马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三十一
“那确实是我的。”马龙说，“我想我不知道我把它丢了。”
“that’s mine, all right,” malone said. “I guess I didn’t know I lost it.”
“这可让你闹了个大笑话。”天使乔说，“你最好来一杯免费的，就当是开启美好的一天。”
“that’s a good one on you,” Joe the Angel said. “You’d better have one on the house, just to start the day right.”
马龙衷心地同意他的话。
malone heartily agreed with him.
酒倒好后，杰克愤愤不平地说：“当然了，这是你绝对想不到要去找的地方。”
After the drink was poured, Jake said indignantly, “of course, this is the one place you wouldn’t think of looking for it.”
“可能是在打斗的时候从我的口袋里掉出来的。”马龙说道，语气中带着几分歉意。
“It probably fell out of my pocket during the brawl,” malone said, almost apologetically.
“你也没想到这一点，”海伦指责道。
“that wouldn’t occur to you either,” helene said in an accusing tone.
“哼，该死。”律师说，“我不可能什么都想到。”
“well, damn it,” the lawyer said, “I can’t think of everything.”
杰克和海伦同时说道：“现在你拿回来了，让我们看看吧。”
Jake and helene said simultaneously, “Now you’ve got it back, let’s have a look at it.”
就在小律师把钥匙扔在桌上的时候，酒吧后面的收音机宣布时间正好是九点半。马龙像被枪击了一样从椅子上跳起来，冲向门口。
Just as the little lawyer tossed the key down on the table, the radio back of the bar announced that the time was exactly nine-thirty. malone was out of his chair as though he’d been shot at and dived in the direction of the door.
跑到一半，他回头喊道：“你们自己看吧。我有三十分钟的时间去烫西装、刮胡子，然后赶到老费瑟斯通的办公室。这个约会我一定得去。”
halfway there, he called back, “Look at it yourselves. thirty minutes to get my suit pressed, get shaved, and be at old man Featherstone’s office. that’s one appointment I’ve got to keep.”
海伦缓过气来后说：“不管怎么说，我们有钥匙了。”她仔细地看了看钥匙，然后递给杰克。“看看这是什么？”
After she had caught her breath, helene said, “well, we’ve got the key, anyway.” She looked at it closely and handed it to Jake. “See what it is?”
杰克慢慢地点点头。“联合包裹寄存柜。”他大声念道。
“Jake nodded slowly. “United parcel Lockers,” he read aloud.
“这是火车站里那种投币式行李寄存箱的钥匙，”海伦说，“我一直觉得那种箱子是藏东西的好地方，很安全。”
“It opens one of those dime-in-the-slot baggage lockers you find in railway stations,” helene said. “I’ve always thought one of them would be a swell place to hide something safely.”
“我想知道里面藏着什么。”杰克说。
“I wonder what’s hidden there,” Jake said.
“也许是另一个杰拉尔德·图伊兹。”海伦生气地说，“让我想想。”
“maybe another Gerald tuesday,” helene said crossly. “Let me think.”
杰克要了更多的咖啡，焦急地坐着看着她。
Jake called for more coffee and sat watching her anxiously.
“我们有钥匙，”她最后慢慢地说，“但这只是其中一部分。不管那个包裹寄存柜里有什么，还有很多事情无法解释。问题是有太多东西似乎和其他东西都没有关系。”
“we have the key,” she said at last, slowly, “but that’s only part of it. No matter what’s in that parcel locker, a lot is still unaccounted for. the whole trouble is there’s too much stuff that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with any other stuff.”
“事情太多了。”杰克嘟囔着，“还有太多死人。谁那么想除掉伊迪莎·文宁，以至于给她的保镖下了蒙汗药？”
“too much stuff,” Jake muttered, “and too many stiffs. who wanted to do in Editha Venning badly enough to feed her bodyguard knockout drops?”
“谁想谋杀迈克尔·文宁呢？”海伦反问道。
“who wants to murder michael Venning?” helene countered.
“好吧。”杰克气愤地说，“如果你在想问题，那就想出一堆好问题，我们把它们发给《问答儿童》节目。趁你想的时候，那两个杰拉尔德·图伊兹是谁，是谁杀了他们，最后但同样重要的是，莫娜·麦克莱恩杀了谁。”
“All right,” Jake said indignantly, “if you’re thinking up questions, think up a bunch of good ones and we’ll send ’em to quiz Kids. while you’re about it, who were the two Gerald tuesdays and who murdered them, and, last but not least, who did mona mcclane murder.”
