[European Style] Praying Mantis

"The setting sun reflected on his soft face, as if outlining a sculpture with superb craftsmanship and aesthetic standards, I couldn't help but indulge in it..." Thomas S. Mr. Dacre read my first draft of the article in an exaggerated tone and laughed uncontrollably, "Robbie, are you writing homosexual literature? Call Me By Your Name (①)?

"Mr. Dacre, I just wanted to add a little readability to my report..." I argued, blushing.

"Okay, okay. You are a good writer, but this report is meaningless. The case has been solved, and the murderer is the poisonous woman Laura Curley." Mr. Darkry returned the typed manuscript to me, He waved his hand and signaled me to go back to my desk, "But you gave me an inspiration. Maybe next time we can do a report on sexual minorities in San Francisco."

I went back to my seat annoyed and watched as my days of hard work went down the drain.No, the truth of the matter is not that simple, the "mantis case" is not closed!The murderer is still at large!As well as the strange cause of death of Christian Grande, a graduate student at the University of San Francisco, there must be something behind it that we haven't discovered... No, I must investigate, I swear by my sense of responsibility and conscience!

Speaking of which, Whitney hasn't spoken to me since that "going out" day.She must know more.Thinking of this, I immediately took out my phone and sent her a message on WhatsApp: "Miss Curley, if it's convenient for you, you can mention a time to complete the interview."

I pressed send nervously, then took a long breath and crossed myself.How will she answer me?Will she cooperate with me?Or scold me impatiently, and then pull me into the blacklist? ...

Unexpectedly, the next moment my phone vibrated.Within seconds, I got her reply: "I'm free now. What's your question?"

The sudden ecstasy made my heart beat uncontrollably. If I had undergone an EKG at this time, the doctor would have been scared to death.I typed on the keyboard with trembling fingers: "Miss Curley, do you recognize Christian Grande?"

"I know him, they're a gang," she added. "You know who I mean."

"Together?"

"Yeah, they hang out all the time. Don't know what to say to a nerd like Grande," she said, "but I hear he died of an overdose last year. Some people really hide it, no ?"

I ignored her naked cynicism, and continued to ask: "Is there anyone else that Professor Curley and Grande know in common? I mean, the kind who have a very close relationship with each other."

"I don't think anyone wants to be friends with someone like Grande, except for the classmates who work together." Whitney said disdainfully, "Maybe the best relationship with them is the son of that bitch. Maybe they are a couple." As for gay friends. I think that sissy Dominique is very similar to this kind of person."

"..." I am noncommittal about her prejudice, but if it were Justin, he would have already quarreled with her by this time.

"He used to visit Dad's lab a lot," Whitney said. "Maybe it was actually Grande. Who knows."

The message Justin told me the other day flashed through my mind: "Chris is gay." At this moment, the two messages came together, and the logic of the whole thing seemed to gradually become clear.Perhaps, the relationship between Grande and Dominique is really unusual.

After thanking Whitney, I documented the conversation.Assuming the above conjectures are true, a brutal serial killer killed Professor Curley and Grande, and the most closely connected person in their common social circle is Dominic, then his role in the two In this case, it seems to be very important - he seems to be the number one suspect known so far.

But this is just a guess. The truth of the matter is like an iceberg in Antarctica, only one tenth of it is exposed, maybe even less.I opened Facebook, typed in the name "Dominique Curley" by accident, and entered his personal page.In fact, I've revisited the interface several times in pursuit of clues, and I can even recite the content of each of his messages.Most of the time, he talks about his pets—insects of all kinds.This is probably the reason why there are not many girls leaving messages below.Who wants to see shocking bugs as soon as they open the interface?

According to frequency statistics, Dominic's favorite pet is a giant mantis he raised. He named her "Dora", which is the same as the heroine of the cute children's animation "Dora the Explorer".

"Dora was always naughty, and used to run out. Doug said I was like that when I was a kid, and he was lying. He never saw me when I was a kid."

"Mum found my pets today and she screamed for me to throw them out. I ended up having to foster them in Chris's lab."

"This is the third time I've been to see Dora this week. Maybe I should find her a husband."

"..."

Looking through all the content, the only names mentioned in it are Mom, Doug, and Chris.There seemed to be no other friends of the same age in this boy's world.But when you think about what Dominic looks like, it all becomes a lot easier to explain.There was indeed a certain degree of aloofness and aloofness in the character of this young man.On this point alone, what qualifications do I have to question him?

Based on the above information, Dominique keeps his pets in Grande's laboratory, which explains why he always goes there to find him.Maybe they are not lovers, just our speculation.

I don't know why, but I am very reluctant to classify the two of them as lovers.Such pretty boys shouldn't belong to any one person.

— Unless it's me.

When I think of this, I am completely intimidated by my own weird thoughts.

I tried to get this strange thought out of my head, and then continued to write an uninteresting political article with feigned composure.A corner of the quiet office suddenly became agitated by a phone call. The editor-in-chief, Mr. Dacre, stood up and swore, "Damn, something happened to him!"

"Who?" The colleagues around him asked one after another.

"My nasty nephew Jimmy, I told you," Mr. Darkry complained as he quickly packed his belongings, "I have to go to the hospital immediately. He was shot in the bar last night. The situation is critical."

"God bless him!" said Mrs. Maisel, the gray-haired deputy editor-in-chief, a kind old woman, with a worried look.

Everyone in this office has heard more or less about Mr. Darkry's nephew Jimmy - the editor-in-chief loves to complain about his relative who always causes trouble.He is the son of Mr. Duckrey's sister. Since his parents divorced since he was a child, he lacked the necessary discipline due to the lack of fatherly love, so he had a childhood very similar to Brad Renfro (②).But unlike the actor who died young, Jimmy did not go on the right path, but became a hippie who made trouble every day.

Compared with him, Dominic's life experience has become much smoother.In any case, he has a happy family and a close friend.

At least it used to be.

The author has something to say:

① "Call Me By Your Name": A best-selling homosexual novel written by André Aciman.

② Brad Renfro (1982-2008): American actor.Left unattended as a child, often hangovers and drug addicts.