1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 251 The murderer has been found!
Theodore pressed further:
"Then why haven't you had children?"

He pointed to John Doe:
"Before he loses his job."

Maggie Doe glanced at her husband, shook her head, and did not answer.

John Doe gripped his wife's hand tightly, and seeing her action, his face darkened further.

Bernie changed the subject, asking John Doe:

"I heard your annual salary is over ten thousand?"

John Doe shifted his position, his tone softening:

"almost."

"That depends on whether the shipyard can get big orders."

"Sometimes there are always ships that need maintenance, especially naval ships, which are very expensive and come in large numbers."

"Once we get an order from the Navy, we often have to work for several months straight."

"A single naval order can raise your annual salary to seven or eight thousand, and with a few smaller orders, you can earn over ten thousand."

This was the first time John Doe had ever spoken so much in one go.

Bernie, curious, pressed on with the question:
What does boiler maintenance mainly involve?

John Doe organized his thoughts and straightened his back:
"The main thing is... to make sure they don't explode."

"The boiler is like a giant air pocket, with high pressure and high temperature inside. Our job is to keep an eye on it, inside and out."

"First you have to put out the fire and let it cool down, but usually you can't wait for it to cool down completely before you have to go in. It may feel cool from the outside, but it's still hot to the touch inside."

"When you go in, you have to check the furnace first to see if it is deformed or cracked."

"Usually, you tap it with a small hammer and listen to the sound. If it's muffled, it's not right. It might be that the scale is too thick or that it's corroded through. It needs to be cleaned. Some places need to be patched, and in severe cases, the whole pipe needs to be replaced."

"There are also the riveting seams and welds. We have to look at them carefully with a light to see if any fine lines are showing. We have to check everything. We can't miss a single one."

"Sometimes the cracks are very fine, just like a hair, and you can't see them at all unless you look closely."

He gestured with his hand, making a very thin gesture:
"If even a little steam leaks out, it can gnaw through the steel plate next to it over time."

"Then there are the valves, pressure gauges, safety valves... each one has to be taken apart and carefully inspected to see if it works properly."

"After checking the inside, we have to check the outside. Is the insulation layer damaged? Is the outer shell rusted through?"

John Doe became incredibly talkative about his work, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

He spoke for several minutes, and finally concluded:

"A boiler is not a big teapot, nor is it like a car engine, where if it breaks down, it just means the car can't move."

"It's like a high-pressure bomb placed inside the ship's hull. If something goes wrong with it, the best outcome would be if the ship couldn't move."

"Therefore, boiler maintenance is not a job that just anyone can do."

He spoke with a hint of pride.

Theodore asked him:
"Have you never encountered an accident in all these years of working?"

John Doe was tense.

He looked up at Theodore, his eyes meeting Theodore's, before quickly looking away.

He shook his head:
"No."

"I've been working in boiler repair for 25 years. For the first few years, I was just learning and observing; they wouldn't let me do it myself at all."

"Later, when the fighting broke out, the shipyard needed a lot of manpower, and that's when I had the opportunity to get involved."

"There are several apprentices with me, and they have all encountered problems, big and small, especially cracks. Those things are so subtle that they can be easily missed if you're not paying attention."

"But I've never had a problem."

He paused, then continued:

"However, one of my apprentices had an accident while he was repairing a boiler."

Theodore then asked:
"When?"

John Doe paused for a moment:

"Two years ago, on April 23, 1959."

Theodore waited a while, and when John Doe didn't continue, he pressed for an answer:
"What exactly happened?"

John Doe did not answer.

He looked at Theodore, somewhat excited:
Are you here to investigate that accident?

"According to the rules, Danny Brown has been studying with me for six months!"

"His apprenticeship is over, and he can now perform maintenance work on his own."

“I reminded him that the ship had only been docked for less than half an hour, and the boiler temperature was too high, so it might not be possible to start maintenance yet, and we would have to wait a little longer.”

"He just wouldn't listen to advice!"

Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance.

Bernie pressed his hands down:

"We're just here to get some information; we haven't decided whether to launch an investigation yet."

"what is going on?"

John Doe did not relax despite Bernie's words of comfort; he remained tense, staring at Bernie as he organized his thoughts.

Theodore's gaze shifted to Maggie Doe:
Who is Danny Brown?

Maggie Doe glanced at her husband:
"One of his apprentices."

She recalled:
"He's a great lad."

"They come to our house often."

“Later I heard it was something like steam…” John Doe interrupted his wife:

“Danny Brown was one of my apprentices. That day, a cargo ship from New York came to the factory for maintenance.”

