Nineteen（3）

III
“You were there that night, Miss Argyle?”
Tina looked at the superintendent¹. Her hands lay loosely in her lap, hereyes, dark, unwinking, told nothing.
“It is so long ago,” she said, “really I cannot remember.”
“Your car was seen there,” said Huish.
“Was it?”
“Come now, Miss Argyle. When we asked you for an account of yourmovements on that night, you told us that you went home and didn’t goout that evening. You made yourself supper and listened to the gramo-phone. Now, that isn’t true. Just before seven o’clock your car was seen inthe road quite near to Sunny Point. What were you doing there?”
She did not answer. Huish waited a few moments, then he spoke² again.
“Did you go into the house, Miss Argyle?”
“No,” said Tina.
“But you were there?”
“You say I was there.”
“It’s not just a question of my saying so. We’ve got evidence that youwere there.”
Tina sighed.
“Yes,” she said. “I did drive out there that evening.”
“But you say you didn’t go into the house?”
“No, I didn’t go into the house.”
“What did you do?”
“I drove back again to Redmyn. Then, as I told you, I made myself somesupper and put on the gramophone.”
“Why did you drive out there if you didn’t go into the house?”
“I changed my mind,” said Tina.
“What made you change your mind, Miss Argyle?”
“When I got there I didn’t want to go in.”
“Because of something you saw or heard?”
She did not answer.
“Listen, Miss Argyle. That was the night that your mother wasmurdered. She was killed between seven and half past that evening. Youwere there, your car was there, at some time before seven. How long itwas there we do not know. It is possible, you know, that it may have beenthere for some time. It may be that you went into the house—you have akey, I think—”
“Yes,” said Tina, “I have a key.”
“Perhaps you went into the house. Perhaps you went into your mother’ssitting room and found her there, dead. Or perhaps—”
Tina raised her head.
“Or perhaps I killed her? Is that what you want to say, SuperintendentHuish?”
“It is one possibility,” said Huish, “but I think it’s more likely, MissArgyle, someone else did the killing³. If so, I think you know—or have avery strong suspicion—who the killer⁴ was.”
“I did not go into the house,” said Tina.
“Then you saw something or heard something. You saw someone go intothe house or someone leave the house. Someone perhaps who was notknown to be there. Was it your brother Michael, Miss Argyle?”
Tina said:
“I saw nobody.”
“But you heard something,” said Huish shrewdly. “What did you hear,Miss Argyle?”
“I tell you,” said Tina, “I simply changed my mind.”
“You’ll forgive me, Miss Argyle, but I don’t believe that. Why should youdrive out from Redmyn to visit your family, and drive back again withoutseeing them? Something made you change your mind about that. Some-thing you saw or heard.” He leaned forward. “I think you know, MissArgyle, who killed your mother.”
Very slowly she shook her head.
“You know something,” said Huish. “Something that you are determinednot to tell. But think, Miss Argyle, think very carefully. Do you realizewhat you are condemning⁵ your entire family to go through? Do you wantthem all to remain under suspicion—for that’s what’s going to happen un-less we get at the truth. Whoever killed your mother doesn’t deserve to beshielded. For that’s it, isn’t it? You’re shielding someone.”
Again that dark, opaque⁶ look met his.
“I know nothing,” said Tina. “I didn’t hear anything and I didn’t see any-thing. I just—changed my mind.”

1 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

2 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。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。