扉页
版权页
京权图字：01-2013-7815
Published by arrangement with Oxford University Press for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom. This edition is for sale in the mainland of China only, excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan.
© Oxford University Press 2012
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
图书在版编目（CIP）数据
雪莉·霍姆斯和立陶宛青年案：英汉对照／（英）巴西特（Bassett, J.）著；（英）埃弗格林（Evergreen, N.）绘；张锦平译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2013.12
（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）
书名原文：Shirley Homes and the Lithuanian Case
ISBN 978-7-5135-3935-7
Ⅰ．①雪… Ⅱ．①巴… ②埃… ③张… Ⅲ．①英语－汉语－对照读物②中篇小说－英国－现代 Ⅳ．①H319.4：I
中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2013）第309222号
出版人 蔡剑峰
责任编辑 陈海燕
封面设计 蔡 颖
出版发行 外语教学与研究出版社
社 址 北京市西三环北路19号（100089）
网 址 http://www.fltrp.com
版 次 2014年1月第1版
书 号 ISBN 978-7-5135-3935-7
制售盗版必究 举报查实奖励
版权保护举报电话：(010)88817519
内容简介
内容简介
在世界各地，你都可以找到像雪莉·霍姆斯这样的私人侦探。打开互联网，在谷歌搜索引擎上输入“私人侦探”，会出现680多万条搜索结果。
私人侦探会做各种各样的侦探工作。也许他们会寻找某个人的信息……那是他的真实姓名吗？他住在哪儿？之前住在哪里？有多大年纪？他真的在美国哈佛大学获得过学位？也许他们的工作是监视某个人……他去哪儿？他与谁见面？他们都谈些什么？也许某家公司在赔钱，但是没有人知道原因。私人侦探夜以继日地倾听和观察，最后找到答案。
那么立陶宛青年案是怎么回事呢？这是个人员失踪案。案中有个失踪的15岁女孩，叫卡丽·威廉斯。她有个新交的男朋友，来自立陶宛。案中还有一个哭泣的母亲，一个愤怒的父亲，还有一个伤心的弟弟。
五个星期前卡丽从伦敦的家中出走。她的母亲想让雪莉·霍姆斯找到她。雪莉对伦敦了如指掌，而且，她也能洞察人心……
SHIRLEY HOMES
AND THE
LITHUANIAN CASE
You can find private investigators like Shirley Homes anywhere in the world. Put the words 'private investigator' into a Google search on the Internet, and you get more than 6,800,000 hits.
Private investigators do all kinds of detective jobs. Perhaps they look for information about a person... Is that their real name? Where do they live? Where did they live before that? How old are they? Do they really have a university degree from Harvard, USA? Perhaps the job is watching somebody... Where do they go? Who do they meet? What do they talk about? Perhaps a business is losing money, but nobody understands why. A private investigator can listen and watch, day and night, and find an answer.
So what is the Lithuanian Case? It is a missing persons case. There is a missing daughter, Carrie Williams, aged fifteen. There is a new boyfriend, from Lithuania. There is a crying mother, there is an angry father, there is an unhappy little brother.
Carrie left her family home in London five weeks ago. Carrie's mother wants Shirley Homes to find her. Shirley knows London very well – but she also understands people...
目录
1．A missing daughter
1
A missing daughter
Somebody is ringing my office doorbell. It's ten past nine on a Monday morning. That's early for a client to call. But perhaps this is going to be a good week. Last week business was not very good. I need some new clients.
I look at my computer. I want to see the person before I open the door. The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat. About forty, maybe. Not rich. The raincoat is a cheap one, from the street market. She's carrying a newspaper, the Putney Gazette.
I hit the 'open door' button on the wall. The door opens, and the woman comes in.
'Are you the private investigator? Shirley Homes?' she asks. She looks around the office, probably looking for someone older.
'I am.' I use my older person voice. 'Please sit down, Mrs... er...'
'Williams. Edith Williams,' she says. She sits down in my best chair, and looks around the office again, still looking for that older person.
'How can I help you, Mrs Williams?' I say. 'What's your problem?'
She looks at me then, and the trouble in her face is clear.
'Do you find people?' she says. 'Can you find my daughter? She left home five weeks ago. Just walked out. Took all her things, and walked out. And not a word from her. No phone calls. Not even a text. Nothing.'
The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat.
Edith Williams is nearly crying now.
'Why?' I ask.
I'm careful. Family problems can be dangerous. You open a door, and all kinds of dark and horrible things come out. And when those dark and horrible things are out, you can never put them back in again.
Edith Williams is still trying not to cry.
'Why, Mrs Williams?' I say again. 'Why did your daughter leave home? Was there an argument?'
'Not with me, no. It's her father, he...' Now she really is crying. Five weeks of crying, all in two minutes in my office.
I get her a cup of coffee, and sit on a chair next to her.
'Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'
The daughter, Carrie, is fifteen, I learn. She likes boys, has lots of boyfriends, doesn't listen to her parents. So what's new? Many fifteen-year-old girls are like that.
But the new boyfriend, Edith Williams says, is older, and he's not English. He's a foreigner, from Lithuania.
I remember my Ukrainian grandmother, my Greek mother. Foreigners.
'Is that a problem for you?' I ask. 'A foreigner?'
'Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'
'Not for me, but it is for my husband,' Edith Williams says. 'He doesn't like foreigners. They come here, he says, they take our jobs, they take our houses, they take our money. And they can't speak English. He gets very angry about it. He says some horrible things to Carrie. “I don't want this foreigner in my house,” he says, and Carrie goes crazy. She calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying. They don't stop for hours.'
Edith Williams stops for a second. She can still hear the shouting and the crying, I think.
'And what happened next?' I ask quietly.
'The next day,' Mrs Williams says, 'Carrie left. Early in the morning, before we all got up. She left a letter.'
'Have you got the letter?' I ask.
'Yes, I have.' She gives the letter to me, and I read it quickly. An angry letter, from an angry fifteen-year-old. Nothing useful. I give the letter back to her.
'I asked all her friends,' Mrs Williams says. 'Everyone. They didn't know – or they didn't want to tell me. And she's stopped going to school.'
'What about the police?' I ask.
'I can't go to the police. My husband doesn't want to see her again. We can't even say her name at home.'
'We? Who's we?'
'Me and Darren. He's Carrie's little brother. He's ten. He's very unhappy about all this.'
'Carrie calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying.'
I must meet Darren. Ten-year-old boys can be very useful. They see and hear a lot.
Edith Williams looks at me with her red eyes. 'Can you find her for me? I just want to know she's all right. And this boyfriend, this Lithuanian... What's he like? How old is he? What does he do? Is he kind? Is he the right person for my little girl?'
I take the job. I ask for a photograph of Carrie, the names of friends, the school, mobile phone numbers.
'Can I talk to Darren?' I ask.
'Yes, we can meet him after school,' Edith Williams says. 'But please don't come to my house. Please. My husband...'
'I understand,' I say. 'I can text you when I have some news.'
She doesn't know the name of the Lithuanian boyfriend. That's really helpful. There are thousands of Lithuanians in London. Finding one young man without a name in thousands of people? How easy is that!
missing adj. lost, or not in the usual place 失踪的
doorbell n. a bell on a house door which you push to tell the people inside you are there 门铃
client n. a person who pays another person for help 客户；顾客
business n. 1.your work, your job 工作；业务 2.making and selling things 生意；商务
private investigator a detective who is not in the police, and who has private clients 私人侦探
problem n. something that is difficult, or that worries you 困难；疑难问题
trouble n. problems in your life which you are worried about 苦恼，烦恼
walk out to leave (one's family or partner) and go to live somewhere else 离家出走
text n. a written message on a mobile phone （手机）短信 v. to send such a message 发送短信
horrible adj. very unpleasant and often frightening or worrying 可怕的，吓人的
argument n. talking angrily with someone because you do not agree 争执；争吵；争论
really adv. 1. in fact, actually 事实上；真地 2. very or very much 非常
take one's time do something slowly or do not hurry 慢慢来；不着急
foreigner n. a person from another country 外国人
crazy adj. very angry 非常生气的
1
失踪的女儿
我办公室的门铃响了。现在是周一早上9点10分，客户来访的话时间尚早。不过，也许这周的生意会不错。上周的生意不是很好，我需要些新的客户。
我看着电脑。我想先看清楚门外是谁再开门。安在门上方的那个小摄像机显示有一个穿着雨衣的女人。她40岁左右，不是有钱人，那件雨衣是从街头集市买的廉价货。她手里拿着一份《普特尼公报》。
我按下墙上的“开门”按钮。门开了，那个女人走了进来。
“你就是那个私人侦探吗？叫雪莉·霍姆斯？”她问道。她环顾办公室，也许是在寻找一个年纪比我大的人。
“我就是。”我用我听起来比实际年龄大的嗓音说：“请坐，呃……太太。”
“威廉斯，伊迪丝·威廉斯。”她说。她在我最好的那把椅子上坐下来，然后环顾四周，仍然在寻找一个比我年纪大的人。
“有什么需要我帮忙吗，威廉斯太太？”我问道。“您有什么困难？”
这时她才看着我，她的苦恼清晰地写在脸上。
“你找人吗？”她问道，“你能替我找女儿吗？五个星期前她离开了家，就这样出走了。她拿走了自己所有的衣物，就再也没回来。至今都没有她的消息，也没打电话，甚至都没发一条短信。什么都没有。”
说到这儿，伊迪丝·威廉斯快要哭出来了。
“为什么？”我问道。
我很谨慎。家庭问题可能会比较棘手。你打开一扇门，各种隐秘的和可怕的事情就都被抖搂出来。一旦那些隐秘的、可怕的事情被抖搂出来，你就再也无法把它们封存回去了。
伊迪丝·威廉斯还在强忍着眼泪。
“为什么，威廉斯太太？”我再问一遍，“您女儿为什么离家出走？吵架了吗？”
“不是跟我，不是。是跟她父亲，他……”这回她真的哭出来了。五个星期的眼泪啊，来我办公室两分钟之后全都倾倒出来了。
我给她倒了杯咖啡，坐到她旁边的椅子上。
“把事情经过全告诉我吧，威廉斯太太。不着急，慢慢说。”
然后我得知，她失踪的女儿叫卡丽，15岁。她喜欢男孩子，有很多男朋友，不听父母的话。这有什么新鲜的呢？很多15岁的女孩都那样。
伊迪丝·威廉斯说，但是她新交的这个男朋友比她大，而且不是英国人。他来自立陶宛。
我想起我的祖母是乌克兰人，我母亲是希腊人。她们都是外国人。
“这对你来说是个问题吗？”我问，“外国人？”
“对我来说不是问题，但是对我丈夫来说是个问题。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“他不喜欢外国人。他说他们来这里，抢走了我们的工作，占领了我们的房子，拿走了我们的钱。而且他们不会说英语。他对此感到非常气愤。他对卡丽说了些难听的话。他说：‘我不要让这个外国人出现在我家里。’卡丽气疯了。她用很难听的话骂她父亲，他气坏了。他在大吼大叫，卡丽在哭。他们吵了好几个小时。”
伊迪丝·威廉斯沉默了一会儿。我想，她耳边仍然能听到吼叫声和哭泣声吧。
“后来发生什么呢？”我轻声问。
“第二天，”威廉斯太太接着说道，“卡丽走了。趁我们都还没起床，一大早就走了。她留下了一封信。”
“信您带来了吗？”我问。
“有，我带来了。”她把信递给我，我飞快扫了一眼信的内容。字里行间充满了愤怒，出自一个愤怒的15岁少女之手。没有什么有用的信息。我把信还给她。
“我问了她所有的朋友。”威廉斯太太说，“每个朋友都询问过了。她们都不知道，或者她们不想告诉我。她已经不去上学了。”
“警察那边有什么消息？”我问。
“我不能去警察局报警。我丈夫不想再见到她。我们在家里甚至不能提她的名字。”
“我们？‘我们’是谁？”
“我和达伦。他是卡丽的弟弟，今年10岁。现在发生的这一切让他非常伤心。”
我必须见见达伦。10岁的孩子也许可以帮上大忙。很多事情都逃不过他们的眼睛和耳朵。
伊迪丝·威廉斯用红肿的眼睛看着我。“您能帮我找到我女儿吗？我只是想知道她没事。还有，她的这个男朋友，这个立陶宛人……他长什么样？多大了？他是做什么工作的？他人好吗？他适合我女儿吗？”
我接下了这活儿，向她要了一张卡丽的照片、卡丽朋友们的名字、学校的名字和所有相关人员的手机号码。
“我能跟达伦谈谈吗？”我问道。
“可以，我们可以去接他放学。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“不过，请不要去我家。千万别去。我丈夫……”
“我明白，”我说，“有消息的话，我可以给你发短信。”
她不知道她女儿的那个立陶宛男朋友的名字。名字可是真正有用的线索。伦敦有成千上万的立陶宛人。从这成千上万人当中找到一个不知道名字的年轻人？谈何容易！
失踪的女儿
1
A missing daughter
Somebody is ringing my office doorbell. It's ten past nine on a Monday morning. That's early for a client to call. But perhaps this is going to be a good week. Last week business was not very good. I need some new clients.
I look at my computer. I want to see the person before I open the door. The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat. About forty, maybe. Not rich. The raincoat is a cheap one, from the street market. She's carrying a newspaper, the Putney Gazette.
I hit the 'open door' button on the wall. The door opens, and the woman comes in.
'Are you the private investigator? Shirley Homes?' she asks. She looks around the office, probably looking for someone older.
'I am.' I use my older person voice. 'Please sit down, Mrs... er...'
'Williams. Edith Williams,' she says. She sits down in my best chair, and looks around the office again, still looking for that older person.
'How can I help you, Mrs Williams?' I say. 'What's your problem?'
She looks at me then, and the trouble in her face is clear.
'Do you find people?' she says. 'Can you find my daughter? She left home five weeks ago. Just walked out. Took all her things, and walked out. And not a word from her. No phone calls. Not even a text. Nothing.'
The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat.
Edith Williams is nearly crying now.
'Why?' I ask.
I'm careful. Family problems can be dangerous. You open a door, and all kinds of dark and horrible things come out. And when those dark and horrible things are out, you can never put them back in again.
Edith Williams is still trying not to cry.
'Why, Mrs Williams?' I say again. 'Why did your daughter leave home? Was there an argument?'
'Not with me, no. It's her father, he...' Now she really is crying. Five weeks of crying, all in two minutes in my office.
I get her a cup of coffee, and sit on a chair next to her.
'Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'
The daughter, Carrie, is fifteen, I learn. She likes boys, has lots of boyfriends, doesn't listen to her parents. So what's new? Many fifteen-year-old girls are like that.
But the new boyfriend, Edith Williams says, is older, and he's not English. He's a foreigner, from Lithuania.
I remember my Ukrainian grandmother, my Greek mother. Foreigners.
'Is that a problem for you?' I ask. 'A foreigner?'
'Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'
'Not for me, but it is for my husband,' Edith Williams says. 'He doesn't like foreigners. They come here, he says, they take our jobs, they take our houses, they take our money. And they can't speak English. He gets very angry about it. He says some horrible things to Carrie. “I don't want this foreigner in my house,” he says, and Carrie goes crazy. She calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying. They don't stop for hours.'
Edith Williams stops for a second. She can still hear the shouting and the crying, I think.
'And what happened next?' I ask quietly.
'The next day,' Mrs Williams says, 'Carrie left. Early in the morning, before we all got up. She left a letter.'
'Have you got the letter?' I ask.
'Yes, I have.' She gives the letter to me, and I read it quickly. An angry letter, from an angry fifteen-year-old. Nothing useful. I give the letter back to her.
'I asked all her friends,' Mrs Williams says. 'Everyone. They didn't know – or they didn't want to tell me. And she's stopped going to school.'
'What about the police?' I ask.
'I can't go to the police. My husband doesn't want to see her again. We can't even say her name at home.'
'We? Who's we?'
'Me and Darren. He's Carrie's little brother. He's ten. He's very unhappy about all this.'
'Carrie calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying.'
I must meet Darren. Ten-year-old boys can be very useful. They see and hear a lot.
Edith Williams looks at me with her red eyes. 'Can you find her for me? I just want to know she's all right. And this boyfriend, this Lithuanian... What's he like? How old is he? What does he do? Is he kind? Is he the right person for my little girl?'
I take the job. I ask for a photograph of Carrie, the names of friends, the school, mobile phone numbers.
'Can I talk to Darren?' I ask.
'Yes, we can meet him after school,' Edith Williams says. 'But please don't come to my house. Please. My husband...'
'I understand,' I say. 'I can text you when I have some news.'
