Night had fallen outside the window, and the atmosphere in the office was anything but warm.
If keeping quiet and drinking could avoid more awkward conversations, Shiller had to admit, the liquor Nyarlathotep had sent over was indeed quite good.
He had no interest in knowing how he had initially incurred Nyarlathotep's debt, having heard countless similar stories from Lucifer already.
Although the name Shiller appeared in the stories, he was well aware that it wasn't him. Yet the fact that it was Anatoli was startling enough. He truly had no interest in the "glorious" romantic history of this doctor or in knowing how he had managed to make these powerful beings act like spurned lovers.
Sometimes, it was beneficial for an Outer God to be indescribable, at least Nyarlathotep spoke less.
If he were like Lucifer, who idly spoke to tombstones about the past, then tonight would definitely be a sleepless one. And as Shiller said, he already had enough problems recently, he really didn't need another one.
The good news was that Brand didn't seem interested in dwelling on the issue, unlike Lucifer, who always wanted his feathers back. Nyarlathotep seemed to have no hope of recovering the account.
From the day Shiller met him, a faint sense of despair had been evident about him. Shiller was curious about what that Soviet doctor had done to him.
"We need to talk about Edward again," Brand said while holding the lower half of his wine glass, "I have been doing pathological research for a long time and am not so well-versed in these psychological theories. If you think that using hypnosis and other methods could help his condition recover, I have no objections, but if you want to question him while he's awake, it must be through an assessment.
"Whose assessment?"
"Yours, Shiller. Have you seen a psychiatrist recently?"
"You mean my psychiatrist?"
"I know you don't have one, you don't even have a license, so naturally you don't need to follow regulations. But if you want to talk to Edward like a real psychiatrist would, you should go get a license first, then find a psychiatrist for yourself. Without assessment results, I won't let you in."
Shiller pursed his lips, feeling it difficult to persuade Brand since what Brand said was all true. Shiller had not practiced for a long time; using his knowledge of psychology to guide acquaintances was one thing, but it was another thing entirely to go into an insane asylum to interact with a psychologically complex patient.
America was very strict about these matters. Brand had already made an exception for him. Normally, Shiller would have had to submit a visitor application two months in advance, explaining the purpose and process of his visit, and only after being approved could he see the patient.
A degree in psychology could not help; on the contrary, it might make the vetting process stricter because a professional could potentially use their knowledge to manipulate patients' psychological defenses or use inducement and hypnosis to extract the information they wanted.
Shiller's reputation wouldn't help in this situation but might instead cause the authorities to be more vigilant. Even out of respect, they might not refuse, but he might only get a 5-10 minute conversation, supervised by another psychiatrist.
Shiller had already spoken informally with Edward twice. He knew if he overstepped, he wouldn't be able to stay at Arkham Insane Asylum any longer.
Shiller also didn't want to agitate Edward further. From the beginning of their conversation today, Edward had been quite unstable, and Shiller had even hesitated whether to end the conversation. Brand barging in was expected.
But he did want to know about the serial killer principal. Unfortunately, this case was different from the others, older, and Gotham from that era was quite chaotic, which caused too many obstacles in the investigation.
"Do you think Edward is the only one who has a clue?" Brand asked.
"His clues are the most direct."
"Then go find the less direct ones. Do you think just investigating the official appointment documents is enough?"
"Of course not, but it's too hot," Shiller sighed.
He knew well that to find out the truth, information from official records was important, but the clues that could definitively resolve issues often hid in lesser-known corners, beneath the currents of surging tides.
The only problem was that such investigations inevitably required going outside, and some processes were hard to complete in an air-conditioned room. But to conduct field visits in weather over 40 degrees Celsius, Shiller felt it wasn't very necessary to catch this serial killer.
"I know what your problem is," Brand said, resting his forearms on his knees. "A pile of problems in front of you is making your psychological state increasingly worse, so you pick one to solve, hoping to vent your emotions. But the high temperature stands in your way, preventing even that. The more you idle, the worse your psychological state becomes..."
Shiller took a deep breath, composed his emotions, and said, "I'll go out tonight."
