Dangers in the Dark

A Loss of Sanity 20.4

Third Person POV

Several hours had passed since Ed had walked in on Dougherty and Miss Kringle yet Ed couldn't keep his concentration for more than a few seconds. Every time he tried to even think of the case at hand, he simply thought about the bruises on Miss Kringle's wrists. The fact that a woman as precious as Miss Kringle could be hurt by a brute like Dougherty sent a rush of anger through Ed, an anger he hadn't felt before.

When he had finally had enough of the boisterous laughter of Dougherty, who seemed quite unconcerned that a woman had been hurt by his hands, Ed got up from his desk and stormed over to where Dougherty was laughing with his gang.

It took three separate throat clearings from Ed before Dougherty and his friends finally turned their attention to him.

"Riddle man," Dougherty greeted.

"Officer Dougherty, a word," Ed requested, his hands clasped in front of him.

Sharing looks of amusement with each other, the two officers left Dougherty and Ed alone on the stairway.

Even though Dougherty was several steps above Ed, towering down over him with a tiny smirk on his face, Ed had never felt braver when facing this man.

"I can start a war or end one. I can give you the strength of heroes or leave you powerless. I might be snared with a glance, but no force can compel me to stay. What am I?" Ed said, ignoring the mocking look that had settled on Dougherty's face.

"Got me," Dougherty shrugged.

"Love," Ed answered simply. "Miss Kringle has given hers to you. And in return, you hurt her. I saw the bruises."

"And?" Dougherty replied as though it were nothing important.

"And you cannot do that," Ed snapped back fiercely. "The next time you do that, I'll ..."

"Whoa," Dougherty cut him off, moving down the steps and closer to Ed. "Calm down. You'll give yourself a girly fit. Have you ever been with a woman?" Ed remained silent, earning a tut from the Officer. "Didn't think so. They need a firm hand. That goes double for Kringle. Girl's got a tongue."

"I won't let you hurt her," Ed said, though his confidence was quickly diminishing.

"Oh, yeah?" Dougherty chuckled, eyeing Ed with amusement. "What are you gonna do?" Once again, Ed remained silent and Dougherty took another step closer. "That's what I thought." Shoving Ed in the shoulder as he went passed, Dougherty didn't look back once. "Later, Riddle Man."

Though he didn't know exactly what he would do yet to stop this man from hurting the woman he loved, Ed knew one thing for sure ... He would do anything, even if it was something Little Gordon would advise against.

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Holly POV
Wayne Enterprise Ball

We had planned to go and speak with Bunderslaw but before we could get there, a group of people had crowded him for conversation so decided it was too risky to try and steal his key print now.

"You know when you just get a bad feeling about someone?" I commented.

"Yes," Bruce nodded.

"What do you think about that guy with Barbara?" I asked, gesturing over to the dark-haired man that Barbara was swaying around with.

Ever since leaving the dance floor, the three of us had settled into a spot at the side of the room. People moved around us as they grabbed flutes of champagne and danced around to the music. But rater than relaxing, my eyes had been fixed on Barbara and her mystery guy for the entirety of the time.