马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三
一月2日星期四11点30分，当约翰?J?马龙到达办公室时，他脸色苍白，有点颤抖，但除此之外并无大碍。
It was thirty minutes past eleven on thursday, the second of January, when John J. malone arrived at his office, pale and a trifle shaken, but otherwise none the worse for wear.
把凶杀组的丹尼尔?冯?弗拉纳根队长从法律的束缚中解救出来颇费一番周折。跨年夜离开办公室时，这位警察官员特意从口袋里拿出了他的证件和其他身份证明，还向马龙解释说如今警队里到处都是他的亲戚，你永远不知道会发生什么事。后来给他们做登记的值班警官没有认出这位警长，但冯?弗拉纳根立刻认出他是他姐夫的一个朋友，并自称是阿肯色州小石城的尤尼乌斯?麦吉利卡迪。
Extricating captain daniel von Flanagan of the homicide squad from the clutches of the law had taken a little doing. on leaving his office that New Year’s Eve, the police official had carefully removed his credentials and other identification from his pockets, explaining to malone that the force was fairly crawling with his relatives nowadays, and that you never knew what might happen. the desk sergeant who had booked them had failed to recognize the officer, but von Flanagan had spotted him immediately as a friend of his brother-in-law, and had announced himself as one Junius p. mcGillicuddy of Little Rock, Arkansas.
另一个与冯?弗拉纳根妻子家没有任何私人关系的值班警官拒绝接受任何进一步的解释。他说冯?弗拉纳根已经是那晚第十四个自称是警察部门官员的人了。
Another desk sergeant with no personal connections with von Flanagan’s 妻子’s kin, had refused to accept any further explanation. he stated that von Flanagan was the fourteenth guy that night who had claimed to be an official of the police department.
结果是凶杀组组长一直被关在监狱里，直到马龙设法找到既能让他获释而又不会使他陷入罪责的身份证明，特别是在他妻子的那些亲戚眼中。
the result had been that the chief of the homicide division had remained in jail until malone managed to locate identification that would release him without incriminating him in the eyes of his in-laws.
这位小个子律师的漂亮黑发女秘书一脸不满的看着他。十六个小时的睡眠、刮了胡子以及一套新衣服让他的外表稍有改善，但也没好多少。
the little lawyer’s pretty, black-haired secretary looked at him with grim disapproval as he came in the door. Sixteen hours’ sleep, a shave, and a fresh suit had helped his appearance a little, but not much.
“别说什么评论的话。” 马龙一边说一边在身后踢上门。“把我的支票存根再加一遍，确定总额是多少。上次可能你算错了。”
“Never mind the remarks,” malone said, kicking the door shut behind him. “Just add up my check stubs again and make sure what my balance is. You may have had it wrong the last time.”
“我可不这么认为。” 她沮丧地说。“而且冯?弗拉纳根队长在过去的两个小时里一直在给你打电话。”
“I doubt it,” she said gloomily. “And captain von Flanagan has been calling you for the past two hours.”
“如果他再打来，告诉他，要我嘴巴闭紧得要现金十美元。” 律师说。然后他走进他的私人办公室。
“If he calls again, tell him I’ll keep my mouth shut for ten dollars cash,” the lawyer said. he went on into his private office.
他把帽子和大衣扔在沙发上，在一个标有 “信息” 的文件夹里翻找，找到一个平底玻璃杯和一瓶半满的黑麦威士忌。犹豫了片刻后，他把杯子放回抽屉里，把瓶子凑到嘴边喝了一个大口，然后把瓶子又放了回去，坐到办公桌前。
he tossed his hat and overcoat on the sofa, rummaged through a file marked “Information,” and located a tumbler and a half-full bottle of rye. After a moment’s indecision he put the tumbler back in the drawer, with the bottle to his lips, and drank deeply. then he replaced the bottle, and sat down at his desk.
