We sat in the car, in front of Michaela’s building.
I said, “Dylan Meserve cleared out of his place weeks ago. The neighborheard him and Michaela arguing and Michaela told me she hated him.”
“Maybe he came and got her,” said Milo.
“Took her on another adventure.”
“What about Mr. Sex Criminal Peaty? Maybe he snatched both of them.”
“If Peaty did abduct1 anyone, he didn’t take them to his place,” I said. “Noway to keep that from Mrs. Stadlbraun and the other tenants2.”
“Too small to entertain.”
“Still, he’s the one with the record.”
“And he’s weird3. So now I’ve got two high-priority bins4.”
As we drove away, he said, “Coffee would prop5 my eyelids6.”
I stopped at a place on Santa Monica near Bundy. Scrawled7 the possibilities as I sawthem on a napkin and slid it across the table as Miloreturned from making some calls.
1. Dylan Meserve abducts8 and murders Michaela, then flees.
2. Reynold Peaty abducts and murders Michaela and Dylan.
3. Reynold Peaty abducts and murders Michaela and Dylan’s disappearance9 is acoincidence.
4. None of the above.
“It’s that last one I love.” Milo waved forthe waitress, ordered pecan pie à la mode. Finishing most of the wedge in threegulps, he nibbled10 the rest with excruciating care, as if that provedself-restraint.
“I called Michaela’s mother again, it was all about her, big time woe-is-me.Too sick to come out to claim the body. The way she was gasping11 I figure it’sprobably true.”
I summarized Michaela’s account of her childhood.
“Ugly duckling?” he said. “Every gorgeous girl says that…what that Jewishlady said, the lifestyle issue, maybe she had a point.”
“Michaela got caught up in the Hollywoodthing.”
“You know what that does to the ninety-nine-point-nine percent who fall ontheir asses12. The question is, did it snag her or was it just one of thosebad-luck deals.”
“Like running into Peaty.”
He ate the last bit of pie, wiped his mouth, put way too much money on thetable, and extricated13 himself from the booth. “Back to the salt mine. Lots ofboring stuff to do.”
Boring was his code word for I need to be alone. I drove him to the stationand went home.
That evening Michaela’s murder was the lead story on every local broadcast,blow-dried news readers half smiling as they intoned about the “shocking crime”and exhumed14 mock-solemn memories of Michaela and Dylan’s “publicity stunt15.”
Dylan was cited as “a person of interest, not a suspect.” The implicationwas clear, as it always is when the police phrase it that way. I knew Milo hadn’t given them the quote. Probably some publicrelations officer, issuing yet another boilerplate release.
Next morning’s paper ran a page-three story with five times the ink spacethe hoax16 had merited, graced by two pictures of Michaela: a sultry, airbrushedhead-shot taken by a photographer who churned them out for Hollywood hopefuls,and her LAPD booking photo. I wondered if either or both would resurface in thetabloids or on the Internet.
One way to get famous is to die the wrong way.
I didn’t hear from Milo that day, figuredthe tips would be pouring in and he’d either learn a lot or nothing. I filledmy time polishing up reports, thought about getting a dog, took a new referralfrom an attorney named Erica Weiss.
Weiss had filed suit against a Santa Monica psychologist named Patrick Hauser for molestingthree female patients who’d attended his encounter groups. Chances were itwould settle and there’d be no court appearance. I negotiated a high hourly feeand felt pretty good about the deal.
I looked up Hauser’s office address. Santa Monica and Seventh. Allison also practiced in Santa Monica, a few miles away on Montana. I wondered if she knew Hauser,thought about calling her. Figured she might see it as an excuse to get in touchand decided17 against it.
At a quarter to six, when she was likely to be between patients, I changedmy mind. Her private line was still on speed dial.
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Hi,” she said. “How’ve you been?”
“Fine. You?”
“Fine…I was about to say, ‘How’ve you been, handsome.’ Got to watch thoselittle slips.”
“All compliments will be received with gratitude18, oh Gorgeous One.”
“Listen to this smarmy19 mutual20 admiration21 society.”
“If I’m lyin’, I’m flyin’.”
Silence.
I said, “I’m actually calling on a professional matter, Ali. Do you know anesteemed colleague named Patrick Hauser?”
“I’ve seen him at a few meetings. Why?”
I told her.
She said, “I guess I’m not surprised. Rumor22 has it he drinks. An encountergroup, huh? That does surprise me.”
