1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 133 Falling from the Sky (Bonus Chapter)
25 minutes is just the normal speed from the Department of Justice building to the Georgetown apartment building, far from its limit.

The following morning, Theodore and Bernie witnessed the limits of this road.

Shortly after the car entered Pennsylvania Avenue, it was completely blocked in place.

Looking around, there were cars everywhere, densely packed together.

More than ten minutes passed, and they had only moved forward half a parking space.

Bernie stopped a driver who was returning from the front and asked him about the situation ahead.

The driver kept shaking his head, his tone complicated:
"Someone jumped off a building and landed right in the middle of the road."

“They’re everywhere. On cars, on the ground, in shop windows across the street.”

The driver recalled the scene and covered his mouth, gagging.

Theodore and Bernie looked at each other in bewilderment.

If the situation is really as the driver described, then it's not a problem that can be solved in an hour.

It won't be cleaned up in three to five hours.

The two of them looked up at the buildings on both sides of the road without prior arrangement.

Pennsylvania Avenue is lined with buildings that are mostly 6 to 8 stories high, with a height of about 82 feet.

That height isn't high enough to smash a person to pieces.

The scene described by the driver sounded more like a bag of dumpling filling falling from a great height than a person.

Or that person exploded.

In short, it doesn't seem like a fatal fall from a height.

Theodore and Bernie got out of the car at the same time and walked through the traffic.

After walking more than 300 yards forward, we arrived at the crime scene.

DC detectives have secured the scene.

The two entered the scene after showing their leather ID folders.

The scene was far less horrific than the driver described.

The deceased was a middle-aged woman with red hair, wearing pajamas, lying supine under a black car.

It was a Chevrolet; dozens of the same model were parked in the underground parking lot of the Department of Justice building.

There were shards of glass scattered on the ground, as well as a large patch of splattered blood.

The bloodstains were centered under the car.

The two walked around to the front of the car and saw an acquaintance.

Agent Lombardi crouched beside the deceased, his brow furrowed, his eyes fixed on the body.

Theodore looked around and came to a preliminary conclusion about the scene.

The deceased fell from the building and landed right in front of the black Chevrolet.

The black Chevrolet was driving at the time, and although it braked in time, it still pushed the deceased forward a short distance.

Bernie recalled the major case that Detective Lombardi had mentioned yesterday afternoon and couldn't help but glance at the deceased.

Judging from Detective Lombardi's expression, he suspected that the deceased might be related to the case.

He went up to Agent Lombardi and greeted him, asking if he needed any help.

Agent Lombardi sighed, stood up, and shook his head at the two men:
“This is a victim from one of my previous cases.”

"She was assaulted."

Agent Lombardi glanced at the deceased, his tone tinged with sorrow:

"She preserved the scene and was very cooperative after calling the police."

"Based on her description, we caught the criminal."

“She waited outside my house last year.”

"We met again later across from the Department of Justice building."

“She blames me for making her testify in court.”

According to Agent Lombardi, the deceased was the only victim to testify in court.

When the deceased mustered the courage to recount the assault in court, the jury even burst out laughing.

Shortly after testifying in court, it seemed as if the whole world knew that the deceased had been assaulted.

The deceased's husband filed for divorce and took their two children with him.

The deceased's neighbors believe that his improper conduct led to the assault, and they have jointly demanded that he move out of the apartment.

The deceased's family felt ashamed of the abuse the deceased had suffered.

The deceased's male friend began to look at him strangely, and his words and actions became increasingly frivolous.

The husband of one of the deceased's friends even nearly assaulted her.

“She told me a lot, and finally yelled at me, saying that I had ruined her life.”

Agent Lombardi shrugged, looking somewhat helpless.

He then looked at the deceased and fell silent.

Theodore asked him, "Have you handled any assault cases?"

Agent Lombardi grunted, "Just this one."

"I did it when I first joined the FBI."

Arguments could be heard coming from outside the police cordon.

The reporters have arrived.

Someone is taking pictures of the scene with a camera.

The detectives at the scene were using their bodies to block the cameras and were trying to drive the reporters away.
Bernie patted him on the shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Agent Lombardi shook his head at Bernie, indicating that he was fine.

“She called me last week and wanted to meet me.”

“I was busy with a case at the time, so I postponed the meeting to this week.”