"Alright, I'll get your car keys."
Brand set down his glass and stood up, and Shiller didn't even have time to look at his back, his mind was filled with the information he had acquired during the day's investigation; he felt the problem still lay with the high school.
When he ventured out again in the evening, Shiller felt as if he was living a different life; he remembered his first arrival here, also on a rainy night, carrying an umbrella, encountering the then-new Batman.
Though it was not raining tonight, Shiller still took an umbrella because it had now become a weapon. Without the Gray mist, the umbrella was his best tool for self-defense.
But after all, Gotham was no longer what it once was. Although there were occasional robberies, most communities remained safe, and since the music festival, nightlife had flourished. Shiller drove out at ten in the evening, and the streets were still bright with lights.
However, the farther he drove, the sparser the population became. By the time he reached the secluded boarding high school, it was pitch dark all around.
Shiller first drove around the high school without noticing anything special. So he went to the side gate of the high school, which was locked with a chain but used a heavy padlock.
Without the Gray mist, Shiller had to pick the lock himself. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult—a bobby pin inserted to hook the lock core easily opened it, and the chain was simply wrapped a few times and easily undone.
Don't ask how Shiller knew all this; suffice it to say he had done a lot when he was 25.
After entering, he restored the chain to its original state, relocking it even though he would only be in for a few minutes and would have to unlock it again upon his return. He couldn't neglect such details.
Shiller walked around the academic building; other than a few office lights, everything else was dark. The school's main gate was locked again, which was more troublesome to pick.
But the school was old, and the lock on one of the ground-floor restroom windows had broken. It opened with a push, and Shiller climbed directly through it into the principal's office he had visited during the day.
The principal's office indeed had no issues, nothing that revealed traits of a psychological disorder. To Shiller, markers of such disorders were like flames in the night, overtly evident.
Or rather, those with psychological disorders never choose to hide some of their traits, or they hide them only from ordinary people who cannot understand, while they prefer to show off in front of their peers, a major reason why the Serial Killer Club could organize; they crave admiration, and despite their efforts to restrain themselves, they always needed an outlet.
After checking the principal's office, Shiller moved to the teachers' offices. Edward was, after all, a psychiatric patient, and his words might have been inaccurate. If not the principal, it could be a teacher.
But the teachers' offices also showed no issues; this looked like a very ordinary boarding high school.
But Shiller was not satisfied. He trusted his instincts and decided to check the school history museum. Here, he finally discovered a clue.
This school's history museum and art gallery were combined, a common arrangement in many American schools, not just universities and high schools but even middle and elementary schools have their own historical archives.
The school history was displayed in exhibition form. Shiller looked through each section and ultimately, in the last area, he found an old map.
It was the original plan of the campus, but according to this document, the school campus should have been much larger. On closer inspection, Shiller realized that this school had more than just a high school section.
In its initial planning, the school also included an elementary and a middle school, situated up the hill behind the high school section Shiller had seen earlier outside, but for unknown reasons, now the boarding school only had a high school.
Combining other information presented in the school history museum, Shiller felt that the initial plan was logical, especially since the boarding school was a Church school originally.
Many might think that boarding in high school is normal, but elementary boarding might seem too early. However, culture in Europe and America is different. Most of their boarding schools are Church schools. Hogwarts in Harry Potter is actually modeled after Europe and America's Church boarding schools. Here, it's normal to board from elementary through high school.
Although with the advancement of the era, many Church schools have also been modernized into boarding schools, having a standalone boarding high school is not strange, but if the high school can be reformed, surely the elementary and middle schools could have been as well, their complete disappearance is indeed strange.
It remained to be determined whether the original plans were never completed and only the high school was built, or if the elementary and middle schools were once operational but closed for some reason. Shiller needed to check the place planned in the original design.
Leaving the high school building, Shiller headed to the hillside behind. It was a forested area with a good environment. Shiller climbed to the top of the hill, looking out at a vast expanse of continuous Forest.
While Shiller was recalling the location of this boarding high school, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Professor, what are you doing here?"
Shiller turned around, saw no one, only saw tree shadows flickering under the night sky.