Lost Stars

Chapter Twenty Seven

-Dick's POV-

I leaned back in my chair, yawning. Working at the police station was either super exciting, or super boring. There was no in between. Amy had gone out on a personal case, insisting that I stay behind and work the calls. All day, I had been receiving 911 calls and telling the other policemen where to go. 

Calls came in and out, mostly just boring things. The police department rarely got actually exciting calls because there were superheroes out there who handled the bigger problems. In Bludhaven, murder cases and violent crimes were handled by the finest protector, Nightwing. 

But, Officer Grayson got to handle small kitchen fires and stolen cars.

The phone rang. I sighed. Why was a police officer put on the operating lines?

"This is the Bludhaven Police Department, what's your emergency?" I recited my line with a bored tone like I was reading a script I was forced to memorize.

"I-I," the person on the line sounded anxious and scared, "t-they came after me."

I sat up in my chair. Something finally interesting! "Who came after you?"

The woman sniffled. "He called himself the...the Red Hood. Him and his partner," she paused, her voice wobbling and shaking, "They came after me!"

I smirked a little. Realizing how scared the woman sounded, I quickly dropped the expression. She wasn't making a lot of sense. The worry and anxiety that corrupted her voice made all of her words come out jumbled. 

"Ma'am," I said, calmly, "everything will be okay, I am sending an officer over now."

I stood up quickly, grabbing a rookie by the shoulder. "Take over the phones, will you? I'm going out on a personal case," I smirked, putting on my hat and running outside.

I sped through Bludhaven on my motorcycle. Not wasting anytime, I flipped off of my bike and ran into the apartment complex where the call had came from. The apartment was in a nice part of Bludhaven. And it really wasn't an apartment. It was more of a penthouse. I raised an eyebrow. Why would such a rich girl call the police when she could just hire a body guard?

I knocked on her door. An actual body guard opened the door. I wasn't surprised.

"Officer Grayson," I pulled out my badge and held it to the guard's face, "I received a woman's call from this address." 

"Yes, yes! Is that the police?" A woman's voice screeched as she hustled to the door. An older woman -- about in her fifties -- pushed past her guard and grabbed my wrist. She tugged inside her apartment. 

The entire place was white and clean with huge windows that displayed Bludhaven's city skyline. I glanced around, wondering why such a woman would be targeted by Red Hood.

She nervously paced as I inspected her house. Everything seemed in place, which was odd for an attack. "May I inspect the place further?" I asked, pulling out a notepad and pen. 

"Yes, please. Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Water? Wine?  Champagne?" The woman went behind her bar, her shaking hands fiddling with the bottles. I grinned softly.

"No, thank you ma'am," I walked around, looking for any hints that she was attacked at all, "I believe I didn't catch your name. What is it?"

She staggered out and offered her old hand. Her nails were painted cottony pink and she had a gigantic diamond ring on her right ring finger. A golden bracelet hung loosely around her wrist. "Marla Sionis," Marla shook my hand gently, "or, Marla Scott now I guess."