谎言书：08

13

Timothy rides the brakes, keeping his distance. “Cal, maybe we should wait

back and—”

“That’s my — Someone stole my van from the parking lot. Get us up there!”

We’re barely a few hundred feet away as a uniformed cop approaches the

driver’s-side door of my father’s truck. My dad rolls down his window . . . a

few words go back and forth¹ . . .

“Looks like he’s giving him a ticket,” Timothy says as we slow down and veer²

toward the shoulder of the road. The cop looks our way, shielding his eyes as

we flick³ on our headlights. I’m too busy rechecking the license⁴ plate: M34

DZP. That’s ours.

“How’d he even get it?” Timothy asks.

Thankful that Roosevelt’s safe at home, I open Timothy’s glove box. “You still

have your—? Ah.” Toward the back of the glove box, his metal telescoping

baton⁵ sits among the mess of maps and fast-food napkins.

“What’re you doing?” Timothy asks as I pull it out and slide it up my sleeve.

“Being smart for once,” I say, kicking open the car door even though we’re

still moving.

“Cal . . . don’t—!”

It’s not until my door smashes into a concrete barrier that I realize what he’s

warning me about. The car jerks to the left and rumbles⁶ over what feels like a

speed bump. I was so busy looking at the van, I didn’t even see that we were

passing over a small canal, one of the hundreds that run underneath⁷ Alligator⁸

Alley⁹.

Just beyond the short overpass¹⁰, Timothy pulls back onto the shoulder of the

road, flicks¹¹ on his own blue lights, and stops nearly fifty feet behind the van.

He knows what happens when you surprise a cop.

“Hands!” the cop yells, pulling his gun as we both get out of the car.

“Federal agent! ICE!” Timothy shouts, flashing his credentials¹² and sounding

plenty annoyed.

He’s not the only one. “What the hell’re you doing with my van!?” I shout,

racing¹³ forward without even thinking.

“W-Was I speeding?” my dad asks, panicking through his open window and

not seeing us yet.

The cop smiles to himself and raises his gun toward my father. “Please step

out of the truck, Mr. Harper.”

“I — I don’t—”

“I’m not counting to three,” the cop warns as the hammer cocks on his gun.

My father opens his door and climbs down from the cab, his face lit by the

pulsing blue lights. “Cal? What’re you doing here?” he stutters.

Behind me, Timothy freezes.

On my right, just as I pass the open door of my van, there’s a low roar that

rumbles like thunder. I turn just in time to see a snarling¹⁴ brown dog with

pointy black ears and pale yellow teeth.

“Stay, Benoni,” the cop warns, never lowering his gun. With his free hand, he

shoves my dad toward me. The movement’s too much for my father, who

bends forward, holding his side.

As the cop finally turns and points his gun at all of us, we get our first good

look at him. The headlights of the van ricochet off his grown-out copper¹⁵ red

hair and thick eyebrows¹⁷. But what lights up most is the prominent tattoo¹⁸

between his thumb and pointer finger. “Nice to finally meet you, Cal. You

should call me Ellis.”

14

“Wait — Okay, wait — Why would—?” I look around at my dad and Timothy,

at this guy Ellis and his gun, and at the attack dog that’s perched in the front

seat of my van. “What the crap is going on here?”

“Ask your father,” Ellis says. “Though good luck in getting the truth.”

“Me?” my dad asks, fighting to stand up straight but still holding his side. “I

don’t even know who you—”

“My father was a liar¹⁹, too,” Ellis says, pointing his gun at my dad. “He lied

like you, Lloyd. Easily. Without even a thought.”

“Cal, I swear on my life, I’ve never seen this man.”

“That part’s true. You can tell the way his left hand’s shaking,” Ellis agrees as

my dad grips his own left wrist. “But I saw you tonight, Mr. Harper. The way

your son came to your aid, taking you to the hospital: He needs to rescue,

doesn’t he? That was pretty fortunate for—”

“Hold on,” I interrupt. “You saw us in the park?”

A chorus of crickets squeals²⁰ from the Everglades, and my father draws

himself up straight, blocking the headlights and casting a shadow across both

Ellis’s badge and his face.

“Calvin had no hand in this,” my dad says.

“Really? Then why was he so quick to get rid of that hold notice on your

shipment?” Ellis challenges, motioning with his gun. He has handsome,

chiseled²¹ features and the ramrod posture²² of an officer, but from the perfect

Windsor knot of his uniform’s tie to the shine on that expensive belt he’s

wearing, he’s got his eye on something bigger. “It’s pretty convenient having

a son who used to be an agent, isn’t it, Lloyd?”

