马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三十四
大房间里死一般的寂静。外面夜幕已经降临，但只有壁炉和一盏柔和的灯照亮了围坐在壁炉旁的这群人的脸。
the big room was deathly still. darkness had fallen outside, but only the fireplace and the one soft lamp lighted the faces of the little group around the fireplace.
伊迪莎·文宁现在非常平静。她的眼睛和声音里都没有一丝泪水的痕迹。
Editha Venning was very calm now. there was no trace of tears in either her eyes or her voice.
“你知道多少真相？”她轻声问道。
“how much of the truth do you know?” she asked softly.
“全部，”马龙说，“从杰拉尔德·图伊兹谋杀迈克尔·文宁开始。”
“All of it,” malone said. “beginning with the murder of michael Venning by Gerald tuesday.”
“听着，该死的，”杰克气愤地说，“你疯了。是文宁谋杀了图伊兹。”
“Listen, damn you,” Jake said indignantly. “You’re losing your mind. It was Venning who murdered tuesday.”
律师摇了摇头。“迈克尔·文宁几年前就被谋杀了。今晚在房间里的那个人是杰拉尔德·图伊兹。”
the lawyer shook his head. “michael Venning was murdered years ago. the man in the room tonight was Gerald tuesday.”
那个红头发的男人不安地动了动。“我会相信有一个杰拉尔德·图伊兹，”他说，“我可以勉强相信有两个。但如果有三个，那我绝对不信。”
the red-haired man stirred uneasily. “I’ll believe in one Gerald tuesday,” he said. “I’ll stretch a point and believe in two. but I’m triple-damned if I’ll believe in three.”
“有三个图伊兹，”马龙告诉他，“只有一个叫杰拉尔德。另外两个是戈登和乔治。”他转向伊迪莎·文宁。“如果我有任何错误，请纠正我。我得赶紧挖出很多事实。”
“there were three tuesdays,” malone told him, “only one Gerald. the other two were Gordon and George.” he turned to Editha Venning. “correct me if I make any mistakes. I had to dig up a lot of facts in a hurry.”
他点燃一支雪茄，坐着看着烟雾袅袅升向灯。“这三个图伊兹来自印第安纳州的埃尔克哈特。他们大胆、有进取心，都是伟大的机会主义者。大约在 1919 年，他们去了东方，在那里从事各种商业活动，并非所有活动都完全诚实。这是我从一个那些年在东方的新闻记者那里得知的。迈克尔·文宁和他年轻的妻子在那里，计划待一年左右。但就世人所知，他待了二十年。”
he lit a cigar and sat watching the smoke curl toward the lamp. “the three tuesdays came from Elkhart, Indiana. they were daring, enterprising men, all of them great opportunists. About 1919 they went to the orient and engaged in various mercial enterprises there, not all strictly honest. that I learned from a News reporter who was out in the orient in those years. michael Venning was there, with his young wife, planning to stay a year or so. As far as the world knew, he stayed twenty years.”
“他被谋杀了？”海伦低声问道。
“he was murdered?” helene asked in a whisper.
“他们告诉我那不是谋杀，”伊迪莎·文宁说。她的声音非常低。“他们告诉我那是一场意外。一定是。”她深深地叹了口气。“迈克尔和图伊兹兄弟在新加坡相识，迈克尔同意在一项进口生意上支持他们。那是十万美元的事。当时我就有点怀疑迈克尔被骗了，但那是他的事。”
“they told me it wasn’t murder,” Editha Venning said. her voice was very low. “they told me it was an accident. It must have been.” She drew a long, sighing breath. “michael and the tuesdays became acquainted in Singapore, and michael consented to back them in an importing business. It was a matter of a hundred thousand dollars. At the time I rather suspected michael was being taken in, but it was his affair.”
“他在 1921 年和杰拉尔德·图伊兹一起回到了这里，对吗？”马龙说。这更像是一个陈述而不是一个问题。
“he came back here with Gerald tuesday in 1921, didn’t he?” malone said. It was more of a statement than a question.
