PFC Chapter 2979: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (3)
Chapter 2979: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (3)
Chapter 2979: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (Thirteen)
Night fell outside the window and the atmosphere in the office was not harmonious.
If shutting up and drinking could avoid more awkward conversations, then Schiller had to say that the wine Naya sent did taste good.
He now didn't want to know how he had borrowed Naya's debt in the first place. He had heard similar stories from Lucifer countless times.
Although the name in the story is Schiller, Schiller knows very well that it is not him. But even though it is not him, it is surprising enough that it is Anatoly. He really has no interest in the doctor's glorious "love history", nor does he want to know how he makes these powerful people around him look like a shrew.
Sometimes it's good that the Outer Gods are indescribable. At least Nyarlathotep doesn't talk much.
If he was like Lucifer, muttering to the tombstone all the time, then tonight would be a sleepless night. And as Schiller said, he has faced enough problems recently, and there is really no need to add another one.
The good news is that Brand doesn't seem to want to dwell on this issue. Compared to Lucifer who has always wanted to get his feathers back, Naya seems to have given up hope of getting the debt back.
From the day Schiller met him, he exuded a faint sense of despair, and Schiller wanted to know what the Soviet doctor had done to him.
"We still need to talk about Edward." Brand held the lower half of the red wine glass with both hands and said, "I have been doing pathological research for a long time, and I am not so proficient in those psychological theories. If you think that hypnosis and other methods can help him recover, I have no objection, but if you want to question him when he is awake, he must pass the assessment."
“Whose assessment?”
"Yours, Schiller, have you seen a psychiatrist recently?"
"You mean my psychiatrist?"
"I know you don't have that stuff, you don't even have a license, so you don't have to follow the regulations, but if you want to talk to Edward like a real psychiatrist, you should get a license first and find yourself a psychiatrist. Without the evaluation results, I won't open the door for you."
Schiller pursed his lips. He felt that it would be difficult for him to convince Brand because what Brand said was all true. Schiller had not been practicing for a long time. It was one thing for him to use his psychological knowledge to enlighten his acquaintances, but it was another thing for him to go to a mental hospital and contact a mentally ill patient with a very complicated condition.
The United States has very strict regulations in this regard, and Brand has made an exception for him. According to normal procedures, Schiller must submit a visitor application two months in advance, stating the purpose and process of his visit, and can only see the patient after it has been reviewed and approved.
The psychology profession cannot provide any help. On the contrary, it is likely to make the review more stringent because professionals may use their professional knowledge to undermine the psychological defenses that psychologists have established for patients, or they may use induction and hypnosis to obtain the information they want.
Schiller's reputation will not play a role in this situation. Instead, it may make the hospital more vigilant. Even if they do not refuse for the sake of face, they may only be able to get a 5-10 minute conversation time, and under the observation of another psychologist.
Schiller had already spoken to Edward twice in informal settings, and he knew that if he pushed his luck further, he would be finished with Arkham Asylum.
Schiller didn't want to provoke Edward again. When the conversation started today, Edward was not very stable. Schiller was actually hesitant about whether to end the conversation. Brand's rushing in was expected.
But he really wanted to know about the serial killer principal. Unfortunately, this case was different from the others. It happened a long time ago, and Gotham was very chaotic at that time, which created too many obstacles for the investigation.
"Do you think Edward is the only one who has the clue?" Brand asked.
"His clues are the most direct."
"Then find something less direct. Do you think it is enough to just investigate the official appointment documents?"
"Of course not, but it's too hot," Schiller said with a sigh.
Of course he knew that in order to get to the bottom of the matter, information from official records was important, but those clues that could determine the outcome were often hidden in unknown corners, beneath the surging undercurrents.
The only problem is that this kind of investigation inevitably requires going out, and some processes are difficult to complete in an air-conditioned room, but Schiller doesn't think it is necessary to catch this serial killer by conducting field visits in weather of more than 40 degrees.
"I know what problems you are facing." Brand rested his forearms on his knees. He said, "You have a bunch of problems in front of you, which make your mental state worse and worse. So you choose one to solve, hoping to vent your emotions. However, the temperature in front of you is too high, so you can't even do it. The more idle you are, the worse your mental state will be..."
Schiller took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions and said, "I'll go out tonight."
"Okay, I'll get you the car keys."
