Chapter 93

I was feeling partially¹ relieved, better anyway. The murder case seemed to be solved at least. Peter Westin was in jail. We’d done everything we could about his cult². The pressure had been eliminated.  We’d stopped the bleeding.
Jamilla had left the previous night; we promised to keep in touch and I knew we would. I was headed out to the airport that morning to catch a flight to San Francisco, and then another to DC. I was going home and that felt good.
The details were still coming in, but I feared we would never know everything about the strange, murderous cult that had sprung up in California. It was usually that way in Homicide. You never knew as much as you wanted to. That’s the basic truth about being a detective, and you never see it on TV or in the movies. I guess the endings wouldn’t be as satisfying if they were closer to reality.  Peter Westin had met Daniel and Charles when they had played in Los Angeles. Westin already had his own followers³ in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, but he feigned⁴ allegiance until he felt he was strong enough to be the Sire. Then he dispatched William and Michael Alexander to do his dirty work. Supposedly there were followers in nearly a hundred cities, especially now that the Internet had brought us all so close together.
Something was still bothering me. I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, but it troubled me all the way to San Francisco. It was eating me from the inside out. Fear and dread⁵. But about what?
There was a forty-five-minute layover, and I got off the plane. A jumble⁶ of bad thoughts played through my brain. I felt wired, itchy.
The original San Francisco vampire⁷ murders were still on my mind.
And the fucking Mastermind.
Jamilla was here in San Francisco. But that was a whole other subject.
What was bothering me?
Then I thought I knew what it was. Maybe I’d known all along. I called Jam at her office in the Hall of Justice. I was informed that she had the day off.
I called her apartment, but there was no answer. Maybe she was out on one of the five-mile runs she bragged⁸ about. Or maybe she had a date with Tim Bradley from The Examiner, as if that was any of my business.
But maybe not.
Where was she?
Had something happened to her, or was I just being paranoid beyond belief? I was definitely working too hard. I didn’t need this. I really didn’t need this.
I couldn’t take the chance. I hurried to the American Airlines counter and canceled my flight out of San Francisco. I called Nana and told her I had to stay in California for a few hours. I would be in later tonight.
‘Someone out here might be in trouble,’ I said.  ‘Yes, and that someone is you,’ Nana said. ‘Goodbye, Alex.’ She hung up on me again. She was right to want me home; but I was right in not wanting anybody else to be hurt.
I rented a car from Budget, and I was beginning to feel that I was completely losing it. Charles Manson’s words came to mind: Total paranoia⁹ is just total awareness¹⁰. I had always thought that Manson was wrong about everything, but maybe he wasn’t; maybe he was dead-on right about paranoia.
I had a powerful gut¹¹ feeling that Jamilla Hughes was in danger right now. I couldn’t shake it off. Couldn’t ignore it, even if I wanted to. The vibrations¹² in my head were too strong, overwhelming. It was one of my famous feelings, and I had to go with it.  I thought about my former partner. Patsy Hampton - and her murder.
I remembered Betsey Cavalierre - and her murder.
And Detective Maureen Cooke in New Orleans.
A long time ago as a homicide detective, I had just about stopped believing in coincidences. Still, I had no logical reason to believe that a psychopathic killer¹³ could be out here in California, possibly stalking Inspector¹⁴ Jamilla Hughes.
I just felt it.
Total awareness.
The Mastermind was out here. It was the sense I had. I waited for his call. I was ready to nail him once and for all. I was so ready.

1 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

2 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。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 feigned   

a.假装的，不真诚的

参考例句：

• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
• He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。

5 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

6 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

7 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

8 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

11 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

12 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

14 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。