“我会让他看看。” 海伦说，“我会找出莫娜杀了谁，怎么杀的，为什么杀，然后拿出足够的证据让一大堆陪审团信服。然后我会把卡西诺赌场的地契寄给他，让他见鬼去吧。”

“I'll show him,” Helene said, “I'll find out who Mona murdered, and how, and why, and produce enough evidence to convince a gross of juries. Then I'll send him the deed to the Casino, and the devil with him.”

马龙若有所思地看着她。一顶很宽的深棕色毡帽衬托着她苍白而精致的脸庞；在她的喉咙下方，一堆蓬松的浅棕色皮草分开，露出一块焦糖色的丝绸三角。她纤细娇嫩的手指摆弄着和她帽子颜色完全一样的手套；她美丽修长的腿上那透明的长筒袜是白三叶草蜜的颜色。

Malone looked at her thoughtfully. A very wide, dark-brown felt hat framed her pale, exquisite face; below her throat a mass of fluffy, light-brown furs fell apart to reveal a triangle of caramel-colored silk. Her slender, delicate fingers played with gloves that were exactly the same shade as her hat; the sheer stockings on her lovely long legs were the color of white clover honey.

当他看着她时，一幅幅画面在他脑海中闪过。海伦开着她那辆进口的大汽车在结冰的路面上飞驰，速度之快、不顾一切的程度足以让一位经验丰富的印第安纳波利斯赛车手胆战心惊。海伦亲自策划了一名可能的女杀人犯的越狱行动。海伦因为涉嫌纵火一事与警察有点小麻烦，然后戴着借来的黑色假发和系着丝带的眼镜出现了。海伦用一个临时想出来的巧妙谎言把杰克从冯?弗拉纳根那里解救出来。海伦嫁给了杰克，然后在黎明时分乘飞机去了百慕大。现在，海伦从百慕大回来了，她蓝色的眼睛里带着坚定的决心。绝对不是过去的好日子了。

Scenes raced through his mind as he looked at her. Helene, driving her big, imported car over ice-covered pavements with a speed and abandon that would have petrified an Indianapolis speedway driver of long standing. Helene, personally engineering the jailbreak of a possible murderess. Helene, in a little trouble with the police over a matter of suspected arson, and turning up in a borrowed black wig and beribboned eyeglasses. Helene, talking Jake out of a jam with von Flanagan with an inspired, spur-of-the-moment falsehood. Helene, married to Jake and going off to Bermuda on the dawn plane. Now, Helene back from Bermuda, with that look of grim resolution in her blue eyes. Definitely not the good old days.

这章没有结束，请点击下一页继续阅读！

路易店里的送货员带着黑麦威士忌及时赶到，这才没让约翰?J?马龙陷入回忆的泪水之中。

The delivery boy from Louie’s arrived with the rye just in time to save John J. Malone from bursting into reminiscent tears.

他在大衣口袋里找到一小把零钱，给了送货员小费，说：“告诉路易我会给他寄张支票。” 然后开始打开其中一瓶酒。“你到底打算怎么赢得这个赌注呢？”

He found a small handful of change in his overcoat pocket, tipped the boy, said, “Tell Louie I’m sending him a check,” and began opening one of the bottles. “Just how do you propose going about winning this bet?”

“我还不确定所有的细节。首先，我要搬去和莫娜一起住。她已经邀请过我好几次去和她一起住了，而我一个人在城里就是个足够的借口。然后我要找出所有她可能想要谋杀的人，四处打听直到我找到一个被她谋杀的人，然后找出她是怎么以及什么时候干的。”

“I’m not sure of all the details yet. First. I’m going to move in with Mona. She’s asked me to stay with her a number of times, and my being alone in town is enough excuse. Then I’m going to find out all the people she might have wanted to murder, nose around until I find one of them who’s been murdered, and find out how and when she did it.”

“你说得可真轻松。” 马龙说。

“You make it sound so wonderfully easy,” Malone said.

她冲他做了个粗鲁的鬼脸。“你可能得帮忙。”

“You may have to help.”

“我一点也不惊讶。” 律师用一种挖苦的声音说。他的目光落在还在他桌上的那封电报上。他赶紧把它塞进口袋，说：“我需要很多钱。现在让我安静一下，我要打电话。”

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” the lawyer said in a wry voice. His eye fell on the cablegram that was still on his desk. He hastily stuffed it into his pocket, and said, “I’m going to need a lot of money. Leave me in peace now while I telephone.”

“你要那么多钱干什么？”

“What do you need a lot of money for?”

“不关你的事。” 他拿起电话，一个接一个地拨了正好十四个号码。在前十三个电话中，四个人不在城里，两个人在监狱里，六个人身无分文，还有一个人的电话被切断了。

“None of your damned business.” He picked up the telephone and called exactly fourteen numbers, one after another. Of the first thirteen calls, four people were out of town, two were in jail, six were broke, and one had had his telephone disconnected.

第十四个电话是打给当地一个赌博集团的头目马克斯?胡克的公寓。马龙亲切地称他为 “朋友”。

小主，

The fourteenth call was to the apartment of the head of a local gambling syndicate, named Max Hook. Malone addressed him familiarly as “chum.”

这个赌徒宣称他很乐意借给马龙钱。如果有必要的话，可以多借一些。他会马上派人把钱送过来。

The gambler declared he would be delighted to lend Malone the money. More, if necessary. He would send it over right away by messenger.

“别担心还钱的事，马龙。你也许能为我做点事。”

“Don’t worry about paying it back, Malone. You may be able to do a few things for me.”

马龙急忙说：“我不是那样做生意的，伙计。我会在二十四小时内还给你。” 他放下电话，看着它说：“我最好也能做到。如果你从骗子那里借钱，很快你就会和他们做生意了。不过，如果你从一个诚实的人那里借钱，他会收你百分之十的利息。”

Malone said hastily, “I don’t do business that way, pal. I’ll pay you back inside of twenty-four hours.” He put down the telephone, looked at it, and said “I’d damned well better too. If you borrow money from crooks, first thing you know you’re in business with them. Still, if you borrow it from an honest man, he charges you ten per cent interest.”

他给海伦的杯子里倒上黑麦威士忌，说：“在这儿等着，我马上回来。” 然后走进接待室。黑发秘书放下她的《国家》杂志，满怀希望地抬头看着他。

He poured rye into Helene’s glass, said, “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” and went out into the reception room. The black-haired secretary laid down her copy of The Nation and looked up at him hopefully.

“玛吉，几分钟后我会有三百块钱进账。给杰克?贾斯特汇两百块到这个地址”—— 他把电报递给她 ——“动作快点。给我留五十块买雪茄，再给自己发点工资。”

“Maggie, I have three hundred bucks ing in a few minutes. Wire two hundred to Jake Justus at this address”—he handed her the cablegram—“and do it fast. Save me fifty bucks for cigars, and pay yourself some salary.”

“银行的透支怎么办？”

“How about the overdraft at the bank?”

“以后再说。” 他坚定地告诉她。他走到门口，停下来，回头说：“给冯?弗拉纳根打电话，告诉他我有点轻微的震颤性谵妄，我明天一早就去他的办公室。”

“Later,” he told her firmly. He went to the door, paused, and said over his shoulder, “Call von Flanagan and tell him that I have a slight touch of delirium tremens, and I’ll drop in at his office first thing in the morning.”

小主，

他关上门的时候，海伦抬起头，露出新的兴趣。“我是不是听到了冯?弗拉纳根的名字？”