Bloody Seven of Spades 1: Life and Death

"When I find out who did it, that person won't be able to eat and walk away." Sergeant Wen said to a group of people in the small conference room.

Levi had never seen him so angry.The sheriff clasped his hands on the edge of the desk until his knuckles turned white, opened and closed his nostrils, and glared at the people in the room.Many people present were either staring down at their hands, or staring at the floor, not daring to look directly at him.

Based on office conversations he heard yesterday, Levi had quietly named several major suspects for the leak—Jonah Gibbs at the top of the list—but he wouldn't be making small reports on them.Besides, if Gibbs did it, the truth would come out sooner or later; the guy couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Not much information has leaked out.Although the leaker gave the media details of the serial killer's self-proclaimed "mission," along with the cards left at the scene, the exact method of killing and the use of ketamine were not revealed.If someone imitates the crime, it is still easy to be distinguished.

Sergeant Wen reprimanded them for a few more minutes, and started a new topic after the anger was over. "The burglary team sent us documents on three veterinary clinic burglaries that have occurred in the greater Las Vegas Valley in the past two weeks," he said. The items were swept away, so it is not obvious at a glance that the main target of the perpetrator is ketamine. However, combined with the new information we have learned, the timing of the incident is highly consistent and cannot be ignored." He nodded to Levi and Martin. "Analyze the possible connection between these cases and the murderer."

"Yes, sir," said Martin.

"The anti-narcotics team also gave us information on the local sources of illegal ketamine they have. Unfortunately, it is very scattered - ketamine has never been the focus of their department. Depending on the situation, most of them are part-time workers. Potions are sold at rave parties and nightclubs. But we still have to check this line."

"I don't think we can rule out the possibility that the murderer obtained ketamine legally." Levy said, this idea has been brewing in his mind for a long time, and he has always wanted to speak out.

Sergeant Wen raised his eyebrows and asked him to continue.

"Ketamine is a controlled drug, but it has many legal uses. The killer could have obtained it legally, so we may have lost track of the investigation. I think we can continue to investigate this possibility."

"Good idea. Remember to report the progress to me." Sergeant Wen turned his gaze to all the staff in the conference room. "If the murderer does what he says, this person will attack the next victim this Sunday. We will use this period of time and use all available resources to ensure that this murder will not happen..."

***

After the regular meeting, Levi and Martin began to look up the documents of the theft cases, and they exchanged information through the connected workstations while reading them word by word.

"I think we have to go to these victims for re-acquisition." Martin said, because it is obvious that they will not get much effective information by doing a little research like this.

"I was thinking the same thing just now. I'm going to call the first clinic on the list." Levy just reached out to touch the landline on the table, and suddenly saw Dominique's figure appearing in the big office. Walk between workstations.He muttered, "What's the matter this time?"

Martin heard him speak, turned around in his chair, and watched Dominique come here. "Hey, Dominic, what's-"

Dominique tosses a small ziplock bag onto their desks.Inside there is only one playing card, face up, the seven of spades.

"What the hell is this?" Levi said.

"I was wondering. Found this on the windshield of my car last night. The best is yet to come." Dominique flipped the bag over to show them the back - it had a smiley face drawn in black marker .

Levi jerked back, the chair legs scraping the plastic floor. "Wow." Martin's eyes widened.

"Is it left by the murderer?" Dominic crossed his arms. "Is that person reserved for me? Is he watching me?"

His tone was very tense, as if he was struggling to control his emotions.Levi and Martin had a short, silent conversation with knowing glances and micro-expressions: Levi begged her to take over, and Martin relentlessly refused.Levi knew why—Dominique was talking to them both, but he was only posing like this because he was too embarrassed to ignore Martin who was sitting right in front of him, but the body language made it clear that he was looking for Levi of.

Realizing that he couldn't shirk it, Levi stood up and took the plastic bag. "Let's find a quiet place to talk."

He took Dominic to a comfortably furnished conference room, the kind used to receive victims or relatives of the deceased.Levy sat down at the table in the middle of the room, but Dominic refused to sit down and walked back and forth from one end of the room to the other.Levi didn't stop him; rather than wait for him to vent violently, let him let go of the tension like this.

"I read the Review this morning," said Dominic preemptively before Levy could ask. "You guys have a name for this freak?"

