The Naked Face is the first novel (1970) written by Sidney Sheldon. It was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author.
——Wikipedia

▍Chapter Seven-Ten

Ⅰ. 词汇、表达：

Moving slowly and cautiously, he groped his way toward the door that led to the stairwell. He pushed the door open. The stairwell was in darkness. Carefully holding onto the railing, he started down into the blackness.

• grope /grəup; NAmE group/ [v]（用手）摸索着往前走
  e.g. He groped his way up the staircase in the dark. 他摸黑走上楼梯。
  She groped through the darkness towards the doors. 她摸黑朝门口走去。
• stairwell [cn] 楼梯井

Judd had finished threading the tape into the player. He pressed the “on” button. Nothing happened. Of course! All the power in the building was off. He could hear them begin to work on the lock again. A feeling of desperation seized him. “That’s better,” he said loudly. “Just make yourself comfortable.” He fumbled for the packet of matches on the table, found it, tore out a match and lit it. He held the flame close to the tape player. There was a switch marked “battery.” He turned the knob, then pressed the “on” button again. At that moment, there was a sudden click as the lock on the door sprung open. His last defense was gone!

• thread /θred/ [v] 给……装入（胶片、磁带、丝弦等）
• fumble /ˈfʌmbl/ [v] 乱摸；摸索；笨拙地处理 If you fumble for something or fumble with something, you try and reach for it or hold it in a clumsy way.

“These two desperate killers went to all the trouble to knock out the lights, trap you up here, break into your office—and then just vanished into thin air without harming a hair of your head?” His voice was filled with contempt.

• go to (trouble or expense) chiefly US : to do something that causes you (trouble or expense)
  e.g. You shouldn't go to all this trouble just for me.
  They went to a lot of expense [=they spent a lot of money] to make sure that the job was done correctly.

He picked up the telephone directory and began to riffle through the yellow pages.

• riffle /ˈrifl/ [v] riffle (through) sth to turn over papers or the pages of a book quickly and without reading them all 迅速翻动（纸张或书页）

“As long as you’re stuck for the fifty dollars,” he said mildly, “you might as well sit down and tell me what your problem is. I always say that nothin’ takes more weight off than gettin’ things off your chest.”

• get sth off your chest 倾诉胸中的不快；吐苦水 If you get something off your chest, you talk about something that has been worrying you.

“Do you know the most peculiar thing about this whole megillah?” queried Moody thoughtfully.
“What?”
“You put your finger on it before, when you said there were two men. Maybe one man might have a burning itch to knock you off—but why two?”

• megillah /məˈgɪlə/ [n] [俚语] 冗长复杂的解释，过于详细的或极尽润饰之能事的叙述
• put your finger on sth [idiom] to discover the exact reason why a situation is the way it is, especially when something is wrong
  e.g. There's something odd about him but I can't quite put my finger on it.
• knock sb off [slang] to murder someone

Ⅱ. 段落摘录：

▏McGreavy’s voice was coming over the phone, but Judd did not even listen. It was too late. He replaced the receiver. It would not have mattered even if McGreavy had agreed to come. The assassins were here! Life is a very thin thread and it only takes a second to snap it. The fear that gripped him turned to a blind rage. He refused to be slaughtered like Hanson and Carol. He was going to put up a fight. He felt around in the dark for a possible weapon. An ashtray…a letter opener…useless. The assassins would have guns. It was a Kafka nightmare. He was being condemned for no reason by faceless executioners.

▏Everybody’s got a few enemies layin’ around. I always say enemies give a little salt to the bread of life.

▏I always say if you’re lookin’ for seashells, go down to the seashore.

▏You’re so goddam smug, sitting there looking down on everybody. You haven’t got any problems, have you? Do you know why? Because you’re not for real. You’re out of it.

— END —