Chapter 63 Chapter 62

Dana Jurgens lay naked on the wide double bed, listening to the sound of water flowing from the shower, while looking up at the circular ceiling.The ceiling was made of a large mirror, and her image was reflected in it, exactly the same shape and size as she was on the bed.In the mirror, she was lying flat on the bed, her limbs stretched out, her abdomen was flat, her breasts stood out naturally, without any drooping due to gravity.A woman's body is most beautiful then, she thought. It was nine-thirty on the morning of September 8, and the judge had been dead for eighteen hours, and Bobby Terry had died a little later—unfortunately.

The water in the shower was still running. "This man has a cleansing habit," she thought, "I really don't understand what made him wash for an hour and a half at a stretch?" She thought of the judge again.Who would have thought of that?From a certain point of view, this is a brilliant idea.Who would doubt an old man?Oh, it seems that Flagg has suspected.He somehow learned when and roughly where it happened.Pickets were deployed along the Idaho-Oregon border and they had orders to kill him. But somehow this was messed up.Since last night's dinner, the Las Vegas elite has been pacing up and down, pale and dejected.Whitney Hogan, that goddamn chef cooks food that looks like dog food, so charred you can't taste it.The judge is dead, but something seems to be going wrong.

She got out of bed, walked slowly to the window, and looked at the desert in the distance.Under the scorching sun, two large buses of the Las Vegas Advanced School moved slowly westward on National Highway 95, facing the Indian Springs Air Force Base.She knew there were daily seminars on jet piloting.There were at least a dozen people in the West who could fly, but luckily—for the Free State—none of them were selected by Indian Springs to pilot National Guard jets. But those people are learning, oh my god, it's true! The most important thing to her now about Judge's death was that they knew when they shouldn't.Did they have a spy of their own back from the land of the free?Likely, she reckons: spying is a card both sides can play.Hugh Stern had told her that whether or not to send spies west would be a strictly controlled committee decision, and she doubted very much whether any of the seven were in Flagg's hands.But anyway, if someone on the committee turned traitor, Mama Abagil would be the first to know, and Dana had no doubts about that.

Then there is another possibility: Flagg himself just knew about this matter. As of today, Dana has lived in Las Vegas for eight days and, as far as she can tell, is fully accepted as a part of the community.There she had collected a wealth of information about the operation, enough to scare everyone in Boulder to death.But what disturbed her most was that when people here heard the name "Flag" mentioned, they immediately turned away as if they hadn't heard anything.Some of them even make god-bless gestures, beg-for-knee gestures, or fake evil glances behind hand slits.He can be said to be "big name" there, or he can be said to not exist at all.

It's daytime.At night, if you will sit quietly in the Lion's Bar or the Silver Slipper at the Treasury Hotel, you will hear many stories about him, which is where the rumors first started.Most of the time, they talked slowly and word for word, pouring beer after bottle, neither looking at the other.You have to be careful not to drink too strong a drink, or your mouth will get out of control, which is very dangerous.She knew that not all of what they said was true, but it was like removing the gold trim from a piece of rich cloth, you wouldn't believe it would be a pity.From their mouths, she learned that he was a shapeshifter, a werewolf, the initiator of a catastrophe, and an evil anti-Christ that had been predicted in the Apocalypse.She also heard about the crucifixion of Heck Drogan and how he found out that Heck was on drugs...etc, as if he already knew how Judge died, which seemed natural.

No one ever called him Flagg in these nightly chats, as if they thought calling him by his name would bring him in like the devil out of a bottle.They called him the Man in Black, "The Walker," the Tall Man, and Latty Owens called him "the nasty old Judas." If he already knew about the judge, wouldn't it be reasonable to say that he also knew about her? The sound of the water in the shower was silent. Go on, dear.He looks like a hideous demon.The shower made him seem taller.Maybe he did have a spy in the Free State—not necessarily someone on the committee, just the one who told him Judge Charles wasn't a deserter.

"You shouldn't be walking around naked, baby, you're going to make me want all over again." She turned away with an elegant and seductive smile on her face.She wanted to take him downstairs to the kitchen and stuff that thing he was so proud of into Whitney Hogan's cooking meat grinder. "Why do you think I was walking around naked just now?" He looked down at his watch and said, "Oh, we've got about 40 minutes left in here." His cock was already erect and throbbing...like a divining rod for detecting things in deep water, Dana thought playfully, with a hint of disgust.

"Well, let's come then." He walked towards her.She suddenly pointed to his chest and said, "Take that thing off, it makes me uncomfortable." Lloyd Henrider looked down.It was an amulet, black, the shape and size of a teardrop, with a red spot on it.He quickly took it off and put it on the bedside table next to him.This beautifully made necklace made a crisp sound when it hit the table. "Is this better?" "much better." She opens her arms.He immediately climbed onto her body, and then thrust into her hard. "You like this?" he gasped. "You like this, don't you, baby?"

"My God! I love it so much," she moaned, thinking of the meat grinder: all white porcelain, gleaming stainless steel. "What did you say?" "I said I loved it!" she exclaimed. After a while, she pretended to be extremely excited, shook her hips violently, and cried out loudly.Before long, his orgasm came too (after living with Lloyd for four days, she could now time his orgasm almost exactly).She inadvertently glanced at the nearby nightstand as the sticky cum trickled down her thighs. black gemstone. Red spots. Appears to be watching her. She suddenly had a terrible feeling that it was his eyes looking at her, his cold eyes with contact lenses looking at her.

It is looking at me, it sees through me.In that moment of helplessness, she thought in terror and despair.It was a long time before she woke up from the hallucination. Afterwards, as she had expected, Lloyd started talking, which was part of his routine.He always liked to tell her what was going on lately while he put his arm around her bare shoulders, smoking a cigarette, lying on the bed, looking at their reflection in the mirror on the ceiling. "It's a good thing I'm not that Bobby Terry guy," he said, "and I can't do anything without a leader. Boss wants the old bastard's life without any scars on him, and he's going to send him back To the Rocky Mountains. See how this thing works, that idiot put two .45 caliber rounds in his face and got close range. I think he deserved it, but luckily I wasn't there .”

