The night deepened, looking out from the wooden window, one could see a hint of deep blue at the end of the pitch-black night.
Initially, there was no light in the corridor. However, as white snowflakes drifted through the window, the snow cast a moonlight-like glow on the window sill and the wooden floor of the corridor.
A breeze swept through the crack of the corridor window, knocking down a piece of paper stuck on the room door. When it fell to the ground, it read a few words — "Do not disturb".
Through the door, a figure sat by the bed. He had changed into his pajamas, switched off the chandelier on the ceiling and the wall lamps, leaving only a table lamp beside the bed lit.
When the lamp was lit, it cast a conical halo of light on the nearby wall and corner. Everywhere outside this halo of light, there was heavy shadow.
The dim yellow light and the reflection of the falling snowflakes intertwined, just looking at it, one could feel the cold outside and the warmth inside, making sleepiness even more overwhelming.
Shiller packed his glasses into the case. He looked up at the increasing snowfall outside the window and pulled out an umbrella from the shadow under the bed.
He propped the handle of the umbrella on the bedside table. A sliver of light from the table lamp cascaded down the umbrella, illuminating the strange and mysterious patterns on it. The pattern looked somewhat like snake skin, but the curve was much broader. Under the light, it seemed to be slowly changing.
After setting the umbrella, Shiller lied on the bed, pulling the quilt over him. He gradually adjusted his breathing to a slower rate. Just as his consciousness was about to sink into that white expanse of space, suddenly, the floor transmitted a series of urgent sounds, the noise of heels hitting the wooden floor rang in succession.
"Thunk, thunk, thunk..."
The knock on the door came from Shiller's dreams, but it couldn't awaken him immediately.
"Knock knock knock! Knock knock!"
The knocks on the door grew increasingly urgent. Shiller, who had just fallen asleep, slowly opened his eyes. He sat up on the bed and slowly picked up the glasses case, taking out his glasses and putting them on again. Then he heard Kira's voice coming from outside the door.
"Professor Rodriguez! Are you there? Professor Rodriguez! Please wake up! There's been another murder!"
Shiller sat by the bed. He turned his head and looked at the wall clock. It showed 3 in the morning. Only one and a half hours had passed since Kira came to inform him about the death of Lady Davis Schiller.
Shiller stood up. He had no intention of changing into formal wear, instead, he turned around and picked up the umbrella.
He opened the door. Kira's hair was down. She appeared to have been about to go to sleep but was abruptly called back. Kira looked into Shiller's eyes and said:
"Lionel Luther is dead."
Shiller stepped forward as if intending to just walk out, but Kira didn't move aside. Therefore, Shiller didn't leave the room either. Kira looked Shiller up and down, saying, "I'm sorry, but are you going out like this?"
As she spoke, her gaze fell on the umbrella in Shiller's hand.
Kira turned to look at the increasingly heavy snowfall outside the corridor window. She sighed and still made way, following behind Shiller and saying, "Our luck isn't very good, if this blizzard continues, I'm afraid no one will be able to leave this mansion."
"Isn't that what you all want? You gathered everyone here, then cut off the signal, isn't it to detect the spy among us?"
"If it snows nonstop for a month, you'll have a month to complete your task. Don't tell me your detective efficiency is worse than the FBI. Even if the FBI comes here, a month should be enough."
Kira was momentarily speechless, but she still said, "There have been four murders in a matter of hours, the spy's methods are simply too brutal."
"Or perhaps it would be better to say that now that even old Luthor is dead, you can hardly bear this responsibility anymore. If it weren't for this heavy snow, you would probably have lifted the blockade and let everyone leave."
"It's not us who are trapped by this snowstorm, it's you," Shiller concluded.
Shiller was right. The combined influence of all the celebrities on the East Coast was immense. Despite the Central Intelligence Agency being a spy agency with vast power overseas, they also had to face domestic pressure. Now that so many people had died, and even the head of the Luther Group had been murdered, the wave this caused was no less than the previous assassination of the mayoral candidate.
Kira sighed inwardly, all the tactics she had learned to guide a conversation were useless with Shiller. It seemed she could never take the initiative in the conversation. In the time she had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, she had never come across such an opponent.
The two of them crossed the hallway, went down the stairs, and entered the parlor of the mayor's mansion. Shiller looked around the scene in the parlor, then said, "You all are already here, it seems I'm the last one to arrive."
At this point. There were quite a few people in the living room. On the left was Agent Benjamin, on the right were Bruce and Selina. A bit further to the right was the redhead Lex Luther, and in the middle of the parlor laid a corpse, that of Lionel Luther.
The condition of Lionel Luther was tragic. His face was covered in blood, there was a deep bruise on his chin, his forehead appeared to have been hit with a blunt object, and the place where his head touched the ground was all bloody. Fragments of a vase were scattered around his head.
