A Little Sane

Chapter 60

"Abbe hurry! Bed time!"

Abbe laughed as she followed the kids to the bathroom to help brush their teeth. A knock landed on the front door. 

"I'll get it!"

Mercedes opened the front door.

"Commissioner Gordon.. Detective Bullock.. Can I help you with something..?"

She noticed their saddened expression. Harvey shook his head. Jim sighed.

"Mercedes we have some bad news..."

Mercedes tilted her head confused. Harvey stepped forward.

"There was an accident at Arkham... It involved your dad.."

Mercedes grabbed the door frame worried.

"What happened?!"

Gordon shook his head.

"We don't know yet.. But we need you to come to Arkham just be sure it is your father. Don't worry. We'll being you home right after."

Mercedes nodded.

"Let me get some shoes."

Mercedes turned to see Jerome standing concerned.

"What's going on?"

Mercedes hurried to get her shoes and Jerome followed. She set on the bed placing them on.

"Something happened at Arkham with my dad.."

Jerome shook his head.

"Like what..?"

Mercedes sighed and looked at Jerome extremely worried.

"They don't know yet. They just need me to come to Arkham to make sure if it's him or not."

Jerome followed her back into the living room.

"Do you want Abbe to go with you?"

Mercedes shook her head.

"No. You guys stay here with the kids. I'll be back later."

Mercedes headed towards the door and Jerome grabbed Gordon's arm.

"James..."

Gordon sighed.

"We are not locking her up. This is serious. We will bring her home after. You have my word."

Gordon and Bullock walked her through Arkham to the back. Mercedes heard her name as they walked by the wreck room. She turned to see her mother looking heart broken.

"Mom! What happened..?"

Her mother shook her head. 

"I don't know... they haven't told me yet... they pulled all of us out of our cells.. most of us were already sleeping.."

Mercedes sighed. 

"I'll get Gordon to get them to tell you okay..?"

Gordon placed his hand gently on her shoulder. Mercedes nodded. She followed the officers to the small morgue in the back. Mercedes looked at them terrified.

"You never said the person that they think is my dad is dead!"

Harvey held his hand out in the direction of the table.

"I'm so sorry.. but we really need you to identify the body if it's him.."

Mercedes was shaking. She walked closer to the table. She slowly nodded to the woman who was there to prepare the body. The woman lifted the cover. Mercedes froze. Her face turned white. She slowly set on the ground. It was as if she had seen a ghost. Harvey knelt in front of her. She stared at him blankly.

"He was getting better... He wanted to fix things between us... he meant it.. I know he did..."

Jim shook his head. Mercedes reached her hand out and placed it gently on Harvey's shoulder.

"He loved me.. I know he did.."

Harvey tried to give her a comforting smie while he helped her stand. The woman stepped forward. 

"Excuse me.. but.. would you like us to do an autopsy..?"

Mercedes turned to face the woman. She nodded.

"Please. I want to know what happened to him.."

The woman placed her hand on Mercedes's arm.

"I am so sorry for your loss honey.. We'll have those results in a couple of weeks tops."

They took Mercedes to the cell her father used to live in. They unlocked the glass room and left her alone. Mercedes stared around his cell. She examined his table. A book laid neatly in the right top corner. The Lord Of The Rings. Footsteps caused Mercedes to turn around. A guard lifted his hands. 

"Just here to check on you.."

She nodded. She lifted the book.

"This was one of my dad's favorite books... He was the reason I got so into reading.. He read me this whole series and we watched all the movies.."

The guard gave her a small smile.

"Your father begged for us to let him keep it.. You can have anything that belonged to him in here."

Mercedes noticed a picture of her and a stack of envelopes. She picked up the picture and examined it. It was a picture of her and her dad. Mercedes was sixteen and dressed for prom. She was hugging her dad. It was a special moment a lot of girl go through with their fathers. She thought about her ex girlfriend who was her prom date. Everything seemed so simple then. She had no idea that her entire life was a lie and she was being prepped for danger. She shook her ex from her thoughts. She picked up the first envelope on the top of the stack. It was a letter addressed to her. She quickly looked through the rest of the stack. They were all addressed to her. The guard cleared his throat.

"I run the mail as well... he could never find the courage to actually send those to you.. He always told me that he was afraid you would never forgive him or you wouldn't even read them.. he kept them in case he decided to change his mind.."

Mercedes placed the letters in her bag. She stared at the picture before placing it in the book and then into her bag. The guard sighed.

"We'll I'll be back in a few minutes to let you out."

Mercedes nodded and watched him leave. She took down his drawings and grabbed the small items he kept. She stared at her bed. She noticed sometihng sticking out from under the pillow. She lifted the pillow and fell to her knees. It was the same box of Sour Patch Kids half eaten. She grabbed the box. She stared at it.

"Dad... you were supposed to eat these..."

Tears ran heavy down her cheeks. She screamed. She buried her face in her hands. Mercedes stopped crying the instant the killer's face popped into her head. She knew her dad was murdered and she knew who did it. She just didn't know how. The autopsy was going to tell her that. She wiped her tears and stood to her feet. She placed the candy in her bag. She looked around the cell. There was no trace her father had ever been there. The guard returned and Mercedes nodded. She was ready to leave. Harvey and Jim walked her by the wreck room and her Mercedes saw her mom waiting on her. She stopped at the chain link fence that surrounded the room. 

"Daddy's dead.."

Mercedes watched her mother break down in tears. She seemed genuinely heartbroken. Mercedes looked away. She finally turned back to her mother. 

"I have to go..."

Her mother wiped her face.

"We'll get through this.."

Mercedes nodded. She followed the officers out of Arkham. She clenched her fists in anger, but her face remained neutral.