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Chapter 3
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Heard about it the way most everyone else did: third story on the eveningnews, right after the trial of a hip-hop star accused of assault and floods in Indonesia.
I was eating a solitary1 dinner and half listening to the broadcast. This onecaught my attention because I gravitate toward local crime stories.
Couple abducted2 at gunpoint, found naked and dehydrated in the hills of Malibu. I played with theremote but no other broadcast added details.
The following morning, the Times filled in a bit more: a pair of actingstudents had left a nighttime class in West L.A.and driven east in her car to the young woman’s apartment in the Pico-Robertsondistrict. Waiting at a red light at Sherbourne and Pico, they’d been carjackedby a masked gunman who stashed3 them both in the trunk and drove for more thanan hour.
When the car stopped and the trunk popped, the couple found themselves inpitch darkness, somewhere “out in the country.” The spot was later identifiedas “Latigo Canyon4,in the hills of Malibu.”
The carjacker forced them to stumble down a steep hillside to a denselywooded area, where the young woman tied up the young man at gunpoint and wassubsequently bound herself. Sexual assault was implied but not specified5. Theassailant was described as “white, medium height, and stocky, thirty to forty,with a Southern accent.”
Malibu wascounty territory, sheriff’s jurisdiction6. The crime had taken place fifty milesfrom LASD headquarters, but violent whodunits were handled by major crimesdetectives and anyone with information was requested to phone downtown.
A few years back, when Robin7 and I were rebuilding the house in the hills,we’d rented a place on the beach in western Malibu. The two of us had explored thesinuous canyons8 and silent gullies on the land side of Pacific Coast Highway, hiked theoak-bearded crests9 that peaked above the ocean.
I remembered Latigo Canyon as corkscrew roadsand snakes and red-tailed hawks10. Though it took a while to get abovecivilization, the reward was worth the effort: a wonderful, warm nothingness.
If I’d been curious enough, I could’ve called Milo,maybe learned more about the abduction. I was busy with three custody11 cases,two of them involving film-biz parents, the third starring a pair offrighteningly ambitious Brentwood plasticsurgeons whose marriage had shattered when their infomercial forFacelift-in-a-Jar tanked. Somehow they’d found time to produce aneight-year-old daughter, whom they now seemed intent on destroying emotionally.
Quiet, chubby12 girl, big eyes, a slight stammer13. Recently, she’d taken tolong bouts14 of silence.
Custody evaluations15 are the ugliest side of child psychology16 and from timeto time I think about quitting. I’ve never sat down and calculated my successrate but the ones that work out keep me going, like a slot machine’sintermittent payoff.
I put the newspaper aside, happy the case was someone else’s problem. But asI showered and dressed, I kept imagining the crime scene. Glorious goldenhills, the ocean a stunning17 blue infinity18.
It’s gotten to a point where it’s hard for me to see beauty without thinkingof the alternative.
My guess was this case would be a tough one; the main hope for a solve wasthe bad guy screwing up and leaving behind some forensic19 tidbit: a unique tiretread, rare fiber20, or biological remnant. A lot less likely than you’d thinkfrom watching TV. The most common print found at crime scenes is the palm, andpolice agencies have only started cataloging palm prints. DNA21 can work miraclesbut backlogs22 are ferocious23 and the data banks are less than comprehensive.
On top of that, criminals are wising up and using condoms, and this criminalsounded like a careful planner.
Cops watch the same shows everyone else does and sometimes they learnsomething. But Milo and other people in hisposition have a saying: Forensics never solves crimes, detectives do.
Milo would be happy this one wasn’t his.
Then it was.
 
When the abduction became something else, the media started using names.
Michaela Brand, 23. Dylan Meserve, 24.
Mug shots do nothing for your looks but even with numbers around their necksand that trapped-animal brightness in their eyes, these two were soap-operafodder.
They’d produced a reality show episode that backfired.
 
