Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

"For a guy who's splurging on a stolen credit card, it's an odd purchase," Martin said.

Martin had parked the car in an indoor parking lot downtown, and was sitting in the car with Levi, using her tablet to map the thief's movements.While the credit card company was notifying Carmen Rivera of the records, and Martin and Levi were discussing countermeasures, the card was sold again in 7-11 convenience stores, budget motels, Laundromat[1], and a The bakery left a record of consumption.Although there is no clear pattern, they are generally concentrated in the same area.Martin and Levi sent officers to ask for testimony and check the surveillance cameras for anything, while they waited for the thief to spend again, hoping to catch him.

Levi straightened his legs and twisted his upper body side to side to stretch his back.He hated being locked in the car like this. "Mrs. Hensley agreed not to freeze Hensley's credit cards so that we can do surveillance work, which is very good."

"Hmm. By the way, I spoke to her a few hours ago, and she's flying to Vegas tomorrow morning."

"It's very kind of her to come here in such a hurry."

Martin sneered. "Well, I reminded her that Hensley's body could not be taken away that early, and it would take a few more days. However, I feel that she didn't collapse too much after Hensley died. Are you shocked? ?”

"It doesn't surprise me," Levy said.

A notification popped up on Martin's tablet.She slid her finger across the screen and said, "It's from Carmen. Someone just used Hensley's credit card at the Market Street restaurant inside the California Casino Hotel."

"It's a few blocks from here."

They drove to the hotel, parked at the valet, apologized and flashed their badges.Levy is optimistic—the credit card thief is likely gone, but having a restaurant means having a waiter who has spoken to the thief, who might be able to describe him and possibly know his whereabouts.

"Market Street Restaurant" is a 24-hour public restaurant, and the island-style decoration is very unique.The waitress hurriedly took them to the back to meet the manager, so after they showed their purpose to the manager, the other party immediately called out the waiter in question.

"Tanya, have you received a man named Stephen Hensley at table 14 within this hour?" he asked.

"It's his daughter," Tanya said. "She's not gone yet, she's just had her snack."

Tanya pointed to the table in the corner by the opposite door—oh my God, that turned out to be a child.A skinny teenage girl with golden brown skin and messy black hair pulled into a ponytail.She was wearing an oversized hoodie, with a plate in front of her, and she was arching her back and stuffing big chunks of pie into her mouth.

Martin raised his hand and pressed Tanya's fingers down, but it was too late.On the other side of the restaurant, the girl suddenly raised her head like a deer in the forest smelling the scent of a hunter.She took a straight look at them, with an expression that instantly realized that they might be enemies, and jumped out of the seat and fled with a "whoosh".

"Damn!" Levi said and chased after him.

"I'm calling for reinforcements!" Martin yelled.

Some pull-belt fences are set up in front of the restaurant to trap long queues during peak hours.The girl didn't stop for a moment, slipping expertly under the zip-tie and gliding directly across the floor of the casino area.Levi was too tall to do the same, so he put one hand on the railing and jumped over it.

As far as speed is concerned, Levi is undoubtedly the faster of the two—but he is wearing a suit and shoes that are not suitable for running, and the girl is aided by adrenaline from fear.Levi kept the other party within sight, and chased her through the casino to the foyer.A porter passed by pushing a cart full of luggage, and the girl deftly went around.There was no time for a detour, and Levi leaped over the stacked suitcases, prompting yells of surprise and terror.

The girl rushed out the front door and into the intersection of Main Street and Ogden Street. The signal failed her wish, but she rushed into the crosswalk anyway.Vehicles avoided her one after another, and the sound of horns accompanied by sharp screeching of brakes followed one after another.A car happened to be in Levi's way, and he jumped onto the hood and slid over the edge, leaving the driver's expletives behind him.

Somehow, they all crossed the road unscathed.The girl sprinted along the sidewalk, but it was a straight one, with few people at the moment and a clear view, and Levi drew closer.

But she made a sharp turn, turning left onto Vermont Street Experience[2].

"Oh, spare me." Levi wailed.

The Vermont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall featuring the world's largest canopy screen, an arched canopy that rises ninety feet above the top and envelops five city blocks.It's still early, the light show and band performance haven't started yet, but the streets are full of tourists, drinking, shopping, and visiting - it's a great place to shake off your tail.

Levi chased the girl through the crowd, dodging tourists, break dancers, street magicians, and other entertainers performing erotic tricks.Music blaring from loudspeakers, people yelling and cheering excitedly, people zipping past overhead—there's a lot of distraction here.The girl also knew what she was doing, and she ran around the souvenir shop and the increasingly dense crowd.It took Levi's full attention not to lose her.His heart was beating like a drum, and his lungs were burning from panting.

After running two blocks, his phone rang.

"This is—not—the time." Levi was out of breath, but did not slow down.

"Just tell me where you are so I can come with backup," Martin said.

"Fert Street, the direction of Fourth Street." He hung up the phone directly, and Martin would not stick to this point.

Levi was exhausted when they finally emerged from the other side of the Vermont Street experience.His cardiorespiratory endurance is good, but running at full speed for more than half a mile is not enough.

Fortunately, the girl was not tireless. She ran past "Crazy Yili's West Village Store[3]" and slowed down, then turned right into an alley.Levy followed, making a final sprint.

Thankfully, this is a dead end.

Finding herself trapped, the girl cried out in resignation.Levi heard the yell and staggered to a stop about twenty feet away from her.Holding his hips, he couldn't stop panting.A siren blared in the distance.

The girl turned to face him, raised her hands into fists, and put on a fighting posture.Levi thought absently: This posture is not too bad.

