谎言书：10

 He shakes his head before I can argue. “I’m not proud of it, y’know? 

But once you have that excon label on your neck — You don’t know

what it’s like to be judged like that.”

I think back to the days after they took my gun and badge. Even the

secretaries from the office were instructed to hang up when I called.

“Okay, first we need to get out of here,” I say. As we run across the road 

and back to my van, I scan the ground, the road, even under the van itself.

Timothy. His body’s gone.

“Y’think he’s still alive?” my dad asks.

I pause a moment. Then I picture that bubble of blood in Timothy’s neck. 

“I don’t think so.”

“Maybe Ellis took the body with him.”

“Maybe,” I say. But to set all this up — to bring my van out here just to

make us look like the killers¹ . . . to leave no witnesses . . . I cross around to

the passenger side of the White House. Down the tall grass of the

embankment, there’s another canal that runs parallel to the road. When we

were hiding on the other side . . . There was another splash.

“Gator food,” my father says, pointing over the fence.

“That’s what I would do.”

I wait for him to ask why, but to’ve abandoned me this long, my dad’s got

plenty of heartless in him. He doesn’t need help developing the picture: Ellis

is a cop. He did his homework. My dad’s a convicted murderer . . . I’m a

disgraced agent . . . There’s no question who’s the easiest to blame for this.

And why he asked my dad to hand him Timothy’s gun.

“He’s got my prints on one of the weapons,” my father says.

“You think he didn’t drive my van all around the port, making sure the 

eyesin-the-sky got a good look? Ten seconds’ worth of homework before 

ICE realizes I’m the one who snuck into the port with Timothy. . . .”

“On behalf of a shipment that’s tied to your father,” my dad adds.

Which brings us right back to the gun. We’re both silent as it all seeps² in.

Forget what happened with Mom. Ellis just has to point his cop finger our

way. Once they hear we killed a federal agent — we’re repeat offenders³. They

don’t make bags small enough that’ll carry our remains⁴.

“We should follow the truck,” my dad suggests, looking out toward the dark

road. “He didn’t have that much of a lead.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I reply.

“Maybe? The only way to prove what actually happened is by finding what’s

really in that—”

I turn away. That’s all he needs.

“You know what’s in that truck, don’t you, Calvin?”

18

“Stay, girl. . . . That’s my girl,” Ellis said to Benoni, adding a quick scratch

between the dog’s ears. In the passenger seat of the truck, Benoni was

breathing calmly now — but with her ears pinned back and her eyes narrow

and intently fixed⁵ out the window, it was clear she was just simmering.

After setting the odometer back to zero, Ellis grabbed an old pair of bolt

cutters from the toolbox behind his seat, shoved open the driver’s door, and

climbed down from the cab of the truck. He was still annoyed that he’d let Cal

get away, but when he’d heard Benoni cry like that — the way she was

shaking on the ground — family had to come first.

Most important, as he glanced around the empty rest stop and walked around

to the back of the truck, he had what he wanted. And thanks to his police

uniform, surprise was most definitely on his side. Especially with Timothy. But

that was the benefit of taking on a partner — there was always someone else

to blame things on. As his grandfather wrote, the mission was bigger than a

single man. Finally, after the headache in China and Hong Kong and Panama

and here — finally — mission accomplished⁶.

He dialed quickly on his cell, then pinched the phone between his chin and

shoulder and lifted the bolt cutters to the metal seal that looked like a silver

bolt at the back of the rust-colored container. The phone rang in his ear . . .

once . . . twice . . . He knew the time — it was six a.m. in Michigan — but this

was victory.

There was a loud cunk as the bolt cutters bit down and snapped the seal.

“Judge Wojtowicz’s line,” a female voice answered. “You need him to sign a

warrant?”

“No warrants. This is a personal call. For Felix,” Ellis said, knowing that using

the Judge’s first name would speed things up. With a twist of the thin metal

bars on the back of the container, Ellis unlocked the double doors.

He knew how he got to this moment. His grandfathers — in their commitment

to the Leadership — began the quest. For all Ellis knew, his mother had

searched, too. But the research had survived only because of the waterstained

diary.

