Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

In the open office, Levi heard the commotion at the front door of the branch office, cast a worried look at Martin who was escorting Northridge, and then left them and rushed to the source of the commotion.

Standing in the middle of the open plan office, Diane Costas is pissed off, confronting her "ex" friend.Jolie was half hidden behind a uniformed officer who had to return her to the Clark County Detention Center.

"You traitor, bitch!" Kostas yelled, "How could you do this to me?"

Julie's tearful apology was barely audible amid the spout of condemnation.Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing and watched in fascination, as if no one was going to interfere.Levi was surprised, and Layla Rush was standing there, breasts folded, looking uninterested.

"I'm sorry, Diana," Julie said, raising her handcuffed hands in a reassuring gesture, "Trust me, I never meant to hurt—"

"But you are happy to stand aside. When I was detained, your mouth was still tightly shut. I was detained for murder!"

"What the hell is going on?" Levi whispered to Rashid.

"It's probably my fault," she said, sounding unapologetic. "I called Costas to drop the charges, and as soon as I told her why, she yelled and hung me up. I did. I knew she'd be here."

"how do you know?"

She smiled and said, "I'll do it again."

"How long are you going to sit on the sidelines?" Kostas said.She had her hands on her hips, her face was flushed, and there was uncontrollable anger and injury in her big black eyes. "If this case goes to trial, will you say a word? I'm in prison, will you say?"

Suddenly Julie sobbed and said, "That's never going to happen! I know you didn't kill that man and everything will be fine!"

"Oh, what an idiot you are—"

Levi turned his head to see that Martin and Northridge walked into the open office.Kapoor and Warner followed, but they stopped when they saw the decisive battle.

"I let you into my house." Kostas said, panting heavily, "I trust you with my son. But you are going to push me into the water in order to protect yourself and your scumbag boyfriend."

"Don't say that about him!"

Kostas scowled, throwing his hands back.Levi started to move, but Rush was faster—she lunged forward and grabbed Costas' arm, just as the uniformed officer dragged Julie out of her reach as well.

"You're at the police station," Rush said, her voice slightly annoyed. "Don't be a fool."

Kostas didn't move, her raised forearm still held in Rashid's grip.She glared at Julie with uncontrollable emotion, her chest heaving up and down.

The bystanders seemed to be holding their breath.Levy is pretty sure that anywhere else, half the people here would pull out their phones and record every moment.

Then Kostas' shoulders slackened, and she nodded.Rush let go of her arm, but didn't move away.Both Julie and her escort watched Costas warily.

"I hope you stay in prison for a long time." Costas' voice trembled, "Don't come near me and my son after you come out."

She turned and swaggered away, leaving Julie weeping behind her.She was near the exit, and when she passed Martin and the three doctors, she hesitated for a moment, frowned, glanced back at them, and left.

Rush sighed as if he had been taken advantage of, and said, "I'll go with her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." She smiled as she passed Levi, and said, "You've got the real killer Why don't you give me a call?"

After she withdrew, Levi frowned.The uniformed police officer led the sobbing Julie away in the opposite direction. In the open office, people continued to talk and do activities, and everyone went back to what they had done before.Without it for 1 minute, the atmosphere in the room returned to normal.

"What a farce," said Martin.She leads Northridge to him, followed by Kapoor and Warner.

"Can you blame her?"

"Who's that woman?" Warner asked.

"Our original suspect in the death of Dr. Hensley." Levy turned to their newest suspect and said, "I will arrange for you to contact the defense attorney."

"I've arranged one and it's on the way," Kapoor said.

They placed Northridge in the interrogation room, and led Kapoor and Warner to a waiting room.Indeed, thanks to the combination of the financial resources and influence of these two women, the lawyer contacted by Kapoor arrived in less than half an hour.

When Levi and Martin saw that it was Jay Sawyer, they all lamented in unison.He worked for a law firm called Harfield, Park, and Mackenzie, which was well-respected locally.He was really the best lawyer in Las Vegas, and he was very handsome, and he looked like an old New Englander, as if he had come from the Mayflower.The real problem, though, is that he knows how capable and good-looking he is, and that only inflates his ugly ego.

"Detective Valku, Detective Abrams." Sawyer stopped by their table and said.When he looked at Levi, his voice became deeper and deeper, "Every time I see you two, I am very happy."

