马龙探案卷三 之 错误的凶案 三十二
电梯里一路无话，去往汽车的路上也是沉默。直到海伦发动了汽车，杰克才开口说话。
thERE wASN’t A woRd ALL thE way down the elevator or on the way to the car. Not until helene had started the motor did Jake speak.
“我们发现的人都是有可能谋杀冈布里尔的，” 他郁郁地说，“但都不是莫娜?麦克莱恩。你觉得胡克说的是真的吗？”
“we keep finding people who should have murdered Gumbril,” he said gloomily. “but not mona mcclane. do you think hook is a person who was associated with that organization. “do you think hook is telling the truth?”
“毫无疑问，” 马龙向他保证，“他是个骗子，但在这方面他很诚实。” 他皱了皱眉，“很容易看出他为什么会认为弗雷特清空了冈布里尔的保险箱。但如果她去过他的房间 ——”
“No doubt of it,” malone assured him. “he’s a crook, but he’s perfectly honest.” he scowled. “It’s easy to see why he figured that Fleurette had cleaned out Gumbril’s strongbox. but if she had gone to his room-”
“她确实去过他的房间，” 杰克兴奋地说。
“She did go to his room,” Jake said excitedly.
“你不会是碰巧有了洞察力吧？” 律师轻蔑地问。
“You haven’t turned clairvoyant, by any chance?” the lawyer asked scornfully.
“不是，但我有鼻子，” 杰克说，“香水。我在任何地方都能闻出来。记得我跟你说过那个衣橱是什么味道吗。她的衣服上也有同样的香水。而且味道还很浓。”
“No, but I’ve got a nose,” Jake said. “perfume. I’d know it anywhere. Remember I told you how that closet smelled. there was the same perfume on her clothes. heavy, too.”
“如果真是这样，” 马龙缓缓地说，“而这很有可能。如果弗雷特确实去过冈布里尔的房间……” 他顿了顿，最后严厉地说，“我们必须拿到那个盒子，就这样。而且，我们必须现在就拿到。”
“If that’s so,” malone said slowly, “and it may very easily be-if Fleurette did go to Gumbril’s room-” he paused and finally said grimly, “we’ve got to get that box, that’s all. what’s more, we’ve got to get it right now.”
海伦踩下油门，沿着密歇根大道疾驰而过，让一名吃惊的交警愣在原地。“我们半小时内就能拿到冈布里尔的小盒子。”
helene stepped on the accelerator and shot past a startled policeman down michigan Avenue. “we’ll have mr. Gumbril’s little box in half an hour.”
“美好的愿望，” 马龙咆哮道，“不过别忘了，冯?弗拉纳根可能还没允许公众进入冈布里尔的房间。”
“A nice sentiment,” malone growled. “don’t forget though that Von Flanagan probably still has Gumbril’s room closed to the public.”
“你一点也没有让我气馁，” 她平静地说，“杰克，那个盒子是什么样的？”
“You don’t discourage me in the least,” she said placidly. “Jake, what was that box like?”
“它是一个普通的金属公文箱，” 他告诉她，“有一把很好的锁和一个在顶部的把手，是瓷釉的或是漆成的深绿色。”
“It was a regular metal dispatch box,” he told her, “with a very good lock and a handle on the top. It was enameled or painted dark green.”
她沉默了一会儿。“这附近有没有五金店？”
She was silent for a block or so. “Is there a hardware store anywhere near here?”
“有戈德布拉特的店，” 杰克说，“我想他们有五金部门。”
“there’s Goldblatt’s,” Jake said; “they have a hardware department, I imagine.”
“谢谢。我就想知道这个。” 她把车开到范布伦街，穿过州街，在拐角处停下车。“绕着街区开，然后在这个拐角接我。” 在他还没来得及说一句话之前，她已经跳下车，消失在了人行道上的人群中。
“thanks. that’s all I wanted to know.” She drove to Van buren Street, over to State, and stopped the car at the corner. “drive around the block and pick me up here on the corner.” before he could say a word she had hopped out and was lost in the sidewalk crowds.
