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52.

He was to be our new private secretary: Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton was his name. But I don’tremember Willy and me referring to him as anything other than JLP.

We should’ve just called him Marko II. Or maybe Marko 2.0. He was meant to be Marko’sreplacement, but also a more official, more detailed¹, more permanent version of our dear friend.

All the things Marko had been doing informally, the minding and guiding and advising, JLPwould now do formally, we were told. In fact it was Marko who’d found JLP, and recommendedhim to Pa, and then trained him. So we already trusted the man, right from the start. He came withthat all-important seal of approval. Marko said he was a good man.

Deeply calm, slightly stiff, JLP wore shiny gold cufflinks and a gold signet ring, symbols of hisprobity, constancy, and stalwart belief in a certain kind of steadfast² style. You always got thesense that, even on the morning of Armageddon, JLP would button in these amulets³ before leavingthe house.

Despite his spit and polish, however, his enameled⁴ exterior⁵, JLP was a force, the product ofBritain’s finest military training, which meant, among other things, that he didn’t deal in bullshit.

He didn’t give it, didn’t take it, and everyone, far and wide, seemed to know. When Britishofficials decided⁶ to launch a massive offensive against a Colombian drug cartel, they chose JLP tolead it. When the actor Ewan McGregor decided to take a three-month motorbike trip throughMongolia and Siberia and Ukraine, for which he’d require survival training, he turned to JLP.

To me, JLP’s finest trait was his reverence⁷ for truth, his expertise⁸ in truth. He was the oppositeof so many people in government and working in the Palace. So, not long after he started workingfor Willy and me, I asked him to get me some truth—in the form of the secret police files onMummy’s crash.

He looked down, looked away. Yes, he worked for Willy and me, but he cared about us too,and he cared about tradition, chain of command. My request seemed to jeopardize⁹ all three. Hegrimaced and furrowed¹⁰ his brow, an amorphous¹¹ area, since JLP didn’t have a lot of hair. Finally,he smoothed back the charcoal¹² bristles¹³ remaining on each side and said that, were he to procuresaid files, it would be very upsetting for me. Very upsetting indeed, Harry¹⁴.

Yes. I know. Sort of the point.

He nodded. Ah. Hmm. I see.

A few days later he brought me into a tiny office up a back staircase in St. James’s Palace andhanded me a brown Do Not Bend envelope. He said he’d decided against showing me all thepolice files. He’d gone through and removed the more…“challenging” ones. For your sake.

I was frustrated¹⁵. But I didn’t argue. If JLP didn’t think I could handle them, then I probablycouldn’t.

I thanked him for protecting me.

He said he’d leave me to it, then walked out.

I took several breaths, opened the file.

Exterior photos. Outside the tunnel in which the crash occurred. Looking into the mouth of thetunnel.

Interior photos. A few feet inside the tunnel.

Deep interior photos. Well inside the tunnel. Looking down the tunnel, and out the other end.

Finally… close- ups of the smashed Mercedes, which was said to have entered the tunnelaround midnight and never emerged in one piece.

All seemed to be police photos. But then I realized that many, if not most, were from paps andother photographers at the scene. The Paris police had seized their cameras. Some photos weretaken moments after the crash, some much later. Some showed police officers walking about,others showed onlookers¹⁶ milling and gawping. All gave a sense of chaos¹⁷, a disgraceful carnivalatmosphere.

Now came more detailed photos, clearer, closer, inside the Mercedes. There was the lifelessbody of Mummy’s friend, whom I now knew to be her boyfriend. There was her bodyguard,who’d survived the crash, though it left him with gruesome injuries. And there was the driver,slumped¹⁸ over the wheel. He was blamed by many for the crash, because there was allegedlyalcohol in his blood, and because he was dead and couldn’t answer.

At last I came to the photos of Mummy. There were lights around her, auras, almost halos.

How strange. The color of the lights was the same color as her hair—golden. I didn’t know whatthe lights were, I couldn’t imagine, though I came up with all sorts of supernatural explanations.

As I realized their true origin, my stomach clenched¹⁹.

Flashes. They were flashes. And within some of the flashes were ghostly visages, and halfvisages, paps and reflected paps and refracted paps on all the smooth metal surfaces and glasswindscreens. Those men who’d chased her…they’d never stopped shooting her while she laybetween the seats, unconscious, or semiconscious, and in their frenzy²⁰ they’d sometimesaccidentally photographed each other. Not one of them was checking on her, offering her help, noteven comforting her. They were just shooting, shooting, shooting.

I hadn’t known. I hadn’t dreamed. I’d been told that paps chased Mummy, that they’d huntedher like a pack of wild dogs, but I’d never dared to imagine that, like wild dogs, they’d alsofeasted on her defenseless body. I hadn’t been aware, before this moment, that the last thingMummy saw on this earth was a flashbulb.

Unless…Now I looked much closer at Mummy: no visible injuries. She was slumped, out of it,but generally…fine. Better than fine. Her dark blazer, her glowing hair, her radiant skin—doctorsat the hospital where she was taken couldn’t stop remarking how beautiful she was. I stared, tryingto make myself cry, but I couldn’t, because she was so lovely, and so alive.

Maybe the photos JLP held back were more definitive²¹. Maybe they showed death in plainerterms. But I didn’t consider that possibility too closely. I slammed the folder²² shut and said: She’shiding.

I’d requested this file because I sought proof, and the file proved nothing, except that Mummywas in a car crash, after which she looked generally unharmed, while those who chased hercontinued to harass²³ her. That was all. Rather than proof, I’d discovered more reasons for rage. Inthat little office, seated before that wretched Do Not Bend envelope, the red mist came down, andit wasn’t a mist, it was a torrent²⁴.

 

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

3 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

4 enameled   

涂瓷釉于，给…上瓷漆，给…上彩饰( enamel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The grey walls were divided into artificial paneling by strips of white-enameled pine. 灰色的墙壁用漆白的松木条隔成镶板的模样。
• I want a pair of enameled leather shoes in size 38. 我要一双38号的亮漆皮鞋。

5 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

8 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

9 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

10 furrowed   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
• The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠，在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句

11 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

12 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

13 bristles   

短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the bristles on his chin 他下巴上的胡楂子
• This job bristles with difficulties. 这项工作困难重重。

14 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

15 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

17 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

18 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

19 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

21 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

22 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

23 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

24 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。