1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 136 It wasn't him!
Richard Mason nodded: "This was the last address he registered at."

Bernie asked him, "Does he have a job?"

Richard Mason's face stiffened: "His last job was as a painter. What did he do?"

Bernie didn't answer but asked in return, "Did you introduce them?"

Richard Mason nodded helplessly: "What exactly did he do?"

Bernie asked for his company's address, wrote it down, and stood up to leave: "He's now the prime suspect in a murder case."

Richard Mason stood frozen in place.

Bernie kindly added, "It probably has nothing to do with the painting job."

The two drove to the Southwest District and went to Robert Miller's workplace first.

The paint company is located in a warehouse in the southwest district and consists of three painting teams with a dozen or so people.

Bernie found the person in charge to understand the situation and learned that Robert Miller had been fired two months earlier.

"He almost assaulted his client's wife!"

The person in charge was a bearded man who spoke with a southern accent.

The bearded man has a particularly vivid memory of Robert Miller:
"Because of this incident, my entire team worked for nothing for a week!"

"I also have to apologize to the customer to avoid being sued."

Theodore asked him, "What does the lady of the house look like?"

The bearded man thought for a moment, then gestured with his hands:

"Long reddish-brown hair, likes to wear a floral dress, a little chubby, no, not chubby, more like plump, but not to the point of being fat."

"She's a very nice person. When we're on break, she'll treat us to the cakes she bakes."

He paused for a moment, then waved his hand:
“We all find it hard to believe that Robert Miller would do such a thing.”

"I even suspected that it was just an excuse the customer made up because they didn't want to pay."

The bearded man has mixed feelings about Robert Miller:
"He is a skilled worker, with good technique, meticulous and conscientious in his work, and not a talkative person."

“He doesn’t talk to us much and almost never participates in our conversations.”

“He always hides away by himself during meals and breaks, and rarely joins us.”

He recalled, "He only came over to participate a few times when the topic of women came up."

Bernie asked him, "What did he say?"

The bearded man shrugged: "They're just some vulgar jokes between men."

"He said he would tie the women up first and then have sex with them, beating them as he did so. The harder he beat them, the more excited they would become."

He gave a long, detailed description of his reaction, somewhat disdainfully:
He said women like to be treated roughly like that.

"He said that the women he treated like that all spoke highly of him and missed him dearly."

“If he doesn’t go to them after a while, they will come to him and beg him to treat them roughly.”

The bearded man shivered, feeling somewhat nauseous.
"It sounds so fake. How could anyone like being treated like that? We all say he's bragging."

Bernie turned and exchanged a glance with Theodore.

Theodore asked the bearded man, "What did he say when you fired him?"

The bearded man said, "He was extremely agitated. He kicked over several paint buckets, smashed his tools, and started swearing at me."

"I had to deduct all of his salary as compensation."

His final assessment was: "He's like a madman; he's definitely not mentally sound!"

Bernie then asked him about Robert Miller's whereabouts and address.

The bearded man shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

Before parting, the bearded man kept asking, "What did he do?"

"He's going to be arrested, right?"

This question has not been answered.

Theodore and Bernie went to the address registered by Robert Miller.

The two places are not far apart.

Bernie knocked on the door for a long time before it was finally opened.

Robert Miller appeared before the two men.

He was lean and short, barely reaching Bernie's chin.

He was wearing a loose-fitting gray work uniform, which looked empty and made him appear even smaller.

Robert Miller paused, then looked up at Bernie:
"I don't know you. You've got the wrong person."

He spoke softly; Theodore, who was behind him, had to lean forward to hear him. His voice was somewhat high-pitched and had a slightly androgynous quality.

Bernie looked him up and down, then asked suspiciously:

"Are you Robert Miller?"

Robert Miller nodded, looking somewhat dazed. "Yes, that's me. Who are you looking for?"

Bernie turned to look at Theodore.

Robert Miller reminded him of those well-behaved students he used to bully when he was a mischievous kid.

If he hadn't seen the case file and heard the introduction from the bearded owner of the paint company, he would have suspected he had contacted the wrong person.

