马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三十五
“所有的谋杀都是一种自卫形式，”马龙梦幻般地说，“人们不仅为了抵御死亡而自卫。谋杀是对某种无法忍受的状况的一种抵御。在二十年前迈克尔·文宁被谋杀的案件中，图伊兹是在抵御没有五百万美元这种无法忍受的状况。当他谋杀了他的两个兄弟并企图谋杀罗斯·麦克劳林时，他是在抵御失去触手可及的五百万美元这种无法忍受的状况。当莫娜·麦克莱恩今晚谋杀了他……”他停顿了一下，意识到他的听众没有在听他说话，实际上甚至都没有听到他说话。
“All murder is a form of self-defense,” malone said dreamily. “people defend themselves against other things than death. murder is a defense against some condition that has bee intolerable. In the case of the murder of michael Venning, twenty years ago, tuesday was defending himself against the intolerable condition of not having five million dollars. when he murdered his two brothers and attempted to murder Ross mcLaurin, he was defending himself against the intolerable condition of losing five million dollars that was within his grasp. when mona mcclane murdered him tonight—” he paused, and realized that his audience was paying no attention, was not, in fact, even hearing him.
他深深地叹了口气，喊道：“乔！再来三杯一样的。”
he sighed deeply and called, “Joe! three more of the same.”
他们坐在天使乔的市政厅酒吧里。之前的几个小时他们一直在把海伦的行李从莫娜·麦克莱恩家搬到杰克一直独自居住的公寓里。
they were sitting in Joe the Angel’s city hall bar. the preceding hours had been spent moving helene’s luggage from mona mcclane’s to the apartment Jake had been living in alone.
现在杰克和海伦只是坐着，看着对方。
Now Jake and helene were just sitting, looking at each other.
马龙清了清嗓子。“自卫……”他开始说。
malone cleared his throat. “Self-defense—” he began.
海伦突然抬起头。“该死的，马龙。并不是所有的事情都解释清楚了。我想知道哪个图伊兹是哪个。杰拉尔德是戈登吗，还是戈登是乔治，或者是……哦，该死，马龙，把它弄清楚，否则我几个星期都睡不着觉。”
helene looked up suddenly. “damn you, malone. Everything is not explained. I want to know which tuesday was which. was Gerald Gordon, or was Gordon George, or was—oh hell, malone, straighten it out or I won’t be able to sleep for weeks.”
小律师深吸了一口气。“现在谁在乎呢？”
the little lawyer drew a long breath. “who cares, now?”
“我在乎。”她坚定地说。
“I do,” she said firmly.
“有两个原因，”马龙说，“第一个在我在第二起谋杀案的时候找到的纸条里解释了。”他从口袋里拿出纸条，若有所思地看着它。
“there were two reasons,” malone said. “the first was explained in the note I found at the time of the second murder.” he drew it from his pocket and looked at it thoughtfully.
“没有人能把罪行归咎于一个已经死了二十年的人。”
“No one can pin a crime on a man who’s been dead for twenty years.”
“显然，”马龙说，“那是他正在给他的兄弟——那个假迈克尔·文宁写的纸条的一部分。当这两个兄弟来到芝加哥的时候，他们一定决定用一个大概已经死了二十多年的人的名字。这样那个假文宁就不能引起别人对他们的注意——同时也不能引起别人对罗斯代尔公墓里那个墓碑的注意。还有第二个原因。他们一定认为如果有两个人出现，自称是杰拉尔德·图伊兹，这会把真正的杰拉尔德·图伊兹吓得去做他们要求的事情。我说清楚了吗？”
“Evidently,” malone said, “that was part of a note he was writing to his brother—the false michael Venning. when the two brothers came to chicago, they must have decided to assume the name of a man who had—presumably—been dead for over twenty years. then the false Venning couldn’t call any attention to them—without also calling attention to that tombstone out in Rosedale cemetery. there was a second reason, too. they must have figured that if two men turned up, calling themselves Gerald tuesday, it would scare the real Gerald tuesday into doing what they demanded. do I make myself clear?”
“不是很清楚，”她说，“但也行了。”
“Not very,” she said, “but it’ll do.”
