Chapter 111

Who would Kyle go after next? It was the question that obsessed¹ me. I couldn’t let it go. When I got home that night, I began to think about going out to Seattle. I had a bad feeling. Lots of them, actually. Would Kyle go after Christine Johnson next? He knew how to strike to cause the most hurt. Kyle knew me so well - but apparently², I didn’t know Kyle at all.
Would he go after Christine? Or maybe Jamilla? Was I thinking the way Kyle would?
One step ahead.
God damn him to hell.
Maybe he would just come after me; maybe all I had to do was stay in the house on Fifth Street and wait for him to show up.  The question was burning inside my head. What was everybody missing? What did Kyle want - more than anything else? What motivated him? Who was on Kyle’s vicious hit list - besides me?  Kyle wanted to exert his will, but he also craved³ the most exquisite⁴ and forbidden pleasures. What had moved him in the past was sex, rape⁵, money - millions of dollars - revenge against those he hated.  I finally went to bed at one-thirty, but surprise, surprise, I couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing Kyle’s face every time I shut my eyes. His look was smug and confident. He was the most arrogant⁶ human being I had ever met. Possibly the most evil. I thought back about all our times together, all our long, philosophical⁷ talks, anything I could remember. I turned on the bed table light and scribbled⁸ more notes.
Kyle was methodical and logical, but then he could surprise me with a tactic⁹ or strategy completely off the charts. I thought about the raid in Santa Cruz. The vampire¹⁰ murders seemed far away already. He had wanted me there so that I could see him be the hero. That was the whole point, wasn’t it? He needed me to see how good he was.  He wanted to take down Peter Westin by himself.
Suddenly, a question popped into my head. A really good one.
Where had he been unable to exert his will?
What were Kyle’s darkest fantasies? What were his daydreams¹¹?
His secret desires? Where had he been thwarted¹² in the past?  The worst is yet to come. He was only starting with Zach and Liz Taylor. Was he about to go on a bloody¹³ rampage?  And then I recalled a particular fantasy that Kyle had shared with me one night after we had finished one of our worst cases. I remembered something he’d said, and couldn’t get it out of my head.  I snatched up the phone and began to dial long distance. I hoped that I wasn’t too late. I thought I knew who he was going to kill next.  Oh no, Kyle. Oh God, no!

1 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

4 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

7 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

8 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

9 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

10 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。

11 daydreams   

n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Often they gave themselves up to daydreams of escape. 他们常沉溺进这种逃避现实的白日梦。 来自英汉文学
• I would become disgusted with my futile daydreams. 我就讨厌自己那种虚无的梦想。 来自辞典例句

12 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。