Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Murder Over Metropolis 5/?

**Notes** One day early and I hope this chapter puts all of you at ease. Okay, well, not really, but enjoy any way.

Murder Over Metropolis

Part Five
The late May afternoon sun shone down brightly on the city as Lois exited LexCorp. She had to find a way to help Clark since she had practically dug his grave. Where would he be now? She needed to warn him; he needed to know that Benson was nearly ready to arrest him.

But first, since Clark was probably still meeting with the lawyer anyway, maybe she could do something else for him. Standing on the sidewalk, she looked right and left, trying to figure out which direction Clark would have gone when he’d left LexCorp the night before. If the security video had shown Clark arriving at the LexCorp building at a specific time, maybe a camera at a different business would show him leaving at the time he said he had. Which way would Clark have taken to get to his apartment?

Lois headed left, walked the busy weekday streets, and looked at each building for any type of camera. Finally, after five blocks, Lois crossed the road and headed back toward LexCorp. She wrote down all the businesses and ATMs along the stretch of road, including the addresses and other information that might be helpful. And although this seemed like a good first step, she didn’t feel terribly confident that she would find anything that might be useful to Clark.

Lois wanted to be strong for him, but right now, her hands were shaking. Maybe instead of trying to figure out where he’d gone that night, she had to change tactics. Maybe she could find someone to help her prove that Clark didn’t kill Lex. Who was framing Clark Kent? And where would Mrs. Cox or Nigel St. John be hiding? She had so many questions and no answers.

There was only one man she knew who always seemed to be able to help her find answers when she was in trouble. The one man who had gotten her out of a lot of jams over the years — Perry.

Her decision made, she got in her Jeep and headed toward Perry’s house. With any luck, Jimmy might also be at Perry’s; he’d be able to help her with her investigation into the businesses near LexCorp that might have security footage. But her first priority was talking to Perry.

It only took her forty-six minutes to get to Perry’s house, a modest colonial house on the outskirts of Metropolis. Perry and Alice had lived there for over twenty years and had raised their two boys there. Now, the older couple lived in the house alone. Yet when Lois pulled into the driveway, she was relieved to see an extra vehicle — an aged, dark blue two-door sedan that looked like it was on its last leg — parked alongside Perry’s car. She knew Perry had been home since last night; he had told her that he would return to the house and that Jimmy and Jack would stay with him. And the extra vehicle might mean that Jimmy was indeed here, which meant she could recruit him to help Clark.

Lois jumped out of the Jeep, hurried up to the house, and knocked on the old oak door. After a moment, Jimmy answered.

“Lois, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I need Perry’s help, and hopefully, your technical skills can come in handy later,” Lois responded as she grabbed her notebook from her bag.

“Lois, come on in,” Perry shouted from around the corner. “I was just getting ready to give Jimmy a serving of my chili.”

She stepped inside the foyer, trying to remember how it had looked the one time she’d been here before for an anniversary party Perry had thrown for Alice a couple of years ago.

“Please don’t make me eat more of that chili,” Jimmy whispered to Lois as he guided her through the kitchen and into the dining room, where there was a long oak table. During the anniversary party, the table had been set elegantly and ornately by Alice; however, it now sat empty but for a briefcase and some old newspapers. Lois stepped up to the table and set her notebook down with a sigh.

“What is it, darlin’?” Perry asked as he entered the dining room with two bowls.

“Oh, Perry, I… I just don’t know what to do!” Lois admitted, blinking back tears. “Clark is going to be charged with murder, and it’s all my fault. I…was only telling the police the truth, but now they think he had motive, and his whereabouts can’t be confirmed at the time Lex was murdered. I really need to fix it, and I need your help, Perry.”

Lois took a bowl of the chili Perry offered and then sat down at one side of the table. Perry sat at the head of the table, and Jimmy sat across from Lois.

“Darlin’, what’s going on?”

