Bloody Seven of Spades 1: Life and Death

"Did you say this, or did I come?" Martin Valcu was asking Levi, with a strong sense of sarcasm in her tone, which made Dominic confused.

Levy let out a breath, brushing his fingers through his short curly hair.He didn't answer.

People from the local police station packed the house, and Dominique was detained here for several hours.He's exhausted and distraught, both pissed off at not having a bounty target and overwhelmed by the creepy scene.He just wanted to go home and fall asleep, but in the end, because the police were holding him tight, he could only call Jia Simin and ask her to take care of Fan Gumei.He waited idly until—for some inexplicable reason—Levy and Martin showed up.

"I don't understand what you two are doing here," he said.His usual good patience was slowly draining away like quicksand between his fingers. "This is not your jurisdiction."

"We're invited," Levi replied curtly.

Dominic is not in the mood to deal with Levy's cold attitude tonight. "Why am I still here? I've already submitted my testimony."

"Have you ever touched a dead body?" Levi asked, staring at Goodwin's body.

Dominic's nostrils bulged. "Of course I never touched a dead body. Do you take me for a fool?"

"You're not wearing gloves."

"I'm going, I'm after a bailout! How did I know I was going to break into a crime scene? I didn't touch anything here, not even before I found Goodwin."

"We still need your fingerprints to rule out the comparison." Levi's eyes fell on Dominic's feet. "Shoe prints, too."

"Okay, I'll give you shoe prints," Dominique said, "and see if I get a print on your—"

Martin coughed.Dominic immediately restrained himself, feeling ashamed of his momentary gaffe.Tired and hungry made him lose his mind.

"I know you have given a statement to the local police," she said, "but could you please tell us what happened again?"

"Sure, no problem." Dominic had always had a crush on Martin, and she looked calmly at him who was a full foot taller than her without even blinking.Dominic briefly recounts why he was looking for Goodwin and how he locked in on the fugitive's location.Finally, he glanced at Goodwin's body and said, "I've seen a lot of dead people in my life, but I've never seen them in this... posture."

What disturbed him most about the scene was that he had earlier heard from the coroner that Goodwin's hand had been glued to a beer bottle to keep it in shape.It's glued on!

Martin observed Dominic's expression and said, "Let's take a step in the corridor and talk."

He has no objection.He'd been out on the patio for hours trying to avoid the smell; he didn't turn back into the bedroom until Levi and Martin arrived.He wished he would never set foot here again in his life.

The three of them left the room and onto the landing.Levy muttered, "A rapist on file."

This sounded to Dominique as if Levy was talking to himself, but Martin gave a tacit understanding and said, "Yes. And this person died before Dreyer."

"Three homicides in one week—that's a tight schedule."

"Is either of you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Dominique interjected.

The two detectives turned and looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?" Levi asked.

"Don't try to fool me." Dominic took off his coat irritably.He had already removed his bulletproof vest, but the room without air conditioning was still terribly hot. "For ordinary homicides, the local police department will not ask the police detectives from the Las Vegas Police Department to be present. In other words, ordinary murderers will not turn the murder scene into a small theater of horror. This is what psychopaths do. What a joke."

Levy said: "We can't put the details of the case under investigation—"

"I was brought here." Facing the puzzled faces of the police detectives, Dominic explained: "Well, it's not specifically targeting me. Anyone who is looking for Goodwin may be recruited."

"How?" Martin asked, frowning.

Dominic only said the reason why he came to this development zone to hunt for Goodwin before, but he didn't elaborate on what clues led him to find this area. "The reason I came to this town to find Goodwin was because his credit card was spent at a nearby gas station. Just today!"

Martin and Levi looked at each other in surprise.Dominique knew that they had drawn the same inference as his own-he thought of this immediately after the shock of breaking into the murder scene without any reason was over.

"The murderer realized that he had miscalculated," Levi said. "The murderer had the ability to find Goodwin, but he didn't consider the ability of others. If the attention of the outside world cannot be drawn here, who knows how long it will take for the body to be found?" Discovered? Days, weeks, or even longer."