她点了点头。“你知道迈克尔的钱是如何被遗嘱束缚的。他不得不一路回到这里和受托人打交道。杰拉尔德和他一起来了。我留在了新加坡。那是一次匆忙的旅行——没几个人知道。然后我收到一封电报说迈克尔要回来了。就这么多，没有别的了。后来又有一封电报，要我在东京和他碰面。我去了那里，当他的船靠岸时——走下跳板的是杰拉尔德·图伊兹。他告诉我迈克尔死了。”
She nodded. “You know how michael’s money was tied up by the will. he had to e all the way back here to deal with the trustees. Gerald came with him. I stayed in Singapore. It was a flying trip—not half a dozen people knew about it. then I got a cable saying michael was returning. Just that, no more. Later there was another cable, asking me to meet him in tokyo. I went there and when his boat docked—it was Gerald tuesday who came down the gangplank. he told me michael was dead.”
海伦倒吸了一口气，想说什么又沉默了。杰克轻轻地捏了捏她的胳膊。
helene gasped, started to speak, and was silent. Jake squeezed her arm gently.
“杰拉尔德说——那是他们到达的那天发生的一场意外。那是夏天——他们去了位于枫树公园的文宁庄园。那里只有管理员，没有别人。上楼梯的时候迈克尔绊了一下，摔了下去——摔断了脖子。杰拉尔德秘密地把他埋在了那里。然后他拿走了迈克尔的护照——他们长得足够像，所以他能蒙混过关——练习模仿迈克尔的签名，然后开始返回东方。”
“Gerald said—it had been an accident—the day of their arrival. It was summer—they went out to the Venning estate in maple park. No one was there but the caretaker. Going up the stairs michael tripped, fell—and broke his neck. Gerald buried him out there, secretly. then he took michael’s passport—they looked just enough alike so he could get away with it—practiced writing michael’s signature, and started back to the orient.”
原名安杰洛的洛特斯·艾伦倒吸了一口气。“你是说——他决定变成迈克尔·文宁？”
Lotus Allen, nee Angelo, gasped. “You mean—he decided to bee michael Venning?”
是马龙回答了她。“我说过他是个伟大的机会主义者。如果那真的是一场意外，而不是谋杀，可能就在那天在那所房子里，文宁躺在楼梯下死了，他把这一切都想了一遍。文宁一死，他投入那十万美元到他生意里的机会就没了，这是真的。但这也是一个天赐良机，让他余生都能成为百万富翁。除了极少数无关紧要的人，没有人知道文宁来过这个国家。他可以秘密地埋葬文宁，冒充他，毫无困难地从遗产受托人那里每月领取支票。他所要做的就是远离认识他或认识文宁的人。”
It was malone who answered. “I said he was a great opportunist. If it really was an accident, not murder, probably that day at the house, with Venning lying dead at the foot of the stairs, he thought it all over. Not only was it true that with Venning dead his chance of the hundred grand to put into his business was gone. but this was a God-given chance to be a millionaire for the rest of his days. No one knew Venning had been in this country, save a very few and unimportant people. he could bury Venning secretly, impersonate him, and collect the monthly checks from the trustees of the estate without any trouble. All he had to do was stay away from people who knew him or knew Venning.”
他看着伊迪莎·文宁。“当然，他得考虑到文宁的遗孀。但老文宁的遗嘱对他很有利。”
he looked at Editha Venning. “of course he had Venning’s widow to reckon with. but old Venning’s will was a powerful argument in his favor.”
她凝视着炉火。“如果我自己有任何钱的话——但我没有。那份遗嘱规定，只要迈克尔的遗孀活着，每年就给她两千美元。如果现在让我重新选择一次……”
She stared at the fire. “If I’d had any money of my own—but I didn’t. that will allowed two thousand a year to michael’s widow as long as she lived. If I had it to do all over again now—”
她停顿了一下，用一只手遮住眼睛，抬起头来说：“我不知道，我可能也会做同样的事情。谁能说得清呢？我真的不知道。”
She paused, passed one hand over her eyes, looked up, and said, “I don’t know, I might do the same thing. who is to say? I honestly don’t know.”
“这是个艰难的决定。”海伦温柔地说，把目光移开。
“It was a hard decision,” helene said gently, looking away.
伊迪莎·文宁轻轻地叹了口气。“其实非常简单。有几年我们会去一些我们完全陌生的地方——澳大利亚、爪哇、印度支那。杰拉尔德认为，随着时间的推移，会有足够多的人忘记迈克尔的长相，这样当杰拉尔德以他的身份出现时，人们只会觉得在东方的几年让他有点变化，仅此而已。他们身高、体型和肤色都差不多，长相也不是很不一样。”她停顿了一下，皱起眉头。“一旦我同意了，我就陷入其中了。从那以后，我也没有办法出卖他而不暴露自己。”
Editha Venning sighed faintly. “It was really very simple. For a few years we’d go to places where we were strangers—Australia, Java, Indo-china. In time, Gerald figured, enough people would forget how michael looked so that when Gerald turned up in his place it would be thought that a few years in the orient had changed him a little, nothing more. they were about the same height and build and coloring, and not so unlike in appearance.” She paused, frowning. “once I’d agreed, I’d let myself in for it. After that, I couldn’t give him away without giving myself away.”
