The Last Killer

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled in through the thin window screens, covering a dark marble table in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows with a dim orange-red halo.There is a chess board in the center of the table, black and white confront each other with clear boundaries.The king, queen, castle, knights, priests, and soldiers each performed their duties and stayed in their positions, silently and solemnly waiting for the battle to begin.

The chessboard is made of black and white crystal, which is very exquisitely made, but the chess pieces are a bit rough in comparison. The white chess has a lifeless gray chalk color, and there are irregular fine lines when you look closely; the black chess is even more rough. It is close to thick dark brown, as if a layer of poor-quality rust has been brushed on the white background.

A black hand protruded from the shadow of the sofa on the left, with a thick callus growing on the inside of the thumb, the bony fingers picked up the white pawn, and advanced two squares—the white pawn, E4.

It was as if the curtain of the stage was lifted in one fell swoop, and the game started!

There is also a white hand protruding from the sofa on the right, with a hideous burn scar protruding from the back of the hand, extending into the cuff. The fingertips with cracked nails push the black chess pawn forward one square—the black pawn, C6.

White soldiers D4.Black soldier D5.The two soldiers confronted each other head-on.

The white horse jumps to C3.

The D5 black pawn took a diagonal step, and swallowed the first E4 white pawn.

The gray-white soldier was tightly held by the hand controlling its fate, and a dull man's voice came from the shadows: "GameStart!"

Chicago, Illinois.

A small plane with the FBI logo on its fuselage landed at O'Hare International Airport.As soon as the cabin door was opened, before stepping down the gangway, the high temperature in August came with a heat wave.

"I hate all cities with distinct seasons, and the highest temperature difference between winter and summer exceeds 70°C!" Rob wiped the sweat dripping from his neck with a handkerchief, while complaining to his colleagues, "Yes, including Chicago, her temperature is as high as Like the faces of whores in bars."

The flight attendant standing at the door of the cabin replied with a smile: "If you say that, this friendly city will cry. In fact, both of them can also smile forever - as long as you have enough dollars in your pocket. Well, welcome to come To the pig slaughterhouse of the world, the city of giant shoulders!"

Leo then walked out of the hatch, because the temperature was too high, estimated to be at least 38°C, he didn't wear the dark suit like the uniform, but a simple white shirt with smoke gray casual trousers, and he didn't even wear a tie .

Li Biqing, who was wearing short-sleeved casual clothes, followed him down the gangway. The bright sunlight reflected on the concrete floor of the airport made him dazzled uncomfortably, and then put a sun hat on his head.The black-haired federal agent shook hands with the colleagues from the Chicago branch who came to pick up the plane, and after a few simple greetings, he put on a pair of blackout sunglasses for himself. "Can you take us to the prepared residence first?"

"No problem, sir." said Mann, a young black detective with chocolate-colored skin, a high nose bridge and thick lips, obviously of mixed Caucasian ancestry. On the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan, I hope you will be satisfied."

Leo nodded and asked again: "Is there a university nearby, the one with a language school?"

Mai En was a little surprised by this question. After looking at the slightly immature Chinese boy sitting next to him, he answered clearly: "The nearest one is the Chicago campus of Northwestern University. The campus is in the urban area, and life is very convenient. Offers evening school and weekend postgraduate courses.”

"Can you apply for an admission to a language school for me? I'll give you the student information tomorrow."

"Yes, sir, give me two days and it will be done."

A black Chevrolet Suburban, one of the FBI's standard equipment, drove into a secluded residential area and stopped in front of a snow-blue two-story house shaded by trees.This is an American-style apartment with a distinctive style. It was built in 1898 and has a long history but looks like new.The house is very large, with seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, study, kitchen and dining room. The master bedroom also includes a dressing room and private bathroom. Standing on the second floor, you can overlook the nearby park and the rippling Lake Michigan .The living room with fireplace, elegant open staircase, bright sunny family room and classic nostalgic-style furniture are so beautiful that they are amazing. There is also a wine cellar in the basement that stores a lot of red wine. The garden is planted with blooming sunflowers and Verdant American Red Maple.

