New Gods of North America

The clerk who was in charge of submitting the briefing looked quite scholarly.

Facing Pastor Bazini's questioning, his expression still looked calm:

"We conducted background checks on several key targets and sorted out their movements in recent months. We found that they did not have many personal connections with each other. Some of them even had no signs of private communication due to work. After searching their homes, no suspicious items or letters were found.

"The only commonality we could find among them was that they had all used a small prayer room in the church many times alone. At first we thought it was a contact point for them to communicate privately, but their memories were too consistent and completely unified in various details to be explained by a simple private connection.

"After the final inspection, we currently believe that the holy emblem in the small prayer room may have been 'contaminated', so we would like to apply for its containment, or conduct a destructive inspection."

Wayne was puzzled when he heard this.

Although the holy emblem representing the Holy Spirit appears to be very "holy" in the theological sense,

But it is just an ordinary item after all. Many believers, including Wayne, have one in their homes. If you suspect there is a problem, just take it for inspection. Is it necessary to "ask for instructions"?

But Reverend Bazzini and Tom Hagen obviously don't think so.

Tom Hagen thought for a moment and asked Pastor Bazzini, "Why don't I go take a look first? If there is any problem, I will come back and report to you."

Reverend Bazzini tapped his fingers on the table a few times, then he stood up:

"I'll go and take a look too."

…

As a "third party" witness, Wayne, out of curiosity, followed the others back to the church in a carriage. When they walked into the so-called "small prayer room\

,"Then I realized that I was indeed a little off track.

Usually when people walk into a church, they will soon arrive at a large space which is usually composed of a nave, an altar, and a chancel. Ordinary people may call it the "prayer hall", which is the place where believers gather together to receive sermons.

Many churches keep this area looking empty during normal times, and clergymen usually don't stay here all the time.

This is to make it convenient for believers to pray or talk to the "Holy Spirit" alone when necessary.

However, there is actually "no one" here. If believers need anything, they only need to ask and the clergy will come out from the side hall to provide help.

So even the dumbest thief would not think that the donation box in the church can be stolen at will.

In addition to the prayer hall, there are also relatively more private small prayer rooms in the church.

This place is mainly for church members to conduct daily personal prayers - devout believers usually pray at least five times a day, in the morning, evening and before meals.

However, if you are a local believer who is familiar with the church, you will not be stopped if you go directly to the small prayer room.

The small prayer room that Wayne and his companions arrived at had already been renovated to look like it was under renovation.

Most of the paintings and decorations on the wall were taken down, and the corresponding items in the room were moved aside and labeled differently.

The floor tiles have basically been lifted up, revealing the plain "ground" underneath.

There was only one area that remained intact, but it was "sealed" by a strip of cloth with runes on it.

It was where people knelt and prayed facing the holy symbol.

Wayne took a quick look at the holy emblem half-embedded in the wall. It looked like it was made of jade and metal and was located in a "shrine".

And judging from the color of its surface, it is probably an "antique" that is quite old.

Wayne judged from his physical sensation that this should be an extraordinary item from the sacred realm.

The clerk who was responsible for submitting the briefing to Pastor Bazzini, who seemed to be of a high rank in the church, also came over.

Pastor Bazzini moved closer and looked at the holy emblem for a while, then turned to look at the clerk:

"This holy emblem cannot be restored once it is removed. Are you sure of your judgment?"

The clerk no longer looked like a "scholar" at this time, but rather like a sly guy:

"Based on the current conclusions, it is most likely that there is something wrong with it. But we cannot rule out other possibilities for the time being."

Pastor Bazzini looked around the small prayer room.

Finally, he waved his hand and said, "Then tear it down. I hope you won't come to a disappointing conclusion in the end."

Wayne originally wanted to stay and continue watching to see what was so special about that thing.

Unfortunately, he was politely asked to leave by several clergymen who were in charge of investigating the scene.

It was Tom Hagen who came over with understanding, pushed Wayne aside, and explained the confusion to Wayne:

“You should have heard of the history of Georgeburg Church, right? It was originally a church built by the Windsor Anglican Church during the colonial period.

"In some important churches that believe in the Holy Spirit, there are some special holy emblems. They are extraordinary items in themselves, and are often connected to magic circles. Most of them can play a certain role in 'cleansing the soul' or 'eliminating filth'.

“Therefore, many believers like to pray to them, believing that it will be more effective and can bring them closer to the Holy Spirit.”

Wayne was about to continue asking,

Tom Hagen just "shushed" a little:

“This little secret is usually only known by the pastor who manages the church and some special investigators. You just need to roughly understand what is going on and don’t delve too deeply into it.

"By the way, whether one can keep the church's secrets is also an indicator of whether one is friendly to the church. I believe you should have no problems in this regard."

Got it.

This thing was supposed to be a magical little prop used by the church to strengthen the "faith" of its believers.

If we think a little more divergently, "judging sinners" is actually a manifestation of strong faith.

So Wayne honestly changed the subject, "If there really is something wrong with it, then our next move is to track down the person who tampered with it?"

Tom Hagen thought for a moment:

“Your people should stay in the old police station and wait for orders.

"The Church of Windsor once planned to expand this place into their first cathedral in the New World. The status and historical value of the holy emblem are not low, and it is not easy for ordinary people to destroy it. Assuming that it is really "contaminated", then the subsequent investigation and accountability will probably have to be decided by the bishop."

Wayne understood more clearly that this was a case of getting rid of someone after he had done his work. "If that's the case, then how do we calculate the 'performance' of our detective agency in this case?"

Tom Hagen was playing innocent, "Did you catch the murderer?"

"We caught them. We caught many of them in the manor yesterday. Have you forgotten? We also caught Roy Stampler and the others." Wayne retorted.

"Hahahahaha," Tom Hagen patted Wayne on the shoulder, "Then I will report to the bishop."

Tom Hagen said, and moved a little closer to Wayne:

"If this matter really develops like that, it will not be a good thing going forward. I suggest that you take David with you more often during this period of time when you have time, even if it is just to take him around Georgeburg."