莫娜·麦克莱恩伸出手，放在她的肩膀上。
mona mcclane reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.
“那很可怕。”女人突然说道。她的声音只是微微有些颤抖。“不仅被社会抛弃——生活在世界上所有遥远的地方，而且他……”她又停顿了一下，杰克能看到她喉咙处的肌肉绷紧了。“他非常坏。”
“It was horrible,” the woman said suddenly. her voice broke only a little. “Not only being an outcast—living in all the faraway places of the world, but he—” She paused again, and Jake could see the muscles tightening in her throat. “he was pretty bad.”
“我能想象得到。”马龙平静地说，他的眼神很严厉。
“I rather imagined so,” malone said quietly, and his eyes looked hard.
她继续说道：“总是要躲避那些认识迈克尔的人。当这样的人来到我们所在的地方时，他要么去打猎了，要么生病了。但我们开始担心，如果从来没有人见过他，人们会开始怀疑。”她脸颊上的血色开始褪去。“然后战争来了。我们冒险回到了这里。他确信这么久了没人会记得迈克尔。莫娜前一年在印度见过我们，并且把他当成了迈克尔·文宁，所以当莫娜的邀请到来时，我们决定接受。他确信如果莫娜把他介绍成迈克尔·文宁，并且相信他就是迈克尔·文宁，那么其他人也会。”她现在脸色苍白。“我在那里非常讨厌那样的生活。我很孤独，一直都很孤独。我再也受不了他了……”就在这时，她的声音真的哽咽了。
She went on, “there was always the business of dodging people who’d known michael. when people like that came to wherever we were, he would be away on a hunting trip, or ill. but we were beginning to be afraid that people would start to wonder, if no one ever saw him.” the color began to recede from her cheeks. “then the war came. we took a chance on ing back here. he felt sure that no one would remember michael after so long. mona had seen us in India the year before, and accepted him as michael Venning, so when mona’s invitation came, we decided to accept it. he felt sure that if mona introduced him as michael Venning, and believed he was michael Venning, everyone else would.” her face was colorless now. “I hated it so over there. I was so lonely, always lonely. I couldn’t stand him any longer—” that was when her voice did break.
“好了，”马龙温柔地说，“你不用再说了。让莫娜来讲吧。”他弹掉雪茄上的烟灰。“或者我来讲？”
“All right,” malone said gently. “You don’t need to talk any more. Let mona tell it.” he knocked the ashes off his cigar. “or shall I?”
莫娜·麦克莱恩用白皙、紧张的手指点燃一支香烟，坐着看着烟头。在昏暗的灯光下，她的脸尖尖的，模糊不清，在黑暗中是一个有点苍白的三角形。
mona mcclane lighted a cigarette with white, nervous fingers and sat looking at the end of it. In the dim light her face was pointed, shadowy, a little pale triangle in the darkness.
“我计划杀了他，”她简单地说，“没有别的办法。他就是我想杀的人。”
“I planned to kill him,” she said simply. “there was no other way. he was the man I meant to murder.”
杰克和海伦同时转过头看着对方。
Jake and helene turned their heads to look at each other at exactly the same moment.
她说：“我一直都很喜欢伊迪莎。”仅此而已。
She said, “I had always been so fond of Editha.” that was all.
马龙站起来，一只胳膊肘支在壁炉架的角上。“她来到这里后把整个故事都告诉你了，”他对莫娜·麦克莱恩说，“迈克尔·文宁——真正的迈克尔·文宁——很快就五十岁了。如果在那个生日或之后，那个被认为是迈克尔·文宁的人去世了，而真相永远不被揭露，那么不仅伊迪莎·文宁在这场欺骗中的角色永远不会被人知道，而且她还会继承遗产。这些年来他一直恶劣地对待她，他该死。”他把烟灰弹进壁炉里。“此外，他谋杀了真正的迈克尔·文宁。那不是一场意外。”
malone rose and stood leaning one elbow on the corner of the mantel. “She told you the whole story after she came here,” he said to mona mcclane. “michael Venning—the real michael Venning—would soon have been fifty. If on, or after, that birthdate the man believed to be michael Venning died, and the truth never came up, not only would Editha Venning’s part in the deception never be known, but she would inherit the estate. he had treated her abominably all these years, and he deserved to die.” he flicked his ashes into the fireplace. “besides, he had murdered the real michael Venning. It wasn’t an accident.”
