New Gods of North America.

Chapter 319 Reply
"Hello, my name is Vincent Spaulding, and I'm a businessman."

The next afternoon, Wayne, who had already made a trip to Richmond overnight, met the client in the courtyard of the detective agency.

It was a stranger, he looked to be in his thirties, not very tall, a bit short and fat, but he seemed to be quite agile.

The carriage he rode in was not eye-catching in a city like Georgeburg where rich people gathered. Although the clothes he wore were tailor-made formal suits, they did not look high-profile.

When he sat on the sofa in the reception room and took out a gold cigar box inlaid with gems, he suddenly revealed the temperament of a "rich man" who would spend a lot of money in a messy place.

"Thank you, I don't smoke."

Wayne took a look at the cigar with the collector's edition label and politely declined the other party's offer to share it with him. "I heard from the detective agency that you have some valuables that you would like us to transport?"

Seeing that Wayne didn't reach out, the other party didn't light it for himself:
"That's true. I own several merchant ships and am currently engaged in ocean trade.

“Because I have a business deal that I need to go to the Old World to discuss in person, and I can’t go back to Georgia for the time being.

"But my wife's birthday is approaching, and I don't want her to miss my gift, so I plan to entrust your detective agency to help me escort the gift over."

Wayne raised his head and glanced at the hand of the butler standing behind the man. "I'm curious, what kind of precious and thoughtful gift is that?"

The other party snapped his fingers.
The butler respectfully placed the box in his hand on the small table next to the sofa, and then opened it facing Wayne.

Wow,

Jewelry necklace.

The pendant part is made up of several large rubies with translucent color. The size gets bigger towards the center. The necklace part looks like it is made up of sections, each section is inlaid with slightly smaller but not too small rubies.

Wayne doesn't know how to appreciate jewelry, but at least he knows how to "look at the color", "compare the size" and "count the quantity":
"Your gift looks very valuable. Your ladyship will be very happy after receiving it. I wonder how you heard about our detective agency and why you are willing to entrust such a valuable item to us for transportation?"

The other party looked unconcerned:

"I read a report about your detective agency in the newspaper. It said that you are a well-known detective agency with a good reputation. It happens to be in Georgeburg, not far away, so I asked someone to come here. As for the price of the necklace... I don't know much about it. I bought it from a duchess who was in urgent need of cash. I spent 8000 gold pounds."

Hmm…
The price was several thousand pounds, and Wayne couldn't figure out who would be more cheated, the one who bought the slate or the one who bought the jewelry necklace.
But according to the current situation, the recipient will definitely not be this gentleman. If the detective agency delivers the item and the other party says that the item has been replaced with a fake one, then they will definitely become the biggest victim.

Wayne suddenly realized the possible risks involved, so he made up a reason:

“In order to better protect the property safety of our employers, out of caution, our detective agency usually needs to identify high-value items like this before accepting a commission to avoid accidents.

"If you don't mind, we may need to contact a professional jewelry appraiser before we can hand over the valuables."

"But I may have to leave Georgeburg tonight."

The other party seemed to be in a dilemma. "My fleet just happened to pass through Virginia for supplies and will not stay for too long. And I am willing to believe in the reputation of the detective agency that can be published in the newspaper. You just need to deliver the things in time. Or you can find the appraiser as soon as possible. I can wait here for the time being."

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll go see if there is any solution."

Wayne called Doug, who was waiting outside the reception room, in to temporarily replace the waiter, and walked towards the independent cabins at the back of the courtyard, wondering if Inissa or Lina might know more about this, or if Miss Olivia, who happened to be visiting them, could take over.

Inissa doesn't know much about jewelry. Although Lina can basically judge the authenticity and value of jewelry, she is not sensitive enough to the market price, so the error may be large.
In the end, it was all thanks to Miss Olivia that came to the rescue. According to her assessment, the ruby necklace could be bought for several thousand gold pounds, which was indeed a relatively affordable price.

Mr. Vincent didn't seem to expect the appraiser to come so quickly, and he even praised Miss Olivia.

Anyway, even though the other party claimed to be settled in Atlanta and didn't even know Miss Olivia of the local Fisk family, at least the necklace and US dollars were real.
The delivery address left by the other party was confirmed by Miss Olivia and was indeed in a wealthy neighborhood in Atlanta.

Miss Olivia just secretly laughed at herself and said, "Maybe my social circle is not wide enough," and then stuck out her tongue playfully.

Afterwards, Wayne and the other party signed a simple contract on the spot, which stated the characteristics of the items, the number of jewels, and the latest delivery time.
Mr. Vincent was a relatively generous employer. He did not ask for any compensation clauses or anything like that. The small box containing the $2000 reward was directly taken from the carriage by the butler.

In addition, there was a letter from home, saying that if the items could be delivered in time, the other party's wife would give a balance.

Compared to money, Mr. Vincent obviously cares more about whether his gift can be delivered in time, and he clearly hopes that the detective agency can send a strong and reliable security team.

After hearing that Wayne, the head of the detective agency, could not escort the girl personally, he was a little disappointed, but he accepted the arrangement of other partners in the detective agency to escort the girl.

Then the host and the guests were all happy.

Wayne respectfully escorted the guests to the door of the detective agency's office warehouse, and then began to arrange personnel according to the plan.

As for the church, it did not provide a better solution to the problem of the scope of application of the concession.

David Mills said he did not have the authority to send interstate missions.
Tom Hagen told Wayne last night that the management of different archdioceses is independent of each other, and even the chief archbishop of the church has no right to forcibly intervene in some local affairs.

It even seemed from his tone that he didn't want Wayne to arrange for too many agents to leave Virginia.

Wayne had already given up the idea of accepting the commission, but when he walked into the prayer hall of the cathedral, he unexpectedly ran into Bishop Corleone who was meditating alone in front of the huge Holy Spirit emblem.

After Bishop Corleone had a general understanding of the situation, he gave a different answer:

“If you care too much about shelter, it will only become your shackles.

"And you all seem to have misunderstood one thing - a charter is actually no different from any other piece of paper with words or numbers written on it. It is only effective for those who recognize it.

"If you think of it as armor, you might end up being shocked to see it easily pierced by the enemy. The correct use of it might be to use it as an incendiary device and then throw it lightly under the stake where the enemy is tied."

Wayne pondered the bishop's words and tried to confirm, "If people from other parishes do not approve of it, can members of our detective agency resist?"

Bishop Corleone chuckled and slowly walked away from Wayne:
"Most elderly people have good tempers and will not quarrel over children's fights, let alone go to other people's homes to argue. But if they can't even run back home when they are bullied, or if they lose every fight, such children may never have the chance to grow up."

Wayne felt that he understood.
Even wanted criminals know to cross state lines to evade capture, and as criminal nemesis, the detective agency must of course run faster than them.

(End of this chapter)