Twenty-three

Twenty-three
Mark Easterbrook’s Narrative¹
It was some three weeks later that a car drove up to the front door of Pri-ors Court.
Four men got out. I was one of them. There was also Detective-InspectorLejeune and Detective-Sergeant Lee. The fourth man was Mr. Osborne,who could hardly contain his delight and excitement at being allowed tobe one of the party.
“You must hold your tongue, you know,” Lejeune admonished³ him.
“Yes, indeed, Inspector². You can count on me absolutely. I won’t utter aword.”
“Mind you don’t.”
“I feel it’s a privilege. A great privilege, though I don’t quite understand—”
But nobody was entering into explanations at this moment.
Lejeune rang the bell and asked for Mr. Venables.
Looking rather like a deputation, the four of us were ushered⁴ in.
If Venables was surprised at our visit, he did not show it. His mannerwas courteous⁵ in the extreme. I thought again, as he wheeled his chair alittle back so as to widen the circle round him, what a very distinctive⁶ ap-pearance the man had. The Adam’s apple moving up and down betweenthe wings of his old-fashioned collar, the haggard profile with its curvednose like a bird of prey⁷.
“Nice to see you again, Easterbrook. You seem to spend a lot of timedown in this part of the world nowadays.”
There was a faint malice⁸ in his tone, I thought. He resumed:
“And — Detective- Inspector Lejeune, is it? That rouses my curiosity, Imust admit. So peaceful in these parts, so free from crime. And yet, a de-tective-inspector calls! What can I do for you, Detective-Inspector?”
Lejeune was very quiet, very suave⁹.
“There is a matter on which we think you might be able to assist us, Mr.
Venables.”
“That has a rather familiar ring, does it not? In what way do you think Ican assist you?”
“On October seventh—a parish priest of the name of Father Gormanwas murdered in West Street, Paddington. I have been given to under-stand that you were in the neighbourhood at that time—between 7:45 and8:15 in the evening, and you may have seen something that may have abearing on the matter?”
“Was I really in the neighbourhood at that time? Do you know, I doubtit, I very much doubt it. As far as I can recall I have never been in that par-ticular district of London. Speaking from memory, I do not even think Iwas in London at all just then. I go to London occasionally for an interest-ing day in the saleroom, and now and then for a medical checkup.”
“With Sir William Dugdale of Harley Street, I believe.”
Mr. Venables stared at him coldly.
“You are very well informed, Inspector.”
“Not quite so well as I should like to be. However, I’m disappointed thatyou can’t assist me in the way that I hoped. I think I owe it to you to ex-plain the facts connected with the death of Father Gorman.”
“Certainly, if you like. It is a name I have never heard until now.”
“Father Gorman had been called out on that particular foggy evening tothe deathbed of a woman nearby. She had become entangled¹⁰ with a crim-inal organisation¹¹, at first almost unwittingly, but later certain things madeher suspect the seriousness of the matter. It was an organisation whichspecialised in the removal of unwanted persons—for a substantial fee,naturally.”
“Hardly a new idea,” murmured Venables. “In America—”
“Ah, but there were some novel features about this particular organisa-tion. To begin with, the removals were ostensibly brought about by whatmight perhaps be called psychological means. What is referred to as a‘death wish,’ said to be present in everyone, is stimulated—”
“So that the person in question obligingly commits suicide? It sounds, ifI may say so, Inspector, too good to be true.”
“Not suicide, Mr. Venables. The person in question dies a perfectly¹² nat-ural death.”
“Come now. Come now. Do you really believe that? How very unlike ourhardheaded police force!”
“The headquarters of this organisation are said to be a place called thePale Horse.”
“Ah, now I begin to understand. So that is what brings you to our pleas-ant rural neighbourhood; my friend Thyrza Grey, and her nonsense!
Whether she believes it herself or not, I’ve never been able to make out.
But nonsense it is! She has a silly mediumistic friend, and the local witchcooks her dinners (quite brave to eat them—hemlock in the soup any mo-ment!). And the three old dears have worked up quite a local reputation.
Very naughty, of course, but don’t tell me Scotland Yard, or wherever youcome from, take it all seriously?”
“We take it very seriously indeed, Mr. Venables.”
“You really believe that Thyrza spouts¹³ some highfalutin’ nonsense, Sybilthrows a trance, and Bella does black magic, and as a result somebodydies?”
“Oh no, Mr. Venables—the cause of death is simpler than that—” Hepaused a moment.
“The cause is thallium poisoning.”
There was a momentary¹⁴ pause—
“What did you say?”
“Poisoning—by thallium salts. Quite plain and straightforward¹⁵. Only ithad to be covered up—and what better method of covering up than apseudoscientific, psychological setup — full of modern jargon¹⁶ and rein-forced by old superstitions¹⁷. Calculated to distract attention from the plainfact of administration of poison.”
“Thallium,” Mr. Venables frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”
“No? Used extensively as rat poison, occasionally as a depilatory for chil-dren with ringworm. Can be obtained quite easily. Incidentally there’s apacket of it tucked away in a corner of your potting shed.”
“In my potting shed? It sounds most unlikely.”
“It’s there all right. We’ve examined some of it for testing purposes—”
Venables became slightly excited.
“Someone must have put it there. I know nothing about it! Nothing atall.”
