1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 287 Why not arrest Luke?

Sheriff Hawkins fell silent.

His mind is now filled with the image of the John Cartwright family killing Danny Morrow, and Luke Morrow killing the John Cartwright family in turn.

This was hard for him to accept.

Theodore looked around and called Anne over:

"Has Leo come here with his father?"

Anne nodded:
"I came here this morning, saying I was looking for you, but I only stayed for about ten minutes before leaving."

She stood by the dining table, glancing curiously at Sheriff Hawkins, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Theodore looked at her and asked if there was anything else.

Annie shook her head and turned back to the kitchen.

After lunch, the group split into two groups again.

Theodore, along with Billy Hawke and Agent Cronin, went to the police station and used the station's phone to contact Pineville and the State Forestry Department to verify the information provided by Luke Morrow.

Bernie will go to the church with Sheriff Hawkins to try to persuade Pastor Sal to obtain the list of people who have converted to Christianity after the incident.

Sheriff Hawkins was still reeling from the shock of discovering that his friends were all murderers.

He really wanted to go back to the police station with Theodore.

He was eager to obtain evidence as soon as possible to prove that Theodore was wrong.

But with his remaining professional ethics, Sheriff Hawkins ultimately went to the church with Bernie.

After arriving at the police station, Theodore picked up the phone, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed Supervisor Rosen's number.

The call was quickly answered.

The person who answered the phone was an assistant to Rosen's manager.

Theodore identified himself and gave his warrant number.

After the identity was verified, the call was transferred to Rosen's supervisor's office.

After briefly explaining the situation, Theodore suggested contacting the Kentucky branch for assistance.

Supervisor Rosen hung up the phone without saying a word.

Theodore looked at the receiver with a puzzled expression.

A dozen minutes later, a man who identified himself as the field manager of the Lexington branch called.

The FBI has two offices in Kentucky, one in Louisville and the other in Lexington.

Pineville is located in southeastern Kentucky, directly covered by the Lexington branch.

The field operations supervisor at the Lexington office was very helpful. After providing Theodore with the Pineville Police Department's number, he proactively inquired whether field operations were needed.

The field supervisor stated that Pineville is not far from Lexington, and the field team will arrive soon.

Theodore politely declined.

The field supervisor was somewhat disappointed and repeatedly reminded Theodore before ending the call that he could contact them at any time if field operations needed to be deployed.

Theodore felt the warmth of his colleagues at the Lexington branch and dialed the number provided by his field supervisor.

After being transferred, the phone rang for almost a minute before being answered.

The person who answered the phone had a young, lazy voice.
"This is the Pineville Police Department."

Theodore immediately thought of Detective Thomas of the DC Third Precinct.

After he identified himself to the other party, an older voice quickly came from the other end of the phone.

The young officer called the sheriff.

The Pineville Police Department is much better than the Lone Pine Police Department.

They have their own dedicated office space, a sheriff, a deputy, and a part-time officer.

The sheriff told Theodore that there was indeed a ranger in the area named Harlen.

However, Harlan has been dead for many years.

Twelve years ago, Harun was attacked by a wild animal. When he was found, all that was left was his hollowed-out torso and a mangled head; his limbs had been carried away by the wild animal.

Theodore then asked the sheriff if there was a man named James Luke Morrow in the area, and the sheriff confirmed it.

James Luke Morrow's wife and youngest son died in a car accident, and shortly afterward, he and his eldest son, Danny Morrow, also went missing.

Theodore proposed that the Pinville Police Department seal off James Luke Morrow's home and await FBI agents to take over.

He planned to contact the enthusiastic Lexington field manager and ask him to go to Pineville to try to extract James Luke Morrow's fingerprints.

But the sheriff said with difficulty that James Luke Morrow's house had been destroyed by fire, which occurred around the time of his disappearance.

After ending the call, Theodore dialed Rosen's supervisor's office number again.

The phone call was still answered by Rosen's assistant.

The assistant informed Theodore that Supervisor Rosen was in a meeting and not in his office.

He asked Theodore why he was making the call.

Theodore thought for a moment and asked the other party to help contact the Richmond branch.

The assistant wanted to remind Theodore that this kind of thing could be handled by contacting the FBI headquarters duty room directly, and there was no need to bother Director Rosen.

