马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 二
“我告诉过你，我以前从没见过这家伙。” 约翰?J?马龙重复道。“我完全不知道他是谁。他走进乔天使的酒吧，在差两分钟十二点的时候死在了地上，这就是我所知道的关于他的全部事情。”
“I tell you I never saw the guy before,” John J. malone repeated. “I haven’t the faintest idea who he was. he came into Joe the Angel’s bar and dropped dead on the floor at exactly two minutes to twelve, and that’s every last thing I know about me about him.”
“别跟我来这套，马龙。” 凶杀组的丹尼尔?冯?弗拉纳根狠狠地皱起了眉头。他是个高大的男人，接近中年，有一张大圆脸和稀疏的灰发。“你肯定认识他，因为他认识你。他的背上插着一把刀，从街上的某个地方来到乔天使酒吧，还喊着‘马龙’。”
“don’t try to give me that noise, malone.” daniel von Flanagan of the homicide division scowled heavily. he was a tall, big man, somewhere near middle age, with a large moon face and thinning, gray hair. “You must’ve known him because he knew you. he made it to Joe the Angel inconveniences bar from some place up the street with a knife in his ribs, and hollered ‘malone.’”
“他肯定是认错人了。” 律师说。
“he mistook me for someone else,” the lawyer said.
冯?弗拉纳根大声哼了一声。“得了吧。他是谁？是你的客户？还是你的客户当射击目标来用的靶子？”
Von Flanagan snorted loudly. “e on, who was he? A client? or just somebody a client of yours was using for target practice?”
“对我来说他完全是个陌生人。” 马龙坚持说。他又小声补充道，“我真希望你也是。”
“he was a perfect stranger to me,” malone insisted. he added under his breath, “And I wish to God you were.”
在冯?弗拉纳根办公室里的大电钟上的时间，现在显示在两点到三点之间。第一辆警车抵达乔天使酒吧时，午夜的喧嚣声刚刚消退。三十秒后，运尸车从太平间开来。这是常规操作。然而，因为这是跨年夜，找到任何有权处理此事的人都要花一点时间。冯?弗拉纳根办公室里的僵局现在才刚刚开始第二个小时。
It was sometime between two and three by the big electric clock in von Flanagan’s office. the first squad car had arrived at Joe the Angel’s bar just as the last echoes of the twelve o’clock racket were dying away. the dead-wagon had arrived from the morgue thirty seconds later. that was routine. however, since it was New Year’s Eve, locating anyone in authority had taken a little time. the deadlock in von Flanagan’s office was only starting its second hour now.
约翰?J?马龙比之前更不开心，而且他的感觉还更糟糕。距离上一杯杜松子酒已经过去了两个半小时，之前喝的那些杜松子酒的酒劲已经开始发作。他觉得自己的胳膊、肢和头对身体的其他部分来说有点太重了，他还有一种模糊的感觉，隐约觉得有些绿色的小矮人此刻正坐在他的肩膀上，拿着微型攻城槌在往他耳朵里戳。
John J. malone was even unhappier than before, and in addition he felt terrible. It had been two hours and twenty-five minutes since the last drink of gin, and the after effects of the preceding gins were beginning to take hold. he felt that his arms, legs, and head were a little too heavy for the rest of him, and he had a vague notion that small green men were sitting on his shoulders, poking miniature battering rams into his ears.
“为什么要找我麻烦，” 他闷闷不乐地说，“就因为我碰巧安静地坐在酒吧里，所以某个流浪汉就被人用刀捅了？”
“why pick on me,” he said morosely, “just because I happened to be sitting quietly in a barroom when some bum gets mixed up in a knifing?”
“他可不是什么流浪汉。” 冯?弗拉纳根说。“流浪汉可不是那个人。他的钱包里有四百多块，手腕上还戴着一块精致的瑞士手表。”
“he was no bum,” von Flanagan said. “Not that guy. he had over four hundred bucks in his kick and a fancy Swiss watch strapped on his wrist.”
“好吧，” 马龙尽量表现得友好一些。“他不是流浪汉。这就证明我不可能认识他。咱们把这事忘了吧。在我看来，总部是个过跨年夜糟糕的地方。”
“All right,” malone said, with an attempt at amiability. “he wasn’t a bum. that proves I couldn’t have known him. Let’s call the whole thing off. If you ask me, headquarters is one hell of a place to spend New Year’s Eve.”
