Chapter 99

  TWILLY HELD HIS HANDS in the air. He said, “Thank God you showed up, Sergeant¹. I was trying to stop her, but your friend was determined² to kill herself.”

  I pulled Yuki into my arms. The smell of gunpowder³ was in the air, but there was no blood, no wound. Her shot had gone wild.

  “Yuki. I’m here, honey, I’m here.”

  She moaned, sounded and looked dopey. There was no liquor on her breath. Had she been drugged?

  “What’s wrong with her?” I shouted at Twilly. “What did you do to her?”

  “Not a thing,” Twilly said. “This is how I found her.”

  “You’re under arrest, scumbag,” Conklin said. “Hands behind your back.”

  “What are the charges, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “How do you like attempted murder for starters?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. I didn’t touch her.”

  “Yuki was wired, buddy⁴. You teed her up for a dive off this cliff. We’ve got it all.”

  Conklin squeezed the bracelets⁵ tight enough to make Twilly yelp⁶. I called for a medevac, sat with my arms around Yuki as we waited for the chopper to arrive.

  “Lindsay?” Yuki asked me. “I got it . . . on my watch . . . didn’t I?”

  “You sure did, honey,” I said, hugging my friend, so very grateful that she was alive.

  While I held her, another part of my mind was turning it all over. We had Twilly in custody⁷ for the attempt on Yuki’s life, but the reason we’d tailed him was because of what he’d hinted to Yuki this morning: that he’d killed Michael Campion.

  What he’d told Yuki in the last ten minutes contradicted that.

  Conklin stooped beside us, said, “So this was all a trap? He set Yuki up to create an ending for his book?”

  “That’s what that psycho said.”

  And he’d almost done it. Now the ending was him. His arrest, his trial, and, we could always hope, his conviction.

  Yuki tried to speak, but ragged⁸ sounds came from her throat.

  She was struggling to breathe.

  “What did he give you, Yuki? Do you know what drug?”

  “Water,” she said.

  “The medics will give you water in a minute, honey.”

  Yuki’s head was in my lap when the chopper’s arrival sounded overhead.

  I looked down to shield my eyes - and saw a glint in the path. I shouted over the racket.

  “Twilly drugged the water. Is that what you mean, Yuki? He put it in the water?”

  Yuki nodded. Moments later Conklin had bagged the evidence, two plastic water bottles, and Yuki was in a carry-lift up to the chopper’s belly⁹.

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

4 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

5 bracelets   

n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

7 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

8 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

9 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。