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We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Esperance, a new science fiction thriller by Adam Oyebanji, available now from DAW. 我们很高兴分享亚当·奥耶班吉的新科幻惊悚小说《Esperance》的节选，该书现已由 DAW 出版

Detective Ethan Krol is on the twentieth floor of a Chicago apartment building. A father and son have been found dead, their lungs full of sea water—hundreds of miles away from the ocean. 侦探伊森·克罗正站在芝加哥一栋公寓楼的二十层。一名父亲和儿子被发现死亡，他们的肺部充满了海水——而距离海洋有数百英里之遥。

Abidemi Eniola has arrived in Bristol, England. She claims to be Nigerian, but her accent is wrong and she can do remarkable things with technology, things that her new friend, Hollie Rogers, has never seen before. Abi is in possession of a number of heirlooms that need to be returned to their rightful owners, and Hollie is more than happy to go along for the ride. 阿比迪米·埃尼奥拉抵达了英国布里斯托尔。她声称自己是尼日利亚人，但口音不对，而且她能做出一些令人惊叹的技术操作，这些是她新朋友霍莉·罗杰斯从未见过的。阿比拥有一些需要归还给真正所有者的传家宝，而霍莉非常乐意同行。

But neither Abidemi Eniola nor her heirlooms are quite what they seem. Abi is a target of Ethan Krol’s investigations, and Hollie’s life is about to become far stranger than she bargained for. In a clash of cultures, histories, and different ideas about justice, the consequences will be deadly… 但阿比迪米·埃尼奥拉和她那些传家宝似乎并不像表面看起来那么简单。阿比是伊森·克罗调查的目标，而霍莉的生活即将变得远比她想象的更加离奇。在文化、历史以及对正义的不同观念的冲突中，后果将是致命的……

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One 一 Thursday the 3rd: 11:00 a.m. CDT 星期四，3 号：上午 11 点，中部标准时间

The lights dimmed and Ethan Krol thought it had begun. His heart pounded in harmony with the uneven rattle of the elevator. 灯光变暗，伊森·克罗尔认为事情开始了。他的心跳与电梯不均匀的嘎吱声和谐一致。

But it was just the lights. 但它只是灯光。

The elevator doors wheezed open. 电梯门吱嘎作响地打开了。

The twentieth-floor corridor of the Almeida Building, a seventies-era construct of concrete and tinted glass, was well maintained, anonymous. Yellow crime tape and the light blue of Chicago PD clashed garishly with the muted decor. Krol wrinkled his nose. The passageway reeked of fish. 阿尔梅达大楼的二十层走廊，是一个七十年代的混凝土和彩色玻璃建筑，维护得很好，毫不起眼。黄色的警戒线和芝加哥警察局的浅蓝色制服与柔和的装饰格格不入。克罗尔皱了皱鼻子。这条通道弥漫着鱼腥味。

With a mumbled “Good morning” to the uniform at the door, he stepped past the tape and into a neat, nicely accessorized apartment, pulling on a pair of latex gloves as he did so. The bright blue of Lake Michigan was clearly visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. He drank the view in for a moment, steadying himself. Only then did he look down. 对着门口制服含糊地嘟囔了一句“早上好”，他迈过胶带，走进一个整洁且布置得体的小公寓，同时戴上了一副乳胶手套。透过落地窗，密歇根湖明亮的蓝色清晰可见。他稍作停留，欣赏着这景色，稳住自己。直到那时，他才低头看去。

There were three bodies on the floor. Only two of which were human. 地板上有三具尸体。其中只有两具是人类的。

“What the hell is that?” he asked. “那是什么鬼东西？”他问道。

“It’s a barracuda. Leastways, if you believe Carter over there.” Detective Sergeant Raymond Yeung pointed a finger toward the uniform at the door. “Gotta be two-foot long if it’s an inch.” He looked like he wanted to pick it up. “是一条梭鱼。至少，如果你相信那边的卡特的话。”警探雷蒙德·杨指了指门口的制服。“如果有一英寸长，那它肯定有两英尺长。”他看起来很想把它捡起来。

