马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 二十八
北岸的火车上几乎空无一人。几个晚归的通勤者在座位上睡觉，或者漫不经心地瞥一眼明天的《论坛报》。杰克摸着他们在一家通宵药店买的袖珍手电筒，不知道这次会不会是白跑一趟。
the North Shore train was almost deserted. A few late muters slept in their seats, or glanced uninterestedly at tomorrow’s tribune. Jake fingered the pocket flashlight they had picked up at an all-night drugstore and wondered if this would turn out to be a wild-goose chase.
“也许，”他在经过埃文斯顿的时候说，“我们走错方向了。也许我们应该回到莫娜·麦克莱恩家，从那里追踪那个女人。”
“perhaps,” he said as he passed through Evanston, “we’re going the wrong way. perhaps we ought to go back to mona mcclane’s and pick up the dame’s trail there.”
“该死，才不是呢。”马龙咆哮道，“我买了去枫树公园的往返票，我要让这钱花得值。”他皱着眉头。“我想知道路易·怀特在为谁工作。”
“hell no,” malone growled. “I’ve bought a round-trip ticket to maple park, and I’m going to get my money’s worth.” he scowled. “I wonder who Lou white was working for.”
“莫娜·麦克莱恩、迈克尔·文宁或者彭德利·泰德韦尔。”海伦立刻说道。
“mona mcclane, michael Venning, or pendley tidewell.” helene said promptly.
律师嘟囔着。“或者杰拉尔德·图伊兹或者杰拉尔德·图伊兹。”
the lawyer grunted. “or Gerald tuesday or Gerald tuesday.”
离文宁和麦克莱恩庄园最近的枫树公园车站的站台荒凉而空寂。现在天空晴朗，繁星闪烁，但偶尔仍有阵阵松散的雪花吹过脏兮兮的站台木板，给晚上早些时候清理过的人行道铺上一层白色。
the platform at the maple park station nearest the Venning and mcclane estates was desolate and deserted. the sky was clear and brilliant with stars now, but occasional flurries of loose snow still blew across the dingy boards of the platform and whitened the walks that had been cleared earlier in the evening.
现在已经过了午夜，枫树公园像一座鬼城。马龙满怀希望地四处张望想找一辆出租车，但一辆也没看到。街道上空无一人，人行道上也是如此。只有几盏灯在这儿那儿的房子里亮着，透过树影隐约可见。
It was well past midnight, and maple park was like a ghost town. malone looked hopefully around for a taxi and saw none. the streets were empty, as were the sidewalks. only a few lights burned here and there in houses seen dimly through the trees.
杰克看了看表。“大约五分钟后就会有一趟开往市中心的火车经过。”他渴望地说道。
Jake looked at his watch. “there’ll be a Loop-bound train along in about five minutes,” he began wistfully.
海伦摇了摇头。“我们已经到这儿了，不能回去。”
helene shook her head. “we’re out here and we’re not going to turn back.”
他们开始沿着一条蜿蜒的街道朝文宁庄园的方向走去。枫树公园的街道弯弯曲曲，没有明显的规律，这条街也不例外。他们走了两个街区后，马龙开始满怀期待地在他们经过的每个拐角处张望，心里有点纳闷什么时候会碰到从另一个方向走过来的自己。
they started walking up a winding street in the direction of the Venning estate. Streets in maple park turned, curved, straightened out, and turned again with no apparent rhyme or reason, and this one was no exception. by the time they had gone two blocks, malone began looking expectantly around every corner they came to, half wondering when he was going to meet himself headed in the other direction.
“那是莫娜·麦克莱恩的家。”他们走到铁栅栏边时杰克说道。
“that’s mona mcclane’s,” Jake said, as they came to the iron fence.
“我们要从这儿进去吗？”
“do we turn in here?”
“还不行。这该死的雪会把所有的痕迹都盖住，而且从这边我永远也找不到墙上的那个缺口。”
“Not yet. this damned snow will have covered any tracks there were, and I’d never find that opening in the wall from this side.”
他带路来到围着文宁庄园的高石墙边。那扇供服务人员出入的小门没锁，他推开门，为海伦和律师撑着门。
he led the way to the high stone wall that bordered the Venning estate. the small, service gateway was unlocked, and he pushed through it, holding it open for helene and the lawyer.
在星光和飘落的雪花中，文宁家的房子看起来像一座姜饼屋，在天空的映衬下显得奇幻而不可思议。白色的痕迹附着在檐口和铁艺花边线条上，勾勒出这座巨大木建筑奇特的角度和圆顶。
the Venning house, in the starlight and the drifted snow, looked like a gingerbread house, fantastic and incredible, against the sky. touches of white clung to cornices and lines of iron lacework and outlined the curious angles and cupolas of the huge wooden structure.
