Chapter 33

Anew stack of rugs arrived. Angeline Wasserman inspected a fringe. “Theseknots are tangled¹.”
Milo muttered, “Story of my life.”
If she heard him, she didn’t indicate. “Darius, are these the best you’vegot?”
 
Driving to Butler Avenue,I said, “AmEx Black, never used.”
“I know, same as with the Gaidelases. But do you see them tooling around ina Range Rover that just happens to match Nora Dowd’s?”
No need to answer.
When we arrived at the station, Milodemanded his messages from the new receptionist, a terrified bald man in hisforties named Tom, who said, “There’s nothing new, Lieutenant², I promise.”
I followed Milo’s chuffy climb up thestairs. When we reached his office, he unpacked³ his attaché, placed the autopsyfile next to his computer, and requested a BOLO on the Range Rover, all beforesitting down.
“How about this, Alex: Nora and Meserve have an 805 love nest and thosebrochures were a diversion. I’m thinking something on the beach because what’sa rich girl without a beach house? Could be right there in Camarillo,or farther north—Oxnard Harbor, Ventura,Carpinteria, Mussel Shoals, Santa Barbara, or points beyond.”
I said, “Could be points south, too. Maybe Meserve didn’t know Latigo becausehe’d hiked there.”
“Nora’s a Malibugal,” he said. “Has a rural hideaway tucked in the mountains.”
“Something registered to her individually, not part of the BNB partnership⁴.”
“Easy enough to find out what she pays property tax on.” He flipped⁶ thecomputer on. The screen flashed blue, then black, sparked a couple of times,and died. Several attempts to reboot were greeted by silence.
He said, “Expelling profanities is a waste of oxygen. Let me borrow someoneelse’s terminal.”
I used the time to leave another message for Robin⁷. Read through Michaela’sautopsy findings again.
Playing with veins⁸ and arteries⁹.
The PlayHouse.
Nora tiring of theatrical¹⁰ abstractions. Meeting Dylan Meserve anddiscovering common interests.
Embalming¹¹. Nora’s taste in pets.
Milo returned.
“Good news?” I said.
“If failure’s your idea of success. The circuit that feeds all the computersis down, tech support was summoned hours ago. I’m going downtown to theassessor’s office to do it the old-fashioned way. If tax leeches¹² communicatewith their buds in other counties maybe I can get hooked up with Ventura and Santa Barbara. If not, I’m on the road again.”
Humming the Willie Nelson song.
“You’re taking this well.”
“All part of my audition,” he said.
“For what?”
“Mentally stable individual.” Grabbing his jacket, he opened the door andheld it for me.
I said, “Taxidermy.”
“What?”
“The coroner’s guess about embalming. Think Nora’s fluffy¹³ dog.”
He sat back down. “Some horrific arts and crafts thing?”
“I was thinking stage prop⁵.”
“For what?”
“Grand Guignol.”
He shut his eyes, knuckled¹⁴ a temple. “Your mind…” The eyes opened. “If Dowdand Meserve have an evil hobby, why wasn’t Michaela actually messed with?”
“She was rejected,” I said. “Same for Tori Giacomo. Or not. Scattered¹⁵ bonesmake it impossible to know.”
“Why?”
I shook my head. “That level of pathology, the symbolism can be beyondanyone else’s comprehension.”
“Two pretty girls wrong for the part,” he said. “The Gaidelases, on theother hand, have never been found. Meaning maybe their heads are hanging on adamn wall?”
Another temple massage¹⁶. “Okay, now that the images are firmly planted in mybrain and I’m sure to have a lovely day, let’s get the hell out of here.”
I followed him up the hall. When we reached the stairwell, he said, “Snuffand stuff. I can always count on you to cheer me up.”
 
On our way out, Tom the receptionist sang out, “Have a nice day,Lieutenant.”
Milo’s reply was sotto voce and obscene. Heleft me standing¹⁷ on the sidewalk and continued to the staff parking lot.
Seeing his irritation¹⁸ at the lost messages brought to mind the disgustedlook on Albert Beamish’s face yesterday.
Constitutional crankiness? Or had the old man, ever eager to spread dirt onthe Dowds, poked¹⁹ around and actually learned something useful? Tried to tattleand got no callback?
No sense overloading²⁰ Milo’s circuits. Idrove to Hancock Park.
 
