THE BLACK PORSCHE Carrera rolled to a stop under a shade tree on Dumbarton Street. Clay got out and for a few seconds was able to ignore his newest toy, but after a quick glance in all directions he turned and admired it once again. His for three days now, and he still couldn't believe he owned it. Get used to it, he kept telling himself, and he could manage to act as though it were just another car, nothing special, but the sight of it after even a brief absence still made his pulse quicken. "I'm driving a Porsche," he would say to himself, out loud, as he buzzed through traffic like a Formula One driver.
He was eight blocks from the main campus of Georgetown University, the place he'd spent four years as a student before moving on to its law school near Capitol Hill. The town houses were historic and picturesque2; the small lawns manicured; the streets covered by ancient oaks and maples3. The busy shops and bars and restaurants on M Street were just two blocks to the south, easy walking distance. He had jogged these streets for four years, and he'd spent many long nights with his pals4 prowling the hangouts and pubs along Wisconsin Avenue and M Street.
Now he was about to live here.
The town house that held his attention was on the market for $1.3 million. He'd found it cruising through Georgetown two days earlier. There was another on N Street and another on Volta, all within a stone's throw of each other. He was determined5 to buy one before the end of the week.
The one on Dumbarton, his first choice, had been built in the 1850s and carefully preserved ever since. Its brick facade6 had been painted many times and was now a faded bluish color. Four levels, including a basement. The real estate agent said it had been immaculately maintained by a retired7 couple who had once entertained the Kennedys and the Kissingers and just fill in the blanks with all the other names one might want. Washington Realtors could drop names faster than those in Beverly Hills, especially when peddling8 property in Georgetown.
Clay was fifteen minutes early. The house was empty; its owners were now doing time in assisted living, according to the agent. He walked through a gate beside the house and admired the small garden in the back. There was no pool and no room for one; real estate was precious in Georgetown. There was a patio9 with wrought-iron furniture and weeds creeping in from the flower beds. Clay would have a few hours to spare for the gardening, but not much.
Perhaps he would just hire a lawn maintenance company.
He loved the house and the ones next to it. He loved the street, the coziness of the neighborhood, everybody living near each other but respecting each other's privacy. Sitting on the front steps, he decided10 he would offer one million even, then negotiate hard, bluff11 and walk away, and in general have a great time watching the Realtor run back and forth12, but in the end he would be perfectly13 willing to pay the asking price.
Staring at the Porsche, he drifted away again to his fantasy world where money was growing on trees and he could buy anything he wanted. Italian suits, German sports cars, Georgetown real estate, downtown office space, and what was next? He'd been thinking about a boat for his father, a larger one of course, to generate more revenue. He could incorporate a small charter business in the Bahamas, depreciate14 the boat, write off most of its costs, thus allowing his father to make a decent living. Jarrett was dying down there, drinking too much, sleeping with anything he could find, living on a borrowed boat, scrambling15 for tips. Clay was determined to make his life easier.
A door slammed and interrupted his spending, if only for a moment. The Realtor had arrived.
PACE'S LIST OF VICTIMS stopped at seven. Seven that he knew of. Seven that he and his operatives had been able to monitor. Tarvan had now been pulled for eighteen days, and from the company's experience they knew that whatever the drug did to make people start killing16 usually stopped working after ten days. His list was chronological17, with Ramon Pumphrey being number six.
Number one had been a college kid, a student at George Washington who had walked out of a Starbucks coffee shop on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda just in time to be spotted18 by a man with a gun. The student was from Bluefield, West Virginia. Clay made the five-hour drive there in record time, not hurried at all but rather as a race car driver speeding through the Shenandoah Valley. Following Pace's precise instructions, he found the home of the parents, a rather sad-looking little bungalow19 near downtown. He sat in the driveway and actually said out loud, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
Two things motivated him to get out of the car. First, he had no choice. Second, the prospect20 of the entire $15 million, not just one third or two thirds. All of it.
He was dressed casually21 and he left his briefcase22 in the car. The mother was home but the father was still at work. She reluctantly let him in, but then offered some tea and cookies. Clay waited on a sofa in the den1, pictures of the dead son everywhere. The curtains were drawn23. The house was a mess.
What am I doing here?
She talked about her son for a long time, and Clay hung on every word.
The father sold insurance a few blocks away, and he was home before the ice melted in the tea glass. Clay presented his case to them, as much of it as possible. At first there were some tentative questions— How many others died because of this? Why can't we go to the authorities? Shouldn't this be exposed? Clay fielded them like a veteran. Pace had prepped him well.
Like all victims, they had a choice. They could get angry, ask questions, make demands, want justice, or they could quietly take the money. The sum of $5 million didn't register at first, or if it did they did a wonderful job of deflecting24 it. They wanted to be angry and uninterested in money, at least initially25. But as the afternoon dragged by they began to see the light.
"If you can't tell me the real name of the company, then I won't accept the money," the father said at one point.
"I don't know the real name," Clay said.
There were tears and threats, love and hatred26, forgiveness and retribution, almost every emotion came and went during the afternoon and into the evening. They'd just buried their youngest son and the pain was numbing27 and immeasurable. They disliked Clay for being there, but they thanked him profusely28 for his concern. They distrusted him as a big-city lawyer who was obviously lying about such an outrageous29 settlement, but they asked him to stay for dinner, whatever dinner might be.
It arrived promptly30 at six. Four ladies from their church hauled in enough food for a week. Clay was introduced as a friend from Washington, and was immediately subjected to an all-out cross-examination by the four. A hard-nosed trial lawyer couldn't have been more curious.
The ladies finally left. After dinner, as the night wore on, Clay began to press them. He was offering the only deal they would get. Shortly after 10 P.M., they began signing the paperwork.
NUMBER THREE WAS CLEARLY the most difficult. She was a seventeen-year-old prostitute who'd worked the streets most of her life. The police thought she and her killer31 had once had a business relationship, but there was no clue as to why he would shoot her. He did so outside a lounge, in front of three witnesses.
She went by the name of Bandy, without the need of a last name. Pace's research had revealed no husband, mother, father, siblings32, children, home address, schools, churches, or, most amazing, police record. There had been no funeral. Like two dozen others each year in D.C., Bandy had received a pauper's burial. When one of Pace's agents had inquired at the city coroner's office, he had been told, "She's buried in the tomb of the unknown prostitute."
Her killer had provided the only clue. He had told the police that Bandy had an aunt who lived in Little Beirut, the most dangerous housing ghetto33 in South East D.C. But after two weeks of relentless34 digging, the aunt had not been found.
With no known heirs, a settlement would be impossible.
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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pals
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| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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facade
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| n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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peddling
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| 忙于琐事的，无关紧要的 | |
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patio
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| n.庭院，平台 | |
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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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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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depreciate
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| v.降价，贬值，折旧 | |
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scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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chronological
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| adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的 | |
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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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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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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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deflecting
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| （使）偏斜， （使）偏离， （使）转向( deflect的现在分词 ) | |
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initially
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| adv.最初，开始 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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numbing
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| adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 ) | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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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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siblings
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| n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 ) | |
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ghetto
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| n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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