1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 10 Celebration
"Again, all this junk?"

Bernie complained, dissatisfied.

Despite her dissatisfaction, she obediently stuffed the large pile of coupons back into the paper bag.

Wenner's smile faded, and he said to Theodore somewhat listlessly, "This is a reward from the police station, take it."

After Theodore took the remaining paper bags, he waved his hand and said, "Okay, get out."

Bernie shrank back, looking somewhat embarrassed. He wanted to explain something, but Wenner stopped him.

"Go."

After the two left, Wenner stared blankly at the stripes of the blinds for a while, then opened a drawer, peeled three chocolates, and popped them into his mouth.

…………

Outside, it was still a sea of ​​joy. The team members were all slacking off, and nobody was actually working.

As soon as the two came out, someone came over and raised an eyebrow at them.

Bernie opened the paper bag to show it off, and said irritably, "Same as always."

A chorus of boos erupted nearby, and the boos spread rapidly, even attracting detectives from other departments passing by to peer inside from the doorway.

When someone approached asking for gas coupons, Bernie was generous and pulled out a few from his collection and handed them over.

The bag contained at least half gas coupons, and they couldn't possibly use all of them, so they might as well share them with their colleagues.

Theodore also started pulling out all sorts of coupons and becoming a "spendthrift."

He lives closer to the police station, only a 30-minute walk away, so he doesn't need that many gas coupons. The same goes for other coupons; he lives alone, so his ability to use these home-use coupons is very limited.

His action garnered him a lot of goodwill, as his team members already had a positive impression of him.

After being the "spendthrifts," the few who received the discounts helped move the table next to Bernie after learning that Theodore and Bernie had become partners. Then, everyone continued to gather in twos and threes, doing nothing.

Some were sleeping, some were bragging, and some were quietly taking out playing cards.

Everyone seems to be waiting to get off work.

Theodore silently took out his notebook and began to recall more details of the two cases, slowly making notes.

…………

Old Gun Bar is right next to Rose Street.

This is a bar with a strong Western style, located in the basement of an old building at the end of the street.

People unfamiliar with the area wouldn't be able to find the entrance. Only after turning the corner can you see a wooden sign nailed to a railing. And one corner of the sign is missing, making it stand vertically.

Although the outside is dilapidated, the inside has a unique charm.

Old Gun Bar boasts a rugged, Western-style decor. One of its most distinctive features is its décor, which is filled with various firearms.

As soon as they arrived, the one-eyed, lame owner behind the bar greeted them with a smile and hugged Wenner.

They patted each other on the back, making a thumping sound, and then they both laughed heartily.

Wenner introduced Theodore to the bar owner, explaining that he had helped him with two consecutive cases.

The bar owner smiled and welcomed Theodore to come and sit down anytime.

While they were talking, the others had already scattered. The jukebox started working first, followed by the pool table, then the darts and the television.

They were clearly regulars and very familiar with the place.

As the atmosphere grew warmer, a group of people gathered around the rocking horse, raising their cups and making meaningless noises. It was a mechanical contraption, superficially resembling an adult version of a rocking horse. When someone rode on it, the spring would wind up, causing the horse to spin and bounce irregularly up and down. The speed of the spin and bounce was uneven, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. When the spring was almost depleted, it would suddenly accelerate and plunge forward, throwing many people off.

Each time someone is thrown out, it elicits cheers, and then a few drinks are passed over from the bar.

The homicide squad members lined up to challenge it, and even Wenner wasn't spared.

Wenner had gained weight and had a very stable lower body, but the carousel's final few seconds of acceleration and dive were so powerful that Wenner was eventually thrown off.

A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd, and five glasses of whiskey were passed around in quick succession. Winner, unfazed, downed them all in one go.

When it was Theodore's turn, several people nearby started sharing their experiences.

However, Theodore had seen their performances before, and some of them didn't even make it to the final sprint. What they were teaching could only be considered as lessons learned from failure.

After the rocking horse game, they gathered together and started arm wrestling.

The atmosphere had become lively, and everyone had drunk several glasses, so they were all slightly tipsy.

Theodore doesn't quite remember what happened after the arm wrestling match; he only remembers people cheering and then just drinking, drinking, and more drinking.

…………

The next day.

It's a sunny day.

Theodore rubbed his throbbing head and took a cold shower.

If it weren't for his powerful biological clock waking him up, he would definitely be late today.

With that in mind, Theodore drove his car, which reeked of alcohol, to the station, only to find that he was still the only one in the homicide unit even when it was time to start work.

The director's office door was locked!
The deputy superintendent's office was locked!
Even Wenner didn't come!

The entire homicide squad is late!
This made him even wonder if today was a day off.

After confirming several times that it wasn't true, Theodore picked up his coffee, grabbed a few newspapers, and began to read them slowly.

The newspaper was published by the local newspaper in Felton. The newspaper was very well-informed; the front page featured two cases, 600403 and 600511.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

Felton is an oil city. In the last century, exploration teams discovered oil here, and soon after, oil companies brought a large number of workers to work here.

People from surrounding towns came here to do business with the oil company employees, and gradually a city was formed.

Next to Old Gun Bar is Rose Street, which is often mentioned by people. It was originally the site of the largest oil company.

In fact, there aren't many entertainment events to report in a city like this, especially since everyone is in a state of entertainment scarcity these days.

In this way, the police solved two related murder cases, which is certainly something worth sharing for entertainment.

Moreover, this case also employed a relatively rare "new" technology—fingerprinting.

Theodore was unaware that Texas press law requires information about murders to be published within 72 hours, meaning that local Felton newspapers had no choice but to report it.

The report highly praised the Western District Precinct and gave high marks to the homicide squad.

The article concludes by mentioning Theodore and Bernie, stating that they played a crucial role in solving both cases, and that it was they who suggested using fingerprint technology to ultimately identify the killer.

Then came a string of platitudes, such as the Felton Police Department protecting the safety of citizens.

After finishing the newspaper, Theodore lay on the table and continued writing in his journal. When he got to the Brian family, Theodore went to the phone, hesitating whether to contact his uncle.

(End of this chapter)