Chapter 156: Party and Umbrella (III)

"So now, Mr. Cobblepot, are you willing to cooperate with my treatment?"

In the ward of Arkham Asylum, Shiler moved a chair and sat down next to Cobblepot's hospital bed. Cobblepot was still staring at the ceiling, but he nodded imperceptibly.

"Alright, first question: was killing Old Edward your first time killing someone?"

In an instant, Cobblepot's arm with the splint stiffened. His hand trembled, then clenched. He turned his head to look at Shiler, no longer able to remain silent. He said, "How did you know?"

"You answer my question first."

Cobblepot's Adam's apple moved up and down, as if he wanted to spit out an answer, but in the end, he still didn't speak, instead nodding.

"It was the Old Godfather who told you to do it, right?"

Cobblepot didn't answer. He just said, "I swear before God, I will never reveal any..."

"Alright, then you don't have to say it. I'll say it."

"The Old Godfather needed an excuse to make things difficult for Little Edward, so he had you kill Old Edward and frame his nephew."

"Committing murder at the Godfather's son's coming-of-age ceremony—afterward, no matter how the Godfather dealt with the Edward family, no one would have any objections."

"No one would have thought that a small, thin umbrella boy, bullied by colleagues and teased by guests, would actually be the killer entrusted with a heavy responsibility by the Old Godfather."

"If that really was your first time killing someone, I can only say that you have quite a talent in this regard. You cleaned up very cleanly in the washroom, and the escape route was also designed excellently; you didn't run into any guests..."

Cobblepot turned his head to stare at Shiler. He seemed stunned by Shiler's evaluation. Regardless, a normal person shouldn't look at this matter from this angle.

"Alright, that's all in the past." Shiler flipped the medical record to the next page and said, "Explain what happened recently."

"I advise you to be honest, because I'm not a policeman. The police might not be able to do much to you because you're a minor and a mental patient."

"But I'm different. Currently, I should be the only one in all of Cat Getan willing to treat this kind of mental illness and have the confidence to cure it. If you don't say anything, I won't save a bed for you."

Cobblepot's mouth turned down, looking very vicious, and also having a maturity not belonging to his age.

Then he opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, his tone low: "I am indeed the Godfather's man. I don't know why he took a fancy to me at a glance, but I work for him, and I also killed Old Edward for him."

"You should have guessed what I want to know..." Shiler said without looking up.

"He sent me to the Slab to watch everyone there. He doesn't trust anyone there. Every corner of Cat Getan should be ruled by Falcone..."

"So, I went to the largest gang there, the Mooney Gang, and became Fish Mooney's subordinate..."

"She didn't care about me, and even hated me very much, but at that time she was still sober. I was just not valued, but that didn't matter; I was already used to it..."

Cobblepot's tone was somewhat numb. It could be seen that some words he wanted to express couldn't be said smoothly. The effect of the sedative drugs hadn't completely faded, so his narration was intermittent.

"Later, I went to Kevin's subordinates. This was a betrayal to Fish, but I had to do it. Kevin gave me what I wanted..."

Cobblepot's lips trembled, as if he were about to fall into an excited state again. He said, "I kept climbing up there, from a small worker who only knew technology to the person in charge of purchasing for a restaurant..."

*Jian Lai*

His tone became longing, as if he were sketching a dreamlike picture. Cobblepot continued, "That restaurant was the kind in my dreams, big and luxurious. Gang bosses came and went, and they were all very polite to the restaurant owner..."

"I knew what I wanted. Yes... that was it..."

"Calm down, keep going." Shiler's voice broke Cobblepot's fantasy, stopping him from becoming further manic.

Cobblepot swallowed, making a dry panting sound, and then said, "There, I was appreciated and transferred to be in charge of the tap water system..."

"My colleagues were all a bunch of idiots, but that didn't matter; this was exactly what I wanted. I really climbed step by step, even becoming a small leader..."

"This feeling was too wonderful..." The blood vessels on Cobblepot's neck became prominent, and he began to tremble all over again. He said, "It's so good... I started ordering others around, directing work, victory in hand..."

Soon, he stopped neurotically again, returned to a stiff state, and then said viciously, "So... I want more power! A bigger territory! No one can stop me!"

"Kevin... oh... right, his name is Black Hand Kevin, a resounding name. He was the first person to block my path..." Cobblepot's tone returned to low.

"After I mastered the entire North District's tap water system, he felt that I would threaten his position."

"Indeed, that idiot didn't understand anything. Following him would only lead to hunger, but following me was different. Many people in the gang saw this point, and they began to support me. That idiot's position was shaken..."

"... It couldn't go on like this. I knew, I knew..." Cobblepot said almost word by word, "I had to kill him and then obtain his position..."

"I went back to find Fish. I knelt at her feet, crying and telling her that it was Kevin who forced me. As long as she was willing to help me kill Kevin and help me obtain the position, I could use my knowledge and ability to help her drive all these outsiders away..."

"To make her trust me, I began to provide her with all kinds of plans. Some worked, some didn't, but in the end, Fish chose to believe me..."

Cobblepot swallowed, his voice trembling as he said, "On a street next to the Slab, Fish killed Kevin, and I successfully took his place..."

"But later, Fish began to get crazier and crazier. She rushed into my room while I was sleeping and beat me with a gun butt and a wooden stick..."