As they continue to argue, my brain swirls²³, struggling to — It’s like trying to

fill in a crossword²⁴ without any clues. For Ellis to know we got rid of the hold

notice . . . For him to steal my van from the port and bring it out here . . .

That’s the part I keep playing over and over. When I pulled up to the port, I

checked half a dozen times — whoever this guy Ellis is, no matter how good a

cop he is — there’s no way he was trailing me. But if that’s the case, for him

to get my van — Once again, I run through the mental reel. Roosevelt’s at

home, which means there’s only one other person who knew where it was

parked. The one person who picked me up there. And the only other member

of law enforcement who hasn’t said a single word since I got out of his car.

There’s a metallic²⁵ click behind me. The swirling²⁶ blue lights stab at my senses,

and my stomach sags²⁷ like a hammock holding a bowling²⁸ ball.

“Sorry, Cal,” Timothy says as he cocks his gun behind my ear. “Once the

twins were born . . . Those braces²⁹ aren’t gonna pay for themselves.”

15

Hundreds of People’s Choice Award–winning movies tell me this is when I’m

supposed to shake a fist at the sky and yell, “Nooo! Timothy, how could

you!?” But I know exactly how he could. His ethical³⁰ apathy³¹ is why I

approached him in the first place. And why I didn’t bat twice when he offered

to sneak³² me inside the port instead of signing me in and getting a proper

pass. I thought he was doing me a favor. All he was really doing was making

sure nothing linked the two of us together. My heart constricts³³, like it’s being

gripped by a fist. Dammit, when’d I get so blind? I glance at my dad and

know the answer. The only good news is, I apparently³⁴ wasn’t the only one

Timothy was trying to keep hidden.

“Cal’s already seen it — you, me, all of it!” Timothy shouts at Ellis. “And what

about the van!? What was your grand thinking there? Bring it out on the road

and hope no one notices?”

“Watch your tone,” Ellis warns.

To my surprise, Timothy does, his shoulders shrinking just slightly.

“You said you just wanted the shipment,” Timothy adds through gritted³⁵

teeth, fighting hard to stay calm. “Now you have far more than that.”

The pulsing blue lights pump like heartbeats from both sides. I’m tempted³⁶ to

run, but that won’t tell me what’s going on. On my right, in the front seat of

the van, Ellis’s dog, protective of its master, growls³⁷ at Timothy, whose gun is

still trained on me. On my left, my father stares at Ellis, then Timothy, then

back to Ellis.

Then he looks at me.

I see desperation every day. For the homeless, it overrides³⁸ despair,

depression, even fear. But when my dad’s wide eyes beg for help . . . I’ve

seen that look before — all those years ago when the cops came and arrested

him.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he blurts³⁹.

Across from us, Ellis pulls the cuff⁴⁰ of his shirt out from the wrist of his

uniform’s jacket, then flicks the safety on his gun. “I don’t care. We’ve waited

over a century. I want my Book.”

Just behind me, my father puts a hand on my shoulder. There’s nothing

tender about it. For the second time, I tell myself to run, but the way he’s

gripping me — he needs the handhold to help him stand.

“All you had to do was leave the van downtown!” Timothy says to Ellis. “But

with this — You know how much harder you just made this?” Timothy

explodes, barely looking at us. This isn’t about me. Timothy is the same old

Timothy. Just protecting his share. “Don’t you see? Now that he knows I’m

working with — Sonuva—! You just wrecked⁴¹ my damn life!”

“He’s right,” I interrupt, knowing this isn’t a ride Timothy can afford to let me

walk away from. Time to work the weak spots. “But if I disappear, they’ll go

talk to all my friends, co-workers . . . even former co-workers,” I add, raising

an eyebrow¹⁶ at Timothy. “You’ll get a call tomorrow morning.”

Timothy knows what I’m up to — he had the same hostage training with the

same dumb tricks for getting the bad guys to fight among themselves — but

that doesn’t mean it won’t work.

“You don’t even see it, do you?” Ellis asks, sounding far more comfortable

than he should be. “I’ve already won.”

“Not if there’s a manhunt for Cal’s killer⁴²!” Timothy shoots back as the blue

lights continue their assault. “You promised me no risk at all!”

“No, I promised you an easy reward.”

While they argue, I work the telescoping baton hidden in my sleeve toward

the inside of my forearm. I’ve heard enough. Time to let actions speak louder

than—

“Be very careful about your next move,” Ellis warns as he points his gun at

my face. I freeze. He’s clearly planning to pull the trigger, but he’s not quite

ready to do it yet. “I can see the baton, Calvin.”

Next to him, Timothy shakes his head, his anger now exploding. “This was so

stupidly easy and — Dammit! How could you be so stupid!?”

