Jacalyn Vasquez, minus three kids and makeup1 and jewelry2, looked even youngerthan when I’d seen her on Sunday. Streaked3 hair was tied back in a somberponytail. She wore a loose white blouse, blue jeans, and sneakers. Florid acneplayed havoc4 with her forehead and cheeks. Her eyes had regressed into sootysockets.
A tall honey-haired woman in her twenties held Vasquez’s arm. The blonde’slocks were long and silky. She wore a tight black suit that showcased a bikinifigure. A ruby5 stud in her left nostril6 fought the suit’s conservative cut. Thepretty hair and tight body sparred with a monkeyish face the camera wouldsavage.
She surveyed the tiny space and frowned. “How’re we all going to fit inhere?”
Milo smiled. “And you are?”
“Brittany Chamfer, Public Defender’s Office.”
“I thought Mr. Vasquez’s attorney was Kevin Shuldiner.”
“I’m a third-year law student,” said Brittany Chamfer. “Working with theExoneration Project.” She amplified7 her frown. “This is like a closet.”
“Well,” said Milo, “one less body shouldhelp. Enjoy the fresh air, Ms. Chamfer. Come on in, Ms. Vasquez.”
“My instruction was to stay with Jackie.”
“My instruction is that you enjoy the fresh air.” He stood and the chairsqueaked. Silencing it with one hand, he offered the seat to Jacalyn Vasquez.“Right here, ma’am.”
Brittany Chamfer said, “I’m supposed to stay.”
“You’re not an attorney and Ms. Vasquez hasn’t been charged with anything.”
“Still.”
Milo took one big step that brought him tothe doorway8. Brittany Chamfer had to step back to avoid collision, and the armshe’d used to support Jacalyn Vasquez pulled free.
Vasquez looked past me. The office could’ve been miles of glacier9.
Brittany Chamfer said, “I’ll have to call the office.”
Milo ushered10 Vasquez in, closed the door.
By the time she sat down, Jacalyn Vasquez was crying.
Milo gave her a tissue. When her eyesdried, he said, “You have something to tell me, Ms. Vasquez?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What is it, ma’am?”
“Armando was protecting us.”
“Protecting the family?”
“Uh-huh.”
“From…”
“Him.”
“Mr. Peaty?”
“The pervert11.”
“You knew Mr. Peaty to be a pervert?”
Nod.
“How did you know that?”
“Everyone said.”
“Everyone in the building.”
“Yeah.”
“Like Mrs. Stadlbraun.”
“Yeah.”
“Who else?”
“Everyone.”
“Can you give me some names?”
Eyes down. “Everyone.”
“Did Mr. Peaty ever do anything perverted12 that you know about personally?”
“He looked.”
“At…”
Jacalyn Vasquez poked13 her left breast. Milosaid, “He looked at you.”
“A lot.”
“He ever touch you?”
Head shake.
“His looks made you feel uncomfortable.”
“Yeah.”
“You tell Armando?”
“Uh-uh.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t want to make him mad.”
“Armando has a temper.”
Silence.
“So Peaty looked at you,” said Milo. “Youfigure that made it okay for Armando to shoot him?”
“Also the calls. That’s what I’m here to tell you.”
Milo’s eyes narrowed. “What calls, ma’am?”
“The night. Calling, hanging up, calling, hanging up. I figured it was him.”
“Peaty?”
“Yeah.”
“Because…”
“He was a pervert.” Her eyes dipped again.
“You figured it was Mr. Peaty harassing14 you,” said Milo.
“Yeah.”
“Had he done that before?”
Hesitation15.
“Ms. Vasquez?”
“Uh-uh.”
“He hadn’t done it before but you suspected it was him. Did Mr. Shuldinercome up with that?”
“It coulda been him!”
Milo said, “Any other reason the callsbothered you?”
“They kept hanging up.”
“They,” said Milo. Stretching the word.
Vasquez looked up, confused.
Milo said, “Maybe you were worried about a‘they,’ Jackie.”
“Huh?”
“Armando’s old homeboys.”
“Armando don’t have no homeboys.”
“He used to, Jackie.”
Silence.
“Everyone knows he used to run with the 88s, Jackie.”
Vasquez sniffed16.
“Everyone knows,” Milo repeated.
“That was, like, a long time ago,” said Vasquez. “Armando don’t bang nomore.”
“Who’s they?”
“The calls. There was a bunch.”
“Any other calls last night?”