The scheme unraveled when a clerk at Krentz Hardware in West Hollywood read the abduction story in the Times and recalled ayoung couple paying cash for a coil of yellow nylon rope three days before thealleged carjacking.
A store video confirmed the I.D. and analysis of the rope revealed a perfectmatch to bindings found at the scene and to ligature marks around Michaela andDylan’s limbs and necks.
Sheriff’s investigators24 followed the trail and located a Wilderness25 Outfittersin Santa Monicawhere the couple had purchased a flashlight, bottled water, dehydrated foodpackets designed for hikers. A 7-Eleven near Century Cityverified that Michaela Brand’s nearly depleted26 debit27 card had been used to buya dozen Snickers bars, two packets of beef jerky, and a six-pack of Miller28 Liteless than an hour before the reported time of the abduction. Wrappers and emptycans found a half mile up the ridge29 from where the couple had staged theirconfinement filled in the picture.
The final blow was the report of an emergency room physician at Saint John’s Hospital: Meserve and Brand claimed tohave gone without food for two days but their electrolyte tests were normal.Furthermore, neither victim exhibited signs of serious injury other than ropeburn and some “mild” bruising30 of Michaela’s vagina that could’ve beenconsistent with “self-infliction.”
Faced with the evidence, the couple broke down, admitted the hoax31, and werecharged with obstructing32 officers and filing a false police report. Bothpleaded poverty, and public defenders33 were assigned.
Michaela’s D.P.D. was a man named Lauritz Montez. He and I had met nearly adecade ago on a particularly repellent case: the murder of a two-year-old girlby two preadolescent boys, one of whom had been Montez’s client. The uglinesshad resurfaced last year when one of the killers34, now a young man, had phonedme out within days of his release from prison and turned up dead hours later.
Lauritz Montez hadn’t liked me to begin with and my digging up the past hadmade matters worse. So I was puzzled when he called and asked me to evaluateMichaela Brand.
“Why would I kid, Doctor?”
“We didn’t exactly hit it off.”
“I’m not inviting35 you to hang out,” he said. “You’re a smart shrink and Iwant her to have a solid report behind her.”
“She’s charged with misdemeanors,” I said.
“Yeah, but the sheriff’s pissed and is pushing the D.A. to go for jail time.We’re talking a mixed-up kid who did something stupid. She feels bad enough.”
“You want me to say she was mentally incapacitated.”
Montez laughed. “Temporary raving-lunacy-insanity would be great but I knowyou’re all pissy-anty about small details like facts. So just tell it like itwas: She was addled36, caught in a weak moment, swept along. I’m sure there’ssome technical term for it.”
“The truth,” I said.
He laughed again. “Will you do it?”
The plastic surgeons’ little girl had started talking, but both parents’lawyers had phoned this morning and informed me the case had been resolved andmy services were no longer necessary.
“Sure,” I said.
“Seriously?” said Montez.
“Why not?”
“It didn’t go that smoothly37 on Duchay.”
“How could it?”
“True. Okay, I’ll have her call and make an appointment. Do my best to getyou some kind of reimbursement38. Within reason.”
“Reason’s always good.”
“And so rare.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
2 abducted 73ee11a839b49a2cf5305f1c0af4ca6a     
劫持,诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(肢体等)外展
参考例句:
  • Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
  • The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。
3 stashed 07562c5864f6b713d22604f8e1e43dae     
v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 );隐藏;藏匿;藏起
参考例句:
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 canyon 4TYya     
n.峡谷,溪谷
参考例句:
  • The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
  • The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
5 specified ZhezwZ     
adj.特定的
参考例句:
  • The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
  • It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
6 jurisdiction La8zP     
n.司法权,审判权,管辖权,控制权
参考例句:
  • It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
  • Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。
7 robin Oj7zme     
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
参考例句:
  • The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
  • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
8 canyons 496e35752729c19de0885314bcd4a590     
n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
  • Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存? 来自互联网
9 crests 9ef5f38e01ed60489f228ef56d77c5c8     
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点
参考例句:
  • The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了,他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句
10 hawks c8b4f3ba2fd1208293962d95608dd1f1     
鹰( hawk的名词复数 ); 鹰派人物,主战派人物
参考例句:
  • Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
  • Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。
11 custody Qntzd     
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。
12 chubby wrwzZ     
adj.丰满的,圆胖的
参考例句:
  • He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实,可并不发胖。
  • The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。
13 stammer duMwo     
n.结巴,口吃;v.结结巴巴地说
参考例句:
  • He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
  • We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。
14 bouts 2abe9936190c45115a3f6a38efb27c43     
n.拳击(或摔跤)比赛( bout的名词复数 );一段(工作);(尤指坏事的)一通;(疾病的)发作
参考例句:
  • For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
15 evaluations a116c012e4b127eb506b6098697095ab     
估价( evaluation的名词复数 ); 赋值; 估计价值; [医学]诊断
参考例句:
  • In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上,我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
  • Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲,这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。
16 psychology U0Wze     
n.心理,心理学,心理状态
参考例句:
  • She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
  • He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
17 stunning NhGzDh     
adj.极好的;使人晕倒的
参考例句:
  • His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
  • The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。
18 infinity o7QxG     
n.无限,无穷,大量
参考例句:
  • It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
  • Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。
19 forensic 96zyv     
adj.法庭的,雄辩的
参考例句:
  • The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
  • The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后,法官于10时30分宣布休庭。
20 fiber NzAye     
n.纤维,纤维质
参考例句:
  • The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
  • The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。
21 DNA 4u3z1l     
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
参考例句:
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
22 backlogs 0a60abc592f1bec7e81887d79f1d88ad     
积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 ); 没交付的订货; 备用; 备用物
参考例句:
  • "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的,你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
  • Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。
23 ferocious ZkNxc     
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的
参考例句:
  • The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
  • The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。
24 investigators e970f9140785518a87fc81641b7c89f7     
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
  • The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 wilderness SgrwS     
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠
参考例句:
  • She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
  • Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。
26 depleted 31d93165da679292f22e5e2e5aa49a03     
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
  • Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。
27 debit AOdzV     
n.借方,借项,记人借方的款项
参考例句:
  • To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方?
  • We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱,只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。
28 miller ZD6xf     
n.磨坊主
参考例句:
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
29 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
30 bruising 5310e51c1a6e8b086b8fc68e716b0925     
adj.殊死的;十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
  • He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了,一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句
31 hoax pcAxs     
v.欺骗,哄骗,愚弄;n.愚弄人,恶作剧
参考例句:
  • They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
  • They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。
32 obstructing 34d98df4530e378b11391bdaa73cf7b5     
阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 ); 堵塞; 阻碍; 阻止
参考例句:
  • You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车,你挡住了我家的车道。
  • He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。
33 defenders fe417584d64537baa7cd5e48222ccdf8     
n.防御者( defender的名词复数 );守卫者;保护者;辩护者
参考例句:
  • The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众,只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
34 killers c1a8ff788475e2c3424ec8d3f91dd856     
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。
35 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
36 addled fc5f6c63b6bb66aeb3c1f60eba4e4049     
adj.(头脑)糊涂的,愚蠢的;(指蛋类)变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 );使混乱;使腐臭;使变质
参考例句:
  • Being in love must have addled your brain. 坠入爱河必已使你神魂颠倒。
  • He has addled his head with reading and writing all day long. 他整天读书写字,头都昏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
37 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
38 reimbursement lkpzR4     
n.偿还,退还
参考例句:
  • He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
  • Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费?


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