“至少，” 海伦轻声说，“是过去三十二年里最有名的。”

“At least,” Helene murmured, “the most famous in the last thirty-two years.”

“除了是参议员之外，” 清洁工接着说，“他拥有这里一半的鞋厂，还是银行行长。我想他还拥有很多房地产和抵押品。前参议员佩维利肯定很富有。”

“Outside of being a Senator,” the janitor went on, “he owned half the shoe factory here, and he was president of the bank. I guess he owned a lot of real estate and mortgages, too. Ex-Senator Peveley must’ve been a rich man.”

“那现在谁会得到这一切呢？” 杰克随意地问。

“And who’ll get all that now?” Jake asked casually.

“我想是他女儿吧。她是他唯一的亲人。她叫弗洛伦斯。她和杰瑞?勒克斯通订婚了。也许她不会继承所有东西，我觉得她和那个老头 ——” 巴顿抱歉地清了清嗓子 ——“关系不太好。很多人和他关系都不好。”

“His daughter, I suppose. She’s all he had. Her name’s Florence. She’s engaged to marry Jerry Luckstone. Maybe she won’t inherit everything, I don’t think she and the old man”-Buttonholes cleared his throat apologetically-“got along any too well. A lot of people didn’t get along with him.”

“还有那么多钱？” 海伦说。

“With all that money?” Helene said.

巴顿眨了眨眼。“他脾气有点急，而且总是要按自己的方式来。有很多人不喜欢他，但这并不意味着谋杀。这里的人不会随便杀人。”

Buttonholes blinked. “He was kind of quick-tempered, and he always had to have his own way. There was plenty of people didn’t like him, but that don’t mean murder. Folks up here don’t go around murdering.”

“这里有人会这么做，” 杰克说。“可能从没听说过规矩。”

“Somebody up here does,” Jake said. “Probably never heard about the rules.”

还没等巴顿回答，一个棕色头发的漂亮女孩溜进办公室，默默地看了三人一眼，走到电话旁，拨了一个号码。

Before Buttonholes could answer, a brown-haired, pretty girl slipped into the office, glanced silently at the trio, went over to the telephone, and called a number.

“我想和伯罗斯先生说话。” 她的声音很低，杰克和海伦几乎听不清她的话。当她再次说话时，声音更低了。

“I want to speak to Mr. Burrows.” Her voice was so low Jake and Helene could barely make out the words. It was even lower when she spoke again.

“我是阿琳，汤姆。是的，我知道我不该再给你打电话。但我知道你会想知道。佩维利参议员被杀害了。被谋杀了。” 停顿了一会儿，然后说，“我不知道。有人开枪打死了他，他死了。” 又停顿了一下。“在走廊的地板上。汤姆 ——”

小主，

“This is Arlene, Tom. Yes, I know I wasn’t going to call you up again. But I knew you’d want to know. Senator Peveley has been killed. Murdered.” There was a longish pause, then, “I don’t know. Somebody shot him, and he’s dead.” Another pause. “On the floor of the corridor. Tom -”

显然汤姆已经挂了电话。棕色头发的女孩轻轻地拨了一两次电话钩，说：“哦，天哪！” 然后出乎意料地哭了起来。巴顿冲动地朝她走去，但她跑进一个小衣帽间，关上了门。

Evidently Tom had hung up. The brown-haired girl jiggled the phone hook once or twice, said, “Oh dear!” and unexpectedly burst into tears. Buttonholes made an impulsive move in her direction, but she ran into a little coat closet and shut the door.

海伦看着她，摇了摇头。“在威斯康星州的杰克逊，从来没有无聊的时刻。” 她评论道。

Helene looked after her, shaking her head. “Never a dull moment in Jackson, Wisconsin,” she mented.

巴顿皱起了眉头。“如果她父亲知道了 ——”

Buttonholes frowned. “If her father finds out -”

他被县书记员菲尔?史密斯的到来打断了。这位英俊的白发男人礼貌地对杰克和海伦微笑。

He was interrupted by the arrival of Phil Smith, the county clerk. The handsome, white-haired man smiled politely at Jake and Helene.

“很抱歉你们的钓鱼之旅被打断了，” 他流畅地说。“不过，在法院里你们比在这场雨中外出要好。”

“Sorry you’ve had this interruption of your fishing trip,” he said smoothly. “Still, you’re better off here in the courthouse than you would have been, out in this rain.”

“我们没被淋湿，” 海伦说，“如果这是你的意思的话。”

“We’re not wet,” Helene said, “if that’s what you mean.”

杰克叹了口气。“有人知道是谁杀了他吗？”

Jake sighed. “Does anyone have any idea who killed him?”

菲尔?史密斯摇了摇头。“一点头绪都没有。我自己都不明白这是怎么发生的。” 他皱起眉头。“哎呀，我们听到枪声的时候都在法庭里，然后他就倒下了。”

Phil Smith shook his head. “Not an idea in the world. I don’t see how it could have happened, myself.” He scowled. “Why, we were all right there in the courtroom when we heard the shot, and he fell.”

“肯定是上面的某个人开枪打了他。” 杰克说。

“Someone who was up there must have shot him,” Jake said.

县书记员摇了摇头。“不可能。那些人里的一个？荒谬。” 他愤怒地看着杰克，杰克耸了耸肩，把目光移开。

小主，

The county clerk shook his head. “Impossible. One of those people? Absurd.” He looked indignantly at Jake, who shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

“你得承认是有人开枪打了他。” 海伦说。

“You’ll have to admit that somebody shot him,” Helene said.

菲尔?史密斯宽容地看着她。“我亲爱的年轻女士 ——”

Phil Smith looked at her indulgently. “My dear young lady -”

大厅里有点骚动，其中一扇大门砰地响了一声。

There was a little motion in the hall as one of the big doors banged.

“查理?豪森来了，” 巴顿宣布，松了一口气。

“Charlie Hausen’s here,” Buttonholes announced, with a sigh of relief.

海伦正要跟着他们走进走廊，但杰克抓住了她的胳膊。

Helene started to follow them into the corridor, but Jake caught her arm.

“别着急，” 他建议道。“我们就坐着别动，等验尸官检查完。”

“Take it easy,” he advised. “We’ll just sit tight till the coroner gets through.”

“然后呢，还是你打算走一步看一步？”

“And then what, or are you going to make it up as you go along?”

“然后，” 杰克坚定地说，“就该告诉治安官他不能再把我们留在这里了。”

“Then,” Jake said firmly, “it’ll be time to tell the sheriff he can’t keep us here any longer.”

“那太好了，” 她说，“只要治安官同意你的说法。”

“That’s wonderful,” she said, “if only the sheriff agrees with you.”

她沉默了一会儿。杰克钦佩地看着她。她看起来完全就是她本来的样子，一个初次进入社交界的女继承人。每次他想到她爱上并嫁给了他，都觉得这仍然是个奇迹。

She was silent for a moment. Jake stared at her admiringly. She looked exactly like what she was, a debutante heiress. Her falling in love and marrying him was still a miracle every time he thought of it.

“很奇怪我们没听到枪声。” 她突然说。

“It’s funny we didn’t hear the shot,” she said suddenly.

“我们在楼下，而且在大楼的另一头，” 他提醒她。“这些 1880 年的墙很厚。”

“We were downstairs, and at the other end of the building,” he reminded her. “These 1880 walls are thick.”

“你觉得枪在哪里？你认为我们应该告诉治安官肯定有一把枪这个事实吗？”