山核桃大街谋杀案（21）

时间：2025-03-03 03:20:49

（单词翻译:单击）

Chapter Twenty
“It was a clever idea of Miss Hobhouse’s,” said Inspector1 Sharpe. His voice was indulgent, almost
fatherly.
He shuffled2 the passports from one hand to the other like a man dealing3 cards.
“Complicated thing, finance,” he said. “We’ve had a busy time haring round from one bank to
the other. She covered her tracks well—her financial tracks, I mean. I’d say that in a couple of
years’ time she could have cleared out, gone abroad and lived happily ever after, as they say, on
ill-gotten gains. It wasn’t a big show—illicit diamonds, sapphires4, etc., coming in—stolen stuff
going out—and narcotics5 on the side, as you might say. Thoroughly6 well organised. She went
abroad under her own and under different names, but never too often, and the actual smuggling7
was always done, unknowingly, by someone else. She had agents abroad who saw to the exchange
of rucksacks at the right moment. Yes, it was a clever idea. And we’ve got M. Poirot here to thank
for putting us on to it. It was smart of her, too, to suggest that psychological stealing stunt8 to poor
little Miss Austin. You were wise to that almost at once, weren’t you, M. Poirot?”
Poirot smiled in a deprecating manner and Mrs. Hubbard looked admiringly at him. The
conversation was strictly9 off the record in Mrs. Hubbard’s sitting room.
“Greed was her undoing,” said Poirot. “She was tempted10 by that fine diamond in Patricia Lane’s
ring. It was foolish of her because it suggested at once that she was used to handling precious
stones—that business of prising the diamond out and replacing it with a zircon. Yes, that certainly
gave me ideas about Valerie Hobhouse. She was clever, though, when I taxed her with inspiring
Celia, she admitted it and explained it in a thoroughly sympathetic way.”
“But murder!” said Mrs. Hubbard. “Cold-blooded murder. I can’t really believe it even now.”
Inspector Sharpe looked gloomy.
“We aren’t in a position to charge her with the murder of Celia Austin yet,” he said. “We’ve got
her cold on the smuggling, of course. No difficulties about that. But the murder charge is more
tricky11. The public prosecutor12 doesn’t see his way. There’s motive13, of course, and opportunity. She
probably knew all about the bet and Nigel’s possession of morphia, but there’s no real evidence,
and there are the two other deaths to take into account. She could have poisoned Mrs. Nicoletis all
right—but on the other hand, she definitely did not kill Patricia Lane. Actually she’s about the
only person who’s completely in the clear. Geronimo says positively14 that she left the house at six
o’clock. He sticks to that. I don’t know whether she bribed16 him—”
“No,” said Poirot, shaking his head. “She did not bribe15 him.”
“And we’ve the evidence of the chemist at the corner of the road. He knows her quite well and
he sticks to it that she came in at five minutes past six and bought face powder and aspirin17 and
used the telephone. She left his shop at quarter past six and took a taxi from the rank outside.”
Poirot sat up in his chair.
“But that,” he said, “is magnificent! It is just what we want!”
“What on earth do you mean?”
“I mean that she actually telephoned from the box at the chemist’s shop.”
Inspector Sharpe looked at him in an exasperated18 fashion.
“Now, see here, M. Poirot. Let’s take the known facts. At eight minutes past six, Patricia Lane
is alive and telephoning to the police station from this room. You agree to that?”
“I do not think she was telephoning from this room.”
“Well then, from the hall downstairs.”
“Not from the hall either.”
Inspector Sharpe sighed.
“I suppose you don’t deny that a call was put through to the police station? You don’t think that
I and my sergeant19 and Police Constable20 Nye and Nigel Chapman were the victims of mass
hallucination?”
“Assuredly not. A call was put through to you. I should say at a guess that it was put through
from the public call box at the chemist’s on the corner.”
Inspector Sharpe’s jaw21 dropped for a moment.
“You mean that Valerie Hobhouse put through that call? That she pretended to speak as Patricia
Lane, and that Patricia Lane was already dead.”
“That is what I mean, yes.”
The inspector was silent for a moment, then he brought down his fist with a crash on the table.
“I don’t believe it. The voice—I heard it myself—”
“You heard it, yes. A girl’s voice, breathless, agitated22. But you didn’t know Patricia Lane’s
voice well enough to say definitely that it was her voice.”
“I didn’t, perhaps. But it was Nigel Chapman who actually took the call. You can’t tell me that
Nigel Chapman could be deceived. It isn’t so easy to disguise a voice over the telephone, or to
counterfeit23 somebody else’s voice. Nigel Chapman would have known if it wasn’t Pat’s voice
speaking.”
“Yes,” said Poirot. “Nigel Chapman would have known. Nigel Chapman knew quite well that it
wasn’t Patricia. Who should know better than he, since he had killed her with a blow on the back
of the head only a short while before.”
It was a moment or two before the inspector recovered his voice.
“Nigel Chapman? Nigel Chapman? But when we found her dead—he cried—cried like a child.”
“I dare say,” said Poirot. “I think he was as fond of that girl as he could be of anybody—but that
wouldn’t save her—not if she represented a menace to his interests. All along, Nigel Chapman has
stood out as the obvious probability. Who had morphia in his possession? Nigel Chapman. Who
had the shallow brilliant intellect to plan and the audacity24 to carry out fraud and murder? Nigel
Chapman. Who do we know to be both ruthless and vain? Nigel Chapman. He has all the
hallmarks of the killer25; the overweening vanity, the spitefulness, the growing recklessness that led
him to draw attention to himself in every conceivable way—using the green ink in a stupendous
double bluff26, and finally overreaching himself by the silly deliberate mistake of putting Len
Bateson’s hairs in Patricia’s fingers, oblivious27 of the fact that as Patricia was struck down from
behind, she could not possibly have grasped her assailant by the hair. They are like that, these
murderers, carried away by their own egotism, by their admiration28 of their own cleverness, relying
on their charm—for he has charm, this Nigel—he has all the charm of a spoiled child who has
never grown up, who never will grow up—who sees only one thing, himself, and what he wants!”
“But why, M. Poirot? Why murder? Celia Austin, perhaps, but why Patricia Lane?”
“That,” said Poirot, “we have got to find out.”

