Chapter 6 a man named spade
Samuel Spade put down the phone and looked at his watch.It's not yet four o'clock."Ho!" he cried.
Effie Palin came in from the outer office.She is eating a piece of chocolate cake.
"Tell Sid Wise I won't be able to finish what he asked for this afternoon," he said.
She put the last piece of cake in her mouth and licked her thumb and forefinger. "This week is the third time."
When he smiled, each V-shape of chin, mouth, and eyebrows seemed longer. "I know, but I have to go out and save a life." He nodded at the phone. "Someone's threatening Max Bliss."
she laughed. "Maybe someone named."
He rolled a cigarette and looked up at her. "Is there anything I should know about this man?"
"Nothing you don't know. I just remembered the time he sent his brother to San Quentin."
Spade shrugged. "That's not the worst thing he's ever done." He lit his cigarette, stood up, and took his hat, "but he's fine now. All of Samuel Spade's clients are honest and Pious man. If I don't come back by the end of the day, go away."
He came to a tall apartment building on Noble Hill and pressed the button in front of the door of "10K".A burly dark-skinned man immediately opened the door.He was dressed in rumpled dark clothes, his hair was almost completely bald, and he held a gray hat in one hand.
The burly man said, "Hello, Sam." He smiled, but his small eyes never lost their sharpness. "What are you doing here?"
Spade said: "Hello, Ton." His face was dull, his voice was flat, without ups and downs, "Is Bliss there?"
"You look for him!" The corners of Tom's mouth collapsed, his lips were thick, "you don't mind his business."
Spade frowned: "Huh?"
A man appeared on the porch behind Tom.He was shorter than both Spade and Tom, but strong.He had a square face, ruddy complexion, two carefully trimmed gray beards, neat clothes, and a black bowler hat on the back of his head.
Spade greeted the man over Tom's shoulder. "Hello, Dundee."
Dundee nodded curtly and walked to the door.His blue eyes were harsh and probing.
"What's the matter?" he asked Tom.
"Bliss, Max." Spade spelled out the name patiently. "I want to see him, and he wants to see me. Got it?"
Tom laughed, but Dundee didn't."Only one of you will get it," said Tom, and he gave Dundee a sidelong look, and stopped laughing suddenly.Dundee didn't look too happy.
Spade frowned disapprovingly. "Okay." he asked petulantly. "Is he dead, or did he kill someone?"
Dundee jerked his square face up at Spade, throwing his question, "Why do you think that?"
Spade said: "Oh, of course! I came to see Mr. Bliss, and I was stopped at the door by two Homicide cops. You're expecting me to think I just broke a game of rummy play."
"Stop it, Sam," muttered Tom, without looking at the two men. "He's dead."
"Killed?"
Tom nodded slowly up and down.He looked at Spade now and asked, "What news do you have?"
Spade replied flatly and unhurriedly: "He called me this afternoon and said he was going to be scalped—about three fifty-five. After he hung up I Looked at my watch, it was almost a minute to four. He wanted me to come here. It sounds like he was telling the truth, and his scalp was undoubtedly still attached to his neck." He made a gesture with one hand. With a small gesture, "So, here I am."
"Did he say who was going to kill him, or how?" asked Dundee.
Spade shook his head. "No, he only said that someone was going to kill him, and he believed it, and asked if I could come over right away."
"Did he—" Dundee began again quickly.
"He didn't say anything else," Spade said. "Aren't you going to tell me something?"
Dundee said stiffly: "Come in and see him."
Tom said: "It's a scene."
They passed through a porch, through a door, and into a green and rose living room.
The man by the door was sprinkling white powder over the edge of a small glass-topped table.He stopped what he was doing and said, "Hello, Sam."
Spade nodded and said, "How are you, Fels?" Then he nodded to the two other men who were standing by the window talking.
The deceased was lying on the ground with his mouth open.He was stripped of several pieces of clothing, his throat was swollen and dark in color; his tongue was on one side of his mouth, and the base of his tongue was light blue and swollen.On his bare chest, someone had drawn a five-pointed star above his heart in black ink.In the middle of the five-pointed star is a capital T.
Spade looked down at the dead man and stood silently for a moment, examining his body.Then he asked: "When you found him, was he like this?"
"Basically," said Tom. "We moved him a bit." He pointed with a thumb, pointing to a table of shirts, underwear, vests, and coats. "The clothes were scattered on the floor."
Spade stroked his chin, his sallow eyes cloudy and dreamy. "when?"
Tom said, "We found it at 4:20. His daughter called the police." He turned to look at a closed door. "You'll see her."
"Does she know anything?"
"God knows," said Tom wearily. "She's having a hard time accepting it now." He turned to Dundee. "Want to try talking to her again now?"
Dundee nodded, then said to a man by the window, "Start going over his papers, Mike. He must have been intimidated."
Mike said, "Okay." He pulled his hat over his eyes and walked to the green desk at the far end of the room.
A man came in from the corridor.He was a stocky man, about fifty, with a wide-brimmed black hat on his head, and a furrowed, gray face.He said, "Hello, Sam." Then he told Dundee, "He had a visitor around two-thirty for about an hour. It was a tall blond man in a brown suit, about forty, or four." Fifteen years old. The man did not leave a name. I got the information from the Filipino man who drove the elevator. He passed the man up and down the stairs."
"Surely it's only an hour?" asked Dundee.
The pale-faced man shook his head. "But he's pretty sure it wasn't past three-thirty when the man left. He said the afternoon papers were delivered at that time, and he sent the man downstairs before the papers arrived." He scratched his head with his hat. , and then stretched out a thick finger to point to the ink pattern on the chest of the deceased, and asked with a bit of sadness: "What do you think is going on?"
No one answered him.Dundee asked: "Would the elevator driver recognize him?"
"He said he could, but don't they always say that. He said he hadn't seen the man before." He stopped looking at the dead man, "The dead man's daughter gave me a list of his contacts List. How are you, Sam?"
Spade said he was fine.Then he said slowly, "His brother is a tall blond man, about forty or forty-five."
Dundee's blue eyes lit up, sternly. "So?" he asked.
"You remember the Greystone Loan scam? They were both involved, but Max put the blame on Theodore, and Theodore ended up at San Quentin for fourteen years."
Dundee nodded slowly. "I remember. Where is he?"
Spade shrugged and started rolling a cigarette.
Dundee nudged Tom. "Go find him."
Tom said, "No problem. But he left at three-thirty, and the fellow was still alive at five minutes to four—"
"That guy broke his leg, so he can't dive back." The gray-faced man said happily.
"Go and find him," repeated Dundee.
Tom said, "Sure, sure." He went to the phone.
Dundee said to the pale man, "Go and check the papers and see what time they were delivered this afternoon."
The gray-faced man nodded and left the room.
"Aha," said the man who was searching the desk. He turned, holding an envelope in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
Dundee held out his hand: "What?"
With another "ahhh" the man handed the paper to Dundee.
Spade looked over Dundee's shoulder.
It was a piece of plain white paper, upon which was written in pencil, in neat and featureless handwriting:
The signature is a five-pointed star wrapped with the letter T, which is exactly the pattern on the left chest of the deceased.
Dundee reached out again and took the envelope.Stamps are from France.The address was typed on a typewriter:
"The postmark is from France," he said, "it will be mailed on the second of this month." He quickly calculated with his fingers, "It should have arrived today, very good." He slowly folded the letter paper and put it in the envelope, Then put the envelope in the coat pocket. "Keep looking." He said to the man who found the letter.
The man nodded and returned to the desk to continue working.
Dundee looked at Spade: "What do you think of this?"
The brown cigarette bobbed up and down in Spade's mouth as he spoke. "I don't like it. Not at all."
Tom puts down the phone. "He got out of prison on the 15th of last month," he said. "I asked them to find him."
Spade went to the telephone and dialed a number for Mr. Darrell. "Hello, Harry, I'm Sam Spade... I'm fine... How's Lear?... Yes... Listen, Harry, there's a pentagram with a capital T in the middle, What does it mean?...what? How do you spell it?...yes, i know...if you find this pattern on a human body...i don't know either...ok thanks. see you I'll let you know when ... yes, call me ... thank you ... goodbye."
He hung up and came back, Dundee and Tom staring at him.He said: "That guy knows a lot sometimes. He said it was a pentacle with the Greek letter T drawn in the middle, the nineteenth letter in Greek, and it's pronounced TAU. Magicians used to use that signature. .Maybe astrologers still use it."
"What do astrologers do?" asked Tom.
"That T could be Theodore's initials too," said Dundee.
Spade shook his shoulders and said casually: "Yes, but if he wants to draw this pattern with his own hand, he can sign his name without much trouble." He went on, thinking a little more, "There are astrologers .I don't know much, but we should go to them."
Dundee nodded.
Spade looked at the clothes on the table that belonged to the dead man. "Is there anything in your pocket?"
"Only anything you can imagine," Dundee replied. "It's all on the table."
Spade went to the table and looked down at the small pile of watches and fobs, keys, wallets, address books, money, gold pencils, handkerchiefs, and spectacle cases beside the clothes.He didn't touch them, but slowly picked up the clothes one at a time, first the dead man's shirt, then the underwear, the vest, and the coat.Underneath is a blue tie.He frowned disapprovingly at the tie. "This tie hasn't been used yet," he complained.
Dundee, Tom, and the officer in the corner who had been standing quietly by the window—a small, narrow, dark, intelligent face—walked together, staring at nothing. Wrinkled blue silk.
Tom groaned in pain.Dundee cursed almost inaudibly.Spade picked up the tie and looked at the back of it.The label said it was a men's clothing dealer in London.
Spade said cheerfully: "Swell, San Francisco, Point Loma, San Jose, Paris, London."
Dundee glared at him fiercely.
A gray-faced man walked in. "Fine, the papers were delivered at three-thirty," he said, his eyes widening a little, "what's the matter?" he said as he walked across the house to them, "no one saw the blond man sneaking back. ’ He looked at the tie in puzzlement until Tom growled, ‘It’s new,’ and he whistled softly.
Dundee turned to Spade. "The thing is," he said sternly, "that he has a brother who has reason to dislike him. The brother just got out of prison. At three-thirty a man who looks like his brother left here. Twenty-five Minutes later he called you and said he was being terrorized. Within an hour his daughter came and found him dead - strangled." He poked a finger at the The chest of the short man with a black face, "Is that right?"
