加勒比海之谜(英文版)-第19部分

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s　time　talking　to　you。　Nobody　else　would　be　bothered　with　him；　I　expect。　What　did　he　say？〃

〃He　told　me　a　good　many　stories；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

〃I　know　he　did。　Damn　boring；　most　of　them。　And　you　hadn't　only　got　to　hear　them　once。　If　you　got　anywhere　within　range　you　heard　them　three　or　four　times　over。〃

〃I　know；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃I'm　afraid　that　does　happen　when　gentlemen　get　older。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　looked　at　her　very　sharply。

〃I　don't　tell　stories；〃　he　said。　〃Go　on。　It　started　with　one　of　Palgrave's　stories；　did　it？〃

〃He　said　he　knew　a　murderer；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃There's　nothing　really　special　about　that；〃　she　added　in　her　gentle　voice；　〃because　I　suppose　it　happens　to　nearly　everybody。〃

〃I　don't　follow　you；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃I　don't　mean　specifically；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃but　surely；　Mr。　Rafiel；　if　you　cast　over　in　your　mind　your　recollections　of　various　events　in　your　life；　hasn't　there　nearly　always　been　an　occasion　when　somebody　has　made　some　careless　reference　such　as　'Oh　yes　I　knew　the　SoandSo　quite　wellhe　died　very　suddenly　and　they　always　say　his　wife　did　him　in；　but　I　daresay　that's　just　gossip'。　You've　heard　people　say　something　like　that；　haven't　you？〃

'Well；　I　suppose　soyes；　something　of　the　kind。　But　not　well；　not　seriously。〃

〃Exactly；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃but　Major　Palgrave　was　a　very　serious　man。　I　think　he　enjoyed　telling　this　story。　He　said　he　had　a　snapshot　of　the　murderer。　He　was　going　to　show　it　to　me　butactuallyhe　didn't。〃

〃Why？〃

〃Because　he　saw　something；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃Saw　someone；　I　suspect。　His　face　got　very　red　and　he　shoved　back　the　snapshot　into　his　wallet　and　began　talking　on　another　subject。〃

〃Who　did　he　see？〃

〃I've　thought　about　that　a　good　deal；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃I　was　sitting　outside　my　bungalow；　and　he　was　sitting　nearly　opposite　me　andwhatever　he　saw；　he　saw　over　my　right　shoulder。〃

〃Someone　ing　along　the　path　then　from　behind　you　on　the　right；　the　path　from　the　creek　and　the　car　park。〃

〃Yes。〃

〃Was　anyone　ing　along　the　path？〃

〃Mr。　and　Mrs。　Dyson　and　Colonel　and　Mrs。　Hillingdon。〃

〃Anybody　else？〃

〃Not　that　I　can　find　out。　Of　course；　your　bungalow　would　also　be　in　his　line　of　vision。。。〃

〃Ah。　Then　we　includeshall　we　sayEsther　Walters　and　my　chap；　Jackson。　Is　that　right？　Either　of　them；　I　suppose；　might　have　e　out　of　the　bungalow　and　gone　back　inside　again　without　your　seeing　them。〃

〃They　might　have；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃I　didn't　turn　my　head　at　once。〃

〃The　Dysons；　the　Hillingdons；　Esther；　Jackson。　One　of　them's　a　murderer。　Or　of　course；　myself；〃　he　added；　obviously　as　an　afterthought。

Miss　Marple　smiled　faintly。

〃And　he　spoke　of　the　murderer　as　a　man？〃

〃Yes。〃

〃Right。　That　cuts　out　Evelyn　Hillingdon；　Lucky　and　Esther　Walters。　So　your　murderer；　allowing　that　all　this　farfetched　nonsense　is　true；　your　murderer　is　Dyson；　Hillingdon　or　my　smoothtongued　Jackson。〃

