1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 114 Good Advice Is Hard to Come By...

Hayes was not in the office.

Bernie spent five dollars to find out from the shop next door that Hayes got new customers shortly after they left.

He's showing the house to a guest right now.

Theodore and Bernie were lucky; they only waited on the street for about ten minutes before Hayes returned.

He was accompanied by a family of four.

They were a young couple; the husband was holding a two- or three-year-old boy, while the wife was carrying an infant in her arms.

The family of four seemed very satisfied with the house they had seen; their tired faces couldn't hide their joy.

Hayes beckoned to the two men, inviting them into his office to sit for a while.

He finished his business first, saw his clients off, and then came to greet Theodore and Bernie.
"Gentlemen, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

Bernie patted his pockets, but couldn't pull out a badge or leather ID holder, so he put his hand down again: "Of course, Hayes, we also need to ask you about the old story."

"Or 'BIG BALL'?"

Hayes paused for a moment: "It's been a long time since anyone called me 'BIG BALL'."

Bernie was slightly surprised that Hayes was so open about his identity as 'BIG BALL', and then asked, "Why didn't you tell us that you and Clarence Earl were cellmates in prison?"

“I thought it was unimportant.” Hayes shrugged. “Well, Clarence and I share a cell, and he’s been very kind to me, keeping me out of—”

He gestured and shrugged: "So after I got out, I rented the house to him at a cheaper price."

“The normal rent there is about 50 yuan per month, but I only charge him 42 yuan.”

Fearing they wouldn't believe him, he produced several contracts for Anacostia Road, showing prices that indeed fluctuated around 50.

Bernie put down the contract and asked him, "Does Clarence Earl have enemies in prison?"

Hayes nodded without hesitation: "Of course, it's hard not to make enemies in a place like prison."

"The time he saved me, he angered those guys who wanted to attack me."

His lips curled down, and he paused, as if deep in thought:
"Clarence is a very kind person, but he likes to meddle in other people's business. He ruined a lot of people's good things while he was in prison."

"Many people have threatened to take revenge on him."

Bernie: "Who are they?"

Hayes rattled off several names, and seeing Bernie and Theodore looking blank, he explained to them who these people were.

He also thoughtfully wrote down the names of these people one by one and carefully recounted their grievances with Clarence Earl.

At least half of them were people who wanted to do something to Clarence Earl, who was acting purely in self-defense.

As Hayes said, Mr. Earl felt that those people were going too far and couldn't help but intervene.

Bernie put away the list, flipped through the notebook, and asked Hayes about the specific details of the bloodstains on the cabinet and wall that he had seen.

Hayes recalled for a moment, only saying that he remembered there were dried bloodstains on the cabinet and the wall, but he couldn't remember the specifics.

Bernie then asked about the sofa again, demanding the contact information of the Italian who had taken it from Hayes.

Hayes grabbed a pen and paper and quickly wrote down an address.

Bernie asked a few more questions, then put away his notebook and looked at Theodore.

Theodore asked Hayes, "Why do they call you 'BIG BALL'?"

Hayes paused, his expression shifting.

After a long silence, he shrugged and explained, "Well, it's because in Baltimore, they said my ball wobbled like a cathedral bell, so..."

"They gave me this nickname, and I haven't used it since I got out of prison."

“I’m going to do legitimate business, and legitimate business doesn’t need nicknames.”

Theodore glanced at the cabinets overflowing with documents and asked Hayes curiously, "Isn't anyone trying to steal your business?"

A brief silence fell over the office.

Hayes shook his head seriously and denied it, saying, "No."

Theodore asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because I run a legitimate business. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Earl family's deaths."

Hayes checked the time:
"Alright, you two, I have other things to attend to. If there are no other questions..."

He stepped aside to make way, making a gesture as if to see the guest off.

Theodore pointed to the filing cabinet and asked, "Did you write these contracts yourself?"

"Yes, I wrote it."

Theodore was somewhat surprised: "You went to college?"

Hayes shook his head: "I learned it in prison."

Theodore stared at him for a moment: "What crime were you put in jail for?"

