1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 204 None of that matters

Soon, Terence Cowan began to talk about the fire on April 23.

At that time, he had already taken Sean Cowan to almost every hospital and clinic in DC.

They all reached the same conclusion: Sean Cowan's condition had progressed to the terminal stage.

Most hospitals and clinics advised him to take the person home and prepare for end-of-life care.

He even met people from the funeral home a few times who said they could give him a discounted price.

A small number of medical institutions also prescribe treatment plans costing tens of thousands of US dollars.

They touted the plan in glowing terms, but when Terence Cowan inquired about its effectiveness, there was no guarantee whatsoever.

Sean Cowan's condition is deteriorating, and the demands on his care are increasing.

Terence Cowan couldn't afford to hire professional caregivers to provide round-the-clock care for Sean Cowan.

She had to work and take care of her son at the same time.

For the past few months, he hasn't slept for more than two hours at a time.

He felt physically and mentally exhausted.

Despite all his efforts, Sean Cowan's condition not only failed to improve but was deteriorating at an unprecedented rate.

This feeling of being out of control drove him crazy.

He felt he had to do something.

But Sean Cowan always needed someone to take care of him, and he didn't even have time to set fires.

Ultimately, he set his sights on apartment 121.

The apartment wasn't far from his home; he could even sit in his bedroom, caring for Sean Cowan while watching the fire rage.

Furthermore, Apartment 121 has its own maintenance workers and does not hire electricians from outside.

He had only met the residents of the apartment once, and they were not familiar with each other at all.

Aside from being close to his home, he had almost no interaction with apartment 121.

Terence Cowan sneaked into the basement late at night, and with a little effort, successfully started a fire.

As he came out, he saw Evelyn Shaw and her son returning from their night shift in the distance.

This startled him, and he quickly lowered his head and hurried back home from the other side.

He sat by Sean Cowan's bedside, looking out the window at the distant fire, but he didn't feel comfortable or relaxed as he used to.

Terence Cowan kept replaying every detail of his encounter with Evelyn Shaw in his mind.

He suspected that Evelyn Shaw had recognized him.

When Terence Cowan saw the police arrive, he thought he had been exposed.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief when he learned the next day that a firefighter had been burned to death.

But soon he thought of Evelyn Shaw.

He decided to talk to Evelyn Shaw.

But after the apartment burned down, Evelyn Shaw stayed at a friend's house, and Terence Cowan couldn't find her at all.

He began to stalk Evelyn Shaw.

Initially, he just wanted to find an opportunity to talk, but the opportunity never came.

During this time, he saw detectives from the Fourth Precinct frequently contacting Evelyn Shaw, and two days later, even FBI agents appeared.

Terence Cowan didn't know what Evelyn Shaw had talked to law enforcement about, but it all made him nervous.

He felt things were getting out of control.

He decided to shut Evelyn Shaw up.

The idea of ​​burning Evelyn Shaw slowly took shape in his mind and was quickly put into practice.

Theodore asked Bernie a few questions about the details, and Terence Cowan answered them one by one.

He shifted his position, adjusted his posture, and began to talk about the fire from the previous day.

He explained it simply: he sneaked into the apartment basement late at night, loosened the terminal, stuffed a piece of paper soaked in gasoline into the gap, and then left the apartment.

A few minutes later, flames appeared.

He mingled in the crowd to enjoy the view until the police cars arrived, at which point he quietly withdrew from the crowd and returned home.

After finishing this, Terence Cowan couldn't wait to ask:

"I've said everything I needed to say. Now, can I see Sean?"

Bernie and Theodore looked at each other in bewilderment.

Terence Cowan pleaded with the two:
"You've heard what the doctors have to say."

"I just want to see him again."

"I want to be by his side during these last few days."

"It won't be long."

Theodore shook his head and began organizing the documents.

Terence Cowan did not become agitated and attempt to escape or attack the two men; he simply sat there, pleading incessantly.

But Theodore remained unmoved.

Two detectives on duty came over and took Terence Cowan away.

Theodore and Bernie finished tidying up and left the interrogation room.

