1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 186 He is dead!
Theodore reminded everyone:
"This is not an ordinary kidnapping case."

“In ordinary kidnapping cases, kidnappers often have special purposes when they take hostages.”

"This objective is the core motive of the kidnappers."

“Hostages often serve as bargaining chips.”

“The hostages always have value to the kidnappers until their goal is achieved, and therefore have a high chance of survival.”

“In this case, Frank Kowalski does not serve as a bargaining chip to achieve the goal.”

"He was just an accidental figure who happened to be at the crime scene."

"Frank Kowalski's only value is as a witness to the crimes committed by the arsonists."

He said seriously:

"Frank Kowalski's potential survival time is shorter than that of hostages in typical kidnapping cases."

Detective O'Malley suggested that his office staff could help review the fire incident investigation report.

Theodore hesitated.

He asked Detective O'Malley:
"Do they know how to distinguish between an accidental fire and a faked accidental fire?"

Detective O'Malley was somewhat taken aback: "Isn't it written in the report?"

Theodore shook his head:

"The conclusions in the report are not necessarily accurate. Whether it was an accident or a disguised accident requires comprehensive judgment."

"Many covert arsonists do not want their arson crimes to be discovered, so they choose to disguise the fire as an accident when they commit arson."

"Moreover, these arsonists are often very knowledgeable about fire hazards, and their disguises are difficult to detect."

Detective O'Malley was dumbfounded, his mind filled with thoughts of "accident" and "faked accident".

Theodore then asked him:

"Can they identify which fire was started by the arsonist in this case, and which fire was started by other arsonists?"

Detective O'Malley looked at Theodore suspiciously:
"Other arsonists?"

Theodore shrugged, mimicking Bernie's gesture.

"Arson is one of the initial manifestations of a series of crimes, and many serial killers have a history of arson before becoming serial killers."

Detective O'Malley suspected Theodore was exaggerating.

He ignored that topic and instead asked Theodore how he planned to determine which fire was caused by the arsonist in this case.

Bernie answered the question for Theodore:
"Identification mark".

Theodore nodded:

"Yes."

"The methods of arson may differ, but the psychological need of arsonists to commit the crime of arson remains unchanged."

After a moment's hesitation, Theodore explained to Detective O'Malley the necessity of reviewing past fire accident investigation reports:
"We currently know very little about the arsonist."

"The only known and certain thing is that he is experienced and not a first-time offender."

“Reviewing their past criminal history can enhance our understanding of them.”

Bernie looked at Theodore with some surprise.

Detective O'Malley only understood that Theodore believed the investigation report was necessary, as it would help him better understand the arsonist.

He nodded blankly and asked about the specific year of the report.

Theodore wasn't entirely sure either; he made a simple estimate and prepared to start his investigation from reports from three years ago.

Detective O'Malley inquired about his specific spatial requirements.

Theodore thought for a moment and said, "The entire Northeast region."

Detective O'Malley hesitated.

That could be hundreds of reports. How long would it take to read them all?
Theodore was unaware of Detective O'Malley's concerns, and he instructed Detective O'Malley to send the report directly to the office on the basement floor of the Department of Justice building.

Detective O'Malley briefly separated from them to go and coordinate the matter with the deputy commissioner.

A dozen minutes later, the four met in the parking lot.

Detective O'Malley told Theodore that the report would be sent over tomorrow.

Theodore nodded and reassigned the tasks.

He divided the four people into two groups, and they went to the home of the deceased's colleague where he was staying, and to the hospital where the deceased worked to conduct investigations.

Theodore reminded Detective O'Malley and Billy Hawke:
"The arsonists were well-prepared, acted swiftly, and it was all premeditated."

"He may have investigated the deceased beforehand."

Detective O'Malley realized: "You think he stalked Evelyn Shaw?"

Theodore nodded:

"Not only that, he may even have had contact with the deceased."

Detective O'Malley and Billy Hawke went to a colleague's house, while Theodore and Bernie went to the hospital.

On the way, Bernie raised his question:

"The only one who was burned to death last night was Evelyn Shaw."

