Chapter 61

Charles was wearing a skintight black bodysuit and thigh-high patent leather boots. He had a simple diamond earring¹ and a gold nose stud. He stared contemptuously at the audience. He did this for several uncomfortable moments, his eyes full of hatred² and disdain³ for every case he encountered.
At least twice, I thought that he looked directly at Jamilla and me.
So did she.
“Yeah, we’re watching you too, asshole,’ she said, raising her beer in mock salute⁴.’You think those two pitiful creeps know we’re here?’ ‘Who knows? They’re good at this. They haven’t been caught yet.’ ‘I hear you. Hopefully, they both have stomach cancer and will die slowly and painfully over the next few months. Cheers,’ she raised her bottle again.
Charles leaned down and spoke⁵ to a college-age couple at a table near the stage. He was miked.
‘What are you two airheads staring at? Watch out, or I’ll turn you into a couple of toads⁶. Upgrade you on the food chain.’ He laughed, and it was deep and throaty. To my ear, it was also unnecessarily unpleasant, way over the top. The kids in the audience laughed and cheered him on. Civility seems to be dead. Nasty is chic⁷; nasty is so cool and real.
I looked over at Jamilla.’He sees them as food. Interesting how his twisted mind works.’
The second magician sauntered onto the stage a couple of minutes
later. No magic gimmicks⁸ to announce the entrance, which surprised me. I had heard this was a real light-and-sound show, but not tonight. Why the style change? Was this for us? Did they know who we were?
Tor the uninitiated, I’m Daniel. Charles and I have been doing magic shows since we were twelve years old and living in San Diego, California. We’re very good at magic. We can do the “Vanishing Performer” - Houdini’s personal favorite; the “Sword Cabinet”; Carl Hertz’s “Merry Widow”; DeHolta’s “Cocoon”. I can catch a bullet fired from a Colt Magnum in my teeth. So can Charles. Aren’t we special? Don’t you wish you were us?’
The crowd howled and cheered. The rock music from the speakers had been lowered some. Only the beat droned on.  ‘The illusion you are about to witness is the same one “Harry” Robert Houdini used to close his show in Paris and New York. We’re using it to open our show. Need I say more?’
The lights suddenly flashed off. The stage was in total darkness. A few women in the audience screeched⁹ loudly. Mock fear. Mostly there was laughter, some of it nervous. What were these two up to?  Jamilla nudged me with an elbow.’Don’t be scared. I’m right here.
I’ll protect you.’
‘I’ll remember that.’
Tiny pinpricks of light appeared everywhere on the stage. The main spots came on again. Nothing happened for the next minute or so.
Then Daniel, riding a spirited, prancing¹⁰ white stallion, came out onto the stage. He was dressed in royal blue glitter from head to toe.  He wore a matching top hat, and he tipped it to the cheering audience.
‘I must admit this is pretty cool,’ Jamilla said. ‘Quite the stunt¹¹. So visual. Now what?’
Daniel was followed onstage by eight men and women in crisp, white palace uniforms. And - two white tigers. It was a pretty amazing spectacle. Two female performers in white held up a huge Oriental fan in front of Daniel and his high-stepping horse. My eyes were glued to the stage.
‘Jesus,’Jamilla muttered.’What the hell is this?’
The/re ripping off “Hairy” Robert Houdini, like the man said.
And the/re doing it well.’
When they slowly pulled the Oriental fan away, Daniel was gone.
Now Charles was seated on the white horse.
‘Once again - Jesus,’ said Jam. ‘How do they do that?’ Somehow, Charles had changed into black trash and glitter. The smirk¹² on his face was totally, incredibly arrogant¹³. It showed utter disdain for the audience, but they seemed to love it, to love him. A puff¹⁴ of smoke, and the audience gasped¹⁵ as one.  Daniel was back onstage, standing¹⁶ alongside Charles and the spirited horse. The illusion was masterful. Everyone in the audience jumped up and clapped wildly. The screams and piercing whistles hurt my eardrums.
‘And that,’Daniel announced,’is only the beginning! You ain’t seen nothing yet!’
Jamilla looked at me and her mouth sagged¹⁷. ‘Alex, these guys are very good, and I’ve seen Siegfried and Roy. Why are they playing at these little clubs? Why are they wasting their time here?’ ‘Because they want to,’I told her/This is where they look for prey¹⁸.’

1 earring   

n.耳环，耳饰

参考例句：

• How long have you worn that earring?你戴那个耳环多久了？
• I have an earring but can't find its companion.我现在只有一只耳环,找不到另一只了。

2 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

3 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

4 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

5 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。

6 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

7 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

8 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网

9 screeched   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫着不同意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The car screeched to a stop. 汽车嚓的一声停住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

11 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

12 smirk   

n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说

参考例句：

• He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
• She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。

13 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

14 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

15 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 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。

17 sagged   

下垂的

参考例句：

• The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
• He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。

18 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。