谎言书：04

Next to him, in the passenger seat, his dog rumbled¹ and

growled² — first at the rain, then at the flashlight, the bobbing and glowing

light-stick in the distance.

“Easy, girl. . . . Good girl,” Ellis whispered, patting his dog’s neck as they

spied the two homeless volunteers shouting at the far end of the little park.

Cal. One of them was named Cal. From this side of the park, it was hard to

hear much. But Ellis heard enough.

“Zero seven eight, zero five, one one two zero,” yelled the ponytailed man.

Ellis pulled out the file folder³ the Judge’s office had put together and checked

the Social Security number against the one on the pink sheet from Hong

Kong. The driver picking up the Book of Lies: Harper, Lloyd.

Ellis’s amber⁴ eyes narrowed as his thick eyebrows⁶ drew together. It wasn’t

supposed to be like this.

He’d been following Lloyd for barely ten minutes — following the

simpleminded courier just to make sure the shipment got through. But what

Ellis had seen . . . when the flash of the gun erupted and Lloyd stumbled in

the park . . . No, Lloyd wasn’t simpleminded at all. Lloyd Harper might not’ve

known exactly what was inside, but he knew the value of what he was

carrying. Ellis shouldn’t’ve been so surprised. His own father was a liar⁷, too.

And a far worse trickster.

The dog raised her head, always reading Ellis perfectly⁸.

“I’m okay, girl,” he promised.

Across the dark park, there was a burst of light as the door of the van flew

open. Ellis saw an older man with white hair — No. He had an open, boyish

face and loose-jointed movements. Like a giant marionette⁹ out of sync. He

was young. Young with white hair.

Ellis flipped¹⁰ through the pages, still rubbing his thumbnail across the corner of

the file folder. White hair, twenty-eight years old. There it was. Known

relatives. Calvin. Cal.

One of them was named Cal. And the way he was running — the shock and

fear on his face as he came bursting out into the rainy night — Cal knew

exactly whom he’d found.

For a moment, Ellis laughed to himself. Of course. It had to come back to

father and son. Just as it began with Adam and Cain. Just as it was with

Mitchell and Jerry Siegel.

It was the same when he’d first heard the truth about his own family — the

lifelong lie his father had told him. In that instant, Ellis realized how much of

his life was a construct. But Ellis wasn’t sad. He was thrilled. He knew he was

meant for something bigger. No question, that’s why his mother left him the

diary, the softbound journal with the water-stained leather cover.

For over a year he’d been studying the diary’s pages, absorbing the theories

that his grandfather and great-grandfather — both Leadership officers —

spent so many years working on. Throughout the books, his name was

spelled differently — Cayin, Kayin, Kenite — depending on the translation and

where the story originated. But there was no mistaking the world’s first

murderer. Or the first man God forgave — and empowered. The man who

held the secret of God’s true power.

Ellis still remembered — his hands shaking in the estate lawyer’s office — the

first time he read the words his great-grandfather had written during his time

at the Cairo Museum. Ellis had to go find a Bible — check the language

himself. Like most, he’d grown up thinking Cain killed Abel with a stone. But

as he flipped through the pages, speed-reading through chapter 4 of Genesis:

“And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against

Abel his brother, and slew¹¹ him.” That was all the Bible said. No mentions of

stones or rocks or any sort of weapon.

Time and history added other ideas, filling texts with theories of clubs, sticks,

and wooden staffs. The Zohar, the most important work of the Jewish

Kabbalah movement, insisted that Cain bit Abel’s throat, which led others to

proclaim Cain as the world’s first vampire¹². And in ancient Egypt,

archaeologists found hieroglyphics¹³ depicting¹⁴ a weapon made from an animal’s

jawbone and sharpened teeth.

It was this theory of the jawbone that filled up half the diary. Shakespeare

wrote that Cain’s weapon was a jawbone, featuring it in Hamlet. Rembrandt

depicted¹⁵ the same instrument in one of his portraits, even including Abel’s

dog barking in the background.