“Why?”
“He seems more the corporate23 consultant24 type. How many patients are wetalking about?”
“Three.”
“That’s pretty damning.”
“Hauser claims it’s a group delusion25. There’s no physical evidence, so itboils down to a he said/they said. The State Board’s been sitting on it formonths, still hasn’t handed down a disposition26. The women got impatient andcontacted a lawyer.”
“All three have one lawyer?”
“They’re framing it as a mini–class action, hoping others will hear about itand come forward.”
“How’d they find out they’d had similar experiences with Hauser?”
“They hung around after session, went for drinks, it came out.”
“Not too smart of Hauser to put them in the same room.”
“Fondling patients is no act of genius.”
“So you think he did it.”
“I’m open-minded but all three were seeing Hauser for mild depression,nothing delusional27.”
“Like I said, he’s known to imbibe28. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Thanks…so how’s it been?”
“Life in general?” she said. “It’s been okay.”
“Want to join me for dinner?”
Where had that come from?
She didn’t answer.
I said, “Sorry. Rewind the tape.”
“No,” she said. “I’m thinking about the offer. When did you mean?”
“I’m open. Including tonight.”
“Hmm…I’ll be free in an hour, have to eat anyway. Where?”
“You name it.”
“How about that steak place?” she said. “The one where we met the firsttime.”
I asked for a booth away from the mahogany bar with its low-pitched alkiechatter and sports on TV. By the time Allison showed up ten minutes later, I’dfinished my Chivas, was working on my second glass of water.
The restaurant was dim and she stood there for a few seconds letting hereyes adjust. Her long, black hair swung free and her ivory face was serious. Ithought I saw tension around the shoulders.
She stepped forward, revealed color. An orange pantsuit hugged her trimlittle body. Tangerine-orange. With that hair of hers, Halloween Costumecould’ve been a problem but she made it work.
She spotted29 me, strode forward on high heels. The usual adornments sparkledat earlobes, wrists, and neck. Gold and sapphire30; the stones brought out thedeep blue of her eyes and played off the orange. Her makeup31 was perfect and hernails were French-tipped. The smile that parted her lips was hard to read.
A substantive32 woman but she takes a long time getting herself together.
The kiss on my cheek was quick and cool. She slid into the booth, just closeenough to make conversation feasible but too distant for easy touching33. Beforewe could talk the waiter had planted himself in front of us. Eduardo, thefeisty one. Eighty-year-old Argentinian immigrant who claimed he could cookseafood better than the chef.
He bowed before Allison. “Evening, Dr. Gwynn. The usual?”
“No, thanks,” she said. “It’s a little chilly34 outside, so I think I’ll havean Irish coffee. Make it decaf, Eduardo, or I’ll be calling you up at threea.m. to play cards.”
His smile said that wasn’t a dreaded35 outcome. “Very good, Doctor. AnotherChivas, sir?”
“Please.”
He marched off. I said, “Been coming here a lot?”
“No. Why?”
“He used your name.”
“I guess I’m here every three weeks or so.”
Alone or with another guy?
She said, “The T-bone made a lasting36 impression on me.”
Eduardo returned with drinks and menus. Extra whipped cream for Allison’sIrish coffee. Bowing again, he left.
We touched glasses and drank. Allison licked foam38 from her upper lip. Herface was smooth and white as fresh cream. She’s thirty-nine but when she easesup on the jewelry39, she can pass for ten years younger.
She pushed her drink away. “How’s Robin40?”
I worked at a casual shrug41. “I guess she’s okay.”
“Haven’t seen her much?”
“Not much.”
“Sleeping with her?”
I put my scotch42 down.
She said, “That means yes.”
When in doubt, revert43 to shrink tactics. I kept quiet.
“Sorry, that was totally inappropriate.” She smoothed hair away from herface. “I knew it and felt like asking, anyway.”
Bending over her coffee, she inhaled44 steam. “You’re entitled to sleep withanyone you want, I just yearned45 to be bitchy. Sometimes I wouldn’t mindsleeping with you myself.”
“Sometimes is better than never.”
“On the face of it, why shouldn’t we?” she said. “Two healthy, libidinouspeople. We were great together.” Faint smile. “Except when we weren’t…not veryprofound, is it?”
We drank in silence. The second Chivas brought on a nice warm buzz. Maybethat’s why I said, “So what the hell happened?”