杰克小心翼翼地驾驶着这辆大车在傍晚的交通中穿行。“马龙，你猜她现在又要干什么？”
Jake piloted the big car gingerly through the late-afternoon traffic. “malone, what do you suppose she’s up to now?”
“我不知道，” 律师咆哮道，“而且不问可能更安全。别担心，我们会知道的。”
“I don’t know,” the lawyer growled, “and it’s probably safer not to ask. don’t worry, we’ll find out.”
在街区转了几圈后，他们看到海伦站在拐角处，于是把车停在路边。
After a few turns around the block they saw helene on the corner and stopped next to the curb.
“拿到你想要的东西了吗？” 杰克问。
“Get what you wanted?” Jake asked.
“拿到了。现在别用问题烦我。下车，你也一起来。”
“Yes. don’t bother me with questions now. Get out, you’re ing too.”
“你不能把车停在这里，” 杰克抱怨道，“我们现在已经让两个街区的交通堵塞了。”
“You can’t leave the car here,” Jake plained. “we’ve tied up traffic for two blocks now.”
“我不会把车在停在这里。马龙，你就绕着街区开一会儿，每五分钟经过这个拐角一次。到时候你可以在这里接我们，连盒子一起。”
“I’m not going to leave it here. malone, you just keep driving around for a while and every five minutes go past this corner. In due course of time you can pick us up here, plete with box.”
“如果这是个新游戏，我不喜欢它，” 马龙沮丧地说，接过了方向盘。
“If this is a new game, I don’t like it,” malone said morosely, taking the wheel.
“好吧，如果我们一个小时后还没回来，你就去监狱。” 她把手搭在杰克的胳膊下。“电话亭在哪里？”
“well, if we aren’t here in an hour, head for the jail.” She tucked her hand under Jake’s arm. “where’s a telephone booth?”
他指着州街对面的一家雪茄店。她小心翼翼地穿过泥泞的融雪走到商店，迅速查了电话簿，然后拨打了费尔法克斯酒店的电话号码。
he pointed across State Street to a cigar store. She picked her way delicately through the muddy melted snow to the store, looked quickly in the phone book, and dialed the number of the Fairfax hotel.
“我要和波彭普斯先生通话。”
“I want to talk to mr. poppenpuss.”
一阵停顿。
A pause.
“但是确实在那里。我知道他住在那里。这不是费尔法克斯酒店吗？” 她的声音因愤怒而升高。“那我要和 614 房间的波彭普斯先生通话。我告诉你 614 房间有个波彭普斯先生。让我和 614 房间通话。但我知道他在那里。” 她开始愤怒地斥责酒店服务员的愚蠢，然后把听筒猛地挂回挂钩上。
“but there is too. I know he lives there. Isn’t this the Fairfax hotel?” her voice rose in rage. “then I want to talk to mr. poppenpuss, p-o-p-p-E-N-p-U-S-S, in room six fourteen. I tell you there is a mr. poppenpuss in room six fourteen. Let me talk to room six fourteen. but I know there is.” She burst into an angry tirade about the stupidity of hotel clerks, and banged the receiver on its hook.
“到底怎么回事？” 杰克问。
“what the hell?” Jake asked.
“我只是想确认一下 614 房间是不是空的，” 她心满意足地说，“谢天谢地，它是空的。” 她向一辆路过的出租车挥手，告诉司机：“去费尔法克斯酒店。”
“I just wanted to find out if room six fourteen is empty,” she said placently. “thank heaven it is.” She waved at a passing taxi, told the driver, “Fairfax hotel.”
“海伦，” 杰克绝望地说，“你打算怎么办？”
“helene,” Jake said desperately, “what are going to do?”
“你是想跟我一起，还是我自己去？”
“do you want to e along with me, or shall I do this myself?”
“我当然跟你一起去。”
“of course I’m ing with you.”
“那就别问问题了。用马龙的话来说，这是一个新游戏，我很喜欢。”
“then stop asking questions. to quote malone, this is a new game and I do like it.”
在费尔法克斯酒店门口，她告诉他：“开个房间，预付房费，尽量表现得好像你十分钟前才第一次见到我。”
At the door to the Fairfax hotel she told him, “Get a room, pay for it in advance, and try to look as if you’d never seen me until ten minutes ago.”
