1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 104: Press the alarm first, then rob.
After visiting the 'largest' gun trading place, they went to seven or eight similar shops and got more than a dozen names.

Ronald handed the list to the police for verification and then drove them to the crime scene.

On the way, he instructed Theodore and Bernie that most FBI cases require cooperation with local police, and they must make good use of the local police's resources. They cannot do everything themselves as they did at the police station; they must learn to take a holistic view.

Bernie, who had been rather taciturn since arriving in DC, asked Ronald for advice.

Ronald was very approachable and happy to teach them, sharing two of his own personal experiences.

The DuPont Roundabout Post Office is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Northwest Connecticut Avenue and 19th Street. It is a three-story red brick building.

The first floor is the sales hall, and the second and third floors are used as sorting offices.

Just outside the gate is the DuPont roundabout transportation hub, where vehicles come and go in a constant stream.

To the southwest of the roundabout is the Carola Masquerade Theatre, to the east is a tennis club, and across the street is a small bank branch.

This place has excellent transportation links and a large flow of people on the streets, making it ideal for robbery.

The third precinct is 1.2 miles from here, and it would take 5 minutes for a motor vehicle to respond.

Ronald drove slowly while talking, and it took him more than ten minutes to get there.

Perhaps yesterday's robbery affected the business of this post office; there wasn't a single customer inside.

The post office is not large. There are three rows of benches facing the door. After entering, there is a parcel storage counter on the left and a counter on the right. The cashier is under the counter.

There was a security guard patrolling inside the store, and three female employees behind the counter.

They didn't look like they had just been robbed; they were calm and relaxed.

When Theodore and his two companions entered, the four men were huddled together chatting.

Ronald showed his identification, asked them to cooperate with the investigation, and then looked at Theodore.

This case is different from the one investigated in Felton.

This is a case with eyewitnesses.

Theodore questioned them in detail about how the robbery had occurred.

The four men looked somewhat nervous when the topic of yesterday's robbery came up.

According to the four of them, yesterday's robbers were quite gentlemanly.

The robbers chose a time when the store was empty to carry out the robbery.

The shotgun drove the security guard and two female employees behind chairs, making them stand facing the wall.

Colt then had the remaining female employee put money and stamps into the bag.

When the bag was half full, Colt asked the female employee to step back and leave with the shotgun and the bag.

There was no beating or verbal abuse during the entire process; everyone was as civilized as if they had come to pick up a package.

An alarm pedal is installed under the counter. When the teller steps on the brass pedal, it will activate the rotating alarm light on the roof and emit a buzzing sound.

However, the three employees who encountered the robbery for the first time that day were too nervous to remember it and only called the police after the robbers left.

Theodore asked them for details about the robbers, such as their skin color, accent, and build, but the answers he received were rather vague.

The most outrageous thing is the skin color.

The three men said they were white, but the employee who was left to collect the money insisted he was black.

She claimed to have seen Colt's wrist.

There are conflicting opinions about their accents, as the robbers communicated very little; the two of them only exchanged five sentences in total.
"robbery"

"You three, stand facing the wall."

"You, put the money in."

"Alright, step back."

"Walk"

Their physiques were fairly uniform; both robbers were between 5.8 and 6 feet tall, with well-proportioned builds, neither fat nor thin.

Theodore asked a few more questions, and the answers he received were almost identical to those recorded in the report.

After leaving the post office and returning to his car, Ronald looked at Theodore, waiting for his explanation.

Theodore analyzed, "This is a group of professional robbers."

"The entire robbery process was clearly divided into roles: one person controlled the hostages, and the other collected the money. They cooperated with each other in an orderly manner."

"They likely have prior robbery convictions and may be experienced criminals who have yet to be caught."

Ronald straightened up.

Theodore continued, "Throughout the entire robbery, the robbers only gave five short instructions, and the language was extremely concise, without any slang or jargon."

"The robbers demonstrated a high degree of planning and discipline, stealing only $800 worth of cash and stamps, and voluntarily leaving without triggering an alarm."

"They may have military service or related experience."

After saying that, Theodore waited for a while, but Ronald did not raise any questions.

This struck him as odd, and he turned to look.

Ronald didn't comment on Theodore's analysis; he nodded to Theodore, started the car, and drove towards headquarters.

