“再好好想想。”海伦建议道，“你听起来有点混乱。”
“Try thinking some more,” Helene advised. “You sound a little confused.”
律师没理她。“彭德利·泰德韦尔是文宁的外甥女婿，他应该为他的舅舅明天就五十岁而感到高兴。这和钱有关。我在想，”他若有所思地说，“文宁有多少钱，谁会继承它。”
The lawyer paid no attention to her. “Pendley Tidewell is Venning’s nephew by marriage, and he should be glad that his uncle is going to be fifty tomorrow. Something to do with money. I wonder,” he said thoughtfully, “how much money Venning has and who is going to inherit it.”
“他有很多钱。”杰克说，“这是芝加哥的一大笔财富。”
“He has plenty,” Jake said. “It’s one of the big Chicago fortunes.”
马龙又把玛吉叫过来。“查出迈克尔·文宁的律师是谁，然后祈求老天让我认识他。”
Again Malone called Maggie. “Find out who Michael Venning’s lawyer is, and pray to heaven that I know him.”
“我会查出来的。”她尖刻地说，“但你自己去祈祷吧。”
“I’ll find out,” she said tartly, “but you handle your own prayers.”
“你为什么关心这个？”杰克问。
“Why do you care?” Jake asked.
“一大笔遗产可能是谋杀他的充分理由。”
“A large-sized inheritance might be an adequate reason for murdering him.”
“他还没被谋杀呢。”海伦指出。
“He hasn’t been murdered,” Helene pointed out.
“是，但他的坟墓已经挖好了。”
“No, but his grave has been dug.”
五分钟后，玛吉回来了。“我给文宁家族的办公室打电话，询问文宁先生的律师的名字的正确拼写。”
Five minutes later Maggie returned. “I called the office of the Venning estate and asked for the correct spelling of the name of Mr. Venning’s lawyer.”
“谢谢。”马龙说，“我希望是史密斯。”
“Thank you,” Malone said. “I hope it turned out to be Smith.”
“结果是费瑟斯通。”她说，“O.O.费瑟斯通。”
“It turned out to be Featherstone,” she said, “O. O. Featherstone.”
马龙松了一口气。“谢天谢地，我确实认识他。他是英格哈特老太太的律师。给他打电话，玛吉，给我约个时间。”
Malone drew a sigh of relief. “Heaven be praised, I do know him. He was old lady Inglehart’s lawyer. Call him up, Maggie, and make an appointment for me.”
“我记得他。”杰克说，“他是那个有职业道德的律师。”
“I remember him,” Jake said. “He was the lawyer that had the ethic.”
玛吉打了电话，然后报告说费瑟斯通先生正要离开办公室，但他很高兴在明天上午十点见马龙先生。
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Maggie made the call and reported that Mr. Featherstone was just leaving his office for the day, but he would be glad to see Mr. Malone at ten in the morning.
“我们明早十点再议。”马龙说，“也许到那时我的寻物启事会有回应，我也能去见费瑟斯通先生。在此期间，我们什么也做不了。”
“We adjourn till ten in the morning,” Malone said “Maybe by that time we’ll have an answer to my want ad, and I can see Mr. Featherstone. In the meantime, there’s not one damned thing we can do.”
“我们可以出去带你去看迈克尔·文宁的坟墓。”海伦说。
“We could go out and show you Michael Venning’s grave,” Helene said.
“我很高兴相信你的话，相信它在那儿。”马龙说。
“I’m glad to take your word for it that it’s there,” Malone said.
“别这么悲观。”海伦说，“我们可以去试着从洛特斯·艾伦那里再套点话出来。”
“Don’t be a defeatist,” Helene said. “We could go try to pump something more out of Lotus Allen.”
“她知道的事我都已经知道了。”
“She doesn’t know anything I haven’t already learned.”
杰克说：“我们可以看看能不能贿赂莫娜的私人女仆，让她讲讲莫娜的过去。”
“Jake said, “We could see if Mona’s personal maid couldn’t be bribed to talk about her past.”
“她不会被贿赂。”海伦说，“已经试过了。”
“She doesn’t bribe,” Helene said. “It’s been tried.”
“我们可以出去找那把钥匙。”
“We could go out looking for that key.”
“拿着手电筒和小扫帚，在芝加哥的大街小巷里找。”马龙轻蔑地说。
“With a pocket flashlight and a small broom, up and down the streets of Chicago,” Malone said scornfully.
“我们可以再去找罗斯·麦克劳林，看看能不能把他灌醉，让他想起更多关于谋杀的事。”
“We could get hold of Ross McLaurin again and see if we could get him drunk enough to remember some more about the murders.”
马龙的沉默胜过千言万语。
Malone’s silence was more than eloquent.
杰克深深地叹了口气。“好吧，该死。”他生气地说，“我们自己去喝个烂醉。那总是个好主意。”
“Jake sighed heavily. “All right, damn you,” he said crossly, “we’ll get drunk ourselves. That’s always good.”
海伦站了起来。“我告诉你我们要做什么。莫娜今晚要带她的家人去卡西诺赌场，一部分是为了庆祝迈克尔·文宁即将到来的生日，一部分是为了让他们忘掉房子里发生的凶杀案。她让我把你们俩也带去。”
“Helene rose. “I’ll tell you what we are going to do. Mona’s taking her household to the Casino tonight, partly to celebrate Michael Venning’s ing birthday and partly to take their minds off the homicides in the house. She asked me to bring you two along.”
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“为什么？”马龙问，“她预料到还会有一起凶杀案吗？”
“Why?” Malone asked. “Is she expecting another homicide?”
“如果有一起的话。”杰克说，“我希望是卢埃拉·怀特。那个女人让我担心。”
“If she has one,” Jake said, “I hope it’s Louella White. That woman worries me.”
“我理解你的感受。”马龙说，“但恐怕会是其他人。好吧，海伦，我们去。”
“I know how you feel,” Malone said, “but I’m afraid it’ll be someone else. All right, Helene, we’ll go.”
“我在那儿等你。”海伦说着，把皮草围巾系在脖子上。“九点左右。”
“I’ll meet you there,” Helene said, fastening her furs around her throat. “Sometime around nine.”
“等一下。”杰克说。“在此期间……”
“Wait a minute,” Jake said. “In the meantime—”
“你忘了我们还在正式分居呢。”她告诉他。
“You forgot we’re still officially separated,’ she told him.
“但是海伦……”
“But Helene—”
“我必须继续住在莫娜·麦克莱恩家，你知道的。等赌注有了结果再说。然后……我会等着你拿着卡西诺赌场的地契出现。”
“I’ve got to go on staying at Mona McClane’s and you know it. Wait until the bet is settled. And then—I’ll be looking for you with the deed to the Casino in your hand.”