Chapter 87: We Still Don't Know Where Eugene Harper Came From
Senior Police Supervisor Daniel Flores, whom Bernie had been wondering about, had just arrived at the West District Branch looking for Theodore and Bernie. Finding them absent, and learning they'd refused his offer to transfer off the case, he rushed out in pursuit.
He was deeply anxious; he'd placed a heavy bet on these two men. Was this the kind of volatile situation they should be entangled in?
The Senior Police Supervisor pondered this while considering how to prevent such situations in the future. He'd wanted to reach them via police radio, but Wenner stopped him, advising patience and explaining the two detectives' current precarious position.
After finishing lunch, Theodore and Bernie returned to the black community.
Bernie drove straight to the hospital entrance, seeing almost exclusively gang members along the route. Hundreds of people had gathered at the hospital, with more arriving constantly.
Bernie radioed the black patrol officer, who responded quickly this time.
He informed Theodore and Bernie that many people had heard the news broadcast, and the entire community was now in a state of panic and rage. Several major gangs were organizing protests.
Most gangs in the black community had originally formed as self-defense groups to protect against political violence, giving them considerable influence within the neighborhood.
Before they could ask, the black patrol officer proactively mentioned the football equipment matter. He told them that Woodson Memorial High School purchased all their gear from a single shop.
After writing down the address, the patrol officer urged them to quickly catch Amos Williams's killer. He didn't want conflicts like last night repeated, he hoped to fight for equality through peaceful, non-violent means.
Theodore's gaze toward him grew curious. After hesitating, he asked tentatively, "Is your last name King?"
The black patrol officer looked puzzled. "What?"
They visited the shop provided by the patrol officer, purchased a new set of football equipment, and returned to the station.
As soon as they arrived, Senior Police Supervisor Flores escorted them to Chief Weideke's office.
Chief Weideke took the Amos Williams murder case very seriously and personally inquired about their progress. When he heard their assessment that the deceased died from personal vendetta rather than racial conflict, the Chief seemed surprised but said nothing.
After their report, they left the Chief's office and headed to the forensic lab with the new football equipment.
Gary quickly provided comparison results: the ligature marks on the deceased's neck matched the pattern on the kneepad strap they'd brought. The kneepad strap was definitively the murder weapon.
With this conclusion verified, they didn't trouble Gary further. Calculating the time, they quickly departed for Rose Street.
With a patrol officer's assistance, they located a working girl named Annie, whose pimp was C.C., an old acquaintance of Theodore and Bernie.
Under Bernie's intimidation, C.C. obediently summoned Annie to cooperate with the investigation.
When the deceased was mentioned, Annie displayed a peculiar expression. She had a vivid memory of him because he was the only black man she'd ever serviced.
Annie was successful enough on Rose Street to print her own calling cards, indicating she was doing well financially. If her other customers discovered she'd been with a black man, her rates would plummet and she'd quickly be driven out of business.
Under Bernie's repeated assurances, Annie described her transaction with the deceased. Besides paying double rates and demanding secrecy, he'd been particularly excited and specifically requested her card afterward.
Annie helped them identify other working girls and took Theodore and Bernie to find them. These women recognized the detectives, were enthusiastic toward them, and gladly cooperated with the investigation.
Their situations largely mirrored Annie's, and their descriptions of the deceased were consistently similar.
After visiting the final girl, they thanked the patrol officer for his escort and left Rose Street.
Bernie marveled at Amos's promiscuous nature. The deceased appeared to be collecting trophies, visiting Rose Street regularly, seeking out the most attractive women, and requesting their cards after each encounter.
However, Theodore raised a question: was a middle-aged man regularly visiting Rose Street truly considered womanizing?
Bernie shook his head emphatically: "I don't know... How would I know?!"
Theodore flipped through the girls' cards, arranging them in his notebook, and asked Bernie if he noticed any pattern.
Bernie glanced at them, seeing only a blur of pale flesh, and quickly focused on driving while shaking his head repeatedly.
Theodore provided the answer: "These are all white women."
Bernie suddenly understood: "So when Quarterback Leroy called him a 'traitor, a liar, who betrayed our trust,' this is what he meant?"
His tone grew complex: "A person considered a black hero preferred white women."
Theodore didn't comment on this observation. The explanation made sense, but he felt this alone wasn't sufficient to match Leroy's fury when discussing the deceased.
Returning to the branch, before they could even enter, they heard Cahill's booming voice:
"This is the West District! Get back to your East District, you East District fool! You have no jurisdiction here!"
"What are you staring at? Your patrol area's about to be stolen and you don't even have the shame to be embarrassed! Are you pigs..."
Cahill's profanity was harsh, his loud voice carrying throughout the branch and quickly attracting the Chief's attention. The Chief's assistant hurried over and escorted him to the Chief's office.
Theodore and Bernie returned to the main office, which had once again become a hazy cloudscape of cigarette smoke, with busy colleagues appearing and disappearing like figures in a dreamscape.
Bernie asked a colleague what had happened in the Patrol Department, and everyone immediately began talking over each other.
Eugene Harper, the man behind the big news announcement, was preparing to transfer an action team from headquarters to bypass the West District Branch entirely and make arrests directly in the black community.
This ambitious individual had determined that the killer was among the Free Fighters members. He believed this was a self-orchestrated murder within the black community, designed to portray black people as victims and inflame racial tensions further.
Theodore quickly asked for the basis of Eugene Harper's assessment. He assumed Harper had uncovered some crucial evidence he'd missed, leading to this conclusion.
As it turned out, everyone informed him that Eugene Harper had nothing concrete. He simply believed the killer was among the Free Fighters, so he was proceeding accordingly.
Theodore looked around at everyone, confirmed they weren't joking, and fell silent.
Bernie raised the persistent question again: who exactly was Eugene Harper?
Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads. No one knew this person's background or credentials.
Theodore didn't want to waste time on incompetents and redirected the conversation back to the case. He planned to share their investigation results with his colleagues.
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