She doesn't know the name of the Lithuanian boyfriend. That's really helpful. There are thousands of Lithuanians in London. Finding one young man without a name in thousands of people? How easy is that!
missing adj. lost, or not in the usual place 失踪的
doorbell n. a bell on a house door which you push to tell the people inside you are there 门铃
client n. a person who pays another person for help 客户；顾客
business n. 1.your work, your job 工作；业务 2.making and selling things 生意；商务
private investigator a detective who is not in the police, and who has private clients 私人侦探
problem n. something that is difficult, or that worries you 困难；疑难问题
trouble n. problems in your life which you are worried about 苦恼，烦恼
walk out to leave (one's family or partner) and go to live somewhere else 离家出走
text n. a written message on a mobile phone （手机）短信 v. to send such a message 发送短信
horrible adj. very unpleasant and often frightening or worrying 可怕的，吓人的
argument n. talking angrily with someone because you do not agree 争执；争吵；争论
really adv. 1. in fact, actually 事实上；真地 2. very or very much 非常
take one's time do something slowly or do not hurry 慢慢来；不着急
foreigner n. a person from another country 外国人
crazy adj. very angry 非常生气的
1
失踪的女儿
我办公室的门铃响了。现在是周一早上9点10分，客户来访的话时间尚早。不过，也许这周的生意会不错。上周的生意不是很好，我需要些新的客户。
我看着电脑。我想先看清楚门外是谁再开门。安在门上方的那个小摄像机显示有一个穿着雨衣的女人。她40岁左右，不是有钱人，那件雨衣是从街头集市买的廉价货。她手里拿着一份《普特尼公报》。
我按下墙上的“开门”按钮。门开了，那个女人走了进来。
“你就是那个私人侦探吗？叫雪莉·霍姆斯？”她问道。她环顾办公室，也许是在寻找一个年纪比我大的人。
“我就是。”我用我听起来比实际年龄大的嗓音说：“请坐，呃……太太。”
“威廉斯，伊迪丝·威廉斯。”她说。她在我最好的那把椅子上坐下来，然后环顾四周，仍然在寻找一个比我年纪大的人。
“有什么需要我帮忙吗，威廉斯太太？”我问道。“您有什么困难？”
这时她才看着我，她的苦恼清晰地写在脸上。
“你找人吗？”她问道，“你能替我找女儿吗？五个星期前她离开了家，就这样出走了。她拿走了自己所有的衣物，就再也没回来。至今都没有她的消息，也没打电话，甚至都没发一条短信。什么都没有。”
说到这儿，伊迪丝·威廉斯快要哭出来了。
“为什么？”我问道。
我很谨慎。家庭问题可能会比较棘手。你打开一扇门，各种隐秘的和可怕的事情就都被抖搂出来。一旦那些隐秘的、可怕的事情被抖搂出来，你就再也无法把它们封存回去了。
伊迪丝·威廉斯还在强忍着眼泪。
“为什么，威廉斯太太？”我再问一遍，“您女儿为什么离家出走？吵架了吗？”
“不是跟我，不是。是跟她父亲，他……”这回她真的哭出来了。五个星期的眼泪啊，来我办公室两分钟之后全都倾倒出来了。
我给她倒了杯咖啡，坐到她旁边的椅子上。
“把事情经过全告诉我吧，威廉斯太太。不着急，慢慢说。”
然后我得知，她失踪的女儿叫卡丽，15岁。她喜欢男孩子，有很多男朋友，不听父母的话。这有什么新鲜的呢？很多15岁的女孩都那样。
伊迪丝·威廉斯说，但是她新交的这个男朋友比她大，而且不是英国人。他来自立陶宛。
我想起我的祖母是乌克兰人，我母亲是希腊人。她们都是外国人。
“这对你来说是个问题吗？”我问，“外国人？”
“对我来说不是问题，但是对我丈夫来说是个问题。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“他不喜欢外国人。他说他们来这里，抢走了我们的工作，占领了我们的房子，拿走了我们的钱。而且他们不会说英语。他对此感到非常气愤。他对卡丽说了些难听的话。他说：‘我不要让这个外国人出现在我家里。’卡丽气疯了。她用很难听的话骂她父亲，他气坏了。他在大吼大叫，卡丽在哭。他们吵了好几个小时。”
伊迪丝·威廉斯沉默了一会儿。我想，她耳边仍然能听到吼叫声和哭泣声吧。
“后来发生什么呢？”我轻声问。
“第二天，”威廉斯太太接着说道，“卡丽走了。趁我们都还没起床，一大早就走了。她留下了一封信。”
“信您带来了吗？”我问。
“有，我带来了。”她把信递给我，我飞快扫了一眼信的内容。字里行间充满了愤怒，出自一个愤怒的15岁少女之手。没有什么有用的信息。我把信还给她。
“我问了她所有的朋友。”威廉斯太太说，“每个朋友都询问过了。她们都不知道，或者她们不想告诉我。她已经不去上学了。”
“警察那边有什么消息？”我问。
“我不能去警察局报警。我丈夫不想再见到她。我们在家里甚至不能提她的名字。”
“我们？‘我们’是谁？”
“我和达伦。他是卡丽的弟弟，今年10岁。现在发生的这一切让他非常伤心。”
我必须见见达伦。10岁的孩子也许可以帮上大忙。很多事情都逃不过他们的眼睛和耳朵。
伊迪丝·威廉斯用红肿的眼睛看着我。“您能帮我找到我女儿吗？我只是想知道她没事。还有，她的这个男朋友，这个立陶宛人……他长什么样？多大了？他是做什么工作的？他人好吗？他适合我女儿吗？”
我接下了这活儿，向她要了一张卡丽的照片、卡丽朋友们的名字、学校的名字和所有相关人员的手机号码。
“我能跟达伦谈谈吗？”我问道。
“可以，我们可以去接他放学。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“不过，请不要去我家。千万别去。我丈夫……”
“我明白，”我说，“有消息的话，我可以给你发短信。”
她不知道她女儿的那个立陶宛男朋友的名字。名字可是真正有用的线索。伦敦有成千上万的立陶宛人。从这成千上万人当中找到一个不知道名字的年轻人？谈何容易！
2．Help from friends
2
Help from friends
I begin with Carrie, of course. I have a name and a photograph, and a school. I meet Darren when he comes out of school, and we go to Carrie's school. We sit in my car and watch the students when they leave.
'That's Janice – look!' says Darren. 'The girl with long black hair. She's very friendly with Carrie. And that's Kim, next to her. I like Kim. She's funny, she makes me laugh. Ooh, and that's Ant. See – the one with very short hair and black clothes.'
'Ant? What name is that? Anthea?'
'Don't know,' says Darren. 'She's just Ant.'
I take a quick photo of the three girls, and then I take Darren for a pizza to say thank you.
'Can you find my sister?' he says. 'It's horribly quiet at home without her. Nobody ever laughs now. Mum cries all night. I hear her.'
I look at his small boy face. 'Yup. I can find her.'
That evening I phone my friend in the police. He's a detective– Detective Sergeant Saheed Patel.
'Hi, Saheed, how are you?'
We sit in my car and watch the students when they leave.
'Can you find my sister?' Darren says.
'Fine. What's new with you?' Saheed says. 'Are you working on a case?'
'Yes, I've got a missing persons case – a missing girl. Her mother came to me today. The girl left home five weeks ago after an argument with her father about her boyfriend... a Lithuanian boyfriend.'
'How old is the girl?' Saheed asks.
'Fifteen.'
'Oh dear.' Saheed is not surprised. 'Every day we get missing persons reports – do you know how many?'
'No. Tell me. How many?'
'The police in Britain get about 1,000 reports every day,' Saheed says. 'And nearly one third of those are young people between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. When did the mother make the report to the police?'
'She didn't. The girl's father doesn't want to see her again,' I say. 'So, no police, no missing persons report, and no looking for her. That's what the mother told me.'
'OK. Be careful, Shirley. The girl's only fifteen. She can't get married before she's sixteen, and the law says—'
'I know all that, Saheed! I know the law!'
'Of course you do. Sorry.' There's a smile in Saheed's voice. 'So what do you want from me?'
'Can you help with the Lithuanian boyfriend?' I say. 'Where do I look for him? Can you give me some names? People to talk to.'
There's a smile in Saheed's voice.
'Maybe. But there are about 200,000 Lithuanians in London. When do you want this? I have work to do, you know.'
'I'm going to try the girl's school friends first,' I say. 'Can you do it in a day or two? Text me when you have something.'
'OK. Bye now.'
The next day at four o'clock, I'm outside Carrie's school. I have my photo of the three girls, and I soon see them. They're standing, all three of them, in the street, looking at their mobile phones and laughing. I walk over to them.
'Hi, guys,' I say. 'You're friends of Carrie Williams, right? I need your help.'
'Carrie Williams?' says the girl called Ant. 'Who's she?'
I watch the girls' faces. They know Carrie, all right. And they know she's missing. But how much do they know?
'Ah, come on,' I say. 'You're Carrie's best friends. I'm looking for her. I need to find her.'
'And who are you?' asks the girl called Janice.
I give them my card.
The girl called Kim laughs. 'Shirley Homes? Are you the granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes or something?'
I smile. I get this all the time, again and again. And again. 'Great-great-granddaughter. He lived in the 1890s.'
'Wow! Really? That is awesome!' says Kim.
Janice and Ant laugh. 'Kim, you idiot! Sherlock Holmes wasn't a real person. He's just a detective in stories on television.'
'Er, and in books,' I say. 'The books were first.'
The girls look at me, and their faces are more friendly now.
'OK, Shirley Homes, great-great-granddaughter of Sherlock,' says Ant. 'How can we help you? Who are you looking for? What was her name again?'
Ant is going to be difficult, I can see that. She's a good friend of Carrie's, and she's not going to talk.
'Do you have mothers?' I say. 'All three of you?'
The girls stare at me. 'Of course we have mothers,' says Janice. 'What are you talking about?'
'Do you love your mothers? Do your mothers love you?' I say. 'Well, listen. Carrie's mother loves her daughter. And now Carrie's mother can't sleep at night. She doesn't eat. She cries about Carrie all the time. She wants to know that Carrie is all right. Can you understand that? She just wants to know.'
Kim looks at me with big eyes. 'Oh, poor Mrs Williams!' she says.
Ant gives her an angry look. 'We don't know Carrie Williams!' she says. 'Remember?'
Janice looks at me. 'Give us a minute,' she says. 'We need to talk.'
They move away, turn their backs to me, and talk quietly. I can't hear them. Then they come back to me.
'OK,' says Ant. 'What do you want?'
'You know Café Nero in Putney High Street?' I say. 'Tell Carrie this. I'm going to be in Café Nero at 18.30 tomorrow evening, and 18.30 the evening after that. I want to see her and talk to her. I want to know she's alive and well. That's all. Then I can tell her mother, and Mrs Williams can stop crying all night.'
'OK,' Ant says. 'We got it.'
'Thanks, guys,' I say. 'See you around.'
'See you,' they say.
Ant gives Kim an angry look. 'We don't know Carrie Williams!'
funny adj. making you laugh or smile 风趣的；滑稽的
horribly adv. very 非常
detective n. a person whose job is to find out who did a crime 侦探
case n. an event or set of events that need to be dealt with by the police in order to find out if a crime has been committed and who committed it 案件，案子
surprised adj. feeling or showing surprised 惊讶的；吃惊的
report n. information (written or spoken) about something that has happened （书面或口头的）报告
law (the law) n. all the rules of a country 法律
guys n. (pl. inf.) used when speaking to a group of people （常用复数；非正式）伙计们；兄弟们；姐妹们
card (business card) n. a small piece of card with your name, address, phone number, etc. on it 名片
awesome adj. (inf.) very good, great, enjoyable （非正式）非常好的；棒极了的
idiot n. a stupid person 白痴；傻子；笨蛋
stare v. to look at somebody or something for a long time 盯着；凝视
2
朋友们的帮助
不用说，我先从卡丽着手。我知道她的名字，有她的照片，知道她的学校。达伦一出校门，我便迎了上去，然后我们一起去了卡丽的学校。我们坐在我的车里，看着学生们从学校走出来。
“那是贾尼丝——看！”达伦说，“那个黑色长发的女孩。她跟卡丽的关系非常好。她旁边是金。我喜欢金，她很风趣，总是逗得我大笑。哦，那是安特。看见了吗？短头发，穿黑色衣服的那个。”
“安特？全名是什么？安西娅吗？”
“不知道，”达伦说，“我们都叫她安特。”
我迅速拍了张这三个姑娘的照片，然后带达伦去吃比萨饼，以示感谢。
“你能找到我姐姐吗？”达伦问，“她不在家，家里安静得可怕。现在家里看不到笑容。妈妈整夜地哭，我听见的。”
我看着这个小男孩的脸，说：“没问题，我能找到她。”
当天晚上，我给警察局的一个朋友打了个电话。他是个侦缉警长———萨希德·帕特尔探长。
“嗨，萨希德，你好吗？”
“还行。你最近怎么样？”萨希德问，“在办案子吗？”
“是的，我接了一桩失踪案——一个失踪女孩的案子。她妈妈今天来找我。那个女孩五个星期前因为她的男朋友而跟她爸爸大吵了一架，然后离家出走了……她的男朋友是个立陶宛人。”
“那个女孩多大？”萨希德问。
“15岁。”
“哦。”萨希德并不吃惊。“我们每天都会接到有人失踪的报案——你知道有多少吗？”
“不知道。快告诉我吧，有多少？”
“英国的警察局每天大约接到1,000起人员失踪的报案，”萨希德说，“其中将近三分之一的失踪人员是年龄在15岁到17岁的年轻人。那个妈妈是什么时候向警察局报案的？”
“她没有报案。女孩的爸爸不想再见到自己的女儿。”我说，“所以，没有警察介入，没有人员失踪报案，也没有人去找她。这是那位妈妈告诉我的。”
“好吧。雪莉，你要小心点。那个女孩只有15岁。她要到16岁才能结婚，而且根据法律……”
“这些我都知道，萨希德。我懂法律的！”
“你当然知道了，抱歉。”萨希德笑着说，“那么，你想要我帮你做怎么？”
“你能在那个立陶宛男朋友方面帮我提供一点信息吗？”我问，“我该去哪儿找他？你能提供一些人名吗？那些可以见面谈谈的人。”
“也许可以。不过，伦敦大约有20万立陶宛人。你什么时候要？我手头还有工作，你知道的。”
“我打算先去试着见见那个女孩在学校里的朋友。”我说，“你能在一两天内搞定吗？如果你有什么消息，就给我发短信吧。”
“好的。那么，再见。”
第二天下午4点，我等在卡丽的学校外边。我拿着那三个女孩的照片，很快就看到了她们。她们三个人站在街上，边看各自的手机边笑。我向她们走过去。
“嗨，姑娘们，”我说，“你们是卡丽·威廉斯的朋友，对吧？我需要你们的帮助。”
“卡丽·威廉斯？”那个叫安特的女孩说，“她是谁？”
我留神观察姑娘们的脸。她们肯定认识卡丽，而且她们知道她失踪了。但是，她们知道多少呢？
“哎，得了吧，”我说，“你们是卡丽最好的朋友。我正在找她。我必须找到她。”
“那么你是谁？”叫贾尼丝的女孩问道。
我把名片递给了她们。
叫金的女孩笑了起来。“雪莉·霍姆斯？你是那个叫歇洛克·福尔摩斯①还是什么的人的孙女吗？”
我笑了。我总是碰到这样的问题，一次又一次。这次又是这样。“应该是曾曾孙女。他生活在19世纪90年代。”
“哇！真的吗？那可太棒了！”金说道。
贾尼丝和安特笑起来。“金，你这个傻瓜！世界上没有歇洛克·福尔摩斯。他只是电视剧里的一个侦探。”
“呃，也出现在书里，”我说，“先出版的是书。”
女孩们看着我，此时她们脸上的表情友善多了。
“好吧，雪莉·霍姆斯，歇洛克的曾曾孙女，”安特说，“我们能帮你做什么？你在找谁？你再说一遍，她叫什么来着？”
看得出来，安特是个很难对付的人。她是卡丽的好朋友，她不会说的。
“你们有妈妈吗？”我问，“你们三个？”三个女孩盯着我。“我们当然有妈妈了，”贾尼丝说，“你在说什么呢？”
“你们爱妈妈吗？你们的妈妈爱你们吗？”我说，“嗯，听着。卡丽的妈妈爱她的女儿。她现在夜不能寐，也不吃东西，一直为卡丽哭泣。她想知道卡丽是不是平安无事。你们能理解吗？她只是想知道女儿的近况。”
金瞪大眼睛看着我。“噢，可怜的威廉斯太太！”她说道。
安特生气地瞪了她一眼。“我们不认识卡丽·威廉斯！”她说，“记得吗？”
贾尼丝看着我。“等我们一会儿，”她说，“我们需要谈一谈。”
她们走到一旁，背对着我小声交谈。我听不见她们在说什么。过了一会儿，她们回到我面前。
“好吧，”安特说，“你想要知道什么？”
“你们知道普特尼大街上的尼罗咖啡馆吧？”我说，“告诉卡丽，我明天晚上6点30分会在尼罗咖啡馆，后天晚上6点30分也会在那里。我想见她，想跟她聊聊。我想知道她还活着，过得不错。如此而已。然后我就可以告诉她妈妈，让威廉斯太太不用再整晚整晚地哭泣了。”
“好的，”安特说，“我们明白了。”
“谢谢，姑娘们，”我说，“再见。”
“再见。”女孩们说。
注释
注① “福尔摩斯”和“霍姆斯”是谐音。
朋友们的帮助
2
Help from friends
I begin with Carrie, of course. I have a name and a photograph, and a school. I meet Darren when he comes out of school, and we go to Carrie's school. We sit in my car and watch the students when they leave.
'That's Janice – look!' says Darren. 'The girl with long black hair. She's very friendly with Carrie. And that's Kim, next to her. I like Kim. She's funny, she makes me laugh. Ooh, and that's Ant. See – the one with very short hair and black clothes.'
'Ant? What name is that? Anthea?'
'Don't know,' says Darren. 'She's just Ant.'
I take a quick photo of the three girls, and then I take Darren for a pizza to say thank you.
'Can you find my sister?' he says. 'It's horribly quiet at home without her. Nobody ever laughs now. Mum cries all night. I hear her.'
