1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 95 I will be with Mr. Kalina (Please subscribe)

Ricky went over and closed the door.

Supervisor George lowered the blinds.

The senior police inspector frowned, pondering how to proceed.

Having worked with Theodore so many times, the senior superintendent had a basic level of trust in him.

Since Theodore confirmed it, he should prepare accordingly.

It's virtually impossible to keep a case secret at any time.

Based on his years of experience dealing with the media, he estimated that the newspaper would call headquarters in another hour or so.

What he needs to prevent now is the leak of information that the murderer is or was a law enforcement officer.

In addition, we also need to prepare how to deal with the media after the murderer is caught, so as to minimize the impact.

The killing of another law enforcement officer by another law enforcement officer is an extremely serious incident!

Just thinking about it gives the senior police superintendent a headache.

Theodore wasn't bothered. He was well-informed and had read about the subject even if he hadn't experienced it firsthand.

He has seen all sorts of bizarre and unusual cases.

Theodore began to explain the key point to the three: "The killer chose to target on-duty police detectives."

"The deceased was wearing a police uniform, kneeling, handcuffed behind his back, and shot in an execution-style manner."

"This is a typical ritualistic killing."

The senior police inspector was specifically in charge of managing Theodore and Bernie, and was almost as familiar with their files as their agent. This immediately brought to mind the 600911 case (the Walter Jenkins Woodland Killer case):
"Did the killer take the victim's police badge and service weapon as trophies?"

Theodore glanced at the senior police inspector with surprise, then shook his head:
“The police badge represents law enforcement authority. The murderer took the badge away, which was depriving the deceased of his police identity. In the murderer’s eyes, the deceased did not deserve to have a police badge.”

“A firearm is a symbol of police force. The perpetrator takes it with him to facilitate further crimes, or as a trophy of conquest to satisfy his desire for control.”

"Police badges and sidearms are not just trophies. They are also part of ritualized killing."

"The most important thing is to kill law enforcement officers, strip them of their status, and possess their firearms, which would greatly increase the killer's confidence."

"The killer styled himself as an enforcer of justice, and the fact that he kept his police badge and gun may be for future display."

Having explained the difference in symbolic meaning between the police badge and the trophy of the service weapon and the trophy in the 600911 case, Theodore continued his analysis of the scene:

“Ritualized killing has typical characteristics. The perpetrator of ritualized killing does not kill for the purpose of killing. His purpose is to convey a message to the world through killing.”

"The murderer deliberately kept the victim's police uniform intact, even buttoned up, as a mockery of the victim's identity as a police officer."

"Kneeling and handcuffing are typical torture postures. The murderer believes the victim is guilty and that he is carrying out a righteous punishment."

He looked at Ricky: "The killer believed the victim deserved his fate and that his crimes could not be brought to justice through proper channels."

Ricky shrugged: "Michael's from the patrol unit."

The senior superintendent then asked Theodore, "What do you mean by using the badge and sidearm for a later display?"

Theodore looked at him and said, "The killer might mail the badge back to the police station, or leave it at the scene of the next crime."

"Sent to the police station?!" / "The next scene?!"

The three senior police inspectors exclaimed in unison.

Theodore nodded: "The success of this crime has given the killer a great deal of confidence, and he may soon be planning his next murder."

None of the three of them could sit still any longer.

The senior police superintendent practically ran out, rushed into the South District Chief's office, and dialed headquarters directly.

Supervisor George was a step too slow; he rushed into the deputy superintendent's office to ask if he could take leave.

He really doesn't want to get involved in this case!
Ricky, limited by his physique, was the last to rush out.

He found a phone and contacted the East Precinct patrol chief: "Protect Michael's partner! Quickly!"

Whatever Michael has done, his partner should know.

In this era, partners have a closer relationship than husband and wife.

A few minutes later, Ricky and Supervisor George returned to the conference room. The senior inspector had already returned to headquarters and didn't even have time to come over and say goodbye.

Theodore looked at Ricky: "Let's go find the deceased's partner first."

The three immediately split up and took action.

Ricky and Theodore went to the East End to talk to the deceased's partner, while Supervisor George went to investigate the deceased's social relationships.

Since hearing that headquarters had demanded a case be solved within a limited time, Supervisor George has changed his mind about procrastination and become particularly proactive.

…………

East Precinct Chief Richard Garcia received a briefing from Ricky over the phone and took the case very seriously.

He personally greeted Theodore and observed the entire interrogation of the deceased's partner, David Brown.

