If James was going to stop the serial killer plaguing Gotham, he best look into the clues that The Question had given him. If the faceless man thought that the Heartbreaker Murders were relevant to the killings today, James would need to check them out. Unfortunately, when he looked through the internet, he could find very little to go on besides some crackpot conspiracy sites. Obviously the most pertinent information would be with the police records, which he couldn’t access. The next best thing was the Gotham Public Library.

As the Library didn’t open until ten a.m., he would have to wait. During that time he managed to figure out a way he could hide his disguise. Taking inspiration from The Question he simply shifted the suit to make it look normal. In fact he programmed several sets of clothes into the suit to change appearances rapidly. When he needed to, all he had to do was send in a pulse of power through them.

When it was time to head out, he bumped into Mrs. Dabb heading out the front door. “Oh Good Morning Mrs. Dabb. Where are you headed to today?”

“Oh I’m just headed down to Sal’s Deli today. He offers the best sliced ham in Gotham.” Mrs. Dabb said. “If you want, I can make you a ham sandwich that will blow your socks off.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be busy today. How are your new neighbors treating you?” James asked.

“They are simply a delight. I’ve invited them over for dinner to tell me about Europe.” 

“That is good to hear. If they bother you at night, please let me know.” James said.

“I will. Please come by soon. I have so much I would like to share with you about the history of this building.” Mrs. Dabb said. She began to walk slowly down the street.

James watched her go for a moment and thought that he really should get in contact with her son. With a gang war starting to brew this neighborhood really wasn’t safe for her anymore. Her son should know about the danger his mother was in. He just needed a bit of help finding the man. All that he really had to go on was that he was located in Star City.

Taking the subway he headed downtown to the Library. Glancing up at the structure, he wondered why all the buildings in Gotham looked so goddam creepy. Who put Gargoyles on top of a Library? Shaking his head, he headed inside and went to the desk to ask for some help from the Librarian. She took him to a small room in which a Microfilm reader was placed. Since he knew the Heartbreaker Killings took place in the late 1960s he started in 1965 and quickly looked for any references to the Heartbreaker.

The first possible article was about a woman who was found murdered on a street with her chest cut viciously open and her heart missing. That was in April 1967, and it would not be the last. In total some men were killed. Since they were all missing their hearts, the killer came to be known as the Heartbreaker Killer.

The last confirmed killing took place in early September 1969. For two long years, Gotham was terrorized by this serial killer. Several people were accused of being the killer, but none of them were even proved to be the killer. James made a note of those names to look into later, but for whatever reason the killer stopped after that last killing. In cases like these, the most obvious reason was that the Killer had either been put into jail for another crime, or died.

The least likely reason was that they chose to stop. Monsters like these killers felt the compulsion to kill. They couldn’t just stop for no reason. They might hold it in for a little while, but they’ll eventually slip. James took a look at the list of victims and couldn’t find a connection between them in the papers. Some were prostitutes, but others were completely opposite. Even a preacher's wife was killed. Not only that, the bodies were found all over Gotham.

A few months after the killings stopped the Paper published a full sized map of Gotham that showed where all the killings took place. James compared that map with one he had seen in the Subway and noticed something interesting. All the killings had taken place within one block of a Subway entrance. The Killer at the time was most likely using the Subway to move about and kill. 

If that was the case, there would be a similarity between the cases of then and now. Besides cutting out the heart. They both seemed to like using tunnels to obfuscate their movements. However, unlike the past then, the Subway tunnels of today could no longer be used like that. There were too many cameras and security guards. If James spotted the connection surely, someone else would have too. 

So that would discourage the Killer from using the Subway tunnels to move about. He didn’t know if the killer was the same or just a copycat, but if they were following the same playbook the only two tunnels they could use then were the Steam Tunnels and the Sewers. Which now that he thought about it, there was a manhole cover to the sewer in the Utility closet. He hadn’t given it much thought, but it was there.

If they were moving about the sewers, the Killer could have come up through the sewer and then entered the Steam tunnel. That could be what he saw in that video. Though he didn’t know why the killer moved along the ceiling. To get a better idea if his hunch was correct he would need a map of the current killings and a map of the steam tunnels and sewers. Going to the historical section of Gotham in the library, he looked for books about Gotham’s underground and found several.

Sitting at a table, he began to read through the books. He started with one that talked about Gotham’s bomb shelters that were built in the fifties because of the cold war. As he was reading through the book someone sat down next to him. He glanced up and was surprised to see Sofia Falcone sitting next to him giving him a look.

She leaned back and said “So we meet again Mr. Manager.”