I look at his small boy face. 'Yup. I can find her.'
That evening I phone my friend in the police. He's a detective– Detective Sergeant Saheed Patel.
'Hi, Saheed, how are you?'
We sit in my car and watch the students when they leave.
'Can you find my sister?' Darren says.
'Fine. What's new with you?' Saheed says. 'Are you working on a case?'
'Yes, I've got a missing persons case – a missing girl. Her mother came to me today. The girl left home five weeks ago after an argument with her father about her boyfriend... a Lithuanian boyfriend.'
'How old is the girl?' Saheed asks.
'Fifteen.'
'Oh dear.' Saheed is not surprised. 'Every day we get missing persons reports – do you know how many?'
'No. Tell me. How many?'
'The police in Britain get about 1,000 reports every day,' Saheed says. 'And nearly one third of those are young people between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. When did the mother make the report to the police?'
'She didn't. The girl's father doesn't want to see her again,' I say. 'So, no police, no missing persons report, and no looking for her. That's what the mother told me.'
'OK. Be careful, Shirley. The girl's only fifteen. She can't get married before she's sixteen, and the law says—'
'I know all that, Saheed! I know the law!'
'Of course you do. Sorry.' There's a smile in Saheed's voice. 'So what do you want from me?'
'Can you help with the Lithuanian boyfriend?' I say. 'Where do I look for him? Can you give me some names? People to talk to.'
There's a smile in Saheed's voice.
'Maybe. But there are about 200,000 Lithuanians in London. When do you want this? I have work to do, you know.'
'I'm going to try the girl's school friends first,' I say. 'Can you do it in a day or two? Text me when you have something.'
'OK. Bye now.'
The next day at four o'clock, I'm outside Carrie's school. I have my photo of the three girls, and I soon see them. They're standing, all three of them, in the street, looking at their mobile phones and laughing. I walk over to them.
'Hi, guys,' I say. 'You're friends of Carrie Williams, right? I need your help.'
'Carrie Williams?' says the girl called Ant. 'Who's she?'
I watch the girls' faces. They know Carrie, all right. And they know she's missing. But how much do they know?
'Ah, come on,' I say. 'You're Carrie's best friends. I'm looking for her. I need to find her.'
'And who are you?' asks the girl called Janice.
I give them my card.
The girl called Kim laughs. 'Shirley Homes? Are you the granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes or something?'
I smile. I get this all the time, again and again. And again. 'Great-great-granddaughter. He lived in the 1890s.'
'Wow! Really? That is awesome!' says Kim.
Janice and Ant laugh. 'Kim, you idiot! Sherlock Holmes wasn't a real person. He's just a detective in stories on television.'
'Er, and in books,' I say. 'The books were first.'
The girls look at me, and their faces are more friendly now.
'OK, Shirley Homes, great-great-granddaughter of Sherlock,' says Ant. 'How can we help you? Who are you looking for? What was her name again?'
Ant is going to be difficult, I can see that. She's a good friend of Carrie's, and she's not going to talk.
'Do you have mothers?' I say. 'All three of you?'
The girls stare at me. 'Of course we have mothers,' says Janice. 'What are you talking about?'
'Do you love your mothers? Do your mothers love you?' I say. 'Well, listen. Carrie's mother loves her daughter. And now Carrie's mother can't sleep at night. She doesn't eat. She cries about Carrie all the time. She wants to know that Carrie is all right. Can you understand that? She just wants to know.'
Kim looks at me with big eyes. 'Oh, poor Mrs Williams!' she says.
Ant gives her an angry look. 'We don't know Carrie Williams!' she says. 'Remember?'
Janice looks at me. 'Give us a minute,' she says. 'We need to talk.'
They move away, turn their backs to me, and talk quietly. I can't hear them. Then they come back to me.
'OK,' says Ant. 'What do you want?'
'You know Café Nero in Putney High Street?' I say. 'Tell Carrie this. I'm going to be in Café Nero at 18.30 tomorrow evening, and 18.30 the evening after that. I want to see her and talk to her. I want to know she's alive and well. That's all. Then I can tell her mother, and Mrs Williams can stop crying all night.'
'OK,' Ant says. 'We got it.'
'Thanks, guys,' I say. 'See you around.'
'See you,' they say.
Ant gives Kim an angry look. 'We don't know Carrie Williams!'
funny adj. making you laugh or smile 风趣的；滑稽的
horribly adv. very 非常
detective n. a person whose job is to find out who did a crime 侦探
case n. an event or set of events that need to be dealt with by the police in order to find out if a crime has been committed and who committed it 案件，案子
surprised adj. feeling or showing surprised 惊讶的；吃惊的
report n. information (written or spoken) about something that has happened （书面或口头的）报告
law (the law) n. all the rules of a country 法律
guys n. (pl. inf.) used when speaking to a group of people （常用复数；非正式）伙计们；兄弟们；姐妹们
card (business card) n. a small piece of card with your name, address, phone number, etc. on it 名片
awesome adj. (inf.) very good, great, enjoyable （非正式）非常好的；棒极了的
idiot n. a stupid person 白痴；傻子；笨蛋
stare v. to look at somebody or something for a long time 盯着；凝视
2
朋友们的帮助
不用说，我先从卡丽着手。我知道她的名字，有她的照片，知道她的学校。达伦一出校门，我便迎了上去，然后我们一起去了卡丽的学校。我们坐在我的车里，看着学生们从学校走出来。
“那是贾尼丝——看！”达伦说，“那个黑色长发的女孩。她跟卡丽的关系非常好。她旁边是金。我喜欢金，她很风趣，总是逗得我大笑。哦，那是安特。看见了吗？短头发，穿黑色衣服的那个。”
“安特？全名是什么？安西娅吗？”
“不知道，”达伦说，“我们都叫她安特。”
我迅速拍了张这三个姑娘的照片，然后带达伦去吃比萨饼，以示感谢。
“你能找到我姐姐吗？”达伦问，“她不在家，家里安静得可怕。现在家里看不到笑容。妈妈整夜地哭，我听见的。”
我看着这个小男孩的脸，说：“没问题，我能找到她。”
当天晚上，我给警察局的一个朋友打了个电话。他是个侦缉警长———萨希德·帕特尔探长。
“嗨，萨希德，你好吗？”
“还行。你最近怎么样？”萨希德问，“在办案子吗？”
“是的，我接了一桩失踪案——一个失踪女孩的案子。她妈妈今天来找我。那个女孩五个星期前因为她的男朋友而跟她爸爸大吵了一架，然后离家出走了……她的男朋友是个立陶宛人。”
“那个女孩多大？”萨希德问。
“15岁。”
“哦。”萨希德并不吃惊。“我们每天都会接到有人失踪的报案——你知道有多少吗？”
“不知道。快告诉我吧，有多少？”
“英国的警察局每天大约接到1,000起人员失踪的报案，”萨希德说，“其中将近三分之一的失踪人员是年龄在15岁到17岁的年轻人。那个妈妈是什么时候向警察局报案的？”
“她没有报案。女孩的爸爸不想再见到自己的女儿。”我说，“所以，没有警察介入，没有人员失踪报案，也没有人去找她。这是那位妈妈告诉我的。”
“好吧。雪莉，你要小心点。那个女孩只有15岁。她要到16岁才能结婚，而且根据法律……”
“这些我都知道，萨希德。我懂法律的！”
“你当然知道了，抱歉。”萨希德笑着说，“那么，你想要我帮你做怎么？”
“你能在那个立陶宛男朋友方面帮我提供一点信息吗？”我问，“我该去哪儿找他？你能提供一些人名吗？那些可以见面谈谈的人。”
“也许可以。不过，伦敦大约有20万立陶宛人。你什么时候要？我手头还有工作，你知道的。”
“我打算先去试着见见那个女孩在学校里的朋友。”我说，“你能在一两天内搞定吗？如果你有什么消息，就给我发短信吧。”
“好的。那么，再见。”
第二天下午4点，我等在卡丽的学校外边。我拿着那三个女孩的照片，很快就看到了她们。她们三个人站在街上，边看各自的手机边笑。我向她们走过去。
“嗨，姑娘们，”我说，“你们是卡丽·威廉斯的朋友，对吧？我需要你们的帮助。”
“卡丽·威廉斯？”那个叫安特的女孩说，“她是谁？”
我留神观察姑娘们的脸。她们肯定认识卡丽，而且她们知道她失踪了。但是，她们知道多少呢？
“哎，得了吧，”我说，“你们是卡丽最好的朋友。我正在找她。我必须找到她。”
“那么你是谁？”叫贾尼丝的女孩问道。
我把名片递给了她们。
叫金的女孩笑了起来。“雪莉·霍姆斯？你是那个叫歇洛克·福尔摩斯①还是什么的人的孙女吗？”
我笑了。我总是碰到这样的问题，一次又一次。这次又是这样。“应该是曾曾孙女。他生活在19世纪90年代。”
“哇！真的吗？那可太棒了！”金说道。
贾尼丝和安特笑起来。“金，你这个傻瓜！世界上没有歇洛克·福尔摩斯。他只是电视剧里的一个侦探。”
“呃，也出现在书里，”我说，“先出版的是书。”
女孩们看着我，此时她们脸上的表情友善多了。
“好吧，雪莉·霍姆斯，歇洛克的曾曾孙女，”安特说，“我们能帮你做什么？你在找谁？你再说一遍，她叫什么来着？”
看得出来，安特是个很难对付的人。她是卡丽的好朋友，她不会说的。
“你们有妈妈吗？”我问，“你们三个？”三个女孩盯着我。“我们当然有妈妈了，”贾尼丝说，“你在说什么呢？”
“你们爱妈妈吗？你们的妈妈爱你们吗？”我说，“嗯，听着。卡丽的妈妈爱她的女儿。她现在夜不能寐，也不吃东西，一直为卡丽哭泣。她想知道卡丽是不是平安无事。你们能理解吗？她只是想知道女儿的近况。”
金瞪大眼睛看着我。“噢，可怜的威廉斯太太！”她说道。
安特生气地瞪了她一眼。“我们不认识卡丽·威廉斯！”她说，“记得吗？”
贾尼丝看着我。“等我们一会儿，”她说，“我们需要谈一谈。”
她们走到一旁，背对着我小声交谈。我听不见她们在说什么。过了一会儿，她们回到我面前。
“好吧，”安特说，“你想要知道什么？”
“你们知道普特尼大街上的尼罗咖啡馆吧？”我说，“告诉卡丽，我明天晚上6点30分会在尼罗咖啡馆，后天晚上6点30分也会在那里。我想见她，想跟她聊聊。我想知道她还活着，过得不错。如此而已。然后我就可以告诉她妈妈，让威廉斯太太不用再整晚整晚地哭泣了。”
“好的，”安特说，“我们明白了。”
“谢谢，姑娘们，”我说，“再见。”
“再见。”女孩们说。
注释
注① “福尔摩斯”和“霍姆斯”是谐音。
3．Talking to Carrie
3
Talking to Carrie
Carrie doesn't come the first evening. I sit there for two hours, and drink a lot of coffee. Five big cups, black, no sugar. It's a good thing I like coffee.
But she comes the second evening. I'm sitting with my back to the wall, watching the door. Through the café window I see Ant in her black clothes. She's walking past, slowly, looking into the café. A minute or two later Carrie comes in, and walks over to my table. Red hair, green eyes, no smile. I stand up.
'Hi, Carrie. I'm Shirley Homes. Thanks for coming. Have a seat. Can I get you a coffee, or a tea?'
I'm using my head teacher voice. Right, girls, sit down. Open your books. Get to work. I don't want Carrie to have time to think.
She doesn't want coffee, or tea. She wants to have an argument.
'I'm not going home,' she says. 'So you can forget that. I don't need my family. I have a new life now.'
I watch her face, and she stares back at me with angry green eyes. I don't think Carrie is in trouble. Carrie knows what she wants, and Carrie gets what she wants. I think Carrie makes trouble. I begin to feel sorry for the boyfriend.
'Why are you here, Carrie?' I say. 'What did your friends say to you?'
A minute or two later Carrie comes in, and walks over to my table.
She doesn't answer, just looks at me.
'Did they tell you about your mum – crying all night because her little girl is living on the streets, because her little girl is taking drugs, because her little girl is in big, big trouble—'
Suddenly, Carrie has a lot to say. 'I'm NOT living on the streets!' she shouts at me. 'And I don't do drugs – I NEVER do drugs! Who told you all this? It's NOT TRUE!'
People in the café turn their heads to look at us. I smile around at everybody. A smile to say, Everything's fine here. Just a big sister, little sister argument. Happens all the time. Enjoy your coffee, have a nice day...
I look back at Carrie's angry face.
'But your mum doesn't know that,' I say quietly. 'At night, when she can't sleep, she thinks about those things. You're only fifteen, Carrie, and it's a big bad world out there. Of course your mum is afraid for you.'
Carrie looks down at the table. 'Yeah. Well...' She looks up. 'But I'm OK. I'm fine. You can tell her that.'
'Why don't you tell her?' I say. 'Call her. Text her.'
Carrie stares at me. 'Who sent you?' she says. 'Mum? Or was it my dad?'
'Your mum.'
'Look, I'm not texting mum, because I don't want my dad to know. I don't want to see him again, ever.'
People in the café turn their heads to look at us.
'We're not talking about your dad,' I say quickly. 'I know all about your dad. We're talking about your mum. And your mum needs to know you're all right. But she needs to hear it from you, not me. She texts you every day, you know. And you never text back. Never.'
Carrie looks away. 'I got a new mobile, and changed my number. I never got her texts.'
I laugh. 'Very good, Carrie. You read detective stories, right? Always change your mobile when you don't want people to find you. Dangerous things, mobile phones.'
Carrie nearly smiles. 'Tomas says—' she begins, then stops.
'Is Tomas your boyfriend?' I say. 'The one from Lithuania? Are you still with him?'
'Of course I'm still with him!' Carrie is angry again. 'I love him and he loves me. We're in love!'
I try not to smile. How wonderful to be fifteen, and in love for the first time!
'That's great,' I say. 'I'm happy for you. But please, please text your mum. Tell her you're all right.'
'OK,' says Carrie. 'This evening.' She looks at her watch and stands up. 'I must go. I'm meeting someone.'
'Thanks for coming, Carrie. And remember that text.'
She walks out of the café, and fifteen seconds later I'm following her. She's walking down the High Street, maybe to the bus station. I've got a minute, but I must be quick.
A private investigator always needs to carry a big bag. I stop by a shop window, and open my bag. Three seconds later, I'm wearing a blue T-shirt over my red T-shirt. In another five seconds, I have a wig on, and my short black hair is now long blond hair. Now I'm walking away from the shop window, and I'm wearing glasses. My big brown bag is now inside a small black backpack. No time to change the shoes. Carrie is a long way down the street. I walk fast, nearly running, and watch her red head in front of me.
When I get to the bus station, I can't see her at first, and walk quickly past all the people waiting. She's there, waiting for the number 71 bus. I wait too, about twenty metres away, and I'm reading the evening newspaper with great interest. (A private investigator always has today's newspaper in their bag.) But Carrie doesn't look round.
When the bus comes, Carrie goes upstairs. This is good news for me because I can sit downstairs, at the back of the bus. I can see Carrie when she gets off, but she can't see me.
It's a short bus ride, only ten minutes. Carrie gets off the bus, and turns left into a small street. I'm thirty metres behind her. Carrie looks round, once, and sees someone with blond hair, in a blue T-shirt, and glasses. She doesn't know me.
Halfway down the street, she crosses the road and goes into a big old house. I walk past the house, not too fast, not too slow. I can't follow her into the house because there are no other people around. You can only hide easily when there are lots of people around.
I'm reading the evening newspaper with great interest.
I take the next right, walk for ten minutes, then turn around and come back. This time I walk to the front door of the big house. There are six bells by the door with names next to them. It's a house with six different apartments. I look at the names, but there isn't a 'Williams' next to any bell. Well, of course not. She's living with her Lithuanian boyfriend. I look at the names again... John Ozumba, K. Brown, Lili Sardelli, R. varnaite, T. Grigas, M. M. Westerbrook.
Varnaite and Grigas... Lithuanian names, I think. Tomas Grigas, perhaps?
You can't stand in a quiet street and watch a house. Everybody looks at you and says, 'Who's that woman? What's she doing?' But you can watch a house from a car. People often sit in cars, waiting for somebody, having a sleep, checking their phone messages...
I go home, make some spaghetti for dinner, and text Edith Williams.
Saw C today. She's fine.
More tomorrow.
