Kyle and I got out of the sedan and hurried toward the Cathedral of St John the Baptist. A gold-and-white banner over the main door proclaimed, ‘One Faith, One Family.’
The twin spires1 of the church rose high over the city of Savannah. The style was French Gothic: grand arches and traceries, impressive stained-glass windows, an Italian marble altar. It occurred to me that the neo-vampire2 culture admired Gothic clothing, trappings, so why not architecture? I was taking everything in - everything. But nothing had clicked yet.
The murder had been discovered less than two hours ago. Kyle and I were in the air minutes after we heard the news from the Savannah police. The story was already all over the TV.
The sweet smell of incense3 was in my nose. I could see the victim
as soon as we entered the cathedral. I groaned4 and felt a little sick to my stomach. It was a twenty-one-year-old male, which I had known
from the early reports; an art history major at the University of Georgia named Stephen Fenton. The killers5 had left Fenton’s wallet and money. Nothing had been stolen - except his shirt. The cathedral was large and could probably hold as many as a thousand worshipers. A flow of light from stained-glass windows created a pattern of colored light and dark patches on the floor. Even from a distance, I could see that the victim’s neck had been torn open. The shirtless body was toned and sculpted6, just like the others. It lay at the foot of a Station of the Cross, the thirteenth. The floor was stained with blood, but not much liquid remained.
Did they drink the blood here in the cathedral? Was this about sacrilege? Religion? The Stations of the Cross? Kyle and I approached Stephen Fenton. A body bag was already laid out in the nave7. Technicians from the Savannah Police Department stood by. They were restless and angry, anxious to do their work and get out of there. We were holding them up. The local medical examiner was doing his examination of the body and told us he was certain two people had attacked Fenton - he had found two different sets of teeth marks.
Kyle and I knelt over the body together. I pulled on a pair of plastic gloves. Kyle almost never used them. He rarely seemed to touch evidence at a crime scene. I had always wondered why. His instincts were good, though.
But if we were both so good, why didn’t we have any clue as to where the killers had gone, or where they might strike next? That was the question that nagged8 me more and more at each murder site. What was this gruesome rampage about?
“The/re so goddamn impulsive,’ I muttered to Kyle. T suspect they’re both under thirty. Maybe early twenties, or even younger. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in their late teens.’ ‘Makes sense to me. They don’t seem to have any fear at all.’ Kyle spoke9 softly as he looked at the student’s wounds. ‘It’s as if a wild animal has been turned loose. Like the tiger. First in California. Now here on the East Coast. The problem is that we don’t really know how far back the killings11 go, or how many killers are involved, or even if they’re working out of this country.’
“That’s three problems. Three sub-sets that require answers we don’t have. Your agents still talking to people at the Goth and vampire clubs? The Internet? Somebody has to know something.’ ‘If anybody knows, they’re keeping it to themselves. I have over three hundred agents full time on this case, Alex. We can’t keep this heat up.’
I looked up at the wooden Station of the Cross. It depicted12 Jesus being taken down from the cross and laid in his mother’s arms.
Crown of Thorns. The crucifixion. Piercings. Blood. Was blood the connection here? Eternal life? I wondered. In Santa Barbara, Peter Westin had mentioned that some vampires13 were spiritual. Was this a ritual killing10 or a random14 one? Should I talk to Peter Westin again? He seemed to know more about vampires than anyone else I’d met. The victim was still wearing khaki trousers and new Reebok sneakers. I examined the wounds to his neck. There were also gouges15 on his left shoulder, and parts of the upper chest. One or more of the killers was very angry, close to a rage state. ‘Why take the shirt?’Kyle asked.’Same thing inVegas.’ ‘Maybe because it was blood-soaked,’I answered as I continued to look at the student’s wounds. ‘These are definitely human bites. But they’re attacking like animals. Perhaps the tiger that attacked the victims in Golden Gate Park is a model, a symbol, something important? What, though?’
Kyle’s cell phone sounded and he flipped16 it open. I couldn’t help thinking of the Mastermind - his constant calls to me. Kyle listened to whoever it was for about twenty seconds.
Then he turned to me.’We’re going to Charlotte right now. There’s been another murder, Alex. They struck again. They’re already in North Carolina.’
‘God damn them! What the hell are they doing?’ Kyle and I raced toward the doors of the cathedral. We ran as if we were being chased.
收听单词发音 |
1
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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vampire
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| n.吸血鬼 | |
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3
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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killers
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| 凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事 | |
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sculpted
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| adj.经雕塑的 | |
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nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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8
nagged
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| adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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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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10
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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11
killings
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| 谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发 | |
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depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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13
vampires
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| n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门 | |
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14
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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15
gouges
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| n.凿( gouge的名词复数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…v.凿( gouge的第三人称单数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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16
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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