1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 183 The Arsonist

The trial of Robert Hayes has ended.

Detective O'Malley personally escorted the man to the detention cell and asked a colleague to bring Henry Crawford back to the police station.

He believed that Robert Hayes' confession alone was not enough to convict him completely, and that a witness testimony was also needed.

Half an hour later, they met Henry Crawford in the interrogation room.

Henry Crawford stuck to his original story and showed particular resistance to questioning.

he is very angry.

Theodore presented Robert Hayes' testimony to him.

After reviewing the testimony, Henry Crawford fell into a brief silence before speaking in his defense:
"It wasn't me."

"It was all Robert Hayes's doing."

“Lying to you and throwing him into the fire were his ideas.”

"He threatened me and forced me to do what he said."

"He made me say it all."

He looked at Detective O'Malley, his tone full of sincerity:

"I still want to save Allen."

"I was the one who reminded him to bring Allen along."

Theodore didn't want to hear any of this, and he interrupted directly:
"What time did Robert Hayes come to your house to fix the plumbing?"

Henry Crawford was somewhat displeased, but he only glanced at Theodore and did not chase him away as he had done in the morning.

He looked away, his gaze shifting elsewhere.

He didn't come to my house to fix the water pipe that day.

"The water pipe was fixed last week."

Everyone looked at each other.

Bernie paused for a moment, then asked him:

"Were you home alone that night?"

Henry Crawford nodded:
"That damn dog barked non-stop from evening that day, making it impossible for me to rest."

"I lay in bed with my eyes open for three hours."

"Later I found out there was a fire. I was running outside when I opened the door and saw Robert Hayes hit someone on the head with something, and the person fell down."

"I quickly retreated back into the house and locked the door."

"After a while, I thought he had left, so I opened the door to escape, only to bump into him coming out of the room across the street."

Henry Crawford began to cough, paused for a while, and then continued:

I went back to the room.

“He waited outside for a long time. He said that if we kept going like this, we would both be burned to death. He told me to promise to do as he said, and he wouldn’t lay a hand on me.”

He glanced at Detective O'Malley:
“He told me to lie and say that he was fixing the water pipes at my house that night, and that we chatted for a while after he finished fixing them.”

“I don’t believe him, but if I keep hiding, I’ll die in my room anyway, so I have no choice but to agree.”

"I asked him about the person he attacked."

"He said he wasn't dead yet, so he left him in the corridor."

"I only recognized him after I opened the door; it was Allen who had been attacked."

"We dragged Allen down."

“But Allen is too heavy, and we will soon be unable to move him.”

What followed was the same rhetoric as Robert Hayes.

There are differences between Henry Crawford's testimony and Robert Hayes's testimony, but the main content remains unchanged.

Detective O'Malley thanked Theodore and his two companions and invited them to Alan Brennan's funeral.

Theodore thought about it and agreed.

Back at the Department of Justice building, Theodore received a message from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The federal prosecutor in charge of the post office robbery case will come to meet with him on Monday to train him on how to handle situations in court.

Bernie leaned over and glanced at the note, then patted Theodore on the shoulder:

"Let's take a look at the differences between federal courts and district courts."

…………

Alan Brennan's funeral was held on Sunday.

Theodore, Bernie, and Billy Hawke received formal invitations the day before from Fire Station 13 and the deceased's family.

Many people attended the funeral.

Ed Warren and other neighbors were present.

Several people, including Detective O'Malley and the bald firefighter, gave eulogies at the funeral, praising Alan Brennan as an honest and good man and wishing him a peaceful journey to heaven.

The guests choked up and shed tears several times.

The scene was filled with people crying.

Theodore watched silently.

After the funeral, people talked in twos and threes as they left the church.

Theodore and his two companions were stopped by Detective O'Malley.

He introduced them to the deceased's family and companions:

"Everyone, it's all thanks to these three that we were able to catch that bitch so quickly."

"Without their help, I'm afraid I'd still be completely clueless."

Bernie thought Detective O'Malley was being overly modest.

Theodore, however, felt that his introduction was very objective.

The firefighters surrounded the three men, thanked them profusely, and invited them to a bar for drinks.

The bald firefighter specifically pointed out that it is a bar run by a retired firefighter and only serves firefighters.