Bernie pulled out a leather badge holder: "FBI Agent Bernie Sullivan."

"This is Agent Theodore Dixon Hoover."

Robert Miller seemed somewhat flustered, as if intimidated by the title of FBI agent.

Bernie pointed inside and asked if they could go in to talk.

Robert Miller hesitated, clearly reluctant, but his gaze lingered on Bernie's leather ID pocket and then on his partially exposed gun holster for a moment before he stepped aside.

This is a studio apartment, and everything from the underwear draped over the sofa back to the dirty clothes piled in the corner is typical of a studio apartment.

Theodore looked around, while Bernie sat on the sofa talking to Robert Miller:
Where were you on Monday night, April 3rd?

Robert Miller thought for a moment and answered quietly, "In a bar."

He didn't sit, but stood in front of Bernie like a student being trained.

Bernie: "What time did you arrive? When did you leave?"

Robert Miller: "I went there around six o'clock and left around nine o'clock."

"After leaving, I came back to sleep, and the next morning I went to work by the river."

The southwest district is adjacent to the Potomac River, where there is a fish market. Every day before dawn, a large number of porters gather on the river to unload their catch.

This job usually starts at four or five in the morning and continues until it is fully light.

Robert Miller seems to be very experienced in this kind of questioning, explaining things clearly in simple language.

Bernie took out his notebook, made some notes, and then asked, "Which bar? Will anyone recognize you?"

Robert Miller tossed his underwear from the back of the sofa onto a pile of dirty clothes in the corner and sat down at the other end of the sofa:
“I go to that bar often, and the bartender knows me.”

"I only had two drinks and left the bar after watching the boxing match."

He provided a detailed account of the boxing match's process and outcome.

Bernie asked several more questions, which Robert Miller answered one by one, showing great cooperation.

He leaned back on the sofa, relaxed, completely unlike the tension he had felt at the door.

Bernie: "Do you remember Anne Halleck?"

Robert Miller paused for a moment, then slowly sat up straight.
"That red-haired bitch?"

He was somewhat agitated: "You came for her?"

"That bitch!"

"I already told you! She seduced me!"

“None of you believe me!” In his description, Anne Hallecker was always flirting with him and doing everything she could to seduce him.

Her seduction knows no time, place, or occasion. Even when her husband and children are with her, even in full view of others, she gets feverish whenever she sees him.

She smiled at him first, then waved to him.

When he looked over, she would let her hair down, lower her chest, lift her skirt to reveal her stockings, and twist her whole body into a pretzel shape, constantly tempting him like a water snake.

"I could tell from the way she looked at me that she wanted me to fuck her! She wanted me to strip her naked right now and fuck her hard!"

He stood up, closed his eyes, and slightly raised his head, his face contorted with excitement.

He held his breath, remained silent for a moment, and then exhaled a long breath:

"Fxxk!"

Robert Miller also expressed boundless sympathy for Anne Halleck's husband:

"That was such a pitiful man!"

He said, "He works hard to earn money and often works overtime until late at night."

"But he had no idea what his wife was doing behind his back!"

"That bitch! That slut! xxx! xxxxx!"

According to Robert Miller, he was teaching his wife a lesson about shame, just as her husband was teaching her to be filthy.

Robert Miller said all of these things on his own without Bernie prompting him.

He displayed a completely different demeanor when mentioning Anne Halleke.

Bernie felt nauseous, especially at Robert Miller's ecstatic expression, which almost made him throw up his dinner from the night before.

He quickly interrupted Robert Miller, asking if he had seen Anne Hallecker recently.

Robert Miller shook his head: "She's probably in some man's bed right now!"

After inspecting the apartment, Theodore returned to the two men and invited Robert Miller to go with them to the Third Precinct.

Robert Miller didn't speak, his eyes glancing towards the door.

Bernie stood up and blocked his way.

Robert Miller looked away:
"I did not do anything!"

"Those bitches seduced me!"

Bernie grabbed his shoulder and impatiently pushed him toward the door.

