Home Categories detective reasoning maltese eagle

Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen The Third Murder

maltese eagle 达希尔·哈米特 5880Words 2018-03-16
Spade went into the Sutter Hotel and called the Alexandra Hotel.Gutman wasn't there; none of Gutman's gang was there.Spade called the Belvedere Hotel again, and Cairo was not there, not all day. Spade went to his office. In the outer room, there was a black-faced man who was very smartly dressed and looked slick, waiting.Effie Palin pointed to the black-faced man and said, "Mr. Spade, this gentleman wants to see you." Spade smiled slightly, bowed, and opened the inner door. "Please come in." Before following the man in, Spade asked Effie Palin: "Any news about that?"

"No, sir." The dark-faced man was the owner of a movie theater on Market Road, and he suspected that one of his cashiers and the doorman conspired to cheat him.Spade pressed him to finish the situation, promised him to "take care of the matter," asked him for fifty dollars, and sent him away in less than half an hour. After seeing off the theater owner and closing the door, Effie Palin walked into the inner office, doubts on her sun-tanned face. "You haven't found her yet?" she asked. He shook his head and continued to massage his bruised temples with gentle circular motions with his fingertips.

"How's the injury?" she asked. "It's okay, it's just a bad headache." She walked around behind him, put his hand down, and stroked his temple with her slender fingers.He leaned back, resting his head on the back of the chair, resting the back of his head against her chest and said, "You're an angel." She was bending over and staring at him right in his face. "You've got to find her, Sam. It's been a day and she—" He moved and interrupted impatiently: "I don't have anything to do, but if you let my goddamn head rest for a minute or two, I'll go out and get her back."

She whispered, "Poor head." She stroked his head silently.After a while, she asked, "Do you know where she is? Have you thought about it?" The phone rang.Spade picks up the phone and says, "Hi...yes Sid, it's ok, thanks...sure, he's annoying, but I'm not a vegan either...he's in the daylight of gamblers wars In the dream... In short, we didn't kiss goodbye when we broke up. I threw out my weight, and then swaggered away... That's for you to worry about...Okay, goodbye." He put down the phone, He fell back on the chair again. Effie Palin walked around behind him and asked eagerly, "Do you think you know where she is, Sam?"

"I know where she was," he replied reluctantly. "Where?" She was excited. "To the ship you saw burning." Her eyes were wide open, showing the whites around the irises. "You went to the boat." This is not a question. "I didn't go," said Sam. "Sam," she cried angrily, "she might—" "She went to the boat herself," he said roughly, "no one made her go. She knew the boat was in port and she went to the boat instead of to your house. What the hell is this? I should have followed Do clients beg them on their asses to let me help?"

"But I told you the boat was on fire, Sam!" "You told me at noon. I had an appointment with Burrows, and I was going to see Brian later." She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Sam Spade," she said, "you have every right to be the number one scumbag of all time. Just because she takes action and doesn't tell you, you know she's in danger and you stand by, and you know her possible--" Spade blushed suddenly.He said forcefully: "She is perfectly capable of getting out of the way, and when she thinks she needs help, she knows exactly where to go for help."

"You're holding a grudge," cried the girl, "that's the way it is. You're resentful because she tried to do it herself and didn't tell you. Why can't she do it herself? You're not honest; If you're not very honest, why should she trust you wholeheartedly?" Spade said, "Enough is enough, stop talking." His tone made her fiery eyes tinge with unease, but she shook her head and the unease disappeared.She pressed her lips together for a moment, and said, "Sam, if you're not going there now, I'm going, and I'm going to take the police." I had to cry bitterly, "Oh, Sam, go!"

He stood up and complained a few words, and then said: "My God! It's better for my head to go out instead of listening to you complaining here." He looked at his watch, "You'd better lock the door and go back home." go home." She said, "I'm not going back. I'll just wait here for your return." He said "As you like," put on his hat, winced with pain, took it off, held it in his hand, and went out. An hour and a half later, at twenty past five, Spade returned.He looked happy and asked as he walked in, "Why are you so difficult, baby?"

