Bloody Seven of Spades 1: Life and Death

"It feels pretty sincere," Levy said.

"Yeah," said Dominic, "this freak really wants me dead."

He has been walking back and forth in his small apartment for 5 minutes, each step is transmitted through the spine to the skull, and the shocks make his brain hurt even more, but he just can't sit or even stand still less than.There was a ball of anger in his stomach, which made his heart feel uncomfortable.

"No," Levy frowned at him. "This person may be teasing you, trying to surprise you by surprise, but I think this person is really wishing you a 'speedy recovery'. The gift is sincere."

Unlike Dominic, Levi stayed put, taking pictures of the basket with his phone and examining the contents carefully.Dominique came to him, hands in pockets so he wouldn't accidentally touch anything.

"How do you say that?" he asked.

"I talked to the murderer on the phone. Although it was only a few minutes, and the voice was not the original voice, but the content and wording of this person's words... This person's view of things is absolutely black and white. 'Good and evil' are opposites and cannot be refuted. The murderer I believe that you are not a bad person, so even if your investigation makes him unhappy, I don't think this person will do anything wrong to you. If he really thinks about you, this person should admire the bounty hunter's job."

"You're just guessing."

Levi's brows furrowed deeper, a little angrily. "This is a professional guess derived by a police officer based on experience and intuition, not just talking about it."

"That's speculation too." Dominique walked back to the living room listlessly, sat down on the sofa, and covered his face with his hands. "God, or I'll have to move."

If so, it would be too depressing.He was lucky enough to live in this apartment before his gambling addiction got too bad.With his credit rating now at rock bottom, any decent housing would simply shredder his occupancy application.Besides, he didn't want to leave Carlos and Jasmine either.

"Dominic." Hearing Levi's approaching footsteps, Dominic raised his head and saw Levy sitting on the edge of the oak coffee table in front of him. "If the 'Seven of Spades'—fuck, I did—if this guy tries to kill you, I think you're dead by now."

"You never thought that I have the ability to protect myself?"

"I don't think you will have a chance to protect yourself at all," Levi said. "The three victims were subdued by this man, without the slightest sign of resistance. What do you think this shows?"

"It means that they didn't expect to be attacked at all," Dominic muttered. "The murderer doesn't seem like someone who will pose a threat to them. When they react, it will be too late."

"Exactly." Levi stretched out his hand—stopped halfway and took off his right hand glove—and pressed it on Dominic's knee. "If you are facing a foreseeable danger, I know you will be able to protect yourself, but that's not the case. And seeing that the blood in your veins is still there, I don't think the murderer intends to attack you. Don't be yourself. Scared myself."

"You put it lightly. You haven't been singled out by a serial killer."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "No? 'Seven of Spades' was a deal offered to me—someone just for me. The person called me by name and mentioned my shooting."

Dominic sat up straight in surprise, and said, "You never mentioned the last one to me."

"I didn't feel the need to mention it at the time."

Dominic was about to speak, but Levi's hand on his knee took him away from his mouth; the hand was there to comfort him, but would it be a little longer?He glanced down.Levi cleared his throat and quickly moved his hand away.

"Then think about it this way," Levy said, "even if you move, the murderer won't be able to find you? It's easy for the man to follow you for the first time. Unless you move out of the city, what's the matter?" significance?"

The logic of this sentence convinced Dominique.He knows better than anyone that if someone is determined to find you, it's impossible to avoid that person.Rather than moving to a strange place in a hurry, it is more useful to pay attention to common sense of security.

but……

"Are you going to appease people's frightened little hearts like this?" Dominique asked. "'If someone wants to kill you, you are already dead?' 'Do you think the murderer can't find you?' Are you trying to comfort me, or are you trying to scare me to pieces?"

Levi glared at him and straightened up like an angry cat.Dominic grinned and patted Levy on the side of his knee.

"I'm kidding. Well, a small part of it is serious."

Levi's cell phone rang.He looked at the text message and said, "My car is downstairs. Can I take the basket with me? I want someone from the laboratory to check for trace evidence, and—er, mainly to test the food." Does it have ketamine in it. Who knows."

"Of course. You please."

After putting on his gloves again, Levi went back to the kitchen to put away the basket, the cellophane, and the ribbon. "Can you go next door to pick up the rebellious girl? Is there anyone in their house at this time?"

Dominique nodded, then frowned in pain.I would have known better. "Carlos is recovering from surgery. I'm planning to go over there for a day, if he doesn't mind."

"Okay. If the murderer contacts you, call me." The wrinkles in the corners of Levi's eyes piled up slightly. "Don't you have my phone number?"