她叹了口气。“你把这一切都说得太复杂了。”
She sighed. “You make it all sound so plicated.”
“海伦，我们把这一切都忘了吧。卢·西尔弗下周要带着他的乐队巡回演出，我可以作为新闻代理人一起去。我们会玩得很开心的。”
“helene, let’s forget the whole thing. Lou Silver is taking his band out on the road next week, and I can go along as press agent. we could have a wonderful time.”
“如果你想去你就去吧。”她沮丧地说，“但我要留在这里，赢下那个赌注。你觉得这个怎么样？文宁夫人在她丈夫死后会得到他的遗产，而彭德利·泰德韦尔是她的继承人。彭德利计划谋杀他们两个，而文宁夫人有所怀疑，就雇了一个保镖。”
“You can go if you want to,” she said gloomily, “but I’m going to stay right here and win that bet. how do you like this one? mrs. Venning gets her husband’s estate when he dies, and pendley tidewell is her heir. pendley plans to murder them both, and mrs. Venning, suspecting it, hires herself a bodyguard.”
“非常好，但那两个图伊兹呢？”
“Very pretty, but how about the tuesdays?”
“那完全是另一码事，和文宁夫妇毫无关系。”
“that’s a different affair entirely and has nothing to do with the Vennings.”
“我不喜欢。再试试。”
“I don’t like it,” Jake said. “try again.”
“迈克尔·文宁计划谋杀他的妻子，这样他就可以娶另一个女孩——不，这留下了太多无法解释的地方。伊迪莎·文宁计划谋杀她的丈夫，这样她就可以得到他的钱。这是个更好的起点。”
“michael Venning plans to murder his wife so he can marry another girl—no, that leaves too much unaccounted for. Editha Venning plans to murder her husband so she can have his dough. that’s a better starting point.”
“那两个图伊兹又怎么说呢？”
“how about the tuesdays again?”
“他们是他的保镖，而她杀了他们。”
“they were his bodyguards and she did them in.”
“那坟墓呢？”
“how about the grave?”
海伦叹了口气。“嗯，她为他准备好了坟墓。”
“well, she has it ready for him.”
“你忘了，”杰克指出，“那个坟墓已经有很长时间了。”
“You forget,” Jake pointed out, “that grave has been dug for a long time.”
“也许她只是一直在等待一个好机会，并且相信有备无患。但是他的五十岁生日和这有什么关系呢？”
“maybe she’s just been waiting for a good opportunity and believes in preparedness. but what does his fiftieth birthday have to do with it?”
“事实是，”杰克慢慢地说，“在马龙和文宁的律师谈完之前，我们做不了太多事情。我们知道的还不够多。”
“the fact is,” Jake said slowly, “we can’t do a great deal until malone gets through talking with the Venning lawyer. we just don't know enough.”
海伦看了看表。“同时，我要回莫娜·麦克莱恩家换衣服，看看我能不能弄清楚那里发生了什么事。我稍后在马龙的办公室见你。”
“helene looked at her watch. “meantime, I'm going back to mona mcclane's and change my clothes, and see if I can find out what's been going on there. I'll meet you at malone's office later.”
杰克说，“我自己也想换身衣服，刮刮胡子。我可不是想不出更好的消磨时间的方式。”
“Jake said, “I could do with a change of clothes myself, and a shave. Not that I can't think of a better way to spend the time.”
“等赌注解决了，”她坚定地说，“午饭后我在马龙的办公室见你，看在上帝的份上，别把那把钥匙丢了。”
“when the bet is settled,” she said firmly, “I'll meet you at malone's office after lunch, and for the love of God, don't lose that key.”
杰克下午到达马龙的办公室。他发现海伦在那里，看起来眼神明亮、精神饱满，就好像她这辈子从来没有错过一晚的睡眠似的。她穿着一套深绿色的套装，上面有大量柔软的棕色皮毛，一顶小小的棕色皮帽俏皮地戴在一条眉毛上方。马龙站在窗边，双手插在口袋里，肩膀缩着，周围是一团雪茄烟雾。
It was afternoon when Jake arrived at malone's office. he found helene there, looking as clear-eyed and fresh as though she had never missed a night's sleep in her life, in a dark-green suit with enormous quantities of soft brown fur, and a tiny brown fur hat perched jauntily just above one eyebrow. malone was staring out the window, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched, surrounded by a mist of cigar smoke.
