1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 281 The Way We Came From
A brief silence fell over everyone.

The atmosphere was a bit dull.

Theodore stared at Luke Morrow's retreating figure until he disappeared beyond the heavy wooden doors of the tavern, then turned his gaze to Sheriff Hawkins sitting opposite him.

Sheriff Hawkins broke the silence:
"Luke just came back from the mountain. He's exhausted and eager to go home and rest."

He explained to everyone:

"Don't underestimate our small town of Gusong; the mountainous area we are responsible for is quite large."

“It takes several days just to walk around the border.”

Bernie nodded in understanding.

Billy Hawke asked Sheriff Hawkins:

"He doesn't seem to talk much?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded, then shook his head:

"Luke is rather quiet, especially in front of people he doesn't know well; he hardly ever speaks."

“He’s been here for over ten years, and there are still people in town who have never spoken a single word to him.”

“But he used to talk more when he was with me or John, unlike now, he doesn’t talk much to anyone.”

Billy Hawke glanced towards the door:
"Then how did he..."

Sheriff Hawkins shook his head:

"It's mainly because of Danny."

"He was patrolling the mountain at the time and had no idea that Danny had been attacked by wild animals."

Theodore corrected him:

"They are missing."

Sheriff Hawkins looked at him.

Theodore emphasized:
"It's uncertain whether it was an attack by a wild animal, or if it's a missing person case."

Sheriff Hawkins remained silent for a moment, deciding not to pay any attention to the matter.
"He had no idea Danny was missing."

Luke returned only after the town's first round of search was completed.

“I remember it was in the church, we were discussing the second round of the search, and Luke barged in…”

He shook his head and sighed:

"After learning that Danny was missing, Luke went crazy and tried to run into the mountains for his life, but we stopped him."

“We went into the mountains early the next morning for a second round of searching.”

"Still no results."

Sheriff Hawkins paused for a moment before continuing:

“The town organized several searches. Apart from the first few days, they organized several more searches intermittently until about half a month later, but there were still no results, so they gradually gave up.”

"Almost the entire town mobilized to find Danny."

"That was the season for picking blackberries to make wild berry jam, and many families relied on this income to make a living."

"The search team had to be disbanded."

"Luke gradually accepted the result, but became much quieter than before, often sitting there in a daze, or running into the mountains."

"After John's family was killed, Luke became even more silent and went into the mountains more often."

“I only come back for a day or two each month, just to replenish supplies. Apart from going to the grocery store and hardware store, I stay at home to rest and hardly communicate with anyone.”

Theodore confirmed with him:
"Whenever Luke Morrow comes back, he only stays in town for a day or two?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded:

“If he didn’t need to resupply, he might have stayed on the mountain and never come back.”

Theodore then asked:
How long does Luke Morrow's patrol each time take?

Sheriff Hawkins thought for a moment:

"It will take at least two or three weeks, and if it rains or there are special circumstances, it may take three or four weeks or even longer."

"The Forestry Bureau requires that forest rangers must walk through all the forest areas under their responsibility every month."

“Last autumn it rained, and he stayed on the mountain for two months straight without coming down.”

“If someone hadn’t seen him while hunting in the mountains, I would have thought something had happened to him.”

He shook his head as he spoke.

Theodore was also shaking his head, glancing at Bernie as he did so.

Bernie met his gaze, a look of confusion on his face.

They rarely understood each other's eyes.

Billy Hawke asked Sheriff Hawkins curiously:
"He lives in the mountains?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded:

"After the timber company left, it left behind many empty log cabins."

“Lone Pine Town was just their initial base when they first arrived. Later, the surrounding trees were all cut down, so they had to go deeper into the area.”

"To save travel time, the timber company requires its workers to live on the mountain, and they provide loggers with tents."

"But that thing can't stop anything except the wind." "After several wild animal attacks, the workers spontaneously built cabins on the mountain."

“Luke usually patrols along logging trails, and these empty cabins are mostly not far from the logging trails.”

"Many of them have been converted into temporary shelters."

