“哦，不，待会儿。咱们接下来见见杰基·克拉克森。”
杰基走进来坐下，她低头看着手一言不发。
“我们在黛安娜的房间发现了你妈妈安眠药的空瓶子。”探长突然说，然后他等了一下。杰基脸色没变，还是什么都没说。“告诉我，你的妈妈是从村里的商店买到药的吗？”
“对。妈妈通常每晚都要服一片安眠药，所以她要许多药片。有时她去商店买，有时是我去。周四我请彼特·霍布斯去买。他住在马路对面的那幢房子里，他经常骑自行车去村里。”
“明白了。你母亲想留在这幢房子里。你呢？你想搬家吗？”
杰基抬起头，过了一会儿又低下头看着自己的手。“这是我妈妈的房子。我爱我的妈妈，她对我很好。”
“昨晚你去她的房间见她了吗？”
“去了，大家都去了。黛安娜煮了热牛奶并端给了妈妈。她通常在睡前要喝杯热牛奶。”
沃尔什探长把手放在脑后。杰基很平静。“你的妈妈说些什么？”
杰基打开包找了枝烟。“我可以抽吗？”
“当然，这是你家，”沃尔什探长说，他看着杰基。“你的妈妈说了些什么？”他又问。
“她又想下楼。她想起了狗——她想给它们弄点东西吃。我走回我的房间然后她下了楼。”
“这时几点了？”
“我记不清了。我想大概是午夜。”
“那么那杯热牛奶呢？”
“在她床边的桌上。”
“你需要你母亲的钱吗？”
“不，探长。钱对我不重要。有比钱更重要的东西。”杰基平静地说。
“嗯，你的艾伯特姨父要钱，汤姆·布里格斯想要花园。你什么也不想要？”
杰基抽完烟抬头看着探长。她的眼里突然冒着火气。“别忘了彼特·霍布斯。是我妈妈使他丢了工作。你知道，他想杀她。还有黛安娜，你们在她包里发现了空瓶子。”
沃尔什探长仔细听着。“我们会对每个人提问，克拉克森小姐。”
杰基沉默了一会。“探长，你们要些三明治和咖啡吗？”
“哈！好，麻烦了！”沃尔什探长温和地说，“我非常想要三明治和咖啡。”
杰基离开了房间。沃尔什探长想，她为什么突然生气了？房里静悄悄的。
5
Chapter
After the coffee and sandwiches, Inspector Walsh called Roger Clarkson to the office. Roger came in and sat down. The Inspector began at once.
"Now, Mr Clarkson. Why was your mother angry with you last night?"
"This house is very big," Roger said. "It was a lot of work for Mother. I wanted her to move. But no, she loved this house and garden. She didn't want to move."
"Tell me about your job, Mr Clarkson. Your mother is dead and now you're rich. Do you need money?"
Roger's face was suddenly afraid. "What are you saying? I didn't kill my mother. I need money, that's true. A friend and I want to build ten houses here, in this garden. We can get a lot of money for them. So. I wanted Mother to sell this house. It's true. But Mr Briggs wanted half the garden, too, you know, for his farm."
Inspector Walsh moved a pencil on the table. "Tell me, what happened upstairs? You went to your mother's room?"
"Yes, I did. I wanted to say good night to my mother."
"Did you talk about the house again?"
"Yes, I did. Again, she said no. She loved the house and didn't want to sell it."
Inspector Walsh watched Roger for a minute. "I see. We found the empty bottle of sleeping tablets, Mr Clarkson, in Diane's room."
Roger's face did not change. "Oh? Someone put them there. Diane did not kill my mother, I know that. She found the body."
"Very well. I would like to see Diane next."
Roger got up and left the room.
Inspector Walsh stood up and put his hands in his pockets. He went to the window and looked out at the trees. Why was Roger Clarkson afraid? Was it important? He looked at Sergeant Foster.
"Tomorrow morning, go to Mr Clarkson's office—you have the name," he said. "Ask some questions about him, about his job, friends, money."
Sergeant Foster wrote it down. "Yes, Inspector."
"A good day for tennis, Sergeant?"
Sergeant Foster laughed. "Don't say that. It's not easy, you know. I don't like sitting here looking at the sun."
Diane came into the room and sat down. She looked at Sergeant Foster and smiled. "I saw you at the Tennis Club last month, I think. You play very well."
Sergeant Foster's face went red. Inspector Walsh looked at him, "Oh yes. A fast and exciting player is Sergeant Foster." Diane smiled again at Sergeant Foster and his face went red der.
"Well, Miss Clarkson," Inspector Walsh said, "I want you to talk about last night."