"Frank wasn't killed, he was taken away."

"If the arsonist wanted to kill Frank, why take him away instead of treating him like Evelyn Shaw?"

Theodore gave the answer:
"Because there wasn't enough time."

He pointed to himself, then to Bernie:
“We were here before Evelyn Shaw was burned at the stake.”

"This was clearly not part of the arsonist's plan."

"If he continues to burn Frank Kowalski in the same way, he will likely be caught by us."

As he spoke, he glanced at the steering wheel in Bernie's hand.

Bernie looked down and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

A silence fell over the carriage.

Bernie hesitated for a long time before softly asking Theodore:
Do you believe that Frank Kowalski might be dead?

Theodore glanced at him with some surprise.

Instead of answering the question directly, he analyzed it as follows:
"Judging from what the arsonist did to the dead, he won't hesitate for long in dealing with Frank Kowalski."

“He probably disposed of Frank Kowalski after leaving the scene last night.”

He opened the notebook and, while writing and drawing in it, continued:

"From the time Billy discovered the body to my brief investigation of the scene and tracing back to the point of ignition, it took less than ten minutes in total."

"But nothing was left near the point of fire, only some gasoline that had seeped into the road. That must have been splashed or dripped onto the body."

"The Fourth Precinct conducted a survey of the surrounding residents, but no one saw or heard anything."

"This shows that the arsonist planned the attack in advance and acted with unusually decisiveness and speed, so that the deceased and Frank Kowalski did not have time to call for help."

"Our appearance was an accident."

"After the accident, the arsonist abandoned his plan, cleaned up the area, and left immediately."

"From making the choice to cleaning up the site and then evacuating, it only took him ten minutes."

"This shows that the arsonist made his choice immediately after discovering us, without any hesitation."

He reiterated:

"The arsonist acted decisively, reacted quickly, and used sophisticated methods."

"He could burn Evelyn Shaw to death, so it's impossible that he hesitated when it came to Frank Kowalski."

Bernie remained silent for a long time, then simply said:

"We have not yet found Frank Kowalski's body."

"We should assume he's still alive."

Theodore glanced at him, dismissing it as Bernie's wishful thinking. The hospital where Evelyn Shaw worked wasn't far, and they arrived quickly.

The two first approached the hospital security guards to find out what was going on.

Zero harvest.

The security guards were quite impressed with Evelyn Shaw, but they didn't notice anyone following her or being bothered by strangers.

The two then went to the ward.

The head nurse remembered them and took the initiative to ask about Evelyn Shaw.

She was unaware that Evelyn Shaw had been burned to death.

The detectives from the Fourth Precinct only said it was a missing person during their investigation.

Bernie didn't answer, but instead asked the head nurse, "Has anyone come looking for her recently?"

The head nurse thought for a moment, then shook her head firmly: "No."

She turned around and pointed to several nurses who were extremely busy in the ward, explaining a lot about their work to the two of them, and finally said:

"We have a lot of work, and we often can't finish it even if we work overtime."

"Anyone who needs to leave the ward must apply to me."

“Apart from when you came to see her last week, Evelyn has never left her room.”

Theodore asked her for the list of patients Evelyn Shaw was in charge of.

The head nurse readily agreed and inquired about Evelyn Shaw's condition with concern.

First the police investigated, then the FBI questioned them; even a fool would know something terrible was about to happen.

Theodore shook his head and asked the head nurse if any suspicious individuals had recently appeared in the ward.

The suspicious persons he referred to were those who were neither patients nor their family members.

The head nurse casually pointed to the door, where a man in a suit was carrying a briefcase and walking towards a patient with a broken leg.

The two had only been talking for a few minutes when the patient began waving his hand impatiently, as if shooing away flies.

Undeterred, the man smiled, handed over his business card, and walked towards the next bed.

That was a lawyer who was looking for clients.

The head nurse then pointed in the direction of the doctor's office.

The doctor's office door opened, and a man dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase came out, warmly saying goodbye to the doctor.

That was a pharmaceutical company representative who came to promote their drugs.

