Chapter 234 – The Philadelphia Police Department
"If anything unusual happens, press the cross against her forehead," Gideon said as he looked at Judy.
Judy nodded immediately.
After that, Gideon took out various holy relics from his bag and placed them at specific positions around the ward, forming a subtle ritual layout.
"Are you trying to turn my hospital into a place of worship?" Sarah frowned.
"When someone is undergoing professional treatment," Gideon replied calmly,
"basic silence and respect should be observed."
"Does that kind of courtesy really need to be taught?"
Sarah was instantly left speechless.
She was usually the one saying things like that to others.
A sharp sense of embarrassment welled up inside her.
When did I become this narrow-minded… she thought.
They're just religious items placed in a ward.
After completing the preparations, Gideon returned to Willie.
The girl was now completely vacant, showing no reaction to external stimuli.
Everyone present sensed that something was wrong.
Marian's eyes were already red—never before had her daughter remained in this state for so long.
Gideon held the cross suspended in front of Willie. At the same time, the holy power from his eyes projected onto her, erasing the lingering traces of evil on her spirit.
Soon, he noticed something else.
Aside from the two dark handprints on her soul, traces of evil also clung to Willie's physical limbs.
This power was extremely peculiar.
When it came into contact with Gideon's holy energy, it actively weakened itself, blending into the surrounding environment.
If he hadn't examined her inch by inch, it would have been easy to overlook.
Judging from the way this power had moved, it had once controlled Willie's body.
In other words, the girl had already been possessed multiple times.
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
This was a first.
In most of the American Horror cases he knew—and in his own past encounters—evil spirits usually drove their victims to mental collapse before fully possessing them.
"What was this thing trying to do after possessing her?" he wondered.
Meanwhile, under the cleansing effect of the holy power, the remaining traces of evil quickly dissipated.
Gideon then took out the Bible and recited the Requiem passage.
The girl's soul swiftly returned to her body.
Moments later, Willie's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Mom… why are you crying?" she asked in confusion.
"Where am I?"
"Oh! My Willie!" Marian burst into tears and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.
Nearby, Sarah's eyes widened in disbelief.
She hurried to the bedside and, under the pretense of a "re-examination," ran a full set of medical tests again.
The results were identical to before—no abnormalities whatsoever.
Yet Willie had clearly recovered.
Sarah stood frozen.
What she had just witnessed completely shattered her long-held beliefs.
She was forced to accept a truth she had always rejected—
There really were things in this world beyond explanation.
The two security guards at the door looked as though they'd seen a ghost.
Moments ago, they had been eyeing Gideon with suspicion.
Now, only awe remained in their gazes.
Gordon leaned casually against the wall, smiling.
He had seen scenes like this more times than he could count.
Judy lifted her chin toward Sarah with an unmistakable "I told you so" expression.
At that moment, Marian approached Gideon.
"Father… I don't even know how to thank you."
Gideon nodded and asked instead,
"Before coming to the hospital, what did Willie do whenever she entered those abnormal states?"
Marian didn't understand why he was asking, but she thought for a moment and replied,
"Every time she became silent… she would draw. Always alone."
"She's never learned how to draw like that. And every time, she only drew one thing."
"A smiley face."
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of smiley face?"
Marian immediately found some paper and began sketching.
A moment later, a smiling face appeared—eerily similar to the expression Skye wore at the moment of her death.
The difference was that Gideon could sense a faint psychic influence lingering on it.
"Oh, right!" Marian suddenly added.
"Recently, Willie said she wanted to attend another concert. That was during one of her strange phases."
"It was someone named… Gran—something."
"Grande Alina," Willie said softly.
"Yes, that's it," Marian nodded.
At the mention of the concert, Willie's expression dimmed slightly.
"Mom, you forgot. Even though Grande and Skye were friends, I was only Skye's fan."
"I'm sorry… I thought—"
Gideon frowned deeply.
This was new information.
A spirit that, during possession, had gone as far as buying concert tickets.
