1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 116 What does the police force smell like?
The head of the Fifth Precinct has been very busy lately.

As the year draws to a close, he has endless meetings, people to meet, and parties to attend.

I finally had a break, and then I received a call from Manager Rosen.

Rosen's supervisor lived in the same community as him and they also had work-related interactions, so they knew each other.

After listening to the phone call, the bureau chief was somewhat bewildered.

His brain, which had been crammed with case closure rates and budgets, took a while to process what had happened.

He stared at the phone for a while, then called over the deputy police commissioner to inquire about the details.

The deputy commissioner then called Detective Ross over.

After listening to Detective Ross's account, the chief pondered for a long time and then handed the matter over to the deputy commissioner.

He instructed the deputy superintendent to follow procedures and to fully cooperate once the cooperation order was received.

The deputy commissioner called out Detective Ross's name and ordered him to go to the evidence room and archives to organize the data and physical evidence in the Earl family murder case in preparation for the FBI to reopen the case.

After sending Detective Ross away, the deputy commissioner summoned several experienced detectives and dispatched them to retrieve the information.

The detectives arrived at Hayes' office, broke down the door, quickly and skillfully emptied the filing cabinets, and then left.

Following the deputy commissioner's instructions, they took the documents directly to the Department of Justice building. After inspection, they enthusiastically helped carry them upstairs and escorted them to the conference room.

Theodore and Bernie looked at the pile of documents on the table and gained a new understanding of the efficiency of the Fifth Precinct.

They felt as if they had just returned to the conference room from the legal counsel's office.

They went through the formal process to request the reopening of the case concerning the murder of the Earl family.

They will remain idle until the Fifth Precinct receives the cooperation order.

Theodore had planned to use this time to organize his notes and record the robbery.

Bernie plans to use this time to study in advance.

He somehow obtained a set of selection and training notes.

According to the estimate of the helpful detective in the legal counsel's office, the documents wouldn't arrive until at least the afternoon, and the case wouldn't be reopened for at least another week.

Bernie inwardly cursed the unreliable enthusiastic detectives while repeatedly thanking them.

The detectives quickly said it was all they should do.

The two parted ways in a pleasant atmosphere.

After seeing off the enthusiastic detective from the Fifth Precinct, Theodore and Bernie were called to Supervisor Rosen's office.

Previously, Supervisor Rosen had helped them obtain the autopsy records from St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital, and the hospital quickly responded.

Hattie Earl's body was not autopsied, but used for other medical purposes, and has been destroyed, making an autopsy record unavailable.

After listening, Bernie wanted to ask Director Rosen what exactly St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital was researching, but reason stopped him.

Back in the meeting room, the two began to examine Hayes's file.

Bernie also found a map of the southeast area and spread it on the table, preparing to mark all of Hayes' properties against the contract.

The detectives from the Fifth Precinct were very meticulous; the documents were not mixed up but arranged in order.

Fortunately, Hayes was also very meticulous; the documents were arranged in chronological order.

Soon, a loan agreement found hidden inside the rental contract was discovered.

Bernie glanced at the contract and handed it to Theodore: "Now I know what to look for."

"Hays is lending money to his tenants."

Theodore carefully read the contract and compared it with his rental agreement, confirming that both were written by the same person.

The two continued searching and found a loan agreement signed with Clarence Earl's name.

It was placed together with the rental agreement.

The contract was signed at the beginning of this year.

Clarence Earl borrowed $3000 from Hayes in January at a weekly interest rate of 12%.

Theodore did a quick calculation and realized that by June, when the Earl family was wiped out, they would need to pay Hayes 57000 dollars back.

Bernie stared at the final repayment amount for a long time, then muttered:

"The DC gangsters are really ruthless! Felton's weekly profit is only 6%."

He waved the loan agreement at Theodore: "Looks like we've found Hayes' motive for murder!"

Bernie believed that Hayes' purpose in coming to the door that night was to collect a debt, which was why the Earl family was gathered in the living room and their house was ransacked.

But the Earl family simply couldn't afford to pay off their debts.

Hayes's men attempted to assault Hattie Earl but accidentally strangled her to death, escalating the conflict.

Hayes shot and killed Clarence Earl and Mabel Earl before leaving with his men.