Rob blew a whistle of admiration, "This is the highest treatment I have ever enjoyed--I take it back, I love Chicago!"

"This villa used to belong to the Ferring family," Mai En introduced as he led them into the spacious garden-like courtyard, "it was later confiscated by the government."

"Ferlin? Is it the Ferrin who made his fortune selling arms and ended up with several Magnum bullets embedded in the skulls of the last three generations?"

"It's that Ferrin. But don't worry, this place has been cleaned up very well." Mai En comforted.

The brown-haired and green-eyed federal agent looked at Leo and Li Biqing—the two looked calm, and seemed to have no psychological shadow of living in a haunted house at all, so he could only sigh and said, "Well, I knew the sky would not Pie in vain."

Putting the simple luggage into the bedrooms they chose, Leo said to Li Biqing: "You stay here first, Rob and I are going to the branch building. If you work overtime at night, I will call you."

"Did any major criminal case happen here?" The Chinese boy asked curiously, "Another serial murder case?"

Leo frowned, not wanting him to be involved in his work.

Rob replied without any scruples: "Within half a month, three died, all of them police officers."

Leo coughed dryly, and said in a deep voice, "It's time for us to go."

Rob shrugged, gave Li Biqing a "this guy is so stubborn, you know" look, and left the room with him.

Suddenly, there was only one person left in the empty house. Li Biqing took a leisurely stroll through the courtyard and the whole house, took out a map of downtown Chicago from his bag, nestled on the soft and comfortable sofa, and began to look for nearby supermarkets.

FBI Chicago Division.

A 50-year-old male detective with a characteristic long face and a big Jewish nose enthusiastically stretched out his hands, shook hands with Leo and Rob respectively, and introduced himself: "I am Alfred Bergman, Chess serial Head of the Homicide Squad."

"Leo Lawrence, Headquarters Criminal Investigator, this is my partner, Robbie Simon."

"Welcome, I hope to get your help in solving the case."

"Let's talk about the case in detail." Leo and Rob sat down on the reception sofa in the dedicated office.

Alfred took out a data box and opened it, and put a stack of on-site photos, autopsy reports and other materials on the glass coffee table in front of them. "The first case happened on South Michigan Avenue. When a traffic police officer was checking a speeding Ford car, his throat was stabbed by the driver and he died on the spot. Judging from the retrieved traffic surveillance video, the man wearing a peaked cap It seems that they know how to use the blind spot of the probe, and their faces are not photographed. The police originally thought it was just a vicious public security case, but they did not expect that only the next day, there was another murder case at the gate of the police station. The police officer who was eating lunch was shot in the heart at close range. The murderer took advantage of the chaos and fled calmly without leaving any clues. The city police realized the seriousness of the matter and asked the FBI for help. Let's re-examine the remains of the scene of the previous case Finally, I found this thing that was once overlooked."

He held up the evidence bag in front of Leo. Inside the transparent plastic bag was a white chess piece and a pawn.

Leo took it and looked it over carefully in his hand.

"A chess piece was also found in the jacket pocket of Police Officer Levin, the No.2 victim. It was a pawn of black chess. This led us to speculate that the two murders are closely related, and the murderer may be the same person. A week later, a third case occurred. The deceased was a prison guard. He was shot in the head from a long distance while he was on duty on the guard tower of Thomson Prison. Later, a black man was also found in an anonymous letter sent to him. Chess soldier." Alfred handed over two more evidence bags, "According to the autopsy report of the forensic doctor, the two shots were both shot in the middle, using Magnum 9MM pistol bullets and Barrett M33 sniper bullets; The knife wound cut off the trachea, vocal cords and carotid artery at once, so it is speculated that the murderer is a veteran with rich experience in killing and suspected of having a gang background."

Leo stretched out his hand and told Rob: "Gloves." After putting on a pair of thin white rubber gloves, he took out the chess pieces and watched them intently for a moment, and then asked the Jewish agent, "Have you identified the composition of the chess pieces?"

