“J ason’s back now,” said Hailey Preston. “Will you come with me, Chief-Inspector1, I’ll take you to his room.”
The room which Jason Rudd used partly for office and partly for a sitting room, was on the first floor. It wascomfortably but not luxuriously2 furnished. It was a room which had little personality and no indication of the privatetastes or predilection3 of its user. Jason Rudd rose from the desk at which he was sitting, and came forward to meetDermot. It was wholly unnecessary, Dermot thought, for the room to have a personality; the user of it had so much.
Hailey Preston had been an efficient and voluble gasbag. Gilchrist had force and magnetism4. But here was a manwhom, as Dermot immediately admitted to himself, it would not be easy to read. In the course of his career, Craddockhad met and summed up many people. By now he was fully5 adept6 in realizing the potentialities and very often readingthe thoughts of most of the people with whom he came in contact. But he felt at once that one would be able to gaugeonly as much of Jason Rudd’s thoughts as Jason Rudd himself permitted. The eyes, deepset and thoughtful, perceivedbut would not easily reveal. The ugly, rugged7 head spoke8 of an excellent intellect. The clown’s face could repel9 you orattract you. Here, thought Dermot Craddock to himself, is where I sit and listen and take very careful notes.
“Sorry, Chief-Inspector, if you’ve had to wait for me. I was held up by some small complication over at theStudios. Can I offer you a drink?”
“Not just now, thank you, Mr. Rudd.”
The clown’s face suddenly crinkled into a kind of ironic10 amusement.
“Not the house to take a drink in, is that what you’re thinking?”
“As a matter of fact it wasn’t what I was thinking.”
“No, no I suppose not. Well, Chief-Inspector, what do you want to know? What can I tell you?”
“Mr. Preston has answered very adequately all the questions I have put to him.”
“And that has been helpful to you?”
“Not as helpful as I could wish.”
Jason Rudd looked inquiring.
“I’ve also seen Dr. Gilchrist. He informs me that your wife is not yet strong enough to be asked questions.”
“Marina,” said Jason Rudd, “is very sensitive. She’s subject, frankly11, to nervous storms. And murder at such closequarters is, as you will admit, likely to produce a nerve storm.”
“It is not a pleasant experience,” Dermot Craddock agreed, dryly.
“In any case I doubt if there is anything my wife could tell you that you could not learn equally well from me. Iwas standing12 beside her when the thing happened, and frankly I would say that I am a better observer than my wife.”
“The first question I would like to ask,” said Dermot, “(and it is a question that you have probably answeredalready but for all that I would like to ask again), had you or your wife any previous acquaintance with HeatherBadcock?”
Jason Rudd shook his head.
“None whatever. I certainly have never seen the woman before in my life. I had two letters from her on behalf ofthe St. John Ambulance Association, but I had not met her personally until about five minutes before her death.”
“But she claimed to have met your wife?”
Jason Rudd nodded.
“Yes, some twelve or thirteen years ago, I gather. In Bermuda. Some big garden party in aid of ambulances, whichMarina opened for them, I think, and Mrs. Badcock, as soon as she was introduced, burst into some long rigmarole ofhow although she was in bed with flu, she had got up and had managed to come to this affair and had asked for and gotmy wife’s autograph.”
Again the ironical13 smile crinkled his face.
“That, I may say, is a very common occurrence, Chief-Inspector. Large mobs of people are usually lined up toobtain my wife’s autograph and it is a moment that they treasure and remember. Quite understandably, it is an event intheir lives. Equally naturally it is not likely that my wife would remember one out of a thousand or so autographhunters. She had, quite frankly, no recollection of ever having seen Mrs. Badcock before.”
“That I can well understand,” said Craddock. “Now I have been told, Mr. Rudd, by an onlooker14 that your wife wasslightly distraite during the few moments that Heather Badcock was speaking to her. Would you agree that such wasthe case?”
“Very possibly,” said Jason Rudd. “Marina is not particularly strong. She was, of course, used to what I maydescribe as her public social work, and could carry out her duties in that line almost automatically. But towards theend of a long day she was inclined occasionally to flag. This may have been such a moment. I did not, I may say,observe anything of the kind myself. No, wait a minute, that is not quite true. I do remember that she was a little slowin making her reply to Mrs. Badcock. In fact I think I nudged her very gently in the ribs15.”