“Uh-huh. And the other two?” He fixed Yeung with a mildly reproachful stare. “You could have told me the quote-unquote, kid, was just a baby.” “嗯。那另外两个呢？”他带着一丝责备的目光盯着杨。“你本可以告诉我，所谓的‘小孩’，其实只是个婴儿。”

“Sorry, lieutenant.” “对不起，中尉。”

Ethan fought the urge to turn away. Dried the sudden pricking at the corner of his eyes. “Shoulda taken the day off.” Ethan 抑制住转身的冲动。擦去眼角突然的刺痛。“早该请假了。”

Yeung chuckled darkly. 杨永低声冷笑。

“Father and son. Kid’s name is Benedict Okoro.” “父亲和儿子。孩子的名字是本尼迪克特·奥科罗。”

The baby looked like he was sleeping. He was stretched out on the hardwood floor surrounded by a small puddle of water. His caramel skin was smooth and unblemished, no sign of trauma. His clothes, little tee shirt and jeans, were wet but appeared otherwise undisturbed. If you stroked his dark, tightly curled hair, it was easy to imagine he would wake up. 婴儿看起来像是在睡觉。他躺在硬木地板上，周围有一小滩水。他的焦糖色皮肤光滑无瑕，没有丝毫伤痕的迹象。他的衣服，一件小 T 恤和牛仔裤，湿透了，但看起来其他地方没有受到破坏。如果你抚摸他深色、紧紧卷曲的头发，很容易想象他会醒来。

“About a year old by the look of him,” Ethan murmured. “看起来快一岁了，”伊森低声说道。

“Sounds right. Father is Amadi Okoro, Nigerian, twenty-five-years old. Med student at Northwestern.” “听起来很对。父亲是阿马迪·奥科罗，尼日利亚人，二十五岁。西北大学的医学生。”

Amadi Okoro was a small man, maybe five-foot-seven but athletic in appearance. He was smartly dressed in a polo shirt and khakis. As with the boy, the clothes were wet, though the surrounding pool of water was considerably larger. In death, his velvety, asphalt skin was tinged with gray. It was several tones darker than his son’s. 阿马迪·奥科罗是个矮个子，大概五英尺七英寸，但看起来很健壮。他穿着一件 polo 衫和卡其裤，衣着整洁。和那个男孩一样，他的衣服湿透了，不过周围的积水要大得多。在死亡中，他天鹅绒般的沥青皮肤泛着灰色。比他儿子的肤色深几个色调。

“Mother’s Caucasian I’m guessing.” “我猜是母亲的白人血统。”

“Yep. Jennifer Freeman Okoro. She was found unconscious in the bedroom. EMTs carted her off to Kindred. Uniform is posted at the bedside, so they’ll give us the nod when she wakes up.” “Unconscious for real or just faking it?” Ethan allowed himself a wry smile. “Inquiring minds want to know.” “是的。詹妮弗·弗里曼·奥科罗。她在卧室中被发现不省人事。急救人员把她抬上担架送到了金德医院。床头挂着制服，所以等她醒来他们会通知我们。” “是真的不省人事，还是装出来的？”伊森露出一丝苦笑。“好奇心害死猫。”

“If it was fake, it was good enough to fool the EMTs.” Yeung looked at his watch. “She’s been gone almost an hour. She must still be under, or we’d have heard by now.” “You’re assuming the uniform’s paying attention. Who called it in?” “要是装出来的，那也足够骗过急救人员了。”杨看了看手表。“她离开快一个小时了。她肯定还在昏迷中，不然我们现在早就听到了。” “你这是假设制服在注意。谁报的警？”