Theodore stared at Agent Lombardi for a while, not wanting to listen to any more of this pointless rambling.

He interrupted, "She didn't jump down by herself; someone pushed her."

Theodore tilted his head back, turned around, and pointed to his left:

"You should go check that room; perhaps the killer left you a clue."

To the left is a hotel, with the windows on the fifth floor wide open, the curtains fluttering in the wind.

Agent Lombardi made no move, but simply glanced in the direction of the hotel.

Theodore: "The deceased fell to the ground in the middle of the road."

"No one jumps off a building while running."

Agent Lombardi looked towards the deceased, then turned back to look at the initial landing point, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two.

He patted Theodore on the shoulder, called to two detectives, and rushed into the hotel.

This principle was explained in the physical evidence technology course during the selection and training.

Agent Lombardi wasn't unaware of the situation; he simply didn't realize it at first.

He didn't have any deep emotional connection with the deceased.

Seeing former witnesses and victims die in front of me was quite shocking.

Theodore and Bernie did not follow.

After leaving the scene and handing the car keys to a detective from the Third Precinct, they walked to the Department of Justice building.

Given the situation on the ground, the traffic jam is likely to continue for several more hours.

Going back to drive at this point is clearly not a wise choice.

The two ran all the way, encountering several colleagues along the way who had abandoned their cars and were walking.

A group of people seemed to be chasing a fugitive, running breathlessly.

Upon arriving near the Department of Justice building, the agents stopped and tidied their uniforms before slowly entering the building.

Theodore and Bernie almost arrived late, mingling in the crowd.

This gave them a feeling of returning to Felton.

The two prepared a briefing and went to report to Supervisor Rosen on the progress of the telephone fraud investigation.

Supervisor Rosen had no intention of learning more about the case.

The investigation process may sound complicated, but that doesn't change the fact that it was just a phone scam with no victims.

For him, this case should have been closed last Friday.

After listening in silence, Supervisor Rosen flipped through the briefing and asked the two men:
What are your plans for the next case?

Bernie looked at Theodore.

Theodore was prepared and blurted out:

“Violent crime”.

He answered seriously, "Ideally, it would be a murder case, a current case." Bernie turned and glanced at Theodore.

Theodore's behavior at the scene that morning led him to believe that Theodore wanted to take over the case.

Supervisor Rosen tapped on the table:
"There are only two of you; you can't handle a case like this."

He pointed to the large office outside:
“Go pick the people, pick five people, and I’ll give you a case like this.”

Theodore thought to himself, what's the difference between this and having him go out on the street to recruit people?
He neither knew nor understood the people outside.

He knew the trainees in the same selection and training session, and several of them met his requirements.

But they are currently in a rotational internship, and it's not time for a final decision yet.

Theodore had no choice but to settle for second best:

"Kidnapping, extortion, and robbery are also acceptable."

Supervisor Rosen was so angry he laughed.

He pointed out the window: "Where has this kidnapping and ransom gone?"

Cases like these, which are time-sensitive and extremely stressful, generally require detectives with exceptional experience. How could they possibly be handed over to Theodore?

Even if he wanted to pay, the criminal would have to cooperate.

Theodore and Supervisor Rosen looked at each other:

"The current case is a homicide disguised as a suicide; the victim fell to his death from a high altitude."

Supervisor Rosen was a little confused and didn't understand what Theodore was talking about, so he looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Bernie, standing to the side, was already starting to lose his temper.

He spoke up before Theodore could provide more details, changing the subject:
"Boss, we still have a ton of documents to complete."

Bernie picked up the briefing and looked at Supervisor Rosen:

“This case involves eight or nine government departments, as well as AT&T, Riggs National Bank, and a whole host of outsourcing companies.”

“We’ll need at least two weeks to complete these procedural documents.”

"This is not the case closure report yet."

Supervisor Rosen just watched Bernie quietly.

After Bernie finished speaking, he finally asked, "Are you talking to me?"

"Do you want me to write it for you?"

Bernie quickly shook his head, indicating that he didn't need it.

Supervisor Rosen then looked at Theodore:

"What about you?"

Theodore shook his head: "No need, you don't have time."

Bernie was stunned.

Supervisor Rosen was also speechless.

He tilted his head back and carefully examined Theodore, only to see a serious expression on his face.

He couldn't tell if it was serious or intentional.

Supervisor Rosen waved his hand, ending the report.