"That's not my decision."

Dominique growled reluctantly and put his hands in his coat pocket.Levi felt that his sitting body had entered a state of confrontation, and he could jump up as soon as he received a signal.In such a small space with Dominic, a strong man of considerable stature, all the martial arts he has learned are ready to use, even though he is very sure that Dominic will never threaten him with force .

"You found the card last night," Levy said. "It wasn't on the news then, so it wasn't a copycat."

"No. Either the murderer or someone inside the police, it can only be these two situations."

"Could it be a prank?" Levi had to bring up the possibility, even though he didn't believe it himself. "Someone knew you found Goodwin's body, so they wanted to scare you?"

Dominic glared at him angrily. "I was driving my friend's car, not my own pickup, and I was at a gas station I'd never been to when it happened, and I'd been driving for hours, and I went to my car. My residence and work circle are all gone. The person who did this must have followed me all the way to find me there."

"Not necessarily. Have you checked the car for a GPS tracker?"

Dominic stopped suddenly, closed his eyes and wiped his face with one hand. "No. I didn't even think about it... Shit! I have to tell Carlos—"

"Dominic!" Levy said, and then waited for Dominic to open his eyes before continuing, "What were you doing when it happened last night?"

A flash of guilt flashed on Dominic's face, and Levi knew he had hit the mark.Whether Dominic was found by tracking or GPS, if it was just to play a prank, then the person had to go through too much trouble, especially if Dominic was not driving his own car.It can only be the murderer, and it must be because Dominic poses a threat to him that this person will work hard on him.

Dominique hesitated for a moment, then took out a larger ziplock bag from his coat and put it on the table.The bag was full of white powder in sachets and tubes of clear liquid.

Levi put his face in his hands, stared at the bag, trying to keep calm. "Are you fucking crazy? Bringing so much ketamine to the police station? What are you thinking?!"

"I'm tracking the distribution channel of ketamine in this city, and I need to buy some goods."

"You know I can arrest you for that."

"Catch it." Dominic said impatiently.

Levi propped his elbows on the table, buried his face in his hands, and it took a few seconds.Then he raked his hair with his hands and looked up. "Put it away quickly, and promise me: you will destroy these as soon as you are out."

"Don't worry about that." Dominic scooped up the bag and stuffed it back into his coat. "I was able to get that much ketamine at the Manta in just one night, just by hustle and bustle from different people. At first, I thought maybe the killer did the same thing— —Saving money from small drug heads, it is almost impossible to track down that person. But the more I think about it, the less likely it is.”

"Go on."

"If the person was going to murder multiple people over an extended period of time, and wanted to paralyze each victim first... that would require far more ketamine. The safest solution would be to On the premise of attracting attention, find a stable wholesale supply source."

Levi nodded.It was because of this that he wondered whether the murderer would have a legal supply of drugs.

"There's a guy named Juan Morales, he's been supplying drug lords in this city with a couple of different highs, including ketamine. I followed him up last night and he's a gangster .'The Wasps'."

Levi leaned back in his chair in shock.The narcotics squad gave them no mention of any mob involvement in the ketamine trade—and then, they gave very little information themselves.His department focused on the high-volume distribution of drugs like meth and heroin, and less on party drugs like ketamine and ecstasy, which were traded between friends.

"I can't prove that the 'Wasp Gang' was directly involved, but..." Dominic shrugged, "I think, as a gangster, they have enough connections to establish some kind of stable supply source. Gives a serial killer exactly what he needs without asking questions."

If faced with a surge in demand, they can also organize several burglaries to meet the needs of their clients.

Dominic pointed his chin at the playing cards. "On the way back, I stopped at a gas station and came out of the convenience store and saw this thing stuck on the windshield. I couldn't figure out what that meant - was the killer warning me not to get involved? Or do you think what I did was ridiculous?"

"The smiley face does appear to be ambiguous," Levy said.The symbol could represent sarcasm, or it could be a sincere joke; what they knew so far about the killer wasn't enough to determine his intentions. "Goodwin was discovered by you. You have obviously attracted the attention of the murderer, and this person has also started monitoring you. This is tantamount to further reminding you not to intervene in this case."

"If you're talking about gangs, I'm not stupid enough to go after their activities."

"Aren't you stupid, why don't you have a bag full of ketamine at the police station?"