“My mother.”
“What time?”
“Like six.” Jacalyn Vasquez sat up straighter. “The other one wasn’t nohomeboys.”
“What other one?”
“After the ones that hung up. Someone talked. Like a whisper, you know?”
“A whisper.”
“Yeah.”
“What’d they whisper about.”
“Him. They said he was dangerous, liked to hurt women.”
“Someone whispered that about Peaty?”
“Yeah.”
“You heard this.”
“They talked to Armando.”
“What time did this whispering call come in, Jackie?”
“Like…we were in bed with the TV. Armando answered and he was pissed off’cause a the other calls hanging up. He’s, like, started yelling into the phoneand then he’s, like, stopped, listened. I said what, he waved his hand, like,you know? He listened and his face got all red. That was the last time.”
“Armando got mad.”
“Real mad.”
“ ’Cause of the whispering.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did Armando tell you about the whispering after he hung up?”
Jacalyn Vasquez shook her head. “Later.”
“When, later?”
“Last night.”
“Calling from jail.”
“Yeah.”
“You never heard the whispering and Armando didn’t tell you about it at thetime. Then, after Armando shot Peaty, he decided17 to tell you.”
“I ain’t lyin’.”
“I can understand your wanting to protect your husband—”
“I ain’t lyin’.”
“Let’s say someone did whisper,” said Milo.“You figure that made it okay to shoot Peaty?”
“Yeah.”
“Why’s that, Jackie?”
“He was dangerous.”
“According to the whisperer.”
“I ain’t lyin’.”
“Maybe Armando is.”
“Armando ain’t lyin’.”
“Did Armando say if this whisperer was a man or a woman?”
“Armando said the whispering made so you couldn’t tell.”
“Pretty good whispering.”
“I ain’t lyin’.” Jacalyn Vasquez folded her arms across her bosom18 and staredat Milo.
“You know, Jackie, that any calls to your apartment can be verified.”
“Huh?”
“We can check your phone records.”
“Fine,” she said.
“The problem is,” said Milo, “all we canknow is that someone called you at a certain time. We can’t verify what wassaid.”
“It happened.”
“According to Armando.”
“Armando ain’t lyin’.”
“All those hang-ups,” said Milo. “Then allof a sudden, someone’s whispering about Peaty and Armando’s listening.”
Jacalyn Vasquez’s hands, still crossed, climbed to her face and pushedagainst her cheeks. Her features turned rubbery. When she spoke19 throughcompressed lips, the words came out slurred20, like a kid goofing21.
“It happened. Armando told me. It happened.”
Brittany Chamfer was waiting in the hall, playing with her nose stud. Shewhipped around, saw Jacalyn Vasquez dabbing22 her eyes. “You okay, Jackie?”
“He don’ believe me.”
Chamfer said,” What?”
Milo said, “Thanks for coming in.”
Chamfer said, “We’re looking for the truth.”
“Common goal.”
Chamfer considered her response. “What message should I give to Mr.Shuldiner?”
“Thank him for his civic23 duty.”
“Pardon?”
“Thank him for creativity, too.”
Brittany Chamfer said, “I’m not going to tell him that. ”
“Have a nice day.”
“I will.” Chamfer flipped24 her long hair. “Will you ?”
Renewing her grip, she propelled Jacalyn Vasquez up the corridor.
Milo said, “That’s why the D.A.’s officepalmed it on me. What a crock.”
“You’re dismissing it out of hand?” I said.
“You’re not?”
“If Vasquez’s lying to exonerate25 himself, he could’ve picked somethingstronger. Like Peaty threatening him explicitly26.”
“So he’s stupid.”
“Maybe that’s it,” I said.
He leaned against the wall, scuffed27 the baseboard. “Even if someone did callVasquez to prime the pump against Peaty, the right suspect’s in jail. Let’s sayErtha Stadlbraun got things stoked up because Peaty had always creeped her out.My interview tipped her over and she stirred up the tenants28. One of them was anincompletely reformed banger with a bad temper and boom boom boom.”
“If you’re comfortable not checking it out, so am I.”
He turned his back on me, imbedded both hands in his hair and turned it intoa fright wig29. Smoothing it down was a partial success. He stomped30 back into hisoffice.
When I entered, he had the phone receiver in hand but wasn’t punchingnumbers. “Know what kept me up last night? Damned snow globe. Brad thoughtMeserve put it there but the one in the van says Peaty did. Would Peaty tauntBrad?”
