With its first introductory story arc out of the way, we move into the meat of Gotham Central, which is to say that it’s a cop drama that happens to take place in Gotham City, where cops responding to a call just might cross paths with the Batman. These stories are where the series is at its best, without tiring ties to larger DC mythology and only fleeting glimpses of the Dark Knight himself.

This story arc, with Ed Brubaker taking over solo writing duties after collaborating with Greg Rucka on the first issues (Rucka does the next one and I believe they more or less switch off from there), takes place immediately after the GCPD — with help from Batman, unfortunately — puts away Mr. Freeze. Looking to make things right, Detective Driver insists on solving the kidnapping case that he was investigating when his partner was killed by Mr. Freeze before he takes any time off, so he’s paired up with Detective Romy Chandler (who, like most of the cast of this comic, was created for Gotham Central but already feels at least somewhat lived-in).

Driver and Chandler visit the M.E. to talk about the kidnapping victim (who was found murdered at the end of the last issue), and Driver catches Chandler up on the details of the case. Almost immediately, there’s a mysterious reveal that would make for an exciting plot point on any sort of crime-solving show: Based on the victim’s time of death, the ransom note written by the kidnapper was sent after she died — ergo, someone was trying to cover up her death and make it look like a kidnapping. Intriguing!

The girl went missing after a babysitting job, so Driver and Chandler visit her parents to get more details (the scene with the parents is devastating, with the girl’s father realizing how little he knew about his daughter when her mother tells the cops that she was bullied at school and kept a diary, neither of which he knew about). They then visit the parents of the kid she was babysitting, who seem suspiciously aloof about the whole thing (snooty parents from what is apparently a “nice” neighborhood in Gotham City, despite Gotham famously being the worst place in the world).

Meanwhile, the rest of the cops are looking for a costumed arsonist named Firebug who, despite having a similar name, working in Gotham City, and being an arsonist, is not the B-list Batman villain known as Firefly. (Dedicated nerds will remember that Brendan Fraser played Firefly in the Batgirl movie that got Zaslaved by Zaslav.) Driver and Chandler are following up on a lead about the murdered girl, but then they get called to the scene of Firebug’s latest attack — a burning apartment building with some people still trapped inside.

Driver is about to go running in, but then Batman comes flying out with a woman and her baby in his arms. Before grappling off into the night sky, Batman acknowledges Driver and the two share a little look. There are still some tensions between the two of them, though Batman doesn’t actually seem particularly bothered.

The issue ends with Driver looking over his files and reflecting on the murder of the girl, which is a nicely contemplative end for a superhero comic that gives the mystery some weight. This Brubaker guy seems to know his way around a crime story, huh?

The Untitled Comic Book Newsletter Book Society continues next week with the fourth issue of Gotham Central.