1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 167 Some people felt a sense of déjà vu.
Theodore thought about it carefully, then said uncertainly:
"Because this is DC?"

During this period, it was relatively difficult for banks to operate across state lines.

Because of outdated technology, cross-state travel would lead to an exponential increase in regulatory costs.

Riggs National Bank has deep roots in DC and is closely tied to the government, making it arguably the dominant player in DC.

It's not that Riggs National Bank is always the one being robbed, but rather that it's everywhere and too easy to spot.

Bernie stuffed them into a paper bag, then handed the bag to Theodore and asked him:

Which branch are they targeting?

Theodore held up the paper bag in his hand:
"The maps for the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast regions are all available, but the map for the Northeast region is missing."

"It's still uncertain which one it is."

He checked the time: "It shouldn't be today."

Bernie glanced at Theodore, suspecting he was using his strange sense of humor again.

He gave a token chuckle.

"She went to find 'Clyde' to discuss the robbery plan? Is she coming back?"

Theodore thought for a moment: "Linda Susan Parker doesn't know we're looking for her; she should be back."

"The two criminals will not rob a bank today."

He looked at Bernie: "She needs a place to stay."

Bernie looked at Theodore suspiciously:

"Do you think they don't plan to come back after robbing the bank?"

Theodore picked up the paper bag containing Bonnie and Clyde's scrapbook:

"Bonnie and Clyde spent the latter half of their criminal careers on the run from law enforcement, constantly hiding and wandering around."

"They are wanted throughout the country and their lives are in constant danger."

"This life of constant wandering may be their next goal."

"Linda Susan Parker did not see this kind of life as miserable; on the contrary, she saw it as romantic, a way of rebelling against the system and pursuing freedom."

"She had an infinite longing for Bonnie and Clyde's life of wandering."

He took out the scrapbook, flipped to the back, and handed it to Bernie.

It was filled with blatant praise, in which Linda Susan Parker expressed her admiration and longing for Bonnie and Clyde.

Bernie glanced at Theodore, looked down at two pages, and then closed the book.

He stuffed the scrapbook back into the paper bag and shook his head repeatedly.

The contents reminded him of a fanatical admirer of a failed art student he had encountered on the battlefield.

Theodore placed the paper bag on the ground:

"Linda Susan Parker yearns for freedom and longs for rebellion."

"But she didn't have the courage to do it."

"Just like skipping class, she may have had this idea from the first day she stepped into the school."

"But it wasn't until two weeks ago that I finally mustered up the courage to try it."

"A cheap beer party in January gave her a foot in the door."

"The theft of the police car two weeks ago allowed her to catch up with the other foot."

Bernie had more to say on this matter, and he shook his head, saying:

"She's just a little girl who doesn't understand anything."

"Young girls like this are always attracted to bad boys."

"They have a particular fondness for bad boys."

Theodore looked up at Bernie and asked him to confirm:

Are you talking about Linda Susan Parker?

Bernie paused for a moment, then did not answer.

Theodore nodded, confirming:

“You’re not talking about Linda Susan Parker.”

Bernie abruptly changed the subject:

"Has the gun been found?"

Theodore shook his head.

Before he could speak, Bernie had already turned and left the bedroom:

"I'll go look over there."

The two searched the apartment thoroughly but couldn't find the shotgun or revolver.

Linda Susan Parker likely carried both guns with her.

This puzzled Bernie:

Why did she carry a Winchester M1912 with her?

He was a little worried that Linda Susan Parker had decided to leave and never return to the apartment.

Theodore believes this possibility is extremely low.

He pointed to the paper bag containing the scrapbook:

"She will definitely come back and take it with her."

Bernie glanced at the paper bag, then looked at Theodore:

"Should we wait for her to come back?"

Theodore shook his head: "She might not be back tonight."

"She has $500 a month for living expenses."

"If she was going to find another male criminal to discuss plans to rob a bank, they could have stayed outside."

"The old Linda Susan Parker would return to her apartment every night, but the current Linda Susan Parker may not."

"She might even deliberately stay out all night."

