New Gods of North America

“The one who kidnapped Olivia was her etiquette teacher.

"We speculate that the news that the Underground Railroad branch was about to be uprooted was leaked in advance, so they initially wanted to take hostages and escape.

"But we later received a ransom letter demanding a $50,000 ransom to support their 'cause'.

"They deliberately chose Chicago, where our family has few connections, as the place to deliver the ransom and hostages. My father and brother have been busy with important matters recently and cannot leave, so they arranged for me to come here. This is also the reason why we need to entrust detectives to assist in the investigation."

Wayne's thoughts have not yet switched away from the gossip channel:

"What are the characteristics of the etiquette teacher? Is he handsome?"

Ian Fisk was slightly puzzled:

"The ladies' etiquette teacher can only be a lady, how can it be 'he'? But Ms. Vahana's appearance and manners are indeed quite good. I once thought that she was an excellent tutor who was qualified for the job."

Yes.

Although when Wayne mentioned "Southern slave owners", the first image that came to his mind was the image of a barbaric landlord with a cigar and a whip.

But in fact, if we trace the origins, a considerable number of the great slave owners in the South were actually descendants of ennobled colonial nobles or local rulers, and they were closely connected with the upper class of the Kingdom of Windsor, and even today they are still closely connected with them.

Compared to the so-called "Yankees\

,"The slave owners in the South, on the whole, were more Windsor-styled, more reserved, conservative, civilized, and "aristocratic".

They can be considered as the "civilized people" who came from the Old World earlier and finally chose to take root in the New World - even the so-called "founding fathers" of America can be considered as their people.

In Wayne's memory, there is such an incident.

It is said that the wife of a southern slave owner was spontaneously ostracized by the local circle of wives because she had an extramarital affair, which was considered "unworthy of her status" and "immoral."

If this happened in Frankfurt, it wouldn't even qualify as "gossip".

This may not be universally true, but it does give us a glimpse into the level of overt conservatism among southern slave-owning circles at that time.

So Wayne became a little more serious, "Then could it be that your sister, Miss Olivia, is also a supporter of the Underground Railroad?"

As we all know, rich girls are likely to be more interested in such organizations.

For example, the recent Miss Harrison was a "shareholder" of the "Underground Railroad".

Ian Fisk shook his head:

"As far as I know, at least not before. But Olivia is kindhearted. If those criminals in the Underground Railroad deliberately instilled some biased ideas in her, she might sympathize with them and try to understand them.

“Considering their practices and our understanding of Ms. Wahana, although Ovelia’s life may not be in great danger at the moment, we still hope to rescue her as soon as possible.

"After all, if this matter gets out, it may affect the family's reputation and her future social reputation. If Olivia is not hurt, we can even not pursue their crimes."

Hmm...

It sounds like I can take it, but it feels like a commission that doesn't require the use of force.

It doesn't seem to match the professional advantages of our detective agency.

"As for the cost of the investigation, how about $2,000?"

Ian Fisk thought for a moment and said, "I don't know much about this, but if things are resolved smoothly and the results are satisfactory, I am willing to pay a higher fee. Or even more, and invest in your detective agency."

2000 US dollars!

Considering that the probability of violence is not high, this reward is quite generous and can be accepted.

However, Wayne was still a little wary of his next words, "Our detective agency does not accept pure capital investment."

Ian Fisk didn't seem to mind:

"Then it can be a thank you gift. The important thing is to make sure Olivia is safe as soon as possible."

Wayne nodded happily, "Okay, we will try to find Miss Olivia as soon as possible."

…

In line with the principle of not wasting,

After reaching a preliminary agreement, Wayne took a sip of the ice wine and found it tasted okay.

But the difference in taste doesn’t seem to be as big as the difference in price between it and ordinary wine. It probably tastes more like US dollars.

Then Wayne roughly estimated the date and thought that maybe he could ask Lina to ask the "wise sage" directly to reduce the difficulty of the game.

So he said:

"In order to facilitate the investigation, our detective agency needs more information. It would be even better if we could have Miss Olivia's personal belongings. You know, some well-trained hounds can also help in finding people."

Ian Fisk called the butler,

Then the old housekeeper came over with a maid and delivered the bad news - the clothes and daily necessities they brought for Miss Olivia were all brand new.

Okay, this is very luxurious.

I don’t know if the hair or blood of blood relatives can be used as a substitute. I will have to ask Lina later.

Then a bodyguard came over.

The butler took a file box from him and handed it over.

Ian Fisk explained briefly, "Our family doesn't have much business dealings in Chicago, so we can't issue you a check from a local bank. This is the only way. I hope you don't mind the trouble.

"We will let the maid from before stay to cooperate with you. She is one of Ovelia's personal maids and is familiar with both Ovelia and Ms. Wahana."

Wayne had already opened the file box.

Inside were neatly stacked stacks of banknotes, which looked to be the $2,000 that had just been agreed upon.

Is this just a deposit?!

Wayne's enthusiasm increased a bit after he saw the blackmail letter inside.

I was about to drink the ice wine in one gulp, then leave and go find my friends to discuss getting ready to start work.

Unexpectedly, it was Ian Fisk who said hello and left first.

The old butler left Wayne an address before leaving:

"This is the new residence our young master bought in Chicago. If there is any progress in your investigation, Mr. Wayne, you can contact us here.

"We have paid for half a month's fee for this suite. If you need it, you can continue to use it during this period."

Will my reward be reduced?