Chapter 110

  RICH WAS ALREADY at the computer when I got to my desk. He looked like he was in fifth gear, his index fingers tapping a fast two-step over the keys. I thanked him for the Krispy Kreme he’d parked on a napkin next to my phone.

  “It was my turn,” Rich said, not looking up as I dragged out my chair and sat down. “Dr. Roach called,” Rich continued. “Said there were fifty-five ccs of gasoline in Alan Beam’s stomach.”

  “What’s that? Three ounces? Geez. Is she saying he drank gasoline?”

  “Yeah. Probably directly out of the can. Beam really wanted to make sure he got it right this time. Doctor says the gas would’ve killed him if the fire hadn’t. She’s calling it a suicide. But look here, Lindsay.”

  “Whatcha got?” I said.

  “Come over here and see this.”

  I walked around our two desks and peered over Conklin’s shoulder. There was a Web site on his screen called Crime Web. Conklin pressed the enter key and an animation¹ began. A spider dropped a line from the top of the page, made a web around the blood-red headline over the feature story, then skittered back to its corner of the page. I read the headline.

 

    Five Fatal Shootings This Week Alone

 

    When are the cops and the DA going to get it together?

 

  The text below was a sickening indictment² of San Francisco’s justice system - and it was all true. Homicides were up, prosecutions³ were down, the result of not enough people or money or time.

  Rich moved the cursor to the column listing the pages on the site.

  “This one - here,” Rich said, clicking on a link called Current Unsolved Murders.

  Thumbnail photos came up.

  There was a family portrait of the Malones. Another of the Meachams. Rich clicked on the thumbnail of the Malones and said, “Listen to this.”

  And then he read the page to me:

  “ ‘Were the murders of Patricia and Bertram Malone committed by the same killers⁴ of Sandy and Steven Meacham?

  “ ‘We say yes.

  “ ‘And there have been other killings⁵ just as heinous⁶ with the same signature. The Jablonskys of Palo Alto and George and Nancy Chu of Monterey were also killed in horrific house fires.

  “ ‘Why can’t SFPD solve these crimes?

  “ ‘If you have any information, write to us at CrimeWeb .com. Diem dulcem habes.’ ”

  My God, it was Latin!

  “We never told the press about the Latin,” I said. “What does it mean?”

  “Diem dulcem habes means ‘Have a nice day.’ ”

  “Yeah, okay,” I said. “Let’s hope it’s going to be even better than that.”

  I called the DA’s office, asked for Yuki, got Nick Gaines, told him we needed a warrant to get an Internet provider to give us the name of the Web site holder⁷.

  “I’ll buck⁸ it up the line,” Gaines said. “Just asking, Sergeant⁹: You’ve got probable cause?”

  “We’re working on it,” I said. I hung up, said, “Now what?” as Rich clicked on a box labeled Contact Us.

  He typed with two fingers: “Must speak with you about the Malone and the Meacham fires. Please contact me.” Conklin’s e-mail address showed that he was with the SFPD. If the Webmaster was Pidge, we could be scaring him off.

  On the other hand - there was no other hand.

  I needn’t have worried. Only a couple of minutes after firing off his e-mail, Rich had a response in his inbox.

  “How can I help you?” the e-mail read.

  It was signed Linc Weber, and it contained his phone number.

1 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

2 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

3 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

7 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

8 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

9 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？