New Gods of North America

In the evening, the investigation teams, each led separately, gathered together to summarize the current progress.

"The identity of that Anton Zieg has been confirmed by an insider, and he woke up at noon today. However, because his attitude is uncooperative and he attempted to escape twice this afternoon, he has been transferred from the hospital to the old police station jail."

"Following the clues on his body and in the carriage, I've traced them back and preliminarily confirmed that he's been hiding in a long-term rented apartment for the past few days. The carriage he drove last night was involved in a new murder case. Currently, if we only seek a conviction for that, even without mentioning the manor extermination and the sacrifice of other church colleagues, it's already enough to send him to the gallows."

"Our team is still conducting a city-wide search of George Berg according to the previous plan. We haven't found that Bright Heretic claiming the surname Weismann yet. We've completed the initial search of the main street areas, and haven't found any cases of residents mysteriously disappearing, but we can't rule out the possibility that he's hiding in an uninhabited house, being sheltered by others, or that the homeowner themselves is unaware. The next step is to search the low-income areas, and then ask for instructions on whether to search the various manors."

"My group has completed the previously assigned tasks today, retrieved the relevant case files and archives, screened out the parts that may be related to the investigation and do not involve strict confidentiality, and has handed them over to Mr. Wayne and Miss Ineza, and is waiting for new arrangements."

Real-world investigations are never as interesting as the detectives in stories. It's rare to encounter the so-called "snowstorm mountain villa" mode.

Sometimes, "everyone can only stay in one place and can't leave" is already a huge advantage.

After everyone else had reported, it was Wayne's turn:

"After preliminary interrogation, it has been confirmed that McKean Reef still retains his previous memories, but it is not yet possible to determine whether he has any 'extra' memories."

"The pendant found on McKean Reef has been identified as being related to the Bright Heretic's faith. Combined with the appearance of Anton Zieg last night, the logic and chain of evidence have been initially formed."

"I currently believe that Pastor Pasheer is the key node in this series of events who is directly connected to the Bright Heretic among the church personnel. No other pastors have been found to be directly involved. Next, confirming Pastor Pasheer's role in this case, and then arresting that Mr. Weismann, should basically close the case."

In fact, if he wanted to "create evidence," Wayne had a great opportunity now.

Just change "presumption of innocence" to "presumption of guilt," and the situation would become the pastors having to prove their innocence themselves.

When it comes to the Bright Church, this approach is not considered out of line.

However, Wayne still prefers a more simple approach. Investigate the case as a case, and fight when it's time to fight.

As the saying goes, "Render unto God the things that are God's, and unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

Put it here, change "God" to "Holy Spirit" and it's universal.

Tom Hagen's gaze turned over, "Do you think they are mostly innocent?"

The exorcists in charge of separate investigations here are not all from the Cathedral.

Wayne also put on a serious face:

"Whether they are innocent cannot be completely determined, but there is currently no direct reason to convict them. Our detective agency only speaks according to the facts."

"However, similarly, if there are still doubts at the end of the case, I will suggest that the Cathedral exclude the personnel in question from the list of candidates when considering the promotion of clergy."

Tom Hagen did not comment on this, asked if there was anything that needed to be coordinated and resolved, and left the rest to Wayne to handle himself.

Mr. Weismann's public office and residence in Richmond have been searched, and everything handwritten has been boxed up and transported here. Ineza is leading people to look for clues.

Seth was also arranged there to take the opportunity to dig up black material. Wayne couldn't help but imagine strange scenes, such as "Sir, you don't want your affairs to be known by others, do you?"

Lina stayed at the church hospital to guard McKean Reef.

That guy carried a hidden heretical pendant with him before. Although it is impossible to confirm whether it is the one in Pastor Pasheer's will, having a邪神's biological daughter staring next to him may be more sensitive in some aspects than the church's clergy.

After the meeting here, Wayne went to inform Pastor Tyrrell of what could be said.

