Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

"Police, open the door!" Levi slammed on the door of Room B on the third floor and shouted.

Martin stood beside him.She had just been woken from the bed, still groggy, but still ready for action.Levi heard a rustling and clanging noise in the room, and then fell silent.

He beat the door hard again, and said, "Open the door immediately, or I'll break in."

Across the corridor, the door of Room C on the third floor creaked open, and an elderly man secretly stared at them through the crack of the door, his eyes seemed very angry.Martin hissed, and he drew back again.

There were footsteps in Room B, but nothing else.Levi was about to step back and kick the door again, but the door opened a small crack.

"Julie Emerson," he said, "we have a warrant for your arrest and a house search."

"What's the reason?" Her face was pale and her lower lip trembled, but she still asked.

"I have the evidence that you drugged and robbed a man named Jeffrey Rhodes tonight, and guess that Luo Lemian in Diana Costas's house is also yours."

She looked back, her muscles tensed, as if she was about to run away.

"Please don't do this," Levi said, holding the gun in his hip.

For a few seconds, the tension was so high that Levi wondered if she was actually going to force him to break into the apartment at gunpoint.But she still sobbed and opened the door completely, so that the situation did not get out of hand.

Martin walked in first, motioned for Julie to turn around and put her hands behind her back, and said to Levi, "I'll take her downstairs to the car, and you search here first."

He nodded.Martin handcuffed Julie and read her rights as she escorted her out of the apartment, leaving the door open.

Levi wrinkled his nose as he looked around the small, messy space.He couldn't help but compare it to Costas's quaint little Henderson home.The two women worked for the same high-end dating agency, and Julie must have earned about the same amount.Why would she live in such a dirty and messy place, and still find her own clients to set up fairy dances in cheap hotels?

He checked the few rooms to make sure Julie was alone, then returned to the main living area of ​​the living-dining room.Clothes were littered on unsuited furniture; empty beer cans and used paper plates were littered on coffee tables and even on the floor.He had to start searching as he walked around piles of trash.

On the dining room table, a dozen plastic bags containing marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy stood out, which saved him a lot of time and energy.Levy rolled his eyes, tagged these things, and then checked against the list of "criminal favorite hiding places" in his mind.

He searched his way to the small, cabin-style galley kitchen, which was in the corner of the dining room and separated from the living room by a wall.Levy rummaged through cupboards and drawers, but found nothing, until he opened the refrigerator and hit the jackpot—buried under the packages of pizza rolls and fish steaks was an oversized freezer bag full of wallets.

He unzipped the bag, picked a few at random, and opened them.The cash inside was gone, but the driver's license, cards, and even photos were all intact.

A naive thief would take the cash, possibly a few credit cards, and throw everything else away from home.Since Julie is risking these things by keeping them, she may be engaging in identity theft too.

There was a creaking sound from the other side of the room, and Levi froze.He looked up, only in time to see a huge, burly man abducted into the kitchen.

"Fuck you!" The man spat and lunged at him.

Levi put down the freezer bag and opened the refrigerator door as a shield.The man bumped headfirst and bounced away, Levi immediately slammed the door, kicked forward defensively with all his waist and hips, and kicked the opponent hard in the chest.Although the man was not kicked to the ground, he still coughed and staggered back out of the kitchen.

Levi had to get out of this desperate situation with no way out.He lunged to the side, grabbed the nearest dining chair and hurled it out of the way of the man, then drew his gun.

"Police!" he said. "I have a search warrant here. If you don't stop, I'll shoot you."

"Really or not, Tiaozi?" The man kicked away the chair blocking the way, but he didn't come any closer.

Levy stood still, aiming the gun at the opponent's torso with both hands.He blinked, and he was no longer in this dirty apartment, but in the lobby of the Tropical Garden Hotel.He was about to shoot Dale Slater, and he was in a storm of chaos, rage and fear pouring out.

He blinked again, and now, in a packed emergency room, he watched history repeat itself: Keith Chapman, very ill and terrified, kidnapped a rookie cop as a The hostage, and then pointed the gun at himself.