“I talked to the new district attorney and Captain Benson. Henderson is off the case, and I sort of messed up and told them that Clark had a motive to shoot Lex. I mean, I was telling them the truth, but I was nervous and started babbling as I sometimes do. Clark won’t talk to me, and his alibi is shoddy. I mean, he said he was taking a walk, but unless we find evidence of him walking home from LexCorp at the time he said, he could be in real trouble. Benson is already talking about arresting him and charging him with murder!”

“What can we do?” Jimmy pushed his bowl of chili away, shaking his head.

“Well, Perry, I’m hoping you know someone at the police station who can get us a copy of the videotape from LexCorp. Clark said that the timestamp is off, so I’m hoping we can find evidence that the video was tampered with,” Lois explained as she took a spoonful of the chili without hesitation. After a couple of bites, she looked over at Jimmy, then looked back down at her notepad and started writing some notes. “Then, Jimmy, I was hoping you could help me with contacting the businesses nearby LexCorp that might have security cameras showing the street. I found six businesses to the west of LexCorp, so later, I’ll call and see if they have tapes from last night. Jimmy, I need you to contact the businesses to the east of LexCorp.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan, Lois,” Perry agreed. “Jimmy, go ahead and go to LexCorp and do what Lois requested. I’ll call Trudy, the desk lieutenant at the Twenty-First Precinct. She owes me a couple of favors. I can see if she can get me the original videotape. Lois, I need you to go home and call those businesses you have. I say we meet back here tomorrow morning at eleven with what we have.” Perry took another bite of his chili.

Jimmy looked up at Perry and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s fine, Jimmy,” Perry told the boy. Perry then put his hand over Lois’s hand, stopping her from scribbling more notes.

“Chief, what do I tell the businesses I talk to? What is this concerning?” Jimmy asked.

“Tell them it’s a story for the Daily Planet. I’m sure Franklin Stern won’t mind us working on a story even though he hasn’t publicly announced his plans for the paper. Don’t let this out of this room, you two, but he said he would love to stick it to Luthor after all the businesses Luthor stole out from under him.”

“So the paper is back!” Lois smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever, suddenly feeling like things were looking up. However, her smile quickly faded as she was hit with a wave of guilt. The news about the Planet’s reopening meant more to her than hearing about Lex’s death. What did that say about her?

“It’s okay, to be happy, darlin’,” Perry assured her. “I think I praised Elvis a few times after Mr. Stern called.”

Lois nodded, allowing her smile to return. She shouldn’t feel guilty. Lex had misled her, manipulated her, and lied. And the Daily Planet reopening… That was huge. That was what the world needed. It meant that the Daily Planet was bigger than the man who had tried to bring it down.

“I tried to call Clark to tell him, but there was no answer,” Perry said.

“He went to meet with the lawyer you recommended,” Lois explained. Then she sighed and shook her head.

“Perry, he won’t let me in. I keep telling him I want to help, but he keeps shutting me out. How am I supposed to help someone who doesn’t want my help?”

“The same way you always have — with everything you’ve got. And I’m sure when this is over, Clark will let you back in. It’s one reason he kept digging for information on Luthor,” Perry said, finishing his chili.

At her confused look, Jimmy spoke up. “Lois, all Clark kept telling us the whole time we were trying to investigate Luthor was that you were in danger. Even if he had to do it alone, he was going to make sure you knew the truth before your wedding.”

Perry cleared his throat. “Construction on the Planet won’t start for another couple of weeks, so we’ll have to make do until then. We can meet here when needed, and otherwise, Lois, you can work from home.”

“What about Alice?” Lois wondered. “What does she think about you going back to the paper?”

“She decided it was best to visit her sister in Tucson for a few weeks,” Perry explained as he waved his hand dismissively. “No worries, Lois, it’s not the first time she didn’t like a decision I made about the paper. She always gets over it and comes back after a trip away.”

Lois wondered if that would always be true. When does the person you trust the most stop coming to help you? Do they ever give up on the person they love? When you love someone, do you tell them everything?