Dominic exhaled heavily, pulled out his chair and sat down at the table. "I see what you mean. But I'm not asking for my own death. I'm just... let me let go of this even if I can't."

"I can understand." Levi said quietly.Casualties on the battlefield cannot be compared with cold-blooded murders. Levy has seen veterans on the battlefield scream like rookie policemen when faced with a carefully planned murder scene.If the morbid psychology in the motive of killing is brought out again, no matter what kind of storms and waves a person has experienced, he will feel deeply horrified. "I'll send the card to a forensics lab and have them look for trace evidence."

"It has my fingerprints on it. When I first saw it, I took it with my bare hands."

"It doesn't matter. We got your fingerprints at the scene of the Goodwin case, just cancel it."

"You can't find anything useful." Dominic said in a tone as if he had seen the end.

He was probably right, but they had to try anyway.Levi moved his chair back, grabbed the bag and prepared to stand up.Noting that the expression on Dominic's face was still hesitant, he said: "I don't think you are in any real danger at the moment. The murderer targets those who have committed serious crimes, and you do not meet this profile."

"Unless this crazy guy wants to find out the crime by himself. I read in the newspaper that the murderer called the police directly and told what he did. The person who answered the phone was terrified Well, I can't imagine how creepy that would be."

Levi pursed his lips. "I took it."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why is it you?"

"I don't know." Levy himself had thought about this and wanted to understand why.Possibly just because he was one of the main investigators on the case—but then again, why call him instead of Martin?Was it really because he had shot Dale Slater, or had the killer disturbed his mind by poking at the sore spot?

"Damn," Dominic exhaled, "it must be quite exciting."

"It's no fun. But I can tell from this that as long as you stay away! stay away from this case, you will be all right."

"Okay, I understand, officer."

They went back to the big office, and Dominic followed Levi to his station so he could say goodbye to Martin.A patrolman came over to ask Levi a few questions about another case, and he took a few minutes to deal with it, turning around to find Dominique looking at the theft papers on his desk, looking pensive.

Levi was furious, and slammed the nearest file shut. "Go home and do something that makes money."

Dominique deflated him by giving him his trademark smile—the first time he'd smiled since he'd been here.Only then did Levi realize how unusual it was for Dominique to keep his face for so long.

"That's a good suggestion," said Dominique. "I hope you solve the case as soon as possible."

As soon as he left, Martin said, "Why is this guy so nice? When you said he was going out, why didn't a group of people shout at him and rush towards him?"

"He's not bad, as long as you're okay with that kind of muscular man with an oversized body and a brain full of testosterone." Levi said, but what he was thinking about was Dominique when he received the message from the murderer. , did not hide his fragility at all, and when he learned that the car he borrowed might have been tampered with, the first thing he thought of was the safety of his friends.

***

"The burglary happened on the night of Wednesday the 23rd, didn't it?" Martin asked the first veterinarian on the call list, Dr. Alison Sheffield.

"Yes, that's right. But we can't say exactly when, because I didn't find out about the break-in until the next morning."

"Did no one around here hear or see anything suspicious that night?"

"Of course not. The shops around here are closed after seven o'clock; the whole neighborhood is ghost-free by eight o'clock."

Levi walked around the waiting room while keeping one ear to listen to Martin's inquiries.The room is small, a typical small private clinic, run by Dr. Sheffield.Here she is a doctor, plus a front desk and only one veterinary technician.

Right now, there is only one waiting patient in the waiting room.The old woman seemed completely unmoved by the two detectives and the subject of the burglary.A Yorkie sat on her lap, looking at Levi with curious eyes.

Secluded neighborhood, small clinic, ridiculous security measures - robbing a place like this is like child's play.But to know that this is the case here, the perpetrator still needs to inquire in advance.

The most common method of scouting the target of theft is to enter as a courier or repairman, but the theft team has already checked this angle.Sheffield said no repairs or renovations had been done to the office in the weeks leading up to the incident, and the only courier was an old face she knew well enough to call by his first name.

After Levi walked around the house, he walked towards the old woman holding Yorkshire.The puppy became restless, trying to break free from the old man's restraints so as to get closer to Levi.

Levi smiled.He has always had little resistance to dogs, and this one is especially cute.He held out his hand and said, "Can I..."

"Oh, yes, yes. He's very dear."

