1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 127 Weren't you just yelling at me fiercely?

The figure of 2 easily reminded the two of Bernie's loan.

The two are too similar.

Bernie asked them if they had recently taken out a loan from Riggs National Bank.

Both of them shook their heads in denial.

Bernie, undeterred, inquired further about any recent account activity similar to the amount being demanded.

This is a very private matter.

But perhaps it was gratitude to Theodore and Bernie for preventing their losses, or a sense of shared misfortune stemming from being extorted alongside Bernie.

In short, the two did not reject the question, but after careful consideration, they gave a negative answer.

Their only asset change that was close to the amount of the extortion was taking out a bank loan after receiving the extortion call.

Bernie turned to look at Theodore.

Theodore didn't dwell on the specific amounts: "Which branch do you usually go to for business?"

Thomas from the Federal Bureau of Prisons: "Main branch."

Edward from the Veterans Affairs Bureau: "Main branch and seventeenth branch."

The main branch's official name is Riggs National Bank Pennsylvania Avenue Branch, located inside the Treasury Building.

It's only a five- to six-minute walk from the Department of Justice building to the main branch.

It's only a five or six-minute walk from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to the main branch.

The Veterans Affairs Bureau is a bit far away; it might take about ten minutes to walk there.

Bernie's loan was processed at the main branch.

Theodore then asked, "When was the last time you went to the main branch to conduct business?"

He specifically pointed to the money on the table: "This loan doesn't count."

“Wednesday,” Thomas said first. “I’ll go get the money this Wednesday at noon.”

He withdrew the money at noon on Wednesday and accompanied his wife to buy the same pillbox hat, light yellow wool coat, and dress suit worn by the First Lady in the afternoon.

This outfit was worn by the First Lady on the day of the President's inauguration and quickly became a national sensation.

Thomas remembers that his wife was happy and proactive that night, and they were crazy.

Thinking of his wife reminded Thomas of the plumber, and his expression became uncertain.

Damn plumber!

Edward thought for a moment and said, "Me too, it's Wednesday."

As the weather warmed up and the snow melted, his roof started to leak.

He was supposed to fix it himself last weekend, but something came up and he couldn't find the time.

He couldn't stand his wife's nagging any longer, so on Wednesday he went to get the money and hired someone to fix the roof.

Theodore glanced at Bernie.

Bernie's loan was also approved on Wednesday.

Theodore then asked the two men about the contents of the extortion call.

Their description was basically the same as the call Bernie received.

They always greeted us first, then emphasized the hostage situation, explained the transaction rules, and finally warned us not to try anything funny.

After receiving the extortion call, they immediately called home to confirm the situation.

When no one answered the phone, the two believed it to be true.

They were terrified that the kidnappers would kill them, so they dared not make a sound or call the police, and could only obediently follow the instructions over the phone.

He hurriedly went to the bank, borrowed money, packed it in a green package, and boarded the train bound for Pittsburgh.

They were supposed to leave the carriage after putting away their belongings, but they were reluctant to hand over the five thousand dollars. So they disguised themselves as passengers, wanting to see the robbers' true colors.

As for what to do after seeing the robbers, they hadn't decided yet.

The two men stared nervously at the temporary storage area the entire way until the train arrived in Pittsburgh, where the conductor opened the lockers and took all the packages.

They instinctively rushed over, only to be taken away by the detectives from the carriage crew.

The two were eager to help and gave a brief account of what had happened.

Theodore checked the time and ended the conversation.

Before leaving, Thomas and Edward thanked the two men again.

Edward also invited the two to go bowling next weekend.

DC has many public bowling alleys, which are packed with people on weekends.

For the average government employee, bowling is the best option among the available choices.

Golf is too expensive, tennis is too niche, and basketball is too intense.

This is roughly equivalent to the Feltonians agreeing to go hunting together.

If you're unsure what to do with family or friends on the weekend, bowling is always a safe bet.

Bernie, who enjoys socializing, readily agreed.

Theodore glanced at him, doubting that he could find the time.

Seeing Edward looking at him, Theodore hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

He thought of Ronald's acquaintances at the Veterans Affairs Bureau and considered developing Edward into one of his own acquaintances as well.

