Batman #432 – “Dead Letter Office” – James Owsley/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo
This one starts with Batman responding to an alarm tripped in a lawyer’s office. He finds a private Investigator (Maxine Kelly) going through the files. She’s got an attitude and ends up leaving before the cops show up, but Batman’s waiting at her place when she gets back. From examining the files she was looking at, Batman has figured out that Kelly is working on the disappearance of Josh Winston, a kid who was snatched seven years ago. Josh’s mom has hired numerous investigators to find him, but the cops
assume he’s dead and have pretty much given up on the case. The lawyer whose office Kelly broke into defended the only suspect in the case (Saunders), who was cut loose due to lack of evidence. Kelly takes Batman to the hospital, where Josh’s mother (Tina) is in the Terminal Ward. We aren’t told what’s afflicting her, but Kelly thinks she’s lost the will to live because of Josh and hopes she can give her some closure before it’s too late. Later, Batman is with Commissioner Gordon preparing to move on some jewellery store burglars that they’ve been investigating for six months. But Batman can’t get Josh Winston off his 
mind and mentions the case to Gordon, who tells him it’s hopeless, especially since nobody knows where Saunders is now. Gordon does mention that Saunders went into Witness Protection, so the FBI would know where to find him. Batman breaks into the Federal Building disguised as a fireman, using smoke bombs to get everyone out of the building. He gets the info but runs into some agents and has to fight his way clear without hurting them. He finds Saunders, but after scaring the shit out of him, ends up believing he’s innocent. Gordon gives him shit for chasing ghosts and he gets an idea, taking Kelly to the Bat
Cave (blindfolded, which she thinks is “kinky”) and showing her his plan. He noticed a woman staring at Josh in a photo Kelly showed him, so he’s taken a photo of Josh and the photo of the woman and run them through facial recognition software to get a match. Turns out the woman’s own kid was kidnapped, so she took Josh as a replacement, since he looked like her son. They go to see the woman and bring Josh (who’s now ten years old) to see Tina before she dies. He doesn’t remember her, but just seeing him seems to make her death easier. 
Gordon apologizes for doubting Batman nd asks why he was so invested in this case. Batman doesn’t answer, but we see him looking at a picture of Robin, so I guess he still hasn’t told Gordon that Robin is dead. I’m not sure what to make of Max Kelly; she’s almost a cliché … the tough-talking private eye with a heart of gold. She kinda reminds me of Dakota North over at Marvel. Maybe Owsley was trying to introduce her as a recurring character, but she never appears again.
Detective #599 – “Blind Justice Chapter 4: Citizen Wayne” – Sam Hamm/Denys Cowan/Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin
Last issue, Bruce Wayne uncovered some shady dealings at Wayne Technologies, where some of his employees were trying to transfer consciousness between bodies to create the perfect soldier (although one scientist named Dr. Harbinger had a more personal motive, getting his mind out of his crippled body and into a healthy one). When Bruce uncovered the scheme, one of the main instigators (Riordan) threatened to reveal his big secret if he didn’t back off. Despite the threat to his secret identity, Bruce
went ahead but it turned out the “secret” Riordan thought he had was that Bruce is a Communist spy. Bruce is arrested for espionage and his lawyer tells him he’ll have to explain why he travelled all over the world in his younger days and associated with some unsavoury characters. Of course, it was all part of his training to become Batman, but he can hardly tell them that. He has Harbinger’s log of his experiments, but no proof that Harbinger actually wrote it. He needs to find Harbinger and thinks Harbinger’s assistant (Lund) might be able to help. But Lund gets stabbed to death and Bruce wonders if 
Harbinger did it, or if his shadowy masters in the Cartel were tying up a loose end. Jeannie Bowen and her brother Roy Kane, whose disappearance led Batman to uncover the Cartel’s activities, offer to testify on Bruce’s behalf, but Roy still can’t remember what Riordan did to him, so he can’t really be much help. Meanwhile, Riordan is trying to duplicate Harbinger’s experiment, but without his log book the results are disappointing. Bruce’s lawyers keep asking him about his past associations and mention Henri Ducard, an arms dealer and mercenary, who’s supposed to be testifying against Bruce at his trial. Commissioner Gordon offers to help Bruce, hinting that he
knows his real secret, but Bruce says he can fight his own battles. Leaving the courthouse, Bruce is surrounded by reporters and Roy’s homeless friend (T-Bone) shoots Bruce and his lawyers. The lawyers die, but Bruce is taken to hospital clinging to life. I’m not sure why T-Bone shot him (Riordan is just as shocked as anyone), but I guess we’ll find out next issue.