訝而困惑地看著他。“我還以為你想見的是馬龍。”

jake looked at hi bewildered surprise “i thought it was alone you wanted to see”

“馬龍！” 這位警官做了一個單臂的手勢，似乎在問究竟誰會想見馬龍。“我一直盼著你能出現。” 他從辦公桌抽屜裡拿出一本雖小但看起來很厚重的書。“我買了這本書，還有其他一些，我想讓你告訴我這本書好不好。”

，！

“alone!” the police officer ade a one-ard sture that seed to ask who the hell would ever want to see alone “i’ve been wishg you’d show up” he reached his desk drawer and took out a sall but pondero-lookg book

傑克伸手拿過書。是 hf 哈靈頓所著的《新聞工作要點》。

jake reached for the book it was essentials of journalis, by h f harrgton

“當然是本好書，” 他說著把書扔回桌上，“但裡面有不少四個音節的詞。”

“sure it’s a good book,” he said, tossg it back on the desk, “but it’s got ite a few four-sylble words it”

馮?弗拉納根把書放回抽屜，雙手抱在腦後，危險地向後靠在椅子上。“是這樣，傑克。我從來不想當警察。我從來就不喜歡當警察。沒有哪一天我不想自己要是個高階殯儀承辦人就好了，就像我一直期望的那樣。嗯，市議員欠我一個親戚錢，所以我就當了警察。但我討厭警察。我甚至還去法庭把我的名字從普通的弗拉納根改成了馮?弗拉納根，這樣就不那麼像警察的名字了。”

von fnagan repced the book the desk drawer, csped his hands behd his head, and leaned periloly far back his chair “it’s like this, jake i never wanted to be a p i’ve never liked beg a p there never was a day when i didn’t wish i’d been a high-css undertaker, like i’d always ant to be well, the alderan owed one of y retives oney, i got to be a p but i hate ps i even went to urt and chand y na fro jt p fnagan to von fnagan, it wouldn’t und uch like a p’s na”

傑克恭敬地默默聽著。他對這段敘述倒背如流。

jake listened respectful silence he knew the recital by heart, backwards, forwards, and sid