New Gods of North America.

Chapter 547 Research
After being scolded again, Lina decisively changed the subject, "Didn't you go out to investigate a case like Inesa? Why are you back so soon?"

Wayne nodded, "Of course I have something to talk to you and Parker about. By the way, where is Parker? I didn't see him in the kitchen just now."

Lina tilted her head towards the downstairs. "He should be in the basement preparing the ingredients for tonight. There was too much dust when he knocked on the wall just now. He has to find a place to prepare in advance."

Wayne had finished making his presence felt with the potential sponsor, and turned to leave, "Then I'll go down and find him."

"Wait a minute, didn't you say you had something to talk to me about? What do you want to do?" Lina asked, and Miss Olivia also looked over.

Well……

Although it is not legal, it is not something that can be seen in public...

If I hide it from Miss Olivia now, I might lose favor with potential sponsors for no reason.

Wayne thought for a moment and told the truth: "I just met the real 'murderer' in that case. He is willing to tell the truth, but there is another mastermind behind the scenes, and he seems to be a big shot.

"He should have a letter from the mastermind in his hand. If you ask him directly for it, he will probably not only not give it to you, but also choose to destroy it. I hope you can get the letter without alerting the other party. Let's take a look at the content first and try to extract more valuable clues."

Lina's eyes rolled slightly, "Is the security there tight?"

Wayne: "It's just an ordinary small gang. There are not many people, and they are all ordinary people. Although they have hidden some weapons such as lever-action rifles, the danger should not be too high. The main thing is to maintain the status quo as much as possible to prevent the other party from overreacting."

"That's easy." Lina continued to lower her head and sniff the perfume sprayed on her wrist. "It just so happens that I can take Liam and Chameleon with me. It's time for Willy to undergo a practical test."

After saying that, Lina stretched her right wrist towards Miss Olivia and said, "I still prefer this one, the middle note is softer, would you like to smell it?"

Miss Olivia first picked up a small bag of coffee beans on the table and sniffed it twice, then moved her face closer.

But she didn't comment on the perfume, but asked other questions:
"What case are you investigating now? Hasn't the assassination been solved? And why do you need to steal letters from the gang?"

Wayne wasn't sure whether the list given by Reverend Tyrell was considered "confidential", but it was best to "let those who know know" about this kind of thing, and try not to mention it to those who don't know.
So he slightly modified the content, "We are investigating a new case these days - there is a problem with a previous murder case in Richmond, and the murderer who was tried was wrongly accused. Now we are trying to clear the name of the innocent person, which can also be regarded as comforting the soul of the deceased."

Miss Olivia's eyes lit up: "It feels great to overturn the case for an innocent person and find the real murderer in just two days.

"I originally thought that the reports in the newspapers were a bit exaggerated. It turns out that you are really the 'great detectives' mentioned in the news. The professors in the academy were asking each other a few days ago who invented 'fingerprints' and 'bloodstains'."

Wayne felt a little guilty after being praised, "It's not really the case..."

After he finished speaking, he winked at Lina, signaling her to pay attention to what she shouldn't say. "Lina also knows about this case. You two can talk slowly and let her tell you in detail."

……

Parker was found in the basement. The chef was whipping the cream in an ice bowl into foam.

His arms stirred at a constant speed, but his face was expressionless, giving people a sense of "not knowing how to get tired", which was a bit creepy. America has not yet reached the stage of "industrial ice making", but the natural ice trade along the east coast has matured. People will cut a large amount of thick ice from the northern lakes in winter and store it in cellars and sawdust.
Although it sounds a bit exaggerated, in fact, with proper storage, the loss of ice is less than people think. Not only have the major cities along the East Coast achieved "year-round ice use", but even in midsummer, there will be ice ships all the way south, and people can drink iced drinks on tropical beaches.

The price is not very cheap. In New York City, a pound of ice is at least 2 cents on average, while in the south, it may be calculated in US dollars per pound. The hotter the weather and the further south you go, the more expensive it is.

Ordinary people can only consume in small amounts, occasionally buying a small piece to chew on. However, the rich and the owners of large estates can have it all year round. In addition to preserving food and keeping it chilled, they even put the unclean parts in ice buckets and place them in the corners of the ballroom for summer cooling - Wayne guessed that maybe the young lady wanted to eat ice cream or something today.

But Wayne wasn't here to peek at tonight's menu.
Facing the chef's gaze, he began to ask, "Parker, do you have any preliminary finished products for the starch sausage and luncheon meat that I asked you to research before?"

Parker stopped what he was doing, pointed at the shelf behind him, and then began to answer: "I just tried making some today, but the taste and texture didn't seem to be ideal. I'm considering whether to change the dish."

Wayne took the opportunity to grab a spoon from the side and scooped a spoonful into the ice bowl. It was okay, not too sweet. Then he went to get the big plate that the chef pointed to and cut a slice with a knife.
I put it in my mouth and tasted it. Hmm... No.

The so-called "ham sausage" and "lunch meat" are essentially foods made by mixing meat paste and starch into a paste, then heating it in water to harden it.
It’s not that the food the chef cooked was bad, but Wayne could guess from the smell and texture of the meat that the meat content must be very high. If you take the labor into account, the cost might even be more expensive than the meat itself.

Wayne immediately gave Parker feedback: "This is not the 'lunch meat' I want. I hope that what you make should be something that barely has the 'texture and taste of meat', and the lower the cost, the better, rather than a special dish for banquets - of course, we can make some of this occasionally in the future for our own consumption."

Parker stopped what he was doing again, looking a little confused. "This contradicts Miss Lina's requirement of 'pursuing delicious dishes'."

"No no no."

Wayne didn't quite understand Parker's specific working principle, so he could only try to correct it like training an artificial intelligence:

"Although the food conditions in our detective agency are slightly better, in the case of meat shortage and relatively large minimum supply, being able to make luncheon meat as delicious as possible can also be considered a kind of 'pursuit of deliciousness'. I hope that the price of your finished product will be at least half the price of pork on the market, and preferably about one-third of the price."

The chef was a little down for a while, but fortunately he seemed to have figured it out after all. "But if we do that, it seems unlikely that the finished product will be 'delicious'..."

Wayne used his ultimate move and tried to continue to adjust: "I have a unique taste, I like it that way."

Unexpectedly, Parker accepted it very smoothly this time and nodded quickly, "Indeed. For Mr. Wayne who likes to use holy water for seasoning, it is not surprising that he would pursue some unique flavors of food."

Wayne: ...

Well, you're the chef, you're right.

Wayne previously thought that the gangster ecology in the dock area was "unhealthy" because they were essentially unproductive. However, in the eyes of the bigwigs, they occupied an ecological niche similar to that of "community police officers", which could prevent places that they could not manage or were too lazy to manage from becoming too chaotic.

Wayne has no experience in social governance, but he has read news about "cracking down on gangs" or "reform". If there are legal businesses that can allow some of them to participate, will there be fewer people who rely on "unconventional means" to make a living?
Taking a step back, if cheap food can be sold to the docks, then the buyers can be considered the "clients" of the detective agency in a sense.
Regardless of whether it is according to the rules of the "white world" or the "black world", "protecting customers" is a unilateral and reasonable action. Meeting the entry requirements of "cricket fighting" should not be considered "overstepping the line" in the eyes of the big powers.

Some guys involved in gangs also like to "do business", right?
Give me a piece of "sustainable development" and I will poach your people first when the time comes.

(End of this chapter)