Detective Brown was very cooperative, even revealing that he had a 2-on-1 confrontation with the deceased.

This was almost the most outrageous thing they had ever done.

They were just two ordinary patrol officers, from ordinary families, and ordinary people.

Because he was favored by the instructors, he was fortunate enough to be assigned to the East District Branch.

There are big shots everywhere here, so the two of them have no chance to do anything wrong.

Not to mention the detectives from the Western District Police Station who have shady dealings with gangs and even collect protection money from shops.

They simply don't have that ability.

Detective Brown recounted almost everything that had happened since the two became partners.

His story doesn't contain what Theodore wanted.

Everything was too bland.

No one would think they are unfit to be police officers just because they are partners in a 2 vs. 1 situation.

At 7 p.m., Theodore ended the interrogation.

Detective Brown was escorted out by several colleagues. His job was reassigned to office work, and he would be accompanied by several colleagues to and from get off work each day.

In the director's office, they briefly discussed the case.

After inquiring about the salary levels at the East Precinct, Theodore proposed investigating the deceased's financial situation.

The deceased's salary was insufficient to cover the cost of his newly purchased property.

Director Garcia invited Theodore to dinner, but Theodore declined.

It was too late, so he had to go back to the West End.

Chief Garcia summoned two detectives to escort him back.

Both detectives were taciturn and focused solely on driving, showing no interest in the case.

This piqued Theodore's interest.

The detective in the passenger seat pointed to his partner who was driving: "He's getting a divorce from his wife."

His partner glanced at him, his face stern, and remained silent.

The detective in the co-pilot's seat became interested and asked Theodore about the case.

Unfortunately, Theodore answered the vast majority of his questions with a shake of his head.

He suspected Theodore was playing a trick on him and shut his mouth again.

Upon arriving at the West Precinct, Theodore bid farewell to the two taciturn detectives and returned to his main office, where he encountered Bernie, who had been waiting for him.

Bernie asked him about the case.

Theodore told Bernie everything without hiding anything.

Bernie was a little worried about Theodore's safety and suggested that he come along tomorrow, but Theodore refused.

Theodore was confident in his profile: "The killer's target was a detective he believed was unfit to be a police officer."

Bernie was still worried: "What if you make him feel threatened?"

Theodore suspected Bernie was joking, and he thought about it seriously: "I'll stay with Mr. Cullinan."

Bernie thought of Cullinan's physique, how he'd be out of breath climbing just three flights of stairs, then looked at Theodore and couldn't help but laugh. The two arrived at the parking lot, and Theodore suddenly asked Bernie, "How about we go audition for the FBI?"

Bernie slowly suppressed his smile, frowned in thought, and did not give an answer.

The next day.

The group gathered in the conference room of the South District Police Station.

The forensic team has extracted several fingerprints from the drawer and made fingerprint cards. They are currently trying to extract the deceased's fingerprints for comparison.

The autopsy has been preliminarily completed, and the forensic doctor removed a .38 lead-core bullet from the deceased's head.

The Felton Police Department issues Smith & Wesson Model 10 pistols to its patrol officers, which happen to use .38 lead-core round-nosed bullets.

Theodore concluded: "The killer may have used the victim's sidearm to kill him."

This is reasoning based on the killer's ritualistic expression logic.

Ricky then brought the results of the investigation into the deceased's financial situation from the East Precinct.

The deceased's bank accounts were normal, with no large sums of money of unknown origin.

This is information that their bureau chief's contact person retrieved from the bank overnight.

Ricky then mentioned that he had asked a detective to bring the real estate agent to the police station.

He hasn't forgotten Theodore's mention of just punishment.

The fact that the interrogation of the deceased's partner yielded no results does not mean that they were truly innocent.

The East Precinct has launched an investigation into the deceased's partner, Detective Brown.

The real estate agent arrived at the branch office soon, accompanied by the company's lawyer.

The real estate agent was questioned in the presence of a lawyer.

The deceased purchased the property in full, with no delayed payments, no third-party guarantees, and no special terms. All paperwork was complete and there were no irregularities.

After seeing the real estate agent off, news came from the forensic department that the fingerprints taken from the drawer matched the deceased's fingerprints, and there were no abnormal fingerprints.

At noon, the headquarters held a press conference.

The press conference was hosted by a senior police superintendent.

The senior superintendent of police was cautious in his wording, only mentioning that a detective was found dead at home, without saying whether the death was murder, suicide, or death from illness.

He said the specific situation still needs further investigation, and reminded his colleagues to take a break, blah blah blah.

