Wow, the 詐欺的な調子の良さで is a bit of a pig of a phrase o_O. I don't know quite what it's getting at either. It looks like the adjective phrase "調子のいい" can mean someone smooth, slick and bit too smarmy (do you know www.alc.co.jp? My favourite online dictionary :D. It has a few good example sentences). The 詐欺的 is as you say - fraudulent or deceitful. So delinquent behavoir may be pretty much on the mark! :) The one thing that bothers me, is that I don't know if the 詐欺的な調子の良さ is simply referring to the way he behaves, and that getting Billy into trouble is just the result of that, or whether it's somehow implying that the getting Billy into trouble is deliberate - that the 詐欺的な調子の良さで is modifying the way in which he gets Billy into trouble - deliberately, smoothly and deceitfully! I guess from the grammar it probably should be the former, but I rather like the latter!
In the section about Jesse's disappearance, 子供たちが尋問を受けることのないよう = so that his children wouldn't be interrogated [on his wherabouts]. (It's that passive 受ける again ;) )
I think the 元より is a "not only A but B too" construction. So not only his face but his personality too was changed. It may also be one of those that implies that "not only A (which we would expect) but also B (which is greater/larger/more unexpected/more praiseworthy etc)". But I'm not at all sure about that.
I think you're fine with 不信を覚える = did not trust him. I think this is one of those weird uses of 覚える=feel
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Wow, the 詐欺的な調子の良さで is a bit of a pig of a phrase o_O. I don't know quite what it's getting at either. It looks like the adjective phrase "調子のいい" can mean someone smooth, slick and bit too smarmy (do you know www.alc.co.jp? My favourite online dictionary :D. It has a few good example sentences). The 詐欺的 is as you say - fraudulent or deceitful. So delinquent behavoir may be pretty much on the mark! :)
The one thing that bothers me, is that I don't know if the 詐欺的な調子の良さ is simply referring to the way he behaves, and that getting Billy into trouble is just the result of that, or whether it's somehow implying that the getting Billy into trouble is deliberate - that the 詐欺的な調子の良さで is modifying the way in which he gets Billy into trouble - deliberately, smoothly and deceitfully! I guess from the grammar it probably should be the former, but I rather like the latter!
In the section about Jesse's disappearance, 子供たちが尋問を受けることのないよう = so that his children wouldn't be interrogated [on his wherabouts]. (It's that passive 受ける again ;) )
I think the 元より is a "not only A but B too" construction. So not only his face but his personality too was changed. It may also be one of those that implies that "not only A (which we would expect) but also B (which is greater/larger/more unexpected/more praiseworthy etc)". But I'm not at all sure about that.
I think you're fine with 不信を覚える = did not trust him. I think this is one of those weird uses of 覚える=feel