Theodore emerged from the manager's office looking utterly bewildered.

He didn't understand what Supervisor Rosen was trying to do either.

In fact, the type of case he most wanted to handle was a sexual assault case, specifically a sexual assault.

Offense cases are the most suitable type of case for profiling the personality of criminals.

Sex offenders, especially serial rapists or serial killers, often have ritualistic characteristics in their methods, such as specific binding methods, specific victim selection preferences, and post-crime behavior.

These repetitive behaviors are their 'criminal fingerprints,' which are easy to identify.

Most of the assault cases are committed by acquaintances.

Due to social pressure, psychological stress on the victim, or threats from the perpetrator, victims often remain silent or even deny having been assaulted.

They will spontaneously cover up for the perpetrators.

This renders traditional criminal investigation methods ineffective.

The case closure rate for assault cases is very low, and they are not taken seriously; almost no one is willing to take them on.

If no one is competing with him, he can choose whatever he wants.

But Theodore could only dream about it.

During this period, the filing of a violation case also required evaluation by the church's ethics committee.

Only victims with good social reputations deserve to be 'violated'.

Handling assault cases during this period would be asking for trouble.

…………

The suicide attempt yesterday morning did not attract much attention.

Apart from a few shady radio stations, no mainstream media outlets reported on this matter.

Early in the morning, Theodore and Bernie were summoned to Director Rosen's office again.

There were also two unfamiliar agents in the office.

These are two middle-aged men, dressed in standard FBI agent uniforms.

The two men were slightly balding, and the surrounding vegetation was not very lush. They had serious expressions on their faces.

Supervisor Rosen gave a brief introduction to both parties.

The two men are from the personnel department and are senior internal affairs agents with more than ten years of experience.

Manager Rosen specifically asked Manager Dawson from the HR department to help select these two people to assist Theodore with his paperwork.

He gestured with his chin toward the two internal affairs agents, then rummaged around on the table, found a file folder, and handed it to Theodore:
"Hand over your copywriting work to them. You two will be in charge of this."

Theodore went to get it, but Supervisor Rosen dodged him:
"This is the first current case you've investigated as official FBI agents—a murder case."

"I will fully support you."

"You can come to me if you need anything."

He sat up straight and handed the file folder to Theodore:
"I have only one request: don't mess it up!"

Supervisor Rosen gave Theodore a new case.

The case occurred in the Northwest District of DC.

The incident occurred yesterday morning.

The victim fell to his death from the fifth floor.

The victim appeared to have committed suicide by jumping from the building, but the location of the fall was unusual.

Current case.

A murder case disguised as a suicide.

He fell to his death from a high altitude.

A perfect match.

After handing over the paperwork to two senior internal affairs agents, Theodore and Bernie carefully read the documents in the file folder.

This case falls under the jurisdiction of the Third Precinct.

The third precinct was very efficient; it filled out the official documents requesting assistance from the FBI in just one day and got them approved.

What's even more amazing is that the third precinct didn't fill in the blanks randomly.

According to the case briefing submitted by the Third Precinct, the deceased was named Anne Halleke, and she had a room on the fifth floor of the Riverside Hotel on the day of the incident.

The Third Precinct conducted a brief examination of the deceased.

The deceased suffered a comminuted fracture of the skull with brain tissue spilling out; multiple rib fractures in the trunk, puncturing the lungs, and ruptured liver and spleen; and open fractures of the lower limbs with bone fragments penetrating the skin.

In short, the deceased did indeed appear to have died from a fall from a great height.

Further autopsy findings have not yet been obtained.

After quickly reviewing the case briefing, Theodore and Bernie exchanged bewildered glances.

They felt like they had seen something, but also like they hadn't seen anything at all.

The contents recorded on it were even less than what they saw on the scene yesterday.

The two took the documents to Agent Lombardi.

Detective Lombardi was discussing the case with his investigation team in a small conference room.

Their investigation team consisted of six people, all of whom had participated in the operation at Union Station last Friday.

Bernie knew them all and greeted them one by one as he entered.

Theodore couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

He really couldn't remember when Bernie had met them!

Agent Lombardi glanced at the report in Theodore's hand and asked, "Yesterday's case?"
-
That's all~~
I've been working overtime for two days now, and I'm so tired. My head is spinning. I need to take a break and start doing my accounting.

(End of this chapter)