1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 137 is not her either!

The two quickly ended their discussion of the case.

They arrived at the address registered for residents of room 509.

Bernie parked the car on the side of the road and didn't get out.

He leaned out and looked up at the sky, asking Theodore:
“What do you think of this—” Bernie glanced at the notebook in his hand, which contained the registered names of the residents of room 509: “This Dennis, does he live here?”

He pulled back and looked at Theodore: "A hotel employee went to stay at another hotel?"

Theodore did not answer and got out of the car to walk towards the hotel.

Bernie stuffed the notebook back into his pocket and hurried after him.

This hotel is much more upscale than the Riverside Hotel.

After Bernie showed his identification, the receptionist took them to see the hotel manager.

The hotel manager confidently told the two that they had not called Dennis's employee.

He also asked the front desk to check the guests who registered on Monday, and there was no one named Dennis there either.

Having experienced checking purchase records for small umbrellas at Felton pharmacies last year, Bernie and Theodore weren't too disappointed.

They then went to the address where room 513 was registered.

This is an advertising company.

Located on the banks of the Potomac River, right on their daily commute.

The advertising company was small, with only a dozen or so people, and it seemed to be barely surviving.

Bernie found the company owner, showed his identification, and asked if there was a person named Cooper among the company's employees.

The company boss, thinking the company had gotten into some trouble, shouted loudly outside:
"Cooper!"

"Cooper!"

"Dennis!"

"Dennis! Where did Cooper go?!"

Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance.

Soon, two young men ran in.

The boss pointed to the black-haired, bespectacled employee on the left: "This is Cooper."

He then introduced Bernie and Theodore: "These two are FBI Agent Bernie Sullivan and Agent Theodore Dixon Hoover."

Theodore stared at the employee on the right for a moment, then asked him directly, "Your name is Dennis?"

Dennis nodded hesitantly, showing the same bewildered expression as Cooper.

The boss was confused as to why the FBI agents, who were supposed to be looking for Cooper, were also targeting Dennis.

He dared not ask, nor did he dare say.

He had already made up his mind that if these two really caused any trouble, he would quickly clarify the situation.

Let's just say they were interns who were only recently promoted to full-time positions this month!

Theodore turned to look at Bernie.

Bernie asked the two about their plans for Monday night.

Dennis and Cooper looked at each other, hesitating to speak.

The shop owner, standing nearby, answered for them:
"They went to the Riverside Hotel."

"It's the house where someone jumped off a building."

According to the boss, their company had taken on an advertising design project for a hotel and needed to conduct an on-site experience at the hotel.

Bernie was puzzled: "You took the commission from the Riverside Hotel?"

The owner shook his head: "No, it's not the Riverside Hotel."

The owner told them that they had been commissioned by another hotel with a similar positioning to the Riverside Hotel.

He explained that the hotel wanted the advertising to highlight the differences between the two hotels, so he sent staff to experience both hotels firsthand.

Dennis and Cooper were employees sent to the Riverside Hotel to experience the services.

The two have been staying at the Riverside Hotel since last week, checking in under different identities each day.

I've experienced all room types, from the top-floor suites to the single rooms facing the street.

Monday was the last day.

Bernie directly asked the two men if they had heard anything unusual in room 511 on Monday night.

The two men exchanged a glance, and after a moment of silence, Cooper spoke first: "No."

He said, "I fell asleep around nine o'clock that night."

"The cheap single rooms at the Riverside Hotel are in terrible condition, and even hot water is only available for limited hours."

"But their rooms are very soundproof, and I didn't hear anything."

He paused for a moment, then pointed to Dennis: "I slept until the next morning, and then Dennis and I checked out and went back to the company."

Dennis nodded in agreement, his explanation not much different from Cooper's.

Bernie asked them, "What time did you check out this morning?"

Dennis thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "It seems to be six o'clock."

This is basically consistent with what they learned from the Riverside Hotel.

The two men fell asleep before the deceased checked into the hotel, and checked out and left before being murdered.

Aside from learning later that the guest in room 511 had died, they knew nothing else.

Bernie and Theodore left the advertising agency and did not return to the Department of Justice building. Instead, they went directly to the hospital to visit Thomas of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

They met Thomas in the hospital room; he was lying on the bed, lost in thought.

Thomas got a pretty bad beating.

