1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 272 Outrageous Autopsy Report

The mornings in Gusong Town are a bit chilly.

The mountains were shrouded in thick fog, creating a beautiful scene.

Theodore didn't sleep well.

Mosquitoes are rampant in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

He was certain that in just one night, he had been stabbed at least a dozen times.

Before they sting, they circle around their target like a bomber, making a high-pitched buzzing sound.

This sound is very loud.

The areas where they bite will quickly become red, swollen, and itchy, making them unbearable.

Theodore nearly scratched his arm raw, but the itch showed no sign of abating.

If Theodore hadn't been so tired later, he could have kept grabbing the ball until dawn.

Annoying mosquitoes are just one of the factors that affect sleep.

The mountain wind blowing through the treetops produces a sharp whistling sound.

Several unidentified night birds made strange noises all night long, as if they were putting on a concert.

The tavern's old wooden floors and walls creaked as the temperature dropped.

These things became exceptionally clear in the quiet night of Lone Pine Town.

There are also unknown insects crawling out from under the bed, unseen insect corpses in the corner, and unknown spiders that have just spun a new web on their heads... These little creatures become especially active at night.

Theodore is not an entomologist and cannot confirm whether the insects are harmless.

After Sheriff Hawkins' explanation last night, he became very wary of these strange insects, constantly worried that one might crawl onto his bed and bite him while he was asleep.

Martin Joseph Cronin and Bernie also didn't sleep well.

Billy Hawke, however, acted as if nothing had happened.

Martin Joseph Cronin told everyone that Billy Hawke went from lying down to falling asleep in less than five minutes last night.

He even suspected that Billy Hawke could sleep soundly even if he were thrown into a shooting range.

Breakfast was eaten at a pub.

Anne served them oatmeal porridge and pancakes made with milk from some unknown animal, along with smoked venison and a large pot of black coffee.

After breakfast, the four drove to the police station, where Chief Hawkins was sitting behind his desk, eating a thick, mushy breakfast.

Upon seeing Theodore and his group arrive, Sheriff Hawkins quickly finished his breakfast, gulped down a large mouthful of coffee, and greeted them with a smile.

Good morning, gentlemen. Did you sleep well last night?

Billy Hawke and Bernie nodded with satisfaction.

Martin Joseph Cronin pointed to his dark circles, offering a silent response.

Theodore rolled up his sleeves to show him the results of last night's work.

Sheriff Hawkins went around to the back of the police station, picked a few green and reddish plant stems, and distributed them to everyone:

"The mosquitoes in the mountains are very fierce, much fiercer than those in your big cities."

"Applying the juice of this to the sting site can provide some relief."

"That's how lumberjacks used to do it; everyone in town knows it."

Theodore took the stem with some skepticism, squeezed it hard, and squeezed out a clear, viscous juice, which he then applied evenly to the red and swollen area.

Soon a cool sensation came over me, the itching gradually subsided, and even the redness and swelling seemed to have subsided considerably.

Sheriff Hawkins asked them:

"Shall we go visit the Cartwrights?"

He was about to go back inside to get the key.

Theodore stopped him:
"Is there an autopsy report?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded, opened the cabinet, took out a file folder, and handed it to Theodore:
"All the information is in here."

The file folder was bulging, stuffed with quite a few things.

Sheriff Hawkins must have looked through it frequently; the file folder was worn and frayed, and the material had become soft and flabby.

The bag had the names of the Cartwright family of three written on it, and at the bottom there was a brown stain, probably from accidentally spilled coffee.

Sheriff Hawkins introduced the group to the crowd:

"The autopsy was performed by the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office medical examiner, and these reports were also issued by the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office medical examiner's office."

The autopsy report was very basic, only a few pages long.

The above is a brief description of the corpse's appearance and wounds.

According to the report, the Cartwrights were found dead in their own dining table chairs, their hands tied behind their backs, slumped over the table.

The fatal wound was a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

The report was accompanied by only one full-body photo of the body lying on the autopsy table, and two close-up photos.

One photo shows the wrist, and even in black and white, it's clear that there are obvious signs of binding; the deceased's wrist was so tightly bound that the skin and flesh were rolled up.

The other picture shows the back of the head, which has obvious defects, a large, dark mass.

However, the specific details are not clear.

