。馬龍站在窗邊，雙手插在口袋裡，肩膀縮著，周圍是一團雪茄煙霧。

it was afternoon when jake arrived at alone's office he found helene there, lookg as clear-eyed and fresh as though she had never issed a night's sleep her life, a dark-green suit with enoro antities of ft brown fur, and a ty brown fur hat perched jauntily jt above one eyebrow alone was starg out the dow, his hands his pockets, his shoulders hunched, surrounded by a ist of cigar soke

“他不想說話。”海倫指著馬龍說。

“he doesn't want to talk,” helene said, dicatg alone

傑克點點頭。“你在莫娜·麥克萊恩家發現了什麼？”

“jake nodded “what did you fd out at ona ne's?”

“伊迪莎·文寧頭上起了個包，頭疼得厲害，但不嚴重。她說她昨晚去她丈夫的房間拿些安眠藥……”

“editha venng has a bup on her bean and a bad headache, but nothg serio she says she went to her hband’s roo st night to t sleepg tablets—”

“真是個糟糕的理由，不過繼續說。”

“a hell of a rean,” jake said, “but go on”

“他不在。從賭場出來後不想睡覺，就出去狂歡了。她走進他的房間找安眠藥——沒開燈，天知道為什麼——這時她發現房間裡有人。她正要尖叫，突然頭上捱了重重一擊，然後她就什麼都不知道了。”

“he was away didn’t feel like turng after leavg the caso and went out hell raisg she went to his roo and was lookg for the sleepg tablets—without turng on the light, god knows why—when she found one was the roo she was about to let out a screa when a ton of bricks nded on her head, and that’s all she knows”

，！

“這是個說得過去的故事，但絕對是業餘水平。她為什麼不開燈在周圍亂逛呢？”

“it’s a fair story, but defitely aateur,” jake said “why was she prowlg around without any lights?”

“也許她能在黑暗中看得見。不管怎樣，她是這麼說的。文寧大約一個小時後回來了。”