过去四天积累起来一堆的信件，在这堆信件的最上面是一叠明信片。马龙用手指拨弄着它们，看到它们都有同样的画面：一幅色彩过于艳丽的大海、天空和两棵树。他数了数。正好有四十八张。
on top of the heap of correspondence that had been collecting for the last four days was a pile of postcards. malone ran a finger over them, saw that they all bore the same picture; an overcolored reproduction of sea, sky, and two trees. he counted them. there were exactly forty-eight.
他把它们翻过来，注意到四十八张都有同样的邮戳和同样的消息：“玩得很开心，希望你也在这儿。” 二十四张署名 “杰克”，另外二十四张署名 “海伦”。
he turned them over, noted that all forty-eight had the same postmark and the same message: “having wonderful time, wish you were here.” twenty-four of them were signed “Jake,” the other twenty-four were signed “helene.”
小个子律师把明信片整整齐齐地叠好，深深地叹了口气，然后把注意力转向其余的邮件。广告扔进了废纸篓，还有三个小信封也扔了进去，信封上分别是三种不同的女性笔迹。他打开四封商务信件，看了看日期和签名，然后把它们放进标有 “未读信件” 的文件夹里。他匆匆看了一眼第五封商务信件，然后把它放进标有 “未回复信件” 的文件夹里。其余的都是账单。
the little lawyer laid them in a neat stack, sighed deeply, and turned his attention to the rest of the mail. Advertisements went in the wastebasket, so did three smallish envelopes, addressed in three different feminine handwritings. he opened four business letters, noted the dates and the signatures, and placed them in the file marked “Unread correspondence.” he glanced through a fifth business letter and placed it in the file marked “Unanswered correspondence.” the rest were bills.
他打开萨克斯百货的账单，看到那个来自巴黎咖啡馆的长腿黑发女子在和一个失业的单簧管演奏者去纽约之前，用他的账户买了六双长筒袜和一条紧身内衣的费用，他把账单揉成一个紧实的小纸团，扔到破旧的皮沙发下面。他快速看了一眼大楼物业管理公司送来的账单，读了用漂亮的斯宾塞字体写的措辞礼貌的便条，然后下定决心一旦有钱就把房租付了。他把那张账单塞进外套口袋，把其余的都扫进废纸篓，双手交叉放在脑后，向后靠在椅子上思考事情。
he opened the bill from Saks, saw that the long-legged brunette from chez paree had put six pairs of stockings and a girdle on his charge account before going to New York with an unemployed clarinet player, crumpled the bill into a tight little wad, and threw it under the worn leather couch. he took a quick look at the bill sent by the building management, read the politely worded note written in fine, Spencerian handwriting, and made a resolution to pay up the rent as soon as he had some money. he stuffed that bill in his coat pocket, swept the rest into the wastebasket, folded his hands behind his head, and leaned back in his chair to think things over.
那个漂亮的黑发女秘书把头探进来说：“我把所有的支票存根和银行对账单都核对过了。你的账户透支了十七美元五十美分。”
the pretty, black-haired secretary stuck her head in the door and said, “I’ve gone over all the the check stubs and the bank statement. You’re overdrawn exactly seventeen dollars and fifty cents.”
“那棒极了。” 马龙冷冰冰地说。“打电话给所有欠我钱的人，看看我们现在的情况怎么样。”
“that’s just dandy,” malone said icily. “call up all the people who owe me money and see where we stand.”
她轻蔑地看了他一眼。“如果不是你一直在和女人鬼混 ——”
She sniffed at him. “If you didn’t run around with women all the time—”
“我没有在女人身上花钱。” 马龙咆哮道。
“I don’t spend money on women,” malone roared.
她发出一种粗鲁的、像马一样的声音，说：“你在女人身上无意花费的钱比大多数男人故意花费的还多。” 然后砰地一声关上了门。
She made a rude, horselike noise, said, “You intent to spend more money on women accidentally than most men do on purpose,” and slammed the door.
