Chapter 46

The next week was emotional bouillabaisse.
Trying, with no success, to get Billy Dowd more appropriate lodgings¹ andregular therapy.
Fending² off Erica Weiss’s requests for another deposition³, so she could“slam the final nail in Hauser’s coffin⁴.”
Ignoring increasingly strident calls from Hauser’s defense⁵ attorney.
I hadn’t been to the station since viewing the DVD. Six minutes watching agirl I’d never met.
The day I moved Robin⁶ in, I pretended my head was clear. After I schleppedthe last carton of her clothes into the bedroom, she sat me down on the edge ofthe mattress⁷, rubbed my temples, and kissed the back of my neck. “Stillthinking about it, huh?”
“Using unfamiliar⁸ muscles. The ribs⁹ don’t help.”
“Don’t waste energy trying to convince me,” she said. “This time I know whatI’m getting myself into.”
 
My contact with Milo was limited to oneeleven p.m. phone call. His voice, thick with fatigue¹⁰, wondering if I couldtake care of some “ancillary¹¹ stuff” while he coped with the mountain ofevidence on what the papers were calling the “Bomb Shelter Murders.”
One nitwit columnist¹² in the Times trying to connect it to “Cold Warparanoia.”
I said, “Sure. What’s ancillary stuff?”
“Anything you can do better than me.”
 
That came down to being a grief sponge.
A forty-five-minute session with Lou and Arlene Giacomo lasted two hours.He’d lost weight since I’d seen him and his eyes were dead. She was a quiet,dignified woman, hunched¹³ over like someone twice her age.
I sat there as his rage alternated with her anguished¹⁴ accounts of Life WithTori, the two of them trading off with a rhythm so precise it could’ve beenscripted. As the time ground on, their chairs edged farther and farther apart.Arlene was talking about Tori’s confirmation¹⁵ dress when Lou shot to his feet,snarling, and left my office. She started to apologize, changed her mind. Wefound him down by the pond, feeding the fish. They left silently and neitheranswered my calls that night. The clerk at their hotel said they’d checked out.
The widowed mother of Brad Dowd’s Las Vegas victim, Juliet Dutchey, turned out to be aformer showgirl herself, a veteran of the old Flamingo¹⁶ Hotel. Mid-fifties andstill toned, Andrea Dutchey blamed herself for not discouraging her daughterfrom moving to Vegas, then switched to squeezing my hand and thanking me forall I’d done. I felt I’d done nothing and her gratitude¹⁷ made me sad.
Dr. Susan Palmer came in with her husband, Dr. Barry Palmer, a tall, quiet,well-coiffed man who wanted to be anywhere else. She started off all business,crumpled fast. He kept his mouth shut and studied the prints on my wall.
Michaela Brand’s mother was too ill to travel from Arizona so I spoke¹⁸ with her over the phone.Her air machine hissed¹⁹ in the background and if she cried, I didn’t hear it.Maybe tears required too much oxygen. I stayed on the line until she hung upwithout warning.
No relative of Dylan Meserve surfaced.
I phoned Robin at her studio and said, “I’m finished, you can come back.”
“I wasn’t escaping,” she said. “Just doing my job.”
“Busy?”
“Pretty much.”
“Come home anyway.”
Silence. “Sure.”
 
I called Albert Beamish.
He said, “I’ve been reading about it. Apparently²⁰, I can still be shocked.”
“It’s shocking stuff.”
“They were spoiled and indolent but I had no idea they were fiends.”
“Beyond persimmons,” I said.
“Good God, yes! Alex—may I call you that—”
“Sure. Mister Beamish.”
He chortled. “First off, thanks for informing me, that wasuncharacteristically courteous²¹. Especially coming from a member of theme-generation.”
“You’re welcome. I think.”
He cleared his throat. “Second, do you golf?”
“No, sir.”
“Why not?”
“Never got into it.”
“Damn shame. At least you drink…perhaps one day, should you have time…”
“If you bring out the good stuff.”
“I only stock the good stuff, young man. What do you take me for?”
 
Two weeks after his arrest, Brad Dowd was found dead in his cell. The noosehe’d used to hang himself had been fashioned from a pair of pajama pants he’dripped into strips after lights-out. He’d been on suicide watch, housed in theHigh Power ward²² where things like that weren’t supposed to happen. The guardshad been diverted by a neighboring inmate²³ pretending to go crazy and smearinghis cell with feces. That prisoner, a gang leader and murder suspect namedTheofolis Moomah, underwent a miraculous²⁴ recovery the moment Brad’s body wascut down. A search of Moomah’s cell uncovered a stash²⁵ of extra commissarycigarettes and a roll of fifty-dollar bills. Brad’s attorney, a downtown courtregular who’d defended several gang leaders, express-mailed his bill to thearraignment judge.
Stavros Menas, Esq. called a press conference and bellowed²⁶ that the suicidesupported his claim that Brad had been a “mad Svengali,” and his client anunwitting dupe.
The D.A. offered a contradictory²⁷ analysis.
Get ready for a circus the animal-rights people wouldn’t mind.
I vowed²⁸ to forget about all of it, figured the why dunit would stop eatingat me eventually.
When it didn’t, I got on the computer.

1 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

2 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

3 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

4 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

8 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

9 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。

10 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

11 ancillary   

adj.附属的，从属的

参考例句：

• The transport corps is ancillary to the infantry.运输队是步兵的辅助部队。
• This is just an ancillary business.这仅仅是一项辅助业务。

12 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

13 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

14 anguished   

adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式)

参考例句：

• Desmond eyed her anguished face with sympathy. 看着她痛苦的脸，德斯蒙德觉得理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The loss of her husband anguished her deeply. 她丈夫的死亡使她悲痛万分。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

16 flamingo   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟

参考例句：

• This is the only species of flamingo in the region,easily recognized by its pink plumage.这是那个地区唯一一种火烈鸟，很容易凭粉红色的羽毛辨认出来。
• In my family,I am flamingo in the flock of pigeons.在家里，我就像一只被困在鸽笼里的火烈鸟。

17 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

18 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

20 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

21 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

22 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。

23 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

24 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

25 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

26 bellowed   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
• He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时，他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

27 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

28 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。