“So what do you want to do first?” CJ asked Lois.
“Well, first see what there is here on it, then get copies of the police reports on Lois Lane’s death and M.E.’s reports on the autopsy,” Lois said. “Perry said his source said Clemens knew something about her death. Maybe we can talk to him, too.”
Most of the adults in the newsroom seemed to be taking their presence in stride. Only a few seemed to think it was odd or funny for two ten year-olds to be sitting at the desks that were normally occupied by the Daily Planet's current star reporters. One of the older women tried to pinch CJ’s cheek, but a glower from Lois managed to stop it.
“Thanks,” he murmured. He had managed to pull up the articles the Daily Planet had printed on Lois Lane’s death at the hands of Superman. He winced inwardly at the by-line on the articles – Clark Kent. He hadn’t been exactly charitable to his alter ego regarding the matter.
It was odd – he had memories of being an adult, of being Superman, of being Clark Jerome Kent working for a Perry White who was ten years younger. He had those memories but there was no real emotional value in them. All those things he remembered happened to someone else. It was someone else’s story, even though it was in his head.
“He was being a little mean, don’t you think?” Lois asked, coming over to read the article on the screen. “I mean, it was an accident. It wasn't like Superman meant to kill her. It wasn't like she didn’t understand the risk.”
“Clark was in love with her,” CJ explained. “He’d bought the engagement ring and had planned to ask her to marry him that evening. Then she died and he never got the chance to tell her how much… He couldn’t tell anyone what really happened or how much it hurt that he’d been the cause. He never got to that place where he could forgive himself, and as far as he was concerned, nobody else had the right to.”
“How sad,” Lois murmured. Her expression turned thoughtful. “Clark, you don’t…?”
He shook his head. “That was my dad, not me. But I think it would be justice if I could clear Superman’s name.” He gave her a curious look. “Do you remember being her?”
“Kind of,” she admitted. “It’s like she’s a character in a movie, or a book. I know everything she did, everything she felt, like memories. I pretty much know everything she knew. Only they’re not my memories. I know she loved her Clark. She would have done anything for him, and she trusted him implicitly. I think she would have been very upset at the choices he made afterward.”
“I think you’re right,” CJ agreed.
Perry had been closeted in his office with one of the interns. The office door opened and Perry came out, followed by a young red-haired woman.
“Uh, kids, before you run off and get me into trouble, I want you meet Megan Gordon,” Perry said with a smile. “I’m putting her in charge of you while you work on this.”
“But Grandpa Perry…” CJ and Lois both whined.
Perry shook his head. “This is the deal. She has a company credit card for cab fare and lunches and she has orders to keep you two out of trouble.”
“But Grandpa Perry…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he told them. “She goes with you or you don’t leave the building, understood?”
“Understood,” Lois agreed. CJ watched her eye the college age ‘sitter’.
“Lois, come on,” CJ urged. “It’ll be okay. I mean, we can use the help, can’t we?”
Lois glowered at him and he winced.
Perry grinned at them. “I’ve arranged for you to meet Police Commissioner Henderson at his office. He’s the one who headed the investigation into your aunt’s death,” he said, nodding to Lois. “He was also a good friend to your dad,” he told CJ.
-o-o-o-
“So, you’re Lois Lane’s niece, and Clark Kent’s son?” Henderson observed with a gentle smile. They were sitting in the chairs opposite his desk, feet barely skimming the floor. The girl had a pad and pen and was ready to take notes. The young woman, Megan, was standing near the door. Her expression indicated that she really didn’t want to be there. At least she didn’t want to be in his office baby-sitting two kids.
“Yes, sir,” the boy said. “Mister White said you were the detective in charge of the Lois Lane case.”
“Yes, I was. And I have to admit, it was one of the hardest cases I’ve ever had to work on. Not because it was hard to solve, but because of the people involved. Superman, the Kents… It was hard.” He sighed and indicated the thick folder that was sitting on his desk. “I pulled the file for you to look at.” He looked over at Megan. “Normally I would never even consider showing this to anyone underage, but Perry has assured me that you two are very mature for your ages. I wouldn’t want to be held responsible for giving you nightmares.”