"What's up with him?" "Don't ask such things, baby." "How did he know? The boss?" "He was there." She couldn't help shivering. "By chance there?" "Well. He happens to be wherever there's trouble. God, the moment I think about what he did to Eric Stratton, and the smug lawyer, I go to Las Vegas with the garbage bugs ,and also……" "What did he do?" He didn't answer for a long time, and she didn't think he would.Often by asking some simple and polite questions, she would gently steer him in the direction she set, giving him (to use a phrase her little sister often said) a sense of smugness and smugness.But this time she felt that she was asking too deeply, and she didn't feel relieved until Lloyd spoke again in a strange, throaty voice. "He just looked at him. Eric talked a whole bunch of how he wanted to see this Vegas action ... and how we should do this and do that. Poor old guy — he It's disorienting, you know—he's just watching him like he's watching a TV star. Eric walks around like he's speaking to a jury, proving that what he's saying is so, so true. And He--in a really soft voice--called 'Eric'. Yes, that's it. So Eric started looking at him, and that's what I saw. Eric was like that for a long Watched him for 5 minutes. His eyes widened...then he started drooling...then he started grinning...so he started laughing with Eric and I was terrified Yeah. Flagg is scary when he smiles, and Eric smiles like that. And he said, 'Put him in the Mojave when you get back'. So we did what he said .. as far as I know, Eric is hanging around the place right now. He stares at Eric for 5 minutes and then forgets about him." He took another deep breath, then put out his cigarette, put his arm around her, and asked, "Why are we talking about all this nonsense?" "I don't know...how is Indian Springs doing now?" Lloyd suddenly came to the spirit, it seems that the Indian Springs project is really his darling. "Brilliant! Very good! By the beginning of October, maybe sooner, we're going to pick 3 people to fly the Skyhawk. Hank Rosen looks really good. And the garbage bug, just like that A genius. There may be things he is unfamiliar with, but his proficiency with a weapon is unbelievable." She's had two encounters with Litterbugs.But every time his inscrutable gaze fell on her, she felt a threatening cold soak her whole body, and when those eyes moved away from her, she would visibly There is a sense of relaxation.Obviously, everyone else saw him as a mascot, someone who would bring good luck.One of his arms had a large, horrible, freshly healed burn scar, which reminded her of the strange incident of the night before. While talking, Hank Rosen put a cigarette in his mouth, struck a match, lit the cigarette after speaking, and then shook the match out.Dana noticed that Litterbug's eyes were looking at the flame with a kind of concentration that seemed to hold his breath, as if his whole body and mind were concentrated on this small flame, and also like a hungry person. Staring greedily at a table of nine courses, Hank doesn't look away until he shakes out the flames and throws the blackened match stub into the ashtray. "He's good with a weapon?" she asked Lloyd. "He's terrific at that. Skyhawks have missiles under their wings called Slicker Surface-to-Air Missiles. What a fucking name, aren't they? fighter jets, and no one knew how to use them safely. Gosh, it took us a whole day to figure out how to remove them from the launch pad. So Hank said: 'We wait for the garbage bug to come back and let him Let's see, see if he can figure out what to do.'" "When does he come back?" "Hey, he's a very interesting traveler. He's been in Las Vegas for a week now, but he might be flying somewhere else soon." "Where is he going?" "Into the desert. He drives a Lowell and goes wherever he wants to go. Tell you, he's a weird guy, and in that respect, Trash Bug is almost as big as the boss. The west here is nothing but the endless Nothing but deserts and discarded crap. I know that because I was once in jail in some damn place out west called Brownville Station. I don't know what he did for a living there, but he did come alive .He went looking for new gadgets. He used to come back with some. About a week after he and I got back from Las Vegas, he came back with a bunch of machine guns with laser sights, which Hank called A machine gun that hits every shot. This time he brought back Teller mines, whole and in pieces, and a small can of Parathion—he said he found a bunch