New Gods of North America.

Chapter 604 Accident
The next day at noon, when Wayne saw the news in the workshop that "a crane collapsed in the dock area late at night, killing more than ten workers on the spot,"
My first thought was, "Could someone be trying to set me up again, and this time it's on a huge scale?!"

He's probably developed some PTSD from being blamed for the journalist case and the "ghost incident"...

Fortunately, the dock where the accident occurred was not part of the Sailors' Gang's territory, but rather another large gang that the detective agency had not yet apprehended.

Because the distance was far enough, Wayne had never even seen the gang leader. If anyone dared to frame him, Wayne might as well go and cause a scene with Lina in the middle of the night and let others see how professionals actually commit crimes.

If we rewind the timeline a little, Wayne was having a pretty leisurely day.

After giving the salespeople a pep talk in the morning, he went straight into the workshop, waiting for his arrangements with the sailors to take effect.

The recipe research at the workshop was basically complete by this point. While it might not yet be about maximizing profits, the taste and price-performance ratio had initially met Wayne's acceptable standard of "feasibility."
The remaining improvements will take time to accumulate. For example, Wayne and the chef have kept copies of the sauces, reconstituted cheese, and luncheon meat from different recipes and are observing their spoilage according to the production date. According to Wayne, in this era before refrigerators, as long as the shelf life can be extended to the point of being measured in "weeks," then even if the taste is slightly worse, it is still a victory.

The biggest constraint in this regard is actually "sales volume." If sales volume is large enough, then as long as the cans are sealed after steaming and cooking, the shelf life will immediately meet the standard.

However, the cost of producing canned goods in small batches is not cheap. Even without using tinplate, which has a more complex manufacturing process, simply adding a lid to a glass jar would at least double the current cost of luncheon meat. At least for now, the workshop's sales volume cannot support the "small profits but quick turnover" approach.

Therefore, in terms of short-term sales, bulk luncheon meat can currently be kept at room temperature for two days without any problems, reconstituted cheese can barely last a week, and pasteurized sauces can remain stable for at least a month if unopened.

It will still be difficult to achieve nationwide sales, but at least for local sales, there is no need to worry too much about quality issues.

Incidentally, Miss Harley is quite efficient; she just finished talking with Wayne yesterday, and this morning she went to the restaurant to find Inessa.

Wayne wasn't sure how their conversation went, but the agent who delivered the food to the restaurant said he saw Inessa take Miss Harley upstairs.

Just as Wayne emerged from the workshop to rest, satisfied, he encountered Lina alighting from her carriage.
The latter, unusually, was not as energetic as usual, as if he were ready to start tearing the house apart at any moment. Instead, he looked like he was pondering something with a blank expression.

"What happened?" Wayne asked.

"Hmm..." Lina thought for a moment, "Can you and Inessa still go to the cathedral to gather information?"

Wayne made a rough estimate and said, "If it's not classified information, it should be fine."

Lina lured Wayne into the archives before continuing, "The Sage warned me last night. It was like a mosquito bite, not as dangerous as a bee sting, but more serious than a sudden 'thud.' I feel there might be some danger approaching, but it might not be aimed at us." Wayne's current level of faith in the "Wise Sage" might even surpass his faith in the "Holy Spirit."
After all, while the "Holy Spirit" can theoretically overpower all other deities, he is essentially a deity "living in stories," and in practice, he may not be more reliable than the "wise sage" behind Lina—who is almost always available and truly speaks up when needed...

So Wayne also took it seriously and joined Lina in reviewing the latest intelligence she had gathered from her late-night outing until just now.
Then came the scene today where he started having "scapegoating PTSD" again.

"Are you sure the danger is coming from the dock area?" Wayne asked Lina, checking the briefing in his hand.

Lina looked up and pointed to the map on the wall: "The warning line at the time was roughly like this. It extends from the workshop, without passing through the cathedral or any other special places. I feel that the dock area looks the most suspicious."

“If the problem wasn’t in the dock area, the distance would be even greater, and the danger of getting closer would be even higher. That’s why I wanted you to inquire at the cathedral. If the incident had occurred within the city limits, the cathedral shouldn’t have been completely unaware.”

The briefing didn't offer much new information, and Wayne eventually turned his attention back to the accident. "Could there be something wrong with this accident?"

“I’m not sure yet…” Lina rummaged through her small fanny pack and popped a candy into her mouth. “This morning I pretended to be a family member of the deceased and went to see the bodies that hadn’t been taken away yet. It felt like a regular murder to cover it up, not something an extraordinary person would do.”

“I see.” Wayne’s head was halfway down when he stopped, then he looked up again. “What do you mean by ‘ordinary murder to silence’?”

A dozen people died in one go. If that made it into the newspapers, it would be considered a "major case" or a "high-profile case."

"It's probably a case handled by an ordinary person...? A sage wouldn't issue a warning for something like this."

After finishing her sentence, Lina refined her wording slightly, "That wooden crane frame was so tall and heavy, it certainly wouldn't have caused such a severe injury if it had directly hit someone. Also, the wreckage after it collapsed is strange. If it wasn't carrying any heavy loads, then the direction it fell in wouldn't be right. But if it was carrying heavy loads, then those loads didn't create any craters around it. It doesn't make sense."

Wayne put down what he was holding: "If that's the case, then I need to go and take a look."

"You're going to meddle in this too? I thought you'd left all the investigations to Willie," Lina complained.

"Pretty much. I don't investigate cases, but it's still necessary to see the situation for myself." After Wayne finished speaking, he started walking towards the door. "I'll also check the area where the Sage might have warned me, and then go to the cathedral to ask."

The gangs in the dock area are bound to be targeted sooner or later anyway. Although it's not the turn of the 'Elland Violent Gang' that had the incident last night yet, that won't stop Wayne from gathering dirt on them first.
At that point, whether we "pull first" or "attack first," we'll at least have a suitable reason.

(End of this chapter)