1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 177 Off Work!

Detective O'Malley shoved Walter Reed into the patrol car and prepared to return to the police station.

He had good reason to believe that Walter Reed was the murderer of Alan Brennan.

Theodore stared at him for a while, convinced that his lack of rest from staying up all night had caused him to lose his basic judgment.

He asked O'Malley police for the addresses of the remaining suspects.

Detective O'Malley glanced at Walter Reed in the car, then at Theodore, hesitated for a moment, and asked:

"You don't think he killed Allen?"

Theodore didn't need to answer; Bernie, standing nearby, provided the answer:

"He doesn't have time."

Bernie explained, "He had already locked himself in his room before Alan Brennan and the others arrived at the apartment, until someone rescued him."

"If he wanted to kill Alan, he would have to get past the fire that even firefighters couldn't break through, avoid the firefighters blocking the stairwell, go upstairs to kill Alan Brennan, then go back the way he came, lock himself in his room, and wait for rescue."

He shrugged at Detective O'Malley:

"If he could do that, he could just rush out of the fire without having to go back into the room."

"If the firefighters fail to reduce the fire in the first-floor corridor, he could burn himself to death."

Detective O'Malley paused for a moment, then pulled out his notebook and asked Theodore:
Who are you going to talk to next?

Theodore checked the time: "Evelyn Shaw in Room 302."

Detective O'Malley nodded, read the address aloud, and then told Theodore and the others to wait a moment.

He used the walkie-talkie in his car to contact nearby patrol officers and asked them to help bring Walter Reed back to the police station.

Evelyn Shaw is a nurse who is widowed and raising her 7-year-old son, Frank Kowalski.

After her apartment burned down, she temporarily stayed at a colleague's house.

When Theodore and her group arrived, they only found her colleagues.

The colleague recognized Detective O'Malley and immediately guessed their identities and purpose:

"You're here to see Evelyn, right?"

"She's not back yet."

"She has to work the night shift today and won't be back until very late."

She looked at Detective O'Malley:

"Haven't you caught them yet?"

Detective O'Malley ignored her and turned to walk toward his police car.

Billy Hawke asked him:

Do you know the hospital's address?

Detective O'Malley pulled out his notebook and waved it around.

Evelyn Shaw has long, naturally curly brown hair, a few freckles on her face, and a tall, voluptuous figure.

She is 34 years old this year and still has a charming appearance.

When Theodore and his three companions arrived at the hospital, Evelyn Shaw was bent over, changing the dressing of a young man with a broken leg.

The young man turned his head to the other side, but his eyes secretly glanced down, staring intently at her buttocks. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he made a loud swallowing sound.

Evelyn Shaw seemed not to hear, calmly changing the dressing, re-bandaging, and asking the patient if he felt any discomfort.

The young man opened his mouth, wanting to say something lewd to flirt with Evelyn Shaw, but his mind went blank, and he just shook his head, blushing.

Evelyn Shaw tucked the patient in and looked up to see Detective O'Malley.

She strode up to Detective O'Malley and asked in a low voice:
"How did you come?"

Detective O'Malley introduced Theodore and his two companions to her and explained the purpose of their visit.

Evelyn Shaw looked around with a troubled expression and asked if she could leave work first.

The nursing culture of this period placed great emphasis on dedication, endurance, patience, and unconditional service; dereliction of duty was subject to severe criticism.

The hospital wards have an open structure, with the nurses' station as the core hub, making it easy for nurses' actions to be seen by colleagues, head nurses, or visiting doctors.

It's impossible to sneak away without being discovered.

But she didn't want the head nurse to know that she was involved in a murder case.

This is even worse than desertion.

She might only be reprimanded for leaving her post, but if the head nurse finds out she's involved in a murder, she could lose her job.

Detective O'Malley was somewhat displeased and shook his head in refusal.

Evelyn Shaw bit her lower lip and remained silent for a few seconds before turning to look at the nurses' station.

Their standing here for a short while has already caught the attention of the head nurse, who is standing at the nurses' station looking this way.

Many of her colleagues were also looking in their direction.

Evelyn Shaw whispered, "Wait for me."

