Chapter 426: Metropolis Doubts (10) (Patreon)

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As the night grew deeper, looking out from the wooden window, one could see the dark blue color at the end of the night, shrouded in darkness.

At first, there was no light in the corridor, but as the white snowflakes drifted in from outside the window, the snow on the windowsill and the wooden floor of the corridor spread out like moonlight.

A gust of wind blew in through the crack in the window of the corridor, blowing off the pieces of paper stuck on the door. When the paper fell to the ground, there were a few words written on it - "Do Not Disturb."

Passing through the door, a figure sat on the edge of the bed. He had changed into his pajamas and turned off the chandelier on the ceiling and the wall lamp in the guest room, leaving only the desk lamp on the bedside table still on.

When the desk lamp was turned on, it projected a cone-shaped halo on the wall and corner closest to it. Everywhere else was thick with shadows.

The dim yellow light and the reflection of the snowflakes dancing intertwined, just looking at it made one feel the cold outside and the warmth inside, making one even more drowsy.

Schiller put his glasses in the glasses case and looked up at the snow outside, which was getting heavier. He took out an umbrella from under the bed.

He placed the handle of the umbrella on the bedside table, and the light from the desk lamp poured down along the umbrella's shaft. When it shone on the umbrella's surface, it reflected the strange and mysterious patterns on it, which looked like snake skin, but with even greater curving arcs. In the light, it seemed to be slowly changing.

After putting away the umbrella, Schiller lay down on the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, gradually adjusted his breathing, and lowered his frequency. Just as his consciousness was about to sink into that white space, suddenly, a series of urgent noises came from the ground, and the sound of heels stepping on the wooden floor continued.

"Dong, dong, dong..."

The knocking sound came from Schiller's dream, but it did not immediately awaken him.

"Dong, dong, dong, dong! Dong, dong!"

The knocking sound became more and more urgent, and Schiller, who had just fallen asleep, slowly opened his eyes. He slowly sat up on the bed, picked up the glasses case, and put on his glasses again. At this moment, he heard Kayla's voice coming from outside the door.

"Professor Rodriguez! Are you there? Professor Rodriguez! There's another emergency!"

Schiller sat on the edge of the bed. He turned his head and looked at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was 3 a.m. Since Kayla had informed Schiller that Mrs. Davis had died, only an hour and a half had passed.

Schiller stood up, but instead of changing into formal wear, he turned around and picked up the umbrella.

He opened the door, and Kayla's hair was down. She looked like she had been planning to go to bed, but was suddenly called up again. Kayla looked into Schiller's eyes and said, "Lionel Luthor is dead."

Schiller took a step forward, as if he was going to leave like this, but Kayla didn't move aside, so Schiller didn't go out either. Kayla looked up and down at Schiller and said, "I'm sorry, but are you really going out like this?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the umbrella in Schiller's hand.

Kayla turned her head and looked at the snowflakes outside the corridor window, sighed, and made way for Schiller. She followed behind him and said, "Our luck isn't very good. If the blizzard continues, I'm afraid no one can leave this manor."

"This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it? You gathered everyone here and cut off the signal just to find the spy among us, right?"

"If the heavy snow had lasted for a month, you would have had a month to complete this task. Don't tell me your investigative efficiency is worse than the FBI's. Even if the FBI came here, a month would have been enough."

Kayla was taken aback but still said, "Within a few hours, there have been four consecutive emergencies. The methods of this spy are incredibly cruel."

"Or should I say, now that even old Luthor is dead, you're almost unable to bear this responsibility. If it weren't for this blizzard, you might have lifted the lockdown and let everyone leave."

"It's not us who are trapped by this blizzard, it's you," Schiller concluded.

Schiller was correct. The combined power of all the celebrities on the East Coast was significant. Although the Central Intelligence Agency had great influence as a spy institution overseas, it also faced domestic pressure. With so many deaths, including the murder of the head of the Luthor Group, the turmoil caused was no less than the assassination of the mayoral candidate before.

Kayla sighed inwardly. The techniques of guided conversation she had learned were completely useless with Schiller. It seemed she would never gain the upper hand in the conversation. In her time working for the Central Intelligence Agency, she had never encountered such an opponent.

The two of them walked through the corridor, descended the staircase, and entered the reception room of the mayor's mansion. Schiller glanced around the room and said, "You're all here. It seems I'm the last one."

At this moment, there were quite a few people in the living room. Benjamin, the head agent, stood on the left side, Bruce and Selena on the right, Lex Luthor, slightly to the right in front, and in the center of the room lay a corpse, Lionel Luthor.

Lionel Luthor's condition was miserable. His face was covered in blood, there was a deep bruise on his chin, his forehead seemed to have been struck by a blunt object, and there were bloodstains where his head had made contact with the ground. There were also fragments of vases scattered around his head.

