1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 4: Where is the murderer?
Anna, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen, her eyes red-rimmed and her face pale. She forced a smile at the two of them.

She tugged at her brother's arm and said, "I accidentally broke a plate just now, go and clean it up."

Sit glanced at the two people at the door, but didn't move. Anna tugged at him again, and he turned and went into the kitchen.

Anna smiled at the two of them and said, "Come in and sit down. Thank you for taking that demon away."

Bernie shook his head. "You should have reported it to the community or called the police sooner." He then inquired about the siblings' situation. Anna told him that her brother, Sit, was an adult, so they didn't need to move out or be adopted by a foster family.

Theodore interrupted their pointless small talk and asked Anna for the key.

After opening the wooden plank, a wooden ladder appeared before her eyes. Anna pressed a switch on the wall, and warm yellow light shone into the dark basement.

Theodore went down the wooden ladder to the basement, while Bernie stayed upstairs. He stopped exchanging pleasantries with Anna and instead took a half-step back to be on guard.

The basement wasn't big, so Theodore had to crouch down. A blanket was laid out, and a few books lay nearby. He flipped through them casually, then went to the exit, covered it with a wooden board, and called out to Bernie, "Bernie, can you hear me?"

“I can hear you.” Bernie’s voice was muffled, but clear.

“Cover the carpet too,” Theodore shouted.

A rustling sound came from above, then quickly fell silent. The cramped space forced Theodore to curl up, and the only source of light continuously emitted heat, scorching his skin. Sweat soon covered Theodore's forehead.

The sounds of breathing, heartbeats, and the flow of blood in his veins were clearly audible. Theodore felt a sense of dread, as if he were being buried alive. He knew this was a normal physiological reaction, so he suppressed his wild thoughts and began to observe.

Although the basement was small, it had no unpleasant odors and was very clean, with no mold in the corners. There were also some cartoon drawings on the walls and ceiling.

Theodore picked up the books from the ground again and looked through them, finding that they were all fairy tale books. The books had obviously been turned over frequently and the edges were frayed.

"Are you OK?"

Bernie's voice could be faintly heard from above, but it wasn't very clear.

A moment later, the rustling sound started again, and the wooden board above their heads was lifted, revealing Bernie's big face.

“That scared me to death.” Bernie breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Theodore up, and complained, “I couldn’t hear you answering either.”

Theodore didn't say anything, but looked at Anna and asked, "On the day of the incident, after Diane and Carter left, who else came?"

Anna avoided Theodore's gaze. "I don't know. You just tried it too; you can't hear anything. In there, all you can do is sleep and pray that time passes quickly. What else can you do?"

Theodore didn't press further, shook his head, and left.

Although it's strange, if Anna really heard something, she shouldn't hide it. Theodore had personally experienced the basement, and it was indeed difficult to hear clearly in there, and the environment was extremely oppressive. Even if she heard something, she would think it was a hallucination.

Bernie caught up with them, feeling sorry for the brother and sister, and then asked, "Where are you going now?"

Theodore left Brian's house and turned left toward "Carter's house".

…………

Carter warmly welcomed the two, saying, "Try it and see how it is." She brought them a large plate of homemade cakes on a simple, light blue porcelain plate with decorative patterns.

Theodore doesn't like sweets, but Bernie ate with great relish, explaining his purpose as he ate. When he mentioned his good neighbor, Carter immediately burst into tears: "She asked me and Diane to come over that day because of Anna."

Carter wiped away his tears and said, "She thinks Anna should be found a husband. Once she's married, she won't shave her head and wear Rose Street clothes anymore; she'll become normal."

Bernie frowned and asked about the abuse at Brian's house. Carter said she already knew.

Bernie put down the cake, and Theodore straightened up as well.

“Not only do I know, but Diane knows, and many people know.” Carter was over seventy years old, and he rambled on and often went off-topic.

"Hey, speaking of Diane, are you going to Diane's house later?" Carter asked, and without giving them a chance to answer, he went to the kitchen and brought out a bag of cakes.

"Then please take this over for me. This is a cake I baked for little Doyle; he loves my cakes the most."

"You said you'd come to pick it up today, but you haven't shown up yet. You're being stingy again." Carter was a little unhappy that Diane hadn't come, and he started nagging the two of them about Diane.

“She wasn’t like this before. She used to be a very lively and cheerful person. Later, her son, Doyle, was paralyzed in a car accident and kept contemplating suicide. During that time, she was constantly worried and became quite haggard.”

