Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6246: Chicago Stories (15)

No doubt, many people are watching Brian. Besides the police and his family, there are many other forces that may be the families of accomplices or those who want to do something with this case. Brian is under more stringent protection, with someone on duty even at night.

Bruce exerted some effort to place the miniature camera that Stark brought in a suitable position, right under the night security’s nose. He didn’t dare to place it too close, otherwise, it would be inconvenient to view the photos, and the angle wasn’t very good, it could only capture one corner of the room, but that was already good enough.

The day after placement, it captured something useful. Bruce discovered someone visiting Brian, neither family nor police, but a mysterious special visitor.

The individual happened to sit out of the camera’s range, or maybe intentionally avoided the spot visible from the window. Since it’s not a video, Brian’s lip movements can’t be seen, only his expression vaguely visible. He appeared somewhat anxious.

It’s not hard to see he seemed to be imploring the visitor to do something. Bruce suspected the individual might be a wealthy person with power and influence, but soon Brian’s family arrived. From their stance and posture, they didn’t show much respect towards the mysterious visitor and quickly sent him away.

Then Brian collapsed again. He started smashing things and even attacking people. Helplessly, the doctor tied him up again and gave him a sedative shot.

Bruce wanted to eavesdrop too, but limitations of the era meant no miniature real-time eavesdropping device could be made. To eavesdrop one had to use wiring, and a recording device placed there couldn’t work for long periods, plus the sound quality might be mediocre, possibly recording unclearly.

But Bruce was eager to know what Brian talked about with that mysterious person and who that person was. Yet he knew he couldn’t rush, the police still had one last procedure to carry out.

After staying in the hospital for another day, as expected, more police arrived, but this time a very strong male officer whose attitude wasn’t good. First, he reprimanded Bruce, accused him of attending the party, then warned him not to reveal anything about the party, not even mention attending it, and explicitly prohibited to accept any interviews if journalists asked, otherwise his academic status would be revoked.

No matter what he said, Bruce just nodded in agreement. Because he knew this was the last procedure, and once this hurdle was cleared, students without significant suspicion would be released.

Given such a big incident, the school and police are under immense pressure. They couldn’t detain the students indefinitely, even under the guise of alcohol intoxication or physical exams, couldn’t keep them in the hospital for too long. Now was the time to release them.

Bruce naturally didn’t hold much suspicion. Firstly, he hailed from out of town, just arrived in Chicago shortly ago, holding no grudges against anyone here, lacking motive for committing a crime. Secondly, he could be said to be penniless, lacking resources for crime commission.

The crucial point was during the party everyone drank heavily, and when Brian called people to the basement, everyone was already dead drunk, completely unaware of who precisely went down.

When the police interrogated them, they only roughly knew about this step, but everyone was too intoxicated, how could they know specifically who was there. Those who knew the specifics might already be dead, naturally unaware of what Bruce did downstairs.

Even if not everyone downstairs died, there might be Brian and other survivors, they spoke of Bruce shooting, but it happened to prove he wasn’t the killer. As he appeared simultaneously with Pink Rabbit, he couldn’t be Pink Rabbit.

A group of young students intoxicated playing Russian roulette, isn’t particularly surprising. The peculiar part is firing five shots without dying, but it could be explained as a stroke of luck, or perhaps said that the group also drank and mistakenly hallucinated.

His presence upstairs can be easily explained as not having a conflict with Brian? Grabbing keys to leave the room felt more like a petulant act, lacking evidence of intent.

In this era without surveillance, such matters can be argued.

In summary, after police inspection, Bruce’s suspicion wasn’t significant, released among the first batch. Bruce sighed in relief, leaving the hospital he could do what he wanted. But of course, back at school, he was called to the administrative building for a good cautionary talk, which Bruce agreed to.

Despite their efforts to cover up, this matter couldn’t possibly be kept under wraps. One or two deaths might be explained as alcohol poisoning or an accidental lake fall. Three or four deaths could barely be justified as food poisoning. Even a dozen deaths could be disguised as an experimental accident, as long as someone could be scapegoated.

However, death and bloodshed are different. A dozen people massacred in a small room would be extremely tragic, undoubtedly a monumental case, beyond anyone’s suppression. This wasn’t a matter for state police, surely reported to the FBI, FBI agents would soon be in place. So the police told him further questioning would occur, because the FBI’s arrival meant further inquiry.

But Bruce could utilize this interim for his own affairs, like finding out who that mysterious visitor was who visited Brian, and linking the instances of anomalies occurring on both Brian and the visitor.

