In a room at the Gotham Grand Theatre, opposite Schiller, sat a frowning theater owner. He introduced himself:
"I am Andover, the owner of the Angelica Theater Company. Angelica is the name of my great-grandmother. My grandfather founded a theater group with this name. At the beginning, we were just a small theater group, but when it came to my father's
For a generation, the Angelica Troupe has become famous far and wide.”
"I have taken over this troupe for more than 20 years. We have traveled all over the East Coast and even some western cities, but there has never been such a dangerous situation..."
The owner of the troupe sighed deeply and said: "A few days before the start of the play, one of the leading actors passed away. This is not a good sign. We have distributed the play sheets all over the city. If we postpone the show now..."
Schiller put his hands on the table, intertwined his fingers, looked at the theater owner and said, "I'm sorry, but can I ask what made you decide to come to Gotham to perform?"
"This was my grandfather's dream. He wanted the theater company he founded to conquer the entire East Coast, and the only other city on the East Coast was Gotham. We needed to put on a perfect show here, but who knew
…”
Schiller nodded, but that's how the city of Gotham is. The more you don't want something to happen, the more it will come true.
"Let's talk about the deceased. I've heard something about Miss Vicky. Does she have any enemies in the troupe? In other words, who does she have a closer relationship with?"
The theater owner rubbed his hands in embarrassment. Schiller further said: "Now that the person is dead, no matter what kind of relationship the deceased had before his death, it is meaningless now. Even if there is any secret, there is no need for you to cover it for her."
It’s been kept secret.”
The owner of the troupe hesitated for a moment, then said: "Vicky is very popular and has no enemies. Many actresses in the troupe like her very much, and the male actors are impressed by her beauty and acting skills."
"As for the intimate relationship...well, as the outside world has speculated, she and Alex are actually a couple, but they have been unwilling to make this relationship public. Many people in the troupe don't know it, but I bumped into it by chance.
Once, I promised to keep it a secret for them..."
Schiller nodded while recording, and asked: "So, what about those people who are not from the troupe?"
"Oh, that's right." The troupe owner replied: "In the circle of the East Coast Theater Company, the troupe accepts backstage visits before the performance starts. People who are interested in the play can come backstage to meet the actors first.
"
“When they see the actors and the props and scenery backstage, they may go back and talk to their friends or relatives about it, stimulating other people’s interest in the show. This is a way for the theater company to sell tickets.
.”
The owner of the theater company said bluntly: "Just yesterday, Mrs. Goethe called the theater company. She said that she was an avid theater lover and hoped to visit the backstage today and meet the leading actors. I agreed."
"But I didn't expect that she brought many people, including her daughter, a shipping businessman named Werther, Werther's son, and the fat Leon. Although I don't like so many people entering the background, but
I still received her politely, after all, Mrs. Goethe is still very influential."
"Really? What kind of business does she do?" Schiller asked.
At this time, Gordon, who was standing aside, said: "The Goethe family also came from the shipping business. However, after Mrs. Goethe took over, they began to get involved in the shipbuilding industry. In Gotham, apart from the Wayne family, they own two shipyards.
Besides, there is the Goethe family."
"So, what is the relationship between Mrs. Goethe and Mr. Werther?" Schiller asked.
Gordon turned over the record sheet in his hand and said: "According to the previous interrogation, Miss Goethe and Little Werther are lovers. This time, Werther came to Gotham from other cities to examine the strength of the Goethe family."
"In general, the Witte family may be a big customer of the Goethe family's shipbuilding industry, because his shipping business requires a steady stream of cargo ships. Mr. Witte and Mrs. Goethe both know this, so there is a marriage between the two families.
tendency."
Schiller nodded, indicating that he understood the situation. Then he stood up and said, "Let's go see the crime scene."
The theater owner was taken away by another police officer for questioning.
Gordon and Schiller were walking towards the room where Miss Vicki died, and at this moment, they heard footsteps coming from behind.
Schiller turned around and saw the police officer leading Bruce up the stairs. He said, "You're back so soon? Aren't you going to rest a little longer?"
Bruce shook his head. His expression returned to normal and was no longer as dull as before. Although he was still a little tired, his energy was much better.
"What does Selena want from you?" Schiller asked as the three of them walked towards the room.
"Dick wanted to go home from school, but because Alfred and I were away, the phone at Wayne Manor couldn't be reached, so his teacher called Selina and she took Dick back."
"I thought it was something big." Gordon said as he opened the door to the room, "It turns out it's just that you forgot to pick up the child from school."
The three of them walked into the room. Vicky's body had been sent away. Gordon stood next to the human figure and said that in about ten minutes, the preliminary results of the forensic examination will be sent. Before that, we can investigate first.
Check out the scene.
Before Vicki's body was taken away, Schiller had already stepped forward to check the wound.
