Chapter 75

Late the following afternoon, Jamilla had to return to San Francisco. She pretty much admitted that she was bumt-out and baffled. I gave her a ride to the airport, and we continued to talk about the murder case all the way there. We realized we were both obsessing¹.
What had happened the night before changed everything. We had tracked down the supposed killers² - and they had been killed. This was a complex and thoroughly³ frustrating⁴ murder mess in which anything seemed possible. The killers weren’t necessarily clever, but they were full of surprises.
‘Where do you go from here, Alex?’ she asked as we turned into the airport.
I laughed. ‘Oh, now it’s where do I go?’
‘You know what I mean. C’mon.’
‘Kyle has asked me to stay down here for another day or two to help out. Everyone who was in the house is being held by the New Orleans police. That’s a lot of freaks to be interviewed. Somebody has to know something.’
‘If you can get anything out of them. You think the New Orleans cops are cooperating now? They sure weren’t before.’ I smiled.’You know how stubborn local cops can be. We’ll get what we need. It just might take a little longer. I’m sure that’s part of the reason Kyle wants me to stay on.’
She frowned at the mention of Kyle’s name. I knew she was
disappointed to be leaving though.’I have to get back home, but I’m not going to drop this one. My friend Tim at The Examiner is doing another big piece on the California murders. Maybe it all started out there. Think about it.’
‘Eleven years ago, maybe more,’ I said. ‘But who were the first killers? Daniel Erickson and Charles Defoe? Someone else in the cult⁵? Is there a cult?’
She threw her hands up in the air.’I have no idea at this point. I’m practically brain dead. I’m going to get on my plane and sleep all the way home.’
She lingered for a few more minutes. We talked some more about the case. Then I asked her about Tim at The Examiner. ‘Just a friend,’ she said.
Jamilla and I shook hands at the curbside luggage drop in front of the area marked for American Airlines. Then she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
I slid my hand behind her neck and held her for a few seconds. It was nice. The two of us had shared a lot of pain and misery⁶ in a short time. We had also been in a life-threatening situation.  ‘Alex, as always, an honor,’she said as she pulled away.’Thanks for the Krispy Cremes and everything else.’
‘Keep in touch,’ I said. ‘Will you, Jamilla?’
‘Absolutely. I plan to. You can count on it. I mean that, Alex.’ Then Inspector⁷ Jamilla Hughes turned away and walked inside the bustling⁸ terminal at New Orleans International. I was definitely going to miss her. I already thought of her as a friend.  I watched her go, then headed back to the FBI offices in New Orleans to bury my head in some work. I went over everything we had with Kyle. Then we went over everything again, just to be sure it was as fucked-up as we thought it was. The two of us agreed that there weren’t even any good theories about what had happened to Daniel and Charles. We just didn’t know. No one was talking so far or maybe no one had seen anything.
‘Whoever killed them wanted to show us that they were superior.  To them. To us. Physically⁹, mentally, in terms of their ruthlessness,’ I said. But I wasn’t really sure about that. I was just thinking out loud.
‘I don’t think it was an accident that the whole thing feels a little like a magic trick/ Kyle said. ‘Doesn’t that strike you, Alex? Some connection to magic?’
‘Yeah, but it wasn’t a magic trick. Daniel and Charles are dead, and so are a lot of other people. Going back a lot of years.’ ‘We’re nowhere. Is that what you’re saying?’
‘Yeah. And I don’t like it here,’ I said.

1 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

2 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

3 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

6 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。