Seeing Shiller in his pajamas, Bruce glanced at him and turned his head away again, as if he didn't want to see the professor at all. His expression didn't escape Benjamin's eyes, but it only made his brow furrow deeper.
"Thank you, Kira. Could you please step outside and ensure this news doesn't get out? We don't want to cause a panic." Benjamin turned to Kira to say this, and although she seemed surprised initially, she complied.
Once she had left, the room was left with five people—Bruce, Lex, Benjamin, Shiller, and Selina. Benjamin was the first to speak. Gazing into Shiller's eyes, he said, "As far as I'm aware, Luther met you in this conference room before his death."
"Officer Benjamin, your lack of professionalism surprises me." Shiller didn't hold back, stepping towards the corpse and resting his umbrella on the floor. He looked at Benjamin and said, "What's crucial isn't whether I met him, but who saw him last."
Benjamin then turned to Bruce. "Mr. Bruce Wayne discovered the crime scene. Let him speak."
Supported by Selina, Bruce appeared to spend considerable effort just to stand. He rubbed his eyes vigorously and, in his intoxicated slur, said, "I had a drink.... Just a bit, felt a little warm inside, so I decided to come out for a breath of fresh air...."
"I stumbled.... I think I threw up, a waiter tried to assist me, but I brushed him off... I didn't want him holding me up, he should keep his distance, err...."
"And then.... I walked, and while walking, I started hearing noise.... Seemed to be coming from behind this door... So, I knocked, but no one responded...."
"I smelt something unusual.... A scent of blood... Don't ask how I could smell it.... I had a drink, but I wasn't that drunk...."
"I pushed the door open and saw Lionel had fallen... It was then I felt, perhaps I was drunk... And, I guess, that carries over to now.... Huhuhuhu.... Err...."
Once Bruce finished speaking, he began vomiting again. Selina, holding his waist, repeatedly patted his back to help him breathe. Shiller looked at Benjamin and said, "Before this, the last person to see Mr. Lionel was you, wasn't it?"
"After Mrs. Davis's body was discovered, Lionel confessed. He admitted to Old Parker and Mayor White's cases, then you took him away."
Benjamin remained silent. Shiller lifted his wrist, glanced at his watch, then knocked on the ground with the tip of his umbrella.
"Lionel was not innocent. He was no saint. In fact, he just killed Mayor White and Old Parker. His death here is just desserts. No one else should have to pay for this."
"It's already quite late, and this is the fourth time I've been roused from my impending sleep by you."
"So, let's skip the suspicion, the evidence, the accusations, and the revelations. Let's just lay out the truth."
Shiller looked around and, noticing the others were still silent, rested his hands on the handle of his umbrella and said, "Okay, I'll start."
"Officer Benjamin, I don't know where you intended to securely detain him. All I know is, your so-called security measures did not work at all."
"Not long after I returned to my room from the washroom, I received a phone call from Lionel asking me to come to the meeting room...."
With Shiller's recounting, the timeline shifted back about an hour and a half.
As soon as Shiller finished speaking, Lionel's face turned pale. After a long time, he covered his chest and began to cough as if he were chocking on rage.
He completely lost the energy to keep up his façade, his sinister gaze firmly locked on Shiller who remained unfazed.
Just as Shiller was about to speak, Benjamin waved his hand towards the door. Two strong agents entered the room.
After Benjamin gave them some instructions, they stepped forward and took Lionel into custody. As Lionel was about to speak, Benjamin said, "Mr. Lionel, it seems like you've confessed to two murders. It is best if you cooperate with our investigation."
Once Benjamin turned his back, Shiller couldn't see his expression, but the ever-watchful Lionel never took his eyes off Shiller.
Only when Lionel was taken away by the agents did Benjamin turn back to Shiller. He said, "Professor Rodriguez, I appreciate your cooperation, your brilliant deductive skills. Now, you can go and rest."
Benjamin sounded complaisant, but there was a rigid and curt tone to his voice devoid of politeness. Shiller didn't pay it any mind; he was only thinking about getting some sleep.
When he got back to his room and was about to change his clothes after loosening his tie, the telephone in his guest room rang.
The Mayor's Mansion wasn't just the Mayor's private residence. Most guests who visit the Mayor or attend certain activities stay here; therefore, there are many guestrooms, each equipped with an internal service telephone.
Shiller picked up the phone, and, unsurprisingly, heard Lionel's repressed voice seething with rage on the other end, "Rodriguez, I await you in the meeting room...."
Before Shiller even had the chance to reply, Lionel coldly said, "I know what you did during the mayoral election two years ago. If you don't want troubles knocking at your door, you better come over...."
Shiller, after putting down the phone, slowly narrowed his eyes.