“海伦，求你了……”
“helene, please-”
“别显得那么尴尬。”
“And stop looking embarrassed.”
杰克叹了口气，决定配合她。那个孤单、衣衫褴褛的行李员带他们去了四楼一个肮脏的房间，收起小费后就离开了。他关上门，若有所思地看着她。
Jake sighed and decided to play along. the lone, shabby bellhop showed them to a dingy room on the fourth floor, pocketed his tip and went away. he closed the door and looked at her thoughtfully.
“既然我们来了，既然我们已经付了房费……”
“Since we’re here, and since we’ve paid for the room-”
“我知道你的意思，” 她说，“这是一个很好的想法，但这是一次公务入住。我希望你还带着马龙给你的那把万能钥匙。”
“I know what you mean,” she said, “and it’s a wonderful idea, but this is a business trip. I hope you still have that skeleton key malone gave you.”
“我带着，但那又怎么样？如果冯?弗拉纳根在 514 房间安排了警察，那把钥匙对我们就没用了。”
“I have, but what of it? If Von Flanagan has a cop stationed in room five fourteen, the key won’t do us any good.”
“如果它能打开 514，那它也能打开 614。” 她打开门看了看。走廊里空无一人。海伦开始向楼梯走去；杰克满怀希望地跟在后面。
“If it will open five fourteen, it’ll open six fourteen.” She opened the door and looked out. the corridor was empty. helene started for the stairs; Jake hopefully followed.
六楼的走廊也是空荡荡的。她带路走向 614 房间。
the sixth floor corridor was just as empty. She led the way to six fourteen.
“试试钥匙，祈祷它能用。”
“try the key and pray that it works.”
钥匙能用。她打开灯，关上门并锁上。然后她从钱包里拿出一个用纸包着的小包裹，这是世界上的第八大奇迹，她打开它，拿出一根长长的粗绳子和一个大钩子。
It did. She switched on the light, closed and locked the door. then she took a small, paper-wrapped package from her purse, woman’s eighth wonder of the world, unwrapped it, and took out a long piece of heavy cord and a large hook.
“我们要去‘钓鱼’了，” 她宣布。她把绳子牢牢地绑在钩子上，把这套装置递给杰克。“我还需要告诉你接下来该怎么做吗，还是你已经明白了？”
“we’re going fishing,” she announced. She tied the cord securely to the hook and handed the apparatus to Jake. “do I need to suggest what to do next, or do you get the idea?”
“我明白了，” 他高兴地说，“海伦，你太棒了。”
“I do,” he said delightedly. “helene, you’re wonderful.”
“随你怎么说，” 她说，“但要把盒子拿回来。”
“have it your own way,” she said, “but get the box.”
他打开窗户往外看。在下面的窗台上，他能看到那个盒子，它的一端轻轻地覆盖着雪。幸好雪没有盖住把手。他慢慢地、小心地把带着钩子的绳子放下去。
he opened the window and looked out. on the ledge below he could see the box, one end of it lightly frosted with snow. Luckily the snow did not cover the handle. Slowly and carefully he lowered the hook on its length of cord.
前两次尝试都完全没有碰到把手。海伦出现在他身边，焦急地向窗外望去。第三次尝试时，钩子滑进了把手，他轻轻地拉了一下，盒子就动了。海伦高兴地倒吸了一口气。他非常小心地把绳子拉进来，直到最后他能用另一只手伸出去，抓住盒子，把它拉过窗台。
the first two tries missed the handle pletely. helene appeared beside him and looked anxiously out the window. on his third attempt the hook slipped into the handle, he gave a gentle tug, and the box moved. helene gasped delightedly. Very carefully he hauled in the string until at last he was able to reach out with his other hand, grasp the box, and pull it over the sill.
他们一时坐在打开的窗户旁边的地板上，喘着气，笑容满面。然后，杰克的脸上开始皱起了眉头。
For a moment they sat on the floor beside the open window, breathless and beaming. then a frown began to gather on Jake’s face.