Dominic laughed and stood up to send Levi out.But when he returned to the apartment alone, the cheerfulness just now disappeared immediately.

Is the murderer watching him at this moment?Putting the gift basket outside the door instead of inside doesn't mean the other party really can't get in.What if the guy put a camera or bug in the house or something?

God, it's just driving me crazy.Now he just wants to cuddle up with the rebellious girl, turn off his brain and sleep through the day.

Before going out, he locked the pistol in the safe.When he played it, he hesitated for a moment whether he should simply carry it on his body, but considering the concussion, he decided to forget it.If the doctor thinks he can't even drive a car, he'd probably be better off not shooting.It had only been twelve hours since he was injured.

In the middle of turning the combination on the safe, he paused.At first he thought it was a gift basket from a sister, but he felt that this action was too powerful. Now that he knew it was a serial killer, he was still too fast.The man seemed to have access to information inside the Vegas Police Department, so it was no surprise that he learned about it quickly after the incident.But to deliver a gift basket early in the morning immediately after the incident?And the whole sequence of getting the deck of cards ready and the basket rewrapped was not something that could be done in a blink of an eye, it had to be done by the murderer himself.

You can't order online, and you can't just find a courier to deliver it.The gift basket must be bought locally to be placed at his door before he arrives home.

Bought it myself.

***

"You can't do this to me!"

The shouts in the meeting room came along the corridor, and although they were a little vague, the words were still clearly audible.Levi, who was sitting at his desk, raised his head in surprise, and the other people in the big office reacted like him.

A few indistinct conversations, and then another shout—"That's bullshit!"—and a loud bang, as if some heavy piece of furniture had been knocked over, followed by footsteps .The voices of others in the conference room grew louder.

The atmosphere in the large office became highly tense.Levi reflexively looked over to Martin, but she wasn't there—she was interrogating the thieves she caught last night.They agreed that they would be more cooperative if she negotiated instead of him, the one who knocked them unconscious.

As the commotion in the conference room grew, Levi gave a low growl of annoyance, pushed back his chair, stood up, and walked towards the corridor.The shutters of that meeting room were tightly closed, and there was no sign on the door of what kind of meeting was taking place inside.He knocked lightly on the door, and opened it without waiting for a reply.

Everyone in the room stood and turned to look at him in unison—except Keith Chapman.Keith was still snarling, and Natasha put her arm on his elbow and whispered into his ear.Levi recognized two Internal Affairs detectives, a police association representative, and Keith's supervisor, Superintendent Joe Alvarez.A chair next to Keith was overturned, and there was a pile of papers scattered on the floor.

Obviously, the hearing did not go well.

"Is everything okay?" Levi asked.

"Everything is fine, officer." It was Terrence Freeman, one of the people from the Internal Affairs Division who spoke.The other is Valerie Montoya. This woman always has a serious and serious look. Although she doesn't talk much, her eyes are very sharp, staring like a hawk to make people uneasy.

"You can't kick me out of the police force." Although Keith was furious, he wasn't flushed—in fact, he was horribly pale.His skin was sweaty, his hair was greasy, and his left eye was twitching. "It's not fair. That man deserves what he deserves. He deserves what he deserves!"

"Please, Keith," Alvarez said awkwardly, "can you be more rational."

Natasha moved her hands to Keith's back and rubbed him gently in circular motions.Levy noticed that Keith's hands were shaking, but it didn't look like agitation—more like some kind of pathological twitch.

Concerned, Levi said, "Maybe you should take him somewhere a little more secluded." Like Alvarez, he didn't want to see his colleague behave like this.

"Maybe you should concentrate on your own work and let us handle our own affairs." Freeman said fiercely.

Annoyed, Levi remembered that Freeman was on that list; two years ago, when he got into a physical altercation with another officer.Although Freeman's actions were judged to be self-defense, Levy still didn't like the man very much.

Seeing that the situation was about to deteriorate, Natasha stepped in to be a peacemaker. "Levy's right. Can this end?"

"And the written procedure—"

"I believe this can take a while," she insisted.

Freeman seemed to object, but Natasha raised an eyebrow, causing him to back off and nod.Montoya never spoke, watching the confrontation between the two with an incomprehensible expression.

Natasha pushed the emotional and rambling Keith out of the meeting room.Levy followed them.In Keith's agitated state, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone with him; he was especially careful that she didn't take Keith into her small office, where there was only one entrance and exit, and it would be difficult to escape.

"Come on, follow me." Levi led them to an interrogation room.It may not be very conducive to appease Keith's emotions, but Natasha's safety is the first priority.If Keith got mad, at least it was easy to overpower him here.