Hayes declined to answer: "This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Earl family's deaths either."

Theodore asked bluntly, "Where were you the day the Earl family was killed?"

Hayes shook his head: "There's a little trouble, it's business. Alright, you two, you have to go."

He pointed to the ground: "This is the southeast district."

He then pointed to himself: "I am not a criminal."

Bernie interjected, "What trouble? Teaching some ignorant little gang a lesson?"

Bernie was a little unhappy to see the two looking at him, especially Theodore who looked surprised.

He pointed outside: "Like you said, this is the southeastern part of DC."

"This is not a place where you can just start a legitimate business if you want."

"When you try to do some legitimate business, all sorts of troubles will come knocking."

“Theft and robbery are minor issues; gangs will come to collect protection money, and the police will also come to collect protection money.”

“If the gangs that used to be on this street are wiped out, you’ll have to pay protection money to the new gangs and you’ll have to appease them.”

"Everyone here will do everything they can to prevent you from doing legitimate business."

"They want you to be as rotten as they are."

He approached Hayes and said with certainty, "You must have a very good relationship with the gangs here, or you're one of them, right, BIG BALL?"

Hayes and Bernie looked at each other, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled.
"I do not know what you're talking about."

"Can you leave now?"

Bernie and Theodore exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and left Hayes' office.

Back in the car, Bernie started the engine and said to Theodore, "There's definitely something wrong with him!"

"He might be the murderer!"

Theodore pointed to his wrist, reminding him, "If we stay here a little longer, it will get dark."

They also need to go to Anacostia Road to find out more from the residents there.

Most people living on Anacostia Road are not home during the day, so now that it's almost time to get some information as the workday ends.

Bernie glanced at the office, started the car, and muttered, "He definitely has a problem."

Hayes’s unusual behavior was obvious to anyone who wasn’t blind.

Once the car was on the road, Theodore took out his notebook, wrote two lines, and then put the notebook away.

He asked Bernie, "Why did Hayes kill the Earl family?"

Bernie thought for a moment: "He provided Clarence Earl with low-priced housing for five years, believing that he had repaid Clarence Earl for saving his life in prison."

“He felt he owed Clarence Earl nothing, but Clarence Earl didn’t think so.”

"So gratitude turned into enmity."

Theodore shook his head: "Hays is imitating the white-collar elites of the Northwest."

He envied their life.

"Have a decent job, dress appropriately, speak politely, and be respected by your neighbors."

"He is disgusted with his past as a prisoner. He is unwilling to talk about that time, and even unwilling to use his old nickname."

“He’s denying his past. He wants to completely sever ties with his former self.” He looked at Bernie: “You’re right.”

Bernie didn't understand and asked Theodore, puzzled, "What's right?"

Theodore: "Your analysis of Hayes' past is correct."

He was somewhat excited: "In a place like the Southeast, Hayes needs strong backing to maintain his respectable status."

Bernie said "Oh," looked around, and asked Theodore, "So he really is the murderer?"

Theodore did not answer.

Hayes is lying, Hayes has a gang background, and Hayes is denying his past, but these are two separate things from Hayes killing Earl and his family of three.

There is no necessary connection between them.

Bernie was somewhat disappointed.

Theodore, however, was not disappointed.

Bernie's shift in mindset, which he had just witnessed, was more gratifying than the progress made in the case itself.

Although Theodore thought the "gratitude turned into enmity" reasoning was a bit far-fetched.

Theodore values ​​the attempt itself more.

He hesitated for a moment, then reassured Bernie, "It's a good attempt."

Bernie glanced at him, then, realizing what he meant, said somewhat speechlessly, "Thank you."

When the two arrived at Anacostia Road, the lights were already on in the houses on both sides.

Theodore did not immediately knock on the residents' doors as planned.

He told Bernie to slow down, drive from one end of the street to the other, then back again, circling the neighborhood twice before finally returning to 3221 Anacostia Road (the crime scene).

As I got out of the car, I realized that snowflakes were falling again.

Theodore looked up at the gray sky and knocked on the door of Freeman's neighbor's house.

The person who opened the door was a very wary middle-aged man.

