(Wednesday, September 12; 9 a. m.)
The following day, which was Wednesday, not only brought forth1 an important and, as it appeared, conclusive2 development in the Odell case, but marked the beginning of Vance’s active co-operation in the proceedings3. The psychological elements in the case had appealed to him irresistibly4, and he felt, even at this stage of the investigation5, that a final answer could never be obtained along the usual police lines. At his request Markham had called for him at a little before nine o’clock, and we had driven direct to the District Attorney’s office.
Heath was waiting impatiently when we arrived. His eager and covertly6 triumphant7 expression plainly indicated good news.
“Things are breaking fine and dandy,” he announced, when we had sat down. He himself was too elated to relax, and stood before Markham’s desk rolling a large black cigar between his fingers. “We got the Dude—six o’clock yesterday evening—and we got him right. One of the C. O. boys, named Riley, who was patrolling Sixth Avenue in the Thirties, saw him swing off a surface car and head for McAnerny’s Pawn-Shop. Right away Riley wig-wags the traffic officer on the corner, and follows the Dude into McAnerny’s. Pretty soon the traffic officer comes in with a patrolman, who he’s picked up; and the three of ’em nab our stylish9 friend in the act of pawning10 this ring.”
He tossed a square solitaire diamond in a filigreed11 platinum12 setting on the District Attorney’s desk.
“I was at the office when they brought him in, and I sent Snitkin with the ring up to Harlem to see what the maid had to say about it, and she identified it as belonging to Odell.”
“But, I say, it wasn’t a part of the bijouterie the lady was wearing that night, was it, Sergeant13?” Vance put the question casually14.
“What if it wasn’t? It came out of that jimmied jewel-case—or I’m Ben Hur.”
“And that’s where we’re in luck,” declared Heath, turning back to Markham. “It connects Skeel directly with the murder and the robbery.”
“What has Skeel to say about it?” Markham was leaning forward intently. “I suppose you questioned him.”
“I’ll say we did,” replied the Sergeant; but his tone was troubled. “We had him up all night giving him the works. And the story he tells is this: he says the girl gave him the ring a week ago, and that he didn’t see her again until the afternoon of day before yesterday. He came to her apartment between four and five—you remember the maid said she was out then—and entered and left the house by the side door, which was unlocked at that time. He admits he called again at half past nine that night, but he says that when he found she was out, he went straight home and stayed there. His alibi17 is that he sat up with his landlady18 till after midnight playing Khun Khan and drinking beer. I hopped19 up to his place this morning, and the old girl verified it. But that don’t mean anything. The house he lives in is a pretty tough hang-out, and this landlady, besides being a heavy boozer, has been up the river a coupla times for shoplifting.”
“What does Skeel say about the finger-prints?”
“He says, of course, he made ’em when he was there in the afternoon.”
“And the one on the closet door-knob?”
“He’s got an answer for that, too—says he thought he heard some one coming in, and locked himself in the clothes-closet. Didn’t want to be seen and spoil any game Odell mighta been playing.”
“Most considerate of him to keep out of the way of the belles22 poires,” drawled Vance. “Touchin’ loyalty23, what?”
“You don’t believe the rat, do you, Mr. Vance?” asked Heath, with indignant surprise.
“That’s all you could get out of him?” It was plain that Markham was not pleased with the results of Heath’s third degree of Skeel.
Heath admitted that he hadn’t.
“But you couldn’t expect him to keep it around,” he added.
Markham pondered the facts for several minutes.
“I can’t see that we’ve got a very good case, however much we may be convinced of Skeel’s guilt28. His alibi may be thin, but taken in connection with the phone operator’s testimony29, I’m inclined to think it would hold tight in court.”
“What about the ring, sir?” Heath was desperately30 disappointed. “And what about his threats, and his finger-prints, and his record of similar burglaries?”
“Contributory factors only,” Markham explained. “What we need for a murder is more than a prima facie case. A good criminal lawyer could have him discharged in twenty minutes, even if I could secure an indictment31. It’s not impossible, you know, that the woman gave him the ring a week ago—you recall that the maid said he was demanding money from her about that time. And there’s nothing to show that the finger-prints were not actually made late Monday afternoon. Moreover, we can’t connect him in any way with the chisel, for we don’t know who did the Park Avenue job last summer. His whole story fits the facts perfectly32; and we haven’t anything contradictory33 to offer.”