She didn't dare leave on her own, but went to find the head nurse first, only saying that the apartment was on fire and the police wanted to know the situation.

The head nurse came over with her, checked Detective O'Malley's credentials, looked at Theodore and his three companions, and told Evelyn Shaw not to waste too much time, as there were still a bunch of patients waiting for her in the ward.

Theodore suspected that this wasn't just directed at Evelyn Shaw.

Evelyn Shaw lowered her head, quickly walked out of the ward, and led the four people to a secluded corner at the end of the corridor. After looking around and confirming that no one was there, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She spoke up first:

"I do not know anything."

"I was on the night shift that day, and it was already 11:30 when I got home."

"From a great distance, I could see black smoke billowing from the apartment building, and there were also flames in the hallway."

"I didn't dare get close. I was just about to call the police when the fire truck arrived."

"I was kept outside until the fire was put out."

"They said Allen didn't come out, then they said Allen was dead."

Evelyn Shaw repeated, "I don't know anything."

She pointed at Detective O'Malley:

"Even after the fire was extinguished, they still wouldn't let us in. After waiting a while, the police arrived..."

This is consistent with what Detective O'Malley presented at the briefing.

Detective O'Malley put her on the suspect list because, although Evelyn Shaw herself said she did not enter the fire, the scene was chaotic at the time, everyone was busy fighting the fire, and no one remembered when she appeared.

Theodore interrupted her statement and asked:

"Did you know that the deceased's family owned a German Shepherd named Rex?"

Evelyn Shaw paused, then nodded slightly.

Theodore asked her, "Rex barks all day long, making it impossible for anyone to get proper rest."

"Everyone in the apartment went to confront the deceased."

"have you been there?"

Evelyn Shaw denied it: "I only mentioned it to him once, and he said he would find a way."

Theodore pressed, "What method?"

Evelyn Shaw shook her head, indicating she didn't know.

Theodore then asked her, "Did the method work?"

Evelyn Shaw hesitated for a moment: "No."

"Rex is still calling."

Theodore confirmed with her:
"You only went to see the deceased once?"

Evelyn Shaw nodded in confirmation.

Theodore stared at her for a moment, then asked:
How long have you been working today?

Evelyn Shaw glanced at the time:
"Eight hours? What's wrong?"

Theodore did the math: "You start work at 7 a.m.? How long is your night shift?"

Evelyn Shaw nodded: "Until midnight."

Theodore asked her, "Were you on the night shift on April 23rd?"

Evelyn Shaw explained, "The person who was supposed to take over the shift that day arrived early, so I left half an hour early." Theodore neither confirmed nor denied this, and instead inquired about her work situation.

Evelyn Shaw was puzzled, but she answered honestly nonetheless.

Nursing is a highly physically demanding, high-pressure, and strictly regulated profession.

During this period, nurses performed both nursing and caregiver duties, handling everything from administering medications to cleaning up bodily waste.

They work 12-hour shifts and are often asked to extend their working hours by four to five hours.

Each nurse is responsible for 10-20 patients.

Turn them over, give them a sponge bath, change their sheets, clean their bedpans, and assist them with toileting.

We also have to check the patient's temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure and other vital signs every one to two hours to make up for the lack of professional monitoring equipment.

In their spare time, they also have to clean medical devices such as glass syringes and rubber tubing.

As long as the hospital remains open, they will have endless work to do.

Evelyn Shaw spoke calmly, her expression somewhat numb.

Everyone felt some sympathy upon hearing this.

Billy Hawke glanced at Theodore and realized what was happening:
"You work so hard all day, and when you get home you still have to face that dog."

"You only contacted Alan Brennan once? And it's still not resolved?"

He shrugged: "If it were me, I would just snap that dog's neck."

“If his owner dares to stop me, I will break his neck as well.”

Detective O'Malley also realized what was happening and looked at Evelyn Shaw with hesitation in his eyes.

He was quite worldly-wise, but he had never seen anyone kill someone over a dog before.

Detective Bernie, being more experienced, looked directly at Theodore and waited for his confirmation.

Evelyn Shaw countered:
"If you did this much work every day, you would be like me, able to fall asleep no matter what happens outside."

She pointed to the ward:
"I spend at least ten hours a day in this ward."

