Chapter 40

GOOD MAP. Gene¹ had always been precise.

The Hollywood Hills, not far from where Shawna had fallen.

I called Milo first, asked for permission to let Agnes Yeager know.

"Why don't you let me get a crew there first?" he said. "Make sure the guy didn't lie. Make sure we pick him up too. Full name?"

I told him, feeling all sorts of things but pushing them aside with images of Shawna's Christian² burial. No doubt Agnes would invite me. Maybe I'd attend, maybe I wouldn't.

"Okay," said Milo. "I'm to call Petra because it's Hollywood territory. Meet her up there and see what we've got. How'd you do it, Alex—no, don't tell me. We'll talk later."

"Sure," I said, hanging up and dialing another number.

Adam Green answered. "Hey."

"This is Alex Delaware, Adam."

"Al— Oh, the shrink. What, something finally go down about Shawna?"

"Maybe," I said. "It could hit the papers. I wanted to reach you beforehand³, keep my word."

"The papers? Hey, your word was give me the story. For my screen-play."

"That's the thing, Adam. There really is no story."

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 beforehand   

adj.事先，预先，提前地，超前地

参考例句：

• If I'd known this beforehand,I would not have gone back.早知如此，我就不回去了。
• They proposed to make arrangement beforehand.他们提议事先做好安排。