第99章 卷32（2/2）

虾皮小说【www.xpxs.net】第一时间更新《马龙探案之三点的迷案》最新章节。

“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!”