1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 237 'Cherry'

Seventh Precinct, Deputy Superintendent's Office.

Deputy Superintendent Doherty's enthusiasm was as impeccable as ever.
“Agent Hoover, Agent Hawke, Agent Sullivan, perfect timing, Inspector Cassidy is also here to check on the case progress.”

Inspector Frank Cassidy nodded to the three men:

“We were just talking about the three bodies that were recovered. Headquarters is taking this case very seriously.”

Theodore asked Deputy Superintendent Doherty:

"Has the Seventh Precinct had any results from its screening of arrest records?"

Deputy Superintendent Doherty remained unmoved:

“We are conducting a full investigation, but the situation in this industry is rather unique.”

"The arrest records they left were mostly nicknames, all sorts of names, you name it."

"Occasionally, someone leaves their name, but most of them use pseudonyms or make them up at will."

"This has brought great difficulties to our identity verification and cross-comparison work, requiring a lot of manpower to identify each case one by one."

"But we are already facing a shortage of manpower, and..."

Theodore, not wanting to hear any more nonsense, interrupted him and demanded the list of people who currently met the screening criteria.

Deputy Inspector Doherty called his assistant and asked him to go to the archives to retrieve the list.

All eyes turned to him, and the office fell into a brief silence.

The assistant quickly retrieved the list.

The list contains more than forty names or nicknames, each followed by a corresponding arrest record archive number.

Theodore glanced at the long list and suspected that Deputy Inspector Doherty was joking.

He asked Deputy Superintendent Doherty:

How many Black prostitutes are there in the Seventh Precinct's jurisdiction?

Deputy Superintendent Doherty shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

Theodore shook his head as well.

He glanced at Deputy Superintendent Doherty, then at Superintendent Frank Cassidy, and decided not to waste any more time there.

He handed the list to Bernie and ended the conversation.

After leaving the deputy superintendent's office, the three went to the decency unit and found Stan Watson.

Stan Watson behaved like a blatant hypocrite.

He simply greeted Theodore and Billy Hawke, as if to say, "We're not acquainted."

She showed Bernie a great deal of enthusiasm, not only hugging him but also chatting with him about everyday things and inviting him to go out next weekend.

Bernie refused.

He pulled out the list and said that this was only the current screening result from the archives. A thorough investigation of this list alone would take a lot of time.

He simply won't be able to make it to work next weekend.

Stan Watson glanced at the list and asked him in a low voice:

"I heard they pulled three more bodies out of the water yesterday?"

Bernie nodded.

Stan Watson's expression turned serious, and he asked again:

Are they all prostitutes?

Bernie shook his head:
"Not sure yet."

Stan Watson was silent for a few seconds, then reached out, folded the list from Bernie's hand, and stuffed it into Bernie's pocket.
"Don't look at this. It lists almost all the black prostitutes in our area."

He turned around, picked up the phone on the table, and began dialing:
"Wait a minute, let me find out for you."

“I was playing cards with my friends last night, and they mentioned that a prostitute who might fit your criteria has gone missing.”

The call was quickly answered.

Stan Watson got straight to the point:

"Last night at the card table, you mentioned a missing prostitute. What was her name?"

The other party quickly gave a reply:

"It's 'Cherry,' the one who used to work for 'Sweetheart Daddy,' and then she got sick..."

Stan Watson interrupted the other person:

"understood."

He hung up the phone immediately and turned to look at Bernie:

“That prostitute’s name is ‘Cherry.’ It was the name she chose when she first started out, and she’s used it ever since.”

“She used to be ‘Sweet Daddy’s’ daughter. She was very popular for a while and made a lot of money for ‘Sweet Daddy’.”

“‘Sweetheart Daddy’ adores her, buys her lots of nice things, and often takes her out to play.”

"Later, 'Cherry' contracted an X-ray from a customer. 'Sweetheart Daddy' took her to 'Goat' for treatment several times, but they couldn't cure her."

“'Cherry' has spread the disease to the guests again.”

"One of the guests was an important member of a street family on Fifth Street."

“‘Sweet Daddy’ was confronted by someone and had to pay a lot of money.”

“That time, ‘Cherry’ almost got beaten to death by ‘Sweet Daddy’.”

“From then on, in order to earn back the money from the compensation, ‘Sweet Daddy’ started forcing ‘Cherry’ to keep entertaining guests.”

“Until a few months ago, ‘Sweet Daddy’ was kicked out to the southeast of DC, and ‘Cherry’ secretly hid and stayed behind, which is how she got rid of ‘Sweet Daddy’.”

He brought Walter Pritchett over:
“Walter knows where to find someone who knows ‘Cherry,’ and he will take you there.”

After a few days apart, Walter Pritchett reverted to his initial demeanor, acting as if he were complete strangers to them.

Bernie sincerely thanked Stan Watson.

