马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三十四
大房间里死一般的寂静。外面夜幕已经降临，但只有壁炉和一盏柔和的灯照亮了围坐在壁炉旁的这群人的脸。
The big room was deathly still. Darkness had fallen outside, but only the fireplace and the one soft lamp lighted the faces of the little group around the fireplace.
伊迪莎·文宁现在非常平静。她的眼睛和声音里都没有一丝泪水的痕迹。
Editha Venning was very calm now. There was no trace of tears in either her eyes or her voice.
“你知道多少真相？”她轻声问道。
“How much of the truth do you know?” she asked softly.
“全部，”马龙说，“从杰拉尔德·图伊兹谋杀迈克尔·文宁开始。”
“All of it,” Malone said. “Beginning with the murder of Michael Venning by Gerald Tuesday.”
“听着，该死的，”杰克气愤地说，“你疯了。是文宁谋杀了图伊兹。”
“Listen, damn you,” Jake said indignantly. “You’re losing your mind. It was Venning who murdered Tuesday.”
律师摇了摇头。“迈克尔·文宁几年前就被谋杀了。今晚在房间里的那个人是杰拉尔德·图伊兹。”
The lawyer shook his head. “Michael Venning was murdered years ago. The man in the room tonight was Gerald Tuesday.”
那个红头发的男人不安地动了动。“我会相信有一个杰拉尔德·图伊兹，”他说，“我可以勉强相信有两个。但如果有三个，那我绝对不信。”
The red-haired man stirred uneasily. “I’ll believe in one Gerald Tuesday,” he said. “I’ll stretch a point and believe in two. But I’m triple-damned if I’ll believe in three.”
“有三个图伊兹，”马龙告诉他，“只有一个叫杰拉尔德。另外两个是戈登和乔治。”他转向伊迪莎·文宁。“如果我有任何错误，请纠正我。我得赶紧挖出很多事实。”
“There were three Tuesdays,” Malone told him, “only one Gerald. The other two were Gordon and George.” He turned to Editha Venning. “Correct me if I make any mistakes. I had to dig up a lot of facts in a hurry.”
他点燃一支雪茄，坐着看着烟雾袅袅升向灯。“这三个图伊兹来自印第安纳州的埃尔克哈特。他们大胆、有进取心，都是伟大的机会主义者。大约在 1919 年，他们去了东方，在那里从事各种商业活动，并非所有活动都完全诚实。这是我从一个那些年在东方的新闻记者那里得知的。迈克尔·文宁和他年轻的妻子在那里，计划待一年左右。但就世人所知，他待了二十年。”
He lit a cigar and sat watching the smoke curl toward the lamp. “The three Tuesdays came from Elkhart, Indiana. They were daring, enterprising men, all of them great opportunists. About 1919 they went to the Orient and engaged in various mercial enterprises there, not all strictly honest. That I learned from a News reporter who was out in the Orient in those years. Michael Venning was there, with his young wife, planning to stay a year or so. As far as the world knew, he stayed twenty years.”
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