Ch.55 Murder in Rainy Night

Late autumn in Gotham, the rain is falling lightly, a dull yellow fog floating under the street lamps. A cold glow of cars lights spread gradually from the corner, illuminating the end of a dark alley.

Neon light shine colorfully on a black car.It pulls up and the driver steps out, holding a black umbrella as he walks towards the rear door.

Waiters in white shirts and champagne waistcoats quickly arrive and lay a carpet beneath the car door.One leather shoe lands on the carpet. Schiller steps out and makes his way towards the entrance.

As he straightens up, he notices a guest ahead of him throwing a large umbrella to a thin umbrella boy. The umbrella is dripping with water, completely soaking the young boy. The servers beside the entrance whisper and mock him.

Schiller takes the umbrella and continues towards the entrance. A blond manager comes out and greets him hospitably, "Professor Rodriguez, the Godfather is waiting for you."

As soon as he finishes speaking, Evans descends the staircase and warmly embraces Schiller. Evans thanks him for coming to his coming of age celebration and apologizes for the trouble caused.

"It's nothing, happy birthday," Schiller replies.

While they are conversing, Schiller catches a glimpse of the umbrella boy struggling to close the huge umbrella. The boy appears to be around the same age as Evans but smaller in stature. He has a hooked nose and a somewhat insidious gaze that makes him appear unflattering. He's struggling to fold up the huge umbrella, but because he is very thin and weak, his movements looked almost comical.

Schiller also observes that the boy's cufflinks are closed meticulously, more like those of an invited guest than a servant.

Seeing that Schiller is still carrying his umbrella, Evans becomes slightly unhappy and looks at the umbrella boy. The perceptive manager walks up and pats the boy on the back of his head,than order someone else to take the massive umbrella.

Schiller's umbrella is already closed, so he holds the middle part of the umbrella and hands the handle to the umbrella boy. The boy glances up at Schiller with cloudy eyes, then lowers his head meekly and accepts the umbrella.

This small incident doesn't affect Evans' birthday party. Surprisingly, Bruce Wayne is also in attendance.

After all,they are classmates and belong to Gotham's upper-class society.

Schiller holds a glass of wine and chats club matters with Evans. Soon, Evans is called away by his father, and Bruce approaches Schiller.

"Professor, would you like eat something first?" Bruce asks.

Schiller shakes his head , "Last time,you said that you wanted to become the head of a club? It's quite rare."

Just as Bruce is about to respond, Schiller continues, "Based on the quality of the papers you submitted, I doubt if you are suited for studying psychology."

"Come on, you know why I did it," Bruce retorts.

"But that's not a reason to sting my eyes with a bunch of academic garbage."

"Alright, how much would it take to slightly sway your academic principles? Would 200 million dollars be enough?"

Schiller curses silently in his heart, but he persists, "I suggest you find another disguise. Can you truly handle constantly mingling with dandies?"

"I use ginger instead of alcoholic drinks. And those powders that ignite are just spices," Bruce explains.

Schiller remains silent, simply glancing at the side of Bruce's waist. Bruce concedes, "Fine, that is indeed a problem."

Just then, the lights in the center of the banquet hall turn on one by one. Falcone, accompanied by Evans, descends from the central staircase.

This is an important part of the coming-of-age ceremony, where elders introduce their children to their social circles, announcing that they can now participate in social activities formally and shoulder the responsibility of inheriting the family business.

Schiller, along with other elders, offers encouragement to Evans. Finally, Evans himself speaks. He devoutly makes the sign of the cross on his chest and thanks God.

While Evans gives his speech, Schiller finds, from the corner of his eye, a small figure hiding in the shadows of the heavy curtains to his right.

However, the figure disappears once the crowd gathers in the center disperses.

What follows is the normal dance and banquet. The light are so bright,during which there is tinkle of cocktails.In the splendid banquet hall,people are engaged in conversations with various thoughts in their minds.

Similar to the way Schiller is treated in S.H.I.E.L.D., few approach him to initiate a conversation. Everyone is aware of his astonishing background. No one wishes to linger too long in the presence of someone who can potentially uncover their deepest secrets.

After a while, as the banquet comes to an end, Schiller begins to feel hungry. He decides to go to the nearby refreshment table to grab a bite. At that moment, he hears some noise behind the staircase to his right. Shortly after, a lady in an exquisite gown rushes out screaming, "Edward senior!!! He collapses in the washroom!"

