Chapter 103

Christine, it’s Alex/I said. I had butterflies in my stomach/I hate V^to bother you like this. It’s important or I wouldn’t call.’That was sure the truth. God, I hadn’t wanted to make this call.  ‘Is little Alex okay?’she asked.’Is it Nana?’
‘No, no. Everybody’s fine.’I told a half-truth.  There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. Christine and I had been engaged¹ to be married. She was the one who had broken it off, because she couldn’t handle my life as a homicide detective. Too many bad scenes just like this one.
‘Alex, this isn’t good news, is it? Geoffrey Shafer? Is he back in the country?’ she asked. She sounded afraid and I felt for her. Geoffrey Shafer had kidnapped her.
‘No, this isn’t about Shafer.’
I told her about Kyle Craig. She knew him, liked Kyle, and I could tell she felt violated². She had been hurt badly by the monsters I had met in my work. She couldn’t completely³ forgive me for that, and I didn’t blame her much. I couldn’t forgive myself sometimes. Talking to Christine made me remember how much I’d loved her. Probably still did.
‘Is there somewhere safe you can stay for a while? It’s important that you go there,’ I finally said. ‘I hate to do this to you. Kyle is extremely⁴ dangerous, Christine.’
‘Oh, Alex. I came out here to be safe. I felt I was safe, but now you’re back in my life.’
She said she would stay with somebody she trusted, a friend. I asked Christine not to say who or where it was over the phone.  When she hung up, she was crying. I felt so bad for her; so terrible about what had happened. The call brought back everything that was wrong between us.
I kept calling people I cared about. I talked to everyone I could think of who had had some contact with Kyle.
I called Jamilla next. My excuse was that I wanted to remind her to be careful - even now. But I think I just wanted to talk to her. She’d been in on so much of this. Unfortunately, she was out when I called.  I left a message that I was worried about her, and to please be careful.
I warned⁵ a few detective friends - Rakeem Powell and Jerome Thurman - who were still on the DC force. I doubted Kyle would go
after them, but I didn’t know for sure.
I phoned my chief contact at the Washington⁶ Post, a .writer named Zachary Scott Taylor. Zach was also one of my best friends in Washington. He wanted to interview me, but I told him not to come.  Kyle was jealous⁷ of the stories Zach had written about me. He had told me as much. For whatever reason, he didn’t like Zach.  ‘This is serious,’ I told Zach. ‘Don’t under-estimate how crazy this man is. You’re on his shit list, and that’s a bad place to be.’ I spoke⁸ to FBI agents Scorse and Reilly who had worked with me on the kidnapping of Maggie Rose Dunne and Michael Goldberg.  They knew about the manhunt for Kyle, but hadn’t been concerned for their own safety. Now they were.
I called my niece, Naomi, who’d been kidnapped by Casanova.  Naomi was practicing law in Jacksonville, Florida. She was living with a good guy named Seth Samuel Taylor. They were planning to marry later this year.’He likes to ruin other people’s happiness,’! told Naomi.’Be careful. I know you will be.’
I called Kate McTieman in North Carolina. I remembered the meal she’d had with Kyle and me. Did it mean anything more than what it seemed on the surface? Who knew with Kyle. Kate promised to be extra careful, and reminded me she was a third-degree black belt now. Kyle had always liked Kate, and I reminded her of that. Actually, the more I talked to Kate, the more worried I was about her. ‘Don’t take any chances, Kate. Kyle is the craziest person I’ve ever met.’ I contacted Sandy Greenberg, a good friend at Interpol who had worked with Kyle several times. She was shocked to learn that Kyle was a murderer⁹. She promised to be extra careful until he was caught; she also offered to help in any way that she could.  Kyle Craig was a cold, heartless murderer.
My partner at times, my friend, or so I’d thought.  I still couldn’t believe it. Not completely. I tried to make up a possible hit list for Kyle.
1. Myself
2. Nana and the kids
3. Sampson
4. Jamilla
I realized I was making the list from my point of view, and although Kyle seemed focused¹⁰ on me, his obsessions¹¹ might extend¹² even farther¹³. I tried another list.
1. Kyle’s family - every member
2. Myself - and my family
3. Director¹⁴ Burns of the FBI
4. Jamilla
5. Kate McTiernan
I sat in my empty house on Fifth Street and wondered what the hell¹⁵ he would do next. It was driving me crazy; I felt like I was running in circles.
Kyle was capable¹⁶ of anything.

1 engaged   

a.having agree to get married

参考例句：

• They are engaged in talks with the Irish government. 他们正忙着与爱尔兰政府谈判。
• The old lady engaged herself in making clothes for her children. 这位老太太忙着为孩子们做衣服。

2 violated   

亵渎( violate的过去式和过去分词 )； 违反； 侵犯； 强奸

参考例句：

• Note that thick, strong angles of tibia are not violated. 注意肥厚、结实的胫骨成角部分未受损坏。
• The soldiers violated the church by using it as a stable. 士兵们把教堂当马厩，亵渎了教堂。

3 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

4 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

5 warned   

v.警告( warn的过去式和过去分词 )；提醒；告诫；预先通知

参考例句：

• Motorists have been warned to beware of icy roads. 已经提醒开车的人当心冰封的路面。
• I've warned her countless times. 我警告过她无数次了。

6 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

7 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

8 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。

9 murderer   

n.杀人犯，凶手

参考例句：

• How long should a murderer be kept in prison?犯了谋杀罪的人应在监狱关多少年？
• They discovered the murderer to have run away.他们发现凶手已逃之夭夭。

10 focused   

adj.聚焦的v.（使）集中， （使）聚集( focus的过去式和过去分词 )；调整（镜头，眼睛）焦点[焦距]以便看清；（光、声等的）焦点；集中（光束于）

参考例句：

• Research has focused on improving the car's aerodynamics. 研究的重点是改善轿车的流线型。
• The discussion focused on three main problems. 讨论集中在三个主要问题上。

11 obsessions   

n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰

参考例句：

• 95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational. 95％的病人都知道他们的痴迷是不理智的。 来自辞典例句
• Too often you get caught in your own obsessions. 所以你时常会沉迷在某个电影里。 来自互联网

12 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

13 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

14 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。

15 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

16 capable   

adj.有能力的，有才能的

参考例句：

• The new woman secretary was extremely clever and capable.这位新来的女秘书很是精明强干。
• Jim is capable at sports.吉姆擅长运动。