"I?" "Yeah, you." He tapped the tip of Effie Palin's nose with a finger, then put his hand under her elbow, picked her up, kissed her chin, and put her down again. , asked: "Is there anything to do while I'm away?" "Luke from the Belvedere Hotel—what's his last name—called and said Kylo was back. About half an hour ago." Spade shut his mouth immediately, turned and strode toward the door. "Did you find her?" the girl called. Spade replied, "I'll let you know when I get back" as soon as she finished speaking, and hurried out the door.Ten minutes later, a taxi took Spade to Belvedere.He found Luke in the lobby.The security director smiled badly, shook his head and greeted Spade.

"Fifteen minutes late," he said, "your bird has flown away." Spade cursed and cursed his bad luck. "Checked out, bag and luggage taken," Luke said.He took out a tattered notepad from his vest pocket, licked his thumb, flipped through the pages, then opened the book to Spade and said, "Send him the taxi license plate." No, that's all I can find out for you." "Thanks," Spade copied the number on the back of an envelope, "do you have a forwarding address?" "No. He came in with a big suitcase, went upstairs to pack it, came down with his stuff, paid the bill, hailed a cab, and went out alone. No one heard him talking to the driver what."

"Where's his suitcase?" Luke's jaw dropped. "My God," he said, "I forgot that! Come on." They went upstairs to Carlo's room.The suitcase was still there, closed but not locked.They lifted the lid of the box, and it was empty. Luke said, "What do you think?" Spade said nothing.
Effie Palin watched Spade curiously as he returned to his office. "Let him go," muttered Spade as he went into his room.She followed him in.He sat in a chair and started rolling a cigarette.She sat on the desk in front of him, with her toes on the corner of his chair cushion. "What about Miss O'Shaughnessy?" she asked. "I didn't find her either," he answered, "but she's been there." "To the White Pigeon?" "Your grammar is terrible." "Come on, Spade. Please tell me." He lit the cigarette in his hand, put the lighter back in his pocket, patted her calf, and said, "Okay, let's talk about this white pigeon. She went there at midnight yesterday," his eyebrows Hanging down, "that is to say, she went directly after getting off the taxi at the Ferry Building. The boat was only a few docks away from the building. The captain was not on board at the time, and went to the north of the city on business. His name was Jacobi, and she Was looking for him by name. That meant he didn't know she was going, or that she would choose that time. She waited there until he came back at four o'clock. They stayed in his cabin after that, Until supper time. They ate together." He took a puff on the cigarette, puffed it out again, turned his head to the side, spat a piece of yellow tobacco that stuck to his lips, and continued: "After dinner, three more men came to see Captain Jacoby. Terman, one is Kylo, ​​and the other is the boy who sent Gutman's message yesterday. Bridget was still there when the three went. The five of them talked for a long time in the captain's cabin. From the crew There was nothing to be found there, except that they had had a quarrel. Also, about eleven o'clock that night, there was a gunshot in the captain's cabin. The night watchman rushed there immediately, but he only saw him outside the door. When we arrived at the captain, the captain told him that it was all right. There was a fresh bullet hole in one corner of the cabin, which was located very high, and it is possible that the bullet did not hit anyone. At present, I only know that this shot was fired, but my information is very limited.” He frowned and took another drag on his cigarette. "Anyway, the captain and the four visitors left together around midnight, and they didn't look like they were injured when they walked. This is what the person on duty at night said. I didn't find the person on duty at the customs at that time, so I can ask That's all for the arrivals. The captain hasn't been back since. He had an appointment with a couple of freight forwarders this afternoon, but he didn't go. They haven't found him yet to report the fire." "What happened to the fire?" she asked. Spade shrugged. "I don't know. The fire was found late this morning in the cargo hold, on the lower deck over the stern. It probably started yesterday. They've put it out, but it's not a small loss. No one wants the captain's away. Talk more about it. It's—" The door across the corridor opened, and Spade kept