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Chapter 48. Your relationship is really complicated
At noon, Councilor Santos arrived with his staff and personal assistant, finding the four men in the middle of their lunch.
This greatly surprised Theodore.
Councilor Santos appeared haggard and worn down by grief.
He was already aware that Little Howard had been released and understood Theodore's analysis of the actual killer's profile.
He admitted he didn't comprehend the technical details; he simply hoped Theodore could solve the case and apprehend his son's murderer.
He apologized for the morning's scheduling conflict.
He explained that his packed schedule only allowed him a brief window at noon to appeal to Theodore, not as a councilman, but as a grieving father.
After confirming that Theodore would continue the investigation rather than stopping at Little Howard's exoneration, Councilor Santos expressed genuine gratitude.
He glanced at Keller and asked Theodore whether his own staff should remain to facilitate communication.
Theodore preferred to keep his team streamlined and politely declined the offer.
After seeing Councilor Santos off, Bernie sighed with obvious relief. "I didn't expect Councilor Santos to be so straightforward. I assumed all councilors were like, "
Mid-sentence, he glanced meaningfully at Keller.
Keller maintained his composure and explained matter-of-factly, "Councilor Santos worked as an oil field laborer in his youth and is renowned throughout the city council for his volatile temperament."
"He once beat a councilman who proposed cutting public infrastructure spending until the man's face was covered in blood."
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After three consecutive days, they had finally interviewed all relevant parties, except for Helen Bennett, who remained missing from home.
According to Bernie, the interpersonal relationships among these young people were impossibly convoluted.
These interviews had even made Bernie start worrying about Little Sullivan's future.
According to their investigation, Emily Grant had secretly accepted James Carter's romantic pursuit, but because Emily didn't want to hurt others, their relationship remained private.
Emily Grant didn't actually harbor feelings for James Carter. She claimed to like John Davis, Little Howard's devoted follower.
Her reason for agreeing to be James Carter's girlfriend was connected to the runaway Helen Bennett.
John Davis had been infatuated with Helen Bennett, and everyone had always assumed Helen Bennett reciprocated James Carter's interest.
Emily Grant decided to solve the problem at its source, by claiming James Carter directly, striking at Helen Bennett, and redirecting the 'lovesick' John Davis's attention toward herself instead.
Emily Grant had planned to make an official announcement on her birthday, followed by James Carter's public proposal.
John Davis's motivations for helping Little Howard pursue Emily weren't altruistic either.
He hoped to unite Little Howard and Emily so that Emily would release James Carter, allowing Helen Bennett to be with him instead.
The information that Little Howard planned to confess his feelings on Emily's birthday had been deliberately leaked by John Davis, hoping to sabotage Emily and James Carter's relationship.
He was also among the few people who knew Emily and James Carter were already secretly together.
James Carter's reason for rushing to the attic was equally straightforward.
This earnest school football player had been persistently harassed by his unwanted admirer, Helen Bennett, throughout the party and was growing increasingly frustrated.
As midnight approached, he had retreated to hide in the bathroom, nervously rehearsing his proposal speech, when he overheard someone mention that Little Howard had gone to the attic.
Assuming Emily was also up there, he rushed to the attic immediately.
When their interview with James Carter concluded, Bernie patted the young man's shoulder and earnestly advised, "Testosterone isn't beneficial, it transforms you into a strong but simple-minded gorilla. You should control it better."
James Carter, being genuinely straightforward, sensed something was off about this statement but couldn't determine exactly what, so he asked Bernie to clarify.
Bernie sighed and continued urging him to manage his testosterone levels better.
James Carter's behavior had genuinely begun to concern Bernie.
He worried that if he raised Little Sullivan to be overly honest, the boy might end up like James Carter, hopelessly naive.
The audacity and chaos of these young people left him feeling completely overwhelmed.
Theodore thought to himself, 'As expected from a World War II veteran, his foresight is remarkable.'
Little Sullivan was perfectly positioned for the emerging hippie counterculture movement.
Theodore could almost envision a scenario where Little Sullivan would become a rebellious youth, literally kick over the aging Bernie, and insist on running away to live communally in the woods, sharing life, children, and sexual partners with fellow dropouts...
He immediately validated Bernie's concerns. "You're absolutely right. First step, we should prohibit Little Sullivan from listening to jazz music."
"Jazz?"
Bernie was completely bewildered. What possible connection could that have to jazz?
Theodore didn't elaborate, the car had already pulled into the West District Branch parking lot.
Bernie climbed out and hurried to catch up with Theodore, still asking, "What does any of this have to do with jazz?"
Theodore pointed ahead toward the building.
Today, the West District Branch looked distinctly different.
The entire facility was brilliantly illuminated, detectives were bustling about purposefully, and the entire Homicide division was working overtime.
Clearly, a significant new case had developed.
Not only was the Homicide team working late into the evening, but the Patrol division and other departments were also providing assistance.
Even Deputy Police Chief Wenner was working overtime.
Wenner was conducting phone conversations in his office and merely nodded briefly when he noticed the two returning.
Bernie offered to assist, but Wenner declined. He instructed them to concentrate on their current case, the Homicide team had over a dozen officers available, making their help unnecessary.
He didn't even disclose who had died or what had occurred before dismissing them both to go home.
The following day, Bernie temporarily set aside his concerns about Little Sullivan's education.
He could sense that the atmosphere within the branch had shifted uncomfortably.
Deputy Inspector Burton was clearly clashing with Wenner.
Unlike Cahill's manipulative scheming, Deputy Inspector Burton from headquarters employed direct, confrontational tactics.
Theodore didn't analyze the situation as deeply as Bernie, he was now completely absorbed by their current case.
The East District Branch's investigation into the birthday party guest list was nearing completion.
Based on the profile he'd provided, one individual stood out dramatically among the 147 attendees.
, Helen Bennett, who remained in fugitive status.
Helen Bennett was a medical student and an exceptionally accomplished one.
Detectives had interviewed her university professor, who confirmed that Helen Bennett demonstrated eanxtraordinary interest in anatomical studies, with grades significantly superior to her peers.
She also frequently approached the professor with questions outside regular class hours.
The professor noted that many of her inquiries were ones typically encountered only by someone with practical, hands-on experience. The professor had assumed she'd secured an internship at a hospital or similar facility.
In the professor's correspondence drafts with Helen Bennett, police discovered a draft discussing cardiac injuries specifically.
They had discussed how quickly a victim would lose consciousness following heart trauma, the available time window for rescue attempts, and proper rescue procedures.
Helen Bennett immediately became the police department's primary suspect.
Ricky had already deployed detectives for a comprehensive manhunt.
She matched the profile perfectly and had even made medical inquiries related to the victim's cause of death prior to the incident.
After the murder, she refused to cooperate with the investigation and simply vanished.
Anyone would conclude she was the perpetrator.
Theodore had to acknowledge that Helen Bennett was indeed a major suspect.
His perspective differed from Ricky's and the others', however.
Helen Bennett was intelligent. This aligned with his profile of the killer and, more importantly, his expectations.
But she wasn't quite intelligent enough.
If she possessed sufficient intelligence, she shouldn't have fled; she should have preemptively covered the evidentiary gap with her professor.
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