1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 86 Rules are rigid, but people are flexible... (Please continue reading)
Despite the discrepancy between the goods and the description, Theodore still showed his badge and asked the on-site supervisor of "Southern Star Catering Services" for a list of employees.

Bernie went to the school security guard to get the temporary registration form for entering and leaving the campus last night.

At least tens of thousands of people went in and out last night, including thousands who entered and exited legally in the early stages of the riots, but the security guards only provided them with two thin pieces of paper.

When Bernie asked for more, the security guard pulled out a registration form and demonstrated how to fill it out on the spot.

They casually tossed the two forms into the back seat and walked into the sports field, where several young forensic doctors were already waiting impatiently.

…………

High-powered light bulbs illuminated the changing room, making it as bright as day.

Theodore walked into the scene, Bernie followed behind him, and several young forensic doctors entered last, carrying paper bags.

The rest of the people pressed their faces against the doorway, peering inside, eager to witness Theodore's miraculous communication with the ghost.

After walking around the locker room, Theodore went into the restroom and stared blankly at the stall where the body was lying for a long time, until the young forensic doctor who was collecting evidence came in. Only then did he shake his head and leave.

Upon seeing him emerge, the detectives who had been peering through the doorway quickly moved aside, their eyes filled with awe.

They probably thought Theodore had been communicating with ghosts in the bathroom for so long.

Theodore took off his gloves, changed his plans on the spot, and called Bernie to the Southern Star Catering Services Company to try to identify the temporary worker hired the night before.

On the way, he recounted his account of the scene to Bernie.

"There were several drops of what appeared to be blood on the ground near the entrance, suggesting the deceased may have been sitting there tending to his injuries."

"The killer followed closely behind and strangled the victim from behind with a football belt."

"The deceased struggled and tried to stand up by pushing backward, but lost his balance and broke the power line in his panic."

Bernie asked, "Did Emmos break the wire?"

Theodore nodded and offered an explanation.

He inspected the wiring in the away team's locker room and found it to be extremely rudimentary.

The electrical wires were connected through a hole in the wall behind the metal cabinet. They were fastened to the wall with clips, extended through a switch to the ceiling, and connected to the light fixture.

At the break in the wire, the two conductors should be at least 3 inches apart in length. If it were cut intentionally, the two conductors should be flush.

He continued his analysis: "The deceased had been assaulted on the field by quarterback Leroy before entering the locker room, resulting in a torn ligament in his left ankle and an inability to put weight on his left foot."

"The pain in my left ankle caused me to lose my balance and fall to the ground the instant I stood up."

"The deceased continued to struggle on the ground, trying to attack the murderer behind him, which left varying degrees of resistance injuries on his right palm and right forearm."

"But the murderer was behind him, so the victim had difficulty exerting force and was eventually strangled to death."

"The murderer maintained the strangulation position from behind for several minutes, ensuring the victim was completely dead before dragging him into the toilet and stuffing him into the innermost stall."

Bernie touched his neck and asked Theodore, "Isn't he afraid someone might come in the middle of this?"

Theodore shook his head: "The killer may have just made a spur-of-the-moment decision to kill the victim."

"A last-minute decision?" Bernie was quite surprised by Theodore's guess.

Theodore provided an explanation.

He suspects that the killer may not have initially intended to kill the victim.

After all, if you're determined to kill someone, you've probably rehearsed it countless times in your mind beforehand.

At the very least, they should have brought their own weapon.

The preferred tool is usually a gun, then a knife… and definitely not a football belt. Unless the football belt has been given special meaning. “What killed Emos was probably a personal grudge, unrelated to black-and-white conflict,” Theodore concluded.

Although extremist groups such as the KKK often use killing as a means of expressing political demands, it is often accompanied by insulting rituals.

But they preferred public executions to clandestine strangulations followed by hiding the body.

…………

Their trip to Southern Star Catering Services Company did not go smoothly.

The company wasn't arrogant; they readily called over the site supervisor from last night.

He was a middle-aged man with the build of a rugby ball.

He told Theodore and the other man that the temporary workers were hired at the school gate.

At 2 p.m. yesterday, they arrived at the gate of Oak Manor Middle School on time. The school was already crowded with people, and they were the temporary workers recruited from among them.

Because Black people were collectively evicted from campus before the game, and the school refused to sell tickets to them, and the banquet venue they wanted to set up was right next to the stadium with a view of the game, temporary workers were exceptionally easy to recruit yesterday.

Many people don't even ask for wages and are willing to work for free.

They selected 17 people from those who didn't want wages and gave them work badges.

Theodore asked him if he could recognize the 17 people, but the site supervisor just shook his head.

He hid in his car yesterday to secretly drink the banquet drinks, and got completely drunk early on, so he didn't even know about the conflict that happened later.

The site supervisor brought in the company employees he had brought with him the night before, hoping they could help.

However, after asking around, they received several versions of the answer, and the number of people involved was far more than 17.

The staff member in charge of setting up the tables and chairs told them that he had seen four different versions of 'Pop Hansen' alone.

The employee in charge of checking the shipment also mentioned that he seemed to have seen six 'Fosco Sonic's'.

These people moved in unison, putting down their things and running away like the wind. Combined with the dim lighting, it was impossible to see what they looked like.

Many of the descriptions given don't even depict people as human.

It was already past closing time when I left Southern Star.

Theodore and Bernie chose a barbecue restaurant to treat themselves.

At the dinner table, the two discussed the case again. Bernie subtly suggested to Theodore that perhaps it was time to communicate with the deceased's ghost.

Theodore placed the ribs he had ordered onto Bernie's plate, gesturing for him to use the ribs to shut his mouth.

He did profile the killer, but he was missing a few key details, making it impossible to directly identify the suspect.

Halfway through the meal, Felton TV, which was showing the soap opera "Housewyn-Frankenstein," interrupted the meal with a news report.

"Just now, the Felton Police Department held a press conference to announce a major piece of news:"
Early this morning, Woodson Memorial High School Freedom Fighters head coach Emos Williams was confirmed dead in the Oak Estate High School visiting team locker room.

"Deputy Commissioner Eugene Harper, on behalf of the police, released preliminary findings of the investigation:"

Coach Williams' cause of death has been confirmed as 'mechanical asphyxiation,' and the suspected murder weapon is a fabric strip with a distinctive pattern.

"Police emphasized that the case is still under investigation and that 'no possibility is being ruled out' at present, but urged the public not to believe rumors and to avoid interfering with judicial fairness."

Bernie, with a half-eaten rib in his mouth, asked dumbly, "Who is Eugene Harper? And Daniel Flores (Senior Superintendent)?"

Theodore frowned. "Is his head filled with water?"

(End of this chapter)