of them Defoliants, and a heap of defoliants that would defoliate an entire Colorado plant as light as an egg." "Where did he find it?" "Various places," Lloyd said simply. "Isn't it weird, baby, that he's got such a sharp nose that he can sniff things out? Most of western Nevada and eastern California were experimented on by the Americans before." where they develop all sorts of things, even the atomic bomb. Someday he'll have to bring one of the atomic bombs back." He laughed.But Dana felt chilly, bone-chilling cold in his heart. "There's a big flu epidemic going on in some parts of here, and I need a lot of money for that. Maybe the litterbug can find the money. Let me tell you, he can sniff stuff out. Boss says just leave it to him He can do anything with a head, yes, exactly. You know what his favorite thing is right now?" "I don't know," Dana replied.She wasn't sure she wanted to know these things, but what else had she come here for? "Firetracks. He got five of them out of Indian Springs base, lined up like a race car with the most fuel." Lloyd laughed. "It's full of napalm, garbage bugs Like these things." "Trash bug," she muttered. "Anyway, when the trash bug came this time, we took him to Spring Base. He was banging around, muttering, and taking those attack missiles in only 6 hours It's installed. Can you believe it? Those Air Force mechanics took decades to learn this technology, and he only did it in 6 hours. No wonder, they are not garbage! This guy What a fucking genius." Idiot genius, isn't that what you mean.I know how he got those scars, I bet. Lloyd looked at his watch, stood up and said, "Speaking of Indian Springs, I gotta go there. There's still time for another shower. Want to come with me?" "Not this time." The sound of running water came from the shower again, and she began to get dressed.So far she had insisted on dressing and undressing alone when he was not in the house, and she thought she would continue to do so in the future. She strapped the sheath to her forearm and put the switchblade back into the sheath.She retracts the 10-inch knife with a quick flick of the wrist. Well, girls need to have their own secrets, she thought as she quickly put the coat on her body. These afternoons she has been working in a streetlight maintenance squad.The so-called job is to use a very delicate device to check the light bulb and replace it with a new one if it burns out or is broken by those saboteurs.This is a time when Las Vegas is in the midst of a pandemic scare.There are 4 people in their working group, driving a large truck with a liftable platform on it, slowly moving from one lamp post to another, and from one street to another all day long. Standing on the platform one evening, Dana considered what she thought of the rest of the group as she reached to remove a plexiglass windshield from a street lamp.She adores the 3 colleagues, especially Jenny Engstrom, a tough and beautiful woman.She used to work as a dancer in nightclubs and now operates a lift platform.She was the kind of person Dana would love to be his close friend.However, what puzzled her was that Jenny's position was on the side of the man in black.The confusion was so strong that she didn't even dare to ask why she was like this. The others are not bad either.She thinks there are more idiots in Las Vegas than in Free State, but they are not fierce at all, not the kind of people who hide their knives in their smiles.In her impression, the people here are also much more industrious than those in the Land of Freedom.In the Free State, you'll find people hanging out in parks all day, eating lunch from noon until 2pm.This has never happened in Las Vegas.From 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., everyone is at work, both in Indian Springs and on her team, and even school has reopened.There are about 20 kids in Vegas, ranging in age from 4 years old (the 4-year-old's name is Daniel McCarthy, everyone in town loves him, they affectionately call him Denny) to 15 years old. Wait.There are two teachers with teaching certificates to teach them, and they have classes 5 days a week.Lloyd, who had to drop out of junior high school after repeating three grades in a row, is now proud to provide these educational opportunities to his children.The clinic remains open and unattended.People can come in and out at any time... but the most they can take away is a bottle of aspirin or something at a time.There is no drug loss problem in the west.Anyone