马龙清了清嗓子。“所有的谋杀……”他又开始说。
malone cleared his throat. “All murder—” he began again.
杰克说：“嘿，你有钱吗？”
Jake said, “Say, have you got any money?”
小律师在口袋里摸了摸，拿出两张皱巴巴的一美元钞票和一把零钱。海伦从手提包里倒出九十美分的五分镍币和十分镍币。杰克找出三美元五十美分。
the little lawyer felt in his pockets, produced two crumpled one-dollar bills and a handful of small change. helene dumped ninety cents in nickels and dimes out of her handbag. Jake dug up three dollars and a half.
“该死，”马龙说，“我们很富有。而且，我在天使乔这里信誉良好，从现在起我有钱了。”
“hell,” malone said, “we’re rich. besides, my credit is good with Joe the Angel, and from now on I’m in the bucks.”
“你说你有钱了是什么意思？”
“what do you mean, you’re in the bucks?”
“等你看到我给莫娜·麦克莱恩和伊迪莎·文宁开的法律服务账单就知道了。”
“wait till you see the bills I’m sending mona mcclane and Editha Venning for legal services.”
杰克低声嘟囔了些什么。
Jake muttered something under his breath.
“勒索是个难听的词，”马龙气愤地说，“而且，我挣的每一分钱都是应得的。”
“blackmail is a nasty word,” malone said indignantly. “besides, I earned every nickel of it.”
“她们也会同意你的，”海伦说。
“they’ll agree with you, too,” helene said.”
马龙的眼睛里又露出梦幻般的神情。“如果有人是正当的，那她就是，”他开始说，“莫娜·麦克莱恩杀了他的时候，不仅是在自卫免受子弹伤害，而且是在抵御无法忍受的状况……”他停顿了一下，发现他的听众又不理他了。
the dreamy look came into malone’s eyes again. “She was justified, if anyone ever was,” he began. “mona mcclane was not only defending herself against bullets when she killed him, but against the intolerable condition of—” he paused and saw that his audience had tuned him out again.
他又叹了口气。他能准确地预见到这个晚上将会如何结束。杰克和海伦会回家，留下他一个人。他会被酒吧里的一些人拉进谈话中。人们会开始互相买酒喝。他会从天使乔那里借二十美元。他会协助临时组成一个四重唱来演唱《有一点天堂》，之后没人能阻止他背诵《罗伯特·埃米特挽歌》。他和他新结识的朋友们（之后他一个也记不起来）会去很多其他酒吧，最后在某个偏僻的地方结束，很可能是在西塞罗。会有一场争斗，他的衬衫领子会被一个来自圣路易斯的完全陌生的人扯掉，最后他要么因行为不检而被关进监狱，要么在某个女人的公寓里醒来，而这个公寓结果会是离卢普区有四十五分钟火车车程的地方。
he sighed once more. he could foresee exactly how the evening was going to end. Jake and helene would go home, leaving him alone. he was going to be drawn into conversation with some of the men at the bar. people would start buying drinks for each other. he would borrow twenty bucks from Joe the Angel. he would assist in an impromptu quartette arrangement of there’s a Little bit of heaven, after which no one could stop him from reciting the “Elegy of Robert Emmet.” he and his newfound friends, none of whom he would remember later, would move to a number of other bars, ending up in some obscure place, probably in cicero. there would be a fight, and he would get the collar torn off his shirt by some perfect stranger from St. Louis, and he would end up either jailed for disorderly conduct or waking up in some woman’s apartment that would turn out to be a forty-five-minute train ride from the Loop.
他知道这个晚上会以那样的方式结束，因为每次都是那样。
he knew the night was going to end that way because that was the way it always did.
在所有这些开始发生之前，还有一件事要做。
before all that started happening, there was one thing still to be done.
他把手伸进口袋，拿出莫娜·麦克莱恩在他们离开房子前刚刚交给他的那个长长的白色信封，递给了杰克。
he reached in his pocket and drew out the long white envelope mona mcclane had given him just before they left the house and gave it to Jake.
杰克把手从海伦温暖的肩膀上移开足够长的时间来打开它。
Jake took his hand off helene’s warm shoulder just long enough to open it.
那是赌场的契约。
It was the deed to the casino.
(本卷完)
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