She closed her eyes and suppressed a shiver. After all of this, was Clark still going to love her? Did he still love her now? He had become a beacon to her, and she had almost lost him. And actually, now, something just as bad could happen if he were to be convicted of Lex’s murder. She needed to stop the police from pinning the murder on Clark. She couldn’t fathom being without him now. What did that really say about their relationship?
And after this fiasco, could they…move forward with an actual relationship, as in, more than partners and best friends? Is that what she wanted? Did he love her enough to not give up?

Jimmy and Lois left in their separate cars minutes later; she needed to get started calling those businesses near LexCorp to see if they had the footage she needed. It was somewhere to begin, at least. Then, she could try to find Mrs. Cox and see what Mrs. Cox knew. Was Mrs. Cox the one who had tampered with the tape? And where was Lex’s other assistant, Nigel?

After she got home, she went through her mail, started a pot of coffee, and grabbed the leftover Chinese food she had from two days ago. Once the food was warmed up in the microwave, she sat at the kitchen table and started flipping through her notes.

Why would Clark go for a walk after talking to Lex? Which way did he go? Why was he pushing her away? Was he still angry with her for choosing Lex?

She called two of the six businesses; at the first, a coffee shop, the camera wasn’t working, and for the second, she would need to call back tomorrow when the manager was in. She slammed the phone down and closed her eyes for a moment, preparing herself to call the third business, when there was a knock at the door.

“Hi,” Clark said when she opened the door a moment later. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No, of course not. Come on in,” she said as she opened the door farther. She wanted, no needed to talk to him some more. She had missed her best friend.

After she closed the door, she looked over at him; his shoulders sagged a bit, and he didn’t have that glow about him that he seemed to have back when they’d worked at the Planet. She could tell she had hurt him, but now she really needed her partner back.

“I talked to Perry a little bit ago. Stern is going to rebuild the Daily Planet,” Lois said as she leaned back against the door. “Isn’t it great, Clark? We’ll get to be partners again!”

“Yeah, Perry was hoping that Stern would go for his idea. I guess Stern and Luthor didn’t get along too much. Luthor had stolen businesses out from under him a few times,” Clark replied as he moved to the opposite side of the living room. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his expression uncertain.

“What is it, Clark?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, running one of his hands through his hair.

“You didn’t come over because you were in the neighborhood,” Lois stated as she walked toward him.

She didn’t know how to explain what she was feeling, but she knew she needed to tell him she was behind him and believed him.

“Clark, I talked to the district attorney and Captain Benson earlier. It doesn’t look good. I tried to call you a few times when I could get to a phone. But you never answered. Where have you been?” Lois asked as she stepped closer to him.

He looked up at her in surprise. Why did he look even more frustrated than when he came in? Was he upset that she hadn’t listened to him, again?

“Lois, I asked you not to—to look into this,” he stammered, stepping back.

“Why? Why won’t you tell me where you were? And why did you even go to see Lex?” Lois was frustrated now, and she threw her hands up in the air as she started pacing. “If it’s me — tell me. Are you still angry with me for turning you down? Do you want me to throw myself at you like I did when we were sprayed with Miranda’s perfume?”

He shook his head. “No, Lois, that’s not… I can’t do this right now. I didn’t come over here to fight with you. I just wanted to see how you were. Your fiancé was killed, and even if I didn’t trust him, I just… I wanted to make sure you were doing okay. And I can’t tell you where I was because it would make things worse.”

“He didn’t have to die, Clark. So what do you want me to say? That you were right?” she shouted. Her shoulders tensed as she stopped and glared at Clark. She couldn’t understand why he had even come over to talk if all they were going to do was argue, again.

“No, Lois. Yes, he was a horrible man who did some ruthless things. But, you’re right; he didn’t have to die. What I really want to know is, do you believe me? That I didn’t do it,” he questioned, his voice pleading with her to believe him.

Lois continued to stare at him, her breathing returning to normal. She sighed and then started pacing beside the couch as Clark watched her. She could tell how hurt he was. And she did believe him. She really did. Yet…she knew that Clark hated Lex; he had told her plenty of times that Lex was evil. Clark had confessed his love for her, hoping it would convince her not to marry Lex. She stopped pacing and turned to face him.