The head nurse told the two that she managed nearly a hundred beds and simply didn't have time to pay attention to unrelated people.

As long as he wasn't sick and didn't disrupt her and her nurses' work, she didn't care whether he was suspicious or not.

Bernie suggested that he could speak with the other nurses.

The head nurse wasn't too keen on it, but she agreed nonetheless.

She helped the two gather the nurses together, then gestured for them to ask their questions quickly.

The nurses gave perfunctory answers; they just wanted the questioning to end quickly so they could get back to work.

Every minute lost now must be made up for tonight.

If the delay is too long, everyone will have to work the night shift.

Bernie asked the question twice, and everyone just shook their heads.

He didn't ask any more questions, but wrote down his number for the head nurse and told the nurses that they could call him anytime they remembered anything.

The nurses, who had long been impatient, immediately scattered.

Theodore asked the head nurse:
"Was Evelyn Shaw wearing this yesterday too?"

He pointed to the head nurse's leg, then to the nurses who were rushing towards their respective patients.

The head nurse glanced down and nodded. Her gaze toward Theodore turned strange.

Bernie patted Theodore on the shoulder and said goodbye to the head nurse.

After leaving the ward, Theodore told Bernie that the grayish-white hard molten beads found at the scene were probably stockings.

To verify this, they decided to go to the mall and buy a few pairs of stockings to burn.

Bernie drove to the mall entrance, but both of them just sat in the car and neither of them wanted to get out.

They eventually returned to the Fourth Precinct, where Bernie asked a female officer to help him buy stockings of various price ranges from a shopping mall.

Theodore recreated the crime scene by soaking stockings in gasoline and then lighting them near an open flame.

The nylon stockings contracted rapidly, melted and dripped, then condensed to form small beads.

Its shape is highly similar to the grayish-white hard molten beads collected at the crime scene.

Theodore collected them, put them in an evidence bag, and prepared to send them to the laboratory for comparison.

Billy Hawke and Detective O'Malley returned soon after.

Her colleagues were very concerned about Evelyn Shaw and her son, and actively offered assistance.

Although she didn't know that Evelyn Shaw had been burned to death, she could tell from the police's attitude that her friend was probably in grave danger.

She recounted almost everyone she could remember who had been around Evelyn Shaw and her son, compiling a list of dozens of people.

It includes the owner of the corner bakery, the mail carrier, patients in the hospital ward, the parents of Frank Kowalski's classmate, Cecilia Flynn, whom she specifically mentions, and Martha, Alan Brennan's wife.

However, these did not greatly help the investigation.

Detective O'Malley checked the time; it was almost 6 p.m.

Eighteen hours have passed since the incident, and their investigation is still at virtually no progress.

This is definitely not good news for Frank Kowalski.

Detective O'Malley looked at Theodore, hoping he would pull out the crystal ball and cast a spell.

Theodore remained unmoved.

Bernie looked around and then recounted Theodore's analysis that Frank Kowalski might have met with some misfortune.

The meeting room fell into a long silence.

the next day.

Theodore did not go to the fourth precinct, but stayed in his office to review the reports.

The fire accident investigation report has arrived.

Also arriving was a bald firefighter from fire station number 13.

He was an expert who was invited to help determine the cause of the fire.

The bald firefighter was happy to help.

Because Theodore and his team caught the killer who caused Alan Brennan's death.

After exchanging pleasantries, he inquired about the details of the case with some curiosity.

He and the firefighters left early that day, while Theodore and his two companions were the last to leave.

They did not see the crime scene.

Although I had already heard about it from other colleagues at the fire station yesterday, I still couldn't help but be curious when faced with professionals like FBI agents.

The bald firefighter frequently enters and exits fire scenes, has seen all kinds of fires, and has encountered many people who have been burned to death.

But this was the first time he had ever heard of someone deliberately pouring gasoline on another person and then setting them on fire.

He found it hard to understand why such people existed.

Bernie looked at Theodore and explained the situation as it was.

Upon hearing that a seven-year-old child was also missing, the bald firefighter immediately pressed for details:

"Has the child not been found yet?"

Bernie shook his head.

(End of this chapter)