Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-four
L adislaus Malinowski looked from one to the other of the two police officers and flung back his head and laughed.
“It is very amusing!” he said. “You look solemn as owls¹. It is ridiculous that you should ask me to come here andwish to ask me questions. You have nothing against me, nothing.”
“We think you may be able to assist us in our inquiries², Mr. Malinowski.” Chief-Inspector Davy spoke³ with officialsmoothness. “You own a car, Mercedes-Otto, registration⁴ number FAN 2266.”
“Is there any reason why I should not own such a car?”
“No reason at all, sir. There’s just a little uncertainty⁵ as to the correct number. Your car was on a motor road, M7,and the registration plate on that occasion was a different one.”
“Nonsense. It must have been some other car.”
“There aren’t so many of that make. We have checked up on those there are.”
“You believe everything, I suppose, that your traffic police tell you! It is laughable! Where was all this?”
“The place where the police stopped you and asked to see your licence is not very far from Bedhampton. It was onthe night of the Irish Mail robbery.”
“You really do amuse me,” said Ladislaus Malinowski.
“You have a revolver?”
“Certainly, I have a revolver and an automatic pistol. I have proper licences for them.”
“Quite so. They are both still in your possession?”
“Certainly.”
“I have already warned you, Mr. Malinowski.”
“The famous policeman’s warning! Anything you say will be taken down and used against you at your trial.”
“That’s not quite the wording,” said Father mildly. “Used, yes. Against, no. You don’t want to qualify thatstatement of yours?”
“No, I do not.”
“And you are sure you don’t want your solicitor⁶ here?”
“I do not like solicitors⁷.”
“Some people don’t. Where are those firearms now?”
“I think you know very well where they are, Chief-Inspector. The small pistol is in the pocket of my car, theMercedes-Otto whose registered number is, as I have said, FAN 2266. The revolver is in a drawer in my flat.”
“You’re quite right about the one in the drawer in your flat,” said Father, “but the other—the pistol—is not in yourcar.”
“Yes, it is. It is in the left-hand pocket.”
Father shook his head. “It may have been once. It isn’t now. Is this it, Mr. Malinowski?”
He passed a small automatic pistol across the table. Ladislaus Malinowski, with an air of great surprise, picked itup.
“Ah-ha, yes. This is it. So it was you who took it from my car?”
“No,” said Father, “we didn’t take it from your car. It was not in your car. We found it somewhere else.”
“Where did you find it?”
“We found it,” said Father, “in an area in Pond Street, which—as you no doubt know—is a street near Park Lane. Itcould have been dropped by a man walking down that street—or running perhaps.”
Ladislaus Malinowski shrugged⁹ his shoulders. “That is nothing to do with me—I did not put it there. It was in mycar a day or two ago. One does not continually look to see if a thing is still where one has put it. One assumes it willbe.”
“Do you know, Mr. Malinowski, that this is the pistol which was used to shoot Michael Gorman on the night ofNovember 26th?”
“Michael Gorman? I do not know a Michael Gorman.”
“The commissionaire from Bertram’s Hotel.”
“Ah yes, the one who was shot. I read about it. And you say my pistol shot him? Nonsense!”
“It’s not nonsense. The ballistic experts have examined it. You know enough of firearms to be aware that theirevidence is reliable.”
“You are trying to frame me. I know what you police do!”
“I think you know the police of this country better than that, Mr. Malinowski.”
“Are you suggesting that I shot Michael Gorman?”
“So far we are only asking for a statement. No charge has been made.”
“But that is what you think—that I shot that ridiculous dressed-up military figure. Why should I? I didn’t owe himmoney, I had no grudge¹⁰ against him.”
“It was a young lady who was shot at. Gorman ran to protect her and received the second bullet in his chest.”
“A young lady?”
“A young lady whom I think you know. Miss Elvira Blake.”
“Do you say someone tried to shoot Elvira with my pistol?”
He sounded incredulous.
“It could be that you had had a disagreement.”
“You mean that I quarrelled with Elvira and shot her? What madness! Why should I shoot the girl I am going tomarry?”
“Is that part of your statement? That you are going to marry Miss Elvira Blake?”
Just for a moment or two Ladislaus hesitated. Then he said, shrugging his shoulders:
“She is still very young. It remains¹¹ to be discussed.”
“Perhaps she had promised to marry you, and then—she changed her mind. There was someone she was afraid of.
Was it you, Mr. Malinowski?”
“Why should I want her to die? Either I am in love with her and want to marry her or if I do not want to marry her Ineed not marry her. It is as simple as that. So why should I kill her?”
“There aren’t many people close enough to her to want to kill her.” Davy waited a moment and then said, almostcasually: “There’s her mother, of course.”
“What!” Malinowski sprang up. “Bess? Bess kill her own daughter? You are mad! Why should Bess kill Elvira?”
“Possibly because, as next of kin⁸, she might inherit an enormous fortune.”
“Bess? You mean Bess would kill for money? She has plenty of money from her American husband. Enough,anyway.”
“Enough is not the same as a great fortune,” said Father. “People do do murder for a large fortune, mothers havebeen known to kill their children, and children have killed their mothers.”
“I tell you, you are mad!”
“You say that you may be going to marry Miss Blake. Perhaps you have already married her? If so, then you wouldbe the one to inherit a vast fortune.”
“What more crazy, stupid things can you say! No, I am not married to Elvira. She is a pretty girl. I like her, and sheis in love with me. Yes, I admit it. I met her in Italy. We had fun—but that is all. No more, do you understand?”
“Indeed? Just now, Mr. Malinowski, you said quite definitely that she was the girl you were going to marry.”
“Oh that.”
“Yes—that. Was it true?”
“I said it because—it sounded more respectable that way. You are so—prudish in this country—”
“That seems to me an unlikely explanation.”
“You do not understand anything at all. The mother and I—we are lovers—I did not wish to say so—I suggestinstead that the daughter and I—we are engaged to be married. That sounds very English and proper.”
“It sounds to me even more far-fetched. You’re rather badly in need of money, aren’t you, Mr. Malinowski?”
“My dear Chief-Inspector, I am always in need of money. It is very sad.”
“And yet a few months ago I understand you were flinging money about in a very carefree way.”
“Ah. I had had a lucky flutter. I am a gambler. I admit it.”
“I find that quite easy to believe. Where did you have this ‘flutter’?”
“That I do not tell. You can hardly expect it.”
“I don’t expect it.”
“Is that all you have to ask me?”
“For the moment, yes. You have identified the pistol as yours. That will be very helpful.”
“I don’t understand—I can’t conceive—” He broke off and stretched out his hand. “Give it me please.”
“I’m afraid we’ll have to keep it for the present, so I’ll write you out a receipt for it.”
He did so and handed it to Malinowski.
The latter went out slamming the door.
“Temperamental chap,” said Father.
“You didn’t press him on the matter of the false number plate and Bedhampton?”
“No. I wanted him rattled¹². But not too badly rattled. We’ll give him one thing to worry about at a time—And he isworried.”
“The Old Man wanted to see you, sir, as soon as you were through.”
Chief-Inspector Davy nodded and made his way to Sir Ronald’s room.
“Ah! Father. Making progress?”
“Yes. Getting along nicely—quite a lot of fish in the net. Small-fry mostly. But we’re closing in on the big fellows.
Everything’s in train—”
“Good show, Fred,” said the AC.

1 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

2 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

7 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

8 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

9 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。