his mouth shut.Effie Palin jumped from her desk, but before she could reach the inner door, a man opened it. "Where's Spade?" the man asked. His voice made Spade straighten up warily in his chair.The voice was rough and piercing, as if he was enduring great pain, trying to restrain the gurgling in his throat from drowning out these words. Terrified, Effie Palin hurried out of the way for him. The man was close, and when he stood at the door, the bonnet on his head was crushed between the top of his head and the door frame.A straight long black coat wrapped him like a scabbard and buttoned up from throat to knee, making him look even thinner.His shoulders were hunchbacked and he looked bony.The sharp-edged face was engraved with traces of wind, frost and age. It was the color of damp sand, and the cheeks and chin were wet with sweat.His dark eyeballs were bloodshot and frantic, and the lower lids drooped to reveal the pink lining inside.He pressed tightly on his left chest with one arm, and a big yellow hand protruding from the black sleeve protruded like an eagle's claw, holding a brown paper package tied with string.The paper bag is spindle-shaped, bigger than a football. The tall man stood in the doorway, as if he didn't see Spade.All he said was "You know—" and the gurgling in his throat drowned out the rest of his words.He put his other hand on the hand holding the paper bag, and he didn't bother to reach out to maintain his balance. His stiff body fell straight forward like a tree. Spade has no expression on his face, but his movements are flexible.He bounced off his chair and caught the falling man.The man's mouth opened, blood gushing out profusely, and the brown paper bag fell from his hand, rolling on the floor until it touched the foot of the desk.The man's knees and waist could not be straightened, and his scrawny body became limp and muddy in the scabbard-like coat. He slid down in Spade's arms, making Spade a little unable to hold on . Spade carefully lowered the man to the floor on his left side.The man's bloodshot black eyes were wide open and motionless, but the frenzy in his eyes was no longer there.His mouth was still open as it was when the blood gushed out just now, but he stopped vomiting blood now, and his slender body leaned quietly on the floor. Spade said, "Lock the door." Effie Palin, teeth chattering, fiddled with the lock on the hallway door.Spade knelt down beside the thin man, laying him flat on his back, then put a hand in the man's coat, and pulled it back immediately, seeing that it was covered with blood .Spade still didn't change his face, raised his bloody hand so as not to touch other things, and then took the lighter from his pocket with the other hand.He lit the fire and moved the flames to the man's eyes one by one.Every part of the eye—lids, eyeball, iris, pupil—all remained motionless. Spade turned off the ignition and put the lighter back in his pocket.Kneeling around to the other side of the dead man, he unbuttoned the tube coat with his clean hand and pulled the skirt open.The inside of the overcoat was soaked with blood, as was the double-breasted blue suit he was wearing underneath.On his chest, where the collars on both sides of the suit overlap and on the two skirts below, there are several wet holes. Spade got up and went to the outside sink. Effie Perrin grabbed the doorknob of the hallway door and leaned her back against the glass, then barely stopped trembling, and asked in a low voice, "He—did he—" "Dead. Shot in the chest, like five or six." Spade washed his hands. "Shouldn't-" He interrupted her just as she spoke: "It's too late to call a doctor, and I have to think before we take action." After washing his hands, he began to clean the sink, "He's been shot so many times, It couldn't have come from too far away. If he—hell, why couldn't he hold out a little longer and say a few more words?" He frowned at the girl, flushed his hands again, and picked up a towel , "Come on, for God's sake, don't spit on me." He threw away the towel, combed his hair with his fingers, and said, "Let's take a look at that bag." He went into the inner office again, stepped over the dead man's legs, and picked up the brown paper bag.The weight of the package immediately made his eyes light up.He turned it over on his desk so the knotted part of the cord was facing up.The knot was stiff and tight.He took out his pocket knife and cut the rope. Effie came through the door, turned her face away from the body, and came to Spade.With her hand on the corner of the table, she stood watching him