"That's another point I'm going to make," Dominique said. "Most murderers go out of their way to keep their abandoned bodies from being discovered. They don't just lay them out and put a smoke signal on them." The world. Do you know who would do such a thing?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Crazy as crazy as a serial killer."

"It's not—"

"Three homicides," said Dominic, ahead of Levi. "You said it yourself. I have a right to know that it happened—"

Levy waved his hand vigorously, and said sharply: "No, you don't have that right. You have retired, Dominick, and you are not a law enforcement officer. You are just an ordinary citizen. So, if you want to know any case information, you You can go to the police station and fill out a formal application, which is what ordinary citizens do."

Levi then turned around and strode back to the master bedroom.Dominic stared at Levi's back, holding back his anger, and almost wanted to catch up and argue.But he still held back, he could only twist his neck, stretch his arms, and force himself to relax.He also has to consider his reputation in the industry.

"The dynamite in his ass exploded or something?" he said to Martin.

She smirked awkwardly at him. "I guess. Because of the gun case[1], he's especially sensitive right now."

Dominic blinked in surprise. "Levy got involved in a police shooting."

"Yeah, haven't you heard?" Now it was her turn to be surprised. "It's the hostage-taking case at the Tropical Garden Hotel a few weeks ago."

Of course Dominic knew about the case—almost everyone in Las Vegas knew about it.A man robbed a "OK Convenience Store" near Long Street, shot the clerk, and was chased by the police all the way to Long Street.In the end, he was trapped in the lobby of the Tropical Garden Hotel. With nowhere to go, he grabbed a little boy from passers-by as a shield.A police officer present had no choice but to shoot him dead.Dominique didn't know that the officer was Levi.

He wiped his face.Depend on!He has also experienced Levi's experience, and he doesn't want anyone to wade into such a pool of muddy water.

"If you still want to be home before midnight," Martin said, pulling out a pen and notebook, "can you tell me when and where Goodwin's credit card was swiped?"

***

Levi knocked on Natasha Stone's office door, and went in after hearing the enthusiastic "Come in!"

This office is small, but it is warmly and comfortably furnished. There is an armchair with thick cushions in the center of the room, facing a double sofa, and a low coffee table in the middle.A small desk tucked into one corner of the room was strewn with books and framed pictures—photos of Natasha's husband and son.Pop-style inspirational posters are posted on the walls, saying things like "You won't know the result if you don't try!" Such chicken soup for the soul.

Even with such a homely atmosphere, it is still difficult to alleviate Levi's anxiety.

Natasha's complexion is fair and clear, with a few freckles dotted on her face, and her auburn hair is loosely tied into a bun at the back of her neck. "I'm glad you're still here," she said, which might sound sarcasm in someone else's mouth, but it was 100 percent sincere when it came out of her mouth.

"That, I'm sorry, I canceled it last time." Seeing her waving, Levi sat on the double sofa, while Natasha sat in the armchair opposite. "I really appreciate you arranging the meeting on Sunday, but can we finish talking as soon as possible? I have an important case at hand."

"I heard." Natasha crossed one leg. "Is it about serial killers?"

He opened his mouth in surprise, and the other party smiled wryly.

"Sorry. Paper can't cover such a big fire. Everyone in the police station knows about it."

"No." In view of what happened last night, Levi was not surprised.Immediately after Dreyer's murder, Sheriff Wing -- the immediate boss of all six homicide detectives -- contacted the surrounding precincts to see if a seven of spades poker card had been involved in all homicides across Nevada. of.The timing was just right, and the local police station where Goodwin's murder scene belonged was able to inform them. However, there were already many people involved. It would be an impossible task to ask all the details to be kept secret at this time.

"Leaving that aside, we still have business to do here," Natasha said, "and we can make a quick decision—as long as you cooperate and tell the story of the shooting seriously."

"We've already said it."

"We were playing around the edges before," she said softly, "it won't help you if it goes on like this. Are you still having nightmares?"

Scratching the texture of the fabric on the armrest of the sofa with his fingernails, he nodded, but his jaw stiffened and he paused briefly.

