Meanwhile, the Riddler's video was playing on large display screens across Gotham City.
In the central square downtown, Darren stood among the crowd, his expression grave as he watched the recording above.
He had only planned to check whether a newly opened Italian restaurant was authentic, but instead found himself caught in the middle of something far more serious.
"Listen carefully, everyone watching this recording. You'd better not miss a single word of what I'm about to say, because I'm only going to say it once."
On the screen, the Riddler finally got to the point.
"The salesman of death hears the call of the waves. He shall be buried where three tilted crossroads meet, while the despicable murderer smiles before his tombstone."
"Go on, try to guess where the answer lies, and save this innocent girl's life."
The Riddler stared straight into the lens, as if piercing through the screen to lock eyes with Darren.
"Kaitou Kid, I know you're watching. I've left you a magnificent gift. Of course, you could also choose to be a coward and let this unknown, pitiful girl die because of you, showing Gotham your cold and heartless true colors."
"When that happens, all the cheers and praise you've received will vanish into thin air, never to exist again."
The recording ended there, and the screen went completely black.
The Riddler's sudden return and the kidnapping of a young girl immediately caused a massive uproar among the crowd.
"Damn it. The Riddler escaped from Arkham Asylum. Who knows what he's going to do this time?"
Fear was written all over the faces of everyone in the square.
Darren had no interest in listening to their chatter. He quietly turned away and disappeared into the crowd.
...
Elsewhere, at the Gotham City Police Department.
Gordon and the others had just finished watching the video the Riddler had sent directly to them.
"Commissioner, why do I get the feeling that the Riddler is… issuing a challenge to Kaitou Kid this time?" a member of the bomb squad asked uncertainly.
"Not exactly," someone from the hazmat team replied. "Didn't he include Batman and us too? I think he's challenging all of Gotham this time."
"But he's clearly singling out Kaitou Kid," another officer said. "Everyone else feels like an afterthought, even Batman."
"Don't you find that strange?" someone added. "The Riddler's been locked up in Arkham this whole time. He shouldn't even know who Kaitou Kid is. Yet just because Kaitou Kid used a few riddles on a notice, he kidnaps a girl and threatens to kill her? Why go that far?"
"Strange? Of course it isn't," another voice snorted. "Nothing is strange when it comes to the lunatics in Arkham. The only strange thing would be if you could actually understand how they think."
"Rule number one when handling cases in Gotham: don't ask why."
Just then, Gordon, who had remained silent since the video ended, suddenly spoke. "That girl… why did she have the necklace?"
The moment he said it, everyone present froze.
That was right. The Riddler had kidnapped the girl because he saw her wearing the necklace stolen by Kaitou Kid. But the real question was, why was the necklace on her in the first place?
Could it be that she was connected to Kaitou Kid, and that he had given it to her himself? Was that why he had never returned it?
But if that were the case, the Riddler should have used her directly to force Kaitou Kid to reveal himself, not framed it as "an innocent girl who died because of you."
Moreover, by all logic, after capturing her, the Riddler would have interrogated her about whether she knew Kaitou Kid. Since he was now calling her an innocent bystander, there was a strong chance she had no connection to Kaitou Kid at all.
At least, no connection to the criminal known as Kaitou Kid.
"Commissioner!"
Suddenly, an officer rushed over, shouting Gordon's name as he ran.
"Commissioner, someone just came in to report a case. He says the person the Riddler kidnapped is his daughter!"
"What did you say?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions of Gordon and everyone around him changed.
"Take me there, quickly."
Not long after, Gordon arrived at the reception room, where a middle aged man sat sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm the commissioner here, Jim Gordon. May I ask who you are…"
"I'm Brendan Lawson, Commissioner Gordon. Please, I beg you, you have to save my daughter, Janice."
Lawson pleaded the moment he saw Gordon, his voice shaking with emotion.
It turned out that the girl kidnapped by the Riddler was named Janice Lawson. She had not returned home since five o'clock the previous afternoon. Lawson had initially thought she might have stayed over at a classmate's house. Things like that happened from time to time, so he had not paid it much attention.
That was, until he saw the recording the Riddler broadcast across the city and recognized the kidnapped girl in the video as his daughter.
Once he realized the truth, Lawson could no longer focus on anything the Riddler said afterward. All he knew was that his daughter was in danger, and if no one solved that cursed riddle within three days, she would lose her life.
He rushed to the GCPD as fast as he could to ask for help.
"No problem. We will do everything in our power to save your daughter. For now, please calm down. I need to ask you a few questions. They concern your daughter's safety."
After quickly understanding the situation, Gordon spoke in a steady voice, trying to ease Lawson's panic.
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure for a moment, but my daughter is everything to me. I can't lose her. Commissioner Gordon, ask whatever you need. I'll tell you everything I know."
"First, I need to know where the necklace your daughter was wearing came from," Gordon said, getting straight to the main point of suspicion.
"This…"
A trace of hesitation crossed Lawson's face, but he ultimately chose to tell the truth.
"That necklace… I found it by accident in the river while I was fishing five days ago. After that, I gave it to Janice as a gift."
"What?" Gordon frowned. "You're saying you found the necklace in the river, and that was five days ago?"
"This necklace is stolen property, recently taken from the Vanafor family. Why didn't you turn it in to the police after you found it?"
"I didn't think that far at the time. I just saw that the necklace was beautiful and thought my daughter would really like it, so…"
Lawson's face was filled with regret.
If he had known back then that the necklace would bring such a terrible disaster upon his daughter, he would have thrown it away without a second thought.
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