There are six bells by the door with names next to them.
drug n. an illegal chemical substance that people take because it makes them happy or excited 毒品
be in trouble to have problems because you have done something wrong or silly 遇到麻烦
follow v. to go after somebody or something 跟踪；尾随
wig n. a "hat" of hair you wear on your head, either because you have no hair or want to cover your own hair 假发
blond adj. (of hair colour) a light gold colour （头发）浅黄色的
backpack n. a bag that you carry on your back 背包
apartment n. a group of rooms for living in, on one floor of a house or building <美>（通常指在同一楼层的）公寓套房
check v. to find out what is there 查看；检查
3
与卡丽交谈
第一天晚上，卡丽没来。我在咖啡馆里坐了两个小时，喝了很多咖啡——五大杯没加糖的黑咖啡。还好，我喜欢咖啡。
不过第二天晚上她来了。我靠墙而坐，看着门。透过咖啡馆的窗户，我看到安特身着黑衣，慢慢地从咖啡馆走过，边走边往里头张望。过了一会儿，卡丽进来走到我的桌边。红色的头发，绿色的眼睛，紧绷着脸。我站了起来。
嗨，卡丽。我是雪莉·霍姆斯。谢谢你能来。请坐。要杯咖啡还是茶？”
我用学校校长的腔调说道。好的，姑娘们，坐下。翻开书。开始学习。我不想让卡丽有时间思考。
她不想喝咖啡，也不想喝茶。她想来吵一架。
“我不回家，”她说，“所以你别想让我回去。我不需要家人。我现在有了新的生活。”
我看着她的脸，她也瞪着我，绿色的眼睛里满含怒火。我觉得卡丽没事。她知道自己想要什么，而且得到了她想要的。我认为卡丽在制造麻烦。我开始同情她的男朋友。
“你为什么来这里，卡丽？”我问道，“你的朋友们跟你说什么了？”
她没有回答，只是看着我。
“她们跟你说你妈妈了吗——整夜哭泣，因为她的宝贝女儿露宿街头，因为她的宝贝女儿吸食毒品，因为她的宝贝女儿遇到了很大、很大的麻烦——”
突然，卡丽的话来了。“我没有露宿街头！”她冲我嚷道，“而且我也没有吸食毒品——我从来不碰毒品！谁告诉你这些的？都是没有的事！”
咖啡馆里的人纷纷扭头看我们。我环顾四周，冲众人微笑。那笑容是在说，我们没事。只是大姐姐和小妹妹在争执。这种情况随时都有可能发生。享用你们的咖啡，祝你们好心情……
我收回目光，看着满脸愤怒的卡丽。
“但是你说的这些情况，你妈妈并不知道。”我平静地说，“晚上，当她无法入睡时，她就会想到我说到的那些情形。你只有15岁，卡丽，外面的世界又大又乱。你妈妈当然会担心你。”
卡丽低头看着桌子。“是的。不过……”她抬起头，“不过，我没事，我很好。你可以这么告诉她。”
“为什么你不告诉她呢？”我说，“给她打个电话，或者给她发个短信。”
卡丽瞪着我。“谁让你来的？”她问，“我妈妈吗？或者是我爸爸？”
“你妈妈。”
“听着，我不会给妈妈发短信的，因为我不想让爸爸知道。我不想再见到他了，永远。”
“我们不是在谈你爸爸，”我马上说，“我知道你爸爸的情况。我们在谈你的妈妈。你妈妈需要知道你平安无事。但她需要你亲自告诉她，而不是我来说。她每天都给你发短信，你是知道的。而你却从来没有回复。一直没有。”
卡丽躲开我的目光。“我买了新手机，换了号码。我没收到过她的短信。”
我笑了。“很好，卡丽。你读过侦探小说，对不对？不想让人找到你的时候就换手机。手机，危险物品。”
卡丽差点笑了出来。“托马斯说……”她刚一开口，又顿住了。
“托马斯是你的男朋友吗？”我问，“那个立陶宛来的男孩？你还跟他在一起吗？”
“我当然还跟他在一起！”卡丽又气呼呼地说，“我爱他，他也爱我。我们在谈恋爱！”
我尽量不让自己笑出来。15岁是多么美好的年华，第一次谈恋爱是多么美妙！
“那好极了，”我说，“我为你高兴。不过，请一定、一定给你妈妈发短信，告诉她你一切安好。”
“好吧，”卡丽说，“我今天晚上发。”她看了看表，站了起来。“我得走了。我要见个人。”
“谢谢你来，卡丽。记住发短信。”
卡丽走出了咖啡馆。15秒钟之后，我跟上了她。她沿着大街走，也许是去汽车站。我有一分钟的时间，但我必须动作快。
私人侦探总是得拎着一个大包。我在一家商店的橱窗旁停下来，打开包。3秒钟后，我在红色T恤外边套了件蓝色T恤。又用5秒钟戴上了假发，我原来黑色短发现在变成了金色长发。然后我离开橱窗，戴上副眼镜。我把棕色的大包塞进一个黑色的双肩包里。没时间换鞋了。卡丽已经走出去很远了。我快步走着，几乎是一路小跑，紧盯着前边卡丽的红色头发。
到了公共汽车车站后，一开始我没看见她，于是飞快地走过所有等车的乘客。她在那儿，正在等71路公交车。我也在距离她20米开外等着车，并且非常专心地看晚报。（私人侦探的包里总有一份当天的报纸。）但是卡丽并没有四处张望。
公共汽车来了，卡丽上了汽车的上一层。这对我来说是件好事，因为我可以坐在汽车下层的后部。这样，卡丽下车时我可以看见她，但她却看不到我。
路程并不远，只有10分钟就到了。卡丽下了车，向左拐到了一条小街上。我跟在她后边，离她大约30米。卡丽回头看了一眼，看见一个金发披肩，穿蓝色T恤，戴眼镜的女子。她没认出我。
走到街道的一半时，她穿过马路，走进一座旧大楼。我从大楼前走过，步子不快不慢。我不能跟着她走进去，因为里边没有别人。只有周围有很多人时，你才容易藏身。
我走到街角向右拐，走了10分钟后，再转身走回来。这次，我走到那座大楼的前门。门边有六个门铃，每个门铃边都有名字。这座大楼有六套公寓。我看了看那些名字，可是没有哪个门铃旁边写有“威廉斯”。嗯，当然不会有了。她跟她的立陶宛男朋友住在一起。我又看了看这些名字……约翰·奥宗巴、K.布朗、莉莉·萨尔代利、R.瓦内特、T.格里加斯、M.M.韦斯特布鲁克。
瓦内特和格里加斯……立陶宛名字，我心想。也许是托马斯·格里加斯？
你不能在一条安静的街上，盯着一座楼房看。每个看到你的人都会想：“那个女人是谁？她在干什么？”但是，你可以在车上监视一座房子。人们经常坐在车里等人、睡觉、查看手机短信……
我回到家，做了点意大利面条当晚饭，然后给伊迪丝·威廉斯太太发了条短信：
今天看见C了。她很好。
明天再告诉你更多消息。
与卡丽交谈
3
Talking to Carrie
Carrie doesn't come the first evening. I sit there for two hours, and drink a lot of coffee. Five big cups, black, no sugar. It's a good thing I like coffee.
But she comes the second evening. I'm sitting with my back to the wall, watching the door. Through the café window I see Ant in her black clothes. She's walking past, slowly, looking into the café. A minute or two later Carrie comes in, and walks over to my table. Red hair, green eyes, no smile. I stand up.
'Hi, Carrie. I'm Shirley Homes. Thanks for coming. Have a seat. Can I get you a coffee, or a tea?'
I'm using my head teacher voice. Right, girls, sit down. Open your books. Get to work. I don't want Carrie to have time to think.
She doesn't want coffee, or tea. She wants to have an argument.
'I'm not going home,' she says. 'So you can forget that. I don't need my family. I have a new life now.'
I watch her face, and she stares back at me with angry green eyes. I don't think Carrie is in trouble. Carrie knows what she wants, and Carrie gets what she wants. I think Carrie makes trouble. I begin to feel sorry for the boyfriend.
'Why are you here, Carrie?' I say. 'What did your friends say to you?'
A minute or two later Carrie comes in, and walks over to my table.
She doesn't answer, just looks at me.
'Did they tell you about your mum – crying all night because her little girl is living on the streets, because her little girl is taking drugs, because her little girl is in big, big trouble—'
Suddenly, Carrie has a lot to say. 'I'm NOT living on the streets!' she shouts at me. 'And I don't do drugs – I NEVER do drugs! Who told you all this? It's NOT TRUE!'
People in the café turn their heads to look at us. I smile around at everybody. A smile to say, Everything's fine here. Just a big sister, little sister argument. Happens all the time. Enjoy your coffee, have a nice day...
I look back at Carrie's angry face.
'But your mum doesn't know that,' I say quietly. 'At night, when she can't sleep, she thinks about those things. You're only fifteen, Carrie, and it's a big bad world out there. Of course your mum is afraid for you.'
Carrie looks down at the table. 'Yeah. Well...' She looks up. 'But I'm OK. I'm fine. You can tell her that.'
'Why don't you tell her?' I say. 'Call her. Text her.'
Carrie stares at me. 'Who sent you?' she says. 'Mum? Or was it my dad?'
'Your mum.'
'Look, I'm not texting mum, because I don't want my dad to know. I don't want to see him again, ever.'
People in the café turn their heads to look at us.
'We're not talking about your dad,' I say quickly. 'I know all about your dad. We're talking about your mum. And your mum needs to know you're all right. But she needs to hear it from you, not me. She texts you every day, you know. And you never text back. Never.'
Carrie looks away. 'I got a new mobile, and changed my number. I never got her texts.'
I laugh. 'Very good, Carrie. You read detective stories, right? Always change your mobile when you don't want people to find you. Dangerous things, mobile phones.'
Carrie nearly smiles. 'Tomas says—' she begins, then stops.
'Is Tomas your boyfriend?' I say. 'The one from Lithuania? Are you still with him?'
'Of course I'm still with him!' Carrie is angry again. 'I love him and he loves me. We're in love!'
I try not to smile. How wonderful to be fifteen, and in love for the first time!
'That's great,' I say. 'I'm happy for you. But please, please text your mum. Tell her you're all right.'
'OK,' says Carrie. 'This evening.' She looks at her watch and stands up. 'I must go. I'm meeting someone.'
'Thanks for coming, Carrie. And remember that text.'
She walks out of the café, and fifteen seconds later I'm following her. She's walking down the High Street, maybe to the bus station. I've got a minute, but I must be quick.
A private investigator always needs to carry a big bag. I stop by a shop window, and open my bag. Three seconds later, I'm wearing a blue T-shirt over my red T-shirt. In another five seconds, I have a wig on, and my short black hair is now long blond hair. Now I'm walking away from the shop window, and I'm wearing glasses. My big brown bag is now inside a small black backpack. No time to change the shoes. Carrie is a long way down the street. I walk fast, nearly running, and watch her red head in front of me.
When I get to the bus station, I can't see her at first, and walk quickly past all the people waiting. She's there, waiting for the number 71 bus. I wait too, about twenty metres away, and I'm reading the evening newspaper with great interest. (A private investigator always has today's newspaper in their bag.) But Carrie doesn't look round.
When the bus comes, Carrie goes upstairs. This is good news for me because I can sit downstairs, at the back of the bus. I can see Carrie when she gets off, but she can't see me.
It's a short bus ride, only ten minutes. Carrie gets off the bus, and turns left into a small street. I'm thirty metres behind her. Carrie looks round, once, and sees someone with blond hair, in a blue T-shirt, and glasses. She doesn't know me.
Halfway down the street, she crosses the road and goes into a big old house. I walk past the house, not too fast, not too slow. I can't follow her into the house because there are no other people around. You can only hide easily when there are lots of people around.
I'm reading the evening newspaper with great interest.
I take the next right, walk for ten minutes, then turn around and come back. This time I walk to the front door of the big house. There are six bells by the door with names next to them. It's a house with six different apartments. I look at the names, but there isn't a 'Williams' next to any bell. Well, of course not. She's living with her Lithuanian boyfriend. I look at the names again... John Ozumba, K. Brown, Lili Sardelli, R. varnaite, T. Grigas, M. M. Westerbrook.
Varnaite and Grigas... Lithuanian names, I think. Tomas Grigas, perhaps?
You can't stand in a quiet street and watch a house. Everybody looks at you and says, 'Who's that woman? What's she doing?' But you can watch a house from a car. People often sit in cars, waiting for somebody, having a sleep, checking their phone messages...
I go home, make some spaghetti for dinner, and text Edith Williams.
Saw C today. She's fine.
More tomorrow.
There are six bells by the door with names next to them.
drug n. an illegal chemical substance that people take because it makes them happy or excited 毒品
be in trouble to have problems because you have done something wrong or silly 遇到麻烦
follow v. to go after somebody or something 跟踪；尾随
wig n. a "hat" of hair you wear on your head, either because you have no hair or want to cover your own hair 假发
blond adj. (of hair colour) a light gold colour （头发）浅黄色的
backpack n. a bag that you carry on your back 背包
apartment n. a group of rooms for living in, on one floor of a house or building <美>（通常指在同一楼层的）公寓套房
check v. to find out what is there 查看；检查
3
与卡丽交谈
第一天晚上，卡丽没来。我在咖啡馆里坐了两个小时，喝了很多咖啡——五大杯没加糖的黑咖啡。还好，我喜欢咖啡。
不过第二天晚上她来了。我靠墙而坐，看着门。透过咖啡馆的窗户，我看到安特身着黑衣，慢慢地从咖啡馆走过，边走边往里头张望。过了一会儿，卡丽进来走到我的桌边。红色的头发，绿色的眼睛，紧绷着脸。我站了起来。
嗨，卡丽。我是雪莉·霍姆斯。谢谢你能来。请坐。要杯咖啡还是茶？”
我用学校校长的腔调说道。好的，姑娘们，坐下。翻开书。开始学习。我不想让卡丽有时间思考。
她不想喝咖啡，也不想喝茶。她想来吵一架。
“我不回家，”她说，“所以你别想让我回去。我不需要家人。我现在有了新的生活。”
我看着她的脸，她也瞪着我，绿色的眼睛里满含怒火。我觉得卡丽没事。她知道自己想要什么，而且得到了她想要的。我认为卡丽在制造麻烦。我开始同情她的男朋友。
“你为什么来这里，卡丽？”我问道，“你的朋友们跟你说什么了？”
她没有回答，只是看着我。
“她们跟你说你妈妈了吗——整夜哭泣，因为她的宝贝女儿露宿街头，因为她的宝贝女儿吸食毒品，因为她的宝贝女儿遇到了很大、很大的麻烦——”
突然，卡丽的话来了。“我没有露宿街头！”她冲我嚷道，“而且我也没有吸食毒品——我从来不碰毒品！谁告诉你这些的？都是没有的事！”
咖啡馆里的人纷纷扭头看我们。我环顾四周，冲众人微笑。那笑容是在说，我们没事。只是大姐姐和小妹妹在争执。这种情况随时都有可能发生。享用你们的咖啡，祝你们好心情……
我收回目光，看着满脸愤怒的卡丽。
“但是你说的这些情况，你妈妈并不知道。”我平静地说，“晚上，当她无法入睡时，她就会想到我说到的那些情形。你只有15岁，卡丽，外面的世界又大又乱。你妈妈当然会担心你。”
卡丽低头看着桌子。“是的。不过……”她抬起头，“不过，我没事，我很好。你可以这么告诉她。”
“为什么你不告诉她呢？”我说，“给她打个电话，或者给她发个短信。”
卡丽瞪着我。“谁让你来的？”她问，“我妈妈吗？或者是我爸爸？”
“你妈妈。”
“听着，我不会给妈妈发短信的，因为我不想让爸爸知道。我不想再见到他了，永远。”
“我们不是在谈你爸爸，”我马上说，“我知道你爸爸的情况。我们在谈你的妈妈。你妈妈需要知道你平安无事。但她需要你亲自告诉她，而不是我来说。她每天都给你发短信，你是知道的。而你却从来没有回复。一直没有。”
卡丽躲开我的目光。“我买了新手机，换了号码。我没收到过她的短信。”
我笑了。“很好，卡丽。你读过侦探小说，对不对？不想让人找到你的时候就换手机。手机，危险物品。”
卡丽差点笑了出来。“托马斯说……”她刚一开口，又顿住了。
“托马斯是你的男朋友吗？”我问，“那个立陶宛来的男孩？你还跟他在一起吗？”
“我当然还跟他在一起！”卡丽又气呼呼地说，“我爱他，他也爱我。我们在谈恋爱！”
我尽量不让自己笑出来。15岁是多么美好的年华，第一次谈恋爱是多么美妙！
“那好极了，”我说，“我为你高兴。不过，请一定、一定给你妈妈发短信，告诉她你一切安好。”
“好吧，”卡丽说，“我今天晚上发。”她看了看表，站了起来。“我得走了。我要见个人。”
“谢谢你来，卡丽。记住发短信。”
卡丽走出了咖啡馆。15秒钟之后，我跟上了她。她沿着大街走，也许是去汽车站。我有一分钟的时间，但我必须动作快。
私人侦探总是得拎着一个大包。我在一家商店的橱窗旁停下来，打开包。3秒钟后，我在红色T恤外边套了件蓝色T恤。又用5秒钟戴上了假发，我原来黑色短发现在变成了金色长发。然后我离开橱窗，戴上副眼镜。我把棕色的大包塞进一个黑色的双肩包里。没时间换鞋了。卡丽已经走出去很远了。我快步走着，几乎是一路小跑，紧盯着前边卡丽的红色头发。
到了公共汽车车站后，一开始我没看见她，于是飞快地走过所有等车的乘客。她在那儿，正在等71路公交车。我也在距离她20米开外等着车，并且非常专心地看晚报。（私人侦探的包里总有一份当天的报纸。）但是卡丽并没有四处张望。
公共汽车来了，卡丽上了汽车的上一层。这对我来说是件好事，因为我可以坐在汽车下层的后部。这样，卡丽下车时我可以看见她，但她却看不到我。
路程并不远，只有10分钟就到了。卡丽下了车，向左拐到了一条小街上。我跟在她后边，离她大约30米。卡丽回头看了一眼，看见一个金发披肩，穿蓝色T恤，戴眼镜的女子。她没认出我。
走到街道的一半时，她穿过马路，走进一座旧大楼。我从大楼前走过，步子不快不慢。我不能跟着她走进去，因为里边没有别人。只有周围有很多人时，你才容易藏身。
我走到街角向右拐，走了10分钟后，再转身走回来。这次，我走到那座大楼的前门。门边有六个门铃，每个门铃边都有名字。这座大楼有六套公寓。我看了看那些名字，可是没有哪个门铃旁边写有“威廉斯”。嗯，当然不会有了。她跟她的立陶宛男朋友住在一起。我又看了看这些名字……约翰·奥宗巴、K.布朗、莉莉·萨尔代利、R.瓦内特、T.格里加斯、M.M.韦斯特布鲁克。
瓦内特和格里加斯……立陶宛名字，我心想。也许是托马斯·格里加斯？
你不能在一条安静的街上，盯着一座楼房看。每个看到你的人都会想：“那个女人是谁？她在干什么？”但是，你可以在车上监视一座房子。人们经常坐在车里等人、睡觉、查看手机短信……
我回到家，做了点意大利面条当晚饭，然后给伊迪丝·威廉斯太太发了条短信：
今天看见C了。她很好。
明天再告诉你更多消息。
4．The boyfriend
4
The boyfriend
The next day I'm in the street in my car, opposite the house. I have a cup of coffee, a newspaper, and a lot of time. I want to see Tomas, and talk to him. Then I can make my report to Mrs Williams, and the job is finished.
