Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

"So," McBride said, looking across the table at Dominic, "you have a gambling addiction."

"Compulsive gambling addiction," he said awkwardly.

"Okay." She took a puff on the e-cigarette. "Then you thought this information was not important before, so you didn't mention it?"

"I'm under no obligation to disclose my mental health history."

"Yeah. But it's Vegas, Russo. You never thought this could go wrong? Don't tell me you didn't have a situation like this when you were a bounty hunter."

He moved uncomfortably.In the past, if he tracked the mission target, if there was any sign of turning into the gambling field, he would hand over the list to others.He should have expected to come here as usual, it is impossible not to be talked about.As a bounty hunter, he works alone; but this is a big company, and a dozen detectives work with him.McBride had no right to know about his gambling addiction, but he couldn't have kept it for long anyway.

"If you want to fire me, please tell me directly now," he said.

"Fire you?" She snorted, and halfway through the snort she let out a dry cough. "Just because of mental health issues? No need. I don't want to get into a lawsuit, and besides, I don't feel good about doing this to people." She tilted her head and said, "Aubrey said you are recovering Expect?"

"Yeah, for two years, and I've got it under control. Just went this morning to—"

McBride raised a hand. "You don't need to tell me the details. Just keep doing what you're doing, just make sure it doesn't interfere with your work here."

"No." Dominic breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whether it will be left to be seen." She leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath of the electronic voice, and exhaled a wisp of bourbon-flavored smoke. "Now, for the Rhodes case—"

Before she could finish, he quickly interjected, "Actually, I made some progress myself." He knew that to win back the trust of McBride and Aubrey, he had to prove himself useful.Aside from his Gambler Aid sessions, he's been slogging away all morning on the feel of it. "Roz is not having an affair."

McBride raised his eyebrows and said, "Aubrey saw him leave the casino with a woman he met at the dinner party, and they took the elevator up to the hotel."

There was no way she could have continued to follow the pair without revealing their disguise, and from what the cameras captured there wasn't any excessive physical contact between them.So, while it looked certain, it wasn't the hard evidence they'd been looking for.

"I'm not saying he didn't have an affair, I'm saying that it's not an extramarital affair." He took out his phone and tapped his finger on the screen while talking. "Mrs. Rhodes told us that she suspected that her husband had a fixed relationship outside, mistress or girlfriend, whatever you want to say. But his behavior last night-hid a mobile phone privately, and did not send text messages. Pausing, and taking off my wedding ring to meet a bunch of strangers in public...that gave me an idea." He handed McBride the phone. "These are Roz's accounts on Whim, Blendr and Pure, all with fake names."

"What are they?" She asked while sliding her thumb on the application interface opened by Dominic.

"They're hookup apps where people are looking for one-night stands. They're pretty common in Vegas, especially on the Strip because there's a lot of tourists coming and going."

Dominique's remarks are based on experience.Before dating Levi, he had been using Grindr.

"So, unlike what his wife suspected, Ross didn't have an extramarital affair, but messed with a bunch of women he barely knew?"

"Well, it's not ironclad evidence either—but it's basically true. Sometimes users of these software meet in groups first, just to be on the safe side."

McBride let out a hoarse laugh. "This cunning little bastard. No wonder his wife couldn't catch it—she looked in the wrong direction, and even we were fooled." She threw the phone to Dominic. "Good job, Russo."

"Thanks. Would Aubrey agree with me?"

"Let her judge for herself, but I think you can do it."

Ten minutes later, Dominic sat in the driver's seat of Levi's car.His internship was saved, but his mood did not improve.The craving to gamble gradually receded, but a strong sense of shame and humiliation followed.He made a fool of himself in front of his colleagues, and to make matters worse, Levi saw him so pathetic and out of control.Levi, the strongest man he'd ever known.How could Levi think highly of him now?

He wiped his face with one hand.The idea was ridiculous, but he couldn't shake it.This... This is his greatest weakness, the place that makes him most ashamed.The ugliest side, he never intended for Levi to see, but it was too late.

Now, he is facing the most threatening opponent of compulsive gambling addicts: idleness.He didn't know where to go for hours before he went to work as a bartender at the "Manta Ray" at night.Most of the people he knew were working, and his mind was in a mess, and he didn't have the confidence to accept the bounty mission to do it.Yes, he could go to the shooting range, but he didn't think it was a good idea to shoot when he was in such a bad mood.

There's only one place that's sure to drive away stress.He started the car and drove towards Rolando's gym.

***

"Are you serious?" Levi said angrily into the phone.He called Laila Rush with Adriana's testimony and hoped she would drop the charges against Diana Costas.As it turns out, not so smoothly.

"Excluding the motive of robbery doesn't mean she didn't kill someone." Rush sounded calm, as if he was still bored. "We've discussed this. It's possible she's making it look like a robbery to clear herself of suspicion."

"You don't really believe that Kostas killed someone?!"

"It doesn't matter what I believe," she said now with exasperation, "what matters is what the jury believes. Look, Abrams, I understand that the police work on guts and instincts, but the court Doesn't take your sixth sense as evidence."

"I--"

"I can't drop the charges against Kostas until you find tangible evidence pointing to another suspect. Do you know why? Because defense attorneys would raise the possibility that she was the killer in the first place, triggering a reasonable doubt. Everyone Both love to demonize sex workers and don't like to use critical thinking and reasoning skills. So unless you have solid evidence that Kostas is innocent, the killer is someone else, and kindergarteners can understand That; otherwise you'd be asking me to count on a jury of adults with all their brains, instead of a dozen randomly chosen brains. I wouldn't take that chance."

