1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 236 Bernie: There's a bonus!

On the dock.

After a brief crackling sound of electricity, the salvage ship captain's voice came through the walkie-talkie:
"Command point, this is the USS Chesapeake."

The major turned to look at the salvage boat on the river and picked up the walkie-talkie:
"Command station received, please continue."

The captain spoke very quickly:
"Major, we've run into some trouble. The third package isn't doing well."

The major frowned:

"Explain clearly, what's going on?"

It was quite noisy on the captain's end, with the sounds of electricity, engines, and water whirring mixed in, along with someone shouting at the top of their lungs. This forced him to join in, shouting back at the same time.

"This thing has been submerged in water for too long, and it's much more rotten than the previous two. The outer tarpaulin is like waterlogged paper; it crumbles into a large piece with the slightest touch."

"Moreover, it's at the very bottom, buried very deep, completely covered by silt."

The major turned and exchanged glances with Theodore and the others, then asked seriously:

"So? Can I still wear tank tops?"

The captain took a breath and continued shouting into the walkie-talkie:
"Difficult! Extremely difficult!"

"Now it's completely exposed, but it can't bear any weight at all."

“We tried it out, and when we tightened the straps, the rags on the outside got stuck in. We were afraid that if we pulled it halfway, it would fall apart and everything would fall back into the mud, making it even more impossible to work on.”

After a pause, the captain continued:
"The old man from the river mouth just went down to take a look. His idea is that we can't force it. We have to dig it out of the mud completely, wrap it in a layer of tarpaulin, and then use a net to lift it up from the bottom."

"But this work is too delicate. The visibility below is almost zero. It relies entirely on touch, so the progress is much slower."

The major glanced at the time; it was already past eleven.

After a moment of silence, the major asked the captain:

"how long will it take?"

The captain answered instantly:

"It will take at least another hour, and that's assuming everything goes smoothly."

The major silently calculated for a moment and quickly made a decision:
"Continue the salvage operation, with preserving evidence as the top priority."

The call was temporarily suspended. The major put down the walkie-talkie, rubbed his face, and turned to Theodore and Bernie:

"Did you hear that? The third 'package' is in extremely poor condition; the tarpaulin has degraded."

"The divers are trying to bring it all up, but this can't be rushed. We have to be prepared to stay here until the wee hours of the morning."

A brief silence fell over the dock.

Nobody wants to work overtime.

Officer Riley and Officer Murphy of the 7th Precinct were particularly reluctant.

The two exchanged a glance, took a deep breath of the mixed stench, and took two steps forward.

After they helped carry the body, although they had gotten used to the stench at the dock, they still couldn't get over the hurdle in their hearts and stood at the back.

Murphy pointed to the brightly lit river and initiated a conversation:

"Judging from the situation, the third body will probably take several more hours to process."

Theodore looked at the two of them strangely and corrected them:

"It won't take that long."

He realized that the two men were standing quite far away and might not have heard the salvage boat captain's words, so he kindly reminded them:

"The captain of the salvage vessel estimated that it would only take an hour."

The major glanced at the two men but said nothing.

Billy Hawke simply turned his head away, picked up his camera, and continued taking pictures of the river view.

Bernie walked over to Theodore, his expression serious, his gaze fixed intently on the two of them.

Officer Riley avoided eye contact with the two men, looking away.
"That's already past one o'clock."

"After returning to the branch office to hand over the vehicle, making a simple on-site record, and then going home, it will be around three or four in the morning at the earliest."

He paused, pointed to himself, then to Officer Murphy beside him:

"Railley and I have a patrol shift tomorrow morning at six o'clock."

Officer Murphy yawned widely and added:

"Moreover, there is a community meeting in our jurisdiction tomorrow morning, and Deputy Superintendent Doherty specifically asked us to arrive early to prepare."

"We're afraid that if we stay any longer, we'll become confused tomorrow and won't be able to hold on. If something goes wrong at work, it will be a real problem."

Officer Riley picked up the conversation, sincerely stating that they knew the salvage operation was important and that they had seen the second body retrieved, but they were very busy tomorrow and really needed rest.

He suggested that they contact the on-duty police officer at the branch office now to report on the progress and delays at the scene and request further instructions.

If the branch office deems it necessary to retain personnel, they will try to coordinate and find someone to cover the shift. If the branch office agrees, they will go back first, record the work done at the dock, form a report, sign it, and file it to ensure that the Seventh Branch Office has fulfilled its witnessing duties and that there is a written record.

Theodore really wanted to ask the two of them: "Can't we just hire someone to fill in for us?"

He immediately thought of Deputy Superintendent Doherty and suspected that the Seventh Precinct might not be able to find anyone to fill in.

His gaze toward the two of them began to turn strange.

Bernie's expression softened.