Upon seeing Schiller in his pajamas, Bruce glanced at him and then turned away, as if he didn't want to see the professor at all. Benjamin noticed the expression on Bruce's face, which didn't escape his scrutiny and only deepened his frown.

"Thank you, Kayla. Please maintain order outside and ensure that this information doesn't leak out. Otherwise, it could cause panic," Benjamin said, turning his head to Kayla. Kayla seemed somewhat surprised by this command, but after a moment of hesitation, she complied.

Once she left, there were only five people left in the room: Bruce, Lex, Benjamin, Schiller, and Selena. Benjamin was the first to speak. He stared into Schiller's eyes and said, "As far as I know, Lionel met with you in this meeting room before his death."

"Officer Benjamin, your lack of professionalism surprises me," Schiller replied without hesitation. He walked to the front of the corpse, propped the umbrella on the ground, and looked at Benjamin. "The important question is not whether I met him, but who was the last person to see him."

Benjamin turned his head and looked at Bruce. He said, "Mr. Bruce Wayne was the one who discovered the scene. Let him explain."

Bruce, supported by Selena, looked exhausted. Just standing upright seemed to require a great deal of effort. He rubbed his eyes forcefully and, with a slurred voice from excessive drinking, said, "I had a bit to drink... just a little. I felt hot inside the house, so I wanted to go out and get some fresh air..."

"As I was walking... I think I vomited. A waiter came to help me, but I pushed him away... I didn't want him to capture me. He should stay away from me, cough... cough..."

"So... I kept walking forward. As I was walking, I heard some noise. It seemed like there was some movement behind this door, so I knocked, but no one responded..."

"I smelled a strange odor, like the smell of blood. Don't ask me how I could smell it; I only had a little to drink, but I wasn't really drunk..."

"I pushed the door open and saw Lionel lying here. At that moment, I realized that I might be drunk. And now too... hehehehe... cough, cough..."

After finishing his words, Bruce started to retch again. Selena supported his waist and continuously patted his back to help him breathe. Schiller looked at Benjamin and said, "Before this, the last person to see Mr. Lionel should have been you, right?"

"After Mrs. Davis' body was found, Lionel acknowledged everything. He acknowledged that he was behind the incidents involving Old Parker and Mayor White, and you took him away."

Benjamin remained silent. Schiller raised his wrist and looked at his watch, then tapped the ground with the tip of his umbrella and said, "Lionel wasn't innocent. He wasn't a good person, and he just killed Mayor White and Old Parker. He died here, and it can only be said that he got what he deserved. No one needs to pay an extra price for this."

"It's already very late, and this is the fourth time you've woken me up from my bed. So, let's skip the process of suspicion, evidence, accusation, and exposure and just speak the truth."

Schiller looked around and found that the others were still silent. He put his hands on the handle of the umbrella and said, "Well, I'll start."

"Officer Benjamin, I don't know where you took him to be properly guarded, but I do know that your so-called proper measures didn't work."

"After I came out of the bathroom and returned to my room, not long after, I received a call from Lionel. He asked me to go to the reception room..."

As Schiller spoke, the time went back about an hour and a half.

After Schiller's words that directly hit Lionel's heart, Lionel's face turned pale. It took a long time before he coughed, covering his chest, like a person whose rage had been provoked.

He had completely lost his disguise and stared at Schiller with a sinister eye contact, but Schiller was not moved at all.

Just as Schiller was about to speak, Benjamin waved his hand outside the door, and two burly agents walked in.

After giving them some instructions, they approached Lionel and handcuffed him. Just as Lionel was about to speak, Benjamin said, "Mr. Lionel, it seems that you have acknowledged that you committed two murders. It's best to cooperate with our investigation."

After Benjamin turned around, Schiller couldn't see his expression, but Lionel kept staring at him.

It wasn't until Lionel was taken away by the agents that Benjamin turned around and said to Schiller, "Professor Rodriguez, thank you for your cooperation, brilliant reasoning and investigation. Now, you can go back and rest."

It sounded like a compliment, but there was no polite tone or courtesy. It was stiff and rigid, but Schiller didn't care. He just wanted to go upstairs and sleep.

Just as he returned to his bedroom and was about to take off his tie and change clothes, the telephone in the guest room rang.

The mayor's mansion was not just the mayor's private residence. Most of the guests who came to visit the mayor or attend certain events would stay here, so there were many guest rooms, each with an internal service telephone.

Schiller picked up the telephone, and unsurprisingly, he heard Lionel's suppressed angry voice on the other end, "Rodriguez, I'm waiting for you in the reception room..."

Before Schiller could answer, Lionel said in a cold tone, "I know what you did in the mayor's election two years ago. If you don't want trouble to find you, it's best to come over..."

Schiller put down the telephone and slowly narrowed his eyes.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 427: Metropolis Doubt (11)