Summary

Chapter Eight, the beginning of Chronicle Two, begins in the summer of 1925. Tom White, the head of the Bureau of Investigation’s Houston field office was called to Washington, D.C. White was a former Texas Ranger and retained many of the old-fashioned habits of a Western lawman. He had no formal training as a scientific investigator, but was experienced and well respected by his colleagues. He had joined the bureau in 1917, nine years after its founding. At the time, the bureau had very few agents or field offices. It had limited jurisdiction and its agents were only permitted to gather facts, rather than make arrests. It had also developed a reputation for corruption and political motivation. During the administration of President Harding, its agents were known for accepting bribes from criminals and impeding Congressional investigations. In 1924, the 29-year old J. Edgar Hoover...