Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

On Monday morning, Levi found himself wandering along the Andersons' property line under the scorching sun.Adriana told him that she wanted to go for a walk together, but he couldn't bear to refuse.

"I know it's only been a day, but how does it feel?" he asked.

"Fine." Adriana walked beside him, hands in the pockets of her new trousers. "The Andersons are nice people."

"Where are Josh and Limo?"

"They're okay, too."

The compliment sounded weak, but Levi could still see a change in her.She was still terrified like a hunted animal--I'm afraid I won't be able to get over it for a while--but she looked much calmer and less frightened.In the morning when he went to Anderson's house, he saw her in the kitchen, chatting and laughing with her newly-acquainted brothers and sisters. Limo touched her arm, but she didn't shrink back.

A group of horses are wandering in the shade, which is quite good at escaping the heat.He shook his head at the horses and said, "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"No, but the Andersons said that I could go to the farm to help and earn some extra money, and Wendy also said that she would teach me how to ride a horse." She shrugged nonchalantly and kicked a small clod of dirt. "It should be pretty good, probably."

Levy secretly smiled without letting her see.

They came to a corner of the field, and Adriana jumped on the wooden fence and sat down, while Levi leaned on it, draping his suit jacket over one arm.

The scorched ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the high temperature made the vision hazy.Fortunately, he was prepared to keep a spare shirt in the car, and this one was drenched with sweat.

"I'm glad you caught whoever killed that doctor," Adriana said. "He's not going to get away with it, is he?"

"Absolutely not. The opinion of the District Attorney's Office is that there is no death penalty, as long as he accepts a non-parole life sentence."

Levy felt that Rush had taken a bold step.While Nevada prisons house stacks of people on death row, the state has not carried out an execution since 2006.As far as he knows, one of the drugs used by the state government to carry out the lethal injection is almost out of date, and the major pharmaceutical companies are now keeping the death penalty business at a respectful distance.

But both Rush and Levy knew very well in their hearts: Warner is a coward, and he will accept this plea agreement.

"Thanks to you picking up that bag, it was later confirmed that it was the one in those photos." Levy said. "Thank you."

She smiled and sat on the wooden fence dangling her legs back and forth.He felt that she still had something to say, so he looked at the horse ranch in front of him and waited quietly.

"Did your boyfriend hit you?" she asked suddenly.

Surprised, Levi stroked his upper lip.Healed cuts and bruises still looked scary, but since they didn't hurt much, he didn't take them seriously.

"No," he said, "I was searching a suspect's apartment and her boyfriend came home and attacked me."

She didn't apologize for doubting Dominic, and he didn't berate her for it. "Did you win?"

"Won."

She looked him up and down and nodded. "I asked Natasha about you. She said you learned some kind of Israeli martial arts, and that just a few months ago, you knocked out three guys in less than 20 seconds."

"It's called Krav Maga," he said, praying to himself that Natasha didn't blow him too far. "It was specially designed for the Israel Defense Forces in the 1940s. I was trained by the IKMF, the International Krav Maga Federation [1]."

"Are you a black belt or something?"

There was a smile on the corner of his mouth. "Well, that's not true. There is no need to 'bring' Krav Maga. There are fifteen levels—five practitioners, five researchers, and five experts. I am expert level one."

She didn't speak, and after a minute of comprehension, she opened her mouth and said, "You told me to teach me to protect myself, does it still count?"

"Of course, as long as you still want to learn."

"I think," she said, but hesitated, biting her lower lip, "it's just... Do you think others will say that it's strange for you to stay with me? Maybe they will say that it's not appropriate or something?"

He shrugged one shoulder and said, "Would anyone think that, knowing I'm gay?"

"you really?"

"You know I have a boyfriend."

"That doesn't mean you're gay," she said mischievously.

He was taken aback, laughed and said: "You are so right, I admit that I am wrong. But I am indeed gay. I have only kissed one girl in my life - Jessica Stein, in At my bar mitzvah. But I think she kissed me out of sympathy, because that night I saw her kiss Danny Chen so deeply."

"It's so heartbreaking."

"Honestly, I'm relieved. They've been dating for a couple of years after that." He stood up. "We can just speak to the Andersons and your social worker and tell them what we're doing and why. I don't think anyone will object."

"Okay," she said with a grin, "thanks."

"You're welcome. Let's go back now. I have to go to court in two hours."

Adriana jumped off the fence and they headed for the house.Halfway through, she said, "You were not obliged to help me before. You are not obligated to help me now. Is it doing you any good?"

