All Chapters of Night Gaze The Redemption of Joker: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Gordon studied the room carefully, his eyes moving from the overturned lamp on the table to the chair sitting near the stove, facing outward, as if someone had been watching the door."Somebody sat right there, watching that door," Gordon muttered. "Look at this burn mark on the armrest, too."He crouched down, examining the spent bullets littered across the floor, clustered by the refrigerator and beneath the table, glinting dully in the lamplight."Twenty by the body, at least ten more scattered everywhere I turn," he said, shaking his head. "The room reeks of gas and gunpowder, both smells thick enough to catch in the back of my throat."He walked to the stove and turned off the pilot light, watching the small flame gutter out before he cased the area methodically. His eyes caught on a smashed cigar soaking in a pool of blood near the baseboard, and he crouched lower to examine a mark on the back of the man's neck."A small R and H," he murmured, "burned deep into the flesh like a

At 3:32 a.m., a Raymond Tensley Azure Blue Sky car pulled into the driveway, its chrome strip catching what little light remained through the smoke. Anne peered through the windshield at the firemen dousing the last of the flames, her fingers tightening on the wheel until her knuckles paled. The black car across the yard had burned down to its frame, and the old oak beside it groaned - its trunk scorched clean through at the base. She sat for a moment, watching embers drift upward like dying fireflies, her breath fogging the glass, before she gathered herself to move.A fireman jogged up and rapped on her window. She rolled it down, letting in a gust of smoke-tinged cold air that made her eyes water."Ma'am, I'd hate for your Raymond Tensley to get crushed," he said, pointing toward the cluster of police cars. "Could you move it over there?""Yes, that's not a problem." She kept her voice steady, though her eyes lingered on the wreckage behind him, some part of her already dreading wh

Sharon walked to each floor of the orphanage with a flashlight in hand, its beam cutting through the darkness of the empty hallways. A few of the kids stirred awake on each floor, but for the most part, everyone slept soundly beneath thin blankets. In total there were seven floors, and only four of them housed the children. There were two girl floors and two boy floors, each holding twenty beds lined up in neat rows, small shapes rising and falling with quiet breath.A small voice called out from beneath a tangle of blankets as Sharon passed. "Sharon? Is that you?"She crouched beside the bed, lowering the flashlight so it wouldn't shine directly in the boy's eyes. "It's me, Tommy. Go back to sleep.""I had a bad dream," he whispered, clutching his pillow."Do you want me to stay a minute?" Sharon asked, already settling onto the edge of the mattress."Just till I fall asleep.""Alright. But only because you asked nicely." She smoothed his hair back and hummed low under her breath unt

Anne despised this weather. The snow collected so fast that the wipers could barely keep pace, and the growing whiteout made her chest tighten with nerves."Jack, honey, hang on back there," she murmured, though he'd already fallen asleep against the door, a thin line of drool sliding from the corner of his mouth.The road ahead was disappearing beneath drifting snow, and Anne spotted a few cars pulled off to the shoulder, their hazard lights blinking weakly through the storm. She eased off the gas, crawling along at a snail's pace, unwilling to risk damaging her car or worse. Not a single road sign remained visible; the world outside had become a blur of white. Only a few landmarks broke through the haze. An old church sat on the corner near Gotham Central, and she could just make out the tip of its steeple in the distance."Almost there," she whispered to herself. "Just a few more miles."The wind whipped and wailed around the car, rocking it slightly, and for a moment Anne felt cer

"Look, it fits. The suit may be a little big, but it fits," Alice says, tugging at the shoulders and straightening the sleeves, her fingers moving with the practiced efficiency of someone who had done this before.She takes a wet cloth and wipes Jack's face, careful around his eyes where a trace of dried tears still lingered."Hold still," she murmurs, stepping over to the window. She looks outside, her gaze lingering on the empty street below as if searching for something she couldn't quite name.Then she walks back to the desk and grabs her purse, which was hanging from the chair. She opens it and pats through its contents."Where is it..." Alice mutters, a slight urge to panic rising in her chest. Then she stops. "Oh -- the drawer. I left it in the drawer last night." The tightness in her shoulders eases.A horn honks outside. Alice hurries back to the window. A Blue Cloud Raymond Tinsley sits parked in front, and Anne peers up through the windshield."Oh no." Alice sprints to the