1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 250 White Version of 'Cherry'

Besides rigging assembler Calvin Thorpe, the list also includes a deck assembler, a crane repairman, a welder, and a boiler repairman.

After comparing the proximity of the five suspects' registered addresses, Theodore chose to go to Calvin Thorpe's house first.

Calvin Thorpe's registered address is in a workers' community upstream of the shipyard.

His house is next to the community. It is a bit old and the lawn is neglected, looking like a wasteland.

Two bare tire tracks marked the edge of the wasteland, where the large, dark blue station wagon registered to Calvin Thorpe was parked.

Bernie parked the car on the side of the road and pointed to the dark house:

"The lights are off inside, he's probably not home."

Billy Hawke points to the pickup truck on the lawn:

"The car is still here, where could he have gone?"

Bernie looked outside and guessed, "Maybe they went to the neighbor's?"

He asked Theodore, "What do we do now? Should we wait a bit longer, or go to the boiler repairman's house first?"

“His house isn’t far from here, just two more blocks ahead.”

Theodore thought for a moment, then pointed ahead:
"Let's go to John Doe's house first."

The boiler repairman's name was John Doe.

John Doe has worked in the shipyard for 25 years. He is highly skilled and one of the few master craftsmen in the shipyard who can handle the most complex boiler problems.

Last month, the shipyard conducted an efficiency assessment and determined that he was too old, his performance had recently declined, and he was "unable to cooperate with the team," ultimately deciding to dismiss him.

The two people being questioned were his colleagues, who were also boiler repairmen.

Colleagues knew little about John Doe, even less than the files provided by the union.

They didn't even know where John Doe lived.

To his colleagues, John Doe was a “silent, somewhat gloomy oddball.” He didn’t attend their parties, never went to bars with them after get off work, refused all invitations to rest days, and never greeted his colleagues who were fishing on the Potomac River on weekends.

His relationships with his colleagues were limited to work-related contact.

Everyone agreed that he had no friends.

The Chevrolet drove out of the working-class neighborhood, went two blocks, entered a middle-class neighborhood, and finally stopped behind a red Ford pickup truck.

The vehicle registered in John Doe's name is a red Ford pickup truck.

By the light from inside the house, one could vaguely see that the pickup truck bed was completely covered with a waterproof tarpaulin, and two ropes were neatly tied in both directions to secure the contents inside.

Theodore and his companions had just gotten out of the car and were about to take a closer look at the pickup truck when the door opened, and a middle-aged man with short, dark brown hair stood in the doorway, shouting at them:

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Bernie stepped forward to negotiate, showed his identification, and verified his identity with the middle-aged man:
"Are you John Doe?"

John Doe glanced warily at the three men and nodded.

Eiffel Tower took the ID and examined it closely under the light, repeatedly comparing Bernie with the photo on the ID before finally hesitatingly returning the ID to Bernie.

He still didn't move aside, nor did he show any intention of inviting anyone in; he just stood silently blocking the doorway.

Bernie pointed into the house and asked if he could come in and talk.

John Doe was reluctant, but couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

He stood there hesitating for a few seconds, but finally stepped aside.

Theodore and his two companions sat down on the sofa.

John Doe walked to the sofa, hesitated for a moment, sat down on the other side, and called upstairs:
"We have guests!"

His voice wasn't loud, about the same as a normal speaking voice.

A few seconds passed, but there was no sound from upstairs.

John Doe was both embarrassed and annoyed.

He raised his voice and shouted again.

A few more seconds passed, and John Doe's wife, Maggie Doe, came downstairs, glanced at the sofa, went into the kitchen, and brought out four glasses of water. John Doe's expression softened, he picked up a glass, took a sip, and then instructed his wife:
"Bring out the cake you baked to serve the guests."

He turned to Bernie and the others and explained:
"Her cakes are delicious."

Bernie exchanged polite pleasantries, and then a plate of cake was brought out.

Maggie Doe put down the plate and turned to go back upstairs, but John Doe stopped her.

John Doe gripped his wife's wrist, his face grim.

After a moment of eye contact, Maggie Doe abandoned her plan to go back upstairs and sat down next to her husband.

After she sat down, she moved to the side and tried to pull her hand back, but she couldn't.

To avoid embarrassing herself in front of the guests, she had no choice but to let her husband hold her.

John Doe's expression softened as he introduced the two sides:
“This is Maggie, my wife.”

"This is FBI Agent Bernie Sullivan, this is..."

He also wanted to introduce Theodore and Billy Hawke, but didn't know their names.

Bernie kindly helped:
"These are my partners, Agent Theodore Dixon Hoover and Agent Billy Hawke."

John Doe lowered his arm and made an almost imperceptible "Oh".

Billy Hawke and Bernie briefly looked away from Maggie Doe and joined John Doe's wife, Maggie Doe, in watching him.

He felt a little embarrassed, shifted his position, took a sip of water, and then asked Bernie:
"What do you want to ask?"

Bernie couldn't help but glance at Maggie Doe again before asking John Doe:

Is that Ford pickup truck outside yours?

Maggie Doe sports the same short hairstyle as the First Lady.

She was not tall, estimated to be only about 5 feet 3 inches (about 160 centimeters), with a plump figure, full in the front and perky in the back.

Based on Bernie's experience... well.

Most importantly, she has a familiar look that gives people a sense of déjà vu.

Bernie felt like he was looking at a blank version of 'Cherry'.

John Doe glanced outside and nodded:
"its mine."

Bernie asked again:

What's in the back of the truck?

John Doe hesitated for a moment, then squeezed his wife's hand:

What's wrong with my skiff?

Theodore suddenly interrupted, asking the Doe couple:

Don't you have children?

All four of them turned to look at him.

John Doe remained silent, simply continuing to hold his wife's hand tightly.

A brief silence fell over the living room.

Maggie Doe glanced at her husband and replied:
"We don't plan to have children for the time being."

She offered an explanation:
“He is currently unemployed and relies on my income from working at the department store to make a living.”

"Department stores do not hire pregnant women; they will be fired if they become pregnant."

"Losing income, we..."

John Doe interrupted his wife loudly:

"We don't like children, and we don't want children!"

Maggie Doe glanced at him, shook her head, and clarified:
"It's him who doesn't want it, not me."

(End of this chapter)