谎言书：06

“Why’s that good for me?” I challenge.

“This isn’t a fight, Calvin—”

“Cal.”

“—I just think it’s nice that you help people,” he adds, rechecking the street.

“Oh, so now you like helping¹ people?”

“I’m just saying . . . it’s good to help people.”

“Are you asking me for help, Lloyd?”

For the first time, my father looks directly at me. I know he’s a truck driver. I

know about the delivery slip. And I know that whatever it is he’s picking up at

the port, he’s not getting that shipment unless he has someone remove the

hold notice, a favor that wouldn’t take me more than a single phone call.

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” he tells me, standing² slowly from his seat. He’s

clearly aching. But as he grips the armrest, I can’t help but stare at his

fingers, which are marked by hairy knuckles³ and crooked⁴ pinkies. Just like

mine. “Calvin, can we please have the rest of this argument later? With all

this pain medication, it’s like everyone’s talking in slow motion.”

I just stare as he limps away. Paulo said he hadn’t given him any pain

medication. Just a shot of anesthetic⁵ by the wound.

“Hey, Lloyd — you never told me what you do these days. You still painting

restaurants?”

“For sure. Lots of painting,” he says, his back still to me.

“That’s great. And you can do it full-time⁶? No odd jobs or anything else to

make the rent?”

My father stands up straight and looks back. But in his eyes . . . all I see is

panic. Real panic. My father spent eight years in prison. If he’s scared, it’s for

something that’s worth being scared about. “Business is really great,” he

insists.

“I’m sure it is if you can afford this nice shirt and shoes,” I say, still holding

his belongings⁸.

His mouth is open, like he’s ready to say something. It’s as if I have a grip on

his scab and I’m slowly pulling it off. That’s it, Lloyd. Tell me what you’re

really here for. But instead, he shakes his head slightly, like he’s begging,

pleading for me to stay away.

“I — I can handle my own problems, Calvin. Please. . . .”

On our left, an old rumbling⁹ car turns into the corner of the hospital’s

driveway. The rain glows like a tiny meteor shower in the car’s headlights. “I

gotta go,” he says, heading for the car but still scanning the area. Whoever

this is, he knows them.

In front of us, a dark green Pontiac Grand Prix pulls up to the emergency

room entrance and bucks¹⁰ to a stop right next to me.

“¡Ay, Dios mío!” a young, fair-skinned black woman with short hair shouts

from the driver’s seat. “¿¡Que paso!?”

“Estoy bien, Serena,” my dad replies. Serena. When’d my dad learn

Spanish? “Callate,” he adds. “No digas nada, okay?”

Serena’s voice is rushed. She’s scared. “Pero el cargamento . . . ¿Por favor,

yo espero que el cargamento ha sido protegido?”

“¡Escúchame!” he insists, struggling to stay calm as he turns back to me. “I

promise, Calvin,” he tells me as he scoops¹¹ his clothes and Franceschetti shoes

from my arms and slides into the passenger seat of the car. The woman

touches my dad’s forearm with the kind of tenderness and affection that

comes with a wedding band. She looks about twenty-seven or so. Almost my

age.

“I swear, Calvin. I swear I’ll call you,” my dad promises.

The door slams shut, tires howl, and the car disappears — its red taillights

zigzagging¹² like twin laser beams into the darkness, and I scream after it, “You

don’t have my phone number!”

“What’d he say?” Roosevelt calls out as the emergency doors whoosh¹³ open

and he rushes outside. “He ask for your help with his shipment?”

I shake my head, feeling the knots of rage and pain and sadness tighten¹⁴ in

my chest. I don’t know who the girl is, or where they’re going, or why they’re

in such a rush at two in the morning. But I do know one thing: My father isn’t

the only one who learned how to speak Spanish in Miami.

Por favor, yo espero que el cargamento ha sido protegido, the woman had

said. Please tell me you protected the shipment.