Billy Cartwright's autopsy report differed slightly.

The autopsy report showed that Billy Cartwright was found dead on the dining table, in a supine position.

Billy Cartwright had obvious strangulation marks on his neck, and his skin was punctured in several places, including the back of his neck and throat.

Forensic pathologists performed an autopsy on Billy Cartwright's neck and found obvious signs of fracture.

For some reason, there are several more photos of Billy Cartale than of her parents.

In addition to the full-body photo of him lying on the dissection table, there are several photos of his neck from different angles, as well as close-up, magnified photos of the pinch marks.

The report was so simple it was almost rudimentary, with little information to offer. Theodore quickly finished reading it and distributed it to Bernie and the others.

Sheriff Hawkins asked Theodore with a serious expression:

"Do you see anything?"

Theodore thought for a moment and placed the photo of Billy Cartwright's neck on the table:
"The murderer was an adult with large hands."

He pointed to the pinch marks in the photo and gestured:
"The killer needed to use both hands together to strangle the victim, number 3, to death."

Sheriff Hawkins looked at him with a puzzled expression:
"The third victim?"

Theodore nodded, looked around, picked up Sheriff Hawkins' coffee cup, gripped it tightly with both hands, and squeezed it shut:

"The murderer's hands are very large. Judging from the photos, when the murderer's two hands are put together, they are much thicker than the neck of victim number 3."

"He had to keep clenching his fist, causing his fingers to become misaligned and overlapping, in order to tighten his palm and compress the neck of the third victim."

He put the coffee cup back on the table and pointed to the fingernail marks in the photo:

"Therefore, the killer left an inward scratch on the neck of victim number 3, rather than an outward scratch."

Sheriff Hawkins looked at the photo, then at Theodore's hands, and nodded as if he understood.

He understood Theodore's meaning, but didn't know what it meant:
“Little Billy was only 11 years old at the time, and any adult’s palm would be big enough for him.”

Theodore neither confirmed nor denied this.

He asked Sheriff Hawkins:
"Were there any signs of sexual assault on the three victims?"

Sheriff Hawkins looked at him in surprise, then shook his head after realizing what he meant.
“No! How could that be!” Theodore looked at him and asked:

"Are you sure it's not there, or do you think it's not there?"

Sheriff Hawkins' voice rose slightly:
"This is impossible!"

"Eleanor is tied up..."

Theodore points to a photo of Billy Cartwright:

"I'm referring to victim number 3."

Sheriff Hawkins looked at Billy Cartwright's photo, then at Theodore, and shook his head repeatedly, indicating that it was absolutely impossible.

Theodore paused for a moment, then asked:

Who was the first to arrive at the crime scene?

Sheriff Hawkins's expression was still not good:
“Neighbor, John’s neighbor Pope.”

He emptied the remaining documents from the file folder onto the table, and after rummaging through them, he found a statement:
“The detective from Shenandoah spoke with Pope; this is the record.”

"Pop's wife made an appointment with Eleanor to go up the mountain to pick blackberries the next day, so that they could make more wild berry jam before the picking season ended and take it to the county town to sell."

"It's the kind of jam you ate last night. That kind of jam is very popular with people in big cities. Every year in June or July, women go into the mountains to pick it."

“Danny Luke went missing in June of that year. The town organized several searches, which wasted a lot of time.”

"They agreed to go into the mountains at eight o'clock in the morning. Popper's wife waited until eight-thirty but did not see Eleanor, so she went to his house to call him."

"She stood outside the courtyard and called out several times, but no one answered, so she went to open the door."

"I saw the body through the window."

The statements were largely consistent with Sheriff Hawkins' description, and even the wording in some places was exactly the same.

Sheriff Hawkins had studied this case extensively, having reviewed the contents of the file folder countless times; he could practically recite it from memory.

She produced a second statement:

“This is a transcript of Pope’s conversation. That morning, Pope didn’t go up the mountain; he stayed at home.”

Sheriff Hawkins then produced several more statements and presented them to Theodore one by one, looking at Theodore expectantly, hoping that Theodore could quickly provide an answer.

Theodore did not read these testimonies.

Just by listening to Sheriff Hawkins' summary, it's clear that most of it is nonsense and offers little help to the case.