Levi shook his head, trying to dispel these images.If the man rushed over with obvious aggressive intentions, Levy should have been trained to shoot.

But if he opened it, this person might die, and then what?Another life debt that made Levi's conscience feel guilty?Another endless nightmare, flashbacks and stifling guilt?

Or worse—what if none of that happened?What if it was easier to kill a second time?

Probably aware of Levi's hesitation, the man grabbed a few plastic bags from the dining table and threw them at his face.Pills and marijuana rain down, and Levi winces, and for a moment he's even lucky there's no cocaine in it, and then soon the man is sprinting at him at full speed.

At this critical moment, Levi's muscle memory responded.He raised his leg high and kicked forward, and kicked the man under the man's chin with his heel, decisively stopping the opponent's attack.The man screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.

Levy switched the gun to his right hand and reached for the handcuffs—but the opponent wasn't as immobilized as he'd expected, and by the time he saw the metallic sheen of the blade, it was too late.

The knife stabbed out sharply, drawing a deep gash on the back of Levi's hand.He screamed and dropped the gun reflexively, but didn't have time to pick it up.Even though the man had stood up, his hand came low from below, and the knife stabbed towards Levi's abdomen.

Levy arched his back and tightened his stomach, and his left forearm slammed down to block the blow, keeping the knife just inches from his shirt.Before the man could step back and attack again, Levi reached out and wrapped his arms around him tightly, locking them on the man's chest.The man's knife hand was chained out, and Levi grabbed his shoulder and kneeled him in the groin.

The man groaned and bent down.Levi pulled away and stood aside, twisting the knife out of his hand and kicking him in the face before letting go.

The man straightened up, showing a mouthful of bloody teeth, and smiled at him calmly.Levy found that his pupils were extremely large, and he couldn't help but sighed—this man was in high spirits.

He really hates getting into fights with drugged and drunk people.That kind of person's judgment, self-preservation awareness, and ability to perceive pain are all compromised.Two solid punches won't do them any good.

The man attacked him with his fists waving. It was not a well-trained professional boxing style, but more like the moves of a school bully who only shows off his prestige on the playground.However, he is big, and his frantic fists should not be underestimated.Levi sometimes dodged, sometimes blocked, and sometimes counterattacked with a knife, leaving thin lines of blood on the man's arms and hands, but the man just didn't know how to stop.

There's nothing worse than getting into a fight with a knife; no matter what the situation, the addition of a knife can turn it into a mess.Every second the blade swung, it could be snatched away, or in turn hurt itself.He couldn't even use it as hard as he could because he really didn't want to poke a hard man.

Had he had access to a gun, he could have shot him in the knee or foot, ending the melee without causing fatal damage.He had to hurry, or his strength would run out before the man's strength wore off.

The man stands in the middle of where he fell with the gun.Levy lifts his right leg up and tries to gain some space with several quick side kicks.

Unfortunately, the opponent is already familiar with his routine by now.When Levi kicked, the man grunted in pain, but held back, and hooked Levi's leg with his arm.He grabs Levi's waist with his other hand, lifts him up, and lunges forward.There was only a loud noise that shook people's bones, and Levi was thrown on the dining table on his back.

Levi coughed, nearly gasped, and lost the knife at the impact.But his remaining consciousness was enough for him to put his knees in front of his chest, and use his legs to separate him from the man, so as not to be crushed on him by the whole body of the other party.

As they were fighting, the man threw a punch, too fast for Levi to dodge; the punch hit his mouth so hard that his teeth slammed into his upper and lower lips.Then, the opponent wrapped his arms around his neck.

Without hesitation for a second, Levi poked hard at the soft flesh between the upper throat and the chin of the opponent with his fingers.Touching this place produces a reflexive flinch, not pain.The man's hand loosened a little, and Levi quickly pulled away, breaking free from the shackles around his neck.Since he had put his legs away earlier, he could aim at the opponent's chest and kick him away, with such force that the person couldn't even stand upright.

He couldn't give this man any more room; he couldn't be subdued without being stunned.Levy jumped off the table, picked up a wooden chair that was about to fall apart, and threw it at the man, hitting him continuously until the chair fell apart completely.