"Strangled to death." The black-faced man said succinctly, "Strangled to death by a man. The handprint is huge."
"Okay." Dundee turned again to Spade. "We've got a threatening letter. Maybe that's what he told you, maybe he said what his brother told him. Let's not guess, Go for what we know first. We know he—”
The man at the desk turned around and said, "I found another one." There was a bit of complacency on his face.
The five people at the table all looked at him with the same cold and merciless eyes.And he was not disturbed by their hostility in the slightest, reading aloud:
He grinned, "You've got another T." He picked up an envelope, "It's postmarked San Diego, the twenty-fifth of last month." He grinned again, "You've got another city to check. "
Spade shook his head. "That's right there at Point Loma," he said.
He walked with Dundee to read the letter.The letter was written in blue ink, the paper was white good letter paper, and the address on the envelope was also written in blue ink. The handwriting was crowded and sharp, and it looked nothing like the letter written in pencil. common ground.
"Now we're making progress," Spade said sarcastically.
Dundee made an impatient gesture, and growled: "Let's grasp the facts we know."
"Indeed," Spade agreed. "What do we know?"
No one answered him.
Spade took tobacco and rolling papers from his pocket. "Did no one say anything about the conversation with the dead man's daughter?" he asked.
"We'll talk to her." Dundee turned his ankle, frowning suddenly at the dead man lying on the floor.He pointed to the short man with a dark face and asked, "Have you finished the inspection?"
"Checking."
Dundee said curtly to Tom, "Get this done." Then he said to the pale man, "I'm going to see the two boys who drive the elevator after I've seen the dead man's daughter."
He went to the closed door that Tom had pointed out to Spade, and knocked.
A slightly harsh female voice asked inside the door: "What's the matter?"
"Inspector Dundee. I want to speak to Miss Bliss."
The room was quiet for a moment, and then the voice said, "Come in."
Dundee opened the door, and Spade followed him into a black, gray and silver room.A girl was lying on the bed, and another middle-aged woman with a large frame and ugly features stood beside the bed.She was wearing a black dress with a white apron.
The girl was lying facing the big-boned ugly woman with her elbows on the pillow and her cheek on her hand.She was obviously only about eighteen years old, wearing a gray suit, with short blond hair, hard face lines, and fairly well-proportioned facial features.She did not look at the two men who entered the room.
Dundee talked to the big-boned woman while Spade lit his cigarette. "We'd like to ask you a few questions too, Mrs. Hooper. You're the Bliss housekeeper, aren't you?"
The woman said: "Yes." Her harsh voice, deep-set eye sockets, calm gray pupils, and a pair of big motionless hands placed in front of the skirt pockets all gave people a feeling of powerful strength in calmness.
"How much do you know about this?"
"I don't know anything. I left here this morning to attend my nephew's funeral in Auckland. By the time I got back, you and a few other gentlemen had come and—and this had happened."
Dundee nodded and asked, "What do you think about this matter?"
"I don't know what to think." She answered simply.
"Don't you know he expected this to happen?"
The girl suddenly stopped looking at Mrs. Hooper.She sat up on the bed, turned around suddenly, her excited eyes fell on Dundee, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Literally. He was terrorized. He called Mr. Spade—" He nodded at Spade, "and he told the gentleman. He was killed a few minutes later. "
"But who—" she asked.
"That's what we want to ask you," said Dundee. "Who has so much animosity against him?"
She stared at him in shock. "No one would—"
This time Spade interrupted her.His voice was soft, making his words sound less brutal.
"But someone did kill him." He asked when she laid her eyes on him. "Don't you know about the threats?"
She shook her head violently from side to side.
He looked at Mrs. Hooper: "What about you?"
"I don't know, sir," she said.
He turned his attention back to the girl. "Did you know Daniel Talbot?"
"Why ask him? Yes, I know him," she said. "He was at home for dinner last night."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know. All I know is that he lives in San Diego and has a joint business with his father. I haven't met him before."
"How is their relationship?"
She frowned slightly, and said slowly, "It's very friendly."
Dundee said, "What business is your father in?"
"He's a financier."
"You mean investors?"
"Yes, I think you call it that."
"Does Talbot live in the city, or has he returned to San Diego?"
"I have no idea."
"how does he look like?"
She frowned again in thought. "He was a big man with a red face and white hair and a white beard."
"How old are you?"
"I guess he's sixty, or at least fifty-five."
Dundee looked at Spade, who was putting cigarette butts on a plate on the dresser, and asked, "When was the last time you saw your uncle?"
Her face flushed. "You mean uncle?"
He nodded. "Never seen him." She said, bit her lip, and added, "Of course, you know, except when he was just out of prison." "He's been here." "yes." "To see your father?" "certainly." "How is their relationship?" She opened her eyes wide. “Neither of them were emotionally explicit,” she said, “but they were brothers. His father gave him a sum of money to get him back in business.” "That means they have a good relationship?" "Yes," she said, as if answering a useless question. "where does he live?" "Lives on Post Street," she said, giving back the house number. "You haven't seen him since?" "No. He's embarrassed, you know, because he's been in prison—" She gestured with one hand, ending the sentence. Spade asked Mrs. Hooper: "Have you seen him?" "No, sir." He pursed his lips and asked slowly, "Does any of you know that he came here this afternoon?" They said in unison: "No." "where--" Then someone knocked on the door. Dundee said, "Come in." Tom opened the door a crack so he could put his head in. "Here's his brother," he said. The girl leaned forward and called, "Oh, Uncle Ted!" Behind Tom appeared a tall blond man in a brown suit.His complexion was deeply tanned, making his teeth look whiter than ever, and his clear eyes bluer. "What's the matter, Miriam?" he asked. "Father is dead," she said, and wept. Dundee nodded to Tom, who made way for Theodore Bliss to enter the room. Behind him was a woman who walked in slowly and hesitantly.It was a woman in her late