He glanced at Theodore, wondering what Theodore was thinking.

He granted Officer Riley and Officer Murphy's request, but also stipulated that they must ensure there were no procedural issues.

Murphy and Riley breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ran to the patrol car. They used their walkie-talkies to contact the duty room, report the situation, and emphasized that the FBI had approved their application.

The duty room quickly responded, allowing them to leave.

The two thanked everyone and got into the patrol car.

The patrol car roared to life and sped off, quickly disappearing from sight.

Bernie couldn't help but look at Theodore.

He felt that the two men were driving at a speed comparable to Theodore's.

Theodore looked at Bernie strangely, puzzled.

…………

After waiting for nearly an hour, the third package was finally retrieved and delivered to the dock.

The package was wrapped in a waterproof tarpaulin. After opening the tarpaulin, a layer of silt was first revealed.

This makes it look much larger than the previous two packages.

Theodore tried to clear the silt, but quickly gave up.

The waterproof tarpaulin and ropes inside had completely lost their flexibility.

He found the corner that the divers had torn and carefully tore it open.

A brownish-yellow skeletal hand was revealed.

After confirming that the package contained a body, Theodore stopped the inspection and had it loaded onto the hearse.

Billy Hawke yawned widely, jumped into the hearse, and patted the driver.

The driver was fast asleep, slumped over the steering wheel.

After being woken up by Billy Hawke, he looked around blankly, not understanding how he had ended up in the park instead of his bedroom.

Billy Hawke went over and told the driver to start the car.

The driver was startled, then realized what he meant and asked him while yawning:

"Is everything moved out?"

Billy Hawke, infected by his yawn, then yawned again and nodded:

"Yes, this trip is all done."

The driver checked the time; it was almost two o'clock.

He muttered a couple of things silently, started the car, and left the dock.

One by one, the divers emerged from the water, changed their clothes on the salvage boat, and then, together with the crew, were carried by a small boat, yawning all the while, to the dock.

After a night of turmoil, they didn't want to say a word and just wanted to get a good night's sleep.

Bernie stood on the dock, reaching out to pull people up one by one, hugging them and thanking them.

The salvage team members perked up, exchanged a few pleasantries with him, greeted the major, and then marched in a crooked line toward the tent area.

Soon, the tent area was filled with the sound of snoring.

When the last salvage team member came ashore, the dock suddenly fell silent.

Bernie said goodbye to Theodore and the Major, and they went their separate ways.

The following morning, Saturday.

Because they stayed up until the early hours of the morning at the dock last night, Theodore and his two companions arrived quite late.

Billy Hawke was still the first to arrive.

He cleaned the office and distributed newspapers before Theodore and Bernie arrived. It was unclear what kind of drug he'd taken, but despite leaving even later than Theodore and Bernie the night before, he was still full of energy and vitality, showing no signs of having stayed up all night.

Bernie yawned and asked Billy Hawke:
What time did you get home last night?

Billy Hawke shook his head:
"I didn't check the time."

He silently estimated, "It should be a little after three o'clock."

Bernie fell into a brief silence.

Billy Hawke, realizing it was Saturday, hurriedly asked Bernie:
"Have the team members been found?"

Bernie didn't react for a moment and looked at him in confusion: "What teammate?"

Billy Hawke gestured:
"A bowling league player!"

"The registration deadline is the day after tomorrow!"

Bernie suddenly realized and waved to Billy Hawke:
"Don't worry, I've already found the right team members."

He introduced the team members he had found to Billy Hawke.

The bowling league is a competition organized by departments, and the best players from each department have already been selected to join their respective teams.

Bernie could only find what other departments had rejected.

He contacted many colleagues and, after patiently consulting them, selected three of the most technically skilled individuals from among those who had been rejected, and extended invitations to them.

Billy Hawke was very enthusiastic about the game, and after listening to Bernie's introduction, he couldn't help but complain to Theodore:
"Boss, our department needs to expand its staff."

"Otherwise, with just the three of us, we wouldn't even be able to put together a competition team, and we'd have to look to other departments."

He suddenly stopped talking, turned to Bernie, and looked serious:
"They wouldn't deliberately join us and then pretend to be less skilled to make us lose the game and eliminate us, would they?"

Bernie frowned in thought, realizing that Billy Hawke wasn't being overly pessimistic.

He couldn't sit still any longer and looked at Theodore, agreeing that Billy Hawke made a lot of sense.

Theodore stared at the two men, wondering if they were still half asleep.

To expand the department size in order to compete?

He shook his head and got up to get the keys.

The Coast Guard will be conducting a thorough search of the salvage area near the pier during the day; they need to take a look.

Bernie stopped mentioning expanding the workforce and grabbed the keys first.

Before heading to the pier, they went to the Third Precinct.

