CHAPTER SIXTEEN

In his dream he was stung¹ by a bee, so at first he thought he was dreaming. 'Paul?' In his dream the bee was dangerous and he wanted desperately² to escape. 'Paul!' That was no dream-voice: it was Annie's voice. He forced his eyes open. She was standing³ there in the shadows as if she had never been away, wearing her ugly clothes. He saw the syringe in her hand and understood that it hadn't been a bee: she had given him an injection⁴. But what had she -? Fear came again, but his mind was too dull to feel it strongly. Whatever drug she had given him was making things unreal for him. He tried to lift his hands and it felt as if there were invisible⁵ weights hanging from them. It's the end, he thought. The end of the story of Paul Sheldon. Curiously⁷, the thought almost made him happy. The end of the thousand and one nights. Strange, half-formed ideas kept coming into his mind as the powerful drug crept⁸ into all the corners of his brain. 'There you are!' Annie said. 'I see you, Paul . . . those blue eyes. Did I ever tell you that I think your eyes are lovely? But I suppose plenty of women have told you that - and bolder⁹ women than me.' She was sitting on the end of his bed. She bent¹⁰ down to check something on the floor and for a moment all he could see was her broad, strong back. He heard the sounds of something metal and something wooden - and the unmistakable sound of a box of matches. She turned back towards him and smiled. Whatever else might have happened, she was no longer depressed¹¹. That must be good, mustn't it? 47 'What do you want first, Paul?' she asked. The good news or the bad news?' 'Good news first.' He managed a big, foolish grin¹². 'I suppose the bad news is that you don't really like the book. I tried. I thought it was going well.' She looked at him sadly. 'I love the book, Paul. Why do you think I asked you to fill in all the "n"s yourself? Because I don't want to read any more until the end. I don't want to spoil¹³ it.' Paul's drugged grin widened¹⁴. If she loved the book she wasn't going to kill him - at least not yet. Annie smiled back at him, 'The good news,' she said, 'is that your car has gone. I've been very worried about your car, Paul. I knew only a big storm would wash it away. When the snow melted in the spring the water from the mountains was enough to wash away the body of that dirty bird Pomeroy, but a car is much heavier than a man, isn't it? But the storm and the melting snow at the same time did it. Your car has gone. That's the good news.' Alarm bells rang in Paul's mind. Who was Pomeroy? Then he remembered: the young man in Annie's album. 'Don't pretend, Paul,' she said. 'I know you know about Pomeroy. I know you've read my album. I suppose I wanted you to read it; otherwise, why would I have left it out? But I wanted to be sure - and when I came back the hair was broken.' 'Hair?' he said faintly. 'Yes, I read about it somewhere. If you think someone has been looking through your belongings¹⁵ you stick some hair over the drawers or the book or whatever. Then if the hair is broken or moved you know that someone has been there. Again she bent over the end of the bed. Again there were the sounds of something metal and something wooden. 'So I crept in this morning,' she said, 'as quiet as a mouse - and yes. all three hairs were broken, so I knew you'd been looking at my album.' She paused, and smiled again. 'I wasn't surprised. I knew you had been out of the room. That's the bad news, Paul. I've known for a long, long time.' He should feel angry or disappointed or something, he supposed, but the drug made it impossible. 'Anyway, we were talking about your car,' she said. 'Early yesterday afternoon I felt a lot better. I spent most of the time up there on my knees, praying to God; and you know, Paul, when you pray sincerely to God he always answers your prayers. I knew what I had to do. I put the special tyres on the car, for driving on ice, and drove slowly down from the hills. It was very dangerous, Paul, but I felt safe in the arms of God.' 'That's very nice, Annie,' Paul tried to say, but the sounds were indistinct: That'sh very nishe Annie. 'I stopped on the way down to look for your car. I knew what I would have to do if I saw it. If it was there, visible⁶, therewould be questions, and I'd be the first one they'd question because they know about my past. Actually, one of the reasons I rescued you and brought you home was that you crashed there.' 'What do you mean?' 'I parked there, in exactly the same place, when I got rid of that Pomeroy.' She slapped¹⁶ her hand in contempt¹⁷. 'He said he was an artist, but he was just another dirty bird. He was hitchhiking and I picked him up. He said he was going to Sidewinder to do a job there. I let him stay here. We were lovers¹⁸.' She looked at Paul, challenging him to deny it. He didn't say anything, but he didn't believe her at all. 'Then I found out that he didn't have a job in Sidewinder. I looked at some of his drawings and they were terrible. I could have drawn¹⁹ better pictures. He came in while I was looking at them and we had an argument. He laughed at me, so I . . .' 'You killed him,' Paul said. She seemed uncomfortable. 'I guess it was something like that. I don't remember very well. I only remember him being dead. I remember giving him a bath.' He looked at her and felt sick, soupy horror²⁰. He could see in his mind Pomeroy's body in the bath with no clothes on, eyes open and staring up at the ceiling . . . 49 'I had to,' she said. 'You probably don't know what the police can do with just one hair or a piece of dirt from someone's finger. You don't know, but I do, because I worked in hospitals for ten years. I know, I know,' She was making herself angry with that special mad Annie anger which he knew so well by now, 'They're all out to get me, all of them! Do you think they would have listened if I'd tried to tell them about him? They'd probably say that I'd tried to kiss him and he laughed at me and then I killed him.' And you know what, Annie? I think that just might be closer to the truth. 'The dirty birds around here would say anything to make trouble for me.' She paused, breathing hard, and again seemed to challenge him to deny what she was saying. 'I washed him . . . what was left of him . . . and drove up into the hills. I parked and carried him about a mile into the woods. I didn't hide him or anything. No, I knew the snow would cover him and I thought the spring floods would take his body and clothes away. It worked even better than I'd imagined. They didn't find his body for a whole year! And twenty-seven miles away! But your car won't go so far. Paul. It's too heavy. It'll just be stuck somewhere in the thick forest. Maybe someone will find its rusty²¹ body in two years' time or in five years' time, when wild animals have made their home on the back seat and plants are growing through the windows. And by then the book will be finished and you'll be back in New York or somewhere and I'll be living my quiet life here. Maybe we'll write to each other sometimes.' She smiled at her imagination. 'Anyway, I was thinking, you see. Your car had gone, so I knew you could stay and finish the book, and that made me happy because I love you so much.' 'Thank you, Annie,' he said. 'But would you want to stay?' she went on. 'That was the question I had to ask myself. And I knew the answer. I knew the answer even before I saw that you were getting stronger, and 50 noticed those marks on the door over there and realized you had been out of the room. Then I started to look carefully and I saw that one of the figures on my table was in a different position. That bird always flies south, Paul. The first time you went out was after we had that silly fight about the paper, wasn't it, Paul?' 'Yes.' What was the point in denying it? 'You wanted your pills, of course. I should have guessed, but when I'm angry, I get . . . you know . . .' I certainly do know, Annie. 'Then two days later, one afternoon when you were asleep, I tried to come info your room to give you your medicine and the door handle wouldn't turn at first. There was a noise inside it as it something was loose. So I gave you some stronger medicine to make sure that you wouldn't wake up, and I took the whole lock and handle off the door, and look! Look what I found!' She put her hand in her pocket, pulled out a broken bit of hairpin²² and showed it to Paul. Then, of course, I realized what was happening, and found the marks on the door-frame, too.' Paul couldn't help himself; he began to laugh. He had been so stupid.

