Chapter 579: Light and Shadow

It was midnight; the bonfire party had long since ended, and the sounds near the mill had quieted down once more.

The Agents who were about to be dispatched could rest tomorrow and would officially depart the day after, so after half a day of fighting and a night of drinking, everyone from the Detective Agency stayed overnight at the mill.

According to Wayne’s plan, this place would become a “workshop” for mass-producing sauces, reprocessed cheese, and luncheon meat, as well as the Detective Agency’s stronghold in Richmond. In the future, it would be normal for Agents to gather here.

Unfortunately, only the perimeter wall had been built so far; the living cabins had not yet been renovated and rebuilt. So, the ladies temporarily stayed in the mill, while the gentlemen fended for themselves, setting up tents, sleeping in carriages, or burrowing into the original dilapidated wooden houses.

A figure stealthily left the mill, not daring to use the “main entrance.” She tried to climb over the wall several times before finally succeeding.

The owl, which had just transformed from a “ground chicken” back into a “glider,” had already soared into the night sky. Inside the wall, a small group of people quickly huddled together again, and a simple grid pattern was drawn on the ground with a branch.

Lina looked up at the owl’s position. “Minimum bet of 1 dollar. Winners will split the pot according to their bet ratio, and losers will forfeit everything. Hurry, hurry, or we’ll run out of time.”

There were four betting options: escape, go home, rendezvous, and report.

These corresponded to the little dark girl’s “attempting to escape the Plantation again,” “returning after going to the slave quarters,” “returning after a private encounter with a dark-skinned slave,” and “returning after contacting the overseers or foremen,” respectively.

Although the Detective Agency could accept the little dark girl’s inclusion, “personnel vetting” was still a hurdle no one could avoid.

After all, the little dark girl had a record of attempted escape, and Wayne and the others couldn’t rule out the possibility that she was an undercover Agent sent by the Beaton Family.

The reason “report” was set as “contacting the overseers or foremen” was because slaves, in fact, had no right to report “heretics” and “Fallen” to the church—if they encountered patrolling police officers or slave patrols on the way, they would be directly arrested. Even if the report was true, it didn’t mean they had a reason to act without their master’s permission.

Regardless of the little dark girl’s specific reasons for doing so, for the Detective Agency, the more acceptable options were “go home” and “rendezvous,” and the understandable option was “escape.”

However, if there were signs of “reporting,” whether the little dark girl intended to reveal the Detective Agency’s Extraordinary Person situation or tried to secretly pass internal information about the Detective Agency to the Beaton Family, it would mean she was “untrustworthy.”

Lina pulled a 10-dollar bill from a roll of cash and placed the first bet. “I specifically chatted with her for a while tonight. I don’t think her thoughts are that complicated. The slave who escaped with her last time should be her lover. Now that the situation has stabilized a bit, I think she’ll probably go to confirm his safety.”

Willie and Emma teamed up to earn pocket money. The two little ones whispered for a while and placed a large Double Eagle gold coin on “go home”: “She secretly hid a lot of food tonight. If she was just going on a date, she shouldn’t need to bring that much.”

Doug and Ryan were more rational, imitating Inessa by just observing and not participating. The remaining Agents who gathered around hesitated, with more betting on “report” and “escape.”

Sanders had been teased all night and hadn’t recovered from today’s “social death.” At this moment, he barely spoke, exuding a world-weary aura of “Boss, tell me who to cut, and I’ll cut them.”

Wayne pondered for a moment, “If more than one situation occurs, how should it be calculated?”

“No way, right?” Lina was slightly suspicious, looking down at the grass. “Go home first, then rendezvous, then report, and then escape? Is it necessary to make one’s nightlife so fulfilling?”

Inessa had already understood: “According to the books I’ve read in Windsor, the punishment for runaway slaves in Southern America is not light. Female slaves might be fine, but male slaves would at least face flogging or other corporal punishment. It’s very likely that they are currently in solitary confinement, and other slaves might also face increased supervision.

“Therefore, whether it’s ‘go home’ or ‘rendezvous,’ they probably need to get permission from the overseer, which would look like ‘reporting.’”

Lina understood and immediately began to plug the loophole. “Peter and Liam are both following her now. If it’s to plead to see a lover or family, it doesn’t count as ‘reporting.’ It only counts if the corresponding content is discussed.”

“Alright.”

Wayne tossed 1 dollar onto “go home,” treating it as throwing it into a wishing well to watch the splash. “She grew up on the Plantation; she should understand the situation. I don’t think it’s realistic for her to want to see her companion again after only three days.”

…

With Lina enthusiastically following up, Wayne wasn’t too worried about the person running away.

He was about to return to the carriage, preparing to doze off and wait for news, when Willie poked his head in again, seemingly checking if Wayne was asleep.

Recalling that Willie had shown similar signs during today’s team-building event, Wayne tapped the carriage window from inside. “Is something wrong?”

Willie was a bit embarrassed: “The case I’ve been investigating recently has made a little progress. It’s not a crucial development, so I wanted to find a time when you weren’t too busy, sir, to give a brief progress report…”

“It’s alright, come in and tell me.”

At this moment, Wayne was indeed quite free. It was the middle of the night, nothing was urgent, and he was only a little curious about the little dark girl’s outcome. Otherwise, Wayne would have just gone to sleep.

After Willie sat in the carriage, he pondered for a moment: “Although we haven’t found more direct physical evidence, James Damody’s gang sometimes doesn’t act so discreetly. Through interviews, we have now found some witnesses willing to testify against them. If the jury accepts their testimony, we might be able to eliminate his gang right now.”

“Can we overturn the case of that reporter from before?” Wayne asked.

Willie shook his head. “They are all other related cases… If James Damody himself doesn’t plead guilty, the charges can only fall on some other members of his gang. However, as long as those members are caught, it will be enough to make their gang unable to continue existing.”

This was the troublesome part about gangs. If it were bandit gangs operating in the wilderness, encountering them and killing everyone present would be considered “eliminating harm for the people.”

But gang leaders often don’t need to act themselves. If there’s no direct evidence and their subordinates don’t come forward to identify them, then they are often “innocent.”

As for those who hide behind the scenes and direct gang leaders, they are usually even more “innocent”—trying to accuse them might even result in a defamation conviction.

Wayne thought for a moment, “So your opinion is to temporarily give up on the reporter’s case and Mr. Schwartz who is hiding behind it, and directly prosecute the members of their gang based on the other related cases for which evidence and witnesses have already been obtained?”

Willie seemed a little uneasy: “Yes… Sir, you asked me to contact the prosecutor in Richmond last time, and he expressed the same view as me. He believes that rather than being held back by uninvestigated cases, it’s better to first send the gang members who can already be convicted to court. For ordinary people, those who directly commit the acts are actually worse.”

If you don’t pull out the roots, and it backfires, the repercussions could be huge…

However, on the list given by Tiriel… ah no, Bishop Tyrrell, the targets to be eliminated only went up to James Damody’s level. Mr. Schwartz behind him was not a pre-determined “elimination target”…

Thinking of this, Wayne quickly nodded. “Okay, I support you in doing this. In any case, eradicating gangs is a good thing.”

“Really?” Willie seemed a little surprised, but more than that, he was delighted.

Wayne smiled and patted Willie’s shoulder, encouraging him, “Yes, go for it. Let me know promptly if you need support.”

This was a kind child. If he could be guided correctly, he might have a chance to become an excellent detective.

Then, before Willie left in high spirits, Wayne added, seemingly casually, “Oh, right, also, please call Doug and ‘Soften’ over for me.”