“What do you want done with him?” he asked desolately35.
Markham considered—he, too, was discomfited36.
“Before I answer I think I’ll have a go at him myself.”
He pressed a buzzer37, and ordered a clerk to fill out the necessary requisition. When it had been signed in duplicate, he sent Swacker with it to Ben Hanlon.
“Do ask him about those silk shirts,” suggested Vance. “And find out, if you can, if he considers a white waistcoat de rigueur with a dinner-jacket.”
“This office isn’t a male millinery shop,” snapped Markham.
“But, Markham dear, you won’t learn anything else from this Petronius.”
Ten minutes later a Deputy Sheriff from the Tombs entered with his handcuffed prisoner.
Skeel’s appearance that morning belied38 his sobriquet39 of Dude. He was haggard and pale: his ordeal40 of the previous night had left its imprint41 upon him. He was unshaven; his hair was uncombed; the ends of his moustache drooped42; and his cravat43 was awry44. But despite his bedraggled condition, his manner was jaunty45 and contemptuous. He gave Heath a defiant46 leer, and faced the District Attorney with swaggering indifference47.
To Markham’s questions he doggedly48 repeated the same story he had told Heath. He clung tenaciously49 to every detail of it with the ready accuracy of a man who had painstakingly50 memorized a lesson and was thoroughly51 familiar with it. Markham coaxed52, threatened, bullied53. All hint of his usual affability was gone: he was like an inexorable dynamic machine. But Skeel, whose nerves seemed to be made of iron, withstood the vicious fire of his cross-questioning without wincing54; and, I confess, his resistance somewhat aroused my admiration55 despite my revulsion toward him and all he stood for.
After half an hour Markham gave up, completely baffled in his efforts to elicit56 any damaging admissions from the man. He was about to dismiss him when Vance rose languidly and strolled to the District Attorney’s desk. Seating himself on the edge of it, he regarded Skeel with impersonal57 curiosity.
“So you’re a devotee of Khun Khan, eh?” he remarked indifferently. “Silly game, what? More interestin’ than Conquain or Rum, though. Used to be played in the London clubs. Of East Indian origin, I believe. . . . You still play it with two decks, I suppose, and permit round-the-corner mating?”
An involuntary frown gathered on Skeel’s forehead. He was used to violent district attorneys, and familiar with the bludgeoning methods of the police, but here was a type of inquisitor entirely58 new to him; and it was plain that he was both puzzled and apprehensive59. He decided60 to meet this novel antagonist61 with a smirk62 of arrogant63 amusement.
“By the bye,” continued Vance, with no change in tone, “can any one hidden in the clothes-press of the Odell living-room see the davenport through the keyhole?”
“And I say,” Vance hurried on, his eyes fixed65 steadily66 on the other, “why didn’t you give the alarm?”
I was watching Skeel closely, and, though his set expression did not alter, I saw the pupils of his eyes dilate67. Markham, also, I think, noted68 this phenomenon.
“Don’t bother to answer,” pursued Vance, as the man opened his lips to speak. “But tell me: didn’t the sight shake you up a bit?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Skeel retorted with sullen impertinence. But, for all his sang-froid, one sensed an uneasiness in his manner. There was an overtone of effort in his desire to appear indifferent, which robbed his words of complete conviction.
“Not a pleasant situation, that.” Vance ignored his retort. “How did you feel, crouching69 there in the dark, when the closet door-knob was turned and some one tried to get in?” His eyes were boring into the man, though his voice retained its casual intonation70.
“Lucky thing you took the precaution of locking yourself in—eh, what?” Vance went on. “Suppose he’d got the door open—my word! Then what? . . .”
He paused and smiled with a kind of silky sweetness which was more impressive than any glowering72 aggression73.
“I say, did you have your steel chisel ready for him? Maybe he’d have been too quick and strong for you—maybe there would have been thumbs pressing against your larynx too before you could have struck him—eh? . . . Did you think of that, there in the dark? . . . No, not precisely74 a pleasant situation. A bit gruesome, in fact.”
