Bloody Seven of Spades 1: Life and Death

Dominique sat lazily on a bench in the county jail, swiping boredly through the Grindr[1] app on his phone while waiting for the police to go through the process of arresting Ruiz and confirming with the bail bondsman.The bounty for this mission is not much, but it can help him pay off some of his debts and make up for the loss of income from not being able to work as a bartender at the "Manta Ray" on Friday night.

"Those weeks of self-defense classes at police academy won't do much for you," said a familiar voice.Dominique turned to see Levi Abrams coming down the corridor, followed by a rookie cop. "True martial arts and solid muscle memory take years of hard training to develop. My advice is, find a sport that works for you and find time to keep training."

The white woman walking with him was in her early twenties, with blond hair tied into a healthy high ponytail.Nodding thoughtfully, she followed Levi to the registration desk, not far from where Dominic was sitting. "You mean karate or something?"

Levi shrugged. "It depends on what you like. To be honest, I'm not interested in oriental martial arts."

"Then what do you practice?"

"Maga [2]," Levi replied absently.He looked at his watch, sighed, and tapped his fingers impatiently with the other hand resting on the table.

It's rare to watch Levi without him noticing, and Dominique doesn't miss a chance to feast his eyes.Levy was lean, always taut, and full of tension, which was perfect in a well-tailored tailored suit.Speaking of this custom-made suit, he couldn't afford it with his salary as a police detective. In all likelihood, it was bought by his wealthy boyfriend.Levi's curly black hair was cut short, and his high cheekbones were as sharp as a knife.Some people think his appearance is too sharp, but Dominic thinks it is super seductive, especially the silhouette.

Of course Levy didn't become a detective on the basis of looks; for a few seconds, he frowned and looked around, searching for the source of his police instincts.Dominic sat still, grinning when their eyes met.Levi's thin lips were pursed into a thin line.

"Officer Abrams," Dominic put his phone in his pocket and stood up, walking towards the registration desk where the other party was. "What are you doing here so late?" Seeing his tall body after standing straight, The rookie policeman's eyes widened.

"It's none of your business." Levi's eyes were clear and bright gray, and at the moment they were cold and disgusted. "What about you? I think you dragged some sleazy escapee by the hair again?"

"I only pull my hair on the most vicious villains." Dominique winked at the newcomer, and then said to Levi, "Why don't you give us an introduction?"

Levy glared at him before turning to the newcomer and saying, "Officer Kelly Marlin, this is Dominic Russo, the bounty hunter."

"Bail enforcer," Dominique said, not because he hated the term "bounty hunter," but because he liked to pick a fight with Levi, and it made him fume.

"Really?" Kelly looked at him with an expression of interest, which was the most common reaction of others after he announced his family. "How did you get into this business?"

“I was an Army Ranger for eight years [4], and it was a bit rough when I got out of the army.” Dominique did not elaborate on how “difficult” he was at that time. "A buddy suggested me to be a bail executor, and that's how it turned out."

"Cool. You have—"

"Officer Abrams," interrupted the officer at the registration desk, "you can see witnesses."

"Thanks," Levi said, sounding like he was utterly relieved, "see you, Kelly." He gave Dominique a curt nod. "Goodbye, Mr. Russo."

Dominic nodded back and watched as Levi walked around the registration desk and left under the leadership of another police officer.Well-tailored custom suits naturally have many advantages, and Dominic is enjoying one of them: the soft woolen material subtly sets off the slender and powerful thighs, and the firm buttocks... Well, I really want to slap it.

Kelly looked at Dominic, looked at Levi, and finally looked back at Dominic, and hummed lightly. "You know he has a boyfriend, right?"

"So what if you have a boyfriend, he hasn't worn a wedding ring yet?" Dominic said deliberately.Kelly grinned.

Just kidding, no matter whether the other party already has a partner, Dominic will not really go after Levi.That person is beautiful, yes, but he is also a hedgehog that is not easy to mess with, like a Victorian female academician, who puts on airs all day long.Dominique couldn't imagine how his boyfriend could resist.

