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Chapter 22
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Charlie made it to Hailey State Prison a little before two, his stomach growling1, his eyes tired, and his legs feeling as if the blood had stopped flowing sometime about an hour ago. He was getting too old to sit for three hours without moving.

He should have retired2 last year, when Brenda told him to, so he could spend his time doing something productive. Like fishing.

Tom Vernon met him at the gates.

Dressed in a suit, he looked more like a banker than the warden3 of one of the toughest prisons in the state. His hair was parted neatly4 on the side and streaked5 with gray. He stood ramrod straight, and when he extended his hand, Charlie couldn’t help but notice that his fingernails looked manicured.  Vernon led the way inside.

Like all prisons, it was drab, cold . . . concrete and steel everywhere, all bathed in fluorescent6 light. They made their way down a long hallway, past a small reception area, and finally into Vernon’s office.

At first glance, it was as cold and drab as the rest of the place. Everything was government issue, from the desk to the lamps to the file cabinets in the corner. A small, barred window overlooked the yard. Outside, Charlie could see the prisoners milling about; some were lifting weights, others were sitting around or clustered in groups. Every other person, it seemed, was smoking.  Why on earth would Vernon wear a suit to a place like this?

“I just need you to fill out some forms,” Vernon said. “You know how it is.” “Sure enough.” Charlie tapped his chest, feeling for a pen. Vernon handed him one before he found it.

“Did you tell Earl Getlin that I was coming?”

“I assumed you didn’t want me to.”

“Is he ready for me yet?”

“Once we have you set up in the room, we’ll bring him in.”

“Thanks.”

“I did want to talk to you for a second about the prisoner. Just so you’re not surprised.”

“Oh?”

“There’s something you should know.”

“And what’s that?”

“Earl was in a scuffle last spring. Couldn’t really get to the bottom of it—you know how things work in here. No one sees anything, no one knows anything.  Anyway . . .”

Charlie looked up when Vernon sighed.

“Earl Getlin lost an eye. Had it gouged7 out in a brawl8 down in the yard. He’s filed half a dozen lawsuits9 alleging10 that we were at fault somehow.” Vernon paused.

Why is he telling me this? Charlie wondered.

“The point is, he’s been saying all along that he didn’t belong here in the first place. That he was set up.” Vernon raised his hands. “I know, I know—everyone in here says they’re innocent. That’s an old song, and we’ve all heard it a million times. But the point is, if you’re here to get information from him, I wouldn’t get your hopes up, unless he thinks you can get him out of here. And even then, he might be lying.”

Charlie looked at Vernon in a new light. For such a natty11 dresser, he sure as hell seemed to know a lot about what went on in his prison. Vernon handed him the forms, and Charlie scanned them for a moment. Same ones as always.  “Any idea who he says set him up?” he asked.

“Hold on,” Vernon said, raising a finger. “I’ll get that for you.” He went to the phone on his desk, dialed a number, and waited until someone came on. He asked the question, listened, then thanked the person.

“From what we’ve heard, he says it was some guy named Otis Timson.”

Charlie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Of course Earl blamed Otis.

That made one part of his job a whole lot easier.

But the other part suddenly became that much harder.

? ? ?

Even if he hadn’t lost an eye, prison had been less kind to Earl Getlin than most people. His hair looked hacked12 off in places, longer in others, as if he did it himself with a pair of rusty13 scissors, and his skin had taken on a sallow color. Always on the thin side, he’d lost weight and Charlie could see the bones under the skin of his hands.

But most of all, he noticed the patch. Black, like a pirate, like a bad guy in the old war movies.

Earl was manacled in the typical way, his wrists chained together and connected further to his ankles. He shuffled14 into the room, stopped for a moment as soon as he saw Charlie, then proceeded to take his seat. He sat across from him, a wooden table separating them.

After checking with Charlie, the guard backed quietly out of the room.  Earl stared with his one good eye. It seemed as if he had been practicing the stare, knowing that most people would be forced to look away. Charlie pretended not to notice the patch.

“Why are you here?” Earl growled15. If his body looked weaker, his voice had lost none of its edge. He was wounded but wasn’t about to give up. Charlie would have to keep an eye on him after he was released.

“I came to talk to you,” Charlie said.

“About what?”

“About Otis Timson.”

Earl stiffened16 at the name. “What about Otis?” he asked warily17.

“I need to know about a conversation you had with him a couple of years back.  You were waiting for him at the Rebel, and Otis and his brothers sat at your booth. Remember that?”

It wasn’t what Earl seemed to have been expecting. He took a few seconds to process Charlie’s words, then blinked.

“Refresh me,” he said. “That was a long time ago.”

“It concerned Missy Ryan. Does that help?”

Earl raised his chin slightly, looking down his nose. He glanced from one side to the other.

“That depends.”

“On what?” Charlie asked innocently.

“On what’s in it for me.”