What exactly was going on?
A faint thread of insight surfaced in his mind—but he needed more evidence.
"Father…" Sarah spoke at last, her voice subdued.
"I apologize for my earlier behavior."
She looked dejected, clearly shaken by the blow she had just suffered.
Gideon was about to speak when a strange glint flashed through his eyes.
He stepped closer to Sarah, narrowing his gaze.
"Y–you… what are you trying to do?" Sarah instinctively covered her chest, her face filled with panic.
The security guards beside her hesitated, unsure whether they should intervene.
"You're contaminated by evil as well," Gideon said calmly.
Sarah froze in shock.
Before she could say anything, Gideon pressed the cross firmly against her forehead.
A wave of dizziness immediately swept over her.
Then, without hesitation, Gideon pried open her mouth and poured an entire vial of holy water down her throat.
A few seconds later, Sarah felt an intense surge of nausea.
She rushed to the trash can.
"Ugh—!"
Because she hadn't eaten anything, she only vomited gastric fluid.
But what horrified her was that the liquid was pitch-black and foul-smelling, like corrosive poison.
"T–this… what is this?!" She panicked completely, her makeup smeared in the process.
"Relax," Gideon said evenly. "You're safe now."
Earlier, when he had examined the psychologist with his Holy Sight, he had noticed abnormalities similar to Willie's.
The corruption on Sarah was deeply concealed.
Almost at the exact moment Sarah expelled the foul substance—
Three kilometers away from the psychiatric hospital, atop a rooftop—
A mass of jet-black shadow trembled violently.
It floated upward along the wall, turning its attention toward the hospital.
Moments later, the shadow vanished, reappearing five kilometers away.
---
Private Hospital
Sarah finally recovered.
She stared at her hands, then at her surroundings.
Everything looked exactly the same as before, yet she felt an unprecedented sense of clarity.
It was as if she had been trapped in a dream all along—and only now had she fully awakened.
Thinking back on the frustrations of her recent life and her earlier confrontation with the priest, Sarah was suddenly certain of one thing—
She would never have behaved that way normally.
"Was I… possessed too?" she asked quietly.
"No," Gideon replied. "You were merely exposed to too many people tainted by evil."
"The concert witnesses?" Sarah immediately understood.
Gideon nodded.
After hesitating for a moment, Sarah spoke again.
"Please wait here."
She left the ward and soon returned holding a data storage drive.
"This contains patient records," she said, handing it to him.
"They're all people who attended that concert."
"Father, I believe this will help you."
Gideon raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse.
"Thank you."
After this brief complication, the three soon took their leave.
---
Philadelphia Police Department
A high-level meeting regarding the concert suicide case was underway.
Commissioner Bowen Strauss sat at the head of the table, his expression grave.
Below him were the backbone elites of the Philadelphia Police Department.
"What's the status of the celebrity case?" Bowen asked coldly.
"Any suspects?"
Silence filled the room.
Bowen's gaze landed on an older officer—Pick.
Pick was set to retire next year. Over the past two years, he had clearly been coasting, treating Bowen's more aggressive orders with indifference.
As the saying went, a new official always wants to light three fires.
Bowen had been itching to do exactly that—and Pick irritated him greatly.
But Pick had survived in the department for decades. He understood the rules perfectly.
His connections with the former commissioner also made Bowen hesitant to act.
This case, however, was different.
The pressure from above was immense.
At last, Bowen had his opportunity.
After a moment, Pick reluctantly stood up.
"Commissioner Bowen… not yet."
Seeing Bowen's expression darken, he hurriedly continued.
"We've canvassed shops near the venue and reviewed all available surveillance footage. No suspicious individuals were found."
"The investigation into the victim's social circle produced similar results."
"Aside from the deceased drug dealer, Louis, no one who recently interacted with Skye displayed abnormal behavior."
Pick glanced up cautiously before voicing his true thought.
"Perhaps… the two of them were high. These kinds of cases aren't uncommon—"
Bang!
