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Chapter 58: Disappearances and Suspicions
In mid-August, Theodore and Bernie's files were returned from headquarters.
They learned at an FOP gathering that the recent intensive review had actually come from the FOP itself, a sign that their organization was taking notice of their rising profiles.
After passing the review, both of them had been placed on the list of key personnel for specialized training, an honor that came with both opportunities and expectations.
After the gathering, the two went to the hospital to visit Carlos Mendoza.
The former fake police officer had attempted to escape during his hospitalization, was caught red-handed, severely beaten by guards, and had nearly died on the spot. His prison life had become very eventful indeed.
Not only did the prison guards take special care of him, but the Mexican-American inmates took even better care of him, with their own particular brand of jailhouse justice.
His case wouldn't even go to trial until six months later, leaving him ample time to reflect on his poor life choices.
The next day.
Deputy Inspector Burton called Wenner and Cahill into his office for what appeared to be a serious discussion.
Deputy Inspector Burton seemed to be the only one who hadn't gained anything substantial from the Teddy Santos case. In fact, he had contributed significantly; he had primarily borne the brunt of the political pressure from the police department headquarters.
However, afterwards, both Santos and the police department brass had given him the cold shoulder, leaving him politically isolated.
This news quickly spread throughout the entire branch, and everyone sensed that the conflict, which had subsided for nearly two months, was about to flare up again.
Wenner and Cahill's grim expressions when they left the office seemed to confirm everyone's worst fears.
After Wenner returned to the Homicide Team, he immediately gathered everyone and announced shocking news: Samuel was missing!
Previously, their forensic expert had taken five weeks of vacation to Oregon to attend a friend's wedding and had not returned as scheduled.
Towards the end of his vacation, he had called the branch to report that a case required a forensic doctor's expertise, and he might be delayed for a while.
After confirming with the local police department in Astoria, the branch had extended his vacation without question.
Two days ago should have been the last day of his vacation, and yesterday he should have appeared in the forensic lab, ready to tackle the backlog of cases.
However, until today, this limping drunkard still hadn't shown up for work.
The branch contacted the Astoria police department to confirm the situation and learned that he had finished helping with their case a full week ago.
The Astoria police department helped them inquire with Samuel's friend, and the response was that he had left Oregon a week earlier.
Wenner quickly assigned tasks, and the Homicide Team, previously listless from the oppressive August heat, immediately sprang into action.
Although they optimistically joked with each other, suggesting Samuel might have been delayed by beautiful women along the way, or perhaps captured by a mysterious, matriarchal, primitive tribe to serve as their 'village husband,' the humor felt forced.
As experienced detectives in the Homicide Team, upon hearing that someone was missing, they would always subconsciously think of the worst-case scenarios.
The detectives found Samuel's detailed travel plan at his house.
The outbound journey had taken him through the Midwest desert and the Rocky Mountains, while the return trip was planned along the scenic Pacific coastline.
He had wanted to appreciate two completely different landscapes on his round trip.
The branch carefully screened the last few cases Samuel had handled, then reported the disappearance to the FBI, standard procedure for missing persons cases involving law enforcement personnel.
On a particularly humid and oppressive morning, two FBI agents arrived at the West District Branch and took away all of Samuel's information and case files.
Jacob seemed to know these two agents personally, chatting with them from the archives room all the way to the parking lot.
The three even sat in their car and talked for quite a while longer, their conversation appearing unusually friendly.
Bernie was deeply dissatisfied with Jacob's chummy behavior and told Theodore that he suspected Jacob had become a traitor, secretly leaking police department intelligence to the FBI.
Theodore looked at him with genuine confusion.
What secrets did the police department actually have? How was he not aware of any?
Bernie didn't care about Theodore's skepticism; he just kept slandering Jacob with increasing creativity.
"If we were FBI agents, we could go find Samuel ourselves," Theodore whispered thoughtfully.
Bernie fell silent, his brows furrowing deeply as he contemplated the implications.
Samuel's disappearance had caught Theodore completely off guard.
Samuel was one of the few people Theodore could discuss and exchange technical knowledge with, a rare intellectual equal in this era.
Theodore tried to simulate how he would investigate if he were an FBI agent with modern resources.