But the guy is still standing.

"Oh, come on," Levi groaned.He could see his gun now, not very far away.He walked slowly around and came to the living room——

As a result, he failed to step on the ground full of garbage and fell heavily on the armrest of the sofa.

The man swoops in.Levi barely blocked the attacking punch, and then kicked the opponent's lower body quickly.The man's whole face was wrinkled, but his knees were still not soft.

Hold--

Martin ran through the door, instantly understood what was happening, and kicked the man in the crook of the knee.The man yelled, sounding more surprised than hurt, and fell to the side that wasn't kicked, balancing on his hands.

Levi seized the moment and threw him a hard front hook with all his strength, followed by an uppercut.

The man was distracted by the beating, he swayed back and forth, his eyelids trembled, but he was still standing straight.Martin kicked him on the back so that he fell face down on the ground, then knelt down and knelt between his shoulder blades and handcuffed him.

Levi wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his uninjured hand and struggled to get up from the sofa.

"Buy one and get one free." Martin said happily.

***

"He made me do it," Julie said, sitting on the other side of the metal table, looking at Levi wistfully. "You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me," he said.

She ran her fingers through her messy blond hair.He hadn't handcuffed her just yet, hoping it would make her relax and keep her mouth shut.

Sure enough, the man who attacked Levy in Jolie's apartment was none other than her notorious boyfriend, Kyle Gilmore.He and Martin put the two men overnight in the Clark County Detention Facility, keeping them calm—sane, in Gilmour’s case—and transferred them to the precinct for questioning the next morning.

“Kyle doesn’t last long at any job,” she said. “It’s not his fault. He’s just — he’s a guy with a passion, a deep feeling for things. People don’t understand that about him.”

Levi controlled his expression and nodded for her to continue.

"But our money is really fast. It was Kyle who came up with the fairy dance for tourists; he would give me medicine and help me find targets. I didn't want to do it."

"Did he threaten you?"

"Uh..." She hesitated, biting her lower lip, "No."

A three-year-old could tell she was lying.However, it was meaningless to confront her, and Levi didn't bother to care about it. "Then why did you still do it?"

Julie looked down at her hand. She had been tossing the thin skin at the base of a fingernail until it was bloody. "We need money. I know it's not right, but those guys are rich bastards, they're usually cheating on their wives or girlfriends, and they're not innocent victims."

"Is the Luo Lemian found in Diana's house yours?"

"Yes." She whispered. "It was in my handbag the first day you and your partner came to her house. I panicked thinking you might search me. I didn't know what to do so I hid it under the bathroom sink. She didn't know there was this down there."

Well, at least Costas would be cleared of suspicion in the Hensley case, but the price she paid was to find out how badly Julie was a friend.She's had a bad week.

"What was the reason for choosing Jeffrey Rhodes?" Levi asked.

Julie frowned. "I told you, those guys were picked by Kyle. He went out last night, but sent me a picture of Jeffrey and where to find him. Kyle said he was a rich scum , is easy to take the bait—and he's right."

He leaned back suddenly in his chair, staring at her as he digested what she had said.To say that the investigation in Dominique's hands provided a breakthrough point for his case, this coincidence has made it difficult for him to accept.Julie also said that she was targeting Ross on purpose - what is the probability of this chain of events?

Probably sensing that he didn't believe it, she leaned forward on the table and said, "The text messages are still in my phone. The phone is in your hands, right? You can read it yourself."

"I'll check."

He put away his notes and was about to leave when she asked, "Did Kyle do that on your face?"

He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his mouth.There was a purple bruise in the lower left corner last night, and the wound on the lip has not healed yet, bleeding.

"It's nothing," he said.

Levi had a brief exchange with Martin, and Martin found nothing from Gilmore; he quickly checked Julie's cell phone, and then walked towards the interrogation room next door, preparing to pry Gilmore's mouth open himself.Martin said the guy claimed he didn't remember anything from last night -- which is not impossible, given the drugs and multiple blows to the head.