thirties, tall, blond, and not very plump.Her face was unremarkable, with a cheerful and intelligent face.She wore a brown hat and a mink coat. Bliss put one arm around his niece, kissed her forehead, and sat down beside her. "Okay, okay," he said awkwardly. The girl stared at the fair-haired woman for a moment with teary eyes, and then said, "Oh, how are you, Miss Barrow?" "I'm sorry—" said the blond woman. Bliss cleared his throat and said, "She's Mrs. Bliss now. We got married this afternoon." Dundee looked at Spade angrily.And Spade was rolling a cigarette and seemed about to laugh. Miriam Bliss was astonished for a moment, then said: "Oh, I wish you the happiest man in the world." The wife murmured thanks and the girl said to her uncle : "And you, Uncle Ted." He patted the girl on the shoulder and hugged her affectionately.He looked at Spade and Dundee suspiciously. "Your brother died this afternoon," said Dundee. "He was murdered." Mrs. Bliss gasped.Bliss hugged his niece tightly, his arms twitching, but his expression remained unchanged. "Murdered?" he repeated, puzzled. "Yes." Dundee put his hand in his coat pocket. "You were here this afternoon." Theodore Bliss' tanned face paled a little, but he still said, "I've been here." His voice remained steady. "How long have you been here?" "About an hour. I got there at two-thirty, and—" he turned to his wife, "it was about three-thirty when I called you, wasn't it?" She said yes." "Well, I'm leaving after that." "Have you made an appointment with him?" asked Dundee. "No. I called his office," he nodded at his wife, "and they said he was home, so I came over. I wanted to see him before Elise and I left, which is And of course; I was hoping he'd come to the wedding, but he didn't. He said he had to wait. We're sitting here talking longer than I expected, so I just called Elise , and ask her to meet me at the municipal building." Dundee pondered for a moment and asked, "What time?" "You mean our rendezvous time?" Bliss looked at his wife questioningly. The latter said: "A quarter to four." She smiled slightly, "I arrived first, and I have been looking at my watch." Bliss said cautiously: "It was a little to four when we got married. We had to wait for Judge Whitefield, maybe ten minutes, and there were a few people ahead of us, and the judge had to deal with his case first. You can look it up—I think the Superior Court, Second District." Spade looked around quickly, pointed to Tom and said, "Go and check it quickly." Tom said "Yes" and walked away from the door. "If that's the case, you're all right, Mr. Bliss," said Dundee, "but now I have to ask you a few questions. Did your brother say who he was waiting for?" "No." "Did he mention the intimidation he was made of?" "No. He never told anyone about himself, not even me. Was he threatened?" Dundee pursed his lips slightly: "You have a very close relationship with him?" "If you mean whether we get along well, yes." "Are you sure?" Dundee asked. "Are you sure you don't hold a grudge against each other?" Theodore Bliss let go of his niece's arms, and the color gradually faded from his face, turning his tanned face a pale yellow."Everyone here knows I was in jail at San Quentin. You can say it, if that's what you want to say," he said. "Yes," said Dundee, and then after a pause, "then?" Bliss stood up. "Well, what?" he asked impatiently. "Did I resent him for this? No. Why should I resent him? We were all involved in that, and he could get away with it and I couldn't. And I'm going to be charged whether he gets out or not. It doesn't do me any favors to have him go to jail with me. We talked about it and then it was decided that I'd go to jail alone and let him regroup on the outside. He did. If you Check his bank account and you'll know he gave me a check for twenty-five thousand dollars two days ago when I got out of San Quentin, and the National Steel Trust Company can tell you that since that day A thousand shares in his name were transferred to me." He smiled apologetically, and sat down by the bed again, "I'm sorry, I know you have to ask these things." Dundee ignored his apology. "Do you know Daniel Talbot?" he asked. Bliss said, "I don't know." His wife said, "I know him. I mean, I met him. He came to the office yesterday." Dundee looked her up and down carefully, and then asked, "What office?" "I am—I was Mr. Bliss's secretary, and—" "Max Bliss's secretary?" "Yes. A man named Daniel Talbot came to see him yesterday afternoon, if you mean the same man." "What happened?" She looked at her husband, and he said, "If you know something, for God's sake, tell them." She said: "Nothing really happened. I think they were very angry at first, but they were laughing and talking as they walked together. Before they left, Mr. Bliss called me and asked me to call Tupper - he's the accountant - writes a check as Mr Talbot requested." "Is he on?" "Oh, it's open. I took it in and gave it to him. It's more than seven thousand five hundred dollars." "What is it for?" She shook her head. "I have no idea." "If you had been Bliss's secretary," Dundee insisted, "you must have known something about what he and Talbot were doing." "But I don't know," she said. "I've never heard of him." Dundee looked at Spade, who looked blank.Dundee glared at him, then posed a question to the man sitting by the bed: "What kind of tie was your brother wearing when you last saw him?" Bliss blinked, stared into the space behind Dundee, and finally closed his eyes.When he opened his eyes he said, "It's a green one—I'd recognize it if I saw it. Why do you ask?" Mrs. Bliss said, "The pinstripe tie in dark and light green. The one he wears in the office in the morning." "Where do he keep his ties?" Dundee asked the butler. She straightened up and said, "It's in a closet in his bedroom. I'll show you." Dundee and the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Bliss followed. Spade picked up his hat from the dresser and asked Miriam Bliss, "What time did you leave?" He was standing at the foot of her bed. "Today? Around one o'clock. I have a lunch date at one o'clock, and I'm a little late. Then I go shopping, and—" She trembled. "What time did you get home?" His voice was kind without emotion. "I think it was after four o'clock." "Then what happened?" "I sent—found my father lying there. I called—I don't know if I called the concierge downstairs or the police, I don't know what I did. I passed out, or I was hysterical, And the first thing I can remember is going into the room and seeing these men and Mrs Hooper." She looked up at him. "You didn't see a doctor?" She lowered her eyes again: "No, I don't