Chapter 84: Twin Detectives
After leaving the forensic lab, they contacted the patrol officers at Oak Grove Manor High School and learned that the electrician still hadn't arrived.
Bernie told them to find an electrician themselves and not wait for the school's maintenance crew. Putting down the radio, he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
Since the crime scene wasn't ready for a detailed investigation, they decided to visit the hospital first. Many of the Free Fighters' coaching staff and players had been hospitalized after last night's violence.
Being black, they couldn't seek treatment at white hospitals; they could only go to medical facilities that the black community had specifically established for themselves. Jim Crow laws explicitly prohibited black patients from white hospitals, and authorities arrested violators for "illegal trespassing."
In this era, America still practiced widespread segregation in education, healthcare, employment, dining, and even public transportation. To resist integration, Virginia had directly closed public schools in areas like Norfolk and Richmond. When William Frantz Elementary School opened for integration, enrollment plummeted from 576 to just 23 students.
These black clinics and hospitals were typically located within the heart of the black community.
The two men drove into the neighborhood and a crowd immediately stopped them at the hospital entrance. Bernie didn't flash his badge as usual, he didn't even get out of the car. Instead, he picked up the radio to call for nearby patrol backup.
After setting down the radio, Bernie remained in the car and began explaining to Theodore how to identify gang affiliations based on tattoos. According to his assessment, the people outside represented three different major gangs.
A battered police cruiser arrived thirty minutes later. A black patrol officer drove closer, got out, walked through the crowd, and knocked on their window to ask about their business.
His attitude was cold, unlike any patrol officer they'd encountered before.
Theodore and Bernie weren't sure if these people knew about the coach's death yet, so they requested entry to question witnesses, using the investigation of last night's riot as their cover.
This drew a chorus of boos from the crowd. They believed the detectives had come to make arrests, to get revenge for the white people who'd lost last night and teach the black community a lesson.
Bernie emphasized to the patrol officer that they were only there to investigate. "Buddy, you should know us," he said.
The black officer stared at them for a long moment, then pointed to his own eyes, a warning not to try anything unnecessary.
With the patrol officer's help, they entered the hospital and reached the floor where staff had been treating the injured players. Even here, crowds of people maintained a protective vigil.
The black officer seemed to carry considerable authority. He dispersed the onlookers and led the two detectives into a ward.
"This is our quarterback, 'Rocket' Leroy Davis," the officer announced with obvious pride. "He threw that Hail Mary last night. He's the most talented quarterback in all of Felton."
He introduced Theodore and Bernie with just one phrase: "They are the twin detectives."
This identity provided a real advantage. Not only did it earn the patrol officer's trust, but Leroy's wariness toward them also visibly decreased.
When they questioned Leroy, his attitude toward the deceased coach struck them as strange. He expressed strong disdain for Amos Williams, spoke disparagingly of him, yet constantly brought him up, repeatedly mentioning "the coach said this" or "the coach said that."
When they asked about the coach's whereabouts, Leroy curled his lip with obvious contempt, while the black patrol officer listening nearby couldn't help but chuckle.
He told them that Coach Amos was notoriously promiscuous, everyone in Felton's black community knew he'd only be in two places: the football field or some woman's bed. He guessed Amos was probably sound asleep in a woman's bed right now.
Theodore and Bernie exchanged glances. He was indeed sound asleep, in a manner of speaking.
Bernie then asked Leroy about the specific details of his conflict with the coach during the third quarter.
Felton television had broadcast the game live, with several radio stations providing commentary. The standby detectives at the West District Branch had been particularly engrossed, watching below the break room TV.
In the third quarter, Leroy had first yelled at the coaching staff from the field, then actually rushed over to physically assault the coach. The cameras captured all of it. However, due to technical limitations, the broadcast showed the conflict occurring but not the specific details.
Leroy became agitated as he spoke, cursing the deceased as a traitor and liar who had betrayed their trust. He claimed white people had bribed Amos to make them lose. Fortunately, he'd seen through the hypocritical coach, seized control, and managed to turn the tide.
Before he could finish, the black patrol officer sternly cut him off, warning him not to slander Amos. Leroy seemed genuinely afraid of the officer and immediately tempered his words.
According to Leroy's account, the coach had demanded the team control the game's tempo, which resulted in them falling too far behind by the third quarter. Even then, Amos had prohibited them from unleashing their full offensive potential.
Leroy had changed the strategy on his own, leading to the confrontation.
On the football field, the quarterback's offensive choices took precedence over the coach's, they could temporarily alter strategy mid-game.
He frankly admitted to hitting the coach, punching him twice in the face before pushing him down. He'd been ready to continue, but teammates and coaching staff had intervened.
Coach Amos had left the field with a bloody nose and sprained ankle. Leroy showed no remorse recounting this, if anything, he seemed smugly satisfied.
Other witnesses corroborated his version of events. The coach had required players to focus on defense and ball control for the first three quarters, consuming time and limiting the opponent's scoring opportunities, then flexibly choose aggressive offense in the fourth quarter based on the score differential.
But in the third quarter, Leroy had suddenly refused to execute the strategy, sparking the conflict.
They also mentioned that after the altercation, the coach had continued coaching from the sidelines for a while, but his nosebleed wouldn't stop. The staff had suggested he return to the locker room to treat his injuries.
After the coach left, the assistant coach took over. Because the game was so intense, they hadn't noticed that Williams never returned.
Later, when the riot erupted, they didn't realize the head coach was missing until they returned to the community. At the time, they'd all assumed he'd gone out on a date and hadn't given it much thought.
Bernie asked if this behavior was typical. The answer was that the head coach left early after every game to meet women.
Theodore then asked about the lights: "Were the visiting team's locker room lights broken from the start?"
They didn't know if someone had broken the lights in connection to the later violence, but considering the various legends surrounding the twin detectives, they answered honestly.
According to them, the lights had been working initially but someone had broken them when they'd returned to collect their gear after the riot.
Theodore wanted to ask the team to turn over their equipment for examination, but Bernie stopped him.
After leaving the hospital, Bernie asked the black patrol officer to help collect the team's equipment and have it sent to the West District Branch forensic lab.
Once they'd left the black community, Bernie explained his reasoning to Theodore. He mentioned numerous previous instances where white police had tampered with physical evidence to frame black suspects, creating deep distrust of white law enforcement.
In such situations, it was best to have trusted black officers transfer evidence and witness the examination process throughout.
Bernie told Theodore that even though their hospital conversation had been cordial and cooperative, it was only because the media had made their performance in the Sam case and the prostitute murders widely known throughout the West District.
Many people believed the media's portrayal of them as fair investigators and therefore placed more trust in them than they would in typical white detectives.
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