The Sunday Review newspaper office is located on the bustling Clover Street on the edge of the lower city. This newspaper is not well-known in the far northern city of Tobesk, but it has a huge circulation in the Moon Bay area. Of course, although it sounds like a serious review
It is a current affairs newspaper, but in fact it is a well-known local tabloid.
If the story of Shade and Miss Carina happened in Yuewan City, then they would become the resident celebrities of this newspaper.
Reporter Mr. Cooper, codenamed "Boatman," was the person Shade was looking for. When Shade saw him at the newspaper office, he was checking a manuscript and was shocked when he saw the salesman's business card of "United Fruit Company"
After mutual authentication, he invited Shade to have a glass of wine at the tavern on the other side of Clover Street, and then have lunch together.
Shade was a little worried that this would delay the other party's affairs, but the reporter waved his hand in disgust:
"There is always news about affairs, cheating and illegitimate children, and the editor also requires us to fill in the details ourselves, and it must be eye-catching enough. Sometimes I even wonder whether I am a reporter or writing for an illegal publication.
Novelist. Okay, okay, let’s go have a drink, don’t you also have something to ask?”
Compared with an agent, this reporter, who is of medium build and even has a little belly, looks more like an ordinary worker who is tired of his work under the pressure of life. The two sat down to eat and chat in the pub. Mr. Cooper
Insist on paying your own bills:
"It can be reimbursed."
After a pause, he added:
"It can be reimbursed both at home and at the newspaper office."
Shade then accepted the other party's "good intentions" and explained his purpose:
"United Fruit has arranged for me to be active in the Yuewan area for a while, and I may come to bother you again in the future. This time I am here for two reasons."
"Please don't be so polite. Arranging for me to coordinate matters in Yuewan City for you is enough to illustrate your importance. What is the specific matter?"
"First I want to inquire about someone."
Shade lowered his voice. The tavern was quite busy at noon, and their conversation was not eye-catching:
"Freeman Hawthorne."
"If you refer to the Freeman of the Hawthorne family, I don't even need to inquire about this information."
The reporter pointed at his head, and when Xia De nodded, he introduced carefully:
"Among the 'Seven Glory Families of Moon Bay', the Eddington, Hawthorne and Belindle families still have the title of Earl of Carsonrick, and the remaining four families are viscount and baron. The current Huothorne
Earl Thorn is the grandfather of the 34-year-old Freeman Hawthorne. Freeman Hawthorne's father is the second son of the family and is now a member of the city council, and he covets the family title.
As for Freeman Hawthorne himself, he is not involved in politics. He is the one farthest from the core power of the Hawthorne family, and the one with the worst reputation. At least one-fifth of the local gangs are related to him.
He also handles most of the shady matters of the Hawthorne family."
A few simple sentences basically outlined the outline of the character, and Shade continued to ask:
"If I want to find this person, where should I go?"
"This is not troublesome. His daily life is very regular. It is Friday afternoon and he should be hanging out at the Parsifal Club in the east of the city. It is a high-end leisure place, or a high-end brothel. We go to that kind of place.
The place will not reimburse you. But if you really want to go, I can also find a way to apply for an activity fund."
He kindly reminded Xia De, and Xia De nodded slightly:
"There is no rush about the funding. In recent months, has there been any news about the Hawthorne family coming into contact with mysterious figures?"
The reporter held the wine glass and thought for a while:
"No, but if you need information, I can collect it, but it will take some time."
"No need, I know where the other party is. I will find a way to get the information myself. Then the second thing is, I want to make contact with the people in Gray Gloves. Is there any way?"
Although the two sides are hostile forces, sometimes they must have contact with each other, so Mr. Cooper is not very surprised:
"Let's go to the Parsifal Club. The female boss there, Mrs. Frey, is a well-known local information dealer. Behind her is one of the seven families. Although she is not from us, but you tell her that Mr. Boatman asked you to go, she
Will be willing to help you."
Therefore, as long as you have local connections, those seemingly difficult things can be solved with just a few words.
Shade and Mr. Cooper then had lunch peacefully and listened to each other's interesting stories about Moon Bay City and noteworthy things.
Of course, Shade did not forget to inquire about the "headless corpse" and the "blood-drained corpse". But Mr. Cooper didn't know much about it. He only knew that the former had made people in the city very uneasy in recent weeks, while the latter
More like an urban legend.
