New Gods of North America

After preliminarily determining the direction of the investigation, everyone in the detective agency began to divide the work.

Wayne, Doug and Ryan are teaming up to scout the address left by butler Ian Fisk tonight and start taking turns to stake out.

The others don't need to worry too much for now.

Lina and Willy will try to find traces of the local "Underground Railroad" organization tomorrow. If they can find it, they will decide whether to negotiate formally with the other party.

Inesa's mission is a bit special. Tomorrow she will go to the cathedral to register, and then stroll around the steam train station.

Relying on the strongest brain, try to remember the appearance of the staff inside and some people nearby, and then move to other locations according to the situation to perform facial recognition on passers-by.

I don't know if it has something to do with the "Presidential Suite" or if the hotel's service is just that good.

After going downstairs and asking the hotel staff, someone prepared a carriage that was more suitable for driving in the city. They could even help Wayne and his friends deliver the carriage that they had rented from other places to the corresponding carriage shop.

Then, following the city map given by the service staff, Wayne and Doug came to the vicinity of Ian Fisk's current residence.

This guy is really rich. He probably came to Chicago just to stay temporarily, so he bought a single-family house in a wealthy neighborhood.

In an area where every inch of land is valuable, there is even a wall and a courtyard where horses can run.

Wayne and his companions' carriage first wandered around for a while, and then went into a small alley where they could see the main entrance of the courtyard.

Then several kind neighborhood patrol officers came over and asked Wayne why they were staying in the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

At first, Wayne said they were private detectives and were almost politely persuaded to leave. Later, he said that they were hired by the new owner of a house in the block to assist in security, and the other party did not really pull out a gun.

Wait until the patrolmen leave.

Doug opened the cage and released his owl, letting it walk around the villa along the wall to familiarize itself with the environment.

I didn't expect that after waiting for a long time, it didn't fly back.

Or Wayne thought about it and felt something was wrong.

I went over and told the servants guarding the courtyard gate about the situation.

After being invited into the mansion, the elegant old housekeeper grabbed the owl's legs together and carried it upside down as if it were an old hen.

I feel like if I had come a little later, I might have been plucked and put into the pot.

According to your current security strength,

Even a bird flying in would be caught, so which blind kidnapper would dare to contact you...

Ian Fisk was still awake at this time, and was said to be having a small party with some new friends he had made in Chicago.

He came over and showed his face, and thought Wayne's complaints made sense, so he asked:

"Do I need to buy another house to make it easier for the kidnappers to contact us?"

Tsk.

Sooner or later I will learn this kind of money ability.

Wayne reminded him to wipe the lipstick marks on the side of his neck, and then said it was unnecessary:

"Based on the current situation, the kidnappers will probably choose to contact you via letter. Even if someone sends it to you, it may not be their person. It's better not to cause trouble for the kidnappers."

Then Ian Fisk praised Wayne's detective agency, saying it was very efficient, and then went back to work.

I carried the owl and released it again in the courtyard.

Wayne returned to the carriage, thought for a moment, and decided to go back to the hotel to rest:

"Doug, you and Ryan will take turns guarding here. If anything happens, notify us in time. If you are in danger, call the patrol officers on the block and evacuate according to the situation."

Doug nodded in acceptance, and Wayne teased the parrot in the cage next to him.

Walk out of the block and find a horse-drawn carriage to go back to the hotel.

Doug's parrot can actually talk, but it rarely opens its mouth, so Wayne will occasionally tease it.

However, it was not very close to Wayne. Every time Wayne approached, it closed its eyes and turned its head away, as if it didn't want to pay attention to him but couldn't afford to offend him. So Wayne teased it more frequently.

…

The next day, Wayne had nothing to do, so he followed Inesa to the steam train station to recognize faces.

In the era when other modes of transportation were not yet popular, steam train stations and port terminals were crowded places in the city.

Chicago is no exception.

Inesa is beautiful and has a guitar case on her back.

Many small vendors such as shoe shiners and newspaper sellers thought that this was a performer who was ready to perform her talents on the street, and that this would attract a lot of people, so some were willing to give her good seats.

By the way, I also reminded Inissa to be prepared and leave in time if she saw gangsters coming - if they only came occasionally, it would not be worth it to be asked for protection money. There are several squares in the city, and that place is relatively better.

Inissa smiled and thanked the other party for his kindness. She and Wayne walked around the steam train station, then walked into the station and began to memorize the appearance of the staff.

There was one thing that surprised Wayne a little when he first noticed it, but it made sense when he thought about it.

Theoretically, the city of Kansas City that I visited before is located in Missouri, which is a slave state. Slaves actually account for a higher proportion of the population, but there is not even a single black person to be seen on the streets;

When we arrived in Chicago, Illinois, the passers-by here started to have black in white, but the black and white ratio was not as exaggerated as that of a piano keyboard. It was probably about the extent of blackberries dotted on a cream cake.

Wayne was carrying the ticket stub that Old Jack had given him, the one with the barcode-like damage and gaps.

Then Wayne took it together with the ticket for the steam train he had ridden before, and deliberately made up excuses to chat with the staff.

He tried a lot of things but none of them worked until Wayne walked to the ticket window.

One lady's eyes seemed to light up in response.

Wayne walked over decisively, but before he could make up an excuse, the other party spoke excitedly:

"Are you Mr. Wayne? The one with the detective agency?"

Hmm...

So why is our detective agency unexpectedly famous here in Chicago?

Wayne nodded in acknowledgment, and then the other party stood up behind the window counter.

"I'm an admirer of your detective agency's deeds! Ah, do you need to buy tickets? Which steam train do you need? I know the seat distribution and ticket sales situation, and I can secretly arrange a better seat for you."

Wayne made up an excuse that wasn't really an excuse, "We might be heading to Virginia soon, and wanted to ask if there are any suitable trains during this time."

This is my first time being a traffic star and I have no experience. Do you need autographs or handshakes when you meet fans in this era?

It shouldn’t be that bad…

"Virginia, yes. If you're heading to Williamsburg, there's a steam train that goes there every other day. Do you need to buy a ticket in advance?"

Wayne deliberately waved his hand and was about to refuse.

Only then did the other party notice what Wayne was holding in his hand, and he focused his eyes slightly, then moved slightly closer to the window, his eyes obviously brighter:

"Are you also on 'our' side, Mr. Wayne?"