“Cleaning lady… Natalia Kowalczyk, not spelled like it sounds.” “清洁工……娜塔莉亚·科瓦尔斯基，拼写和听起来不一样。”

Ethan looked around the room, peered into the kitchen and the single bedroom with its rumpled sheets and crib within easy reach. 伊森环顾四周，朝厨房和那张床铺凌乱、摇篮触手可及的卧室里张望。

“What’s with the fucking fish?” he asked. “It’s too big for a tank, there’s no tank in the apartment, and I’ve never seen barracuda on a menu, so I doubt they bought it for dinner.” “No reason they couldn’t eat it, though. Looks tasty.” “这该死的鱼是怎么回事？”他问道。“它太大放不进鱼缸，公寓里根本没有鱼缸，而且我从未见过菜单上有梭鱼，所以我不认为他们是买来吃晚饭的。”“不过他们吃也没问题。看起来很好吃。”

“And where’d they buy it? Not likely to be something from the fish market.” “You think the killer left it? Like a calling card?” “那他们从哪里买来的？不可能是鱼市场的货。”“你觉得是凶手留下的？像是一种联络暗号？”

“I don’t know what to think.” “我不知道该想什么。”

“Yeah, well I’ll call around,” Yeung offered. “Can’t be many places in Chicago selling fresh barracuda.” “嗯，我会打几个电话问问，”杨建议道。“芝加哥能买到新鲜梭鱼的地方应该不多。”

“Uh-huh.” “嗯。”

Ethan took a deep breath and bent down to examine the bodies. The tips of the man’s fingers were scraped raw, the nails ripped, like he’d been fighting for his life. 伊森深吸一口气，弯下腰检查尸体。男人的手指尖端被刮得血肉模糊，指甲被撕扯，仿佛他是在与死神搏斗。

But no bullet hole, or stab wound, or blunt force trauma. 但是没有弹孔，没有刀伤，也没有钝器造成的创伤。

He dipped a gloved finger in the spreading pool of water, brought the damp tip of it to his lips. “This is salty.” 他将戴着手套的手指浸入不断扩大的水洼中，将湿润的指尖凑到嘴唇上。“这是咸的。”

He pressed gently against the man’s chest. Water bubbled from his mouth. Same with the baby. 他轻轻按在男人的胸口上。水从他的嘴里冒出来。婴儿也是这样。

“You know what, Raymond? I think he drowned. Kid too.” “你知道什么，雷蒙德？我想他淹死了。孩子也这样。”

“I guess that explains why they’re both soaking wet.” “我猜这就解释了他们为什么都湿透了。”

“I guess.” Ethan stood up again. Headed to the bathroom. Like the rest of the apartment, it was small but immaculate. Black and white hexagonal tiles covered the floor. A white marble pedestal supported an etched-glass sink and a starkly expensive faucet. The toilet was a high-end Japanese model with a built-in bidet. And the glass-walled shower contained a variety of controls for the enormous “tropical rain” shower head. “我想。”伊森又站了起来。走向浴室。和公寓的其他部分一样，它虽小却一尘不染。黑白六边形瓷砖铺满了地面。白色大理石基座上放着雕花玻璃洗手池和价格不菲的水龙头。马桶是高端日本型号，带内置坐浴功能。玻璃墙淋浴间里，巨大的“热带雨”淋浴头配有各种控制装置。

How the other one percent live. 那百分之一的人是怎么生活的。

He ambled into the kitchen. Everything was tidied away. No sign of any food preparation, never mind for fish. The stainless-steel sink was bone dry and smelled faintly of bleach. Like the living room, the apartment’s one bedroom looked out over the lake. He stepped over to the plate glass window and peered through its half-closed, vertical blinds. People were sunning themselves on the stretch of beach below. A couple of distant sailboats made white triangles on the water. 他漫步进入厨房。一切都收拾得井井有条。没有丝毫食物准备迹象，更别说鱼了。不锈钢水槽干得见底，隐约散发着漂白水的味道。和客厅一样，公寓的卧室也俯瞰着湖面。他走到厚玻璃窗前，透过半拉着的垂直百叶窗向外望去。下面沙滩上的人们正在晒太阳。远处几艘帆船在水面上划出白色的三角形。

