Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "Have a seat, Amy," Isabel said, pointing to the long cushioned bench in the stern of the speedboat. She was dressed casually in a striped T- shirt and trim white pants with white sneakers. "Let's take a quick tour of the harbor and then I'll show you the prettiest cove. I'll have you back in forty-five minutes. Promise!" "I guess it's—" Amy's next words were drowned out as Isabel gunned the motor. The boat zipped away from the quay, passing right by the ferry as it blasted its horn. Amy clapped her hands over her ears. "Oopsie, sorry!" Isabel laughed as she turned the wheel and skipped over another boat's wake. The waves thudded against the hull. "Let's get away from this traffic. Don't worry, Amy, I'm an expert captain." "Mother keeps a boat at our place in the Bahamas," Ian shouted in Amy's ear. "She's raced

“坐吧，艾美，”伊莎贝尔指着快艇尾部那张长长的软垫长凳说。 她穿着一件休闲的条纹T恤，一条修身的白裤子和一双白色运动鞋。 “让我们快速游览一下港口，然后我带你去看最美丽的海湾。 我45分钟后送你回来。 承诺!”“我猜是——”艾美接下来的话被伊莎贝尔发动发动机的声音淹没了。 船从码头疾驰而去，正好从渡船旁经过，同时喇叭也吹响了。 艾米用手捂住耳朵。 “Oopsie,对不起!”伊莎贝尔笑着转动方向盘，跳过另一艘船的尾流。 海浪拍击着船身。 “让我们远离这些交通。 别担心，艾米，我是专业的船长。” “妈妈在我们巴哈马的家里养了一艘船，”伊恩在艾米耳边喊道。 “她跑

competitively. There's no cause for concern." In her head, she heard Dan mimicking Ian's British accent and formal words. She wished he was here to make fun of him. Anything to stop this dread in her stomach. She had been afraid of grim, colorless Irina for so long and the menacing Holts that this new shape of villain didn't make sense. Isabel looked like a model. Her eyes sparkled and her smile was generous and warm. She was one of the most beautiful women Amy had ever seen. Isabel perched high on the captain's chair, her white sneaker swinging gaily. Dangerous? It didn't seem possible. Just another of Irina's lies. An open path of water lay in front of them now. Amy's teeth slammed together as the boat surged forward. She felt the bow lift off the water. They raced across the harbor at what Amy considered a terrifying speed. "That's more like it!" Isabel yelled. When she turned, her eyes were alight with excitement. "Don't you love it?" "LOVE IT!" Ian shouted, but Amy noticed he

有竞争力。没有必要担心。” 在她的脑海里，她听到丹模仿伊恩的英国口音和正式用语。 她真希望他在这儿开他的玩笑。 只要能阻止她肚子里的恐惧。 长期以来，她一直害怕冷酷无情的伊琳娜，害怕凶狠的霍尔特，所以这个新的反派形象对她来说毫无意义。 伊莎贝尔看起来像个模特。 她的眼睛闪闪发光，她的微笑慷慨而温暖。 她是艾米见过的最漂亮的女人之一。 伊莎贝尔高高地坐在船长的椅子上，她的白色运动鞋欢快地摆动着。 危险吗?这似乎是不可能的。 又一个伊琳娜的谎言。 现在他们面前是一条开阔的水道。 船向前冲时，艾米咬牙切齿。 她感到船头离水了。 他们以艾米认为可怕的速度穿过港口。 “这才像话！”伊莎贝尔喊道。 她转过身来，眼睛里闪烁着兴奋的光芒。 “你不喜欢吗？”“爱!”伊恩喊道，但艾米注意到了他

was gripping the railing. The boat slammed against the waves as they entered a rougher part of the harbor. Amy bounced up and down, trying to keep her seat. The wind whipped her hair into her eyes. Finally, when Amy thought her bones might disintegrate into powder after being slammed against the water so much, Isabel cut the speed and motored into a beautiful cove. Amy saw a white horseshoe-shaped beach. She could see a sprinkling of people on the beach and a few swimmers beyond the surf line. She relaxed. She'd been afraid that Isabel would take her somewhere totally secluded or way out at sea. If she had to, she could dive off the boat and swim to shore from here. The boat bobbed gently in the waves. Isabel crossed over and sat in a deck chair that faced Ian and Amy. She took each of their hands. "Now, you two," she said. "Enough squabbling. You're here to make up." Amy looked at her incredulously. Squabbling? Obviously, Mother Kabra didn't have a clue about

抓着栏杆。当波浪进入港口较颠簸的地方时，船猛烈地撞在波浪上。 艾米上蹿下跳，试图保住座位。 风把她的头发吹到眼睛里。 最后，当艾米认为她的骨头在被水猛烈撞击后可能会分解成粉末时，伊莎贝尔降低了速度，驶入了一个美丽的海湾。 艾米看到了一个白色的马蹄形海滩。 她可以看到海滩上有零星的人，冲浪线那边有几个游泳的人。 她放松。她一直担心伊莎贝尔会带她去一个完全与世隔绝的地方，或者去远海。 如果有必要，她可以从船上跳下去，从这里游到岸边。 小船在波浪中轻轻摆动。 伊莎贝尔走过去，坐在甲板上的一把椅子上，正对着伊恩和艾米。 她握住他们每个人的手。 “好了，你们两个，”她说。“足够的争吵。 你是来和好的。”艾米难以置信地看着她。 争吵吗?显然，母亲卡布拉不知道

the homicidal tendencies of her son. Amy withdrew her hand. "I'm not here to make up with Ian," she said firmly. She was relieved that her voice came out so strong. "I'm here because he told me that my parents were murdered." "Right to the point, aren't you?" Isabel dropped Ian's hand. "I admire that! All right, then. I'm going to tell you some things in confidence and hope that you will respect it. I didn't come to Australia just to collect my darling children." Isabel paused. "There is a mole in the Lucian branch. We believe this mole has been operating for some time. Thwarting us at every turn." Nataliya, Amy thought. She had led Amy and Dan to Russia. She was a Lucian, but she'd helped them get their last Clue. "We've wondered where they were getting information, resources. And then we realized. The Madrigals. One of our own has joined them." Amy didn't believe it. If Isabel was talking about Nataliya, she had to be wrong. "What does this have to do with me?" Amy asked. "I believe— we believe, those of us at the