The guests around hurriedly disperse. Franco, with a calm voice, manages to stabilize everyone, "Stay calm. Andy, go to see what happened."

One of the men standing next to the Godfather obeys the order and walks away. Soon, he returns and whispers a few words into Franco's ear. Franco's gaze sweeps across everyone present. Intimidated by his presence, not a single person dares to speak.

Franco speaks sternly, "Edward senior is dead, and he dies during my son's coming-of-age ceremony."

The grand banquet hall, filled with hundreds of people, falls into a silence as if nothing exists anymore, not even a sound of a breath. Everyone ponders over who has the audacity to cause trouble in the Godfather's territory.

Franco holds his cane and says, "Where is Edward junior? Bring him to me. His uncle dies here, and he should pay a visit."

"And, go to the police station and have them send somebody to investigate. Evans, help me entertain guests, make sure they don't feel neglected."

Afterward, Franco gives his assistant, Andy, a glance, then turns and leaves.

Bruce stands beside Schiller and asks, "You also see it , don't you?"

"Yes, but it has nothing to do with me."

Bruce says, "It seems like Edward junior wins. The docks are gonna become chaotic."

"You think it is Edward junior who does it?"

"He would be the one to benefit the most, wouldn't he?"

Schiller shakes his head, "I believe the Edward family is the biggest loser. With the death of Edward senior, everyone will suspect his nephew. And It happens during the godfather's son's coming-of-age ceremony.It wouldn't be excessive for the Godfather to seek revenge on the Edward family after something like this ."

"Do you think Franco stage it?"

"He is smarter than you can imagine."

Bruce turns to look. The once abustle banquet hall is now completely deserted. Most people have left, afraid to spend one more second in front of the provoked Godfather, fearing they might be implicated. The leftovers from the feast remain under the illuminating lights, appearing even more desolate.

When Schiller decides to leave, the assistant by the Godfather's side returns his umbrella. Andy apologizes, "I'm sorry, Professor. The Godfather asks me to apologize on his behalf. None of us expects such an incident to occur at the first event you are invited to attend."

"Yes, none of us expects it."

Schiller looks down at his umbrella. All the water droplets on it dry up. He stands under the porch, gazing at the entrance to the mansion. A group of people is carrying a box, containing the body of Edward senior.

They loads the box into the car. Based on the direction, his body will be thrown into the sea.

Schiller lingers at the doorway for a while. Soon, police lights flicker in the rainy night as a police car arrives. Gotham is indeed like this, they won't wait for the police when it comes to dealing with a body.

Gordon arrives at a crime scene where there are no traces of either the victim or the killer, not even a drop of blood remains. However, he is accustomed to such situations and calmly directs the few policemen under his command as they wander around the washroom.

As for himself, he doesn't investigate or take notes. Instead, he follows others to meet Franco.

The investigation results don't depend on what happens in the washroom or what the police can find out. It solely relies on one person's attitude, the host of the banquet, Franco.

That's Gotham is. When a gang member kills another gang member, the police are in a predicament. Gordon deeply understands this. In Gotham, being a police officer requires much more mental strength than investigative skills.

After a while, Evans walks out carrying an umbrella. He hurriedly approaches Schiller and says, "Professor, I hear from others that you don't leave yet. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, nothing in particular. You know, I am quite interested in these cases."

Evans displays a somewhat awkward expression and says, "Um... it's just a minor case, not a serial murder case. But if you're interested, you can go in and take a look."

Schiller shakes his head, but he hands his umbrella to Evans, "Give this to the Godfather for me."

Evans takes the umbrella, feeling a little perplexed.

After Schiller leaves, Franco receives the black umbrella from Evans, next to him. He smiles, "It seems he will be your longest-serving family tutor."

Inside the car on the way back, Schiller listens to the rain tapping on the window. He recalls the thin and coward umbrella boy. And the guest who enters before him and mock the umbrella boy by a massive umbrella is none other than Edward senior.

As soon as Schiller arrives at his apartment, he hears some movement on the balcony. Batman is standing there, and Schiller doesn't turn around. Batman says, "I'm going to investigate Edward senior's case."

"Why? Are gang fights within your jurisdiction?"

"He used to be the head of Park Street."

Schiller doesn't ask any further questions, but Batman continues, "He knows who killed my parents."