“What are you raving75 about?” Skeel spat76 out insolently77. “You’re balmy.” But his swagger had been forgotten, and a look akin8 of horror had passed across his face. This slackening of pose was momentary78, however; almost at once his smirk returned, and his head swayed in contempt.
Vance sauntered back to his chair and stretched himself in it listlessly, as if all his interest in the case had again evaporated.
Markham had watched the little drama attentively79, but Heath had sat smoking with ill-concealed annoyance80. The silence that followed was broken by Skeel.
“Well, I suppose I’m to be railroaded. Got it all planned, have you? . . . Try and railroad me!” He laughed harshly. “My lawyer’s Abe Rubin, and you might phone him that I’d like to see him.”13
Markham, with a gesture of annoyance, waved to the Deputy Sheriff to take Skeel back to the Tombs.
“What were you trying to get at?” he asked Vance, when the man was gone.
“Just an elusive81 notion in the depths of my being struggling for the light.” Vance smoked placidly82 a moment. “I thought Mr. Skeel might be persuaded to pour out his heart to us. So I wooed him with words.”
“That’s just bully,” gibed83 Heath. “I was expecting you any minute to ask him if he played mumbly-peg or if his grandmother was a hoot-owl.”
“Sergeant, dear Sergeant,” pleaded Vance, “don’t be unkind. I simply couldn’t endure it. . . . And really, now, didn’t my chat with Mr. Skeel suggest a possibility to you?”
“Sure,” said Heath, “—that he was hiding in the closet when Odell was killed. But where does that get us? It lets Skeel out, although the job was a professional one, and he was caught red-handed with some of the swag.”
He turned disgustedly to the District Attorney.
“And now what, sir?”
“I don’t like the look of things,” Markham complained. “If Skeel has Abe Rubin to defend him, we won’t stand a chance with the case we’ve got. I feel convinced he was mixed up in it; but no judge will accept my personal feelings as evidence.”
“We could turn the Dude loose, and have him tailed,” suggested Heath grudgingly84. “We might catch him doing something that’ll give the game away.”
Markham considered.
“That might be a good plan,” he acceded85. “We’ll certainly get no more evidence on him as long as he’s locked up.”
“It looks like our only chance, sir.”
“Very well,” agreed Markham. “Let him think we’re through with him: he may get careless. I’ll leave the whole thing to you, Sergeant. Keep a couple of good men on him day and night. Something may happen.”
Heath rose, an unhappy man.
“Right, sir. I’ll attend to it.”
“And I’d like to have more data on Charles Cleaver,” added Markham. “Find out what you can of his relations with the Odell girl.—Also, get me a line on Doctor Ambroise Lindquist. What’s his history?—what are his habits?—you know the kind of thing. He treated the girl for some mysterious or imaginary ailment86; and I think he has something up his sleeve. But don’t go near him personally—yet.”
“And before you set your stylish captive free,” put in Vance, yawning, “you might, don’t y’ know, see if he carries a key that fits the Odell apartment.”
Heath jerked up short, and grinned.
“Now, that idea’s got some sense to it. . . . Funny I didn’t think of it myself.” And shaking hands with all of us, he went out.
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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covertly
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| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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pawning
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的现在分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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filigreed
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| adj.饰有金银丝细工的v.（用金丝等制成的）精工制品( filigree的过去式和过去分词 )；精致的物品 | |
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platinum
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| n.白金 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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lapsing
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| v.退步( lapse的现在分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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alibi
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| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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leech
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| n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人 | |
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chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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indictment
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| n.起诉；诉状 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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desolately
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| 荒凉地，寂寞地 | |
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discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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buzzer
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| n.蜂鸣器；汽笛 | |
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belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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tenaciously
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| 坚持地 | |
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painstakingly
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| adv. 费力地 苦心地 | |
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51
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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52
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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53
bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
wincing
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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55
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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56
elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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57
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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59
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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61
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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70
intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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71
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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72
glowering
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| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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74
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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75
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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76
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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77
insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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78
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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79
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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80
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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81
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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82
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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83
gibed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄( gibe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
grudgingly
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85
acceded
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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86
ailment
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| n.疾病，小病 | |
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87
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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