At 17.45 Carrie walks down the street, and goes into the house. I'm watching carefully now. People are coming home from work... in cars, on bicycles, on foot. Lots to watch. Two people go into the house, a young woman and a short, older man with white hair.
At 18.25 a young man walks down the street. Tall, with dark hair. He walks to the front door, and in two seconds I'm out of the car, across the street, and standing behind him at the door.
He opens the door, and turns to look at me.
'Hi!' I say. 'OK to come in? I'm visiting Mike Westerbrook at number six.'
'Yes, that's OK,' the young man says. He holds the door open for me, and we walk up the stairs together.
'Nice and sunny today,' I say. 'But rain's coming in later, they say.'
'Mmm,' says the young man.
At the top of the stairs he turns to the door with number 4 on it, gets out his key, and opens the door. Suddenly, I run back to him.
In two seconds I'm standing behind him at the door.
'Hey, excuse me! Is this yours? It was on the floor.' In my hand I'm holding a weekly bus ticket. It's more than two months old, but he can't see that because I've got my hand over the date.
He looks at the ticket, and I look through the open door of number 4... and see Carrie in the room. Then I'm through the door and inside the apartment.
'Hey!' the young man shouts at me. 'What are you doing? Who are you? Get out!'
I turn to Carrie. 'Hello, Carrie,' I say. 'Did you text your mum last night?'
The young man is next to me now. 'Who is this?' he says to Carrie. 'What's this about?' He stares at me angrily.
Carrie looks angry too. 'She's a private investigator,' she tells the young man. 'Mum sent her. I talked to her yesterday in the café. I told you, remember?'
'Ah!' The young man suddenly smiles. He has a very nice smile. 'How exciting! I never met a private investigator before. How do you do? I am Tomas Varnas, and I'm very pleased to meet you.'
He holds out his hand, and we shake hands. Wrong name, I think. Not the name on the door. But this is the Lithuanian boyfriend.
'Shirley Homes. Pleased to meet you too,' I say. 'I'm sorry about this. But I need to talk to you. Carrie's mother—'
'Of course,' says Tomas. 'I understand. Please – sit down. Can I get you some coffee?'
'Hello, Carrie,' I say. 'Did you text your mum last night?'
He and Carrie make coffee, and we all sit down round a table. Tomas looks at me, smiling.
'So,' he says. 'You want to ask me questions, so you can tell Carrie's mother all about me. I am very happy about that. What do you want to know? Shall I begin?'
So I listen to the story of Tomas Varnas's life. He is nineteen years old, and comes from Vilnius in Lithuania. He came to London six months ago because he wants to start a business. His family make linen cloth in Vilnius, and Tomas wants to sell it in England. At the moment he's working Monday to Friday in a hospital because he needs the money. But he's selling linen in the street market on Saturdays. Business is good, and is getting better every week.
Carrie wants to tell me more about it. 'It's beautiful linen, you know. The best in the world. I'm learning all about it.' She's excited, I can see it in her green eyes.
Tomas is smiling. 'Carrie is very good with the colours of the linen,' he says. 'She wants to work with me. And she's good at business too – very good. Better than me.'
He puts the back of his hand against Carrie's face, just a touch, a very gentle touch, and smiles into her eyes. She looks up at him, and the love in her eyes is clear. For a second or two the world stops for them. These two young people are very much in love.
Carrie looks at me again. 'Everybody wants to wear clothes made of linen now, you see. So our business is going to get bigger.'
Tomas is selling linen in the street market on Saturdays.
'Lots of hard work,' says Tomas. 'But we're young, we can work hard, no problem about that. But we do have one problem.' He looks at Carrie. 'Your family.'
'Oh, that!' Carrie says. 'Not important. I don't need them. We're fine without them.'
'Not so,' Tomas says gently. 'Your mother is unhappy, your little brother is unhappy, and your father too.'
'No, he isn't! My father is a horrible man! We have arguments all the time. Every day he tells me, "do this, don't do that, do this." He's always right, and I'm always wrong! Always! He never listens to me. He doesn't understand me, he doesn't want to understand me. He's just horrible...'
'Shhh, shhh,' Tomas says. 'When people are angry, sometimes they say bad things. Maybe they don't really think that. You and your father have a lot of arguments, and you both get angry and say things.'
'Yes, but...' Carrie says.
I sit and listen. This is not their first argument, and it's not going to be their last one. It's interesting to listen to them. Tomas is very gentle with Carrie, but he's strong too. He's in love, but he still thinks clearly.
'Er, excuse me,' I say. 'I'm still here, you know.'
They look at me. Tomas laughs. 'Sorry!' he says. 'We talk about this often. In the end, Carrie must go back home. She knows that.'
'No, I don't!' says Carrie. 'I'm not going back home. No way!'
'But Carrie – you can't cut your family out of your life. Family is important. My family is important to me. And I want you to have your family too... to be friends with your mother, and your father. And your little brother!'
They're off again. I'm trying not to smile. This argument is going to run and run. I think Tomas is good for Carrie.
'Well, I'm done here,' I say. 'It was good to meet you, Tomas. I can tell Mrs Williams about you now. And, well... good luck to both of you.'
Carrie smiles. 'Thanks, Shirley. Can I call you Shirley? Ant and Janice said you were all right. I sent mum a text last night, you know.'
Tomas stands up too. 'I must get home now,' he says.
I stare at him, surprised. 'Home? You live here, in this apartment. Don't you?'
'No, no, no,' Tomas says. 'Of course not! Carrie is fifteen. We cannot marry before she is sixteen years old. It is against the law. So of course I don't live here. It is not correct.'
'But this is your apartment—?'
'No, no,' Tomas says again. 'It's my sister's apartment. Carrie lives here with my sister, Ruta Varnaite. She's working late tonight. I have a room with a friend near Putney Bridge.'
I'm very surprised. I sit down again and look at Carrie. 'Why didn't you tell me? Everybody thinks you're living with Tomas.'
They're off again. I'm trying not to smile.
Carrie doesn't look pleased. 'Well, I didn't tell them that. But my dad always thinks the worst. And sometimes my mum too. But we can get married next year, when I'm sixteen.'
Tomas laughs. He pulls her hair, gently. 'Sixteen is still very young to get married. We can wait. I want to know your family first, and you want to know my family.'
'Yes, I really want to meet your family,' Carrie says. 'But you don't want to meet mine, you really don't.'
Tomas pulls her hair again, not so gently this time. 'Of course I do. I want to talk to your father, I want him to like me. We have all the time in the world, Carrie. Let's just take our time, eh?'
Carrie tries to look angry, then she laughs, and puts her arms around him.
Tomas and I leave the house together. He walks with me to my car.
'I'm sorry about Mr Williams,' he says. 'I think he loves Carrie a lot. Maybe I can meet him and talk to him one day. But Mrs Williams doesn't need to be afraid for Carrie. Please tell her that.'
'Of course,' I say. I've got a lot to say to Mrs Williams. Tomas and I shake hands again, and say goodbye.
I drive back to my office, and check my messages. There's a message from Saheed. Call me about the Lithuanian boyfriend.
I send him a text.
Found the boyfriend, thanks.
And the girl. All well, no problems.
Easy case, nothing horrible.
But thanks for the help!
SH
A text comes back from Saheed at once.
Oh, thanks a lot! I made 12 phone calls for you, all for nothing! Next time, YOU can help ME!
SP
Oh dear! Saheed is not pleased. I often need his help so I must be nice to him. I send him another text.
Sorry! Really really sorry!
Can I buy you a beer tonight?
SH
A text comes back from him.
OK. The King's Arms, by the river.
9 o'clock this evening. See you.
SP
linen n. a kind of strong cloth made from flax 亚麻（布）
touch n. the action of putting your hand or finger on something or somebody 触摸；碰
gentle adj. quiet and kind 温和的；轻柔的
strong adj. not easily frightened or influenced; powerful 坚决的；坚定的；有力的
4
男朋友
第二天，我到了那条街，把车停在那座楼房对面，坐在车里。我有一杯咖啡、一份报纸，还有大把的时间。我想见托马斯，跟他谈谈。然后，我就可以向威廉斯太太汇报，我的工作也就完成了。
下午5点45分，卡丽从街的一头走过来，进了那座楼房。我开始仔细观察。人们下班回家……开车的、骑车的、步行的，我目不暇接。有两个人走进那座大楼，是一个年轻的女人和一个比她年长的白发矮个子男人。
6点25分，一个年轻小伙子从街那头走过来。高个子、深色头发。他走到那座大楼的前门，两秒钟后，我下了车，穿过街道，站在他的身后。
他开了门，扭头看着我。
“嗨！”我说，“我能进去吗？我要去六号的迈克·韦斯特布鲁克家。”
“行，进来吧，”那年轻人说。他替我撑住门，我们一起上楼梯。
“今天天气真好，阳光普照，”我说，“不过，他们说等一会儿会下雨。”
“嗯。”年轻人应道。
到了顶楼，他朝四号公寓走过去，掏出钥匙，开了门。我猛地转身向他跑过去。
“嘿，请问，这是你的吗？掉在地上了。”我手里攥着一张公共汽车周票。车票是两个多月前的，但是他看不到，因为我用手遮住了日期。
他看了眼车票，这时我从开着的四号公寓门朝里看，看到卡丽在屋里。于是我从门口进入公寓。
“哎！”那个年轻人冲我喊，“你干什么？你是谁？出去！”
我转身面对着卡丽。“你好，卡丽，”我说道，“你昨晚给你妈妈发短信了吗？”
这时，那个年轻人走到我旁边。“她到底是谁？”他问卡丽，“这是怎么回事？”他生气地瞪着我。
卡丽看起来也很生气。“她是个私人侦探。”她告诉那个年轻人说，“我妈妈叫她来的。我昨天在咖啡馆跟她聊过。我告诉过你的，记得吗？”
“噢！”那个年轻人一下子笑了起来。他的笑容很讨人喜欢。“多么令人兴奋！我从没见过私人侦探呢。你好！我叫托马斯·瓦纳斯，很高兴见到你。”
他伸出手来，我们握了握手。名字不对，我心想。不是门上的名字。不过，这的确是那个立陶宛男朋友。
“雪莉·霍姆斯。我也很高兴见到你。”我说道，“我很抱歉，不过，我得跟你谈谈。卡丽的妈妈……”
“当然可以。”托马斯说，“我理解。请——坐下。要给你来杯咖啡吗？”
他和卡丽冲了咖啡，我们围着桌子坐下来。托马斯看着我，面带笑容。
“那么，”他说，“你想问我一些问题，以便把我的一切情况转告卡丽的妈妈。我很乐意帮忙。你想知道些什么？我可以开始说了吗？”
于是，我听托马斯·瓦纳斯讲了他的故事。他今年19岁，来自立陶宛的维尔纽斯。他六个月前来到伦敦，想自己做生意。他的家人在维尔纽斯生产亚麻布，托马斯想在英国销售布料。目前，他周一到周五在一家医院上班，因为他需要这笔收入。但是他周六会在街头市场上卖亚麻布。生意还不错，而且一周比一周好。
卡丽想告诉我更多情况：“你要知道，是很漂亮的亚麻布。世界上最好的亚麻布。我正在全面了解这方面的知识。”她很兴奋，我从她绿色的眼睛里能看出来。
托马斯露出笑容。“卡丽对亚麻布的颜色感觉很敏锐，”他说道，“她想跟我一起干。而且她对做生意也很在行——非常在行，比我强。”
他的手背碰了碰卡丽的脸颊，只是轻轻一触，非常轻柔，含笑看着她的双眼。她抬头凝望着他，眼里充满爱意。有那么一两秒钟，世界为之静止。这两个年轻人彼此深爱着。
卡丽再次看着我。“你知道，现在人们都想穿亚麻布料的衣服，所以我们的生意会做得更大。”
“要付出很多的努力，”托马斯说道，“不过我们还年轻，我们可以勤奋工作，这一点毫无问题。不过，我们确实面临一个问题，”他看着卡丽，“你的家人。”
“噢，这个啊！”卡丽说道，“这个不重要。我不需要他们。没有他们我们也挺好的。”
“不是这样的，”托马斯温柔地说，“你妈妈不快乐，你弟弟不快乐，你爸爸也不快乐。”
“不，我爸爸不会！我爸爸是个讨厌的家伙！我们总是争吵。他每天都唠叨，‘做这个，别做那个，做这个。’他永远对，而我永远错！永远！他从不听我的想法。他不理解我，他不想理解我。他讨厌极了……”
“嘘，嘘，”托马斯说，“有时候，当人们生气时，他们说话会很难听。也许他们心里并不那么想。你和你爸爸吵过很多次，你们都在气头上，说了些气话。”
“是的，可是……，”卡丽说道。
我坐在那里倾听。这不是他们第一次争执，也不会是最后一次。听他们争执很有意思。托马斯对卡丽很温柔，但他也很坚决。虽然他在恋爱中，但他的头脑仍然清醒。
“呃，对不起，”我说道，“要知道，我还在这儿呢。”
他们都转向我。托马斯笑着说：“对不起。我们经常讨论这件事。卡丽最终必须回家，她知道这一点。”
“不，我不知道！”卡丽说，“我不会回家的。没门儿！”
“可是，卡丽，你不可能把家人排除在你生活之外。家人非常重要。我的家人对我很重要。我希望你也有家人……希望你跟你爸爸、你妈妈，还有你弟弟和睦相处。”
他们又开始争执起来。我努力克制，不让自己笑出来。这场争论会无休止地进行下去。我认为托马斯很适合卡丽。
“嗯，我的任务完成了。”我说，“托马斯，见到你很高兴。我现在可以跟威廉斯太太说说你的情况了。还有，呃……祝你们俩好运！”
卡丽笑了。“谢谢你，雪莉。我能叫你雪莉吗？安特和贾尼丝说你人不错。你知道，我昨天晚上给我妈妈发了条短信。”
托马斯也站了起来。“我得回家了，”他说道。
我惊讶地盯着他。“回家？你住这儿，就在这套公寓里，不是吗？”
“不，不，不，”托马斯连声说，“当然不是！卡丽今年15岁。她满16岁之前我们不能结婚，否则是违法的。所以，我当然不住这里。那样是不对的。”
“但这不是你的公寓——？”
“不，不是，”托马斯又连声否认，“这是我姐姐的公寓。卡丽跟我姐姐住在这儿，我姐姐叫鲁塔·瓦内特。她今晚会工作到很晚。我跟一个朋友合住，在帕特尼桥附近。”
我非常惊讶，又坐了下来，看着卡丽。“你为什么不告诉我？每个人都以为你跟托马斯住在一起了。”
卡丽看起来不太高兴。“哼，我又没有告诉他们我跟托马斯住在一起。可是我爸爸总是把事情往最坏的地方想。有时候我妈妈也这样。不过明年等我年满16岁我们就可以结婚了。”
托马斯笑了。他拽了一下卡丽的头发，非常轻柔。“16岁结婚还是太早了。我们可以等。我想先认识你的家人，你也想认识我的家人。”
“是的，我的确想见你的家人，”卡丽说，“但是，你不想见我的家人，你肯定不愿意。”
托马斯又拽了一下她的头发，这次没那么温柔了。“我当然想了。我想跟你爸爸聊天，我想让他喜欢上我。卡丽，我们有的是时间。我们慢慢来，好吗？”
卡丽使劲想绷起脸，但还是笑了。她抱住了托马斯。
我和托马斯一起离开公寓楼。他陪着我走到我的车边。
“我为威廉斯先生感到难过，”他说，“我认为他很爱卡丽。也许有一天我可以跟他见面聊聊。但是，威廉斯太太大可不必为卡丽担心。请告诉她这一点。”
“我会转告她的。”我说。我有很多事要告诉威廉斯太太。托马斯和我再次握手，互相告别。
我开车回到办公室，查看电话留言。萨希德有留言：有关那个立陶宛男朋友的事，请给我回电话。
我给他发了条短信：
找到那个男朋友了，谢谢。
还找到了那个女孩。一切都好，没什么麻烦。
简单的案子，没什么麻烦。
但还是感谢你的帮助！
SH
萨希德很快回复了一条短信：
噢，非常感谢！我给你打了12个电话，都毫无音信！下次，你来帮我！
SP
惨了！萨希德不高兴了。我经常需要他帮忙，所以我得对他好点。我又给他发了条短信：
对不起！真的非常非常抱歉！
今晚能请你喝杯啤酒吗？
SH
他回复了一条：
好吧。“国王手臂”，河边那家。今晚9点。稍后见。
SP
男朋友
4
The boyfriend
The next day I'm in the street in my car, opposite the house. I have a cup of coffee, a newspaper, and a lot of time. I want to see Tomas, and talk to him. Then I can make my report to Mrs Williams, and the job is finished.
