1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 249 The Abandoned Master
Theodore approved Richard Dick Vaughn's proposal:
"I need a bigger place."

"That meeting room from yesterday, or that office upstairs, would be perfect."

He picked up the list from the table and handed it to Richard Dick Vaughn:
"Please arrange for the people on the list to be interviewed."

"If they have already left the company or are temporarily unable to come, we can also arrange for a few workers to work with them."

What's the difference between that and sending Bernie Sullivan to the dock?
Who knows what kind of story the worker who was questioned might exaggerate when he gets back.

Thinking this, the assistant turned to look at Richard Dick Vaughn and then sighed silently.

It seems even Mr. Vaughn couldn't resist Agent Hoover's sincerity!

The assistant reminded himself that he should deal with Agent Hoover as little as possible in the future. If it was unavoidable, he should just act as a mouthpiece and make sure that Agent Hoover did not notice him and then ask him questions sincerely.

Old Tom, who had already walked out the door, stopped and turned around, bursting into laughter.

He suddenly realized that the FBI agent wasn't so bad after all.

Richard Dick Vaughn seemed not to hear old Tom's laughter. After a few seconds of silence, he quickly composed himself and took the list.

He quickly scanned the list, then asked Theodore:

"How many people do you need?"

Theodore points to the list:
"If you can still find the person in question, bring them directly. If the person has already left the company or is unable to appear for other reasons, find two or three workers who worked with them."

“I need to understand the daily performance of these people on the list.”

Richard Dick Vaughn had no objection to this.

He stopped the assistant who was about to go out to make arrangements and reminded Theodore:
"It is best to sign a confidentiality agreement with the workers before questioning them, requiring them to keep the contents of the case investigation strictly confidential."

"Otherwise, by tomorrow morning, everyone in Alexandria will know what you were talking about."

He pointed to Theodore's file folder:

Are there any blank non-disclosure agreements left?

"My assistant can take it to make copies."

The union representative glanced hesitantly at Richard Dick Vaughn.

He felt it necessary to speak up and express the union's position.

But he was also somewhat afraid of Richard Dick Vaughn and didn't dare to confront him directly.

But if you don't speak up at this point, it's tantamount to admitting it.

No matter what demands the FBI made to the shipyard, the union tacitly agreed and accepted them all.

While hesitating, he heard Richard Dick Vaughn say again:
"I remember this is an old FBI tradition, to ensure that there are no leaks that could complicate the investigation, right?"

"Especially now that the murderer has been confirmed to be one of the workers, it's easy to hear the news."

“I think this is very necessary. What do you think, Agent Hoover?”

Theodore looked at Richard Dick Vaughn and agreed that what he said made a lot of sense.

He nodded, opened the file package, and took out several blank confidentiality agreements.

The assistant quickly took it and left.

The union representative opened his mouth, then closed it again, his emotions a jumble of complex emotions.

He even felt a faint sense of relief.

I wanted to speak out too, but the FBI made their decisions so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to speak!

Richard Dick Vaughn glanced at the time, looking apologetic:
"I still have work to do. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"If you need anything, you can ask my assistant. Just like before, I'll have him accompany you."

He repeated what he had said before:
"The shipyard will provide as much assistance as possible and cooperate with your investigation."

"If possible, I hope to keep a low profile as much as possible."

Richard Dick Vaughn concluded with his greetings:
"Give my regards to your uncle."

"And then there's Alex (Rosen's supervisor), who hasn't played a single game of ours for a month."

He nodded to Theodore, then turned and left.

The union representative was truly relieved this time.

Theodore, holding the file of a worker named Calvin Thorpe, pointed to the '/' in the reason for disciplinary action section and asked the union representative:

What does this mean?

Calvin Thorpe is the only 'survivor' on the disciplinary list.

The union representative didn't want to answer even a syllable, but remembering old Tom's parting words, he could only reluctantly explain:
"Calvin used to be the foreman of the rigging assembly team."

