马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 二十一
海伦觉得在莫娜?麦克莱恩家快速喝上一两杯鸡尾酒是个好主意，不过她补充说她、杰克和马龙很快就得离开。他们有重要的事情要处理。
Helene agreed that a quick cocktail or two at Mona McClane’s would be a good idea, though she added that she, Jake, and Malone would have to rush away before long. They had important business to attend to.
一路上没人说话。当莫娜?麦克莱恩那辆黑色的大轿车在房子前停下时，莫娜倾身靠近律师，轻声说：“你确定她会没事吗？”
No one spoke on the way. As Mona McClane’s big black town car drew up before the house, Mona leaned over toward the lawyer and said softly, “You’re sure she’ll be all right?”
“没什么可担心的。” 马龙向她保证，“我从没让一个客户失望过。”
“Not a thing to worry about,” Malone assured her. “I’ve never lost a client.”
她微微露出笑容。站在车外，她又转向他说：“还有一件事 —— 关于你的费用……”
She smiled faintly. Standing outside the car she turned to him again and said, “Another thing—as far as your fee is concerned—”
“别提了。” 马龙赶紧粗声粗气地说，说完立刻在自己脚踝上踢了一脚。
“Forget it,” Malone said quickly and gruffly, and immediately kicked himself on the ankle.
巨大的麦克莱恩家客厅里，黑色大理石壁炉里的火烧得正旺，令人愉快。大家都围在壁炉旁，凝视着明亮的火焰，仿佛在寻求安慰。一个女仆端着一个托盘走了进来，上面放着几大杯热气腾腾、味道浓烈的饮料。
A fire was roaring cheerfully in the black marble fireplace in the immense McClane living room. Everyone gathered around it, gazing into the brilliant blaze as though for fort. A maid appeared with a tray, with big glasses of some scalding-hot and pungent drink.
莫娜?麦克莱恩在黑色外套里面穿了一条鲜艳的紫色连衣裙。她用手指梳理着自己的黑色短发，把额前厚厚的黑色刘海抚平。有那么一瞬间，当她坐在高背锦缎椅子上时，她看起来就像一个精致的日本玩偶。
Mona McClane had on a dress of vivid violet beneath her black coat. She ran her fingers through her short black hair, smoothed out the heavy black bang over her forehead. For an instant as she sat in her high-backed brocade chair, she looked like some exquisite Japanese doll.
“我不明白……” 海伦刚开口又突然停住。
“I don’t see—” Helene began and stopped suddenly.
在杰克看来，这沉默仿佛可以被切成碎片。每个人都在等别人先开口。
It seemed to Jake as though the silence could be cut up into pieces. Everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.
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似乎过了好几个小时，莫娜?麦克莱恩才说：“奇怪的是，停尸房里的那个人确实有点像杰拉尔德?图伊兹。”
What seemed like hours later Mona McClane said, “The curious thing about it is that the man in the morgue actually looked a little like Gerald Tuesday.”
彭德利?泰德韦尔眨着眼睛，瞪大眼睛。“他就是杰拉尔德?图伊兹。”
Pendley Tidewell blinked and goggled. “He was Gerald Tuesday.”
她不耐烦地做了个手势。“他们不可能都是杰拉尔德?图伊兹。”
She made an impatient gesture. “They couldn’t both be Gerald Tuesday.”
“为什么不呢？” 马龙问道，伸手拿过一个杯子。“看看有多少人叫亨利?奥尔森。为什么不能有两个图伊兹呢？”
“Why not?” Malone asked, reaching for one of the glasses. “Look at the number of people named Henry Olsen. Why couldn’t there be two Tuesdays?”
“这就像有一个月的星期天。” 彭德利?泰德韦尔说。他大声笑起来，但只有他一个人在笑。
“It’s like having a month of Sundays,” Pendley Tidewell said. He laughed, noisily, and pletely alone.
又是一阵令人不自在的沉默。
There was another unfortable silence.
迈克尔?文宁站起来，走到壁炉边，优雅地把一只胳膊肘支在壁炉架上。“这可怕的雨。” 他边说边往烟斗里装烟丝。“我不明白人们怎么能忍受得了。”
Michael Venning rose, walked to the fireplace, and leaned one elbow gracefully on the mantel. “This ghastly rain,” he said, filling his pipe. “I don’t see how people stand it.”