At 17.45 Carrie walks down the street, and goes into the house. I'm watching carefully now. People are coming home from work... in cars, on bicycles, on foot. Lots to watch. Two people go into the house, a young woman and a short, older man with white hair.
At 18.25 a young man walks down the street. Tall, with dark hair. He walks to the front door, and in two seconds I'm out of the car, across the street, and standing behind him at the door.
He opens the door, and turns to look at me.
'Hi!' I say. 'OK to come in? I'm visiting Mike Westerbrook at number six.'
'Yes, that's OK,' the young man says. He holds the door open for me, and we walk up the stairs together.
'Nice and sunny today,' I say. 'But rain's coming in later, they say.'
'Mmm,' says the young man.
At the top of the stairs he turns to the door with number 4 on it, gets out his key, and opens the door. Suddenly, I run back to him.
In two seconds I'm standing behind him at the door.
'Hey, excuse me! Is this yours? It was on the floor.' In my hand I'm holding a weekly bus ticket. It's more than two months old, but he can't see that because I've got my hand over the date.
He looks at the ticket, and I look through the open door of number 4... and see Carrie in the room. Then I'm through the door and inside the apartment.
'Hey!' the young man shouts at me. 'What are you doing? Who are you? Get out!'
I turn to Carrie. 'Hello, Carrie,' I say. 'Did you text your mum last night?'
The young man is next to me now. 'Who is this?' he says to Carrie. 'What's this about?' He stares at me angrily.
Carrie looks angry too. 'She's a private investigator,' she tells the young man. 'Mum sent her. I talked to her yesterday in the café. I told you, remember?'
'Ah!' The young man suddenly smiles. He has a very nice smile. 'How exciting! I never met a private investigator before. How do you do? I am Tomas Varnas, and I'm very pleased to meet you.'
He holds out his hand, and we shake hands. Wrong name, I think. Not the name on the door. But this is the Lithuanian boyfriend.
'Shirley Homes. Pleased to meet you too,' I say. 'I'm sorry about this. But I need to talk to you. Carrie's mother—'
'Of course,' says Tomas. 'I understand. Please – sit down. Can I get you some coffee?'
'Hello, Carrie,' I say. 'Did you text your mum last night?'
He and Carrie make coffee, and we all sit down round a table. Tomas looks at me, smiling.
'So,' he says. 'You want to ask me questions, so you can tell Carrie's mother all about me. I am very happy about that. What do you want to know? Shall I begin?'
So I listen to the story of Tomas Varnas's life. He is nineteen years old, and comes from Vilnius in Lithuania. He came to London six months ago because he wants to start a business. His family make linen cloth in Vilnius, and Tomas wants to sell it in England. At the moment he's working Monday to Friday in a hospital because he needs the money. But he's selling linen in the street market on Saturdays. Business is good, and is getting better every week.
Carrie wants to tell me more about it. 'It's beautiful linen, you know. The best in the world. I'm learning all about it.' She's excited, I can see it in her green eyes.
Tomas is smiling. 'Carrie is very good with the colours of the linen,' he says. 'She wants to work with me. And she's good at business too – very good. Better than me.'
He puts the back of his hand against Carrie's face, just a touch, a very gentle touch, and smiles into her eyes. She looks up at him, and the love in her eyes is clear. For a second or two the world stops for them. These two young people are very much in love.
Carrie looks at me again. 'Everybody wants to wear clothes made of linen now, you see. So our business is going to get bigger.'
Tomas is selling linen in the street market on Saturdays.
'Lots of hard work,' says Tomas. 'But we're young, we can work hard, no problem about that. But we do have one problem.' He looks at Carrie. 'Your family.'
'Oh, that!' Carrie says. 'Not important. I don't need them. We're fine without them.'
'Not so,' Tomas says gently. 'Your mother is unhappy, your little brother is unhappy, and your father too.'
'No, he isn't! My father is a horrible man! We have arguments all the time. Every day he tells me, "do this, don't do that, do this." He's always right, and I'm always wrong! Always! He never listens to me. He doesn't understand me, he doesn't want to understand me. He's just horrible...'
'Shhh, shhh,' Tomas says. 'When people are angry, sometimes they say bad things. Maybe they don't really think that. You and your father have a lot of arguments, and you both get angry and say things.'
'Yes, but...' Carrie says.
I sit and listen. This is not their first argument, and it's not going to be their last one. It's interesting to listen to them. Tomas is very gentle with Carrie, but he's strong too. He's in love, but he still thinks clearly.
'Er, excuse me,' I say. 'I'm still here, you know.'
They look at me. Tomas laughs. 'Sorry!' he says. 'We talk about this often. In the end, Carrie must go back home. She knows that.'
'No, I don't!' says Carrie. 'I'm not going back home. No way!'
'But Carrie – you can't cut your family out of your life. Family is important. My family is important to me. And I want you to have your family too... to be friends with your mother, and your father. And your little brother!'
They're off again. I'm trying not to smile. This argument is going to run and run. I think Tomas is good for Carrie.
'Well, I'm done here,' I say. 'It was good to meet you, Tomas. I can tell Mrs Williams about you now. And, well... good luck to both of you.'
Carrie smiles. 'Thanks, Shirley. Can I call you Shirley? Ant and Janice said you were all right. I sent mum a text last night, you know.'
Tomas stands up too. 'I must get home now,' he says.
I stare at him, surprised. 'Home? You live here, in this apartment. Don't you?'
'No, no, no,' Tomas says. 'Of course not! Carrie is fifteen. We cannot marry before she is sixteen years old. It is against the law. So of course I don't live here. It is not correct.'
'But this is your apartment—?'
'No, no,' Tomas says again. 'It's my sister's apartment. Carrie lives here with my sister, Ruta Varnaite. She's working late tonight. I have a room with a friend near Putney Bridge.'
I'm very surprised. I sit down again and look at Carrie. 'Why didn't you tell me? Everybody thinks you're living with Tomas.'
They're off again. I'm trying not to smile.
Carrie doesn't look pleased. 'Well, I didn't tell them that. But my dad always thinks the worst. And sometimes my mum too. But we can get married next year, when I'm sixteen.'
Tomas laughs. He pulls her hair, gently. 'Sixteen is still very young to get married. We can wait. I want to know your family first, and you want to know my family.'
'Yes, I really want to meet your family,' Carrie says. 'But you don't want to meet mine, you really don't.'
Tomas pulls her hair again, not so gently this time. 'Of course I do. I want to talk to your father, I want him to like me. We have all the time in the world, Carrie. Let's just take our time, eh?'
Carrie tries to look angry, then she laughs, and puts her arms around him.
Tomas and I leave the house together. He walks with me to my car.
'I'm sorry about Mr Williams,' he says. 'I think he loves Carrie a lot. Maybe I can meet him and talk to him one day. But Mrs Williams doesn't need to be afraid for Carrie. Please tell her that.'
'Of course,' I say. I've got a lot to say to Mrs Williams. Tomas and I shake hands again, and say goodbye.
I drive back to my office, and check my messages. There's a message from Saheed. Call me about the Lithuanian boyfriend.
I send him a text.
Found the boyfriend, thanks.
And the girl. All well, no problems.
Easy case, nothing horrible.
But thanks for the help!
SH
A text comes back from Saheed at once.
Oh, thanks a lot! I made 12 phone calls for you, all for nothing! Next time, YOU can help ME!
SP
Oh dear! Saheed is not pleased. I often need his help so I must be nice to him. I send him another text.
Sorry! Really really sorry!
Can I buy you a beer tonight?
SH
A text comes back from him.
OK. The King's Arms, by the river.
9 o'clock this evening. See you.
SP
linen n. a kind of strong cloth made from flax 亚麻（布）
touch n. the action of putting your hand or finger on something or somebody 触摸；碰
gentle adj. quiet and kind 温和的；轻柔的
strong adj. not easily frightened or influenced; powerful 坚决的；坚定的；有力的
4
男朋友
第二天，我到了那条街，把车停在那座楼房对面，坐在车里。我有一杯咖啡、一份报纸，还有大把的时间。我想见托马斯，跟他谈谈。然后，我就可以向威廉斯太太汇报，我的工作也就完成了。
下午5点45分，卡丽从街的一头走过来，进了那座楼房。我开始仔细观察。人们下班回家……开车的、骑车的、步行的，我目不暇接。有两个人走进那座大楼，是一个年轻的女人和一个比她年长的白发矮个子男人。
6点25分，一个年轻小伙子从街那头走过来。高个子、深色头发。他走到那座大楼的前门，两秒钟后，我下了车，穿过街道，站在他的身后。
他开了门，扭头看着我。
“嗨！”我说，“我能进去吗？我要去六号的迈克·韦斯特布鲁克家。”
“行，进来吧，”那年轻人说。他替我撑住门，我们一起上楼梯。
“今天天气真好，阳光普照，”我说，“不过，他们说等一会儿会下雨。”
“嗯。”年轻人应道。
到了顶楼，他朝四号公寓走过去，掏出钥匙，开了门。我猛地转身向他跑过去。
“嘿，请问，这是你的吗？掉在地上了。”我手里攥着一张公共汽车周票。车票是两个多月前的，但是他看不到，因为我用手遮住了日期。
他看了眼车票，这时我从开着的四号公寓门朝里看，看到卡丽在屋里。于是我从门口进入公寓。
“哎！”那个年轻人冲我喊，“你干什么？你是谁？出去！”
我转身面对着卡丽。“你好，卡丽，”我说道，“你昨晚给你妈妈发短信了吗？”
这时，那个年轻人走到我旁边。“她到底是谁？”他问卡丽，“这是怎么回事？”他生气地瞪着我。
卡丽看起来也很生气。“她是个私人侦探。”她告诉那个年轻人说，“我妈妈叫她来的。我昨天在咖啡馆跟她聊过。我告诉过你的，记得吗？”
“噢！”那个年轻人一下子笑了起来。他的笑容很讨人喜欢。“多么令人兴奋！我从没见过私人侦探呢。你好！我叫托马斯·瓦纳斯，很高兴见到你。”
他伸出手来，我们握了握手。名字不对，我心想。不是门上的名字。不过，这的确是那个立陶宛男朋友。
“雪莉·霍姆斯。我也很高兴见到你。”我说道，“我很抱歉，不过，我得跟你谈谈。卡丽的妈妈……”
“当然可以。”托马斯说，“我理解。请——坐下。要给你来杯咖啡吗？”
他和卡丽冲了咖啡，我们围着桌子坐下来。托马斯看着我，面带笑容。
“那么，”他说，“你想问我一些问题，以便把我的一切情况转告卡丽的妈妈。我很乐意帮忙。你想知道些什么？我可以开始说了吗？”
于是，我听托马斯·瓦纳斯讲了他的故事。他今年19岁，来自立陶宛的维尔纽斯。他六个月前来到伦敦，想自己做生意。他的家人在维尔纽斯生产亚麻布，托马斯想在英国销售布料。目前，他周一到周五在一家医院上班，因为他需要这笔收入。但是他周六会在街头市场上卖亚麻布。生意还不错，而且一周比一周好。
卡丽想告诉我更多情况：“你要知道，是很漂亮的亚麻布。世界上最好的亚麻布。我正在全面了解这方面的知识。”她很兴奋，我从她绿色的眼睛里能看出来。
托马斯露出笑容。“卡丽对亚麻布的颜色感觉很敏锐，”他说道，“她想跟我一起干。而且她对做生意也很在行——非常在行，比我强。”
他的手背碰了碰卡丽的脸颊，只是轻轻一触，非常轻柔，含笑看着她的双眼。她抬头凝望着他，眼里充满爱意。有那么一两秒钟，世界为之静止。这两个年轻人彼此深爱着。
卡丽再次看着我。“你知道，现在人们都想穿亚麻布料的衣服，所以我们的生意会做得更大。”
“要付出很多的努力，”托马斯说道，“不过我们还年轻，我们可以勤奋工作，这一点毫无问题。不过，我们确实面临一个问题，”他看着卡丽，“你的家人。”
“噢，这个啊！”卡丽说道，“这个不重要。我不需要他们。没有他们我们也挺好的。”
“不是这样的，”托马斯温柔地说，“你妈妈不快乐，你弟弟不快乐，你爸爸也不快乐。”
“不，我爸爸不会！我爸爸是个讨厌的家伙！我们总是争吵。他每天都唠叨，‘做这个，别做那个，做这个。’他永远对，而我永远错！永远！他从不听我的想法。他不理解我，他不想理解我。他讨厌极了……”
“嘘，嘘，”托马斯说，“有时候，当人们生气时，他们说话会很难听。也许他们心里并不那么想。你和你爸爸吵过很多次，你们都在气头上，说了些气话。”
“是的，可是……，”卡丽说道。
我坐在那里倾听。这不是他们第一次争执，也不会是最后一次。听他们争执很有意思。托马斯对卡丽很温柔，但他也很坚决。虽然他在恋爱中，但他的头脑仍然清醒。
“呃，对不起，”我说道，“要知道，我还在这儿呢。”
他们都转向我。托马斯笑着说：“对不起。我们经常讨论这件事。卡丽最终必须回家，她知道这一点。”
“不，我不知道！”卡丽说，“我不会回家的。没门儿！”
“可是，卡丽，你不可能把家人排除在你生活之外。家人非常重要。我的家人对我很重要。我希望你也有家人……希望你跟你爸爸、你妈妈，还有你弟弟和睦相处。”
他们又开始争执起来。我努力克制，不让自己笑出来。这场争论会无休止地进行下去。我认为托马斯很适合卡丽。
“嗯，我的任务完成了。”我说，“托马斯，见到你很高兴。我现在可以跟威廉斯太太说说你的情况了。还有，呃……祝你们俩好运！”
卡丽笑了。“谢谢你，雪莉。我能叫你雪莉吗？安特和贾尼丝说你人不错。你知道，我昨天晚上给我妈妈发了条短信。”
托马斯也站了起来。“我得回家了，”他说道。
我惊讶地盯着他。“回家？你住这儿，就在这套公寓里，不是吗？”
“不，不，不，”托马斯连声说，“当然不是！卡丽今年15岁。她满16岁之前我们不能结婚，否则是违法的。所以，我当然不住这里。那样是不对的。”
“但这不是你的公寓——？”
“不，不是，”托马斯又连声否认，“这是我姐姐的公寓。卡丽跟我姐姐住在这儿，我姐姐叫鲁塔·瓦内特。她今晚会工作到很晚。我跟一个朋友合住，在帕特尼桥附近。”
我非常惊讶，又坐了下来，看着卡丽。“你为什么不告诉我？每个人都以为你跟托马斯住在一起了。”
卡丽看起来不太高兴。“哼，我又没有告诉他们我跟托马斯住在一起。可是我爸爸总是把事情往最坏的地方想。有时候我妈妈也这样。不过明年等我年满16岁我们就可以结婚了。”
托马斯笑了。他拽了一下卡丽的头发，非常轻柔。“16岁结婚还是太早了。我们可以等。我想先认识你的家人，你也想认识我的家人。”
“是的，我的确想见你的家人，”卡丽说，“但是，你不想见我的家人，你肯定不愿意。”
托马斯又拽了一下她的头发，这次没那么温柔了。“我当然想了。我想跟你爸爸聊天，我想让他喜欢上我。卡丽，我们有的是时间。我们慢慢来，好吗？”
卡丽使劲想绷起脸，但还是笑了。她抱住了托马斯。
我和托马斯一起离开公寓楼。他陪着我走到我的车边。
“我为威廉斯先生感到难过，”他说，“我认为他很爱卡丽。也许有一天我可以跟他见面聊聊。但是，威廉斯太太大可不必为卡丽担心。请告诉她这一点。”
“我会转告她的。”我说。我有很多事要告诉威廉斯太太。托马斯和我再次握手，互相告别。
我开车回到办公室，查看电话留言。萨希德有留言：有关那个立陶宛男朋友的事，请给我回电话。
我给他发了条短信：
找到那个男朋友了，谢谢。
还找到了那个女孩。一切都好，没什么麻烦。
简单的案子，没什么麻烦。
但还是感谢你的帮助！
SH
萨希德很快回复了一条短信：
噢，非常感谢！我给你打了12个电话，都毫无音信！下次，你来帮我！
SP
惨了！萨希德不高兴了。我经常需要他帮忙，所以我得对他好点。我又给他发了条短信：
对不起！真的非常非常抱歉！
今晚能请你喝杯啤酒吗？
SH
他回复了一条：
好吧。“国王手臂”，河边那家。今晚9点。稍后见。
SP
5．A foot in the door
5
A foot in the door
Saheed and I have a beer together, and I tell him all about the Lithuanian case.
'A father–daughter problem, eh?' says Saheed. 'Well, I know all about difficult fathers.'
Saheed is from an Indian family. He and his sister Leila have their problems with a difficult father too. But Saheed never talks about his problems. He just does his job. He's a good detective.