律师难过地摇了摇头，朝窗户瞥了一眼，看到外面正在下雨，叹了口气。他桌上的明信片引起了他的注意，他坐在那里，忧郁地盯着明信片上明亮的蓝天和海。至少杰克和海伦很幸福。此时此刻他们就在那里，沐浴在阳光下，心里只想着对方，而他却独自一人在这里。他又叹了口气。
the lawyer shook his head sadly, glanced toward the window, saw that it was raining outside, and sighed. the postcards on his desk caught his eye, and he sat staring gloomily at the brilliantly blue sky and sea. At least Jake and helene were happy. there they were right at this moment, basking in the sunshine, thinking only of each other, while he was here all alone. he sighed again.
那个陌生人和那把钥匙，那个在乔天使酒吧断了气的陌生人，马龙皱起了眉头，那把钥匙整个晚上都在他的右边口袋里，而他一直没有机会检查它。现在它不见了，将永远也不会知道它能打开什么了。
the stranger and the key. the stranger who had breathed his last in Joe the Angel’s bar. malone scowled. that key had been in his right-hand pocket all through the evening, and he hadn’t had a chance to examine it. Now it was gone, and he would never know what it might unlock.
去他的这一切！他一直都在妄下结论，仅此而已。或者是 “上” 结论？不管怎样，真相很可能是这样的。那个陌生人意识到自己快死了，就朝着他看到的第一扇门走去，结果那扇门就是乔天使酒吧的门。他跌跌撞撞地走进来，试图说 “电话”，当然，意思是打电话求助。至于那把钥匙，陌生人本想把一枚五分镍币或者一个代用币交给第一个他看到的人，结果弄错了，把钥匙拿了出来，而那时他已经处于生命的最后时刻。
the hell with the whole thing! he had been jumping over conclusions, that was all. or was it “up” conclusions? Anyway, the truth was probably something like this. the stranger, realizing that he was dying, had headed for the first door in sight, which had turned out to be Joe the Angel’s. Staggering in, he had tried to say “telephone,” meaning, of course, to telephone for help. As far as the key was concerned, the stranger had meant to hand a nickel, or a slug, to the first person he saw, and had got his key by mistake, being, even then, in his last moment of consciousness.
很明显，这就是解释。那个陌生人是个将死之人，他不可能说得清楚。而他，马龙，一直在喝酒，也不能指望他听得清楚。鉴于这两个事实，很容易理解为什么 “马龙” 这个词听起来像 “电话”。律师把这两个词嘟囔了几遍。“马龙，电话。马龙。电话。” 当然就是这样。最后，陌生人把钥匙，误以为是硬币，塞进了他的手里，因为那是第一个伸过来的手。
obviously that was the explanation. the stranger had been a dying man; he couldn’t have spoken clearly. he malone, had been drinking; he couldn’t have been expected to hear clearly. between those two facts, it was easy to see how the word “telephone” had sounded like “malone.” the lawyer muttered the two words over a few times. “malone, ’lphone. malone. ’lphone.” of course that was it. Finally the stranger had slipped the key, believing it to be a coin, into his hand because it had been the first hand offered him.
约翰?J?马龙对这个完全合理的解释非常满意，他重新打开标有 “信息” 的文件抽屉，拿出了剩下的一半黑麦威士忌。生活也不是完全糟糕。他哼了几句《雨中花园》，回到办公桌前，对着四十八张明信片说：“就算给我五百万美元我也不会去百慕大。” 然后大声叫着玛吉。
John J. malone felt so pleased with this entirely reasonable explanation that he reopened the file drawer marked “Information” and took down half the remaining rye. Life was not altogether bad. he hummed a few bars of Just a Garden in the Rain, returned to his desk, remarked to the forty-eight postcards, “I wouldn’t be in bermuda for five million bucks,” and bawled loudly for maggie.