“Clark, I… I don’t know what to say here. Of course I believe you. You…couldn’t kill anyone. But what I believe doesn’t matter if we can’t prove it. And I need you to trust me so I can help. Now, the video shows that you were there at LexCorp just minutes before he died. You even admitted that you went to see him,” Lois pointed out as she turned her back to him. “What am I supposed to do here — how can I help you — if you won’t tell me the truth?”

She felt Clark move closer to her, his warmth so familiar, and she heard him draw in a long breath.

“Lois, you know I said the video was doctored. And I know you want the truth, but I’m sorry. I can’t give that to you right now. I…don’t want to hurt you. It’s just that…”

His presence moved closer still, until she felt him set his hand on her shoulder.

“But you did. You did hurt me when you didn’t show up to support me,” she mumbled with tears in her eyes. “I thought you were my friend. Where were you then? The party?” She paused, turning to face him. “I trusted you, Clark. Yet you won’t trust me enough to be honest! I know you didn’t kill him, Clark, but you have to trust me enough to tell me. You told the police that you left Lex’s at eight twenty. He was shot at eight fifty, and you didn’t arrive back at your place until eleven. Where were you?”

He shook his head and ignored her question, his expression darkening, and she took a step back, surprised at the unfamiliar anger in his eyes. “Seriously, you’re angry with me for not showing up at your engagement party? How about when you turned me down and then went running to Superman? Then when Superman turned you down, you accepted Lex’s proposal? Whose bed will you go to next?”

The unexpected words filled her with anger. How dare he?! Before she realized what she was doing, she stepped toward him and raised her hand to slap him across the face. But he grabbed her wrist before impact, stopping her, and they glared at each other, the tension growing.

A sudden knock at her door startled both of them, and she gave Clark another angry look as she pulled her hand away and moved to the door. Glancing through the peephole, she saw Captain Benson standing impatiently in the hallway. She shook her head and opened the door.

“Captain, what can I do for you?” Lois asked, annoyed.

“I’m here to see Mr. Kent,” Captain Benson announced as he put his hand up to push the door open.

“How did you even know Clark was here?” Lois stepped aside to let Captain Benson in.

“We’ve been having him followed since early this morning,” the captain replied. “Except for a few hours this afternoon when my officers lost him. We figured he would come back here.” Captain Benson gave her a smug smile and then turned back to address Clark. “Clark Kent, you are under arrest for the murder of Lex Luthor.”
Clark’s eyes widened with shock, as did Lois’s. She’d known Benson planned to charge Clark, but she hadn’t expected this! She stepped between Clark and Captain Benson.

“There has to be a mistake. He didn’t do it,” Lois interrupted. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Clark stepped up to Lois and put his hands on her shoulders, his expression almost panicked. “Lois, I know I asked you not to get involved, but now I need your help. Call my parents, please?”

Lois opened her mouth to respond, to tell him that yes, of course she would call his parents, but her breath caught as she saw Captain Benson take out his handcuffs. “Are—are those really necessary?” she asked. When Captain Benson didn’t answer, she turned to Clark. “I’ll do everything I can to get you out of there. And yes, I’ll call your parents.”

Lois watched in horror as Captain Benson put handcuffs on her partner. She then looked up and noticed two plainclothes officers at her door.

“One minute, please,” she begged as she put her hand on Clark’s chest. She turned to Benson, hoping he would give her a minute to say goodbye. Instead, he just stopped in the doorway. Lois touched Clark’s cheek and stretched up kissed him briefly on the lips. “I’m sorry for everything,” she whispered. And then she watched, holding back tears, as Captain Benson and the two other officers escorted Clark down the hallway.

She had led the police right to her partner, her best friend, and the one man she could count on. Yes, he had hurt her with his words, but he’d been angry. He had every right to be.

Yet he still didn’t deserve to be arrested for a murder he didn’t commit. And she was going to prove it.