1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Is Chapter 19's killer 'Eisenhower'?
Seeing Theodore shake his head, Bernie drove with one hand, and with the other hand opened his notebook, took out a pen, and quickly drew a little figure. He then asked Theodore, "Does this really work?"

Theodore glanced at it and teased him, "If this doesn't work, I've heard of other ways to curse."

Bernie looked down again, wrote Kahor's name and birthday on the little figure, and, thinking of Theodore's ability to 'communicate with ghosts,' hesitated before asking him, "Are you a follower of voodoo?"

"What?" Theodore didn't expect Bernie to actually take it seriously. He quickly crumpled the little figure into a ball and threw it away. "This is all from books. As long as you read enough books, you won't find anything strange."

Bernie turned and looked him up and down, still somewhat doubtful.

…………

Their investigation did not go smoothly.

Selling testosterone is not a legal business, and Theodore and his team need to repeatedly state that they are not there to investigate the illegal sale of drugs in order to get a chance to describe their situation in the wary eyes of the drug dealers.

This significantly increases their time costs.

The pharmacy was even more outrageous.

The people who buy Trojan umbrellas are all sorts of strange people, some of whom aren't even human.

George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln topped the list, with frequent purchases.

Martians, slime monsters, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse are also loyal fans of the Trojan brand.

Even God and his angels have left purchase records.

Although registration is required when purchasing Trojan umbrellas, pharmacies do not verify the registration information.

After spending two hours visiting two gyms and eight pharmacies, Theodore called a halt to the investigation.

too slow.

By the time they find the killer, he'll probably have killed all the blonde prostitutes on Rose Street.

Bernie was used to this kind of work. This was how they solved cases before he met Theodore.

Too slow?

If you think it's too slow, then don't do it?
You'll never solve a case if you don't commit crimes.

However, considering Theodore's 'prediction' that the killer would strike again tonight, they would definitely miss the deadline if things continued this way.

After a moment's hesitation, Bernie whispered, "It's time to show off your voodoo magic."

Theodore chuckled twice. He couldn't tell if Bernie was just trying to lighten the mood or was serious.

Bernie, seeing that Theodore was not moving, was about to head to the third gym when Theodore stopped him.

He thought Theodore was about to give up and was about to try to persuade him again, but Theodore shook his head at him.
“Gyms are a major sales outlet for testosterone, but they’re not the only ones. Even if we can investigate all the gyms, there’s still the black market. This stuff is like drugs; you can never completely eradicate it.”

This sounds more like they're about to give up.

Bernie spoke to Theodore as if he were coaxing a child, urging him not to give up. He feared Theodore might want to give up because he couldn't stop the potential killings that night, and he even used the possibility of future victims to encourage Theodore.

“We’re giving up now. He might kill more people in the future. We’ll continue the investigation. He might succeed tonight, but tomorrow is uncertain. We’ll catch him eventually!”

Theodore was both amused and exasperated; he hadn't expected Bernie to be so good at hyping things up. He shook his head.

“I never thought of giving up. We still have a chance to stop the killer tonight before he makes his move.”

He paused for a moment and then said, "Okay, what I mean is that we should abandon the testosterone lead and only follow Trojan's umbrella."

He explained, "Those drug dealers are too wary. Gaining their trust takes a lot of our time, and we're not even guaranteed to get any useful information."

“It’s different at pharmacies. As long as we show our badges, we can get the list immediately.”

Bernie objected, "But you've seen what's on the list. We can't exactly arrest Lincoln or Eisenhower, can we?"

"Our next focus will be on names that repeatedly appeared around the time of the incident at the same pharmacy. The pharmacy owner would definitely remember a frequent customer." "Whether it's Lincoln or Eisenhower, he's the person we're looking for."

Recalling Bernie's words at the crime scene of 600528, Theodore laughed and said, "You should know this all too well."

Seeing that Bernie still didn't fully understand, Theodore explained further.
“We believe Lincoln and Eisenhower are pseudonyms, but the killer doesn’t think so.”

"For people who use pseudonyms, a pseudonym is their 'real name' within a certain scope."

Bernie seemed to have thought of something, nodded in agreement, then turned and jumped into the car, calling to Theodore, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The two quickly drove to the next community, entered a community pharmacy, and Bernie stood in front of the counter, flashing his police badge.

The shop assistant was startled and raised his hands.

Bernie whispered, “Don’t be nervous, I need your store’s sales registration list for Trojan umbrellas.”

Without hesitation, the shop assistant hurriedly pulled out a notebook and handed it over, while continuing to lean against the counter behind him with his hand raised.

Bernie's face is so intimidating, it's only slightly less imposing than Wenner's 'real form of a bully'.

Theodore joined Bernie in searching, their main target being the purchase records from the two to three days prior to the incident.

Despite its good user experience, the Trojan umbrella didn't sell very well due to its price; this pharmacy didn't sell it at all during Theodore's designated screening period.

Bernie glanced at the empty registration list under the date, closed the notebook, and pushed it back.

The two left the pharmacy and headed to the next one.

Soon, they found a perfect match for 'Eisenhower' on the third store's list; the name listed was Alex. When they asked the clerk about this Alex, the clerk stammered and couldn't answer.

Under Bernie's persistent questioning, the clerk finally told the truth. Alex was him...

As Bernie left the pharmacy, he questioned Theodore's methods for the first time.

Theodore didn't say much, he just walked toward the fourth pharmacy.

The same alias, the same pharmacy 2-3 days before the crime—this was an inference based on experience, and the only basis for it was experience, so he didn't include these in his profiling.

They investigated house by house and visited community by community. As it was nearing the end of the workday, they found yet another 'Eisenhower'.

The registered name this time is 'Eisenhower'. But it's not a store clerk's name.

The general was clearly a regular customer of the pharmacy, and the clerk quickly recognized him and introduced him to Theodore and his companions.

The general is 43 years old and works as a bank employee. He is a regular at the gym in the community. Although he is big and burly, he is very kind and helpful. He is a well-known good person in the community.

The general had a handsome full beard and often went to the barbershop to maintain it.

The shop assistant guessed that the general spent far more money on his beard than on his hair.

The shop assistant also told them that the general and his wife were very loving, but they had not had children for many years.

Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance, and Theodore asked, "Do you know where he lives?"

The shop assistant pointed out the location of the general's residence at the door.

The two drove across the street and peered into the yard. As they were observing, a blue, nearly new Ford sedan pulled up and stopped at the gate. A burly man in a suit got out.

The burly man carried a bag in one hand and took a bouquet of flowers from the car with the other, then walked into the yard.

A woman wearing an apron jogged out, took the flowers, smelled them, and then hugged the burly man with a happy expression, giving him a deep kiss. The burly man was somewhat smug, and he lifted the woman up with both arms. The two kissed as they went into the house.

boom!
The door was closed, and the decorations at the entrance rattled loudly.

Theodore and Bernie both leaned back and looked at each other in bewilderment.

(End of this chapter)