“Something had perhaps distracted her attention?” said Dermot.
“Possibly, but it may have been just a momentary16 lapse17 through fatigue18.”
Dermot Craddock was silent for a few minutes. He looked out of the window where the view was the somewhatsombre one over the woods surrounding Gossington Hall. He looked at the pictures on the walls, and finally he lookedat Jason Rudd. Jason Rudd’s face was attentive19 but nothing more. There was no guide to his feelings. He appearedcourteous and completely at ease, but he might, Craddock thought, be actually nothing of the kind. This was a man ofvery high mental calibre. One would not, Dermot thought, get anything out of him that he was not prepared to sayunless one put one’s cards on the table. Dermot took his decision. He would do just that.
“Has it occurred to you, Mr. Rudd, that the poisoning of Heather Badcock may have been entirely20 accidental? Thatthe real intended victim was your wife?”
There was a silence. Jason Rudd’s face did not change its expression. Dermot waited. Finally Jason Rudd gave adeep sigh and appeared to relax.
“Yes,” he said quietly, “you’re quite right, Chief-Inspector. I have been sure of it all along.”
“But you have said nothing to that effect, not to Inspector Cornish, not at the inquest?”
“No.”
“Why not, Mr. Rudd?”
“I could answer you very adequately by saying that it was merely a belief on my part unsupported by any kind ofevidence. The facts that led me to deduce it, were facts equally accessible to the law which was probably betterqualified to decide than I was. I knew nothing about Mrs. Badcock personally. She might have enemies, someonemight have decided21 to administer a fatal dose to her on this particular occasion, though it would seem a very curiousand far-fetched decision. But it might have been chosen conceivably for the reason that at a public occasion of thiskind the issues would be more confused, the number of strangers present would be considerable and just for thatreason it would be more difficult to bring home to the person in question the commission of such a crime. All that istrue, but I am going to be frank with you, Chief-Inspector. That was not my reason for keeping silent. I will tell youwhat the reason was. I didn’t want my wife to suspect for one moment that it was she who had narrowly escaped dyingby poison.”
“Thank you for your frankness,” said Dermot. “Not that I quite understand your motive22 in keeping silent.”
“No? Perhaps it is a little difficult to explain. You would have to know Marina to understand. She is a person whobadly needs happiness and security. Her life has been highly successful in the material sense. She has won renownartistically but her personal life has been one of deep unhappiness. Again and again she has thought that she has foundhappiness and was wildly and unduly23 elated thereby24, and has had her hopes dashed to the ground. She is incapable,Mr. Craddock, of taking a rational, prudent25 view of life. In her previous marriages she has expected, like a childreading a fairy story, to live happy ever afterwards.”
Again the ironic smile changed the ugliness of the clown’s face into a strange, sudden sweetness.
“But marriage is not like that, Chief-Inspector. There can be no rapture26 continued indefinitely. We are fortunateindeed if we can achieve a life of quiet content, affection, and serene27 and sober happiness.” He added. “Perhaps youare married, Chief-Inspector?”
Dermot Craddock shook his head.
“I have not so far that good, or bad fortune,” he murmured.
“In our world, the moving picture world, marriage is a fully occupational hazard. Film stars marry often.
Sometimes happily, sometimes disastrously28, but seldom permanently30. In that respect I should not say that Marina hashad any undue31 cause to complain, but to one of her temperament32 things of that kind matter very deeply. She imbuedherself with the idea that she was unlucky, that nothing would ever go right for her. She has always been lookingdesperately for the same things, love, happiness, affection, security. She was wildly anxious to have children.