杰克突然向前倾身。“但是那个赌注——当你和我打赌的时候……”
Jake leaned forward suddenly. “but that bet—when you made that bet with me—”
“我那时就计划好了，”莫娜·麦克莱恩说，“伊迪莎来了后不久，我就从她那里得知了整个故事——迈克尔不怕让伊迪莎单独和我谈话。他认为她不敢把真相告诉任何人。毕竟——她不能揭露他而不牵连自己。她告诉我这个故事后，我只能想到一件事要做。”
“I had planned it then,” mona mcclane said. “I learned the whole story from Editha very soon after her arrival—michael wasn’t afraid to let Editha talk alone with me. he didn’t think she would dare tell the truth to anyone. After all—she couldn’t expose him without incriminating herself. After she’d told me the story, I could think of only one thing to do.”
她对杰克和海伦微笑。“我们进行那场疯狂的谈话，赌注出现的那天，我就下定了决心。这个想法让我觉得好笑。我这辈子几乎在所有事情上都赌过，为什么不在谋杀上赌一把呢？我也不是真的想打扰你们的蜜月。你们预计在迈克尔·文宁的生日前回到芝加哥，而他的冒名顶替者必须活到那时。”
She smiled at Jake and helene. “I’d made up my mind the day we got into that insane conversation and the bet came up. the idea amused me. I’d gambled on almost everything else in my life, so why not murder? I didn’t really mean to interfere with your honeymoon, either. You were expected back in chicago by michael Venning’s birthday, and his impersonator had to remain alive until then.”
她优雅地耸了耸肩。“如果不是另外两个图伊兹把事情搞得这么复杂，一切都会按计划进行。”
She lifted her shoulders delicately. “It would all have gone off according to schedule, if only the other two tuesdays hadn’t plicated everything.”
海伦突然抬起头。“对。在他们的兄弟冒充迈克尔·文宁的这段时间里，他们在哪里呢？”
helene looked up suddenly. “that’s right. where were they, all this time their brother was impersonating michael Venning?”
“环游世界，过着奢华的生活，”马龙说，“杰拉尔德和他们分道扬镳了，因为他们知道真相。但当他回到这里时，他决定把他们排除在外。罗斯代尔公墓里已经有一个坟墓，上面有一块石头，刻着‘杰拉尔德·图伊兹’和日期。坟墓是空的——可能是因为他没有机会把迈克尔·文宁的尸体放进去。这些年来，尸体一直留在枫树公园的那个坟墓里。但他回来后的第一件事就是转移尸体。”
“traveling around the world, living on the fat of the land,” malone said. “Gerald split with them, because they knew the truth. but when he came back here he decided to cut them out. there already was a grave in Rosedale cemetery with a stone marked ‘Gerald tuesday’ and the dates. the grave was empty—probably because he didn’t have a chance to put michael Venning’s body in it. the body stayed in that grave out in maple park all those years. but his first act when he came back was to transfer it.”
“但是，”海伦说，然后停顿了一下。“一开始立那个墓碑的目的是什么呢？”
“but.” helene said, and paused. “what was the idea of the gravestone in the first place?”
“必须有某种方式来解释两个男人从东方来到这里，却只有一个回去的事实，”马龙说，“当杰拉尔德·图伊兹决定成为迈克尔·文宁时，他立了一块石头，标志着杰拉尔德·图伊兹的死亡。”
“there had to be some way to account for the fact that two men came here from the orient and only one went back,” malone said. “when Gerald tuesday decided to bee michael Venning, he put up a stone marking the death of Gerald tuesday.”
他停下来重新点着雪茄。“他认为，一旦他让认识真正的迈克尔·文宁的芝加哥人接受了他，并且把真正的迈克尔的尸骨重新埋葬在罗斯代尔的坟墓里，他的兄弟们就不敢叫嚷了。但他不知道他们的执着。”他看着莫娜。“你帮了他们多少忙？”
he paused to relight his cigar. “he figured that once he’d gotten chicagoans who’d known the real michael Venning to accept him, and reburied the real michael’s bones in the Rosedale grave, his brothers wouldn’t dare yelp. but he didn’t know their persistence.” he looked at mona. “how much did you help them?”