The person who called the police knew what kind of person Hayes was, but because they were afraid of Hayes's retaliation, they dared not communicate with him.

Theodore looked at Bernie with admiration, then shook his head.

He reminded Bernie, "The Freemans rented that house for 30% less than the normal price."

"When we found Mrs. Freeman in the Northeast, she and her colleagues dared to talk about Hayes behind his back to cover up the fact that she was renting a house at a low price."

"Hays did not exert as much of a deterrent effect on Mrs. Freeman and her colleagues as on the caller."

Bernie considered one possibility: "She might not even know who Hayes is."

Before Theodore could refute it, he himself denied the possibility.

Given Mrs. Freeman's mercenary nature, she couldn't possibly be unaware of who she shouldn't easily provoke.

He waved the loan agreement again: "Hays must have been there when the incident happened."

Theodore looked at Bernie strangely.

He didn't quite understand why Bernie was so sure Hayes was involved in the case, either as the mastermind or an accomplice.

Bernie didn't answer his question. Instead, he put down the loan agreement and pointed to the map on the table: "He said his business hasn't been doing so well lately. Let's see just how bad his business is."

The two first divided the rental contract into monthly installments, and then marked the property address on the map with different colors.

Because Hayes' rental contracts were signed monthly, Theodore and Bernie were able to observe changes in Hayes' rental business at shorter intervals.

During this time, they found more loan contracts, the one with the highest total amount, in which the lender already owed Hayes more than 300,000.

The two worked for more than three hours to mark up all of Hayes' rental business over the past six months.

The Southeast District is densely populated and is a racially segregated area specifically designated by DC. Housing resources are extremely scarce here, so Hayes' house has no trouble being rented out.

This means that the rental contracts Theodore and Bernie counted were essentially equivalent to the number of properties he actually owned.

The map shows that Hayes owned around sixty to seventy properties between June and September, with little fluctuation.

Based on a monthly rent of $45 per property, he would collect $3000 in rent every month.

But starting in November, Hayes's property holdings suddenly began to shrink, dropping from nearly seventy to fifty.

The properties on Anacostia Road suffered direct losses of nearly half.

Bernie pointed to the shrunken territory on the map and looked at Theodore: "He's going to lose control of Anacostia Road."

"Other gangs are fighting him for territory. Hayes is being pushed back step by step!"

This is obvious on the map.

In just one month, Hayes' property on Anacostia Road had lost half its value. Theodore nodded, straightened the flipped-through contract, and said, "We should go see Detective Coleman's partner."

Thinking that the case was going through a formal reopening process, he added, "In a week."

Bernie looked at the files scattered all over the table and reminded Theodore that it might not take more than a week.

Theodore thought about it and agreed.

The two piled the documents together, put them in a corner, and then went to the lab.

Theodore hopes to simulate the shooting scene based on Mabel Earl's autopsy records and estimate the gunman's height.

Mabel Earl was shot while seated, with the killer firing from a higher position.

Based on the condition of the wound caused by the bullet, the distance between the muzzle and Mabel Earl can be roughly estimated. Combined with the angle of the bullet's entry, the height of the killer can be roughly calculated.

The lab delivered the report the following afternoon.

Based on laboratory calculations and actual simulations, the killer was approximately 6 feet tall (about 1.83 meters).

This does not match Hayes' height.

Hayes was only 5.7 feet (about 1.75 meters) tall.

Bernie examined the lab results over and over, finally saying helplessly, "It seems we really need to visit Coleman's partner."

Coleman died in the line of duty a month ago, and Hayes’ business on Anacostia Road immediately shrank by half.

It's hard not to make those connections.

Theodore asked Bernie, "How tall is Detective Coleman?"

Bernie put down the lab report and looked at Theodore: "You suspect that Coleman killed Mabel Earl and Clarence Earl?"

Theodore nodded slowly.

Bernie took out his notebook and wrote this down as well.

They were temporarily unable to advance the investigation, and could only write down the directions they had in the investigation and wait for the cooperation order to be issued to the Fifth Precinct.

…………

On Monday at noon, the Fifth Precinct contacted the FBI's Investigations Department to consult with the agent in charge of the Earl family murder case.

They received a cooperation order.

The Earl family murder case has been officially reopened.