Edward looked at Thomas again, hesitated for a moment, and then patted him on the shoulder.

Thomas forced a stiff smile.

All he wants now is to go home and see if the sewer pipes have been fixed.

After the two men left, Theodore interrogated the flight attendant.

The flight attendant had been doing this "part-time" job for many years, and she couldn't even remember how many contraband items she had smuggled.

He had long imagined how to deal with being arrested, and had also inquired about the consequences of being arrested.

He can forget about retirement pensions and related benefits; of course, he doesn't expect them anyway.

After so many years of live-streaming e-commerce, the money I've earned is no less than my retirement pension.

The flight attendant just hoped that the sentence would be as short as possible, and preferably that she would not have to go to jail.

Therefore, he was cooperative and spoke openly and honestly during the interrogation.

It seems they're even more eager than Theodore and Bernie to catch the fraudsters sooner.

Once the interrogation began, Theodore or Bernie didn't even need to ask him anything; he confessed on his own initiative:

"I received the call at home at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, no later than 10 p.m."

Theodore asked him, "Is it a long-distance call?"

The flight attendant thought for a moment and nodded: "It was called from the DC."

His home is not in DC, so calls from DC are long-distance calls to him.

He continued to recall:

"He asked me to ship a package from DC to Pittsburgh for him on Friday."

"I asked him how many they were transporting."

"He said the number was uncertain, and all the anonymous green packages boarded at DC would be counted as his."

"He also made an additional request, asking me to bring the package from Pittsburgh back to DC and store it in a locker at Union Station."

"He told me to go to Union Station at noon the next day, Thursday, to pick up the key."

“When I arrived at Union Station on Thursday at noon, I saw locker number 103 open with a key in it.”

After receiving the keys, the flight attendant did not look around trying to find the passengers, but instead went home obediently to prepare for the journey on Friday.

After the phone call on Wednesday night, the scammer never contacted him again.

He was very cooperative, but could only provide very limited information.

There's a reason the flight attendant has such a good reputation. He never asks a single unnecessary question.

The interrogation of the flight attendant was quick, lasting only twenty minutes.

Theodore and Bernie only got the flight attendant's phone number and the approximate time of the scammer's call with him.

The two asked AT&T for help in finding the number that DC-1708 had dialed between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Because the query was precise enough, the other party responded quickly.

The flight attendant's number was prominently displayed.

AT&T technicians informed the two that DC-1708 had submitted more than a dozen J-7 malfunction reports prior to this call.

But only the flight attendant actually made the call.

The scammers seemed to have great foresight, as every phone call lead eventually pointed to DC-1708, only to be terminated by a magnetized coin and a J-7 malfunction report.

The only valid leads they currently have seem to have are the coin locker at Union Station number 103 and six other phone numbers.

After the detectives from the carriage crew returned, Theodore ordered them to set up surveillance at Union Station, but there has been no news yet.

While waiting for AT&T's reply, Bernie dialed all six numbers one by one and obtained their owner information.

All six numbers are publicly available numbers from government agencies.

One of them belonged to the Ministry of Agriculture, one to the Ministry of Commerce, and the other four were all under the General Affairs Administration.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is a federal agency formed by the merger of several departments. Its main responsibility is to assist in the management of the basic day-to-day operations of federal government departments, such as providing them with office space, supplies, communications, transportation, and other support, as well as conducting government procurement and managing federal properties.

Today is Saturday, and all calls were forwarded to the department's duty room instead of being answered by the employees themselves.

After Bernie identified himself, he obtained the private phone numbers and addresses of the corresponding employees from the duty rooms of the three departments.

He first dialed the number of an employee of the Department of Agriculture, and waited a long time before the call was answered.

Bernie identified himself and confirmed the other party's identity, but the other party immediately hung up.

He dialed four times before the other party answered again, and didn't even give him a chance to speak:
"Listen! Whoever you are! Don't let me find you! I'll cut off your xx and stuff it into your xx! You xxx!"

The call was hung up.

Bernie was a little stunned by the scolding.

He gripped the microphone and looked blankly at Theodore.

Theodore had just returned from outside, holding a map in his hand, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Bernie shook his head and dialed the number of a Department of Commerce employee.