Theodore became very curious about the bar and readily agreed.

The bar is located behind fire station number 13, and its decor is very similar to that of the fire station.

When they arrived, the bar was surprisingly open.

Theodore checked the time; it was only 2 p.m.

The bald firefighter greeted the boss and solemnly introduced Theodore and his two companions.

The boss immediately took out a glass, poured some wine, and pushed it towards him:
"This round is on me."

He poured himself another glass and raised it:
"Respect, Allen."

The firefighters raised their glasses:

"Respect, Allen."

The Firefighters' Bar and L&O Bar are completely different in style.

This place has the lively atmosphere that Theodore and Bernie both know well.

Although the atmosphere was somewhat somber at first because of Alan Brennan's funeral.

But after a few drinks, the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Although there was no rocking horse, there were plenty of games like rock-paper-scissors, darts, and arm wrestling.

Theodore had a great time, feeling like he was back in Felton.

Bernie immediately loved it and declared it his second favorite bar in DC.

The first was the one that the campus security director of Emily College took him to.

Billy Hawke was initially a little unaccustomed to it, but he quickly adjusted and shone in the darts and arm wrestling competitions, attracting a line of people to challenge him and treat him like a big boss.

The group spent the night drunk, and it wasn't until the early hours of the morning that they staggered out of the bar.

They looked like a bunch of zombies.

The firefighters, who lived nearby, helped each other out in twos and threes, said goodbye to Theodore and his men, and left.

The bar owner was somewhat worried about the safety of Theodore and his two companions, and offered to invite them to his home for a while.

Theodore refused and started fighting Bernie for the car keys.

He insisted on driving it himself.

He thought of flying.

Billy Hawke was caught in a dilemma.

He wanted to help Theodore, but Bernie had always been very kind to him.

In the end, he chose to stand still and watch the two chase each other in the empty parking lot.

A light in the distance caught his attention.

He pointed into the distance and called out to Theodore and Bernie:

"Look! Someone's on fire!"

After shouting those words, he realized what he had done, his expression changed, and he immediately rushed out.

Theodore and Bernie looked into the distance.

In the distance, a ball of fire appeared, and the fire grew limbs, waving them around.

It was like a torch. Their expressions changed, and they ran after Billy Hawke.

The torch took two more steps forward and quickly collapsed to the ground.

He rolled and struggled on the ground, but soon became motionless.

The air was filled with a nauseating, burnt smell.

Billy Hawke had already drunk quite a bit, and the smell triggered him to vomit immediately.

Fortunately, he still retained a sliver of consciousness and knew to cover his mouth and run to the roadside before vomiting.

Theodore and Bernie took off their coats and vigorously patted the flames.

The flames quickly went out.

Theodore crouched down and touched his neck, only to find his hand covered in grease.

Actually, you don't even need to touch it; you can tell just by looking that this person couldn't possibly have survived.

Even if I were alive now, I would be suffering.

I'd rather die.

Theodore wiped his hands on his clothes.

Bernie reached into his pocket and asked Theodore:

Do you have any coins?

Theodore shook his head.

He then went over and asked Billy Hawke.

Billy Hawke was still vomiting.

As he vomited, he pulled out a few coins and slipped them into Bernie's hand.

"Ugh~ Is he still alive?! Ugh~"

He looked back and then vomited.

Bernie shook his head, patted him on the back with some concern, and ran to a public phone booth to call the police.

Theodore looked around, hesitated for a moment, and then walked toward the direction the dead had come from.

Billy Hawke was still vomiting when he saw Theodore walking in that direction. He immediately spat twice and chased after him, gagging as he went.

The streetlights in the northeastern part of DC are very dim, with only a yellowish tinge around the lamp heads, and they don't illuminate the ground at all.

Theodore took a few steps, but all he saw was a dark ground; he found nothing.

He handed the keys to Billy Hawke and asked him to bring the car over.

The headlights at that time were still incandescent bulbs and not very bright.

But it's still better than streetlights.

Under the headlights, the marks on the ground were clearly visible.

First, there was a large, sticky, and disgusting residue.

That was left behind by the deceased as he rolled and struggled before he died.