There was nothing special about the deceased's wounds. The left chest was penetrated by a sharp weapon, his heart was broken, and he was killed by one blow. Apart from that, there were no other wounds on his body.
Schiller turned to look at Bruce and said, "What did you see at that time?"
"I'm standing downstairs..." Bruce walked to the window, pointed to the corner downstairs on the left, and said, "That's right there."
"When I looked up, I happened to see a figure. She tapped the glass twice and then fell down. I saw her hands leaving blood stains on the glass."
"I wanted to save people, so I climbed up directly from the drainage pipe. When I came up, I found that the balcony window was locked, so I pulled the window hard twice."
Bruce opened the window and jumped onto the balcony, simulating the action at that time. However, because the lock of the window had been broken by him, there was no loud noise, but both Schiller and Gordon understood what he was doing.
"When I first came up, my eyes couldn't adapt to the bright lights in the room. When I looked directly at the scene in the room, I vaguely saw a black figure. When I pulled the window to make a sound, he ran away in panic.
.”
Schiller narrowed his eyes and asked: "Black shadow? Didn't you see his physical features at all?"
"I was not in good condition at the time." Bruce paused and said, "So I didn't look carefully."
Schiller and Gordon looked at each other. It was the first time they heard the words "not in good condition" from Batman's mouth.
Generally speaking, Batman will keep silent about his current state. Even if he is injured, bleeding, or even incapacitated, you can only hear a series of countermeasures from his mouth.
"According to what you said, Miss Vicky was still able to run before she died, and even had the energy to slap the glass. This is not an action that a person with a broken heart can make." Schiller found something suspicious.
"The severe pain caused by this kind of fatal penetrating injury will immediately make people lose their ability to resist. Not to mention a daily pampered actress like Miss Vicky, even an adult agent who has received professional training is very likely to suffer from this
He was injured and lost the ability to move."
Gordon touched his chin and said: "In other words, Miss Vicky's injuries may not have been that serious when she patted the window. Could it be that someone caused secondary injuries?"
"It's not impossible. Don't forget, the deceased suffered a penetrating injury, and penetrating injuries are the wounds most likely to cause secondary injuries."
Gordon frowned. He didn't realize what Schiller was referring to for a moment, but then, Schiller raised his umbrella and pointed it at Gordon.
Instantly, the lights in the room dimmed, and the ground where Gordon and Schiller were turned turned into a disk. The disk rotated 60 degrees. Gordon came to the window, and Schiller was facing him.
The umbrella in Schiller's hand shed its cover and ribs and turned into a sharp long sword. Schiller held the hilt of the sword, stepped forward, and pierced Gordon's chest with the sword.
Gordon immediately took two steps back and instinctively covered his chest. His hands were covered with blood. He felt severe pain and faced
A vicious murderer, Gordon instinctively wanted to escape.
However, the murderer happened to be blocking the path between him and the door, so he staggered around, came to the window, slapped the window, and wanted to ask for help, leaving blood stains on the glass with his hands.
At this time, Schiller leaned forward again, grabbed Gordon's shoulder, turned him around, grabbed the hilt of the sword that was pierced into his chest, and pulled out the long sword that was pierced into his chest.
In an instant, blood spattered. Gordon covered his chest, struggled and fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then died completely.
With a "swish" sound, the lights came back on. Gordon looked around and found that he fell right on the pattern of corpses.
Gordon got up from the ground, stood there thinking, and said:
"The murderer stabbed Ms. Vicky's chest with a sharp weapon. At this time, her important organs may have been pierced. However, due to the special nature of the penetrating injury, as long as the murder weapon is not moved, the blood will not burst out so quickly, so it is still
Have certain mobility."
"Because she couldn't run out of the door, she might have wanted to jump out of the window, or she might have wanted to bang on the window for help."
"When she came to the window, the murderer caught up with her, pulled Miss Vicky away from the window, and then pulled out the sharp weapon that penetrated her body."
"Due to the way the force was exerted, Miss Vicky was pulled to the left side by the murderer, took two steps back, and fell to the place where she died."
Schiller and Bruce both nodded, acknowledging what Gordon said about the death process. At this time, Schiller turned to look at Bruce and said, "Did you only see Miss Vicky at the window?"
"Yes, when she slapped the window, I immediately came downstairs, then found the drainage pipe on the east side of the building, and then started climbing. If someone really pulled the deceased away from the window, then
It's possible he did it while I was climbing."
At this time, a police officer knocked on the door and left. He came in and said to Gordon: "Boss, the medical examiner's autopsy report is out!"
Gordon hurriedly stepped forward and took the information in his hand. After scanning it, he found the most important piece of information. He took the information and showed it to Schiller:
"According to the analysis of the wound condition, the murder weapon was stabbed from behind?"