1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 279 I'm 53 this year!
Ted stood at the pub entrance, looking at Sheriff Hawkins, before being quickly drawn to four unfamiliar faces.

Sheriff Hawkins pointed across the street.

Ted then noticed the young man at the entrance of the grocery store.

The young man waved over in their direction:
"Ted! Are there any more jars?"

"A jar for wild berry jam!"

Ted glanced at Theodore and the others again, then shouted back:

"Look under the shelf at the very back against the wall."

"At the very bottom, it's packed in a cardboard box."

Seeing that the young man didn't move, Ted pointed inside the grocery store:
"Go find it yourself, be careful when you move it, don't break it."

"A box contains 12, each costing 17 cents. Take as many as you want and put the money in the drawer of the cabinet."

The young man turned and walked into the general store.

Theodore and his group passed Ted and entered the tavern.

Ted stood there, still feeling uneasy.

He hesitated for a moment, then shouted a warning:

"Leo! I'm watching you!"

Leo, the young man, simply waved his hand.

Ted became even more worried and hurriedly ran to the grocery store.

Sheriff Hawkins explained in a low voice:
"Leo has a habit of petty theft."

He called out twice towards the kitchen, skillfully ordered the food, and then sat down with Theodore and the others at the table near the door, continuing:

“He wasn’t like this before; he learned it from someone in Shenandoah County a few years ago.”

"After he came back, he started stealing money everywhere."

Sheriff Hawkins pointed to his feet, then gestured around:
“He’s stolen from Annie’s place, Eddie’s next door, and Ted’s grocery store.”

"Especially Ted's place."

“Ted’s son is the same age as Leo. They’ve played together since they were little, and Ted has never been wary of him.”

Theodore asked him curiously:

Why not arrest him?

Sheriff Hawkins leaned back and spread his hands:

"How to catch it?"

“I know his parents. His father used to follow me around the mountains when I was a child.”

Theodore hesitated for a moment, then asked him:

"So the police station doesn't have detention rooms, and they don't arrest people and send them to the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded:

"Gusong Town is only this big, and its population is only this big."

“We all went to the same primary school and have played together since we were little.”

"He married his sister, and she married his brother."

“If I really arrest someone, or even send them to the county jail, the whole town will block my door.”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head and corrected himself:

"No, they'll just surround the car and won't let me leave at all."

“Leo has been caught several times, but old Bob and Ted have never said they would send him to jail.”

"At most, they will either get the money back or take him to his parents' house."

Theodore suspected that Sheriff Hawkins had never written a case report or been tormented by clerical work.

He glanced towards the doorway but couldn't see what was happening across the street.

The tavern's thick wooden door blocked his view.

He looked away, thought for a moment, and asked Sheriff Hawkins:

"How many people have moved away from Gusong Town since July 1952?"

"Especially in 1952."

Sheriff Hawkins recalled for a moment, counting on his fingers:

There should be three.

He gave a detailed account of the situation of each of the three companies.

The first family to move out was in 1957, a full five years after the incident.

Theodore then asked:
"Did they leave Gusong Town shortly after the incident?"

Sheriff Hawkins paused for a few seconds, then shook his head and said:

"People have been leaving the town ever since the timber company left."

"There have been even more in recent years."

"Kids like Thomas and Leo's generation almost always leave town after they grow up to find work elsewhere, only returning occasionally during holidays."

“It’s rare for Leo to go out and come back like that.”

Theodore recalled that since arriving in Lone Pine last night, he hadn't seen many young people.

Most of them are middle-aged or elderly people.

Anne brought over a basket of the same coarse wheat bread as last night, and then made another trip to deliver wild berry jam and a small dish of wild honey.

She enthusiastically introduced them to Theodore and the others:

"This is wild honey. We keep it for ourselves, but you can try some."

Theodore tried spreading wild honey on bread, took a bite, and didn't taste anything special.

Bernie took a bite and praised it highly.

Annie happily returned to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, another serving of fried fish was brought over.

Sheriff Hawkins introduced the group to Theodore and his men:
"This is a unique fish species found in the Blackwater Creek. It has delicious flesh and we call it the Blackwater Scale. There used to be a lot of it in the Blackwater Creek when we were young, but it is now very rare to see it."

Theodore was not an expert in the field and was unable to identify the species of fish.

However, it was indeed delicious. It was simply pan-fried and sprinkled with some wild vegetables, and the taste was no worse than the restaurant that Director Hoover frequented.

The fried fish received unanimous high praise from all five people.

Bernie steered the conversation back to the case itself.

He asked Theodore:
"Do you think the killer might blend in with these people and leave town after committing the crime?"

Theodore nodded:

"The murder was an accident for the killer, and his initial purpose in visiting the victim's family that night was certainly not to commit the murder."

"This unexpected situation will inevitably cause the perpetrator to exhibit abnormal behavior after committing the crime."

"The best option to avoid being discovered is to leave Lone Pine Town."

“Gusong Town has a small population, and everyone knows each other.” “In such a close-knit community, even the smallest thing can spark a lot of discussion.”