think I have." "Of course you wouldn't go to a doctor if you knew he was dead," he said casually. She was silent. "You knew he was dead?" he asked. She raised her eyes and looked at him blankly. "But he died," she said. He smiled: "Of course, but I mean, you called before you confirmed that he was dead?" She raised a hand to her throat. "I don't remember what I did," she said sincerely, "I think I just found out he was dead." He nodded understandingly. "If you called the police it was because you knew he was murdered." She rubbed the fingers of her hands, staring at them and said: "I think so. This is horrible. I don't know what I was thinking or how I did it." Spade leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I'm not a detective, Miss Bliss. I work for your father. I was a few minutes late to save him. In a sense, I'm working for you now, so if there's anything I can do to help—maybe something the police can't—" He stopped suddenly.Dundee came back into the room, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Bliss and the butler. "How's your luck?" "No green tie," said Dundee. He glanced suspiciously at Spade and the girl. "Mrs. Hooper said the blue tie we found was one of six he had just brought back from England." .” "Is there anything important about the tie?" Bliss asked. Dundee glared at him. "When we found him, he was stripped of a lot of his clothes. Those clothes and that tie were new, never worn." "Couldn't someone come in and kill him while he was changing? He wasn't dressed when he was killed?" Dundee's brow furrowed even tighter. "Possibly, but where did his green tie go? Did he eat it?" "He wasn't changing," Spade said. "If you look at the collar of that shirt, he was definitely wearing it when he was strangled." Tom went to the door. "It's true about the check," he told Dundee. "The judge and a bailiff called Kitteridge said they were there from three forty-five to four-five or ten. I Let Kittredge come and identify them, and see if they are the two at the Municipal House." Without looking back, Dundee said: "Okay." He took out the threatening letter written in pencil from his pocket, and the signature on the letter was the letter T with a five-pointed star.He folded the letter, exposing only the signature, and asked, "Anyone know what this is?" Miriam Bliss got out of bed to look at the autograph with the others.They looked at each other blankly. "Anyone know something?" asked Dundee. Mrs. Hooper said: "It's like a pattern on poor Mr. Bliss's chest, but—" Others said, "I don't know." "Has anyone seen anything like it before?" They said no. Dundee said: "Okay. Wait here. Maybe I have something else to ask you in a while." Spade said, "Wait a minute. How long have you known Mrs. Bliss, Mr. Bliss?" Bliss looked at Spade curiously. "I only met after I got out of prison." He replied cautiously, "What's wrong?" "That's because I only met last month." Spade seemed to be talking to himself, "Because your brother knew each other?" "Saw it in his office, of course. Why do you ask?" "Did you two stay together this afternoon at the Municipal House?" "Yes, of course," said Bliss sharply. "What are you trying to say?" Spade smiled at him, a friendly smile. "I have to ask something," he said. Bliss smiled too. "Okay." His smile widened a little more. "Actually, I lied. We weren't together all the time. I went to the hallway for a cigarette, but I can assure you, I kept getting a Glass looked over and saw that she was always sitting in the courtroom where I walked out." Spade shared Bliss' easy laugh, but asked, "Can you see the glass door when you're not looking through it? There's no way you can't see her if she leaves the courtroom?" Bliss's smile was gone. "Of course not," he said. "I've been out for less than five minutes." "Thank you," Spade said, following Dundee into the living room, closing the door behind him. Dundee gave Spade a sideways look. "Is there a problem?" Spade shrugged. Max Bliss' body has been removed.In addition to the man at the desk and the gray-faced man, there were two Filipino boys in fuchsia uniforms in the living room.They sat next to each other on the sofa. Dundee said, "Mark, I'm looking for a green tie. I want you to take this house down, this wall down, down here and there until you find it. Tune whoever you need." You go together." The man at the desk straightened up and said, "Okay." He pulled down his hat to cover his eyes, and walked out. Dundee frowned, looking at the two Filipinos ferociously. "Which of you ever saw a man in brown?" The shorter one stood up: "It's me, sir." Dundee opened the bedroom door and said, "Bliss." 布利斯走到门边。 菲律宾男孩脸色放松了些。“是他，先生，就是他。” 邓迪当着布利斯的面关上房门。 "sit down." 男孩慌忙坐下。 邓迪阴郁地凝视着那两个男孩子，直到他们开始坐立不安。然后他说道：“今天下午你们还带了什么人上来这个公寓？” 他们一起左右摇着头。“没有其他人，先生。”矮个子的那个说道。他嘴角那抹显然是讨好的笑容扩散到了整张脸上。 邓迪上前一步，威吓他们。“呸！”他厉声说道，“你把布利斯小姐带上来了。” 个子高一点的那个男孩连忙点着头：“是的，先生。是的，先生。我带他们上来的。我以为你说的是其他人。”他也努力挤出了一个微笑。 邓迪怒视着他：“不用你去想我是什么意思。你只需要回答我的问题。现在，告诉我你说的'他们'是指谁？” 男孩子的微笑在那怒气冲冲的目光中逝去。他看着双脚中间的地板，说道：“布利斯小姐和一位先生。” “哪个先生？里面的那个先生？”他扭头看着他当着布利斯的面关上的门。 “不是，先生。另一位先生，不是美国人。”他再次抬起头，脸上恢复了聪明伶俐的神色，“我想他是亚美尼亚人。” "why?" “因为他不像我们美国人，说话跟我们不一样。” 斯佩德大笑，问道：“你们见过亚美尼亚人？” “没有，先生。所以我想——”他突然闭上嘴，因为邓迪喉咙里发出了咆哮。 “他长什么样？”邓迪问道。 男孩抬起肩膀，摊开双手。“他挺高，有这位先生这么高。”他指着斯佩德，“棕黑色头发，棕黑色的胡子。非常——”他认真地拧起眉，“衣料很好；长得很帅；拿着手杖，戴着手套，鞋上有鞋罩，甚至还——” “年轻？”邓迪问道。 他又点着头。“年轻，是的，先生。” "When did he leave?" “五分钟之后。”男孩回答。 邓迪咂吧着嘴，然后问道：“他们几点来的？” 男孩摊开手掌，又耸了耸肩。“四点——也许是四点十分。” “在我们来之前，你还带什么人上来了吗？” 两个菲律宾男孩再次一起摇头。 邓迪从一侧嘴角对斯佩德挤出几个字：“带她过来。” 斯佩德打开卧室的房门，微微躬身，说道：“布利斯小姐，您能出来一会儿吗？” “怎么了？”她疲惫地问道。 “一下子就好了。”他说，手把着门让门敞开着。然后他突然补了一句：“最好你也一起来，布利斯先生。” 米莉亚姆·布利斯缓缓走进起居室，她的叔叔跟在后面。斯佩德在他们身后关上房门。布利斯小姐看见那两个电梯男孩的时候，下唇微微抽动。她不安地看着邓迪。 他问道：“你到底在玩什么把戏，跟你一起的那个男人是谁？” 她的下唇再次打战。“怎——什么？”她努力露出迷惑的神色。西奥多·布利斯匆匆穿过起居室，在她身前站了一会儿，好像打算说点什么，然后又显然改变了主意，站到了她身后，手臂绕过一张椅子的椅背。 “和你一起上来的男人。”邓迪尖锐地说道，语速很快，“他是谁？他在哪里？他为什么离开？为什么你没有提起他？” 女孩子把手覆在脸上哭了起来。“他和这件事没关系。”她透过双手哭诉道，“他与此无关，我说出来只会给他添麻烦。” “好男孩啊。”邓迪说道，“所以说，他为了不让自己的名字出现在报纸上，就跑掉了，把你独自一人留下来和你被谋杀的父亲待在一起。” 她挪开捂住脸的双手。“噢，他不得不这么做，”她哭道，“他的妻子太善妒了。如果她知道他又和我在一起，肯定要和他离婚。他自己一分钱都没有。” 邓迪看着斯佩德。斯佩德看着那两个瞪大了眼睛转动着眼珠子的菲律宾人，伸出大拇指比了比大门。“滚开。”他们飞速离开了。 “这个极品男人是谁？”邓迪问这个女孩。 “但是他什么也没——” "Who is he?" 她微微垮下肩，垂下了眼睛。“他叫鲍里斯·斯莫卡洛夫。”她疲倦地说道。 “拼出来。” 她拼了。 “他住在哪里？” “住在圣马克旅馆。” “他除了和金钱结婚，还有其他谋生的工作吗？” 她抬起脸，面上充满了怒气，但是很快又散去。“他什么也不做。”她说。 邓迪猛地转身对面色苍白的男人说道：“找到他。” 面色苍白的男人哼了一声，走了出去。 邓迪又转回来看着女孩子。“你和这个斯莫卡洛夫彼此相爱？” 她露出鄙视的神色。她鄙夷地看着他，一言不发。 他说：“现在你父亲死了，如果他的妻子和他离婚，你的钱多到足以让他娶你吗？” 她用双手捂住脸。 他说：“现在你父亲死了，他会——” 斯佩德奋力倾过身去，接住了倒下的女孩子，轻而易举地抱起她送进卧室。他回来的时候关上了身后的门，背倚在门上。“不管剩下的真相是什么，”他说，“昏倒是假的。” “每件事都是假的。”邓迪低声咆哮道。 斯佩德嘲弄地咧嘴笑了。“应该有个法律让罪犯们自首。” 布利斯先生微笑了。他在他兄弟窗边的写字台旁坐下。 邓迪不赞同。“你什么都不用管。”他对斯佩德说，“你的客户都死了，不会再投诉你了。但是如果我不操心的话，我就得忍受队长、局长、报纸还有那些天知道是谁的人给我找的麻烦。” “继续干下去吧。”斯佩德安慰地说道，“你早晚会抓到谋杀犯的。”