1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 39 He is it
The boss's memory is surprisingly good.

He pulled out the patrol officers who had escorted people that night one by one, and finally found that Sam's was missing.

The boss's face changed color.

He calmly saw the bewildered police officers off, then sat down across from Theodore and Bernie. He poured himself a glass of wine and then gulped it down from the bottle.

The owner put down the bottle and immediately exhaled a strong smell of alcohol.

"I was too busy that night, and I also, hiccup, drank too much."

Bernie patted him on the shoulder, went out and called over a patrolman nearby, asking him to take his boss away to rest.

On the way back, Bernie told Theodore that he had been a detective in the precinct and a Silver Badge member of the FOP.

The boss's two sons and seven grandsons were all detectives in the branch office, and all of them died in the line of duty.

The bar was bought for him with donations from everyone as a retirement gift.

The boss treated them like his own children, and everyone respected him.

After listening, Theodore began listing clues in his notebook.

Bernie noticed his action and became nervous again.

He prayed in his heart that Theodore would not reveal any characteristics of the killer.

Theodore suddenly asked, "Do you think it has anything to do with oil companies?"

"What? Oh, you mean the oil company?"

Bernie instinctively wanted to say 'it's okay,' but he quickly remembered case 600113 and fell silent.

Safety hazards at the derrick were exposed, forcing the oil company to agree to purchase safety insurance for every worker, which was a considerable expense.

This debt was originally supposed to be settled with Roy, but since Roy is dead, it's naturally Sam's turn to hold Cold Case accountable.

Theodore looked at the silent Bernie and said, "Whoever took Sam away, he knew the rules of Old Gun Bar and even knew that his identity wouldn't be checked."

Bernie didn't respond; he just drove in silence.

Theodore then spoke to himself.
"The killer knew Old Gun Bar very well, and he knew the owner very well."

"He knew his boss would have patrol officers on duty take the drunk detective home. So he specially dressed in his police uniform, drove a police car, and waited there."

"He even hijacked the police channel with a walkie-talkie."

"He knew the patrol department's operations inside and out."

As Theodore described it, Bernie's cheekbones bulged high on both sides.

"Do you think he came specifically to wait for Sam, or just someone who happened to be Sam?"

Theodore asked.

His immediate concern was that someone was impersonating a patrol officer, without considering the possibility of a crime being committed by an officer within the patrol force.

The reason is simple: the patrol department has complete handover procedures, and the duty records are not as casual as attendance records.

Whoever is on duty that day must sign the summons. This is something that cannot be faked.

Therefore, the person who took Sam away could only be an imposter posing as a police officer.

Bernie remained silent for a long time, and just when Theodore thought he wouldn't answer, he slowly spoke.

"Is there a difference?"

Theodore nodded seriously. "Yes."

"If...this person was specifically waiting for Sam—"

“This guy knows Sam’s life very well; he knows Sam will be at Old Gun Bar that day to celebrate with us.”

"This requires him to be an acquaintance of Sam. Observation and surveillance alone are not enough to know Sam so well."

“Someone Sam knows very well, and is also very familiar with the operation of the patrol police, but is not a policeman, who can obtain uniforms and equipment that are indistinguishable from the real thing. He can hack into police channels. He is familiar with the patrol police's response mechanisms and habits.”

Theodore paused, then spread his palms. "I don't think there are many people like that in Sam's life."

Police officers are taught a professional call-response mechanism during selection training, but this mechanism is too formal and is rarely used by patrol officers.

In actual duty, the patrol officers each have their own unique way of responding.

Bernie's lips moved, but he ultimately didn't ask, "He told you all this," and instead asked, "So where are we going now? To Sam's house?" Theodore nodded. "I think we should go and talk to his neighbors."

As for the other "what if," neither of them mentioned it.

…………

It was noon when they returned to the Mexican community.

Bernie pulled Theodore, who was obsessed with staying in his apartment, and led him to a street food stall to buy two burritos covered in 'Mexican secret sauce' and filled with vegetables and meat.

The food stall owner was also of Mexican descent. He probably caught a cold because he hadn't paid attention to the changing weather. He was wiping his nose with the back of his hand while giving them two tortillas.

Bernie paid without batting an eye, grabbed the burrito, and took a big bite.

Theodore hesitated for a moment, but finally took a small bite after Bernie's repeated urging.

Then he told Bernie that he suspected there was rat meat in the burrito because it tasted like something he had never eaten before.

Bernie took a big bite, tasted it carefully, and confidently told Theodore that it wasn't rat meat.

Theodore looked shocked.

Bernie chuckled and started chatting with the owner while holding the remaining half of the burrito.

He was very skillful in his conversation, starting with business, then moving on to recent prices, the safety of the neighborhood, the local police, and finally getting to Sam.

He told the pancake stand owner that he had a colleague named Sam Latimo who seemed to live nearby, and that he had come to see him.

He said he and Sam were very close, they almost became partners, and he had even invited Sam to his home several times, but Sam had never invited him back. He knew nothing about Sam's situation.

Thanks to Bernie's rambling, they soon learned from the stall owner that Sam was very respected in the area, and people would come to him for any problems or disputes.

Everyone respects him.

But Sam didn't actually have many friends, except for Carlos, who lived on the rooftop of his apartment building.

The boss's expression changed when Carlos was mentioned.

To Theodore's surprise, Bernie's expression was also strange.

He even abandoned his pretense and directly asked his boss, Carlos, where he was.

After getting the exact address, Bernie stopped being polite and ran straight to the apartment.

Theodore caught up from behind, and as he followed him up the stairs, he asked, "Do you know this guy named Carlos?"

“His name is Carlos Mendoza.” Bernie’s breathing was steady, and he was running faster than if he were on flat ground.

Theodore followed closely behind.

If it weren't for his recent training, he really wouldn't be able to keep up with Bernie.

Even so, if this were a building with ten or even dozens of floors, he certainly wouldn't be able to climb Bernie's.

You might know him, but you haven't seen him in person, so you can't remember him.

“He participates in the police department’s selection process every year, but he can never pass the physical fitness test.”

"He especially idolized the police and Sam."

“His grandfather was also a detective who participated in the suppression of the 17-year strike and the Great Depression strike.”

He turned to Theodore and asked, "You know about these two major strikes, right?"

Theodore nodded. "I know."

In 1917, Mexican oil workers went on strike due to low wages and discriminatory treatment, which was brutally suppressed, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Mexican workers launched another labor movement. This time they had unions and it was quite large-scale, but they were met with a multi-party crackdown, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.

"Later, his grandfather was targeted in retaliation and became paralyzed in bed. His parents were also stabbed to death."

“He grew up under the care of Sam’s family. Later, with Sam looking after him, he and his grandfather were able to continue living in this community.”

"Didn't you say that the person who took Sam away was someone Sam knew well and also knew the police force inside and out?"

He stopped in front of the iron gate leading to the rooftop and whispered, "That's him."

(End of this chapter)