After lunch, Shade continued his investigation. He put aside the Gray Gloves matter for the time being. He still believed that the Hawthorne family and the mysterious Ring Warlock were more important.
Just as reporter Mr. Cooper said, the Parsifal Club, located in the east side of the city, is a well-known local technical workplace. The situation there is similar to what Shad met with MI6 and Gray Glove leaders when he was in the City of Glass.
The meeting place was very similar. A wooden lattice wall covered with morning glories and other flowers that Shade could not recognize blocked the view on the east side of the downhill road, but the four-story building with a large area behind it was
This kind of wall cannot stop it at all.
Under the lightly raining sky, it seemed that this building was the only colorful building in the entire street. But precisely because of the bad weather, no one paid attention to the red butterflies that flew out of the alley and flew into the window on the top floor of the club in the rain.
It is not difficult for Shade to find someone in an unfamiliar building. Relying on the photos given by the reporter - there are a lot of tidbits about Freeman Hawthorne, coupled with the powerful mental power
Through simple hypnosis and spiritual guidance, he quickly found his target on the fourth floor.
Shade knew in advance that Freeman Hawthorne was playing games with two girls in the room, but when he casually inserted a wire into the keyhole, shook it twice, and then used the "door key" to open the door, what he heard was
It's the sound of a whip waving.
After quietly entering the door, he locked the door again, and then discovered that the room was a large suite, so he followed the sound and turned left into the door, quietly approaching the man who was waving a whip with his back to him.
The two women with scanty clothes tied to the chair certainly saw Shade, but their mouths were also gagged, so their eyes widened and they could only make whining noises, unable to alert Freeman Howe.
mulberry.
Shade succeeded in "stealth" again, so he knocked Freeman Hawthorne unconscious from behind. When he woke up again, his whole body had been tightly tied to the chair with hemp rope, and he was standing on top of him.
Shade in front of him held the whip he just held in his hand:
"Don't worry about the two women just now. I knocked them unconscious and threw them into the outside room. Judging from your expression, it seems that you don't care about them very much."
"what would you like?"
Unlike most men's hairstyles, Freeman Hawthorne, who is in his thirties, has long hair and ties it into a braid behind his back. If it weren't for the scar on his face that runs through his left cheek, he would be quite handsome.
There is something about the temperament of an artist.
His height is basically the same as Shad's, but his body is very thin. He did not panic, but asked questions very calmly. He was only wearing a pair of loose pants. He looked up and down Shad's clothes and appearance. His psychological quality was indeed very good:
"If you want money, I can give you an bearer's draft, and any bank in Yuewan City can cash it. If you want me to help you with something, I don't mind making a very capable friend. If you are someone else
If you hire it, I can pay three times the price. This is Yuewan, I am Hawthorne, and I can fulfill almost all your wishes."
Shade sneered. He hoped he was sneering. This expression didn't suit him:
"In order to find you, I made a long circuit around Moon Bay."
It took half a day to collect various clues.
"I originally wanted to pretend that my pet dog was killed by you and I came to you for revenge, but after thinking about it carefully, there is no need to waste that kind of time. Answer my three questions, and I only need three answers."
"you say."
The man with his bare upper body frowned and looked at Shade:
"Or if you untie the rope, maybe we can go have a drink together. We will have something in common. Look at the rope you tied. It's so professional. We can communicate. My friend, this is the Parsifal Club. You should tie the girl.
, not me as a man.”
Shade didn't want to talk about this topic:
"Shut up. First question, there are recent rumors in the city that someone wants to sell three expensive special rules cards. I heard that your men want to send those cards to you. Are those cards in your hand now?
, do you know what series the three cards belong to?"
Freeman Hawthorne suddenly realized:
"So that's what you're doing?! Friend, do you want to play a game of Rhodes? I can do that."
"What do you think we are doing now? Answer my question."
Hawthorne licked his lips:
"Those idiots didn't get the cards, but I'm really interested in those three cards. I heard that one of them was issued in the era when Rhodes cards were first created, and it was something that everyone wanted. But to be honest,
My friend, I don’t know where they are. Now many people in the city want to get them. Although it was my people who killed the businessman who originally held the three cards, you really found the wrong person when you came to me."
Shade frowned slightly. He originally just asked casually to confuse his true purpose, but he did not expect to get such an answer. Although it is unlikely, it does not rule out that the "Original" series of cards appeared in the Moon Bay area.