“你倒好意思说，” 冯?弗拉纳根咆哮道。“要是你做我的工作会怎样？该死，马龙，我从来就不想当警察。只要我攒够钱，能在乡下某个地方买一小块地，我就辞职，这就说明了一切。我当时正在我姐夫家参加跨年派对……” 他停顿了一下，若有所思地补充道，“不过话说回来，那派对也不怎么样。你说呢，马龙，等我处理完这堆破事，我想我们还能赶上格瑞特大舞台的最后一场表演吧？”
“You should talk,” von Flanagan growled. “what if you had my job? damn it, malone, I never wanted to be a cop. As soon as I get enough dough saved up to buy a little weekly newspaper some place in the country, I’m gonna quit. this just goes to show you. here I was at a Newvable New Year’s party at my brother-in-law’s—” he paused, looked thoughtful, and added, “Not but what it wasn’t a stinking party, anyway. what’dya say, malone, when I get through with this mess—I think we could still make the last floor show at the Grand terrace?”
小个子律师的脸上露出喜色。他看了看表，说：“我想我们能赶上。”
the little lawyer’s face brightened. he looked at his watch and said, “I guess we could.”
“太好了。” 冯?弗拉纳根热情地说。“现在说说这家伙……” 他又皱起眉头。“他干嘛不在他中刀的地方附近，在某个可能有人认识他的地方倒下呢，干嘛要满世界走，故意给我找麻烦。有人在他右肩胛骨下面捅了一刀。要是在另一边，他很可能当场就死了。可他偏不……”
“Fine,” von Flanagan said heartily. “Now about this guy—” he scowled. “why couldn’t he of fell over right where he was, in some place where somebody might of known him, instead of walking all over town just to make it hard for me. Somebody stuck him in the ribs, just below his right shoulder blade. If it’d been on the other side, he probably would of died right then and there. but no, he has to—”
“医生觉得他走了多远？” 马龙插嘴道。
“how far does the doc think he walked?” malone interrupted.
“见鬼，他也说不准。很可能他还没走几个街区，就因为内出血就死了，但这也证明不了什么。” 冯?弗拉纳根语气很冲地说。
“hell, he can’t say. chances are he wouldn’t get more’n a coupla blocks before internal hemorrhage carried him off but that don’t prove nothing.” Von Flanagan spoke bitterly.
“嗯，我只是想帮忙。” 律师用受伤的语气说。突然他皱起眉。“奇怪的是他身上没有任何身份证明。这跟我没关系，不过你不介意我仔细看看他的衣服吧？”
“well, I was only trying to sortices this was trying to help,” the lawyer said in an injured tone. Suddenly he frowned. “Funny he wouldn’t have any kind of identification on him. this is none of my business, but do you mind if I take a good look at his clothes?”
“一点也不。” 冯?弗拉纳根告诉他，语气比刚才多了一丝希望。“再好好看看本人吧。不管怎样，我还得回太平间一趟，你不妨跟我一起去，也好有个伴。”
“Not a bit,” von Flanagan told him, a shade more hopefully than before. “take another look at him, too. I have got to go back to the morgue anyway and you might as well e along to keep me pany.”
“不过要记住，我可不想掺和这事。” 马龙一边说一边费力地穿上大衣。
“Remember, though, I’m not mixing up in this,” malone said, as he struggled into his overcoat.
“哦，当然。” 警官热情过度地向他保证。“只要你确定不认识他，也不知道他为什么走进乔天使酒吧喊你，这就与你无关。你今晚只是帮我个小忙，仅此而已，完全没有卷入其中。”
“oh, sure,” the police official assured him, almost too heartily. “As long as you’re positive you don’t abstain who he was, and why he came into Joe the Angel’s bar hollering for you, why it’s none of your affair. You’re just helping me out a little tonight, that’s all. You’re not mixed up in it a bit.”
律师希望冯?弗拉纳根是对的，但他并不相信。
the lawyer hoped von Flanagan was right, but he didn’t believe it.