'So. You did a good job there. A happy ending,' says Saheed.
'Yes, and no,' I say. 'One more thing to do.'
We finish our beer and leave.
'Say hi to Leila for me,' I say. Leila is my best friend. She's a lawyer. Leila, Saheed, and I have a lot of arguments about the law, and the police, and private investigators. We have a good time. I'm always right, of course.
The next day is Saturday. I do some work on my laptop in the office, and think about the Lithuanian case. How many young men are there like Tomas Varnas?
I think about it some more, then I leave, and walk to the Williams' house. It's not far from my office.
Mrs Williams opens the door, sees me, and tries to shut the door again. But my foot is in the door...
But my foot is in the door...
'Can I come in, Mrs Williams?' I say. 'Just for a minute.'
'It's Saturday. My husband's at home,' Edith Williams says. 'Please speak quietly! Look, I've got your money ready– here it is. And thank you, thank you. Carrie is texting me every day now, so I know she's all right. Please go now, please don't—'
'Who's that at the door, Edith?' It's a man's voice, a big strong voice.
'Oh, nobody,' Mrs Williams says quickly, but I'm inside the door now, and looking at Mr Williams.
'Oh, hello,' he says. 'Who are you?'
'Shirley Homes, private investigator. How do you do? Your wife wanted me to find Carrie. And to talk to her boyfriend.'
'What!' Mr Williams turns to his wife. 'What did I say to you, Edith?' he shouts. 'We're finished with that girl! We don't speak to her, we don't talk about her, we—'
'And it's good news, Mr Williams!' I use my head teacher voice again. He's still shouting at his wife, so I shout too. And smile and smile.
'Yes, it's very good news, Mr Williams. Your daughter Carrie is alive and well and living in London. And she has a wonderful boyfriend!'
Mr Williams stops shouting and stares at me. Behind him I can just see Darren's head. He's looking round a door, with big eyes.
'Carrie's boyfriend is a very nice young man. His name is Tomas Varnas, he's nineteen years old, he's a hard worker, he's kind...'
'He's a foreigner,' Mr Williams says angrily.
'You have a problem with foreigners?' I say.
Mrs Williams closes her eyes. She's waiting for something... What? A lot of bad language about foreigners from her husband?
I look at Mr Williams again, but he isn't saying anything. He's just staring at me angrily. And suddenly, I understand. His problem isn't with foreigners, it's with his daughter. He wants to know that Carrie is all right, he wants to hear about her boyfriend, he wants to see her, to have her back home. But he can't find the words. He just can't say it.
I speak quickly. 'Tomas is a very nice young man.' I say it again, it's an important message. 'He works hard, he's doing two jobs, and he's going to make a good life for him and Carrie. He speaks very good English, and he's kind, and he's funny, but he's strong too. He thinks family is important, and he wants Carrie to come back home, to be friends with her mother, her father, her brother...'
All three of them are listening to me now. Darren has a big smile on his face.
'Oh, and Carrie is living with Tomas's sister, not with Tomas, you know. Carrie wants to get married when she's sixteen next year, but Tomas wants to wait. He wants to meet the family, and he wants Carrie to meet his family. So you see – Tomas Varnas is a good man, a really good man. He's a boyfriend to please any father in Britain, Mr Williams.'
Mr Williams is just staring at me angrily.
Carrie's father opens his mouth, and closes it again. He still can't find the words.
'So now you know all about him, Mr Williams. Meet him. Talk to him. Ask him to Sunday lunch.'
I turn to Mrs Williams. 'Do you usually have Sunday lunch, you know, that wonderful British meal? All foreigners love it.'
'Er, yes,' she says. 'I... er... yes, I always do a nice Sunday lunch.'
'Well, there you are then,' I say. I smile around at everybody. 'Sunday lunch. That's a good way to meet your daughter's boyfriend.'
I take my money from Mrs Williams, give Darren a big smile and a wave, and walk to the front door. Nobody's shouting, nobody's crying. So far, so good.
'Have a nice day, everyone!' I say, and close the door behind me.
lawyer n. a person who knows the law and helps people in trouble 律师
laptop n. a small computer that you can carry 便携式电脑；笔记本电脑
shut v. to close something 关上
5
成功第一步
我和萨希德一起喝啤酒，我把这个立陶宛青年的案子原原本本地告诉了他。
“父女矛盾，对吧？”萨希德说道，“唔，我十分了解难相处的父亲。”
萨希德出生于一个印度家庭。他和姐姐莱拉跟难以取悦的父亲也有矛盾。但萨希德从不讲他这些事，只是工作。他是个优秀的侦探。
“看来，这个案子你办得不错。皆大欢喜的结局。”萨希德说。
“不完全是，”我说，“还有一件事要做。”
我们喝完啤酒，准备回家。
“替我向莱拉问好，”我说。莱拉是我最好的朋友，她是个律师。莱拉、萨希德和我有很多有关法律、警察和私人侦探的争论，争得不亦乐乎，而我当然总是对的。
第二天是星期六。我在办公室用笔记本电脑工作，想起了这个立陶宛青年的案子。如今还有多少像托马斯·瓦纳斯这样的年轻人呢？
我再想了想案子，然后离开办公室，走路去威廉斯家。他们家离我的办公室并不远。
开门的是威廉斯太太，她一看见是我，就要关门。但是，我已经一脚跨进了大门……
“威廉斯太太，我能进来吗？”我说，“我呆一会儿就走。”
“今天是星期六，我丈夫在家。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“说话请小声点！看，我已经把给你的钱准备好了——就在这儿。谢谢你，谢谢。卡丽现在每天都给我发短信，所以我知道她没事。现在请你走吧，请不要——”
“伊迪丝，谁在门口？”是个男人的声音，嗓门很大。
“噢，没人，”威廉斯太太连忙回答说，但我已经进了门，看着威廉斯先生。
“哦，你好！”他说，“你是谁？”
“雪莉·霍姆斯，私人侦探。您好！您太太要我去寻找卡丽，并跟她的男朋友谈谈。”
“什么！”威廉斯先生转向他的妻子，“我怎么跟你说的，伊迪丝？”他咆哮着，“我们跟那个丫头一刀两断了！我们不跟她说话，我们不谈她，我们……”
“是好消息，威廉斯先生！”我又用校长的腔调说话。他还在冲他太太嚷嚷，所以我也提高了嗓门，连连微笑。
“一点没错，是个好消息，威廉斯先生。您的女儿卡丽还活着，一切都好，住在伦敦。而且她还有一个非常不错的男朋友。”
威廉斯先生停止吼叫，盯着我。在他身后，我正好看见达伦的脑袋。他从门边张望，瞪大了双眼。
“卡丽的男朋友是个非常棒的小伙子。他的名字叫托马斯·瓦纳斯，今年19岁。他工作非常努力，人也很好……”
“他是个外国人。”威廉斯先生气呼呼地说。
“你对外国人有看法？”我问道。
威廉斯太太闭上了眼睛。她在等待着什么……等待什么？等待她丈夫说出一大堆关于外国人的坏话？
我又看着威廉斯先生，但他一言不发。他只是怒气冲冲地盯着我。一刹那间，我明白了。他的问题不在于外国人，而在于他的女儿。他想知道卡丽没事，他想了解她男朋友的情况，他想见她，想让她回家。但是他不知道该怎么说。他根本无法开口。
我立刻说：“托马斯是个很不错的小伙子。”我又重复了一遍，这个信息很重要。“他工作很努力，同时干两份工作，他想让自己和卡丽过上好日子。他英语说得很好，而且心地善良、说话风趣，但是也非常坚定。他认为家庭很重要，所以希望卡丽能回家，跟母亲、父亲和弟弟和睦相处……”
此刻，一家三口都在听我说。达伦眉开眼笑。
“哦，还有，卡丽住在托马斯的姐姐那儿，你要知道，她没跟托马斯住在一起。卡丽想等她明年满了16岁以后就结婚，但是托马斯想再等等。他想见卡丽的家人，也想让卡丽与他的家人见面。所以，你看，托马斯·瓦纳斯是个好小伙，一个真正的好男人。威廉斯先生，他这样的男朋友，任何一个英国女孩的父亲都会喜欢。”
卡丽的父亲张了张嘴想说什么，又闭上了。他仍然找不到合适的话说。
“威廉斯先生，现在你已经了解他所有的情况了。见见他吧，跟他聊聊。邀请他星期天中午来吃饭。”
我转身跟威廉斯太太说：“你们有吃星期天午餐吗？就是那种美味的英式大餐？所有的外国人都喜欢吃。”
“呃，有，”她说，“我……呃……是的，我经常做丰盛的星期天午餐。”
“唔，那么就这样定了。”我说。我冲每个人笑了笑。“星期天午餐，这是认识你女儿男朋友的好方式。”
我从威廉斯太太那儿拿了钱，开心地冲着达伦笑了笑，挥了挥手，向前门走去。没有人吼叫，没有人哭泣。到目前为止，一切顺利。
“各位，祝你们愉快！”我说着，转身关上了门。
成功第一步
5
A foot in the door
Saheed and I have a beer together, and I tell him all about the Lithuanian case.
'A father–daughter problem, eh?' says Saheed. 'Well, I know all about difficult fathers.'
Saheed is from an Indian family. He and his sister Leila have their problems with a difficult father too. But Saheed never talks about his problems. He just does his job. He's a good detective.
'So. You did a good job there. A happy ending,' says Saheed.
'Yes, and no,' I say. 'One more thing to do.'
We finish our beer and leave.
'Say hi to Leila for me,' I say. Leila is my best friend. She's a lawyer. Leila, Saheed, and I have a lot of arguments about the law, and the police, and private investigators. We have a good time. I'm always right, of course.
The next day is Saturday. I do some work on my laptop in the office, and think about the Lithuanian case. How many young men are there like Tomas Varnas?
I think about it some more, then I leave, and walk to the Williams' house. It's not far from my office.
Mrs Williams opens the door, sees me, and tries to shut the door again. But my foot is in the door...
But my foot is in the door...
'Can I come in, Mrs Williams?' I say. 'Just for a minute.'
'It's Saturday. My husband's at home,' Edith Williams says. 'Please speak quietly! Look, I've got your money ready– here it is. And thank you, thank you. Carrie is texting me every day now, so I know she's all right. Please go now, please don't—'
'Who's that at the door, Edith?' It's a man's voice, a big strong voice.
'Oh, nobody,' Mrs Williams says quickly, but I'm inside the door now, and looking at Mr Williams.
'Oh, hello,' he says. 'Who are you?'
'Shirley Homes, private investigator. How do you do? Your wife wanted me to find Carrie. And to talk to her boyfriend.'
'What!' Mr Williams turns to his wife. 'What did I say to you, Edith?' he shouts. 'We're finished with that girl! We don't speak to her, we don't talk about her, we—'
'And it's good news, Mr Williams!' I use my head teacher voice again. He's still shouting at his wife, so I shout too. And smile and smile.
'Yes, it's very good news, Mr Williams. Your daughter Carrie is alive and well and living in London. And she has a wonderful boyfriend!'
Mr Williams stops shouting and stares at me. Behind him I can just see Darren's head. He's looking round a door, with big eyes.
'Carrie's boyfriend is a very nice young man. His name is Tomas Varnas, he's nineteen years old, he's a hard worker, he's kind...'
'He's a foreigner,' Mr Williams says angrily.
'You have a problem with foreigners?' I say.
Mrs Williams closes her eyes. She's waiting for something... What? A lot of bad language about foreigners from her husband?
I look at Mr Williams again, but he isn't saying anything. He's just staring at me angrily. And suddenly, I understand. His problem isn't with foreigners, it's with his daughter. He wants to know that Carrie is all right, he wants to hear about her boyfriend, he wants to see her, to have her back home. But he can't find the words. He just can't say it.
I speak quickly. 'Tomas is a very nice young man.' I say it again, it's an important message. 'He works hard, he's doing two jobs, and he's going to make a good life for him and Carrie. He speaks very good English, and he's kind, and he's funny, but he's strong too. He thinks family is important, and he wants Carrie to come back home, to be friends with her mother, her father, her brother...'
All three of them are listening to me now. Darren has a big smile on his face.
'Oh, and Carrie is living with Tomas's sister, not with Tomas, you know. Carrie wants to get married when she's sixteen next year, but Tomas wants to wait. He wants to meet the family, and he wants Carrie to meet his family. So you see – Tomas Varnas is a good man, a really good man. He's a boyfriend to please any father in Britain, Mr Williams.'
Mr Williams is just staring at me angrily.
Carrie's father opens his mouth, and closes it again. He still can't find the words.
'So now you know all about him, Mr Williams. Meet him. Talk to him. Ask him to Sunday lunch.'
I turn to Mrs Williams. 'Do you usually have Sunday lunch, you know, that wonderful British meal? All foreigners love it.'
'Er, yes,' she says. 'I... er... yes, I always do a nice Sunday lunch.'
'Well, there you are then,' I say. I smile around at everybody. 'Sunday lunch. That's a good way to meet your daughter's boyfriend.'
I take my money from Mrs Williams, give Darren a big smile and a wave, and walk to the front door. Nobody's shouting, nobody's crying. So far, so good.
'Have a nice day, everyone!' I say, and close the door behind me.
lawyer n. a person who knows the law and helps people in trouble 律师
laptop n. a small computer that you can carry 便携式电脑；笔记本电脑
shut v. to close something 关上
5
成功第一步
我和萨希德一起喝啤酒，我把这个立陶宛青年的案子原原本本地告诉了他。
“父女矛盾，对吧？”萨希德说道，“唔，我十分了解难相处的父亲。”
萨希德出生于一个印度家庭。他和姐姐莱拉跟难以取悦的父亲也有矛盾。但萨希德从不讲他这些事，只是工作。他是个优秀的侦探。
“看来，这个案子你办得不错。皆大欢喜的结局。”萨希德说。
“不完全是，”我说，“还有一件事要做。”
我们喝完啤酒，准备回家。
“替我向莱拉问好，”我说。莱拉是我最好的朋友，她是个律师。莱拉、萨希德和我有很多有关法律、警察和私人侦探的争论，争得不亦乐乎，而我当然总是对的。
第二天是星期六。我在办公室用笔记本电脑工作，想起了这个立陶宛青年的案子。如今还有多少像托马斯·瓦纳斯这样的年轻人呢？
我再想了想案子，然后离开办公室，走路去威廉斯家。他们家离我的办公室并不远。
开门的是威廉斯太太，她一看见是我，就要关门。但是，我已经一脚跨进了大门……
“威廉斯太太，我能进来吗？”我说，“我呆一会儿就走。”
“今天是星期六，我丈夫在家。”伊迪丝·威廉斯说，“说话请小声点！看，我已经把给你的钱准备好了——就在这儿。谢谢你，谢谢。卡丽现在每天都给我发短信，所以我知道她没事。现在请你走吧，请不要——”
“伊迪丝，谁在门口？”是个男人的声音，嗓门很大。
“噢，没人，”威廉斯太太连忙回答说，但我已经进了门，看着威廉斯先生。
“哦，你好！”他说，“你是谁？”
“雪莉·霍姆斯，私人侦探。您好！您太太要我去寻找卡丽，并跟她的男朋友谈谈。”
“什么！”威廉斯先生转向他的妻子，“我怎么跟你说的，伊迪丝？”他咆哮着，“我们跟那个丫头一刀两断了！我们不跟她说话，我们不谈她，我们……”
“是好消息，威廉斯先生！”我又用校长的腔调说话。他还在冲他太太嚷嚷，所以我也提高了嗓门，连连微笑。
“一点没错，是个好消息，威廉斯先生。您的女儿卡丽还活着，一切都好，住在伦敦。而且她还有一个非常不错的男朋友。”
威廉斯先生停止吼叫，盯着我。在他身后，我正好看见达伦的脑袋。他从门边张望，瞪大了双眼。
“卡丽的男朋友是个非常棒的小伙子。他的名字叫托马斯·瓦纳斯，今年19岁。他工作非常努力，人也很好……”
“他是个外国人。”威廉斯先生气呼呼地说。
“你对外国人有看法？”我问道。
威廉斯太太闭上了眼睛。她在等待着什么……等待什么？等待她丈夫说出一大堆关于外国人的坏话？
我又看着威廉斯先生，但他一言不发。他只是怒气冲冲地盯着我。一刹那间，我明白了。他的问题不在于外国人，而在于他的女儿。他想知道卡丽没事，他想了解她男朋友的情况，他想见她，想让她回家。但是他不知道该怎么说。他根本无法开口。
我立刻说：“托马斯是个很不错的小伙子。”我又重复了一遍，这个信息很重要。“他工作很努力，同时干两份工作，他想让自己和卡丽过上好日子。他英语说得很好，而且心地善良、说话风趣，但是也非常坚定。他认为家庭很重要，所以希望卡丽能回家，跟母亲、父亲和弟弟和睦相处……”
此刻，一家三口都在听我说。达伦眉开眼笑。
“哦，还有，卡丽住在托马斯的姐姐那儿，你要知道，她没跟托马斯住在一起。卡丽想等她明年满了16岁以后就结婚，但是托马斯想再等等。他想见卡丽的家人，也想让卡丽与他的家人见面。所以，你看，托马斯·瓦纳斯是个好小伙，一个真正的好男人。威廉斯先生，他这样的男朋友，任何一个英国女孩的父亲都会喜欢。”
卡丽的父亲张了张嘴想说什么，又闭上了。他仍然找不到合适的话说。
“威廉斯先生，现在你已经了解他所有的情况了。见见他吧，跟他聊聊。邀请他星期天中午来吃饭。”
我转身跟威廉斯太太说：“你们有吃星期天午餐吗？就是那种美味的英式大餐？所有的外国人都喜欢吃。”
“呃，有，”她说，“我……呃……是的，我经常做丰盛的星期天午餐。”
“唔，那么就这样定了。”我说。我冲每个人笑了笑。“星期天午餐，这是认识你女儿男朋友的好方式。”
我从威廉斯太太那儿拿了钱，开心地冲着达伦笑了笑，挥了挥手，向前门走去。没有人吼叫，没有人哭泣。到目前为止，一切顺利。
“各位，祝你们愉快！”我说着，转身关上了门。
6．A surprise visitor
6
A surprise visitor
The next three weeks are busy. I have a new case to work on, and I'm out of the office nearly every day. I don't like the client very much, but the case is an interesting one.