After her tirade, Levi sat with his eyes wide open and his mouth half-open.Martin cast a curious look across the table.

"Okay." It took him a while to reply, in fact, he didn't disagree with her logic. "I'll find the evidence you want."

"Very good." After she finished speaking, she hung up the phone.

He put the receiver back, stared at it for a moment, and shook his head again.

Martin laughed. "Yes, she is comparable to your social skills."

Levi threw a pen at her, but she caught it in mid-air. "There is an important question we must answer before we investigate further."

She nodded and said, "Who's the primary target—Hensley or Costas?"

"That's right. Either the criminal's purpose was to kill Hensley, and Kostas just happened to be the scapegoat; or someone wanted to charge Kostas with murder, and then killed Hensley by the way."

"I think, if Luo Lemian hadn't been found under the sink in her house, the first explanation is much more likely."

"Then let's hear what she has to say about it," Levy said.

Costas was out on bail; Martin called directly to make sure she was home, and then drove to Henderson with Levy.Once Martin explained that they had come to exonerate her, Kostas happily received them.She invited them to sit in the kitchen inside, and cleared another tabletop—a table that was fully set up, with a laptop, textbooks, and piles of highlighted notes.

"It's a mess, that's a joke," she said, pushing the things aside. "I'm working on my bachelor's degree."

She poured three cups of coffee, and the three sat down at the table.Levi can hear Mason playing with Costas' friend Julie in the living room.

"You really think I'm innocent?" she asked.

"Yes," Levy said, "but the D.A. doesn't buy it. You were at the scene of the crime before Hensley was killed, and the drug that killed him was recovered from your residence."

"I didn't know there was such a thing at home! I have never used Luo Lemian myself, and I have never let others eat it. Just thinking about how easy it is for Mason to find it under the sink..." She trembled.

"So, do you have any ideas about who these Luo Lemian might belong to?" Martin said as he prepared to take notes.

"I've been thinking about this." Costas tapped the mug with his fingertip. "Mason's dad - Travis - and I were in an on-off relationship until a few months ago, for years. He never officially lived with us, but he's going to live in nowhere Time to borrow for a while."

"What's Travis' last name?"

"Melo. He's the typical charismatic scumbag, with a beautiful appearance and a flawed appearance. I was fooled by his disguise time and time again. Every time he said he would change, I believed it." She stared at Looking at the coffee, the self-hate emotions are clearly visible on the face. "I'm so stupid."

To bring the subject back on track, Levy said, "You said 'until a few months ago.' You broke up with him completely?"

She nodded. "He beat Mason fiercely and shook him desperately. Before, he was not a man who knew how to fight, not for us, but as long as a man crossed the line once, he would cross the line a second time. I told him not to do it again .He hasn't been around since then—never even tried to see his son." She glanced around the living room and murmured, "I guess he didn't really want to be a father in the first place."

"Is there any particular reason for you to suspect him?"

She glanced out at the open door again, and Mason's shrill laughter came through. "He's a drug dealer," she lowered her voice. "He's a drug dealer, he doesn't make big deals, but he can get Luo Lemian, and besides, he's the kind of bastard who hides drugs at his girlfriend's house. I don't know if he is I forgot Luo Lemian there, or he hasn't had a chance to come back and take it away, but it must be his."

"What about Julie?" Martin said. "She's free to come and go from every room in your house, isn't she?"

"Julie?!" Costas raised his eyebrows sharply. "No way. I mean, I see what you're saying, but what's she doing with Lomian? She doesn't do drugs and—well, she works for Guilty Secrets. If she hurts a client, she doesn't." Will bear the same losses as me. Even more losses, after all, her scumbag boyfriend sucks her blood all the time."

Martin's eyes sharpened. "Boyfriend?"

"Kyle Gilmore. He's in the same category as Travis—friends, actually. It's not that he's dangerous, he's just... a junkie, you know what I mean? Sneaky Yes, and very scheming. I persuaded Julie to dump him countless times, but if people are not mentally prepared, you can't make them see the truth."

It's time to clarify their main purpose.Levi said, "Ms. Costas, is there anyone in your life who wants to turn against you?"

"It's not good for me? I don't know about you..." She gradually closed her voice, her eyes wandered between the two of them, and when the logic was connected, her eyes showed a clear look. "Do you think someone killed Dr. Hensley and hid Luo Lemian here, just to frame me for murder?"

"That's one of the possibilities we're considering." He knew it sounded far-fetched, but at least it had to be ruled out. "

Costas waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "No way, no way. Travis is the only one who has ever had a problem with me, but even he couldn't have done that. Besides, I'm really I don't think he can handle this with his brain."

They asked for a few more minutes about the possibility.When ordinary people are asked whether there is a rival, most people will immediately deny it, but they will change their words after thinking about it.However, Costas is firm in his opinion, and believes that there is no one he knows who hates her so much that he wants to frame her for murder, and at the same time has the IQ to do it.

Levi and Martin told her to call them if they thought of any information that might be useful, and they set off back to the precinct.

"I think she's right," Martin said, turning into Hudian Boulevard, "it was her insignificant ex-boyfriend who left those Luo Lemian at her house, and then she won the 'Best Timing Award' '."

Levy agrees.In any case, the probability that Hensley was the primary target was always higher. "We've got to prove it before Rush has to hang on to her. The legal people don't like coincidences."

"I don't like it either. It's still very suspicious. But we'll bring Melo over for questioning and see how he explains it to himself."