Chapter 112

Maybe I was just going crazy. I drove for nearly six hours on 195 headed to Nags¹ Head, North Carolina. I kept changing radio stations to keep myself alert. I was thinking to myself that Kyle didn’t want this to end - he was having too much fun; he was in his glory.  I had been in this part of North Carolina before, with Kate McTiernan. So had Kyle. We were trying to stop the sadistic² killer³ named Casanova. He had kept as many as eight women captive in the woods near Chapel⁴ Hill, North Carolina. Kyle had been on our team, or so I had believed. But Kyle had also been Casanova’s partner in murder.
I made it to Nags Head just before nightfall. As I drove toward the ocean, I remembered odd things: the sticky buns from the Nags Head Market; my long walks with Kate McTiernan along Coquina Beach; the lovely, almost supematurally picturesque⁵ beaches in Jockey’s Ridge⁶ State Park. I remembered how much I admired Kate.  We were still good friends, talked at least twice a month. She sent my kids imaginative presents on their birthdays and at Christmas. She was working at the Regional Medical Center in Kitty Hawk⁷ and living with a local bookseller whom she was going to marry. Their home was in Nags Head, only a couple of miles away.  Kyle had a deep, obvious crush on Kate McTiernan. He’d hinted at it: T could love that girl, if I didn’t have Louise and the kids. Maybe I should dump them for Kate. She could make me a happy man. Kate could save me.’
He had come to visit Kate in Nags Head. I think he’d come to watch her. It bothered him that he couldn’t have her, that he had been denied Kate McTiernan. He also knew how much Kate meant to me.
Kyle was here, wasn’t he? Or he was coming.
I had warned Kate, but on the drive down I called again and explicitly⁸ told her to get the hell out of Nags Head. I didn’t care how much karate⁹ she knew, or how many black belts she had accumulated.  I was going to stay at her place. I thought that Kyle might be coming, too. I didn’t think he wanted to watch anymore. If he was coming here, he wanted to kill Kate.
I took a deep breath as I finally drove into town. It all looked so familiar, serene¹⁰ and beautiful, like nothing bad should ever happen here.
The worst is yet to come, I kept thinking. That’s why he killed Zach and Liz Taylor first. He set up his pattern with them. The Taylors were just the beginning. A warning of things to come.
I drove down a narrow, paved road that weaved its way alongside wind-blown sand dunes¹¹. I was looking for any sign of Kyle. Number 1021 was a two-story clapboard beach house directly across from the ocean. Very quaint¹² and stylish¹³, very Kate McTiernan. If Kyle got to her, I would never forgive myself.
A Scottish flag was flying above the rooftop, and that was pure McTiernan, too. As I had asked, her six-year-old Volvo was still parked in the driveway; the houselights were on, shining like beacons¹⁴ to guide me - and maybe Kyle as well.
It made it look like somebody was home, and now somebody was.  Everything felt surreal to me. My nervous system was spiking¹⁵. My hairs were standing¹⁶ on end. I had a sixth sense that Kyle was nearby.  I just knew it, felt it in every inch of my body. Was he, though? Or was I just crazy? I wasn’t sure which outcome would be worse.  I drove my car inside the garage and pulled down the heavy wooden door. There was a cold spot at the center of my chest. I was having difficulty catching¹⁷ a breath. Or thinking in a straight line.  Then I went inside Kate McTieman’s house. My sense of balance was off. I was listing to the right.
The telephone started to ring.
I pulled out my Glock and looked around the kitchen for Kyle. I didn’t see anything. Not yet.
Where was he?
The worst is yet to come.
Was I ready for it this time?

1 nags   

n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The trouble nags at her. 那件麻烦事使她苦恼不已。 来自辞典例句
• She nags at her husBand aBout their lack of money. 她抱怨丈夫没钱。 来自互联网

2 sadistic   

adj.虐待狂的

参考例句：

• There was a sadistic streak in him.他有虐待狂的倾向。
• The prisoners rioted against mistreatment by sadistic guards.囚犯因不堪忍受狱警施虐而发动了暴乱。

3 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。

4 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。

5 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

6 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

7 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

8 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

10 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

11 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

12 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

13 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

14 beacons   

灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台

参考例句：

• A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。
• Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

15 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。