New Gods of North America.

Chapter 671 Doing Questions
In the evening, Wayne was at O'Sullivan's house, eating hamburgers that had been specially packed and delivered from a restaurant, and passing the time by observing the activity outside the window.

After Lina arrived, she was busy in the house with several agents. In addition, there were several burly middle-aged women, who were either maids or relatives and friends, who were silently staring at everyone—the kind of glaring.

O'Sullivan is currently only cooperating with the investigation. Even if it comes to the point of levying taxes or confiscating his personal property, the decision-making power is not in the hands of the police or investigators.

Therefore, the detective agency's investigation at this time is of a relatively civilized type, focusing on collecting evidence, and valuables cannot be taken away without cause.

However, on the other hand, since O'Sullivan has already expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation,
So even if those aunties are practically glaring like vengeful spirits, they have no right to obstruct the search. Everyone should just let each other be in the other's way and simply "look at each other with mutual dislike."

For asset investigations these days, the main types of evidence are limited. Besides physical assets, precious metals, currency, or various banknotes ("cash"), the remaining evidence is mainly securities, ownership certificates, and contracts such as receivable notes, commercial contracts, and redeemable documents.
However, the most crucial type of information is the financial records of an organization or individual; with a bit of luck, these can be used to "seize everything at once."
In a broader sense, even calculating one's current financial situation in a diary or writing down what kind of money the gang has been making recently can serve as indirect evidence.

It's unclear whether O'Sullivan was deliberately trying to create difficulties for the detective agency, but the safe in his office was double-layered, with an unusually thick, sturdy puzzle box on the innermost layer, giving off a silent sense of "try it yourselves if you dare" kind of provocation.
When the puzzle box was opened, all that was inside was a blank notebook that seemed to be mocking everyone.

Willie was the best lock-picking agent among the agents, but because collecting taxes could attract negative publicity, Wayne didn't let their team participate in order to maintain the detective agency's clean image.
So the ones who actually suffered were the "Sharpening" agents present. Lina silently opened the pile of nesting dolls one by one, checked them, and then put them back together. She then threw them to them as a test, while she took the time to go back and give them some reminders or suggestions.

The "Sharpening" team almost slapped their thighs in regret, lamenting that they hadn't looked carefully when Lina opened the box.

The detective agency didn't pay much attention to O'Sullivan's little trick.
Anyway, in the hidden safe behind the picture frame in O'Sullivan's bedroom, they found a shareholding certificate for a Caribbean coastal plantation and several rolls of banknotes, and in the small yard behind the house, they also dug out some prohibited firearms packed in boxes.

These certainly aren't all of his personal assets, but it feels like he's already used at least one of his trump cards to escape—or maybe he really has used them all.

When Wayne had the resentful aunties in the house sign the seizure order as witnesses, even they seemed a little surprised by these things.

Gangs, huh?
It's normal for people who are constantly fighting and killing to be unprofessional at hiding things.

"There shouldn't be anything else here. The safe in his office is clearly half empty. Even if there were ledgers, they were probably moved beforehand."

After finishing her work, Lina picked a hamburger from the pile on the large desk, half-wrapped it in brown paper, and ate it. Then she went to the window and said, "It doesn't seem like many people are secretly watching this place. Have their gangs given up?"

Wayne turned to look at the detectives who were still struggling with the puzzle box: "We have authorization from the city hall now, and we're investigating them today. If something happens to us, they'll be too suspicious. They probably won't rush into action against the detective agency now; they'll likely choose to retaliate later."

"Then why did you bring so many people today?" Lina mumbled, chewing on something.

"While O'Sullivan might use his alibi to cause trouble, the most dangerous people right now are probably the members of the Airland Gang. If other gangs want to take advantage of the situation, this period while O'Sullivan is away is a good opportunity to secretly extort money from his men. Those are the ones we need to guard against."

After Wayne finished speaking, he glanced at the sky and said, "Now that we've finished searching this place, let's eat something and then leave. We'll meet up with Inessa and the others before dark."

"Okay." Lina replied, then turned to "Sharpen" and started the countdown. "Time is running out. You guys eat first. I'll give you ten more minutes at most."

"Yes!"

They each stuffed their hamburgers into their pockets, and the group of heads huddled together, making it even more efficient to pick the lock. ...

Leaving the Erlan community, we arrived at a facility used by the police. This place was considered city hall property and was only used by public officials when they needed to spend the night in the dock area for operations.
This place has now become the detective agency's temporary headquarters, where Inessa and Doug are currently stationed.

Most of the police officers who came today have already taken the two gang leaders and their henchmen back, but Sergeant William is still lingering, forcing several officers to work overtime.

When Wayne and Lina arrived, Sheriff William and Mr. Paul from the Rabbit Gang were chatting at a table in the inner room, eating and drinking the hamburgers and lemonade that the restaurant had delivered, while his henchmen and a few officers were resting in the outer room.

The detective agency's main force had already been dispersed, with each group carrying pigeons and fireworks, patrolling various areas. Since the Rabbit Gang had offered to help, Wayne didn't stand on ceremony and had Doug arrange for their men to cooperate in staking out different locations.

Considering they might be informants secretly leaking the detective agency's movements, some information will not be shared with them. Doug can then use a specific combination of fireworks to send messages, which will give the agents a general idea of ​​what to do.

"Mr. Wayne, are you done with your work? How were the searches at the Sailors' Guild and the Ellan Guild today?"

Mr. Paul seemed quite enthusiastic; someone who didn't know him might have thought he was in cahoots with the detective agency. After saying that, he pointed to the untouched hamburgers on the table, "These stuffed buns that were delivered are quite nice. Have you had dinner yet?"

Wayne's answer was concise, ignoring the other pleasantries: "We found some hidden valuables, but we didn't find any ledgers."

Mr. Paul's enthusiasm remained undiminished: "I have had all the gang properties I know of documented, and the documents have been handed over to Mr. Doug. I hope they will be helpful to your investigation. Our gang's profits are also included. If Mr. Wayne wishes to verify this on-site, we welcome you to visit us anytime."

You can't hit a smiling face, so Wayne also put on a formulaic smile and said, "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

For these gangs that run businesses, acknowledging their assets is actually more troublesome. Because they have legitimate or illegitimate business dealings, hiding assets is much easier for them than for gangs whose business dealings involve funds that only flow in and never out.
Take the strip clubs run by the Rabbit Gang as an example. Some of the smuggled drinks they sell privately are gone once they're gone. The actual price at the clubs is often higher than the market price. Or they give advance payments to suppliers to transfer funds, and then ask them to deliver the goods on time. Who would dare to renege on the gang's debts?

It's not difficult to turn paper assets into a negative balance simply by making a few entries and exits or altering the accounts; just thinking about it is enough to give anyone a headache.

As for the cut they receive from dancers and even prostitutes, that requires inside information to find out.

However, those that pose little threat to the outside world can be put on hold for now. Once Seth and that little girl Emma arrive, we can assign them the homework.

What Wayne really wants to do now is not to work hard to help the city hall collect more taxes, but to establish the detective agency's unofficial voice and management power in the dock area, and then set rules.

The investigation will definitely continue; we need to give the city hall a satisfactory explanation.

But there's no rush. Let's start with the "fighting and killing" stuff.

(End of this chapter)