The night grew ever deeper. The sound of rain outside showed no signs of stopping. The police had all left, and the light filtering through the round window resembled the sniper scope perspective shown in an old movie, as if an agent's silhouette was about to roll in. The bright flames in the fireplace had gone out, and the mysterious dark red patterns on the charred wood looked like rivers of blood in hell.
After the power outage, these old estates always displayed a majestic, natural grandeur, like a massive cave inhabited by some beast. The stairs, atriums, and chandeliers shed the luxurious finesse of the day, becoming as crude as stone carvings, yet with a wild horror.
Victor gazed at it all, constructing the crime scene in his mind. No evidence, no photos, relying only on a few verbal descriptions made it very challenging. Victor's spatial imagination was not bad. He understood what Shiller said — submerging the body so that certain things could be seen from a higher place. But why?
When dealing with Brainiac, hiding the body would be a better choice. This would delay things long enough for the killer to hide better. Otherwise, Brainiac would quickly initiate a murder investigation, even in weather like this, with the police arriving as planned, leaving the killer little time to escape.
In criminal investigation, deliberately reporting the crime scene to the police is usually for framing someone. The killer is confident that when the police discover the crime scene, they won't consider him the prime suspect, which is why he proactively reports it, even using this method to gain the police's trust. Is it possible this killer thinks the same way?
But as said before, if framing someone, taking the body out and having Brainiac retrieve it for autopsy is the most direct and effective method. Just place some things on the body or leave someone's DNA under his nails, and the suspicion on the other party greatly increases.
"Something's wrong with the body," Victor said, "There must be something on the body that Brainiac can't discover, which is why this method was used. Afraid of Brainiac finding out, but still letting him see it; I just can't figure it out."
Victor took a sip of wine and immediately frowned from the sourness. He glanced at the wine glass. The red wine had been left too long, overly aerated, and the acidity was very heavy, drinking it felt almost like having vinegar. Especially for dry reds, the wine taste and bitterness are already strong, and with the acidity, it's unbearable.
"I'll get some whiskey then," Alberto said, "you guys wait a moment."
Alberto went to prepare the drinks. Victor tossed the question back to Ethan. Ethan suddenly felt that not being able to drink was a good thing, like participating in Russian roulette but his gun had no bullets.
"I think it might be like this," Ethan began to expand his thoughts, "The body might have marks that could help Brainiac identify the killer, so the killer doesn't want Brainiac to recover it, but still wants him to know there's been a murder here, shifting Brainiac's attention so the killer can kill others."
"You're saying this is a serial killing?" Victor's eyes lit up, "This body is just to draw attention, the killer's true target is someone else?"
Ethan wanted to nod but couldn't. He continued, "I think it's very possible. Otherwise, why not let Brainiac recover, yet still make him see."
"What do you think?" Ethan asked Cobblepot again.
"You might feel that way because you don't quite understand Brainiac," Cobblepot said, "Brainiac is different from the human race. His threads are infinite, which means he can do thousands of things simultaneously. Investigating this murder doesn't mean he can't investigate another; they shouldn't interfere with each other."
"I think attracting Brainiac's attention is true, but maybe not to delay the investigation, but to achieve something else," Cobblepot paused, "It's very hard to trip up Brainiac with just any one thing. Regardless of trying to use the murder to delay whatever he's doing, it's unlikely to succeed. It either means the killer is quite foolish, just trying their luck; or, like Dr. Ethan, doesn't know Brainiac well and might be an outsider."
"An outsider?" Tim squinted. He looked at Ethan and asked, "How about your alibi last night?"
"I was home alone, no alibi. But my hometown is too far and I've been here too short a time, with no grudges against anyone here, my motive is insufficient."
"Moreover," Ethan paused before saying, "Arkham Mental Hospital is in a very remote place. As an outsider, how could I precisely calculate the time to find my way there."
"I can vouch for this," Shiller said, "Yesterday evening, Ethan's identification was not yet ready, he didn't have a legal identity in this cosmos, and only got his driver's license and property certificate on the way. Visiting Arkham Mental Hospital requires identification. Last night, Ethan couldn't have gotten in."
"I didn't want to say it," Tim sighed and turned his gaze on Cobblepot, "Mr. Kopot, Brainiac mentioned that you went to Arkham Psychiatric Hospital yesterday afternoon. Can you explain what that was about?"
