After listening to Percy's description, Ivan hesitated for a moment, then looked around at the onlookers and asked, "Who was the first to find the body, other than Percy?"
"It's… it's me!" A witch in the crowd stepped forward in alarm, embarrassed by Ivan's stare. "I was supposed to meet a friend here tonight, but I ran into this gentleman…"
"Meeting? With who? And why come to such a remote place?" Yvonne demanded.
"I just…I was passing through," the witch stammered.
"I hope you will be honest with me, madam!" Ivan's face fell. Minister Igor had died in a secret passage in the corner of the third floor, where no one would normally pass by.
When the witch was at a loss, a middle-aged wizard stepped forward and said angrily, "That's enough. I asked her to come. We're going to meet here and talk. What's wrong? This is a private matter. It has nothing to do with this case!"
Ivan's gaze immediately went to the middle-aged wizard, who, judging from his face and the emotional fluctuations detected by Legilimency, was probably telling the truth.
It did not take long for one of the assembled wizards to identify the middle-aged wizard as a member of the North American Magical Congress.
Crucially, they had the impression that this high-ranking MP had a family, and now he was meeting a young witch from another country in such a secretive place. It was easy to guess that they were here for an affair.
Unable to bear the gossip, the witch pointed at Percy and said, "A few minutes ago, when I first got here, I saw Mr. Percy crouched over the body. It looked like he was destroying it…"
As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Percy. Compared to the sparse and common gossip of a high-ranking member having an affair, it was more important to catch the criminal.
Before Connor and the others could question him, Percy explained how he had panicked when he saw Minister Igor lying on the ground, and how he had crouched down to check if he was still alive.
"I know that's all there is to it… I really didn't do it. I had nothing to do with Minister Igor's death!"
Percy spoke urgently, but then he remembered that the Aurors had detected traces of the Death Curse on his wand, and his tone changed. "Perhaps someone knocked me out and used my wand to kill Minister Igor, or…the Imperius Curse. Yes, I may have been possessed by the Imperius Curse…"
"Who can prove it?" the Russian wizard snapped, cutting off Percy's attempt to defend himself. "It's just your word against his. Who knows if you're lying and trying to get away with it? We all know the Imperius Curse can't be detected…"
As he spoke, the Russian wizard was so agitated that he wanted to punch Percy in the face. However, just as he was about to hit Percy, his body suddenly went limp, as if he had no bones. He could only fall to the ground under the pressure of gravity, and the two of them rolled around.
The unexpected turn of events startled the assembled wizards, who almost thought it was another attack.
Conner seemed to have guessed something and immediately turned to look at Ivan. In his knowledge, the only other person who could instantly subdue an adult wizard without casting a spell was Ivan Hals, a genius from Britain.
"Who… who did this?" The Russian wizard's face was scarlet. He tried to get up from the ground, but his arms and legs were too weak to move.
"Sir, I understand how you feel, but please calm down. Anger will not solve anything!" Ivan lowered his raised hand and looked at the wizards who were glaring at him.
"I don't know much about Minister Igor, but from Director Conal's description, he must have been quite a wizard. Killing him quietly would have been difficult."
"There is only one wizard that I know of who could and would have reason to do such a thing," Ivan added.
"You mean…" Conal frowned.
"Gellert Grindelwald!" Ivan said slowly. "Don't forget that the purpose of this meeting was to fight him together, and he had every reason to kill Minister Igor and blame it on Percy, to start a fight between us…"
"That's impossible! We've tested every wizard who's ever been in Congress. There's no way he could have slipped in!" Conal retorted, shaking his head.
Grindelwald had tricked them decades ago, and they were not going to go easy on him.
In fact, the entrance to MACUSA was protected by a very well-concealed protective charm, and if anyone attempted to mix Polyjuice Potion, Animagus, or any other transfiguration spell, they would be revealed the moment they entered.
"Are you sure it's foolproof?" Yvonne asked. "What if someone else got in? Like…a fireplace?"
"If you can think of it, then we can naturally think of it as well. All the fireplaces in Congress have been closed early, and there is no way to perform spatial magic here! In other words, the only way anyone can get in and out is through that door!" Wilkinson replied in a low voice.
"What about the Aurors and Goblins that were originally in Congress?" Ivan asked suddenly.
The Aurors in charge of maintaining order looked offended, and one of them, who was the leader of the group, said unhappily, "Are you suspecting us?"
"I'm just saying it's a possibility," Ivan said noncommittally.
Wilkinson glanced at Minister Igor, who was lying on the floor, and then at the agitated Russian wizards. "I'll get to the bottom of this!"
Ivan nodded and was about to say something else when the crowd parted and several wizards in fancy dress hurried over to Igor's body. After a moment's discussion, they waved their wands and chanted in unison.
"Scenario re-enactment!"