I decided after the shake up from the other day I'd visit the police station. I was interested in Jerome's mother's body so I wanted to speak with Mr. Nigma about her cause of death.
Jerome acted very strange that night like he was putting on a show and it made my stomach churn thinking about it. The way he got angry at me in the trailer and gave those glares to Joel were bone chilling. Not to mention him talking about his mom in past tense before finding her body. He was hiding something. Something big.
I casually walked into the station and saw Harvey at his desk, but no Jim or Nigma in sight. There were lots of people in costumes flooding the station though, which I assumed were performers from the circus. "Hey Harvey." I greeted him.
"Hey, Ari!" We fist bumped as I plopped down in Uncle Jim's empty seat.
"What the hell is going on here? Is Jim interrogating the entire circus?"
"Yah you know your uncle, he goes all or- well, there's no nothing. He just goes all- all out. I actually have to get back to the interrogation room." He grabbed his coffee cup and disappeared when I spotted Jim Gordon down below.
"Uncle Jim!" I yelped for his attention as he twisted around to face me. "I have to talk to-" I cut my sentence short when Jerome walked out from behind him.
"Hold on a minute, Ari. Today's a bit busy." Jim answered, turning back around. Jerome smiled mischievously at me before following suit.
"Damn." I silently cursed. "There's something off about him." I tapped my fingers on the railing and bit my lip in thought.
"I live for laughter and for the crowd, without it I am nothing. What am I?" Edward Nigma's voice resounded behind me and I looked up in thought.
"That one is easy." I turned to face him and smirked. "A clown."
"Right-e-o." He clapped for me and leaned down. "Cause there's a whole bunch of them around here and it's kind of scheeving me out."
"Ditto." I nodded. "This is definitely one of the oddest cases I've seen. Nothing like a killer in a circus to chase after. Actually you are just the person I wanted to see."
"Oh, I'm flattered!"
"I know you're not really allowed to tell me much, but I was just curious... was Jerome's mother killed?"
"Yes absolutely. She received multiple hackings from an axe." Mr. Nigma beamed at me happily. I looked at him like he was crazy.
"Well don't look too happy about it, Mr. Nigma." I smirked.
"How many times do I have to ask you, Ari? Call me Ed."
"Hey, what is it you needed to talk to me about?" Uncle Jim walked up to Ed and I. Ed saluted and walked away.
"Eh, nothing, I changed my mind." I shook my head. As much as I really wanted to dig deeper into this, I knew I shouldn't. I was getting in over my head if Jerome's mom was truly murdered. Uncle Jim probably suspected Jerome by now anyway. "I'm heading out. Love you." I engulfed him in a hug and made my way to the exit.
"Hey there, hotness." Jerome came up behind me as soon as I stepped outside.
I jumped slightly at his sudden appearance. "The name is Aryion. Stop with the nicknames." I rolled my eyes as I bounded down the steps and onto the sidewalk.
"But they suit you." He argued.
"Were you waiting for me to come out of the police station?"
"Yup. I wanted to talk more with you. I felt as though you and I, well, we have this special bond." He explained, sounding amused. "Plus, I figured you'd want Ellie back."
I thought for a minute. "Nah, keep her. I've grown out of stuffed animals." I lied. I had tons on my bed. "Besides, it seems as though you need her more than I do."
"Not anymore." His arm brushed mine subtly, but I still caught the hint as a shudder ran through my body.
"Look," I turned to face him. "I'm really sorry about your mom, but you and I don't have a 'bond', okay? We met as kids and coincidentally met as adults. It's best if we split ways from here-"
I unexpectedly tripped into Jerome when someone elbowed into my back. The stranger silently cursed at me to move out of the way. I sighed heavily at this man's rudeness and terrible timing, but didn't think twice about it until Jerome grabbed the guy's arm and roughly tugged him back. "Hey, that was rude." Jerome hissed.
"I don't care, ginger snap. Now let go of me." The guy yanked his arm free.
"Apologize, now." Jerome demanded, getting into the man's space. Jerome was abundantly smaller than this guy and didn't look like much of a threat. I didn't know where this was going, but I didn't want it to escalate.
"Jerome, it's fine." I whispered into his ear.
"Yah, it's fine Jerome." The guy mocked me. "I suggest you listen to the bitch before things get ugly, pal."
It happened so fast, but before I could blink Jerome had swung at the guy, knocking him to the ground. The crowd parted and formed a circle around us and a couple women yelled out in surprise.
"Geez!" The guy scrambled to get to his feet. "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm sorry alright!" He held his bloody nose up and booked it as far away from us as possible. It took a minute for the crowd to return to normal before Jerome spoke.
"Can you believe that guy?" Jerome grinned at me triumphantly.