His left eye socket was bruised, his mouth was cut, and his thigh was hanging up.

Thomas was happy to see Theodore and Bernie, and gave them a pitiful smile.

They weren't close; they'd only crossed paths once, during a phone scam case.

Theodore didn't even know Thomas's full name.

Bernie asked Thomas about his injury.

Thomas shook his head: "The doctor said I can be discharged tomorrow and can recuperate at home."

He speaks with a slight lisp.

Theodore looked closely and discovered that Thomas had also had two teeth knocked out.

This made him very curious about the specific details of his struggle with the plumber.

But Bernie kept talking to Thomas, giving Theodore no chance to ask any questions.

Not to mention offering him advice or correcting his strategic mistakes.

They stayed in the ward for about ten minutes before leaving.

This disappointed Theodore, who looked at Bernie with suspicion.

Bernie gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes fixed straight ahead, and drove at his usual slow pace.

When they returned to their Georgetown apartment that evening, they received a call from the Third Precinct.

News came from the docks that confirmed Robert Miller's statement.

At the time of the incident, he was unloading fish at the dock.

The call was made by Detective Thomas himself, and his tone was still filled with disbelief as he delivered the news.

He was absolutely convinced that Robert Miller was the murderer.

But it turned out that Robert Miller didn't have time to commit the crime at all.

Theodore was not surprised.

Back in Robert Miller's apartment, after listening to his long speech, Theodore had already decided that he wasn't the murderer.

The next day, Theodore and Bernie went to the FBI lab to inquire about the fingerprint comparison results of the batch sent by the Third Division.

The Third Precinct's forensic lab had pre-screened the fingerprints, eliminating duplicates and fingerprints belonging to hotel employees. A total of 17 fingerprints were sent, along with one fingerprint of the deceased requested by Theodore.

Currently, the laboratory has only been able to match one fingerprint.

The fingerprints came from the mirror opposite the bed and belonged to a congressional stenographer.

The lab told them it would take at least two weeks to complete all the comparisons. Theodore didn't want to wait two weeks.

He reminded the lab to prioritize comparing the deceased's fingerprints, starting with comparing the deceased's fingerprints with Anne Halleke's fingerprints.

Anne Hallecker is a key witness in a sexual assault case, and her fingerprints will inevitably be entered into the FBI's fingerprint database.

However, retrieving Anne Hallecker's fingerprints from the fingerprint database will take some time.

The Third Precinct's forensic department refers to the deceased as DCME-0086.

They believe the deceased's identity is still unclear and refuse to refer to her by the name Anne Halleke, as registered at the hotel.

Theodore believed it was necessary to do so.

After leaving the lab, Theodore went to the investigation department but did not see Agent Lombardi.

After leaving the Department of Justice building, the two headed to the Third Precinct.

On the way, Bernie asked Theodore, "Do you suspect the deceased wasn't Anne Halleke?"

Theodore nodded.

Bernie was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but glance at Theodore: "But her registered name is Anne Halleke!"

Theodore: "Dennis registered at an address that has nothing to do with him. He only registered his first name with Cooper, not his last name."

Bernie countered, "Agent Lombardi recognized her too, it's Anne Halleke!"

Theodore found the photo of the deceased and stared at it for a while: "So I want to ask him how he recognized the deceased as Anne Halleke."

He took out his notebook, drew a human figure in it, and then, comparing it to the deceased's body, smudged most of the face and showed it to Bernie:

"If you were thrown like that, I would have a hard time recognizing you at a glance."

Bernie glanced at the humanoid creature in the notebook, and his lips twitched:

"Thank you. If I were to fall like that, I would let Hilda (Mrs. Sullivan) identify me; she would definitely recognize me."

Theodore was skeptical of his claim. He stared at the photograph of the deceased with suspicion, replacing the deceased with Bernie, then with Thorson and Hoover.

He found it difficult to recognize them clearly.

He asked Bernie, "Are you sure?"

Bernie nodded: "Even if you don't look at the face, there's hair, height, build, and the things you carry with you, etc."

"Sometimes you don't need to rely on these things; you can tell from your feelings whether the person lying in front of you is your relative or not."

Theodore was silent for a moment:

"You mean Agent Lombardi and Anne Halleke can recognize each other telepathically, just like you and Hilda?"

