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

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

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

The roads of the city are narrow, and the buildings on both sides are strangely styled, with the English-style buildings with white fences that can be seen in other towns in the west; There are also Catholic churches with fine lines and exquisite carvings in the style of Spanish facades.

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

The wall blank is made of grass mud, which takes on an earthy yellow color when exposed to sunlight; The roof is flat, the lines are straight, and only the corners are rounded curves.

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

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

"Boss, how about I go and inform the housekeeper first, let him prepare the ransom, and then hand over the money with one hand and the other hand?" Hanif said.

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

With a reluctant expression, Astor took out a pocket watch from his personal pocket and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

This pocket watch is exquisite, with a portrait of his mother on the inside of the caseback. He had previously hidden so well that Hernandez did not find out.

"I'll take the young master around Santa Fe City, and we'll see you under that monument later." Chen Jianqiu pointed to a high place bereak not far away.

Hanif happily took his pocket watch and headed for the butler's temporary lodgings in Santa Fe.

The butler's residence was near the City Council, which was once an office of the Chamber of Commerce, and now temporarily became his residence.

After coming out of Hanif's hotel, the butler went straight back to the house, and not long after, Sergeant Van Cleve of the Santa Fe Police Department appeared in his reception room.

During the time of Astor's disappearance, his father, Astor III, was not idle, and he used his connections to find a local bigwig in Santa Fe.

The big guys offered their full support and offered all the resources they could, including Sheriff Van Cleef, who was on call.

The butler had been thoroughly disappointed with the two bounty hunters, so he had the sheriff called.

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

"Come in!" The butler shouted out the door.

The door was opened, and it was one of the attendants at the gate, who glanced at the sheriff sitting across from the butler, and stopped talking.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"Well, sir, there is a man named Hanif outside who said that he has an urgent matter to look for you, and he said that he has found Young Master Astor, and then asked me to give this to you, saying that you will understand when you read it."

With that, the attendant placed a pocket watch on the table in front of the butler.

The butler took the watch suspiciously and opened it, and was shocked to see the portrait of the hostess on the inside of the lid. Then, a smile appeared on his face.

"Sheriff Van Cleef, thank you so much for coming, but I don't think I need to bother you." The butler said apologetically to the sheriff, "But I have prepared some gifts for you, and I will let them bring them to you, and I still want to say 'thank you'." ”

Sergeant Van Cleef glanced at the pocket watch and frowned:

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

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

It's a suite, and inside is his bedroom,

"Why don't you go in and sit in first?"

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

After a while, Harif swaggered in, and he sat down in the chair opposite the butler.

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

"Well, did you see the pocket watch?"

"Well, I see, it's indeed our young master's, where is he now?"

"Hey, let me tell you, this is not easy, in fact, I haven't figured out the identity of the kidnapper yet, but my informant has great powers, and he, as an intermediary, came over with this pocket watch today, saying that he can guarantee the safety of your young master."

"Well, so when can you release them?"

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

"How much is the ransom?"

"$8,000, cash."

"What location? How? ”

"The church in the west of the city, one hand to pay the money, the other hand to the people, but don't worry, I will come forward with a gun to ensure the safety of your young master."

"Okay, but I'm going to get some money ready, so it should be fine at night. Or maybe it's half past eight. ”

"I'll pass it on." Hanif nodded, but then asked tentatively, "Did you tell the local police in Santa Fe about this?" ”

The housekeeper thought for a moment 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 let the police come forward." ”

Hanif let out an "um".

When Hanif walked out of the room, Sergeant Van Cleve also came out of the bedroom in the back room.

"What do you think?" The butler asked.

"There are a lot of doubts, first, why didn't the hostages show up sooner or later, just when you forced these two bounty hunters to make a move?"

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

"I would venture to guess that Young Master Astor has been transferred here a long time ago, and those two bounty hunters have already found out, or that those two bounty hunters are simply accomplices of the kidnappers."

The butler listened to Sheriff Van Cleve's speculation and felt that it was very reasonable, and he asked eagerly:

"So what do you think we're going to do next?"

The sheriff straightened his cuffs and said slowly, "The evening deal remains the same, but you don't have to show up, our people can come; In addition, I will send all the other police forces to search the outskirts of Santa Fe until I find Master Astor and the kidnappers. ”

Hanif, who came out of the butler's office, took Donnie with him to the bottom of the obelisk.

Along the way, he also watched cautiously to see if anyone behind him was quietly following them.

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

"Young master, you see, this monument is to commemorate your 'heroic' warriors who expelled the Indians from this land." Chen Jianqiu put his hands behind his back, facing the stele, and he quietly looked at the words on the stele.

Astor was speechless and fell silent.

"Well, I'll interrupt."

Hanif leaned over to Chen Jianqiu's side and whispered in his ear about the agreement between himself and the butler.

"You and Donnie go first in the evening, we can't show up at the same time." Chen Jianqiu still put his hands behind his back and didn't turn his head, "When the time comes, I will take Young Master Astor with me." Remember, don't show anything that knows us. ”

As if Hanif saw a large dollar bill beckoning to him, he turned and walked with Donnie towards the inn.

"Donnie, I'll sleep for a while, call me at dinner!"

Hanif stepped into his room.

He suddenly felt as if something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Whatever." He lay on his back on the bed and fell asleep.

Thank you for the monthly pass of Mu Yu Land's water, thank you for subscribing and recommending the ticket, and the second more.

PS: The obelisk in this chapter is real, and was half toppled by a crowd of protesters during an incident in 2020 (I can't breathe).

(End of chapter)