On the way, Bernie continued to ask him for advice, and Ronald used his own experience as an example to impart his wisdom to the two of them.

I got back to headquarters just in time for my commute.

Most of the agents in the large office stopped what they were doing, put on their coats, and left in groups of three or five. Only a few agents stayed behind, their brows furrowed as if they wanted to read a hole in the report in their hands.

Ronald told Theodore and Bernie to go ahead first.

They departed from Felton in the morning and took a flight that lasted a total of six hours.

After landing, I reported to headquarters and was then assigned to the investigation department, where I was immediately taken out to investigate cases.

After all that traveling, I was exhausted and looked weary.

The two men didn't stand on ceremony with him, greeted him, and left with the crowd.

Mr. Thorsen gave Theodore a brand new black Chevrolet sedan.

Bernie walked around the car twice, then asked Theodore for the keys to take it for a test drive, but Theodore refused.

Bernie had doubts about Theodore's driving skills and hesitated about whether to switch to another mode of transportation.

Theodore pulled the slip of paper with the apartment address from the envelope, looked at it, and then looked at Bernie outside the car with a puzzled expression.

Bernie solemnly opened the passenger door and got in.

He tensed up, gripped the seat tightly, and took a deep breath: "Let's go!"

Theodore sensed something was off about him and started the car to merge into traffic.

DC is not like Felton; it's extremely congested during rush hour.

Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Department of Justice building is particularly lined with government buildings, and during rush hour it's full of government employees' cars.

Theodore's takeoff failed, so he parked at an intersection and switched places with Bernie.

Hoover rented Theodore an apartment in Georgetown, about 3.5 miles from FBI headquarters.

That's one of the oldest neighborhoods in DC.

Georgetown is home to mostly elite individuals and is considered an upscale community.

It just so happens that a large number of federal agency employees also live here.

So the two of them were stuck in traffic all the way from headquarters to the entrance of the community, and it took them more than an hour to get there.

The apartment is fully furnished and very clean, it must have just been cleaned, so you can move in right away.

This made things convenient for Theodore and Bernie.

After a long day of activity, the two were too tired to move. They ate a quick dinner and then went to rest.

Bernie will stay with Theodore for the next few days and will move out when he has time over the weekend.

The next day, there was another traffic jam.

Fortunately, they were prepared and got up very early, so they weren't late.

Shortly after arriving at headquarters, Ronald called his team into the conference room to discuss the case. Andrew and Mike first reported their findings:
Sears' grey workwear is very popular, with many people buying several sets at a time, and several stores that sell defective items sold out very early on.

The lead regarding the gray work clothes could no longer be traced.

Now we can only wait for the results of the investigation into the shotgun list by the Third Precinct.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment. Ronald gestured to Theodore, asking him to repeat yesterday's analysis.

Andrew and Mike listened with skepticism.

The fact that the robber is a repeat offender and that he may have military or related experience are two very important clues.

But the premise is accuracy!

Theodore's analysis sounds reasonable, but it's ultimately a guess and reasoning that makes people feel uneasy.

An agent opened the door and gestured for Ronald to answer the phone.

Ronald went out for a few minutes and then came back with a serious expression.

He was holding his coat and beckoned the group to follow him.

Another post office has been robbed!
The newly robbed post office is similar in environment to the DuPont Roundabout Post Office, with convenient transportation and dense crowds. Both are located in the Third Precinct area and in the Northwest District of DC.

When Theodore and his team arrived, the post office had already been surrounded by detectives from the Third Precinct.

Ronald showed his identification and led Theodore and the others into the cordon.

Several detectives are taking statements from eyewitnesses.

The robbery occurred in the morning, just after the post office opened. Apart from three employees (two men and one woman) and a security guard, there was no one else in the post office.

They were still wearing the same gray Sears work clothes, black nylon stockings, and black sunglasses. One carried a shotgun, the other a Colt. Their roles were clearly defined and efficient.

The same security guard and two male employees were asked to face the wall, while the female employee was left behind to collect the money.

The difference this time was that the robbers only took less than 100 yuan in change and two bundles of stamps.

The detectives at the scene had strange expressions.

Ronald and the others also had strange expressions.

Not every profession offers the early bird catches the worm.

For some professions, getting up early will only lead to starvation.

For example, robbery.

A robbery at nine in the morning—this group of robbers doesn't sound very professional.