The two men took the person back to the Third Precinct for registration.

Bernie gave Detective Thomas the information Robert Miller had mentioned about bars, boxing matches, and dockside porters, asking him to help verify it.

Detective Thomas contacted the patrol officers to verify the information at the bar and quickly received a response.

The bartender admitted that it was true.

A detective from the Third Precinct also corroborated Robert Miller's account of the boxing match.

This is a boxing enthusiast who watched the match at the bar last night.

But this only proves that Robert Miller did not spend the whole night with the deceased; the verification of the dock handling work is the most important.

The time it took to move the body coincided with the time the victim was killed.

However, this verification work is not easy.

Most of the dockworkers are temporary workers, and apart from those who work long-term, they don't know each other.

The detectives need to seek help from the dockside gangs.

These gangs specifically organized porters to guard the docks.

Fishing boats must pay them a commission before they can be qualified to unload their catch and have porters handle it.

This is somewhat similar to a labor union, but its cuts are several times larger.

Only these people will notice any new faces appearing at the docks.

Detective Thomas asked the patrol officers for help, but there has been no news yet.

Theodore checked the time; there was still half an hour before he had to leave work.

He called Bernie over, and they prepared to meet the two neighbors in room 511 of the Riverside Hotel.

This surprised Detective Thomas, who came to ask the two whether they wanted to interrogate Robert Miller.

He felt there was no need to investigate further; they could simply wait for news from the dock.

He maintains that Robert Miller was the murderer.

Detective Thomas was convinced that Robert Miller was lying, and that his lies would soon be exposed at the docks.

The proper course of action is to interrogate Robert Miller directly; investigating the neighbors is trivial and a waste of time.

Thinking this to himself, he asked Theodore:

"Should we interrogate Robert Miller first?"

Theodore nodded in agreement and handed over the task of interrogating Robert Miller to Detective Thomas.

Based on his performance that morning, Theodore believed that the Third Precinct and Detective Thomas should be given more trust.

Detective Thomas looked at Theodore in surprise, then turned his gaze to Bernie.

Bernie patted him on the shoulder in encouragement.

Before leaving, Theodore made a request that seemed completely unrelated:

"Have the forensic team examine the deceased's fingerprints."

Detective Thomas, recovering from the shock of being put in charge of the interrogation of the prime suspect, wondered if he had misheard.

He felt increasingly unable to understand what the FBI agents were thinking.

As the end of the workday approaches, Pennsylvania Avenue becomes congested.

Theodore, stuck in traffic, talked to Bernie about the case.

Bernie raised his own question: "You don't think Robert Miller is the murderer?"

Theodore shook his head.

Bernie asked, "Why?"

Instead of giving a direct answer, Theodore asked Bernie a question in return:

"How much do you know about Robert Miller through his dossier?"

Bernie turned to look at Theodore and gave a wry smile.

He felt like he had dug a hole for himself and then thoughtfully jumped in.

Theodore pulled out his notebook, opened to a new page, looked at Bernie, and waited for his answer.

Bernie recalled the case files he had reviewed that morning, first extracting the necessary procedures for completing the infringement:

"Robert Miller followed the victim, threatened her with a knife, forced her to comply, entered the house, tied her up with a belt, and assaulted her before leaving."

"This is a common tactic to ensure the completion of the violation."

The remaining part is the identification markings:

"Robert Miller chose to commit the assault in the victim's home and verbally abused and physically assaulted the victim during the assault."

Bernie looked at Theodore for confirmation.

Theodore added for Bernie: "He did not conceal his identity throughout the entire crime."

He paused, then began to explain the reason:
"When Robert Miller assaulted his target, the accompanying verbal abuse and physical assault went far beyond what was required to subdue the target."

"This was to satisfy his psychological need for absolute control, humiliation, and venting of anger, which was the core motive for his crimes."

"All its actions are aimed at satisfying this need."

"After his methods were upgraded, he likely committed the crime in the target's home, assaulting and then torturing the target to death."

"Instead of pushing someone off the building in a hotel."

(End of this chapter)