1 stung   

螫伤，刺伤( sting的过去式和过去分词 )； 感到剧痛； 激怒； 使不安

参考例句：

• I was stung on the arm by a wasp. 我的胳膊给黄蜂蜇了一下。
• Her arm was beginning to swell up where the bee had stung her. 她胳膊给蜜蜂蜇了，肿了起来。

2 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 injection   

n.注射，注入；注射液

参考例句：

• Those drugs are given by injection as well as through the mouth.那些药品可以注射，也可以口服。
• She pressed the patient a bit too hard when she gave him an injection.她打针时手重了些。

5 invisible   

adj.看不见的，无形的

参考例句：

• The air is full of millions of invisible germs.空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。
• Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。

6 visible   

adj.看得见的，明显的，显然的；n.可见物

参考例句：

• It is a visible star in the sky.这是一颗在天空中可见的星星。
• The warning lights were clearly visible.警示信号灯清晰可见。

7 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

8 crept   

v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents. 为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• He had crept up on his unsuspecting victim from behind. 他从背后悄悄逼近了那毫无戒备的受害者。

9 bolder   

n.[医]柄adj.明显的( bold的比较级 )；粗体的；勇敢的；冒失的

参考例句：

• And if bolder measures were necessary, she would take them. 如果需要更加大胆的办法呢？她也乐意采用。 来自飘（部分）
• Later we got bolder and developed a more aggressive approach. 后来，我们越来越大胆，并且想出了一些声势盛大的宣传。 来自辞典例句

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 grin   

n./vi.露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

参考例句：

• I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
• She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。

13 spoil   

n.战利品，赃物，奖品，掠夺，次品；vt.损坏，破坏，溺爱；vi.腐坏，掠夺

参考例句：

• Don't bunch the flowers up so tightly,you'll spoil them.别把花束得这么紧，会弄坏的。
• Overacting will only spoil the effect.表演过火，效果反而不好。

14 widened   

放宽，加宽， （使）变宽( widen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes widened in surprise. 她惊讶地睁大了眼睛。
• The geographical scope of product markets has widened since the war. 战后产品市场的地理范围扩大了。

15 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

16 slapped   

v.掌击，拍打( slap的过去式和过去分词 )；制止；镇压；（尤指生气地）啪的一声放下

参考例句：

• She slapped his face hard. 她狠狠给了他一个耳光。
• They slapped the workers who had gone on strike. 他们对参加罢工的工人大加镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 contempt   

n.轻视，藐视，受辱，丢脸

参考例句：

• She looked at him with immediate and undisguised contempt.她用毫不掩饰的轻蔑眼光看着他。
• He refused to answer in contempt of the rules of the court.他藐视法院规章，拒绝回答。

18 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

19 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation.公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

21 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

22 hairpin   

n.簪,束发夹，夹发针

参考例句：

• She stuck a small flower onto the front of her hairpin.她在发簪的前端粘了一朵小花。
• She has no hairpin because her hair is short.因为她头发短，所以没有束发夹。