After much hesitation, the assistant ultimately decided to ask Theodore to wait.

A few minutes later, a supervising agent from the Richmond branch called.

The supervising agent was also very helpful. After learning that Theodore needed to access the state forestry department's patrol records, he offered to help him go to the state forestry department to make the request.

But this may take some time, and the earliest we expect to have a result is tomorrow.

Theodore readily agreed.

After ending the call, Theodore and his two companions headed to Leo's house.

Leo's house is located behind the school on the corner of Lone Pine Town, very close by, just a few minutes' walk away.

Theodore knocked on the door for a long time before Leo's father rushed out and opened it for them.

One side of his face was swollen, and he was shirtless, revealing bruises on his body.

That was when Luke Morrow beat me up that morning.

He was wearing shorts and an apron, which was covered in berry juice and no longer recognizable as its original color. He was holding a large spoon and was covered in sweat.

After recognizing Theodore and Billy Hawke, Leo's father quickly explained:
"We went to the tavern this morning, but we didn't see you there, so we came back."

He pointed towards the backyard:
"This stuff won't keep; it'll rot in a few hours. Once you pick it, you have to deal with it immediately."

Through the open back door, you can see a large pot set up in the backyard, two large basins filled with berries on the ground, and several mason jars next to it, some already filled with jam and some still empty.

June is the peak season for wild berries, and almost the entire town is busy picking berries and making jam.

This is one of the main sources of income for the residents of Gusong Town.

The berry harvesting season is very short, lasting less than a month, and is greatly affected by the weather; a heavy rain or a hot wind can destroy an orchard.

For Leo's father, making money was the most important thing.

He simply couldn't afford to waste time waiting in vain at the tavern.

If Theodore gave him a hundred dollars, he would not only wait patiently at the pub, but he would also bring his wife along, and wait until dawn the next day.

Before Theodore could speak, he apologized, ran to the backyard, stirred the pot with a spoon, and then began washing the berries in the bowl.

Theodore waited a while, and seeing him busy, he followed him to the backyard.

Billy Hawke looked around and asked him:

Are you home alone?

Where is Leo?

Leo's father responded without looking up:
"They went to the mountain to pick fruit."

He picked out the spoiled fruit from the bowl, put it in his mouth, then took an empty bucket and began scooping the cleaned berries into it.

Billy Hawke looked at Theodore.

Theodore asked Leo's father:
When will Leo be back?

Leo's father stopped what he was doing:
"Around five o'clock."

"What do you want with him?"

“What happened this morning had nothing to do with Leo. I dragged him to find Luke, wanting Luke to hire him to clear the forest trails.” Theodore shook his head, interrupting his explanation:
“We are not here because of the conflict this morning; that matter falls under the jurisdiction of Sheriff Hawkins.”

Leo's father breathed a sigh of relief and got back to work.

Theodore asked him:
Did Leo often bully Danny Morrow during his school years?

Leo's father froze, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke:
“That child was from out of town, didn’t like to talk, and didn’t play with other children. He walked to and from school by himself every day.”

"At first, it was older kids who bullied him."

"Leo and his peers quickly learned it too."

Billy Hawke nodded in agreement.

Theodore turned to look at him.

Billy Hawke quickly pulled out his notebook and asked Leo's father:

Where is Billy?

Leo's father didn't immediately realize who 'Billy' referred to and looked at him in confusion.

Billy Hawke felt that calling Billy Cartwright 'Billy' was like calling himself.

He explained somewhat awkwardly:
"Billy Cartwright, a child of the John Cartwright family."

Leo's father suddenly realized.

Billy Hawke added:
"When Leo or others bully Danny, will Billy Cartwright protect Danny? Or will he just stand by and watch, or even join Leo and the others in bullying Danny?"

He has extensive relevant experience and knows very well how 'likable' someone like Danny Morrow can be.

Outsider + taciturn + acts alone + physically weak + adult intervention.

In his opinion, it would be strange if Danny Morrow didn't get bullied.

Leo's father thought for a moment, then shook his head:
"I am not very sure."

Theodore then asked:
Did Leo see Danny Morrow the day before he disappeared?

Leo's father shook his head again.

