1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 79 Shall we join in retrieving the skull? (Please read on!)
Theodore relaxed his body and fell down with the force of the impact, his head hitting the stone and feeling a sharp pain.

He drew his gun and fired several shots behind him, but the rope around his neck remained firmly in place.

He wasn't dragged too far on the ground; his body began to rise into the air.

The rope around my neck was tightening, and I felt a strong urge to suffocate.

Theodore held his breath, gripped the noose with one hand, and fired to his side.

The force remained undiminished.

Theodore opened his eyes and vaguely saw a dark shadow rushing towards him. He pulled the trigger repeatedly.

The dark figure froze in mid-air before falling into the cave.

Theodore dropped his pistol, drew his knife, cut the rope, and then fell into the water.

By the time the old county sheriff and Felton's detectives ran over, he had already dragged the murderer to the surface.

The crowd hurriedly pulled the two ashore. Theodore coughed twice, waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and told them to go and check on the murderer.

Just to be on the safe side, Theodore almost missed all his bullets.

The veteran county police officer confirmed after checking that the murderer was still alive, but the situation was not good.

He has a high fever, his wounds are festering and blackened, and he was shot in the chest by Theodore. It is estimated that his lungs were damaged. If he does not receive immediate treatment, he may die.

He lay there convulsing like a fish thrown ashore, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth.

The detectives in the valley rushed over after hearing the gunshots.

After learning what had happened, the way they looked at Theodore changed.

They remembered the rumors about the Twin Detectives and began to suspect that Theodore could really read minds, make prophecies, and talk to ghosts.

Otherwise, how do you explain how he caught the murderer after spending a whole day searching for bones?

…………

The murderer did not die.

Despite contracting tularemia and septicemia, and having his lungs punctured.

The detectives rushed him down the mountain overnight, and after emergency treatment, he was temporarily out of danger.

Given the danger level he posed, the detectives handcuffed his hands and feet to the hospital bed and assigned detectives to guard him in shifts.

Bernie was his neighbor.

Bernie had regained consciousness, but due to excessive blood loss, he was listless and unable to do anything while lying in bed.

He gets dizzy whenever he moves.

Fortunately, the detective in charge of guarding the murderer would often come over to talk to him, so he wouldn't get bored.

Theodore went to the bureau to report on his work first, and then went to the hospital to visit Bernie.

Gary was there when he arrived.

Gary felt extremely guilty about his negligence and believed that Bernie's injury was also his fault.

He felt he was not suited for the job and was preparing to resign.

Bernie was comforting Gary: "Everyone makes mistakes." He waved to Theodore at the door: "Right, Theodore?"

Theodore thought for a moment, then remained silent.

That's true, but for a forensic doctor to make such a mistake as to miss the cause of death is a bit exaggerated.

"Any news from Dallas?"

Bernie quickly changed the subject and asked about the case.

He had already learned from Gary about the discovery of the car wreckage.

Yesterday, Gary led a team to the scene and conducted a thorough search of the car wreckage, registering almost every weed.

However, he was not good at physical evidence analysis, and his conclusions were similar to Theodore's inferences at the scene.

Theodore shook his head and told him that the precinct had just contacted the Dallas Police Department, who were checking missing persons files.

When the missing persons file was mentioned, both of them fell silent for a moment.

"Hopefully their record management is better than ours."

Bernie couldn't help but say.

Theodore found it difficult. Dallas is a big city; one of its boroughs is almost as big as Felton.

He just hoped that the case wouldn't drag on because the victim's identity couldn't be confirmed.

Bernie then asked about the person next door.

Theodore just shook his head.

They still don't know the killer's name. The killer is currently in a semi-comatose state, and his brief moments of consciousness consist of struggling and shouting meaninglessly before being knocked out by a sedative, rendering him completely unable to communicate.

Bernie guessed that he had no identity at all and was a black man.

Theodore disagreed with his guess.

He mentioned that the murderer disappeared for four years after killing a family of three, and believed that the murderer was likely serving a prison sentence.

He plans to go to the prison to check some information later.

Bernie told him to go directly to the warden. He tapped his chest, indicating that the warden was also an FOP member, and that revealing his FOP membership would make the warden happy to help.

They talked for a while and then met a senior police superintendent who had come to visit Bernie, who also brought an assistant.

Gary, like a mouse seeing a cat, greeted him and hurriedly left.

The senior police inspector looked at his retreating figure and asked them what had happened.

He also inquired about the performance of the new head of the forensic department.

Bernie looked at Theodore.

Theodore frankly stated that Gary had a wealth of theoretical knowledge but lacked practical experience.

The senior police inspector told the two that he had found this specifically for them.

"As long as you're satisfied."

He pulled up a chair and sat down, then inquired about Bernie's injury.

He was already familiar with Theodore and the other man, so there was not much small talk. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he explained his purpose.

He planned to give the two a television interview, followed by several radio interviews in a few days, and then give a lecture to new police cadets.

Bernie's eyes widened in surprise. He quickly explained that he was quite ill, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and was really not in a position to do anything strenuous. He suggested that Theodore take over the task.

Theodore then got up and took his leave.

He said he would also go to the prison to check the files and find out the identity of the person lying next to him as soon as possible.

We can't catch a murderer and not even know their name.

He told the senior police superintendent that Bernie could do the television interview later by himself, as he had just shared the latest developments in the case with Bernie.

The senior police inspector, considering Theodore's straightforward personality, also felt that this interview was not suitable for him.

"Hey!"

"Hey!!"

Theodore!

Theodore left the hospital amid Bernie's desperate cries.

With the added advantage of being a FOP member, the warden treated Theodore with exceptional enthusiasm.

Theodore only sat in the warden's office for an hour before he got the killer's name.

His name is Walter Jenkins. He was arrested and imprisoned four years ago for aggravated assault and was released three days ago.

It happened to be the day they went up the mountain.

His guess was right.

…………

In the evening, Felton’s local television station reported on the 600911 case and quoted an interview with Detective Bernie Sullivan, who was in charge of the case.

The headline was particularly sensational:

Bloodthirsty hunter brought to justice! Torrential rain in oil city washes out "human bone specimen room," shocking the entire nation.

The next day, Theodore arrived at the police station and was immediately teased by his colleagues.

At noon, Theodore received Walter Jenkins' information.

Information about Walter Jenkins is scarce, and there was a sudden gap in his records from the 1930s until he was recorded again four years ago.

However, good news came from Dallas:

They found the corresponding missing persons file.

The family of three, surnamed Miles, went on a road trip from Dallas five years ago, and then disappeared without a trace.

Several months later, their neighbors called the police.

Detectives from Dallas are on their way to Felton with files and are expected to arrive tomorrow morning.

Theodore didn't quite understand what Dallas detectives could possibly do in Felton.

Shall we go together to retrieve the skull?

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(End of this chapter)