On Saturday morning I'm in the office again. I have a lot of emails to write, so I'm not pleased when my doorbell rings.
The computer screen shows me a man at the door. Well, well, well, what a surprise! I hit the 'open door' button, and the man comes in.
'Mr Williams, good morning. How are you?' I say. What does he want?
'Morning, Ms Homes.' He's not friendly, he's not unfriendly. He looks around my little room.
'Nice office,' he says. 'Can you see the river from your window?' He walks to the window, looks out. What does he want? Does he just want to talk about my office? Maybe the weather's next...
'It's colder today,' he says. 'Autumn's coming.'
I wait.
He comes away from the window. 'Can I sit down? Just for a minute.'
'Of course. Please,' I say.
Now he looks at me. 'I just wanted to say... Well, you were right about Tomas Varnas. He's a fine young man. I like him a lot.'
I hit the 'open door' button, and the man comes in.
'Well, that's great, Mr Williams. I'm very pleased. So, tell me. What happened?'
He smiles, and gets comfortable in my best chair. He wants to tell me all about it.
'We asked him to Sunday lunch. Like you said. And he and Carrie came to lunch, and stayed all day. Lots to talk about.' He laughs. 'Me and Carrie have an argument, of course, but we always do. Tom – I call him Tom now, you see – is very good for Carrie. He doesn't get excited, and angry, like Carrie does. And Carrie listens to him.' He laughs again. 'She never listens to me!'
I smile, and say something about the father–daughter thing.
'So Carrie's back home with us now. Tom comes round every evening, of course. And weekends. He's out with Darren now, playing football. Darren thinks he's wonderful!'
'Tomas is a big brother for Darren,' I say.
'That's right,' says Mr Williams. 'Oh, and Carrie's back at school too. She wants to do business studies, then she can help Tom with his linen business. She's got a good head for business, you know.' He laughs. 'My little Carrie – a businesswoman!'
He stands up. 'Well, you're busy, I can see that. I just wanted to tell you about Tom.'
'I like good news, Mr Williams,' I say. 'And it was good of you to come.' I walk with him to the door.
'We asked Tomas to Sunday lunch.'
At the door, he says, 'You helped my family a lot. Maybe one day you need help. Just call me.' He gives me his business card. 'Anything. Who knows?'
Who knows? I'm going to remember those words...
6
不速之客
接下来的三个星期我都很忙。我忙着处理一个新案子，几乎每天都在办公室外奔波。我不太喜欢那个客户，可是这个案子本身很吸引我。
一个星期六的早晨，我又回到了办公室。我要写一大堆邮件，所以当门铃响起时，我有些不快。
通过电脑屏幕，我看到一个男人站在门口。哇、哇、哇，真是太意外了！我敲了一下“开门”按钮，那个男人走了进来。
“威廉斯先生，早上好！你好吗？”我说。他想要干什么？
“早上好，霍姆斯小姐。”他看起来不是很可亲，但也不能说不友善。他四下打量着我的小办公室。
“办公室不错，”他开口说道，“从窗户这儿能看到河吗？”他走到窗边，望着窗外。他想干什么？难道他只是想谈谈我的办公室？也许接下来会聊聊天气……
“今天降温了，”他接着说道，“秋天到了。”
我等待着。
他离开窗户。“我能坐下吗？就一会儿。”
“当然可以，请坐。”我说。
这时，他直视着我。“我只是想说……嗯，你介绍的托马斯·瓦纳斯的情况没错。他是个优秀的青年。我非常喜欢他。”
“噢，好极了，威廉斯先生。我非常高兴。那么，告诉我，发生什么事了？”
他露出笑容，坐在我最好的椅子上，放松下来。他想把一切都告诉我。
“我们邀请他来吃星期天午餐，就像你说的那样。他和卡丽都来了，呆了一天。我们谈了很多。”他笑着说，“当然了，我和卡丽又争吵起来，不过我们一向如此。汤姆——你瞧，现在我叫他汤姆——很适合卡丽。他不像卡丽那样容易激动或生气，而且卡丽又听他的。”他又笑起来。“她从来不听我的！”
我笑了，跟他说了些父女关系的事。
“所以现在卡丽搬回家跟我们一起住了。汤姆自然每天晚上都会来。还有周末。他现在带着达伦出去了，在踢足球。达伦觉得他非常好。”
“托马斯对达伦来说是个大哥哥。”我说。
“的确如此。”威廉斯先生说，“对了，卡丽也回学校上学了。她想读商科，那样她就可以帮助汤姆经营亚麻布生意了。你知道，她很有经商的头脑。”他脸上露出笑容，“我的小卡丽——一个女商人！”
他站起来。“好了，我能看出来你很忙。我只是想跟你说说汤姆。”
“我喜欢好消息，威廉斯先生。”我说，“你能来告诉我这些真是太好了。”我陪他一起走到门边。
站在门口，他说：“你给我们家帮了大忙。说不定哪天你也需要帮助，那就只管给我打电话。”他递给我他的名片，“任何事都可以给我电话。谁知道呢？”
谁知道呢？我会记住这句话的……
不速之客
6
A surprise visitor
The next three weeks are busy. I have a new case to work on, and I'm out of the office nearly every day. I don't like the client very much, but the case is an interesting one.
On Saturday morning I'm in the office again. I have a lot of emails to write, so I'm not pleased when my doorbell rings.
The computer screen shows me a man at the door. Well, well, well, what a surprise! I hit the 'open door' button, and the man comes in.
'Mr Williams, good morning. How are you?' I say. What does he want?
'Morning, Ms Homes.' He's not friendly, he's not unfriendly. He looks around my little room.
'Nice office,' he says. 'Can you see the river from your window?' He walks to the window, looks out. What does he want? Does he just want to talk about my office? Maybe the weather's next...
'It's colder today,' he says. 'Autumn's coming.'
I wait.
He comes away from the window. 'Can I sit down? Just for a minute.'
'Of course. Please,' I say.
Now he looks at me. 'I just wanted to say... Well, you were right about Tomas Varnas. He's a fine young man. I like him a lot.'
I hit the 'open door' button, and the man comes in.
'Well, that's great, Mr Williams. I'm very pleased. So, tell me. What happened?'
He smiles, and gets comfortable in my best chair. He wants to tell me all about it.
'We asked him to Sunday lunch. Like you said. And he and Carrie came to lunch, and stayed all day. Lots to talk about.' He laughs. 'Me and Carrie have an argument, of course, but we always do. Tom – I call him Tom now, you see – is very good for Carrie. He doesn't get excited, and angry, like Carrie does. And Carrie listens to him.' He laughs again. 'She never listens to me!'
I smile, and say something about the father–daughter thing.
'So Carrie's back home with us now. Tom comes round every evening, of course. And weekends. He's out with Darren now, playing football. Darren thinks he's wonderful!'
'Tomas is a big brother for Darren,' I say.
'That's right,' says Mr Williams. 'Oh, and Carrie's back at school too. She wants to do business studies, then she can help Tom with his linen business. She's got a good head for business, you know.' He laughs. 'My little Carrie – a businesswoman!'
He stands up. 'Well, you're busy, I can see that. I just wanted to tell you about Tom.'
'I like good news, Mr Williams,' I say. 'And it was good of you to come.' I walk with him to the door.
'We asked Tomas to Sunday lunch.'
At the door, he says, 'You helped my family a lot. Maybe one day you need help. Just call me.' He gives me his business card. 'Anything. Who knows?'
Who knows? I'm going to remember those words...
6
不速之客
接下来的三个星期我都很忙。我忙着处理一个新案子，几乎每天都在办公室外奔波。我不太喜欢那个客户，可是这个案子本身很吸引我。
一个星期六的早晨，我又回到了办公室。我要写一大堆邮件，所以当门铃响起时，我有些不快。
通过电脑屏幕，我看到一个男人站在门口。哇、哇、哇，真是太意外了！我敲了一下“开门”按钮，那个男人走了进来。
“威廉斯先生，早上好！你好吗？”我说。他想要干什么？
“早上好，霍姆斯小姐。”他看起来不是很可亲，但也不能说不友善。他四下打量着我的小办公室。
“办公室不错，”他开口说道，“从窗户这儿能看到河吗？”他走到窗边，望着窗外。他想干什么？难道他只是想谈谈我的办公室？也许接下来会聊聊天气……
“今天降温了，”他接着说道，“秋天到了。”
我等待着。
他离开窗户。“我能坐下吗？就一会儿。”
“当然可以，请坐。”我说。
这时，他直视着我。“我只是想说……嗯，你介绍的托马斯·瓦纳斯的情况没错。他是个优秀的青年。我非常喜欢他。”
“噢，好极了，威廉斯先生。我非常高兴。那么，告诉我，发生什么事了？”
他露出笑容，坐在我最好的椅子上，放松下来。他想把一切都告诉我。
“我们邀请他来吃星期天午餐，就像你说的那样。他和卡丽都来了，呆了一天。我们谈了很多。”他笑着说，“当然了，我和卡丽又争吵起来，不过我们一向如此。汤姆——你瞧，现在我叫他汤姆——很适合卡丽。他不像卡丽那样容易激动或生气，而且卡丽又听他的。”他又笑起来。“她从来不听我的！”
我笑了，跟他说了些父女关系的事。
“所以现在卡丽搬回家跟我们一起住了。汤姆自然每天晚上都会来。还有周末。他现在带着达伦出去了，在踢足球。达伦觉得他非常好。”
“托马斯对达伦来说是个大哥哥。”我说。
“的确如此。”威廉斯先生说，“对了，卡丽也回学校上学了。她想读商科，那样她就可以帮助汤姆经营亚麻布生意了。你知道，她很有经商的头脑。”他脸上露出笑容，“我的小卡丽——一个女商人！”
他站起来。“好了，我能看出来你很忙。我只是想跟你说说汤姆。”
“我喜欢好消息，威廉斯先生。”我说，“你能来告诉我这些真是太好了。”我陪他一起走到门边。
站在门口，他说：“你给我们家帮了大忙。说不定哪天你也需要帮助，那就只管给我打电话。”他递给我他的名片，“任何事都可以给我电话。谁知道呢？”
谁知道呢？我会记住这句话的……
ACTIVITIES: Before Reading
ACTIVITIES
Before Reading
1 Read the back cover of the book, and the story introduction. How much do you know now about the story? Tick one box for each sentence.
1) Shirley Homes is a detective.
YES □／NO □
2) Shirley Homes works for the police.
YES □／NO □
3) She has a university degree from Harvard, USA.
YES □／NO □
4) She is working on a missing persons case.
YES □／NO □
5) The missing person is a fifteen-year-old girl.
YES □／NO □
6) Shirley has a Lithuanian boyfriend.
YES □／NO □
7) Carrie Williams left home fifteen weeks ago.
YES □／NO □
2 What is going to happen in this story? Can you guess? Choose words to complete these sentences.
1) Shirley Homes finds / does not find Carrie Williams.
2) Carrie Williams is dead / alive.
3) Shirley looks for Carrie in Lithuania / London.
4) Carrie is living in Lithuania / London.
5) Carrie's boyfriend is a good / bad man.
6) Carrie is / is not living with her boyfriend.
7) At the end of the story, Carrie goes home to her family/ marries her boyfriend.
8) By the end of the story, the boyfriend is in prison / is a friend of Carrie's family.
ACTIVITIES: While Reading
ACTIVITIES
While Reading
1 Read chapters 1 and 2. Who is who? Complete the sentences with people from this list. One word is needed twice.
boyfriend / brother / detective / father / friends / mother
1 Carrie left home after an argument with her _____.
2 The argument was about Carrie's _____.
3 Carrie's _____ wants Shirley to find Carrie.
4 Carrie's _____ doesn't want to see Carrie again.
5 Carrie's little _____ is very unhappy about all this.
6 Shirley talks to some of Carrie's _____ from school.
7 Shirley asks her friend Saheed, a police _____, for help.
2 Before you read chapter 3, try to guess what happens. Choose one answer to this question.
Who comes to meet Shirley in the café?
a) Carrie and Ant
b) Carrie and her boyfriend
c) Carrie
d) Nobody
3 Read chapters 3 and 4. Who says or texts this? Who are they texting or speaking to?
1) 'I don't need my family. I have a new life now.'
2) 'Always change your mobile when you don't want people to find you.'
3) 'Saw C today. She's fine.'
4) 'When people are angry, sometimes they say bad things.'
5) 'I sent mum a text last night, you know.'
6) 'Of course I don't live here. It is not correct.'
7) 'We have all the time in the world.'
8) 'Easy case, nothing horrible. But thanks for the help!'
9) 'I made 12 phone calls for you, all for nothing!'
4 Before you read chapter 5, A foot in the door, try to guess what happens. Choose one answer to the question.
How does Shirley tell Mrs Williams about Carrie's boyfriend?
a) She sends her a text message.
b) She phones her.
c) She goes to her house.
d) She writes her a letter.
e) She sends her an email.
5 Before you read chapter 6, A surprise visitor, can you guess what happens? Choose answers to the questions.
1) Do the Williams family invite Tomas Varnas to Sunday lunch? YES / NO
2) Does Carrie go back to live at home? YES / NO
3) Who comes to Shirley's office to tell her all about it? Carrie / Mrs Williams / Mr Williams / Tomas / Darren / Ant / Janice / Kim
ACTIVITIES: After Reading
ACTIVITIES
After Reading
1 Match these parts of sentences together, and choose the best linking word to join them.
1) Mrs Williams wants Shirley to look for Carrie,...
2) Shirley takes Darren for a pizza...
3) Shirley doesn't want Carrie to see her on the bus,...
4) Carrie wants to get married...
5) Tomas wants to meet Carrie's family...
6) Shirley goes to the Williams' house...
7) Mr Williams really cares about his daughter,...
8) after / before he and Carrie get married.
9) because / so she changes her clothes, and puts on a wig.
10) and / but he can't find the words to say it.
11) but / because she doesn't want her husband to know.
12) before / when she is sixteen.
13) so / because she wants Mr Williams to hear about
Tomas.
14) because / so he helped her with Carrie's school friends.
2 After meeting Shirley, Ant sends Carrie a text. Complete her text with these words (one word for each gap).
alive, cries, investigator, meet, mum, name, OK, school, tell
Hey! We met this private _____ today in the street outside_____. Her _____ is Shirley Homes. She's _____; we liked her. She wants to _____ you tomorrow or the day after. Café Nero, 18.30. She says your _____ can't sleep and_____ all the time. Shirley just wants to know you're _____ and well. Then she can _____ your mum.
3 Use the clues to complete this crossword with words from the story. Then find the hidden eight-letter word in the crossword.
1) Tomas wants to meet Carrie's _____.
2) Tomas is Carrie's _____.
3) When Shirley follows Carrie, she wears a blond _____.
4) Carrie is going to do _____ studies at school.
5) There are about 1,000 _____ persons reports every day.
6) Tomas is from Lithuania, so in London he's a _____.
7) Tomas's family make _____ cloth.
8) After Shirley talks to Carrie, Carrie sends her mother a_____.
What is the hidden word? _____ Does every family have these? What do you think?
4 Here is a new illustration for the story. Find the best place in the story to put the picture, and answer these questions.
The picture goes in Chapter _____.
1) Who is this?
2) What is she doing?
3) Why is she doing this?
Now write a caption for the illustration.
Caption: ______________________________
5 Shirley talked to her friend Saheed a few weeks later. Put their conversation in the right order, and write in the speakers' names. Shirley speaks first (number 3).
1) _____ 'That's right, but that wasn't the end of the story.'
2) _____ [laughs] 'That great British meal! And did he?'
3) _____ 'You remember my Lithuanian case, Saheed?'
4) _____ 'And how did you hear about all this, Shirley?'
5) _____ 'Yes. Tomas went to lunch, and now everybody in the Williams family loves him! He plays football with the little brother, and the girl is back at school, studying hard. It's all wonderful, I hear!'
6) _____ 'Yes, I do. Last month, wasn't it? You found the missing girl, and the boyfriend was a nice guy.'
7) _____ 'The girl's father didn't like foreigners, but I told him to meet the boy, and ask him to Sunday lunch.'
8) _____ 'A happy dad, eh? That's nice. We don't get many happy endings like that in the police, I can tell you.'
9) _____ 'Mr Williams came to my office. He thinks Tomas is a fine young man, and he wanted to tell me that.'
10) _____ 'Oh? What happened after that, then?'
6 How did you feel about the people in this story? Put a name in the first gap, then finish the sentences in your own words.
1) I felt sorry for _____ because / when __________.
2) I did not feel sorry for _____ because / when __________.
3) I liked _____ because / when __________.
4) I did not like _____ because / when __________.
封底
