1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 286 Highly Similar to the Murderer

Everyone turned to look at Sheriff Hawkins.

Sheriff Hawkins was somewhat embarrassed:
"Everyone in town knows that Luke wasn't in town that day; he didn't return until two days later."

"I thought you knew too."

He looked at Billy Hawke with a sincere expression:

"I didn't mean to keep it from you."

Billy Hawke was speechless.

Bernie changed the subject and asked Theodore:
"What else did he say?"

Theodore continued:

"Luke Morrow claims his real name is James Luke Morrow and he is from Pineville in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky."

"My original job was to patrol in place of the local forest ranger, Old Harun, and collect half of the ranger's salary."

"His wife and youngest son were in a car accident. After the bus they were on plunged into a valley, they left Pineville with their eldest son, Danny Morrow."

Billy Hawke added to Theodore's statement:

He also suggested that we call Pineville to verify.

Sheriff Hawkins shared his opinion:
"Then it must be true."

“Luke did tell me before that he left his hometown because the familiar sights reminded him of his wife and children.”

"Before coming to town, he took Danny to many places."

“If Danny hadn’t reached school age and it hadn’t been inconvenient for him to continue wandering around with him, he probably wouldn’t have stayed in Lone Pine Town.”

Bernie shook his head, indicating that he could not understand this kind of behavior of wandering around with a child.

Theodore was also shaking his head:
"If Luke Morrow left because he was too familiar with Payneville, why did he choose to settle in Lone Pine, a town similar to Payneville?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Sheriff Hawkins paused for a moment before speaking:
"Whatever the reason, it shouldn't be related to the case, right?"

“Luke wasn’t even in town when John’s family was killed.”

"He had no reason to kill John."

He looked at the crowd:
"It can't be that Luke thinks John didn't take good care of Danny and is blaming John for Danny's disappearance, can it?"

"If that's the case, why didn't he come to kill me?"

“Danny was always looked after by John and me while he was patrolling the mountains.”

“I am also responsible for Danny’s disappearance.”

Theodore asked him:
"Did Luke Morrow have any conflict with the second victim after Danny Morrow went missing?"

After careful consideration, Sheriff Hawkins shook his head:
"No."

Theodore confirmed with him:
"Not even a verbal conflict?"

Sheriff Hawkins was absolutely certain:
"No."

“Luke has never blamed me or John.”

Theodore was skeptical.

In his opinion, Sheriff Hawkins was only more credible than Ted.

He thought for a moment, then asked:
"Who was the first to think of going into the mountains to look for Danny Morrow?"

Sheriff Hawkins was even more puzzled:

"Does it matter?"

Theodore didn't answer, pressing him for an answer:
"Is it victim number 2?"

Sheriff Hawkins glanced at him:
"I do not remember."

"Where else can a 10-year-old child go?"

"If it wasn't with me, and it didn't go to John's house, it could only have been attacked by wild animals coming down from the mountain."

Billy Hawke, thinking of Leo whom he had met that morning, couldn't help but interject:

"What about the kids who bullied Danny?"

Sheriff Hawkins shook his head:
“Those children all grew up in the town and know they can’t run into the mountains, especially after dark.”

Theodore pressed further:
"Did no one see Danny Morrow the day before he disappeared?"

Sheriff Hawkins responded:
"At the time, we all thought Danny had been attacked by a wild animal."

He shifted his position and looked hesitantly at Theodore.

Theodore continued to ask:

"What about victim number 3?"

Sheriff Hawkins looked bewildered:
"what?"

Bernie reminded him:
“John Cartwright’s son, Billy Cartwright.” Sheriff Hawkins suddenly realized:
"What's wrong with Billy?"

Theodore asked him:
“Danny Morrow had a good relationship with the third victim, lived in the third victim’s home, and the third victim often took care of Danny Morrow.”

"After Danny Morrow disappeared, did you question the third victim?"

Sheriff Hawkins did not answer.

Theodore concluded:

"In other words, after Danny Morrow disappeared, you did not question the students and teachers at the school, but directly concluded that his disappearance was caused by a wild animal attack, and began to organize people to search for him in the mountains."

He asked Sheriff Hawkins:
"What if Danny Morrow wasn't attacked by a wild animal, but was killed by someone?"

Sheriff Hawkins abruptly looked up.

Bernie asked Theodore:

"You suspect John Cartwright killed Danny Morrow?"

Before Theodore could speak, Sheriff Hawkins had already raised his questions:
"why?"

He loudly questioned Theodore:

Why did John kill Danny?

"This is the same as your claim that Luke killed John, why?"

"This makes absolutely no sense!"

He angrily put down his knife and fork and glared at them.

Theodore met his gaze and put down his knife and fork.
"Luke Morrow displayed a very strong aggressive intent in his conflict with Leo and his son."

"He has no good control over his emotions."

“If Billy hadn’t stopped him, Luke Morrow might have fired.”

Surprisingly, Sheriff Hawkins remained silent and offered no rebuttal.

He knew very well that Luke Morrow could be very impulsive at times, completely disregarding the consequences.

Theodore continued:

"Leo's father tried to evoke empathy in Luke Morrow by mentioning that Leo was the same age as Danny Morrow, attempting to get Luke Morrow to transfer his feelings for Danny Morrow to Leo."

"But he failed."

"Luke Morrow was unmoved and untouched by Leo's father; he was filled with rage."

Sheriff Hawkins finally had the opportunity to offer his rebuttal:

“Leo was one of the students who led the bullying of Danny. Luke knew about this and had even spoken to Leo’s father about it.”

Theodore asked him:
"How did Leo's father respond?"

Sheriff Hawkins opened his mouth:
"He beat Leo up and gave him a stern warning."

Billy Hawke and Bernie both shook their heads.

They were experienced and knew very well that Leo would only vent his anger at being beaten on the informant.

Agent Cronin was also shaking his head.

He also had extensive experience and knew very well that Danny Morrow would only suffer more severe bullying.

Theodore glanced at the three men and nodded to Sheriff Hawkins:
“After Billy stopped the conflict, Luke Morrow immediately stated that it was Leo and his son who broke into his home first and refused to leave after being asked to leave, which led to the conflict.”

"And Leo's father didn't understand what this meant at all."

“He was trying to reduce the punishment Luke Morrow might face by proving to me that he had not been harmed.”

Sheriff Hawkins looked completely bewildered.

He didn't understand what it meant either.

Billy Hawke reminded him:
"At the time, Leo and his son, along with Luke Morrow, were outside the yard, not inside."

Sheriff Hawkins thought for a moment and then suddenly realized.

Theodore continued:

"After Billy stopped the fight, we followed Luke Morrow back inside."

"Luke Morrow quickly composed himself by organizing his backpack and answered all the questions fluently."

He concluded:

"Luke Morrow was muscular and had large hands."

"His profession is a forest ranger, and he is skilled at using packing wire."

"Impulsive personality, difficulty in controlling one's emotions, but not reckless, able to quickly think of a way to deal with it."

"Luke Morrow's behavior in this conflict is highly similar to that of the killer."

(End of this chapter)