1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 29 already features the Felton Twins detectives?
The oil field is bustling during the day, with people everywhere.

Theodore and Bernie followed Sam through a maze-like path until they arrived at the scene.

Operations have already resumed here, and the workers, dressed in dark blue work clothes, stand out against the rusty derrick.

These people all seemed to have studied tightrope walking skills at the circus, walking on it as if it were flat ground, and even occasionally playfully pushing each other.

Foreman Roy was a strong, burly man with a layer of fat covering his strong muscles, which made him look obese.

Roy ran over to Sam with enthusiasm when he saw him, greeted him warmly, and then looked at Theodore and Bernie.

"These two are..." Sam introduced them.

"I know, of course I know who they are!" Roy's fat jiggled, then he broke into a happy smile and shouted.

"Our Twin Detectives of Felton!"

"Are you here to investigate Hank's death?"

"That's fantastic! With you all here, we're sure we can get to the bottom of this!"

Bernie was a little embarrassed when he met his 'fans' in person, and he scratched his head and laughed.

Theodore twitched his lips, wondering which low-class newspaper had given him this new nickname.

Sam then introduced, "This is Roy Carter, the foreman here, and also the boss of the deceased Hank Wilson."

Roy nodded. "Yes, that's right, that's correct!" He sighed as he introduced, "Hank Wilson and I have known each other for decades."

"You know about the cold wave of 1926, right?"

Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance and nodded.

“We were both on night watch at the oil field back then, that’s when we met.” Roy pointed to his feet and then touched his ears. “I lost a toe to frostbite, and Hank frostbitten an ear.”

"We huddled together to keep warm so we didn't freeze to death."

"Later I became a foreman and always kept Hank with me. We've never been apart for decades. Hank is not only my old buddy, we've been through thick and thin together."

Roy sighed, then solemnly said, "You must find the murderer who killed Hank."

Bernie and Sam nodded, but Theodore frowned and asked, "How do you know he was killed, and not in an accident?"

He pointed to the derrick, which was more than 30 feet high, and said, "Anything falling from that height would be enough to kill someone."

Roy looked somewhat displeased. He glanced up at Theodore and asked, "If something unexpected happens, will the Felton twins still come here?"

"Officer Sam won't keep investigating forever."

Theodore wasn't buying it and asked him again, "Someone saw you arguing with the deceased a few days before the incident. What were you arguing about?"

Roy paused for a moment, then said, "He wants to get an advance on his salary to pay off his gambling debts."

He became somewhat emotional. "Hank has worked for me for decades. Our two families are very familiar with each other, and we've even attended each other's weddings."

"I can't just stand by and watch him ruin his life."

“I refused to accept his salary in advance and advised him to stop gambling. He wouldn’t listen, we had a big argument, and he told me to mind my own business.”

“Officers, I’m not stupid.” He spread his hands. “I’m on your side. With a murderer like this in my team, I’m worried about the safety of the others.”

"Come find me if you need anything."

It seemed that Theodore's questioning displeased him, and he left after saying that.

Bernie stood next to Theodore, staring at Roy's retreating figure alongside him, and asked, "Is there something wrong with him?"

Theodore shook his head and began to observe the scene.

Bernie moved closer to Sam and, seeing Theodore frowning, immediately whispered, "He hates things being ruined."

He gestured with his hands, saying, "If you need his help in the future, remember to protect the scene. Don't touch or rummage around inside. Wear gloves and shoe covers, and prevent unauthorized personnel from entering the scene."

Seeing the same puzzled look on Sam's face as he had when he first heard it, Bernie shrugged and said in an even quieter voice...
“I suspect that the better the scene was preserved, the easier it was for him to communicate with the ghost.”

Sam suddenly realized.

After Theodore finished his observation, he came over to the two of them and said, "Let's go up and take a look."

Without any safety precautions, the three men, given only three hats, climbed the swaying derrick. Several resting workers, huddled together smoking, pointed at the three cautiously making their way up and laughed loudly.

Sam and Theodore seemed unaffected, walking slowly with their heads down.

Bernie, however, was not convinced. He took two quick steps, but almost fell because he lost his footing. He immediately grabbed the iron frame next to him.

As a result, the iron frame swayed, and even the steel beams underfoot creaked and groaned.

Bernie flailed his arms wildly as if he were drowning, and it took him a while to regain his balance.

This action drew another round of laughter. Bernie, stubborn as ever, shouted at the workers.

One of the workers shouted back, "Detective, hurry up! I'm almost finished with my cigarette!"

Bernie pointed and said, "You just wait!"

Upon reaching the top floor, Bernie went to find the group of workers, while Theodore and Sam wandered around, looking around.

Looking down from above, the situation on the ground becomes even more complex.

Construction debris, tents, machinery, and other odds and ends were scattered haphazardly, dividing the ground into a chaotic maze.

Theodore was certain that even without anyone on guard duty, thieves would never be able to get in, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to get out.

Half an hour later, the three of them walked downstairs. Bernie was all smiles, holding up an oil-stained cigarette pack and showing it off to them, "That bastard lost to me!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and greetings immediately came from above, which he loudly returned.

As they walked down, Bernie slowly recounted the information he had gathered from the workers.

“Hank isn’t the nice guy Roy makes him out to be,” he said. “He’s a gambling addict.”

Sam interjected, "The deceased usually gambled with his workers and would go to the casino on payday."

"The casino staff said the deceased was a big spender but had terrible luck and never won."

Bernie scoffed, "If I'm lucky, I won't get killed."

He continued, "These workers would gamble together during their night watch, and Hank was the most active. Sometimes, even when he wasn't on night watch, he would come over and play a couple of rounds."

"Hank often loses all his money and even goes into debt. But he always manages to pay it back in a couple of days."

Bernie glanced at Sam, who nodded in agreement.

As they were talking, they reached the ground. Roy ran over and saw the oil stains on Bernie's body, and became somewhat angry.

"Who did this? I'm so sorry, Detective Sullivan, they're all a bunch of..."

Bernie waved his hand dismissively, indicating that it was fine.

Theodore frowned and stared at Roy for a moment.

He doesn't like Roy.

According to him, he also climbed his way up from a worker to a foreman, but he looked down on workers.

He said he had a good relationship with the deceased, but it seems that his statement should be taken with a grain of salt.

Roy has the same hypocrisy as Howard the Elder, but he is far less skilled than Howard the Elder.

It's all just superficial hypocrisy.

Theodore, not wanting to watch him continue, interrupted him, asking, "Where are Old Tom and Billy?"

Roy's face turned bright red, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he awkwardly replied with a laugh, "They both took the day off."

Theodore nodded and walked straight out.

Bernie chatted happily with the workers upstairs and they had become friends. Besides, he inherently disliked hypocritical people, so when Theodore left, he followed suit.

Only Sam politely said goodbye to Roy before jogging to catch up.

The three returned to the car, and Theo shared what he had learned with the other two.

(End of this chapter)