Alfred was stunned for a moment, and said, "No, I only did fingerprint extraction, but I didn't get anything - it looks like ivory?"

"No," Leo shook his head, "I suspect it's bones, human."

Alfred's expression changed slightly, and he immediately said, "I'll take it to the forensic department for identification!"

"I have a bad premonition," Rob sighed to Leo after he left. "This time we are not only facing a pervert with a loot collection habit, but also a professional-level murder expert."

Leo didn't refute his premonition, but got up with a solemn face: "Come on, let's go to the murder scene. Maien, can you lead the way?"

"Yes, sir." The black boy responded very positively.

While Leo was busy running between various murder scenes, the fourth murder three days later shocked the windy city of Chicago.The director of the Chicago office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (i.e., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) was killed in his office. The murder weapon was a Parker pen in a pen holder on his desk. The blood spattered on the wall two meters away.On the floor beside the deceased, a white chess knight was placed upright in a pool of blood.

All of a sudden, the serial murder case caused a sensation in the major TV media and newspapers in Chicago. Reporters flocked to the police station and the FBI office building to tell the story of "Chess Killer-Who is the next dead chess player" and "Chessboard Killer?" The ghost reappears in the world", "64 chessboards, 64 lives--progressive time: 4" and other headlines such as gimmicks are flying around the sky, and the citizens are panicked.And those "serial murderer admirers" with weird thinking and distorted interests (there are quite a few of them, and even set up fan forums on the Internet and fan clubs in reality), rejoice for the rise of a dark new idol.

The detectives of the special case team and the criminal investigators sent by the FBI headquarters received the keen attention of countless reporters, so that when Leo walked out of the city police station, he had to wear a poker face wearing sunglasses and the cold four words "No comment", struggling to push through the crowd and get into the car.The black Chevrolet SUV passed away under the flashing spotlights, and Rob, who was sitting in the back of the car, heaved a sigh of relief: "It's so fucking brutal, I'd rather hunt down a dozen murderers at the same time than face the murderer. To these all-pervasive reporters!"

"The only way you can deal with a group of flies that won't let go of the slightest smell of meat is to cover the pot tightly." Leo said while driving.

"Damn it, I haven't had any private time for a few days. I managed to make a reservation for dinner at Spiaggia Restaurant yesterday. Before my butt was warmed up, a reporter popped out of nowhere and jumped at me with bright eyes!" Rob was full of resentment. He complained, "Damn, let no one eat!"

His partner joked, "You'd better stay in the car and eat fast food tonight!"

"Why don't you eat fast food?" Rob asked in dissatisfaction.

"I drive 5 minutes longer, and I can eat delicious Chinese food, and it's in a cozy and undisturbed family restaurant. Why eat fast food?"

Rob's eyes widened: "What... you didn't tell me that that Chinese boy is a good cook? Leo, you selfish guy, be careful and go to hell after you die!"

Leo laughed. "Then I'll hook you—gluttony is a great sin, isn't it."

"FuckYou!" the green-eyed detective sneered.

"Don't think about it for the rest of your life." The black-haired detective said solemnly.

The night's menu was pineapple fried shrimp, chive moss, steamed salmon and Pingqiao tofu soup. Because of the number of people, a plate of popular Kung Pao chicken was added. The accompanying drink was a bottle taken from the wine cellar French Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon dry red wine.

Rob ate voraciously, his image was extremely indecent, he almost bit his tongue several times, and at the dinner table he made a firm determination to go back to the apartment for every dinner except overtime.After drinking and eating, he held a glass of Lapsang Souchong and slumped on the sofa, lazily like a boa constrictor stretched over his head, looking at the figure busy cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, he groaned in satisfaction: "Leo , I must find a Chinese wife."

The dark-haired detective, who was extremely slow in some respects, didn't notice the metaphor in his words, and replied: "Oh, maybe you can ask Bi Qing if there is any suitable girl to introduce to you, but I will give you a piece of advice , it’s best not to look for it in his hometown.”

"why?"

"Because by then, you'll be the one busy in the kitchen."