooftop. Batman had already called the police and in a few minutes, Sergeant Frank Ivers and Detective Elliot Lynch arrive at the rooftop. Batman tells them that the woman is the only thing he could retrieve from the burning building before it collapsed. He also explains that there were some other pregnant girls and that it looked like they were all kidnapped and forced to stay in the building. The officers tried to blame Batman for meddling with police evidence and with a final warning, Batman placed a bug microphone on Ivers' coat.   A few hours later, the media is informing about the police discovery and a woman named Marlene Welles is intrigued by the fact that there were found dead bodies of young pregnant girls. Marlene can't help but deduce that her daughter, who ran away from home after she got pregnant was among the dead girls.   That night at the Batcave, Robin keeps talking about how he saved the baby and the girl in the building while Bruce can't take his mind of the dead pregnant girls. Robin didn't noticed Bruce's grim attitude and recalled that the babysitter was a good looking girl. Robin then mentioned that she wasn't as good looking as the girl who came looking for Bruce a couple of days earlier. Robin mentioned her name being something like Hailie and Bruce immediately remembered Haddie McNeil, the girl he scolded and died a few days later of a drug overdose. Alfred Pennyworth enters the cave and finally informs Bruce of Haddie's visit to Wayne Manor. Alfred sends Robin upstairs and when they're finally alone, Bruce checks the security cameras of the manor and learns that in fact, Haddie was in his home a few hours before her death. The guilt he already was feeling for her death just worsened after learning that she was in his home and he failed to help her as he wasn't available at that moment. Bruce's mind then pictures the same room at the burning building with all the deceased girls, only this time they were all Haddie McNeil.   Early the next day, Marlene Wells talks in a press conference and demands some answers in regards to the girls that died in the fire at Park Row, telling that her missing daughter was probably one of them. Officer Ivers sneaks out of the conference room and made a phone call to someone and informed the person about the situation in a rather nervous manner. The whole conversation was being recorded by Batman with help from the microphone he placed on Ivers' coat.   A few moments later, the Mayor's aide, Norman Steiner receives a phone call, threatening his and his wife's life. Immediately after, at the office of attorney at law Joseph Hirsh, he is desperate and he tells his secretaries to pack every important file as he was in a hurry to get some important paperwork regarding adoptions before leaving the city. Unfortunately, Mister Freeze comes into his office along with a couple of henchmen.   That night, Marlene Wells is tired of answering the door and phone calls of people wanting to know more about her story. When the phone rang one last time, a voice from the shadows commanded her to unhook the phone and they were all paralyzed in fear when Batman appears on their home and unhooks the phone himself. Batman tells Marlene to send the kid to bed and she tells her husband to take the child as Batman ordered. Marlene and Batman are left alone in the kitchen and she picks up a knife to feel safe. However, when Batman tells her that he is going to find her daughter, named Cassie, she puts down the knife and offers Batman a cup of tea. Together, in the middle of a rainy night, Batman takes a cup of tea on Marlene Welles' home. WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE PART 2 Kitt Calahan tells Colonel Brand about his plan to unveil the truth about TomJohn's death, but Brand is not fine with the idea. However, he allows Calahan to go along with the plan, as long as he keeps things under control.   Calahan goes to Gotham City along with the twins, Firestone and Rose. They arrive at the Morgue, where Firestone pretends to be a delivery man and drops a heavy package on the building's lobby. The receptionist tries to remove the box, but it's too heavy and he decides to leave it there for the night. When everything is closed, something starts cutting the box open from inside. Rose was hiding inside the box with her contortionism skills and after leaving the box, she opens the door for Calahan and Firestone to come inside. They look around the place until they find the autopsy room. After searching for a while, they find TomJohn's report and as they suspected, the report says that the hit that killed TomJohn couldn't be caused by the wooden pulley. At that moment, they are discovered by the security guard and Calahan knocks the man down and they leave the place for good.   In the meantime, Midge and Jessamine searched for clues on TomJohn's trailer. They discover that someone has already being there, searching as most of the stuff was spread on the floor. Taking advantage of their short height, they find a letter under TomJohn's bed and that is the only clue they find.   When Calahan returns to the Carnival, they gather to put together the clues they've all found. After opening the letter they discover that TomJon's name was in fact Mikhail Tamyanovic and inside the letter, everything is written in a different language. The only words that all of them can recognize is the name of Christopher Rowley, the fancy man who was talking with Brand the night TomJohn died.