who's seen what happened to Heck Drogan knows what a habit like this can lead to.There was no one like Rich Moffat either, everyone was very friendly and candid.It would be wise not to drink anything higher than the bottled beer if you're smart here. She thought of Germany in 1938.Nazi Party?Oh, they are very attractive people and very athletic.They don't go to nightclubs, which are where tourists hang out.So what do they do?Their job is to make clocks. Is it fair to compare the two?Dana thought uneasily, thinking of Jenny Engstrom, whom she liked so much.She didn't quite know...but she thought maybe there was something unfair about it. She checked the light standard in the windshield, then replaced the bad bulb, carefully between her feet, and pulled out the last new one.Well, today's work is coming to an end.It is now... She glanced down, suddenly petrified. People were coming out of the station at the Indian Springs base and heading home.They all looked up inadvertently, as if they were already familiar with someone working at heights.Syndrome of watching a free circus show. There was a face looking up at her too. It was a square, smiling face with a look of curiosity. My God, isn't that Tom Curran? Streams of salty sweat trickled into her eyes, blurring her vision.By the time she wiped the sweat off, the face had disappeared into the crowd.The crowd coming out of the station walked down the street shaking their lunch boxes, chatting and laughing as they walked.Dana stared at the man she thought was Tom, it was hard to tell from the back if he was... Tom?They sent Tom? Certainly not.If so, they must be crazy, literally... Simply mentally ill. She couldn't believe it was real anyway. "Hello, Jürgens!" Jenny called out to her, "are you asleep up there, or amusing yourself?" Dana, leaning against the low railing on the platform, glanced down at Jenny's upturned face, where Jenny was smiling at her with a derisive gesture.Dana picked up the bulb again and pressed it firmly.This is the end of today's work.On the drive to the gas station, she was silent, lost in thought, so quiet that Jenny wondered. "I just don't think there's much to say," Dana told her with a slight smile. It can't be Tom. Could it really be him? "Get up! Get up! You bitch, get the fuck up!" A foot kicked her hard from behind her from the wide bed, and she woke up from a hazy sleep, blinking her eyes, not understanding what happened. Lloyd stood there, looking down at her grimly.Standing by are Whitney Hogan, Ken Dermot, Es Hay, and Janney.Jenny's usually smiling face was just as pale and grim now. "Jane...?" No one answered.Dana got up, vaguely aware that she was still naked, and she could clearly feel that the people around her were looking down at her grimly.Lloyd had an expression on his face that he found someone betrayed him. Am I dreaming? "Get the fuck on, you liar, spy bitch!" It seems that it is not a dream.A sense of fear that seemed to have been expected for a long time came to my heart.They already knew about the Judge, so they had spotted her too.He told them everything.She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was 4:15 in the morning.This is the moment for the secret police, she thought. "Where is he?" she asked. "Nearby," said Lloyd grimly.His face was a little pale, and the amulet was exposed at the V-shaped neckline. "Don't worry, you'll see him soon." "Lloyd?" "What are you doing?" "I gave you an STD, Lloyd, and I hope it rots." He kicked under her chest, kicking her backwards to the ground. "I hope it rots, Lloyd." "Shut your mouth and put on your clothes." "You go out first, I don't want to get dressed in front of any man." Lloyd kicked her again, this time in the right arm.The severe pain made her bend down, her mouth opened wide, but she didn't cry out. "You're in a bad place, Lloyd, aren't you? Sleeping with a female spy like Mata Hari?" she sneered at him, tears of pain in her eyes. "Forget it, Lloyd," Whitney Hogan said.Seeing murderous intent in Lloyd's eyes, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Let's go to the bedroom first, Jenny will be here watching her get dressed." "Then what if she jumped out of the window?" "She won't stand a chance," Janney said.Her broad face was impassive as death when Dana noticed for the first time a pistol sticking out of her ass. "Anyway she can't do it," Es Hay said. "That window up there is just for show, don't you know? Some people try to jump out of it when they lose at a game table. It's