〃Or　yourself；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

Mr。　Rafiel　ignored　this　last　point。

〃Don't　say　things　to　irritate　me；〃　he　said。　〃I'll　tell　you　the　first　thing　that　strikes　me；　and　which　you　don't　seem　to　have　thought　of。　If　it's　one　of　those　three；　why　the　devil　didn't　old　Palgrave　recognise　him　before？　Dash　it　all；　they've　all　been　sitting　round　looking　at　each　other　for　the　last　two　weeks。　That　doesn't　seem　to　make　sense。〃

〃I　think　it　could；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

〃Well；　tell　me　how。〃

〃You　see；　in　Major　Palgrave's　story　he　hadn't　seen　this　man　himself　at　any　time。　It　was　a　story　told　to　him　by　a　doctor。　The　doctor　gave　him　the　snapshot　as　a　curiosity。　Major　Palgrave　may　have　looked　at　the　snapshot　fairly　closely　at　the　time　but　after　that　he'd　just　stuck　it　away　in　his　wallet　and　kept　it　as　a　souvenir。　Occasionally；　perhaps；　he'd　take　it　out　and　show　it　to　someone　he　was　telling　the　story　to。　And　another　thing；　Mr。　Rafiel；　we　don't　know　how　long　ago　this　happened。　He　didn't　give　me　any　indication　of　that　when　he　was　telling　the　story。　I　mean　this　may　have　been　a　story　he's　been　telling　to　people　for　years。　Five　years。　Ten　years。　Longer　still　perhaps。　Some　of　his　tiger　stories　go　back　about　twenty　years。〃

〃They　would！〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃So　I　don't　suppose　for　a　moment　that　Major　Palgrave　would　recognise　the　face　in　the　snapshot　if　he　came　across　the　man　casually。　What　I　think　happened；　what　I'm　almost　sure　must　have　happened；　is　that　as　he　told　his　story　he　fumbled　for　the　snapshot；　took　it　out；　looked　down　at　it　studying　the　face　and　then　looked　up　to　see　the　same　face；　or　one　with　a　strong　resemblance　ing　towards　him　from　a　distance　of　about　ten　or　twelve　feet　away。〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel　consideringly；　〃Yes；　that's　possible。〃

〃He　was　taken　aback；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃and　he　shoved　it　back　in　his　wallet　and　began　to　talk　loudly　about　something　else。〃

〃He　couldn't　have　been　sure；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel；　shrewdly。

〃No；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃he　couldn't　have　been　sure。　But　of　course　afterwards　he　would　have　studied　the　snapshot　very　carefully　and　would　have　looked　at　the　man　and　tried　to　make　up　his　mind　whether　it　was　just　a　likeness　or　whether　it　could　actually　be　the　same　person。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　reflected　a　moment　or　two；　then　he　shook　his　head。　〃There's　something　wrong　here。　The　motive's　inadequate。　Absolutely　inadequate。　He　was　speaking　to　you　loudly；　was　he？〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃quite　loudly。　He　always　did。〃

〃True　enough。　Yes；　he　did　shout。　So　whoever　was　approaching　would　hear　what　he　said？〃

〃I　should　imagine　you　could　hear　it　for　quite　a　good　radius　round。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　shook　his　head　again。　He　said；　〃It's　fantastic；　too　fantastic。　Anybody　would　laugh　at　such　a　story。　Here's　an　old　booby　telling　a　story　about　another　story　somebody　told　him；　and　showing　a　snapshot；　and　all　of　it　centring　round　a　murder　which　had　taken　place　years　ago！　Or　at　any　rate；　a　year　or　two。　How　on　earth　can　that　worry　the　man　in　question。　No　evidence；　just　a　bit　of　hearsay；　a　story　at　third　hand。　He　could　even　admit　a　likeness；　he　could　say：　'Yes；　I　do　look　rather　like　that　fellow；　don't　I！　Ha；　ha！'　Nobody's　going　to　take　old　Palgrave's　identification　seriously。　Don't　tell　me　so；　because　I　won't　believe　it。　No；　the　chap；　if　it　was　the　chap；　had　nothing　to　fearnothing　whatever。　It's　the　kind　of　accusation　he　can　just　laugh　off。　Why　on　earth　should　he　proceed　to　murder　old　Palgrave？　It's　absolutely　unnecessary。　You　must　see　that。〃

