Belle (possibly an alias, full name unrevealed) was an attractive young woman with short, strawberry-blonde hair. She was closely involved with the criminal "Broadway" Bates, and she aided him in his various confidence schemes.
Targeting Heinie[]
Belle and Bates came to the City early in Dick Tracy's career. They learned that Mrs. Trueheart had recently collected on her murdered husband's life insurance policy, and the couple schemed to trick the older woman out of her money.
Mrs. Trueheart had recently hired an elderly Dutch immigrant named Heinie to help run her delicatessen. Belle became a regular customer at the deli and ingratiated herself to Heinie, complimenting his wares. After returning for several days, Belle broke down crying in front of the older man and told him a sad story of her financial situation. Her plan was to play on the old man's sympathy and use him to help convince Mrs. Trueheart to "invest" her money with Bates.
Bates and Belle were being observed by Dick Tracy, however, and Bates developed a plan to incapacitate the policeman by dropping a load of bricks on him. Once Bates had Tracy held captive, Belle suspended her scheme with Heinie in favor of a
ransom plot. She removed herself from Bates' torture of Tracy, but kept a watchful eye over the proceedings.
Tracy was eventually freed by Heinie, and a fight ensued between him and his captors. Belle was observing from the other room, and she fired a shot at Tracy. The bullet struck Spike, a member of Bates' gang. Belle panicked and fled, but was apprehended by Chief Brandon, Pat Patton and other police officers, who had been alerted to the commotion. After she was taken into custody, she dropped her demure facade, spitting vituperation at Heinie. It was later revealed that Heinie had discovered Tracy's whereabouts by following Belle back to their hideout.
Spike ultimately died from Belle's gunshot.
Return to the City[]
In 2012, Belle was seen returning to the City in the company of Broadway Bates. They were annoyed to discover that costumed adventurers had begun to appear in the area. Belle used her skills as a designer and seamstress to contact one such adventurer, the Black Piranha. Using the Robin Hood-themed alias "Willa Scarlett", Belle gained Black Piranha's trust and the pair planned a armored car robbery.
The robbery was actually a trap planned by Belle and Broadway, where the costumed adventurers would be killed, or scared into retiring. Broadway was apparently willing to sacrifice Belle for the sake of his plan, because when Belle arrived with the Black Piranha and Cinnamon Knight, Broadway and his men opened fire on them. Belle was shot before the police could stop the gun-play, but she survived. She was presumably taken into custody, where she could face charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
Notes[]
Belle as Willa Scarlett
In the 2012-13 storyline, Belle referred to a friend named "Harley" who dressed up in a costume to help her boss "Mr. J". This is apparently an oblique reference to the Batman characters Harley Quinn and The Joker, in keeping with Broadway's recently revealed connection to another Batman character The Penguin.
