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.”

小主，

“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.”

小主，

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。”

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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.

小主，

“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。”

小主，

“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.”