他面色变得肃然，除了那双灰黄的眼睛，“我不想给这件事增添波折，给我们自己找麻烦，但是你不觉得我们应该查一查女管家说她去参加的那个葬礼吗？那个女人身上有点古怪。” 邓迪怀疑地看了斯佩德一阵子，然后点点头，说道：“汤姆会去查。” 斯佩德转过身来，朝汤姆摇摇手指，说道：“十有八九根本没有什么葬礼。查查看……别错过了阴谋诡计。” 然后他打开卧室的门，喊了胡珀太太。“伯劳斯警长想向你了解一点信息。”他告诉她。 汤姆写下那个女人说的名字和地址时，斯佩德坐在沙发上，卷了一根烟抽起来，邓迪则在地板上踱着步子，怒视着小地毯。得到了斯佩德的同意，西奥多·布利斯站起来，回卧房去和他的妻子待在一起。 现在汤姆把他的笔记本放进口袋里，对女管家说了声“谢谢你”，又对斯佩德和邓迪说了声“回见”，然后就离开了这间公寓。 女管家站在原地，相貌丑陋，身体健壮，安静而耐心。 斯佩德在沙发上动来动去，最后他望进女管家那双眼窝深陷的镇定眼眸。“别担心。”他说道，忽然朝汤姆走出去的那扇门挥挥手，“只是例行公事。”他撅起嘴唇，问道，“胡珀太太，你究竟怎么看这件事呢？” 她以她那坚定而有些尖锐的嗓音平静地答道：“我认为这是上帝的审判。” 邓迪不再踱步了。斯佩德说道：“什么？” 她的声音里透着确然的意味，并没有任何兴奋与激动。“罪孽的代价就是死亡。” 邓迪大踏步地走向胡珀太太。 斯佩德用他被沙发挡住的手朝邓迪挥舞着，让他别过来。那个女人没有看见。斯佩德的表情和声音都流露出兴味，但是表现得和这个女人一样镇静沉着。“罪孽？”他问道。 她说：“'凡使这信我的一个小子跌倒的，倒不如把大磨石拴在这人的颈项上，沉在深海里。'”她说话的样子不像是在引经据典，而像是在说她自己的信念。 邓迪朝她吼道：“什么小子？” 她转动着她严肃的灰色眼睛，看向他，接着视线越过他落在卧室的房门上。“她，”她说，“米莉亚姆。” 邓迪皱眉看着她：“死者的女儿？” 这个女人说道：“是的，他自己收养的女儿。” 愤怒的血液让邓迪的方脸变得斑斑点点。“这究竟是怎么回事？”他质问着，摇摇头，像是要摆脱某种束缚，“她并不是他的亲生女儿？” 这个女人的平静丝毫不被他的愤怒所影响。“不是。他的妻子一生都缠绵病榻，他们没有任何孩子。” 邓迪咀嚼似的抽动着下巴，过了一会儿他再开口时声音平静多了。“他对她做了什么？” “我不知道。”她说，“但是我绝对相信真相大白的时候，你会发现她的父亲——我是说她的亲生父亲——留给她的钱已经被——” 斯佩德打断了她，煞费苦心地把每个字都说得非常清晰，还一边说一边用一只手划着小圈。“你是说你并不是真的知道他一直欺诈她？你只是怀疑？” 她把一只手放在心脏处。“我心里明白。”她平静地回答。 邓迪看着斯佩德，斯佩德看着邓迪。斯佩德眼睛发亮，却完全没有愉悦之色。邓迪清清嗓子，再次对那女人说道：“而你认为这个——”他朝死者曾经所在的地板摆摆手，“是上帝的审判，嗯？” "yes." 他把所有掩饰不住的狡猾之色赶出他的双眸。“那么，是谁作为上帝之手完成了这个审判呢？” “这不应由我来说。”她回答道。 红点又出现在邓迪的脸上。“行了。”他的声音令人窒息，但是等她走到卧房门口的时候，他的双眼又露出警惕之色。他喊道：“等等。”当他们面对着彼此时，他说，“听着，你不会刚好是个占星术士吧？” “我除了基督徒什么都不是。” 他吼道：“好的，好的。”转过身背对着她。她走进卧室关上了门。他用右手掌心擦了擦前额，不耐烦地抱怨道：“天哪，这一家子都不是东西。” Spade shrugged. “找个时间研究一下你自己家吧。” 邓迪面色白了。他的嘴唇几乎没了血色，抿得紧紧的，盖住了他的牙齿。他握起拳头，猛地朝斯佩德挥去。“你说什么——” 斯佩德脸上浮现出的喜色阻挡了他的动作。他挪开双眼，舌尖舔舔嘴唇，又看了一眼斯佩德，转开视线，试图挤出一个尴尬的笑。他喃喃道：“你是说所有的家庭，哼，我想是这样。”门铃响起来了，他立刻匆匆走向走廊门。 斯佩德满脸的愉悦让他看起来更像个金发撒旦了。 走廊门那里传来一个和蔼的声音。那声音慢吞吞地说道：“我是吉姆·怀特菲尔德，高级法官。我被告知要来这里。” 邓迪的声音说道：“是的，进来。” 怀特菲尔德是个矮胖的男人，脸色红润。他穿着一身过于紧身的衣服，许多地方都被磨得发亮。他朝斯佩德颔首，然后说道：“我记得你，斯佩德先生，是在伯克和哈里斯的案子里。” 斯佩德说道：“是的。”他站起身和法官握手。 邓迪已经去卧室门口叫来西奥多·布利斯和他的妻子。怀特菲尔德看着他们，和蔼地朝他们笑着说道：“你们好吗？”然后他对邓迪说道，“是他们，没错。”他环顾四周，那架势就像是要找个吐痰的地方而什么都没找到。他接着说道：“差不多是在四点差十分的时候，那边的那位绅士走进法庭，问我还要多久才到他，我告诉他再有十分钟就好了，他们就在那里等着了。四点法庭休庭的时候，我们为他们主持了婚礼。” 邓迪说道：“谢谢。”布利斯夫妇回到卧室，而他送走了怀特菲尔德，不满地对斯佩德皱起眉，说道：“怎么样？” 斯佩德已经再次坐了下来。他答道：“你们不可能在十五分钟之内从这里赶到市政大楼，所以他也不可能在等待法官的时候潜回这里；他同样不可能在结完婚之后、又赶在米莉亚姆到达之前赶回这里。” 邓迪越发不悦。他张开嘴，但当面色灰白的男人带了人进来时沉默地闭上了。来的是一个苗条的高个子男人。他脸色苍白，正是那个菲律宾人所描述出的米莉亚姆·布利斯的伴侣。 面色灰白的男人说道：“邓迪警督，斯佩德先生，这位是鲍里斯——呃——斯莫卡洛夫先生。” 邓迪简单地点点头。 斯莫卡洛夫立刻开口说话。他的口音还没有重到让他的听众云里雾里，虽然他的“r”这个音发的就像是“w”。“警督，我必须请求你为此保密。如果这件事泄露出去，就能毁了我，警督，彻底地、非常不公平地毁了我。我绝对是无辜的，阁下，我向你保证，全心全意地保证，我真的不只是无辜，而是根本就和这整个可怕的事件没有一丁点关系。没有——” “等等。”邓迪粗鲁地伸出一根手指戳着斯莫卡洛夫的胸口，“没人说你卷进了任何事情——但是如果你不要走远，看上去会好一点。” 年轻男人伸开双臂，掌心朝前，做了个扩胸的动作。“但是我能做什么呢？我有个妻子——”他猛烈地摇头，“这不可能。我不能这么做。” 面色灰白的男人压低声音对斯佩德说道：“都是蠢货，这些俄罗斯人。”他的声音压得不够低，足以让人听见。 邓迪斜眼看着斯莫卡洛夫，让他的声音听起来公正严明。“你很可能，”他说，“把你自己置于很麻烦的境地。” 斯莫卡洛夫看上去都要哭了。“但是只要你设身处地为我想想，”他乞求道，“你就——” “我不乐意。”邓迪似乎对这个年轻男人有些过意不去，但表现出的态度仍然冷漠无情，“在这个国家，谋杀可不是儿戏。” “谋杀！但是我告诉你，警督，我只是因为运气坏透了才凑巧来到这里。我不是——” “你是说，你只是偶然才和布利斯小姐来这里的？” 年轻男人看起来很想回答“是”。 他慢慢说道：“不是，”然后语速突然加快，“但是这没什么，阁下，一点关系都没有。我们一起去吃午饭。我送她回家，她说：'你要进来喝杯鸡尾酒吗？'，我就上来了。就是这样，我向你保证。”他举起双手，掌心向上，“你们也可能遇到这种事的，不是吗？”他的手朝斯佩德的方向挥去，“你不就是吗？” 斯佩德说：“我遇到过很多事。布利斯知道你和他的女儿有外遇吗？” “是的，他知道我们是朋友。” “他知道你有妻子吗？” 斯莫卡洛夫谨慎地说道：“我想他不知道。” 邓迪说道：“你知道他不知道。” 斯莫卡洛夫润润嘴唇，没有反驳这位警督。 邓迪问道：“你觉得如果他知道了会干出什么事来？” “我不知道，阁下。” 邓迪靠近这个年轻男人，从他牙缝里挤出尖锐而审慎的声音：“他发现了你们的事之后，他做了什么？” 年轻男人后退一步，白了脸，露出惊恐之色。 卧室的门开了，米莉亚姆·布利斯走进起居室。“你们为什么不能不去烦他？”她愤怒地问道，“我告诉过你他和这件事没有关系。我告诉过你他根本不知道这件事。”现在她站在斯莫卡洛夫身边，握住了他的一只手，“你们只是想找他麻烦，根本就不是真的想破案。我非常抱歉，鲍里斯，我努力过不让他们去烦你。” 年轻男人低喃着别人听不懂的话。 “你努力过，是的。”邓迪认可了他的话。他对斯佩德说道：“有没有可能是这么回事，萨姆？布利斯发现了他有老婆的事，他还知道他们有个午餐约会，所以他早早回到家里，等他们到家的时候就能遇上他们。他威胁说要告诉他老婆，结果他就被人掐死了。”他斜眼瞅着那个女孩子，“现在，如果你想再一次假装昏倒，开始吧。” 年轻男人尖叫起来，冲向邓迪，两只手朝他抓去。邓迪哼了一声“嗬！”，重重一拳打在他脸上。年轻男人不住后退，直到撞上起居室另一头的椅子。他和椅子一起跌在地板上。邓迪对面色灰白的男人说道：“把他带到楼下大厅去——重要证人。” 面色灰白的男人说道：“好的。”他捡起斯莫卡洛夫的帽子，走过去扶起他。 西奥多·布利斯、他的妻子和管家走到米莉亚姆·布利斯打开的那扇门前。米莉亚姆·布利斯正在哭。她跺着脚威胁邓迪：“我会举报你，你这个胆小鬼。你没有权利……”都是诸如此类的话。没有人多关注她；他们注视着面色灰白的男人帮斯莫卡洛夫站起来，带走了他。斯莫卡洛夫的鼻子和嘴唇上都是红色的污迹。 然后邓迪说道：“安静。”他没理米莉亚姆·布利斯，从他的口袋里取出一张纸条。“我拿到了今天这个房间里打出的电话列表。如果你们认出了哪个号码，出个声。” 他念出一个电话号码。 胡珀太太说道：“这是肉贩子。今天早上我走之前打电话给他的。”她说邓迪念出的下一个号码是杂货店的。 他又念了一个。 “这是圣马可的电话。”米莉亚姆·布利斯说道，“我打了电话给鲍里斯。”她认出了另外两个号码，那是她拨打过的朋友的电话。 布利斯说第六个号码是他兄弟办公室的号码。“也许是我打电话给伊莉斯，让她到这里和我碰头。” 念到第七个电话时，斯佩德说道：“我的电话。”然后邓迪说道：“最后一个是报警电话。”他把纸条放回口袋里。 斯佩德欢快地说道：“这让我们很有所得。” Doorbell rang. 邓迪走到门口。他和另一个男人开始说话，但声音太低，起居室里的人听不清他们的交谈。 电话响了，斯佩德接起来。“你好……不，我是斯佩德。等一下——好的。”他听着电话，“好的，我会告诉他……我不知道。我会让他给你回电话……好的。” 他打完电话的时候，邓迪正双手背在身后站在前厅的门道里。斯佩德说道：“奥加说你那个俄罗斯小伙子在去大厅的路上彻底发了疯。他们不得不把他套进拘束衣里。” “他要在那里待很久了。”邓迪低吼道，“过来。” 斯佩德跟着邓迪走进前厅。一个制服警察站在外面的门道里。 邓迪伸出身后的手。一只手上拿着一条绿色深浅不一的细条纹领带，另一只手里是一个月牙形的白金镶钻领带夹。 斯佩德弯下腰看着领带上的三个不规则的小点。 "Blood?" “或者是污迹。”邓迪说道，“他在角落里的垃圾桶里找到的，裹在皱巴巴的报纸里。” “是的，先生。”制服警察骄傲地说道，“我在那儿找到了它们，团成一团——”他住了口，因为没人听他说话。 “最好是血。”斯佩德说，“这样我们就有理由拿走这条领带。进去和大家谈谈吧。” 邓迪把领带塞进一个口袋里，再把抓着领带夹的手塞进去。“好的——我们可以称之为血。” 他们走进起居室。邓迪的目光从布利斯转向布利斯的妻子、布利斯的侄女、再到女管家，好似他一点也不喜欢他们中的任何一个人。他从口袋里伸出他的拳头，猛地直直伸向前方，打开拳头露出手里的月牙形领带夹。“这是什么？”他质问道。 米莉亚姆·布利斯第一个作答。“哎呀，是父亲的领带夹。”她说。 “你说是就是了？”邓迪不悦地说道，“他今天戴了吗？” “他一直都戴着。”她看向其他人，寻求肯定。 布利斯太太说道：“是的。”其他人也点头。 “你在哪里找到的？”女孩子问道。 邓迪再次一个挨一个地审视着他们，好似更加不喜欢他们了。他脸庞发红。“他一直都戴它。”他愤怒地说道，“但是你们中间没有人告诉我，'父亲一直佩戴领带夹，可它在哪儿？'不，我们要等到它出现，才能从你们这里得到这些说辞。” 布利斯说道：“公平一点，我们怎么会知道——” “别管你们会知道什么。”邓迪说道，“差不多到了我要和你们谈谈我所知之事的时候了。”他从口袋里拿出绿色的领带，“这是他的领带吗？” 胡珀太太说道：“是的，先生。” 邓迪说：“好的，领带上有血，而且不是他的血，因为我们在他身上一个抓痕也没看到。”他眯起眼，一个个打量过去，“现在，假设你们正视图掐死一个佩戴领带夹的男人，他和你扭打在一起，而——” 他忽然停下，看向斯佩德。 斯佩德穿过起居室走向胡珀太太。她的双手在身子前面紧扣着。斯佩德抓起她的右手，翻转过来，从她的掌心拉出一条皱成一团的手帕，而她手心的肉里则有一道两英寸长的新鲜抓痕。 她顺从地让他检查她的手，仍旧没有失去她的平静。She said nothing. “嗯？”他问道。 “米莉亚姆小姐昏倒的时候，我把她弄上床，被她的别针剐到了。”管家冷静地说道。 邓迪短促地大笑一声，笑声严厉。“它也会同样绞死你。”他说。 那个女人脸色丝毫未变。“主的旨意将会成就。”她答道。 斯佩德丢开她的手，喉咙里发出一种特别的声音。“好吧，让我们看看我们现在处在何处。”他对邓迪咧嘴一笑，“你不喜欢那个带T字的五角星，对吗？” 邓迪说道：“一点都不喜欢。” “我也是。”斯佩德说道，“塔尔波特的威胁也许很公平，但是那笔账像是自乘了一倍。现在——等等。”他走到电话边，打回自己的办公室，“这条领带的事也有点古怪，但只是暂时的。”他一边等人接电话一边说道，“我想上面的血迹会告诉我们真相。”他对电话说道，“嗨，艾菲。听着：布利斯给我打电话之前半个小时里，你有没有接到类似诈骗的电话？有没有推销的电话……是的，之前……现在就想想。”他捂住话筒，对邓迪说道：“这世上时刻发生着很多恶行。”他再次对电话说道：“嗯？……是的……克鲁格？……是的。男人还是女人？……谢谢……不，我半个小时之内就会结束。等我回去，我会给你买晚饭。再见。”他离开电话机。“布利斯打电话的半个小时之前，有个男人打电话到我办公室，找克鲁格先生。” 邓迪皱起眉。 "so what?" “克鲁格不在办公室。” 邓迪的眉头皱得更紧了。“克鲁格是谁？” “我不知道。”斯佩德温和地说道，“我从来没有听说过他。”他从口袋里取出烟草和卷烟用的纸。“好了，布利斯，你的抓痕在哪里？” 西奥多·布利斯说道：“什么？