Gilmour slumped in a chair and was handcuffed through loop holes on the edge of the table.He looked painfully slowed down by the medicine, his eyes were bloodshot, and the spots on his face were the bruises that Levi gave him in return; the bridge of his broken nose was sealed with bandages, and his arms and hands were also wrapped to cover him. The wound made by the knife.

That so-called "amnesia" was obviously not entirely true, because the look on Levi's face when he saw him showed that he recognized him.The guy smiled triumphantly, "Your sausage mouth looks pretty good."

"Have you looked in the mirror today?" Levi asked, pointing to the two-way mirror.

Gilmour rolled his eyes and said, "I mean, whatever that little bitch said—"

"Shut your mouth." Levi said coldly.He walked to the table, but didn't sit down, just put down Julie's phone. "I've seen a hundred bastards like you who've sat in this chair. You're resentful, you think the world owes you, and you think you're entitled to whatever you want. You drink, Take drugs, steal your girlfriend's money to gamble, and use her to make more money. You are a harmful and manipulative bloodsucker."

Gilmour's nostrils flared with anger, and he stared at Levi viciously. "I stayed away from her when she set up fairy dances for that guy."

"But you made her do it. You picked out a particular man and told her where to find him."

"What? I don't fucking have one!"

Levy called up the SMS interface of Julie's phone and pushed it across the table.Gilmore looked down at the phone, his expression twisted.

"I didn't post any of that," he said.

"You really think I'll believe it?"

"I don't remember anything about what happened last night!"

Levi folded his hands on his chest and said, "I know you still remember me."

"I..." Gilmore clenched his teeth, breathing heavily from his nose. "Look, I don't remember most of what happened last night. I was hanging out with some buddies in a bar, and I felt weird, and then when I woke up, I was in the room. The middle I only remember bits and pieces of things, and they are all flashes of exciting images."

"You said you felt weird—how weird?"

"It's fucking weird, bro, it's not as strong as the thing I'm knocking on. I swear to God, someone sneaked some ingredients for me."

"Why would anyone want to drug you?" Levy sneered.

"Where the hell would I know. Maybe they gave me the wrong drugged drink. Feels like Angel Dust[1] on 'Kay'."

A chill ran down Levi's spine. "You think someone gave you ketamine?"

"It's not just that, but that's right, I was absolutely forced by 'K Boy' so that my mother didn't even recognize me."

Levi stood motionless, the floor under his feet seemed to be collapsing.It's not a coincidence that a drug-addicted scum gets knocked down by ketamine, and a bogus text message puts the man Levy is looking for right now on Dominique's path.

It is a "seven of spades" arrangement.

***

When Levi returned to the office, Dominic was occupying his desk, chatting with Martin in full swing.

"Wow." Seeing Levi walk in, Dominic jumped up from his chair.He squeezed Levi's chin, turned his face into the light, and glanced down at his bruised knuckles and bandaged hands. "What’s wrong with you?"

"Break into a house?" Levi said.

Dominique raised an eyebrow.

"There was a knife fight," Levi admitted.He knew that he would be reprimanded head and face, and he was mentally prepared.Every time he was injured on a mission, Stanton would nag for days, blaming him: You should be more careful, do you know how worried I am about you, how do you want me to sleep at night——

Dominic laughed, let go of his chin, and patted him on the shoulder. "I can't bear to look at your opponent." After speaking, he turned back to Martin.

Levi blinked, mouth half-open.It took several seconds before he realized that Martin was calling him.

"Sorry, what?" he said.

"I said, how are you talking with Gilmore, are you luckier than me?"

"Of course." He couldn't say the next thing in a tactful way, so he said directly: "This is all planned by 'Seven of Spades'."

"What?!" Martin and Dominic said in unison, but in different tones—Dominic was concerned, Martin was suspicious.

Levy recounted what Gilmour had said and added his own conclusions. "This situation cannot have been designed," he concluded, "and only one person could have done it."

Dominic didn't speak, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes were out of focus.Martin was different. She looked at Levi with obvious anger.

"Levy, come on," she said, "listen to what you said? You said a serial killer helped you catch a criminal in connection with an unsolved case—yes, that's a guy almost everyone A serial killer who was presumed dead."