“他不想说话。”海伦指着马龙说。
“he doesn't want to talk,” helene said, indicating malone.
杰克点点头。“你在莫娜·麦克莱恩家发现了什么？”
“Jake nodded. “what did you find out at mona mcclane's?”
“伊迪莎·文宁头上起了个包，头疼得厉害，但不严重。她说她昨晚去她丈夫的房间拿些安眠药……”
“Editha Venning has a bump on her bean and a bad headache, but nothing serious. She says she went into her husband’s room last night to get some sleeping tablets—”
“真是个糟糕的理由，不过继续说。”
“A hell of a reason,” Jake said, “but go on.”
“他不在。从赌场出来后不想睡觉，就出去狂欢了。她走进他的房间找安眠药——没开灯，天知道为什么——这时她发现房间里有人。她正要尖叫，突然头上挨了重重一击，然后她就什么都不知道了。”
“he was away. didn’t feel like turning in after leaving the casino and went out hell raising. She went into his room and was looking for the sleeping tablets—without turning on the light, God knows why—when she found someone was in the room. She was about to let out a scream when a ton of bricks landed on her head, and that’s all she knows.”
“这是个说得过去的故事，但绝对是业余水平。她为什么不开灯在周围乱逛呢？”
“It’s a fair story, but definitely amateur,” Jake said. “why was she prowling around without any lights?”
“也许她能在黑暗中看得见。不管怎样，她是这么说的。文宁大约一个小时后回来了。”
“maybe she can see in the dark. Anyway, that’s the way she tells it. Venning came in about an hour later.”
“他发现她了吗？”
“did he find her?”
“没有。女仆沿着走廊走，看到房间的门开着。她进去查看，发现文宁夫人躺在地上。窃贼显然已经逃走了。”
“No. the maid went down the hall and saw the door to the room was open. She investigated and found mrs. Venning on the floor. the burglars had evidently escaped.”
“我猜他们是从烟囱逃走的。”杰克尖刻地说。
“through the chimney, I suppose,” Jake said acidly.
“是你要听这个故事的，我告诉你可没得到一分钱好处。但这还不是全部。彭德利·泰德韦尔一直躲在床底下。”
“You asked for the story and I’m giving it to you without a cent of profit. but that’s not all. pendley tidewell was under the bed all the time.”
“在谁的床底下？”
“Under whose bed?”
“迈克尔·文宁的床底下。这件事没有告诉警察。莫娜拒绝讨论这件事，也不让其他人说。卢——或者卢埃拉——怀特头疼，脸色很难看。彭德利把自己锁在暗房里不出来。他肯定拍到了那些歌舞女郎比我们想象中更好的照片。”她转向律师。“马龙，罗斯代尔公墓里的那个坟墓里有什么？”
“michael Venning’s. that wasn’t given to the police. mona refuses to discuss that or let anyone else. Lou—or Louella—white has a headache and looks very grim. pendley has locked himself in his darkroom and won’t e out. he must have gotten better shots of those chorus girls than we thought.” She turned to the lawyer. “malone, what was in that grave in the Rosedale cemetery?”
“一口在那里放了二十年的棺材，还有一具没有经过防腐处理的男人的骷髅。”
“A coffin that had been there twenty years, and the skeleton of a man who hadn’t been embalmed.”
她倒吸一口凉气。“那么有三起谋杀案？”
“She gasped. “then there were three murders?”
“他可能不是被谋杀的。经过这么久的时间，没有办法确定。”他转过身，走到桌子旁。他脸色苍白，非常疲惫。
“he might not have been murdered. there’s no way of telling, at this late date.” he turned around and walked over to the desk. he was pale and very tired.
“钥匙在这儿。”杰克说着，把它扔在桌子上。
“there’s the key,” Jake said, tossing it on the desk.
马龙拿起钥匙，看了看，又扔了下去。
malone picked it up, looked at it, and tossed it down again.
“我不知道我们要它有什么用。”他沮丧地说，“我知道我们会找到什么。”
“I don’t know what we need it for,” he said gloomily “I know what we’ll find.”
“你是说你——你到底知道什么？”
“You mean that you—what the hell do you know?”