He nodded. "Never seen him." She said, bit her lip, and added, "Of course, you know, except when he was just out of prison." "He's been here." "yes." "To see your father?" "certainly." "How is their relationship?" She opened her eyes wide. “Neither of them were emotionally explicit,” she said, “but they were brothers. His father gave him a sum of money to get him back in business.” "That means they have a good relationship?" "Yes," she said, as if answering a useless question. "where does he live?" "Lives on Post Street," she said, giving back the house number. "You haven't seen him since?" "No. He's embarrassed, you know, because he's been in prison—" She gestured with one hand, ending the sentence. Spade asked Mrs. Hooper: "Have you seen him?" "No, sir." He pursed his lips and asked slowly, "Does any of you know that he came here this afternoon?" They said in unison: "No." "where--" Then someone knocked on the door. Dundee said, "Come in." Tom opened the door a crack so he could put his head in. "Here's his brother," he said. The girl leaned forward and called, "Oh, Uncle Ted!" Behind Tom appeared a tall blond man in a brown suit.His complexion was deeply tanned, making his teeth look whiter than ever, and his clear eyes bluer. "What's the matter, Miriam?" he asked. "Father is dead," she said, and wept. Dundee nodded to Tom, who made way for Theodore Bliss to enter the room. Behind him was a woman who walked in slowly and hesitantly.It was a woman in her late thirties, tall, blond, and not very plump.Her face was unremarkable, with a cheerful and intelligent face.She wore a brown hat and a mink coat. Bliss put one arm around his niece, kissed her forehead, and sat down beside her. "Okay, okay," he said awkwardly. The girl stared at the fair-haired woman for a moment with teary eyes, and then said, "Oh, how are you, Miss Barrow?" "I'm sorry—" said the blond woman. Bliss cleared his throat and said, "She's Mrs. Bliss now. We got married this afternoon." Dundee looked at Spade angrily.And Spade was rolling a cigarette and seemed about to laugh. Miriam Bliss was astonished for a moment, then said: "Oh, I wish you the happiest man in the world." The wife murmured thanks and the girl said to her uncle : "And you, Uncle Ted." He patted the girl on the shoulder and hugged her affectionately.He looked at Spade and Dundee suspiciously. "Your brother died this afternoon," said Dundee. "He was murdered." Mrs. Bliss gasped.Bliss hugged his niece tightly, his arms twitching, but his expression remained unchanged. "Murdered?" he repeated, puzzled. "Yes." Dundee put his hand in his coat pocket. "You were here this afternoon." Theodore Bliss' tanned face paled a little, but he still said, "I've been here." His voice remained steady. "How long have you been here?" "About an hour. I got there at two-thirty, and—" he turned to his wife, "it was about three-thirty when I called you, wasn't it?" She said yes." "Well, I'm leaving after that." "Have you made an appointment with him?" asked Dundee. "No. I called his office," he nodded at his wife, "and they said he was home, so I came over. I wanted to see him before Elise and I left, which is And of course; I was hoping he'd come to the wedding, but he didn't. He said he had to wait. We're sitting here talking longer than I expected, so I just called Elise , and ask her to meet me at the municipal building." Dundee pondered for a moment and asked, "What time?" "You mean our rendezvous time?" Bliss looked at his wife questioningly. The latter said: "A quarter to four." She smiled slightly, "I arrived first, and I have been looking at my watch." Bliss said cautiously: "It was a little to four when we got married. We had to wait for Judge Whitefield, maybe ten minutes, and there were a few people ahead of us, and the judge had to deal with his case first. You can look it up—I think the Superior Court, Second District." Spade looked around quickly, pointed to Tom and said, "Go and check it quickly." Tom said "Yes" and walked away from the door. "If that's the case, you're all right, Mr. Bliss," said Dundee, "but now I have to ask you a few questions. Did your brother say who he was waiting for?" "No." "Did he mention the intimidation he was made of?" "No. He never told anyone about himself, not even me. Was he threatened?" Dundee pursed his lips slightly: "You have a very close relationship with him?" "If you mean whether we get along well, yes." "Are you sure?" Dundee asked. "Are you sure you don't hold a grudge against each other?" Theodore Bliss let go of his niece's arms, and the color gradually faded from his face, turning his tanned face a pale yellow."Everyone here knows I was in jail at San Quentin. You can say it, if that's what you want to say," he said. "Yes," said Dundee, and then after a pause, "then?" Bliss stood up. "Well, what?" he asked impatiently. "Did I resent him for this? No. Why should I resent him? We were all involved in that, and he could get away with it and I couldn't. And I'm going to be charged whether he gets out or not. It doesn't do me any favors to have him go to jail with me. We talked about it and then it was decided that I'd go to jail alone and let him regroup on the outside. He did. If you Check his bank account and you'll know he gave me a check for twenty-five thousand dollars two days ago when I got out of San Quentin, and the National Steel Trust Company can tell you that since that day A thousand shares in his name were transferred to me." He smiled apologetically, and sat down by the bed again, "I'm sorry, I know you have to ask these things." Dundee ignored his apology. "Do you know Daniel Talbot?" he asked. Bliss said, "I don't know." His wife said, "I know him. I mean, I met him. He came to the office yesterday." Dundee looked her up and down carefully, and then asked, "What office?" "I am—I was Mr. Bliss's secretary, and—" "Max Bliss's secretary?" "Yes. A man named Daniel Talbot came to see him yesterday afternoon, if you mean the same man." "What happened?" She looked at her husband, and he said, "If you know something, for God's sake, tell them." She said: "Nothing really happened. I think they were very angry at first, but they were laughing and talking as they walked together. Before they left, Mr. Bliss called me and asked me to call Tupper - he's the accountant - writes a check as Mr Talbot requested." "Is he on?" "Oh, it's open. I took it in and gave it to him. It's more than seven thousand five hundred dollars." "What is it for?" She shook her head. "I have no idea." "If you had been Bliss's secretary," Dundee insisted, "you must have known something about what he and Talbot were doing." "But I don't know," she said. "I've never heard of him." Dundee looked at Spade, who looked blank.Dundee glared at him, then posed a question to the man sitting by the bed: "What kind of tie was your brother wearing when you last saw him?" Bliss blinked, stared into the space behind Dundee, and finally closed his eyes.When he opened his eyes he said, "It's a green one—I'd recognize it if I saw it. Why do you ask?" Mrs. Bliss said, "The pinstripe tie in dark and light green. The one he wears in the office in the morning." "Where do he keep his ties?" Dundee asked the butler. She straightened up and said, "It's in a closet in his bedroom. I'll show you." Dundee and the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Bliss