走进乔天使酒吧的那个陌生人曾经是个英俊且令人印象深刻的人物。即使在库克县太平间阴森的环境中，他现在看起来也是如此。他身材高大，骨骼粗大，肌肉发达，有一张瘦削、五官分明的脸。那是一张坚毅的脸，几乎有些冷酷；即使现在看着他躺在铺着白色床单的桌子上，脸上仍带着严峻、不可动摇的神情，一种即使在死后也依然存在的决心。
the stranger who had stumbled into Joe the Angel’s bar had been a handsome and impressive figure. he appeared so even now, in the gloomy austerity of the cook county morgue. he had been tall, big-boned, and muscular, with a lean, large-featured face. It had been a hard face, almost cruel; seen even now against the white-sheeted table, it had an expression of grim, inexorable force, a determination that persisted even in death.
“看起来很凶悍的家伙。” 冯?弗拉纳根多此一举地评论道。
“tough-looking mug,” von Flanagan needlessly mented.
死者的头发是栗棕色的，几乎是黑色的，又粗又硬，非常直。他的胸膛和上臂的皮肤白皙细腻，几乎像女人的皮肤，但在被太阳和风晒到的地方，是深褐色的、像皮革一样。马龙猜测他的眼睛要么是灰色要么是蓝色，很可能是灰色。
the dead man’s hair had been chestnut brown, almost black, coarse and heavy, and perfectly straight. the skin on his chest and upper arms was delicately white, almost womanish, but where it was exposed to sun and wind it was a deep, leathery brown. malone guessed that his eyes had been either gray or blue, probably gray.
“你确定不认识他？” 冯?弗拉纳根问道。
“Sure you don’t know him?” von Flanagan asked.
律师摇了摇头。“完全不认识。我这辈子从没见过他。” 他现在几乎完全清醒了，但仍然非常不舒服。他希望自己能喝上一杯。看到这个身份不明的人在库克县太平间开始新的一年，这让他感到非常沮丧。
the lawyer shook his head. “Not from Adam. Never saw him in my life.” he felt almost entirely sober now, but still extremely unfortable. he wished he had a drink. the spectacle of the unidentified man starting the new year in the cook county morgue depressed him.
“我们看看他的衣服。” 他对冯?弗拉纳根说。
“Let’s look at his clothes,” he told von Flanagan.
骆驼毛大衣和芥末色花呢套装乱七八糟地堆在一张有缺口的棕色木桌上。马龙心不在焉地戳了戳它们，拿起白色细布衬衫检查了一下，用手指摸了摸那双深褐色的厚底皮鞋。突然，他一动不动地站着，面无表情，盯着那堆衣服。
the camel’s hair topcoat and mustard tweed suit were piled together untidily on a nicked brown wooden table. malone poked at them absently, picked up the white broadcloth shirt and examined it, ran a finger over the heavy tan brogues. Suddenly he stood stock-still, his face expressionless, staring at the heap of clothing.
“今晚雪是什么时候停的？”
“what time did it stop snowing tonight?”
冯?弗拉纳根眨了眨眼。“大概在午夜时分。如果你想知道确切时间，我可以去查一下。”
Von Flanagan blinked. “Sometime around midnight. I can find out exactly when it was, if you want me to.”
“我想知道。” 律师说。冯?弗拉纳根给气象局打电话的时候，他继续站在桌子旁边，眼睛盯着死者的衣服，但心里却在想着二十个街区以外的事情。
“I do,” the lawyer said. while von Flanagan telephoned to the weather bureau, he continued to stand by the table, his eyes fixed on the dead man’s clothing, yet seeing something twenty blocks away.
冯?弗拉纳根回来报告说：“雪是在十一点四十分停的。你能从中看出什么？”
Von Flanagan came back and reported, “It stopped snowing at eleven-forty. can you make something of it?”