Levi let the dog sniff his fingers and scratched the dog's chin.The dog writhed with joy.

There is an easy way to scout a veterinary clinic without arousing any suspicion.

Levi pats the dog one last time, then goes back to Martin and Sheffield, who are still talking.He waited until there was a break in the topic, and then cut in and asked, "Excuse me, can you give us a copy of the registration schedule for the two weeks before the incident?"

"Why not?" Sheffield turned around and asked the receptionist. The girl looked intoxicated and was listening with gusto. "Marisa, please."

Marisa didn't think it was troublesome at all. When Sheffield took Martin to the back to check the storage of those controlled drugs, she excitedly pulled Levi and chatted to him.Levy listened intently—helpful information was everywhere and ready to pop up—but in the end, it felt like she was talking about a bunch of innocuous gossip.

Not long after that, they left to collect evidence from the next two robbed clinics.They went back to the police station at noon and stopped by the deli to buy lunch.

Both saw at a glance what the three clinics had in common. "They're all small private clinics with fixed hours and never overnight animals," said Levy, as they stood at the counter waiting to be called. An all-night animal hospital."

"The security system is also extremely crude." Martin unscrewed a bottle of cherry soda and took a sip.

"An easy and low-risk target."

"Do you think the perpetrators are going to visit the clinic by pretending to see a doctor?"

"I would have done that. We'd have to cross-reference the registration schedules of the three companies to see if there were any duplicate names. We'd probably have to check those lists against the list of potential suspects."

"How much I like cross-comparisons." Martin said in a particularly excited tone, and then turned to face the counter when their numbers were called.

After returning to the police station, a list of potential suspects had been sorted out and waiting for them.There are so many depressing people in the Vegas Valley jurisdiction who have left criminal records out of justice or self-righteousness, including the perpetrators who cannot see the reality clearly, and some who seem to have legitimate reasons.There is also a document listing all employees within the Las Vegas Police Department who have used force in the course of law enforcement.

Levi's name is listed first because they are sorted alphabetically by surname.

Last name: Abrams; First name: Levi.Homicide detective.Kill criminals in hostage crisis.Ruled as justified homicide.No prosecution.

His eyes were fixed on the words "just killing".Strictly speaking, it is homicide when one person kills another, no matter the circumstances or the purpose.But not all killings are premeditated murders.

But he couldn't accept the word "legitimate".

The list is also long.Jonah Gibbs' name alone appears four times—and that's just the officially reported incident.But Gibbs' severity is not at all comparable to Keith Chapman's.

Last name: Chapman; First name: Keith.policeman.During the arrest process, he assaulted and beat the suspect, and the circumstances were serious.Suspended for investigation by the Internal Affairs Section, subject to possible prosecution.

Chapman was arresting a suspect accused of molesting a child, and the man taunted Chapman by telling him what he had done, and by all accounts, Chapman just... lost his temper.It took three officers to pull him away, and the man was badly beaten and required reconstructive surgery to regain the ability to eat and speak.

Levy has no sympathy for that scumbag at all, but as a policeman, if he has no self-control, he is not suitable to stay in the law enforcement department.Whether or not the D.A.A. prosecutes, Chapman has given the department such negative publicity that he has no chance of returning to duty.

Unlike Levy, who came back to work two days after killing a guy.

"Why don't you take charge of criminal records," he said abruptly, and pushed his list over to Martin, who already had one. "I will use the registration form for comparison, and I also want to check the gang line that Dominic said."

She glanced at him sharply, but didn't say anything.

They spent hours poking through the boring forms at the veterinary clinic to no avail.None of the names on the three lists overlap, nor do any known members of the Wasp Gang appear by name.The list of pet owners who visited the clinic and the list of criminal records were few and far between, and the leads invariably led to dead ends—old clients with close ties to the clinic.In the end, Martin diverted his energy and began to sort out the list of nearby pet clinics with conditions similar to those of the stolen clinic, which might be the target of the next theft.

Levi looked at the registration form aimlessly, feeling tired and bored.The schedules used by the three clinics are formatted differently, but a few basic pieces of information are included uniformly—the pet owner’s name and phone number, as well as the pet’s breed, sex, and age.His gaze scanned page by page, he stopped suddenly in the middle, and turned to flip through the previous content.