The word Schetsboek was embossed in faded gold on the front. Dutch for

“Sketchbook.” Flipping⁷ through it that first time, Ellis had stopped on a page

dated February 16, 1922, on a passage about the covenants⁹ between God

and man. In the story of Noah, God made a rainbow as a sign of His

covenant⁸. With Abraham, God’s sign was a circumcision. And with Moses, the

sign was the engraving¹⁰ on the tablets. But covenants could also be between

people. That’s what the diary was, Ellis realized. He’d been so focused on the

Cain part — on the tattoo¹¹ and the dog — he’d nearly missed it. The diary was

his true sign. His covenant. The promise from his mother. And the way, over a

century later, surrounded by cricket songs, he finally found the Book that was

more powerful than death itself.

“Who may I say is calling?” the woman asked through Ellis’s phone.

“He’ll know,” Ellis said as he tugged¹² on the back doors of the truck. There

was a rusty¹³ howl as the metal doors swung wide open, clanging against their

respective sides of the truck. Surprised by his own excitement, Ellis was up

on his tiptoes, peering through the mist of—

It was supposed to be cold. And smell like shrimp¹⁴. Why didn’t it smell like—?

Reaching up and pulling frantically¹⁵, Ellis yanked the nearest box to the

ground. His breathing started to quicken as he ripped it open. Pineapples.

Plastic pineapples. He pulled out another box. Fake. They were all fake. Like

the government uses when they—

Damn.

They switched it. Switched the bloody¹⁶ trucks.

“I’m paging him now, sir,” the secretary announced.

“Paging?” Ellis asked. He looked at the phone. “Don’t page him. Leave him

be.” Shutting his cell phone, Ellis stood there a second. Just stood there, eyes

closed. A rat-tt-tat drumbeat — rat-tt-tat, rat-tt-tat — hammered at the back

of his neck at the top of his spine¹⁷. He clenched¹⁸ his jaw¹⁹ so hard, he heard a

high-pitched scream rushing in his ears. Anger. All he had was anger now.

People didn’t understand what a life’s worth of holding back and hiding could

do.

He wouldn’t hold back anymore.

He knew who’d done this. Timothy. Timothy and the other one. The one who

hurt Benoni. Cal.

Cal caused this. Cal and his damn father. But Ellis had it wrong before. Lloyd

wasn’t the only trickster. Cal was one, too. To switch the trucks — to steal

what was inside — Cal hadn’t just stumbled into this. He’d planned it. Stolen

it. And now Cal had the Book of Lies. He had what Ellis had waited a lifetime

to find.

But the one thing Cal didn’t have? A good enough head start.

Ellis looked down at his tattoo. With the Book, Cain unleashed²¹ murder into

the world. That was nothing compared to what Ellis would unleash²⁰ on Cal

Harper.

19

“Do you know what’s in the truck or don’t you?” my dad asks.

I stomp²² my feet to shake off the excess water, then open the door to my van,

hop²³ inside, and flick²⁴ off the blue lights. “Not yet.”

“Whoa, whoa — hold on,” my dad says, climbing into the passenger seat. “I

saw him take the truck and drive off with—”

“He didn’t take anything.”

Landing with a squish in the passenger seat, my father looks at me, then out

at the empty road, then back at me. “No, I saw it — container number

601174-7. I checked the numbers myself. There’s no way you could’ve

unloaded it that fast. And when I drove it out, you were following right behi

—”

I close my eyes and picture the black numbers on the side of the forty-foot

rust-colored container: 601174-7. At three in the morning, in the dark, it’s

amazing what you can do with some black electrical tape.

“The numbers. You switched them, didn’t you?” my dad blurts²⁵. “That

container Ellis just drove off with—”

“Is filled with three thousand pounds of plastic pineapples, courtesy of the

controlled delivery sting operations that Customs keeps prepared for just such

an occasion.”

Starting the van and noticing the exposed wires that Ellis used to hot-wire

underneath²⁶, I swing the steering²⁷ wheel into a U-turn and do my best to

ignore the blue pulsing swirls²⁸ as Timothy’s unmarked car fades behind us. Up

above, the purple-and-orange sunrise cracks a hairline fissure²⁹ through the

black sky. The water from my clothes soaks my seat and puddles³⁰ at my

crotch. But as I look in the rearview mirror, it still hasn’t washed off the flecks³¹

of Timothy’s blood that’re sprayed across my cheek.

“You think this book — whatever it is — you think maybe there could be

something good in it? Y’know, like, maybe we’re finally getting some good

luck?” my father asks.