"The patients inside are much noisier than Rex!"

"Rex's shouts mean nothing to me."

Detective O'Malley said in a deep voice:

"What about your son, Frank?"

Evelyn Shaw turned to him:
"Frank really likes Rex; they're good friends."

Theodore suddenly asked her, "When did your relationship with the deceased end?"

Evelyn Shaw was startled and quickly denied it:

"What relationship? We have absolutely no relationship. We're just neighbors living in the same apartment building!"

Theodore looked at her and gave a precise description:

"Improper sexual relationship, extramarital affair."

"The deceased cheated on you, and you really liked the deceased."

"But it's over for you."

Did the deceased's wife discover it?

He observed Evelyn Shaw's change in expression and nodded firmly:

"The deceased's wife discovered your relationship."

"The deceased chose family and ended her improper relationship with you."

Billy Hawke and Detective O'Malley stared in shock at Evelyn Shaw, then at Theodore, speechless.

Evelyn Shaw stared at Theodore as if she had seen a ghost.

She remained silent for a long time before nodding with difficulty and asking Theodore in return:
"Did that bitch Cecilia tell you this?"

Theodore thought for a moment and realized she was referring to Cecilia Flynn.

Cecilia Flynn lived in room 402 and was widowed, just like Evelyn Shaw.

However, she has no children, lives alone, and is 50 years old this year.

Theodore asked her:
"Did Cecilia tell Martha Brennan?"

Martha Brennan is Alan Brennan's wife.

Evelyn Shaw nodded quite readily:

“That bitch Cecilia has always been trying to seduce Allen.”

"She knew that Allen was a kind-hearted person, so she often tricked Allen into coming to her house with various excuses, such as the water pipe being broken or the light bulb being broken."

“When Allen went to help her fix it, she took the opportunity to flirt and pounce on Allen.”

"But she never succeeded."

"She was jealous of me and Allen, so she told Allen's wife Martha about us."

She paused for a moment and fell silent.

Theodore helped her add:
"The deceased chose family over you."

Evelyn Shaw did not refute, but simply said:

"Frank considered Allen his father, and his death saddened Frank greatly."

"He now sleeps with the helmet that Allen gave him every night."

"He considers Allen his role model."

Theodore asked her about the date they should end their relationship.

Evelyn Shaw told Theodore it should have been at the beginning of the month.

Theodore remembered the fire station's duty roster and looked somewhat strange.

He then asked her about the order in which everyone left the fire scene on the night of the fire.

Evelyn Shaw shook her head.

She was holding Frank when the firefighters pushed her a long way away. The scene was chaotic and it was nighttime, so it was impossible to see who was who.

This disappointed Theodore somewhat.

Before ending the conversation, she asked Theodore:
"Can we please keep this from getting out?"

"It will make me lose my job."

Nurses not only work long hours and have heavy workloads, but society also places very high moral demands on them.

Scandals like having an affair with a married man, even if it's just a baseless rumor, can lead to her being fired immediately.

Theodore had absolutely no interest in revealing her privacy.

Evelyn Shaw breathed a sigh of relief, nodded gratefully to Theodore, and turned to leave in a hurry.

Detective O'Malley watched her retreating figure, then turned to Theodore and asked:
"You're just letting her go like that?"

The impact of Rex's constant barking on rest, and Alan Brennan's choice between his family and her.

In his view, these were all Evelyn Shaw's motives for murder.

Theodore looked at him, suspecting that he now saw everyone as the murderer.

Bernie patted him on the shoulder:

"Dude, you're not thinking of taking her back with you, are you?"

Detective O'Malley emphasized:

"She said she had been outside the whole time, but she couldn't even remember who came out first!"

Theodore shook his head:

"If she were the murderer, she wouldn't have acted so calmly."

"The murderer was likely a first-time offender, and it was a crime of passion committed on a whim, not premeditated."

Billy Hawke and Bernie had already instinctively pulled out their notebooks to take notes.

They thought Theodore was going to release a profile.

Even Detective O'Malley pulled out his notebook and looked at Theodore expectantly.

Having learned from the previous case, he knew very well how effective Theodore's incomprehensible analysis would be.

(End of this chapter)