But for Ellis’s Cairo-based great-grandfather, the real question was: How did

this obscure theory from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics suddenly become

such a rage in seventeenth-century Europe? For years, there was no logical

explanation — until his great-grandfather read the story of a small group of

Coptic monks¹⁶ who emigrated from Egypt to the north, where they hoped to

hide the small but priceless object they’d stumbled upon. The object from

God Himself.

Then the Leadership took interest. The group was new then. Untested. But

extremely enthusiastic — like Ellis, especially now that he was so close.

There was only one thing in his way.

Across the park, Cal slid on his knees, his flashlight shining into Lloyd

Harper’s terrified face.

A trickster, Ellis decided¹⁸. Every family had a trickster.

In the passenger seat, Benoni cocked her head, which meant Ellis’s phone

was about to—

The phone vibrated in Ellis’s pocket. Somehow the dog always knew.

“Officer Belasco,” Ellis answered as he readjusted the badge on his uniform.

“You still with the driver — what’s his name again?” the Judge asked.

“Lloyd,” Ellis replied, watching Cal’s father across the park and unable to

shake the feeling that the bleeding old man was far more than just a driver.

“He get the Book yet?”

“Soon. He stopped for some help first,” Ellis said as he eyed just Cal.

In 1900, the Book — one writing called it a “carving,” another an “emblem” —

whatever it was, it was stolen from the Leadership. Ellis’s grandfathers hunted

it for decades, tracing it to father and son. Always father and son. And

tonight, seeing Cal and his dad, Ellis finally understood how near the end was.

All he had to do was wipe out these villains¹⁹. Then Ellis — for himself, for his

family — would finally be the hero.

“Is that concern in your voice?” the Judge asked.

“Not at all.” Ellis scratched Benoni’s nose, barely even hearing the

ambulance siren that approached behind them. “Lloyd Harper can bring as

many dogs as he wants into this fight. It won’t take much to put ’em down.”

6

“You’re gonna feel a sting,” the nurse says, wheeling my dad into one of the

emergency exam rooms. As she’s about to pull the curtain shut, she turns

back to me and stops. “Only relatives from here. You related?”

I freeze at the question. She doesn’t have time for indecision.

“Waiting room’s back there,” she says, whipping the curtain shut like a

magician’s cape²⁰.

Sleepwalking toward the L-shaped hub of pink plastic waiting room chairs, I’m

still clutching the mound²¹ of my dad’s crumpled²² belongings²³ — his bloody²⁴ shirt,

pants, and shoes — that the EMTs cut off him. A digital clock on the wall tells

me it’s 1:34 a.m. To Roo-sevelt’s credit, as I slump²⁵ down in the seat next to

him, he doesn’t say a word for at least four or five seconds.

“Cal, if he’s really your dad—”

“He’s my dad.”

“Then you should go back there.”

I start to stand up, then again sit back down.

I’ve waited nineteen years to see my dad. Nineteen years being mad he’s

gone. But to hop¹⁷ out of my chair and peek²⁶ behind that curtain and reenter his

life . . . “What if he doesn’t want me back?” I whisper.

Smart enough to not answer, Roosevelt quickly shows me why, after he raised

his own hell in high school, he was such a great Methodist minister. Sure, he

still had his rebellious²⁷ side — with a few too many Iron Maiden²⁸ quotes in his

sermons — but the way he breathed life into Scripture²⁹ and related to people,

everyone loved that pastor³⁰ with the ponytail.

The only problem came when church leaders told Roosevelt they didn’t like

the fact that he wasn’t married. In the wake of all the church pedophile cases,

it didn’t reflect well that even though he was from one of the wealthiest

families in town, at nearly forty years old, he was still single. Roosevelt

pleaded, explaining that he hadn’t found anyone he loved. His family tried to

help by throwing around their financial weight. But in rural Tennessee —

where a handsome, unmarried, thirty-eight-year-old man can mean only one

thing — his church refused to budge³¹. “If you want to be queer, don’t do it

here,” said the message that was spray-painted on the hood³² of his car. And

Roosevelt had his first personal heartbreak.

Which is why he empathizes so well with mine.

