1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 77 Because he's mentally ill (Please continue reading)
Bernie has already left the valley.

He pretended to unbuckle his belt and even whistled.

In reality, his entire body was tense and his mind was highly focused.

Even so, a rope was magically placed around his neck.

Bernie grabbed the rope with one hand to prevent it from tightening, and with the other hand, he drew his gun and fired several shots behind him.

The pressure on his neck did not change at all.

A hand emerged from the darkness and gripped his chin like a pair of pincers.

Bernie released the gun and struck with his elbow, following the direction of the hand.

The next moment, a sharp pain shot through my arm.

Upon learning that the other party had a knife, Bernie roared, released his grip on the rope, and lunged into the darkness.

The two quickly fell to the ground and rolled around in a heap.

The moment Bernie tackled the man to the ground, he pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the groin.

He first stabbed at the neck, but it was blocked by the arm. He immediately followed up by stabbing the other man in the chest, stabbing twice, and then released his hand to grab the blade that the other man was stabbing at.

Bernie twisted his arm forcefully, broke the knife off, and threw two more punches downwards.

He was about to smash it again when suddenly his neck tightened. He had to loosen his fist and grab the taut rope.

…………

The moment they heard the gunshot, Theodore and the old county sheriff rushed out.

As we emerged from the valley, a dark shadow flashed by and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Bernie got up from the ground and yelled at them to chase after them.

His appearance startled the four county police officers who followed him out.

He had a rope around his neck, and blood mixed with sweat was smeared all over most of his face.

A cut was made on my arm, and blood dripped down, washing away the dirt.

He was still clutching a blood-soaked knife in his hand.

Bernie pulled the rope off his neck and quickly introduced himself to them.

He was quite certain that he had stabbed the other man three times: two times in the torso and once in the arm.

They followed the bloodstains on the ground for about thirty yards before the bloodstains began to diminish. After following them for another dozen yards, they reached the stream, where the bloodstains had completely disappeared.

The group stood somewhat bewildered in the dark forest.

A mountain breeze blew, and a chill ran down my spine.

The round-faced young man's lips trembled, and his face was pale.

He suspected that it wasn't human at all.

"I...we..."

He had barely uttered a word when Bernie's voice drowned him out.

Bernie was about to chase after them when Theodore stopped him.

He pointed to Bernie's arm.

Several people helped him clean up by the stream and gave Bernie some simple bandages.

The old county policeman grimaced as he looked at the gaping wound, secretly admiring Bernie's unwavering composure.

He suggested they go down the mountain immediately, as Bernie's wound needed stitches and they could only slow the bleeding by bandaging it, not stop it completely.

Bernie looked at his arm with some confusion; he didn't feel any pain at all.

The proposal was unanimously approved by the four county sheriffs, who didn't want to stay in the place for even a second longer.

The group immediately returned to the valley.

They needed to make torches to light their way down the mountain; they also needed to bury their companions' bodies to prevent them from being destroyed by wild animals.

On the way down the mountain, Bernie felt guilty and asked Theodore in a low voice if they would never catch the murderer.

He had fought the murderer head-on and could tell that the murderer was neither as strong nor as good at fighting as him.

If it weren't for his familiarity with the terrain, he could have captured the murderer alive.

According to the plan, he was supposed to catch the murderer, alive or dead. Theodore glanced back at the dark forest and shook his head:
"No, we still have a chance."

"He would never abandon his family, not even if it meant death."

This is not meant to comfort you.

He explained the principle to Bernie:

“Injury only fuels his desire to control his territory. Injury causes him frustration, which in turn turns into aggression, causing his desire for dominance to swell.”

“Not only will he not leave the territory, but he will also retaliate against us in order to regain control.”

Bernie didn't understand; it was a bit beyond his level.

But soon he won't have to worry about these things anymore.

The wound on his arm showed no signs of stopping bleeding, he began to feel cold, his lips turned pale, and his reactions became sluggish.

Later on, he fell into a coma and had to be carried down the mountain.

Bernie was taken to the hospital, and the old county sheriff and his men parted ways with Theodore to go back and report.

Theodore gave Wenner a brief report. Wenner listened with a grim expression, both shocked and furious.

He went to Chief Widke to communicate with the Nasville County Sheriff's Department.

This communication continued into the afternoon, but still yielded no results.

The county police station was furious, wishing they could fly into the mountains and drag the person out.

However, their police force was limited, and they had no idea where to begin searching in the vast mountains.

Not to mention the county sheriff's office, even the West Precinct and the entire Felton Police Department are powerless.

Both sides were determined to search the mountain and find the people; the question was how to search and how to make the arrests.
Their actions sounded like searching for a needle in a haystack.

…………

After finishing his report, Theodore went to the hospital to visit Bernie.

Bernie was re-bandaged and stitched up, and was lying in a coma on the hospital bed.

The doctor wanted to give him painkillers, but Theodore stopped him.

He sat outside for a while and then met Senior Superintendent Flores, who had rushed over.

He peered through the window, then plopped down next to Theodore and patted his chest:

"You have no idea how worried I was when I heard the news!"

After letting out a long sigh of relief, Senior Superintendent Flores asked Theodore for details.

He received the news from Chief Widke, only hearing that Theodore and Bernie had been attacked on the mountain and that Bernie was in the hospital, so he dropped what he was doing and rushed over.

Theodore briefly explained the situation and stated his speculation:
The murderer is within their territory and will surely retaliate.

Senior Superintendent Flores became serious, and after a moment of contemplation, he asked:

Are you sure, Dixon?

He is pushing to promote Theodore to the rank of sergeant, so that Theodore and Bernie can become star detectives.

Since the beginning of September, large-scale protests against racial segregation have erupted across the country, and the conflict is escalating.

Felton needs two star detectives to divert the public's attention and quell the unrest before the state and even the federal government make a decision.

At this point, Theodore could not tolerate the slightest flaw.

Theodore thought for a moment and nodded.

Senior Superintendent Flores, with a serious expression, clearly explained the pros and cons of the matter to Theodore.

Theodore gave him a strange look and said:
“I stand by my conclusions.” He thought for a moment, then remembered the other person’s name: “Mr. Flores.”

Flores nodded and led Theodore back to the West Precinct.

On the way, he asked Theodore curiously why the murderer had stayed in that territory.

Theodore thought to himself: Weren't you nodding the whole time I was explaining?
After a moment of contemplation, he pointed to his head:

"Because he's mentally ill."

Senior Superintendent Flores suddenly realized what was going on.

(End of this chapter)