"It might be for you," Levi murmured.Sawyer, who is bisexual, has made no secret of how much he wants to fuck Levi in ​​bed.

Sawyer gave him a smile that slowly broke, charming but irritating.He said, "Would you please take me to my guest?"

Levi got up from the table quickly, without grace, stood up and motioned for Sawyer to follow him.Martin wrinkled his nose sympathetically as they passed.

Levy tried to be moral and not hate the defense attorney.Many wronged people have been charged with crimes, and he genuinely felt that even the guilty ones should have a good lawyer.This is a necessary occupation.But after nine years as a policeman, prejudice has taken root in his heart, and it is difficult to eradicate.

Besides, Sawyer is a bastard.

Fortunately, Sawyer's insinuation didn't constitute sexual harassment, and they came to the interrogation room, saving Levi the effort to break his nose.He left Sawyer with Northridge, but he was not at all relaxed, knowing that he would be called again soon.

Sure enough, an hour later he was told they were going to speak to him.After he persuaded Martin to interrogate to no avail—she couldn't stand Sawyer—he went back to his room, prepared his notebook, and sat down at the table.

"For the record," said Sawyer, "I advise my client not to tell you anything. But she insists on telling you 'her story.'"

From Sawyer's obvious helplessness and Northridge's resolute expression, Levy can imagine how long the debate lasted.There was nothing predatory or provocative in Sawyer's demeanor now—he was all business.

"Let's listen to it," Levy said.

Northridge took a deep breath, folded his hands on the table, and said, "I've wanted a divorce for some time. I know you're familiar with Stephen's life by now and can see why. But Stephen refuses to— — Not because I want to stay married, but just to piss me off. My family fortune is substantial, including a lot of real estate throughout the Northeast, but in a messy, contentious divorce, Stephen may claim some of it ownership because we don't have a prenuptial agreement." The corners of her mouth twitched up sarcastically. "You can't imagine how much I hate knowing my mother has been right all these years."

Levi nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"I know Stephen has a habit of hiring call girls when he travels. When he's unfaithful—and preferably criminal—catch it up and give me leverage to put pressure on him to accept it. Divorce cleanly, and if he still doesn't budge, the courts will be on my side."

"You want to come into the room and catch him doing something indecent with a sex worker?"

"Yes," Northridge said, sighing again, "I made sure to fly to Las Vegas on Saturday night. But my first flight had a mechanical problem, and I ended up flying different flight. Arrived in the city much later than I had planned. I knew Stephen was unlikely to be with the woman he hired, but I was determined to confront him. Our marriage was so absurd , I can't stand it for a day."

It was not surprising that Sawyer made an unhappy noise—Northridge had just revealed her motive for killing Hensley.

"When did you get to the Mirage?" Levi asked.

"About 2:30am, I was worried that someone who had been in the meeting would recognize me and interfere with my movements, so I covered my face as much as possible. I told the receptionist at the front desk that I was Stephen's Ma'am, I came here to surprise him." She wiped her face with one hand, "I was thinking about doing something to convince him, but he took a small bribe very quickly. Looking back, that Might be a warning sign."

Levi hums, agreeing.

"I got the key card for Stephen's room and went upstairs. As the elevator was going, I thought about what to say, how to ask for this to end. I opened the door..." She stared into the distance, and then called Stirring, leaning forward, looking straight into Levi's eyes, "I swear to you, detective, Stephen was dead when I arrived. He had been dead for at least an hour, and I didn't kill him."

Now, he takes it with a grain of salt. "What did you do next?" He keeps his tone neutral.

"I stood there motionless for what must have been 5 minutes. I was in shock, of course, I didn't know what to do. It took me some time to process the fact that my husband died and I had nothing to do. No feeling."

"Oh my God, Dr. Northridge, you are killing me." Sawyer said with a painful expression.

Ignoring him, she said: "Once I fully grasped the reality of the situation, I immediately realized where I had put myself. Flying into the city without telling anyone, disguised myself, and bribed the receptionist to get Room key - I knew it looked like I killed Stephen. So I ran. I thought there might be surveillance cameras in the elevator, so took the stairs, took the other exit, went to accept cash and no ID required motel."

If that's true, then she's really flexible—not surprising for a surgeon. "You were on the passenger list for Flight 484 on Tuesday," Levy said. "How did you do that?"

Northridge opened his mouth, but Sawyer cut her off by raising his hand. "Ah, ah," he said, "no. The truth of the matter may implicate someone of my client's concern in a crime."