He opened his hands, flashed his police badge, and said, "I won't hurt you, I'm a police officer."

Her expression became more serious.It can be seen that the status of a police officer is not a reassurance for her.

Levi was able to get a closer look at her now that she was no longer chasing each other.She was as young as he had imagined at first, 15 years old, at most sixteen—not because her metabolism was too fast to be so thin, but because she couldn't eat enough.Her clothing, though neat, was worn and ill-fitting; her old canvas shoes, held together by tape, had come loose after the intense chase, and her fingernails still had dirt in them.

A police car braked after entering the alley, and backed up a little.Two uniformed officers jumped from the police car.

On an impromptu basis, Levi waved the officers away, instructing them to get back into the car and turn off the lights and siren.After this, he turned to the girl and said, "You're not in trouble, I just wanted to talk to you."

She didn't lower her fist. "About what?"

"I'm a detective from the Homicide Squad. That credit card you swiped today, the cardholder was murdered on Saturday night."

The girl's eyes were wide open, and she put her hands by her side, "I didn't kill him!" There was a hint of panic in her words.

"I know, I'm not suing you for anything, and you're not under arrest. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Can we sit down first?"

Biting her lower lip, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

They cross the road and end up on stools at the bus stop.Levi took off his coat and loosened his tie; he was sweating and a little dizzy from all the running and the terribly hot weather.If there is a bottle of water that he can drink down, he can do anything.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Adriana. Adriana Velasquez."

"My name is Levi Abrams." He held out his hand, and the girl paused before reaching out to take it. "You're not native to Vegas, are you?"

She shook her head, staring at the clenched hands on her lap. "Renault [4]'s."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen." She said, casting a guilty glance at Levi.

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Sixteen," she muttered.

"Do your parents know you've come here?" He had already expected what the answer would be.

"No parents."

Thinking about her hunched body, her defensive posture, her agility as she fled from the restaurant, and the panic in her black eyes, Levi asked, "Foster home?"

She flinched, then shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide it.Levi sighed, he didn't like being right about things like this.

"The credit card holder was Stephen Hensley. He died on Saturday night. His wallet, cell phone, and other valuables were stolen. Can you tell me where you found it?"

"I didn't find them all! Just... just credit cards. On the sidewalk."

"where?"

She gave a downtown location, not near the Mirage Hotel, nor where Diana Costas would pass on her way home from the hotel.She fidgeted as she spoke, wringing her fingers, and never looked him in the eye.Obviously lying.

She didn't trust him and didn't feel safe.Why should she tell the truth?A vagrant who ran away from home hinted at what kind of past she had in every move, and was chased by this strange male policeman across half the district, so it was impossible for her to tell him the truth.

"Adriana—"

"Will I go to jail?" she interrupted him. "I know I shouldn't take this card, I know it's not right. I'm—I'm just hungry, I just want to take a good shower."

That would explain the motel bill. "You're not going to jail," Levy said. "I'm going to make it clear to his family and the ADA. I promise it'll work out." He added softly, "But you know, I can't let you stay on the streets, okay?"

She pressed her lips together and stared straight at her hands.With tears in her eyes, she said, "Please don't send me back."

Levi looked up at Martin—she was half a block away, watching them closely.Levy nodded to her, beckoned her to come over, and said, "Maybe you can go back to the bureau with me and my partner. We have someone we know who might be able to help you."

An hour later, Levi placed Adriana in a comfortable interview room and prepared a bottle of soda and some snacks from a vending machine.After that, he asked Martin to accompany her, and he went to wait for Natasha Stone in the big office.

Natasha and Levi have been close friends for many years, and she is a consultant for the Vegas Police Department's Police Assistance Program.She was the counselor Levy did after he shot and killed a suspect in a hostage crisis earlier this year.With a situation as difficult as Adriana's, he couldn't trust anyone except Natasha.

It wasn't exactly Natasha's job, but she wasn't annoyed at being called overtime; she greeted Levi with her usual calm, friendly energy.Her pale skin was freckled, and her auburn hair fell loosely to her shoulders.

"Sorry to call you in during off hours," Levy said, "I know you're no longer doing victim advocacy work."

She smiled and squeezed his arm. "I'm a social worker, Levy. I'll always stand up for victims."

"I'm just not sure what to do with this one. I checked her history and she's in Reno's foster care system. Missing for three months. No more details, but I suspect she was abused— — Physical, possibly sexual assault.

"It stands to reason that she should be sent back to Renault." Without waiting for Levi to object, Natasha raised a hand. "But I'm obviously not going to do that when there's an abuse allegation. I've got some wit and know how to play around the system. I can figure out a way to keep her in Vegas for a while, and we're going to try to take advantage of that time. To find a long-term solution to keep her safe.

Levy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. Thank you so much."

He took Natasha into the interrogation room, where the shutters were open and Adriana and Martin could be seen through the large glass windows.Natasha entered the room quietly, and after talking to Martin for a while, she sat across from Adriana.Martin left the room and went to the corridor, standing next to Levi.

Within five minutes, Adriana had relaxed, laughing and talking like a normal teenager.

"How did Natasha do it?" Levi asked.

"She's good at dealing with people." Martin looked up at him. "Adriana lied to you, you know that?"

"I know, but if I keep asking, I can't even try to ask anything. I think if we show that we are on her side, help her out of the situation, and promise her that there will be no charges against her, she may Willing to share more information.

"There's no disputing that. The poor kid is freaking out. I don't know what she's been through, but it's definitely shit."

"One thing I'm sure of," he said.

"what's up?"

He turned his back to the glass window and puffed out his chest. "Diana Costas Did Not Kill Stephen Hensley."