A detective came to report the situation.

The robber's gray overalls were found in a trash can on the street corner.

Ronald retrieved gloves from the car and began explaining to Theodore and Bernie how to protect the scene.

After giving a brief explanation, he told the two that they could go back and get a field operation manual to study on their own.

Mike chimed in, reminding them that this was one of the key courses in the selection and training program.

Bernie grinned and told them that Theodore had made a similar request in Felton.

These words greatly surprised Mike and Andrew.

Ronald gave Theodore a deep look, but said nothing more.

He put on gloves, took out the two sets of work clothes, and examined them to confirm that they were also defective.

He stuffed the work clothes into a paper bag and tossed it to Mike, then led them back to the post office entrance, put on shoe covers, and went inside.

The layout of this post office is similar to that of the DuPont Roundabout Post Office, only it is larger.

Theodore followed Ronald into the room, and after Mike and Andrew finished taking photos, he went straight to the counter.

The drawer behind the counter was open, and there were still some banknotes inside that hadn't been taken away, but not many.

Several banknotes and stamps were scattered on the ground.

Theodore picked up the stamps and looked at them, finding that the denominations were ordinary and the designs were similar.

These are not rare stamps with high collectible value.

He walked around the room again, but found little, and then turned to look at Ronald.

Ronald frowned, clearly having found nothing either.

As the four of them came out of the scene, they saw Bernie chatting animatedly with a witness.

Seeing that they had finished their on-site investigation, Bernie quickly ended his conversation with the witness and ran over.

He whispered to the others that the employee said the alarm pedal wasn't pressed by him voluntarily, but at the request of the robbers.

Ronald suspected that Bernie had been deceived.

Bernie shrugged, indicating that he couldn't understand it either.

Ronald had previously consulted four witnesses, who confirmed that the incident had indeed occurred.

After the robbers entered the room, they first informed them of the robbery, and then the shotgunner shouted for them to step on the alarm pedal.

Only after the alarm sounded did the robbers begin to force them to face the wall and then carry out the robbery.

Back at headquarters, the two work uniforms were sent to the lab for testing, but no one had much hope.

Ronald called them together in the conference room to analyze the case.

Theodore spoke up first.

He first connected today's case with the DuPont Roundabout Post Office case:
"Both robberies used the same defective Sears work clothes, nylon stockings, and sunglasses. The weapons were exactly the same. Witnesses described the robbers as having similar height and build, which confirms that they were the same group of robbers."

Everyone nodded.

Theodore continued, "At the DuPont Roundabout post office, the robbers got about $800 in total, but this time they probably got less than $200."

"The robbers discarded brand-new work clothes worth nearly 20 yuan during the two robberies."

"The robbers purchased a shotgun, a handgun, gloves, stockings, and sunglasses."

"In this particular robbery, the robbers specifically requested to trigger the alarm, and only began the robbery after the alarm sounded."

“No robber would do that; the gains are far outweighed by the risks they take.”

"Given the level of professionalism of these robbers, they shouldn't even be robbing a post office; their target should be a bank vault."

After a pause, Theodore concluded:
"Unless their target wasn't the change and stamps they got from the robbery at all."

"They were testing the police's reaction speed in preparation for a larger robbery."

Mike and Andrew looked at Theodore, unsure of what to say.

His analysis sounded reasonable, but it also felt a bit far-fetched.

It's even more outrageous than the analysis this morning.

Ronald remained silent; he was called outside to answer a phone call.

The call was from the Third Precinct.

The people on the list he handed over to the Third Precinct yesterday have all been cleared of suspicion.

They were still in custody when the robbery happened this morning.

This means that the gun lead is temporarily useless, and they have no more leads to investigate.

After hanging up the phone, Ronald informed everyone of the news.

In the ensuing silence, Ronald decided to adopt Theodore's analytical conclusions.

He asked Theodore, "Do you think they're planning a bigger robbery, and these two robberies are just a rehearsal?"

Theodore nodded.

Ronald: "I need evidence. Theodore, any evidence other than analysis and reasoning will do."

Theodore thought for a moment and asked for a DC map to draw the route between the two robbery locations and the Third Precinct.

Ronald stared at the two nearly identical lines for a moment: "You think their final destination is also 1.2 miles from the Third Precinct?"

(End of this chapter)