Chapter 748: Theater Murder Case (Part 1) (Patreon)

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When Bruce gradually regained consciousness, the sky had already darkened. He felt as though he had just awakened from a dream, unable to remember anything about it.

Bruce's stomach growled with hunger, but there was no food readily available to satisfy him. He stood up, but his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground after a couple of unsteady steps.

Sitting in an incorrect posture for an extended period had put excessive pressure on his pelvis, leading to poor circulation in his back and legs. In simpler terms, his legs had gone numb.

As Bruce fell, his elbow struck the edge of the steps, causing him to cry out in pain, grimacing as he looked at his arm.

"Damn, talk about bad luck, right?"

He muttered, but then it suddenly dawned on him that there were no outsiders here now. He didn't need to put on an act for anyone. So, he pursed his lips and got back up.

However, this time, he was hit by dizziness. Extended periods without eating had caused some symptoms of low blood sugar. Fortunately, his body was naturally robust, so the dizziness only lasted for a moment, and he quickly returned to normal.

Bruce slowly made his way outside and found the car he had driven here. As he got into the driver's seat, he let out a sigh of relief. But just as he was about to start the car, he realized that it wouldn't start at all.

After several attempts, Bruce had no choice but to get out of the car and inspect the engine. When he opened the engine hood, he was left dumbfounded.

The entire engine was gone.

Bruce slammed the engine hood shut, looking around but finding no trace of the thief. In Gotham, such incidents were all too common. It seemed the thief had been considerate enough to leave behind the shell, which was a rather rare act of theft in itself.

This car wasn't the Batmobile, and it hadn't undergone the complex modifications that the Batmobile had. It also didn't have a spare engine, so it was completely inoperable now.

Bruce looked around and found a public telephone booth on a nearby street. He entered it and called Professor Schiller, saying, "Professor, could you please go to Wayne Manor and pick up Aisha for me? Alfred is sick and unable to take care of her for the time being. I might need your help during this period. Thank you, Professor."

After hanging up the phone, Bruce sighed and lowered his head. As he walked out of the telephone booth, it had started raining again.

This was the West District of Gotham, an affluent area where every household had private cars, most of them with their own drivers. Taxis were rare in this area as people seldom used them.

Bruce now had two choices: call a taxi from the public telephone booth or walk back to the Manor. Since Wayne Manor wasn't far from here, Bruce decided to walk back on his own. After all, even if he returned to the Manor, it would be empty, so why rush back?

Or perhaps, he had a subconscious resistance to facing the empty halls of the Manor, hoping that the journey back would be a bit longer.

As he walked out of the alley and onto the main street, Bruce looked around, orienting himself, and then began walking in the direction of the street.

Gotham's night rain was chilly, but Bruce paid it no mind. He walked slowly along the street, and soon a familiar building came into his view.

It was Gotham's grand theater, an iconic structure in the West District. The last time Bruce had been here, he was still Batman, watching a performance that exposed the Court of Owls.

Now, the Owls were gone, and so was Batman.

Bruce was standing at the rear of the Gotham Grand Theater, not at its entrance, so there were few cars and pedestrians around. However, from this angle, the theater was brightly lit, with light streaming through the windows, illuminating half the street.

This was quite unusual because the theater had become rather dilapidated, and in recent years, no respectable theater troupe had been willing to perform there.

Looking up at the light streaming through the windows, Bruce recalled what Alfred had mentioned earlier – the Angelica Troupe was scheduled to perform here. He had heard of this troupe before; they were a famous East Coast theater group.

Bruce remembered that when he was in Metropolis, he had seen specific information about the actors posted at the entrance of a theater. The lead actor of this troupe was called Alex Smith, a very handsome young actor.

He often played the leading roles in Shakespearean dramas, especially those of handsome young men. East Coast ladies liked to call him the "Dream of Metropolis."

In contrast, the troupe's leading lady was known as the "East Coast Pearl," Vicky Sandra.

There were rumors that they were a couple, but they vehemently denied it. Since they often played lovers on stage, gossip magazines made a big deal out of it. Paparazzi often followed them, trying to capture more evidence of their alleged relationship.

As these thoughts played in Bruce's mind, he realized that it had become second nature for him to record every piece of information he heard or saw and immediately review it when he encountered something related to it, ensuring he didn't miss any critical information.

But what was the use of all this? Bruce wondered. Batman was a thing of the past, and now, whenever he put on the Batman suit, he would become a pariah, someone everyone wanted to avoid.

Bruce lowered his head, intending to continue walking forward, but at that moment, he heard the sound of a vase shattering inside the theater, in a room close to his direction.

Bruce instinctively turned his head to look at the room from which the sound had come. The room emitted a warm light, but the silhouette blocking the light became unmistakably clear.