According to some medical opinion, the very strength of that anxiety frustrated33 its object. One very celebratedphysician advised the adoption34 of a child. He said it is often the case that when an intense desire for maternity35 isassuaged by having adopted a baby, a child is born naturally shortly afterwards. Marina adopted no less than threechildren. For a time she got a certain amount of happiness and serenity36, but it was not the real thing. You can imagineher delight when eleven years ago she found she was going to have a child. Her pleasure and delight were quiteindescribable. She was in good health and the doctors assured her that there was every reason to believe thateverything would go well. As you may or may not know, the result was tragedy. The child, a boy, was born mentallydeficient, imbecile. The result was disastrous29. Marina had a complete breakdown37 and was severely38 ill for years,confined to a sanatorium. Though her recovery was slow she did recover. Shortly after that we married and she beganonce more to take an interest in life and to feel that perhaps she could be happy. It was difficult at first for her to get aworthwhile contract for a picture. Everyone was inclined to doubt whether her health would stand the strain. I had tobattle for that.” Jason Rudd’s lips set firmly together. “Well, the battle was successful. We have started shooting thepicture. In the meantime we bought this house and set about altering it. Only about a fortnight ago Marina was sayingto me how happy she was, and how she felt at last she was going to be able to settle down to a happy home life, hertroubles behind her. I was a little nervous because, as usual, her expectations were too optimistic. But there was nodoubt that she was happy. Her nervous symptoms disappeared, there was a calmness and a quietness about her that Ihad never seen before. Everything was going well until—” He paused. His voice became suddenly bitter. “Until thishappened! That woman had to die—here! That in itself was shock enough. I couldn’t risk—I was determined39 not torisk—Marina’s knowing that an attempt had been made on her life. That would have been a second, perhaps fatal,shock. It might have precipitated40 another mental collapse41.”
He looked directly at Dermot.
“Do you understand—now?”
“I see your point of view,” said Craddock, “but forgive me, isn’t there one aspect that you are neglecting? You giveme your conviction that an attempt was made to poison your wife. Doesn’t that danger still remain? If a poisoner doesnot succeed, isn’t it likely that the attempt may be repeated?”
“Naturally I’ve considered that,” said Jason Rudd, “but I am confident that, being forewarned so to speak, I cantake all reasonable precautions for my wife’s safety. I shall watch over her and arrange that others shall watch overher. The great thing, I feel, is that she herself should not know that any danger threatened her.”
“And you think,” said Dermot cautiously, “that she does not know?”
“Of course not. She has no idea.”
“You’re sure of that?”
“Certain. Such an idea would never occur to her.”
“But it occurred to you,” Dermot pointed42 out.
“That’s very different,” said Jason Rudd. “Logically it was the only solution. But my wife isn’t logical, and tobegin with she could not possibly imagine that anyone would want to do away with her. Such a possibility wouldsimply not occur to her mind.”
“You may be right,” said Dermot slowly, “but that leaves us now with several other questions. Again, let me putthis bluntly. Whom do you suspect?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Rudd, do you mean by that you can’t or that you won’t?”
Jason Rudd spoke quickly. “Can’t. Can’t every time. It seems to me just as impossible as it would seem to her thatanyone would dislike her enough—should have a sufficient grudge43 against her—to do such a thing. On the other hand,on the sheer, downright evidence of the facts, that is exactly what must have occurred.”
“Will you outline the facts to me as you see them?”
“If you like. The circumstances are quite clear. I poured out two daiquiri cocktails44 from an already prepared jug45. Itook them to Marina and Mrs. Badcock. What Mrs. Badcock did I do not know. She moved on, I presume, to speak tosomeone she knew. My wife had her drink in her hand. At that moment the mayor and his wife were approaching. Sheput down her glass, as yet untouched, and greeted them. Then there were more greetings. An old friend we’d not seenfor years, some other locals and one or two people from the studios. During that time the glass containing the cocktailstood on the table which was situated46 at that time behind us since we had both moved forward a little to the top of thestairs. One or two photographs were taken of my wife talking to the mayor, which we hoped would please the localpopulation, at the special request of the representatives of the local newspaper. While this was being done I broughtsome fresh drinks to a few of the last arrivals. During that time my wife’s glass must have been poisoned. Don’t askme how it was done, it cannot have been easy to do. On the other hand, it is startling, if anyone has the nerve to do anaction openly and unconcernedly, how little people are likely to notice it! You ask me if I have suspicions; all I cansay is that at least one of about twenty people might have done it. People, you see, were moving about in little groups,talking, occasionally going off to have a look at the alterations47 which had been done to the house. There wasmovement, continual movement. I’ve thought and I’ve thought, I’ve racked my brains but there is nothing, absolutelynothing to direct my suspicions to any particular person.”