"It's not unheard of before. 'Seven of Spades' exposed Loretta Kane's practice of paying defendants for generous plea deals[2] through bribery."

"Yes, but before that, he cut her throat in her living room!"

"Why do you refuse to believe me in this matter?" The grievance in his tone made him feel embarrassed.But Martin, who was always on his side, was on his side when it came to the Seven of Spades, which broke his heart.

She looked down at her desktop, took a deep breath, looked up at him again, and said, "Because if this is true, I'm afraid of the meaning behind it."

"You think I'm not afraid?"

"I know you are afraid, but you are also excited by this challenge. A killer who is elusive and seems to be omniscient helps the police to catch criminals, and at the same time uses his own vigilante methods to kill people and escape legal punishment? This arouses your heart. some sort of response."

Levi was speechless.Martin's views were, as ever, sharp and uncomfortable.

“There’s nothing in me to respond to other than fear,” she said, “and the thought that there might be some highly intelligent, cold-hearted person on the loose looking at us and manipulating us like marionettes — just thinking about it makes me want to I can’t wait to move my whole family out of this city without looking back.”

The silence is uncomfortable, and it goes on and on.Levy had never been good at dealing with emotional conflict, and even though he knew Martin wasn't mad at him, his first instinct was to avoid the conversation as much as possible.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Dominique broke the tense situation.He still looks like he's out of it.

"I don't think so, but thanks," Levy said. "Just be careful yourself."

"Okay." Dominic tilted his head, implying that Levi would go with him to the other end of the big office.After they had a relatively private space, he said, "Our schedule for tonight remains the same, or do you want to change the time?"

"I just want to spend tonight with you." Levy said truthfully.

Laugh lines piled up around Dominique's warm brown eyes. "I was thinking of staying quiet tonight, because you probably have a lot of work to do today. Maybe I could go over to your place and make you dinner?"

"Sounds great." Levi pulled the key ring out of his pocket. "Take it, in case I finish work here too late."

He took the apartment key off the ring and handed it to Dominique.Dominic was about to leave when Levi put his hand on his arm.

"You can kiss me," he said.

Although compared to respecting Levy's scale, Dominic's restraint may be due to his own reservations-not sure if it is appropriate to kiss a police officer in a police station where everyone is watching.However, Levy knew Dominic well, and he felt that the reason was not the latter.

No, Dominic smiled slightly, leaned over and gently pressed a kiss on the corner of Levi's uninjured mouth.There was a joking whistle in the office, and Levi knew it was Jonah Gibbs without looking.He gave the guy a middle finger, which earned him a few dry laughs.

"See you tonight," Dominique said, backing away. "Text me if you need me."

Levi returned to his station after watching him leave.Martin was engrossed in his computer, relieved to avoid yet another argument, and went back to work without saying a word.

Both Jolie and Gilmour are waiting for their public defenders; it's a coin toss as to whether the lawyers will show up before they are returned to the Clark County Detention Center.It depends on which side is busier today, the lawyer or the detention center.In the meantime, he could call Leila Rush and ask her to drop the charges against Diana Costas.

As soon as he walked to the work station, the landline on the desk rang.He picked it up and said, "This is Detective Abrams."

"Hi, Officer. This is Constable Jason Tanaka of the Baltimore Police Department. I'm sorry I wasn't able to return your call last night."

"That's all right. Thank you for calling me. I just wanted to make sure that you informed the immediate family of Dr. Stephen Hensley's death?"

"It's me. On the 24th, Sunday, 3:30 p.m., 402 East Highfield Road. The butt is his son, Dr. Stephen Hensley Jr."

Levi sat up straight. "His son? Not his wife?"

"No," Tanaka said, "she's not at home. Her son said he hasn't seen her since the day before."

[1] Angeldust: The scientific name is phencyclidine, which is a hallucinogenic drug that excites the central nervous system.

[2] Pleadeal, that is, Pleabargain, a legal term, in order to get the defendant to take the initiative to confess guilt, the prosecutor makes a deal with the defendant to reduce the charges against the defendant or suggest that the court reduce the punishment of the defendant in exchange for the defendant to plead guilty.