too bad for a hotel, so these windows are never opened." His eyes fell on Dana, and there was a trace of pity in his eyes: "Honey, you are a real big loser now." "Come on, Lloyd," Whitney continued, "let's get out first. If you do something stupid—kick her in the head or something—you'll regret it." "Okay." Lloyd turned to her again as they walked toward the door together, "he'll have it for you, you bloody bitch." "You are the most disgusting of all my lovers, Lloyd," she said softly. He tried to jump at her again, but Whitney and Ken Dermot grabbed him and dragged him out.With a low click, the double safety door was closed. "Put on your clothes, Dana," said Janney. Dana stood up, still rubbing his purple-black arm. "Is this what your people are like?" she asked. "Is this what you are? Like Lloyd Henrider?" "It was you who slept with him, not me." For the first time, there was an expression on her face: angry reproach. "You think it's easy to come here and spy on the locals, don't you? You've got what you've got today. And, my sister, you're going to be severely punished." "I slept with him for a reason," she said as she pulled on her pants. "I came here to spy on intelligence for a reason." "Can you keep your mouth shut?" Dana turned to look at Janney and said, "Young girl, do you know what they do here? Do you wonder why they didn't learn to fly those planes at Indian Springs? And the attacks Missiles? Do you think they did it because Flagg was trying to win back a rag doll for his girlfriend at the fair?" Jenny pursed her lips tightly and said, "That's none of my business." "If next year they fly those planes over the Rocky Mountains and blow up the people who live there with missiles, do you think it's none of your business?" "I hope they do. It's either us or you, he said. I believe him." "They also believed in Hitler. But the truth is you don't believe in him - you're just afraid of him and don't have the guts to face him." "Wear your clothes, Dana." Dana put on her pants, buttoned and zipped them, and suddenly she covered her mouth and said, "I...I want to throw up...God!..." Grabbing her long-sleeved jacket, she turned and ran into the shower room and locked the door.There was a loud vomiting sound from inside. "Open the door, Dana! Open the door, or I'll shoot the lock." "I'm sick..." She let out another loud vomit.Meanwhile, on tiptoe, she fumbled her hands over the medicine cabinet.Thank God she found the switchblade she had hidden there.I wish I had another 20 seconds... She strapped the knife to her arm.At this time, there were more voices in the bedroom. She poured water into the tub with her left hand. "Wait a minute, I'm sick right now, it's fucking bad!" But they didn't give her much for a moment.Someone started kicking at the door, which made the frame tremble.At this time, the switchblade had been hidden by Dana, and it lay horizontally along her arm like a hard bow.She put the coat on very quickly and buttoned the sleeves, took a quick sip of water with her hands, and then vomited loudly into the pool. The door was kicked again.Dana turned the handle of the door and they rushed in.Lloyd looked furious and Janney stood behind Ken Dermot and Es Hay, gun drawn and in hand. "I'm throwing up," Dana said coldly. "It's pretty bad, you don't look good, do you?" Lloyd grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the shower and into the bedroom. "Should have broken your neck, bitch." "Remember what your master said." She buttoned up her coat and looked at them with bright eyes. "He is your bandit leader, and you belong to him. You want to flatter him, don't you?" "You'd better keep your mouth shut," Whitney snapped. "You're only making yourself worse." She glanced at Jenny, unable to comprehend how this bright and cheerful libertine, who laughed so much during the day, could be so cold and sinister. "Can't you see that this man wants tragedy to repeat itself?" she asked them desperately. "Massacre, shooting... apocalypse?" "He's the most powerful," said Whitney, in a strangely soft tone, "and he's going to wipe you all off the face of the earth." "Stop talking," said Lloyd. "Let's go." They came over to grab her arms, but she quickly stepped back, shook her head, folded her arms to protect her body and said, "I can walk by myself." The small building where Flagg lives looks a bit desolate.There were only a few men with guns at the door, some sitting and some standing.The elevator doors opened, and Lloyd and his