6:30 AM
CRAIG and Sophie found the barn at last.
They had waited a few minutes by the back door, hesitating, then realized they would freeze to death if they stayed there indefinitely. Screwing up their courage, they had crossed the yard directly, heads bent1, praying that no one would look out of the kitchen windows. The twenty paces from one side to the other seemed to take forever through the thick snow. Then they followed the front wall of the barn, always in full view from the kitchen. Craig did not dare to look in that direction: he was too frightened of what he might see. When at last they reached the door, he took one swift glance. In the dark he could not see the building itself, just the lighted windows. The snow further obscured his view, and he could see only vague figures moving in the kitchen. There was no sign that anyone had glanced out at the wrong moment.
He pulled the big door open. They stepped inside, and he closed it gratefully. Warm air washed over him. He was shivering, and Sophie's teeth were chattering2 like castanets. She threw off her snow-covered anorak and sat on one of the big hospital-style radiators3. Craig would have liked to take a minute to warm himself, but there was no time for that—he had to get help fast.
The place was dimly lit by a night-light next to the camp bed where Tom lay. Craig looked closely at the boy, wondering whether to wake him. He seemed to have recovered from Sophie's vodka, and was sleeping peacefully in his Spider-Man pajamas5.
Craig's eye was caught by something on the floor beside the pillow. It was a photograph. Craig picked it up and held it in the light. It appeared to have been taken at his mother's birthday party, and showed Tom with Sophie, her arm around his shoulders. Craig smiled to himself. I'm not the only one who was captivated by her that afternoon, he thought. He put the picture back, saying nothing to Sophie.
There was no point in waking Tom, he decided6. There was nothing the boy could do, and he would only be terrified. He was better off asleep.
Craig went quickly up the ladder that led to the hayloft bedroom. On one of the narrow beds he could make out the heap of blankets that covered his sister Caroline. She seemed fast asleep. Like Tom, she was better off that way. If she woke up and found out what was going on, she would have hysterics. He would try not to wake her.
The second bed had not been slept in. On the floor next to it he could see the shape of an open suitcase. Sophie said she had dropped her phone on top of her clothes. Craig crossed the room, moving cautiously in the near-dark. As he bent down, he heard, very near to him, the soft rustle7 and squeak8 of something alive, and he grunted9 a startled curse, his heart hammering in his chest; then he realized it was Caroline's damn rats moving in their cage. He pushed the cage aside and began to search Sophie's case.
Working by touch, he rummaged10 in the contents. On top was a plastic shopping bag containing a gift-wrapped parcel. Otherwise it was mostly clothes, neatly11 folded: someone had helped Sophie pack, he guessed, for he did not take her to be a tidy person. He was momentarily distracted by a silky bra, then his hand closed over the oblong shape of a mobile phone. He flipped12 its lid, but no lights came on. He could not see well enough to find the "On-Off" switch.
He hurried back down the ladder with the phone in his hand. There was a standard lamp by the bookshelf. He turned it on and held Sophie's phone under the light. He found the "Power" button and pressed it, but nothing happened. He could have cried with frustration13. "I can't get the bloody14 thing to come on!" he whispered.
She held out her hand, still sitting on the radiator4, and he gave her the phone. She pressed the same button, frowned, pressed it again, then jabbed at it repeatedly. At last she said, "The battery has run down."
"Shit! Where's the charger?"
"I don't know."
"In your suitcase?"
"I don't think so."
Craig became exasperated15. "How can you possibly not know where your phone charger is?"
Sophie's voice went small. "I think I left it at home."
"Jesus Christ!" Craig controlled his temper with an effort. He wanted to tell her she was a stupid fool, but that would not help. He was silent for a moment. The memory of kissing her came back to him, and he could not be angry. His rage evaporated, and he put his arms around her. "All right," he said. "Never mind."
She rested her head on his chest. "I'm sorry."
"Let's think of something else."
"There must be more phones, or a charger we can use."
He shook his head. "Caroline and I don't carry mobiles—my mother won't let us have them. She doesn't go to the toilet without hers, but she says we don't need them."
"Tom hasn't got one. Miranda thinks he's too young."
"Hell."
"Wait!" She pulled away from him. "Wasn't there one in your grandfather's car?"
Craig snapped his fingers. "The Ferrari—right! And I left the keys in. All we have to do is get to the garage, and we can phone the police."
"You mean we have to go outside again?"
"You can stay here."
"No. I want to come."
"You wouldn't be alone—Tom and Caroline are here."
"I want to be with you."
Craig tried not to show how pleased he was. "You'd better get your coat on again, then."
Sophie came off the radiator. Craig picked her coat up from the floor and helped her into it. She looked up at him, and he tried an encouraging smile. "Ready?"
A trace of her old spirit came back. "Yeah. Like, what can happen? We could be murdered, that's all. Let's go."
They went outside. It was still pitch-dark, and the snowfall was heavy, bursts of stinging pellets rather than clouds of butterflies. Once again, Craig looked nervously16 across the yard to the house, but he could see no more than before, which meant the strangers in the kitchen were unlikely to see him. He took Sophie's hand. Steering17 by the courtyard lights, he led her to the end of the barn, away from the house, then crossed the yard to the garage.
The side door was unlocked, as always. It was as cold inside as out. There were no windows, so Craig risked switching on the lights.
Grandpas Ferrari was where Craig had left it, parked close to the wall to hide the dent18. Like a flash, he remembered the shame and fear he had felt twelve hours ago, after he had crashed into the tree. It seemed strange now that he had been so anxious and afraid about something as trivial as a dent in a car. He recalled how eager he had been to impress Sophie and get her to like him. It was not long ago, but it seemed far in the past.
Also in the garage was Luke's Ford19 Mondeo. The Toyota Land Cruiser had gone: Luke must have borrowed it last night.
He went to the Ferrari and pulled the door handle. It would not open. He tried again, but the door was locked. "Fuck," he said feelingly.
"What's the matter?" Sophie said.
"The car's locked."
"Oh, no!"
He looked inside. "And the keys have gone."
"How did that happen?"
Craig banged his fist on the car roof in frustration. "Luke must have noticed that the car was unlocked last night, when he was leaving. He must have removed the keys from the ignition, locked the car, and taken the keys back to the house for Grandpa."
"What about the other car?"
Craig opened the door of the Ford and looked inside. "No phone."
"Can we get the Ferrari keys back?"
Craig made a face. "Maybe."
"Where are they kept?"
"In the key box, on the wall of the boot lobby."
"At the back of the kitchen?"
Craig nodded grimly. "Just about two yards from those people with guns."
收听单词发音 |
1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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2
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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3
radiators
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| n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器 | |
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radiator
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| n.暖气片，散热器 | |
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pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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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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7
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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8
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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9
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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10
rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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11
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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12
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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13
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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14
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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15
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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16
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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17
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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18
dent
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| n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展 | |
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19
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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