Chapter 46

  I MET CLAIRE at her car after work. I moved a pair of galoshes, a flashlight, her crime scene kit¹, a giant bag of barbecued potato chips, and three maps into the backseat and then climbed up into the passenger side of her Pathfinder. I said, “Richie got a translation of that Latin phrase that was written inside that yachting book.”

  “Oh yeah? And what did it mean?” she said, pulling her seat belt low across her belly², stretching it to the limit before locking it in place.

  I cinched my seat belt, too, said, “It roughly translates as ‘Money is the root of all evil.’ I’d like to get my hands on the sucker who wrote that and show him the victims all crispy and curled up on your table. Show him what real evil is.”

  Claire grunted³. “You got that right,” she said, and pulled the car out onto Bryant heading us north, apparently⁴ deciding to take the 1.8 miles to Susie’s like she was racing⁵ the Daytona 500. She jerked the wheel around a slow-cruising sightseer, stepping on the gas. “You’re saying ‘him,’ ” Claire pointed⁶ out. “So that Debra Kurtz person is off your list?”

  “She has an alibi,” I told Claire through clenched⁷ teeth. I grabbed the dashboard as she cleared the yellow light. “Also, her alibis⁸ check out for the nights of the Malone fire and the Jablonskys in Palo Alto.”

  “Humph,” Claire said. “Well, about the two legible fingerprints⁹ on that bottle found at the scene. One belongs to Steven Meacham. The other didn’t match to anybody. But I’ve got something for you, girlfriend. Sandy Meacham had a good-sized blunt-force wound to the skull¹⁰. Looks like she got clobbered¹¹ with maybe a gun butt¹².”

  I thought about that - that the killer¹³ had gotten violent - then I told Claire how the canvass¹⁴ of the Meacham neighborhood had netted us no leads whatsoever¹⁵. She gave me the results of the blood screen - that Sandy Meacham had been drinking, and that the Meachams had both died of smoke inhalation.

  It was all interesting, but none of it added up to a damned thing. I said so to Claire as she pulled into the handicapped zone right in front of Susie’s Café.

  She looked at me and said, “I am handicapped, Linds. I’m carrying fifty pounds of baby fat, and I can’t walk a block without huffing.”

  “I’m not going to write you up for this, Butterfly. But as for the land speed record you just set in a business district . . .”

  My best friend kissed my cheek as I helped her down out of the Pathfinder. “I love that you worry about me.”

  “Lotta good it does,” I said, hugging her, cracking open the door to Susie’s.

  As we plowed¹⁶ through the gang at the bar toward the back room, the plinking steel-band version of a Bob Marley classic surrounded us, as well as the divine aromas¹⁷ of roasting chicken, garlic, and curry¹⁸. Cindy and Yuki were already at our booth, and Lorraine dragged up a chair for Claire. She dropped laminated menus that we knew by heart onto the table and took our order for a pitcher¹⁹ of tap and mineral water for Claire.

  And then with Cindy urging her on - “Yu-ki, tell them, tell them” - Yuki “volunteered” her news.

  “It’s nothing,” she said. “Okay. I had a date. With Jason Twilly.”

  “And you were careful what you said to him,” Cindy said, sternly. “You remembered that he’s a reporter.”

  “We didn’t talk about the case at all,” Yuki said, laughing. “It was dinner. A very nice dinner, no kissing or anything, so all you guys calm down, okay?”

  “Was it fun? Are you going to see him again?”

  “Yeah, yeah, if he asks me, I suppose I will.”

  “Jeez. First date in what, a year?” I said. “Think you’d be more excited.”

  “It hasn’t been a year,” Yuki said. “It’s been sixteen months, but never mind that. What’re we toasting?”

  “We’re toasting Ruby²⁰ Rose,” said Claire, lifting her water glass.

  “Who?” we all asked in unison²¹.

  “Ruby Rose. She’s right here,” Claire said, patting her belly. “That’s the name Edmund and I picked out for our little baby girl.”

1 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

2 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

3 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alibis   

某人在别处的证据( alibi的名词复数 )； 不在犯罪现场的证人； 借口； 托辞

参考例句：

• The suspects all had alibis for the day of the robbery. 嫌疑人均有证据证明抢劫当天不在犯罪现场。
• I'm not trying to beat your alibis any more than I'm trying to prove 'em. 我并不是不让你辩护，我只是想把那个人找出来。

9 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

11 clobbered   

v.狠揍， （不停）猛打( clobber的过去式和过去分词 )；彻底击败

参考例句：

• The paper got clobbered with libel damages of half a million pounds. 这家报纸被罚以五十万英镑的诽谤损害赔偿金。
• The robbers clobbered the shopkeeper to make him open the safe. 强盗们殴打店主迫使他打开保险箱。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

14 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

15 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

16 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

17 aromas   

n.芳香( aroma的名词复数 )；气味；风味；韵味

参考例句：

• Intoxicating earth aromas induced lassitude and ethereal calm. 泥土的醉人的芳香叫人懒洋洋的，感到一种远离尘世的宁静。 来自辞典例句
• Nose and elegant nose with attractive fruity, floral and citrus fruit aromas. 芳香：优雅、馥郁、迷人的柑橘属水果的果香及花的清香。 来自互联网

18 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

19 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

20 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

21 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。