1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 84 Twin Detectives (Please continue reading)

After leaving the medical examiner's office, they contacted the patrol officers at Oak Manor School and learned that the electrician still hadn't arrived.

Bernie told them to find an electrician themselves to connect the wires, and not to wait for the electrician from Oak Manor School.

Bernie put down the walkie-talkie, laughing in exasperation.

Since the site was not yet ready for a detailed investigation, they decided to conduct their investigation at the hospital first.

Last night, many of the Freedom Fighters' coaching staff and players were sent to the hospital.

They were Black and could not go to white hospitals; they could only receive treatment at hospitals or clinics specifically for Black people.

Jim Crow laws explicitly prohibited Black people from entering white hospitals for treatment, and violators were arrested for "trespassing."

At that time, Emilyka still widely practiced segregation; education, healthcare, work, dining, and even taking public transportation were all separated.

In an effort to resist integration, Virginia announced the closure of public schools in Norfolk, Richmond, and other areas.

William Franz Elementary School's open and inclusive approach led to a sharp drop in student numbers from 576 to 23.

These clinics or hospitals are often located within Black communities.

The two drove into a Black neighborhood and were stopped at the hospital entrance.

Bernie didn't show his badge as usual; he didn't even get out of the car. Instead, he picked up his radio and called nearby patrol officers.

After putting down the walkie-talkie, Bernie sat in the car and explained to Theodore how to identify someone by their tattoos.

According to Bernie's assessment, the people outside came from three different large gangs.

Half an hour later, a dilapidated police car finally arrived.

A Black police officer drove up to them, got out, walked through the crowd, and knocked on the car window to ask what they wanted.

His attitude was cold, unlike any patrol officer he had encountered before.

Theodore and Bernie were unsure whether these people already knew about the coach's death, so they requested to enter the hospital to question those involved, citing an investigation into the mass incident the previous night.

This was met with a chorus of boos.

They believed Theodore and Bernie were there to arrest people. This was to avenge the white people who had been wronged the previous night and teach them a lesson.

Bernie emphasized to the patrol officers that they were just there to investigate, saying, "Man, you should know us."

The patrolman stared at them for a moment, then pointed to his eyes, warning them not to do anything unnecessary.

With the help of patrol officers, they entered the hospital and arrived at the floor where the injured team members were located, where many people were also waiting.

The patrolman seemed very authoritative; he dispersed the crowd and led the two men into the ward.

"This is our quarterback, 'The Rocket' Leroy Davis," the patrolman introduced with some pride. "He's the one who threw out the Blessed Mary last night."

"He is Felton's most talented quarterback."

He then introduced Theodore and Bernie to Leroy, saying only one sentence: "They are the Twin Detectives."

This identity really does bring advantages; not only does it gain the trust of the Black patrol officers, but it also reduces Leroy's wariness and suspicion towards them.

Bernie and Theodore questioned Leroy and found him to be acting strangely toward the deceased.

He expressed strong disdain for the deceased, his words were full of belittling remarks about the deceased, and he kept mentioning the deceased, always saying things like "the coach said."

When asked about the whereabouts of the deceased, Leroy curled his lip in disdain, while the patrol officer who had been listening in behind him couldn't help but laugh.

He told the two that Coach Emos was a womanizer, and all the blacks in Felton knew that he only showed up in two places: the football field and in a woman's bed.

He guessed that Emos was probably fast asleep in some woman's bed right now. Theodore and Bernie exchanged a glance, thinking that he was indeed fast asleep in bed.

Bernie then inquired about the specifics of Leroy's altercation with the coach in the third quarter of the previous night.

The game was broadcast live on Felton Television and provided commentary on several Felton radio stations. Detectives on standby at the West Precinct gathered around the television, watching with great interest.

During the third quarter, Leroy first yelled at the coaching bench on the court, and later even rushed over to punch the coach, all of which was captured on camera. However, due to technical limitations, the television broadcast only showed the conflict occurring, but not the specific details of the conflict.

Leroy became somewhat agitated, cursing the deceased as a traitor, a liar, and someone who had betrayed their trust.

He said that Emos had been bribed by the white men to make them lose, but luckily he saw through Emos's hypocrisy, seized control, and turned the tide to win the game.

Before he could finish speaking, he was sternly stopped by the patrol officer.

The patrolman sternly reprimanded him, warning him not to smear Emos.

Leroy seemed quite afraid of the patrol officers, and his speech became much more restrained.

According to his subjective account, the deceased demanded that the team control the pace of the game, which led to them falling too far behind by the third quarter, but the deceased still forbade them to unleash their offensive potential.

Leroy changed his offensive tactics, which led to a conflict with the dead.

In football, quarterbacks have priority over coaches in choosing offensive options, and they can request the offensive team to change their strategy on short notice.

He readily admitted to punching the coach. He first punched the coach twice in the face, then pushed the coach to the ground. He was about to follow up with more punches, but was stopped by the coaching staff and his teammates.

Coach Emos was beaten so badly that his nose was bleeding and his ankle was sprained.

Leroy said these things without any remorse, and even with a hint of pride.

His subjective statement was corroborated by others.

The deceased instructed his players to focus on defense and ball control in the first three quarters, running down the clock and limiting the opponent's scoring as much as possible, and to flexibly choose aggressive offense in the fourth quarter based on the score difference.

However, in the third quarter, quarterback Leroy suddenly refused to execute the play, which led to a conflict with the head coach.

They also mentioned that after the conflict, the deceased was still directing from the sidelines for a while, but his nose kept bleeding, so they advised him to go back to the locker room to treat his injuries.

After the deceased left, the assistant coach took over the command. Because of the tension of the game, they did not notice that the coach had not returned.

Later, a riot broke out, and it wasn't until they returned to the community that they noticed the head coach was missing. But at the time, they all assumed the head coach had gone out on a date and didn't pay much attention.

Bernie pressed for details about whether this was a common occurrence, and the answer he received was that the head coach would leave early after each game to go on dates with women.

Theodore then asked them about the details of the lights: "Were the lights in the away team's locker room broken from the beginning?"

They weren't sure what the broken light had to do with the later group conflict, but considering the various legends surrounding the Twin Detectives, they answered honestly.

According to them, the light was working at first, but it broke when they went back to get their equipment after the riot ended.

Theodore wanted to ask the team for more equipment, but Bernie stopped him.

After leaving the hospital, Bernie asked the patrol officers to help collect the team's equipment and take it to the precinct's medical examiner's office.

Bernie only explained the reason to Theodore after leaving the Black community.

He mentioned that there had been many instances of police officers tampering with physical evidence to frame others, which led to their deep distrust of the police.

In situations like this, it's best to have a trusted corrupt police officer hand over the evidence and witness the entire inspection process.

Bernie told Theodore that the conversations in the hospital seemed harmonious, and that the people were very responsive, because their performance in the Sam case and the prostitute murder case had already become widely known in the West End.

Many people believe the media's portrayal of them, and therefore should have more trust in them.

(End of this chapter)