Bernie took the initiative to identify himself and went forward to negotiate.

The man did not invite them into the house, but instead closed the door and stood outside talking to them.

Bernie asked him about the murder of the Earl family next door six months ago, and the man quickly replied that they had only moved in less than a month ago and didn't know much about it.

The two then knocked on the door of their neighbor's house on the other side.

The person who reported the crime in the case file was listed as a "neighbor," not a house number.

The person who opened the door was a tall, thin middle-aged man.

They were not invited inside either.

Upon learning that they had come for the murder of the Earl family, the man turned to leave, but Bernie grabbed his arm.

The man struggled but couldn't break free. He looked around nervously and repeatedly denied it in a low voice:
"I don't know, I don't know anything."

Bernie asked him, "How long have you been here?"

The man struggled a couple more times, but Bernie held his arm tightly and he couldn't break free, so he remained silent and refused to answer.

Theodore: "Was it you who called the police that night?"

He pointed to the gray street: "Did you call the police using one of those public phones over there?"

The man glanced in the direction Theodore was pointing, but remained silent.

Bernie whispered, "Man, here's the thing."

"You can choose to cooperate with us and tell us exactly what happened that night and what you saw."

"Then let's arrest the murderer."

"Or keep it a secret from him and see if he believes you didn't say anything."

The man struggled for the third time to no avail, and his face showed grief and indignation.

"You police officers only know how to bully us!"

Theodore corrected, "We are FBI employees, not detectives."

Man: "What's the difference?"

Theodore thought about it and realized that there seemed to be no obvious difference between the two, so he shook his head.

The man struggled again.

Bernie grabbed his wrist and twisted it, pinning the man's arm behind his back and slamming him against the wall.
"Nobody wants to bully you. You just need to tell us what happened that night."

Theodore asked him, "There's only one police report. No one else called the police. Only you did."

Why did you call the police?

The man stopped struggling and silently lay against the wall.

"Hays said Clarence Earl is helpful, how has he helped you?"

Bernie chimed in, "Buddy, we mean no harm. We just want to catch the killer who murdered Clarence Earl's entire family."

"Clarence Earl should not have ended up like this."

The man turned his head to look at the two of them, somewhat hesitant.

Bernie pressed on: "Don't worry, no one has noticed this place yet, and we won't tell anyone."

"Tell us the answer, and we'll leave immediately. No one will know it was you who said it."

After a moment of silence, the man spoke.

He spoke in a very low voice, but very quickly:
"I only saw someone break into the Clarence house, and soon I heard the sound of things being smashed inside."

"Then I heard Hattie scream, and then there were gunshots."

He pointed to Freeman's front door: "A little while later, they came out of Clarence's house and started arguing over there."

Bernie: "Them?"

The man nodded: "After they left, I went out to take a look, and the Clarence family was already dead."

Bernie asked, "How many of them are there? Do you know any of them?"

The man nodded, but did not say his name.

Theodore suddenly spoke up: "Is it Hayes or Detective Coleman? Or are they both here?"

The man looked up in surprise.

Bernie glanced at Theodore, turned the man around, and whispered:
"Listen, buddy."

"I have a better suggestion."

"You're coming back with us..."

The man was filled with shock and anger, thinking Bernie was lying to him.

Bernie quickly replied, "I can let you go back right now, and I promise to keep my promise."

"Doing this might prevent any problems for you or your family."

"But more likely, when we investigate them, they will come to us and we will eliminate the potential threats first."

He said seriously, "Believe me, man, I know them very well."

"They will definitely do it."

The man struggled again.

This time, Bernie didn't hold on; instead, he let go.

The man pushed past the two men, squeezed into the house, slammed the door shut, and then locked the bolt.

Theodore and Bernie, who were standing outside the door, could still faintly hear the sound of something being rummaged through.

The two stood there for a while, and then heard a commotion of fighting inside.

Bernie tried knocking, but all he heard was a voice telling them to leave.

Fearing that making too much noise or lingering too long would attract attention, the two had no choice but to return to their car.

Bernie glanced at the house with its lights on, then started his car and drove away.

(End of this chapter)