"What did you say?" Li Jie stared at the old homeless man in front of him. "You said... you were there the night Thomas Wayne and his wife were murdered?"
"That's right." The man watched him with a sly gleam in his eyes. "How about five dollars, and I'll tell you everything I know?"
Hmm...
Li Jie immediately doubted the story. On a whim, he had come to Crime Alley, the birthplace of Batman, to take a look and check on the East End's municipal redevelopment. Instead, he had met this old geezer at the entrance, claiming he had lived here for twenty years, since he was young, and had witnessed the Waynes' murder.
Then again, it was only five dollars. What did he have to lose?
"Sheriff, you have to understand, that night... the fog was thick. I was huddled behind that dumpster, freezing to death. Then I heard footsteps. A family of three, a gentleman, his wife, and a little boy in a little formal suit..."
Li Jie listened quietly, his gaze resting on the newly installed streetlight at the alley entrance. The bulb was still there.
"...Then the shots rang out. Bang! Bang! Two shots. The lady's pearl necklace snapped, and the pearls scattered everywhere, right by my feet. I picked one up..."
"Hold on!"
Li Jie interrupted him. "The Waynes had come out of the theater and were taking a shortcut to their car. The theater was at the north end of the alley, and the parking lot was at the south end. You said you were hiding behind the dumpster at the north end, but they were shot near the south end. How the hell did you pick up a pearl?"
He reached out to snatch back the five dollars. "I hate people who can't