The bed, with its rumpled covers, struck the only discordant note in the room. Like the others, the rest of it was immaculately tidy. Jennifer Okoro, by the looks of it, had decided to fall unconscious on top of the bed. 铺着褶皱床单的床，是房间里唯一的杂乱音符。和其他地方一样，其余部分都整洁得无可挑剔。看起来，詹妮弗·奥科罗决定在床上昏过去了。

Ethan found himself pursing his lips. 伊森发现自己抿起了嘴唇。

Raymond had a point when he said it would be difficult to fake out the EMTs. But still. It was a suspiciously convenient place for a collapse. He gave the room a second look. Apart from a dead mosquito on the corner of the bed, there was nothing else. It was a big one, though, its legs bent in the awkward angle of its kind, clearly visible against the white bedsheet. 雷蒙德说很难骗过急救人员，这话不无道理。但即便如此。这个地方发生意外也太方便了。他再次打量了一下房间。除了床角死了一只蚊子，空无一人。不过那只蚊子很大，腿以它特有的别扭角度弯曲着，在白色的床单上清晰可见。

Serves you right. Blood-sucking little bastard. 活该。吸血的小混蛋。

Ethan returned to the living room, filtering out the dead bodies as he looked around. A small, sectional couch, undoubtedly expensive. Minimalist wooden dining table and matching chairs. Gigantic high-tech TV, professionally hung from the wall. 伊森回到了客厅，环顾四周时将尸体过滤掉。一张小巧的模块化沙发，毫无疑问非常昂贵。简约的木质餐桌和配套的椅子。巨大的高科技电视，专业地挂在墙上。

He frowned. 他皱起了眉头。

“Look at that,” he said, nodding at each wall in turn. “看看那，”他说，依次点了每面墙。

“Home decorating project gone wrong, you think?” Raymond asked. “你觉得是家居装修项目搞砸了？”雷蒙德问道。

“Or he couldn’t decide where to hang the TV.” “或者他无法决定电视该挂在哪里。”

Raymond chuckled at that. 雷蒙德对此轻笑一声。

There were a number of holes drilled into the living-room walls. All the walls. A couple of them might conceivably have been for a TV, but the other positions would have been ridiculous from the get-go. There was plaster dust on the floor beneath them. 客厅的墙壁上钻了不少孔洞。所有墙壁。其中两三个或许可能是为了挂电视，但其他位置从一开始就荒谬透顶。它们下方地面上落满了石膏粉。

“Another thing that doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. “还有另一件不合常理的事，”他低声咕哝道。

“What’s that?” “那是什么？”

“The TV’s professionally mounted. It’s been there forever. Dead guy had his priorities, I’m guessing. But these holes are new. You can see where the dust from the drill has fallen on the floor.” “电视是专业安装的。它在那里很久了。我猜死脑筋的人有他的优先事项。但这些洞是新的。你能看到钻头灰尘落在地上的地方。”

“So?” “所以呢？”

“So, it doesn’t take a genius to see the Okoros are neatniks. Why’d they not clean up after themselves? And if this guy was in the middle of some job when he was whacked, where are the tools? And where are the speakers or whatever he was thinking of mounting?” “所以，任何人都能看出奥科罗斯人是个爱整洁的人。他们为什么没有清理自己留下的 mess？如果这个家伙在被打的时候正忙着某项工作，那他的工具在哪里？还有，他打算安装的那些音箱又在哪里？”

