Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Murder Over Metropolis 9/?

**Notes** Thank you once again to my wonderful editors. **

Part Nine

“Mr. Kent, fancy meeting you here,” Captain Benson said. “It seems you spend more time at Ms. Lane’s apartment than your own.”

“I’m out on bail, Captain. None of the conditions the judge set for my bail said anything about visiting a friend,” Clark responded sarcastically.

“Good, because I’m here to see Ms. Lane,” Captain Benson announced with a smile.

Clark wondered what the captain needed with Lois. Was he here to ask her more questions about their relationship? Would she tell the police his secret? For a moment, uncertainty gripped him. But when he looked over at Lois, sitting with her knees up in the chair, hugging them, he thought otherwise.

“Is she here?” Captain Benson asked.

“Of course,” Clark answered, his jaw tight. He just wanted this nightmare to be over.

“Clark, who is it?” Lois asked.

He could hear the sadness in her voice, and he frowned as he addressed Captain Benson again. “Captain, this isn’t a good time.”

“Did you know Ms. Lane was with Mrs. Cox earlier today when Mrs. Cox took a fall down some stairs?” Captain Benson put his hand up onto the door and pushed it to let himself in. “I need to talk to her and find out what they talked about.”

“Why don’t you just ask Mrs. Cox?” Clark asked, but he felt his shoulders tense as he looked back at Lois and then at the captain again.

“It’s hard to do that. She’s in a coma caused by the fall. She had defensive wounds also. The video shows Ms. Lane with her in the stairwell.”

“Well, you know those videos can be altered,” Clark pointed out, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice again.

“Mr. Kent, do you want another charge?” Captain Benson asked, stepping up closer to Clark as he raised his voice. “This time it would be interfering with the police in an ongoing case.”

Clark sighed. He knew Benson was just doing his job, but everything happening all at once was just overwhelming, and it seemed like he was getting knocked off balance at every turn. He heard Lois coming up behind him, her heartbeat quickening as she reached out and touched his shoulder. Immediately, he felt just a little better; her heartbeat could have that effect on him, keeping him going at times.

“It’s okay, Clark,” Lois whispered to him, staying behind him so Captain Benson couldn’t see her. “You can let him in. It’s okay.”

Clark opened the door farther, letting the man inside. He then closed the door and leaned his back against it with his arms crossed. Lois moved back to the sofa closest to Clark and sat, while Captain Benson sat in the chair.

“Ms. Lane, what were you doing at the Lexor Hotel earlier today?” Captain Benson asked as he pulled out his notepad from inside the pocket of his blazer.

“I went to ask about the night Lex was murdered. I know for a fact that Clark wasn’t there at the time the video shows. I wanted to hear why Mrs. Cox lied,” Lois responded.

“What did she say?” Captain Benson asked as he looked up at Lois.

“She didn’t say much at first. She tried to run away from me. I told the police officer this in my statement,” Lois said.

“When you caught up to her, did she mention anything about the night Luthor was murdered?”

Clark looked over at Lois, and she sat up a little straighter as she nodded.

“What did she say?” Clark asked quickly. He pushed away from the door and moved to stand behind Lois, putting his hand on her shoulder. His heart raced with a sudden sense of hope, and he realized how lucky he was to have Mad Dog Lane on his side.

“I don’t think she meant to tell me, but she mentioned that she talked to Lex after you left,” Lois answered, bringing her hand up to rest on top of Clark’s on her shoulder. “If you supposedly shot him, how could she have talked to him?”

“Maybe he wasn’t dead yet when Mrs. Cox came into the office,” Captain Benson replied.

Clark noticed the way Captain Benson kept looking at Lois, then at their joined hands. He was waiting for the captain to mention it, but he silently hoped Benson wouldn’t say anything. This connection between Clark and Lois was new, still shaky, and he really wasn’t entirely sure where they stood.

“No, that wasn’t it,” Lois responded. “She said something like, ‘What are we going to do now?’ But I asked her what time Clark left, and before she could answer, she fell backward down the stairs. The video from the stairwell shows that I tried to help.”

“I’m not doubting you,” the captain stated. “I checked the report and even talked to the officer.”

Clark turned his hand over to take a hold of Lois’s, and then he squeezed it lightly. He didn’t like where this conversation was going. He knew she wanted to be his lifeline, and now, she knew his biggest secret. But he also knew Benson was suspicious enough already, and with them now “teaming up,” holding hands… Even if Clark believed that Lois wouldn’t have gone through with the wedding, Benson might be seeing things differently, bringing their relationship and Clark’s motive into question…again.

As though she could sense his uncertainty, Lois looked back over her shoulder and smiled at Clark, and it warmed his heart.

“Well, the officer should have taken you down to the station,” Captain Benson stated. “Will you come down tomorrow for a formal statement? And also explain to me what this relationship between the two of you really is?”

