马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 十五

“我看你找到了。” 杰克不恰当地说道。伊迪莎?文宁没有回答。他看了她一会儿，她站在那里，脸色苍白，深陷的大眼睛又黑又暗。

“I see you’ve found it,” Jake said inadequately. Editha Venning didn’t answer. He watched her for a moment as she stood there, her face pale, her immense, deep-set eyes dark and shadowy.

这是真的。这肯定是真的。安迪?阿赫恩的杜松子酒没那么厉害。他坚定地对自己说：“我是杰克?贾斯特。” 这听起来相当有说服力，但也不是完全如此。他用手指捏起一小撮雪。感觉很冷。也让人安心。

It was real. It had to be real. Andy Ahearn’s gin wasn’t that potent. He said to himself firmly, “I am Jake Justus.” It sounded rather convincing, but not entirely. He picked up a pinch of snow in his fingers. It felt cold. And reassuring.

他更仔细地看了看坟墓。挖这个坟墓肯定很费劲。有人不得不在那冻硬的地上用镐头挖。坟墓周围有一堆堆被雨点溅污的雪，但坟墓里面只有薄薄的一层雪。

He took a closer look at the grave. It must have been a tough job to dig it. Someone had had to use a pickax on that frozen ground. There were piles of rain-spotted snow around it, but only a faint sprinkling of snow in the grave itself.

杰克努力回想最后一场雪是什么时候下的。自从他回到芝加哥后就没下过。马龙提到过新年夜下过雪。从那以后下过几场雨，但没再下雪。那么这个坟墓是新年以后的某个时候挖的。

Jake tried to remember when the last snow had fallen. Not since he had been back in Chicago. Malone had mentioned that it had snowed on New Year’s Eve. Since then there had been a few rains, but no snow. Then the grave had been dug sometime since New Year’s.

会是谁挖的呢？肯定不是伊迪莎?文宁自己。她是个高挑、健壮的女人，但还没强壮到能做那样的工作。而且，她之前都不知道坟墓在哪里；她得去找。或者她是为了那个意外的目击者而装出来的？

Who could have dug it? Certainly not Editha Venning herself. She was a tall, muscular woman, but not strong enough for that job. Besides, she hadn’t known where the grave was; she’d had to look for it. Or had she put on an act for the unexpected witness?

突然，她转身开始往回走，一句话也没说。杰克跟着她，想着自己敢问哪些问题。在路变宽的地方，他走到她旁边，挽起她的胳膊帮她走过崎岖的地方，偶尔偷看她的脸。

Suddenly she turned and began retracing her steps, without a word. Jake followed, wondering what questions he dared ask. Where the path widened, he stepped up beside her taking her arm to help her over the rough patches, and stealing occasional glances at her face.

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她脸色非常苍白，显然在沉思，但她的表情既不是悲伤，也不是懊悔。只有一种不快的无奈和困惑。

She was very pale, and apparently deep in thought, but her expression was not one of sorrow, nor of regret. There was only a kind of unhappy resignation and perplexity.

如果那个坟墓不在那儿，杰克告诉自己，他会回到自己原来的想法；就是伊迪莎?文宁精神失常了。但坟墓在那儿。他自己亲眼看到了。他有点后悔它在那儿。如果不是这样，事情会容易理解得多。

If the grave had not been there, Jake told himself, he would have gone back to his original theory; that Editha Venning had blown her top. But the grave was there. He’d seen it himself. He was rather sorry that it was. It would have been a lot easier to understand the other way.

他陪她一直走到通向街道的大门。在那儿她停了下来，带着一种打发人的神情。

He walked with her as far as the gate leading to the street. There she paused, with an air of dismissal.

“我给你叫辆出租车好吗？” 杰克问。

“Can I get you a taxi?” Jake asked.

她摇了摇头。“到北岸车站只有几步路。我宁愿走着去。”

She shook her head. “It’s only a few steps to the North Shore station. I’d rather walk.”

他觉得她不想让他陪她。

He had an idea she didn’t want him to acpany her.

她站了一会儿，犹豫着。“谢谢你陪我来。我不喜欢一个人穿过那些树林。但我确实想自己去看看。”

She stood for a moment, hesitating. “Thank you for ing with me. I didn’t like going through those woods alone. But I did want to see it, for myself.”

“听着，” 杰克说。他迅速吸了口气。“你不想喝一杯吗？也许来杯茶？这里非常冷，寒气逼人。我想找个机会谈谈……”

“Look here,” Jake said. He drew a quick breath. “Wouldn’t you like a drink? Maybe a cup of tea? It’s beastly cold and raw out here. I’d like a chance to talk—”

“不，谢谢。” 她对他微笑着，她那双深色的大眼睛像两扇空白的窗帘。“我很想喝，但……”—— 她看了看手表 ——“现在是三点差一刻，我四点要在卢普区和我丈夫碰面。” 她优雅地向他点点头，然后沿着街道走了。

“No, thank you.” She smiled at him, her great dark eyes two blank curtains. “I’d like it very much, but”—she consulted her wrist watch—“it’s quarter of three now, and I’m meeting my husband down in the Loop at four.” She nodded to him graciously and went down the street.

杰克点了一支烟，站在那里看着她离去。

Jake lit a cigarette and stood looking after her.

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“我是杰克?贾斯特。” 他又大声说了一遍。“你感觉怎么样？” 他深吸了一口气，回答道，“我感觉很好。” 这听起来并不让人信服。

“I’m Jake Justus,” he said again, out loud this time. “How do you feel?” He drew a long breath and answered, “I feel fine.” It didn’t sound convincing.