The Ministry of Commerce employee was well-behaved; he didn't hang up immediately or start swearing.

He calmly told Bernie, "Don't think you can't be found just because you're hiding behind the phone."

"I've already called the police. You should turn yourself in right away."

Commerce Department employees, believing Bernie to be yesterday's fraudster, earnestly urged him to turn himself in.

Bernie repeatedly stated that he was an FBI agent investigating yesterday's phone scam.

A Commerce Department employee exposed his lie: "When did you become so efficient?"

The two sides talked at cross purposes for nearly ten minutes, until the other party finally left with a threatening message, "Wait for the FBI to come knocking," and hung up the phone.

Bernie glanced at Theodore again.

Theodore is marking things on the map.

He first circled the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the General Services Administration, then circled the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Veterans Affairs Administration, and finally circled the main branch of Riggs National Bank.

Apart from the Veterans Affairs Bureau, the main branch is roughly the same distance from the other five departments.

Bernie came over, glanced at the map, and then checked the time.

It was already past four in the afternoon.

He reminded Theodore, "The main branch is already closed."

Riggs National Bank provides payroll services to federal employees and operates on a six-and-a-half-day work week to accommodate working people's schedules.

It is open all day from Monday to Friday, open for half a day on Saturday morning, and closed on Sunday.

Bernie waved the notebook in his hand: "Let's go talk to them first."

He pointed to the phone and said with a hint of complaint, "They must have received a scam call yesterday."

"Now they're treating me like a fraudster too."

"No matter what I say, they don't believe me."

Theodore, however, felt that this was quite good.

At least they weren't as easily fooled as Edward and Thomas.

There's a reason why only two out of nine people were scammed.

He thought so.

Following the address Bernie had given them, the two first visited the Agriculture Department employee who had been hurling insults.

He was cursing fiercely on the phone, but he looked very polite in person.

The Ministry of Agriculture employee, who lives in a newly built apartment building in the southwest district, looked wary when he opened the door.

Bernie pulled out a brand-new leather badge holder: "FBI Agent, Bernie Sullivan."

Theodore also pulled out his leather ID holder and waved it around.

The Ministry of Agriculture employee looked bewildered, then suddenly realized what was happening and quickly stepped aside to let the two people into the room.
"You're here to investigate scam phone calls, right?"

“I just received the call; he was impersonating an FBI agent on the phone.”

Bernie followed behind him and said quietly, "I was the one who called you just now."

The Ministry of Agriculture employee, who was still rambling on about the situation, was momentarily speechless.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

Bernie smiled warmly, pulled the man to sit down, and asked, "Don't be nervous, I just wanted to ask if you received any scam calls yesterday, to get some information."

“If you won’t tell me over the phone, then we’ll have to talk to you face-to-face.”

The employee swallowed hard and moved aside. He nodded: "I've received it."

Bernie moved over and sat next to him, asking, "When?"

The employee continued, "Yesterday around noon, a little after 12."

Bernie continued, "What did they say on the phone?"

The employee moved to the side and simply stood up.

"He said my wife and children were in his hands and that I should put $5,000 in cash into a green Western Union package and place it in car number 3 of the train bound for Pittsburgh at 3 p.m."

His description was very similar to the phone calls Bernie, Edward, and Thomas received.

Bernie stood up as well: "You didn't fall for it?"

The employee, somewhat indignant, pointed to the apartment and exclaimed, "I'm not even married yet!"

Bernie turned to look at Theodore.

Theodore nodded.

He had just taken a walk around while he was asking questions, and there were indeed no signs of anyone else living in the apartment.

Bernie then asked the employee which banks they frequented and when they last conducted business.

The responses were as expected: one from the main branch of Riggs National Bank, and another from Wednesday noon.

After parting ways with their single status as agricultural department employees, the two went to visit five other people.

After receiving the scam call, the official from the Ministry of Commerce called home to verify the information, and his wife answered the phone.

Of the four General Services Administration employees, one was not at home.

The remaining three all called to verify, two of them got through, and the one who didn't get through drove home and saw his wife and children.

They all went to the main branch to conduct business on Wednesday.

All the clues now point to the main branch of Riggs National Bank.

(End of this chapter)