“你什么都想到了，就是没想到怎么处理尸体，” 他抱怨道，“我们拿到了盒子，但我们要怎么把它从这里弄出去呢？服务员看到我们进来了，他看到我们什么都没拿。如果他看到我们拿着这个走出去怎么办？”
“You’ve thought of everything except how to dispose of the body,” he plained. “we’ve got the box, but how are we going to get it out of here? the clerk saw us e in, he saw we weren’t carrying anything. what’s he going to do if he sees us walking out with this?”
“你小看我了，” 她说着，挣扎着站了起来，“我也想到了这一点。跟我来，去四楼。”
“You underestimate me,” she said, scrambling to her feet. “I thought of that too. e on down to the fourth floor.”
他们下楼时没有遇到任何人。到了四楼，她停了下来，把盒子递给他。“杰克，楼梯间有个角落。你拿着盒子下到二楼的这个角落里……”
they went down without meeting anybody. At the fourth floor she paused and handed him the box. “Jake, there’s a corner in the corridor right at the stairs. You go on down to the second floor with the box—”
“把你一个人留在这里？别这样……”
“And leave you here alone? don’t be-”
“我会没事的，别担心。你就躲在二楼的那个角落里，等服务员和大堂里的其他人都走了再走。”
“I’ll be all right, don’t worry. park yourself around that little corner out of sight of the stairs, and wait there until the clerk, and everyone else in the lobby, is out of the way.”
“你打算怎么把他们弄出大堂呢？”
“how are you going to get them, out of the lobby?”
“那是我的事。你管好你自己的事。不管发生什么事，都不要在意我可能会做什么，不管那是什么。明白吗？”
“that’s my business. You tend to your own knitting. whatever happens, don’t pay any attention to what I may do, no matter what it is. Understand?”
他点了点头，希望一切顺利，但他知道自己不会如愿的。
he nodded, hoping for the best, but knowing he wouldn’t get it.
“等没人了，你就朝街上走，尽快赶到我们要和马龙见面的那个角落。我五分钟后就到那里找你。”
“As soon as the coast is clear, head for the street and start as fast as you can for that corner where we’re to meet malone. I’ll join you there in five minutes.”
“海伦，你打算怎么办？”
“helene, what are you going to do?”
“你很快就会知道的，” 她不祥地说。
“You’ll find out,” she said ominously.
“我就怕我会知道。” 他说。他把盒子夹在胳膊下，继续下楼，站在二楼角落的阴影里。他刚躲到角落里，就听到一个声音，让他的血液都凝固了。海伦在楼上几层正尖叫着。他的冲动是扔掉盒子，跑去帮她。但他没有这么做。在最初的可怕时刻之后，他发现尖叫声中有一丝虚假。
“I’m afraid I will,” he said. he tucked the box under his arm, went on down the stairs, and stood in the shadows of the corner. he had barely reached its shelter when a sound froze the blood in his veins. A few floors above helene was screaming at the top of her voice. his impulse was to drop the box and run to her aid. he didn’t obey it. After the first terrible moment, he detected something just a trifle phony in the scream.
然而，大堂里的居民们并没有听出任何虚假的成分。躲在阴影里的杰克听到电梯嗖地一声升了上去。楼梯上响起了奔跑的脚步声。当声音消失时，他看了看拐角处，没看到任何人，于是小心翼翼地走下楼梯，来到大堂。没有人看得见。他快步穿过大堂，走上人行道，朝范布伦街走去。
the inhabitants of the lobby, however, heard no phony note. Standing in the shadows, Jake heard the elevator shoot upward. Running footsteps sounded on the stairs. As they died away he looked around the corner, saw no one, went cautiously down the stairs to the lobby. No one was in sight. he walked quickly across the lobby and onto the sidewalk and started toward Van buren Street.
