New Gods of North America.

Chapter 605 Gangs
The scene of the accident looked more deserted than Wayne had imagined.

The dock area is, after all, a "workplace," and is a bit far from the residential area, so the proportion of onlookers is relatively low.

Most of the laborers were busy making a living, and it was obviously more important for them to find a way to make a living and cover their basic needs than to stay and watch. They probably all went to other places nearby to find work.

Therefore, at this dock, which is clearly unable to operate normally for the time being, apart from a few scattered managers and a team of cleaning workers, there are basically no other living people left.

Of the police officers on duty, only a handful were slacking off. "Mr. Wayne, what brings you here? This dock is temporarily closed. If you're here to receive goods, it might have to wait until tomorrow. However, the cargo ship may have changed its unloading location temporarily, which we may need to confirm with the trading company."

“I heard there was an accident here, so I thought I'd stop by and take a look. It’s just a professional habit of mine.” Wayne pointed to two bodies that hadn’t been removed yet a little further away. “May I go over and take a look?”

One of the officers seemed to want to refuse, but the other officer interrupted him, saying, "No problem."

The latter added to the former, "Mr. Wayne is a professional, very good at solving cases, and won't mess up the scene." The former's attitude was not firm; upon hearing this, he simply lit a cigarette and stayed put, continuing to slack off.

The officer who spoke up was quite helpful in leading Wayne around—although the area around the dock was mostly flat ground, and the scene was clearly visible—and explained the situation as they walked:

"The accident happened last night. There were no cargo ships docked at the time. The workers were reportedly helping to move the goods piled up on the dock. Some of the bodies have already been claimed by their families, and the rest will be handled by the charitable funeral organization that provides them with the funeral arrangements. However, their efficiency has always been low, and they haven't finished moving the bodies yet."

The scene must have been covered in blood; traces of dragging and placement that hadn't been properly washed away could still be seen on the ground next to the body.

Wayne bent down and lifted one of the tattered pieces of cloth. The back of this guy's head was slightly flattened, but his face was still unharmed. It was obviously the result of "one-sided force" from the back, and the wound was not on the top of his head. Even if it was an object falling from a height, it would be difficult to produce such an effect.

The other corpse had similar fatal wounds, but the final result looked even more gruesome. The chest cavity was completely crushed, yet there were no visible bruises or swelling. These marks must have been added after death; the method was far too crude and simplistic.

Wayne, who was covering his nose, quickly stood up. His sleek, minimalist eyes began to survey his surroundings, and he frowned slightly. "The police have determined this to be an accident?"

"That's indeed what's being said publicly."

Seeing Wayne turn to look at the wreckage of the heavy wooden frame, the officer quickly moved closer as he answered, "It's actually likely a gang fight. However, preliminary investigations indicate that none of the deceased were local residents, or even necessarily American citizens, and the dock management doesn't intend to pursue their financial losses, so..."

Wayne quickly nodded. "I understand the police's difficulties."

The other person seemed more relaxed: "Thank you for your understanding. If only all people were as professional as Mr. Wayne."

Well, it's about "not wasting taxpayers' money."

In this free era where urban public services require "local taxes" and "voluntary donations" to maintain, police force is also a part of the cost of urban management, and it is naturally not wasted on irrelevant personnel.

If this idea is implemented more thoroughly, then the amount of tax paid can be further divided into "more" and "less". If these two collide, some things may actually become worse than the current situation.

Many principles are not difficult to understand, but seeing them with your own eyes often makes people feel uncomfortable.
After confirming that the incident was indeed just a "common man-made disaster," Wayne realized that the police officers didn't seem to care about the specific truth and didn't seem to know much about the inside story. So he decided not to stay at the scene any longer, thinking that he would investigate a little more and then wait for the intelligence team to gather the results.

Wayne's thinking was straightforward. If we exclude the interference of extraordinary factors, since it is a gang fight, there must be at least "two groups" involved, and at the very least, two groups from the same gang. This is the territory of a gang called the Erlan Violent Gang, which mainly accepts illegal immigrants from Erlan. In nature, it is the type of "dragon slayer who eventually becomes the dragon." It is said that initially, Erlan laborers spontaneously organized to fight against other gang forces, but later it turned into "fellow countrymen betraying each other."

If it was internal strife, losing over a dozen people last night might have pushed the gang to the brink of collapse, and their territory could become a target for other gangs.
If it's an external conflict, it's necessary to find out who the other group is and then figure out how the detective agency can take advantage of the situation.

In any case, the fatal wound was on the back of the head, so the claim of a fight is definitely not true; it's more like a sneak attack and a shootout.

This grudge is definitely not small.

After having the idea, Wayne first went to the Sailors' territory to check on the salesmen's work, and then stopped by to visit a few other gangs in the surrounding area.

In theory, gang leaders should be more sensitive to incidents involving bloodshed, but after Wayne took a walk around, he found that they didn't care much about last night's accident. Instead, they were more concerned about when Wayne would take action against the Sailors.

James Damody, who was collecting loans for unscrupulous bankers, was even more neurotic. When asked, he even subtly probed back, "Mr. Wayne, would you like me to say who did this...?"

Wayne immediately understood what he meant. This guy probably thought Wayne was trying to "stir things up." "I only have some personal grudges with the Sailors right now. There's no reason for me to suddenly target other gangs. I'm conducting a normal investigation. Just tell the truth."

"This is strange..."

James Damody still seemed somewhat skeptical. "It's said that no cargo was stolen from the scene, and none of the deceased were identified as members of any gang—gang members are very particular about these things, and I had my men secretly check today—it seems like a normal accident. If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have suspected anything. After all, similar accidents aren't uncommon in the dock area."

No wonder those gang leaders acted that way earlier... It turns out they weren't "insensitive," but rather they had already decided it was "none of their business."
Wayne thought for a moment, "Do you have a way to help find out the identities of the deceased?"

"It's difficult. Most of those Erlanders are illegal immigrants, and they're always very wary of outsiders, especially government officials and gangsters like me. Plus, they move around very discreetly, usually sneaking in on cargo ships and leaving around the same time. I reckon that apart from family and friends, some of them might die without anyone even knowing."

"Did you sense anything unusual in the dock area last night?" Wayne continued to ask.

James Damody briefly recalled, "There wasn't anything particularly unusual... It's said that someone saw a caravan of carriages roaming around that area late at night last night, and there seemed to be quite a few people. But this kind of thing isn't uncommon in the dock area. Even putting aside the military and the church, some wealthy people occasionally send people to smuggle goods. Everyone will consciously give way when they encounter a large group of people late at night, so as not to bring trouble upon themselves."

Well……

That's true; the more chaotic a place is, the more people tend to follow the "rules".

Otherwise, it's really easy for them to "die right in front of you."

But this made last night's events seem increasingly strange. It wasn't a gang fight, and there was no loss of goods. Ordinary people usually have some survival philosophy to consider.

There were more than a dozen people... Surely they weren't just "killing for fun"?

The warning that the "wise sage" gave to Lina might actually be because of this?
Then the extraordinary factors cannot be easily ruled out...

(End of this chapter)