Silence is the New Riddle

【14】

I was so surprised when Barbara grabbed my arm and dragged me down the street that I just let her. Stumbling after her, I tried to shake out my sweater, the smell of the coffee making me feel a bit sick. I hated coffee, everything about it, particularly its smell. I partly blamed Alfred for this, thanks to him I'd gained a taste for Earl Grey tea.

A bell rang as Barbara and I entered the small coffee shop. A few tables scattered the brightly lit area. The smell of coffee and pastries made me wrinkle my nose. No one else was there save for the barista who smiled at us when we entered.

"You're back quickly," he said from behind the counter. His messy black hair flopped into his face. "Come back for more already?"

"As if Tony," Barbara snorted. "I'm back because I accidentally spilled Harvey's coffee all over this nice girl."

"How unfortunate," Tony said sympathetically. He turned his attention to me, "Bathrooms are down the hall on your right."

I trudged down to the bathroom before opening the door and letting myself in. I suppose I was fortunate that it was slow, being around too many people would raise the risk of someone recognizing me. I was surprised that Barbara didn't, considering she was Commissioner Gordon's daughter, but she seemed scatterbrained enough not to.

Wiping my sweater with a handful of paper towels, I managed to soak up most of the coffee so it was damp instead of soaking. Alas, there was nothing I could do about the coffee smell. I was just glad that it hadn't gotten on my jacket.

Walking out of the bathroom, I made my way back to the main room but paused when I heard Barbra and Tony talking about me.

"-just so sad," Barbara was saying. "I mean that poor girl. It was simply barbaric for the Rouges to kidnap her when they did. I mean she was at school for goodness sake!"

"They're Rouges," Tony said with a shrug. "What do you expect? Do you have any leads? You are heading the investigation right?"

"Yeah," Barbara said playing with her hair. "I'm heading the investigation, but there's not a lot to go off of. We don't know why they kidnapped her."

"What's Bruce doing about it? I mean, she is his daughter, adopted or no."

"What can he do?" Barbara said with a shrug. "He's currently trying to keep the press away from the case, which has helped us a lot, but besides that, he's not doing much. I think he's just waiting to make a move or until the Rouges demand a ransom."

I purposely ran into a table as I entered their line of sight.

"Oh!" Barbara said as she and Tony turned to look at me. "Are you ok?"

I nodded and rubbed my hip. Damn, I didn't mean to hit it that hard.

"So what can I get you?" Tony asked after a pause.

"Harvey's usual order to go, I guess," Barbara said sounding uninterested. "And maybe something for my companion and I."

"Of course," Tony said, "is that for here or to go?"

"For here," Barbara said, "Harvey can wait ten more minutes or so."

"What would you like to order then?"