Theodore stated that he knew these things:
"He's just a regular assembler now, so why was he demoted from team leader to a regular assembler?"

The union representative pointed to the ground:
“Calvin has worked at this shipyard for over thirty years, and he’s the best assembler I’ve ever seen.”

"But last year the shipyard introduced new equipment, which is useless except for being fast. It just turns ropes into a ball and twists them together haphazardly."

"Parts often scatter all over the ground when they are being hoisted halfway because the ropes come loose."

"Calvin looked down on that piece of junk, refused to learn how to operate it, and insisted on opposing its presence in his work group, so the shipyard found an opportunity to demote him."

Theodore asked the union representative:

"So, in the 'reason for punishment' column, the '/' represents this?"

The union representative shook his head:
“Most of the reasons for the punishment are written down, but in cases like Calvin’s, everyone knows that the stated reasons for the punishment are just excuses that the shipyard randomly comes up with to deal with the person.”

"The union does not believe Calvin made any mistakes, nor does it agree with the punishment he received, so it marks it with a '/'."

Theodore understood:

"So all '/' are disciplinary actions that the union doesn't approve of?"

The union representative did not deny it.

Billy Hawke leaned closer and asked curiously:
"So who is the current team leader?"

"I mean the person who will replace Calvin Thorpe."

The union representative looked disdainful:

"That guy can't even tie his shoelaces. All he does all day is push his pile of junk around like a boar, rooting and squealing."

“Back when Calvin was still a team leader, he studied under Calvin for a long time.”

"Calvin was a kind-hearted man who was willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn, and he never held back his knowledge."

"Now that Calvin has been demoted, he spends all his time..."

He suddenly realized that the three people in front of him were not his colleagues, but FBI agents, and immediately shut his mouth.

Billy Hawke pressed further:

What's wrong with him all day?

"Bullying Calvin Thorpe?"

"Should we reassign him to a group with colleagues he doesn't get along with?"

"Deduct his salary?"

"Deliberately assigning him dangerous work?" Bernie glanced at Billy Hawke, then turned to Theodore.

He suspected he had misheard; such words should usually come from Theodore's mouth.

The union representative stared wide-eyed at Billy Hawke.

Billy Hawke mimicked Theodore's gesture by shrugging:
“My family is in Cleveland, and I’ve heard about these things since I was a child.”

The union representative suddenly realized what was happening, but remained silent in response to Billy Hawke's questions.

Theodore packed up Calvin Thorpe's file and set it aside.

Mr. Calvin Thorpe has many similarities to his profile of the killer and is a high-priority suspect.

Bernie checked the time and confirmed with Theodore and Billy Hawke:
"The team members are confirmed: Agent Lombardi, Agent Bourne, Agent Cronin, and the three of us, right?"

"If I'm sure, I'll call them."

"We probably won't be able to get back before we leave work today."

Theodore had absolutely no objections.

Billy Hawke nodded in agreement and reminded Theodore:
"Boss, I think you should find some time to sit down and have a good talk with Agent Cronin to get that data model out."

Bernie borrowed a phone from a union representative, first contacted three other team members from different departments to get a final confirmation, and then asked them to help submit the list at headquarters.

Before ending the call, Bernie repeatedly reminded him to make sure the team names were clearly marked so as not to get them wrong.

More than an hour later, Richard Dick Vaughn's assistant rushed over:

“Mr. Vaughn has already helped contact the workers, and the confidentiality agreement has been copied and is on the desk in his office.”

"In addition to the conference room and the offices upstairs, another conference room has also been prepared."

He explained to the three of them:

“Mr. Vaughn discovered a problem when contacting the workers: even if each worker only needed to be interviewed for five minutes, it would still take five hours to finish.”

Five hours later, it was already past 11 p.m.

The assistant glanced at the union representative:
“The workers can’t wait until then; the union will definitely intervene, and things will get really bad.”

The union representative feared Richard Dick Vaughn, but not his sycophants, and immediately retorted:

"If the workers' rights are not being violated, why should we oppose it?"