That day marked exactly six months since Danny Brown began studying with John Doe.

According to the shipyard's regulations, Danny Brown was ready to complete maintenance work independently.

Danny Brown was thrilled and begged John Doe to let him inspect the cargo ship.

According to John Doe's account, after they entered the boiler room, Danny Brown asked John Doe to stand aside while he did the work himself.

This complies with the shipyard's regulations.

After an apprentice has completed six months of training, they cannot immediately become completely independent and break away from their master. Initially, the master still needs to supervise and correct their mistakes to ensure that no accidents occur.

But Danny Brown was too excited that day and only gave the instruments a cursory check, completely unaware that the pressure gauge was faulty.

John Doe tried to warn him, but it was too late.

With a 'whoosh' sound, high-temperature steam instantly enveloped the entire boiler room, followed by Danny Brown's scream.

After John Doe ran out of the boiler room, he tried to pull Danny Brown away, but as soon as he reached out, his arm was burned.

He had no choice but to leave and call for help.

Danny Brown was taken to the hospital and died that night.

John Doe lowered his head and gripped his wife's hand tightly:

"Both the shipyard and the union investigated the accident and quickly reached a conclusion."

"They all agreed that this was just an accident caused by his own negligence, and I am not responsible for the accident."

Theodore picked up the conversation:
“But you still feel guilty about Danny Brown’s death, and you think it’s your fault.”

John Doe nodded, his voice low:
“I often think that if I had been more patient, more careful, and less hasty in letting him do the repairs independently, maybe he wouldn’t have died.”

Theodore neither confirmed nor denied this.

He stared at John Doe for a moment, then changed the subject and brought up John Doe's job again.

He asked John Doe why, given his excellent skills, he had been fired from the shipyard and why he hadn't been able to find work for so long afterward.

John Doe paused for a moment, his sadness and self-reproach quickly replaced by humiliation and anger:

"Fired? Who told you I was fired? Did those bastards at the shipyard tell you that?"

He raised his voice:
"It's layoffs!"

“After Marina Company came, they talked about costs in everything and complained that we old guys were paid too much! They wanted to hire cheaper, more obedient young people!”

"As for why I haven't found a job... do you think a boiler operator like me can easily find work?"

"How many shipyards on the entire East Coast can repair naval-grade high-pressure boilers?"

“They know my worth, but Marina’s gang, they only know the numbers on the reports!”

Theodore asked him:
"So, it's all the shipyard's problem, and has nothing to do with you?"

John Doe paused for a few seconds:

"They made up an excuse, saying I was unwilling to mentor new apprentices and that I couldn't keep up with teamwork!"

"Have I trained enough apprentices already?"

"After that accident, I just needed time!"

"But they won't even give them that much time!"

"They simply don't understand that boiler maintenance isn't like teaching children to build with blocks; a single oversight can kill someone!"

"What's wrong with me being strict? Do you expect me to send another child to the hospital?"

Theodore suddenly realized:
"So, your refusal to take on new apprentices is the main reason they want you to leave?"

John Doe corrects Theodore:
"This isn't a rejection! This is taking responsibility!"

After a brief eye contact with Theodore, he looked away again.

"What do you office workers know?"

"There is no second chance inside the boiler room!"

"A single misread number, a valve turned upside down, and the price can be a life!"

"They want the kind of idiot who just nods and does anything, not a seasoned veteran like me who knows when to say no!"

Theodore stared at John Doe for a moment, then changed the subject again.

He reminded the Doe couple that John Doe had worked in the shipyard for many years and should have some savings, so perhaps they should have a child now.

Maggie Doe glanced at her husband and pulled her arm away from his grasp.

John Doe released his grip and rubbed his hands together on his knees.

He shifted his position, creating some distance between himself and his wife, and stammered something about 'I don't like children' or 'I don't want them for now,' which drew frequent glances from Maggie Doe.

His face began to flush red, and his voice grew louder and louder, tinged with embarrassment and anger:
"This is none of your business!"

"Didn't you come here to find out about that accident?"

"That's all I know! You can go to the shipyard and find the union and their investigation report for the rest!"

He wanted to ask the three FBI agents to leave, but hesitated and couldn't bring himself to say it.

Theodore nodded, checked the time, and then took his leave.

Back in the car, Bernie asked Theodore:

"Where to next? Should we go back and check on Calvin Thorpe first?"

Theodore shook his head and pointed to the house with the lights on:
"The murderer has been found."

(End of this chapter)