Bowen slammed his palm onto the table.
Everyone jumped.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Bowen roared.
"The coroner's report came out today—there were no illegal substances found in Skye's body! Are you trying to turn this department into a public joke?!"
Like a dam breaking, Bowen continued furiously.
"What about the audience?! Why weren't they investigated one by one?!"
Pick lowered his head in silence.
Everyone knew why.
The audience came from all across North America. Investigating each one would take enormous time, with little chance of useful leads.
Worse still, given the current tension between police and civilians, such actions would almost certainly be labeled as "privacy violations."
Cases like this were usually shelved—left to become cold cases years later.
Bowen took a deep breath.
"You should all understand how seriously this case is being taken."
"There's something I haven't told you."
"If we fail to give the public an explanation, all officers with over three years of service will be barred from promotion for the next five years."
"And those close to retirement? Your pensions will be reduced to forty percent."
The room exploded.
Angry protests filled the conference hall.
In America, policing was already a high-risk profession.
Cutting income under these circumstances was devastating.
"Why not just pin it on some terrorist organization?" someone suggested.
"I heard there's a Middle Eastern group called 'Libanta'—"
"Idiot!" Bowen snapped.
"You think the public is stupid? That excuse only works when I'm joking!"
The officer muttered under his breath but said nothing further.
Bowen scanned the room, then suddenly asked, "Where's Gordon? Why isn't he here?"
Someone replied, "I saw him leave earlier… with a priest."
The word priest struck Bowen like a nerve.
He slammed the table again.
"That bastard is openly disobeying orders?! Does he want me to write 'evil spirit' into the official report?!"
"Some departments have been cooperating with the Church recently—" someone tried to interject.
"Shut up!" Bowen barked.
At that very moment, Gordon arrived with Gideon and the others.
Upon learning a meeting was in progress, Gordon's face went pale.
"Uh… maybe you should hide first?" he whispered urgently.
Before Gideon could respond, an officer approached.
"Captain Gordon. Commissioner Bowen requests your presence immediately—along with the priest."
"We're dead…" Gordon groaned, covering his face.
Gideon, however, remained unconcerned.
He didn't work here.
Treating it like free entertainment, he stepped forward first.
---
Conference Room
Gordon lowered his head and explained Gideon's involvement.
The room fell deathly silent.
Then Gideon spoke.
"I understand your skepticism."
He walked to the front.
"In a technologically advanced world, believing in demons and evil spirits isn't easy."
Every officer lifted their head.
Bowen merely frowned, not stopping him.
"I believe in your professionalism. You've done everything conventionally possible."
Several officers shifted uncomfortably.
"So why not try a different approach?" Gideon continued calmly.
"You lose nothing."
"And if this case truly collapses—do you really want to be remembered as having 'not tried hard enough'?"
He laid out the stakes clearly.
"A famous detective once said: when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains—no matter how unbelievable—is the truth."
"And supernatural incidents have occurred more than once."
"So why not use this opportunity to verify something you've always been curious about?"
The room stirred.
Eyes turned toward Bowen.
After a long pause, the commissioner spoke.
"What do you want to do?"
Gideon explained the audience data and his plan.
"You'd better pray this works," Bowen said at last.
He had been persuaded.
The officers were stunned.
Everyone knew Bowen was famously stubborn.
And yet—
The priest had convinced him.
Only Gideon knew the truth.
He hadn't relied on faith.
He'd appealed to interests.
By Bowen's order, all elite officers were temporarily placed under Gideon's coordination.
Gordon printed the audience data from the drive.
The task was simple—
Call every number.
Before that, Gideon handed out a prepared questionnaire.
The officers frowned as they read:
"Have you recently seen any unnatural smiles?"
"Have you engaged in behaviors that don't match your personality, such as compulsive drawing?"
"Have you recently felt an urge to attend another concert—such as Grande Alina's?"
Could questions like these really uncover the truth?
With doubts in mind, the officers began dialing.
Two hours passed.
And the results—
Shocked everyone.