They smelled of burnt barbecue, and even Theodore couldn't stand it.

He continued walking and soon found the traces he was looking for.

It was a roughly circular depression, about 3.5 inches in diameter, with a translucent brownish-black glassy center and radial cracks along the edges. The cracks were very fine, less than 0.1 inches in diameter.

Theodore lay down and smelled it.

There was a faint smell of gasoline.

Billy Hawke, who was driving, happened to see this.

He immediately slammed on the brakes, grabbed an evidence bag, opened it, and vomited again.

Theodore waited for him for a while, then continued walking.

There are several more such indentations ahead.

Bernie came over after making the call and asked what he had found.

Theodore pointed to the depression in front of him, lay on the ground, tilted his head to the side, and observed it against the light.

After watching for a while, he stood up, took out a pair of gloves, put them on, pressed his palm on the ground, and then lifted them up to gather the particles stuck to them together.

Besides dust and gravel, there were also some small grayish-white particles.

Bernie asked him curiously, "What is this?"

Theodore shook his head: "I don't know."

He took the paper bag Bernie handed him, collected all the grayish-white particles on the ground, placed them on the ground, and weighed them down with a stone.

Fire station number 13 was not far away, and the firefighters on duty arrived even faster than the police.

Bernie took over command of the scene and kept the firefighters outside to prevent them from disturbing the scene.

Theodore continued along the tracks for about 10 yards before turning onto a side path.

The path was dark, with no streetlights.

Billy Hawke followed in his car, illuminating the way ahead.

Theodore walked a little further but found no more similar traces.

He turned to Billy Hawke and asked, "Can you smell gasoline?"

Billy Hawke got out of the car, stood still, sniffed hard, and nodded.

He looked around and then ran toward the roadside not far ahead.

Theodore followed and found a large patch of road surface that was noticeably darker than the surrounding area.

Under the illumination of the incandescent lights, the road surface shimmered with an iridescent film of colors.

The pungent smell of gasoline hit me.

Because of the poor lighting conditions, Theodore didn't dare to make any sudden moves. He simply left Billy Hawke to guard the place while he returned to where the deceased had died.

Under Bernie's direction, the firefighters are driving the fire truck over and turning on its headlights as a light source.

Bernie, meanwhile, was taking pictures around with his camera.

The police finally arrived.

Their response time was actually quite fast, taking less than ten minutes in total.

Considering the time and location, this efficiency is quite good.

The first to arrive were two patrol officers.

They recognized Theodore and Bernie, and their expressions turned grim.

His expression turned even more grim when he saw the cremated corpse lying on the ground.

The two men gagged for a while, then ran to lean against a tree and vomited for a bit before returning to talk to Bernie.

More police cars arrived one after another.

It wasn't Detective O'Malley who arrived, but someone they didn't recognize.

Detectives from the Fourth Precinct took over the scene.

Theodore was very interested in the case, but he did not have the authority to handle it.

He could only regretfully hand over the evidence he had collected and inform the police of his findings.

The detectives from the fourth precinct didn't look too good, but they didn't stubbornly cover their ears and refuse to listen.

The detective in charge of the scene specifically called two officers to accompany Theodore and record his findings along the way.

Theodore led them to the spot where they had found it:
"The deceased was likely doused with gasoline and set on fire here."

"The deceased struggled to walk forward until he reached the place where we found him."

He took two steps back and stood in an open space:

"The arsonist just stood here, quietly admiring his masterpiece, and then left."

He pointed around:
"You should immediately seal off this area and conduct a screening of the surrounding residents."

"Perhaps someone saw the arsonist."

This area is a residential area, surrounded by old apartments and row houses.

Startled, many rooms have already turned on their lights.

The detective nodded with a stern face.

Theodore continued:

"It took less than three minutes from when the body was set on fire until we discovered it."

"But when we found this place, the arsonist had already left."

"He either lives nearby or drove away."

The detective continued to nod with a stern face.

Theodore solved the case of the stolen police car and the recently concluded case of the murdered firefighter.

They will not underestimate Theodore.

They just wanted him to leave quickly and not interfere with the investigation.

Theodore, still somewhat unsatisfied, asked them one last question:

"You really don't need my help?"

(End of this chapter)