"If anyone behaves abnormally, it will be noticed by the people around them very quickly."

Bernie agreed and asked Theodore:
"Shall we start our investigation with those who left Lone Pine Town?"

Theodore thought for a moment:

"You, Agent Cronin, and Mr. Hawkins will screen those who left Lone Pine, while Billy and I will investigate those who stayed behind."

He looked at Sheriff Hawkins:

"When we get back to the police station, we'll need your county to compile two lists of people."

Sheriff Hawkins nodded in agreement.

Anne brought over another pot of stewed venison, with wild mushrooms added; it was said to have just been stewed.

Everyone still remembers the delicious stewed venison from last night.

Martin Joseph Cronin pulled out his notebook and was writing furiously.

Theodore continued writing for a long time after he finished speaking.

Billy Hawke was curious and couldn't resist peeking over.

Martin Joseph Cronin seems to be grading a paper, drawing a whole bunch of branches from the main text, except that each branch ends with a '?'.

Billy Hawke shook his head, put away his clean and tidy notebook, picked up the bowl full of broth, and took a big gulp.

The tavern door was opened.

Ted is back.

He shouted angrily:

"F*** it! That son of a bitch Leo tried to steal money from me again! I caught him red-handed!"

Then came a barrage of harsh, heavily accented, slang-based insults.

Sheriff Hawkins shrugged at Theodore and his men, giving them a "I told you so" look.

He reminded Ted:

"Leo's mother is your sister, Ted!"

A burst of laughter erupted in the tavern.

The laughter came from a table of guests inside.

Ever since Theodore and his group arrived, they've kept their voices down, making the tavern as quiet as a library.

These guests had been listening intently to the conversation and had been glancing over here countless times.

Ted made a few lewd gestures to the guests, glanced at Theodore and his group, and walked over to another table of guests while cursing. He sat down and muttered a few words, which caused another burst of laughter before gradually quieting down.

He, like the other guests, began to listen attentively to the conversation.

Unfortunately, Theodore and his group did not discuss the case again afterward, and quickly finished their lunch and left.

As soon as they left, the quiet tavern suddenly burst into noise.

Ted eagerly inquired with the other guests about what exciting things he had missed.

After the Poppers confirmed that Theodore and his companions were there to investigate the Cartwright family's case and spread the word, their every move became headline news in Lone Pine.

The guests chattered amongst themselves, and even Annie from the kitchen came over to join in the fun.

Theodore and his companions didn't speak loudly; the guests could only catch a few words here and there, and had to piece together, associate, guess, and deduce from these fragments...

Ted was one of the best, and he quickly came to a conclusion:
The killer of the Cartwright family is about to return to Lone Pine...

Everyone was quite frightened by this conclusion.

After the Cartwright case, Lone Pine was in a state of tension for a long time.

The news spread quickly.

…………

Around 4 p.m., the headlines of Lone Pine Town were gathered around Sheriff Hawkins, compiling a list.

Sheriff Hawkins had been racking his brains for the entire afternoon, and his head was throbbing with pain.

The phone on the table rang.

Sheriff Hawkins grabbed the receiver, listened for a few seconds, and then handed it to Bernie.

It was a call from the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office.

The officer who called was much more composed than the young officer from the morning.

He regretfully informed Bernie that they had searched the evidence room thoroughly but had not found any physical evidence related to the Cartwright family murder case.

He then had his men search the archives and found records showing that all physical evidence and materials had been handed over to Sheriff Hawkins of the Lone Pine Township Police Department.

The handover included three autopsy reports, crime scene photos, and a case briefing.

Their archives also contain Sheriff Hawkins' signature confirming receipt.

If needed, they can send someone to deliver the receipt.

After ending the call, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Sheriff Hawkins curled his lip:
"I told you, they threw the stuff away a long time ago."

Theodore picked up his notebook and looked at Sheriff Hawkins:
"continue."

The notebook contains records of all men between the ages of 34 and 49 in Lone Pine Town.

This is a partial list they compiled over an afternoon, based on Sheriff Hawkins' memory and confirmed by phone.

Anne, Ted, and several other shop owners offered their assistance.

If Sheriff Hawkins has any questions, he will call them for advice.

After the list is completed, it will be verified through on-site visits.

To avoid duplication of statistics, Theodore also had Billy Hawke draw a simple map of Lone Pine, marking each of the suspects on the list.

The statistics were completed quickly.

The list is not long, with only 29 people in total.

This includes five townspeople who work outside the town.

Originally, more people left Gusong Town to work elsewhere, but most of them later returned to Gusong Town.

Theodore looked at the notebook and filled in the names of Luke Morrow and Wilbur Hawkins.

Sheriff Hawkins stopped Theodore, clearly annoyed.

"I'm 53 this year!"

Theodore looked at him and crossed out his name.

Sheriff Hawkins pointed to Luke Morrow's name.

Theodore looked at him and asked:

"Is Luke Morrow also 53 years old this year?"

Sheriff Hawkins opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately shook his head helplessly.

(End of this chapter)