Levi tapped the table with a pen, thinking: "A tyrannical person?"

"totally not."

Sawyer's face was a mask of indifference—Levy would never get the truth unless he made some deals.This guy, so arrogant and full of love affairs, it's easy to forget that he's really good at his job.

"Give me a minute," Levy said, pushing the chair back.

After a few phone calls, he was armed with documents that would guarantee immunity for the people Northridge had concealed.Everything was signed, Northridge said: "I came to the motel and I called my sister first and I told her everything and told her to fly to Las Vegas with me. S."

"Are you twins?"

"No, but with a wig and the right makeup, we look alike and she's recognizable as the picture on my ID. I couriered my driver's license to her overnight and she rode Tuesday flight."

clever. "So how did Alan Walsh get involved?" Levy asked. "We know he called you twice this week."

They didn't know it, they weren't sure, but who else would use a disposable cell phone, a Las Vegas area code, and call Northridge?

She sighed and said: "I've been worrying all Sunday that Mr Walsh is going to tell the police he's seen me. I don't think he'll because that would mean admitting he'd been bribed to give the keys card, and there is no doubt that he will lose his job for it, and may even be seen as an accomplice to the murder. I hope he just keeps his mouth shut."

"but?"

“However, he called me on Sunday night and threatened to pay him or expose my presence in Las Vegas. I agreed to his terms and told my sister to wire the money to Me. I met Mr. Walsh near my motel on Monday night, and I gave him what he asked for."

Well, the second call on Monday must be to confirm the details of the meeting.Levy saw Sawyer's scrunched, gloomy face and said, "I can't believe you let her tell me all of this."

"If you think there is a way for me to stop her, I'd like to hear your way," he said.

"Listen to me, gentlemen," said Northridge. "I did something wrong, yes, but I did not kill my husband. I am not afraid of taking responsibility for my actions, nor of the consequences, especially It means I won't be prosecuted for a crime I didn't commit."

"You know that by admitting that Walsh blackmailed you, you're also telling me your motive for killing him," Levy said.

"That's what it says." She spread her hands. "But I didn't. I recorded both calls with Mr. Walsh, and the meeting on Monday. As soon as the money changed hands, I uploaded the recording to the cloud for backup and played it. Listen to him. I taped him talking about not only blackmailing me, but other mirage customers. I told him that if he wanted more money from me, I would give the tape to the police and drag him too Go into the water and die together."

Levi blinked.

"I agree with Mr Walsh. I don't mind paying him once, he accepts and that's it. We said our amicable farewells. A few days later I read in the papers that he had been murdered ..." She choked up and shook her head, "Detective, Mr. Walsh told me he knew I wasn't the one who killed Stephen."

Levi narrowed his eyes and said, "He knows this, the only possibility is that he knows the real culprit."

"He knew. The man killed him for it."

"Hmm. Any idea who that person might be?"

She snorted and said, "If I knew, I would have told you a long time ago."

Levi was quiet for a while, reviewing his dense notes.Then he took a deep breath and looked up. "Great story, Dr. Northridge. You explained everything and answered all questions." He snapped his notebook shut, "but let me tell you what it looks like from a law enforcement officer's point of view. You have the strongest motives for killing Hensley and Walsh that we have ever met. You came to Las Vegas, you were in Las Vegas, you went to great lengths to cover it up. You bribed the hotel Employee, thus came to the first scene, and you fled after you confessed it yourself. The man who blackmailed you died suddenly a few days later. You have the medical knowledge to measure the excess of Rohypnol, precisely targeting the human carotid artery. You There might be explanations for all of this, but at the end of the day, you can't prove any of it."

"The jury will make a verdict," Sawyer said.

"Yes, that's how the legal system works, thank you," Levy said. "You think a jury would buy a story full of dubious coincidences?"

Sawyer smiled and said, "I'll do the work for them, and they'll do it."

"Really." Levi smiled slightly, "Have you met Leila Rush?"

Sawyer's smile faded, and he said, "Is she the District Attorney's officer in this case?"

Levi nodded.Sawyer pursed his lips, his eyes darkened, and Levi felt a little satisfied when he saw his composure crack.

"Okay, once my client is released on bail, we'll have plenty of time to work out what to do."