“我把他们送到你那里，”莫娜说，“带着证据。”她突然停了下来。“现在它在哪里？”
“I sent them to you,” mona said, “with the proof.” She stopped suddenly. “where is it now?”
“我正坐在它上面。”杰克出人意料地说。他从自己身下抽出那个大的牛皮纸信封，递给马龙。“州街汽车站的 114 号行李寄存柜。”
“I’m sitting on it,” Jake said unexpectedly. he pulled the big manila envelope out from under him and handed it to malone.
马龙抽出一小把信，边缘已经褪色发黄，他匆匆浏览了一遍。
malone drew out a small handful of letters, faded and yellowed around the edges, and glanced through them hurriedly.
“这些就足够了。”他轻声说。他把信递给杰克和海伦。“这些是写给当时在新加坡的乔治·图伊兹的信，真正的迈克尔·文宁和杰拉尔德来到这里的时候。有些是文宁写的，讨论他们要参与的生意的安排，并提到杰拉尔德和他在一起。有一封——我没有仔细读，但我了解得够多了——是杰拉尔德写的，暗示会有一个更令人满意的安排，并要求乔治留在新加坡处理那里的事情。最后的关键证据是文宁死后杰拉尔德写的一封信，在信中他要求乔治为他以迈克尔·文宁的新身份回到东方铺平道路。”
“this would have done it,” he said quietly. he handed them to Jake and helene. “Letters to George tuesday who was in Singapore at the time the real michael Venning and Gerald came over here. Some are from Venning discussing arrangements of the business they were to go into and referring to the fact that Gerald was with him. one—I didn’t read it closely but I gathered enough—is from Gerald, hinting that a more satisfactory arrangement would be made and asking George to stay in Singapore to handle things there. the final clincher is a letter written after Venning’s death in which Gerald asked George to pave the way for his return to the orient in his new character of michael Venning.”
莫娜·麦克莱恩说：“那个我们以为是杰拉尔德·图伊兹的人来到这里找文宁先生。他不在。当那个人说他叫杰拉尔德·图伊兹时，我把他叫进来，告诉他我知道真相。我建议他把证据放在一个安全的地方，然后去找你充当中间人。我知道如果文宁——那个假文宁——发现他的兄弟在这里，就会发生谋杀。然后警察就会被叫来，一切都会暴露——你明白吗？但我想如果把你牵扯进这件事，你就能处理任何出现的情况。”
mona mcclane said, “the man we knew as Gerald tuesday came here asking for mr. Venning. he was out. when the man said his name was Gerald tuesday, I called him in and told him that I knew the truth. I advised him to put his proof in a safe place and go to you to act as intermediary. I knew that if Venning—the false Venning—discovered that his brother were here, there would be murder done. then the police would be called in, everything would e out—you see? but I thought that if you had been drawn into the affair, you could handle anything that came up.”
“谢谢。”马龙说。他的耳垂有点红。
“thanks,” malone said. the tips of his ears were pink.
“另一个图伊兹——第一个被杀的那个——出去找你。顺便说一下，我说我以前从没见过他是实话。我只见过那个我们以为是杰拉尔德的人。新年前夜，文宁——我想不出别的称呼——看到了他的兄弟，然后跟踪他。”
“the other tuesday—the one who was killed first—went out looking for you. by the way, I was telling the truth when I said I never saw him before. I only saw the one we knew as Gerald. New Year’s Eve, Venning—I can’t think to call him anything else—saw his brother and trailed him.”
“是的，一定是这样。”马龙说，“他跟踪第一个图伊兹到一个小巷里的偏僻地方，然后刺了他。然后图伊兹活了足够长的时间找到我，把钥匙给了我。第二个图伊兹临死前的举动是试图给我打电话。他们想让我找到那个储物柜和里面的东西，为他们的死报仇。那些家伙很顽强。”
“Yes, it must have been that way,” malone said. “he trailed the first tuesday to some lonely spot in an alley and stabbed him. then tuesday lived just long enough to find me and give me that key. the second tuesday’s dying act was to try to telephone me. they wanted me to find that locker and its contents, and avenge their deaths. they were a hardy bunch, those boys.”