He paused and gave an exasperated48 sigh.
“I understand,” said Dermot. “Go on, please.”
“I dare say you’ve heard the next part before.”
“I should like to hear it again from you.”
“Well, I had come back towards the head of the stairs. My wife had turned towards the table and was just pickingup her glass. There was a slight exclamation49 from Mrs. Badcock. Somebody must have jogged her arm and the glassslipped out of her fingers and was broken on the floor. Marina did the natural hostess’s act. Her own skirt had beenslightly touched with the liquid. She insisted no harm was done, used her own handkerchief to wipe Mrs. Badcock’sskirt and insisted on her having her own drink. If I remember she said ‘I’ve had far too much already.’ So that wasthat. But I can assure you of this. The fatal dose could not have been added after that for Mrs. Badcock immediatelybegan to drink from the glass. As you know, four or five minutes later she was dead. I wonder—how I wonder—whatthe poisoner must have felt when he realised how badly his scheme had failed….”
“All this occurred to you at the time?”
“Of course not. At the time I concluded, naturally enough, this woman had had some kind of a seizure50. Perhapsheart, coronary thrombosis, something of that sort. It never occurred to me that poisoning was involved. Would itoccur to you—would it occur to anybody?”
“Probably not,” said Dermot. “Well your account is clear enough and you seem sure of your facts. You say youhave no suspicion of any particular person. I can’t quite accept that, you know.”
“I assure you it’s the truth.”
“Let us approach it from another angle. Who is there who could wish to harm your wife? It all soundsmelodramatic if you put it this way, but what enemies had she got?”
Jason Rudd made an expressive51 gesture.
“Enemies? Enemies? It’s so hard to define what one means by an enemy. There’s plenty of envy and jealousy52 inthe world my wife and I occupy. There are always people who say malicious53 things, who’ll start a whisperingcampaign, who will do someone they are jealous of a bad turn if the opportunity occurs. But that doesn’t mean thatany of those people is a murderer, or indeed even a likely murderer. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, I agree. There must be something beyond petty dislikes or envies. Is there anyone whom your wife hasinjured, say, in the past?”
Jason Rudd did not rebut54 this easily. Instead he frowned.
“Honestly, I don’t think so,” he said at last, “and I may say I’ve given a lot of thought to that point.”
“Anything in the nature of a love affair, an association with some man?”
“There have of course been affairs of that kind. It may be considered, I suppose, that Marina has occasionallytreated some man badly. But there is nothing to cause any lasting55 ill will. I’m sure of it.”
“What about women? Any woman who has had a lasting grudge against Miss Gregg?”
“Well,” said Jason Rudd, “you can never tell with women. I can’t think of any particular one offhand56.”
“Who’d benefit financially by your wife’s death?”
“Her will benefits various people but not to any large extent. I suppose the people who’d benefit, as you put it,financially, would be myself as her husband, from another angle, possibly the star who might replace her in this film.
Though, of course, the film might be abandoned altogether. These things are very uncertain.”
“Well, we need not go into all that now,” said Dermot.
“And I have your assurance that Marina will not be told that she is in possible danger?”
“We shall have to go into that matter,” said Dermot. “I want to impress upon you that you are taking quite aconsiderable risk there. However, the matter will not arise for some days since your wife is still under medical care.
Now there is one more thing I would like you to do. I would like you to write down for me as accurately57 as you canevery single person who was in that recess58 at the top of the stairs, or whom you saw coming up the stairs at the time ofthe murder.”
“I’ll do my best, but I’m rather doubtful. You’d do far better to consult my secretary, Ella Zielinsky. She has amost accurate memory and also lists of the local lads who were there. If you’d like to see her now—”
“I would like to talk to Miss Ella Zielinsky very much,” said Dermot.
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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predilection
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magnetism
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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ironic
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frankly
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standing
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ironical
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onlooker
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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momentary
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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fatigue
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attentive
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entirely
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decided
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motive
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unduly
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thereby
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prudent
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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serene
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disastrously
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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temperament
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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maternity
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| n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的 | |
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serenity
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breakdown
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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cocktails
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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alterations
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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rebut
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| v.辩驳，驳回 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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offhand
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| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
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57
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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58
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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