New Gods of North America.

Chapter 412 Unity
"You can't see the upper floors from the courtyard, and the trees completely block the view from any angle. I guess they designed it this way on purpose..."

Back at the manor, Lina knew where the restaurant in the main house was.
I used the telescope to look at several places from far and near, but I still couldn't get a peek at what was going on inside.

The garden trees near the main house showed their "exquisite arrangement" at this time.
To normal people, they look like ordinary manor landscaping.

However, if someone wants to quietly observe some specific areas in the main house from the outside, they will find that their sight will always happen to encounter various obstructions.

In fact, these trees are scattered around one another and are not connected in large areas. If you want to climb a tree, it is difficult to avoid being discovered in the relatively open atrium.

Even Doug's birds, when they flew over and perched on some of the trees, were driven away by the servants.

Liam could also consider approaching quietly during the day.

But doing so now would be dangerous.

The area around the main house has become much more "popular" now. Just by taking a quick glance, you can see seven or eight people guarding near and far.

And one can almost guess without hesitation that these people are professional Beyonders.

After nightfall, several groups of people arrived at the manor one after another. It seemed that someone was organizing a dinner party.
Doug may not be able to recognize all the guests who visited, but he is relatively familiar with several of them.
For example, Reverend Bazzini and Reverend Pacelle.

In addition, there was Reverend Tyrell, who Connor had just met when he was a coachman for Wayne and his friends, and who had the opportunity to be a candidate for the position of Bishop of Fugenia in the Exorcist Association.

Wayne had seen these names on the note before and they all appeared in this manor. For a moment, he felt a little scalp tingling.

Judging from their lineup, they must have brought people from the church or the Exorcist Association.

It shouldn't be hard for Liam to get there at this point, but coming back might be a problem.

Peter just tried to sneak closer to the main house, and the flame of the lantern held by one of the guards began to flicker.
It felt like even if the guards might not be able to find the giant spider in a short period of time, if Peter got any closer, they would be put on active alert.

Wayne knew that these pastors were probably in the same group in private, and it was not surprising that they would occasionally have dinner together. Even Wayne and Inessa had actually eaten with them.

But why are all these people gathered in this manor? !
Whose private nest is this?
If the attackers were linked to this group of people, Wayne suddenly felt that Virginia seemed to have become a little dangerous...

These pastors were bought by Cohen Pharmaceuticals? No way?

If Cohen Pharmaceuticals was so powerful, why had no one stood up before to say a word or do anything for Mr. Baker?

The two guys who attacked the detective agency last night did not attend the dinner, but they did not leave the villa either. Doug's owl was still watching.

To be more optimistic, "attacking the detective agency" might just be the idea of some or one of them.
But no matter how optimistic one is, the actual owner of this manor is already a potential enemy to the detective agency.

In order to prevent the house from being robbed again at night, the detective agency's large team stayed in the yard at this time.

Out of respect for the lineup at the manor tonight, the three partners of the detective agency came over, bringing with them Liam, who was thought to be useful.

In addition to Doug, Connor and "Strange Noise" who were guarding here before,
As far as away games are concerned, even if it is not the "strongest lineup", even if the average level is discounted, it is at least the "main team" of the detective agency.

Wayne couldn't see the specific situation in the restaurant, so he could only stay outside for the time being.
He planned to use the process of elimination when the guests left one after another to determine the actual ownership of the manor, and then use this to infer the enemy and our own situation.

……

"Reverend Pycelle, we have already had our dessert.

"The bottle of wine you shared tonight is indeed good, but Reverend Tyrell has been very busy recently and has no time to care about these appetites. Everyone here is a friend. If you have something to say, it's best to start talking before everyone finishes enjoying the almond tarts."

In the luxuriously decorated restaurant, Pastor Bazzini sat in the middle of the long table, picked up the dessert and took a bite, as if talking to the air. The seating arrangement at the table tonight was very interesting. It seemed that the host and guest seats were arranged at the two ends of the long table, and those sitting in the middle were the guests.

But almost all topics actually started from the center of the long table, and then spread and echoed like ripples.

Reverend Tyrell, who was sitting in the guest seat, heard this.

He raised his eyes curiously and looked towards the other end of the long table. "Pycelle, what do you want?"

After hearing the question, the elderly priest Pycelle quickly wiped the food crumbs from the corners of his mouth with a trembling napkin.
Then he began to answer hesitantly:

"I have indeed encountered a difficult problem, but I don't know whether I should let this matter cause more trouble for you..."

Realizing that the situation might be worse, the guests all fell silent. For a moment, even the sound of chewing could not be heard in the restaurant.
Pastor Bazzini seemed oblivious to this. "Go ahead. Being able to gather together at this time shows that everyone at the table is one, doesn't it?"

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Reverend Tyrell nodded and continued to look at Reverend Pycelle encouragingly, "Reverend Barzini is right."

Although the scene might not look so good, even Pastor Pycelle had to admit that he owed Pastor Bazzini a favor.
Some people have this kind of energy. They can make things go very smoothly seemingly without doing anything, but they can also extinguish the flame in the cradle silently.

Reverend Pycelle's voice sounded as if he was so old that he might die at any time:

"You may have heard about my will recently... In fact, among the beneficiaries of the will, there is a child who is my illegitimate child."

At the right moment, a low laugh sounded in the restaurant, as if someone understood something in an instant.

This is actually a good signal. When something "inappropriate" is said publicly in a small circle, any reaction that can alleviate the seriousness of the topic is far better than long-term silence and unhesitating alienation and cutting off.

Although the Holy Spirit Church is different from the Holy See in that it does not prohibit clergy from marrying and having children, relatively important clergy are almost isolated from those people, and there is an invisible ceiling.

The situation of clergy having illegitimate children is even worse. It represents infidelity to marriage or faith, which is enough to make most well-developed priests completely lose the chance to join those coveted parishes.

But in any case, this is not a "crime" that is enough to put someone in jail.
Especially for an old man who is about to die.

"And then?" Pastor Bazzini asked.

"The child's name is Luke Matthew, and he doesn't know about this yet."

Reverend Pycelle continued as clearly as he could, "The detective agency under Bishop Corleone has recently been targeting him, and it seems that they want to use him as a breakthrough to attack us.

"I no longer care about many things now. I just hope that this child can avoid becoming a victim of the struggle. If possible, I also hope that he can accompany me more during the last period of time."

Reverend Tyrell blinked and asked an uncertain question:
"It seems like just a small thing?"

Although Pastor Pycelle is old, he still has some prestige and appeal in the minds of many local pastors.

Helping to cover up a minor scandal in exchange for more support doesn't seem like a trade-off.

Then, amid a chorus of approval, Reverend Tyrell saw all the guests raising their glasses, so he picked one up as well.

Pastor Bazini was respectful like a dutiful minister, “Respect unity.”

Reverend Tyrell, like a monarch, raised his glass along with the guests and said, "To unity."

(End of this chapter)