And they would torture him and kill him like an animal, as soon as they were convinced that he had no chance of finding the money.

torture 是动词，意思是"折磨、拷问"，指通过身体或精神上的痛苦来迫使某人屈服或获取信息。这个词来自拉丁语 tortura（扭曲、折磨），与英语单词 torment（折磨）同源。