Stan Watson waved his hand and joked:

"I hope you can catch the killer and close the investigation before the next weekend."

"That way you'll have no reason to refuse me!"

Bernie laughed too:
"If next weekend doesn't work, then the weekend after that."

Stan Watson was happy and hugged Bernie.

…………

Guided by Walter Pritchett, the Chevrolet drove north and eventually stopped next to a construction site.

The shops on the ground floor of the buildings surrounding the construction site had their doors and windows wide open, and the interiors had been emptied.

The Commissioner's Committee approved a large number of new buildings, and construction sites were almost everywhere in the southwest of DC.

Walter Pritchett pointed to the three-story building on the street corner ahead:
"Many prostitutes live in this building."

"Their main customers all come from this construction site."

"'Chocolate' lives right here."

Theodore asked him curiously:

Who is 'Chocolate'?

Walter Pritchett hesitated for a moment, then explained in a low voice:

"'Chocolate' and 'Cherry' were both girls under the 'Sweetheart Daddy's' control in the past."

"It is said that the two of them are very close. 'Chocolate' is older than 'Cherry'. When 'Cherry' entered the industry, 'Chocolate' was almost out of business and often failed to complete her daily tasks. She barely survived because 'Cherry' pleaded with 'Sweetheart Daddy' on her behalf."

"Without 'cherry,' she would have died long ago."

Walter Pritchett told them to wait in the car while he got out and walked into the dilapidated building around the corner.

A dozen minutes later, he led a long-haired woman toward them.

The woman wore a purple dress, her figure was gaunt, and her face was heavily made up, but she still couldn't hide the wrinkles and fatigue on her face.

Walter Pritchett pointed to the woman:

“This is ‘chocolate,’ she’s been looking for ‘cherry.’”

He opened the back door of the car:
"Let's talk in the car."

Chocolate hesitated before getting into the back seat, Billy Hawke shifted in, Theodore turned around from the passenger seat, and Bernie turned to the side from the driver's seat.

Walter Pritchett pushed 'Chocolate' and sat down as well.

Bernie turned around, started the car, drove to the next street, and parked in a secluded spot.

It's even more deserted here than next to the construction site; there's not a soul in sight on the streets.

Walter Pritchett gave 'Chocolate' a push, then tried to lean against the car door to create some distance between them.

"They're looking for 'Cherry,' aren't you quite familiar with her?"

He glanced at Billy Hawke on the other side of 'Chocolate' and gestured for her to move away. 'Chocolate' didn't notice Walter Pritchett's gesture; being watched by so many people, mostly police officers, was putting her under a lot of pressure.

'Chocolate' tried to relax:

"Are you police officers? Did you find 'Cherry'?"

Bernie pulled out his badge, indicating that he was an FBI agent and had nothing to do with the Vestiblings Unit.

This made 'Chocolate' relax a little.

Bernie chatted with her for a while before asking about 'Cherry'.

According to 'Chocolate', 'Cherry' had been hiding with her all along, which saved her from being taken to the Southeast District by 'Sweetheart Daddy' and continuing to be exploited.

Therefore, 'Cherry' has always done business at construction sites, and her customers are mostly construction workers, truck drivers, etc., with very low income.

She dared not go to M Street or other old places where she used to solicit business, for fear of being found by 'Sweetheart Daddy's' men.

Two weeks ago, Cherry secretly went to M Street to solicit two orders, but was beaten up by her competitors who tore her clothes to shreds and stole her savings.

To avoid the same fate, 'Cherry' no longer solicited business in a fixed location, but instead wandered around the streets, going wherever business was booming.

This worked very well; Cherry's income increased significantly, and she even invited Chocolate to join her.

'Chocolate' is much bigger than 'Cherry' and is over forty years old.

She tried following 'Cherry' a few times, but not many people contacted her, so she went back to the construction site and continued doing business there.

On May 18th, 'Cherry' went out as usual and never came back.

Theodore had Bernie drive to a newsstand, buy a map, and ask about the neighborhood where 'Cherry' often roamed.

'Chocolate' is marked on the map.

Cherry's area of ​​operation is very large, encompassing almost all the popular red-light districts, including M Street and 7th Street.

Theodore put the map away and then asked 'Cherry' if she had any regular customers or customers recently.

'Chocolate' thought for a moment, then shook its head:

"The group of bitches on M Street forced her to wander around to attract business."

"Only a few people at the construction site like to see her."

Theodore then asked if Cherry's income had suddenly increased recently, or if she had any thoughts of moving or leaving.

'Chocolate' hesitated for a moment, then shook its head to indicate that it did not know.

Bernie asked about Cherry's outfit that day.

'Chocolate' tugged at her dress:

"She was wearing a purple dress, the same one as mine."

“This was bought for her by ‘Sweet Daddy’ before.”