I turn to my dad, who’s eyeing the steering wheel and — Is he studying my

hands? He turns away fast, but there’s no mistaking that gleam in his eyes.

He’s anxious, but also . . . it’s almost like he’s enjoying himself.

“Lloyd, let me be clear here. There’s nothing good about this. The shipment .

. . the shooting . . . everything. It’s rotten, okay? And once something’s

rotten, it can never be good again.”

Surprised by my own outburst, I sit there silently, my chest rising and falling

far too rapidly. I’m not stupid. I know all the emotional reasons I went

chasing after my dad instead of just writing him off after the hospital. I still

believe in those reasons. But that doesn’t mean I believe him.

“Cal, I promise you, I have no idea what book Ellis is after, or what’s inside

that container.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I shoot back. “We’re about to get our answer.”

20

“Here?” my father asks, looking inside the dark doorway³². Our clothes were

soaked from the water, but he’s still fidgeting with the spare dry T-shirt and

jeans I always keep stored in the van. “Y’sure?”

I nod, holding open the door with no doorknob and thankful that the punchcode

lock is still so easy to jimmy. Inside the old warehouse³³, the walls are

bare and peeling, while each corner hosts a small hill of crumpled³⁴ newspapers

and garbage. Up high, the few horizontal windows are shattered. And the sign

out front carries the spray-painted love note “LO” (a gang-inspired tag that

means “Latinos Only” just in case anyone misses the welcome mat).

But as I flick a switch and the fluorescent³⁵ lights blink to life, they reveal what

we’re really after: the navy blue container with black tracking number

601174-7 painted across its back. Beached like a metal whale, it rests its tail

against the narrow loading dock that runs along the back of the room.

“You sure it’s safe?” my father asks, racing³⁶ for the container.

He’s missing the point. The warehouse may be decorated in modern dungeon³⁷,

but that’s the goal. Hidden under layers of fake corporate³⁸ names, this place is

owned by the U.S. government.

We — They. They own them all around the city: fake warehouses³⁹ that ICE,

Customs, and the FBI can use for whatever sting operations they happen to

be running. When Timothy offered to have the container delivered here, I

thought he was doing me a favor. All he was really doing — once he

presumably got rid of me and my dad — was swiping it for himself.

1 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

2 seeps   

n.（液体）渗( seep的名词复数 )；渗透；渗出；漏出v.（液体）渗( seep的第三人称单数 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• Water seeps through sand. 水渗入沙中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Water seeps out of the wall. 水从墙里沁出。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

8 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

9 covenants   

n.（有法律约束的）协议( covenant的名词复数 )；盟约；公约；（向慈善事业、信托基金会等定期捐款的）契约书

参考例句：

• Do I need to review the Deed of mutual Covenants (DMC)? 我是否需要覆核公共契约(DMC)吗？ 来自互联网
• Many listed and unlisted companies need to sell to address covenants. 许多上市公司和非上市公司需要出售手中资产，以满足借贷契约的要求。 来自互联网

10 engraving   

n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句
• Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

14 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

15 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

16 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。

17 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

18 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》

19 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。

20 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

21 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 stomp   

v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏

参考例句：

• 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国，你去看跺脚舞！
• 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠？

23 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？

24 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。

25 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

26 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。

27 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

28 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

29 fissure   

n.裂缝；裂伤

参考例句：

• Though we all got out to examine the fissure,he remained in the car.我们纷纷下车察看那个大裂缝，他却呆在车上。
• Ground fissure is the main geological disaster in Xi'an city construction.地裂缝是西安市主要的工程地质灾害问题。

30 puddles   

n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 flecks   

n.斑点，小点( fleck的名词复数 )；癍

参考例句：

• His hair was dark, with flecks of grey. 他的黑发间有缕缕银丝。
• I got a few flecks of paint on the window when I was painting the frames. 我在漆窗框时，在窗户上洒了几点油漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

33 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

34 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。

35 fluorescent   

adj.荧光的，发出荧光的

参考例句：

• They observed the deflections of the particles by allowing them to fall on a fluorescent screen.他们让粒子落在荧光屏上以观察他们的偏移。
• This fluorescent lighting certainly gives the food a peculiar color.这萤光灯当然增添了食物特别的色彩。

36 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。

37 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

38 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

39 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。