He turned to Theodore and the others, taking the opportunity to say what he hadn't said before:
"We can talk, but we will send a representative and a lawyer to listen in to ensure you don't try anything funny."

“If the lawyers believe that your questions infringe upon the rights of the workers, we have the right to end the questioning at any time.”

Theodore thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Bernie added:
"Your lawyers also need to sign confidentiality agreements."

The union representative picked up the phone, dialed the union lawyer's number, and arranged to meet in front of the administration building.

Theodore kindly reminded him:

"You need three lawyers."

The union representative ran out to look through the phone book, then ran back to continue making calls.

There was a telephone outside, but he remembered Old Tom's instructions and dared not let these people out of his sight for too long.

The assistant maintained a polite smile and did not speak while the union representative was shouting into the phone.

After the union representative had contacted three lawyers, the assistant finally spoke:
"Unions sometimes overprotect workers, always..."

Theodore, having no interest in the shipyard's internal power struggles, interrupted him directly, asking:

"When does it begin?"

The assistant immediately dropped the topic she was talking about and answered:

“The workers will get off work at six o’clock sharp, but after get off work they need to go to the bathhouse to wash themselves and change into clean clothes before they can be questioned.”

“Mr. Vaughn has already taken this into account; those who don’t need to shower or change clothes are arranged to be at the front.”

"I should be able to get to the administration building around 6:10."

Bernie asked the union representative:
Where is your lawyer?

The union representative pointed outside:
“They live near the shipyard, not far from here, and we’ll be there soon.”

…………

The conversation ended just after 7 p.m.

Theodore and his team primarily sought information from the workers about the daily performance of those on the list.

For example, whether they are introverted, rarely participate in discussions with colleagues, are not very sociable, and do not participate in parties and gatherings, and so on.

Based on the information provided by these workers, the list of suspects was reduced from over thirty to five.

Calvin Thorpe remains on the list.

He didn't come to work today; apparently, he's sick.

His colleagues in the same group told Theodore that they were all incredulous when Calvin Thorpe was first demoted.

That afternoon, a few of them who were on good terms with Calvin Thorpe were preparing to teach the young man who had replaced Calvin Thorpe as the group leader a lesson, but Calvin Thorpe stopped them.

Calvin Thorpe sought help from the union, which responded quickly and communicated with the shipyard regarding Thorpe's demotion.

The communication quickly yielded results.

The shipyard was also unwilling to lose an experienced veteran like Calvin Thorpe. They offered him a deal: if Calvin Thorpe was willing to learn how to operate the new equipment, he would be transferred to Dock No. 2 to continue serving as the foreman of the rigging assembly team once he had mastered it.

It is said that this proposal was put forward by the new rigging assembly team leader who succeeded Calvin Thorpe.

Calvin Thorpe rejected the proposal without hesitation.

He also excitedly stated that using that kind of junk would inevitably lead to serious trouble sooner or later.

He also plans to call on other assemblers to boycott the new equipment.

Calvin Thorpe was highly respected and influential among the assemblers.

Many people in the shipyard learned their skills from him.

However, few people responded to him this time.

Some refused outright, some gave evasive answers, and some simply avoided meeting them altogether.

Calvin Thorpe soon learned from a friend that the new rigging assembly team leader had spoken with them beforehand.

This was unacceptable to Calvin Thorpe.

From then on, he became withdrawn, rarely spoke to his colleagues, and stopped going to bars with his friends after get off work to relax. On his days off, he preferred to stay at home rather than go out with his friends.

Several of his friends once organized a party and invited Calvin Thorpe to attend, in an attempt to help him get back to his former self.

But Calvin Thorpe refused outright.

After this happened several times, his friends gradually stopped associating with him.

Theodore inquired about Calvin Thorpe's family situation and learned that his wife was preparing to divorce him because she could no longer tolerate his gloom and stubbornness.

But the workers Theodore questioned insisted that Calvin Thorpe's wife left him because his income had shrunk.

(End of this chapter)