她儿子的杀人倾向。 艾米缩回了手。“我不是来和伊恩和好的，”她坚定地说。 她的声音如此有力，使她松了口气。 “我来这里是因为他告诉我，我的父母是被谋杀的。” “说到点子上了，不是吗？”伊莎贝尔放下伊恩的手。 “我真佩服！”那好吧。 我要私下告诉你一些事情，希望你能尊重我。 我来澳大利亚不仅仅是为了接我亲爱的孩子们。” 伊莎贝尔暂停。“卢西恩分行有内奸。 我们认为这个内鬼已经行动了一段时间。 处处阻挠我们。” 娜塔莉亚，艾米想。她带着艾米和丹去了俄罗斯。 她是卢西恩人，但她帮他们找到了最后一条线索。 “我们想知道他们从哪里获得信息和资源。 然后我们意识到。的悠扬。 我们的一名同胞也加入了他们。” 艾米不相信。如果伊莎贝尔说的是娜塔莉亚，那她肯定是错的。 “这和我有什么关系?”艾米问。 “我相信——我们相信，我们这些人

highest levels— that this person, this spy, this mole, along with the Madrigals— murdered your parents." No. Isabel was definitely not talking about Nataliya. It was someone else. Nataliya had risked so much to help them. "How do you know?" she asked, swallowing hard. "The fire was deliberately set. Cleverly done," Isabel said. "We investigated ourselves. I'm sorry to shock you, Amy, but you must come to terms with it. You must see what you're up against. The Madrigals are ruthless." "Why should I believe you?" Amy challenged. Why should she believe anyone? Isabel's voice was soft. "Because I was close to your parents, for one thing. I mourned them. When I realized that the Lucian spy was aligned with the Madrigals, I decided I had to get involved with the hunt. I called off Ian and Natalie. I want an alliance with you and Dan. I will help you bring the murderer to justice." "Who is it?" Amy asked, swallowing hard.

最高级别——这个人，这个间谍，这个内鬼，和牧歌一起谋杀了你的父母。” 否。伊莎贝尔说的绝对不是娜塔莉亚。 是另外一个人。娜塔丽娅冒了很大的风险来帮助他们。 “你怎么知道？”她问，哽咽着。 “火是故意放的。 干得好，”伊莎贝尔说。 “我们调查了自己。 很抱歉让你震惊了，艾米，但你必须接受现实。 你必须知道你面对的是什么。 牧歌是无情的。” “我为什么要相信你?”艾米的挑战。 她为什么要相信别人？ 伊莎贝尔的声音很柔和。“首先，因为我和你父母关系很好。 我为他们哀悼。当我意识到卢西恩的间谍和牧歌派是一伙的，我决定我必须参与追捕行动。 我叫了伊恩和娜塔莉。 我想和你和丹结盟。 我会帮你把凶手绳之以法。” “是谁？”艾米问道，哽咽着。

"Not only will I help you," Isabel said, ignoring Amy's question, "but the full resources of the Lucians will be placed before you and your brother. Information. Strongholds. Money. We'll share the clues, and we'll win together." "Enough about the clues. Who killed my parents?" "Irina Spasky." The sun was sinking lower in the sky, staining the blue water with pink. The glare behind Isabel put her face in shadow, obliterating her features. It seemed to flare out like fire around her. Amy felt dizzy. This was what Irina had warned her about. The lie will sound like truth. But was it a lie? Or did Irina just want her to think it was? "My husband and I knew Irina when we were all teenagers," Isabel said. "I watched her turn from an idealistic scholar into a cold-blooded killer. But I never dreamed she'd strike against her own relatives. The chase for the clues is a hunger for her. It's warped her. I'm sorry, Amy. This can't be easy to hear. But you should know who killed

“我不仅会帮助你，”伊莎贝尔说，没有理会艾米的问题，“而且卢西亚人的全部资源都会摆在你和你哥哥面前。 信息。据点。钱。 我们会分享线索，我们会一起赢。” “线索说得够多了。谁杀了我的父母？”“伊丽娜斯帕斯基。” 太阳在天空中下沉得更低了，把蓝色的海水染成了粉红色。 伊莎贝尔身后的强光把她的脸笼罩在阴影里，模糊了她的五官。 它似乎像火一样在她周围燃烧起来。 艾米感到头晕。这正是伊琳娜警告过她的。 谎言听起来像真理。 但这是个谎言吗？还是艾瑞娜只是想让她这么认为？ 伊莎贝尔说：“我丈夫和我在十几岁的时候就认识伊琳娜了。 “我看着她从一个理想主义的学者变成了一个冷血杀手。 但我从没想过她会攻击自己的亲戚。 对她来说，寻找线索是一种渴望。 它扭曲了她。对不起，艾米。 这听起来可不容易。 但你应该知道是谁杀了他