The interrogation is over.

The rest is just office work.

Terence Cowan confessed to a total of nineteen arson attempts and two murders.

Of these nineteen arson incidents, more than half had been classified as accidents by the fire department. Now, Terence Cowan's testimony overturns the established conclusion, turning the accidents into arson.

To sort out all the related cases and finally form a complete case closure report would be a huge project, a project that would give anyone who has done office work a headache.

That was, after all, a "combined volume" of twenty cases.

Theodore checked the time; it was almost 11 p.m.

Bernie approached Detective O'Malley to discuss whether the community clinic could arrange for Terence Cowan to make a phone call while Sean Cowan was conscious.

Detective O'Malley said there was no problem and offered to let Terence Kwan see Sean Kwan one last time.

Theodore stopped him:
"If you don't want your clinic to catch fire, you'd better not do that."

Everyone looked at Theodore in confusion.

Theodore pointed to the interrogation room:

"Terrence Cowan's cooperation during the interrogation was in exchange for this opportunity."

He specifically reminded Detective O'Malley that Terence Cowan must be kept under close surveillance while in custody, and that he should remember that he was an electrician and an arsonist who had faked an accidental arson for years without being discovered.

Detective O'Malley nodded seriously.

The bald firefighter hesitated, glancing in the direction Terence Cowan had been taken away, and asked Theodore uncertainly:

"You mean he'll set fire to the police station?"

Theodore looked at him:

"To today's arsonists, setting fire to a police station is no different from setting fire to an old apartment building."

“The arsonist was out of control of his life, especially when faced with his son Sean Cowan’s illness.”

"He used arson as a compensatory act to regain a sense of control."

"But as Sean Cowan's condition progressed to the terminal stage, especially since February of this year, Sean Cowan was repeatedly refused treatment by various hospitals and clinics, and this compensatory mechanism became increasingly ineffective."

"This compels arsonists to escalate their crimes to meet more pressing compensatory needs."

"The arson attacks on February 19 and April 23 were no different from his previous crimes in terms of scale and method."

"These two arson attacks did not satisfy the arsonists' needs."

"This accumulating arson impulse was one of the reasons that led to the burning of the first victim."

"But we thwarted the arsonists' plan to burn living people." After thinking for a moment, Theodore chose a vivid analogy:

"The arsonists nowadays are like tigers that have been starving for a week; they won't let go of any opportunity to start a fire."

The bald firefighter nodded as if he understood, and silently resolved never to ask the question again.

He still cannot understand Theodore's analysis of the arsonists.

The group chatted for a while longer before parting ways.

With the arsonist case closed, Bernie put his moving plans back on the agenda.

He first communicated with his wife and changed the planned date again, then called Theodore and Billy Hawke to help him move.

The furniture from Felton arrived yesterday.

But they were all busy with the arsonist's case yesterday and couldn't spare the time, so they had to ask Union Station to store the items for a day.

Fortunately, the joint station offers a 48-hour free storage period for arriving goods. No storage fees will be charged if the goods are picked up within 48 hours of arrival.

Bernie's furniture arrived late on May 5th, when they had just received the fire call and were en route. His free storage period was until late tonight.

Before moving, they went to a used car dealership.

Bernie is going to choose a car.

Billy Hawke was quite excited and chattered incessantly with Bernie about the car the whole way.

He comes from Cleveland, Ohio, an industrial city.

It's rare to find a young man from an industrial city who doesn't love cars.

He and Bernie got along very well, and the two of them appreciated various models from different brands from various angles, having a very interesting conversation.

Theodore did not participate in the discussion.

He thought to himself, "No matter how much we talk about now, like colors and seat configurations, in the end Bernie will only compare horsepower."

Bernie had been here several times and was quite familiar with the people at the car dealership.

When they arrived, people from the car dealership quickly came out to greet them.

Bernie and Billy Hawke followed the receptionist as they drove around the huge parking lot, test-driving one car after another with great enthusiasm.

Theodore had to remind the two that it was almost noon.

They also have to help Bernie move this afternoon.