Danny Morrow went missing in early June.

At that time, wild berries were just entering their peak fruiting season, and he and his wife were busy picking berries and making jam every day, so they had no time to pay attention to Leo.

As long as nothing is lost or missing, it's fine.

Theodore asked a few more questions.

Leo's father almost always answered with "I don't know" or "I can't remember".

Theodore finished his questioning and instructed Leo's father to go to Anne's tavern to find them when Leo returned.

After leaving Leo's house, Theodore went to find out what was going on from the school teachers.

But nine years later, most people can no longer remember exactly what happened.

All they remembered was that Danny Morrow had disappeared and that wild berry jam was very expensive that year.

Because most of the peak fruiting season was spent searching for Danny Morrow, the wild berry jam yield was low that year.

Around five o'clock, Theodore and his two companions returned to the tavern.

The tavern was empty; there wasn't a single customer.

Anne was cooking the berries that old Bob had picked in the kitchen.

Old Bob, meanwhile, was resting behind the bar.

He was also holding a large glass of beer in his hand.

Billy Hawke hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Theodore:
"Boss, is it time to leave work now?"

Theodore glanced at the time and nodded.

Billy Hawke immediately stood up and ran to the counter:
"Three beers."

He had been wanting to try the beer from Lone Pine Town for a long time.

Old Bob silently got up to take the beer.

Billy Hawke glanced at the empty pub and asked old Bob:
Why is there nobody here today?

Old Bob glanced at Billy Hawke with some suspicion:
"They're all at home."

"We're going to the mountains tomorrow to clear the forest roads."

Billy Hawke was somewhat surprised:

Is Luke Morrow going too?

Old Bob nodded and placed three glasses of beer on the bar.

To prevent a repeat of last night's situation, he simply shouted to the kitchen staff and left the bar.

He also explained to Billy Hawke:
"I'm going too. I have to leave very early tomorrow morning, so I'll go back and rest first."

Billy Hawke stared, somewhat dumbfounded, at old Bob, who, though limping, moved with lightning speed. He shook his head and carried the beer back to the table.

"Boss, they're going up the mountain to clear the forest trails tomorrow."

"Luke Morrow is going too."

After a moment's thought, Theodore decided to go into the mountains with them the next day.

Once Luke Morrow goes out on patrol, he won't be back for at least three weeks.

If unexpected situations arise, or if you are simply avoiding them, this process could take even longer.

He didn't want to waste three weeks in Lone Pine Town.

Billy Hawke hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

After another half hour, Bernie and Sheriff Hawkins returned first.

Bernie pulled out his notebook and handed it to Theodore:
“After the John Cartwright family was murdered, apart from these few people who were working outside, only Luke Morrow never went to church again.”

Everyone turned to look at Sheriff Hawkins.

Sheriff Hawkins offered a silent defense:
"That doesn't prove anything."

"Pastor Sal also said that changes in faith are very normal."

“Ever since Danny disappeared, Luke has been angry with God, feeling that God has abandoned him.”

"He stopped going to church because he lost his faith, not because he killed someone."

"Besides, he's too busy to go to church at all."

Sheriff Hawkins' voice trailed off as he spoke, and he finally stopped.

The crowd remained silent, simply staring at him.

Sheriff Hawkins picked up the half-finished beer Billy Hawke was drinking, took a big gulp, and gave a wry smile:
"Ok."

"What do we do next?"

Bernie patted him on the shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Billy Hawke called Anne over and ordered a few more beers.

Bernie changed the subject:

Pastor Sal invited us to Sunday Mass tomorrow.

Theodore was curious about what Bernie had said to Pastor Sal, which allowed him to not only obtain the list but also receive an invitation.

Billy Hawke glanced at Theodore:
"Tomorrow Luke Morrow will be leading his men into the mountains to clear the forest trails, and the boss is preparing to follow them."

He added:
"I'm with the boss."

Then he gave Agent Cronin a shove:
"He doesn't need it."

Agent Cronin glared angrily.

Bernie took the notebook, flipped to the list of suspects, and asked Theodore:

Should we continue investigating them?

Sheriff Hawkins suddenly asked Theodore:
"Why not arrest Luke?"

Everyone looked at him again.

(End of this chapter)