LATER THAT AFTERNOON, my doctor came in and told me there was nothing wrong with my system that a good glass of wine or two wouldn't cure.

"There are even some people here who want to take you home," he said.

Outside my room, I saw Claire and Cindy peeking¹ in.

They took me home about long enough to shower, change, and give Martha a long-overdue hug. Then I had to go down to the Hall. Everyone seemed to want a piece of me. I made a date to see the girls later at Susie's. It was important that we get together now.

I did the news spots on the steps of the Hall. Tom Brokaw was patched through and interviewed me on a video link.

As I recounted the story of how we had found Danko and Hardaway, I felt a tremor² snaking through me, distancing me even as I spoke³. Jill was dead; Molinari was gone; I didn't feel much like a hero. The phone was going to ring, some other homicide called in, and life would slam back the way it always did. But this time I knew nothing was ever going to be the same.

It was about four-thirty when the girls came to get me. I was doing reports. Although Jacobi and Cappy were bragging⁴ they had the best LT on the force, I'd actually felt depressed⁵. Lonely and empty. Until the girls showed up, anyway.

"Hey," Cindy said, twirling a little Mexican cocktail⁶ flag in my face, "margaritas await."

They took me to Susie's, the last place we had been with Jill. Actually, two years before, it was where we had welcomed her into our budding group. We took our places in our cor-ner booth and ordered a round of margaritas. I ran them through the terrifying struggle at the Palace the night before, the president's call, then today, Brokaw and the evening news.

It was sad, though, just the three of us. The conspicuous⁷ empty space next to Claire.

Our drinks came. "On the house, of course," the waitress, Joanie, said.

We raised our glasses, each of us trying to smile, but fighting back tears. "Here's to our girl," Claire said. "Maybe now she can start to rest in peace."

点击收听单词发音  

1 peeking
v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出
参考例句：
I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。 They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句

2 tremor
n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震
参考例句：
There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。 A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

3 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。

4 bragging
v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话
参考例句：
He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句 Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

5 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

6 cocktail
n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物
参考例句：
We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。 At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

7 conspicuous
adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的
参考例句：
It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。 Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

8 winked
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮
参考例句：
He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。 He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 sleek
adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢
参考例句：
Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。 The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

10 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。

11 dabbed
（用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）…
参考例句：
She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛，擤了擤鼻涕。 He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。