1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 112: There will be many more cases like this in the future.

The new residents are all surnamed Freeman.

Mrs. Freeman verbally abused the real estate agent who rented the house to them in English, Spanish, and an unknown language that Theodore couldn't understand.

He only used the parts that Theodore could understand, and the language was very vulgar.

She cursed while working, managing to do both without neglecting either her words or her hands.

Theodore found Mrs. Freeman's behavior strange and asked her, "Don't you know what happened in your house?"

"Have your neighbors never talked about the previous homeowner?"

Mrs. Freeman's expression changed slightly.

A colleague passing by glanced warily at Theodore and his two companions and asked Mrs. Freeman if they were in trouble.

Mrs. Freeman immediately recounted how her rented house had been the site of a family massacre, and then proceeded to discuss with her colleagues, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, how unethical real estate agents could be.

Detective Ross's coughing was ignored, so he had to interrupt directly and ask Mrs. Freeman if he could come inside to examine her.

Mrs. Freeman shook the sheet in her hand and told them that if she left now, she wouldn't get her pay for the day.

Bernie took out ten dollars and handed it to her, reminding her that Detective Ross was a policeman from the Fifth Precinct.

Detective Ross obligingly flashed the badge on his waist.

Mrs. Freeman's expression changed slightly, and she finally stopped making excuses.

But she insisted on riding in the same car as Theodore and Bernie, refusing to get into Detective Ross's patrol car.

Mrs. Freeman remained quiet on the way.

When she got home, she first went to her neighbor's house to pick up her three children before taking out her keys to let Theodore and the others into the house.

The room was very cramped. The living room was right inside the entrance, with two bedrooms on the left and the kitchen on the right.

The living room was small. To the right of the door was a dining table, two sofas were placed in the middle, three cabinets were placed against the wall, and a tin stove was placed at the very back, making it feel quite cramped.

Theodore took out the photos for comparison and found that the room layout had not changed much.

The sofas in Freeman's house are arranged in the same way as in the photo, forming a "┌" shape.

The Earl couple's bodies were between two sofas, while Miss Earl was behind a vertical sofa, between the two bedroom doors.

Theodore walked around the room twice, but didn't find much.

Bernie did get the contact information of the "shameless" real estate agent from Mrs. Freeman.

It was already past get off work hours when I left Freeman's house.

Theodore and Bernie drove back to headquarters after Theodore and Detective Ross had arranged to meet a real estate agent the next day.

On the way, Bernie asked Theodore for his opinion on the case.

Theodore looked at the photo in his hand, in which Hattie Earl lay on the ground, her clothes disheveled: "The killer had a strong desire to control Hattie Earl."

He showed Bernie a photo of Hattie Earl: "Strangulation requires physical restraint, it looks like attempted sexual assault."

"The killer is suspected of attempting to sexually assault Hattie Earl, but accidentally strangled her to death after she resisted."

He then picked up a photo of the Earls: "Murder cases are usually motivated by revenge."

“Clarence Earl has a history of theft and robbery and has served time in prison.”

Bernie interjected, "Hate disputes are most likely to arise in prison. Maybe we should also investigate Clarence Earl's cellmates tomorrow."

Theodore nodded in agreement.

He chose a photo of Mabel Earl, taken from the side, which included both the sofa and Mabel Earl on the floor.

Bernie glanced at the photo, puzzled. Theodore: "Mabel Earl's body was lying face down, but her fatal wound was a bullet that entered through her left collarbone."

He gestured with his right hand as if making a gun, and lowered the muzzle: "Mabel Earl was probably sitting on the sofa when she was shot, and the killer was standing in front of her, shooting down at her."

Theodore then produced a photograph of Clarence Earl.

Clarence Earl lay down next to his wife, Mabel Earl, with his head turned to the side; the photo only showed the back of his head, which was completely dark.

Theodore looked and looked, but still couldn't figure out how he died.

The autopsy report said he was shot, but it didn't say how many shots the killer fired or where the shots were fired.

He put the photos away and reminded Bernie, "Remember to ask Detective Ross tomorrow who took these photos."

Theodore expressed his dissatisfaction with the medical examiner from the Fifth Precinct: "He might remember some details, at least enough to tell me how many shots Clarence Earl was shot."

"Unlike this autopsy report, it contains even less information than the eyewitness accounts."

Bernie thought of the three autopsy reports that couldn't even form a coherent paragraph, and the written record that was practically worthless; he felt that the whole case was being handled perfunctorily.

He asked Theodore, "Are all the cases in the DC Police Department like this? Or is it because they're Black?"

While Felton's attitudes toward black and white victims differed, they were not nearly as outrageous as this.

Theodore said he didn't know either.

Bernie glanced at him again: "Luckily, it's just this one case."

Theodore shook his head: "We'll probably be handling cases like this quite often in the future."

Bernie suspected he was joking, but seeing his serious expression, he exclaimed "Ah!"

Imagine if every case that happens in the future occurred months or even years ago, and the autopsy report couldn't even clearly state the cause of death, the body couldn't be found, and the identity of the deceased might not even be known...

Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

The next day, the snow stopped, but the weather got even colder.

This made Bernie, who came from the south, feel a little uncomfortable, and he started sneezing early in the morning.

The two went to headquarters first, and then bought Bernie a thick trench coat.

FBI agents have dress codes, and many winter clothes are simply not allowed. The two trench coats Bernie brought from Texas were too thin and could not cope with the snowy weather in DC.

Theodore didn't need to buy clothes; his walk-in closet was already full of clothes when he moved into the apartment.

From the inside out, from head to toe, everything had already been arranged and placed together for him.

After buying the clothes, the two went to meet up with Detective Ross, who led them to the real estate agency.

This was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties, Black, wearing glasses, and dressed very well.

This is rare in the Southeast region.

The agent didn't seem nervous when he saw the police car or heard Detective Ross and Bernie's introduction.

This is even less common in the Southeast region.

The Southeast District is a poor neighborhood, home to a large number of ethnic minorities, mainly Black and Latino.

Most people have a criminal history, and they will naturally be wary of police cars and police officers when they see them, and resist cooperating with the police, even if it is just to understand the situation.

This place is like Felton's West End, a den of iniquity.

In such an environment, intermediaries seem somewhat out of place.

Bernie explained his purpose to the agent, who expressed his willingness to cooperate and invited them to his office for a detailed discussion.

This chapter is a supplement.
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(End of this chapter)