In the northwest of New Hanover, at the foot of the Grizzly Mountains and on the right bank of the Dakota River, there is a small town called Valentine with livestock as its main industry.
If we care about the name, then this town can be said to be unworthy of its name. If it is worthy of its name, then the pillar industry of this town should be the type of fireworks in Liuxiang [Valentine (literally translated as Valentine)], but this is not the case. This town is an ordinary town that relies on the most popular livestock industry in the heart of the earth. It has all the characteristics of a small town in the American Midwest. It is full of the stench of livestock and a lively atmosphere. It is well-ordered and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Called a model of civilized society in this era.
Curtis Malloy has been the Sheriff of Valentine Township for two years. For a country, a conscientious leader only needs four years at most to turn a country into a new one. For a town, two years is enough for a conscientious sheriff with clear rewards and punishments to manage the entire town in an orderly manner. . Sheriff Malloy is such a conscientious and conscientious police officer. Under his two years of careful management, Valentine's daily order has been greatly improved. Although overall, the crime rate in New Hanover is still very high, and the pressure on Chief Malloy's shoulders is still very high, at least within his jurisdiction, there are few scoundrels who dare to disturb Tai Sui. That was enough for a town sheriff.
When not in action, Sheriff Malloy's favorite thing to do is to stand in front of the Sheriff's Office, light a good cigar, puff on it, and survey his town.
This can actually be counted among the daily patrol tasks of the police station, because several of his subordinates are also doing similar things to him in various corners of the town - basically near the bank, but he really likes this, because every time When he stops in front of the door, the townspeople passing by will greet him and pay tribute with awe and gratitude. He believes that everyone will like this feeling of being respected, and he especially likes it.
It's just that today, he seemed to receive a lot less tributes than before. At least now, no one passing by him said hello to him, and he didn't care about this little thing that he usually cared about. Because both he and the people in the town were focused on the same man.
This man has a short, untrimmed pale blond beard, which makes it difficult for people to tell his exact age for a while, but judging from his tired but still shining bright green eyes, this man’s He shouldn't be very old.
He is tall, the old cowboy hat on his head has lost its original color, and the unseasonable cashmere shirt on his body is full of dust. It seems that he has gone through a long journey, and what supports him in this journey is the car he is driving. A carriage.
The carriage itself was nothing special except for the tall and mighty black horse driving it. What was noteworthy was the contents of the carriage compartment. This was exactly why this man attracted everyone's attention.
There were several corpses piled randomly in the compartment of the carriage. Although the corpses had not started to rot, they were already emitting an extremely unpleasant corpse odor. Mixed with the already pungent smell of livestock in the town, it was quite harsh. Even Lao Ba couldn't stand the smell, let alone the townspeople who had almost never seen a dead person in their lives.
People don't know why this strange out-of-towner is carrying so many corpses on his way, but Sheriff Malloy has some guesses. From the professional perspective of his profession, a person who dares to transport a bunch of corpses in a town with great arrogance has an 80% chance of being another profession in the American judicial system that is inextricably linked to the Sheriff - bounty. hunter.
Although Sheriff Malloy had already made this conclusion, he still looked up and down at the man who had driven the carriage to the door of the Sheriff's Office. With messy shoulder-length hair, a short unkempt beard, and clothes stained with mud and blood, if you say he is a beggar or a savage, Sheriff Malloy will probably believe him immediately, but a bounty hunter? Chief Malloy thought it was unlikely.
The carriage stopped at the door of the Sheriff's Office, and Sheriff Malloy stood up straight. The slovenly strange man jumped out of the carriage, first gave him a hat tip, and then started groping around his body.
After groping for a long time, he finally took out a bunch of crumpled papers from his pocket and handed it to Chief Malloy. He didn't say a word, but kept breathing heavily. He didn't know whether it was because of exhaustion or because he was too tired. Can't stand that horrible smell.
Sheriff Malloy opened the stack of papers, stretched it out as much as he could, and looked at it carefully. Unexpectedly, this sight almost shocked his jaw.
He looked over the pieces of paper in his hand several times from beginning to end, then folded them, looked up at the strange man in front of him, and asked: "You mean, the corpse in this carriage, Are you from the Howling Wolf Gang, Joey Domogue?"
"That's right." The strange man nodded.
"Including Joey Domogue, his sister Daisy Domogue, and gang members 'Mexican' Marco, Crouch Douglas, and 'British' Peter Hex?"
"Exactly."
"A total reward of $9,700?"
"bingo."
"I really saw a big ghost today." Curtis Malloy cried out. It has to be said that what he saw today really refreshed his three views. It can be said that it is the best in his career, no, it can even be said that It was the only one he had seen in his life.
However, it should be said that he was worthy of being a police officer in charge of a town. He quickly shook himself out of the shock. He turned back and shouted to the office: "You guys, stop hiding in here, come out quickly, and put these things away." Identify the smelly things one by one and take inventory."