“Is that so? You’re a man of some wealth, aren’t you, Mr. Venables?”
“What has that got to do with what we are talking about?”
“The Inland Revenue have been asking some awkward questions lately,I believe? As to source of income, that is.”
“The curse of living in England is undoubtedly¹⁸ our system of taxation¹⁹. Ihave thought very seriously of late of going to live in Bermuda.”
“I don’t think you’ll be going to Bermuda just yet awhile, Mr. Venables.”
“Is that a threat, Inspector? Because if so—”
“No, no, Mr. Venables. Just an expression of opinion. Would you like tohear just how this little racket was worked?”
“You are certainly determined²⁰ to tell me.”
“It’s very well organised. Financial details are arranged by a debarredsolicitor called Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley has an office in Birmingham. Pro-spective clients visit him there, and do business. This is to say, there is abet²¹ on whether someone will die within a stated period… Mr. Bradley,who is fond of a wager²², is usually pessimistic in his prognostications. Theclient is usually more hopeful. When Mr. Bradley wins his bet, the moneyhas to be paid over promptly—or else something unpleasant is liable tohappen. That is all Mr. Bradley has to do—make a bet. Simple, isn’t it?
“The client next visits the Pale Horse. A show is put on by Miss ThyrzaGrey and her friends, which usually impresses him in the way it is meantto do.
“Now for the simple facts behind the scenes.
“Certain women, bonafide employees of one of the many consumer re-search concerns, are detailed²³ to canvass²⁴ a particular neighbourhood witha questionnaire. ‘What bread do you prefer? What toilet articles and cos-metics? What laxative, tonics²⁵, sedatives²⁶, indigestion mixtures, etc.?’ Peoplenowadays are conditioned to answering quizzes. They seldom object.
“And so to—the last step. Simple, bold, successful! The only action per-formed by the originator of the scheme in person. He may be wearing amansion flat porter’s uniform, he may be a man calling to read the gas orthe electric meter. He may be a plumber²⁷, or an electrician, or a workmanof some kind. Whatever he is, he will have what appear to be the propercredentials with him if anyone asks to see them. Most people don’t.
Whatever role he is playing, his real object is simple—the substitution of apreparation he brings with him for a similar article which he knows (byreason of the C.R.C. questionnaires) that his victim uses. He may tap pipes,or examine meters, or test water pressure—but that is his real object. Hav-ing accomplished²⁸ it, he leaves, and is not seen in that neighbourhoodagain.
“And for a few days perhaps nothing happens. But sooner or later, thevictim displays symptoms of illness. A doctor is called in, but has noreason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. He may question whatfood and drink, etc., the patient has taken, but he is unlikely to suspect theordinary proprietary²⁹ article that the patient has taken for years.
“And you see the beauty of the scheme, Mr. Venables? The only personwho knows what the head of the organisation actually does—is the head ofthe organisation himself. There is no one to give him away.”
“So how do you know so much?” demanded Mr. Venables pleasantly.
“When we have suspicions of a certain person, there are ways of mak-ing sure.”
“Indeed? Such as?”
“We needn’t go into all of them. But there’s the camera, for instance. Allkinds of ingenious devices are possible nowadays. A man can be snappedwithout his suspecting the fact. We’ve got some excellent pictures, for in-stance, of a uniformed flat porter, and a gas man and so on. There aresuch things as false moustaches, different dentures, etc., but our man hasbeen recognised, quite easily—first by Mrs. Mark Easterbrook, alias³⁰ MissKatherine Corrigan, and also by a woman called Edith Binns. Recognitionis an interesting thing, Mr. Venables. For instance, this gentleman here,Mr. Osborne, is willing to swear he saw you following Father Gorman inBarton Street on the night of the seventh of October about eight o’clock.”
“And I did see you!” Mr. Osborne leaned forward, twitching³¹ with excite-ment. “I described you exactly!”
“Rather too exactly, perhaps,” said Lejeune. “Because you didn’t see Mr.
Venables that night when you were standing³² outside the doorway³³ of yourshop. You weren’t standing there at all. You were across the street yourself—following Father Gorman until he turned into West Street, and you cameup with him and killed him.…”
Mr. Zachariah Osborne said:
“What?”
It might have been ludicrous. It was ludicrous! The dropped jaw³⁴, thestaring eyes…
“Let me introduce you, Mr. Venables, to Mr. Zachariah Osborne, phar-macist, late of Barton Street, Paddington. You’ll feel a personal interest inhim when I tell you that Mr. Osborne, who has been under observation forsome time, was unwise enough to plant a packet of thallium salts in yourpotting shed. Not knowing of your disability, he’d amused himself by cast-ing you as the villain³⁵ of the piece; and being a very obstinate³⁶, as well as avery stupid man, he refused to admit he’d made a bloomer.”
“Stupid? You dare to call me stupid? If you knew—if you’d any idea whatI’ve done—what I can do— I—”
Osborne shook and spluttered with rage.
Lejeune summed him up carefully. I was reminded of a man playing afish.
“You shouldn’t have tried to be so clever, you know,” he said reprov-ingly. “Why, if you’d just sat back in that shop of yours, and let well alone,I shouldn’t be here now, warning you, as it’s my duty to do, that anythingyou say will be taken down and—”
It was then that Mr. Osborne began to scream.

