"This is the place."
After getting Chloe and the others settled, Dilos used his facial-shifting ability to take on a new face. Then he borrowed Chloe's car and hurried to the place where Clark had been found. To Dilos's surprise, the area had been cordoned off, and a crowd had gathered around the police line, pointing at the officers investigating inside.
"Oh my God, what happened?"
"I heard someone broke into this hotel with a gun."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No idea. I only know a lot of stuff inside was smashed. The police are still investigating."
Listening to the crowd's chatter, Dilos raised an eyebrow and walked up, trying to cross the police line.
"Hey, sir, you can't come any closer. This is—"
A police officer spotted Dilos approaching and hurriedly held out a hand to stop him. But before he could finish speaking, his thoughts ground to a halt.
"I'm a detective investigating this case."
Dilos said it in a casual tone and planted a suggestion in the officer's mind.
The next second, the officer's attitude changed completely. He lifted the police tape for Dilos and said respectfully, "Go ahead, sir."
Dilos nodded and walked inside. To avoid trouble, he also made some adjustments to the memories of several officers and staff inside, then planted suggestions in their minds.
"What happened here?"
Dilos called over a few officers who were investigating. "Was anyone hurt?"
"Three people suffered minor scrapes, and everyone in the hotel was shaken up," one of the officers taking statements replied at once. "But, sir, you need to see this."
The officer handed Dilos a composite sketch.
"There were three masked men. After robbing a bank, they chased a young man. The robbers were masked, so no one could identify them, but people recognized the