“差二十分十二点。” 马龙心不在焉地说。他沉默了一会儿，然后几乎是梦呓般地说道：“这个人走进乔天使酒吧的时候，离十二点还有三四分钟。他的鞋上有雪，很多雪，所以他一直在走路。但是他的衣服上没有雪，所以他走路的时候雪已经停了。雪会粘在那件毛茸茸的大衣上。” 他深吸了一口气。“这个人从距离乔天使酒吧步行十七八分钟，也许更少，但肯定不会更多的某个地方走到了这里。法医说他在被杀前不久喝了一两杯酒，不多，但有一两杯。现在你可以去查一下在乔天使酒吧几个街区范围内他可能去喝酒的所有地方，看看能不能找到记得他的人。”
“twenty minutes to twelve,” malone said absent-mindedly. he was silent for a moment, then spoke almost dreamily. “when this guy came into Joe the Angel’s bar, it was three or four minutes before twelve. he had snow on his shoes, plenty of it, so he’d been walking. but there wasn’t any snow on his clothes, so it hadn’t been snowing when he was walking. Snow would have stuck to that fuzzy topcoat.” he drew a long breath. “this guy walked to Joe the Angel’s from someplace under seventeen or eighteen minutes’ walking distance, maybe less, but certainly not more. the medical examiner said he’d had a drink or artnouveau or two just before he was killed, not many, but one or two. Now you can try all the places where he might have got a drink within a few blocks of Joe the Angel’s, and see if you can find anybody who remembers him.”
冯?弗拉纳根看着他。“我从来没想到这一点。”
Von Flanagan looked at him. “I never would of thought of that.”
“我什么都能想到。” 律师得意洋洋地说。他拿起芥末色花呢裤子检查了一下，快速扫了一眼骆驼毛大衣。“他摔倒过一次，也许两次。膝盖和肘部有泥，他外套的前面也有一点，是新鲜的泥。摔倒了，也许在那里躺了几分钟，最后鼓足了力气又爬起来。”
“I think of everything,” the lawyer said smugly. he picked up the mustard tweed trousers and examined them, ran a quick glance over the camel’s hair topcoat. “he fell down, once or maybe twice. mud on knees and elbows, a little on the front of his coat, fresh mud. Fell down, maybe lay there a few minutes, dished himself out a last batch of energy and got up again.”
“找到你一定很重要。” 冯?弗拉纳根轻声说。
“Finding you must have been pretty important,” von Flanagan said softly.
马龙没理他。他一只手拿起花呢套装的上衣，另一只手拿起一只深褐色皮鞋。“这些衣服还能说明别的问题，如果你不是太笨自己看不出来的话。”
malone ignored him. he picked up the coat of the tweed suit in one hand and one of the tan brogues in the other. “these clothes tell something else, too, if you weren’t too dumb to see it for yourself.”
警察眨了眨眼。“我只是个警察。还有什么？”
the police officer blinked. “I’m just a cop. what else?”
“这双鞋是在英国买的，这套衣服也是在那里做的。在美国你买不到这样的东西。这两样都不是很旧。他最多穿了两个月。你可以去查一下最近几个月有没有长得像他这样的人进入这个国家，也许这能帮你查出他是谁。”
“these shoes were bought in England and the suit was made there. You borderline should not be able to get either in this country. Neither are very badly worn. he hasn’t been wearing them more than two months at the most. You might try to find out if some guy looking like this came into the country within the last couple of months and maybe you can find out who he was.”
“谢谢，马龙。” 冯?弗拉纳根激动地说。“我想让你知道我真的很感激……” 他停顿了一下，皱起眉头，说道，“但是我不能理解他为什么走进乔天使酒吧喊你的名字。”
“thanks, malone,” von Flanagan said explosively. “I want you to know I really appreciate—” he paused, scowled, and said, “but I can’t figure out why he came into Joe the Angel’s and bawled for you.”
“我从没见过他，也没听说过他。” 马龙生气地说。他一只手伸进外套口袋，摸到了那个陌生人在生命的最后一刻放在他手里的钥匙。他希望有机会把钥匙拿出来检查一下。“我们赶紧离开这里吧，我想喝一杯。”
“I never saw him and I never heard of him,” malone said crossly. one hand slipped into his coat pocket and felt of the key the stranger in his last moment of life had put in his hand. he received he had a chance to take it out and examine it. “Let’s get the hell out of here, I want a drink.”
冯?弗拉纳根点点头，嘟囔了几句关于格瑞特大舞台的最后一场表演，然后说：“真可惜你的朋友杰克?贾斯特和他那个疯疯癫癫的金发妻子不在。”
Von Flanagan nodded and muttered something about the last show at the Grand terrace, then said, “too bad those friends of yours, Jake Justus and that crazy blonde wife of his, aren’t along.”
