Catwoman #41 (2005)

Catwoman jumps down into an alleyway to take out a masked killer, who reminisces about a dog named Vlad whom he killed and a woman named Virna whom he is currently killing. Catwoman is so angry she is careless, and she lets him to get one good hit in and escape. She is about to pursue him when Virna groans. Catwoman can't let her become his fourth victim, so she remains behind to get Virna medical attention. Elsewhere in Gotham, Dragos Ibanescu speaks to one of his men, complaining about the expense of trafficking women into America and asking if these women are even pretty. He is pleased to find that they are, and he greets them in Romanian, welcoming them to America. They won't be working in a restaurant like they were promised, however. Their families back in Bucharest will pay if they make any mistakes. When he is finished threatening the young women, he goes to see his dogs. He mourns the loss of his beloved dog Vlad and comments on his breed, the Fila Brasileiro (or Brazilian mastiff), which was bred by the Portuguese to capture runaway slaves in Brazil. Vlad's killer is Guillermo Duran, a pit fighter whom Ibanescu says will pay him back in full. In the Thompkins Clinic, Selina asks Leslie if Virna will make it. Leslie is unsure. Slam asks Selina if she knows the woman, which she doesn't, and Holly yells at her for blaming herself for Virna's injury and the previous three deaths. Holly identifies Virna as one of Ibanescu's girls, and Selina blames herself for that too. Ibanescu is one of Black Mask's people, and she didn't make sure Black Mask was dead. Slam reminds her that she did save Virna, but Selina isn't sure about that. Guillermo Duran is in another pit fight, this one against a doberman. Duran tries not to kill this one, aware that he upset his employer when he killed Vlad. He doesn't, but he does break its neck. Ibanescu is having a pleasant, productive night until Catwoman appears. She demands everything he knows about the person killing his girls, but they are interrupted before he can respond by his men. Catwoman fights them off. Ibanescu tells them he and Catwoman were discussing business, and he promises to talk to everyone who might know something and get back to her (even though he already knows exactly who it is). Catwoman says she'll come back for the information. Slam calls Catwoman to tell her that Ibanescu doesn't just import girls from Eastern Europe, he also runs a dog fighting ring where Gotham's richest and most bored can indulge their blood-lust and make illegal bets. His friend O'Neal in the GCPD told him about a man named Curt Harris, who manages a dog pound and sells strays to Ibanescu every week. Slam beats up Harris, demanding answers. Harris explains that he sells Ibanescu stray dogs with which to train the fighting dogs. Harris also attends the dog fights, so he knows where the next one will be held. Catwoman is on the phone with Holly, who has the Alleytown Kids looking for information on Virna's assailant, when she comes across Duran attacking another woman. She manages to expose his arm and sees the scars from the dog fighting ring, but he escapes when she pulls off his hood and she can't see his face. Duran's victim is already dead. Catwoman calls it in, and she reassures herself that this will be the last death. Tomorrow night Ibanescu will have an uninvited feline guest.