Jimmy grabbed Jerry's arm and shook it twice, "Calm down, calm down, Jerry, let's go over there to talk."
Jimmy took Jerry out of the hall and walked out of the headquarters building. Since Jerry had come to find him, it must be something important. Jerry had known for a long time that Jimmy had become a county police officer. Jimmy used to often bring him food and supplies, but later the visits had become much less frequent.
Jimmy and Jerry walked to the parking lot, where there weren't many people, so they could talk freely.
Jimmy: "Jerry, do you have a daughter? Tell me about it."
Jerry had already passed the excited stage when he first saw Jimmy and now seemed to have calmed down.
Jerry: "Yes, I have a daughter. She went with my ex-wife, who remarried an accountant. They live in Memphis, Tennessee."
Jerry took a photo out of his pocket, which he obviously cherished. It was laminated, although it looked like he frequently viewed it, as the lamination was worn and wrinkled. The photo showed a man and two women, a happy family. Jimmy took the photo and looked at it. The Jerry in the photo was nothing like the homeless man in front of him.
The scene in the photo looked like a picnic, with Jerry sitting on the grass, watching a beautiful young woman and a little girl arranging food on a picnic blanket.
The Jerry in the photo wore casual clothes and had a smiling face showing a few teeth, short hair, and somewhat chubby, whereas the real Jerry was much thinner, with messy hair and wearing dirty, tattered clothes.
The person who took the photo was talented, managing to capture the faces of Jerry and the little girl during such a family activity. Although it wasn't a full frontal view, most of their faces were clearly visible.
Jerry continued: "This is a photo from 7 years ago. After that, we got divorced and my daughter Mary went with my ex-wife back to her home in Memphis.
Three years ago, she married a local accountant in Memphis. Since then I haven't seen them. I only call Mary from time to time."
Last night, Mary suddenly called me, saying someone was after them. After that, I couldn't contact Mary again. No one answered the phone, and this morning it was turned off."
Jerry, agitated again: "Jimmy, you're the only cop I know, you must help me find my Mary. Please."
Jimmy: "Jerry, don't get worked up. I'm just a county cop, and besides, Memphis is in Tennessee, I don't really know anyone over there. Calm down, let's analyze this properly."
Jimmy thought about the people he knew and realized that his only connection to Tennessee was a past case, but that was an FBI interstate case, not a local Tennessee case.
Jimmy: "Jerry, did you report it to the police?"
Jerry: "No, I haven't seen them since my ex-wife remarried. I don't even know where they live. Even if I reported it, I wouldn't know their location."
Jimmy: "That's tricky then. If we don't know the location, even if someone was willing to check, we wouldn't know where to start. Give me Mary's phone number, I'll try to see if someone can confirm the address."
Jerry gave the number to Jimmy, who curiously asked, "Jerry, how did you end up homeless? You seemed to have a good life before, according to the photo."
Jerry, realizing that getting anxious was pointless and having no reason to hide anything from Jimmy, responded.
Jerry: "Yeah, my life used to be quite good. I had a happy family and my own factory. However, a few years ago, a serious accident occurred at the factory and I lost a lawsuit. I went bankrupt, the bank took the factory, and I also got divorced."
Jimmy: "Going bankrupt doesn't necessarily mean you have to be homeless, does it?"
Jerry: "It's no use. I couldn't recover financially for years after the bankruptcy, plus the bankruptcy record will follow me for many years. I'm too old now to return to my former life."
Jimmy: "Alright, let's not talk about the past for now. I'll start looking for someone to try and locate her, then we'll see how to proceed. Jerry, you go back for now, and I'll call you if there's any news. If you have more information, you might try calling the Memphis police station."
Jimmy saw Jerry off and began thinking about how to handle the situation.
Although Jimmy hadn't spent much time with Jerry, it was clear that Jerry had always been taking care of Jimmy, otherwise he wouldn't have put so much effort into contacting Jon for him, knowing that, as homeless people, they generally keep to themselves and act as strangers to each other.
Moreover, as a homeless person, being able to find connections from his past and get a job at Jon's restaurant, where he was paid quite well, was something Jimmy hadn't fully appreciated at the time. It was only after being in the United States for a while that he realized how lucky he had been.
In the United States, any businessman who employs homeless people for odd jobs is considered a brave soul, not to mention the various diseases that might be involved, just the theft, troublemaking, and drug-related issues alone are enough to deter most people from hiring homeless individuals.
Not only did Jon employ him, but he also paid him a regular salary and even acted as a guarantor for him to rent an apartment. All this originated from Jerry vouching for him with Jon. Although this was Jimmy's guess, it probably wasn't far from the truth. Jerry's favor was something Jimmy always acknowledged and felt obligated to recognize.
Jerry was in trouble now, having come to the police station early in the morning to find him. It was obvious he had walked, as homeless people didn't have cars. If he was still at the old homeless camp, it wouldn't have been a walk of just an hour or two.
He probably hadn't rested at all last night and had no choice but to walk to the police station to find him.
Now, the focus was on finding Jerry's daughter Mary. He didn't mention his ex-wife, so that was out of the question, the main target now was his daughter.
The only clues he had were Memphis and Mary's cellphone number, that was it. Relying on a cellphone number to pinpoint Mary's last known location suggested he needed to seek external help.
Jimmy took out his phone and dialed Agent Harten's number.
Jimmy, "Hey, Agent Harten, do you have a moment? I'd like to meet with you."
Harten, "Now? I can't right now. Hold on, let me check. How about 7 PM tonight? I'll come find you at the police station."
Jimmy, "Okay, how about we meet directly at Camulet Bar next to the police station? I'll wait for you there."
After fixing the time and place to meet with Harten, he returned to the police station to continue his shift. With things on his mind, Jimmy didn't feel like doing much more, and just after 6, he changed his shift status, changed into his casual clothes, and left early.
Jimmy waited at Camulet Bar for over ten minutes, and Harten had arrived, looking quite different from before. The last time they worked on a case together, Harten didn't wear glasses, and when making arrests, he was decked out in a bullet-proof vest and tactical gear.
Today, Harten was dressed in a casual gray suit and glasses, holding an unmarked briefcase, looking like an office worker. If Jimmy didn't know Harten's identity, he might have thought he was just another office worker from an office building.
Jimmy, "Harten, over here. Good evening. Fancy a drink?"
Harten sat down next to Jimmy, placed his bag at his feet, and ordered from Justin at the bar, "McLaren, thanks."
As Justin poured Harten a drink, Harten turned to Jimmy, "What's up? You've never asked me out for a drink since we last parted ways."
Jimmy, "My bad, I should have asked you out sooner, but I didn't know how busy you guys at the FBI were. I'll make sure to call you in advance next time."
Justin placed Harten's drink on the bar, "Here's your drink."
"Thanks," Harten picked up his drink and clinked glasses with Jimmy, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Justin, can we use the room for a bit? Come on, let's talk inside," Jimmy said.
After greeting Justin, Jimmy led Harten into the only private room. The room was really convenient, not open to the public and only accessible to those who were known.
Jimmy and Harten took their seats, Harten placed his briefcase aside, and Jimmy started talking.
Jimmy, "Harten, I have a very urgent matter that I need your help with. I have a cellphone number, and I need you to help check the last known location detail for me."
Harten, "Jimmy, think it over carefully before you speak. I'll pretend I didn't hear what you just said."
Jimmy, "Harten, I'm really out of options, consider this a favor I owe you. My friend's daughter called him last night saying someone was coming for her, and then he couldn't contact his daughter anymore. The number I want you to trace is his daughter's."