My father said he was robbed and shot by some kid with big ears. But I saw

the terror in his eyes when I started sniffing¹⁵ around his shipment — like he’s

hiding the devil himself in that delivery. For that alone, I should walk away

now and leave him to his mess. I should. That’s all he deserves. The problem

is, the last time I stood around and did nothing, I lost my mom. I could’ve

helped . . . could’ve run forward . . . But I didn’t.

I don’t care how much I hate him. I don’t care how much I’m already kicking

myself. I just found my father — please — don’t let me lose him again.

When my father disappeared, I was nine years old and couldn’t do anything

about it. Nineteen years make a hell of a difference.

I flick¹⁶ open my cell phone as my brain searches for the number. Fortunately,

I’ve got a good memory. So does he. And like Paulo, he knows what he owes

me.

“Cal, it’s two-fourteen in the morning,” Special Agent Timothy Balfanz

answers on the other line, not even pretending to hide his exhaustion¹⁷.

“Whattya need?”

“Personal favor.”

“Mm I gonna get in trouble?”

“Only if we’re caught. There’s a container at the port I need to get a look at.”

There’s another two-second pause. “When?” Timothy asks.

“How’s right now?”

9

“You should’ve stayed with the father,” the Judge said through Ellis’s phone.

“You’re wrong,” Ellis replied, staring from inside the hospital waiting room

and studying Cal, who, through the wide panel of glass, was barely twenty

feet away. There were plenty of reasons for Ellis to stay in full police uniform.

But none was better than simply hiding in plain sight.

There was a soft whoosh as the automatic doors slid open and Roosevelt

rushed outside to join Cal. As the doors again slid shut, Ellis could hear

Roosevelt’s first question: “He ask for your help with his shipment?”

The shipment. Now Cal knew about the shipment.

“If Cal starts chasing it . . . ” the Judge began.

“He’s now talking on his phone,” Ellis said without the least bit of panic. “You

told me you were tracking his calls.”

“Hold on, it usually takes a minute.” The Judge paused a moment. “Here we

go — and people say the courts have no power anymore — pen register is

picking up an outgoing call to a Timothy Balfanz. I’ll wager¹⁸ it’s an old fellow

agent.”

Ellis didn’t say a word. He knew Cal was smart. Smart enough to know that

Lloyd Harper was a liar¹⁹. And that the only real truth would come from ripping

open Lloyd’s shipment. It was no different a century ago with Mitchell Siegel.

No different than with Ellis’s own dad. No different than with Adam and Cain.

It was the first truth in the Book of Lies: In the chosen families, the son was

always far more dangerous than the father.

“Ellis, if Cal grabs it first—”

“If Cal grabs the Book, it’ll be our greatest day,” Ellis said, never losing sight

of his new target and following fearlessly as Cal ran toward his beat-up white

van.

Even with his badge, Ellis knew better than to risk being spotted²⁰ on federal

property. That’s the reason he’d followed Lloyd to begin with. But with Cal

now making calls — with the shipment and the Siegels’ fabled²¹ prize about to

be returned — it was going to be a great day indeed.

10

“You’re not being smart,” Roosevelt says through my cell phone.

“It’s not a question of smart,” I tell him as I pull the van into the empty

parking lot that sits in front of the Port of Miami’s main administration

building, a stumpy glass mess stolen straight from 1972. There’re a few cars

in front — one . . . two . . . all three of them Ford⁷ Crown Vics. Nothing

changes. Unmarked feds.

“It’s not safe, either, Cal,” Roosevelt insists.

He’s right. That’s why I left him at home.

With a twist of the wheel, I weave through the dark lot and the dozens of

spots marked OFFICIAL USE ONLY. I got fired from official use over four years

ago. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still have a way in.

“Cal, if you get in trouble—”

“You’re the first person I’ll call from jail,” I say, heading to the back of the

lot, where I steer²² good ol’ White House into a corner spot underneath²³ a

crooked palmetto tree.