The dog barks. But Ellis, who’s now close enough that I spot the odd red

thimble-shaped nozzle on his gun, is calmer than ever. “It’ll work out fine,” he

says.

“For who?” Timothy challenges. “For you?”

Ellis nods, raising his eyebrows. “You were right about the manhunt. But

there’s no manhunt if I give them Cal’s killer.” Without another word, he

points his gun at Timothy’s neck. I want to jump forward, but my body steps

back.

“I have twins! For God’s sake!” Timothy says in horror.

Ellis grins. “It is for God’s sake.”

Fttt.

The dog barks again. A tiny fleck⁴³ of blood hits my cheek. And Timothy falls to

the ground.

Behind us, at least a mile or two up the road, a set of faint white eyes blink

open. There’s a car back there. Coming right at us.

16

“Ohnonono!” my father stutters, still clutching my shoulder as he stumbles

and pulls us back.

Ellis stares over our shoulders at the car that’s coming our way.

“Hand me his gun,” Ellis says to us as he motions to Timothy, who’s flat on

his back with what looks like a pinprick at his jugular⁴⁴. There’s no stream of

blood as his body convulses like a snake and he continues to threaten and

scream. First, Timothy’s left knee freezes awkwardly, cocked out to the side,

then his torso stops moving. In less than a minute, he’s motionless on the

pavement. He looks dead, his gun still clutched in his hand.

“I’m waiting,” Ellis adds, and for the first time, I see the new reality he’s

building. If he shoots us with Timothy’s gun, then leaves my van here along

with Timothy’s unmarked car — now the picture shifts: It’ll look like Timothy

and I were having a late night get-together⁴⁵ . . .

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 veer   

vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向

参考例句：

• He is unlikely to veer from his boss's strongly held views.他不可能背离他老板的强硬立场。
• If you fall asleep while driving,you'll probably veer off the road.假如你开车时打瞌睡，可能会驶离道路。

3 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

6 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

9 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

10 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

11 flicks   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的第三人称单数 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• 'I shall see it on the flicks, I suppose.' “电影上总归看得见。” 来自英汉文学
• Last night to the flicks. 昨晚看了场电影。 来自英汉文学

12 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

13 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

14 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

15 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

16 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

17 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

18 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

19 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

20 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

21 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句

22 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

23 swirls   

n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
• On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处，它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句

24 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

25 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

26 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

27 sags   

向下凹或中间下陷( sag的第三人称单数 )； 松弛或不整齐地悬着

参考例句：

• The bed sags in the middle, and is uncomfortable. 床的中间往下塌，很不舒服。
• He sags his pants; doo rags and a stockin cap. 他穿着松弛的裤子。抹布一样的帽子。

28 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

29 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

30 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

31 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

32 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

33 constricts   

压缩，压紧，使收缩( constrict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tumour constricts the nerves. 肿瘤压迫神经。
• Fat constricts the blood vessels, making your circulation bad. 脂肪压缩血管，造成你的血液循环不畅。

34 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。

35 gritted   

v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• He gritted his teeth and plunged into the cold weather. 他咬咬牙，冲向寒冷的天气。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The young policeman gritted his teeth and walked slowly towards the armed criminal. 年轻警官强忍住怒火，朝武装歹徒慢慢走过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

37 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

38 overrides   

越控( override的第三人称单数 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要

参考例句：

• The new rule overrides all the previous ones. 新规则使以前的所有规则失效。
• The application configuration file setting overrides the machine configuration file setting. 应用程序配置文件设置重写计算机配置文件设置。

39 blurts   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He blurts out all he hears. 他漏嘴说出了他听到的一切。 来自辞典例句
• If a user blurts out an interesting idea, ask "What problem would that solve for you?" 如果用户不假思索地冒出一个有趣的想法，则询问他：“这可以解决哪些问题？” 来自互联网

40 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

41 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

42 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。

43 fleck   

n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳

参考例句：

• The garlic moss has no the yellow fleck and other virus. 蒜苔无黄斑点及其它病毒。
• His coat is blue with a grey fleck.他的上衣是蓝色的，上面带有灰色的斑点。

44 jugular   

n.颈静脉

参考例句：

• He always goes for the jugular.他总是直奔要害而去。
• Bilateral internal jugular vein stenting is also a rare procedure.两侧内颈静脉支架置放术也是少见的技术。

45 get-together   

n.(使)聚集；(使)集合

参考例句：

• Well,Miss Huang,we are planning to have a casual get-together.嗯，黄小姐，我们打算大家小聚一番。
• Will you help me prepare for the get- together of the old classmates?你能否帮我为这次老同学聚会做好准备工作？