“我知道是谁犯下了两起半谋杀案。”马龙说，“我想我也知道莫娜·麦克莱恩和这件事有什么关系。”
“I know who mitted two-and-a-half murders,” malone said. “I think I know what mona mcclane has to do with it, too.”
杰克生气地咒骂着，说：“你怎么知道是谁犯下了谋杀案？”
Jake swore angrily and said, “how do you know who mitted the murders?”
“因为天气。”马龙简洁地说。
“because of the weather,” malone said lacally.
“莫娜·麦克莱恩呢？”海伦问道。
“what about mona mcclane?” helene demanded.
这个小律师似乎没有听到她的话。“你们最好把这一切都忘了。杰克，你可以给自己找份工作……”
the little lawyer didn’t seem to have heard her. “You’d better forget the whole thing. Jake, you can pick yourself up a job—”
“但是那个赌注……”
“but the bet—”
“取消它。”马龙说，“让正义得到伸张。”
“call it off,” malone said. “Let justice be done.”
杰克盯着他看了一会儿，然后突然发起一通愤怒的长篇大论，其中只有“赌注、赌场、莫娜·麦克莱恩和谋杀”这些词能清楚地听到。
Jake stared at him for a moment and then burst into an indignant tirade in which only the words, “bet, casino, mona mcclane, and murder,” were plainly audible.
“闭嘴。”马龙说，“我是个非常疲惫的人。”他深吸了一口气。“我刚和迈克尔·文宁的律师谈完回来。”他慢慢地说，“从他那里套出点话来还真不容易，但我知道了我想知道的。”他站起来，走到窗边，对着外面的屋顶说话。“老文宁，也就是现在这个迈克尔·文宁的父亲，留下了一份古怪的遗嘱——天知道人们为什么要做这些事。”
“Shut up,” malone said. “I’m a very tired man.” he drew a long breath. “I’ve just e from talking with michael Venning’s lawyer,” he said slowly. “It took a little doing to get anything out of him, but I learned what I wanted to know.” he rose, walked to the window, and addressed himself to the roofs outside. “old man Venning, the present michael Venning’s father, left a crazy will—God knows why people will do these things.”
“但是什么……”海伦刚开口，又忍住了，等着他继续说下去。
“but what—” helene began, caught herself, and waited for him to go on.
“他把文宁家族的财产收益，大概五百万美元，留给了他唯一的孩子。如果那个孩子——迈克尔——在五十岁之前去世，他的遗孀将终身每年获得两千美元的收入。他的孩子，如果有的话——但没有——也将终身每年获得两千美元，其余的将捐给一些医院。然而，如果迈克尔活到五十岁，整个财产就都归他了，他可以随意花费、遗赠给任何人、送人或者想怎么处置就怎么处置。他今天五十岁。”
“he left the ine from the Venning estate, some five million bucks, to his only child. If that child—michael—died before the age of fifty, his widow was to receive an ine of two thousand a year for life. his children, if any—and there are none—two thousand a year for life, and the rest was to go to a collection of hospitals. however, if michael lived to the age of fifty, the whole shebang was to pass to him, he could spend it, will it to anybody, give it away or do anything he damn pleased with it. he’s fifty today.”
“那这和图伊兹们有什么关系？还有莫娜·麦克莱恩呢？”
“what does that have to do with the tuesdays?” helene asked. “And mona mcclane?”
“一切都有关系。”他盯着钥匙。“但没用了。取消和莫娜·麦克莱恩的赌注，把这一切都忘了吧。”
“Everything.” he stared at the key. “It’s no go. call off the bet with mona mcclane and forget the whole thing.”
“马龙，你疯了吗？”
“malone, have you lost your mind?”
“没有。”他说，“但只要稍加劝说，我就会疯。”
“No,” he said, “but with a little coaxing, I will.”
海伦在桌子的一角坐下，点了一支烟。
helene sat down on a corner of the desk and lit a cigarette.
“那个赌注一定会赢。”她坚定地说，“你觉得我们现在会放弃吗？在付出了这么多努力之后……”
“that bet is going to be won,” she said firmly. “do you think we’d give it up now, after all the effort that’s been spent—”
他生气地看着她。“努力？我过去两个小时一直在打长途电话，了解图伊兹们的过去。我得花十年时间才能付清电话费。现在我把所有信息都收集齐了，我说去他的。”他重重地叹了口气。“你可能还是会赢得和莫娜·麦克莱恩的赌注。但你得等一段时间才能做到。”
he looked at her crossly. “Effort? I’ve spent the past two hours on the long-distance phone, learning the past history of the tuesdays. It’ll take me ten years to work out the telephone bill. And now that I have all the information together, I say the hell with it.” he sighed heavily. “You may still win your bet with mona mcclane. but you’ll have to wait a while to do it.”
