The officers who canvassed the surrounding area came back empty-handed, just as expected. Only one homeless man seemed to have seen a few trucks leaving the textile mill and heading north, but he couldn't give them the exact license plate numbers.
Sigh...
Li Jie arrived at his office early that morning and started scribbling on a sheet of paper, trying to use his own brain to work something out. But ten minutes later...
"Hey, Sheriff!"
Li Jie looked up as Otis pushed the door open and walked in. He glanced at the tangled mess of lines on the desk and asked uncertainly, "Sir, have you been studying Picasso lately?"
"Uh... no. Forget about that." Li Jie crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the wastebasket. "All done?"
"Yeah. I took two days off to get my room set up." Otis looked thoroughly satisfied. "I've never lived anywhere this nice."
"It's a small room... don't buy too much stuff." Li Jie shrugged. "Once the whole dormitory building's renovated, I'll get you a bigger one."
"This is already plenty nice." Otis smiled, then asked a little nervously, "I heard from Mr. Nygma that those guys are coming again?"
"Yeah. Domestic abuse, plus pedophiles. I've really fucking turned into a domestic affairs unit." Li Jie rolled his eyes and stood up. "Come on, let's check on Ed. See if you two can work together to find those lunatics before they get here."
They left the office, greeting the officer at the front desk, only to come face-to-face with an unexpected visitor they hadn't seen in quite some time.
A limping figure leaning on a black umbrella.
"Hey! Jay, my friend." Cobblepot wore that familiar smile, a touch of ingratiation concealing a hint of arrogance, as he spread his arms and