1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 103 The Post Office Robbers

The Investigations Department, located in the northeast corner, is shaped like a dome and occupies nearly half of the floor space; it is the largest department in the FBI.

Its internal structure is similar to that of the Felton West Precinct homicide squad.

Separate rooms were partitioned off on the north and east sides and used as offices for the managers. Separate rooms were also partitioned off on the east and south sides and used for group discussions on cases.

The central office is a large central office.

Hundreds of workstations were crammed together, with hundreds of agents busy among them.

Some were on the phone, some were discussing cases, some were spacing out, some were tearing up documents... there were all sorts of people doing all sorts of things.

The scene was somewhat chaotic, like a vegetable market, with a constant buzzing noise.

It gives the impression of being a securities trading company.

The office environment here is terrible.

Although the Felton West Precinct homicide unit is located in a large office, it only has a dozen or so people.

There are hundreds of people here!
As you exit the investigation department, Hoover's office is right across the door.

Hoover's office was located in the southeast corner, next to the personnel department, and next to the elevator lobby.

To the west of the elevator lobby lies their destination: the laboratory.

The archives are located to the north of the laboratory.

Due to the large number of departments, even more agents, and limited space, the corridors here are very narrow.

Except for the corridor leading to Hoover's office, which can accommodate two people side by side, the other corridors are only wide enough for one person to pass through, and you have to step aside to let someone pass you.

Ronald Scott explained things to the two of them as they walked, and soon they arrived at the laboratory entrance.

There are security guards at the entrance, and registration is required.

The three completed the registration and received the laboratory report that accompanied the evidence.

The evidence consisted of two sets of gray work clothes. According to laboratory tests, the work clothes were newly purchased, and apart from the Sears brand tags, there was nothing else worth testing on them.

Back in the investigation department, Ronald Scott waved to the bustling main office and walked into a small, empty conference room.

The meeting room layout was exceptionally simple, with a conference table in the center, chairs around the table, a screen in front, two large whiteboards, and a projector in the corner.

Nothing else.

Ronald Scott pulled out a chair, sat down, tossed his work clothes on the table, and gestured for the two men to sit as well.

After waiting for a while, two younger detectives came in.

Ronald Scott introduced the two parties:
“This is Theodore Dixon Hoover, and this is Bernie Sullivan. They are trainee agents who just arrived from Texas.”

“This is Andrew Horn and Mike Stegan.”

"Members of my investigation team."

Ronald Scott is a senior agent who can independently lead small investigative teams and spearhead investigations into complex cases.

Theodore's request to Hoover to establish a new department was essentially similar to an independent investigation team.

He demanded the treatment of a senior agent.

After finishing his introduction, Ronald Scott clapped his hands and began his case report.

They've obviously been handling this case for a while now, and the briefing at this point is mainly to accommodate Theodore and Bernie.

"The DuPont Roundabout Post Office was robbed around 10 a.m. yesterday."

"According to eyewitnesses, there were two robbers, wearing black sunglasses, black nylon stockings over their heads, and gray overalls."

"One of the robbers was armed with a .38 Colt Detective Special revolver, and the other with a Winchester M1912 pump-action shotgun."

"After entering the post office, the two men had a clear division of labor: the shotgun controlled the scene, while Colt collected the cash." "The two robbers left after stealing stamps and cash totaling about 800 dollars."

"After receiving the report, detectives from the Third Precinct quickly arrived at the scene, but only found this in a trash can on the street corner."

He pointed to the gray work clothes on the table and concluded:
"The two robbers acted very quickly and skillfully, leaving almost no clues at the scene."

After a brief pause, Ronald began assigning tasks:
"Mike, you and Andrew go check out Sears department store."

He picked up the lab report, flipped through it, looked around, and handed it to the two men: "Both of these work uniforms are defective. Only the Sears branch in the southeast district sells defective products."

Mike and Andrew picked up a piece of workwear and examined it. Sure enough, they saw several obvious misaligned seams and slight staining on the pants.

After the two agreed, Ronald turned to Theodore and Bernie: "You two come with me, we're going to check the guns."

The discarded work clothes and firearms were clearly distinctive and were the only two clues they had.

Any experienced detective should think to start the investigation with these two things.

Ronald stared at the two of them for a while, and when he confirmed that they really understood the idea, he felt a little relieved.

The brief meeting ended, and everyone went their separate ways.

On the way, Ronald explained to the two men, "The post office is under the jurisdiction of the federal system, so if the post office is robbed, it is our responsibility."

After explaining, he asked the two men for their opinions on the case.

Bernie looked at Theodore.

His views were largely consistent with Ronald's.

However, he felt something was off about the case. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but it just felt off.

He suspected that this was due to the adjustment from investigating murder cases to investigating robbery cases, and he silently tried to adjust himself.

Instead of offering his opinion, Theodore asked Ronald if he could go to the stadium.

Ronald did not refuse.

Theodore and Bernie are experienced detectives; he won't treat them like rookies.

The car quickly stopped in front of a secondhand store.

The shop door was closed but unlocked, and there was a "Closed" sign hanging inside.

Ronald pushed open the door and flipped the sign over so that "Open for Business" was facing outwards.

There was no one behind the counter, so the three of them walked sideways, carefully passing through the rickety shelves.

Just as he reached the doorway at the far end of the counter, a short-barreled shotgun was thrust out and pressed against Ronald's head.

An old man with disheveled hair lifted the curtain and came out.

After a brief standoff with Ronald, the old man put away his gun and limped toward the counter, muttering as he went, "You never come here without a reason."

He placed the short-barreled shotgun under the counter and asked Ronald, "So, what are you up to now?"

Ronald leaned over the counter and asked if he had ever handled a Winchester M1912 pump-action shotgun.

The old man pulled out a tattered ledger from under the cabinet, flipped through it, and shook his head.

Ronald was somewhat disappointed. He asked the old man to help him find out more, and then left with Theodore and Bernie.

After leaving the secondhand store, Ronald told the two that it was the largest illegal gun trading place in the Northwest.

DC is divided into four districts centered around the Capitol Building: Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest.

The DuPont Roundabout Post Office is located in the Northwest District.

Theodore looked at the dilapidated secondhand store and was deeply skeptical of Ronald's words.

(End of this chapter)