“You tell me.”
“I’m asking you.”
“And I’m asking you back.”
I shook my head.
She drank, laughed. “Not that anything’s funny.”
Eduardo came over to take the food order, saw the looks on our faces, andturned heel.
Allison said, “Maybe nothing went wrong, it was just evolution.”
“Devolution.”
“Alex, when we started out, there was this rush of feeling every time I sawyou. All I had to do was hear your voice and this sympathetic nervous systemthing kicked in—this incredible flood of emotion. Sometimes when the doorbellrang and I knew it was you there’d be this heat—like a hot flash. I started toworry I was going through early menopause.” She looked into her Irish coffee.“Sometimes I’d get sopping46 wet. That was something.”
I touched her hand. Cool.
She said, “Maybe we just had some kind of hormonal47 thing going on and itfaded. Maybe every damn thing boils down to hormones48 and we’re in the wrongdamn field.”
She turned away. Grabbed for her purse, fumbled49 for a tissue, and poked50 ather eyes. “One drink and my filter goes bye-bye.”
Her mouth set in a way that thinned her lips. “I’ll probably regret sayingthis but what really bothered me when I felt things diminishing was that itwasn’t that way with Grant.”
Her dead husband. Wharton grad, rich kid, successful financial type. He’dsuccumbed young to a freakishly rare cancer. Even when Allison loved me she’dtalked about him adoringly.
“You had something great with him,” I said.
“You weren’t a replacement51, Alex. I swear.”
“Worse things to be.”
“Don’t be noble,” she said. “It makes me feel worse.”
I said nothing.
She said, “I just lied big time. It did fade with Grant. After I buried himhe stopped being physical to me and turned into a…a…wraith. I felt—still feelguilty about that.”
I groped for a reply. Every option sounded like shrinky cant52. Coming herehad been a mistake.
Suddenly, Allison’s hip37 was touching mine and she was taking my face in herhands, kissing me hard. She retreated, ended up even farther down the booth.
We sat there.
“Alex, what I felt about you in the beginning was every bit as intense aswith Grant. More intense on the physical level. Which also made me feel guilty.I started to think about us in a long-term sense. Wondering what it would belike. Then we had that problem on the Malley case and things just started tochange. I know that alone couldn’t have done it, there must’ve been…oh, listento me, I sound like every other talky broad…it’s confusing. The work stuff waspart of what turned me on, and then all of a sudden it repulsed53 me.”
The Malley case was the eight-year-old child murder. One of Allison’spatients—a fragile young woman—had been drawn54 in. I’d deceived her. All in thename of truth, justice…
Robin had never liked hearing about the work stuff. Allison had chased gorydetails with a vengeance55.
I said, “Things change.”
“They do. Dammit.” She looked away. “If I said your place or mine, would youfeel manipulated?”
“Maybe for a nanosecond.”
“I’m not going to say it. Not tonight. I’m feeling really unattractive.”
“There’s a delusion for you.”
“Inside I’m unattractive,” she said. “I wouldn’t be good, believe me.”
I raised my glass. “To brutal56 honesty.”
“Sorry. Want to forget about dinner?”
“Dinner wasn’t a ploy57 to get you in the sack.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t know…maybe a ploy to get you in the sack.”
She smiled. I smiled.
Eduardo had positioned himself across the room, spying on us whilepretending to be above it all.
I said, “I could eat.”
“I could, too.” She waved him over. “Dinner with a former lover. Howcivilized in that French-movie kind of way.”
Shifting closer, she lifted my left hand, traced the outline of mythumbnail. “Still here.”
“What is?”
“That split in the crescent—the little Pac-Man growing out of your nail. Ialways thought it was cute.”
My body part, I’d never noticed it.
She said, “It’s the same you.”
收听单词发音 |
1
abduct
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| vt.诱拐，拐带，绑架 | |
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tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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bins
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| n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abducts
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的第三人称单数 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exhumed
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| v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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smarmy
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| adj.爱说奉承话的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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corporate
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| adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的 | |
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consultant
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| n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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delusional
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| 妄想的 | |
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imbibe
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| v.喝，饮；吸入，吸收 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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substantive
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| adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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revert
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| v.恢复，复归，回到 | |
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inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sopping
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| adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式 | |
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hormonal
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| adj.激素的 | |
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hormones
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| n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式 | |
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49
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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ploy
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| n.花招，手段 | |
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