The press conference reportedly lasted for more than an hour, but the television station broadcast the main content in just one minute.

With headquarters keeping things under control, the media will temporarily turn a blind eye to this case.

But headquarters couldn't suppress the rumors.

After a day of development, the case has spread throughout the police system.

The ritualistic details of crime scenes are particularly widely disseminated.

In the afternoon, a senior police superintendent appeared in the South District Police Station's conference room to inquire about the progress of the investigation.

Ricky and his supervisor George took turns briefing him on the latest developments.

They have arranged for people to try to trace the source of the large sum of money belonging to the deceased, but in this day and age, such work usually yields no results.

The Eastern Precinct is examining the deceased's duty records, hoping to find some clues.

Theodore also contacted the West Precinct to help find information about the deceased's lost service weapon on the black market.

This was requested by Ricky and his supervisor George, but Theodore didn't think it would be effective.

He believed the killer wouldn't use that gun.

Just like his insistence that the murderer would definitely commit the crime again.

This is a self-proclaimed champion of justice, and once a champion of justice begins to carry out justice, he will not stop.

The killer will soon evolve into a serial killer.

After hearing the progress, the senior police inspector looked at Theodore, hesitated for a moment, and did not mention the headquarters' urging.

The headquarters attached far more importance to this case than these people had anticipated.

It wasn't just because of the deceased detective's identity, but more so because of the timing.

Theodore exchanged a brief glance with the senior police inspector, then lowered his head to continue writing and drawing in his notebook.

A few minutes later, the autopsy report was delivered from the medical examiner's office.

Theodore hadn't enjoyed such speed of obtaining an autopsy report in 24 hours in a long time.

This made him miss Samuel somewhat.

The style of the forensic reports from the South Precinct is also remarkably similar to that of Samuel.

Keep it concise and to the point, only mentioning the key points.

Unlike Gary, who described the corpse from head to toe, inside and out, every single inch of it.

The group reviewed the autopsy report, which, in addition to the information previously provided by the forensic doctor, also mentioned that the skin around the wound on the back of the deceased's head was burned and carbonized.

The murderer shot the victim by pressing the gun to his head.

Theodore, holding the autopsy report, proposed a retrial of the deceased's partner, Detective Brown.

The group returned to the East District Police Station and found the detectives carrying their equipment and running towards the logistics department.

Only after asking did I learn that it was at the request of the bureau chief.

It is said that headquarters issued an order requiring all detectives to undergo equipment checks.

Although headquarters did not explain the reason, news of the death had already spread throughout the police force.

Previously, the detectives only knew that a detective had been murdered at home; now they also know that the department suspects it was one of their own.

After listening to the detectives' explanation, Ricky and Supervisor George both looked at the senior police superintendent.

The senior police superintendent remained expressionless, but inwardly he was screaming wildly.

This order didn't exist when he left headquarters!
Ricky's fat jiggled as he stopped a detective and ordered him to take Detective Brown to Interrogation Room 1. He himself, along with a few others, went to the interrogation room to wait.

Detective Brown was brought in quickly.

He even seemed relieved.

Detective Brown has been reassigned to office work, and today the logistics department was registering the detectives' equipment, so he was called in to be in charge of the registration.

Being called in for interrogation is better than filling out forms in a small room.

Unlike yesterday, Theodore did not proceed gradually; he directly laid out the photos of the body in front of Detective Brown.

Then the photos from the scene were placed aside.

He gave Detective Brown a detailed account of his profile of the killer, and finally told him that no matter what his reasons were for deciding to hide his partner's dark past from them, he was already being watched by the killer.

Only by telling them the truth and helping them catch the murderer can he stop living in fear.

Detective Brown seemed quite interested.

His gaze swept back and forth across the photos of the deceased, especially the full-body photo of him in a police uniform.

His body trembled slightly twice.

But in the end, he looked away and shook his head: "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I've told you everything I know."

Theodore frowned deeply, stared at Detective Brown for a moment, then gathered the photos on the table and signaled to Ricky that the interrogation was over.

Detective Brown politely greeted each of them before leaving the interrogation room.

His unusual behavior was noticed by everyone.

This is an encouraging discovery at a time when investigations have almost come to a standstill.

Theodore asserted, "He knows the dead man's secret."

Ricky immediately stood up: "I'll go find the patrol supervisor."

Senior Superintendent: "I'll go talk to Garcia."

Supervisor George looked around and said, "I'll stay here with Theodore."

(End of this chapter)