1 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

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 admonished   

v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖，受到了告诫。
• The teacher admonished the child for coming late to school. 那个孩子迟到，老师批评了他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

6 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

7 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

8 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

9 suave   

adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的

参考例句：

• He is a suave,cool and cultured man.他是个世故、冷静、有教养的人。
• I had difficulty answering his suave questions.我难以回答他的一些彬彬有礼的提问。

10 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 spouts   

n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• A volcano spouts flame and lava. 火山喷出火焰和岩浆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher. 石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。 来自辞典例句

14 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

15 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

16 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

17 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

18 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

19 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 abet   

v.教唆，鼓励帮助

参考例句：

• Do not abet your friend to pry into other people's privacy.不要唆使朋友去窥探别人隐私。
• Be do grateful to those who rebuke you,because they abet your wisdom!一定要感激那些斥责你的人，因为他们助长了你的智慧！

22 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

23 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

24 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

25 tonics   

n.滋补品( tonic的名词复数 )；主音；奎宁水；浊音

参考例句：

• I think you have a prejudice against tonics. 我认你对补药有偏见。 来自互联网
• Two gin and tonics, please. 请来两杯杜松子酒加奎宁水。 来自互联网

26 sedatives   

n.镇静药，镇静剂( sedative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A wide variety of mild sedatives and tranquilizers have become available. 现在有许多种镇静剂和安定剂。 来自辞典例句
• Since July 1967 there has been a restriction on the prescribing of sedatives in Australia. 自从1967年7月起，澳大利亚的镇静药处方受到限制。 来自辞典例句

27 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

28 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

29 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

30 alias   

n.化名；别名；adv.又名

参考例句：

• His real name was Johnson,but he often went by the alias of Smith.他的真名是约翰逊，但是他常常用化名史密斯。
• You can replace this automatically generated alias with a more meaningful one.可用更有意义的名称替换这一自动生成的别名。

31 twitching   

n.颤搐

参考例句：

• The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

32 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。

33 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

34 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

35 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

36 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。