He put down his statement and asked Sheriff Hawkins:

Are the Poppers still around?

Sheriff Hawkins nodded first, then shook his head:
"I am not sure as well."

"We just finished maintaining the forestry road last week, and there hasn't been much work lately. He's probably at home."

Theodore looked at Bernie and the other two, who had finished reading the autopsy report and were preparing to head to the scene.

Sheriff Hawkins was still leading the way in his pickup truck, with Theodore and his three companions following behind in their Chevrolet.

This journey is much longer than last night's.

The two vehicles passed through the core area of ​​Gusong Town and continued driving forward. The road gradually became bumpy, and the population on both sides became increasingly sparse.

After turning onto a narrower dirt road from a side road, the pickup truck drove for several dozen yards before stopping.

Sheriff Hawkins waved to Theodore and his men, walked towards the yard where clothes were hanging, and shouted:

"Pop! Pop!"

He called out several times before the door opened, and a middle-aged man wearing shorts and shirtless came out.

Sheriff Hawkins spoke with Pope, occasionally gesturing towards the Chevrolet.

A few minutes later, Pope returned to the house, while Sheriff Hawkins walked toward the Chevrolet.

He pointed in the direction of the house:
“That’s Pope. His wife is home too. I told them they’re both home today and I can ask them anytime.”

He pointed ahead again:
"That's the Cartwright family's house."

The car continued on, traveling another hundred yards, before stopping in front of a dilapidated house.

The wooden planks of the wooden house have turned from their original brown color to almost grayish-black due to years of wind, sun and rain.

In many places, the lacquer has peeled off and curled up, revealing the damp and rotten wood underneath; in some places, mushrooms have even grown.

The entire building is visibly tilted to one side, as if it could collapse at any moment.

All the windows of the house were nailed shut with rough wooden planks in an "X" shape, covered with spider webs.

The yard was overgrown with waist-high weeds and nettles, and if you got too close, you could smell a complex odor mixed with rotten wood, damp soil, and a faint musty smell.

It was unusually quiet here; it seemed as if even insects and wild birds deliberately avoided the area.

Sheriff Hawkins explained that the Cartwright family murders initially terrified many people, and townspeople avoided taking detours, even stopping to go into the mountains from that direction.

The Pope family even considered moving their home elsewhere.

Many people have linked the murder of the Cartwright family of three to the mysterious disappearance of Danny Morrow, the son of ranger Luke Morrow, believing that there may be some evil monster in the mountains.

Some even believe that the valley is cursed or targeted by demons.

In short, all sorts of rumors are circulating, and all sorts of speculations are flying around.

For a long time, almost no one came out in Lonely Pine Town at night.

But as time went on, the monster stopped killing people, the curse seemed to have lost its power, and the demons no longer seemed to be watching the valley.

The townspeople's lives gradually returned to normal, although occasionally young people would still come here to explore or seek thrills.

They're the ones who smashed the windows and doors.

After several unsuccessful attempts to drive them away, Sheriff Hawkins simply boarded up all the windows and locked the doors.

Theodore glanced back at Billy Hawke.

This is largely consistent with Billy Hawke's guess.

Billy Hawke was somewhat smug.

Theodore looked away, glanced around, and asked Sheriff Hawkins:

Is anyone still living inside?

Like most families in Lone Pine, the Cartwright family lived in a valley, with their house built against the mountainside, with the mountain behind them and the road in front.

Sheriff Hawkins shook his head:

"There are only the Pope and Cartwright families here."

"Now only the Pope family is left."

He pointed into the distance:
“If you go a few dozen yards further down this road and turn that bend, you’ll be at the bottom of the mountain. If you keep going, you’ll be going up the mountain.”

Sheriff Hawkins pulled a machete from the back of the truck and walked ahead, hacking back and forth to clear a path for people to pass through.

A small snake, about the thickness of a thumb, was startled and darted into the grass, quickly disappearing from sight.

After much effort, they finally arrived at the door. Sheriff Hawkins took out his key and tried it, only to find that the lock was already rusted shut.

Billy Hawke picked up a stone and smashed it twice against the rusty lock, and the lock opened with a click.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight shining through the gaps in the wooden planks, forming beams of light amidst the floating dust.

The ground was a mess, with all sorts of things on it.

(End of this chapter)