America 1881: Legend of the West

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 Spanish-style Catholic churches with detailed lines and exquisite carvings on the facade. .

But the most important thing is a unique building with local aboriginal style.

The wall is made of grass mud, which shows an earthy color under the sunlight; the roof is flat, the lines are straight, and only the corners are round curves.

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

This style of architecture is unique in the world and exists only in New Mexico, a dry country with little rain.

"Boss, how about I inform the butler first and ask him to prepare the ransom, and then hand over the money with one hand and the person with the other?" Hanif said.

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

With a look of reluctance, Astor took out a pocket watch from his pocket and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

This pocket watch is extremely beautiful, with a portrait of his mother on the inside of the cover. He had hidden it so well that Hernandez didn't notice.

"I'll take the young master around the city of Santa Fe. We'll meet under the monument later." Chen Jianqiu pointed to a tall obelisk 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. It used to be an office of the Chamber of Commerce, but now it has become his temporary residence.

After coming out of Hanif's hotel, the housekeeper returned here directly. Not long after, Captain Van Cleef of the Santa Fe Police Department appeared in his reception room.

During the period when little Astor was missing, his father Astor III was not idle. He used his connections to find a local big shot in Santa Fe.

The big shot expressed his full support and provided all available resources, including Sheriff Van Cleef, who was on call.

The butler was completely disappointed with the two bounty hunters, so he called the Sheriff.

While he was still describing what happened to the sergeant, there was a knock on the door of the reception room.

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

The door was opened, and it was an attendant guarding the gate. He glanced at the police sergeant sitting opposite the butler and hesitated to speak.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"Um, sir, there is a man named Hanif outside who said he has something urgent to do with you. He said he has found Master Astor, and then asked me to give this to you, saying you will understand after reading it."

After speaking, the attendant placed a pocket watch on the table in front of the butler.

The butler doubtfully took the pocket watch 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 appeared on his face.

"Chief Van Cleef, thank you very much for coming, but I don't think I need to trouble you." The butler said to the police chief with an apologetic look, "But I have prepared some gifts for you. I will ask them to bring them to you, or I want to say 'thank you' to you."

Sheriff Van Cleef glanced at the pocket watch and frowned:

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Let's talk to him first, and then tell me the result of the conversation."

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

This is a suite with his bedroom inside.

"Why don't you please go in first and listen."

Van Cleef nodded, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door.

After a while, Khalif walked in swaggeringly, and he sat down on the chair opposite the butler.

"Huh? Why is the chair cushion still hot?" Khalif felt a little strange and said to himself, but his mind was not here.

"How about it? Did you see that pocket watch?"

"Well, I saw it. It does belong to our young master. Where is he now?"

"Hey, let me tell you, this matter is not easy. In fact, I haven't figured out the identity of the kidnapper yet, but my informant has great powers. As a middleman, he came here today with this pocket watch and said he can Guarantee your young master’s safety.”

"Well, when can we release him?"

"I also negotiated with them about this, and they said that as long as the money is available, it can be done tonight."

"How much is the ransom?"

"8000 US dollars, cash."

"Where? How?"

"In the church in the west of the city, you pay with one hand and pay with the people with the other, but don't worry, I will show up with a gun when the time comes to ensure the safety of your young master."

"Okay, but I still have to prepare the money. It should be fine at night. Maybe around 8:."

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

The housekeeper thought for a while and shook his head: "No, as I told you at the beginning, we were afraid that this matter would have a bad impact, so we didn't ask the police to come forward."

Hanif said "hmm".

After Hanif walked out of the room, Sheriff Van Cleef also walked out of the bedroom in the back room.

"What do you think?" asked the steward.

"There are many doubts. First, why didn't the hostage show up earlier or later, but just when you forced these two bounty hunters to take action?"

"Second, the transaction can be done tonight, which means that the hostages are near Santa Fe, but the place where Master Astor disappeared is far away from Santa Fe."

"I would venture to guess that Master Astor has been transferred here a long time ago, and the two bounty hunters have discovered it a long time ago. Or, those two bounty hunters are simply accomplices of the kidnappers."

After hearing Chief Van Cleef's speculation, the housekeeper thought it made sense, and he asked eagerly:

"Then what do you think we should do next?"

The sergeant adjusted his cuffs and said slowly: "The deal for the evening remains unchanged, but you don't need to show up, our people will come. In addition, I will send all other police forces to search the suburbs of Santa Fe City. Until we find Master Astor and the kidnappers."

Hanif came out of the housekeeper's office and took Donnie to the foot of the obelisk.

Along the way, he carefully looked behind him to see if anyone was quietly following them.

When he arrived, Chen Jianqiu was already there with Astor.

"Young Master, look, this monument is to commemorate your 'brave' warriors who drove the Indians from this land." Chen Jianqiu put his hands behind his back and faced the monument. He looked at it quietly. The words on the monument.

Astor was speechless and fell into silence.

"Well, let me interrupt."

Hanif came close to Chen Jianqiu and whispered the agreement between himself and the housekeeper in his ear.

"You and Downey go first tonight. We can't show up at the same time." Chen Jianqiu still put his hands behind his back and didn't turn his head. "I will take Master Astor there then. Remember, you must not show any recognition of us. Look."

Hanif seemed to see a large amount of dollar bills waving to him. He turned around and walked towards the hotel with Downey.

"Donnie, I'm going to take a nap, call me during dinner!"

Hanif stepped into his room.

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

"Whatever." He lay on his back on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Thanks to Muyu Landshui for your monthly votes, and everyone for subscribing and recommending votes. Second update.

PS: The obelisk in this chapter is real and was torn down by half in an incident in 2020 (I Can’t Breathe) by people who protested passionately.