unwind the string and peel back the brown paper, the disgust on her face giving way to excitement. "Do you think that's it?" she asked softly. "We'll see soon enough," Spade said.After the kraft paper was removed, the inner gray rough paper was exposed.The paper was three layers thick, and his thick fingers were busy tearing it open.He had a straight face, but his eyes were shining.After the gray paper was also removed, what appeared in front of my eyes was an oval object tightly packed with white shavings.He tore the shavings apart with his fingers, and he had the foot-tall eagle, black as coal and gleaming where the chips and shavings hadn't touched. Spade laughed.He caressed the eagle with one hand, fingers spread wide, as if everything was under his control, and with the other he pulled Effie Perrin closer, pressing her body tightly against his. "We got the damn thing, baby." "Ouch!" she said, "you hurt me." He took his arms off her and took the blackbird in both hands, shaking it to shake off the shavings.Then he took a step back, held the blackbird up in front of his eyes, blew the dust off of it, and looked at it triumphantly. Effie Palin screamed in horror and pointed to his feet. He looked down at his feet.When he took a step back just now, his left foot touched the dead man's hand, and the heel stepped on a small piece of flesh on the edge of the palm.Spade removed his foot from the hand.Then the phone rang, and he nodded to the girl, who turned to the desk, put the receiver to her ear, and said, "Hello? ... yes ... who? ... Ah, yes!" She opened wide Eye, "Yes, yes...don't hang up the line yet!" She suddenly opened her mouth wide in panic, and shouted, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" She pressed the hook up and down violently, and said "Hello" twice, and then Sobbing, he turned to Spade.He was now at her side. "It's Miss O'Shaughnessy," she cried uncontrollably, "she wants to see you. She's in danger at the Alexandra Hotel. Her voice—oh, it sounds terrible, Sam! Something happened before she finished talking, Sam, go get her!" Spade put the hawk on the table, frowning darkly. "I have to deal with this guy first." He pointed with his thumb at the skinny corpse on the ground. She beat his chest with her fist and cried, "No, no! You've got to go to her. Don't you see, Sam? This man has hers, and he's come looking for it with it." You. You don't understand? He was helping her, and they killed him. Now she's—oh, you should go!" "Okay," said Spade, pushing her away, and stooping down put the blackbird among the pile of shavings on the table, wrapping it neatly in paper, a little bigger than the original package. "I called the police as soon as I left and told them what happened, but don't mention names or places. Just say you didn't know; just say I answered the phone and told you I had to go out, but didn't say where." He cursed at the knotted rope, straightened it with a jerk, and began to bind the bundle, "Don't mention that. Tell me what happened, but don't mention he was holding the bundle," he bit his lower lip , "Unless they pin you down. If they look like they already know, you'll have to admit it. But it's unlikely. If they do ask, say I took the package unopened. He finished typing, picked up the package and tucked it under his left arm. "Just tell the truth. Except for this little thing, tell the truth, unless they already know it. Don't deny that there is such a thing, but don't bring it up. Still Yes, I answered the call, not you. You don't know anyone or anything related to this guy, you know nothing about him. Also, you have to tell them that you can't tell me about me until you see me Business situation. Got it?" "Got it, Sam. He...do you know who he is?" He grinned slyly. "No," he said, "but I guess he is Captain Jacoby, master of the White Dove." He took his hat and put it on his head, and looked thoughtfully at the dead man on the ground, and then around the room . "Hurry up, Sam!" pleaded the girl. "Got it," he said absent-mindedly, "I'll be right there. Better get those few shavings off the ground before the police come. Also, maybe you should find Sid. . . . No," he rubbed Chin, "It's better not to let him interfere. I'll lock the door and open it when they come." He removed his hand from his chin and rubbed his cheek again, "Little sister, you are such a Good girl." He said and went out.
Notes:
Press "Left Key ←" to return to the previous chapter; Press "Right Key →" to enter the next chapter; Press "Space Bar" to scroll down.
Chapters
Chapters
Setting
Setting
Add
Return
Book