黑发秘书出现在门口。
the black-haired secretary appeared in the doorway.
“银行对账单显示透支的时候，你是撕开信封的吗？”
“when that bank statement showing the overdraft came, did you tear the envelope open?”
“没有。我用小刀挑起信封口。你告诉过我银行来的信都要这么做。”
“No. I lifted up the flap with a penknife. You told me always to do that with letters from the bank.”
他赞许地点点头。“把对账单和信封拿给我。”
he nodded approvingly. “bring me the statement and the envelope.”
他看了一眼银行对账单，打了个哆嗦，然后把它放回信封里。他伸手拿过一瓶胶水，小心地把信封口重新封好，确保从外表看它从未被打开过。然后他把一个小海绵浸入墨水瓶中，在信封上挤出刚好足够的墨水遮住街道地址和他名字的首字母，等墨渍干了之后，用铅笔在信封正面写上 “误投” 两个字。
he took one glance at the bank statement, shuddered, and replaced it in the envelope. Reaching for a bottle of mucilage, he carefully resealed the flap, making sure that to all appearances it had never been opened. then he dipped a small sponge in the ink bottle, squeezed just enough ink on the envelope to obscure the street address and the initials of his name, waited for the blot to dry, and then, in pencil, wrote the word “misdirected” across the front of the envelope.
“在最后一次取信之后把这个投进邮箱。等它经过邮局，再回到银行，然后再回到我这里的时候，三天就过去了。”
“drop this in the mail box just after the last pickup. by the time it’s gone through the post office, back to the bank, and back again to me, three days will have gone by.”
“然后呢？”
“And then?”
“三天里会发生很多事情。” 他高兴地对她说。
“A lot can happen in three days,” he told her happily.
小个子律师严肃地看着一张署名 “海伦” 的明信片，对它说：“生在富贵人家的麻烦就是你会错过破产的所有乐趣。”
the little lawyer looked gravely at a postcard signed “helene” and told it, “the trouble with being born rich is that you miss all the fun of being broke.”
当冯?弗拉纳根再次打来电话的时候，他决定接听。这个警察应该知道新年前夜发生的事情的解释。
when von Flanagan called again, he decided to answer. the police officer deserved to know the explanation of the events of New Year’s Eve.
冯?弗拉纳根先开口。“你终于到办公室了。我一整天都在试着联系你。” 马龙还没来得及回答，他又愤怒地补充道，“你是过来谈谈，还是我让人把你带来接受询问？”
Von Flanagan spoke first. “It’s about time you got to your office. I’ve been trying to reach you all day.” before malone could answer, he added in an outraged tone, “will you e over here and talk, or do I have to have you picked up and brought in for questioning?”
马龙对着电话皱起眉头。“你到底在说什么？”
malone scowled at the telephone. “what in the hell are you talking about?”
听筒里传来一声低沉、愤怒的咆哮。“我就知道你有所隐瞒。我顺着你的直觉去查了那个被刺伤的人，检查了乔天使酒吧三个街区范围内的所有酒吧。他去过其中八家，都是你常去的地方。在任何一家都没人以前见过他。他总共给自己买了四杯酒。在每一个地方，他都问你有没有在那儿或者他在哪里能找到你。”
A low, indignant growl came from the receiver. “I knew you were holding out on me. I followed up your hunch about that guy who was stabbed, and checked all the bars within three blocks of Joe the Angel’s. he’d been in eight of ’em, all hangouts of yours. No one had seen him before in any of ’em. bought himself four drinks altogether. In every single place he went, he asked if you’d been there or where he might find you.”