Just as he was about to leave, someone came to find Wayne, saying that Pastor Bazini wanted to see him.

Wayne didn't have any deep hatred with Pastor Bazini, but the more Wayne thought about it recently, the more he felt that something was wrong.

The detective agency had encountered so many things in the local area before. It seemed reasonable to say that the culprit was Cohen Pharmaceuticals, but he always felt that the local church seemed to be secretly fueling the flames.

Just like the "misunderstanding" that Pastor Tyrrell secretly arranged a few days ago, Pastor Bazini at most "said a few words" in it, and he might not even be convicted in court.

However, some things are like an empty house after watching a horror movie, which always makes people suspect that the bad guys are everywhere.

After meeting, Pastor Bazini's news seemed to be very well-informed, and he seemed to have already started considering "future" matters.

He also understood that Wayne still needed to be busy continuing to find those two guys from last night to "chat", and after a brief greeting, he threw a new clue to Wayne.

Pastor Bazini said that Pastor Pasheer himself was an expert in brewing potions.

He thought about it for the past two days and felt that although many of the materials Pastor Pasheer had received before were compliant, the loss was too serious, and it was likely used elsewhere.

The detective agency had investigated the potion matter before, but in the end, it didn't get any useful results. Wayne felt that with Pastor Bazini's level, he shouldn't be aimless, so he honestly continued to ask for advice.

Pastor Bazini was like a patient professor:

"Making contraband potions generally leads to two questions: first, 'why do this', and second, 'where do the key raw materials come from'."

"I remember you should know Mr. Ben Harmon? His wife is said to have had a good relationship with Pastor Pasheer, and I heard that her fertility age is not in line with common sense. In rumors, Mr. Ben Harmon once had a lover who died mysteriously, which may also be a matter worth investigating."

Wayne quickly imagined the plot in his mind.

The life in a wealthy family is really exciting...

But at this time, you want me to look through old cases from who knows how many years ago? The clues are long gone, right? You might as well go directly to the police.

Wayne thought about it and decided to tell David Mills about it later.

Pastor Bazini paused slightly, seeming to feel that Wayne's reaction was average, so he continued:

"As for the source of some raw materials, in fact, the church sometimes has to acquiesce to some real-world problems. For example, the outer members of the Exorcist Association also need to live, but they are not considered formal members of the church."

"Therefore, they occasionally need to secretly intercept and provide some slightly non-compliant materials in exchange for economic benefits. As long as the things are not found to have flowed out of the church, the church will not investigate such things."

Hiss...

Pastor Bazini's meaning is not difficult to guess. This clue points to Pastor Tyrrell, secretly selling contraband to Pastor Pasheer. In the investigation, of course, it will seem very suspicious no matter how you look at it.

But according to Wayne's standards, this may not be enough to confirm that Pastor Tyrrell is connected to the Bright Heretic.

No wonder the detective agency couldn't find the key source before. It turned out that you were all "self-producing and self-selling."

Wayne's nerves tightened slightly. The degree of binding of some groups seemed to be tighter than he imagined.

Pastor Bazini left Wayne there to continue thinking, picked up his cup and started drinking tea, and seemed to talk about something else:

"Many high-ranking pastors of the Exorcist Association actually support a group of outer members, and the proportion of transcendents among them is not low. Of course, those outer members can be accepted by the Exorcist Association, which shows that their own qualities are actually not bad."

"Their working mode feels similar to your detective agency, but their profit model is not as healthy as your detective agency, and their salary and treatment seem to be not as good as your agents. If some of them lose their shelter, I think your detective agency is still very attractive. Maybe if the treatment becomes lower, they can accept it."

"If I were a bishop, I would reorganize the outer members of the Exorcist Association in the diocese. Compared to continuing to operate gray affairs, I think they need more positive guidance."

If you were a bishop...

Wayne pondered for a while, a little moved, but compared to other things, his tense nerves relaxed a little first.

Hmm...

It seems that the binding is not so tight.