As soon as he finished speaking, two policemen walked out of the office. They took the reward order from the Sheriff, began to unload the bodies from the carriage one by one, and moved them to the backyard of the Sheriff's Office.
"Don't leave the house. I don't want it to be contaminated with the smell of corpses," Sheriff Malloy gave the instruction. When he turned to face the strange man, the disgust in his eyes disappeared and was replaced by a slight look of disgust. With sincere kindness, he said, "Sir, it will take some time for them to verify the identity of the deceased. How about we go inside and have a drink to kill the time?"
In the Sheriff's Office, the scruffy man sat in a chair with a glass of Kentucky bourbon in his hand, and Sheriff Malloy sat behind his desk with a glass filled with brandy. The two toasted to each other, Sheriff Malloy just took a sip, while the strange man drank it all in one gulp.
Sheriff Malloy put down his cup and said, "You just said, what is your name?"
"Munny, Brandy Munny."
"Oh, yes, yes," Sheriff Malloy smiled, "Mr. Munny, you said you are a student of the legendary bounty hunter Marquis Warren?"
"That's right." Brandy nodded.
"Then where is Major Warren now?"
"Unfortunately, the teacher was hit in the lower body by Jody Domog. We were trapped in a snowstorm and couldn't get treatment in time, so he..." Brandy tried her best to act as sad as possible.
"I'm sorry about this," Sheriff Malloy also expressed his condolences at the right time, but he soon raised his own questions, "But there is one thing I'm a little strange about. Major Warren often visits this place because of work reasons. Zhen, I have met him many times, but I have never heard that he has taken on a disciple?"
"You mean, I'm an imposter?" Brandi's eyes became sharp.
"Ah no, no, no, that's not what I meant," Malloy immediately smoothed things over, "I just really don't know, I'm just a little curious."
Brandy also nodded as if understanding, while pouring himself another glass of wine, he said: "I can understand your concerns, Chief Malloy, after all, there are too many imposters these days. "
Brandi took a sip of wine and told the story she had already made up as if she was lost in memories. This story is actually the product of Brandy piecing together some of his experiences in the snowy mountains and polishing it, but adding Marquis Warren, a cheap master, to key parts. Lies are easier to believe if they are true and false.
Sure enough, Sheriff Malloy was deeply moved by this story adapted from Brandi's real experience. He listened very attentively and even took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket to wipe the corners of his eyes when he heard the emotional part. By the end of such a story, Brandy could see that the Sheriff's suspicion of him had long since disappeared, and he even very enthusiastically invited him to have a good meal at a tavern in the town. Be the one who catches the wind for him.
"Thank you for your kindness, Chief Malloy, but look at me now," Brandy stood up to show off her sloppy image, and declined with an embarrassed look, "You have to wait for me to freshen up before breathing again." Take a breath."
"Oh, of course, I was negligent," Malloy also stood up, stretched out his right hand, and said, "What do you think at noon tomorrow?"
"My pleasure, Chief Malloy."
The two men laughed and clasped their hands.
"Oh, by the way, I think now we can enter your favorite part of the bounty hunter," Chief Malloy said, pushing a pile of neatly arranged banknotes that his subordinates had piled on his desk. In front of Brandi, "9,700 US dollars, every penny is a lot, you can count it."
Brandi didn't look at it carefully, but just picked up a stack of banknotes and flipped them casually with his thumb, making the banknotes make a pleasant sound. Then he put all the money into his satchel and said: " You are an honorable peace officer and I trust your character.”
Sheriff Malloy was slightly moved. This kind of trust reflected in large transactions is really rare. He seemed to suddenly remember something, and stopped Brandy who had already stepped out of the office threshold. He took out a shining silver police badge from the desk drawer and handed it to Brandy, saying: "We are very welcome. For young talents like Mr. Munny, please keep this police badge. With it, you have absolutely legal law enforcement rights as long as you are in New Hanover. Even in other states, with it you can Speak to the judiciary."
Brandi looked at the police badge, thought for a moment, waved his hand and said: "Chief, although I am indeed determined to fight evil and crime, I do not want to enter the judicial system. I appreciate your kindness, but Please take this back."
Chief Malloy smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. This police badge is just a symbol of the peripheral police detectives. It will not have any impact on your personal freedom. Just carry it with you. I believe you will definitely use this thing in the future." .”
When Brandi heard this, she didn't show any pretense. She put the police badge in her pocket and said, "Thank you, Sheriff. I'll see you at noon tomorrow."
"See you there, Mr. Munny."
Sheriff Malloy walked out of the office and stood under the eaves, watching the sloppy young man named Brandi Munny park the carriage at the door of the only hotel in the town. He had a hunch that many interesting things might happen to Valentine because of the arrival of this young man.
