paper love | edward nygma

Chapter 36 ○ Found

** TIME SKIP - 5 Days Later**

Narrator's POV

Jim Gordon had gone to the courthouse a day before. He walked up the white concrete steps of the holy building. The judge had gratefully granted a warrant. He hadn't even asked what for, but Jim told him anyways. He was one of the most famous detectives in Gotham, so the courts and even the Mayor didn't pay attention to his antics. Jim got in his car and went over to the small apartment building. 

It was a brick building with a rickety exterior. He was confused at this. Edward Nygma was a perfectionist as the very least, but he supposed that the forensic scientist's paycheck wasn't up to his. There was a bright green glow upon entering, and the window's glass was pebbled. He walked up to the second floor, which was where Edward's apartment was. 

Edward went to work, and Oswald went to a club for criminals, which was the norm for him. Jim was unaware of this. He knocked on the door, and there was no answer. He noticed a doorbell to the right and pressed it. The button fell off of the panel, and it was clearly broken. "GCPD, anyone home?" He yelled, but there was no response. Jim took a small pin out from his pocket. He had been practicing picking locks for the past couple of months as a detective.

He picked the lock easily. In fact, he was surprised at himself for how easy it was. Jim walked into the room and was immediately greeted with the smell of flowers. It smelled like the perfume that Grace would wear around the GCPD sometimes. It was strong, too. Jim walked around the room and looked at the side table on the right of the bed. There was a picture of her and Edward in a park. The frame of the picture was a dark green and had small indents on it.

He continued to search the small apartment. As he got closer to the left side of the room, he started to smell something else. It wasn't another perfume of some sort but instead smelled of a crime scene. It smelled like every single murder Jim had ever investigated. The stench of death. It was noticeable, too.

He looked over towards the closet. The smell seemed to be coming straight from there. He walked slowly and held his hand next to his gun. Then, he opened it. The sight shocked him. It was the brown hair that he saw on the head of a woman who pranced around the police station. It was Grace. She was in a black bra and leggings, and she had a long white scarf around her neck. It was eerie. Something was definitely wrong. 

Jim put on leather gloves that he would always keep in his pocket. They were engraved with his father's initials, so it never crossed his mind that he would just stuff them away. He lifted the body and put it against the wall. He was sad seeing a friend gone. She had always a nice person, even on her worst days. He knew he had to do something. He slid the scarf off. Immediately, he noticed a large bruise in the shape of a ring. He had seen this with multiple other victims of strangulation. 

 **TIME SKIP - 20 minutes later**

Jim drove to the GCPD. He took pictures of the body that he found in Edward's apartment and was ready to show Captain Barnes. He walked into the entrance and looked towards the Forensics Lab. He saw Ed, who was shaking and seemed nervous, and he was. He finally thought he knew what getting away with murder felt like. It was exhilarating, and he assumed the rush would never end and he would never get caught.

Jim walked over to Harvey Bullock, who was at his desk. He was eating a bagel and drinking coffee, which was unusually healthy for him. "Harvey, this is bad." Harvey put the bagel down and wiped his mouth. "What did you say, partner? What's bad?" His expression was genuinely concerned. Jim held up the photos of the lifeless body. "I-Is that who I think it is?" Jim nodded his head.

"What the hell? Where did you find her?" Jim put the photos into his pocket. "I got a warrant to search Nygma's apartment. She was in his closet." "That creepy bastard. He's dead meat." They walked over to Barnes' office. The blinds were closed, but he still told the pair to come in even without seeing them. "Cap, Jim found something. One of our own was found murdered." 

Nathanial Barnes stood up slowly. His face turned to anger. You could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears. "Who?" Jim took the photos out again and placed them on the Captain's desk. "Grace Grayson." Harvey and Jim looked at each other as they saw Barnes' face turn red. "Who the HELL did this? I want answers!" Jim cleared his throat and spoke. "It was Ed, from Forensics. I searched his apartment." 

With that, the angry Captain stormed out of his office. "EDWARD NYGMA!" His voice echoed through the large office, and everyone's voices quieted. Edward's face immediately looked over towards the three. He went down the stairs and walked over to Edward. "You don't deserve to represent the GCPD. You did something against the damn law, and you expect to walk around here all proud?" Edward started to sweat immensely and whispered a response. "What do you mean?" 

The Captain held the photo of Grace's neck to his face. "O-Oh." Edward adjusted his glasses with a shaky hand. "OH? YOU ARE GOING TO JAIL. NO, YOU KNOW WHAT? THE DAMN ASYLUM." Tears welled up in Edward's eyes. He looked at Jim and gave him the death stare. "You went to my apartment, didn't you?" Jim exhaled and nodded. "You can have me but cannot hold me; Gain me and quickly lose me. If treated with care I can be great, And if betrayed I will break. What am I?" 

Jim answered with a sure answer. "Trust. Get out of here Nygma." Jim raised his head towards a group of officers. With that, two cops came over and handcuffed Edward. They both gave Jim an honorable look. "I'll get a unit over there. For now, have her body transferred to Arkham. They have a good forensic lab over there." Captain Barnes said this with a confident glance towards both detectives. With that, the nightmare was over. 

A/N

OKAY, SPOILER ALERT:

Grace isn't completely dead. She will be coming back, and for another book. However, right now and for a few more chapters she is dead. I bet some of you already know what's going to happen, but I'm not going to tell. I didn't know really what Barnes would be like when firing someone who murdered a woman, especially. I just made it up. Thanks for reading!