他想等海伦。不过，执行她的指示可能是最好的。当他走过一个街区的时候，他开始担心起来。要是那些尖叫声毕竟是真的怎么办？他坚定地告诉自己不是真的，然后继续向北走。走到下一个街区的尽头时，他开始担心她要怎么为自己尖叫所引发的事情找借口。当他走到州街和范布伦街的拐角处时，他已经决定回到费尔法克斯酒店去看看她出了什么事，不管发生什么。
he wanted to wait for helene. Still, it was probably best to carry out her instructions. by the time he had covered one block, he began to worry. what if those screams had been genuine, after all? he told himself firmly they were not, and continued north. by the end of the next block he had begun to worry about how she was going to talk her way out of whatever she had screamed herself into. when he had reached the corner of State and Van buren, he had decided to go back to the Fairfax hotel and find out what had happened to her, e what might.
就在他做出这个决定的时候，一辆出租车在他面前停了下来，海伦跳了出来，眼睛明亮，面带微笑。
Just as he reached that decision a taxi stopped in front of him and helene hopped out, bright-eyed and smiling.
“亲爱的！” 杰克无力地说。他带着一种绝望的神情紧紧握住她的手。
“darling!” Jake said, inadequately. he clung to her hand with a kind of desperation.
“你觉得我的尖叫声怎么样？”
“how did you like my scream?”
他打了个哆嗦。“你到底干了什么？”
he shuddered. “what in God’s name did you do?”
她像一个高兴的孩子一样开心地笑着。“我一边尖叫着一边跑下楼梯，当服务员终于让我安静下来可以说话的时候，我告诉他你抢了我放在袜子里的一张二十美元钞票然后跑了。”
She smiled happily, like a pleased child. “I ran down the stairs screaming, and when the clerk finally quieted me enough to talk, I told him you’d grabbed a twenty-dollar bill that I was carrying in my stocking and ran off with it.”
“好吧，” 三十秒后杰克严肃地说，“这又让我以后不能去一家酒店了。” 他擦了擦额头，又说，“要是他们叫了警察怎么办？”
“well,” Jake said grimly, thirty seconds later, “that makes one more hotel I have to stay out of in the future.” he mopped his brow and added, “Suppose they’d sent for the police?”
“笨蛋。我就知道他们不会。事实上”—— 她的眼中露出一丝不自在的尴尬 ——“如果我安静地离开并且什么都不说，服务员从收银机里拿出十美元给了我。我不得不收下，但我到底该拿这钱怎么办呢？这是脏钱！”
“Idiot. I knew they wouldn’t. In fact”-a look of unfortable embarrassment came into her eyes- “the clerk gave me a ten-dollar bill out of the cash register if I’d go quietly away and say nothing. I had to take it, but what on earth shall I do with it? It’s tainted money!”
就在这时，汽车从拐角处出现了，马龙在开车。海伦突然有了一个灵感，她沿着街道跑了几步，把钞票丢进了一位美国志愿者圣诞老人的手中，这位圣诞老人可能永远也无法从震惊中恢复过来。不一会儿，他们就上了车，离开了现场。
At that moment the car appeared around the corner, driven by malone. A sudden inspiration came to helene, she ran a few steps down the street and dropped the bill in the hand of a Volunteers-of-America Santa claus who probably never recovered from the shock. A moment later they were in the car, driving away from the scene.
“我们拿到盒子了，” 海伦报告说，“盒子和十美元。我觉得杰克也多了几根白头发，但这很值得。”
“we got the box,” helene reported. “the box and ten dollars. I think Jake got a few gray hairs too, but it was worth it.”
马龙说：“也许你最好别告诉我你们是怎么做到的。不然我晚上会睡不着，一直想着这事。让我看看盒子。”
malone said, “maybe you’d better not tell me how you did it. It might keep me awake nights, thinking about it. Let’s see the box.”
杰克把盒子递过去。“现在我们要做的就是把它打开。”
Jake held it out. “Now all we have to do is get it open.”
“那很容易，” 海伦说，“我们只需要一个锁匠。”
“that’s easy,” helene said. “All we need is a locksmith.”
“锁匠个鬼，” 马龙轻蔑地说，“我和爱，我们嘲笑锁匠。我以前有个客户是个职业窃贼。等我把这个盒子拿到我的办公室再说！”
“Locksmith hell,” malone said scornfully. “me and love, we laugh at locksmiths. I used to have a client who was a professional cracksman. Just wait till I get that box in my office!”