gang pushed Dana in. Walking past a bank of teller windows, she was led to a door.Lloyd unlocked the door with a tiny key, and a group of people walked in.They walked past what looked like a bank: adding machines, old baskets full of paper tape, cans of rubber strips, paper scissors, computer screens that had turned gray and blurred, Half-open cash drawers, etc.Some cash fell out of the drawer and onto the floor.Most cash has a denomination of 50 or 100. Behind the teller's office, Whitney opened another door, and they led Dana down a carpeted hallway to a reception room.The room was elegantly furnished with a neatly made table.A secretary who had died a few months earlier had worked here, from coughing and spitting.There was a picture on the wall that looked like a portrait of someone.The floor was covered with a fine light brown plush carpet.This is the living room leading to the center of power. A sense of fear invaded her body slowly like icy cold water, and she felt that she was about to freeze, and she was a little overwhelmed.Lloyd leaned against the table and pressed a button on it.Dana noticed that his forehead was slightly sweating. "We brought her." She suddenly felt a burst of hysterical laughter erupting in her heart, and she wanted to suppress it but was powerless, so she couldn't help giggling. Jenny slapped her hard across the face and said sharply, "Shut up! Don't you know what's going on with you?" "I know," Dana said, glancing at her, "you, and you people, you don't really know." At this moment, a very enthusiastic and excited laughter came from the microphone, "Very well, Lloyd, thank you. Let her in." "Let her go in alone?" "Exactly." The microphone was turned off amidst a burst of very wanton laughter.The laughter made Dana's throat dry. Lloyd turned around as the sweat oozed from his brow and ran down his cheeks like tears. "Did you hear him? Go in." She folded her arms across her chest so that she could hide the knife. "What if I collapse." "I'll drag you in." "Look at yourself, Lloyd, you're too scared to drag a dingo into it." She looked at the others again, and said, "You're all scared. Jenny, you're scared It's not doing your body any good, and it's not doing your pants any good." "Shut up, you dirty spy," whispered Janney. "I've never been scared like this in the land of the free," Dana said. "I feel good there. I'm here because I want to keep that good feeling. It's not political at all. You should Come to think of it, maybe he scares you because he has nothing to offer you but fear." "My great aunt," Whitney said apologetically, "I'd love to hear from you, but that man is waiting there. I'm sorry, but you must go in by yourself, or we'll kill you." Drag it in. If you have a lot to say, you can go in and tell him what you want to do. But right now, we're still taking care of you." Dana Thinking: That's weird, he sounds like he's sincerely apologizing.He was terribly frightened indeed. "You don't need to do that, I can go in by myself." She forced her feet forward, which made it easier.She was going to die--she knew it well.In that case, let it be.Anyway, I have a knife.Kill him first if possible, and then, if necessary, commit suicide. She thought: I am Dana Roberta Jürgens, and I am afraid now, but I have been afraid before.All he wanted to take from me was what I was going to lose someday—my life.I will not let him break me down, I must not lose my dignity if I can... I want to die with dignity, and I am about to get my wish. She opened the door and walked into the inner office, and walked up to Randall Flagg. It was a large room, and there was hardly anything in it.The desk is placed against the innermost wall, and a swivel chair sits just behind it.The pictures on the wall were hidden by the curtains, and the lights were out, so the whole room looked dark. On the other side of the room, the curtains were drawn to reveal a glass window facing the desert.Dana had never seen such a lifeless and dull landscape.Above the landscape is a bright moon, like a small polished silver coin, just a little short of being full. There was a figure of a man by the window looking at the distant scenery, with his back to her, and he didn't respond to her coming.How long can a person turn around?Two seconds, three seconds at most.但对于戴纳来说，这个黑人好像一直在慢慢地转身，就像他正看着的那轮慢慢露出的明月一样，一点一点显露着他的真面目。她仿佛又变成了一个小孩，被一种极其强烈的恐惧吓得几乎麻木了。在那一瞬间，她确实被他那特有的魔力惊呆了。她确信，当这个转身动作结束时，她将一览无余地看到那张梦魇中可怕的脸，就像发觉一个千古不解的谜一样：他就像一个披着斗蓬的哥特族和尚，整件上衣在黑暗中形成一个长长的影子。