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 inspector q6kxH     
n.检查员，监察员，视察员
参考例句：
  • The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
  • The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
2 shuffled cee46c30b0d1f2d0c136c830230fe75a     
v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句：
  • He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
  • Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
4 sapphires 1ef1ba0a30d3a449deb9835f6fd3c316     
n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色
参考例句：
  • Again there was that moment of splintered sapphires before the lids, dropping like scales, extinguished it. 她眼眶中又闪烁出蓝宝石的光彩，接着眼睑象鱼鳞般地垂落下来，双目又黯然失色了。 来自辞典例句
  • She also sported a somewhat gawdy gold watch set with diamonds and sapphires. 她还收到一块镶着钻石和蓝宝石的金表。 来自辞典例句
5 narcotics 6c5fe7d3dc96f0626f1c875799f8ddb1     
n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒
参考例句：
  • The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
7 smuggling xx8wQ     
n.走私
参考例句：
  • Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
  • The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
8 stunt otxwC     
n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长
参考例句：
  • Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
  • Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。
9 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
10 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
11 tricky 9fCzyd     
adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的
参考例句：
  • I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
  • He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。
12 prosecutor 6RXx1     
n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人
参考例句：
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
  • The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
13 motive GFzxz     
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
14 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
15 bribe GW8zK     
n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通
参考例句：
  • He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
  • He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。
16 bribed 1382e59252debbc5bd32a2d1f691bd0f     
v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂
参考例句：
  • They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 aspirin 4yszpM     
n.阿司匹林
参考例句：
  • The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
  • She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。
18 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句：
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
19 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官，中士
参考例句：
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？
20 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察，警官
参考例句：
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。
21 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
22 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。
23 counterfeit 1oEz8     
vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的
参考例句：
  • It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
  • The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。
24 audacity LepyV     
n.大胆，卤莽，无礼
参考例句：
  • He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
  • He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。
25 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者
参考例句：
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
26 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗
参考例句：
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
27 oblivious Y0Byc     
adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的
参考例句：
  • Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
  • He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。
28 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
参考例句：
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

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