Chapter 99

t’VT’ou know, I never liked him, Alex/Jamilla said as we waited in I the semidarkness of her apartment/He seemed so cold, almost mechanical to me. And I’m telling you, he doesn’t like women. I felt it instantly.’
‘Well, unfortunately, I did like Kyle. He’s clever as hell. He even rigged calls from the Mastermind when he and I were together. Now I need to figure out who he really is. There’s no psychosis involved, at least I don’t think so. He’s organized. He can obviously work out elaborate plans. For once, I wish he would call.’ ‘Be careful what you wish for,’Jamilla said.
She and I were sitting beside a shelving unit on the hardwood floor in her living room. There was also a workout bench; nothing too fancy, an older model. Five- and ten-pound free weights were scattered¹ on the floor. So were magazines and sections of the Chronicle.
I hoped that Kyle couldn’t see into the apartment, that he didn’t have binoculars². Or possibly a nightscope attached to a rifle. I knew he could shoot from the way he’d taken down Michael Alexander. He was good at a lot of things.
Just in case, Jamilla and I tried to keep away from the windows.  ‘It makes me dizzy to think about what he’s done so far. I wonder if we’ll ever know the extent of it?’ she asked.  ‘If we catch him, he’ll want to talk. Kyle will want to show off what he’s done. If he comes after us tonight, maybe we’ll find everything out.’
‘You think he knows you’re here?’
I sighed, shrugged³. ‘Probably. Maybe tonight is his coming out party. I know one thing, he won’t do what we expect. The Mastermind never does. That’s the only real pattern he has.’ We talked about calling in reinforcements, but Jamilla thought it would probably scare Kyle off. He wanted the two of us, right? That’s what he would get. Do you want to taunt⁴ me any more, you bastard⁵? Go for it. Bring it on, Kyle.
So the two of us sat there in the dark, and it was almost cozy⁶.  Jamilla finally reached out and touched my hand. Then we moved together, leaned against one another. We waited.  ‘At least it’s comfortable,’Jamilla whispered. As stakeouts go.’
‘No place like home, right?’
It was a little before four when we heard noises above us. Jamilla turned and looked at me. We raised our guns.
For the first time, I confronted the idea of shooting Kyle, a man I had thought was my friend. I didn’t like the feeling. I wasn’t sure how I would react, and that scared me too.
There were soft footsteps outside on the terrace. In a way, I was relieved. This was the showdown Kyle wanted. He was coming. I figured that the story he’d been telling for so long, his fantasy life, had finally taken over. Maybe he was psychotic now. That would give us an advantage.
‘Real careful,’ I whispered, and touched the back of Jamilla’s hand.  ‘Try to look at it the way he does. Kyle thinks he has us where he wants us.’
He picked the lock quickly and expertly. A minimum of effort. I realized that he had been watching her place. He knew enough to come up the back stairs, and then he’d climbed a metal ladder onto the terrace.
The lock made a soft click. Then nothing happened.  ‘We’re good, everything’s cool,’ Jamilla whispered. ‘This time, we win.’
We waited in the dark near the door. It finally opened, oh-so-slowly. Kyle came inside. He moved toward us in a low crouch⁷.  Obviously, he couldn’t see where we were, but we could see him.
I hit Kyle with all my weight, full force, every ounce of strength that I had. I slammed him hard against the living-room wall. The whole apartment shook. Books and glasses fell to the floor from open shelves. I was surprised we didn’t go right through the wall.  I clipped his chin with an elbow as hard as I could. Felt good. Kyle was wiry and strong, but I was pumped to take him. I hit him with a hard, short right hand. It snapped into his jaw⁸. I hit him in the solar plexus. A real gut-wrencher.
I was going to hit him again. But then Jamilla flicked⁹ on the room lights. My brain caught fire. My body shuddered¹⁰. It wasn’t Kyle Craig.

1 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

2 binoculars   

n.双筒望远镜

参考例句：

• He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
• If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 taunt   

n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄

参考例句：

• He became a taunt to his neighbours.他成了邻居们嘲讽的对象。
• Why do the other children taunt him with having red hair?为什么别的小孩子讥笑他有红头发？

5 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

6 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

7 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

8 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

9 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

10 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》