followed. Spade picked up his hat from the dresser and asked Miriam Bliss, "What time did you leave?" He was standing at the foot of her bed. "Today? Around one o'clock. I have a lunch date at one o'clock, and I'm a little late. Then I go shopping, and—" She trembled. "What time did you get home?" His voice was kind without emotion. "I think it was after four o'clock." "Then what happened?" "I sent—found my father lying there. I called—I don't know if I called the concierge downstairs or the police, I don't know what I did. I passed out, or I was hysterical, And the first thing I can remember is going into the room and seeing these men and Mrs Hooper." She looked up at him. "You didn't see a doctor?" She lowered her eyes again: "No, I don't think I have." "Of course you wouldn't go to a doctor if you knew he was dead," he said casually. She was silent. "You knew he was dead?" he asked. She raised her eyes and looked at him blankly. "But he died," she said. He smiled: "Of course, but I mean, you called before you confirmed that he was dead?" She raised a hand to her throat. "I don't remember what I did," she said sincerely, "I think I just found out he was dead." He nodded understandingly. "If you called the police it was because you knew he was murdered." She rubbed the fingers of her hands, staring at them and said: "I think so. This is horrible. I don't know what I was thinking or how I did it." Spade leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I'm not a detective, Miss Bliss. I work for your father. I was a few minutes late to save him. In a sense, I'm working for you now, so if there's anything I can do to help—maybe something the police can't—" He stopped suddenly.Dundee came back into the room, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Bliss and the butler. "How's your luck?" "No green tie," said Dundee. He glanced suspiciously at Spade and the girl. "Mrs. Hooper said the blue tie we found was one of six he had just brought back from England." .” "Is there anything important about the tie?" Bliss asked. Dundee glared at him. "When we found him, he was stripped of a lot of his clothes. Those clothes and that tie were new, never worn." "Couldn't someone come in and kill him while he was changing? He wasn't dressed when he was killed?" Dundee's brow furrowed even tighter. "Possibly, but where did his green tie go? Did he eat it?" "He wasn't changing," Spade said. "If you look at the collar of that shirt, he was definitely wearing it when he was strangled." Tom went to the door. "It's true about the check," he told Dundee. "The judge and a bailiff called Kitteridge said they were there from three forty-five to four-five or ten. I Let Kittredge come and identify them, and see if they are the two at the Municipal House." Without looking back, Dundee said: "Okay." He took out the threatening letter written in pencil from his pocket, and the signature on the letter was the letter T with a five-pointed star.He folded the letter, exposing only the signature, and asked, "Anyone know what this is?" Miriam Bliss got out of bed to look at the autograph with the others.They looked at each other blankly. "Anyone know something?" asked Dundee. Mrs. Hooper said: "It's like a pattern on poor Mr. Bliss's chest, but—" Others said, "I don't know." "Has anyone seen anything like it before?" They said no. Dundee said: "Okay. Wait here. Maybe I have something else to ask you in a while." Spade said, "Wait a minute. How long have you known Mrs. Bliss, Mr. Bliss?" Bliss looked at Spade curiously. "I only met after I got out of prison." He replied cautiously, "What's wrong?" "That's because I only met last month." Spade seemed to be talking to himself, "Because your brother knew each other?" "Saw it in his office, of course. Why do you ask?" "Did you two stay together this afternoon at the Municipal House?" "Yes, of course," said Bliss sharply. "What are you trying to say?" Spade smiled at him, a friendly smile. "I have to ask something," he said. Bliss smiled too. "Okay." His smile widened a little more. "Actually, I lied. We weren't together all the time. I went to the hallway for a cigarette, but I can assure you, I kept getting a Glass looked over and saw that she was always sitting in the courtroom where I walked out." Spade shared Bliss' easy laugh, but asked, "Can you see the glass door when you're not looking through it? There's no way you can't see her if she leaves the courtroom?" Bliss's smile was gone. "Of course not," he said. "I've been out for less than five minutes." "Thank you," Spade said, following Dundee into the living room, closing the door behind him. Dundee gave Spade a sideways look. "Is there a problem?" Spade shrugged. Max Bliss' body has been removed.In addition to the man at the desk and the gray-faced man, there were two Filipino boys in fuchsia uniforms in the living room.They sat next to each other on the sofa. Dundee said, "Mark, I'm looking for a green tie. I want you to take this house down, this wall down, down here and there until you find it. Tune whoever you need." You go together." The man at the desk straightened up and said, "Okay." He pulled down his hat to cover his eyes, and walked out. Dundee frowned, looking at the two Filipinos ferociously. "Which of you ever saw a man in brown?" The shorter one stood up: "It's me, sir." Dundee opened the bedroom door and said, "Bliss." 布利斯走到门边。 菲律宾男孩脸色放松了些。“是他，先生，就是他。” 邓迪当着布利斯的面关上房门。 "sit down." 男孩慌忙坐下。 邓迪阴郁地凝视着那两个男孩子，直到他们开始坐立不安。然后他说道：“今天下午你们还带了什么人上来这个公寓？” 他们一起左右摇着头。“没有其他人，先生。”矮个子的那个说道。他嘴角那抹显然是讨好的笑容扩散到了整张脸上。 邓迪上前一步，威吓他们。“呸！”他厉声说道，“你把布利斯小姐带上来了。” 个子高一点的那个男孩连忙点着头：“是的，先生。是的，先生。我带他们上来的。我以为你说的是其他人。”他也努力挤出了一个微笑。 邓迪怒视着他：“不用你去想我是什么意思。你只需要回答我的问题。现在，告诉我你说的'他们'是指谁？” 男孩子的微笑在那怒气冲冲的目光中逝去。他看着双脚中间的地板，说道：“布利斯小姐和一位先生。” “哪个先生？里面的那个先生？”他扭头看着他当着布利斯的面关上的门。 “不是，先生。另一位先生，不是美国人。”他再次抬起头，脸上恢复了聪明伶俐的神色，“我想他是亚美尼亚人。” "why?" “因为他不像我们美国人，说话跟我们不一样。” 斯佩德大笑，问道：“你们见过亚美尼亚人？” “没有，先生。所以我想——”他突然闭上嘴，因为邓迪喉咙里发出了咆哮。 “他长什么样？”邓迪问道。 男孩抬起肩膀，摊开双手。“他挺高，有这位先生这么高。”他指着斯佩德，“棕黑色头发，棕黑色的胡子。非常——”他认真地拧起眉，“衣料很好；长得很帅；拿着手杖，戴着手套，鞋上有鞋罩，甚至还——” “年轻？”邓迪问道。 他又点着头。“年轻，是的，先生。” "When did he leave?" “五分钟之后。”男孩回答。 邓迪咂吧着嘴，然后问道：“他们几点来的？” 男孩摊开手掌，又耸了耸肩。“四点——也许是四点十分。” “在我们来之前，你还带什么人上来了吗？” 两个菲律宾男孩再次一起摇头。 邓迪从一侧嘴角对斯佩德挤出几个字：“带她过来。” 斯佩德打开卧室的房门，微微躬身，说道：“布利斯小姐，您能出来一会儿吗？” “怎么了？”她疲惫地问道。 “一下子就好了。”他说，手把着门让门敞开着。然后他突然补了一句：“最好你也一起来，布利斯先生。” 米莉亚姆·布利斯缓缓走进起居室，她的叔叔跟在后面。斯佩德在他们身后关上房门。布利斯小姐看见那两个电梯男孩的时候，下唇微微抽动。她不安地看着邓迪。 他问道：“你到底在玩什么把戏，跟你一起的那个男人是谁？” 她的下唇再次打战。“怎——什么？”她努力露出迷惑的神色。西奥多·布利斯匆匆穿过起居室，在她身前站了一会儿，好像打算说点什么，然后又显然改变了主意，站到了她身后，手臂绕过一张椅子的椅背。 “和你一起上来的男人。”邓迪尖锐地说道，语速很快，“他是谁？他在哪里？他为什么离开？为什么你没有提起他？” 女孩子把手覆在脸上哭了起来。“他和这件事没关系。”她透过双手哭诉道，“他与此无关，我说出来只会给他添麻烦。” “好男孩啊。”邓迪说道，“所以说，他为了不让自己的名字出现在报纸上，就跑掉了，把你独自一人留下来和你被谋杀的父亲待在一起。” 