Rebirth in America

In New York in the 1950s, people could hear reports about murders, robberies, kidnappings, and the five major Mafia families almost every day.

When Alex disappeared from a book signing, people initially thought he was hiding from detectives. But they soon realized something was wrong, and the bodyguards told the executives of cpt records. The supervisor then told Rudy and the Carpenter family the news.

In this era, there are no communication tools like mobile phones. If a person wants to hide and prevent anyone from finding him, it is easy to do so.

The Carpenters didn't think that Alex would be that kind of person. They knew that their eldest son was more eccentric, but they wouldn't do such worrying things.

"Why didn't he leave a message or call us to inform us? Something must have happened to him. It must be like this. We need to call the police quickly, call the police quickly!"

Angel was restless and walked around excitedly. She thought that something bad had happened to Alex and that was why he disappeared quietly.

Faced with Angel's request, Bart almost nodded in agreement. Fortunately, Rudy stopped them. He said: "Don't get excited. If Alex was kidnapped and we went to call the police, it would kill him."

After hearing Rudy's words, the Carpenters immediately calmed down.

Yes, if the kidnappers knew that they had called the police, they might kill them.

"But even if we don't call the police, the bodyguards and detectives will know some of the situation, as well as the book fans at the scene. God knows how much they know.

Bart scratched his head in distress. He no longer knew what to do. If you call the police, the kidnapper may break up the case. If you don't call the police, there is no way to know what happened to Alex. Maybe Alex was not kidnapped by the kidnappers, maybe Alex had other accidents.

"Then the bodyguards must keep their mouths shut and not tell any information. The most important thing is not to let reporters know about this matter. As for the agents, they should be people who can keep secrets. I have a friend who has some relationship with the agents. Maybe you can ask him for help in contacting you.

There was no waiting for Rudy to contact his friend. People came to the door. Two people came, both wearing gray and white suits and black felt wide-brimmed hats. They looked like office workers on Wall Street.

One of the agents with a hooked nose put his finger on the edge of his hat and saluted them: "Hello, Mr. Carpenter, Mrs. Carpenter!"

"Hello!"

When Bart first found out who these two people were, he was a little surprised. All Americans know about it, just like organizations like the Gestapo and the KGB. It is the secret police of the United States government. Anyone who is targeted. You won't feel like your life is easy.

Director Hoover is a more powerful figure than the President. He would rather offend the President of the United States than Hoover.

They knew before that Alex was being watched by someone, but they didn't expect him to come to the door so arrogantly. I don't know what I want to do.

"We are here this time to find out more about the disappearance of your son Alex.

This time it was another agent who spoke. He had a face like a movie star. He looked very handsome and made people feel friendly.

Angel didn't have a good impression of the detective. She shouted angrily: "How dare you come up and ask how my son is doing. Haven't you been monitoring him all day long? I also want to ask if you have found me." Son. If you weren’t monitoring, how could Alex leave the signing event without bodyguards?

The hook-nosed agent frowned, but said nothing.

On the contrary, the handsome agent looked at Angel with a smile. He said softly: "We are monitoring him because we received news that someone is trying to harm him. Director Hoover sent us to follow your son in order to maintain social stability and protect celebrities.

Angel laughed angrily. When she was about to refute the other party's ridiculous remarks, Bart put his hand on her shoulder.

"Honey, don't be impulsive, listen to what the other person has to say first," he whispered in Angel's ear, stopping her from getting angry.

The celebrity face continued: "Half a year ago, we learned that the Ku Klux Klan, civil rights activists and unidentified people were collecting your information, especially Alex's information, which attracted much attention. A few months ago, there were clues It showed that someone was trying to monitor Alex's daily activity route. At this time, we decided to find these people and see what they wanted to do. So we arranged some people to protect Alex. Who knew what would happen? Such a misunderstanding comes

Bart and the others were stunned when they heard this. They didn't expect that this matter would be planned half a year ago, and that there would be so many people looking for their information. Not only the Carpenters, but even Rudy found it a bit creepy.

"You, you mean, the KKK, civil rights activists, and those unknown people came together to kidnap Alex?"

Bart asked a stupid question, but it was also because he was upset. When he asked the question, he knew how stupid his words were.

The detective shook his head with a smile and said: "We don't think they will unite. We just say that there are so many people paying attention to you. Whether they want to do you harm or have some plot, they will all target you." locked on Alex

This is indeed correct. The Carpenter family has risen too fast in recent years, almost by leaps and bounds. Record companies, electronic companies, brokerage companies, interstellar technology companies, battery factories, DreamWorks, toy factories, investment companies, television stations, etc., almost every company with the cpt prefix is ​​developing rapidly.

It was Alex who played a key role in this. Without him, none of this would exist. If it is an enemy of the Carpenter family, then the first goal must be to get rid of Alex. As long as Alex is gone, the development momentum of the Carpenter family will definitely slow down.

The hook-nosed agent said guidingly? : "They started paying attention to Alex half a year ago. Think about it, who is your biggest enemy?"

Angel shook his head and said: "Enemy, enemy? We don't know, we really don't know.

Bart didn't know who he had offended. He said: "Six months ago, Alex had just started touring and didn't do anything special.

"Tour? Could it be that the Ku Klux Klan people don't like him..."

Rudy's words quickly reminded the Carpenters. They immediately thought of what happened in Atlanta. But if it was really the KKK, then Alex would be in serious danger.