Beamish’s doorbell was answered by a tiny Indonesian maid in a black uniformclutching a dust-clogged feather duster.
“Mr. Beamish, please.”
“No home.”
“Any idea when he’ll be back?”
“No home.”
Walking over to Nora’s house, I took a close look at the barn doors of hergarage. Bolted. I nudged the panels, felt some give, but my bare hands wereunable to spread the doors wide enough. Milohad left it at that. I wasn’t bound by the rules of evidence.
Fetching a crowbar from the trunk of the Seville, I carried it parallel to my leg,went back, and managed to pry²¹ the doors an inch apart.
A stale gasoline smell blew out. No Range Rover or any other vehicle. Atleast Milo could be spared the bother of awarrant.
My cell phone beeped. “Dr. Delaware?It’s Karen from your exchange. I’ve got a message from Dr. Gwynn that wasmarked priority. He asked if you can come by his office soon as you have achance.”
“Dr. Gwynn’s a she,” I said.
“Oh…sorry. Louise wrote this one down, I’m new. Do you usually specifygender?”
“Don’t worry about it. When was the call?”
“Twenty minutes ago, just before I came on.”
“Did Dr. Gwynn give a reason for wanting me over?”
“It just says asap, Doctor. Want the number?”
“I know it.”
For Allison to reach out, it had to be something bad. Her grandmother.Another stroke? Worst-case scenario²³?
Even so, why call me?
Maybe because she had no one else.
Her message tape picked up. I drove to Santa Monica.
 
Empty waiting room. The red light next to her name was unlit, meaning nosession in progress. I pushed open the door to the inner offices, proceededthrough a short hall to Allison’s corner suite²⁴. Knocked on her door and didn’twait for an answer.
She wasn’t at her desk. Or in one of the soft white patient chairs.
When I said, “Allison?” no one answered.
This felt wrong.
Before I could process that thoroughly²⁵, the back of my head exploded inpain.
Hammer-on-melon pain.
Cartoonists are right; you really do see stars.
I reeled, got smashed again. Back of the neck this time.
I sank to my knees, wobbled on Allison’s soft carpet, fought forconsciousness.
Anew pain burned my right flank. Sharp, electric. Was I being cut?
Heavy breathing behind me, someone straining with effort, blur²⁶ of darktrouser leg.
The second kick to my ribs²⁷ took all the fight out of me and I went down onmy face.
Hard leather continued to have its way with bone. My brain rang like a gong.I tried to ward²⁸ off further blows but my arms were numb²².
For some reason, I counted.
Three kicks, four, five, six for good meas—

1 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 unpacked   

v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。
• Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

6 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

7 robin   

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 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

11 embalming   

v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的现在分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气

参考例句：

• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming. 尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

12 leeches   

n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生

参考例句：

• The usurers are leeches;they have drained us dry. 高利贷者是吸血鬼，他们吸干了我们的血汗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Does it run in the genes to live as leeches? 你们家是不是遗传的，都以欺压别人为生？ 来自电影对白

13 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

14 knuckled   

v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的过去式和过去分词 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He knuckled me in the chest. 他用指关节敲击我的胸部。 来自辞典例句
• Mr. Cruncher knuckled his forehead, as Sydney Carton and the spy returned from the dark room. 克朗彻先生用指关节敲敲自己的前额，这时西德尼 - 卡尔顿和密探从黑屋出来了。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

15 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

16 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

17 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。

18 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

19 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 overloading   

过载，超载，过负载

参考例句：

• Enables multiple users to search the site without overloading the server. 使多个用户搜索网站，而无需超载的服务器上。
• The driver got stripped down again for overloading his trunk. 那位卡车司机因为超载又受到责备。

21 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

22 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

23 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

24 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

25 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

26 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

27 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

28 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。