to gain time; to play for time; to buy time
not going (well); not proceeding (as one wishes); bad; not good; hopeless; beyond hope
sentimental; emotional; maudlin; mawkish
police cell; place of detention; jail
coworker; co-worker; colleague; associate
having at one's mercy; trifling with; toying with; playing with; making a fool of; leading around by the nose
remaining silent; keeping secret
affidavit; deposition; testimony
now (while the time is ripe); while one still can
to overhear; to hear (secondhand); to hear on the grapevine; to know by hearsay
to reach; to amount to; to be up to the task; to come up to; to compare with; to be a match (for)
dead body; corpse; cadaver; carcass
cutting; severance; section; amputation; disconnection
edged tool; cutting instrument; knife
rough (estimate, summary, etc.); broad; general; careless (e.g. work); sloppy; crude
expression in writing; written representation; notation; writing on the surface (e.g. an address on an envelope); inscribing on the face
rate; ratio; one tenth; ten percent; (comparative) profit; gain; assignment
neighborhood; neighbourhood; vicinity; environs; surrounding area; district
scene of the crime (offense, offence)
just one person; only one
to listen carefully; to strain one's ears
the other day; a few days ago
seeking the bizarre (abnormal, grotesque, etc.)
mass killing; mass murder; bloodbath
some; any; in any way; of some kind; of some sort
pluralizing suffix; or so; rough indicator of direction, location, amount, etc.; nominalizing suffix
last days; the end; one's fate
presence of other people; (in) public; (in) front of others
staff member; station employee; official
to (call and) stop; to call (someone) to stop; to hail (e.g. a taxi)
warehouse; storehouse; cellar; magazine; granary; godown
to come to nothing; to be in vain; to lead nowhere
to let out a cry; to break forth
to have one's attention caught (by); to be distracted (by); to be preoccupied (with); to be captivated (by); to be absorbed (in)
to exploit a gap (in attention, security, etc.); to catch off guard
to cross; to go across; to go through; to cut across