It was a reasonable question, so Levi thought for a moment before answering: "I get angry when I see someone hurt, especially when it's someone they should have trusted. The best way to deal with that anger is Solve the problem."

She rubbed her sneakers on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. "ha."

"what happened?"

"Nothing. That's a good reason, maybe the best one. It's kind of weird, because you think, isn't that the same reason that the serial killer slit those people's throats?"

Levi was caught off guard.

***

The door of Room 227 was ajar, Dominic knocked, glanced through the crack of the door before entering.In the first bed lay a sleeping woman; he walked quietly past her to the second bed, separated by a drawn curtain.

Diana Costas flips through a magazine as the back of her hospital bed rises gently.There were dark, scary mottled bruises on her throat.But she doesn't need aids to breathe, the only thing connected to her is a drip.

He cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me, Ms. Costas?"

She looked up, gasped, and tightened her fingers on the edge of the magazine—as a woman who had just suffered a serious attack, it was not surprising to see a man of his size.But after seeing the huge bouquet of dahlias and yellow roses he was holding, her nervousness was quickly replaced by doubts.

"I'm Dominic Russo, Detective Abrams' boyfriend?"

Her eyes widened. "My God," she said, in a raspy voice that tormented the listener, "you're the one who saved my life." She struggled to sit up, then gasped for breath, pressing on one side of her ribcage.

"Uh, yes, I—wait, I'll help you." He put the flowers on the side table, came to the side of the bed, and controlled the backboard to rise so that she could sit up without moving her body.

"Thanks," she said, still holding on to her ribs, "every now and then I forget that my ribs are broken."

"I broke it," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

She gave him a look of disbelief. "No, you saved my life. Without you giving me CPR, I would be dead. My son would lose his mom. Two broken ribs are not worth the price."

She was out of breath after she finished speaking, and the last few words were almost inaudible.It must have been painful for her to speak.

Her injuries were not healed, and her activities were inconvenient. Dominic felt that it was impolite for him to be so big and condescending, so he backed away.He caught a glimpse of a glass of water with a straw next to the bouquet he brought, so he handed it to her, and then sat on the visiting seat.She nodded thanking him and sipped slowly.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said.

She gave him a thumbs up while drinking water.He smiled.

Shortly after a knock on the door, Levi walked around the curtains.He and Dominic had arranged to meet here, so Levi wasn't surprised to see him sitting with Costas.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Costas?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She said softly.

"Glad to hear that. I have something to tell you. Dr. Warner has been arrested by the police. He may accept a plea deal. If he accepts, you won't have to testify at a public trial."

A look of relief flashed across her face.It's no wonder - he and Levy will go to testify in court next, not to mention how much resistance they have in their hearts.

"Where's your son?" Levi asked.

"With a cousin of mine. The kind of person who would never stand by while I was framed for a murder." She snorted, coughed, and took another sip of water. "I'll probably be out of the hospital in about a day."

This brings us to another reason why Dominic is here.Sitting in his chair, he leaned forward and said, "That broken window, the one Warner used to get into your house, the police have taped it up, but it's still easy to get in later. If you think it's appropriate , I would like to replace it with strengthened glass so that it is less likely to happen in the future."

She looked at him, blinking, visibly taken aback.Levi stood quietly at the end of the bed.

"You're under no obligation to do that," she said.

"I know, if you don't feel well, I won't do it. However, your ribs will take two or three weeks to recover to the point where you can get out of bed, and you can't do it yourself. Professional companies will ruthlessly Kill you, but it's just a matter of lifting my finger for me."

Her hands touching her chest trembled, then she nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, it's fine if you say yes, then I'll thank you. My cousin brought me the key to my house, in the cabinet over there inside."

Dominic took out the key and put it in his pocket. "I've finished installing the window, and I'll come over and return it to you tomorrow."

"Thank you," she said, "thank you both."

Levi nodded solemnly, Dominique wished her a speedy recovery, and they said their goodbyes, leaving her to rest.In the busy hallway, Levy said, "Will helping her fix the window calm down the anxiety that you broke her rib?"

"It's okay as a first step." Dominic could tell Levi thought he was a little silly for that—but Levi didn't argue with him, which he was grateful for. "Besides, let her and her son live in the house with the broken window by the back door, do you expect me to believe that you can feel at ease?"

"That's a fucking stupid window to have there," Levy said. "She should have bricked that window, I say. Get this shit out of court so I can go home and have a drink." stop."

"You're not harsh at all." Dominique grinned, and followed him to the stairs.

[1] InternationalKravMagaFederation, the abbreviation is IKMF.