Chapter Three

Chapter Three
N eele pushed the telephone away and looked sharply at Miss Griffith.
“So they’ve been worried about him lately,” he said. “Wanted him to see a doctor. You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t think of it,” said Miss Griffith, and added: “He never seemed to me really ill—”
“Not ill—but what?”
“Well, just off. Unlike himself. Peculiar¹ in his manner.”
“Worried about something?”
“Oh no, not worried. It’s we who were worried—”
Inspector² Neele waited patiently.
“It’s difficult to say, really,” said Miss Griffith. “He had moods, you know. Sometimes he was quite boisterous³.
Once or twice, frankly⁴, I thought he had been drinking . . . He boasted and told the most extraordinary stories whichI’m sure couldn’t possibly have been true. For most of the time I’ve been here he was always very close about hisaffairs—not giving anything away, you know. But lately he’s been quite different, expansive, and positively—well—flinging money about. Most unlike his usual manner. Why, when the office boy had to go to his grandmother’s funeral,Mr. Fortescue called him in and gave him a five pound note and told him to put it on the second favourite and thenroared with laughter. He wasn’t—well, he just wasn’t like himself. That’s all I can say.”
“As though, perhaps, he had something on his mind?”
“Not in the usual meaning of the term. It was as though he were looking forward to something pleasurable—exciting—”
“Possibly a big deal that he was going to pull off?”
Miss Griffith agreed with more conviction.
“Yes—yes, that’s much more what I mean. As though everyday things didn’t matter anymore. He was excited. Andsome very odd-looking people came to see him on business. People who’d never been here before. It worried Mr.
Percival dreadfully.”
“Oh, it worried him, did it?”
“Yes. Mr. Percival’s always been very much in his father’s confidence, you see. His father relied on him. But lately—”
“Lately they weren’t getting along so well.”
“Well, Mr. Fortescue was doing a lot of things that Mr. Percival thought unwise. Mr. Percival is always verycareful and prudent⁵. But suddenly his father didn’t listen to him anymore and Mr. Percival was very upset.”
“And they had a real row about it all?”
Inspector Neele was still probing.
“I don’t know about a row . . . Of course, I realize now Mr. Fortescue can’t have been himself—shouting like that.”
“Shouted, did he? What did he say?”
“He came right out in the typists’ room—”
“So that you all heard?”
“Well—yes.”
“And he called Percival names—abused him—swore at him.”
“What did he say Percival had done?”
“It was more that he hadn’t done anything . . . he called him a miserable⁶ pettifogging little clerk. He said he had nolarge outlook, no conception of doing business in a big way. He said: ‘I shall get Lance home again. He’s worth ten ofyou—and he’s married well. Lance has got guts⁷ even if he did risk a criminal prosecution⁸ once—’ Oh dear, I oughtn’tto have said that!” Miss Griffith, carried away as others before her had been under Inspector Neele’s expert handling,was suddenly overcome with confusion.
“Don’t worry,” said Inspector Neele comfortingly. “What’s past is past.”
“Oh yes, it was a long time ago. Mr. Lance was just young and high-spirited and didn’t really realize what he wasdoing.”
Inspector Neele had heard that view before and didn’t agree with it. But he passed on to fresh questions.
“Tell me a little more about the staff here.”
Miss Griffith, hurrying to get away from her indiscretion, poured out information about the various personalities⁹ inthe firm. Inspector Neele thanked her and then said he would like to see Miss Grosvenor again.
Detective Constable¹⁰ Waite sharpened his pencil. He remarked wistfully that this was a Ritzy joint¹¹. His glancewandered appreciatively over the huge chairs, the big desk and the indirect lighting¹².
“All these people have got Ritzy names, too,” he said. “Grosvenor—that’s something to do with a Duke. AndFortescue—that’s a classy name, too.”
Inspector Neele smiled.
“His father’s name wasn’t Fortescue. Fontescu—and he came from somewhere in Central Europe. I suppose thisman thought Fortescue sounded better.”
Detective Constable Waite looked at his superior officer with awe¹³.
“So you know all about him?”
“I just looked up a few things before coming along on the call.”
“Not got a record, had he?”
“Oh no. Mr. Fortescue was much too clever for that. He’s had certain connections with the black market and putthrough one or two deals that are questionable¹⁴ to say the least of it, but they’ve always been just within the law.”
“I see,” said Waite. “Not a nice man.”
“A twister,” said Neele. “But we’ve got nothing on him. The Inland Revenue have been after him for a long timebut he’s been too clever for them. Quite a financial genius, the late Mr. Fortescue.”
“The sort of man,” said Constable Waite, “who might have enemies?”
He spoke¹⁵ hopefully.
“Oh yes—certainly enemies. But he was poisoned at home, remember. Or so it would seem. You know, Waite, Isee a kind of pattern emerging. An old-fashioned familiar kind of pattern. The good boy, Percival. The bad boy, Lance—attractive to women. The wife who’s younger than her husband and who’s vague about which course she’s going toplay golf on. It’s all very familiar. But there’s one thing that sticks out in a most incongruous way.”
Constable Waite asked “What’s that?” just as the door opened and Miss Grosvenor, her poise¹⁶ restored, and oncemore her glamorous¹⁷ self, inquired haughtily¹⁸:
“You wished to see me?”
“I wanted to ask you a few questions about your employer—your late employer, perhaps I should say.”
“Poor soul,” said Miss Grosvenor unconvincingly.
“I want to know if you had noticed any difference in him lately.”
“Well, yes. I did, as a matter of fact.”
“In what way?”
“I couldn’t really say . . . He seemed to talk a lot of nonsense. I couldn’t really believe half of what he said. Andthen he lost his temper very easily—especially with Mr. Percival. Not with me, because of course I never argue. I justsay, ‘Yes, Mr. Fortescue,’ whatever peculiar thing he says—said, I mean.”
“Did he—ever—well—make any passes at you?”
Miss Grosvenor replied rather regretfully:
“Well, no, I couldn’t exactly say that.”
“There’s just one other thing, Miss Grosvenor. Was Mr. Fortescue in the habit of carrying grain about in hispocket?”
Miss Grosvenor displayed a lively surprise.
“Grain? In his pocket? Do you mean to feed pigeons or something?”
“It could have been for that purpose.”
“Oh, I’m sure he didn’t. Mr. Fortescue? Feed pigeons? Oh no.”
“Could he have had barley—or rye—in his pocket today for any special reason? A sample, perhaps? Some deal ingrain?”
“Oh no. He was expecting the Asiatic Oil people this afternoon. And the President of the Atticus Building Society .
. . No one else.”
“Oh well—” Neele dismissed the subject and Miss Grosvenor with a wave of the hand.
“Lovely legs she’s got,” said Constable Waite with a sigh. “And super nylons—”
“Legs are no help to me,” said Inspector Neele. “I’m left with what I had before. A pocketful of rye—and noexplanation of it.”

1 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

6 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

7 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

10 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

13 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

14 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 poise   

vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信

参考例句：

• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。
• Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。

17 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

18 haughtily   

adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地

参考例句：

• She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
• Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。