“它不在那儿。”马龙抱怨道，“它是画在一块布景上的。在我看来，画得也很糟糕。现在我们去哪儿？”
“It isn’t there,” malone plained. “It’s painted on a piece of scenery. painted damned badly, too, if you ask me. Now where do we go?”
杰克领着他绕过那座老房子，穿过紫杉树篱中的拱门，在星光下，树篱现在呈现出一种深沉而神秘的蓝色。拱门那边，宽阔的草坪是一片令人吃惊的、几乎让人目眩的完整白色区域，平坦而结了一层硬壳。杰克打开手电筒，雪地上反射出的光就像照在粉状玻璃上一样。
Jake led him around the old house and through the archway in the yew hedge, now a deep, mysterious blue in the starlight. beyond it, the wide lawn was a startling, almost blinding expanse of unbroken white, smooth and crusted over. Jake turned on the flashlight, and it reflected on the snow as though it shone on powdered glass.
“伊迪莎·文宁就站在那儿。”杰克说，“就在那边。”他用手电筒指着树的方向。
“there’s where Editha Venning stood,” Jake said, “right over there.” he pointed the flashlight in the direction of the trees.
马龙迅速看过去，半期待着看到某个模糊的、影子般的身影在等他们。看到只有树，他稍微松了口气，但也没完全放心。
malone looked quickly, half expecting to see some dim, shadowy figure waiting for them. he was a little reassured to see only trees, but not very much.
“只有天知道这里会有什么样的接待委员会在等我们。”他抱怨道，“我一点也不担心被枪击，但枪声总是让我耳朵疼。”
“heaven only knows what kind of reception mittee may be waiting for us out here,” he plained. “I’m not at all nervous about being shot at, but the sound of gunfire always gives me an earache.”
“在耳朵里塞点棉花。”海伦冷酷地说。
“put cotton in your ears,” helene said grimly.
他们小心翼翼地穿过雪地，来到小路进入树林的地方。现在这条小路看起来比白天窄了，一条白色的雪带蜿蜒伸进树林。入口就像一个黑白洞穴的门，古老的深色树木，这儿那儿被树枝上的积雪压弯了，茂密的、阴暗的灌木丛上覆盖着白色的羽毛，只有偶尔的星星透过树梢在头顶闪烁。
they picked their way gingerly across the snow to the point where the path entered the woods. the path seemed narrower now than it had by day, a white ribbon of snow winding on into the grove. the entrance was like the door to a cave of black and white, dark old trees, bent here and there by the weight of snow on their branches, thick, shadowy bushes feathered with whiteness, and only an occasional star showing overhead through the treetops.
杰克把手电筒照在小路上，说：“小心脚下。”然后继续往前走。海伦和马龙跟在后面，后者嘟囔着鞋子里进了雪。
Jake turned the flashlight on the path, said, “watch your step,” and went on ahead. helene and malone followed, the latter muttering about the snow in his shoes.
在脚印与小路交汇的地方，杰克停下来跪下寻找脚印。只有未被破坏的雪，在表面来回飘动。
At the point where the footprints had joined the path, Jake paused and knelt to look for them. there was only the unbroken snow, drifted back and forth over the surface.
“我就知道雪会把它们掩盖掉。”杰克痛苦地说，“我想我能找到回到我和它们分开的地方的路，但也仅此而已，而且不管怎样也不会告诉我们什么。”
“I knew that snow would have wiped them out,” Jake said bitterly. “I think I could find my way back to where I parted pany with them, but that’s about all, and it wouldn’t tell us anything, anyway.”
他站起来，掸掉膝盖上的雪，带路朝那座敞开的坟墓走去。手电筒给这场景增添了一种怪异的感觉，在雪地上投下意想不到的阴影，照亮了树林中奇特的、像洞穴一样的小块空地，还在覆着霜雪的小树枝和小树干上反射出一种怪异的光芒。他们来到由一丛灌木形成的挡住小路的障碍物前，有那么一会儿，马龙站在那里跺着脚，低声愤怒地咒骂着，而杰克和海伦则在寻找入口。
he rose, brushing the snow off his knees, and led the way in the direction of the open grave. the flashlight added an eerie touch to the scene, casting unexpected shadows over the snow, lighting up curious cavernlike little clearings in the trees, and reflecting a weird glow on small, snow-frosted twigs and branches. they came to the obstruction across the path formed by the cluster of bushes, and for a moment malone stood stamping his feet and muttering indignant profanities under his breath, while Jake and helene hunted for the opening.
