1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 111 Where did Hoover find it?

Bernie and Theodore arrived back at the apartment almost one after the other.

He briefed Theodore on today's house-hunting trip.

Arlington's public education resources are inferior to Bethesda's, but its community culture is more appealing to Bernie.

This area is home to a large number of FBI agents, and their families maintain close ties.

More importantly, the same property here is more than $5000 cheaper than in Bethesda.

Bernie has already selected several properties and is ready to discuss them with Hilda (Mrs. Sullivan).

Theodore also wanted to tell Bernie about today's private gathering.

But after thinking it over, he realized that he seemed to have been following Hoover around the whole party.

Hoover introduced him to one stranger after another, and all he had to do was shake hands and occasionally let him know that he was still around.

Theodore hesitated for a moment, feeling that there wasn't much to say.

He picked up the file folder that Hoover had given him:
"He said that if we solved the case independently, we could set up an independent investigation team and selectively participate in selection and training."

Theodore recounted his agreement with Hoover.

Bernie, who was about to call his wife, was both amused and exasperated.

“Theodore, your uncle is the chief. He can easily ask the head of the investigation department not to assign us any cases during the selection and training period, until it is over.”

Theodore dismissed it: "He promised an independent investigation team; we can find cases ourselves."

Bernie was taken aback and looked Theodore up and down with a curious gaze.

Theodore looked down, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Bernie snapped out of his daze and shook his head: "No, it's nothing."

He pointed to the receiver in his hand, then to the file folder in Theodore's hand: "Wait a minute, I'll look at that with you after I finish my call with Hilda."

Theodore glanced at the time; it was almost ten o'clock.

He was skeptical of Bernie's words. His last phone call with Hilda lasted nearly an hour.

When Theodore heard that Bernie had been talking to Sullivan for five minutes without getting to the point, he decided not to wait for him any longer.

He tore open the file bag and dumped the documents inside onto the table.

The first thing that catches the eye is a stack of photos.

This is a set of photos from the scene.

The photos are not professionally taken; the shooting angles are messy, and there is a lot of repetition in the content.

Theodore fiddled with things for a long time, while Bernie had already put little Sullivan to sleep and was finally talking to his wife about the results of today's house viewing. Only then could Theodore piece together the general appearance of the scene.

The photo shows three bodies: two adults and a little girl. The adults are a man and a woman.

Two adults were found dead in front of the living room sofa, one lying face down and the other prone, their bodies covered in a mixture of blood.

The little girl died behind the sofa.

The door was open, and the room was ransacked. All the drawers were open, and items that should have been in the cabinets were scattered on the floor, as if a thief had broken in.

Twenty photos were all the photos Theodore could know.

Theodore became curious about the person who took the photos.

It's really difficult for the average person to tell a lot of repetitive content using twenty completely different photos.

He checked the photos repeatedly to confirm that no more information could be read before picking up the documents inside and looking through them.

Fortunately, we still have the deceased's information!
Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to tell whether the deceased was black or white!

The deceased were a family of three.

The male homeowner is named Clarence Earl, a construction worker; the female homeowner is named Mabel Earl, a laundry worker; and their daughter, Hattie Earl, is 19 years old and works as a laundry worker with her mother.

All three were Black and lived in the Southeast District.

Clarence Earl has a prior record of theft and robbery and has served time in prison.

Mabel Earl and Hattie Earl have clean records.

That's all.

Theodore stared blankly at the twenty photos and three 'personal resumes' on the table for a while.

He suspected that Hoover was playing a trick on him.

Theodore looked up, somewhat bewildered.

Over there, Bernie was talking to his wife about the wonderful future of their alternative property, number 3, like how they could turn the left-hand room into a nursery and have a little brother for Gerty (Bernie's daughter), and so on.

Ten minutes later.

Bernie and his wife kept talking and talking until they finally finished the call.

With a happy smile still on his face, he pulled up a chair and sat down, inquiring about the progress of Theodore's case:

"So? What case is it?"

Theodore had just put the photos and documents back into the file folder when he took them out again and placed them back on the table:

"A family annihilation case."

"A family of three was murdered."

"It happened in the southeast district."

Bernie flipped through the photos, but when he didn't get any further explanation, he looked up at Theodore and asked, "That's it?"

Theodore got up to go to sleep: "Yeah, that's all."

Bernie flipped through the three documents in disbelief, glancing at Theodore's retreating figure as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He really wanted to ask Theodore: Are you sure he's Director Hoover's nephew? Monday.

The temperature plummeted, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

The two were stuck in traffic for nearly an hour and almost missed their train.

Upon arriving at headquarters, Bernie spoke with an agent whom Theodore had met sometime during the investigation and learned that the case was a request for assistance from the Fifth Precinct.

However, because the deceased family of three were all Black and lived in the Southeast District, no detectives took over the case.

