1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 284 They harassed me first!

After leaving the church, Theodore pulled out the list, glanced at it, skipped the 26 suspects in the middle, and went straight to Luke Morrow's house.

Luke Morrow's house is not far from the church, only a ten-minute walk away.

It was a house built against the mountain, with a fence enclosing a courtyard in front of it, and two fields on either side of the courtyard, also enclosed by fences.

However, both the courtyard and the fields were long abandoned, overgrown with weeds and shrubs.

The fences had fallen in patches, covered with unknown vines.

Theodore ran into an acquaintance here.

Leo, the young man who is the only thief in Lone Pine Town and a poorly skilled burglar.

He was standing next to a man with gray hair and beard, who was raising his hands and slowly backing away.

Opposite them, Luke Morrow held a .30-30 lever-action rifle, his body slightly hunched forward, taking steps forward.

Billy Hawke shoved Theodore behind him and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Luke Morrow.

Luke Morrow's attention was entirely focused on Leo and his son, and he didn't notice the two men.

His muscles were tense, and his face was gloomy.

Leo was so frightened that his body trembled, and his voice was trembling with sobs:

"Dad, let's go."

Leo's father ignored him and looked at Luke Morrow:
"Leo is young; he can do the work of two people."

"Hiring him will save you the cost of one person."

"You can have any of the money saved."

Luke Morrow gently shook the muzzle of his gun:
"roll!"

Billy Hawke tried to rush over, but Theodore stopped him.

Theodore shook his head at him and pointed into the yard.

Billy Hawke hesitated for a moment, then chose to obey Theodore's orders.

Leo's father tried to persuade him:
"Give him 70%! 70% is enough!"

"Luke, please, give him a job."

“He’ll be 20 soon and he still doesn’t know anything.”

He took half a step forward, trying to close the distance between himself and Luke Morrow.

This action immediately made Luke Morrow, Billy Hawke, and Theodore tense up.

Luke Morrow slightly raised the muzzle of his gun, aiming it at his heart.

Leo's father froze on the spot.

He raised his hands again, stepped back to his original position, and looked at Luke Morrow with a pleading expression:

"He needs a proper job, and he needs someone to keep him in check!"

“Yesterday his mother asked him to buy jars for jam, and he ran off to Ted’s place to steal money again.”

"If this continues, he'll be completely finished."

"I can't just watch it rot away!"

“Luke, for the sake of the fact that we’ve lived in the same town for so many years, give him a chance. It’s also a helper for yourself.”

“The work in the mountains is heavy, so having more people will make things easier for you.”

"You can decide on the wages, any amount is fine, as long as he has something to do."

Luke Morrow remained unmoved.

After a moment of silence, Leo's father spoke again:
“Luke, I know that Leo was immature before and had some unpleasantness with Danny.”

"But those were all silly things I did when I was a kid!"

"The children were still young then... He knew he was wrong a long time ago, really!"

“He’s been feeling really bad… When Danny went missing, we all helped you look for him…”

Luke Morrow's breathing became heavy.

He stepped out of the yard, the muzzle of his gun pressed directly against Leo's chest:
"Shut up!"

He saw Theodore and Billy Hawke standing nearby, paused, then shoved the gun into Leo's chest, causing Leo to stumble back two steps and fall to the ground. Luke Morrow holstered his gun and retreated into the yard.

"Whether your son is ruined or locked up in jail is none of my business!"

"You'll only get me to hire someone who bullied my son if I'm dead!"

Leo's father glanced in Theodore's direction, making a final attempt:

"Luke, please, help him out!"

“He’s the same age as Danny, if Danny were still alive…”

Luke Morrow swung his rifle and slammed it into Leo's father's cheek, sending the rest of his words flying back.

Leo's father instinctively wanted to retaliate, but he quickly stopped himself.

He let Luke Morrow kick him to the ground, then curled up in a ball, covering his head with his arms.

Luke Morrow slammed the weapon twice, but was quickly stopped by Billy Hawke.

He tried to pull the rifle out, but couldn't. He looked up and stared intently at Billy Hawke for a moment, then released the rifle, slowly backed away, and pointed to Leo and his son on the ground:
"They started harassing me."

“I’m trying to get rid of them.”

"You all saw what happened."

Theodore looked at him with some surprise.

Billy Hawke dropped his rifle, twisted Luke Morrow's arms behind his back, and handcuffed him.

Leo hung his head, his head almost buried in his chest, like a quail, curled up there motionless.

Leo's father got up, rubbed the places where he had been beaten, and pleaded with Theodore for Luke Morrow.

Theodore interrupted his plea, pointing to Leo, who was still sitting on the ground:
"He's the same age as Danny Morrow?"

Leo's father nodded:
"They were both born in 1942."

Theodore then asked:
"Is he a classmate of Danny Morrow?"

Leo's father continued to nod, seemingly puzzled.

Theodore asked Leo:

"How did you bully Danny Morrow?"

Leo remained silent, cowering like a quail.

After a moment's hesitation, Theodore told Leo and his son that they could go to the clinic to check their injuries first, and then wait for them at Anne's tavern.

Before leaving, Leo's father was still making a final effort:

“Sir, this is between Luke and me, it has nothing to do with you.”

He even raised his arm to show Theodore, then patted his chest:

"Look, I'm perfectly fine, really."

After Leo and his son left, Billy Hawke put away his handcuffs.

Luke Morrow glanced at him, silently picked up his rifle, and turned to walk inside.

Theodore and Billy Hawke followed behind, walking along a narrow path barely wide enough for one person through the overgrown yard and into the house.

A strong smell of rotten, moldy wood wafted over.

The room was somewhat dimly lit.

A table was placed in the center of the room, piled high with bottles and jars.

There are several chairs next to the table.

Two cabinets were placed against the wall.

Several spider webs were woven in the corner of the wall, while a few mushrooms grew where there were no spider webs.

An unidentified black beetle crawled across the ground, which was covered in a thick layer of dust with clear footprints.

It doesn't have as much furniture and decoration as John Cartwright's house, but it's just as dilapidated.

Luke Morrow pulled out a chair and sat down. He picked up a large backpack that was originally black but had now turned gray and began stuffing it with the bottles and jars on the table.

(End of this chapter)