杰克突然找到了入口，挤了过去，树枝和矮树丛发出很大的断裂声，海伦紧跟在他后面。马龙深吸一口气，也跟了进去，胡乱地打着那些刮到他脸的树枝。
Jake found it suddenly and pushed his way through with a loud crackling of twigs and underbrush, helene at his heels. malone drew a long breath and followed, striking aimlessly at branches that scratched his face.
树林中的这块小空地在手电筒的光芒下显得奇异而不真实，就像来自一个半被遗忘的梦境。在空地中央，一堆堆被雪覆盖的泥土表明了敞开的坟墓的位置。
the little clearing in the grove was fantastic and unreal in the glow from the flashlight, like something from a half-forgotten dream. In the center of it, piles of snow-covered earth indicated the location of the open grave.
“就是这儿。”杰克平静地说，小心翼翼地在结冰的地面上走着。
“this is it,” Jake said calmly, picking his way carefully over the frozen ground.
马龙走到他身边，绊了一两下，在坟墓边缘停了下来。杰克把手电筒照进坟墓里。
malone came up beside him, stumbling once or twice and paused at the edge. Jake turned his flashlight down into it.
“那确实是个坟墓。”马龙轻声说，“但现在里面不是空的了。”
“that’s a grave all right,” malone said quietly. “but it isn’t empty now.”
他只站在那里朝坟墓里看了一会儿，看着吹进坟墓并给粗糙的四壁覆上霜的雪，看着形成奇特形状和图案的小堆积雪，以及起初看起来像是底部的一个黑影的东西。然后，他小心翼翼、吃力地爬进坟墓，摘下自己的围巾，用它当扫帚扫去飘落的雪，快速检查了一下，是罗斯·麦克劳林的尸体。
For only a moment he stood looking into it, at the snow that had blown in and frosted the rough sides, at the little drifts that had formed in curious shapes and designs, and at what had first appeared to be a dark shadow at the bottom. then, carefully and laboriously, he let himself down into it, took off his muffler and used it as a broom to sweep away the drifted snow, and made a quick examination of the body of Ross mcLaurin.
在他上方，杰克用一只胳膊搂住海伦，海伦把脸埋在他的肩膀上。
Above him, Jake put an arm around helene, who buried her face in his shoulder.
律师从坑里爬了出来。“像其他人一样被刺死在后背。”他报告说，“直接刺穿了大衣、西装上衣、马甲和衬衫。某人的胳膊相当有力。”手电筒的光瞬间照在他的脸上，杰克看到他的脸色灰白，非常疲惫。
the lawyer climbed up out of the pit. “Stabbed in the back, just like the others,” he reported. “Stabbed right through an overcoat, suit coat, vest, and shirt. Somebody has a fairly powerful arm.” the flashlight caught his face for a moment, and Jake saw that it was gray white and very tired.
“我不该让这种事发生。”马龙缓缓地说，“我应该想到的。喝到一定程度的酒，他就会出去找个人听他讲故事，不管是朋友还是陌生人，就像前几天晚上他开始和海伦聊天那样。这次他只是碰巧和错误的人聊上了，然后就成了这样。我绝不应该让他离开我的视线。”他深深地吸了一口气，“是我的错。这个人的死怪我。”
“I shouldn’t have let this happen,” malone said slowly. “I should have known. the right number of drinks and he would go out looking for someone to listen to his story, friend or stranger, just as he started talking to helene the other night. this time he just happened to start talking to the wrong guy, and here he is. I never should have let him out of my sight.” he drew a long breath. “I’m to blame. this one is on me.”
杰克不舒服地打了个寒战。他突然感觉到了一月的寒冷。海伦从他的肩膀上抬起头。
Jake shivered unfortably. he had suddenly bee conscious of the January cold. helene lifted her head from his shoulder.
“求你了，马龙……”
“please, malone …”
律师说：“别烦我。”他看着坟墓。突然他厉声说道：“把手电筒给我。”然后又爬进了坟墓。有一会儿，他用手电筒照了照坟墓的四壁，摸了摸，又挖了挖底部堆积的雪。然后他又爬了出来。
the lawyer said, “don’t bother me.” he looked at the grave. Suddenly he snapped, “Give me that flashlight,” and climbed down into it again. For a moment he ran the light over the sides, felt of them, dug at snow that had drifted about on the bottom. then he clambered up again.