Diane stopped smiling. "Oh, I can talk about last night. I can't stop talking about it. We were all angry. Mother went to bed early and I made hot milk for her. We were all in the kitchen, and Peter Hobbs came in. He nearly broke the back door down." Diane stopped.
"Yes?"
"He was very angry about a letter. He wanted to kill Mother. Are you going to talk to him?"
"We're going to talk to everyone."
"Good. Tom Briggs came into the kitchen, too. Are you going to talk to him?"
"I'm asking the questions, Miss Clarkson. When did you take the milk upstairs?"
"I went up after Roger." She stopped for a minute. Then she began again. "I didn't like my mother, Inspector. She killed my father, you know. Last winter, after Christmas, she drove the car into a tree and killed my father."
Inspector Walsh watched Diane's face carefully. "I see. So you wanted to kill your mother?"
Diane laughed. "I wanted to kill her, but I didn't. I can tell you a lot of things about this family, Inspector. Everyone wanted Mother to die. Uncle Albert wanted her money for his wife, Annie. And then my brother. He needs a lot of money. He has an expensive house and an expensive car. And think of Jackie. Do you know that Jackie didn't like Mother? A long time age, a nice boy worked here. He was the gardener. Jackie loved him very much, but Mother said no. A gardener was not a good husband for a Clarkson girl!"
Inspector Walsh listened quietly. All this was very interesting but was it important? Perhaps. What a happy family the Clarksons were!
"We found the empty bottle of sleeping tablets in your room," Inspector Walsh said quietly. He watched her face carefully.
Diane stood up suddenly, her face angry. "What? I didn't put it there! I'm not going to listen to this!" She ran out of the room.
"Well, well, well," Inspector Walsh said. "She likes you, Sergeant. You need to be careful."
Sergeant Foster laughed but his face went red again.
"Someone put sleeping tablets in Molly's hot milk," the Inspector said. "All the family were in the kitchen last night. Peter Hobbs and Tom Briggs were there, too. One of them killed Molly."
Inspector Walsh got his hat and coat. "Come on. We need to talk to Peter Hobbs and Tom Briggs. Let's get some more coffee first. I'd like a sandwich, too. I'm hungry again!"
* * *
good night n. 晚安。
garden n. piece of ground for growing flowers. 花园。
pencil n. 铅笔。
pocket n. small bag on dothing. 口袋。
exciting a. arousing great interest. 令人兴奋的。
christmas n. christian festival.圣诞节。
drive vt. 驾驶。
hot a. 热的。
age n. 年龄。
gardener n. person employed to tend garden. 园丁。
perhaps ad. 也许。
5
用完咖啡和三明治后，沃尔什探长叫罗杰·克拉克森到办公室，罗杰走进来坐下。探长马上就开始了提问。
“嗨，克拉克森先生，你母亲昨晚为何生你的气？”
“房子太大了，”罗杰说。“妈妈得干许多活，我希望她搬家。可是不行，她爱这所房子和花园，她不想搬。”
“克拉克森先生，告诉我有关你工作的事，你母亲死了，现在你富有了。你需要钱吗?”
罗杰的脸突然露出害怕的神色。“你在说什么？我没有杀我的妈妈。我需要钱，这是真的。我和一个朋友想在这儿的花园里建10所房子，我们能从中赚许多钱，所以我希望妈妈卖了房子，这是事实。可是布里格斯先生也想要半个花园当他的农场，这你是知道的。”
沃尔什探长在桌上摆弄着铅笔。“告诉我，楼上发生了什么事？你去你母亲的房间了吗？”
“去了。我想对妈妈道一声晚安。”
“你又谈起了房子？”
“是的，我说了。她又说不行，她爱这所房子，她不想卖掉。”