"Oh, come on." Levi was taken aback by Sawyer's confidence. "A wealthy tourist charged with a high-profile murder. The judge won't grant her bail. She's got 'will run away' written all over her body." 'risks of."

"We'll see. Or, you can go find the real murderer and save us the trouble."

"I think we're done." Levy stood up and straightened his coat. "Dr. Northridge, you will be sent to the Clark County Detention Center later to await your trial."

"Don't worry, doctor." Sawyer also stood up and said, "I will immediately push the process and solve everything."

Northridge was paler and more depressed than before, but she thanked them graciously.Sawyer followed Levi out of the interrogation room.

Levi thought that he would boast about the case, but when Sawyer spoke, he was caught off guard.Sawyer said, "I heard you're dating that big bounty hunter, Russo, right?"

Levi opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Sawyer's gaze fell on Levi, slowly moved down, and said, "He must have amazing bed skills, and he can lure you away from the billionaire's bed."

Levy was bubbling with rage, his muscles tensed, his pulse quickened, and he clenched his right hand into a fist and said, "If you think I won't take the risk of beating you up, you'll soon know you're wrong."

"Be careful." Sawyer whispered.He walked by Levi, leaned closer and said, "I might enjoy it."

He strode away, light and cheerful.Levi watched him go, nose flaring, and it took several minutes to calm down before returning to the open office.

He discussed the interrogation with Martin, and she said, "I don't know. Something about this still doesn't feel right. You really think she did it?"

"I don't know what to think." Levi rubbed his tired eyes, "All the evidence points to her."

"Yeah, but let me ask you this—you think Clarissa Northridge is the kind of guy who kills a man and then loses his shit and throws up?"

"No." Levi mused, "I don't think so."

"Hi, Abrams." Gibbs yelled across the open office, startling everyone in the room, "Wen wants to see you in his office right away. You do What happened?"

***

Dominique arrives at his childhood home, in North Las Vegas, early in the afternoon.It was a crowded house where he grew up and lived with his parents, four siblings and his grandmother, and now that the children are grown and his father is dead, his old Mom and grandma are the only residents of this house.

He walked into the house, unleashed the rebellious girl from the dog's leash, and shouted, "Grandma, it's me!" His mother might be working, and grandma didn't know he would come.

Sylvia slowly came out of the kitchen, frowning.She is now the shortest person in the family, and he has to bend down to kiss her wrinkled cheeks.

"You didn't call." She said seriously.

"I'm sorry. I was in this area, and then I thought I should come over." He said, unzipped the luggage bag, and took out the notebook. The words written on it were similar to what he showed Carlos.

Unlike Carlos, Sylvia reacted calmly, looking neither surprised nor worried.She read the message, nodded, looked at him critically, and said, "You're hungry." This was not a question.

"I can eat it."

"I've got Alansney for dinner—I'll fry some for you now." She nudged him, motioned him to get on with his business, and went back to the kitchen.The rebellious girl followed her with longing eyes, but she still stayed beside Dominic.

His family's house wasn't too big, but it was bigger than his and Carlos' apartment, and it took more time to check it inside and out.He took an intermission to feast on Grandma's arancini—fried risotto balls loaded with filling.After a few hours the inspection was over.

The house is very clean.He didn't really think that "Seven of Spades" would come so far to monitor his mother's house, but he couldn't feel at ease without knowing for sure.

He went back to the kitchen, where Sylvia was still doing some trivial things slowly, and he said, "It's nothing. We can talk casually now."

"Are you in trouble?" she asked, the boldness in her voice.

He understood what she was talking about. "Not like that," he said. "I didn't gamble, but you and Mom should know about it. Leaving that aside, I was wondering if you could get me the recipe for capenata? To-day I'm making Levi dinner tonight and I think he'll love it."

She grinned, and took out the quaint carved wooden box of her cookbook from the cupboard, and rummaged through it.She took out the recipe she had asked about, pulled out a blank card from the back of the box, and sat down at the table with a pen.

"Grandma, I'll just take a photo with my phone—"

"Absolutely not," she said. "Authentic recipes should be written by hand. Sit down."

He immediately obeyed obediently and did not talk back.

"Now," she said, taking off the cap of her pen, "what do you want to tell me?"

She transcribed the recipes in her elegant, old-school handwriting, and he recounted his and Levi's and Seven of Spades' stories to her in detail.The rebellious girl sat behind his chair with her head resting on her knees.He rubbed her ears and the back of her neck, and she squinted happily.