Brand put down his glass and stood up. Schiller didn't even have time to look at his back. His mind was full of the information he had investigated during the day. He felt that the problem still lay with that high school.
When he went out again at night, Schiller felt as if he was in another world. He remembered that when he first came here, he also went out with an umbrella on a rainy night and met Batman who had just debuted.
Although it didn't rain tonight, Schiller still took an umbrella, because now the umbrella has become a weapon. Now that he is free from the fog, the umbrella is the best self-defense tool in his hand.
But after all, Gotham is no longer what it used to be. Although there are still occasional robberies, most communities are still safe. Since the music festival, the nightlife has also become much richer. Schiller drove out at 10 o'clock in the evening, and the lights were still on in the streets and alleys.
However, the further we drove, the fewer people there were. By the time we arrived at this remote boarding high school, it was already pitch dark all around.
Schiller first drove around the high school, but found nothing special, so he came to the side door of the high school. The side door was locked with an iron chain, but it was a very bulky iron lock.
Without the gray fog, Schiller could only pick the lock himself. Fortunately, it was not difficult. He could easily open it by inserting a hairpin into the lock core and hooking it. The iron chain could be easily opened by simply wrapping it around a few times.
Don't ask how Schiller did all this, all we can say is that he did a lot when he was 25 years old.
After entering the door, the chain is restored to its original state and the lock is fastened again. Even if he is only in there for a few dozen minutes and has to open it again when he comes back, such details cannot be neglected.
Schiller walked around the teaching building. Except for the lights in some offices, the rest were pitch black. The school gate was locked again. This time it was more troublesome as the lock was not easy to pry open.
However, this school is also old. There was a bathroom window on the first floor whose lock was broken. It opened easily with a push. Schiller climbed in directly and came to the principal's office he had been to during the day.
There was indeed nothing wrong with the principal's office. There was no decoration that could indicate psychopathic traits. To Schiller, the traces of psychopathy were like flames in the dark night, obvious as day.
In other words, psychopaths never choose to hide certain traits of their own, or they only hide them from ordinary people who cannot understand them, but they can't wait to show off in front of their peers. This is an important reason why serial killer clubs can be organized. They yearn to be appreciated, and no matter how hard they try to suppress it, there must always be an outlet for venting.
After checking the principal's office, I went to the teachers' office. After all, Edward was a mental patient, and the wording might be wrong. If he was not the principal, then he might be a teacher.
But there was nothing wrong with the teacher's office. It looked like a very ordinary boarding high school.
But Schiller was not willing to give up. He felt that his intuition was correct, so he went to the school history museum again, and here, Schiller finally found the clue.
The school history museum and art gallery are combined in this school, which is very normal in many schools in the United States. Not only colleges and high schools, but even middle schools and elementary schools have their own school history museums.
The school history was presented in the form of an exhibition. Schiller looked at each area one by one and finally found an old map in the last area.
This was the design drawing when the campus was first planned, but in this drawing, the campus should be much larger than it is now. Schiller took a closer look and found that this school has more than just a high school department.
In the early stages of planning, this school also had an elementary school and a junior high school, located on the hillside behind the high school that Schiller had just seen outside the school. But for some reason, this boarding school now only has a high school.
But combined with other information presented in the school history museum, Schiller felt that the original plan was reasonable because this boarding school itself was a church school.
Many people may think that boarding in high school is normal, but starting elementary school is a bit too early. However, the culture in Europe and the United States is different. Most of the boarding schools here are church schools. Hogwarts in Harry Potter was actually modeled after church boarding schools in Europe and the United States. Boarding from elementary school to high school is the norm here.
Although with the development of the times, many church schools have been transformed into modern boarding schools, and it is not surprising to have a separate boarding high school, but high schools can be reformed, and of course elementary and junior high schools can also be reformed. It would be a bit strange for them to disappear out of thin air.
Was it that the design was not completed at the beginning and only the high school was built among the three schools, or was there an elementary school and a junior high school but they were closed for some reason? We have to go and see the places planned in the design.
After leaving the high school building, Schiller came to the hillside at the back, where there was a forest. The environment looked good, so Schiller climbed all the way to the top of the hillside and looked into the distance. He saw that there was actually an endless forest.
Just as Schiller was recalling the location of this boarding high school, a voice suddenly came from behind Schiller.
"Professor, why are you here?"
Schiller looked back and saw no one, only the shadows of trees swaying in the night.