马龙叹了口气，点了点头。他也一直在想念杰克和海伦。他有一种不安的预感，觉得自己会需要他们。
malone sighed and nodded. he too had been wishing for Jake and helene. he had an unfortable premonition that he was going to need them.
格瑞特大舞台的晚场演出，正如马龙所预期的那样精彩，但这似乎并没有改善他的心情。从杜松子酒换成黑麦威士忌也没有多大帮助。要是冯?弗拉纳根能给他个机会检查一下那把钥匙就好了！但这个警察像个传票送达员一样紧紧跟着他。
the late show at the Grand terrace was all malone had anticipated, but it didn’t seem to improve his state of mind. Switching from gin to rye didn’t help much, either. If only von Flanagan would give him a chance to examine that key! but the police officer stuck to him like a summons server.
在下一站，一家二流的黑人与白人混合的场所，舞台表演就没那么精彩了，但却更加喧闹。马龙试着在喝了黑麦威士忌后又喝啤酒，感觉终于开始有了起色。
At the next stop, a second-rate black and tan, the floor show wasn’t as high as good, but it was noisier. malone tried following the rye with beer, and felt that an upswing was beginning at last.
冯?弗拉纳根提醒他说，如果以后被问起什么问题，那他们整个晚上都在处理那个被谋杀的陌生人的事情，还说：“伙计，我真希望有一个像杰克?贾斯特的那样的妻子。有些人就是运气好。”
Von Flanagan reminded him that if anything should be asked in the future, they’d spent the whole night attending to the matter of the murdered stranger, and added, “boy, I wish I had a wife like the one Jake Justus got. Some guys have all the luck.”
马龙同意他的看法，并且希望他不要再谈论杰克和海伦了。他不喜欢承认自己有多么想念他们，而且这种想念是永远的。他们会从蜜月旅行中回来，杰克会找到一份工作，很可能是朝九晚五的那种，然后他和海伦会安定下来过上平静的家庭生活。随着时间的推移，他们会搬到郊区，而他，马龙，偶尔会被邀请去参加那些沉闷、冗长的周日晚餐。过去的日子一去不复返了。当然，如果杰克能赢得和莫娜?麦克莱恩的打赌，并且能拥有卡西诺赌场就好了 —— 但现在想这些也没用了。除非 —— 他停下来，严厉地提醒自己，杰克现在是个已婚男人了，有责任在身，没有时间再去卷入谋杀事件中，即使是为了赢得疯狂的赌注也不行。
malone agreed with him, and wished he would stop talking about Jake and helene. he didn’t like to admit how much he missed them. It was forever, too. they would e back from their honeymoon and Jake would get a job, probably some nine-to-five affair, and he and helene would settle down to quiet domesticity. In time they would move to the suburbs and he, malone, would be occasionally invited out to dreary, interminable Sunday dinners. the old days were done now. of course, if only Jake had won that bet with mona mcclane, and had the casino to play with—but no use thinking about that now. Unless—he stopped and reminded himself sternly that Jake was a married man now, with responsibilities, and no time to go around mixing up in murder, even to win crazy bets.
在下一家黑人与白人混合的场所，舞台表演没有那么吵闹，但却更低俗。马龙试着交替喝杜松子酒和黑麦威士忌，开始觉得这个世界又几乎可以让人忍受了。冯?弗拉纳根想起了杰克和海伦恋爱中的一些事情，马龙威胁说如果他不换个话题就给他鼻子一拳。
At the next black and tan the floor show was not as noisy, but it was dirtier. malone tried alternating gin and rye, and began to feel that the world was almost livable again. Von Flanagan was reminded of some incident in the courtship of Jake and helene, and malone offered him a poke in the nose if he didn’t change the subject.
任何地方都没有更多的舞台表演了，但在北克拉克街的一家酒吧里，马龙同意唱三段《亲爱的莫莉》。
there were no more floor shows anywhere, but at the bar on North clark Street, malone consented to sing three verses of molly darling.
一月1日早晨，太阳在 7:24 升起，没有重要人物注意到。马龙和冯?弗拉纳根回到乔天使酒吧，两人都同意在回家睡觉之前再快速喝上最后一杯。
the sun rose that morning of January first at 7:24. No one of importance noticed it. malone and von Flanagan had returned to Joe the Angel’s bar for what both agreed would be a last quick one before going home to bed.