“Captain, our relationship is none of your business,” Lois said, letting go of Clark’s hand and standing up. Benson followed her as she walked over toward the door.

Benson grabbed onto her wrist as she walked by, and Clark flinched instantly. Lois seemed to know what Clark’s reaction would be, and she turned to Clark and held up her hand to signal him that she could handle herself.

“I think your relationship plays a key role in this investigation. I believe it’s why Luthor called Mr. Kent over to LexCorp,” he explained. “But I can only go by the facts, and the facts are the two of you are lying to me about more than the night of Luthor’s murder.”

Lois pulled her hand away from Captain Benson, walked over to the door, and opened it.

“I’ll be at the station first thing in the morning for that official report,” Lois said. She moved to the side to give Benson room to leave. “Now I think you better leave.”

Clark grinned at that, happy to see Lois back to her old self again. They had a long way to go before things were settled between them, especially given that he’d just let her in on his secret, but right now, they had other things to worry about.

“Fine.” Captain Benson walked out the door. Before Lois could close the door, he added, “I’m going to find out what happened.”

“Captain, in all your years on the force, have you ever had a partner you would do anything for?” Clark asked. He hoped the captain could sense his sincerity.

“Yes, yes, I have. Her name was Olivia, and she was my first partner when I made detective. We worked together for seven years,” Benson answered with a faraway look in his eyes.

“You would have done anything for her, right?” Lois commented.

“Yes, I would have, and I did…until she crossed a line from which neither of us could recover. She died on duty after shooting the person suspected of kidnapping her son,” Benson recalled. “You can’t always cover for your partner when they break the law.”

With that said, Captain Benson left the apartment.

***
Lois closed the door, locked it, and leaned against it. She knew what she and Clark had to do, just not how they were going to accomplish it.

“Are you okay?” Clark asked, moving toward her from his spot near the back of the couch.

“I’m fine. I figured he was going to ask about Mrs. Cox eventually. I just didn’t think he would show up here…again.”

Lois walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, not quite ready to look at Clark or be right next to him. She’d been fine with showing their united front to Benson a moment ago, but now she needed a little space.
She was exhausted mentally from the revelation that her best friend, the man she loved, was Superman. And so much else had happened in the past forty-eight hours that she didn’t know how much more she could handle. But right now, she needed to focus on proving Clark’s innocence—the closest thing she had to throwing herself into her work since the Planet was gone.

“What do we do now?” Clark asked. He headed over to the table and stood behind the chair next to her, wrapping his fingers around the top of the chair.

“Now I’m going to start looking through these files to find someone else who would want to kill Lex,” she said as she started shuffling through the papers in front of her. She still couldn’t look up at him, part of her still a little afraid of what she’d find in his eyes.

“Okay, then, how about some decent food, and we work on this together?” Clark suggested.

Finally, Lois lifted her eyes to meet his. Her heart fluttered, just as she thought it would. But her confusion resurfaced. How could she work with him and just ignore the fact that she still needed to reconcile his two personalities? Could she handle the fact that the man she’d been working with at the Planet for the past year was also the one who flew around saving people?

“Sure, let’s do it, partner,” she stated, trying for a smile.

Clark grinned at her, then stepped back and spun into the red and blue suit.

“Wow…I don’t know if I am ever going to get used to seeing you do that,” Lois commented as she raised her arm and spun her finger in a circle quickly.

“I’m glad you know, Lois. It’s going to make everything easier. But…” Clark hesitated and frowned. “We have to be careful… Knowing who I am…I don’t want that to put you in danger.” Clark looked down at her, and she felt his sincerity and concern.

“I remember what Trask did to you in Smallville. Your secret is safe with me, and I meant what I said, Clark. I am in love with you, not Superman.” Lois smiled up at him and touched his hand gently. “It’s not Superman who was there for me when Barbara Trevino tried to kill me.”

“I know, Lois,” Clark said with a smile. “I’m going to pick up some dinner. I’ll be right back.”

With that said, Clark flew out of Lois’s apartment. Lois shook her head in amazement and started to dig into the files again. She contemplated calling Perry, but it was getting late, so she decided that could wait until tomorrow.

Yawning, Lois stood up from the table. It had been a long, stressful day, and she needed something to keep her going, like a good cup of coffee. She headed into the kitchen to start a fresh pot of coffee, and just after she’d poured the water into the pot, Clark flew back in through the window.

“I started some coffee. Hope you don’t mind,” Lois said as she finished her task.

“I wish I could have gone to China to get you the good stuff,” he lamented, placing two pizzas on the table.

Lois tilted her head sideways, trying to remember what he was talking about. Then it dawned on her.
“You went to China. Now I get it! I kept trying to figure out which restaurant you’d gone to that night. Now I know why I never could.” She grinned as she joined him at the table and opened the pizza box.