He warned Bernie, "Don't read those third-rate tabloids. They just make things up and report fabricated fake news."

Bernie glanced at Theodore and felt that the two were talking about completely different things.

Theodore put away his notebook and steered the conversation back to the main topic:
"Our identification of the deceased, Anne Halleck, was based on hotel registration information and confirmation from Agent Lombardi."

“But hotel registration information can be filled out arbitrarily, and Agent Lombardi and Anne Halleke don’t have your telepathic connection.”

"He last saw her a year ago."

Bernie glanced at the photo of the deceased and suddenly felt that the person in the photo had become a stranger.

The two remained silent as they arrived at the third precinct.

Detective Thomas remained enthusiastic, but it was nothing like yesterday.

Today, his enthusiasm seemed a bit forced.

Theodore inquired about the results of his interrogation of Robert Miller.

Detective Thomas shook his head and sighed:
"He insists he did not kill Anne Halleke."

Theodore was puzzled: "Why ask him if he killed Anne Halleke?"

Detective Thomas was a little confused.

He looked blankly at Theodore, then turned his gaze to Bernie.

Bernie was still lost in the hypothesis that the deceased was not Anne Halleke, completely oblivious to Detective Thomas's gaze.

Theodore: "You should ask him about his recent criminal activity. His behavior when recalling Anne Halleke suggests that he has committed a crime recently."

He paused for a moment, then asked Detective Thomas, "Has the body not been claimed yet?"

Detective Thomas snapped out of his daze: "Her parents were notified this morning."

He glanced at the time: "They should be here soon."

Bernie looked at Theodore.

Theodore frowned as well.

The three waited for more than ten minutes before Anne Halleke's parents were brought over.

Mrs. Halleke wore a black coat and pearl earrings, her lips tightly pressed together, her face serious.

She didn't look like she was there to claim her daughter's body; she looked more like she was there to take an exam.

Mr. Halleke was much more normal.

His expression was sorrowful, his back was slightly hunched, and his eyes were slightly red.

Led by Detective Thomas, the two went to the medical examiner's office to identify the body.

Yesterday, the forensic doctor opened the refrigerated cabinet for the body and lifted the white sheet.

Mrs. Halleke simply stood at the door, glanced at the body from afar, and nodded to confirm its identity.

Mr. Hallecker tried to go inside, but she stopped him.

The couple stood at the door for a moment, but Mrs. Hallecker ultimately prevailed.

Mr. Harik glanced back at the body with reluctance, then put his arm around his wife and walked back.

The forensic doctor glanced at Detective Thomas and his two companions, then at the Hallecks walking away, sighed, lowered the half-covered white sheet, and pushed the body back.

Theodore stopped the forensic doctor and walked over to where the Hallecks were, peering inside.

He was quite certain that apart from a wounded corpse and a head of reddish-brown hair, there was nothing else to see.

Detective Thomas and Bernie chased after them, trying to persuade them to go back and double-check.

This was rejected by Mrs. Hallecker:

"No need, I expected this day would come."

Bernie asked her what it meant.

Mrs. Halleke, with a stern face, resembled an even more rigid nun than Mrs. Gandy:

“I told her long ago that stockings and high heels are the devil’s invention.”

“Wearing them will bring bad luck.”

"What happened ten years ago was God's warning to her."

"Not only did she not listen carefully, she was proud of it! She wanted the whole world to know what she had gone through!"

Mrs. Halleke covered her face in shame:

"She's like she's been bewitched by the devil!"

"Look at all those scars on her body!"

She asked Bernie:

"Was she assaulted again? Was she killed because she was assaulted?"

Bernie was speechless for a moment.

Mrs. Halleck took this as tacit agreement and gave him a look that said, "Just as I expected."

Bernie found it difficult to communicate with Mrs. Halleke, so he turned to ask Mr. Halleke:
When was the last time you saw your daughter?

Mrs. Halleck answered on behalf of her husband:

Seven years ago!

She said:
“I demanded that she live with us and that she get rid of those devilish inventions.”

"She just can't stand dressing like a normal woman."

After his wife finished speaking, Mr. Halleck replied, "Last month."

Mrs. Hallecker was so shocked that she forgot to cry, and looked up at Mr. Hallecker as if she were a lioness about to devour him.

(End of this chapter)