莫娜?麦克莱恩感激地对他笑了笑。“天气一直很糟糕，不是吗？”
Mona McClane smiled at him gratefully. “The weather has been frightful, hasn’t it?”
马龙想，再过一分钟，就会有人开始讨论小熊队在下个赛季的胜算。
In another minute, Malone thought, someone would start discussing the Cubs’ chances in the next season’s play.
文宁看着被灰色雨水划过的窗户，然后看向马龙。“我想在这件事结束之前我们不得不留在这儿了。作为证人什么的。”
Venning looked at the windows streaked with gray and then at Malone. “I suppose we’ll be forced to stay here until this business is over. Witnesses and all that.”
“恐怕你们得留下。” 马龙告诉他，“而且照芝加哥的办事速度，这可能得花好几个月。” 他希望上天能原谅他的恶意。
“I’m afraid you will.” Malone told him, “and it may take months, the way things are dragged out in Chicago.” He hoped heaven would forgive him for being malicious.
那个高个子男人皱着眉头看着壁炉。“这件事一结束，我们就去佛罗里达。莫娜，你的好客无人能及，但我实在受不了这糟糕的天气。”
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The tall man frowned at the fireplace. “The day it’s over, we go to Florida. Mona, your hospitality is matchless, but I can’t endure this infernal weather.”
“一月份的天气一直很糟糕。” 莫娜说，语气中带着礼貌的歉意，但又不承担责任。“这让我想起了，伊迪莎。我有个坏消息要告诉你。洗衣店说你的外套毁了。”
“It has been beastly for January,” Mona said, managing to sound politely apologetic without taking the blame. “That reminds me, Editha. I have bad news for you. The cleaner reports your coat was ruined.”
“我的外套？” 那个脸色苍白的女人脸上露出一丝困惑。
“My coat?” The pale woman’s face was faintly puzzled.
“就是你昨天被雨淋湿时穿的那件。”
“The one you had on yesterday when you got caught in the rain.”
“哦，那件啊。没关系，我从来就不喜欢它。” 她虚弱地笑了笑。“我当时全身都湿透了。有那么几分钟，雨下得就像水龙头爆了一样。莫娜，那饮料很美味，但我能来一杯苏格兰威士忌吗？”
“Oh, that. It doesn’t matter, I never liked it.” She smiled weakly. “I was simply drenched. It came down like a burst faucet for a few minutes. Mona, that drink was delightful, but may I have a Scotch?”
“自己拿吧。” 莫娜?麦克莱恩说。
“Help yourself,” Mona McClane said.
马龙注意到她倒了足足有三指高的酒。他觉得她看起来就像一个保养得很好但却很有艺术气质的堕落之人。她深色头发中的那根白色羽毛无疑给她增添了一种独特的气质。他看到卢埃拉?怀特警惕的眼睛盯着杯子里的苏格兰威士忌，一直看到最后一滴，但她并没有采取任何行动去阻止。那么显然，轻微的酗酒问题并不是麻烦所在。
Malone noticed that she poured out a good three fingers. She looked like a very well-preserved but artistic ruin, he decided. That single white plume in her dark hair undeniably gave her a certain distinction. He observed that Louella White’s watchful eyes measured the Scotch in the glass down to the last drop, but she made no move to interfere. Then evidently a mild touch of dipsomania wasn’t the trouble.
“我们在东方当然经历过各种各样的雨。” 迈克尔?文宁回忆着说，“但那不一样。那带有一种戏剧性的特质。而这里的雨只是沉闷。那里的一切都不同。说真的，你知道，人生如此短暂，为什么不在世界上那些丰富多彩、充满戏剧性的地方度过呢？” 他的声音中似乎带有一丝辩解的意味。
“We had all kinds of rain in the Orient, of course,” Michael Venning was saying reminiscently. “But it was different. That had a kind of melodramatic quality to it. This is simply dreary. Everything was different there. Really, you know, when one has such a short life to live, why shouldn’t one live it in the colorful and dramatic places of the world?” There seemed to be a faintly defensive note in his voice.
小主，
“幸好不是每个人都有同样的想法。” 海伦说，“否则东方会更加拥挤。”
“It’s a good thing everyone doesn’t feel the same way,” Helene said, “or the Orient would be even more overcrowded.”
