THE SUN WENT DOWN and someone in the night crew snapped on the bright overhead lights. Rich and I were still wandering around in the dark. Somewhere, a very smug killer¹ was having his dinner, toasting himself on his success, maybe planning another fire - and we didn’t know who he was or when he would strike again.

  While Chi and McNeil reinterviewed the Malones’ and the Meachams’ friends and neighbors, Conklin and I sat at our desks, going over the murder book together. We reviewed Claire’s findings, the photos of rubberneckers at the fire scenes, the handwriting expert’s comparison of the inscriptions³ in each of the books left at the fire scenes, and the expert’s opinion: “I can’t say one hundred percent because it’s block lettering, but looks like all the samples were written by the same hand.”

  We reviewed our own eyeball tours of the crime scenes, trying to reduce all of it to a few illuminating⁴ truths, speaking in the kind of shorthand that you use with a partner. And I felt that other connection, too, the one I wouldn’t let Rich mention but sometimes just arced across our desks. Like it was doing now.

  I got up, went to the bathroom, washed my face, got a cup of coffee for me and one for Conklin, black, no sugar. Sat back down, said, “Now, where were we?”

  As the night tour walked and talked around us, Rich ticked off on his fingers what we had: “The couples were all in their forties and well-to-do. The doors to all the houses were unlocked, and the alarms weren’t set. No sign of gunfire. The couples all had a child of college age. They were all robbed, but the killer took only jewelry⁵ and cash.”

  “Okay, and here are a few suppositions,” I said. “The killer is smart enough and unthreatening enough to talk his way into the houses. And I’m going to also say that it seems probable that there were two assailants; one to tie up the victims, one to hold a gun.”

  Rich nodded, said, “He or they used fishing line as ligatures because they’d burn off quickly in the fire. And they used an untraceable accelerant. That’s careful. They don’t leave evidence, and that’s smart.

  “But I don’t think Molly Chu was in the plan,” Rich added. “This is the first time another person was in the house with the victims. I’m thinking Molly had already passed out from smoke inhalation when her ‘angel’ found her and subsequently carried her out. Kind of heroic, wouldn’t you say?”

点击收听单词发音  

1 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。

2 con
n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的
参考例句：
We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。 The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

3 inscriptions
（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记
参考例句：
Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。 The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

4 illuminating
a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的
参考例句：
We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。 I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

5 jewelry
n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝
参考例句：
The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。 Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 killers
凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事
参考例句：
He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。 They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 brink
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿
参考例句：
The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。 The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 arson
n.纵火，放火
参考例句：
He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。 He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

9 providence
n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝
参考例句：
It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。 To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

10 Fahrenheit
n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)
参考例句：
He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。 The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。