1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 34 The killer moved very quickly

Bernie's pretentious act was interrupted, but he took a few more seconds to regroup before regaining his composure.

"The night watchman testified that old Tom and Billy stayed in the tent the whole night and never left."

He found the corresponding transcript in the case file, spread it out, and announced...
"This is false."

"That night, their eyes and attention were all on the gambling table, and they didn't notice anyone leaving."

Sam's face flushed red instantly. He stood up and stammered "I" for a long time before sitting down dejectedly.

Theodore patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Sam looked up and asked, "Are you sure?"

Bernie nodded smugly. "Of course! They told me that in private."

"Nobody paid any attention to anyone else that night. Everyone's attention was on the gambling table. They didn't know who came and went, or who went out to pee."

Bernie patted Sam on the other shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay, look on the bright side. We didn't have any suspects before, but now we suddenly have more than a dozen."

Theodore sensed a hint of sarcasm in Bernie's words. He asked, "Anything else?"

Bernie regained his pride. "There's a lot. The guys told me all this in secret."

He opened the notebook and read aloud.
"They had actually suspected the deceased's financial situation was abnormal for a long time, and had even asked him where his money came from."

"The deceased proudly told them that he had a benefactor to help him."

Bernie continued reading, flipping through the notebook, "They also told me that Billy claimed to be friends with the deceased, but in reality, the two had long since fallen out."

"The two often competed at the gambling table. Usually, when they encountered the two at the same table, they would silently make way and watch them compete."

"It is said that once the bets went up to over 70, and after Billy won, the deceased almost got into a fight with him."

Theodore and Sam were both speechless for a moment.

Old Tom moves into the deceased's house, Billy constantly challenges him, and Roy looks down on the oil field workers.

The deceased appeared to have three old friends, but in reality, he had none.

Bernie smugly put away his notebook, coughed, and said seriously, "Then it's your turn, my friend. What can He tell you?"

These words were lines that the tabloids wrote for 'The Twin Mediums,' specifically for Bernie.

Theodore looked at him strangely. "You're still watching?"

Bernie had always been very interested in the newspaper articles about the two of them, looking for them every day and even reading them to Theodore. I hadn't heard him reading the newspaper these past two days, and I thought he had given up.

Bernie turned around, took a folder out of his drawer, opened it, and showed it to the two of them. "Of course, I've cut out all the articles about me."

"You have no idea how difficult it is for a police officer to make it into the newspapers, especially in a positive way. It might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Bernie carefully put away his treasured items, muttering to himself, "When I get old, I'll take these out and show them to my grandson, so he'll know how amazing his grandpa was back then."

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to bring Theodore along. "Of course, I'll bring you too."

Theodore silently gave him a thumbs up, then laid out the three people's investigation results together.

"The deceased must have had access to a secret money-making channel, and now that channel has been transferred to Billy's hands."

Bernie, who had carefully put away his treasured possession, turned around and asked, "You suspect Billy is the murderer?"

As he asked this, his eyes, like searchlights, stared intently at Theodore.

Seeing that Theodore didn't speak, he nodded knowingly and whispered to Sam, "Did you feel a chill?"

Theodore tapped the table. "Billy was supposed to share the money-making channels with the deceased, but now that Hank is dead, Billy has exclusive access to them."

“I think Billy probably knows more, but he shouldn’t be the murderer.”

He paused, then added, "Billy lacked the ability to control the situation and the discipline to plan the murder."

Seeing Sam's confusion, Bernie offered to explain, "Hank told him it wasn't Billy." Sam's eyes immediately filled with awe as he looked at Theodore.

"Bring Billy back tomorrow for questioning, and many questions will be answered." Theodore pretended not to hear and began tidying up his desk, preparing to leave work.

The office fell silent again.

"Do you think the boss can become a deputy superintendent?" Bernie suddenly asked.

This topic piqued everyone's interest, and they immediately started discussing it animatedly.

Theodore also offered his opinion: "Unlikely. That's not how things work at the top. I think it's more likely that a new deputy commissioner will be parachuted in from headquarters."

This view has been accepted by many people.

Bernie was somewhat dissatisfied with the result, and even as they parted, he was still muttering, "It would be great if the boss could become the deputy commissioner."

…………

The next day, Sam was late and apologized repeatedly, saying that something had come up unexpectedly.

Just as the three were about to go and bring the person back, Wenner walked into the office with a serious expression.

He called Theodore and the other two into his office, threw the documents on the table, and said...

"A truck driver found a male body on the side of Highway 7 this morning. The deceased has been preliminarily identified as Billy Wood."

"The cause of death is still unclear. The patrol officers at the scene said it looked like an accidental drowning while intoxicated."

Wenner pointed at Theodore and the other two, saying, "This person is somewhat related to the case you're investigating. The three of you will go to the scene with the forensic team."

The three followed the forensic vehicle to the scene, and there was some silence inside the vehicle.

They were planning to bring Billy back for questioning today, but who would have thought the killer would act so quickly?

Bernie slapped the steering wheel, looking annoyed.

Sam also felt somewhat guilty.

Theodore kept his head down, scribbling in his notebook, occasionally glancing up in the direction he was in.

The crime scene was a sewage pipe outlet next to the highway. Wastewater generated from oil field operations was treated briefly before flowing here and being discharged into the environment.

Because several oil wells were discharging wastewater from the same spot, a small river was formed here.

The river meanders along Highway 7 into the distance. Billy is at the source of this river. He lies there, motionless, wearing his overalls.

Theodore stood on the highway and looked back, where he could clearly see the towering oil derricks and the workers climbing up and down.

This place is less than 3 kilometers away from the oil field.

Theodore withdrew his gaze and began to observe the scene.

The deceased's head and chest were submerged in water, while the lower abdomen remained dry and was draped on the shore.

There were obvious drag marks and footprints between the road and the sewage river, but the footprints had been destroyed and were not of any reference value.

An empty wine bottle lay next to the deceased's head, and a strong smell of alcohol could be detected when you got close.

Theodore squatted beside the body with the medical examiners, but while the medical examiners were conducting a preliminary autopsy, Theodore was wrestling with the deceased's hand.

He struggled to pry open his clenched fist and pulled out a few scraps of paper.

Because it was damp, what was written on the paper was no longer legible.

The forensic doctors quickly completed the preliminary autopsy and began to divide the work: two of them took body bags to carry the body, while the other two took paper bags to collect evidence.

Bernie pulled over a medical examiner to ask for the results.

(End of this chapter)