New Gods of North America

Wayne generally held the stereotype that groups formed for mutual benefit were unreliable, like sandcastles on a beach that would quickly crumble with a wave.

But as it turns out, some old sayings are logical: 'He who rises by this shall fall by this'.

After Doug delivered the message that 'the detective agency has locked onto the direct instigator of the assassination through fingerprint comparison' point-to-point,

The detective agency's temporary base slowly became lively from the evening, the kind of 'very lively'.

The first to arrive was someone from the police station, led by none other than Sheriff William, whom Wayne regarded as a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'.

Sheriff William's reasoning was solid: 'Although our police force recognizes your detective agency's investigative rights in the assassination case, your unauthorized detention of criminal suspects is over the line. According to regulations, the detention of relevant personnel and the custody of evidence should be the responsibility of the police. You have the right to interrogate and retrieve, but you should not privately detain them.'

Unfortunately, before he could even warm his seat, an official from Richmond City Hall arrived.

He also brought out applicable rules and regulations:

'According to the regulations passed by the City Council, within the scope of management authority, the City Hall can authorize specific professionals to take special measures to deal with unexpected situations. Mr. Wayne's actions during the investigation have not violated federal or state laws and are still within the scope of authorization.'

Then came a Virginia state legislator invited by Sheriff William. This guy had no direct authority to interfere in the daily affairs of the City Hall but could use 'public opinion' and political connections to exert pressure:

'Voters will never accept such privileges. A group of foreign detectives has the right to detain ordinary people at will, which will cause public concern about their own safety! If this matter is not properly handled, I will call on the members of the City Council to impeach the officials who issued the order tomorrow, even if it is the mayor himself.'

While they were arguing with each other, a warden arrived. Wayne thought the scene was noisy enough and didn't bother to listen carefully to whether he belonged to the federal or state prison system.

But the warden's meaning was also very clear—detaining prisoners is definitely the most 'professional' job for prisons. Since neither the police station nor the detective agency is at ease, why not put them in my place?

However, this guy's statement was quickly poked at the loophole by the state legislator. 'These people have not been tried yet, and criminals may not be arranged to go to your prison. Why are you asking for people? Prisons do have the function of short-term detention of key suspects, but that requires the police to apply actively. Arrest and conviction are not the responsibility of the prison.'

Further down the line, the church pastor of the community where the temporary base was located 'happened to pass by', did not participate in the debate, but also sat firmly in the vacated seat and drank tea.

There was also an officer from a state militia organization who 'thought there was a sudden case' and happened to bring a team to assist in maintaining order.

In the end, the main force in the later stage who could compete with that state legislator was a lawyer who claimed to be hired by the detective agency.

This guy seemed to be very familiar with relevant laws and regulations, and he was also very bold, acting as if 'I have no friends, and it doesn't matter who you mention'. He looked like a gentle soft pillow, but his words were full of needles, and he made that state legislator so angry that he kept puffing on his cigar without speaking several times.

Of course, this may also be related to the group of reporters blocking outside the temporary base at this time—these people didn't come 'on their own' tonight. The one with the fewest people also had a coachman, and the one with the most almost brought a platoon.

Police officers, officials, legislators, pastors, officers, lawyers, Wayne felt that this antithesis was not neat enough. It was a pity that there was no doctor tonight, or a judge would be fine.

Reporters are not easy to match. If that Margaret comes back, she can barely be matched with a 'singer' or 'dancer'.

At first, accompanying police officers and personal servants or secretaries could stay in the living room of the temporary base, and the detectives would also serve hot tea.

Later, there were so many people that even the corridor next to it couldn't fit, so they could only wait outside the door. Soon, there were not enough cups, and there was no time to boil water. Tired, let them fend for themselves.

Anyway, when the temporary base was the most lively, people were crowded within a few dozen meters, so crowded that even carriages couldn't pass. Wayne estimated that if he casually dropped a flower pot from the second floor, he should be able to hit several people at the same time. People who didn't know might have thought there was a gathering here, or that they were giving away free eggs or something.

In the middle, there were also a few people who wanted to claim the bounty, claiming that they had found two people with the same fingerprints. Wayne asked Willie to take a look, and soon Lina, who was joining in the fun, rolled her eyes and came back.

Those people were originally quite unhappy, thinking that Willie's judgment was wrong, and tried to reason with him, but when they saw how lively the temporary base was at this time, they didn't dare to make trouble in the end, and didn't know when they left in despair.

Wayne didn't expect that stabbing a hornet's nest would alarm so many people. No big shots showed up, but they were playing a beast chess game behind the scenes happily.

Of course, those who came to the scene could not be said to be 'small people'. During several intermissions, Wayne also took the big shots to visit the detectives' fingerprint collection and comparison operations, and by the way, popularized knowledge. Several players who were qualified to play against each other stared at each other, all honestly.

The excitement lasted until late at night. If the chef hadn't been away, Wayne estimated that he would have started arranging stalls to sell late-night snacks.

Sheriff William and that state legislator finally took a step back, did not ask to take the people and evidence away, but left two police officers to stare outside the base.

The officer of the militia organization gave Wayne a contact address, and the warden only had a follower tailing him, leaving nothing behind.

The lawyer was the most excessive, and also asked to chat with several captives separately. Wayne reluctantly agreed for the sake of the letter written by the old master of the Beaton family.

Doug was the busiest person tonight. First, he arranged a lot of things, and then he had to keep the hands of these big shots in order and obedient.

Wayne did not accept the interview, and Doug had to go to the reporters to answer on his behalf. The questions were either about fingerprints or the assassination case. The answers were either popular science or 'no comment'. Only the news that Wayne focused on was released—'Fingerprints are absolutely reliable and can stand up to research' and 'There is a mastermind behind the assassination case, and some gang members have been arrested'.

After supervising the lawyer away, Lina curled her lips looking at the messy living room, 'So many people didn't fight, Richmond is not as interesting as your Kansas...'

Wayne was mainly an 'audience' tonight, and he is relaxed at this time: 'Even if they want to fight, they will 'fight' in a place we can't see, and they won't do it in public. By the way, are there any new developments with those captives today?'

'Inesa searched their things and interrogated them carefully. Some of them are mixed-race aborigines who have been mixed for several generations, and some are simply orphans, but they are basically 'thugs' who have been trained since childhood, and they are not of much value, and the probability of being abandoned is very high.

As for the 'boss' who ran away, it is said that his accent should be local. He has an unwanted matchbox, which was previously collected by a guy—it was found that it was a gift provided to guests by a high-end restaurant. It may be the 'boss', or his boss brought it back when he went to eat. That lawyer also noticed this.'