"What's wrong?" Victor turned back to look at Shiller, who had stopped walking.
Shiller seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Nothing, let's go."
The two of them drove all the way to the Gotham Police Department. The police station looked the same as ever; its gunmetal gray exterior took on a bleak white under the streetlights. The ground at the entrance was muddy from the constant foot traffic. As they walked in, they stomped their feet on the entrance mat.
"You're here." Gordon walked out and said, "Any new clues, Detective?"
"You know I don't need clues." Shiller walked past him towards the interrogation room. Gordon turned, watching his back, and shook his head, saying, "Is it right for him to be more familiar here than I am? Turns out it's Rodriguez, then never mind."
"Seems like you think highly of him," Victor said.
"He once reached the pinnacle, but now he's declined a bit," Gordon sighed, "As long as I don't find out the killer's profile might be a Spiritual Ability User, I'll be thankful."
Shiller stepped into the interrogation room. It was his first time meeting Milo: a big guy with very short hair, some Latin features on his face, but blonde hair and eyebrows. His arms were covered in tattoos, and he had a nose ring and lip piercings, looking quite intimidating.
"What did you say to him?" Shiller looked at him and asked.
Milo looked up at him, sized Shiller up with some confusion, and then said, "Are you a professor from the Psychology department?"
"Yes. I'm asking you, what did you say to Chick."
Milo chuckled disdainfully, "The police can't handle me, so they expect you to guess something with psychology? Brainiac wouldn't accept such evidence."
"That's right, he wouldn't." Shiller didn't argue, he said, "So I'm actually not asking you, I'm just here to tell you that I know what you said to Chick, which led to his suicide, but that's not important."
Milo stared at him, and Shiller lowered his gaze and said, "Did you know Fanny is dead?"
"Who's Fanny?" Milo asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Pelota's roommate," Shiller continued, "She died on Jenna's bed. You must have heard of Jenna, right?"
"Of course, the hottest girl in the dorm," Milo chuckled, "I originally wanted Pelota to get her to hang out, but that chick was a bit off, I didn't get the chance."
"Pelota killed her," Shiller said, "but he plans to pin it on you. If I'm not wrong, he's already next door in the interrogation room, describing how you mistook Fanny for Jenna and stabbed her to death."
Milo's expression changed, and he said, "You think you can trick me. Pelota wouldn't do that."
"Because Chick's death is also related to him, right? You think both of you can't detach yourselves from this, so you would keep silent. However, he's been prepared for this for a long time. After committing the Fanny case, he also plans to frame you for it. Only he can get out of here smoothly."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Milo looked away.
"Then let me tell you in detail about this case," Shiller said, "In our previous reasoning, because Jenna went out at midnight, around the time of Chick's death, she could have been a powerful disruptor of some alibis. The killer wanted to kill her to silence her, but Fanny was lying on her bed, so she unfortunately took the fall."
"So what? I didn't kill her, you have no evidence."
"If you didn't kill her, then who did?"
Milo frowned. Shiller continued, "You should have heard about Pelota wanting to change departments. Fanny was his competitor. Killing her and framing you was the best choice."
"Impossible, I am her boyfriend. Why would he frame me?"
"If she truly cared for you, she wouldn't have coaxed you into persuading Chick to commit suicide. Now, aren't you in trouble?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Milo slammed the table, "Whether it's Chick or whatever Fanny's death, you have no evidence to prove I did it. Deriving one case I didn't do from another I didn't do, what's the point?"
Shiller walked up to him, lowered his head, and then said, "I'm not a police officer, I'm not responsible for finding evidence. I'm not reasoning, I'm just hoping you think about the facts you know, and whether your girlfriend can really not betray you."
He straightened up, then said, "This is an important decision about your life. Brainiac hasn't abolished the death penalty."
After saying that, he turned and left. Gordon looked at him, and Shiller nodded lightly. Gordon let out a long sigh and said to his subordinates, "Keep an eye on him for the next few hours. If he calls for someone, go over immediately."
Victor, standing outside, also heard what Shiller said. As Shiller walked out, he followed and asked, "Is it true that Fanny wasn't killed by Milo, but by Pelota?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "I've told you, I'm not a detective. I don't rely on deduction to reconstruct cases. It's impressive to deduce the truth, but if you can induce the suspects to turn against each other and make them confess directly, doesn't that also achieve the goal?"
"... That really is your style." Victor couldn't help but nod, "Do you think they will confess?"