“Cal, when you were little, you ever watch The Ten Commandments?”

“This gonna be another sermon?”

“Boy, you think you’re the only one who likes saving people?” he teases,

though I know it’s no joke. No matter how happy he is, Roosevelt would kill to

have his old parish back. It’s not ego³³; it’s just his mission. He’ll never say it,

but I know that’s the reason he took this job. And though I bet his family

could easily buy him a new church, well, it’s the same reason he won’t buy us

a new van. Some battles you have to fight by yourself. “Think about the

Moses story, Cal: Little baby gets dropped in a basket, then grows up thinking

he’s Egyptian royalty³⁴ — until his past comes kickin’ at the door and reveals to

him his true purpose.”

“That mean I’m getting the long beard and the sandals?”

“We all hate something about our past, Cal. That’s why we run from it, or

compensate³⁵ for it, or even fill our van with homeless people. But when

something like this happens — when your dad shows up — maybe there is a

bigger purpose. ‘What you intended for evil, God intended for good.’ Genesis

50:20.”

（Or when Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, Joseph later recounted that what his brothers intended for evil, God intended for good (Gen 50:20). 

或者，当约瑟的弟兄把他买到埃及为奴，约瑟之后回顾说，虽然他的兄弟是出于邪恶的心想要害他，但是上帝的意思却是好的（创50：20）。

 

Staring down at the pointy tips of my dad’s shoes in my hand, I don’t say a

word. When my mom worked in the hospital, she used to lecture us about the

importance of good shoes. As a cleaning lady, it was the one personal item

she could see in every room. Fancy clothes were replaced by hospital gowns,

but under every bed . . . Show me someone’s shoes, and I’ll show you their

lives.

Thanks to that ridiculous mantra, my dad used to always have one pair of

shiny black lawyer shoes (even though he was a painter) and a pair of tan

cordovans (which my mom was convinced meant you were rich).

Today, in my lap, he’s got black loafers. And not the cheap kind with the

tough leather and the seams coming undone³⁶. These are nice — buffed and

narrow at the toes; Italian leather soles.

I read the label inside.

“What’s wrong?” Roosevelt asks.

“These are Franceschettis.”

He cocks an eyebrow⁵ and looks for himself. He’s the one from money. He

knows what it means.

“Franceschettis are expensive, aren’t they?” I ask.

“Four hundred bucks³⁷ a pair.”

“What about his shirt?” I ask, showing him the label on my dad’s bloody silk

shirt. Michael Kors. “Is Michael Kors good?”

“Plenty good. As in three-hundred-bucks-a-pop good.”

“On a guy we found on a homeless call,” I point out.

“Maybe they were donated. We get designer clothes all the time.”

I look at the bottom of the shoes. The leather soles barely have a scuff³⁸ on

them. Brand new. Confused, I once again start to stand up, then quickly sit

back down.

When I was little and we had company coming over, my father would buy

cheap Scotch³⁹ at the neighborhood liquor store and pour it into a Johnnie

Walker Black Label bottle. He did the same when he first started painting

signs at restaurants, pouring discount remainder paint into the Benjamin

Moore cans he’d have me fish from the hardware store’s trash. My mother

used to tease him, calling it his little CIA trick. He never laughed at the joke.

For him, appearances mattered.

1 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

2 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

10 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

11 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

12 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

13 hieroglyphics   

n.pl.象形文字

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphics are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。
• His writing is so bad it just looks like hieroglyphics to me. 他写的糟透了，对我来说就像天书一样。

14 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

15 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

16 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

18 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。

19 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

21 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

22 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

23 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

24 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

25 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

26 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

27 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

28 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

29 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

30 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

31 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

32 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

33 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

34 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

35 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

36 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

37 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 scuff   

v. 拖着脚走；磨损

参考例句：

• Polly,bewildered and embarrassed,dropped her head and scuffed her feet.波莉既困惑又尴尬，低下头拖着脚走开了。
• Constant wheelchair use will scuff almost any floor surface.任何地板上经常有轮椅走动几乎都会有所磨损。

39 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。