In an era without traffic cameras, satellite photos, or even basic computer networks, finding a missing person was truly like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Just thinking about the methodical process gave him a headache.
What was even more troubling was the immediate practical question: with Samuel missing, who would be in charge of the forensic lab?
Given Theodore's experience with the East District Branch forensic lab's incompetence, he felt distinctly reserved about any potential new forensic director.
After the FBI agents left with their files and evidence, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Samuel's name, as if it had become a workplace taboo.
Bernie noticed his wife was acting strangely today.
After repeated gentle questioning, he learned that her close friend Cynthia's husband had died unexpectedly.
Bernie remembered the man, David Moore, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for over ten years.
Suddenly hearing of his death made Bernie feel unexpectedly melancholic.
First, there had been Sam's death, then Samuel's mysterious disappearance, and today, learning of his neighbor's passing. Bernie felt this summer had been particularly difficult and filled with loss.
Sighing about the fleeting nature of life, he decided to discuss with his wife the idea of using a new life to counter the specter of death.
After a passionate session of lovemaking, Bernie felt refreshed entirely and fell into the deepest sleep he'd had in weeks.
On the weekend, Bernie attended his neighbor's funeral. At the service, Cynthia was repeatedly overcome with sobs, and she cried so hard she fainted when the coffin was lowered into the ground.
This extreme display of grief made Bernie instinctively feel that something wasn't quite right about the whole situation.
Monday morning, Bernie shared his suspicions with Theodore.
"David was paralyzed for over ten years," he explained carefully. "For the past few years, I've often heard heated arguments erupting from his house."
"Especially in the last few months, the arguments have been particularly intense. Sometimes they start in the middle of the night, and Getty has been woken up several times."
Bernie's youngest daughter was named Greta Sullivan, and Getty was her affectionate nickname.
Bernie's meaning was clear and statistically logical. When a wife dies, suspect the husband; when a husband dies, suspect the wife.
This wasn't random guessing; it was a conclusion supported by solid statistical data.
Later data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime would show that domestic homicides account for about 15%-20% of all homicides.
Among these, spouse and partner homicides account for 50%-70% of domestic homicides.
Statistics from America's FBI show that spouse and partner homicides account for about 11%-14% of all homicides.
Among these, emotional conflicts such as breakups, infidelity, and property disputes account for over 60%.
Economic pressures such as unemployment, debt, and escalating domestic violence follow closely behind.
The deceased, being paralyzed and bedridden for such a long time, had a high probability of leading to marital breakdown, and expensive medical treatment and life support could cause severe household financial strain.
All these risk factors were clealy present in the Moore household.
Bernie's suspicion was entirely reasonable and well-founded.
Theodore immediately stood up and walked towards Wenner's office with purpose.
Cases like this, with no official report filed, based only on suspicion, intuition, feelings, or educated guesswork, especially when the deceased had already been buried, were notoriously difficult to open an investigation for.
He would need to get Wenner's approval first, and that wouldn't be simple.
Theodore felt confident it wouldn't be an insurmountable problem, given their recent successes.
However, Bernie clearly didn't share that confidence.
He grabbed Theodore's arm, looking hesitant and uncertain, lacking confidence in his judgment.
"How about I quietly take you to the cemetery first?" he suggested in a low, conspiratorial voice.
He wanted Theodore to communicate with David Moore's ghost to confirm whether it was a natural death or murder. That way, they would have more certainty before approaching Wenner.
"What are we going to the cemetery for?" Theodore looked Bernie up and down with exaggerated confusion, then reminded him pointedly.
"Grave robbing is illegal. It's much better to get proper permission and open the coffin officially."
Bernie's eyes widened in shock, suspecting Theodore was deliberately mocking him, but he had no concrete proof.
Theodore broke free from Bernie's grip and, before leaving for Wenner's office, earnestly advised him, "Read less Star News.
It's just a low-class tabloid that makes up sensational stories every single day."
"One day I'm going to sue them for defamation."
The "Psychic Twin Detectives" serial currently running in Star News had included a recent plot where the twin detectives, unable to get official police approval for their investigation, had been forced to sneak into a cemetery to steal corpses for examination.
Bernie was startled at first, then only fully reacted after Theodore had already knocked and entered Wenner's office.
"How did you know I was reading that?!"
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