“What do you want?”

“Come on, Sheriff—don’t play stupid. You know what I want.”

He didn’t have to say it. It was obvious to both of them.

“I can’t make any promises unless I’ve listened to what you have to say.” Earl leaned back in his chair, playing it cool. “Then I guess we’re in a bit of a bind18, aren’t we?”

Charlie looked at him. “Maybe,” he said. “But I figure you’ll tell me in the end.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because Otis set you up, right? You tell me what was said back then, and I’ll listen to your side of events later. And when I get back to town, I promise to look into your story. If Otis set you up, we’ll find out. And in the end, you two just might find yourselves trading places.”

It was all Earl needed to talk.

? ? ?

“I owed him money,” Earl said. “But I was a little short, you know?”

“How short?” Charlie asked.

Earl sniffed19. “A few thousand.”

Charlie knew the situation was illegal, most probably drug money. But he simply nodded, as if he knew this already and weren’t concerned about it.  “And the Timsons come in. All of ’em. And they start telling me that I gotta pay up, that it’s making ’em look bad, that they can’t keep carrying me. I kept telling them that I’d give them the money as soon as I got it. Meanwhile, while all this is going on, Otis is real quiet, you know, like he’s really listening to what I have to say. He had this sort of cool expression, but he was the only one who seemed to care about anything I was saying. So I start kind of explaining the situation to him and he starts nodding and the others pipe down.  Right after I finished, I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t say anything for a long while. Then he leans forward and he says that if I don’t pay up, the same thing is gonna happen to me that happened to Missy Ryan. Except that this time, they’d run me over again.”

Bingo.

So Sims was telling the truth. Interesting.

Charlie’s face, though, showed nothing.

Either way, he knew that was the easy part. Getting him to talk about it wasn’t what he was worried about anyway. He knew the hard part was still coming.  “When was this?”

Earl thought about it. “January, I guess. It was cold out.” “So you’re there, sitting across from him, and he says this to you. How did you react when he said it?”

“I didn’t know what to think. I know I didn’t say anything.”

“Did you believe him?”

“Of course.” Big nod, as if emphasizing his point.

Too big?

Charlie glanced toward his hand, examining his nails. “Why?” Earl leaned forward, the chain clinking against the table. “Why else would he say something like that? Besides, you know what kind of guy he is. He’d do something like that in a heartbeat.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

“Again, why do you think that?”

“You’re the sheriff—you tell me.”

“What I think isn’t important. It’s what you think that matters.”

“I told you what I thought.”

“You believed him.”

“Yes,” he said.

“And you thought he’d do the same to you?”

“He said it, didn’t he?”

“So you were frightened, right?”

“Yes,” he snapped.

Getting impatient?

“When did you get arrested? For stealing the car, I mean.”

The change of subject threw Earl for a moment.

“End of June.”

Charlie nodded as if this made sense, as if he’d checked it out beforehand.

“What do you like to drink? When you’re not in prison, I mean.”

“What does that matter?”

“Beer, wine, liquor. I’m just curious.”

“Beer mainly.”

“Were you drinking that night?”

“Just a couple. Not enough to be drunk.”

“Before you got there? Maybe you were a little buzzed. . . .”

Earl shook his head. “No, I had them while I was there.”

“How long did you stay at the table with the Timsons?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s an easy question. Were you there for five minutes? Ten? Half an hour?”

“I can’t remember.”

“But long enough for a couple beers.”

“Yeah.”

“Even though you were afraid.”

He finally saw what Charlie was getting at. Charlie waited patiently, his expression bland20.

“Yeah,” Earl said. “They’re not the type of people you just walk away from.” “Oh,” Charlie said. He seemed to accept that, and he brought his fingers to his chin. “Okay . . . so let me make sure I understand. Otis told you—no, suggested—that they killed Missy, and you thought they’d do the same to you because you owed them a bunch of money. So far, so good?” Earl nodded warily. Charlie reminded him of that damn prosecutor21 who’d put him away.

“And you knew what they were talking about, right? With Missy, I mean. You knew she’d died, right?”

“Everyone knew.”

“Did you read about it in the papers?”

“Yeah.”

Charlie opened his palms. “So, why didn’t you tell the police about it?”

“Yeah, right,” he sneered22. “Like you guys would have believed me.”

“But we should believe you now.”

“He said it. I was there. He said he killed Missy.”

“Will you testify to that?”

“Depends on the deal I get.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s change gears for a second. You got caught stealing a car, right?”

Earl nodded again.

“And Otis was responsible—you say—for you getting caught.” “Yeah. They were supposed to meet me out by the old Falls Mill, but they never showed. I ended up taking the fall.”

Charlie nodded. He remembered that from the trial.

“Did you still owe him money?”

“Yeah.”

“How much?”

Earl shifted in his seat. “A couple thousand.”

“Isn’t that what you owed before?”