"They will." Shiller said confidently, "Pelota is a person with too many flaws. He thinks he's very smart and can toy with everyone, but he's not very clever. He messes up often, but due to various reasons, people around him don't directly expose him, leading him to believe he's smooth sailing, getting more and more complacent."
"Lots of people come to mind."
As Shiller walked up the stairs, he said, "Most people don't bother with her because they know she's hard to deal with. Even if you expose her, she won't admit her mistakes, but will just throw a tantrum. So few people are willing to waste time with her. But when it comes to matters of life and death, no one will indulge her."
"Especially since Milos is no gentleman. For him to break up with Chick at that time and pin the blame on you proves he's a treacherous and selfish person. Being with Pelota isn't because he's unaware of her true nature; he just enjoys her beauty and passion. At critical moments, he won't make the wrong choice."
"But I still want to know who killed Fanny." Victor sighed and said.
"Why not try deducing it yourself?"
"But all my deductions about Chick were wrong."
"It's not your fault." Shiller said, "If it were in the last era, the case might indeed develop as you said. But now, aside from a few remaining graduate students, you can't even find someone at Gotham University who can tie a proper hangman's knot. You can't expect these people to craft a sophisticated delayed mechanism that can strangle someone while also fabricating an alibi. They're not that capable."
"Also, in the previous era, there wouldn't be people like Chick. Simply because of a breakup and parents being called, they end up in a mental breakdown. Back then, an ordinary person with angst would attack anything but themselves. They wouldn't attempt suicide again because of a few provocative words from a jerk, and this time actually hang themselves."
"Wait, you said attempt?"
"Yes, Chick didn't intend to commit suicide." Shiller said, "Before meeting Milos, I couldn't be sure about this. But after meeting him, I knew he didn't have the skill to verbally drive someone to despair and make them hang themselves."
"Then Chick..."
"Same old tricks." Shiller said standing at the chief's office door, "This also explains why he chose such a bizarre way of hanging himself. After all, I had previously told him how to properly hang himself."
Victor was a bit confused. Shiller continued to explain: "If he really followed what I said, found a non-rolling rope, wrapped it several times around the beam and his neck, and tied a sturdier knot, he indeed could silently hang himself. But I told you, he didn't want to die. So, he came up with such a posture."
"The shared villa only has three floors. Even if he broke through the neighbor's obstruction to reach the roof terrace, the height wouldn't kill him from a fall. The second floor where he lives is even less likely. So jumping off to create a big scene wouldn't work."
"Then why didn't he choose to hang himself in the house?" Victor asked.
"Then why do you think he didn't hang himself in the dorm, but ran to the lab?"
"Because there are more people there?"
"To be precise, it's because there are more people who can influence you. His goal was to use this method to pin the blame on you, so he had to cause a scene in front of people who could affect you. His roommates were spread across different departments and didn't have any influence. But the students and teachers in the lab are close to you, allowing them to exert enough external moral pressure on you to force you into compromise."
"I understand now." Victor said, "Hanging in the house, his mother might have just saved him directly. But in that case, it wouldn't make waves. If he hanged outside the house, got seen and saved, people would criticize his mother. That's the effect he wanted."
"Exactly. Chick knew there were many people and prying eyes in the shared villa, and many people would be getting off night shifts at that time. When he clung to the rope and sat on the window sill, he'd quickly be noticed. People would save him and then criticize his mother. His purpose would be achieved."
"But then how did he end up hanging himself?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "I've said, I'm not a detective. I can only reconstruct the scenario as much as possible from psychology and motive, but I can't delve into every detail. That requires deduction from behavioral science..."
They walked into the chief's office, and then Gordon came in as well. He placed a photo on the table and said, "Milos and Pelota have both confessed. The suspicion of direct murder in the Chick case is basically ruled out, and it's suspected to be an induced suicide, but an accident occurred in the middle."
Shiller went over to check the photo, and after looking at it, his expression became somewhat understanding. Victor glanced at the photo Shiller was pressing on. The photo was of the window, the one where Chick hanged himself.
"Where's the problem?" Victor asked.
Shiller gently pointed to the area below the curtain rod. Victor looked over but didn't see anything unusual. Shiller said, "Remember the window we saw on the first floor?"
Victor's mind immediately flashed to that window. He said, "Honestly, I don't think that window can even serve its purpose as a window. Those random objects blocked it completely."
"Exactly. That's where the problem lies." Shiller said, "Chick needed someone outside to see him. If there were too many things hanging on the window, he'd just be seen as a dried salt fish, and how could he perform a suicide?"