Bruce didn’t go to the hospital for a stakeout because if they had a car, they’d leave directly from the underground garage, making it difficult for him to spot them. Entering the hospital was even less feasible, as it was heavily guarded and easy to expose himself.

However, Bruce came up with a good plan. He focused on Brian’s family. The car they drove was one of those security vehicles, which looked quite low-key on the surface but was still markedly different from ordinary cars, making it easy to identify and thus easier to track.

Although Bruce didn’t have a car himself, as long as he stayed around the hospital, he could watch the movements of Brian’s family’s luxury car, including when it arrived, when it left, and which direction it was headed.

Staying around the hospital was also safe because there were journalists everywhere in the vicinity, hundreds of them, swarming around with long and short guns. Bruce casually grabbed a notebook and blended in with the journalists, allowing him to keep an eye on the car and gather some information.

While mingling there, Bruce didn’t encounter the Mysterious Man but did run into a familiar face.

That day, two police cars came over, but they were clearly distinguishable from the Chicago Police Department’s cars, evidently belonging to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When the journalists saw the FBI cars arrive, they surged forward even more frantically. At that moment, a bulky figure emerged from the car behind belonging to the Chicago Police Department.

Holding his coffee, Bruce blended into the crowd, showing little interest in the FBI agents emerging from the police car. His gaze skipped over the crowd and fell on the burly figure.

As the officer turned his head, Bruce’s grip on his coffee cup tightened. The Arkham Batman had indeed followed them here.

Arkham Batman was a game character whose appearance differed slightly from the traditional Batman. Moreover, he didn’t seem much younger, appearing quite different from Bruce, ensuring no one would think they were twins.

Bruce quickly withdrew his gaze, not wanting to be discovered by the Arkham Batman at this moment. He quietly moved to the back of the crowd. Fortunately, the journalists were too many and too frenetic for any police to escape their encirclement. Arkham Batman was also too occupied to notice him, so he had no choice but to enter the hospital along with the crowd.

He must be targeting Brian, Bruce thought. Arkham Batman must have seen the guest list from the party and noticed his name. But now he certainly didn’t have time for a personal vendetta, as the carnage and old cases uncovered from the secret chamber were far more important than their grievances.

Leaving aside the carnage, the fact that Brotherhood activities claim several lives annually yet continue carries significant weight for Batman. Other Batmans might cautiously investigate to avoid startling the snake, but Arkham Batman’s style is direct action, and no matter how wealthy or influential the culprit is, they stand no chance of escaping justice once caught.

At this moment, Brian’s parents’ car also emerged. Although the journalists wished to approach, they knew these cars wouldn’t stop and could only take pictures from behind the car’s windows. But Bruce noticed that the car was heading away from the city center, turning off the street as if headed toward the University of Chicago.

Bruce initially thought they might be going to talk with the trustees, but he quickly realized that if they were going to discuss with the school, it shouldn’t be at the school; instead, someone from the school should come out to talk.

With so many people watching the University of Chicago now, their car appearing openly at the university would suggest they were colluding. Even if the public didn’t understand, their competitors watching certainly would, and they wouldn’t make such a foolish move.

So why go to the school? There must be a specific purpose.

Bruce, not wasting any more time, hailed a cab and headed back to the school as quickly as possible. Fortunately, due to the busy hospital area, taxis frequent the area, otherwise, he might have missed the chance.

Upon returning to the school, Bruce couldn’t spot the car, so he quickly asked around. However, a few classmates he asked couldn’t distinguish security vehicles or knew where the car went. Luckily, a fashionably dressed girl mentioned that a black car headed towards the chapel.

Many renowned American universities have chapels on campus that are not actually for worship but serve as large event centers for various activities. The one at the University of Chicago is the Rockefeller Chapel, funded and built by Rockefeller, housing the world’s second-largest carillon in its tower.

Bruce ran over there and found it was already cordoned off. However, there were a few journalists at the entrance, and he quickly posed as a curious student and asked, “Why isn’t it open for entry?”

“Ha, some people are pretending to be kind-hearted,” one journalist replied disdainfully, “claiming they are praying for the students who tragically died in the accident, but the killer might be their son. They’re just here to take photos for show.”

Something wasn’t right, and Bruce’s mind raced. It would make sense for Brian’s guilt to be formally recognized and for them to put on a show here, but now no formal announcement had been made. Coming to pray would only increase suspicion about them, so they must have another purpose for coming to the chapel.