It is a metaphor for Lily's situation because her situation at the pink house will not “stick” much longer.
This seems to be a declarative sentence. It talks about the reaction of the policeman to a specific thing. His expression is not pleasant. What he might saw is something not good and something to worry about. Other possible thing could be there an heinous crime scene that he faced at that moment. It depends on the situation.<span />
"Nixon hoped his Vietnamization policy would end US involvement in the Vietnam War"
Or "Vietnamization was the withdrawal of American troops"