“Miss Falcone.” James said politely. “To what do I deserve this surprise visit from you?”

“What?” She grinned “You don’t think I could be here looking for a book to read. Perhaps your book on…” She glanced at the book in his hands “Gotham the Red Scare caught my attention.”

“I take you as a woman who likes to be active then one who likes to relax and read.” James said.

“You are perceptive Mr. Manager. I can’t stand reading. I much prefer to have someone read it to me. I came here today because my Boyfriend needs some books to finish a report in his class. Since he’s become a wimp he’s been focusing on his classwork. How droll.” She said, rolling her eyes. “But to my surprise here you are.”

“Here I am.” James said.

“I’m sure you could have more fun somewhere else than reading about Gotham.”

“Maybe I just enjoy being in the Library.” James replied.

She gave him a smirk and said “I know. You can get up to so much fun in them. You should ask Ioana about the night we spent in the school library. I’m sure she’ll remember it.”

“I’ll take your suggestion into consideration.” James said.

Sofia crossed her legs and looked at him curiously and said “Speaking of suggestions, have you given any thought to my offer to join me? You are simply too competent to be working for the Ibanescu family.”

“Like I told you before, I am completely satisfied working for Ioana.” James said.

“Oh in that case, what if I get Ioana working for me? Wouldn’t that mean you would be working for me? I’d be the boss of your boss.” She gave him a wicked smile.

“I’d find that hard to imagine. Ioana doesn’t very much care for you.” James replied.

Sofia shrugged and said “She doesn’t know what’s best for her. She just needs to be whipped into shape. I can imagine it now having her at my beck and call.” She shivered.

“Then you don’t know her very well.” James said.

Sofia frowned and then said “Listen to me, things are changing in Gotham. I will be on top when the dust settles. Right now I’m afraid dear Ioana is caught in the crosshairs. If she has any desire to be safe, she needs to consider my offer.”

“Your offer?” James asked.

“She’ll know the one I mean. But to give you a little hint, as I see it Ioana is a little wolf pup wanting to fight it’s way up the pecking order. She just doesn’t realize that I’m meant to be the alpha, and she’s just my bitch.” Sofia gave him a sadistic grin. Standing she said “I see John has finished with his book gathering. I’ll talk to you later, Mr. Manager.”

Watching her leave, James then went back to reading concerned about what Sofia had said. Unfortunately, none of the books had given him a good map of the tunnels. He would have to take a look elsewhere. Putting the books away in a return box he headed out of the library and gave Ioana a call.

Within a second it was answered and Ioana said “Is there a problem James?”

“Not an immediate problem but there is something I need to speak with you about Madam Ioana.”

“I will be up in the penthouse. You can come up when you can.”

“I will be there as soon as I can.” James said and after a ride on the subway headed back to the apartment.

Heading up he knocked on the door and Ioana answered the door just wearing a t-shirt and shorts. “Good you're here. There are somethings I need to talk to you about after you.”

James nodded and followed her in. “So where’s Adeline?”

“I Sent her to deliver a few messages in person. She should be back in time for youre training. So why did you call me? Is there a problem with the girls? Or did you need more Money for repairs?” She took a seat on her couch. On the table in front of her were several blueprints of the building.

“No. I was at the Library when I ran into Sofia Falcone. We had a short conversation.” James said.

Ioana paused, and he could see her tense up when he mentioned Sofia. “Did she try to recruit you again?”

“She just asked if I had given any thought to her offer. Sofia also told me to tell you to consider her offer. I asked her what the offer was, but she insinuated that she wanted you to work for her in a more personal way.”

She frowned and said “Is that it?”

“She also mentioned that things were changing in Gotham and that you were in the crosshairs.”

Sighing Ioana said “That bitch must be the one behind the attempt on the girls. She clearly wants me to fail, so I have to crawl to her for help. Hell she might be behind this push to have me married off.”

“Why is she so focused on you?”

Ioana looked at James and said “This stays between us. In high school I had a relationship with her for a short time. It wasn’t serious, and I ended it when I discovered that she got off seeing me suffer. She wanted me to basically be her pet. She didn’t take that well and made my life hell all through school.”

“Wait, so this is her attempt at trying to get you to go back to her?” James said.

“Yeah. She’s not right in the head. She is also right. Things are changing in Gotham. I don’t know why it’s occurring, but I don’t like it. Be very careful of Sofia, she is far smarter than she appears.”

“I will be careful.” James said. “So what did you want to talk about?”

Pushing the blueprints over to James, she said “I found a discrepancy that I can’t account for. At first I thought it was just an error, but now I’m completely certain.”

“What is it?”

“The building is missing a thirteenth floor.”