"Oh! No, it's impossible! Alex..." Angel covered his face with his hands in pain and whispered.

"T-So Alex was captured by the Ku Klux Klan? Should we call the police immediately?"

Bart also panicked. He knew very well how ferocious the KKK was. If it fell into their hands, it would be really bad.

The star-faced detective smiled. He stood up, walked a few steps casually, and then asked, "Maybe this time is really a kidnapping."

"What do we do?" Bart asked.

"You guys wait at home first. Maybe the kidnappers will call you and ask for ransom. As for us, we have to investigate in secret. Find out who kidnapped Alex.

"Then let's also ask the bodyguards to investigate together.

"No! Once your bodyguards are dispatched, reporters will soon smell something. Maybe the kidnappers are also secretly monitoring your bodyguards. It is best to let them work as usual and not do anything unusual.

The two detectives' repeated warnings convinced the Carpenters to give up the idea of ​​calling the police and sending people to search on their own. They said they would let you know as soon as there was any news. Then he said goodbye and left.

In the first few days, the situation was calm, and no one outside the world knew about Alex's disappearance. Those fans who couldn't wait for the signing were told that Alex was too busy to continue signing, so a newly released record was given as compensation.

After these book fans got the record, they were satisfied and did not expect anything unexpected to happen to Alex.

In any case, this matter has been suppressed for the time being. The Carpenters had been waiting for the kidnapper to call, but strangely they never got the call.

Waited for several days. They had begun to worry that something unexpected would happen to Alex when something unexpected happened.

A New York Times reporter accidentally learned that Alex left before the signing time was over, leaving many book fans waiting in vain for a long time. Although compensation was made afterwards, some fans still felt a little regretful. The reporter wanted to interview Alex to see his explanation for this matter.

When he went to contact Alex's agent. The other party told him that Alex was busy recording a record and did not want to give any interviews. Unexpectedly, the reporter did not give up, so he disguised himself and sneaked into the cpt record company, but Alex was nowhere to be found.

The reporter thought that this time would be in vain, so he planned to leave quietly. When passing by the locker room by chance, he heard two staff members chatting.

When they mentioned Alex, they said he hadn't appeared in the studio for many days and didn't know what he was up to.

The reporter with a sensitive sense of smell immediately knew that there was something wrong. He thought that Alex's agent had lied to him, but why he lied was worthy of further investigation. After almost a week of investigation, he came to a shocking conclusion, that is, Alex was probably missing or kidnapped.

When he wrote the news as a press release and sent it, the editor of the New York Times told him that the news must not be published.

"Why?"

The reporter was very angry. He felt that his investigation had been so hard and the news was so newsworthy, but he was told that he could not publish it. Wouldn't this make more than a week of his efforts in vain? How could it be like this?

"If you can't publish it, you can't publish it. Someone has already told us. During this period, all news about Alex cannot be published."

Although the editor's explanation was vague, the reporter knew exactly what it meant, that is, someone at a higher level was involved in the matter. As for whether it is a government agency or a consortium, it is unknown.

The reporter thought to himself, if you say you can’t publish it, then I’ll find another company. All in all, we must uphold press freedom and not let so-called high-level pressure affect it.

Unexpectedly, some other major newspapers also received similar pressure and were unwilling to publish this news. This made reporters start to get nervous. To have such a huge influence must be controlled by the government or an organization like this.

Fortunately, there are still many small and medium-sized newspapers in the United States that will not obey the orders of the government or the government. He quickly broke the news to some of the more gossipy tabloid newspapers, at the cost of his job at the New York Times and the opportunity to switch jobs to major newspapers. Major newspapers will not accept reporters who do not follow common sense.

News that Alex was missing or kidnapped began to circulate in a small area. Since he was now considered an American celebrity, such news quickly attracted people's attention. Several radio stations, television stations, and newspapers received calls inquiring about news about Alex.

People want to know if Alex's kidnapping is true, who kidnapped him, what demands the kidnapper made, etc. At this time, everyone knew that the news could no longer be concealed. As a result, the ban on Alex-related news was automatically lifted, and everyone began to report the news one after another, even the TV stations were no exception.

After radio programs, TV news, newspapers, etc., all media began to operate, Alex's disappearance or kidnapping was immediately made public.

The Carpenters' white brick mansion at 4052 New York was immediately surrounded by reporters. UU reading www.uukaｎshu． ｎｔEveryone who comes in or out here will be questioned by these reporters, whether they are relatives, friends, colleagues, etc. of the Carpenter family. Like flies, they chase news related to Alex everywhere. As soon as someone talks about Alex, they will pounce on it immediately.

Those reporters knew that Alex was missing or kidnapped, but no kidnapper ever called to ask for ransom. They wondered if Alex had been raped by the kidnappers.

At this time, Richard and Karen learned about the disappearance of their brother Alex. What is even more terrifying is that Alex may have been kidnapped or even raped. The two siblings immediately burst into tears in front of reporters, not knowing what to do.

Faced with such a situation, the Carpenters knew they could no longer hide it, so they asked Dill to publicly announce a reward of US$1 million on behalf of the Carpenter family to find clues related to Alex.

Soon, New York City Police Commissioner Morgan Carr also announced that an additional US$200,000 would be added to the US$1 million reward offered by the Carpenters.

Even major newspapers such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Herald began to offer rewards for relevant information. Suddenly, the entire United States was agitated about Alex's disappearance.