Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-three
R ichard Egerton looked again at the official card in front of him, then up into the Chief-Inspector’s face.
“Curious business,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” said Chief-Inspector Davy, “a very curious business.”
“Bertram’s Hotel,” said Egerton, “in the fog. Yes it was a bad fog last night. I suppose you get a lot of that sort ofthing in fogs, don’t you? Snatch and grab—handbags—that sort of thing?”
“It wasn’t quite like that,” said Father. “Nobody attempted to snatch anything from Miss Blake.”
“Where did the shot come from?”
“Owing to the fog we can’t be sure. She wasn’t sure herself. But we think—it seems the best idea—that the manmay have been standing¹ in the area.”
“He shot at her twice, you say?”
“Yes. The first shot missed. The commissionaire rushed along from where he was standing outside the hotel doorand shoved her behind him just before the second shot.”
“So that he got hit instead, eh?”
“Yes.”
“Quite a brave chap.”
“Yes. He was brave,” said the Chief-Inspector. “His military record was very good. An Irishman.”
“What’s his name?”
“Gorman. Michael Gorman.”
“Michael Gorman.” Egerton frowned for a minute. “No,” he said. “For a moment I thought the name meantsomething.”
“It’s a very common name, of course. Anyway, he saved the girl’s life.”
“And why exactly have you come to me, Chief-Inspector?”
“I hoped for a little information. We always like full information, you know, about the victim of a murderousassault.”
“Oh, naturally, naturally. But really, I’ve only seen Elvira twice since she was a child.”
“You saw her when she came to call upon you about a week ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes, that’s quite right. What exactly do you want to know? If it’s anything about her personality, who her friendswere or about boyfriends, or lovers’ quarrels—all that sort of thing—you’d do better to go to one of the women.
There’s a Mrs. Carpenter who brought her back from Italy, I believe, and there’s Mrs. Melford with whom she lives inKent.”
“I’ve seen Mrs. Melford.”
“Oh.”
“No good. Absolutely no good at all, sir. And I don’t so much want to know about the girl personally—after all,I’ve seen her for myself and I’ve heard what she can tell me—or rather what she’s willing to tell me—”
At a quick movement of Egerton’s eyebrows² he saw that the other had appreciated the point of the word “willing.”
“I’ve been told that she was worried, upset, afraid about something, and convinced that her life was in danger. Wasthat your impression when she came to see you?”
“No,” said Egerton, slowly, “no, I wouldn’t go as far as that; though she did say one or two things that struck me ascurious.”
“Such as?”
“Well, she wanted to know who would benefit if she were to die suddenly.”
“Ah,” said Chief-Inspector Davy, “so she had that possibility in her mind, did she? That she might die suddenly.
Interesting.”
“She’d got something in her head but I didn’t know what it was. She also wanted to know how much money shehad—or would have when she was twenty-one. That, perhaps, is more understandable.”
“It’s a lot of money I believe.”
“It’s a very large fortune, Chief-Inspector.”
“Why do you think she wanted to know?”
“About the money?”
“Yes, and about who would inherit it.”
“I don’t know,” said Egerton. “I don’t know at all. She also brought up the subject of marriage—”
“Did you form the impression that there was a man in the case?”
“I’ve no evidence—but—yes, I did think just that. I felt sure there was a boyfriend somewhere in the offing. Thereusually is! Luscombe—that’s Colonel Luscombe, her guardian³, doesn’t seem to know anything about a boyfriend. Butthen dear old Derek Luscombe wouldn’t. He was quite upset when I suggested that there was such a thing in thebackground and probably an unsuitable one at that.”
“He is unsuitable,” said Chief-Inspector Davy.
“Oh. Then you know who he is?”
“I can have a very good guess at it. Ladislaus Malinowski.”
“The racing⁴ motorist? Really! A handsome daredevil. Women fall for him easily. I wonder how he came acrossElvira. I don’t see very well where their orbits would meet except—yes, I believe he was in Rome a couple of monthsago. Possibly she met him there.”
“Very possibly. Or could she have met him through her mother?”
“What, through Bess? I wouldn’t say that was at all likely.”
Davy coughed.
“Lady Sedgwick and Malinowski are said to be close friends, sir.”
“Oh yes, yes, I know that’s the gossip. May be true, may not. They are close friends—thrown together constantlyby their way of life. Bess has had her affairs, of course; though, mind you, she’s not the nymphomaniac type. Peopleare ready enough to say that about a woman, but it’s not true in Bess’s case. Anyway, as far as I know, Bess and herdaughter are practically not even acquainted with each other.”
“That’s what Lady Sedgwick told me. And you agree?” Egerton nodded.
“What other relatives has Miss Blake got?”
“For all intents and purposes, none. Her mother’s two brothers were killed in the war—and she was old Coniston’sonly child. Mrs. Melford, though the girl calls her ‘Cousin Mildred,’ is actually a cousin of Colonel Luscombe’s.
Luscombe’s done his best for the girl in his conscientious⁵ old-fashioned way—but it’s difficult…for a man.”
“Miss Blake brought up the subject of marriage, you say? There’s no possibility, I suppose, that she may actuallyalready be married—”
“She’s well under age—she’d have to have the assent⁶ of her guardian and trustees.”
“Technically, yes. But they don’t always wait for that,” said Father.
“I know. Most regrettable. One has to go through all the machinery⁷ of making them Wards⁸ of Court, and all therest of it. And even that has its difficulties.”
“And once they’re married, they’re married,” said Father. “I suppose, if she were married, and died suddenly, herhusband would inherit?”
“This idea of marriage is most unlikely. She has been most carefully looked after and….” He stopped, reacting toChief-Inspector Davy’s cynical⁹ smile.
However carefully Elvira had been looked after, she seemed to have succeeded in making the acquaintance of thehighly unsuitable Ladislaus Malinowski.
He said dubiously¹⁰, “Her mother bolted, it’s true.”
“Her mother bolted, yes—that’s what she would do—but Miss Blake’s a different type. She’s just as set on gettingher own way, but she’d go about it differently.”
“You don’t really think—”
“I don’t think anything—yet,” said Chief-Inspector Davy.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

3 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

6 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

8 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

9 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

10 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句