***

After saying goodbye to Dominic Russo, Levi couldn't shake the irritability of dealing with the man.He's usually averse to bounty hunters—competitive, adrenaline-crazed megalomaniacs who use the guise of a profession purely for the thrill of the hunt.Dominique is the same thing, even if he's good at putting himself on the map with self-deprecating good manners and a friendly smile.

But that smile is too charming - the brown eyes are full of warmth, the strong chin, the already handsome face, and such a natural grin, it is extremely lethal.Dominique's nose was a little broken, but the scar only made the man more attractive.This upset Levy, who usually finds big men uninteresting.Dominique was not at all his usual type: built like a giant bear, and half a foot taller than Levi — who was not the size of a shrimp — and as big as a truck.

enough!Severely cutting off this continuous reverie, Levi walked into the interrogation room and encountered new troubles—does he have to ask Anna Granovsky for questioning in such a dull and disturbing environment?In any case, the discovery of a dead body is psychologically traumatic, let alone a murder scene like the one where Dreyer was killed.He wanted to testify to witnesses in a more comfortable and relaxed place; here only made Granowski subconsciously resist, seeing Levi as an enemy rather than a friend.

The witness sat at the table—she was not handcuffed, at Levy's request—and she was still wearing the uniform of the company that cleaned Skyline.What Martin said before is correct. She is indeed originally from Ukraine, but she has been in the United States for more than ten years.Levi didn't go to confirm her American citizenship, and he didn't care whether she had a green card or not.

As he walked towards the table, his eyes fell on the thin chain around Granowski's neck, on which hung a symbol written in a Hebrew word, pronounced "Chai[5]", which means "life". mean.This is the core teaching of Judaism, and it is also the reason why Jews always give multiples of eighteen when donating money and gifts—"Eighteen" is the representative number of Chai in numerology [6].

Maybe "classmate affection" can impress her?

"Mrs. Granowski, this is Detective Levi Abrams," he said, and sat in the chair opposite her.Bowing his head slightly, he added: "I like your necklace, Sh'kulatsdakake'nêged kolha'mitzvot." Charity is better than the rest of the commandments combined.

She blinked in surprise, looked him up and down, and after judging, the expression on her face softened.He met her gaze steadily.

"That's right," she finally said, "Your tutor is very good."

"Thank you. I apologize for what happened to you tonight. Officer Gibbs can't help himself sometimes when his head gets hot."

"I shouldn't hit him. I know that." She spread her hands as if asking: But what if it was you? "But he was threatening me, and his what--what did you say, the look of his face?"

"He looks like he needs to be beaten." Levi said, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

The other party laughed softly. "Yes. Still, it was wrong for me to hit him. I'm sorry."

"I understand. I've spoken to Sergeant Gibbs and you won't be charged. You can leave anytime... But if you could tell me about tonight, when you found Philip Dray I would be grateful for what happened to the dead body."

Granovsky nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

Levi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and took out his notepad and pen with his usual expression.This went better than he had expected. "You found him around nine o'clock in the evening?"

"Yes. I usually start cleaning the twenty-fifth floor at eight o'clock. Seeing that Mr. Dreyer's office was still lit, I stayed until the end to clean his room."

"Does he often work late?"

"Oh, yes. It's pretty normal. Sometimes he'll leave before I finish cleaning, and if he's still there, he'll let me in to pick up the trash."

Levi took notes. "So you know him? Have you ever spoken to him?"

"Have……"

Hearing her tone sink, he raised his head and found her frowning. "What's wrong?"

"I try not to have anything to do with him." Granowski hesitated for a moment. "He's...not very nice."

"Really?" Levi was surprised.This was the first time he heard such a statement. "Why do you say that?"

She opened and closed her mouth several times before saying, "When he smiles, his eyeballs never move, and they're cold and hollow. He's always very polite. Very... friendly, you say? But friendly people Doesn't mean he's a good guy. You understand?"

"I see." Levi tapped the notepad with a pen, recalling what she said.In the absence of conclusive evidence, a person's intuitive impression of the deceased can't explain much, but this has found an unexpected similarity for Dreyer and Campbell.At the very least, further investigations can be launched based on her testimony.