Male Tibetan Mastiff, seven years old.Didn't this dog appear on the registration record of another clinic before?It caught his attention because the Tibetan Mastiff is a relatively rare breed, especially in the scorching heat of Las Vegas.

He put aside the registration form that Dr. Vera had given him, and picked up Dr. Sheffield's.A few minutes later, he found the same registration record—the dog's name and owner's name had changed, and the phone number was different, but the dog's characteristics were the same.The dog also appeared in the third registration record, and its name was also changed.

"We've been looking for the same person who's been in all three clinics," Levy said to Martin, breaking the half-hour silence. "It should be the same animal."

He circled the three registration records for her to see.While checking, Martin said, "I've never heard of it, but there are dogs like Tibetan mastiffs."

"That's right. Even for a common breed, it's strange enough to have the same gender and age appearing in three veterinary clinics in just two weeks. And a rare breed like this? It's just a coincidence."

Her thinking has already run ahead, saying: "If we call and ask other clinics, we may be able to find out who is the next target."

She started to ask, and Levi confirmed the names and phone numbers of the three registered registrations, leaving no dead ends.As expected, it was all fabricated.

"I asked about two clinics that have received a Tibetan Mastiff in the past week," Martin said after the final phone call. Remind them of the risk of theft in the future and advise them to strengthen their security."

"Great." Levi's shoulders relaxed a little—it was some substantial progress.

"It's just a good time, because I have to go, or I won't be late." Martin began to tidy up the desk, stacking the pile of papers and folders on her side.

He forgot that Martin's daughter had a softball game this afternoon.Martin's two kids were involved in various extracurricular activities, and Martin would leave an hour or so early every now and then to be with her, and Levi never minded taking care of her.

"I'll stay a little longer to write a report or something. Wish Michaela the victory for me."

"Don't stay too late," she said as they walked.

Levi nodded with a smile, and stayed at the workstation for two and a half hours.

That report didn't have to be written that night.He can go home whenever he wants...but, he really doesn't want to go back.

Because Stanton was furious about the "Seven of Spades" news, the aftertaste of the two of them after a night of tenderness was completely spoiled.Stanton again begged Levy to consider resigning, and Levy walked away again in the middle of an argument.The same episodes played out over and over again, with no improvement in unhealthy relationships.

Being a police detective has always been Levi's dream, even though he was thin and clumsy as a child, he could only regard it as a pipe dream and never thought it would come true.Today, he can't imagine himself doing anything else.He thought Stanton would understand.

He had done almost all the work he could do in the office, but he still didn't have the slightest desire to go home, so he decided to go out and visit the communities where the two clinics that might be locked belonged, and visited them. See if anyone has noticed any suspicious behavior lately.This kind of task can generally be assigned to the patrol police, but there is nothing wrong with him doing it himself.

He also had to go to the police dispatch yard to register for a car—he had a car himself, but since the apartment was very close to the precinct, it was convenient to share the e-hailing service with Stanton, so since the two Since living together, he has never driven the car out of the garage.He chose an unremarkable sedan and went straight to the first destination.

As usual, the visit was a waste of time, futile.The businesses around the clinic have not noticed anything unusual recently, and they all find it annoying to be stopped by the police to ask questions about this and that when they are about to close and go home.Levy sent them his business card, but he knew very well that most people would throw it in the trash without even looking at it.

When he came to the second clinic where he might be targeted, it was even less exciting, because all the shops were closed.Like the community of the Sheffield clinic, it is a quiet commercial street away from tourist attractions, and the shops and services on both sides of the street-a small law firm, an accounting firm and a jewelry store-are not open at night.The only thing that looked a little angry was the only pickup truck parked in the parking lot.

Levi parked the car inside too, away from that one, then threw his head back and sighed.How long would it be before he would admit how pathetic he was behaving?Sitting out and sulking like this isn't going to improve his relationship with Stanton.He has to go home.

The sudden movement caught his attention, which seemed strange in such a deserted place.He squinted and saw someone in the back of the pickup truck—a big man by the looks of it...

"Bitch!" he said.

***

The anti-bone girl "barked" twice excitedly, indicating that a stranger was approaching. After Dominic heard the warning, he saw Levi walking towards him.He told the dog that he knew and ordered her to sit down. At this time, Levi knocked on the glass on the driver's side, and Dominic rolled down the window.