"That guy?" I bellowed at him in disbelief. "What about you? You just clobbered him for simply bumping into me!"
"Actually he shoved you and called you a bitch if I remember correctly, Aryion. You're much too soft." He looked at me gently and took my hand. "People need to treat you with respect. You deserve it. Hey you know what, I'm hungry. Let's grab a bite." Before I could protest he tugged on my hand and was leading me across the street.
"Jerome seriously-" He yanked my hand harder and led me into a pub, hushing my attempt to get any word out. We took a seat at the bar and he ordered two shots. Personally I wasn't much of a drinker and we both looked too young to be served alcohol. "How old are you?" I questioned, eyeing the shot glass suspiciously.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're gonna rat me out like your Uncle Jim-bo would." Jerome sneered at me and held his shot glass up. "To Ellie. Without her, I wouldn't have met you."
"Yah, sure." We clinked glasses and slammed them down on the counter as the burning liquid warmed our insides. Jerome slid his away with a look of disgust. If you don't like the stuff, why drink it?
"I dont get why people are so into this stuff." He shivered, looking repulsed. He then whipped his head toward me and smiled, completely changing the subject. "You know Aryion, it wouldn't hurt to smile every once in a while." He scooted his seat closer to me.
I guess I never really thought about my facial expressions before. Uncle Jim was always very straight faced and serious. "I suppose I'm not all that animated." I agreed. "My life experiences haven't really given me a reason to smile, either."
"Aw don't be like that. I mean, look at me! My mom just died and I'm as chipper as can be." I looked at him in suspicion as he continued, clearing his throat as if he just let something slip. "What I'm trying to say, is that happiness is something you choose to have. You control your own emotions and what makes you feel happy." I tapped my fingers to the beat of the background music thoughtfully.
"There is one thing that always makes me smile."
"Oh yah?" He leaned in, motioning me to continue.
"So... fun fact." I decided to cave as I motioned to the bartender for another drink. Jerome looked at me in momentary surprise before returning to his neutral expression.
To hell with my suspicions. In the end, Jerome has treated me well. It's been a very long time since someone actually wanted to listen to me. Uncle Jim was always too busy with work and I was never good at making friends. Maybe I just wasn't used to someone being so interested in me.
"My parents were alcoholics and drug abusers. My father physically abused me until one day he went too far and I woke in the hospital. But, after the abuse was over, I'd escape to my bedroom and listen to my little music box." I paused, thinking about the tune it would play. It was one of the very few objects I owned that I brought with me to Uncle Jim's house. "Jim was there at the hospital when I opened my eyes... he took me in when I was 7 years old." I downed the second shot and slid it back to the edge of the counter. "You know the worst part?" I snapped, looking into his eyes.
I knew I was venting and getting all worked up, but the rage in Jerome's eyes kept me going. He was feeling how upset I was and never had I experienced someone giving me such an intimate look of understanding before.
"I work with kids who have had similar experiences to me. Some have even gotten back at those who mistreated them. I look at these kids and I see myself, but I secretly believe that I don't need to tell them to 'get over it' or 'move on', because by taking their revenge they've already done that. I find myself envying their closure and wanting to find my parents and- I mean, how can you simply get over something like that?" I looked away from him, embarrassed at my sudden outburst. "God, I'm sorry. You'd think being a therapist I would have my act together. I guess I'm just as screwed up as my patients!" I ran my hands through my hair and sighed heavily in defeat.
My heart skipped a beat when I felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around me. We sat there silently for a couple seconds, getting looks from the bartender and surrounding people eating their lunches. At first I felt kind of awkward. I mean, his hug was attracting attention, but there was something that felt so right about it. I patted his hand as he reluctantly peeled himself off of me. I chuckled lightly and felt myself flush red.
"Now there's a smile." He looked into my eyes and then gave me a serious gaze, taking my hand in his. "My mother was a drunken whore, so I know how yah feel and that's putting it delicately." There was a pause. "So that music box made you smile, Aryion?" I shrugged off his question. I was sure he didn't want to hear me whine about my life.
"Music does, but here I am rambling to you about my problems when you've been through so much recently-"
"Eh, don't worry about me. I want to learn more about you. I could listen to you talk all day."
I gaped at him. Well he certainly sounded serious. I shook off my look of surprise and replaced it with a sneer. "You're a total flirt, you know that right?"
He sat up straight and puffed out his chest, then leaned down toward me and whispered, "Only to you." He winked, not once letting go of my hand that whole time.
By the end of the night, I felt an immense feeling of guilt for ever suspecting Jerome of having a hand in his mother's death. I was convinced that he had no more guilt than I did in committing a murder and damn, did he play me for a fool.