[European Style] Praying Mantis

"We had to face the fact that, most of the time, our dream careers were extremely boring."

At an old friends reunion three months ago, my high school friend Dewayne Hansen said so.He was a cop in Chicago.

"Before coming to Chicago, the city known as the 'Crime Capital', I had imagined countless times the villains I would face: Henry Howard Holmes, Al Capone, Richard Spike (①)..." He showed a helpless smile, "but when I actually started working, I realized that most of the people I faced were stinking, ragged tramps with strange costumes and bad behavior. hippies and drug addicts dying of overdose."

"The gap between ideal and reality is so big." He continued, "So when I found out that my girlfriend Angelina looks far worse than Angelina Jolie, I had to compromise with the facts."

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.But he is right. Every young man in the ivory tower has ambitions. Some want to realize their own value in life, some want to let their family live a prosperous life, some want to serve the country, and some want to serve mankind. Society contributes.Therefore, when we stay up late to study, pass one test after another, graduate smoothly, and find our dream job, all of us will impose our vision of the future on our career, and when they discover that real life is not Disappointment is the most direct reaction when it is not as beautiful as imagined, or even very different from the ideal.

At the age of 24, I am also in this embarrassing period.After graduating from the University of San Francisco's journalism department, I came to work for the San Francisco Chronicle.I was born and raised in this city. Since I was a child, I can see a thick stack of "San Francisco Chronicle" on the newsstand every day-the public has a very deep feeling for this newspaper that has lasted for more than 100 years , reading this newspaper has become a living habit of San Francisco people, and a thin offset newsprint has become a necessity in people's daily life.

As a social reporter, the Pulitzer Prize is undoubtedly the greatest pursuit of my life.I am so encouraged by the countless examples of brave journalists who have spent decades in pursuit of the truth that I may one day be named one of the heroes.

But newspaper reporters in the social sector, like the police, can only encounter trivial matters most of the time.For example, what I record most often is where thieves have been encountered, to warn citizens to pay attention to property safety; or where cars have been bumped into and caused quarrels, and I advise people to solve the problem calmly... As for the serial murder that shocked the United States, it is like the movie "Focus" ", I have never been in contact with any cases of priests sexually abusing children, let alone the Watergate incident that changed the political situation.

When a person is extremely bored, he will always try to find a little fun in every way.Under the influence of my colleagues, I began to browse the major websites in the United States every day, trying to find some news materials from them.

That day I opened REDDIT (②) as usual, and ranked by popularity, the top ones were still a few posts comparable to a collection of jokes.I've always laughed it off, in fact they serve no purpose other than to make people laugh.But for the daily toilers, these are like a placebo, adding a little joy to the difficult life.

——But that day was special because I found a distinctive post on the front page: "A Collection of Unsolved Cases in the United States".You know, this title fully satisfies the curiosity-seeking psychology of the general public, especially people like me who live by it in a sense.So I went in without hesitation.

Unsurprisingly, the first case was the famous "New Orleans Ax Killer", who attacked and killed eight Italian grocers with an ax between 1918 and 1919.The second case is the weird "Cleveland Headless Massacre". Compared with the killer in New Orleans, his modus operandi is more brutal and creepy.He beheaded two victims at a time and chopped up their stumps, as if as a means of venting.

In addition to these bloody and chilling violent crimes, the author also interspersed some disappearance cases with bizarre plots, which are different from the horror brought about by naked blood and killings like the Zodiac Killer (③) , these fears brought about by the mystery and the unknown touch people's hearts, excavating the most feared things in the depths of human hearts, and dragging people into terrible nightmares at night.One case caught my attention: the "Disappearance of Douglas Curley" in San Francisco.

Douglas Curley is a biology professor at the University of San Francisco.As a graduate of the University of San Francisco, I'm easily drawn to attention. Professor Curley disappeared on foot from school on July 2015, 7, the day after his 11th birthday.He was last known outside a grocery store on Cherry Street, according to surveillance camera recordings and eyewitness statements.Here, he headed south, before mysteriously disappearing into the world, before the security camera at the next intersection could capture his last sketch.

The San Francisco police immediately investigated Professor Curley's social relations.According to the investigation, he is a kind and friendly middle-aged man who usually has a good relationship with neighbors, colleagues and students.After his disappearance, many students from the University of San Francisco volunteered to help the police investigate, or came to Professor Curley's home to comfort his widow.Judging from the photos, he looks handsome, with a tall and straight figure. The years have only stained his temples gray and engraved a few inconspicuous wrinkles around his eyes.He is even the dream lover of many female students - what happened to this handsome and gentle professor?Who would lay hands on such a kind-hearted citizen?

Professor Curley's family consists of him, his wife Laura, daughter Whitney and stepson Dominique.Laura was his second wife.Daughter Whitney is the product of his first marriage.In fact, many American homes today are much more complex than that.In the post, the author posted a family portrait of Professor Curley. In the photo, Professor Curley and his beautiful wife are sitting tightly together, holding her shoulders tenderly; the children are sitting on the ground in front of the camera, four Everyone's faces are filled with happy smiles.

At that moment, I have to admit that my eyes were drawn to the blonde teenager in the photo.Dominique had the same brilliant blond hair as his mother, and rare soulful gray eyes.He inherited his mother's beauty unreservedly. The graceful and smooth facial contours and exquisite facial features all show that his birth belongs to the proud work of God.

Looking at his innocent and happy smile, I couldn't help but sigh deeply.Why should such an innocent child suffer the misfortune of losing his father?Why should such a beautiful woman endure the grief of leaving her husband? ...

But the development of the case was beyond everyone's expectations.The San Francisco police arrested the suspect, Laura Curley, after a thorough investigation.Evidence shows that in order to obtain her husband's huge insurance money and inheritance, she carefully planned a seemingly seamless disappearance case, but in fact she brutally killed her husband.Although she screamed countless times to declare her innocence and grievance, the judge still sentenced her to a dark and dank prison.Because she refused to reveal the whereabouts of Professor Curley, she was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without bail.What's more, in the field of biology, Professor Curley once wrote a famous paper "Research on the Social Behavior of Animals", which described the situation of a female praying mantis devouring her husband when food was scarce. , This case was also known as the "Mantis Case".

Two years ago, this case caused an uproar.My colleague David once participated in the report of the incident. According to him, Laura is suspected of killing Professor Curley, but the so-called evidence is not enough to convict a person.He has reason to believe that the San Francisco police, like the corrupt and incompetent Los Angeles police in the "Chicken Coop Murder" (④) 80 years ago, simply and rudely trapped this poor woman in order to give an explanation to the angry citizens. behind bars.

"If the real murderer is not Laura, then who killed Douglas Curley? Or, can we infer that Professor Curley is still alive? Unfortunately, everything is unknown." At the end of the case, the author wrote road.

After reading the author's last full stop, I fell into deep thought.

The author has something to say:

①Henry Howard Holmes, Al Capone, Richard Spike: These are all famous criminals in Chicago.

②REDDIT: Commonly known as "the end of the world community in the United States".

③Zodiackiller: A serial killer who committed multiple murders in northern California in the late 60s.

④ Chicken Coop Murders: A series of kidnapping and murders of children in Riverside County, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1928.

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I'm back!I didn't write a month ago because I was very busy because I was working abroad...

The new short "Praying Mantis" is the story of a reporter tracking down an old case!I've written half of it!It will be finished in a few days!thank you all!bow!