Cobblepot's voice began to carry a bit of a crying tone. He trembled and said, "I knew I had to endure it. My position was still unstable; I couldn't resist her... So I didn't say a word. She tortured me like a madwoman, saying I betrayed her, saying everyone betrayed her..."

"I don't know how much time passed." Cobblepot trembled all over. He continued, "She began to get crazier and crazier, even several times, I felt she wanted to kill me. I knew it couldn't go on like this, otherwise, the crazy Fish would definitely kill me..."

"So you killed her?" Shiler asked him.

"No... no." Cobblepot shook his head tremblingly. He bit his teeth, his teeth grinding to make a clicking sound. He seemed to have fallen into memories again. He said, "How could I commit murder? That way I would be caught and thrown into prison. I must never be thrown into prison; I had just obtained my position..."

"And just at this time, a person came to me." Cobblepot paused and slowly spat out the name: "Sal Ma Luoni."

"Ma Luoni told me he had been eyeing the Slab for a long time. He had a grudge against Falcone and had already offended the Old Godfather. He couldn't let Falcone's plan to transform Cat Getan succeed, otherwise, the Ma Luoni family would cease to exist..."

"He asked me to cooperate with him. I didn't agree, so he kidnapped my mother, just a few days ago..."

"So, I proposed to him that we join forces to kill Fish and then frame Evans, destroying the prestige of the Godfather's heir."

"For me, this was killing two birds with one stone. It could help me get rid of Fish's torture, and it could also let me save my mother..."

"He agreed to this plan, so one day, I lured Fish out, and Ma Luoni shot and killed her..."

After finishing, Cobblepot was still trembling all over, seemingly still trapped in some memories. Shiler wrote and drew on his notebook, remaining silent for a good while. Cobblepot finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He looked at Shiler.

Shiler just stared intently at his medical record and didn't make any evaluation of this story. Cobblepot said with red eyes, "Doctor, I am willing to testify against Ma Luoni. It was he who killed Fish. I can testify in court. Please, you must cure me. I..."

"Stop your nonsense." Shiler looked at the medical record and said without looking up, "The story you made up is quite exciting, but you made a very serious mistake..."

Cobblepot looked at him, his tears flowing from his eyes, his face pale, appearing very pitiful. Shiler put down the medical record expressionlessly, looked into his eyes, and said, "Pretending to cry is useless. Those who know me know that I'm not a quack, but I am quite unscrupulous."

"The biggest mistake you made was not checking the resume of the doctor you would encounter before formulating this plan..."

"Doctor, I know, I don't have any evidence, but I am the only eyewitness..."

"Alright, if you still insist, then let's start from the most recent crime scene."

"Professor Victor and I went to the crime scene where your mother was kidnapped. According to you, it was Ma Luoni who sent people to kidnap your mother."

"That was indeed a very typical kidnapping scene. Someone sneaked into your house, gave your mother sleeping pills, and then took her away while she was asleep."

"On the surface, it looks like that. But Mr. Cobblepot..." Shiler looked into Cobblepot's eyes and said, "You clearly haven't committed a real kidnapping case. The layout of this scene is full of loopholes."

Cobblepot didn't speak; he just stared at Shiler. Shiler continued, "First of all, those who commit kidnapping cases in Cat Getan almost never choose this sneaking method. They generally smash the door directly, rush in, spray everything living with gunfire, then move the corpse, wipe the blood clean, and then say they kidnapped your relative. In reality, your relative's corpse has already been thrown into the sea."

"Of course, I assume Ma Luoni is a civilized person, but I believe he also didn't need to use this sneaking method, and even less need to use sleeping pills. Even if your mother were stronger, she couldn't have resisted four or five gang thugs. They only needed to rush in, knock her out, and drag her away. Sleeping pills were completely unnecessary."

"You were trying to restore a perfect chain of evidence for a kidnapping case, but there were too many unnecessary processes in it."

"For example, the struggle scene you set up—that was completely superfluous. Who do you think your mother is? A retired female agent? When facing gang intruders, she picked up a chair and had a fight with them?"

"You did too much." Shiler concluded, "Trying to restore a perfect modus operandi, trying to create a realistic scene, and even designing a route for the intruders, specifically using tables and sofas to leave traces of their actions..."

"I can only say you've watched too many detective dramas. Most cases in reality don't happen like this. Most murderers aren't that professional. Violence-based intrusion methods, loophole-filled crime processes—this is what most gang kidnappings are."

"Because you are naturally thin and weak, most of the murder methods you adopt are intellectual. But in fact, for that group of strong gang members, there was absolutely no need to do so much."

"They aren't like you, struggling to pick a lock. There is no door in this world that can't be broken by submachine guns and bombs. For a job that can be done in five minutes, no one will spend two hours studying an infiltration route."

"You used your own criminal thinking to substitute into those gang thugs, just like making a burly Texas cowboy wear a dress with lace edges."

"As for the scene you set up..." Shiler picked up the medical record again and said mercilessly, "I can only give you a failing grade."

"Without the Godfather's pressure, the work you completed independently is a mess. Compared to the modus operandi of murdering Old Edward, it's much worse. I have to wonder if you found a ghostwriter..."

---Author's Note---

10,000 words delivered today! Please tip and vote!

DC will adopt a structure similar to the comics, focusing mainly on small events with low power levels, and struggles will basically rely on brains. Big events will be in the later stages when the power level is relatively high. ===== CHAPTER 157 =====