It was a woman in a formal dress, swaying as she approached the window, giving it two firm taps before slowly falling backward.

Bruce widened his eyes and without hesitation rushed toward the window. He stood beneath it, closely examining the area where the woman had just tapped. He noticed bloodstains there, indicating that her condition was dire.

This room was on the third floor of the theater's eastern side. Bruce immediately began searching for a way to reach the third floor. However, the theater had only one entrance and no back door. The only way to reach the room immediately was to climb the wall.

Bruce found a drainage pipe in a corner and quickly climbed up it. From the balcony of the easternmost window, he jumped onto the balcony of the room.

He pulled the window, creating a loud noise. As he peered inside, it seemed someone had been startled by the noise and rushed away. Due to his eyes not adjusting immediately to the well-lit interior, Bruce couldn't clearly see the person's appearance, gender, or anything beyond their panicked silhouette. He only heard a series of barely perceptible footsteps.

With a loud bang, Bruce managed to open the window, vaulting over the windowsill and into the room. There, he saw a woman in a formal dress lying on the floor.

Blood had spread across her chest, staining most of her dress in red. Bruce didn't have time to think much and hurried to her side, reaching out to check her pulse on her neck.

Unfortunately, the woman was already dead.

With another loud noise, the door was pushed open, and a group of people rushed in, led by a man who shouted, "What's going on? Why is there so much commotion?!"

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Bruce looked up, and amidst the bright light, he saw a familiar face—Miss Goth. She screamed, "No! Miss Vicky! What happened to you?!"

She rushed forward in a panicked state but retreated a few steps due to the intense smell of blood.

In the crowd, a man stepped forward, helping Miss Goth to her feet. He looked at Bruce sternly and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here? What have you done to Miss Vicky?"

"Oh, dear! Mr. Wayne!" Another scream followed. Mrs. Goth emerged from the crowd, grabbing Mr. White in front and said, "Mr. White, you might not know him. He's Bruce Wayne!"

"Mr. Wayne, what are you doing here? Come over quickly; that corpse might have... I mean, the blood might not be clean. Hurry!" Mrs. Goth waved Bruce over with concern.

Bruce stood up, looking at the group of people. There were nine of them in total.

Mr. White stood in the center, Mrs. Goth and her daughter stood to the right, accompanied by a plump man.

To the left was a young man who bore some resemblance to Miss Vicky, and standing next to him was the owner of the Angelica Troupe.

A bit further back, a tall man was pushing through the crowd, rushing to Miss Vicky's side, shouting, "No! Vicky! What happened? Call a doctor! Quick!"

"Alex, calm down a bit!" An older actor rushed forward, supporting Alex.

Bruce noticed that the man called Alex was indeed very handsome, with long hair and still dressed in stage armor. When he knelt on the ground, his entire body made a clinking sound.

There were two other individuals present—one held makeup brushes and appeared to be the troupe's makeup artist, while the other carried a notebook, possibly the props master.

The room quickly filled with a dozen people, and soon, the police arrived.

When Gordon saw Bruce, he rubbed his forehead, tugging the coat's hem to the back and touching his cheek. He asked Bruce, "Why are you here?"

Bruce stood in place, looking down at the corpse, without saying a word.

At that moment, Mrs. Goth stepped forward, explaining to Gordon, "Mr. Wayne might have come out of curiosity. After all, every mailbox in our Manor district received the Angelica Troupe's program... In the circle of East Coast theater performances, audiences can visit backstage before the show, and I believe Mr. Wayne might have come for that reason, just like us."

Mrs. Goth tried to provide an explanation, but Mr. White raised doubts, saying, "When we rushed into the room, he was already here. He was the first to touch the corpse, so he's highly suspicious."

Mrs. Goth desperately signaled to Mr. White, but Miss Vicky pretended not to notice, crying on the side, Alex kneeling in anguish, and the others looking incredulous.

Gordon was getting a headache from the situation and decided to evacuate everyone from the room. He divided them into groups and had them wait in other rooms for interrogation.

He first called Bruce out and asked, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to lay low for a few days? Otherwise, you might really be wanted... Wait, why aren't you in uniform?"

Gordon suddenly realized that it wasn't Batman who had come here but Bruce Wayne. However, how did Bruce Wayne get involved in a murder case?

The situation had completely exceeded his expectations, and Gordon was well aware that the presence of either Batman or Schiller at a murder scene meant that the case could become a massive headache.

Gordon, his head throbbing, pressed his temples and looked at Bruce, saying, "Well, what did you see? Who killed the leading lady of the troupe?"

Bruce shook his head and replied, "I don't know."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 749: Theater Murder Case (Part 2)