“You telling me the perp came into the apartment with a dead fish; dropped it on the floor; drilled some random holes…” Raymond paused to take a breath. “Then drowned the adult vic and his baby and left, taking his tools with him?” “你是在告诉我，那个坏蛋带着一条死鱼进了公寓；把它扔在地上；钻了一些随机的孔……”雷蒙德停下来喘了口气。“然后溺死了成年受害者和他的婴儿，带着他的工具离开了？”

“Maybe. If I could figure out how he drowned ’em.” “也许吧。如果我能够搞清楚他是怎么溺死他们的。”

“This is a pretty sweet apartment, lieutenant. Pretty sure the plumbing works. Perp just filled up a bath and…” “这真是个挺不错的公寓，警长。我确信管道是好的。那个坏蛋只是放满了浴缸，然后……”

Raymond’s voice trailed away. 雷蒙德的声音渐渐消失了。

“Exactly. This apartment hasn’t got a bath. Just a fancy-ass shower and a glass sink that’d crack the moment you forced a man’s head in it.” “正是如此。这公寓没有浴室，只有一个豪华的淋浴间和一块玻璃面盆，你只要用力把一个男人的头按进去，它就会裂开。”

Both men turned in the direction of the kitchen. But it was too small. Difficult to see anyone getting enough purchase to jam Amadi Okoro’s head down the sink. 两个男人朝厨房的方向转去。但厨房太小了。很难想象有人能获得足够的着力点，把阿马迪·奥科罗的头按进面盆里。

“Maybe he was already unconscious? Drugged?” Raymond cast a critical eye around the apartment. “There’s no sign of a struggle. Not here, anyway. This place looks like a show home. And everything in here is bone dry except for the victims and…” Something caught the sergeant’s eye. “Take a look up there.” “也许他已经被迷晕了？被下药了？”雷蒙德在公寓里仔细地扫视了一圈。“这里没有搏斗的迹象。至少这里没有。这地方看起来像样板间。而且这里的一切都干巴巴的，除了受害者和……”军士长突然注意到什么。“往上看。”

Ethan followed a pointed finger toward the ceiling. Ragged parallel lines, stained brown in places, had been gouged out of the plaster, maybe an inch apart. Ethan 顺着指尖望向天花板。斑驳的平行线，有些地方已经染上褐色，在灰泥上被凿了出来，大概相隔一英寸。

“What do you think caused that?” Raymond asked. “你觉得这是怎么回事？”雷蒙德问道。

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Ethan squatted down by the dead African. Gently, almost reverently, he lifted up Amadi Okoro’s right hand. There was no doubt about it. The man’s shredded fingers had plaster under the nails. Ethan 感到一阵胃部下沉，蹲下身来，靠近那个死去的非洲人。他小心翼翼地，几乎带着一种敬畏之情，抬起阿马迪·奥科罗的右手。毫无疑问。这个男人的碎裂手指下，沾着灰泥。

Ethan looked critically at the man’s neck. Amadi Okoro’s skin might have been onyx black, but if he’d been hanged the marks would still have been easy to see. And there was nothing from the ceiling to hang him from: the light fixtures were the recessed kind, so there was no place to sling a rope, and there was no ceiling fan, no toppled ladder or chair. Nothing. Ethan 仔细观察着男人的脖子。阿马迪·奥科罗的皮肤可能是乌木般漆黑，但如果他是被吊死的，痕迹仍然很容易被发现。而从天花板上，没有任何东西可以吊死他：灯具是嵌入式设计的，所以没有地方可以挂绳索，也没有吊扇，没有倒下的梯子或椅子。什么都没有。

So… how had the man’s fingers come into contact with the ceiling? 所以……男人的手指是怎么碰到天花板的？

He wandered over to the window, watched the sailboats on the lake, white and gleaming in the sunlight. When he finally spoke it was more to himself than his colleague. “What the fuck is going on here?” 他走到窗边，看着湖上的帆船，在阳光下白晃晃的。当他终于开口说话时，更多的是对自己而不是对同事。“这里到底发生什么了？”