I hear him seething²⁴ on the other end. “Lemme just say one last thing, and

then I promise I’ll stop.”

“You won’t stop.”

“You’re right. I won’t,” he admits. “But before you trash your professional

career for the second time, just think for a moment: If your father is setting

you up — if this is all one big production number — then you’re doing exactly

what he wants you to do.”

“Roosevelt, why didn’t you marry Christine? Or Wendy? Or that woman you

went to visit in Chicago? You tie the knot and you know they’ll take you off

whatever blackball list your name is on. But you don’t, right? And why?

Because some fights are too important.”

“That’s fine — and a beautiful change of subject — but if you keep letting

your nine-year-old, little hurt self make all your decisions in this situation,

you’re not just gonna get yourself in trouble — you’re gonna get yourself

killed.”

A burst of light ricochets off my rearview mirror. I look back as a white Crown

Vic closes in from behind. There’s a slight screech²⁵, then a muted thunk as his

front bumper²⁶ kisses the back of mine and adds yet another scratch to the

rear of the White House. Same jackass trick we used to do when we were

rookies.

I wait for him to get out of the car, but he stays put. I get the message. This

is his hometown. Forget my few years here. Tonight I’m just a guest.

“Roosevelt, I’ll call you back.”

Hopping²⁷ out of the van, I put on a Homeland Security baseball cap, squint²⁸

through the light rain, and then walk over to the passenger side of his car. It’s

nearly three in the morning, when everyone in the world looks like crap —

except Timothy, who, as I open the door, has a crisp white button-down and a

perfect side part in his just trimmed brown hair.

“You’re sweating,” Timothy says, reading me perfectly²⁹ as always.

I’ve known him since my very first days on the job — before we got promoted

to agent (him first, of course, then me) — when we were both lower-level

Customs inspectors³⁰ who spent every day X-raying containers filled with

everything from bananas to buzz saws to belt buckles³¹. Even back then, when

I’d be dripping in the Miami sun, his shirt didn’t have a wrinkle, which is

probably why, when all the bad went down and I tipped off Miss Deirdre, even

though he was right there next to me, Timothy never tumbled. He should’ve

— he was always the bigger outlaw³², and that night he had his own Miss

Deirdre as well. But I don’t resent him for it. I told him I’d never tattle. And

tonight, that’s the only reason he’s risking his job for me.

“Cal, if anyone finds out I’m bringing you inside—” He holsters the threat

and reaches for a new one. “Is this really that important?”

“Would I ask if it wasn’t?”

He stays silent. He knows it isn’t just about finding some shipment. I’m

searching for something far bigger than that.

Timothy’s blue lights — the movable siren that sits on his dash — remind me

of the consequences. I expect him to give me the weary glare. Instead, he

tosses me an expired copy of his own ICE agent credentials³³. After 9/11,

security at our nation’s ports got better. But it didn’t get that much better.

“We all set?” I ask.

“The hold is gone, if that’s what you’re asking.” Reading the panic in my

reaction, he adds, “What? You said you wanted it cleared so you could check

it outside.”

“I also said I wanted to get a look first,” I tell him, ripping open his car door.

“I bet he’s already on his way.”

I look up at the tall light poles that peek³⁴ out above the port’s nearby

container storage yard. On top of each pole, there’s a small videocamera,

along with chemical sniffers and shotgun microphones. 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

5 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 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。

9 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

10 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》

11 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

12 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

13 whoosh   

v.飞快地移动，呼

参考例句：

• It goes whoosh up and whoosh down.它呼一下上来了，呼一下又下去了。
• Whoosh!The straw house falls down.呼！稻草房子倒了。

14 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

15 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 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。

17 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

18 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

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 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

21 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

23 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。

24 seething   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

25 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

26 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

27 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

28 squint   

v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的

参考例句：

• A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
• The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

29 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。

30 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

32 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

33 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。

34 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。