New Gods of North America

Wayne wasn't sure if it was a unique aspect of law enforcement in Richmond, or if the local police were still skeptical about Wayne's "micro-expression" act.

But at Sheriff William's request, after arriving at the residence of "Averna," the suspected leader of the assassination team, they didn't immediately start the arrest.

Instead, Sheriff William led a team pretending to conduct a routine investigation, planning to call the suspect to the door for an initial assessment before deciding on a method of control, whether gentle or forceful.

In any case, Conner, who had been sent by Ineisa to stake out the place, had confirmed that the suspected target had returned home.

Now that the detective agency had brought so many people, with Wayne personally overseeing the operation, and Ineisa selecting a high vantage point and carrying genuine church-issued runes for temporary dispelling of restraints, if they still let the person escape, it could only be said that they were truly incapable of catching them.

The neighborhood wasn't high-end, and the turnover rate of residents was high. Calling it a slum would be impolite, but it was essentially heading in that direction.

It was the kind of environment where residents would quickly move out once they found relatively better-paying working-class jobs.

Conner even said that shortly after he started staking out, he had encountered two groups of well-meaning strangers trying to ask him for spare change, so the usual level of security could be imagined.

The target's row house should theoretically have been divided into different suites for rent.

But in reality, there was only one resident in the house at this time, otherwise Conner wouldn't have been able to determine who the target was.

Many of the nearby neighbors were newcomers who had recently moved in, and even the locals who had lived there longer didn't have much interest in socializing.

So Conner hadn't been able to gather much extra information when he inquired earlier, only confirming that someone did live here and that a man could occasionally be seen entering and exiting.

Since the detective agency had already witnessed the cunning of this group when arresting another accomplice, the encirclement this time was also top-notch.

Before Sheriff William and Conner knocked on the door, the detective agency had already taken their positions around the area. Ineisa was stationed a short distance in front of the house, while Wayne himself was squatting in the back alley corner on the diagonal, in case of an escape.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Community patrol, sir, we have some routine questions to ask."

The voice became a little quieter here. The person inside seemed to be walking towards the door, then there was a faint sound of the door opening, followed by a not-too-loud conversation.

"Bang!"

"Thump—"

Soon, the sound of the door slamming shut was heard first, followed by the sound of kicking the door, and then a chaotic noise of "clatter."

Wayne had already gripped his gun, but fortunately, it wasn't needed this time. After the noise subsided, the detectives in front signaled to the alley, indicating that the person had been caught.

After searching the house again to confirm that there were no other people, Conner explained the situation to Wayne while escorting the target onto the carriage:

"Boss, this guy reacted immediately when the police asked for 'Averna,' so I took action right away. Fortunately, there were no other accomplices in the house, otherwise it might have made the arrest more difficult."

The target didn't choose to call out, proving that the probability of having accomplices in the house was low. Conner's choice was correct.

Wayne praised him, saying "Good job," then waved his hand to signal the detectives to retreat. There were still three accomplices waiting to be caught, and tonight was going to be busy.

Sheriff William suffered a minor injury during the brief conflict, probably because he didn't expect the other party to suddenly slam the door. He was still rubbing his nose at the moment.

Seeing that the detective agency had quickly subdued the person, he didn't say much more. He quickly got into the police carriage, intending to follow the detective agency's convoy.

With the leader caught, the remaining matters were theoretically easier.

Anyway, so many police officers had witnessed Wayne's efficiency in "interrogating" with micro-expressions tonight, so now they just needed to pretend to interrogate again in the carriage, and then continue to arrest people according to the list.

As long as Wayne insisted that the addresses of the other accomplices were provided by this guy, and they really caught the people, then it would be the same whether this guy admitted it or not. Let him figure out how to explain it to his accomplices.

……

Originally, things seemed to be going smoothly, and the rest seemed to be just errands.

But unexpectedly, as soon as Wayne arrived at the second address given by Priest Tyrrell, something went wrong.

This time, after breaking into the target's residence and finding it empty, "Chameleon," who had been sent by the police to stake out the place in advance, also seemed very surprised.

Facing Wayne's silent gaze, he quickly explained:

"Boss, I checked the situation when I came. There were people in the house at the time. Later, he seemed to be writing something by the window, and the shadow kept hitting the curtains, so I didn't notice anything unusual..."

There was indeed a small device for deception in the room. A small paper cutout similar to a silhouette was fixed next to the kerosene lamp with a clip, and it was also smeared with volatile grease, which would tremble slightly under the action of heat. From outside the window, it did look like someone was always active in the house.

But this was not the point. Wayne quickly picked up the incomplete paper that had been torn out of the silhouette. "Before the shadow was fixed in the same position, was there anything unusual here?"

"Chameleon" tried hard to recall: "I really didn't see anyone entering or leaving this house. After inquiring with the neighbors that the target lived on the second floor, I have been staring outside, and there doesn't seem to have been anything unusual..."

"Think again carefully."

"Yes!"

Wayne quickly walked out of the room. Ineisa had also initially found the target's escape route. "The other party should have climbed out of the kitchen window into the back alley. There are fresh traces on the windowsill, but there are no street lights behind, and tracking may take a lot of time."

"It's probably too late. Let's go to the next place first."

……

The third address was even more lively. Before everyone arrived at the scene according to the address, they could guess where the specific location was from a distance.

There had been a fire here not long ago, and there was still black smoke rising into the sky.

Since the nearby area was full of wooden row houses, the residents and neighbors reacted quickly. Before the public officials came to direct, they had already spontaneously taken action after discovering the fire, fearing that their own homes would also be burned.

"Quake," who was responsible for staking out here, was also considered an old hunter, but when the crowd surged, the other residents in this building also went in and out.

Given that they only knew a name and address that may or may not be true, it was indeed a bit difficult to confirm the target.

Wayne didn't even get out of the carriage this time. After calling "Quake" into the carriage, he directly asked Sanders to speed up to the last address.

Sitting opposite the two partners, "Quake," like "Chameleon" beside him, seemed a little cautious, but fortunately, he seemed to have noticed some clues:

"If I had to say something unusual... before the fire, there was a carriage passing by at a fast speed. About a few minutes later, I vaguely heard the sound of furniture being moved on the floor, and then the person closed the window.

If I were to guess, it is possible that someone threw some news into it from a blind spot..."

"Chameleon" next to him also seemed to be reminded, "The same situation happened on my side. A taxi carriage passed by a few minutes before that shadow 'sat down'. It seems that there shouldn't be residents in that neighborhood who are willing to spend money on this."

Wayne's fingers tapped silently on his knee.

It seems someone is tipping them off...

Assuming it's an accomplice, with the cunning of this group, there may be a more direct emergency warning method, such as imitating a special bird call when passing by.

A few minutes later... it feels like it could be the work of a third party.