"It's not fair," Keith repeated to Natasha after the door closed.As he paced the room, every part of his body was in constant motion; his left eye twitched more violently. "You know what he said to me, you know he showed me what he did to those kids. He did it on purpose. What else could I do?"

"Keith," said Natasha, sympathetic and weary, "you overreacted horribly. Just because you're a cop doesn't give you the right to—"

Keith turned sharply and pointed a trembling finger at Levi.Levi stepped back and stood aside—diagonally across from Keith, not directly at him.

"You beat the crap out of three people last night. You have nothing to do with it! People in the bureau have spread the word. They actually think you are very powerful. Why didn't the internal affairs department come to check you?"

"I was in a life-or-death situation," Levy said, "and I just immobilized them and did no lasting damage. You pin a man in handcuffs to the ground and use his head like a jack-o-lantern Smashed to pieces."

"So what, at least I haven't killed anyone."

Levi shifted his weight back to his heels.

Natasha stretched her hands towards the two and stepped forward. "Please don't, it's no use talking about it."

"That bastard provoked me to hit him on purpose, and I lost my job." Keith gasped, hyperventilating a little. "Tina kicked me out of the house and didn't let me see the kids. What should I do now?"

"I'll call your sister to pick you up." Natasha stood under Keith's eyelids, so that he had nowhere to hide his eyes and could only focus on him. "I still have to call Dr. Chen [1], okay?"

She coaxes and coaxes Keith into a chair by the metal table, then pulls out her phone.After finishing the phone call, she sat beside him and spoke to him in a low voice. Levi stood in the corner and tried not to disturb the two of them as much as possible, and his uneasiness continued unabated.

Something was wrong with Keith, very wrong.He couldn't stop moving for a moment—his feet were on beat, his body was twisting in his chair, his hands were shaking as he waved around, his face was convulsing.His skin was bloodless, and the sweat from his body soaked his suit jacket in patches.

This level is not just emotional tension.The only time Levy ever saw anyone like this was when he was a police officer, and that's how the drug abusers he dealt with were debilitated by long-term dependence on addictive drugs.Is Keith on drugs?

Ten minutes later, with Natasha's help, Keith calmed down a bit.Natasha led him to the gate of the police station and handed him over to the care of his worried sister.Levi followed, and Natasha whispered a few words to Keith's sister, but he couldn't catch the content.

After the Keith siblings were gone, Levi came to Natasha's side and stood with her on the sidewalk.Natasha's gaze was still following Keith's back, and she said, "Actually, you don't have to stay with us all the time. He won't hurt me."

"It's hard to tell," Levy said. "Who knows what's going to happen."

"Exactly." She said weakly.

"What's wrong with Keith? I mean, his health. He seems to be... not in good health.""

Natasha turned and looked at him intently. "Are you saying he has akathisia? It's a side effect of antipsychotic medication that happens occasionally - restlessness and compulsive akathisia."

"What?" Levi shook his head in disbelief. "When did Keith start taking antipsychotics?"

"I can't tell you that, you know."

"You can't tell me too much, and you didn't tell me," he pointed out. "Besides, isn't it your job to issue an early warning?"

She looked at him solemnly, not taking his rebuttal seriously. "This situation is not suitable for early warning. Keith did not appear to be any clear threat to anyone. He was not dangerous."

"you sure?"

"Pretty sure!" she said. "Well, after that attack, Keith started to get delusional, thinking everyone was targeting him. The police, the justice system, the media — it was like there was a conspiracy against him to discredit him, Destroyed his life. You saw for yourself that he just couldn't accept the fact that he didn't want to take responsibility for his actions. He was so sick that he couldn't take care of himself. Dr. Chen - his psychiatrist - gave him some treatment A delusional antipsychotic."

Levi frowned.He has known Keith for several years. Although the two are not close friends, he has never felt that Keith is a cranky person.Could stress really be strong enough to trigger pathological delusions in stressful situations?

"The vast majority of patients with mental illness are not dangerous." Natasha's eyes were burning, and her tone was harsher than ever before, almost angry. "Even if there is danger, the main thing they hurt is themselves."

"I know--"

"I'm only telling you this because I saw in your eyes—the police's eyes—that you decided that Keith was a threat and that you were going to deal with him as a danger. But he was a man who made a big mistake. The average person, he couldn't accept the consequences of dealing with it. It can happen to anyone."

"Whoa, Natasha," Levi said, throwing up his hands, "I was just worried about Keith. Didn't intend to hang on to him, I swear."

She squinted at his face, then let her guard down. "Okay, I apologize. I just hate the tendency for people to see mental illness as a scourge. I've fought that stereotype my entire career."