“这不是一个新挖的坟墓。”他皱着眉头看着坟墓说，“它是很久以前挖的。底部有一些木头碎片，是旧木头，在地下埋了很久了。四壁上也有痕迹。它被挖过，又被填上，然后又被挖开了。从铲子的痕迹我能看出来。天哪，我突然变成考古学家了！”他转向杰克，“这是正确的说法吗？”
“that isn’t a new grave,” he said, scowling at it. “It was dug a long time ago. there’re a few bits of wood at the bottom, old wood, that’s been in the ground a long time. marks on the sides, too. It was dug, and filled in, and dug out again. I can tell from the shovel marks. holy mahoney, I’m an archeologist all of a sudden!” he turned to Jake. “Is that the right name for it?”
“这不是我认为你现在的样子的正确说法。”杰克说着，对着手哈气，“我们现在怎么办，报警吗？”
“It isn’t the right name for what I think you are,” Jake said, blowing on his hands. “what do we do now, call the cops?”
“我想是吧。”律师若有所思地说，“这里也是布雷克县，这意味着要把安迪·阿赫恩叫来。这是他的辖区，而另外两起谋杀案是在冯·弗拉纳根的辖区，这意味着我们会有一个大麻烦。如果这个人一定要被杀，为什么他不能选一个文明点的地方呢？”
“I guess so,” the lawyer said thoughtfully. “this is in blake county, too, which means calling in Andy Ahearn. this is his territory and the other two murders were in von Flanagan’s, which means we’re going to have one hell of a mess. If this guy had to get himself killed, why couldn’t he have picked a civilized part of the world to do it in?”
“也许他是在芝加哥被刺伤的，然后他的尸体被搬到了这里。”杰克提议道。
“maybe he did,” Jake suggested. “maybe he was stabbed down in chicago and his body was moved up here.”
“有这种可能。”马龙说，“我倒希望事情是这样发生的。当然，我们可以把事情简单化，把他搬回芝加哥，然后让人在那里发现他。”他又朝坟墓里看了看，“在真正的大雪开始下之前他就被放在这里了，因为坟墓周围没有脚印。不过，还是几乎不可能猜出时间。雪是什么时候停的？”
“It’s possible,” malone said. “I’d like to have had it happen that way. of course, we could simplify everything by moving him back to chicago and having him found there.” he looked into the grave again. “he was put there before the really heavy snow began to fall, because there’s no footprints showing around the grave. Still, it’s next to impossible to guess at the time. It stopped snowing about—when?”
“大概七点左右。”海伦说。
“Somewhere around seven o’clock,” helene said.
马龙皱起眉头，“但那也没什么用。从那以后风就一直在刮。我们离开这里半小时后，我们自己的脚印就会消失。是飘雪把一切都掩盖了。”
“malone scowled. “that’s no help, though. the wind has been blowing ever since. our own footprints will be gone half an hour after we walk away from here. It’s the drifting snow that’s wiped out everything.”
“据莫娜·麦克莱恩说，他失踪了大半天了。”海伦说。
“he’s been missing most of the day, according to what mona mcclane said.”
“那也没什么用。凶手可能花了好几个小时试图弄清楚他到底知道多少，然后才冒险杀了他。然后他放弃了，杀了他，要么在这里，要么在别的地方，然后把他放在这个正好等着他的坟墓里。他要么没时间把坟墓填上，要么没有合适的工具。”
“that’s no help either. the murderer may have spent hours trying to find out how much he really did know, before he risked doing him in. then he gave up and killed him, either here or somewhere else, and placed him in the grave which was so conveniently waiting for him. he either didn’t have time to fill in the grave, or he didn’t have the right implements with him.”
杰克说：“把你的思考留到以后吧。这里冷得要命。我们要……”他突然停住，盯着马龙。
“Jake said, “Save your mental processes for a later date. It’s damned cold out here. what are we going to—” he stopped short, staring at malone.
这个小律师的脸本来就很苍白，现在变得灰白。在手电筒怪异的光芒下，他睁得大大的圆眼睛像两个冰球一样闪闪发光。他的嘴张着，一个字只说了一半就冻在了那里。
the little lawyer’s face had been pale, now it had turned ashen. In the weird glow of the flashlight, his wide, round eyes were gleaming like balls of ice. his mouth was open, with a word half formed and frozen there.
“马龙！”杰克叫道，“怎么……”
“malone!” Jake cried. “what—”
没有回应。杰克盯着他看了一会儿，然后把手电筒照向律师眼睛盯着的方向。海伦尖叫起来。
there was no answer. Jake stared at him for an instant, then turned the flashlight in the direction in which the lawyer’s eyes were fixed. helene screamed.
罗斯·麦克劳林的尸体正缓慢而吃力地从坟墓里往外爬。
the corpse of Ross mcLaurin was climbing, slowly and laboriously, out of its grave.