Chapter 1

  WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental¹ cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore, an hour north of San Francisco.

  “Lindsay, hold out your glass,” Cindy said.

  I tasted the margarita - it was good. Yuki stirred the oysters² on the grill³. My border collie, Sweet Martha, sighed and crossed her paws in front of her, and firelight made flickering⁴ patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific.

  “It was one of my first cases in the ME’s office,” Claire was saying. “And so I was ‘it.’ I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.”

  Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe, gasping⁵ for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison⁶, “Sip it!”

  Claire thumped⁷ Yuki’s back and continued.

  “It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt⁸ up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying⁹ and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man.

  “His feet were hovering¹⁰ above the hay, and when I lit him up, I swear to God he looked like he was levitating¹¹. Eyes and tongue bugged¹² out, like a freakin’ ghoul.”

  “No way.” Yuki laughed. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt, her hair in a ponytail, already drunk on her one margarita, looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty.

  “I yelled down into the dark well of that barn,” Claire said, “got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. Levitation¹³ into a body bag.”

  Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.

  “Lind-say, no,” Cindy begged me. “Don’t take that call.”

  I glanced at the caller ID, expecting it to be my boyfriend, Joe, thinking he’d just gotten home and was checking in, but it was Lieutenant¹⁴ Warren Jacobi. My former partner and current boss.

  “Jacobi?”

  Yuki shouted, “Don’t stop, Claire. She could be on the phone all night!”

  “Lindsay? Okay, fine,” Claire said, and then she went on. “I unzipped the body bag . . . and a bat flew out of the dead man’s clothes. I peed my pants,” Claire squealed¹⁵ behind me. “I really did!”

  “Boxer¹⁶? You there?” said Jacobi, gruff in my ear.

  “I’m on my own time,” I growled¹⁷ into my cell phone. “It’s Saturday, don’t you know that?”

  “You’re going to want this. If not, tell me and I’ll give it to Cappy and Chi.”

  “What is it?”

  “The biggest deal in the world, Boxer. It’s about the Campion kid. Michael.”

1 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

2 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

3 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

4 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

5 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

6 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

7 thumped   

v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Dave thumped the table in frustration . 戴夫懊恼得捶打桌子。
• He thumped the table angrily. 他愤怒地用拳捶击桌子。

8 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

9 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

10 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

11 levitating   

v.（使）升空，（使）漂浮( levitate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It will not mean things like levitating objects and reading others minds. 你将开始明白掌握力量的真正意义。 来自互联网
• As the pole rotates the balls spin out levitating higher the faster the system spins. 柱子旋转的时候，这两个球也会转起来，这个系统转得越快，它们飞得越高。 来自互联网

12 bugged   

vt.在…装窃听器（bug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The police have bugged his office. 警察在他的办公室装了窃听器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had bugged off before I had a chance to get a word in. 我还没来得及讲话，他已经走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 levitation   

n.升空，漂浮；浮起

参考例句：

• We are particularly interested in phenomena such as telepathy and levitation. 我们对心灵感应及空中漂浮这样的现象特别有兴趣。 来自辞典例句
• This paper presents a magnetic levitation system control using the gain-scheduling controller. 本文以增益程序控制器针对磁浮系统进行控制。 来自互联网

14 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

15 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

17 growled   

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》