“I wanted to make a good impression. I still do, Lois,” Clark admitted. “I figured authentic Chinese food that night would have done that.”

Before she could say another word, he moved into the kitchen to grab a couple of plates and napkins. She watched him intently. He was right—he wasn’t like every other man. Why hadn’t she seen that in the first place? Why had she kept him at arm’s length for so long? Suddenly, all of his disappearing acts made sense, and although a part of her wanted to be angry, she realized that being angry would get her nowhere. After days of being at odds with Clark, it was time to get back to their partnership.

There was a silence that lasted a few minutes as Clark poured them each a cup of coffee and then joined her as they both sat at the kitchen table. He looked at her notes, which mostly consisted of jumbled nonsense.

“Where do you want to get started?” Lois asked, biting her lip nervously.

“You think Toni Taylor murdered Luthor?” Clark asked. He looked up at her from the list of suspects he’d been reading on one of the pages in her notes.

Lois reached across the table for the notepad in Clark’s hand. Her thoughts of Lex were written on that notepad, and she didn’t think Clark needed to read those as well.

“Not really, but I was trying to think of anyone that wanted Lex gone,” Lois retorted as Clark pulled the notepad farther from Lois’s reach.

Lois watched as Clark grinned slightly and chuckled at some of the other suspects on her list.

“Lois, this one doesn’t even make sense,” Clark said. “How could Antoinette Baines have killed Luthor? We saw the helicopter blow up with her in it.”

Lois huffed heavily at Clark’s teasing. She had worked hard on that list — so what if some names didn’t make sense?

“I was trying to think outside of the box,” she answered, and she started to look through more of Lex’s files. “Anyway, even Franklin Stern could be suspect for all we know.”

Clark shook his head. “Not everyone is a killer.”

“Well, my judgment is not the best at the moment. No matter how many times you told me Lex was evil, I didn’t believe you. Then, look at you; I didn’t think you were both my best friend and the guy who flies around in spandex, saving the world.”

Lois’s guilt returned then as she remembered all the things she’d done to put Clark in this position in the first place. She was going to do whatever she could to prove Clark was innocent, even if it meant looking into the most unlikely suspects on her much-too-long list.

“You make it sound like I have two personalities,” Clark stated as he put the notepad down on the table. “It’s not like I came to Metropolis to deceive anyone. I just knew that I couldn’t help people and have a normal life.”

“So where did the suit come from?” Lois asked. She put her pencil back behind her ear and looked over at him.

“Would you believe my mother made it?” Clark laughed. “She made me so many different costumes that day. It felt pretty hopeless until she finally came up with the blue, red, and yellow…”

Lois looked over at him and noticed how he looked more relaxed than he had in days. She felt better also, like a weight had lifted off her shoulders.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” she murmured, reaching over to take his hand. “I know I’ve said it before, but I mean it. I don’t know if I was just enamored by Lex’s attention or the fact that the third richest man in the world wanted to spend time with me. But I know that I almost lost the one true friend I have — my best friend — because I didn’t look at what was right in front of me.”

Lois studied his face, how his hair sometimes fell onto his forehead and how his eyes twinkled at times when he looked at her. Her heart melted as he smiled again.

“I know I didn’t make it easy on you either,” he admitted as he ran his hand through his hair. She noticed that he gazed at her longingly and that his eyes flitted down to her lips as she bit her bottom lip. “I know we have a lot more to talk about after this is over.”

“Yeah, we just need to find out why the killer set you up.” Lois sat up a little straighter as she suddenly realized something. “Why didn’t I think of this before?”

She started digging through the papers and clippings of newspapers she had gathered the last few days. Turning over pages of articles and files of Lex’s, she came upon an article from the Metropolis Star.

“Clark, look at this.” She handed the paper to him.

She watched as he read the article in seconds, then put the paper back down as though unsure what he was looking for.

“Gretchen Kelly was the doctor who announced Lex was dead!” Lois said, pointing eagerly at the paper.

“Okay, who’s Gretchen Kelly?”

“None other than Lex’s personal doctor. Why would his own doctor pronounce him dead? Wouldn’t a coroner do that?” Lois asked, her voice rising in volume as she stood up quickly.

Clark closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Lois could tell he was skeptical.

“What if Lex isn’t dead?” she asked. “He knew what you meant to me. What if he set this whole thing up?”

“Are you saying that you think he faked his death to put me in jail?” Clark’s eyes narrowed at the implication.

“Exactly!” Lois exclaimed, nodding. She knew they were on the right track now, all the pieces suddenly falling into place. She held Clark’s gaze with a fierce determination, no longer content with wallowing in her self-pity. No, there had to be something there — she was sure of it. She smiled at Clark. “Now all we have to do is prove it.”