Chapter 2064 Parsifal Club
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 distant northern city of Tobesk, but it has a huge circulation in the Moon Bay area. Of course, although it sounds like a serious newspaper commenting on current affairs, it is actually a well-known local tabloid.
If the story of Shad and Miss Carina took place in Yuewan City, then they would become the resident celebrities of this newspaper.
Mr. Cooper, a reporter codenamed “Boatman,” was the person Shade was looking for. When Shade saw him at the newspaper office, he was checking a manuscript and was frightened when he saw the salesman’s business card of “United Fruit Company.” A jump. 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.
Xia De 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 doubt whether I am a reporter or a writer. Novelist of illegal publications. Okay, let’s go have a drink. Don’t you have something to ask?”
Compared to an agent, this reporter, who is of medium build and even has a slight belly, looks more like an ordinary worker who is tired of his job under the pressure of life. The two sat down to eat and chat in the pub, and Mr. Cooper insisted on paying the bill himself:
“Can be reimbursed.”
After a pause, he added:
“It can be reimbursed both at home and at the newspaper office.”
Xia De 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 things.”
“Please don’t be so polite. Arranging for me to coordinate matters in Yuewan City for you is enough to show your importance. What is the specific matter?”
“First I want to ask about someone.”
Xia De lowered his voice. The tavern was quite busy at noon, and their conversation was not eye-catching:
“Freeman Hawthorne.”
“If the lemon invades the wealthy Jie, I don’t even need to inquire about this news.”
The reporter pointed to 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 Earl of Hawthorne 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 did not participate in politics. He is the one farthest from the core power of the Hawthorne family, and he is also the one with the worst reputation. At least one-fifth of the local gangs are related to him, and he handles most of the Hawthorne family’s shady affairs. ”
A few simple sentences basically outlined the outline of the character, so 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 There is no reimbursement for going to that kind of place. But if you really want to go, I can find a way to apply for an activity fund.”
He kindly reminded Xia De, and Xia De nodded gently:
“There is no rush about funding. In recent months, has there been any news about the Hawthorne family coming into contact with mysterious figures?”
The reporter thought for a moment while holding the wine glass:
“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 intelligence dealer. Behind her is one of the seven families. Although she is not from us, you tell her that it was Mr. Boatman who asked you to go. Yes, she will be willing to help you.”
So, as long as you have local connections, those seemingly difficult things can be solved with just a few words.
Shad and Mr. Cooper had lunch peacefully, and listened to the other party tell 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, and the latter was more like an urban legend.
After lunch, Shade’s investigation continued. He put aside the matter of Gray Gloves 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 was very similar to the place where Shade saw MI6 meeting with the Gray Glove leaders when he was in the City of Glass. 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 not something that this kind of wall could do at all. Can be stopped.
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 were a lot of tidbits about Freeman Hawthorne, and with simple hypnosis and spiritual guidance under the influence of powerful mental power, he quickly found the target on the fourth floor.
Shad 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, he heard What came instead was the sound of a whip being waved.
After quietly entering the door, he locked the door again. Then he 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 turned.
Of course the two women with few clothes tied to the chair also saw Shade, but their mouths were also gagged, so their eyes widened and they could only make whining noises, unable to alert Free. Mann Hawthorne.
Shad successfully “sneaked” again and knocked Freeman Hawthorne unconscious from behind. When he woke up again, his whole body was already firmly tied to the chair with hemp rope, and Shade, standing 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. Looking at your expression, it seems that you don’t care about them very much.”
“What do you want?”
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 that runs through his left cheek, he would have the temperament of an artist.
His height is basically the same as Shade, but his body is very thin. He didn’t panic, but asked questions calmly. Wearing only a pair of loose pants, Shade looked up and down at his clothes and appearance. His psychological quality was indeed very good:
“If you want money, I can give you a bearer draft, which can be cashed by any bank in Yuewan City. If you want me to help with something, I don’t mind making a very capable friend. If You were hired by someone else, and I can pay three times the price. This is Yuewan, and I am Hawthorne. I can fulfill almost all your wishes.”
Xia De sneered. He hoped he was sneering, this expression didn’t suit him:
“In order to find you, I went around the Moon Bay for a long time.”
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 if I think about it carefully, there is no need to waste that kind of time. Answer my three questions, I only need three Answer.”
“You said.”
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 a common topic, look at the rope you tied, it is really professional, and we can communicate. My friend, this is the Parsifal Club, you should Tie up the girl, not me the man.”
Xia De doesn’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 people want to send those cards to you. Are those cards there now? Do you know what series the three cards in your hand 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”
“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 the Rhodes cards were first created, and it was what everyone wanted. But To be honest, 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. .”
Xia De frowned slightly. He originally just asked casually to confuse his true purpose, but he didn’t expect to get such an answer. Although it is unlikely, it does not rule out that the “Original” series of cards will appear in the Yuewan area.