“我在那里的时候非常想家。” 伊迪莎?文宁出人意料地说，一口气喝光了苏格兰威士忌。毫无征兆地，眼泪开始从她脸上流下来，在她苍白的粉脸上留下一道道泪痕。每个人都尽量装作什么异常的事情都没发生，不一会儿，她用卢埃拉?怀特递给她的一块大手帕擦干了脸。
“I was terribly homesick there,” Editha Venning said unexpectedly, downing the Scotch. Without any warning tears began to stream down her face, leaving great streaks in her pale powder. Everyone tried to look as if nothing unusual were going on, and in a moment she dried her face on a huge handkerchief handed to her by Louella White.
“你呢，卢埃拉？” 文宁试图轻松地说，“你觉得芝加哥的气候怎么样？”
“How about you, Louella?” Venning said, with an attempt at lightness.
“我不介意。” 这个高大的女人说。马龙盯着她。她变得相当健谈了。他注意到她又拿出了她的编织活，有条不紊、有节奏地织着那件难看的灰色衣服。不知为什么，这让他微微感到有些恐惧。
“I don’t mind it,” the large woman said. Malone stared at her. She was being downright talkative. He noticed that she had taken out her knitting again, methodically and rhythmically working on the ugly gray garment. For some reason it gave him a slight touch of the horrors.
莫娜觉得是时候把话题从天气上转移开了。“看到你和杰克又在一起了，我真高兴。” 她对海伦说。
Mona decided it was time to get the conversation off the weather. “I’m so glad to see you and Jake together again,” she said to Helene.
“哦，但是我们没有在一起。” 海伦欢快地说，“仅仅因为我们在同一个房间里而不会互相攻击并不意味着什么，你知道的。”
“Oh, but we aren’t,” Helene said brightly. “Just because we can be in the same room without tearing at each other’s throats doesn’t mean a thing, you know.”
“但是海伦……” 杰克刚开口。他感觉到海伦的鞋跟踩在他的脚背上，便不再说话了。
“But Helene—” Jake began. He felt Helene’s heel on his instep and was silent.
“除非我们的律师在场，否则我们从不碰面。” 海伦补充道。
“We never meet unless our lawyer’s present,” Helene added.
杰克感觉有人在他的椅子后面爬来爬去。原来是彭德利?泰德韦尔。
Jake felt someone crawling around back of his chair It turned out to be Pendley Tidewell.
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“你介意我给你和你的前妻坐在一起拍张照片吗？” 他满怀希望地问道，“我以前从没拍到过……” 他停顿了一下，脸红了。
“Would you mind if I took a picture of you sitting beside your ex-wife?” he asked hopefully. “I never got a picture before of—” He paused, and blushed.
“拍吧。” 杰克和蔼地说，“当海伦和我最终上法庭的时候，你可能会把这张照片卖给报纸赚很多钱。”
“Go right ahead,” Jake said amiably. “When Helene and I finally get into court, you can probably sell it to the newspapers for a lot of money.”
莫娜?麦克莱恩设法让大家又聊了五分钟巴黎咖啡馆的歌舞表演。然后杰克、海伦和马龙和大家一一告别离开了。
Mona McClane managed to keep everyone talking about the floor show at the Chez Paree for five more minutes. Then Jake, Helene, and Malone said good-bys all around and left.
“再待五分钟我的头发就不只是变白了，而是会掉光。” 海伦靠在出租车的坐垫上说。
“Another five minutes and my hair wouldn’t have just turned white, it would have fallen out,” Helene said, leaning back against the cushions in the taxi.
“当地狱在他们中间爆发时，你不能责怪那些有教养、备受呵护的人感到紧张不安。” 马龙说。
“You can’t blame well-bred, sheltered people for feeling edgy when hell breaks loose in their midst,” said Malone.
“还有一件事。” 杰克气愤地说，“你告诉莫娜?麦克莱恩…… 是什么意思？”
“And another thing,” Jake said indignantly. “What was the idea of telling Mona McClane—”
“动动脑子。我住在莫娜?麦克莱恩家是因为我离开了我的丈夫。这是我们了解麦克莱恩家发生的事情的唯一内部渠道。我必须待在那里。”
“Use your head. I’m staying at Mona McClane’s because I’ve left my husband. It’s the only inside wire we have to what goes on in the McClane household. I’ve got to stay there.”