Bernie seemed to be thinking about something, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

Theodore stopped and peered over to observe his expression.

Bernie composed himself and agreed with Theodore's analysis:
“Staying out overnight is the same as skipping class; it’s a crime and a challenge to authority.”

Theodore nodded:

"Yes."

"Linda Susan Parker believes that Bonnie and Clyde represent the pursuit of freedom and the spirit of rebellion."

"She therefore worshipped them, imitated them, and longed to be like them."

"The education she received from childhood constrained her behavior, allowing her to only fantasize in her heart and not dare to put it into action."

“This constraint was broken after the police car was stolen.”

Bernie interrupted Theodore's analysis: "Then what do we do? We can't just stay here and guard it forever."

Theodore glanced at him: "Call the Third Precinct and have them send two officers over."

He paused for a moment: "Stay in the apartment and keep watch."

"She will definitely come back for her scrapbook."

Bernie thought about it and realized there was no better way.

However, he had doubts about the competence of the officers in the Third Precinct:
"Are two officers enough?"

“Bonnie has a Winchester M1912.”

He pointed to the corridor: "It's cramped here, and there are so many students outside."

“We can’t guarantee that there will be no one in the hallway when ‘Bonnie’ comes back.”

"If the officers from the Third Precinct fail to apprehend her immediately, it could result in the injury or death of innocent people."

Theodore stared at him for a moment, then hesitated and said:

"Couldn't two officers have caught Linda Susan Parker?" "She's only 5 feet tall, petite, and untrained. She probably doesn't even know how to fire a gun."

Bernie was a little uncertain.

Linda Susan Parker sounds very delicate.

But the third precinct didn't seem to be much stronger either.

They went to the Third Precinct's jurisdiction to investigate the case, but the detectives from the Third Precinct ignored it completely, as if it had nothing to do with them!
That's Detective Thomas!
This made Bernie have serious doubts about the abilities of the detectives from the Third Precinct.

Bernie hesitated for a moment, but was eventually persuaded by Theodore.

The two men walked out of the apartment carrying a large number of evidence bags, when they heard a door close across the street.

Then a head popped back into the doorway next door, and the door closed.

Theodore and Bernie were taken aback.

Bernie locked the doors and went to the stairwell to meet up with the campus security chief and Cindy.

Cindy just wanted to crawl into her room, cover her head, and never get out of bed again.

As soon as she saw the two of them approaching, she immediately asked if she could leave.

Theodore thought for a moment and nodded.

Cindy felt like she'd been granted a pardon. She ran downstairs, opened the door, slipped inside, and slammed the door shut behind her.

The sound of doors closing still echoed in the corridor.

Bernie glanced downstairs and told the campus security director about the possibility of student leaks and how he had alerted Linda Susan Parker.

The campus security officer, who was stationed at the stairwell, also noticed the situation.

He thought for a moment, then went over and knocked on several doors.

No one knows what he said to the students, but when he returned, he confidently told the two that the students wouldn't talk nonsense.

Theodore was skeptical.

Bernie, however, trusted him completely and had no doubts whatsoever.

The campus security director then helped them contact the apartment manager.

No one knows what he said, but the apartment manager didn't suspect anything and handed over the key to Linda Susan Parker's room.

After separating from the campus security chief, Bernie contacted the third precinct.

Half an hour later, a Plymouth pulled up.

Detectives from the third precinct have arrived.

Two burly men got off at the ugly and dirty Plymouth.

Bernie handed them a portrait of Linda Susan Parker.

The detective driving the car took it, glanced at it, and then handed it to his partner.

His partner stared at the portrait for a while, then returned it to Bernie.

The two nodded to Bernie.

Bernie then briefly explained the case again.

They were specifically reminded that Linda Susan Parker possessed a Winchester M1912 and a revolver.

In addition, they may possess other unknown weapons.

He also mentioned that a male criminal might appear with her, and that the male criminal's weaponry was no less powerful than Linda Susan Parker's.

The two officers listened in silence, displaying a high level of professionalism.

Bernie handed them the keys and watched them walk into the apartment before driving back to the Department of Justice building with Theodore.