He shook his head, refocused on Granovsky's testimony, and followed her narrative step by step.She knew Dreyer was dead as soon as she entered the office—the body was terribly dead when it was so obvious—so she neither called the paramedics nor touched the body at all.In fact, she didn't even take a few steps into the door.She immediately notified building security, who called the police, who took her to an empty office and quarantined her until the police officers handling the case arrived.

During the time she was cleaning, there were other people on the 25th floor. Although not everyone could be named, she could confirm that they were all people she had seen before.She hadn't heard anything serious, seen no one acting suspiciously; she hadn't noticed any odd details until Dreyer's body was found.As a result, there is nothing more to dig.

Once Levy had the information he needed, he thanked Granowski for her cooperation and sent her out of the interrogation room to let an officer in charge take over.After that, he returned to his own branch; he still had some necessary business to deal with before he could put the case aside for the time being and go home.

It was past one o'clock in the morning when he arrived at North Long Street by e-hailing car and entered the private mansion in the Barclays Las Vegas Center through the private entrance.Of course, the nightlife on Long Street is still in full swing.In the beginning, it was the brilliant lights and vitality that attracted him to this city, but now he is exhausted and can no longer appreciate these as usual.He paid the driver a tip and walked to the lobby of the mansion ahead.He has lived in this dazzling fifty-story building for two years.

Bobby, the night porter, opened the heavy glass door for him. "Off duty so late again, officer?" he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, it's just that miserable." Levi smiled tiredly at the concierge, waved his hand again, and walked towards the elevator entrance, the marble floor under his feet was rattling.In a few seconds, an elevator arrived; after entering the elevator, he swiped the key card on the card reader, and then pressed the button for the floor.

Levy first met Stanton at a fundraiser organized by the Las Vegas Police Department, and he knew nothing about his identity.He still knew the surname "Barclay"—it was hard to know, those big characters hung high above the long street all day long, blinding people's eyes like diamonds.But Stanton only mentioned his first name when he introduced himself.

It wasn't until Levi was ready to go on their first date that he confide in Martin about his anxieties, and she pointed out for him the fact that it was under his nose: at the party, Levi would be put off his guard. That thoughtful and charming man turned out to be Stanton Barclay, the heir to the billionaire hotel empire.

Levi almost canceled the date on the spot.Fortunately, Martin convinced him, and he thanked her for it all his life.Although Stanton sometimes seems like a person from another world-no way, who made him enjoy the riches and wealth from childhood-but he is really a caring person, and his gentleness and generosity to others is beyond shame.

Although that tenderness and generosity can sometimes be a little suffocating.

Levi stepped out of the elevator and came to the private lobby of the penthouse.He opened the door and walked in quietly, lightly.Stanton had left him the light in the foyer, which dimly cast oddly shaped shadows on the soft tawny walls and light hardwood floors.

Levi walked through the apartment, avoiding the streamlined modern furniture he was already familiar with, to the master bedroom.Sheer sheer curtains had been lowered, covering the huge bedroom windows.Stanton fell asleep in bed.

Levi was almost exhausted, but he took a good shower first-he didn't want to bring the filth of the crime scene to the bed.After washing and changing into his old pajama pants, he went to bed and slipped under the covers.

The king-sized bed was big enough for three men to lie on without touching each other, but Levi moved all the way until his chest was against Stanton's bare back.He put an arm around Stanton's waist, kissed the other person's shoulder, and then closed his eyes. While feeling Stanton's body twisting slightly in his sleep, he tried to shake the blood-soaked desk Get it out of your mind.

[1] The most popular gay dating app in the world.

[2] KravMaga, literally translated as "close combat" in Hebrew, is an original combat martial art created by the Israeli army.

[3] bountyhunter, whose official name is "Bailenforcementagent", is the bail enforcement agent below.The civil armed force of the US judicial system is mainly responsible for hunting down suspects who escaped after paying bail, that is, bail escapers.

[4]ArmyRanger, a part of the US Army Special Forces, is as famous as the Navy's "Seal Commando" and the Army's "Delta Force".

[5] Writing: ????, which means "life" in modern Jewish culture.

[6] Also known as the occult technique, it replaces Hebrew letters with numbers. It is a unique code system for Jewish scripture interpretation. It is mostly used by folks for blessing and fortune-telling.