This was two days earlier than the helpful detective in the legal counsel's office had predicted.

Bernie secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Today is the 19th, and Christmas is this weekend.

He had promised his wife and children that he would come home for Christmas.

Bernie and Theodore went to the legal counsel's office and got a whole bunch of forms, including an evidence collection order and a field cooperation waiver agreement, and then headed straight to the Fifth Precinct.

The Fifth Precinct dispatched Detective Ross to assist the two in their investigation.

The two parties should have exchanged physical evidence and case files.

But despite a week of effort, Detective Ross was unable to find any more information or physical evidence related to the case in the evidence room and archives.

This left Detective Ross somewhat embarrassed.

Bernie changed the subject to ease the awkwardness.

He pulled out his notebook and asked Officer Ross for Detective Coleman's file.

Detective Ross glanced at Theodore instinctively: "Detective Coleman is dead. His file isn't here. You'll have to check with headquarters."

Bernie then asked, "How tall is he?"

Detective Ross, puzzled, gestured and said, "About 6.1 feet (about 1.86 meters)."

Bernie glanced at Theodore and continued, "Where is Coleman's partner? We need to question him."

Detective Ross stared at Theodore, remained silent for a moment, then gave him the address with a stern face.

With the cooperation order in place, he had no choice but to comply.

Bernie then asked the person who called the police about their situation.

Detective Ross told him that the person who called the police was preparing to move.

Bernie closed his notebook and told Detective Ross to bring the caller back immediately, while he and Theodore went to visit Detective Coleman's partner.

Detective Ross offered to go with them, but Theodore refused outright.

He blindly idolized Detective Coleman, and Theodore even suspected that if he were shown the photos of Detective Coleman shooting the Earl family, he could come up with an excuse for Detective Coleman.

Sending him along to meet Coleman's partner would only make things worse.

Theodore felt that Detective Ross had made a mistake; he shouldn't have become a policeman, he should have been a defense attorney.

The two left the Fifth Precinct and headed to Detective Coleman's partner's house.

Detective Coleman's partner is named Crawford, with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and obvious Germanic ancestry.

Crawford was a sprightly old man. When Theodore and Bernie met him, he was sitting in a wheelchair, enjoying the snow in the yard.

The snow in DC has been falling on and off for a week, and the snow depth has reached nearly a foot.

Bernie explained his purpose to Crawford, whose expression turned rather unpleasant.

"He's dead! He died in the line of duty!" Crawford said in a deep voice. "You should at least show him basic respect!"

Theodore had a feeling of facing Detective Ross. He carefully examined Crawford to confirm that the person in the wheelchair was an elderly man, not the young Detective Ross.

He asked Crawford, puzzled, "What's the connection between this and the possibility that he killed Clarence Earl and Mabel Earl?"

Crawford immediately glared at Theodore.

Theodore, not wanting to dwell on the issue of 'hope' versus 'reality,' directly presented the evidence he possessed:
"The FBI lab calculated the height of the shooter who killed Mabel Earl, and found it to be similar to that of Detective Coleman."

“Detective Coleman’s prejudice against Black people is consistent with the gunman’s mindset when he shot Mabel Earl from a high position.”

"Detective Coleman was the first to arrive at the scene after receiving the call that night. As a veteran officer, Detective Coleman's handling of the scene was exceptionally rough."

Theodore pulled out the photos and handed them over, along with the case file and autopsy report: "This is consistent with Detective Coleman's usual approach to cases involving Black victims, but it contradicts his eagerness to be the first to arrive at the scene."

"Since he cares so much about this case, he should have shown a more professional attitude."

Crawford clutched the photograph, staring at the corpse in it, without offering any rebuttal.

Theodore pulled the photo back to prevent it from being crushed, and asked, "What is Detective Coleman's relationship with Hayes?"

Crawford silently beckoned to Bernie, who then pushed him back into the house.

After entering the house, Crawford directed Bernie to carry him to the sofa, then pointed at Theodore and said to Bernie:

"You need to find a new partner."

“He doesn’t look like someone who came from the police force at all.”

"He smelled like an FBI agent."

Theodore sat across from him and asked sincerely, "What does the police force taste like? Does it cover up a partner's murder?"

This chapter is a supplement; there will be more tonight.

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(End of this chapter)