Shortly after they returned to the office, Billy Hawke and Detective O'Malley also returned.

The two sides briefly exchanged views on the progress of the investigation.

Despite the full cooperation of George Washington University, Billy Hawke and Detective O'Malley's investigation is still not going smoothly.

They encountered the same difficulties.

The professor doesn't understand the students, and the assignments are a mess.

The two of them went through a bumpy and difficult investigation, and after a hard day's work, there were still hundreds of people on the list.

The agent Bernie provided also failed to help them.

Unlike at America University, the agent at George Washington University did not recall anyone resembling a male criminal purchasing a gun.

He doesn't even sell Ithaca .37 shotguns.

Detective O'Malley looked somewhat serious as he said this:
There's no news from the branch office yet.

"Among the gun dealers we have been able to contact, none of them have encountered a customer who wants to buy a BAR rifle, nor have any of them mentioned seeing a customer with a similar build to 'Clyde'."

"Now we can only hope that the gun dealers 'Clyde' found don't have BAR rifles."

Bernie shook his head and said affirmatively:

“The ‘modern-day fugitives’ probably haven’t reached the point of using BAR rifles yet.”

“We contacted Bonnie’s father, and she only receives $500 a month for living expenses. Even if she were with Clyde, they couldn’t afford a bar.”

According to Theodore's profile, male criminals from average family backgrounds obviously could not possibly have five hundred dollars a month for living expenses.

Besides, even if he had five hundred, it wouldn't be enough to buy a bar.

Bernie wasn't even sure he could buy a BAR rifle for $1000 on the black market in an unfamiliar city, let alone these two rookies.

Detective O'Malley was somewhat surprised:
"Did you catch 'Bonnie'?"

Bernie shook his head and briefly explained the progress of his investigation.

He highlighted the beer party in January and handed the two a list of initiators from George Washington University provided by Cindy.

If Linda Susan Parker met the male criminal through this party.

By investigating the party organizers, it should be enough to reduce the number of people on their list from hundreds to single digits.

If you're lucky, you might even be able to pinpoint a male criminal.

Theodore took out magazine pages and a map from the bottom of the bedside table and spread them on the table:
"Two criminals were preparing to rob a bank in the northeast district."

Bernie added: "Riggs National Bank."

Detective O'Malley took the map of the Northeast from Billy Hawke and circled three areas on it:
There are three branches of the Riggs National Bank in the Northeast region.

“One is next to the precinct, one is next to Union Station, and another is near the state border.”

He poked the branch next to the state border with his pen:
"This branch is located next to the Anacasta River."

He believed that the two criminals were targeting this branch.

Theodore pointed to the magazine pages and the map of the other three sections:
“If they still want to commit crimes along the Anacastia River, there’s no need to collect this extra information.”

Billy Hawke raised a question: "How did 'Bonnie' do so much research in just one weekend?"

Theodore glanced at him: "She may have had these fantasies for a while and collected information in private. It's just that they remained just fantasies before, but now someone is helping her put them into practice."

He emphasized that:

"For most criminals, fantasy is a very important element. The process of committing crimes is often the process of realizing their fantasies."

He paused for a moment, then returned to the case itself:

"Linda Susan Parker took away the map of the Northeast area and the corresponding pictures of the three branches. She probably hasn't decided which one to rob yet."

Billy Hawke looked at him: "'Bonnie' went to find 'Clyde' to discuss which family to rob?"

Theodore nodded:

“In this criminal duo, the male criminal is dominant, and Linda Susan Parker is subordinate to him and acts under his control.”

“She has no say in choosing her targets; she has to follow the orders of the male criminals.”

Detective O'Malley questioned, "But 'Bonnie' only took the map of the Northeast area. Isn't that also a selection process?"

Theodore shook his head: "The two criminals did not have a strict, clear leader-executor relationship."

He reminded everyone:
"They are imitating Bonnie and Clyde, who are a couple."

Detective O'Malley understood: "'Bonnie' can make decisions on the general direction, but only 'Clyde' can decide on the specific choice of which company to go to."

Theodore nodded to him.

(End of this chapter)