“新年前夜之后，”莫娜·麦克莱恩接着说，“那个我以为是杰拉尔德·图伊兹的人来找我，想通过勒索的方式进入我家。那时他知道我在试图保护伊迪莎，他威胁要把整个故事告诉警察。我警告他那个假文宁已经犯了一起谋杀罪，不会对再犯一起有丝毫犹豫——但他说他愿意冒这个险。好吧，他冒了这个险。”
“After New Year’s Eve,” mona mcclane went on, “the man I knew as Gerald tuesday came to me, to blackmail his way into my house. he knew, then, that I was trying to protect Editha, and he threatened to tell the whole story to the police. I warned him that the false Venning had done one murder and wouldn’t hesitate at a second—but he said he’d take his chance on that. well, he took it.”
马龙说：“你还有别的原因。你不能告诉我你这么容易就被勒索了。”
malone said, “You had some other reason, too. You can’t tell me you can be blackmailed that easy.”
她微微一笑。“我想如果图伊兹实施他的计划来到这里，他的兄弟会杀了他。那可能会给我实现我的计划的机会，就像今天发生的一样。”
She smiled faintly. “I thought that if tuesday carried out his plan and came here, his brother would murder him. that might give me the opportunity to carry out my plans that it did give me—today.”
“不管怎么说，最后结果还不错。”马龙温柔地说，“好了，事情就这样了。第一个和第二个图伊兹的谋杀案——对年轻的麦克劳林的谋杀未遂，因为凶手担心他知道真相——那个敞开的坟墓。”他重新点着雪茄。“那个假文宁来到这里后的第一个举动可能就是挖出真正的迈克尔·文宁的遗体并处理掉。”他对伊迪莎·文宁微笑。“你出现找坟墓的时候让杰克吓了一跳。”
“It turned out all right in the end, anyway,” malone said gently. “well, that does it up. the murders of the first and second tuesdays—the attempted murder of young mcLaurin because the murderer feared he knew the truth—the open grave.” he relit his cigar. “the false Venning’s first move when he arrived here was probably to dig up the remains of the real michael Venning and dispose of them.” he smiled at Editha Venning. “You gave Jake a bad moment when you turned up looking for the grave.”
“还有人让我更害怕。”杰克说，“那一定是第二个迈克尔·文宁在树林里向我开枪。或者他只是在安静地进行一点射击练习？”
“Somebody else gave me a much worse moment,” said Jake. “that must have been michael Venning the Second shooting at me out in the woods. or was he just having a little quiet target practice?”
伊迪莎淡淡地笑了笑。“在那里看到你我真的松了一口气。我确定迈克尔跟踪了我。你是一种保护。我没意识到他有多绝望。他一定认为那个敞开的坟墓会是一个明显的线索。”
Editha smiled wanly. “I was so relieved to see you out there. I was sure michael had followed me. You were protection. I hadn’t realized how desperate he was. he must have thought the open grave would be a dead giveaway.”
杰克叹了口气。“我想我失去了我最欣赏我的观众，那个唯一认为我是个策划大师的人。”
Jake sighed. “I guess I’ve lost my most appreciative audience, the only person who ever thought I was a mastermind.”
莫娜·麦克莱恩说：“我们都来喝一杯吧。”
mona mcclane said, “Let’s all have a drink.”
马龙看着他手里的信。“我想我们不再需要这些了。”他把信放在火里。一道耀眼的火焰照亮了房间，然后又熄灭了。小律师抬头看着彭德利·泰德韦尔。“你最好也把那张照片给我——就是你昨晚在文宁房间里拍的那张。不管怎么说，你当时在哪里？”
malone looked at the letters in his hand. “I don’t think we need these any longer,” he said. he laid them in the fire. A brilliant blaze lighted the room and died down again. the little lawyer looked up at pendley tidewell. “You’d better give me that picture, too—the one you took in Venning’s room last night. where were you, anyway?”
“在床底下。”年轻人温顺地说。“自从他来到这里我就一直想给他拍张照片。昨天我弄到了一个那种灯，在他的房间里安装好，然后藏在那里。我想我可以在他不知道的情况下给他拍张照片。然后伊迪莎阿姨进来开始四处窥探。我给她拍了一张，就在那时他从衣柜里出来，给了她一拳，然后从门跑出去，顺着那个侧楼梯下去了。但我给他拍了几张照片。”
“Under the bed,” the young man said meekly. “I’d been trying to get a picture of him ever since he got here. Yesterday I got one of those lamps and rigged it up in his room and hid there. I figured I could get a picture of him without his knowing it. then Aunt Editha came in and began prowling around. I took one of her, and just then he came out of the wardrobe and bopped her one and ducked out the door and down that side stairway. but I got a couple of pictures of him.”