这是一个缺乏表情的阴险的男人，她看到他的真面目后也许会被吓得疯掉。 他望着她，脸上挂着热情的微笑，慢慢地走了过来。她大吃一惊：天啊，他的年龄竟和我差不多。 兰德尔·弗拉格的黑发有些凌乱，英俊的脸上泛着红润，也许是因为在沙漠里风吹日晒的缘故吧。他的样子机敏善感，眼睛里跳跃着亢奋的光芒，就像是一个小孩忽然发现一个令他十分感兴趣的秘密一样。 “戴纳！”他对她说，“你好！” “你－你－你好！”她只能说出这几个字。她已做好各种各样的准备，但怎么也没想到会出现这样的情况。她似乎被当头一击，几乎摔倒在地。面对她的迷惑，像是道歉一样，他微笑着伸出双手。他上穿一件褪色的花呢衬衣，衣领有些磨损，下穿窄脚牛仔裤，脚蹬一双很旧的牛仔靴，鞋跟已经磨损。 “你以为我是什么？吸血鬼？”他的笑容很温和，几乎要求她也报之一笑。“一个扒人皮的恶魔？关于我他们都对你说了些什么？” “他们很害怕，”她回答说，“劳埃德像……像头猪一样出了很多汗。” 他的笑容依然是那么动人，简直令人难以拒绝地想对他回笑，她拼命抑制住这种冲动。由于他的命令，她曾被人一脚从床上踢了下来，并被带到这儿……怎么办？忏悔？把自己所知道的关于自由之邦的一切情况告诉他？但她觉得这些情况他一定都知道。 “劳埃德，”弗拉格苦笑道，“感冒在凤凰城大流行的时候，劳埃德曾有过一次悲惨的经历。是我把他从死神手里救了回来，”——他的笑容在进一步消除对方的敌意——“用一句流行的话说，那是一场比死更可怕的经历。我觉得他多少把那次经历与我联系上了，尽管他的遭遇根本就不是我造成的。你相信我吗？” 她慢慢地点了点头，相信他了，心中甚至纳闷劳埃德不断淋浴的怪癖是不是和“在凤凰城的一次悲惨遭遇”有什么关系。她也发现自己心中对劳埃德产生了一种从没有过的情感：怜悯。 “好吧，坐下来谈，亲爱的。” 她用狐疑的眼光向四周望了望。 “就坐在地板上，地板很好。我们一定要谈一谈，真诚地谈一谈。撒谎的大骗子都是坐在椅子上，咱们不学他们。我们就像坐在篝火对面的朋友一样坐下来。来，坐下，小姐。”他的眼睛闪动着一种使人身不由己的魔力，就像他那真诚而开朗的笑容一样。他盘腿坐在地上，用磁石一样的眼睛望着她，脸上的神情似乎在说：你不会忍心让我一个人这么滑稽地坐在这间办公室的地板上，是吧？ 戴纳想了想还是坐了下来。她盘起双腿，双手轻轻地放在膝盖上。她能感觉到弹簧刀鞘里的刀子轻微的压力。 “亲爱的，他们派你到我们这里来刺探情报，”他说，“我这样描述准确吗？” “是的。”她明白否认是没有用的。 “你也知道在战争期间间谍通常会有什么下场？” "yes." 他的笑容像灿烂的阳光一样一下子四射开来，“那么，很幸运我们双方的人民不是在进行战争，对不对？” 她看着他，对这句话感到十分诧异。 “确实，我们不是在进行战争，这一点你也知道。”他用一种平静的语调真诚地说。 她的脑海中顿时涌现出数不清的使她感到困惑的问题：印第安斯普林斯，攻击导弹，带着脱叶剂的垃圾虫以及他的火焰履带车，还有当这个男人的名字——或者说他本身——在谈话中出现时话题的迅速转变，以及那个在莫哈瓦游荡的名叫埃里克·斯特莱顿的律师。 他一动不动地注视着她。 “我们攻击过你们所谓的自由之邦吗？对你们做过什么挑衅战争的行动吗？” “没有……不过……” “你们攻击过我们吗？” “当然也没有！” “对，没有。我们也没计划要这样做，你看！”他忽然举起右手卷成筒状，通过它，她可以看到窗外一望无垠的沙漠。 “这是西部大沙漠！”他大声说，“统统见鬼去吧！内华达州！亚利桑那州！还有新墨西哥，加利福尼亚！都见鬼去吧！我的人民数目寥寥，又分散在华盛顿、西雅图周围以及波特兰、新奥尔良，并且相当大一部分是在爱达荷和新俄勒冈州。我的人民数目分散得连每年做一下统计都办不到。我们比你们更脆弱。自由之邦就像一个有高度组织的蜂窝或社区一样，而我们只不过是个小小的联合体，由我做一个象征性的头领。我们双方都有足够的生存空间，就是到2190年双方人民的生存空间也会绰绰有余。这是说如果孩子们能活下去的话——这事至少要到5个月以后才有可能知道。如果他们活着，人类继续下去，而他们之间发生什么纠纷的话，那么就让他们通过战争去解决吧，可是眼下我们究竟有什么理由需要打起来呢？” “没有什么理由，”她不由自主地轻声说。她的喉咙已干，脑袋涨得发痛，心里有一种说不出的感觉。what is it是希望吗？她注视着他的眼睛，似乎已无法把视线从他身上移开，实际上也不想移开。她不会发疯，因为他决没有逼她发疯，他是一个……一个非常通情达理的人。 “没有经济原因使我们发动战争，也没有技术原因。我们的政治制度有那么一点不同，但这微不足道，因为我们之间还隔着一座落基山……” 他在麻醉我。 她这样想，于是很费力地把目光从他的眼睛那里移开，越过他的肩膀，向外望着那轮明月。弗拉格的笑容暗淡了一些，脸上似乎浮现出了愤怒的影子。也许只是她的幻觉？当她的目光又回到他身上的时候（这一次带了更多的敌意），他又在温和地对她微笑。 “是你杀死了法官，”她厉声说，“你想从我身上得到些什么，一旦你得到，就会把我也杀死。” 他很耐心地望着她说，“沿爱达荷州至俄勒冈州一带有许多警戒哨，他们在寻找法官，这是事实，但并不是杀死他！我的命令是把他给我带来。我一直在波特兰，直到昨天才回来。我想以现在和你这样的方式和他谈一谈，亲爱的，冷静一点，好好想想，理智一些。我的两个哨兵在俄勒冈州一个叫科珀菲尔德的地方找到了他。他当即开枪射击，把其中一个打成重伤，另一个当场死亡。重伤的那个临死之前杀死了他。我对发生这样的事感到很难过，比你所能知道和了解的更难过。” 他的眼神暗淡了下去，从这一点她相信他所说的是真话，但也可能是他想用这种欺骗的方式使她信任他，一想到这一点，她立刻又感到透骨的冰冷。 “可他们并不是这样说的。” “要么相信他们，要么相信我，亲爱的。不过你记住，是我向他们发的命令。” 他真是循循善诱……该死的循循善诱。他似乎毫无恶意，但这不是事实，难道他真的不坏？产生这种感觉仅仅是因为他是个人，或者从某个方面看起来像人。他有政治家特有的熟练技巧，他一出场，再雄辩的人也会哑口无言，俯首认输……不过她发现他的说教方式让她感到心烦意乱。 “如果你无意发动战争，那么你在印第安斯普林斯基地拥有那么多飞机和人员做什么用？” “这是一种防御手段，”他马上说，“我们在加利福尼亚州的瑟尔斯湖和爱德华空军基地也是这么做的。我们还有一部分人在华盛顿的亚里基桥搞原子反应堆。你们的人马上也会做同样的事……或者他们已经开始做了。” 戴纳缓缓、缓缓地摇了摇头说：“我离开自由之邦的时候，他们还在设法让电灯重新亮起来。” “我很愿意派两三个技术人员去帮助你们，只是刚好得知你们的布拉德·基奇纳已经把事情办得差不多了。他们昨天暂时断了一下电，不过问题很快就解决了。阿拉帕霍用电量太大，超负荷了。” “这些事你都是怎么知道的？” “噢，我有我的手段，”弗拉格和蔼地说，“顺便说一句，一个老太太回来了，一个非常好的老太太。” “是阿巴盖尔妈妈？” “是的。”他的眼中涌现出一丝淡淡的忧虑，也许是悲伤。“可她已经死了。真可惜，我实在是希望亲眼见到她。” “死了？阿巴盖尔妈妈死了？” 他眼中的忧伤似乎烟消云散了，微笑着对她说：“你真的对此那么吃惊？” “不，我奇怪的是她怎么回来了，也许我比你所预料的要奇怪得多。” “她回来后就死了。” “她说过些什么吗？” 在那一瞬间，弗拉格和蔼可亲的面具消失了，露出阴沉的失望和愤怒。 “不，”他说，“我以为她会……会说些什么，可她在昏迷中死去了。” “你敢肯定吗？” 他的脸上又浮现出灿烂的笑容，像夏日里驱散了浓雾的太阳。 “不要想她的事了，戴纳，我们谈一些高兴的事，比如说让你回到自由之邦去。我想你肯定很希望回到那儿去，我也有一样东西需要你带过去。” 他说着从衬衣里掏出一个用皮革做的小袋子，从里面拿出三张军用地图递给戴纳。戴纳看着这些地图，心中更困惑了。这是一张有关西部7个州的地图，上面用小红点标注着一些特定的地区。在每张地图的下面有一个用手工画的箭头注明这些是人口比较稠密的地区。 “你是想让我把这些带回去吗？” “对。我知道你们的人口主要分布在哪些地区，因此也希望你们能知道我们这方面的情况，这可以作为一种友好而诚实的姿态。你回去后我希望你这样对他们说：弗拉格并没有把他们当做敌人，弗拉格的人民也不是他们的敌人，所以以后不要再往这儿派间谍了。如果他们想派人来这儿，就派外交使团……或者相互交换学生……什么办法都行，但是要光明正大。你回去会这样对他们说吗？” 他这些简练的话语使她震惊得简直有些晕眩。“当然，我可以这样告诉他们，不过……” “这就够了。”他又举起他那宽大的、空荡荡的手掌，她从上面看出了一些异样，于是带着满腹狐疑，向前探着身子去看。 “你在看什么？”他的话音里带着一丝严厉。 “没看什么。” 事实上她已看到了，从他的表情她也看得出来，他知道自己看到了。弗拉格的手掌上空荡荡的，没有一条手纹，光滑得像婴儿腹部的皮肤，没有生命线，没有爱情线，没有戒指，没有手镯，也没有任何别的手饰，只是……只是那么空荡荡的。 他们互相看着对方，似乎看了很长时间。 这时，弗拉格一下子站了起来，回到他的桌边。戴纳也站了起来，她实际上已经相信他会让她走的。他坐到桌边拿起了麦克风。 “我会让劳埃德给你的自行车加好油，把一切损坏的地方都修好，”他说，“再给你的车子充好气。你现在不会担心气不足或油料不够了吧？放心，一切都足够用。虽然曾有一天，我记得很清楚，也许你也记得，好像整个世界都因为缺少价格便宜的无铅油而弥漫着核武器的火球。”他摇了摇头叹息着说，“人类真是愚昧得无可救药。” 他按下了话筒的按钮，“劳埃德？” “是的，我在这儿。” “请把戴纳的自行车充好气送过来，放在旅馆前面。她要离开我们回去了。” "yes." 弗拉格关上话筒，然后对她说：“好了，没事了，亲爱的。” “我……这样就可以走了？” “对，尊敬的女士，我为此感到十分高兴。”他掌心向下指着门口说。 她走到门口，刚要打开门就听见他说：“还有一件事，一件……一件非常小的事。” 戴纳转过身望着他，他正对她微笑着。这是一种很友好的笑，但就在那一刹间她忽然想起一种被训练的大黑狗，长长的舌头伸在又白又尖锐的牙齿外面，一口就能像咬一块洗碗布那样咬掉一只胳膊。 "What's up?" “你们还有一个人在这儿，”弗拉格说，脸上满是和蔼的微笑，“他会是谁呢？” “我怎么能知道呢？”戴纳反问道。这时她的脑子忽然闪现出一个身影：汤姆·科伦！……真的会是他吗？ “哦，得啦，亲爱的，我想我们已经说得很明白了。” “真的，”她说，“你仔细想一想就会发现我决不撒谎，委员会派我……还有法官……谁知道还有多少人……他们是非常小心的，因此我们之间不能相互了解。这点你明白，要是发生了什么事……” “要是我们发现了几个并决定要除掉他们，是不是？” “对，是这样。