"What about the intelligence on those McKinley prospectors?" William asked about what he was particularly concerned about.
"Those people have disappeared from the town, and Denver hasn't found them," Raphael replied.
William sneered inwardly. As expected, something was fishy. It must be because of the mineral deposits, otherwise it wouldn't be like this.
"Keep a close eye on outsiders and lawbreakers during this time. If it's urgent, you can directly notify Henry first. He's seen you and knows you're my person."
"Alright, Mayor, I'll take my leave then." Raphael respectfully stepped back and departed.
—
At noon, Henry came to Phoenix Bar alone.
However, this time he didn't stay on the first floor but went directly upstairs to the second floor, where there was a private room reserved specifically for the sheriff.
This time, he ordered double the amount of food from yesterday—four servings of venison steak, four servings of beef steak, three pounds of bread, and five servings of oatmeal.
However, the waitress Barbara didn't react unusually—she thought more people would be coming later.
Henry planned to transfer hot food into his space whenever he had the chance.
It would be inexcusable to still eat dry rations when he possessed a Storage Space.
For this purpose, he specifically brought many bowls, dishes, and other utensils into his space.
After using it for three days, he already knew that the items inside the Storage Space were independent of each other.
Just as Henry finished lunch, Drummond knocked on the private room door.
After entering, Drummond said, "The specific intelligence on the McKinley will take another day or two."
Henry nodded, indicating understanding.
After all, in this era, information was transmitted either by leg or by telegraph.
And there was certainly a lot of intelligence on the McKinley, so it was definitely not suitable to send an extremely expensive telegram.
After all, telegrams were charged by the word, with one word costing about 0.2 us dollar!
Henry said, "There will be many new faces in town recently. If you find anything unusual, let me know as soon as possible."
"No problem," Drummond readily agreed.
Henry nodded, stood up, and left.
As for the bill, it was all on account and would be deducted from his share of the profits later.
Drummond saw Henry downstairs. As soon as they stepped out of the bar's main entrance, they saw a carriage approaching. It stopped in front of them, and Luke jumped down from the carriage, saying, "Sheriff, a gentleman from New York is looking for you."
Immediately after, a tall, slender man in a tailcoat and a high silk top hat elegantly alighted from the carriage.
He leaned on a walking stick with his left hand, held a leather briefcase in his right, and had a neatly trimmed and handsome handlebar mustache on his lips. He wore thin black leather gloves and appeared elegant, dignified, and refined.
He was dressed entirely like a Victorian-era Commonwealth gentleman.
"Hello! I am Louis de Toulouse-Lautrec from France, entrusted by Ms. Cath Cavendish to handle her inheritance matters. Are you Henry Bruce?" the man asked with utmost elegance.
"I am. Thank you for coming all this way. Let's talk in the bar's private room," Henry said, then turned his head to Drummond and said, "Please lead Mr. Louis into my private room. I'll be right there after I tell Luke something; there's no need to close the door."
Drummond nodded and said, "Mr. Louis, please follow me."
Louis nodded to Henry and followed Drummond into the bar.
"Luke, take this coachman to the Bull Restaurant for lunch, then take him to the sheriff's office to wait. I'll be over once I'm done here," Henry said while handing Luke a 50-cent coin.
Luke happily took the coin, got back into the carriage, and gave directions to the coachman.
Henry went up to the private room on the second floor. Drummond was chatting happily with Louis, but as soon as he saw Henry enter, he immediately stood up, walked out of the private room, and closed the door behind him.
The private room door was specially sealed, so people outside could barely hear anything inside.
At this moment, Louis also stood up and smiled at Henry, but he immediately saw Henry's left hand swiftly draw the revolver from his waist and point it at him.
Louis struggled to maintain his smile and asked in confusion, "What's going on? What happened?"
Henry said coldly, "Hands up, now!"
Louis was utterly exasperated. He didn't know where he had slipped up, but circumstances were against him, and he had encountered more difficult situations before.
At this moment, he absolutely couldn't resist. He had to comply first to find an opportunity to counterattack.
So Louis raised his hands.
"Turn around!"
Louis complied, but in his heart, he swore: if he found an opportunity later, he would not let Henry die too easily!
However, just as he turned around, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, and a sharp sword tip actually protruded from his left chest!
His heart pierced, Louis instantly felt weak all over. He still wanted to hold on and ask something—at least die a clear-headed soul, right?
But then a cold sensation, followed by a burning one, instantly came from the back of his head.
'I'm not reconciled!' Louis's last thought flashed through his mind. His soul instantly fell into the abyss, and his consciousness slept forever.
From the moment Henry saw this Louis, his dangerous premonition made his brow faintly ache.
Although there was no premonition of the other party making a move, the malice was as dazzling as a 100-watt incandescent bulb in a past timeline.
Moreover, the keen gaze made Henry realize that the other party's gentleman's suit likely concealed a gun.
Swindlers, past and present, follow the same routine: they start with shocking words to grab attention.
As long as you are startled or subdued by him, you are not far from being exploited at will.
Henry, having experienced the bombardment of vast information online, was quite knowledgeable. Besides, if he didn't trust his Golden Finger, what else could he trust?
And a string of incomprehensible, high-sounding names, and what inheritance—who would believe you!
So Henry had no choice but to send him to hell.
Because he didn't know what mysterious methods the other party had, Henry directly struck first and kept a sufficient distance from him.
The moment Louis turned around, a 1.2-meter-long Swift Sword instantly appeared in Henry's right hand. He took a step forward and, with a lightning-fast thrust of his right hand, pierced the other party's heart!
Then, his left hand put the pistol into his space, and a skill Flying Dagger appeared out of nowhere, swishing to stab into the back of the other party's head.
Since the other party intended to act deceitfully, let him die just as inexplicably.
Henry tried to put Louis's body, along with the sword, into his space. It was completed very smoothly, indicating that he was completely dead.
So Henry spread a blanket on the ground, released him from his space onto the blanket, and, wearing gloves, searched his body.
Indeed, in the inner pocket of his jacket, there was a Colt Double Action 1877 revolver, and a 12-centimeter-long dagger—this was the famous "One-Push Kill" among the Western military's equipment.
It could be used for attacks from behind, directly hitting the opponent's vital points.
The Colt 1877 was much smaller than the Colt 1878, making it less easily discovered when hidden under a coat, and it was a favorite of many assassins in those days.
There was no escaping it. What kind of person, whose name sounded like a nobleman and who was responsible for managing noble assets, would carry these two assassination tools close to his body?
Henry opened Louis's briefcase and found that it contained a set of documents, but they were all black and white photos and information about jewelry, as well as a power of attorney.
It made it seem as if Cath had entrusted Louis with handling these jewelry inheritances.