〃Oh　I　do　see　that；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃I　couldn't　agree　with　you　more。　That's　what　makes　me　uneasy。　So　very　uneasy　that　I　really　couldn't　sleep　last　night。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　stared　at　her。　〃Let's　hear　what's　on　your　mind；〃　he　said　quietly。

〃I　may　be　entirely　wrong；〃　said　Miss　Marple　hesitantly。

〃Probably　you　are；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel　with　his　usual　lack　of　courtesy；　〃but　at　any　rate　let's　hear　what　you've　thought　up　in　the　small　hours。〃

〃There　could　be　a　very　powerful　motive　if〃

〃If　what？〃

〃If　there　urder。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　stared　at　her。　He　tried　to　pull　himself　up　a　little　in　his　chair。

〃Let's　get　this　clear；〃　he　said。

〃I　am　so　bad　at　explaining。〃　Miss　Marple　spoke　rapidly　and　rather　incoherently。　A　pink　flush　rose　to　her　cheeks。　〃Supposing　there　was　a　murder　planned。　If　you　remember；　the　story　Major　Palgrave　told　me　concerned　a　man　whose　wife　died　under　suspicious　circumstances。　Then；　after　a　certain　lapse　of　time；　there　was　another　murder　under　exactly　the　same　circumstances。　A　man　of　a　different　name　had　a　wife　who　died　in　much　the　same　way　and　the　doctor　who　was　telling　it　recognised　him　as　the　same　man；　although　he'd　changed　his　name。　Well；　it　does　look；　doesn't　it；　as　though　this　murderer　might　be　the　kind　of　murderer　who　made　a　habit　of　the　thing？〃

〃You　mean　like　Smith；　Brides　in　the　Bath；　that　kind　of　thing。　Yes？〃

〃As　far　as　I　can　make　out；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃and　from　what　I　have　heard　and　read；　a　man　who　does　a　wicked　thing　like　this　and　gets　away　with　it　the　first　time；　is；　alas；　encouraged。　He　thinks　it's　easy；　he　thinks　he's　clever。　And　so　he　repeats　it。　And　in　the　end；　as　you　say；　like　Smith　and　the　Brides　in　the　Bath；　it　bees　a　habit。　Each　time　in　a　different　place　and　each　time　the　man　changes　his　name。　But　the　crimes　themselves　are　all　very　much　alike。　So　it　seems　to　me；　although　I　may　be　quite　wrong〃

〃But　you　don't　think　you　are　wrong；　do　you？〃　Mr。　Rafiel　put　it　shrewdly。

Miss　Marple　went　on　without　answering。　〃that　if　that　were　so　and　if　thisthis　person　had　got　things　all　lined　up　for　a　murder　out　here；　for　getting　rid　of　another　wife；　say；　and　if　this　is　crime　three　or　four；　well　then；　the　Major's　story　would　matter　because　the　murderer　couldn't　afford　to　have　any　similarity　pointed　out。　If　you　remember；　that　was　exactly　the　way　Smith　got　caught。　The　circumstances　of　a　crime　attracted　the　attention　of　somebody　who　pared　it　with　a　newspaper　clipping　of　some　other　case。　So　you　do　see；　don't　you；　that　if　this　wicked　person　has　got　a　crime　planned；　arranged；　and　shortly　about　to　take　place；　he　couldn't　afford　to　let　Major　Palgrave　go　about　telling　this　story　and　showing　that　snapshot。〃

She　stopped　and　looked　appealingly　at　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃So　you　see　he　had　to　do　something　very　quickly；　as　quickly　as　possible。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　spoke；　〃In　fact；　that　very　same　night；　eh？〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Miss　Marple。