我是苏珊·斯特恩派来的，我曾猜想是拉里·安德伍德……他也是委员会的成员……” “我认识安德伍德先生。” “对，嗯，我猜是他派法官来的。不过对于别的人……”她摇了摇头，“谁都有可能，也可能是许多人，因为我知道委员会的7个成员每人都负责招募一个间谍。” “对，这有可能，但实际情况并不是这样。其实只有一个，你知道这人是谁。”他脸上的笑容更灿烂了，但现在这笑容却令她感到害怕。这不是自然的笑，它使她想到了死鱼，污染的水，透过望远镜看到的月球表面，这也使她感到很泄气并且怒火中烧。 “你知道。”他重复说。 "No, I..." 弗拉格再次俯下身子对着麦克风说，“劳埃德走了吗？” “不，我还在这儿。”通讯设备虽昂贵，但确实是一件很不错的通讯工具。 “先暂停一下对戴纳自行车的准备，”他说，“我们还有一件事需要”——他看了她一眼，眼睛里闪现着深思熟虑的光芒——“先在这里解决了。” "yes." 对话机关闭了。弗拉格的手握在一起，微笑着看着她，看了很长很长的时间。戴纳开始出汗了。他的双眼似乎越睁越大，越来越黑，使人觉得看他的眼睛就像看一眼很深很老的井。她想把目光移开，可怎么也办不到。 “告诉我，”他用一种非常柔和的声音说，“亲爱的，我们都不希望发生什么不愉快的事。” 她听见自己的声音说：“整件事就是一个阴谋，是一场由一个人一手导演的戏，这不是很明显吗？” “亲爱的，我不明白你在说些什么。” “不，你明白。你们错就错在劳埃德回答你回答得那么快。当你在这儿散布花言巧语的时候，他们应该已按照你的吩咐去行动了，他现在应该带着我的自行车走了一半的路程，除非你告诉他别动，看来你从来就没想过放我走。” “亲爱的，你的多疑症使你得出一个可怕的结论。我怀疑你和那些人在一起时曾有过类似经历，那可真是一件很可怕的事。你猜想的这件事也很可怕，但我们并没打算这样做，是不是？” 她感到自己的力气正在渐渐地耗光。怀着最后的希望，她把麻木的右手握成拳头，朝右眼打了一下，顿时一股剧烈的疼痛遍布全身，眼前的景象也开始模糊了。她用头猛地在门上撞了一下，发出一声巨响。她迅速把目光从他身上移开，觉得自己的决心又恢复了，抵抗的力量也增强了。 “噢，你可真是好人啊。”她愤怒地说。 “你知道他是谁，”他边说边站起来，离开桌子向她走了过来。“你知道，而且你会告诉我的。打自己的头对你没有什么帮助，亲爱的。” “你自己怎么会不知道？”她对他吼道，“你了解法官，了解我，怎么会不知道……” 他的双手以可怕的力量落在她的臂膀上，大理石一样冰冷。 "who is it?" "have no idea." 他晃着她的身子，就像晃着一个布娃娃一样，脸上的笑容和愤怒组合在一起，狰狞可怕。他的手冰冷冰冷，脸上却散发着烤炉一般的热浪。“你知道。告诉我，谁？” “你为什么不知道？” “因为我看不见他！”他咆哮着，抓着她把她摔在地上，摔得她骨头都快散架了。当她看到那双探照灯似的眼睛在黑暗中朝她逼近的时候，她感到自己的膀胱失去了控制，一股热流顺着大腿流了下来。让她感到温和而有希望的脸消失了，兰德尔·弗拉格消失了，现在和她在一起的是“步行者”，是高个子，是巨人，只有上帝能帮助她。 “你会开口的，”他说，“你会说出我想知道的东西。”她盯着他，慢慢地站了起来，她感觉到了贴在前臂的那把刀子。 “好吧，我告诉你，”她说，“你过来。” 他狞笑着，向前迈了一步。 “不，再近一些，我想附在你的耳边说。” 他离她更近了一些。她能够感到灼人的热气，彻骨的冰冷；听到重重的不规律的喘息；闻到潮湿、强烈的气味，像阴暗地窖里腐败的菜叶一样令人作呕。 “再近一些。”她沙哑着嗓子轻声说。 他又向前迈了一步。她曲起右手腕，耳朵似乎听到了弹簧刀鞘发出的吱吱声，她已感到了手中刀子的分量。 “在这儿！”她歇斯底里地大叫一声，手猛地向上一扬，狠狠地朝他胸部挥去。 她要让他的五脏六腑都流出来，让这个阴险毒辣的家伙犯一个致命的错误。但出乎她意料的是，他忽然爆发出一阵大笑。只见他双手放在胯上，笑得前仰后合，脸部的肌肉收缩着，挤压着，扭曲着，呈现出十分滑稽的表情。 “哦，亲爱的！”他大声叫道，随后又爆发出一阵大笑。 她傻傻地低头一看，发现手里握着一个黄香蕉，上面插着一把蓝白相间的刀子。带着极大的恐惧，她把它丢到地上，那东西在地毯上似乎变成了一种黄色的狞笑，就像弗拉格那张滑稽的脸一样，令她十分厌恶。 “你会说出来的，”他低声说道，“你一定会说出来的。” 戴纳心中明白他说的非常正确。 她迅速地一转身，快得黑衣人都没有反应过来，他本能地伸出双手去抓，然而除了她衣衫后面的一块布之外，他什么也没抓到。 戴纳扑向了墙上的那扇玻璃窗。 “不！”他尖叫一声。她似乎感到他像一阵黑风刮了过来。窗户爆发出一声沉闷的哗啦声，她吃惊地看到大块的厚玻璃纷纷落下，像矿藏的水银一样沿她头的撞击点四散开去。冲击的惯性带着她的半个身子从玻璃洞探出窗外。她一动不动地停在那里，血像潮水一般流了出来。 她感觉到他的双手放在自己的肩上。这时她很想知道他还能用多长时间迫使她说出真相，1个小时？2个小时？她觉得自己正一点点地死去，这对他来说可不算好事。 “我知道是汤姆，你们发现不了他，你们用什么办法也发现不了他，因为他不同于我们，他……”她这样想着。 这时他想用力把她拖进屋里去。 她仅用力把头往右一摆，便杀死了自己。一块像剃刀一样锋利而尖锐的玻璃深深地刺进她的喉咙，另一块扎进了她的右眼。她用双手拍打着玻璃，身体抽搐了几下，不一会儿，便瘫下不动了。黑衣人拖进屋里的只是一个鲜血淋漓、像面袋一样的东西。 她死了，仿佛带着胜利的满足。 狂怒之下的弗拉格像一只咆哮的公牛，发疯般地踢起她来。然而她那柔软而漠然的身体对此毫无反应，就像在蔑视他一样，这更加激怒了他。他在屋里把她踢来踢去，一边踢着，一边咆哮着，咒骂着，他的头发上闪现着火花，就像他的体内有一个装有核子的回旋加速器开始运转起来，形成一个电场，把他的整个身体变成了一节蓄电池。他的眼睛里燃烧着黑色的火焰，咆哮着，踢着，踢着，咆哮着。 守候在外面的劳埃德和其他几个人一个个吓得脸色煞白，面面相觑。终于，他们再也忍受不下去了，坦尼，雷恩，还有惠特尼，相继悄悄地离去，牛奶一样煞白的脸上流露出似乎什么都没听见，但又想偷听一下的那种小心翼翼的神情。 只有劳埃德依然守候在那里，他不是不想离开，而是觉得自己会有任务。弗拉格最后果然把他叫了进去。 他坐在那张大桌子上，交叉着双腿，双手放在膝盖上，透过劳埃德的头顶望着外边深远的天空，形成一幅打座的图画。劳埃德看见玻璃墙的中央被撞开了一个大洞，周围锋利的玻璃碎片上沾满了粘稠的血液。 躺在地上的是一具血肉模糊，蜷缩成一团的尸体，包裹在一块布中。 “把那东西清理掉。”弗拉格说。 “是，”他的声调很低，而且有点儿沙哑，“要把头留下来吗？” “把这东西整个地拖到城东，然后浇上汽油烧掉。你听见我的话了吗？烧掉它！把这该死的东西烧掉！” "yes." “这就对了。”弗拉格的脸上又开始浮现出宽厚的微笑。 劳埃德用哆哆嗦嗦的双手费力地抱起这个沉重的东西，他觉得嗓子眼里好像堵着一团棉花，差点儿发出恐惧的呻吟声。抱起的尸体在他怀中形成一个Ｕ的形状，下面是一滩粘乎乎的血液。那东西刚被他抱起就又滑了下去，发出“咚”的一声响。他用恐惧的眼光看了弗拉格一眼，弗拉格仍然以打座的姿势坐着，眼睛望着外边。劳埃德又抱起它，用力抓紧，然后一步一步向门口移去。 “劳埃德？” 他停下来，转过身去，嘴里不由得“啊”了一声。弗拉格还是像打座一样地坐着，只是身体已悬在离桌面大约10英寸的半空中，眼睛依然安详地望着屋外。 “什……什……什么事？” “我在凤凰城给你的钥匙你还保存着吗？” "yes." “要随身带着，现在是时候了。” "Okay...okay." 他等着听他下面讲些什么，但弗拉格没有再开口。他就那样悬在黑暗中，像一个在施行不可思议的魔法的印度苦行僧，脸上温和地笑着，望着外面。 劳埃德赶忙离开这里，仿佛捡回了自己的生命和神智一样长出了一口气。 那天的维加斯很平静。劳埃德回来时已是下午2点钟，浑身散发着汽油味。这时，风开始越刮越大，到下午5点钟时，斯特里普大街上已是狂风怒吼，夹杂着风从旅馆之间刮过时发出的凄凉的呜呜声。由于七八月份城中缺水而枯死的的棕榈树此时在空中孤零零地摇摆着，就像几面破碎的旗帜。奇形怪状的乌云在人们的头顶上飞驰而过。 在幼狮酒吧里，惠特尼·霍根和肯·德莫特坐在那里，边喝着瓶装的啤酒，边吃着鸡蛋沙拉三明治。三个老太太——大家都叫她们韦尔德姐妹——在城郊养了些鸡，人们似乎都没有足够的鸡蛋吃。在酒吧下面的赌场内，小迪尼·麦克卡西正欢快地在一个赌桌上爬来爬去，周围摆着成排用橡皮做的士兵。 “看那个小家伙，”肯兴奋地说，“有人问我能不能一连看他一个小时，其实我能一连看他一个星期。我真希望上帝也赐给我这样一个孩子。我老婆只生过一个，还早产了2个月，结果第三天刚过完就死在了保温箱里。”他抬头看了看，这时劳埃德走了进来。 “嗨，迪尼！”劳埃德喊道。 “奥埃德！奥埃德！”迪尼边大声叫着边跑到桌子边跳了下来，跑到劳埃德面前。劳埃德抱起他转了一圈，然后又紧紧地把他抱在怀中。 “亲过劳埃德了吗？”他问道。 迪尼在他脸上叭咂叭咂地乱亲起来。 “我给你带了点东西。”劳埃德说着从他胸前的口袋里掏出一把用锡纸包着的巧克力糖。 迪尼欢叫着一把抓了过来，“奥埃德？” “什么事，迪尼？” “你怎么闻起来像一桶汽油？” 劳埃德笑了起来，“我烧了点垃圾，宝贝儿，你继续玩吧。现在谁是你的妈妈？” “安杰利娜。”他把这个音发成了“安杰伊娜”。“接下来还是邦尼。我喜欢邦尼，但我也喜欢安杰利娜。” “别告诉她劳埃德给你买糖了，好不好？安杰利娜会骂劳埃德的。” 迪尼保证不告诉她，然后想着安杰利娜骂劳埃德的情景，咯咯地笑着跑开了。过了一两分钟，他来到了赌桌旁边的“警戒线”，一边指挥着他的“军队”，一边大口地嚼着巧克力糖。 惠特尼穿着他那件白色工作服走了过来，手里拿着两块三明治和一瓶冰镇的汉姆酒，递给劳埃德。 “谢谢，”劳埃德说，“看着可真不错。” “那是赛伦家庭作坊制作的面包。”惠特尼自豪地说。 劳埃德津津有味地吃了一会儿，最后问：“有谁见过他吗？” 肯摇了摇头说：“我想他又走了。” 劳埃德陷入了沉思。外面传来一阵呜呜的风声，让人觉得凄凉而孤单，就像在沙漠里迷路了一样。迪尼不安地抬头看了一会，然后继续弯着腰玩。 “我想他就在附近的某个地方，”劳埃德最后说，“我不知道为什么，但我就是有这样一种感觉。我觉得他就在周围等待着某件事情的发生，但我不知道这件事是什么。” 惠特尼用很轻的声音问，“你认为他从她口中得到什么了吗？” “不，”劳埃德望着迪尼说，“我想他没有。他在这件事上不知怎么出了点岔子，她……她很幸运，或者说她比他要高明一些。这种事不常发生。” “这毕竟没什么大不了的。”肯说，但他的脸上也同样显现着不安。 “是的，”劳埃德静静地听了一会风声。“也许他已回到了洛杉矶。”但他并不是真的这样想，从他的脸上可以看出这一点。 惠特尼