"What's the matter, Inspector?" he asked innocently.

"You're kidding me," Levi glared at him angrily, "you must be tired of working."

"Didn't you say the murderer wouldn't take my life?"

"I want your life!" Levy said, but the tone didn't seem to be really angry, but more like helplessness.

The anti-bone girl looked around at Dominic, trying to figure out what the newcomer was coming from.Levi glanced at her, his cold gray eyes warmed up a little, and the expression on his face softened a little.

"And you bring the dog to catch the robber?" he asked.

"She is a well-trained personal guard dog," Dominique said. "She is more reliable than many humans as my backup."

"How did you know to wait here?"

After seeing the addresses of the stolen pet clinics at the police station, Dominique drove home, telling himself not to look any further.It turned out to be useless, and he came to a conclusion: Fuck him, if he really can't let go of this matter, he should just check it out.

Jasmin had work to do, so Dominique drove Carlos to the hospital for post-surgery recovery checkups.While waiting, he scoured the hospital's WiFi for some material.The commonalities of the three clinics and their communities were obvious, but it was the staff that intrigued him most.

"The veterinary technicians at the three stolen clinics were all friends on Facebook," he told Levy. "They were all part of a local employment placement and adult education organization, so they knew each other. I checked them out. Posts on social media over the past few weeks have a veterinary technician named Christina Mercado testing them out to see if they have any complaints about how frustrating it is to work in a small clinic with poor technology."

Levi frowned. "Christina Mercado? Could it be someone's relative—"

"Eddie Mercado?" Dominique was referring to a man who was a member of the Hornets. "That's right, it's his sister-in-law. She also pretends to be very similar-only after contacting the identity will I find her statement suspicious. Anyway, in the past week, she chatted with several local veterinary technicians online, The topics were pretty much the same, so I took Fan Gumei to those clinics, and had a face-to-face chat with those girls?"

"Chat?"

"If I don't say anything, people will think I'm a straight man."

"Look how beautiful you are," Levy muttered.

Dominic didn't take this. "I didn't get anything out of the chat, but it made me see two clinics that were easy targets for robbery. They only adopted the minimum level of security required by law for controlled drugs, there was no surveillance video, and the alarm system was weak... ’ He nodded toward the clinic across the parking lot. "This is the last one I checked."

"They closed an hour ago," Levy said.

"I know." Dominique sat in the pickup and waited in the empty parking lot since the sun went down and night fell.

"Then why are you still here?"

"I..." Dominic stroked the hair on the cis and trans girl's back, "I wonder if that murderer is still following me, maybe I can lure that guy out." Knowing that Levi was going to get angry, Dominic Before he could speak, he added, "What are you doing here again?"

Levi pursed his lips. "We have also listed several potential crime targets, and I am visiting the community."

Dominique looked exaggeratedly at the dark and quiet small commercial square. "The community? Who are you going to talk to, raccoons and owls?"

"I'm under no obligation to explain to you—"

The rebellious girl roared softly, interrupting Levi's speech.

Startled by her aggressiveness, Dominic turns to look at her—but she doesn't yell at Levi.The anti-bone girl stared at the building on the street across the parking lot, her muscles tensed, her ears pressed back to her head.

Dominic and Levy followed her gaze at the same time.Not long after, light appeared in the originally dark window of the pet clinic, flickering on and off for a few seconds, and then suddenly disappeared.

It's a flashlight.

"I'm going," Levy said, "is this happening?" He took the walkie-talkie off his belt and said to him, "2H5 call dispatch center."

"Received 2H5, please tell me."

"918 [406] is happening at No. 1, Sunrise Complex, please support. The number of suspects is unknown."

“收到2H5，了解。在线各小组请注意，发生406速去支援2H5……”

Levy put the walkie-talkie back on his belt, pulled out his gun, and headed toward the clinic.

"Hey, hey!" Dominic said, jumping out of the pickup. "You can't go in alone. You don't know how many bad guys are inside, whether they have weapons, or the layout of the house—"

"I can't wait." Levi turned his head and glanced at Dominic. "The first few thefts were all done quickly and quickly, and it was over in less than 5 minutes. By the time the backup came, the prisoner had already slipped away. I can't miss this opportunity. You stay here!"

He said that and left, making no noise through the parking lot