馬龍探案卷三 之 錯誤的兇案 三十五

一開始，傑克覺得很奇怪，老麥克萊恩大廈裡那個寬敞舒適的房間看起來和他上次看到的時候一模一樣。然後他想起來那只是前一天晚上的事。

at first it seed rearkable to jake that the big, fortable roo the old ne ansion should look jt as it had when he had seen it st then he rebered that had been only the night before

同樣的房間，同樣超大的豪華傢俱，同樣的人。只是少了弗雷特?桑德斯，留下了一個巨大的空缺。她當時就坐在那張沙發上，就在那邊的那張。奇怪，傑克想，像弗雷特這麼小的一個人，在一個房間裡竟然能留下這麼大的一個空位。這就像拔掉一顆很小的牙齒後留下的那個巨大的、張著大口的峽谷，一個人總是會一直意識到那個峽谷的存在。房間裡的每個人都試圖不去注意弗雷特?桑德斯留下的空位，但每個人又都無法忍受地意識到了它。

the sa roo, the sa, oversized xurio furniture, the sa people save for that terribly r gap left by the absence of fleurette sanders she had been sittg on that uch, that one right over there stran, jake thought, that such a little pern as fleurette uld leave such an enoro space behd a roo it was like the trendo, yawng canyon that always seed to be left by the extraction of a ite sall tooth, a canyon of which one was perpetually nscio everyone the roo was tryg to pay no attention to the space left by fleurette sanders, and everyone was unbearably aware of it

他們都避開了她曾經坐過的那張沙發。

all of the avoided the uch where she had been

其他人都在那裡。傑克環顧房間。威利斯?桑德斯在那兒，臉色蒼白，明顯在發抖，喬治?布蘭德就在他旁邊，而帕特里奇則不引人注目地關切著，在後面徘徊。傑克注意到，威利斯?桑德斯沒了鬍子，而他同伴那修剪整齊的小鬍子和翹鬍子又回到了它們該在的位置。他很好奇帕特里奇是怎麼做到的。當然是用了某種膠水。達芙妮?桑德斯也在，她獨自一人坐著，就像房間裡的一個陌生人，努力裝出好像她前一晚沒有指控死去的弗雷特?桑德斯謀殺的樣子。

the others were there jake looked around the roo there was willis sanders, pale and visibly shaken, with e brand right beside hi and an unobtrively