Chapter 49

"I'M READY to make that call." The FBI man nodded to Molinari, completely ignoring everything I'd just said. That really burned me.

"I just want to be clear, Lieutenant," Molinari said, focus-ing on me. "You think there's another killer¹, a copycat, at work here."

"It could be a copycat. It could be some sort of splinter group, too. Believe me, I wish I could say it was murder num-ber three, because now we're left with a bigger problem."

"I don't understand." The deputy director finally blinked.

"If it isn't the same killer," I said, "then the terror has started to spread. I think that's exactly what's happened."

Molinari nodded slowly. "I'm going to advise the Bureau, Agent Thompson, to treat these cases as independent actions. At least for the time being."

Agent Thompson sighed.

"In the meantime, we still have a murder to solve. The man's dead here," the deputy director snapped. He looked around the room, his gaze ending up on Thompson. "Any-one have a problem with that?"

"No, sir," Thompson said, flipping² his phone back into his jacket pocket.

I was stunned³. Molinari had backed me up. Even Hannah Wood mooned her eyes in his direction.

We spent the rest of the day at the FBI regional office in Portland. We interviewed the person Propp was meeting in Vancouver and his economist⁴ friend at Portland State. Moli-nari also brought me in on two calls back to senior inves-tigators at his home office in D.C., backing up my theory that this was a copycat crime and that the terror might be spreading.

About five, it dawned on me that I couldn't stay up there much longer. There were a couple of fairly prominent cases that needed my attention back home. Brenda informed me there was a Southwest flight back to San Francisco at 6:30.

I knocked on the gray, carpet-covered cubicle⁵ Molinari was using for an office. "If you don't need me up here any-more, I thought I'd head home. It was fun being `Fed for a Day.'"

Molinari smiled. "Look, I was hoping you might stay a couple of hours. Have dinner with me."

Standing⁶ there, I did my best to pretend that it didn't mat-ter hearing those words, but my general rule about Feds notwithstanding, I was curious. Who wouldn't be?

But a few reasons why I shouldn't be popped into my head as well. Like the murder cases on my board. And the fact that Molinari was the second most powerful law-enforcement figure in the country. And unless I was misreading the little tingle⁷ bubbling up my spine⁸, knocking down the old Chinese wall in the middle of a high-profile murder investigation⁹ wasn't exactly the best protocol¹⁰.

"There's an eleven o'clock back to San Francisco," Moli-nari said. "I promise I'll have you to the airport in plenty of time. C'mon, Lindsay."

When I hesitated one more time, he stood up. "Hey, if you can't trust Homeland Security... who can you trust?"

"Two conditions," I said.

"Okay," the deputy director agreed. "If I can."

"Seafood," I said.

Molinari showed the outline of a smile. "I think I know just the place...."

"And no FBI agents."

Molinari's head went back in a laugh. "That's the one thing I can definitely guarantee."

1 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。

2 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 cubicle   

n.大房间中隔出的小室

参考例句：

• She studies in a cubicle in the school library.她在学校图书馆的小自习室里学习。
• A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle.一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 tingle   

vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动

参考例句：

• The music made my blood tingle.那音乐使我热血沸腾。
• The cold caused a tingle in my fingers.严寒使我的手指有刺痛感。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。