“About the same.”

“Were you still afraid they’d kill you? Even after six months?”

“It was all I could think about.”

“And you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them, right?”

“I told you that already.”

Charlie leaned forward. “Then why,” he asked, “didn’t you try to use this information to lighten your sentence? Or put Otis away? And why, in all this time here when you were complaining that Otis set you up, did you never mention that he’d killed Missy Ryan?”

Earl sniffed again and glanced toward the wall.

“No one would have believed me,” he finally answered.

I wonder why.

? ? ?

In the car, Charlie ran through the information again.

Sims was telling the truth about hearing what he’d heard. But Sims was a known alcoholic23 and was boozing that night.

He’d heard the words, but had he heard the tone?

Was Otis joking? Or serious?

Or lying?

And what had the Timsons talked about with Earl for the next thirty minutes?  Earl hadn’t really cleared any of that up. It was obvious he didn’t even remember the conversation until Charlie brought it up, and his account pretty much fell apart after that. He’d believed they would kill him, but he’d stayed for a few beers afterward24. He’d been terrified for months, but not enough to scrounge up the money he owed, even though he stole cars and could have gotten the money. He’d said nothing when he’d been arrested. He blamed Otis for setting him up and blabbed to people in the prison about it, but he didn’t mention the fact that Otis had confessed to killing25 someone. He’d lost an eye and still had said nothing. The reward had meant nothing to him.

A boozing alcoholic, providing information to get off free. A convict with a grudge26, suddenly remembering critical information, but with serious holes and flaws in the story.

Any defense27 lawyer worth his salt would have a field day with both Sims Addison and Earl Getlin. And Thurman Jones was good. Real good.  Charlie hadn’t stopped frowning since he’d been in the car.

He didn’t like it.

Not at all.

But the fact was that Otis had indeed said “the same thing is gonna happen to you that happened to Missy Ryan.” Two people had heard him, and that counted for something. Enough to hold him, maybe. At least for the time being.  But was it enough for a case?

And, most important, did any of it actually prove that Otis did it?


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 growling growling     
n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼
参考例句:
  • We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
  • The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡,聚集在一起发牢骚。
2 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
3 warden jMszo     
n.监察员,监狱长,看守人,监护人
参考例句:
  • He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
  • The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。
4 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
5 streaked d67e6c987d5339547c7938f1950b8295     
adj.有条斑纹的,不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 );使布满条纹
参考例句:
  • The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白,脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句
6 fluorescent Zz2y3     
adj.荧光的,发出荧光的
参考例句:
  • They observed the deflections of the particles by allowing them to fall on a fluorescent screen.他们让粒子落在荧光屏上以观察他们的偏移。
  • This fluorescent lighting certainly gives the food a peculiar color.这萤光灯当然增添了食物特别的色彩。
7 gouged 5ddc47cf3abd51f5cea38e0badc5ea97     
v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 );乱要价;(在…中)抠出…;挖出…
参考例句:
  • The lion's claws had gouged a wound in the horse's side. 狮爪在马身一侧抓了一道深口。
  • The lovers gouged out their names on the tree. 情人们把他们的名字刻在树上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
8 brawl tsmzw     
n.大声争吵,喧嚷;v.吵架,对骂
参考例句:
  • They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
  • I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。
9 lawsuits 1878e62a5ca1482cc4ae9e93dcf74d69     
n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权,耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
  • I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多,赢的也多,输的也多。 来自辞典例句
10 alleging 16407100de5c54b7b204953b7a851bc3     
断言,宣称,辩解( allege的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税,他的名誉受到损害。
  • This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯,还说不必,只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。
11 natty YF1xY     
adj.整洁的,漂亮的
参考例句:
  • Cliff was a natty dresser.克利夫是讲究衣着整洁美观的人。
  • Please keep this office natty and use the binaries provided.请保持办公室整洁,使用所提供的垃圾箱。
12 hacked FrgzgZ     
生气
参考例句:
  • I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
  • I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。
13 rusty hYlxq     
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。
14 shuffled cee46c30b0d1f2d0c136c830230fe75a     
v.洗(纸牌)( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 );拖着脚步走;粗心地做;摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句:
  • He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
  • Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
17 warily 5gvwz     
adv.留心地
参考例句:
  • He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周,假装是在照顾嘉莉。
  • They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。
18 bind Vt8zi     
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬
参考例句:
  • I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
  • He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
19 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 bland dW1zi     
adj.淡而无味的,温和的,无刺激性的
参考例句:
  • He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
  • This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。
21 prosecutor 6RXx1     
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人
参考例句:
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
  • The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
22 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
23 alcoholic rx7zC     
adj.(含)酒精的,由酒精引起的;n.酗酒者
参考例句:
  • The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
  • Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。
24 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
25 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
26 grudge hedzG     
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做
参考例句:
  • I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
  • I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。
27 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。


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