Benjamin had not restricted the dinner guests' freedom of movement within the mayor's residence. Therefore, news of Old Pike's death spread quickly. Many people stood by the atrium corridor railings, looking down below, while discussions and gasps continued without end.
Many people were heading downstairs, wanting to get to the second floor for a closer look at the corpse.
People were strange like that. When a corpse fell right in front of them, they desperately wanted to run away. But once the corpse was far from them, they wanted to get closer and see what had really happened.
The only figure moving upward was Schiller, making him seem entirely out of place amid the crowd. Bruce noticed this as soon as he left the room and entered the corridor.
Bruce stood beside the atrium railing on his floor and looked down, spotting Old Pike's body.
He lay on his back, a large bloodstain spread across his chest. The wound was faintly visible; it seemed he had been stabbed with a sharp weapon. Like Mayor White, he had been thrown from a height and landed right in the middle of the banquet hall.
Several agents were conducting an autopsy with all manner of tools. Some wore gloves and searched over the body, some stood nearby making notes in record books, and others swept the surrounding area with spotlights for clues.
Bruce, watching it all from upstairs, lifted his eyes slightly and saw Schiller moving against the flow of the crowd. Although the two had not exchanged a word during this dinner, Bruce had figured out his logic.
You could not say that what was happening in the hall did not count as a crime scene. In fact, scenes like this were extremely common in most police dramas and certain detective films.