New Gods of North America

Arriving in Richmond with three cars full of detectives, Wayne bought a crate of apples on the way and headed to Tom Hagen's hospital, following the address in the file, to visit him.

The church hospital, recommended by the cathedral, should have the best medical facilities locally, or at least be 'one of' the best.

However, upon arrival, it looked more like a cloister that wasn't open to the public, with a rather simple environment.

It wasn't easy to get in. Of the many detectives who came, only Wayne and Ineisha were allowed in, along with Sanders, who was helping to carry the apples.

If Lina had used her partner status, she probably could have gotten in too, but she was too lazy to join the fun, grabbed two apples, and chose to visit the suspect at the police station.

Since it looked like a 'cloister,' most of the staff inside were dressed as monks or nuns.

Although the so-called 'white coats' already existed at this time, they weren't strictly tied to the identity of medical staff. Doctors usually wore formal attire, and what they wore during surgery depended on their personal preferences, or whichever coat or robe they were planning to replace.

Tom Hagen's ward was in a small building in a small courtyard. Even though they had notified the hospital in advance, Wayne and the others still had to be verified by the monk leading the way before they could enter.

Inside the ward, although Tom Hagen was tied up like a dumpling, he looked to be in good spirits. At least he wasn't drooling all the time after being 'cured'.

"So, did you two come here to perform 'eating apples' for me?"

After the initial greetings, since Tom Hagen didn't seem to be on the verge of death, but he also wasn't exactly 'doing well,' Wayne quickly got to work, asking him about some details of the incident, his relationship with the suspect, and his impression of the suspect.

Guessing that the place was heavily guarded and that outside food might not pass security, Wayne's apples were just for Tom Hagen to look at. Whether he could actually eat them was another matter. So, while asking questions, Wayne took two apples from the box that had been checked several times, gave one to Ineisha, wiped the other, and started munching on it himself.

Tom Hagen was initially recounting the circumstances of the incident properly, but hearing the crisp chewing sounds next to him, he couldn't help but protest.

Wayne pointed to a nun outside the ward who was seriously supervising the situation:

"Anyway, you probably can't eat it even if I give it to you, so listening to the sound is good too. At least it proves that the gift we brought is pretty good. Where were you? After firing those shots, what did the suspect do next?"

The details of the incident didn't seem to warrant much scrutiny. The suspect wasn't particularly professional. The first shot didn't 'blow his mind' or 'open his chest.' Tom Hagen wasn't a wooden man either. Although he couldn't fight back, he still tried his best to avoid vital spots in the subsequent shots.

Although he was indeed shot, the most dangerous situations at the time were actually massive bleeding or internal organ damage. Now that he had survived, the main focus was on treating the fractures and recovering.

In his position, the 'insult' of the event was greater than the 'danger'.

Perhaps because the cathedral valued him, the previous investigation had been quite detailed. Wayne listened again, and it was basically the same as the records in the file.

After visiting the patient and listening to the case, the real meat of the matter was next.

Before leaving, Wayne specifically asked, "Our detective agency has limited manpower and isn't familiar with Richmond. Do you have any suitable personnel who can be temporarily assigned to assist us with the investigation?"

Tom Hagen was 'half-immobilized' at the moment, unable to show any body language:

"The people I used to command belong to the cathedral, and they follow the instructions of the bishop. Right now, the bishop hasn't given me any tasks. You can see that I don't even have the freedom to eat.

"However, since your investigation mission was arranged by the bishop, the relevant departments should cooperate, and perhaps you don't need that many people."

Well, free labor failed.

Compared to the previous 'emergency response,' Tom Hagen's matter could only be considered a normal post-incident investigation.

Wayne also knew that it would be difficult to get much manpower this time. After all, if it were in a small western town, the sheriff might be the only one busy with this kind of thing. You'd only call for people when you're catching the culprit.

Fortunately, Tom Hagen only said that he didn't have anyone, but he actually called over a guy who was like his daily assistant to help, and then the assistant even included a follower.

Both of these guys were also members of the cathedral. Wayne at least picked up two familiar faces in Richmond, so it would probably be more convenient to communicate with other departments later.

Leaving the church hospital, the next step was to meet up with Lina and the others at the police station.

Somewhat 'unexpected but also reasonable,' although Lina had used the detective agency's name and the 'special investigator' written proof attached to the file, she actually ran into a snag. The Richmond police department used the excuse of 'the chief is out and hasn't returned' and didn't take her to see the suspect.

The Holy Spirit Church theoretically doesn't directly interfere in secular matters, just like Georgeburg's exorcism department, which solves problems by having David Mills serve as a senior inspector in the local police station. The Richmond police station didn't know if it was intentional or not. Seeing the written proof with the local city police committee's stamp, they only said that they needed a higher-level police official to be present before they could cooperate.

Lina wasn't annoyed. When Wayne and the others arrived, she was taking Willie around the police station, cracking jokes to familiarize herself with the people, and casually probing for information.

Although it was somewhat suspected of obstructing official duties, given the beautiful blonde's looks and the proof in her hand, the police officers didn't interfere too much. They even seemed quite willing to chat with her in the lobby. At first glance, she looked like a social butterfly or a street hustler who was familiar with everyone in the police station.

At this time, the benefit of having locals to lead the way was evident.

Tom Hagen's assistant, named William Brandt, was quite familiar with the relevant systems in the Richmond police station. After a few back-and-forths, the police officer in charge of reception in the lobby stopped making excuses. At this time, a police chief conveniently showed up, and Wayne and the others naturally started heading towards the jail.

On the way, Lina secretly winked at Wayne and Ineisha, whispering that this guy had actually been in the police station before, and was probably deliberately hiding before, and only came out to fool people when he couldn't hide anymore.

Many of the customs of the Americans are similar to those of the Old Continent. People like to give their children the same names as celebrities or elders, so the rate of duplicate names is terrifying. The police chief's name was also William, full name William Kinsey.

While secretly noting down this name, Wayne continued to pretend to be completely unaware.

Both sides waited, 'respectfully,' until the suspect was brought into the interrogation room.