His greatest fear in life is being chased to a corner by the enemy - a classic horror movie plot that has scared him since he was a child.Over the decades, his nightmares have replayed this theme over and over again, with varying details, but the immobilizing sense of dread upon waking remains the same.

His nightmares came and went, becoming more frequent and more intense when the stress was high.Since he shot and killed Dale Slater, the situation has deteriorated to the extreme, which has never been since... since his college.

In the ensuing tug-of-war silence, Natasha waited for his response, and Levi remained silent.

She clasped her hands on her knees, leaned forward and said, "Levy. You know that I am one of the few people who can empathize with you in this matter."

Natasha, who originally majored in social services, had been a member of the victim advocacy program[2] when Levi was a uniformed patrolman.While she was visiting the home of a recent domestic violence victim, the woman's husband burst into the house with murderous intent.Natasha only had time to hide the couple's two young daughters in another room. When she returned to the kitchen, she found her wife dead, and the husband was ready to kill her with a wife-killing knife.After a fight between the two, she grabbed the knife and, having no choice but to stab the man in self-defense.

That's how she and Levi met.At that time, a neighbor called "911" to call the police. He was the police officer who arrived at the scene after receiving the call, but it was still a step late.He found Natasha sitting in front of the wardrobe where the little girls hid, covered in the scars of self-defense, with empty eyes.She didn't respond for half an hour, and only when the crime scene was cordoned off and the ambulance was coming to take her away did she quietly ask Levi to go with her to the hospital.He followed and stayed with her all night.

Levi didn't want Natasha to think he didn't trust her, so he finally said, "I don't have any concerns that you'll look down on me," he said, and then hesitated, "When you—before you killed After Merritt, did you feel...ashamed?"

She was silent for a long time, and Levi thought he had offended her by saying something wrong. "Shame?" she said after a long pause. "Instead of guilt?"

"Is there any difference?"

"Yes, there is an important difference." She changed to a more comfortable sitting position. "Guilt is tied to a specific behavior - something you deeply believe you did wrong. Shame is something else, tied to the ego. It's not 'I did something wrong' , but 'where did I go wrong'." She finished the sentence here, letting Levi digest it, and added: "So, to answer your question: I feel guilty for killing Merritt, guilt It made me sleepless, for weeks. I never felt ashamed of it, no. I wish I could resolve the situation in a way that didn't take his life, but I have a right to protect myself and the girls. "

Levy studies the rough texture of the sofa upholstery.He suddenly felt short of breath and felt a little nauseous.

Natasha tilted her head. "Are you ashamed, Levi?"

"Yes," he replied, not much louder than a sigh.

"why?"

A simple question, neither jumping to judgment nor presupposing a position.He exhaled slowly, looking over her shoulder to the wall behind.

"I'm a police officer. I'm trained to deal with and defuse situations without causing casualties. I could have saved the boy without killing Slater."

"According to your official statement and our previous consultation records, you said that Slater was in a state of panic and completely unable to listen to other people's arguments. All the witnesses present also confirmed this."

Levi nodded.Slater only cared about throwing off the policemen who were chasing him, but ended up trapping himself in the hotel lobby, surrounded by passers-by, and the exits were all blocked by the police.He randomly grabbed a little boy from the crowd as a hostage.The police summoned all the nearby police force to support, and when Levy responded to the alarm and rushed to the scene, Slater was already terrified, knowing that he had no way out.He put the muzzle of the gun against the boy's chin, his finger on the trigger, twitching with tension.

"He's going to shoot the boy. That's what I thought then, and I still believe it." Levi put his hands over his face. "But I can't help but think, I could have handled it better if I had been a better officer. If I had tried a little harder to convince him, or—or just wounded him instead of killing him. "

"Why did you shoot him in the head?" she asked.

He put his hands down and looked at each other.She met his gaze calmly.

"You chose to shoot him in the head, knowing full well that barring some miracle, Slater would be dead. Why?"

Levi blushed with anxiety and said, "He used the child as a shield and completely covered his torso. He had the muzzle of the gun against the child's throat. If I shot him in the leg, whether on purpose or not, There's a good chance he'll shoot. I shoot in the head because that's the only way—"

He stopped talking and suddenly understood something.She looked at him with a slight smile.