“Well, we won’t tell any grownups if you don’t,” Lois quipped. She hopped off her chair and stepped over to the desk. Henderson pushed the file towards her and she opened it. CJ was right beside her.
The first photo in the file was of a dead woman laid out on a steel table. She was wearing a pinstripe suit, hands folded at her waist. Her expression was calm, serene even. Except for the yellow-gray tone to her skin, she looked as though she was asleep, as though she could open her eyes at any moment. Both the children peered intently at the photo as if trying to glean some hidden meaning from it before setting it aside.
The boy sorted through the papers and pulled out one to read more closely: the medical examiner’s report. Henderson watched the boy frown.
“This was edited after it was finished, wasn’t it?” he asked.
“What makes you say that?” Henderson wondered, his curiosity piqued.
“Little things, the inconsistencies in grammar that show up when something’s been rewritten in a hurry,” CJ explained. “Plus, the last page gives the conclusion that the freezing was what killed her, only earlier, he mentions contusions to the heart muscle and the fact that there was no apparent cell damage from ice crystals. In fact, there’s nothing in the report outside of the conclusion that would even show she’d been frozen at all.”
“Exactly how old are you?” Henderson asked. White had mentioned they were mature, but he hadn’t mentioned exactly how ‘mature’ they were.
“Ten going on thirty, at least that’s what my parents tell everybody,” Lois said with a little giggle. Then her expression became more thoughtful. “Did Superman know about this report?”
“I know he was given a copy,” Henderson said. “I don’t know if he bothered to read it. I do know he blamed himself for her death. I just wish he hadn’t taken it upon himself to go it alone. We were already looking into Jason Mazik’s involvement in other matters, the burglary at his brother’s store, threats made against other jewelers. We even suspected he had something to do with some valuable pieces that went missing from the Luthor estate. If Clark had just told us that he and Superman were being threatened we might have been able to do something.”
“Between Mazik and St. John, they were holding all the cards,” CJ told him. “They knew his weaknesses, everyone he cared about, what lengths he’d go to, to protect them. They knew everything and he was convinced there was nothing he could do about it.”
“He was wrong,” Henderson said. “Mazik had the original of the diary in his safe.”
“But…” CJ began. “Who knows about it?” There was an edge of panic n his young voice.
“I have it,” the police officer said. “It’s mostly the ravings of a madman, but a few things stand out. Like accurately detailing every major historical event from 1866 to 1995.”
“The year Lois Lane died,” Lois said softly.
“Her death is not mentioned, nor is Superman’s a year later,” Henderson went on. “In fact, after 1995, the predictions are wildly inaccurate since it details things Superman did, leaving for New Krypton for a short time in 1996, winning the International Peace Prize in 1997. The writer also mentions Lois Lane and Clark Kent getting married in 1996, starting a family in 1998. Their eldest would be about a year younger than you are.”
Henderson noted that Megan had started listening more closely. “What are you saying? Somebody was able to predict the future then started getting it all wrong after Superman died?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Miss Gordon,” Henderson said. “The diary was supposedly written by a man named Tempus. He was an inmate in an insane asylum in Kansas in 1866. He claimed he was a time traveler from sometime in the fairly distant future, a future where Superman and his descendants had created a utopia. A future that Tempus hated passionately. He claimed he had made several attempts to destroy Superman, and had failed every time.”
“But someone succeeded,” Lois pointed out.
“Someone succeeded,” Henderson agreed. “But there are a couple interesting points. Mazik’s wild statements about the diary he no longer had and time travelers and other things landed him at Belle Reve for observation. But the one thing he repeatedly insisted was that neither he nor St. John touched Lois Lane’s body after Superman laid her on the table.”
“But if Mazik or St. John didn’t tamper with her body, who did?” CJ asked.
“That’s another one of those points you won’t see in this file,” Henderson said. “Mazik claimed she was killed by Tempus himself. That Tempus showed up minutes after St. John died claiming he’d found a way to destroy Utopia once and for all. There’s also the fact that a set of fingerprints that we still haven’t been able to identify were found in the underground bunker.”