律师屏住呼吸数到十，然后说：“听着，冯?弗拉纳根，我发誓我从没见过……”
the lawyer held his breath and counted ten before he said, “Listen, von Flanagan, so help me I never saw—”
“他在找你。” 冯?弗拉纳根大声吼道。“我已经对你忍了很多了，但这次太过分了。你是过来谈谈，还是我让克鲁切茨基去……”
“he was out looking for you,” von Flanagan bellowed. “I’ve put up with a lot from you, but this is too much. will you e over here and talk, or shall I send Kluchetsky over to—”
马龙赶紧说：“你想让我给你家打电话留个言，说我找到了你落在伯莎?戴利家的手套吗……”
malone said quickly, “do you want me to call your house and leave a message for you that I’ve found your gloves that you left at bertha daly’s—”
“我这辈子都没……” 冯?弗拉纳根咆哮道，突然停了下来，然后用较为温和的语气说，“行行好，马龙。只要你方便的时候过来一趟，给我讲讲这个家伙的底细。我保证你不会被牵扯进来。该死。我只是想尽我所能，现在报纸紧追着我不放，警察局长也……”
“I never in my life!” von Flanagan roared, stopped abruptly, and said in a milder tone, “have a heart, malone. If you’ll only drop in at your convenience and give me the low-down on this guy. I’ll see to it you’re not involved in any way. damn it. I’m only trying to do the best I can, and with the newspapers on my tail and the police missioner—”
“好吧。” 马龙疲倦地说。“我尽快过去。” 他在警察再说出一个字之前猛地挂上了电话。
“All right,” malone said wearily. “I’ll be in as soon as I can.” he banged down the receiver before the police officer could say another word.
一个完美的理论全泡汤了。它曾经看起来也那么合乎逻辑。
A beautiful theory all shot to hell. It had seemed so wonderfully logical, too.
要是他只知道那该死的钥匙到底发生了什么事就好了。在打架之前它一直在他口袋里，他相当确定这一点。至少，就像他确定天亮前最后几个小时里发生的任何事情一样确定。那场架是不是有人故意挑起的，目的就是为了从他那里把钥匙拿走？他皱起眉头，闭上眼睛，努力回忆那个挑起斗殴的陌生人。不是他认识的人。他又睁开眼睛，难过地摇了摇头，想到乔天使可能认识那个人。
If he only knew what had happened to that damned key. It had been in his pocket until just before the fight, he was fairly sure of that. At least, as sure as he was of anything that had gone on in the last few hours before daylight. had the fight been deliberately started to enable somebody to get it away from him? he wrinkled up his brow, closed his eyes, and tried to remember the stranger who had precipitated the brawl. No one he knew. he opened his eyes again, shook his head sadly, and reflected that Joe the Angel might know.
也有可能是警察在他被关在警车里的时候，按照冯?弗拉纳根的命令把钥匙拿走了。
It was possible, too, that the police had lifted it, on von Flanagan’s orders, while he was in the wagon.
不管发生了什么，钥匙不见了。
whatever had happened, the key was gone.
当他不知道钥匙能打开什么的时候，这把钥匙对他又有什么用呢？
what good would the key be to him anyway, when he didn’t know what it unlocked?
马龙仍在闷闷不乐地凝视着虚空，试图找出那个仍躺在库克县停尸间身份不明的人为什么在临终前喊出他的名字的原因，这时玛吉来到门口。
malone was still staring moodily into space, trying to find some reason why the man who still lay unidentified in the cook county morgue had called his name with his last breath, when maggie came to the door.
“有一封从百慕大来的给你的到付电报。”
“there’s a collect cable for you from bermuda.”
“到付？”
“collect?”
“没错。”
“that’s right.”
马龙眨了眨眼，低声咒骂了一句，然后拿出钱包。里面有一张皱巴巴的一美元钞票、一张联合雪茄店的优惠券和一张写着 “路易丝，ShEL-7466” 的纸条。
malone blinked, swore under his breath, and took out his wallet. It contained one crumpled dollar bill, a United cigar Store coupon, and a slip of paper marked “Louise, ShEL-7466.”
“零用现金里有什么吗？” 他不好意思地问道。
“Is there anything in the petty cash?” he asked sheepishly.”