"I see what you mean," he said.

"You didn't kill Slater because you were incompetent or malicious." She brought the topic back to the beginning, "You killed him because you had only two choices: either keep him alive or save the boy Slater robs supermarkets, assaults clerks, takes hostages, he always knew what he was doing. He risked his life and did it all for himself. Would it be better if he and the kid survived? Nothing Doubtful. But that possibility does not exist, and it's not your fault. It's his."

Levi closed his eyes, and after a while, the lingering knot in his heart loosened a little.He couldn't take Natasha's words wholeheartedly, after all he had been wracked with regret and self-loathing for weeks.Still, for the first time since the shooting, he felt he could get over it.

"Thank you," he said, opening his eyes.

"You're welcome, this is what I should do." She pushed the iron tin with homemade biscuits on the coffee table towards him. "Next, if you don't mind, let's talk about the reactions of your colleagues?"

He agreed, and the ensuing counseling became more like a conversation between friends than straight-forward professional counseling.Natasha did not break her promise. The one-hour consultation was originally scheduled, but she ended it after 10 minutes.She winked at Levi and asked him to bring Martin some cookies as she saw him off.

When Levi walked out of the office, he accidentally bumped into someone standing at the door.He instinctively apologized first, and then recognized the other party. "Keith?"

"Hey, officer," Keith Chapman said, forcing a smile.His complexion was terrible, his face was ashen, his eyes were bloodshot and red, and the dark circles under his eyes were as deep as bruises from being beaten.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked, although he already knew the answer was "no."Keith is currently on administrative suspension after punching a suspect into the hospital while arresting him.Although he has not yet been formally charged with battery, the facts of the case are extremely against him; lose their jobs.

Keith nodded.When he nodded, his neck twitched to one side unconsciously, which was very weird; then he blinked a few times with a distorted face before saying, "I'm here to find Natasha."

"Okay." Levi stepped aside, and when Keith entered the office, he frowned at the closed door.

At this moment, his cell phone rang, and Levi temporarily put aside Keith's affairs, and took out the cell phone from his pocket as he walked towards his work station.He glanced at the caller ID and answered the phone: "Hi, Mom."

"Levy, I'm Mom," Nancy Abrams said with a slight North Jersey twang.She was talking at the top of her voice, and it was conceivable that the phone was on speakerphone.

Levi's mouth twitched. "Yes, I know. Hi."

"Your father is here too."

"Hi, Levi!" Saul shouted from the receiver.

Levy frowned and moved the phone a little away from his ear. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"

"We heard you didn't come to your counseling sessions?" Nancy asked.

He stopped immediately and stood in the corridor. "What?"

"Your lad called us yesterday. He's worried about you, bubbeleh."

During the three years of Levi's relationship with Stanton, his mother always referred to Stanton as "your lad" instead of calling him by his first name.Levi still hasn't figured out why.

"What the hell did he say?" Levi walked on—speeding up with anger.This is not the first time Stanton has done this. As long as he thinks that Levi is not taking good care of himself, he will secretly go to discuss with Levi's parents.This always made Levy feel that Stanton was playing the role of "parental advocate", which he didn't want to have in his relationship with his boyfriend.

"He said you wouldn't tell him or anyone else what happened." Nancy sighed, with genuine concern in her tone. "He said you were having those nightmares again, that you woke up in the middle of the night and were too sick to go back to sleep. Also, you've been avoiding seeing a therapist."

"That's not a psychiatrist, she's a consultant assigned by the unit," Levy corrected, and the only thing she said in such a long list was wrong. "You know Natasha, she met you before."

"Of course I do, I like her a lot," Sol said. "She's a pretty red-haired girl, isn't she?"

"What do you know about red hair being beautiful?" Nancy snapped.

"What's the matter, can't you just look at it?"

"Mom and Dad, don't do this." Levi interrupted them, killing a couple's bickering in the cradle.He went to the cubicle and found that Martin was not there; he put the bag of cookies next to her keyboard and sat back at his desk. "I just came out of my consultation. I'm fine, I promise."