她挪开捂住脸的双手。“噢，他不得不这么做，”她哭道，“他的妻子太善妒了。如果她知道他又和我在一起，肯定要和他离婚。他自己一分钱都没有。” 邓迪看着斯佩德。斯佩德看着那两个瞪大了眼睛转动着眼珠子的菲律宾人，伸出大拇指比了比大门。“滚开。”他们飞速离开了。 “这个极品男人是谁？”邓迪问这个女孩。 “但是他什么也没——” "Who is he?" 她微微垮下肩，垂下了眼睛。“他叫鲍里斯·斯莫卡洛夫。”她疲倦地说道。 “拼出来。” 她拼了。 “他住在哪里？” “住在圣马克旅馆。” “他除了和金钱结婚，还有其他谋生的工作吗？” 她抬起脸，面上充满了怒气，但是很快又散去。“他什么也不做。”她说。 邓迪猛地转身对面色苍白的男人说道：“找到他。” 面色苍白的男人哼了一声，走了出去。 邓迪又转回来看着女孩子。“你和这个斯莫卡洛夫彼此相爱？” 她露出鄙视的神色。她鄙夷地看着他，一言不发。 他说：“现在你父亲死了，如果他的妻子和他离婚，你的钱多到足以让他娶你吗？” 她用双手捂住脸。 他说：“现在你父亲死了，他会——” 斯佩德奋力倾过身去，接住了倒下的女孩子，轻而易举地抱起她送进卧室。他回来的时候关上了身后的门，背倚在门上。“不管剩下的真相是什么，”他说，“昏倒是假的。” “每件事都是假的。”邓迪低声咆哮道。 斯佩德嘲弄地咧嘴笑了。“应该有个法律让罪犯们自首。” 布利斯先生微笑了。他在他兄弟窗边的写字台旁坐下。 邓迪不赞同。“你什么都不用管。”他对斯佩德说，“你的客户都死了，不会再投诉你了。但是如果我不操心的话，我就得忍受队长、局长、报纸还有那些天知道是谁的人给我找的麻烦。” “继续干下去吧。”斯佩德安慰地说道，“你早晚会抓到谋杀犯的。”他面色变得肃然，除了那双灰黄的眼睛，“我不想给这件事增添波折，给我们自己找麻烦，但是你不觉得我们应该查一查女管家说她去参加的那个葬礼吗？那个女人身上有点古怪。” 邓迪怀疑地看了斯佩德一阵子，然后点点头，说道：“汤姆会去查。” 斯佩德转过身来，朝汤姆摇摇手指，说道：“十有八九根本没有什么葬礼。查查看……别错过了阴谋诡计。” 然后他打开卧室的门，喊了胡珀太太。“伯劳斯警长想向你了解一点信息。”他告诉她。 汤姆写下那个女人说的名字和地址时，斯佩德坐在沙发上，卷了一根烟抽起来，邓迪则在地板上踱着步子，怒视着小地毯。得到了斯佩德的同意，西奥多·布利斯站起来，回卧房去和他的妻子待在一起。 现在汤姆把他的笔记本放进口袋里，对女管家说了声“谢谢你”，又对斯佩德和邓迪说了声“回见”，然后就离开了这间公寓。 女管家站在原地，相貌丑陋，身体健壮，安静而耐心。 斯佩德在沙发上动来动去，最后他望进女管家那双眼窝深陷的镇定眼眸。“别担心。”他说道，忽然朝汤姆走出去的那扇门挥挥手，“只是例行公事。”他撅起嘴唇，问道，“胡珀太太，你究竟怎么看这件事呢？” 她以她那坚定而有些尖锐的嗓音平静地答道：“我认为这是上帝的审判。” 邓迪不再踱步了。斯佩德说道：“什么？” 她的声音里透着确然的意味，并没有任何兴奋与激动。“罪孽的代价就是死亡。” 邓迪大踏步地走向胡珀太太。 斯佩德用他被沙发挡住的手朝邓迪挥舞着，让他别过来。那个女人没有看见。斯佩德的表情和声音都流露出兴味，但是表现得和这个女人一样镇静沉着。“罪孽？”他问道。 她说：“'凡使这信我的一个小子跌倒的，倒不如把大磨石拴在这人的颈项上，沉在深海里。'”她说话的样子不像是在引经据典，而像是在说她自己的信念。 邓迪朝她吼道：“什么小子？” 她转动着她严肃的灰色眼睛，看向他，接着视线越过他落在卧室的房门上。“她，”她说，“米莉亚姆。” 邓迪皱眉看着她：“死者的女儿？” 这个女人说道：“是的，他自己收养的女儿。” 愤怒的血液让邓迪的方脸变得斑斑点点。“这究竟是怎么回事？”他质问着，摇摇头，像是要摆脱某种束缚，“她并不是他的亲生女儿？” 这个女人的平静丝毫不被他的愤怒所影响。“不是。他的妻子一生都缠绵病榻，他们没有任何孩子。” 邓迪咀嚼似的抽动着下巴，过了一会儿他再开口时声音平静多了。“他对她做了什么？” “我不知道。”她说，“但是我绝对相信真相大白的时候，你会发现她的父亲——我是说她的亲生父亲——留给她的钱已经被——” 斯佩德打断了她，煞费苦心地把每个字都说得非常清晰，还一边说一边用一只手划着小圈。“你是说你并不是真的知道他一直欺诈她？你只是怀疑？” 她把一只手放在心脏处。“我心里明白。”她平静地回答。 邓迪看着斯佩德，斯佩德看着邓迪。斯佩德眼睛发亮，却完全没有愉悦之色。邓迪清清嗓子，再次对那女人说道：“而你认为这个——”他朝死者曾经所在的地板摆摆手，“是上帝的审判，嗯？” "yes." 他把所有掩饰不住的狡猾之色赶出他的双眸。“那么，是谁作为上帝之手完成了这个审判呢？” “这不应由我来说。”她回答道。 红点又出现在邓迪的脸上。“行了。”他的声音令人窒息，但是等她走到卧房门口的时候，他的双眼又露出警惕之色。他喊道：“等等。”当他们面对着彼此时，他说，“听着，你不会刚好是个占星术士吧？” “我除了基督徒什么都不是。” 他吼道：“好的，好的。”转过身背对着她。她走进卧室关上了门。他用右手掌心擦了擦前额，不耐烦地抱怨道：“天哪，这一家子都不是东西。” Spade shrugged. “找个时间研究一下你自己家吧。” 邓迪面色白了。他的嘴唇几乎没了血色，抿得紧紧的，盖住了他的牙齿。他握起拳头，猛地朝斯佩德挥去。“你说什么——” 斯佩德脸上浮现出的喜色阻挡了他的动作。他挪开双眼，舌尖舔舔嘴唇，又看了一眼斯佩德，转开视线，试图挤出一个尴尬的笑。他喃喃道：“你是说所有的家庭，哼，我想是这样。”门铃响起来了，他立刻匆匆走向走廊门。 斯佩德满脸的愉悦让他看起来更像个金发撒旦了。 走廊门那里传来一个和蔼的声音。那声音慢吞吞地说道：“我是吉姆·怀特菲尔德，高级法官。我被告知要来这里。” 邓迪的声音说道：“是的，进来。” 怀特菲尔德是个矮胖的男人，脸色红润。他穿着一身过于紧身的衣服，许多地方都被磨得发亮。他朝斯佩德颔首，然后说道：“我记得你，斯佩德先生，是在伯克和哈里斯的案子里。” 斯佩德说道：“是的。”他站起身和法官握手。 邓迪已经去卧室门口叫来西奥多·布利斯和他的妻子。怀特菲尔德看着他们，和蔼地朝他们笑着说道：“你们好吗？”然后他对邓迪说道，“是他们，没错。”他环顾四周，那架势就像是要找个吐痰的地方而什么都没找到。他接着说道：“差不多是在四点差十分的时候，那边的那位绅士走进法庭，问我还要多久才到他，我告诉他再有十分钟就好了，他们就在那里等着了。四点法庭休庭的时候，我们为他们主持了婚礼。” 邓迪说道：“谢谢。”布利斯夫妇回到卧室，而他送走了怀特菲尔德，不满地对斯佩德皱起眉，说道：“怎么样？” 斯佩德已经再次坐了下来。他答道：“你们不可能在十五分钟之内从这里赶到市政大楼，所以他也不可能在等待法官的时候潜回这里；他同样不可能在结完婚之后、又赶在米莉亚姆到达之前赶回这里。” 邓迪越发不悦。他张开嘴，但当面色灰白的男人带了人进来时沉默地闭上了。来的是一个苗条的高个子男人。他脸色苍白，正是那个菲律宾人所描述出的米莉亚姆·布利斯的伴侣。 面色灰白的男人说道：“邓迪警督，斯佩德先生，这位是鲍里斯——呃——斯莫卡洛夫先生。” 邓迪简单地点点头。 斯莫卡洛夫立刻开口说话。他的口音还没有重到让他的听众云里雾里，虽然他的“r”这个音发的就像是“w”。“警督，我必须请求你为此保密。如果这件事泄露出去，就能毁了我，警督，彻底地、非常不公平地毁了我。我绝对是无辜的，阁下，我向你保证，全心全意地保证，我真的不只是无辜，而是根本就和这整个可怕的事件没有一丁点关系。没有——” “等等。”邓迪粗鲁地伸出一根手指戳着斯莫卡洛夫的胸口，“没人说你卷进了任何事情——但是如果你不要走远，看上去会好一点。” 年轻男人伸开双臂，掌心朝前，做了个扩胸的动作。“但是我能做什么呢？我有个妻子——”他猛烈地摇头，“这不可能。我不能这么做。” 面色灰白的男人压低声音对斯佩德说道：“都是蠢货，这些俄罗斯人。”他的声音压得不够低，足以让人听见。 邓迪斜眼看着斯莫卡洛夫，让他的声音听起来公正严明。“你很可能，”他说，“把你自己置于很麻烦的境地。” 斯莫卡洛夫看上去都要哭了。“但是只要你设身处地为我想想，”他乞求道，“你就——” “我不乐意。”邓迪似乎对这个年轻男人有些过意不去，但表现出的态度仍然冷漠无情，“在这个国家，谋杀可不是儿戏。” “谋杀！但是我告诉你，警督，我只是因为运气坏透了才凑巧来到这里。我不是——” “你是说，你只是偶然才和布利斯小姐来这里的？” 年轻男人看起来很想回答“是”。 他慢慢说道：“不是，”然后语速突然加快，“但是这没什么，阁下，一点关系都没有。我们一起去吃午饭。我送她回家，她说：'你要进来喝杯鸡尾酒吗？'，我就上来了。就是这样，我向你保证。”他举起双手，掌心向上，“你们也可能遇到这种事的，不是吗？”他的手朝斯佩德的方向挥去，“你不就是吗？” 斯佩德说：“我遇到过很多事。布利斯知道你和他的女儿有外遇吗？” “是的，他知道我们是朋友。” “他知道你有妻子吗？” 斯莫卡洛夫谨慎地说道：“我想他不知道。” 邓迪说道：“你知道他不知道。” 斯莫卡洛夫润润嘴唇，没有反驳这位警督。 邓迪问道：“你觉得如果他知道了会干出什么事来？” “我不知道，阁下。” 邓迪靠近这个年轻男人，从他牙缝里挤出尖锐而审慎的声音：“他发现了你们的事之后，他做了什么？” 年轻男人后退一步，白了脸，露出惊恐之色。 卧室的门开了，米莉亚姆·布利斯走进起居室。“你们为什么不能不去烦他？”她愤怒地问道，“我告诉过你他和这件事没有关系。我告诉过你他根本不知道这件事。”现在她站在斯莫卡洛夫身边，握住了他的一只手，“你们只是想找他麻烦，根本就不是真的想破案。我非常抱歉，鲍里斯，我努力过不让他们去烦你。” 年轻男人低喃着别人听不懂的话。 “你努力过，是的。”邓迪认可了他的话。他对斯佩德说道：“有没有可能是这么回事，萨姆？布利斯发现了他有老婆的事，他还知道他们有个午餐约会，所以他早早回到家里，等他们到家的时候就能遇上他们。他威胁说要告诉他老婆，结果他就被人掐死了。”他斜眼瞅着那个女孩子，“现在，如果你想再一次假装昏倒，开始吧。” 年轻男人尖叫起来，冲向邓迪，两只手朝他抓去。邓迪哼了一声“嗬！”，重重一拳打在他脸上。年轻男人不住后退，直到撞上起居室另一头的椅子。他和椅子一起跌在地板上。邓迪对面色灰白的男人说道：“把他带到楼下大厅去——重要证人。” 面色灰白的男人说道：“好的。”他捡起斯莫卡洛夫的帽子，走过去扶起他。 西奥多·布利斯、他的妻子和管家走到米莉亚姆·布利斯打开的那扇门前。米莉亚姆·布利斯正在哭。她跺着脚威胁邓迪：“我会举报你，你这个胆小鬼。你没有权利……”都是诸如此类的话。没有人多关注她；他们注视着面色灰白的男人帮斯莫卡洛夫站起来，带走了他。斯莫卡洛夫的鼻子和嘴唇上都是红色的污迹。 然后邓迪说道：“安静。”他没理米莉亚姆·布利斯，从他的口袋里取出一张纸条。“我拿到了今天这个房间里打出的电话列表。如果你们认出了哪个号码，出个声。” 他念出一个电话号码。 胡珀太太说道：“这是肉贩子。今天早上我走之前打电话给他的。”她说邓迪念出的下一个号码是杂货店的。 他又念了一个。 “这是圣马可的电话。”米莉亚姆·布利斯说道，“我打了电话给鲍里斯。”她认出了另外两个号码，那是她拨打过的朋友的电话。 布利斯说第六个号码是他兄弟办公室的号码。“也许是我打电话给伊莉斯，让她到这里和我碰头。” 念到第七个电话时，斯佩德说道：“我的电话。”然后邓迪说道：“最后一个是报警电话。”他把纸条放回口袋里。 斯佩德欢快地说道：“这让我们很有所得。” Doorbell rang. 邓迪走到门口。他和另一个男人开始说话，但声音太低，起居室里的人听不清他们的交谈。 电话响了，斯佩德接起来。“你好……不，我是斯佩德。等一下——好的。”他听着电话，“好的，我会告诉他……我不知道。我会让他给你回电话……好的。” 他打完电话的时候，邓迪正双手背在身后站在前厅的门道里。斯佩德说道：“奥加说你那个俄罗斯小伙子在去大厅的路上彻底发了疯。他们不得不把他套进拘束衣里。” “他要在那里待很久了。”邓迪低吼道，“过来。” 斯佩德跟着邓迪走进前厅。一个制服警察站在外面的门道里。 邓迪伸出身后的手。一只手上拿着一条绿色深浅不一的细条纹领带，另一只手里是一个月牙形的白金镶钻领带夹。 斯佩德弯下腰看着领带上的三个不规则的小点。 "Blood?" “或者是污迹。”邓迪说道，“他在角落里的垃圾桶里找到的，裹在皱巴巴的报纸里。” “是的，先生。”制服警察骄傲地说道，“我在那儿找到了它们，团成一团——”他住了口，因为没人听他说话。 “最好是血。”斯佩德说，“这样我们就有理由拿走这条领带。进去和大家谈谈吧。” 邓迪把领带塞进一个口袋里，再把抓着领带夹的手塞进去。“好的——我们可以称之为血。” 他们走进起居室。邓迪的目光从布利斯转向布利斯的妻子、布利斯的侄女、再到女管家，好似他一点也不喜欢他们中的任何一个人。他从口袋里伸出他的拳头，猛地直直伸向前方，打开拳头露出手里的月牙形领带夹。“这是什么？”他质问道。 米莉亚姆·布利斯第一个作答。“哎呀，是父亲的领带夹。”她说。 “你说是就是了？”邓迪不悦地说道，“他今天戴了吗？” “他一直都戴着。”她看向其他人，寻求肯定。 布利斯太太说道：“是的。”其他人也点头。 “你在哪里找到的？”女孩子问道。 邓迪再次一个挨一个地审视着他们，好似更加不喜欢他们了。他脸庞发红。“他一直都戴它。”他愤怒地说道，“但是你们中间没有人告诉我，'父亲一直佩戴领带夹，可它在哪儿？'不，我们要等到它出现，才能从你们这里得到这些说辞。” 布利斯说道：“公平一点，我们怎么会知道——” “别管你们会知道什么。”邓迪说道，“差不多到了我要和你们谈谈我所知之事的时候了。”他从口袋里拿出绿色的领带，“这是他的领带吗？” 胡珀太太说道：“是的，先生。” 邓迪说：“好的，领带上有血，而且不是他的血，因为我们在他身上一个抓痕也没看到。”他眯起眼，一个个打量过去，“现在，假设你们正视图掐死一个佩戴领带夹的男人，他和你扭打在一起，而——” 他忽然停下，看向斯佩德。 斯佩德穿过起居室走向胡珀太太。她的双手在身子前面紧扣着。斯佩德抓起她的右手，翻转过来，从她的掌心拉出一条皱成一团的手帕，而她手心的肉里则有一道两英寸长的新鲜抓痕。 她顺从地让他检查她的手，仍旧没有失去她的平静。She said nothing. “嗯？”他问道。 “米莉亚姆小姐昏倒的时候，我把她弄上床，被她的别针剐到了。”管家冷静地说道。 邓迪短促地大笑一声，笑声严厉。“它也会同样绞死你。”他说。 那个女人脸色丝毫未变。“主的旨意将会成就。”她答道。 斯佩德丢开她的手，喉咙里发出一种特别的声音。“好吧，让我们看看我们现在处在何处。”他对邓迪咧嘴一笑，“你不喜欢那个带T字的五角星，对吗？” 邓迪说道：“一点都不喜欢。” “我也是。”斯佩德说道，“塔尔波特的威胁也许很公平，但是那笔账像是自乘了一倍。现在——等等。”他走到电话边，打回自己的办公室，“这条领带的事也有点古怪，但只是暂时的。”他一边等人接电话一边说道，“我想上面的血迹会告诉我们真相。”他对电话说道，“嗨，艾菲。听着：布利斯给我打电话之前半个小时里，你有没有接到类似诈骗的电话？有没有推销的电话……是的，之前……现在就想想。”他捂住话筒，对邓迪说道：“这世上时刻发生着很多恶行。”他再次对电话说道：“嗯？……是的……克鲁格？……是的。男人还是女人？……谢谢……不，我半个小时之内就会结束。等我回去，我会给你买晚饭。再见。”他离开电话机。“布利斯打电话的半个小时之前，有个男人打电话到我办公室，找克鲁格先生。” 邓迪皱起眉。 "so what?" “克鲁格不在办公室。” 邓迪的眉头皱得更紧了。“克鲁格是谁？” “我不知道。”斯佩德温和地说道，“我从来没有听说过他。”他从口袋里取出烟草和卷烟用的纸。“好了，布利斯，你的抓痕在哪里？” 西奥多·布利斯说道：“什么？