Detective Thomas is off today, and his seat is empty.

The three of them had to go to the forensic room by themselves.

A professor from Howard University School of Medicine was fast asleep in the lounge when he was woken up, looking extremely reluctant.

He first washed his face, then pulled out a pair of glasses from somewhere, put them on, and led everyone back to the office.

The professor rummaged through the messy desk and found a notebook. It was filled with illegible words and various abstract drawings. Occasionally, you could see pictures of hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, kidneys, hands, feet, and limbs cut out from photos and pasted on it.

This makes the notebook look more like a slanted ritual notebook.

The professor quickly finished flipping through the notebook and closed it.

He told everyone that none of the bodies had been dissected yet.

The three bodies that were delivered last night are very complicated to handle.

The first body was highly adipocere, the second body was partially skeletal, and the third body has not yet been untied because of the ropes and waterproof tarpaulin protecting it.

All he could provide was information obtained from the external examination of the body.

This information was largely consistent with the results of Theodore's quick inspection at the dock.

Bernie asked about the timing of the autopsy report.

The professor thought for a moment:
"It will take at least a week."

He reminded everyone:
"The last body you brought was completely skeletal, which will make the dissection easier, but it also means that we may not get much detailed information. You should be prepared."

Theodore asked him:
Were victims number 2 and 3 strangled?

He pointed to his arm: "Use your arm."

The professor was initially puzzled, but quickly realized who the second and third victims represented.

He thought for a moment and answered cautiously:
"It's impossible to say for sure right now."

"However, judging from the traces, they are very similar to those of the first victim."

Theodore gestured:
"Prioritize performing an autopsy on the neck of the deceased to determine the cause and time of death, and notify us immediately."

"If the victims were all strangled, even if the bodies are reduced to skeletons, it will not affect the autopsy results."

The professor glanced at him, nodded, then stuffed the anatomy notes into the drawer and asked the group if they had anything else to say.

He had been busy all night and had only slept for less than two hours before being dragged out of bed. Now he plans to go back to sleep and then get up to work again in the afternoon.

At that time, the third body had just been cleared out.

Theodore and his two comrades left the Third Precinct and headed to the dock.

On the way, Billy Hawke and Bernie started discussing the bowling league again.

One of them had just learned to bowl, while the other had hardly ever played bowling and probably didn't even know the rules, but that didn't stop them from having a lively discussion.

They've even started developing tactics.

Bernie had coached the Felton West Division football team and knew very well the importance of tactics in sports.

Billy Hawke came from the military and placed particular emphasis on tactics.

The two had a very interesting discussion.

Bernie also asked Theodore:
"Can you create a similar data model that the lab developed?"

Theodore was somewhat surprised:
"That's not what you said yesterday?"

Bernie nodded calmly:

"I didn't know there was prize money for this competition yesterday."

Billy Hawke nodded in agreement:

"Yes."

"I've also inquired, and all the competitions offer prize money."

"And it's said that this year's prize money will be more generous than in previous years."

He paused, then glanced at Theodore:
"The director will also be present to watch the game."

Theodore showed little reaction to the bonus or the director's presence at the scene.

He thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly:
"it should be OK."

“But it will take time.”

This was expected by Bernie and Billy Hawke.

A professor at George Washington University, along with a dozen students and their own observational data and historical hydrological data provided by the Coast Guard, still hasn't been able to build a complete and accurate model.

Theodore is just one person, and there's no data to speak of, so it's perfectly normal that it takes time.

Bernie automatically ignored "should" and immediately asked Theodore:

What data do you need?

Theodore had absolutely no experience with this kind of thing and said that calculations needed to be done first, and then the required data type needed to be determined.

Bernie fell silent.

This time he noticed the word "should".

He then recalled Billy Hawke's suggestion that players from other departments might intentionally lose, and suddenly felt that the road ahead was difficult.

The Department of Justice building was a bit far from the pier, but fortunately it was Saturday and the roads were relatively clear, so they arrived quickly.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the stench seems to have lingered.

As soon as the car approached the dock, the familiar stench hit us.

Billy Hawke sniffed and almost gagged.

The Coast Guard had already begun operations, and the salvage vessel was sailing straight from northwest to southeast, with an old sailor at the stern gripping the rope with a serious expression.

The major told them that nothing had been found yet.

After the tow hook has been used to tow the area once, divers will be sent into the water to search for any remaining debris.

This is a treatment reserved for serious and major cases.

He told Theodore and his team to investigate first, and that they would be notified immediately if they found anything.

Bernie thanked the major earnestly, and the two embraced again, patting each other's backs loudly.

The three went to the Seventh Precinct to meet with Deputy Superintendent Doherty.

In the deputy commissioner's office, they met with Commissioner Frank Cassidy.

(End of this chapter)