New Gods of North America

"Wow, what a luxurious suite."

After carrying their luggage to the "presidential suite" on the top floor, the new members of the detective agency couldn't help but feel amazed, and Willy even exclaimed in admiration.

Inesa has always been a happy-go-lucky person, so as expected, she was not surprised by this.

As for Lina,

This girl seems to have the energy to thrive wherever she goes. Even if there is a presidential suite, she still has to choose the room.

But she never complained when she spent the night in the wild before. She would find some dry grass and branches and dig out a comfortable nest for you to see.

"For a blackmail letter like this, can you ask the "Wise Sage" for help and ask Him to find the creator of the letter?"

Wayne took out the letter demanding ransom and unfolded it to show Lina.

This letter wasn't even handwritten. There were small pieces of paper of varying sizes with words printed on them pasted on it. I guess they were cut from newspapers and pasted on.

It gives people an ominous feeling of "falling apart".

There was handwriting from the sender on the envelope, but judging by the way the sender handled the letter, it seemed unlikely to be the criminal's handwriting.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll have to ask."

Lina took the letter and read it. "But the way the sage gives guidance is different. If it is just a direction, it is impossible to find it in a city like Chicago. Even if a precise 'point' is given on the map, or a building is given through a dream, it may actually be a building, which is difficult to find."

Wayne was a little disappointed, but at the same time a little curious: "You seem to be quite familiar with this method of finding people?"

"Of course, that's how I sneaked out of Frank."

Lina shook her finger and said, "I think even if they use divination to track us, the results they get probably won't be more accurate than the guidance given by the sage, so I can plan a route to avoid them."

"oh."

Wayne nodded. "Since you are of no use, I won't let you use the master bedroom."

Then the two of them argued with each other, and finally Inissa moved into the master suite, while Wayne and Lina moved into the accompanying bedrooms that were probably prepared for family members.

…

After everyone had packed up their things, the meeting began.

The ransom note was placed on the table where everyone was sitting. The text on it was not too long. "If you want Miss Fisk to be safe, go to Chicago and pay a ransom of fifty thousand dollars before the second Wednesday of next month. Only cash is required."

Then there is the date of signature, but no signature.

The maid left behind by Ian Fisk recounted what had happened before to everyone.

Probably what Wayne knew before.

After the maid left the living room, Wayne made a preliminary summary and began to throw out some ideas:

"That's roughly the situation at the moment. Although the other party is not a local, he probably has accomplices in Chicago. One direction of investigation that can be determined at the moment is to look for the 'underground railroad' organization here.

"Besides this, does anyone have any other ideas?"

Wayne himself has some other ideas.

But since we have opened a detective agency, we still have to work together. Otherwise, we won’t be able to open a branch mine in the future relying on just Wayne and his friends.

Inesa is trying to peel off the "words" stuck on the letter paper:

"From the perspective of the paper quality and ink, these pieces of paper are probably from the same newspaper, or from several relatively close copies or issues of the same newspaper.

"If we can find the corresponding newspaper, maybe we can know the time when they clearly started to ask for the ransom or the place they passed by. But this should be a newspaper from their previous place, which may not be available in Chicago, and it is not very meaningful to find someone now.

"However, such 'hiding handwriting' behavior may be a hint that the handwriting of the blackmail note maker may be recognized by them. Could it be that the lady is helping them?"

Wayne thought about it and said, "We can't rule out this possibility. But the etiquette teacher might have done it, or it could have been a member of their family or a servant."

Lina was also holding the envelope and reading it. She nodded and said, "Look at the address and the fee on it. The letter was sent locally."

Although the postal system has existed since the colonial period, America does not yet have so-called "stamps". When sending letters, the post office will note the required fees based on the delivery address when sorting, and the recipient will then pay the fees.

The delivery prices of newspapers are relatively low.

Therefore, apart from businessmen and landlords, the people who had a relatively large amount of daily correspondence in this era were usually concentrated in governments at all levels, various institutions of higher learning, and members of Congress - their letters would be collected by someone or exempted from the collection fees.

However, it is said that Windsor seems to have started postal reforms and plans to implement a prepaid payment system for senders similar to stamps. According to the current practice, America will generally follow up with a related system, but usually a few years later.

Then Lina brought the envelope closer and sniffed it. "The ink used by the sender has a faint fragrance. It's not ordinary ink. Their financial situation should be good. So after they get here, the place they live shouldn't be too bad, right?"

Wayne nodded. He thought so too, but this clue could not be used alone.

Doug listened to their analysis and tried to follow their lead:

“I saw that the letter stated that the ransom payment would be made in three days, but it did not include any more specific contact and delivery methods.

"Does this mean that the other party is confident that they can find and contact the Fisk family as soon as they arrive in Chicago?"

Wayne had thought about this question before, so he tried to guide Doug:

"Miss Olivia was 'kidnapped' in a holiday estate in Georgia, on the eastern coast of southern America. What is the most reasonable way to get to Chicago in half a month?"

Doug wasn't sure. "A boat ride along the inland river, or maybe a steam train?"

Lina knows more about this kind of thing:

"The fastest route would be to take a boat and go north along the east coast, then transfer to a steam train. However, considering that the kidnappers are from the 'Underground Railroad', they should be able to take the steam train all the way. If they plan it well, they will have plenty of time."

"Yes."

Wayne nodded. "So if they are in a hurry, then the Fisk family will definitely need to take a steam train for the last leg of their journey. Therefore, the staff at the steam train station is also a direction to look for.

"In addition, the place where the people from the Fisk family are currently staying is also worth paying attention to. The kidnappers will definitely find a way to contact them again, unless they don't intend to ask for a ransom at all."