“只有收据。” 她不赞成地看了他一会儿，最后说：“幸好我今天早上带了些钱。” 然后回到接待室。一分钟后她又出现了，把电报放在他的桌上，说：“我会把电报费加到我的欠薪里。” 然后又走了。
“Nothing but receipts.” She looked at him disapprovingly for a moment, finally said, “It’s lucky I brought some money with me this morning,” and went back to the reception room. A minute later she reappeared, put the cable on his desk, said, “I’ll add the cable charge to my back salary,” and went away again.
马龙撕开电报，看到是杰克发来的。
malone tore open the cable and saw that it was from Jake.
“立即电汇我回芝加哥的路费。我一到就解释一切。”
“wIRE mE REtURN FARE to chIcAGo ImmEdIAtELY wILL ExpLAIN EVERYthING oN ARRIVAL”
“他本可以用五个字表达清楚。” 律师嘟囔道。
“he could have gotten it into five words,” the lawyer growled.
这封电报毫无意义。他生气地盯着它。杰克去百慕大的时候就带了所有他能合理拿到的钱。除此之外，他刚刚和拥有芝加哥一半财富的海伦?布兰德结婚。“我一到就解释一切。” 马龙想到了所有可能的解释，却没有一个似乎合适的，于是决定唯一能做的就是在某个地方筹到钱，然后等杰克回来解释。
the cable didn’t make sense. he stared at it angrily. Jake had gone to bermuda with all the money he needed for any reasonable purposes. besides that, he had just married helene brand, who had half the money in chicago. “will explain everything on arrival.” malone thought of every possible explanation, found none that seemed to fit, and decided the only thing to do was raise the money somewhere and wait till Jake could explain.
他刚做出这个决定，就听到接待室里有一阵轻微的骚动。有说话声，其中一个是女性的声音，听起来很熟悉。他冲过办公室，打开门。
he had just reached that decision when he heard a mild motion in the reception room. there were voices, one of them feminine and with a familiar ring. he raced across the office and opened the door.
海伦?布兰德 —— 不，现在是海伦?贾斯特了 —— 站在玛吉的办公桌旁，穿着精致的礼服，披着皮草，她的金发美丽而整齐地梳着。她那骨骼纤细、贵族气质的脸苍白得吓人，她那海蓝色的眼睛带着阴影，满是疲惫。然而，最让马龙担心的是她看起来完全清醒。
helene brand—no, helene Justus now—stood by maggie’s desk, exquisitely gowned and furred, her blonde hair beautifully and perfectly in place. her small-boned, patrician face was deathly pale, her ocean-blue eyes were shadowed, and heavy with weariness. what worried malone most, however, was the fact that she seemed entirely sober.
办公室里还有一个出租车司机。
there was a cab driver in the office, too.
“你好，马龙。” 她平静地说。“很高兴见到你。你能把出租车费付了让他走吗？”
“hello, malone,” she said calmly. “It’s nice to see you. would you mind paying the cab driver, so he’ll go away?”
是玛吉应对了这个局面。“你去马龙先生的办公室吧，贾斯特夫人。” 她说。“我来处理出租车的事。” 她伸手去拿钱包。
It was maggie who rose to the occasion. “You go on in mr. malone’s office, mrs. Justus,” she said. “I’ll take care of the taxi.” She reached for her pocketbook.
在办公室里，马龙盯着他的访客。“杰克在哪儿？” 他不知道自己的声音是不是真的变尖了，还是只是感觉如此。
In the office, malone stared at his visitor. “where’s Jake?” he wondered if his voice really squeaked or if it only felt that way.
“我一点都不知道。” 海伦说，一边摘下手套。“在我看来，他可以留在那儿。这儿有喝的吗？”
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” helene said, peeling off her gloves. “As far as I’m concerned, he can stay there. Is there a drink in the house?”