“如果我们需要任何证据的话……”马龙说。他叹了口气。“把它们扔进壁炉里，孩子。”
“If we’d needed any proof—” malone said. he sighed. “toss them in the fireplace, son.”
彭德利·泰德韦尔似乎快要哭了。“但是，天哪。它们是我拍过的最好的照片。”
“pendley tidewell seemed on the verge of tears. “but gosh. they’re the first good pictures I ever took.”
杰克说：“没关系。我会安排让你偷拍一张凯利市长的照片。你以前从没有机会给市长拍照。”
Jake said, “Never mind. I’ll fix it so you can get a candid-camera shot of mayor Kelly. You never had a chance to photograph a mayor before.”
壁炉里又燃起一团火焰。
A second blaze sprang up in the fireplace.
“你在那个房间里找什么？”马龙问伊迪莎·文宁。“现在这已经不重要了。”
“what were you looking for in that room?” malone asked Editha Venning. “Not that it matters now.”
“我知道迈克尔——杰拉尔德——谋杀了他的兄弟们。我想他一定拿回了他们掌握的关于欺骗的证据。所以当我以为他昨晚要离开的时候，我给怀特小姐——怀特先生——下了药，然后去搜查那个房间。但他起了疑心，比我先到了那里。”
“I knew michael—Gerald—had murdered his brothers. I figured he must have gotten back the proof they had of the deception. So when I thought he was going to be away last night, I doped miss white—mr. white—and went to search the room. but he suspected something was up, and got there ahead of me.”
“你做得很好，”杰克说，“他显然计划去枫树公园，去把坟墓填上，把罗斯·麦克劳林简单地放进去的坟墓。如果你没有拖延他，我们可能就得在那时那地和他枪战了，而我们唯一的武器是一瓶黑麦威士忌。”
“A good thing you did,” Jake said. “he evidently planned to go out to maple park and fill in the grave where he’d so conveniently placed Ross mcLaurin. If you hadn’t delayed him, we might have had to shoot it out with him right then and there, and the only weapon we had was a bottle of rye.”
“这让我想起了一件事，”马龙说，“卢·怀特——我说得对吗？文宁在你来到这个国家的时候雇了他，让他留意你，以防万一，却没有告诉他到底是怎么回事？”
“that reminds me,” malone said. “Lou white—am I right that Venning engaged him when you got to this country, to keep an eye on you, just in case, without telling him what it was all about?”
伊迪莎·文宁点了点头。“我不知道他跟怀特说了什么——但那不是真相。”
Editha Venning nodded. “I don’t know what he told white—but it wasn’t the truth.”
“好的，”律师说，“我警告过怀特要一字不差地告诉警察我告诉他的话，他现在正在这么做。我威胁他说如果他不这么做，我就告诉纽约的每一个私家侦探卢·怀特会织毛衣。”
“o.K.,” the lawyer said. “I warned white to tell the police exactly what I told him, and he’s doing it now. I threatened that if he didn’t, I’d tell every private dick in New York that Lou white knew how to knit.”
在鸡尾酒桌周围出现了一阵短暂而愉快的混乱。混乱中，女仆突然出现并宣布：“医院刚刚打来电话。麦克劳林先生恢复了意识，正在找艾伦小姐。”
there was a brief and pleasant confusion around the cocktail table. In the midst of it the maid suddenly appeared and announced, “the hospital just called. mr. mcLaurin is conscious and asking for miss Allen.”
原名安杰洛的洛特斯·艾伦说了声“谢谢”，几乎在她的声音消失之前就离开了房间。
Lotus Allen, nee Angelo, said “thank you,” and was out of the room almost before the sound of her voice had died away.
莫娜·麦克莱恩的眼睛里闪着光。“这会很有趣。这房子里好几年都没有举行过婚礼了。”她停顿了一下，微笑着说：“虽然这里似乎什么都发生过！”
A light came into mona mcclane’s eyes. “It’s going to be fun. there hasn’t been a wedding in the house in years.” She paused, smiled. “though there does seem to have been everything else!”