Shearer stood there, the conspicuous pause in his motion made everyone in the theatre almost hear the words — "So I'll leave?"
Hal couldn't help but burst out laughing, he slapped his knee and said with a chuckle: "Shearer has nowhere to sit!"
"This is the first time I've encountered this. Does this Lincoln March intend for his coat to provide counselling? If he expects the same warmth from Shearer as his coat, he's expecting too much."
"It is rather awkward." Barry turned his head away. He was just about to bury his head in the sand yet couldn't help but take a sly glance at the screen, curiously asking, "So what should Shearer do? Where is he supposed to sit?"
In the screen, the professor moved around the back of the chair that March was sitting in, gently patted the back of it, then headed for the stairs, saying, "Mr. March, let's go to the second floor. The view is better up there, suitable for treating a distinguished guest like you."
March turned his head to look at him, but before he could stand up, Shearer had already ascended the stairs. Being in front, Shearer got to sit in the seat by the window on the second floor first.
"A perfect solution." Diana couldn't help but admire: "Although I don't know much about this professor, having only heard brief mentions from Bruce, there's no doubt that he's a gentleman."
"In high society, it's common for newcomers to occupy the wrong seats. Usually, people subtly remind them, but switching positions under the gaze of others is still somewhat embarrassing, as it means admitting your mistake."
"Though every newcomer has such a day, I indeed prefer this professor's way of handling things. Have the person step out, leave the seat vacant for the right person, the newcomer upon re-entry will realize their mistake, but sitting in a new seat as though they are a guest just arriving is less awkward."
"I dare say this is just the beginning." Constantine warned while leisurely leaning against his chair, laughing as he spoke: "Let's see if the professor can keep up his grace."
Diana and Bruce both turned their eyes to the screen; as celebrities who've had similar real-life experiences, they could tell, March would repeat his foolishness, and they were curious, how would the professor resolve one awkward situation after another?
Truth be told, such a situation is rare, from the perspective of those who knew Shearer better, he rarely had to tolerate others. He would often equally despise everyone around him. Sometimes, people are dismissed from his office for their mistakes even before they could make them.
The reason Shearer was tolerating March's brash behavior on his turf was simply because the Batman from this universe added quite a bit of pressure. There's no Batman in their universe, a scene like this, missed once, wouldn't appear for another hundred years.
Not until March sat across from him did Shearer stand up again. From the low cabinet in the second-floor reception area, he took out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.
When Shearer reseated himself, March gave him a small smile, Shearer stood beside his own chair, leaning forward slightly, placing one of the glasses in front of March. Because he is closer, he could clearly see the expression on March's face.
"Lincoln March's expression has changed." Jason's voice drops to a low register, but it's firm: "He's slightly more at ease. Why?"
Bruce immediately turned his attention to Jason, he blinked rapidly, clearly admiring, then he responded in the same low tone: "There are two whiskey glass marks on the table, more importantly, the red wine stains that Shearer had splashed previously are still there."
"Didn't Professor Shearer tidy up the room beforehand?" asked Clark.
"Shearer left it there on purpose." Bruce replied: "After examining the corpse, Shearer knew that this clumsy murderer would come to find him."
"The killer doesn't know who Shiller is, and might just assume that Shiller is a common man or a forensic expert. He believes he can deceive Shiller; he enjoys the thrill and pleasure of swaggering in front of important police figures."
"Shiller is acutely aware of this psychology, so he knew he would come, which is why he cleaned every other table, except the one that was sullied during his conversation with Batman."
"Shiller intentionally left traces for the killer to see," Bruce said, pondering and deducing. "The aim was to make the killer think that he had a conversation with someone here that started amiably, even with wine, but ended up in a dispute, with the wine spilled during the argument."
"What's the purpose of leaving such implications?" Barry asked.
Bruce merely remained silent, staring at the screen, knowing that Shiller's next move would reveal this.
"I believe that you are really lucky," Shiller unbuttoned his suit as he sat down, "Mr. March, I don't like people dropping by without warning, not because I hate the noise, but because I'm quite busy. Unannounced visitors might interrupt a conversation I'm having with another guest, disturbing us and wasting their own time."
"Oh, so I'm lucky?" March glanced again at the stains on the table, "You didn't have any guests?"
"No, I did have one, we just ended our conversation early and left. Otherwise, due to the professional ethics of psychologists, I would have had to turn you away."
"I know, being a psychologist is a tough job. A lot of patients lack boundaries, but you can only endure and unpleasant conversations can ruin one's mood. Money can't heal these wounds," March said earnestly.
"That's not a good sign." Constantine suddenly spoke, "He's trying to resonate with Shiller, trying to make Shiller believe that there's someone who understands him, and thereby disclose secrets to him."
"A colossal misjudgment." Bruce's wording was more radical, "Anyone with some common sense wouldn't use this trick on a psychologist, because psychologists had heard this countless times. It's practically etched in their bones."
Barry gently furrowed his eyebrows, recalling, "That seems right. Before I was deployed outside, I also had a psychological evaluation. The first thing that the psychologist said was 'I know your job is tough, you're under a lot of pressure'."
"It's just the prelude to getting someone to open up. The way to do it is simple and it doesn't require actual empathy. You just need to state the case worse than it is."
"Actually, I'm puzzled about a question." Diana's eyebrows grew increasingly furrowed, "I'm not a detective. I'm not good at deducing, but I have a bit understanding about the complex etiquette of high society, and the rest is based on intuition. Don't you guys think that something's off about this March?"
"We've all noticed his weirdness, ma'am," said Constantine.
"No, I'm not referring to his posturing of politeness despite his ignorance. I've seen this posture on many fraudsters who want to blend into high society. It's not surprising at all. What I find strange is that March is not entirely clueless."
"He has some understanding, but it's not comprehensive, or it's like someone has drilled theories into him, but he has never practiced them, resulting in a sense of awkwardness between thought and action."
"And such awkwardness is more pronounced against the backdrop of Shiller's fluid behaviors and manners."
Hearing Diana's somewhat puzzled tone, Bruce slowly narrowed his eyes. Clearly, he was onto something.