When his story was finished, Sylvia asked, "Are you really sure this murderer won't hurt you?"

He opened his mouth, wanting to say an unfounded "really", hesitated for a moment, and said, "Physically at least not. But I know that the murderer likes to play psychological tactics, I can't guarantee that the murderer will Do something, mess with my head, or plot something against me."

"But that won't stop you, will it?"

"will not."

"Neither does Levi, I guess."

He laughed and said, "Absolutely not, he is more brain-dead than me."

"That's hard to imagine," she looked at him, "and why haven't we seen him since he came here in April? You can take him to lunch on Sunday, you know."

"I don't think we're ready yet," Dominique said, flustered by the sudden change in the subject.

"Why not?"

He was at a loss for words and couldn't answer.To be honest, the idea kind of freaked him out.It's one thing to take Levi to a party at a friend's extended family, quite another to take him to dinner with his close family.He would not do this to other men in the past. For Levi, he had to make sure that it was as important to him as it was to Levi before he dared to take this step.

"I'll ask him," he said. "Anyway, I have to go—I have work to do today, and I have to go to the grocery store." He stuffed the card she handed him into his pocket. , stood up from the table, kissed her, and said goodbye. "Thank you for everything, Mamaw."

She patted his cheek affectionately and said, "You must use good olive oil for capenata. Don't use cheap ones."

***

Levi knocked on the half-open door of Wen's office, poked his head in, and asked, "Sir, do you want to see me?"

"Yes, Abrams, come in and sit down. Close the door behind you." Wen looked tired and stressed.The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth deepened.

Levy complied, wondering what the hell was going on.He ran through all of his cases in his head, but he couldn't think of a reason why Wen would need to speak to him alone.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," Wen said, meeting Levi's gaze across the table. "Are you still investigating Seven of Spades?"

It wasn't even in the top [-] topics that Levi guessed Wen was going to talk to him about.He opened his eyes wide, commented on Wen, and suddenly lost his mother's speech.

"My God, Abrams, this case is closed. And you are specifically ordered not to pursue it."

"Why are you asking me this?" Levi said, but he knew he'd sold himself.

"Dominic Russo was spotted in Dr. Angela Chen's office."

This made Levi even more uneasy, and he said, "He went to see a psychiatrist, what's wrong?"

Wen frowned and said, "Don't insult my IQ, the psychiatrist chosen by your boyfriend by chance is the same one who treated Keith Chapman, you think I believe it's a coincidence?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Levy whispered.

"Then you kissed someone else in the open office this morning?"

"I..." Levi shook his head, feeling overwhelmed by how quickly everything had collapsed.

"You're always honest, Abrams—sometimes too honest. So tell me straight up now." Wen looked at him gravely. "Did you send Russo to see Dr. Chen, as' Part of the Seven of Spades' independent investigation?"

"Yes." Levy said.

"Oh my God." Wen leaned back on the chair and rubbed his face. "You have been suspended without pay for a week for seriously disobeying the orders of your superiors. Before leaving the building, hand in your police weapons."

Levi gritted his teeth and panted, his anger rising unconsciously.He did violate the orders of his superior officer, which was directly affirmed, and he did so in full knowledge of the consequences of being caught.He will not shirk responsibility now.

"I'm curious." He stood up and asked, "How did you know that Dominic went to see Dr. Chen?"

There was a hint of discomfort on Wen's face. "I got an anonymous tip."

"Anonymous tip?" Levi laughed nonchalantly. "You realize it's from Seven of Spades, right? Seven of Spades doesn't want me involved. I must have gotten too close, It's unbearable."

"my God--"

"Did you know that after Keith Chapman died, Tina Chapman received five thousand dollars a month in cash from unknown sources. Who do you think gave the money?"

"Stop talking about these bullshit, unless you want to double the length of your suspension." He said sternly.

Levi shook his head and walked towards the door.When he left, he couldn't help but say the last sentence. "'Seven of Spades' isn't going to be content to stay in the background forever," he said. "If 'Seven of Spades' comes back and we're not ready, we're all screwed."

[1] That is Arancini, a kind of fried food, usually made of rice wrapped in mozzarella cheese, the outer layer is wrapped with bread crumbs, and fried.Rice has a variety of flavors and can be made into risotto and so on.

[2]? Namely caponata, a condiment made from crushed eggplant and assorted vegetables.