"I understand."

Natasha looked in the direction Keith left - he had already left - she bit her lower lip with her teeth, looking worried.

"Seeing that he doesn't get better like this, do antipsychotics work?" Levi asked.

She shrugged. "Different patients have different drug combinations and dosages, and it takes a while to find the right one. It's rare for his side effects to become so severe in such a short period of time. But I'm not a doctor, so I can't decide on his Medication regimen, and Dr. Chen never took my words to heart. She talked to me like I was in kindergarten."

"Anyway, he's lucky that you can think of Keith."

"Thank you," she laughed. "Speaking of which—when is your next consultation?"

"Oh, it's so late." Levi said, turning and walking towards the police station.

The other party laughed in surprise, took his arm and pulled him back. "Get down to business. You still have two consultations. Do you want to come before the end of this week? How about the weekend? I know you have a lot of things on your hands right now."

"I'll check with you later, okay? Right now, my main focus is on this serial killer case, and there's not a single day I'm not on duty."

"Of course. Then you have to remember to cash in, and don't play haha ​​to deal with me."

It was certain that he would deal with her haha, but she made it clear that he couldn't help but feel guilty. "I'll call you back tomorrow." He waved his finger and rushed to the door. "Are you coming in?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I should just go out and eat my lunch early," Natasha said, "to decompress. That meeting was a pain. Right, Levi? What I just told you , might bring me into big trouble—lose my job, or even get my qualification certificate revoked.”

"I know. I won't tell anyone, promise." He put his hand on her shoulder for a moment, then entered the police station and returned to his station.

Before Martin came back, Levi continued to do the work he had left behind.In just 5 minutes, he was interrupted again, this time it was the phone ringing.

"Hi, Mom." He said, moving the phone to his ear.

"Levy, I'm mom."

He sighed.

"And me." Dad joined in.

"It's nice to talk to you guys, you know that, but why do you always call when I'm at work?"

"The last time we called you was Sunday," Nancy said. "How did we know you worked on Sunday?"

It was true; Levi had forgotten.Long hours and the pressure of a critical case made his life confusing.

"Anyway," she continued, "we were expecting you to call us to announce the good news or something?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He clicked on a ballistics report uploaded by the laboratory, which was from another pending murder case at hand.

"Hey, didn't your young man tell us his plan..."

"What plan?" He said, still focusing on the report.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, which seemed meaningful.His parents were seldom silent like this, and Levi paid attention and suddenly understood what that meant.

"Nope. Please don't tell me Stanton called you guys trying to—ask your 'permission'—"

"Not permission," Thor said quickly. "Of course not. He's asking for our blessing."

Levi used his other hand to make a gesture of supporting his forehead.Replacing "permission" with "blessing" is just a rhetorical device, to wash away the old bad habit of patriarchy, so that this thing can also keep pace with the times instead of being completely eliminated and become history.In his view, this custom is not only absurd, but also very disrespectful to spouses, no matter what gender they are.Even if Stanton didn't think there was anything wrong with it—he didn't—he knew Levi well enough to know how much he didn't like it.

What particularly disgusted Levy was that, given the current state of him and Stanton, it was completely inappropriate to mention engagement.In the past few days, the two would quarrel within half an hour of being together.What is Stanton thinking?

Probably thought that a marriage proposal would be able to remedy the situation.He's always been so romantic, it's hopeless—and Levi's always found him so endearing, but sometimes it makes him overwhelmed.

"It's time for you to have a home," Nancy said, "living in Nevada is no longer an excuse, and the Supreme Court has finally opened its eyes and brought the whole of America into the ranks of the civilized world. You You know, your father and I don't mind if you marry a non-Jew, as long as the mother of your child is Jewish."

Levi groaned in disapproval.

Mother ignored his displeasure and continued, "I've already inquired about two or three agencies, and they have Jewish egg donors—"

"My God, Mom," Levi interrupted, "stop talking. Please. Me and Stanton aren't getting married."

"why not?"

Because I don't want to marry him.

Such a thought popped up in his mind, it was simple, straightforward, and clear, which made Levy stunned.He was staring blankly at the monitor, and the parents on the other end of the phone were scrambling to speak. While they were arguing with him, they seemed to be arguing with each other. Fortunately, they were able to hold back.

"There's no rush for this kind of thing—"

"Oh, this kind of thing is not something you just sit around all day and wait for it to come to your door—"

"I'm not ready to get married," Levy said, shutting both of them up with one sentence. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear me say that."

"As long as you're happy, that's all we want to hear," Nancy said, "whatever that means to you."

Saul groaned in agreement.

"But, your poor boy will be heartbroken."