“She begged ‘Sweet Daddy’ to buy her two, and the other one was for me.”

"There's another ominous sign: a pair of stockings, mine, that's a bit ripped, there's a tear here."

She lifted her dress and pointed to the area around her upper thigh.

Theodore glanced at it:
Are all your dresses the same size?

'Chocolate' nodded.

Theodore reached into his pocket, pulled out a paper bag, and handed it over:
"Madam, we need your dress."

Bernie glanced at Theodore and quickly added:

"We'll buy you another one."

After hesitating for a moment, 'Chocolate' started to bargain:

"I need to buy clothes first."

"I want one, the one the First Lady wears."

Theodore reminded her:

"The First Lady has many outfits, and her clothes are custom-made by a tailor."

"Your dress is worth no more than ten dollars, while the First Lady's outfit is worth at least a hundred dollars."

Walter Pritchett, standing to the side, gave a cold laugh and turned to ask 'Chocolate':
"what do you want?"

He pulled out a pair of handcuffs: "Do you want to spend a few days in the detention room?"

'Chocolate' was somewhat unwilling to give up and insisted:

"This is what 'Cherry' left for me."

Walter Pritchett remained silent, only sneered, looking as if he could take her away at any moment.

Bernie asked her:

Do you have any other clothes?

'Chocolate' looked at him warily:
"Yes, do you want to back out?"

Bernie shook his head, pointed to the paper bag in her hand, then felt in his pocket and pulled out five dollars:

“We’ll take you back. Change into other clothes and put this dress in this paper bag.”

"I'll buy your dress for five dollars."

'Chocolate' stared greedily at the five dollars in Bernie's hand for a moment, then emphasized:

"This is the last item 'Cherry' left me."

Bernie took the money back and looked at Walter Pritchett:

"Either five dollars, or Officer Pritchett will take you back to the station."

Walter Pritchett reached out and grabbed 'Chocolate's' wrist, preparing to handcuff her.

Chocolate quickly hid behind Billy Hawke, still shouting that it was left for her by Cherry.

When Walter Pritchett handcuffed one of her hands, 'Chocolate' was terrified and immediately changed her tune, readily agreeing.

Theodore pulled out several photos of the first victim and handed them to 'Chocolate,' asking her:

Is this a 'cherry'?

The first victim was a giant, and the body was severely decomposed.

'Chocolate' only glanced at it before immediately turning its head away and making a gagging sound.

Walter Pritchett was startled and quickly opened the car door and jumped out, fearing that the 'chocolate' would be thrown up on him.

'Chocolate' was vomiting violently, and Walter Pritchett, fearing she would throw up in the car, pulled her out.

'Chocolate' leaned against the wall, and her dry heaving gradually subsided.

She wiped her eyes, picked up the photos and looked through them, quickly stopping at the close-up of the face of the first victim.

She stared at the swollen photo for a while, confirming that the deceased was indeed 'Cherry'.

Bernie asked her:

"How did you tell?"

'Chocolate' refers to the deceased's eyes and lips:
"Her cosmetics were all taken by those bitches on M Street; she's always been using mine."

Theodore was skeptical:
"What are you using...?"

He glanced at the photo: "Lipstick and...eyeshadow?"

Walter Pritchett answered for 'Chocolate':
"They usually buy from that store on the corner of 7th Street, where the cosmetics are all counterfeit products that imitate big brands, and they're cheap."

'Chocolate' nodded, confirming Walter Pritchett's statement:

"I used Revlon's Ice & Fire line, and Revlon's deep blue eyeshadow."

She leaned forward further, showing off her eyelids and lips.

Bernie and Theodore asked a few more questions about 'cherries', but 'chocolate' couldn't give them satisfactory answers.

Although she lived with 'Cherry', she didn't know much about 'Cherry's' specific situation.

They are inexpensive, and often work all day but still can't earn enough to cover their daily expenses. When they get back to their lodgings, they almost always fall asleep and rarely interact with each other.

Especially 'Cherry', she had to travel around to attract customers, and she was always exhausted when she returned.

After finishing their questioning, they took 'Chocolate' back to the three-story building and waited downstairs for a while while 'Chocolate' changed her clothes.

She first opened the paper bag to show everyone the purple dress inside, then held out her hand to ask for money.

Bernie handed over the money, took the paper bag, and the transaction was complete.

After leaving the construction site, Walter Pritchett took them to find several more prostitutes from the same batch as Cherry, who worked for 'Sweet Daddy,' for identification.

After escaping "Sweet Daddy", "Cherry" did not contact them, and these people were unaware of "Cherry's" current situation.

However, they did recognize 'Cherry's' purple dress and her short black hair.

As noon approached, after visiting the last 'prostitute', they were basically able to confirm that the first victim was 'Cherry'.

(End of this chapter)