At this point, Alberto had just returned. He placed the whiskey bottle heavily on the table, looking at Tim, "Don't use that interrogation tone, Mr. Drake. Old Drake wouldn't like you doing this either."
Tim turned his head and stared at him intently. It was obviously a threat. But he also knew that the remnants of the old era had just changed careers, not died. If anyone truly aroused them, not even Brainiac could stop them from going mad. He and his family still had to live in this city, so there was no need to provoke Falcone.
"Sorry," Tim said, "Even if I'm angry, it's directed at you, not Cobblepot. I didn't mention it at first because I felt he wasn't very suspicious."
"I went to visit Edward," Cobblepot said, "He's my friend, and I get along with him well. Recently, his condition has worsened, so I've been going there more frequently."
"Moreover..." Cobblepot suddenly glanced at Shiller before continuing, "I did go to the first floor, but it was for medical reasons. I suspected that my hereditary mental illness might be flaring up, so I went there to see a doctor, but they didn't find anything, so I stayed there a bit longer."
"Had the storm surge already arrived at that time?"
"Not at all. If I had known the storm would come at that time, I might have considered canceling my meeting with Professor Shearer, because it wasn't very safe. In fact, it was also due to poor road conditions during the storm that I went late, as the Professor knows."
Shiller nodded and said, "That's indeed the case. Oswald also mentioned his mental problems. It's just that his family might suffer from pathological schizophrenia, which can't be resolved through psychotherapy, and I don't have any good solutions."
"Could he have acted out during a flare-up?" Ethan asked, "I know some patients with schizophrenia can become aggressive and may also experience memory lapses."
"But when he went for treatment, there were still many people at the hospital," Victor said, "Moreover, schizophrenia doesn't cause an instant flare-up. There are always some warning signs. The doctors and nurses there are professionals. If they noticed any signs of him having an episode, they would have immediately stopped him. It would be difficult for him to hurt anyone in a professional psychiatric hospital."
Ethan sized up Cobblepot, seeming to be assessing him. However, it was clear that Cobblepot was also the kind of office staff. He was tall and thin, with a pale complexion. Even if he had an episode, a few more people would surely be able to hold him down. Besides, he also knew that it's impossible for psychiatric patients to kill precisely. When they have an episode, they can't control themselves, and it's impossible to attack the vital areas so accurately. More often, they injure people rather than kill them.
"To be honest with you, I went yesterday too," Victor continued, "In fact, I was the one who took Oswald to the doctor. I was the first to notice his condition."
The people around looked at him. Victor sighed and said, "In Gotham University's Cryogenic Lab, about two hundred tons of ice used for cryogenic experiments are stored. One day, Oswald suddenly approached me, saying he wanted to use this ice to build an iceberg."
"Although this hobby is a bit unique, it's not incomprehensible. Besides, I couldn't use that much ice immediately, so I let him find someone to transport it away."
"Not long after, I asked him how the iceberg was coming along, but he seemed very puzzled. I initially thought he wanted to keep it a secret and would take me to visit later. But after some time, Brainiac asked me to go and move the ice away and reminded me to pay attention to Oswald's condition."
"I found him and conducted a detailed inquiry, only to find out he had no memory of asking me for the ice. That heap of ice had been left piled up in the underground warehouse, even affecting the temperature of the groundwater, and it was eventually discovered by Brainiac and returned to its original place."
"I then inquired about his recent life situation and found out that his mother's health was not good, and Edward had also relapsed. He was running between two hospitals and a mall every day, extremely exhausted. He thought he was just too tired, but I felt it was very likely that his hereditary mental illness was acting up."
"Although there haven't been symptoms like hallucinations or delusions yet, we can't take it lightly. I persuaded him for a long time before he agreed to go with me to see a doctor. He was worried his mother would find out, so we went secretly, and we didn't register for a consultation; we saw an acquaintance privately."
"What were the results?" Shiller asked.
"It's still uncertain," Victor shook his head and said, "If there are no further symptoms, it's indeed possible that it's temporary memory impairment due to being overly fatigued. Further observation is needed."
"Did you notice anything unusual at the hospital?" Tim asked.
"Actually, I left later than Oswald," Victor provided some surprising information, "Not only did I witness the storm surge, but when the seawater backflowed, I opened a path for everyone in the hospital and led them in evacuation."
Tim couldn't help but cover his forehead. Brainiac has many flaws, but he truly understands the people of Gotham. This whole room of people was indeed the heaviest weight. If this continues, it'll be hard not to believe in artificial intelligence.