警察的脸呈现出一种奇怪的斑驳色调。现在它突然变得坚定而严肃。他凑近这个小个子律师。
the police officer’s face had taken on an oddly mottled tone. Now it suddenly became grimly determined. he leaned close to the little lawyer.
“现在，” 他用恶狠狠的声音说，“也许你该告诉我，为什么那个人被刺伤后，会来到这里喊你的名字，不然我就得把你作为重要证人关进监狱。”
“Now,” he said in an ugly voice, “maybe you’ll tell me why that guy came in here and hollered for you after he’d been stabbed, or do I have to throw you in the can as a material witness?”
马龙眨了一下眼睛，用一连串丰富多彩的骂人话骂了冯?弗拉纳根，从字母表的开头一直到结尾。他还详细描述了警察的家族树，包括两个未婚的姑奶奶的可疑行为。
malone blinked once, and called von Flanagan a colorful collection of names that ran all the way down the alphabet. he dwelt on the subject of the police officer’s family tree, including the questionable behavior of two unmarried great-aunts.
一个站在吧台边的完全陌生的人转向律师，愤怒地说：“他是我的朋友。你不能那样对他说话，你这个喝醉的流浪汉。”
Some perfect stranger standing at the bar turned to the lawyer and said angrily, “he’s m’friend. Y’can’t say that t’him, y’drunken bum.”
“流浪汉！” 马龙疯狂地咆哮着。他的脸涨得紫红。“我要让你见识见识什么叫喝醉的流浪汉！” 他的左拳偏离那个陌生人足足两英寸，但当他挥拳的时候，他的的脚绊到了冯?弗拉纳根的脚踝，把那个大块头掀翻在地。与此同时，陌生人的右拳打在了马龙的鼻子上。
“bum!” malone roared wildly. his face was purple. “I’ll show you from drunken bums!” his left missed the stranger by a good two inches, but as he swung, his foot caught von Flanagan’s ankle and toppled the big man to the floor. At the same instant the stranger’s right landed on malone’s nose.
律师发出一声痛苦的嚎叫，用头撞向陌生人的肚子，抓起一把椅子，朝已经站起来的冯?弗拉纳根砸去。酒吧里的另一个人觉得这样不公平，于是加入了马龙这一边的战斗。冯?弗拉纳根恶狠狠地朝马龙扔出一个啤酒瓶，没砸中他，却把那个引发这场斗殴的陌生人砸昏了。这时，马龙和他的盟友已经忘记了他们在和谁打架，在地上扭打起来。乔天使报了警。
the lawyer let out an anguished howl, butted the stranger in the stomach, grabbed a chair, and aimed it at von Flanagan, who had got to his feet. Someone else at the bar decided the odds were unfair and joined the fray on malone’s side. Von Flanagan slung a beer bottle at malone with deadly intent, missed him, and knocked out the stranger who had precipitated the brawl. by that time malone and his ally had forgotten who was fighting whom, and were scuffling on the floor. Joe the Angel called the police.
小个子律师嘴里咬着他那个不知名盟友的几英寸领带，当他因行为不检被登记在案的时候，他还在叫嚣着要和任何够得着的人打架。然而，等他到了监狱的时候，他已经安静平和下来了。他所想要的只是一个舒适的好地方睡觉，而他牢房里的床铺看起来和其他任何地方的一样的好，甚至还有家的感觉。
the little lawyer, a few inches of his unknown ally’s necktie between his teeth, was still offering to fight anyone who would e within reach when he was booked for disorderly conduct. by the time he had reached the jail, however, he was peacefully quiet. All he wanted was a nice, fortable place to sleep, and the bunk in his cell looked as good a place as any. It was even homelike.
然而，就在门咣当一声关上的时候，他闪过最后一个清醒的念头。他终于可以有一分钟属于自己的时间了。他巧妙地等待着，直到最后一点脚步声消失，然后把手伸进口袋里摸那把神秘的钥匙。
Just as the door clanged shut, however, he had one last flash of sober thought. At last he was going to have a minute to himself. he waited artfully until the last footsteps had died away, and then felt in his pocket for the mysterious key.
它不见了。
It was gone.