Chapter 76

I worked late that night in the FBI office. So what else was new?  Around nine I was feeling lonely and edgy¹, all messed up. I called home, but nobody was there. That worried me a little, until I remembered that it was my Aunt Tia’s birthday and Nana was throwing a party at Tia’s new house in Chapel² Gate, north of Baltimore.
I hadn’t bought Tia a present. Damn it. Damn me. Ever since I had come to Washington as a kid, Tia had never forgotten my birthday.  Not once. This year, she had given me the watch that I was wearing now. I called her house in Maryland, and I got to talk to most of my relatives. They teased that I was missing out on some great sock-it-to-me cake. They wanted to know where I was on Tia’s birthday, and when I was coming home.
I didn’t have a satisfactory answer to give them. ‘Soon as I can. I miss you all. You have no idea how much I miss being there.’ I decided³ I needed to stop in at the magicians’house before I went back to the Dauphine. Why did I need to do that? I wondered.  Because I was wired. Because I am obsessive⁴. A couple of New Orleans policemen were stationed out front. They looked bored and underutilized, and definitely not obsessive.
I showed them ID and they let me inside. No problem. Detective Cross.
I really wasn’t sure why but I had a vague feeling that we had missed something in the house. Forensics had spent hours going over the place. So had I. We hadn’t found anything concrete. Still, I didn’t like being in the house again. The domain⁵. Maybe I needed a gris-gris for protection.
I walked through the over-done, very ornate foyer and living room. My footsteps made the big house sound empty. I kept wondering, what were we missing? What was I missing?
The master bedroom was situated⁶ off the hall at the top of the stairs. Nothing had changed since the first time I was in there. Why in hell had I bothered to come back here? The large, open room was filled with dark, modern art, some of it hung, but several paintings were propped⁷ up against the walls. The magicians slept in a bed, not in the coffins⁸ we’d found below in the tunnels.  As I was searching through their clothes closet again, I came across something I hadn’t seen before. I was sure it hadn’t been there when I’d canvassed⁹ the bedroom the first time. Lying among the shoes were effigies¹⁰ of Daniel and Charles - miniature dolls of the magicians.
There were slash¹¹ marks across the throats, chests and faces. Just like the way they were murdered.
Where the hell had the gruesome effigies come from? What did they mean? What was going on down here in New Orleans? Who had gotten into this house after we sealed it? I was tempted¹² to call Kyle, but I held off. I wasn’t sure why.
I didn’t want to go back down into the tunnels alone, and at night, but I was here, and I figured I ought to take another quick look around. There were two cops posted just outside the door, right?  What were we missing? Unspeakably violent murders that went back at least eleven years.
Our two best suspects had been murdered.
Someone had put effigies in their bedroom.
I went down to the cellar, then into the tunnels that spidered out in several directions from the main area. New Orleans is about eight feet below sea level and the cellar and tunnels were probably always damp. The walls sweat.
I heard a scraping noise, and stopped. Someone or something was walking around. I reached into my shoulder holster, took out my Clock.
I listened closely. Nothing. Then more scraping.  Mice or rats, I thought to myself. Probably all it was. Probably. Almost definitely.
I had to go and look further, though. That was my problem, wasn’t it? I had to go look, had to investigate, couldn’t just walk away. What was I trying to prove to myself? That I had no fears? That I wasn’t like my father, who had quit on just about everything in life, including his kids and himself?
I inched forward slowly and quietly, listening to the house.
I could hear water dripping somewhere in the dank tunnels.  I used my old Zippo to light a few of the torches hung on the tunnel walls. There were really bad images in my head. The bite wounds on the bodies I’d seen. The way Daniel and Charles had been attacked. The poisonous bites I’d suffered in Charlotte. You’re one of us now.
The anger, the rage connected to the murders was present in so many cities.
What were the killers¹³ angry about?
Where were they right now?
I never heard them coming, never saw a movement.  I was hit, twice. The attackers had come swiftly out of the darkness. One went for my head and neck. The other hit around my knees. They were a team. Efficient.
I went down hard and it took the wind right out of me. But I fell on one of the attackers, who was still wrapped around my legs. I heard a loud crack, maybe a bone breaking. Then a scream. He let me go- I got up, but the second assailant was attached to my back. He bit me! Oh Jesus, no!
I cursed and slammed him into the wall. I did it again. Who the hell were these fantastic madmen? Who was the leech¹⁴ riding my back?
He finally let go, the sonofabitch! I spun¹⁵ around at him, clipping the side of his head with my gun. I hit him again with a solid left hook. He went down like a sack.
I was breathing hard, still full of fight, though. Neither of the assailants was moving much now. I kept the gun on them while I lit another candle on the wall. That was better; light always helps.  I saw a male and female, probably no more than sixteen or seventeen. Their eyes were like dark holes. The male must have been six foot six or more.
He had on a dingy¹⁶ white T-shirt with ‘Marlboro Racing¹⁷ First to Finish’, printed on it, and baggy¹⁸, scungy black jeans.  The girl was around five two with wide hips¹⁹, wide everything. Her black hair was stringy and greasy²⁰, with reddish highlights.  I touched my neck and was surprised that the skin wasn’t broken.
There was no blood on my hand.
‘You’re under arrest,’ I yelled at the two of them. ‘You goddamn bloodsuckers!’

1 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

2 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

5 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

6 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

7 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

8 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

9 canvassed   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的过去式和过去分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He canvassed the papers, hunting for notices of jobs. 他仔细查阅报纸，寻找招工广告。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The stirring event was well canvassed. 那桩惊人的事情已经是满城风雨。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

10 effigies   

n.（人的）雕像，模拟像，肖像( effigy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• stone effigies in the church 教堂里的石雕像
• On 5 November British children burn effigies of Guy Fawkes. 每逢11月5日英国儿童都焚烧盖伊．福克斯的模拟像。 来自辞典例句

11 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

12 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

13 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。

14 leech   

n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人

参考例句：

• A leech is a small blood-sucking worm and usually lives in water.水蛭是一种小型吸血虫，通常生活在水中。
• One-side love like a greedy leech absorbed my time and my mirth.单相思如同一只贪婪的水蛭，吸走了我的时间和欢笑。

15 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

16 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

17 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

18 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

19 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。