Bernie's contact with the detective helped him check, and the case was submitted five months ago, with the incident occurring six months ago, in early June.

The detective helped him get the number of the detective in charge of the case.

Bernie dialed the number, but it wasn't Detective Coleman who answered; a young man did.

The young man identified himself as Detective Ross.

Ross told Bernie that Detective Coleman had died in the line of duty last month, and that he had just taken over Detective Coleman's work last week and was currently trying to sort things out.

Bernie was silent for a moment, then asked Detective Ross for more details about the family annihilation case.

Detective Ross said he knew nothing about the massacre, but he could help look for the case files and arranged to meet Bernie in the fifth division.

It took Bernie and Theodore nearly an hour to get to the Fifth Precinct and meet with Detective Ross.

Detective Ross was a thin, short young man. He warmly invited the two men to go with him to the archives to look through the files.

Bernie and Theodore shuddered at the memory of being dominated by the Felton West Precinct archives.

Fortunately, the police department in DC has stricter record management than Felton. Although the records here are numerous and varied, none of them have been lost.

The three spent the morning rummaging through the archives and finally found the case file before lunch.

The case file contained only one more statement from the person who reported the crime and three more autopsy reports than Theodore's file.

The person who reported the incident was the deceased's neighbor. He heard a lot of noise and gunshots coming from next door, and only called the police after things quieted down.

The neighbor stated in their statement that they saw nothing and had no idea what happened.

Theodore reviewed the three autopsy reports and found them to be extremely rudimentary.

It was even more rudimentary than the forensic lab at the Felton East Precinct.

He even started to miss the forensic pathologist at Felton East Precinct.

The autopsy report contained large blank areas, aside from the cause of death.

Fortunately, there is still a cause of death.

Mr. and Mrs. Earl were shot to death with .38 caliber bullets, while Miss Earl was strangled to death.

The report contained no autopsy photos, no detailed autopsy findings, and no other descriptions.

Theodore asked Detective Ross about the whereabouts of the body and whether a second autopsy could be performed.

Detective Ross took them to the morgue.

Morgue records show that the three bodies were removed three months ago.

Mr. Earl's body has been cremated.

Mrs. Earl's body was labeled "medical research use" and transferred to the Department of Anatomy at George Washington University after being signed off by the sheriff.

Miss Earl's body was then transferred to St. Elizabeth's Asylum, the purpose of which is unknown.

After saying goodbye to Detective Ross, Theodore and Bernie first contacted the Department of Anatomy at George Washington University and learned that Mrs. Earl's body had been cremated.

However, the anatomy professor had Mrs. Earl's autopsy records, and after learning that the records might be related to a murder case, the professor was willing to contribute them to help the FBI solve the case.

The two went to George Washington University to obtain the autopsy records.

The anatomical records are extensive and detailed; the Department of Anatomy at George Washington University conducted a comprehensive and meticulous dissection of Mrs. Earl.

Theodore reviewed the records and extracted the key points:

The deceased had a mucosal defect on the inner side of the lower lip, a complete fracture of the middle segment of the right forearm ulna, a circular wound below the left clavicle with star-shaped lacerations at the edges, a penetrating wound in the upper lobe of the left lung, and a defect in the anterior wall of the aortic arch.

The victim's right arm was first twisted, breaking his ulna, and then he was shot at close range by the murderer. The bullet entered through his left clavicle, pierced his left lung, and embedded itself in the T4 vertebra.

Theodore and Bernie left George Washington University with thick autopsy records and contacted St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital full of hope, only to receive a cold reply: "You do not have access."

After working for most of the day, they only obtained a second autopsy record for one corpse.

After lunch, Theodore suggested going to the crime scene.

Bernie contacted Detective Ross, and the three met at the victim's doorstep.

This is a single-story wooden terraced house facing the street. Six months have passed, and the house has already changed owners.

The homeowner was not home at the time, and the door was locked.

Detective Ross knocked on several doors before finally getting some basic information about the new homeowner from one of the residents.

The new family to move in is a family of five. The husband is a construction worker, just like Mr. Earl, and the wife is a laundry worker, just like Mrs. Earl.

The male homeowner works on a construction site in the southwest district, while the female homeowner works in the northeast district.

The three estimated the distance and drove to the northeast area to find the female homeowner.

The woman in charge of the house was a plump, middle-aged Black woman who appeared particularly wary when she first met the three of them.

When he learned that the three men were going to enter his home for an inspection, his resistance was practically written all over his face.

She used work as an excuse to refuse the three men's requests.

After Detective Ross told her that a murder had occurred in the room, a family of three being wiped out, the woman let out a sharp scream, followed by a string of curses.

I'll finish this tomorrow; I'm too late from researching.

Sorry! I'm so sorry!
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(End of this chapter)