In the dim interrogation room, a huge incandescent lamp shone directly on Kirsten Bartlein.
Across from him, a professionally trained man in his fifties stared intently at this unusual criminal.
Of course, according to legal procedure, he could only be called a suspect until a court pronounced him guilty.
About every fifteen seconds, the man would ask a question for the other party to answer.
Yet unbelievably, during more than thirty hours of exhausting interrogation, Kirsten Bartlein had not suffered a mental breakdown or fallen into a confused state like other prisoners. Instead, he had utterly exhausted the interrogators taking shifts.
And that was not all!
The prolonged mental torment without rest or sleep had not caused Kirsten Bartlein to show any abnormalities.
His spirits remained high, and his mind remained clear.
Even when answering the same question, he could give the exact same response, without a single word differing.
In the eyes of these psychological and interrogation experts, this so-called "normality" was precisely the greatest abnormality.
Because Kirsten Bartlein had been far too calm ever since he surrendered.
Or perhaps indifferent and cold-blooded would be more fitting.
He was unconcerned with everything around him. He answered whatever he was asked, as if he did not care whether he would be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
After all, shooting dead a former Secretary of State standing trial outside the Federal Supreme Court was no longer merely a matter of conviction. It also involved contempt for the law, assassinating a government official, treason, and a string of the most serious charges and accusations.
It was foreseeable that, if he were truly convicted, he would certainly be dealt with severely.
Otherwise, if the sentence was not harsh enough to serve as a deterrent and warning, similar incidents would absolutely happen again.