"I'll talk to him," Levy said, but he wouldn't talk to Stanton unless he couldn't avoid it.His calm composure in the face of threats of violence from a trio of punks turns out to be an unpleasant emotional exchange, and when it comes time to discuss a relationship, he's an out-and-out coward.

He chatted with his parents a few more words, careful to avoid any touchy subjects.As soon as he put down his phone, he put his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands.

"What's wrong?" Martin asked him.

Levi looked up.Martin's stress and fatigue were supposed to be no less than his, but it didn't show at all—the hairstyle was still in impeccable bouncy curls, the lipstick was freshly applied, and the gray suit trousers were pressed perfectly.As for him, on the contrary, he forgot to shave in the morning, and when he looked in the mirror earlier, he couldn't bear to look at those panda eyes.

"It doesn't matter. Did you find anything?"

"The first two have a strong mouth, and the third one has a criminal record. After a little pressure, they started to recruit." She fell heavily into the chair and pushed the mouse to wake up the computer. "They're members of the 'Wasp Gang,' you guessed it."

In that sense, Dominique was right.He wasn't surprised by this - this reaction surprised Levi himself.

"But they're not the masterminds of the theft—they don't usually get their ketamine that way. They're paid to do it."

"Who hired them?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"They don't know." Martin shrugged. "Every time we contact by text message, first pay half of the deposit with the dead mailbox[3], and then make up the remaining half of the fee after the matter is completed. The customer especially emphasized that they should take away all valuables, but the 'Wasp The only thing the gang's going to deliver is ketamine. The place of delivery is a private mailbox station in the suburbs."

"I'm guessing that the identity of the user who registered that mailbox is fake."

"It hasn't been verified yet. However, Sheriff Wen sent several patrolmen to the mailbox company to check. He is considering whether to set up a bureau, pretend that the task is completed, and send ketamine over to see if anyone takes the bait .”

Levi fiddled with the pen in his hand, and tapped the tip of the pen on the backing board on the table.The serial killer knew that Dominic was injured, so it was certain that the man knew why he was injured, which meant that the news of the missed burglary could not be concealed.The man who also knew about Dreyer's financial crimes investigation, that Goodwin escaped on bail, and even knew that Levi was one of the lead detectives on the case—if he wasn't an all-knowing God, then he was. Inside the Vegas Police Department there are eyeliners.

"It's not going to work," he said. "Seven of Spades won't be going to that letterbox again, knowing the gang has missed the burglary."

Martin gave him a strange sideways glance across the desk.

"what happened?"

"You call the murderer the 'Seven of Spades.'"

He raked his hair feebly. "Sergeant Wen is right. It is human nature to name things. I have already used that code name in my mind. Now you ask me to correct it based on principle, and I don't bother to change my words."

"Okay. Well, whether 'Seven of Spades' gets the trick or not, we're going to have someone watch that mailbox. You know that."

He stared at the computer, sullen, because the system had been logged out due to long periods of inactivity, and the generic screensaver of the Las Vegas Police Department popped up.Every lead they could think of so far had led to a dead end.How could this clue suddenly work?

The mind of an ordinary murderer is easy to understand.Either a passionate killing caused by momentary anger or jealousy to the extreme, or the result of devouring conscience and deliberate deliberation driven by greed; these motives are easy to identify, and the relationship between the murderer and the victim is also clear at a glance.Sometimes, it is indeed a bit difficult to lock the prisoner; from time to time, justice will be absent due to technical details of the law or loopholes in evidence collection.But never in any homicide investigation that Levy has worked on has he felt so bewildered—as if nothing could be done.

He had never met a murderer like this before.

"Levi?" Martin snapped his fingers. "Did you hear me?"

He shook his head back to his senses, returning his attention to Martin. "Sorry, you said."

"I gave the phone numbers of those suspects to Carmen for analysis. The text messages were sent with an application that automatically deletes files after sending out, but that application is not 100% safe. She may be able to rescue some. Then , I think you and I can sort out the addresses of those dead mailboxes during this period of time to see if there is any pattern in them, how about it?

"Okay." Levy hit the space bar, then entered his login password when prompted by the computer.

He is a dedicated policeman.He will do his job well, impartially, as always.

However, in the back of his mind, a new idea popped up again and again: What's the point of that?

[1] The original text is written as "Dr. Tran", which is the surname of Chen in Vietnam.

[2] Refers to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court announcing the legalization of same-sex marriage in all states across the U.S.Prior to this, Nevada, to which Las Vegas belongs, did not recognize the legal status of same-sex marriage.

[3] deaddrop, the user's anonymous mailbox or delivery address cannot be traced.