“She’s been acting strange ever since. She suspects her husband, Riser, of having an affair, so she makes a scene with him. When Riser isn’t home, she comes to my house to cause trouble, blaming my husband for introducing Riser to a truck driver job.”

“Riser is an honest man, not very talkative, which made Diane even more of a fuss. Once she scratched Riser’s face until it bled, and even told the police that Riser was going to kill her. Since then, Riser has rarely come home. When he does come back, he just visits Doyle, leaves enough money, and then leaves again. He hasn’t spoken to Diane since.” Carter rambled on, sighing, and finally showed them a photo album.

"We used to have a very good relationship."

Carter pointed to the three smiling women in the photo.

Theodore, however, noticed another photograph and asked, "Who is this?"

“Him?” Carter said with a smile. “He’s my husband.”

"He's also a truck driver. The truck drivers' union used to put out ads calling on truck drivers to join them, and this photo was taken back then. I got a copy from the union."

In the black and white photo, a truck driver stands in front of a gray truck. The driver is wearing a hat and a dark gray coat, has a full beard, and is giving a thumbs-up with a bright smile.

Bernie stared wide-eyed at Theodore, who gently shook his head and changed the subject, "Carter, this plate of yours looks really nice, where did you buy it?"

Carter's attention was immediately drawn to the plates, and she introduced them with a smile, "My husband bought them from New York; he knows I like them. They're a set; wait a moment while I go get them for you to see."

As she spoke, Carter went to the kitchen and brought out the same bowls, plates, cups, and basins... "They're said to have come from the East." She then thought of her good friend Diane. "Oh, Reese also brought Diane a set, her favorite red one, with children and fish on it, supposedly with a very auspicious meaning. But she smashed most of them."

There's only one left, and he always takes it out to show off to us, treating it like a precious treasure.

Theodore picked up the plate and examined it closely, then asked, "Did you use this plate to serve the cake that day?"

Carter clapped his hands. "Oh dear, I had forgotten! There's another plate at Brian's house. I forgot to bring it back. That explains why one is missing."

Muttering to herself, her eyes became unfocused as she carried the plate towards the bedroom.

Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance and silently left.

“Her husband died in January, supposedly from a heart problem,” Bernie whispered to Theodore after they came out.

Theodore nodded and walked toward Diane's house, saying as he went, "Now let's go to Diane's house and see if her 'precious plate' is there."

Bernie was puzzled. "What does this have to do with the plate? Shouldn't it be Carter's husband?"

He had investigated Carter before and knew about her husband, but he had never seen the photograph and never connected a person who had been dead for four months with the case. Now, it seems highly likely that the 'person asking for directions' Diane described was Carter's husband. Diane lied in her testimony, and she is a prime suspect.

Theodore continued walking, explaining, "The killer committed the crime between 11:50 and 12:10, after Carter and Diane left. During the crime, the killer struggled with the victim, and the victim did not cry for help. What does that mean?"

Bernie repeated, "What does that mean?"

"This means that the deceased knew the murderer, and that she even invited the deceased into the house."

Bernie's eyes lit up, and he added, "So that's why you said their scuff marks came from the inside out—it really wasn't the ghost who told you that!"

Theodore nodded weakly. "That's right."

"But what does this have to do with the plate?"

Theodore stood at Diane's door and rang the doorbell. "Who is most likely to return to the deceased's house during this time?"

Bernie thought for a moment, then, remembering Theodore ringing the doorbell again, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "It's Diane!"

“That’s right. Carter said Diane treasured the remaining plate. She used it to hold cakes and candies to show off to her best friends and tell others that she was happy and that her husband Reese loved her very much.”

"This plate is probably one of the few pieces of evidence she has left that proves Rither loved her, so she treasures it but doesn't hide it."

"If Diane had left the plate at the deceased's house, she would likely have gone back to retrieve it immediately."

Bernie frowned and asked, "But how did she come to have a conflict with the deceased?"

Theodore rang the doorbell for the fourth time, then shook his head and said, "I'll have to ask Diane about that."

Still no response. Bernie's expression turned serious. He drew his gun, stepped forward to shield Theodore behind him, hid behind the wall, peered inside, then smashed the glass with his elbow and turned back.

"Notify the bureau, there's a murder case."

At the same time, a putrid stench assaulted our senses.

(End of this chapter)