"You know how worried we are about you. Such a dangerous job, and you're so far away—"

"You are welcome to come anytime you want. We will be very happy." Levy pushed the mouse to wake up the computer. "Listen, I'm going to work now, okay?"

"Okay," Nancy said, "don't get mad at your lad for calling us. He loves you."

"I know."

"Not as much as we love you."

"Mom." Levi said impatiently.He logged into his account, looked up—and couldn't help but blink: Dominic Russo was walking through his cubicle, a visitor's badge pinned to his coat, and two cups of coffee from a local coffee shop.

"God, Nancy, let your son go to work," Saul said from the other end.

"Yes, yes. Be more careful at work, Levi, and go to a counseling session. Grandparents' anniversary is this week, don't forget to send them greeting cards and..."

She was still babbling about routine warnings and exhortations, but Levi's attention shifted to Dominic, seeing him standing at his desk, looking down at Levi—this guy is really ridiculously tall.

"Okay, I promise." Levi replied, knowing that Dominic was listening to him on the phone, which made him very uncomfortable, and he didn't even know what he promised. "Yes, yes—love you guys. Bye." He hung up and threw the phone on the table.

"Is everything okay?" Dominic asked.

"It's okay. It's just that my mother is a little..." Levi exhaled loudly and shook his head. "You won't understand."

"That's right," said Dominique. "Our Italian mother doesn't nag at all. She doesn't care at all."

Levy chuckled, unable to help being amused. "What are you doing here?" he asked politely.

Dominique offers a cup of coffee. "Make peace."

Levy suddenly felt full of guilt.He knew that his words and deeds last night were very unpopular, and he knew that Dominic was tired and unhappy at the time, but he still had that mean attitude, just because he was also full of pressure.Dominic came here on his own initiative, generously...

Levi's face was hot with embarrassment, and he didn't reach for the glass. "You don't have to—"

Dominique shook the coffee cup from side to side and said, "Come on. Look at you, I really need a cup."

"Thank you." Levi said, taking the coffee.

"Can I sit down?" Dominique pointed to Martin's empty seat.

"Of course. I don't know where Martin is."

Dominic sat down, making the chair creak.God, he's really big, like a granite statue.I really don't know where he bought the shirt, but it can cover that burly body?

Dominique took a sip of coffee, then put down his cup and folded his arms on the table. "I was an asshole last night, I don't usually—"

"No, please don't apologize," Levy said quickly. "I pissed you off first. I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't very clear-headed then."

Dominic looked at him and didn't answer for a while. "Martin also gave me a rough explanation of your situation." He said, cautiously without emotion.

Levi looked away. "She shouldn't have excused me."

"I'm talking about an explanation, not an excuse."

In order to end this topic, Levi finally took a sip of coffee.He swallowed his coffee, gasped, and coughed into his mouth with his other hand. "My God, what is this?" He came back to his senses and said.

"Black coffee. I was coaxing and persuading, so the bar staff added a lot of espresso," Dominique said, "It can basically be used as airplane fuel. Why, isn't that how you usually drink coffee? ?”

"That's right, I just didn't expect..."

He really didn't expect Dominic to know the taste of his coffee-a little lack of vision, after all, in the past few years, there have been quite a few occasions when the two met by chance and both happened to be drinking coffee.Dominique was a bounty hunter and a ranger before that; like Levi, he lived off his scouting abilities.Levy also knew how Dominique's coffee tasted: full of milk and sugar, and all the flavors of syrup that could be added.

With the bottom line in his mind, Levi took another sip, and the caffeine, which was so thick as to be abnormal, spread beautifully in his mouth. "You really just came to deliver coffee to make peace with me?"

"No," Dominic grinned affectionately, "I also hope you're not so tight-lipped after a good night's sleep."

"The premise is that I have a good night's sleep."

Dominique raised an eyebrow, not taking the bait.

"Well," Levy said, "I'm just saying, you're a commoner, and I still don't think it's appropriate to disclose the details of a case that's still under investigation. However, considering the special circumstances— Add to that what I know about you as a person—and I admit it's more dangerous to keep you in the dark than to answer your questions."