Bernie started to hesitate between several cars, driving them over and over again with Billy Hawke, and finally made up his mind at midnight.

He bought a 1957 Chevrolet.

It's the previous generation of the car Theodore is driving now.

Theodore stared at Bernie for a while, then finally couldn't help but ask:
"Are you serious?"

Bernie also recalled their casual conversation in the fourth precinct's conference room early the next morning and smiled sheepishly.

He turned around and pointed:

"I'd like to choose this one."

It was an almost brand new Cadillac, and Billy Hawke was circling it from front to back, looking quite enamored with it.

The staff explained that this Cadillac is priced at 2500, but Bernie can drive it away for only 1700.

For Bernie, who had just taken out a loan to buy a house and finished renovations, the price was still a bit high.

Theodore shook his head and followed him to pay.

This Chevrolet is in excellent condition. The dealership lists it for $900, but they gave Bernie a discounted price of $640 and promised to replace it for free if any major problems occur within a year.

DC has established a series of regulations for used car transactions, and it takes at least a week to process the transaction in full compliance with these regulations.

The car dealership staff didn't keep Bernie waiting for long.

After Bernie paid, he went out to dinner with Theodore and Billy Hawke, and when he returned, they had already taken care of everything.

Before leaving, the receptionist handed Billy Hawke a business card, intending to develop him into a client.

The receptionist quietly told Billy Hawke that they had the lowest prices in all of Emily City, and that many FBI agents bought their cars from their dealership.

In fact, this car dealership doesn't make any money selling cars to the agents; sometimes, they even lose money depending on the agents' financial situation.

Billy Hawke glanced at Bernie and accepted the business card.

After leaving the dealership, Theodore finally got his car keys.

Bernie was a little worried and kept telling Theodore to drive slowly and be careful.

Theodore nodded haphazardly and got into the driver's seat.

Billy Hawke stood between the two cars, hesitated for a moment, and then got into Theodore's car.

He apologized to Bernie with a grin as he fastened his seatbelt:

"Excuse me, Bernie, I was thinking..."

Before he could finish speaking, the car sped off, quickly rounded a bend, and disappeared without a trace.

Bernie sighed silently, slowly started his car, and followed.

When he arrived at Union Station, Theodore and Billy Hawke had been waiting for quite some time.

Bernie first checked the furniture to make sure it was intact, then went out to make a phone call.

A dozen minutes later, a truck arrived, and five or six workers got out. After greeting Bernie, they began to move the goods.

They said they were asking Theodore and Billy Hawke to help with the move, but in reality, they didn't need to do anything.

Bernie contacted a moving company through his FBI colleagues.

The moving company provides vehicles and loading/unloading services; the entire move will only cost $20.

Just like at used car dealerships, this is still an insider price.

After moving the furniture, the empty room immediately felt much fuller.

But people can't live here yet.

Bernie needs to submit an application to the FBI, hand over the keys, and await internal FBI audit.

The house can only be occupied after it has been confirmed that the room is safe and not being monitored or eavesdropped on by spies.

During this time, the FBI will also help install the phone and cover the corresponding costs.

Since they had to attend a hearing on the post office robbery at court the next morning, the three of them had dinner and then went home.

…………

6 p.m., Ministry of Justice building, Director's office.

Supervisor Rosen came in with a statement.

The statement came from a detective who was accused of endangering national security.

During interrogation, the detective admitted that someone had paid him $1,000 to leak details of the arson case to a third-rate tabloid.

The detective had no idea who paid the cash or what their purpose was.

He just wants to make money.

According to the detective's statement, the advance payment and the request were put in an envelope and slipped into his mailbox.

The envelope only had his name on it, but no information about the sender.

FBI agents found the letter in the detective's home.

The letter was typed.

According to the FBI laboratory, the letter came from an IBM Electric Typewriter.

This is a mature commercial typewriter, widely used by various government departments and professional institutions in DC.

The trail went cold when it reached the detectives.

For Chief Hoover, whether the leads went cold or not was not important.

He had long suspected his target.

(End of this chapter)