"In the remaining areas without logging trails, there are also wooden huts built by former forest rangers where people can rest."

“These cabins are not just used by the forest rangers. People from the town who go into the mountains to hunt will also stay in the cabins. If they find any damage, they will help repair them.”

He smiled at everyone:
"If you're interested, Luke can take you to see the mountains."

Apart from Martin Joseph Cronin, Theodore and his two companions were all very interested in hunting deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains and readily agreed.

Billy Hawke deliberately asked Martin Joseph Cronin:
"Aren't you going?"

"Have a local ranger act as your guide and take you hunting deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is a privilege reserved for the wealthy."

Martin Joseph Cronin glanced at him and silently shook his head.

Billy Hawke is smiling broadly.

Sheriff Hawkins, unaware of Martin Joseph Cronin's true shooting ability, offered a few words of advice.

Theodore changed the subject with a strange expression:
When did Luke Morrow arrive in Lone Pine?

Sheriff Hawkins thought for a moment, then became somewhat uncertain:
"It seems like it was twelve years ago?"

Theodore noticed that several guests at the table behind Sheriff Hawkins were nodding in unison.

One of them noticed Theodore's gaze, blushed slightly, nudged the others, and deliberately raised his voice:
"Go ask Luke tomorrow if there are any forest trails that need to be cleared."

Another way to convey the meaning is to echo it with the same high pitch:
"It's almost July, and every year at this time there are always rocks that can't be cleared and trees that have been blown down by the wind."

"I just hope we can live closer to each other, instead of like last August when it took a whole morning just to walk there."

Others echoed.

Sheriff Hawkins was startled by the sudden increase in the volume of conversation behind him and turned around to glare at them.

The guests then gradually lowered their voices and began to listen attentively again.

Sheriff Hawkins shifted his chair, adjusting himself to a more comfortable position:

“I remember it was April when Luke brought Danny to town.”

Theodore interrupted him:

"Did Luke Morrow find Lone Pine on his own?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded.

Luke Morrow spent his first night in the church.

Pastor Sal took in the Morrows and his son, and after learning that they wished to settle there, he told them that there were many empty houses in town left behind by previous residents, and they could choose a good one and stay there for free.

So the next day, Luke Morrow chose a house and moved in.

The following year, the old ranger retired, and Luke Morrow became the new ranger.

Theodore was puzzled:
"Luke Morrow has only been here for a year, yet he knows the mountains better than anyone else in town?"

Sheriff Hawkins nodded:

"He used to be a forest ranger."

"The old forest ranger took him twice, and then he was able to walk on his own."

Theodore asked him:
"Where?"

After thinking carefully for a moment, Sheriff Hawkins answered uncertainly:
“He told me once that his family was in Kentucky.”

"The environment is similar to that of Gusong Town; it's also a small town in the mountains."

He looked around and lowered his voice:
"It must have been fifteen years ago when Luke's wife and their newborn son were in a car accident on the road, and neither of them survived."

"Danny was left at home and escaped unharmed."

"After holding the funeral for his wife and youngest son, Luke left home with Danny."

The atmosphere at the table was a little subdued.

Theodore remained silent.

Bernie glanced at Theodore and steered the conversation back to hunting.

The group then enthusiastically exchanged their hunting experiences.

Bernie and Sheriff Hawkins also compared various aspects of hunting in Texas and Virginia, and had a lively discussion.

During the nearly half-hour discussion about the hunt, the tavern guests left one by one, and soon only Theodore and his group were left at their table.

After finishing the plate of wild berries that Annie brought over, Sheriff Hawkins checked the time; it was just eight o'clock.

He quickly stood up, said goodbye, and left.

Theodore and his three companions returned to the second floor of the tavern to rest.

Shortly after Billy Hawke returned to his bedroom, he rushed out again to borrow the phone from Anne.

Theodore and Bernie stood in the doorway, watching the figure who had taken two steps and disappeared into the stairwell, their expressions strange as they looked at each other.

Billy Hawke returned a few minutes later, looking relieved.

He saw Theodore and Bernie and even smiled at them.

(End of this chapter)