“Maybe Peaty didn’t leave it.”
“What?”
“Meserve thinks he’s an actor,” I said. “Actors do voice-overs.”
“The Infernal Whisperer? I can’t get distracted by that kind of crap, Alex.Still have to check out all those buildings Peaty cleaned, stuff could behidden anywhere. Can’t ignore Billy either, because he hung with Peaty and Iwas masochistic enough to find out.”
He passed the receiver from hand to hand. “What I’d love to do is get toBilly in his apartment, away from Brad, and gauge31 his reaction to Peaty’sdeath.” He huffed. “Let’s take care of this whispering bullshit.”
He called the phone company, talked to someone named Larry. “What I need isfor you to tell me it’s crap so I can avoid the whole subpoena32 thing. Thanks,yeah…you, too. I’ll hold.”
Moments later, his faced flushed and he was scribbling33 furiously in his pad.“Okay, Lorenzo, thanko mucho…no, I mean it…we’ll forget this conversation tookplace and I’ll get you the damned paper a-sap.”
The receiver slammed down.
He ripped a page out of the pad and shoved it at me.
The first evening call to the Vasquez apartment had come in at fivefifty-two p.m. and lasted thirty-two minutes. The caller’s mid-city number wasregistered to Guadalupe Maldonado. The call from Jackie Vasquez’s mom at “likesix.”
Milo closed his eyes and pretended to dozeas I read on.
Five more calls between seven and ten p.m., all from a 310 area code that Milo had notated as” stolen cell.” The first lasted eightseconds, the second, four. Then a trio of two-second entries that had to behang-ups.
Armando Vasquez losing patience and slamming down the phone.
I said, “Stolen from who?”
“Don’t know yet, but it happened the same day the call came in. Keep going.”
Under the five calls was the doodle of an amoebic blob filled with crosses.Then something Milo had underlined so hardhe’d torn paper.
Final call. 10:23 p.m. Forty-two seconds long.
Despite Vasquez’s anger, something had managed to hold his interest.
Different caller, 805 area code.
Milo reached over and took the page,shredded it meticulously34, and dropped it in his trash basket. “You have neverseen that. You will see it once the goddamn subpoena that is now goddamnnecessary produces legit evidence.”
“Ventura County,” I said. “Maybe Camarillo?”
“Not maybe, for sure. My man Lawrence says a pay phone in Camarillo.”
“Near the outlets35?”
“He wasn’t able to be that precise, but we’ll find out. Now I’ve got apossible link to the Gaidelases. Which should make you happy. All along, younever saw Peaty for them. So what’re we talking about, an 805-based killer36 whoprowls the coast and I’ve gotta start from scratch?”
“Only if the Gaidelases are victims,” I said.
“As opposed to?”
“The sheriffs thought the facts pointed37 to a willful disappearance38 and maybethey were right. Armando told his wife the whispering made it impossible toidentify the sex of the caller. If it’s amateur theater we’re talking about,Cathy Gaidelas could be a candidate.”
His jaws39 bunched. He scooted forward on his chair, inches from my face. Ithanked God we were friends.
“All of a sudden the Gaidelases have gone from victims to psychomurderers ?”
“It solves several problems,” I said. “No bodies recovered and the rentalcar was left in Camarillobecause the Gaidelases ditched it, just as the company assumed. Who better tocancel credit cards than the legitimate40 owners? And to know which utilities tocall back in Ohio?”
“Nice couple hiding out in Ventura County and venturing into L.A. to commit nasty? For starts, why wouldthey home-base out there?”
“Proximity to the ocean and you don’t have to be a millionaire. There arestill places in Oxnardwith low-rent housing.”
He yanked his forelock up and stretched his brow tight. “Where the hell didall this come from, Alex?”
“My twisted mind,” I said. “But think about it: The only reason we’veconsidered the Gaidelases a nice couple is because Cathy’s sister describedthem that way. But Susan Palmer also talked about an antisocial side—drug use,years of mooching off the family. Cathy married a man people suspect is gay.There’s some complexity41 there.”
“What I’m hearing is minor42 league complexity. What’s their motive43 for turninghomicidal ?”
“How about extreme frustration44 coming to a head? We’re talking twomiddle-aged people who’ve never achieved much on their own. They make the bigmove to L.A.,delusional45 like thousands of other wannabes. Their age and looks make it evenchancier but they take a methodical approach: acting46 lessons. Maybe they wererejected by other coaches and Nora was their last chance. What if she turnedthem away in less-than-diplomatic terms? Charlie Manson didn’t take well tohearing he wasn’t going to be a rock star.”