“Do you think Mazik was telling the truth?” Lois asked.
“I think he was mad as a hatter,” Henderson said. “But I do think he was also telling the truth. I don’t think he killed Lois Lane. And someone, maybe Luthor, maybe not, killed Mazik to shut him up.”
“You know Luthor’s in Metropolis, don’t you?” CJ asked.
Henderson nodded. “As far as we can tell he’s been keeping his nose clean. But we have been keeping an eye on him. You ran into him?”
CJ nodded. “At Dark Moon Rising. It’s a bookstore a couple blocks from the Daily Planet. I think he recognized us. And he has kryptonite.”
“I’ll have somebody check it out,” Henderson promised. “Now, was there anything else you’d like to know?”
“Grandpa Perry, I mean Mister White, told us he had reason to believe that D.A. Clemens had attempted to suppress evidence in the case so he could get a murder charges against Superman.” Lois stated. “Do you know anything about that?”
“I’m not sure I’d put it like that, but Clemens did want to take the case to trial in the worst way,” Henderson told them. “Superman short-circuited that by confessing to freezing Lane in order to fake her death. After some prodding, he also admitted he had committed the act under extreme duress. That Mazik had abducted and threatened to kill the Kents if he did not comply. He refused to say what other threats Mazik used. I know that when he waived a jury trial, Clemens wasn't well pleased. A jury trial would have suited the D.A. just fine. I also know Judge Diggs was in chambers quite a long time with Clemens, Constance Hunter, Superman, and Perry White. When they came out, Superman pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to a year of community service.”
“But, do you think Superman would have pled guilty if he’d known that someone else had been involved? That maybe someone else had killed her?” Lois asked.
Henderson sat back in his chair, watching the two children over steepled fingers. “Miss Olsen, I’ve asked myself that question everyday for twelve years. I still don’t have an answer. But I do know this. The man who confessed to killing Lois Lane, the man who pled guilty in front of Judge Diggs: that man was utterly broken. I think… I know he would have cheerfully laid down his own life, sold his soul even, if that would have brought her back.”
-o-o-o-
“Well?” CJ asked as they walked down the sidewalk. Megan was close behind them. “What do you think?” he continued.
“I think we need to find out if Clemens put the M.E. up to altering the report or somebody else did,” Lois stated. “But I don’t see what Clemens would have had to gain by it. The discrepancies within the report Henderson has are too glaring. I mean, the conclusions weren’t based on any of the actual findings. It all would have come out if there’d been a trial.”
“It’s almost like whoever wrote the report didn’t want to fake the findings, but was fairly certain nobody would look past the conclusion page,” CJ reasoned. “They were expecting Superman to plead guilty and that nobody would look beyond that.”
“Which is exactly what happened,” Lois stated. She turned to Megan who was simply watching them in wide-eyed confusion. “Let’s see, the M.E.’s office is still on First, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah, I think so,” Megan replied.
“So, what are we waiting for?” Lois demanded.
“You want to go to see the medical examiner?” Megan asked as though she hadn’t understood the previous discussion.
“Uh huh,” CJ said with a grin.
“Do you two even know what goes on there?” Megan asked.
“Yes,” Lois answered. “That’s where they do the autopsies and forensic examinations. And that’s where we need to go.”
“And you have the press pass and the credit card,” CJ added cheekily.
“You know, I read a story once about some kids who had their brains boosted by some experimental drug…” Megan began. “Made them geniuses.”
“The Smart Kids,” CJ told her. “They’d be about twenty-three now. The drug didn’t work over the long term and had nasty side effects.”
“So you two…?”
“Nah, Doctor Carlton died and nobody knows what became of his research papers,” CJ said.
“And how do you know that?”
CJ shrugged. “My grandma used to save everything my dad had published. I’ve read all of them,” he said by way of explanation. “It was Lane and Kent that broke the story about Carleton’s experiments. And I have a really good memory.”
-o-o-o-
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