Author: Mosaic's Melancholy

Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, is also the oldest of all state capitals in the United States.

Chen Jianqiu was riding on the horse, his ears listening to Hanif's words, but his eyes fell on the surrounding buildings.

Unlike Denver, Santa Fe is more of a large town than a city.

The roads in the city are very narrow, and the styles of the buildings on both sides are also very strange. There are English-style buildings with white fences that can be seen in other towns in the west; there are also Catholic churches with delicate lines and exquisite carvings.

.

But the most common one is a unique building with the style of local aboriginal people.

The wall blank is made of grass mud, and it appears a mortal yellow color under the sunlight; the roof is flat, the lines are straight, but the corners are smooth curves.

Chen Jianqiu was in a trance for a moment, as if he was in a Picasso's Cubist abstract painting.

This style of architecture is unique in the world, only in the dry and rainy state of New Mexico.

"Boss, otherwise I will inform the butler first and ask him to prepare the ransom, and then pay the money and the other, how about it?" Hanif said.

"Okay." Chen Jianqiu turned around and shouted to Astor, "Hey, young master, can you please give me a personal token first?"

Aster looked reluctant, took out a pocket watch from his close pocket and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

The pocket watch is extremely exquisite, with a portrait of his mother on the inside of the cover. He hid it so well that Hernandez did not find it.

"I will take the young master to swim around the Santa Fe City. Let's see under the monument later." Chen Jianqiu pointed to a tall stele not far away.

Hanif happily took the pocket watch and headed towards the butler's temporary residence in Santa Fe.

The butler's residence is near the city council. This was originally an office of the chamber of commerce, but now it has temporarily become his residence.

After leaving Hanif's hotel, the housekeeper returned directly here. Not long after, Sheriff Van Cliff of the Santa Fe Police Department appeared in his reception room.

During the period when Ast Jr. disappeared, his father Ast III was not idle. He used his relationship to find a local big shot in Santa Fe.

The big man expressed his strong support and provided all resources available, including Sheriff Van Cliff, who is on call.

The housekeeper was completely disappointed with the two bounty hunters, so he asked someone to call the sheriff.

Just as he was still describing the passing of the matter to the sheriff, the door of the reception room was knocked.

"Come in!" the butler shouted to the door.

The door was opened, and it was a servant who was guarding the door at the gate. He glanced at the sheriff sitting opposite the housekeeper, and wanted to speak but stopped.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"Well, sir, there is a man named Hanif outside who said he had something urgent to come to you. He said he had found Mr. Astor and asked me to give you this, saying that you will understand after reading it."

After saying that, the servant put a pocket watch on the table in front of the butler.

The housekeeper took the pocket watch with skepticism and opened it. When he saw the portrait of the hostess on the inside of the pocket watch cover, he was extremely shocked. Then, a smile floated on his face.

"Sir Van Cliff, I really thank you very much for coming, but it seems you don't have to bother you." The housekeeper said to the sheriff with an apology, "But I have prepared some gifts for you, and I'll let them give them to you, or

I want to say 'thank you'."

Sheriff Van Cliff glanced at the pocket watch and frowned:

"I'm afraid things are not that simple, so just like that. You can talk to him first and then tell me the results of the conversation."

The butler thought for a moment, and he stood up and opened the door to the inner room.

This is a suite with his bedroom inside.

"Or why don't you go in and listen first."

Van Cliff nodded and walked into the bedroom, and he closed the door.

After a while, Kharif walked in swagger and sat down in the chair opposite the housekeeper.

"Huh? Why is the chair cushion still hot?" Kharif felt a little strange and said to himself, but he was not at the heart.

"How is that, did you see that pocket watch?"

"Well, I saw it. It's our young master. Where is he now?"

"Hey, I tell you, this is not easy. Actually, I haven't figured out the identity of the kidnapper yet, but my informant has great powers. As an intermediary, he came here with this pocket watch today and said he could

Guarantee your master's safety."

"Well, so when can I release someone?"

"I also negotiated with them. They said that as long as the money is in place, it will be fine tonight."

"How much is the ransom?"

“8,000 US dollars, cash.”

“Which location? What method?”

"The church in the west of the city will pay money and hand over others. But don't worry, I will come forward with a gun at that time to ensure the safety of your young master."

"Okay, but I still have to prepare the money. It should be fine if I go tonight. Otherwise, it's only 8:30."

"I will definitely convey it." Hanif nodded, but then he asked tentatively: "Have you ever told the local police in Santa Fe?"

The housekeeper thought about it and shook his head: "No, as we told you at the beginning, we were afraid that this incident would not affect us, so we did not let the police come forward."

Hanif said "yes".

After Hanif walked out of the room, Sheriff Van Cliff also walked out of the bedroom of the inner room.

"What do you think?" asked the butler.

"There are many doubts. First, why don't the hostages appear early or late? They just appear when you force these two bounty hunters to take action?"

"Second, you can trade tonight, which means the hostages are near Santa Fe, but the place where Master Astor disappeared is far from Santa Fe."

"I boldly guess that Master Ast had been transferred here long ago, and the two bounty hunters had already discovered it, or the two bounty hunters were simply the kidnappers' accomplices."

After hearing Sheriff Van Cliff's speculation, the housekeeper thought it made sense and asked anxiously:

"Then what do we do next?"

The sheriff sorted out his cuffs and said slowly: "The deal will not change at night, but you don't have to come forward, our people will do it; in addition, I will send all other police forces to search for the suburbs of Santa Fe,

Until you find Master Astor and the kidnappers.”

Hanif, who walked out of the butler's office, took Donnie to the underside of the obelisk.

Along the way, he was cautiously watching whether anyone was quietly following them.

By the time he arrived, Chen Jianqiu was already there with Aster.

"Young Master, look, this monument is used to commemorate your 'heroic' warriors who drove the Indians out of this land." Chen Jianqiu stood behind his hands, facing the monument, and he looked quietly at the monument with his hands behind him.

Text on the monument.

Astor couldn't speak and fell into silence.

"That, I'll interrupt."

Hanif approached Chen Jianqiu and whispered the agreement between himself and the butler in his ear.

"You and Donnie will go first tonight, we can't show up at the same time." Chen Jianqiu still kept his hands behind his back and did not turn his head, "I will take Master Ast there at that time. Remember, don't show any knowledge of us

Looks like."

Hanif seemed to see a large dollar bill waving to him, and he turned around and walked towards the hotel with Donnie.

"Donny, I'll sleep for a while and call me during supper!"

Hanif stepped into his room.

He suddenly felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell where it was.

"Don't worry." He lay on his back on the bed and slept soundly.

Thank you Mu Yulandeshui for your monthly tickets, thank you for your subscription and recommendation tickets, and the second update.

PS: This obelisk in this chapter is real and was pushed down halfway by people who were excitedly protesting in a certain event in 2020 (I can't breathe anymore).
Chapter completed!