海伦急促地吸了一口气。“莫娜·麦克莱恩杀了谁？”
helene drew a quick breath. “whom did mona mcclane murder?”
马龙还没来得及回答，电话就响了。马龙喊道：“我来接，玛吉。”拿起听筒说：“喂？哦，你好，冯·弗拉纳根。”六十秒后，他说：“我没给你打电话是因为当时是凌晨三点，我不想打扰你。我一整天都很忙。不管怎样，我也无能为力。等这孩子恢复意识，他会告诉你是谁刺伤了他。”这次停顿了三分钟。显然，电话那头传来了一篇关于警察烦恼的简短演说。马龙不时地用恼怒的声音说：“是，是，我知道。”然后突然说：“你到底为什么把她从监狱里放出来？是的，我知道如果她在监狱里就不可能刺伤麦克劳林，而且刺伤他的人也干了另外两起案子，但是……”停顿了一下，接着说：“谁坚持要你放了她？我是她的律师……”停顿的时间更短了，最后说：“好吧，该死，她出狱了。”他挂了电话。
before malone could answer, the telephone rang, malone called out, “I’ll answer it, maggie,” picked up the receiver, and said, “hello? oh, hello, von Flanagan.” Sixty seconds later, he said, “I didn’t call you because it was three in the morning and I didn’t want to disturb you. I’ve been busy all day. Anyway, there was nothing I could do. when the boy recovers consciousness, he’ll tell you who stabbed him.” this time there was a three-minute pause. Evidently a short speech on the troubles of a policeman was ing over the wire. At intervals malone said, “Yes, yes, I know,” in an irritated voice. then suddenly, “why the hell did you let her out of jail. Yes I know she couldn’t have stabbed mcLaurin if she was in jail and whoever stabbed him did the other two, but—” A pause, then, “who insisted on your letting her go? I’m her lawyer—” A shorter pause, and finally, “All right, damn it, she’s out of jail.” he hung up.
他把钥匙推到桌子对面给杰克。“从市中心的火车站和汽车站开始找。不会超过十几个地方。拿着这把钥匙开始找，动作要快。当你找到标有 114 号、这把钥匙能打开的那个寄存柜时，把里面的东西拿出来，尽快拿到莫娜·麦克莱恩家给我。赶紧去，别问问题。”
“he shoved the key across the table to Jake. “Start on the downtown railway and bus stations. there can’t be more than a dozen or so. take that key and start looking, and work fast. when you find the one numbered 114 that this key fits, take out what you find in the locker and bring it to me at mona mcclane’s as fast as you can. Get going, and don’t ask questions.”
杰克开始穿他的大衣。“那海伦呢？”
“Jake started putting on his overcoat. “what about helene?”
“我要她和我一起去莫娜·麦克莱恩家。”律师说，“快点，现在不是站着聊天的时候。”
“I want her to go on to mona mcclane’s with me,” the lawyer said. “e on, this is no time to stand around talking.”
在电梯下行到一半的时候，他气愤地说：“该死的冯·弗拉纳根！他当然得把她从监狱里放出来，可他为什么非得现在就这么做呢？这个该死的笨蛋！”
halfway down the elevator he said indignantly, “damn von Flanagan! of course he had to let her out of jail, but why the hell did he have to do it right now? the damn fool!”
海伦盯着他。“你不为洛特斯出狱感到高兴吗？”
helene stared at him. “Aren’t you glad Lotus is out of jail?”
“不。”他厉声说，“因为那个给冯·弗拉纳根打电话、坚持要放了她并且得逞的人。”他深吸了一口气。“有一起犯罪我想阻止，还有一起我不想阻止，而现在我恐怕除了阻止这两起犯罪之外别无他法。”
“No,” he snapped. “because of the person who called von Flanagan and insisted on her being freed, and got away with it.” he drew a long breath. “there’s one crime that I want to prevent and one that I don’t want to prevent, and right now I’m afraid there’s nothing to do but prevent both of them.”
他拒绝再说一个字。
he refused to say another word.