“This is about revenge on Nora?” he said.
“Revenge on her and the symbols of youth and beauty she surrounded herselfwith.”
“Tori Giacomo got killed before the Gaidelases disappeared.”
“That wouldn’t have stopped the Gaidelases from having contact with her. Ifnot at the PlayHouse, at work. Maybe she served them a lobster47 dinner andthat’s how they learned about the PlayHouse.”
“They do Tori, then wait nearly two years to do Michaela? That’s a dish goneway cold, Alex.”
“That’s assuming no other students at the PlayHouse have gone missing.”
He sighed.
I said, “The hoax48 could’ve served as some kind of catalyst49. Nora’s name inthe paper. Michaela’s and Dylan’s, too. Not to mention Latigo Canyon50.I could be totally off base, but I don’t think the 805 link can be overlooked.And neither can Armando Vasquez’s story.”
He stood, stretched, sat back down, buried his face in his hands for a whileand looked up, bleary-eyed. “Creative, Alex. Fanciful, inventive, impressivelyoutside the goddamn box. The problem it doesn’t solve is Peaty. A definite badguy with access to all of the victims and a rape51 kit52 in his van. If theGaidelases were chasing stardom, why would they have anything to do with aloser like him, let alone set him up to be shot? And how the hell would theyknow to prime the pump by phoning Vasquez?”
I thought about that. “It’s possible the Gaidelases met Peaty at thePlayHouse and some bonding took place—outsiders commiserating53.”
“That’s a helluva lot going on during a failed audition54. Assuming theGaidelases were ever at the PlayHouse.”
“Maybe Nora kept them waiting for a long time then dismissed them unceremoniously.If they did bond with Peaty, they could’ve had opportunity to visit hisapartment and pick up on tension in the building. Or Peaty talked about hisdislike for Vasquez.”
“Ertha Stadlbraun said Peaty never had visitors.”
“Ertha Stadlbraun goes to sleep by eleven,” I said. “Be interesting to knowif anyone at the apartment recognizes the Gaidelases’ photos.”
He stared at me.
“Peaty, Andy, and Cathy. And let’s toss in Billy Dowd, because we’re feelinggenerous. What, some kind of misfit club?”
“Look at all those schoolyard shootings committed by outsiders.”
“Oh, Lord,” he said. “Before I get sucked into this vortex of fantasy, Ineed to do some boring old police work. As in pinpointing55 the phone booth andtrying to pull some prints. As in keep searching for any troves Peaty might’vestashed God knows where. As in…let’s not shmooze any more, okay? My head’ssplitting like a luau coconut56.”
Yanking his tie loose, he hauled himself up, crossed the tiny office, andthrew back the door. It hit the wall, chunked out a disk of plaster, bounced acouple of times.
My ears were still ringing when he stuck his head in, seconds later. “Wherecan I find one of those amino-acid concoctions57 that makes you smarter?”
“They don’t work,” I said.
“Thanks for your input58.”
收听单词发音 |
1
makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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2
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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3
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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nostril
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| n.鼻孔 | |
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amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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glacier
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| n.冰川，冰河 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
pervert
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| n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路 | |
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12
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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13
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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harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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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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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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slurred
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| 含糊地说出( slur的过去式和过去分词 )； 含糊地发…的声； 侮辱； 连唱 | |
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21
goofing
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| v.弄糟( goof的现在分词 )；混；打发时间；出大错 | |
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dabbing
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| 石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛 | |
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civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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exonerate
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| v.免除责任，确定无罪 | |
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explicitly
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| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
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scuffed
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| v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚走 | |
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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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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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stomped
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| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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subpoena
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| n.（法律）传票；v.传讯 | |
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scribbling
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| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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meticulously
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| adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心 | |
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outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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killer
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| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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complexity
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| n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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delusional
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| 妄想的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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lobster
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| n.龙虾，龙虾肉 | |
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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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catalyst
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| n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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52
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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53
commiserating
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| v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的现在分词 ) | |
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54
audition
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| n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等) | |
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55
pinpointing
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| 准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的现在分词 )； 为…准确定位 | |
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56
coconut
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| n.椰子 | |
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57
concoctions
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| n.编造，捏造，混合物( concoction的名词复数 ) | |
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58
input
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| n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机 | |
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