"Playing a bunch of word games where you just say, 'Okay, I'll give you a break'."

"Do you still want to know the situation of the case?" Levi slapped him, but he didn't take it too seriously.That cup of coffee really improved his mood tremendously.

Dominic threw up his hands in surrender. "Did I guess right? A serial killer?"

"It seems to be close. There have been three murders. The modus operandi is the same - the throat is cut, the body is arranged as if it is still alive, and a seven of spades playing card is placed. The only certainty between the victims The connection is that they have both been charged with serious crimes, and neither has served time in prison."

"Nothing else in common?"

Levy shrugged: "The victims were all white males, but that may just be a coincidence. Goodwin was much younger than the other two, and all three had different socioeconomic statuses and educational backgrounds—life circles There's also no overlap at all."

"If they're being targeted by a serial killer for their crimes," Dominique said, "that means—"

"Yes, this means that the murderer is likely to see himself as a vigilante on behalf of the sky."

Dominique leaned back in Martin's chair and whistled softly. "There was no sign of a fight at Goodwin's murder scene. The blood splatter was not in the right shape - it was as if his throat had been slit while he was asleep."

"This is another common point of the three murders." Dominique could sense this, which made Levi feel admiration.He thought about whether to tell Dominic the rest of the information, and later felt that it was not a big deal; compared to some people in the police station, he believed that Dominic would not speak out important details casually. "The first victim had a large dose of ketamine before his death. It wasn't unusual for him, but when we saw that the other two victims were not struggling, the reaction was immediate. Not normal. I'm still waiting for the confirmation of the toxicology report."

"Ketamine, huh?" Dominique said. "That's a party drug. It's not as bad as the other drugs, but I still see them handed out at Manta."

"We contacted the narcotics squad and asked them to provide all the leads they could."

Dominic frowned. "Ketamine is not the same as marijuana or methamphetamine. It is usually traded in small doses. Usually people buy it in nightclubs, through friends of friends and so on. Street trading is quite rare."

"We, the police, must know this." Levi said dryly.

"I can help—"

"No. I'm telling you this because you should know something about the mess you went through last night. I didn't invite you to participate in the investigation."

Dominique was about to argue when Martin came to interrupt him.She walked into the work cubicle, dangling the white paper bag containing pastries.Seeing Dominic sitting at her desk, she raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, officer." Dominic stood up from the seat, and then pulled the chair for her to sit down. "I just stopped by to say hello."

She glanced from Dominic's coffee to Levi's cup, apparently noticing the same store logo and deducing the conclusion. "After what happened last night, I thought you'd had enough of us."

"How could it be?" Dominique replied eloquently, "But I really have to go. Fortunately, Vegas has never been short of escapees. See you two."

He raised his coffee cup to signal to Levi, and then walked out of the office area.As soon as he left, Martin took out a cranberry muffin from the bag and gave it to Levi.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she asked.

While tearing off the paper from the muffin cake, Levi muttered: The women around him always stuff him with food, what is the meaning? "Why do you think you can come? He's here to gather information about the case."

"Did you say anything to him?"

"Yes. Anyway, it has already spread in the police station. Even if he doesn't talk to you and me, he can find out from other places. Besides, if I don't reveal something to him, he will definitely pester us. No more. You know how annoying he is."

"Isn't it? A man like him is the most annoying," Martin said. "This kind of thick and thick man makes a living by catching fugitives, and he finds time to buy you coffee early in the morning?" She Pretending to shudder. "It's so annoying."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help laughing, and Levi crumpled up the muffin paper and threw it over.

[1] It is written as officer-involved shooting, generally referred to as OIS, which means a shooting casualty event involving police personnel, which can be a police shooting or a police shooting.The U.S. "police data initiative" has a public real-time summary of national OIS incidents.

[2] Victimadvocacy, during the case investigation and interrogation, provides psychological and life assistance welfare items for victims of crimes, especially psychological comfort for victims of rape or domestic violence, to ensure that they give reliable testimony when they are conscious.

[3] Yiddish: son.