Chapter 81: Come On, Let's PUA Each Other
Theodore and Bernie attended the funeral of the two fallen County Police officers.
Their families expressed heartfelt gratitude to them.
The guests who came to the funeral treated them very politely, even somewhat reverently.
The County Police had long spread the word that Theodore could predict the future and communicate with ghosts. Now everyone in Nashville County knew that the rumors about the twin detectives were true.
After the funeral, the sheriff asked them about the case's progress.
After learning that the prosecutor's office had taken the case pending trial, the sheriff told them he hoped to see the killer in the electric chair tomorrow.
Theodore and Bernie looked back at the families who lingered at the cemetery, reluctant to leave, and remained silent.
After attending the funeral, the two returned from Nashville County to Felton and immediately plunged into intense work.
Two weeks after that heavy rain, four homicides occurred in the West District, overwhelming the Homicide Team.
Theodore noticed that many Homicide Team detectives had temporarily become devout believers in God.
Bernie also started saying grace before meals and asked him if voodoo could make the frequency of homicides return to normal.
Theodore looked at him and asked, "Are you okay? Do you believe in this kind of thing too?"
Bernie opened his mouth, feeling like he had heard that before.
On the last day of September, Theodore and Bernie attended a trial as witnesses.
Walter Jenkins was the defendant in the trial.
Guards pushed him into the courtroom in a wheelchair. Throughout the trial, he remained silent, only sweeping his gaze over everyone with indifferent eyes.
Theodore suspected that in his eyes, this was just a meeting of monkeys.
All detectives from Nashville County attended this trial to show their stance.
They wore their police uniforms, filling the public gallery, which was quite intimidating.
Entering October, new cases finally stopped coming in.
All Homicide Team detectives breathed a sigh of relief.
A lazy atmosphere permeated the entire large office.
Grace before meals disappeared, and detectives tucked various crosses away in drawers.
A detective was handing out small cakes again.
He said that his daughter was planning to open a cake shop, and he brought these for them to sample.
The detectives were very supportive, all saying they would patronize the business.
This time, not only the Homicide Team but also the Patrol Department received small cakes.
Since Deputy Inspector Burton arrived, the relationship between the Homicide Team and the Patrol Department had rapidly warmed from being at odds to being good brothers, with frequent interaction between the two sides.
The detective who delivered the cakes quickly returned from the Patrol Department, bringing back a piece of news.
Mexican-American workers were organizing protests and parades to fight for the right to equal treatment with white workers.
The Patrol Department received orders to maintain order at the scene.
Everyone looked at Jacob.
Since the beginning of the year, conflicts triggered by the civil rights movement had escalated, constantly tearing America apart.
A moment of silence filled the large office; everyone felt it was inappropriate to continue the discussion and quickly changed the subject.
They then talked about the general election. The atmosphere immediately became lively, and the detectives actively spoke up.
On the first day of October, the Houston Ministerial Alliance had suddenly released a statement suggesting that a Catholic president might be controlled by the Vatican.
This statement quickly spread across the entire country and caused a huge uproar.
In the past few days, major media outlets across the country had reported on Jack's identity as a Catholic.
Catholics advocate loyalty to the Pope, which conflicts with mainstream Protestantism in America.
Protestantism focuses more on individual faith being directly related to God, with little connection to papal authority.
Many people began to worry whether America's president would be Jack or the Pope if Jack won.
After the campaign speeches, the detectives had a good impression of Jack, but not to the extent that he was indispensable.
This discussion quickly reached a conclusion, and everyone reached a consensus, deciding to vote for Nixon.
After the discussion ended, the detectives became like toys that had run out of battery, slumping back onto their desks and spacing out.
After work in the afternoon, no one from the Homicide Team stayed for overtime; they ran faster than each other, afraid that someone would stop them with a shout of "New case!"
Theodore returned to his apartment and found that the neighbor next door had changed.
The new neighbors were a couple, cleaning with their door wide open, speaking with a heavy accent.
Theodore couldn't quite distinguish the accent, only that it wasn't from D.C. or Texas.
The neighbors were also quite curious about him and specifically brought a plate of blueberry pie to visit that evening.
The hostess examined him for a while, recognized him as Detective Theodore Dickson, and excitedly hugged and kissed him.
Theodore was still a bit unaccustomed to it.
Since the Senior Police Supervisor arranged a series of activities for him and Bernie, everyone in Felton knew them.
Before, people only knew their names and heard rumors about them, but this time, they could match faces to names.
This resulted in crowds often watching them, and some even came up to shake their hands and hug them, as if they were chasing celebrities.
He didn't intend to invite them in and just stood at the door chatting for a while.
After sending them away, Theodore tasted the blueberry pie and found it unexpectedly delicious, not at all inferior to the two places Mrs. Howard and Ricky had recommended.
A week later, Theodore received news that the court had sentenced Walter Jenkins to death.
Newspapers, radio, and television all reported this news, and the previously dormant Case 600911 once again made headlines and sparked widespread discussion.
Theodore and Bernie also became the subject of discussion again.
The Senior Police Supervisor came to find them again for a radio interview.
Theodore felt that the Senior Police Supervisor wasn't really a Senior Police Supervisor, but rather their agent.
Besides the radio interview, the Senior Police Supervisor also brought good news.
He told Theodore that the FOP was discussing the matter of granting him the rank of Sergeant.
However, this matter was progressing with difficulty.
The FOP had already discussed it once, and the supporters and opponents had argued fiercely.
After all, shortening it from Bernie's six years to his one year was a very large leap.
The Senior Police Supervisor predicted that the discussion might take some time to yield results.
He advised Theodore not to overthink it, just to focus on doing his job well; the more cases he solved, the more convincing his supporters would be.
Theodore suspected that the Senior Police Supervisor was trying to manipulate him.
He thanked the Senior Police Supervisor, and before the Senior Police Supervisor could finish being flattered, he turned to ask Bernie:
"How about we go participate in the FBI selection training next year?"
Bernie's congratulatory words got stuck in his throat, and the smile on the Senior Police Supervisor's face also became stiff.
Both of them stared at Theodore, finding it impossible to discern his true attitude.
The car was quiet for a while, then the Senior Police Supervisor rubbed his face and asked about Gary Mitchell.
Bernie quickly responded, saying that thanks to Gary, they were able to get through September.
Gary had previously felt he wasn't suited for the job and wanted to resign due to guilt.
After experiencing the crazy September, he never mentioned resigning again.
He was afraid that if he mentioned resigning, he would have to sleep in the forensic lab for another week.
Theodore also gave an objective evaluation of Gary, stating that his practical experience had become much richer.
The atmosphere finally returned to normal.
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