New Gods of North America.

Chapter 464 Order
Wayne and Inesa went to two bars one night. In addition to asking the bartenders, they also had to pick out a few suitable people from the regular customers of the bar to have private chats with them.

This is not only to obtain more information, but also for mutual comparison, so as to avoid encountering one or two guys who are not telling the truth, which would directly lead the entire investigation into trouble.

As is often the case with prisoners, once a lie is told, it is often followed by countless lies to cover it up.
After Wayne had done the work, Inesa's subsequent investigation basically followed the character setting. She directly borrowed the name and identity of Freddy Lowndes as a reporter. Sanders could only act as a bodyguard tonight, but if Wayne didn't come later, Sanders would have to take over the role of "Miss Lowndes' lackey."

The investigation continued until late at night. It was not because Wayne and his team did not want to continue, but mainly because the later it was, the higher the rate of drunkards' drunken talk.

When they are slightly or moderately tipsy, you can take the opportunity to find out the truth that the other person may not have meant. But when they are really drunk, most of what they say will be mumblings like "Aba Aba", and you have to be on guard against the other person suddenly launching an "acid spray" filled with the smell of alcohol.

The next morning, the detective agency first picked up the two Williams, and then went to one of the trading companies where the murderer had worked before.
This company is the one where Lina believes the murderer's "personality and behavior patterns have changed." It is not very large, and its profit level is probably similar to that of the first office. Even the boss himself was actually a salesperson who jumped out to work on his own.

However, the trading company earns the price difference between "in and out", which is different from the business model of the detective agency where the labor and equipment costs account for the majority.
With the same profit level, the actual investment required by a trading company and the turnover amount on the books are actually much larger than those of a detective agency. Therefore, the boss looks more like a "successful person" in the popular sense of this era, and his attitude towards Wayne and others is closer to "I'll give you face and cooperate for the sake of official duties."

Since it is a "face-giving", it is a little difficult for the detective agency to see many things about the accounts. Wayne also understands that for a trading company, the identity of the customer and the specific quotation are business secrets, which involve the foundation of its own survival.

Therefore, the agents mainly talked with the nearly ten clerks of the trading company during the day, and borrowed a utility room from the other party as an office at night to organize the conversation materials.

The boss was fairly easy to talk to, and even gave Wayne and his team the keys to enter and exit the office—theoretically, of course, they were given keys to the "police" or "investigators"—so that they could work overtime on their own. The detective agency also reciprocated by promising not to leak or use the other party's business secrets, and to pay for the lighting expenses themselves.

But the things that needed to be investigated still had to be investigated. During the murderer's tenure, no cases had occurred in the trading company itself, and the business dealings did not seem to have been affected by any unexpected fluctuations. So at night Lina took people to open the safe, and looked through account books and other things to look for clues, and by the way, let the detectives practice the practical skills of "returning things to their original place".

"Although this company claims to be mainly engaged in the tobacco business, the bulk of its profits actually come from medicines and bandages. Although in theory it does not involve foreign trade, their buyers all look like agents of exporters. America should not have such a large demand for folk medicines, right?"

Lina just glanced at the account book and quickly came to a preliminary conclusion.
Wayne thought about what she had just said, raised his head and replied, "What they are dealing with are things like stopping bleeding and trauma, and the demand in America is still quite large. However, many places and cities have organizations such as doctors or pharmacists associations that will conduct unified procurement, so they are unlikely to buy at a premium."

Thanks to the war in the Old World, although the church obviously had a sense of crisis about the extraordinary people who were tempered in it, the merchants in America still had a good time.
Take bandages for example. The southern states are rich in cotton, and the hostile countries in the Old World control each other's supplies. Even if American products are a little more expensive, they will not be as suppressed by old powers like the Kingdom of Windsor as steel.

Inesa read more carefully and liked to read according to a certain train of thought and order. After she finished flipping through a book, she looked up and said, "Based on the investigation of the employees during the day, it seems that the murderer was quite enthusiastic about Ms. Lucy. Who is in charge of the business statistics that she has been responsible for following up in the past two years?"

Willy raised his hand quickly, then quickly pulled out his ledger and handed it over. "We are trying to categorize the business by the people who handled it, and thought this might be useful."

The differences in cultural level among the agents were also revealed at this time.
Although those who can become bounty hunters and have not died easily are generally considered to be "smart", and the literacy rate is not too low these days, most people still do not have the opportunity to receive a systematic education.

The agents were fine reading newspapers, but when flipping through account books, many of them felt like they were reading hypnosis materials. Even those who were more active and willing to learn, like Doug and Willy, found it a bit strenuous.

This type of business may be easier for someone like Seth to handle, but they haven't officially graduated yet, so they have to wait until they are officially employed. Besides, their combat effectiveness is a bit weak. The detective agency still needs more people who are barely adequate in all aspects.

So Wayne silently designed corresponding cultural courses for the agents in his mind, thinking whether he should add some "elective courses" in the detective agency in the future. Just as there are ladders in the arena, there can also be ladders in professional ability.

For two days afterwards,
Based on the time nodes and character relationships, several businesses that the murderer is likely to want to get in touch with were selected.

Business transactions in those days were not as standardized as they are in later generations. After initially reaching a deal with customers, trading companies sometimes had to make purchases in a timely manner to fill inventory. Some contracts would then have to continue to discuss price fluctuations. Only in the end would they decide who to supply first, which batch of goods to send, and how to make the specific delivery.

From the perspective of a "hidden organization", if they take action, they may want to take action on the goods of a certain business, perhaps to "take something" from it, or perhaps to "add something" to it.

The detective agency doesn't need to worry about the grievances of the old continent, but in fact, when it finds specific people and things, sometimes the identities of the hostile parties will surface by themselves.
Lina seemed very experienced at such times. "Let's check the order from 'Molière' first. It's a typical Frankish name, and it's buying cotton products. It looks like an order that the people of Windsor would want to tamper with."

The Windsor people are extremely evil, right? Why do they always think of them first when doing bad things...

(End of this chapter)