沃尔什探长看了罗杰一会。“明白了。克拉克森先生，在黛安娜的房间里我们发现了安眠药的空瓶。”
罗杰没变脸色。“哦？有人放的吧。黛安娜不会杀妈妈，我知道的，是她发现了尸体。”
“很好。下一个我想见见黛安娜。”
罗杰站起来离开了房间。
沃尔什探长站起来把手放进口袋。他走到窗前看着外边的树。为什么罗杰·克拉克森会害怕？这重要吗？他看着福斯特警官。
“明天早上，去克拉克森先生的办公室——你知道他的名字。”他说，“问些有关他的情况，工作、朋友、钱。”
福斯特警官记了下来。“好的，探长。”
“今天可是打网球的好天气啊，警官。”
福斯特警官笑道：“别说这个，你知道，这种天气可不容易遇到。我不喜欢坐在这儿看太阳。”
黛安娜走进房间坐下来，她看着福斯特警官并冲他笑。“我想，我上个月在网球俱乐部见过你，你打得很棒。”
福斯特警官脸红了。沃尔什探长看着他。“哦，是的。那位打得激烈、兴奋的球员就是福斯特警官。”
黛安娜又朝着福斯特警官笑，他的脸更红了。
“好了，克拉克森小姐，”沃尔什探长说。“我想请你谈谈昨晚的事。”
黛安娜收住了笑容。“哦，我可以谈谈昨晚，我的确是要谈谈。我们都生气了。妈妈早早就上了床，然后我端了杯热牛奶给她。我们都在厨房，随后彼特·霍布斯进来了，他几乎把后门给砸烂了。”黛安娜停住了。
“接着呢？”
“他对那封信很生气，他想杀妈妈。你会和他谈谈吗？”
“我们会找每个人谈。”
“很好。汤姆·布里格斯也进了厨房。你要和他谈谈吗？”
“克拉克森小姐，我提几个问题。你什么时候端牛奶上楼的？”
“在罗杰之后。”她停了一会，然后她又说。“我不喜欢妈妈，探长。你要知道，她杀了我父亲。去年冬天，圣诞节后，她开车撞着一棵树，害死了我父亲。”
沃尔什警官仔细看着黛安娜的脸。“我明白了，所以你要杀死你母亲？”
黛安娜笑了。“我是想杀她，但是我没干。探长，我可以告诉你有关这个家的许多事。每个人都希望母亲死。艾伯特姨父想要她的钱给他妻子安妮。还有我哥哥，他需要很多钱。他有一所昂贵的房子和一辆昂贵的轿车。再想想杰基。你知道杰基不喜欢妈妈吗？很久以前，一个不错的男孩在这儿工作，他是个园丁，杰基非常爱他，可是妈妈不同意。园丁对克拉克森家女孩来说可不是丈夫的合适人选！”
沃尔什探长平静地听着。这些都很有趣，可是它们重要吗？也许吧。克拉克森家以前是一个多么快乐的家庭！
“我们在你的房间找到安眠药的空瓶。”沃尔什探长平静地说，他仔细看着她的脸。
黛安娜突然站起来，她一脸怒气。“什么？我没有放在那儿！我不要听这些！”她跑出房间。
“好了，好了，好了，”沃尔什探长说，“她喜欢你，警官，你得小心点。”
福斯特警官笑笑，他的脸却又红了。
“有人把安眠药放在莫利的热牛奶里，”探长说，“所有人昨晚都在厨房。彼特·霍布斯和汤姆·布里格斯也在那儿。他们中有人杀了莫利。”
沃尔什探长戴上帽子穿上外衣。“走吧，我们需要和彼特·霍布斯和汤姆·布里格斯谈谈。咱们得先喝点咖啡，我还想要块三明治。我又饿了！”
6
Chapter
They found Peter Hobbs under his car—an old green car. He got up slowly. He wore old blue trousers and a dirty orange shirt.
"We want to talk about Mrs Clarkson," Inspector Walsh said.
"Oh, it's about her," Peter said. He looked at the Inspector. "I know she's dead. Someone in the village told me."
"Why did you go to the Clarkson's house last night?"
"Jackie wanted me to come and see her brother, Roger. "You're angry," she said. "Come and tell Roger." I went to the house but nobody opened the door. So I made a lot of noise and then they opened the door. Old Mrs Clarkson wasn't there. But I told Roger. I told them all!" Peter hit the car with his hand. "I wanted to kill that woman. I lost my job, my first job, because of her. Last month I was in trouble with the police and that old woman wrote to my office and she told them about the police. I wanted to kill her!"
"Take it easy!" Inspector Walsh said. "What happened next?"
"Jackie gave me some coffee, but her brother didn't listen to me," Peter said angrily. "Then Tom Briggs came in. He wanted to talk to Roger, too. But Roger didn't listen to him. Jackie was very unhappy—she nearly cried. Then I went home. That's all."
"I see. Now tell me about the tablets. You went to the village on Thursday?"
"Tablets? Oh, yes. I remember. Jackie wanted me to get her mother's tablets from the village. I go to the village on my bicycle—this car doesn't work."
"Thank you, Peter. That's all."
"That's all?" Peter laughed angrily. "You're going to come back, I know that! I know the police!"
Tom Briggs' farm was about half a mile away, near the river. It was not a big farm, and the house was old and dirty.
"Not much money here," Inspector Walsh said.
Tom Briggs was a young man, about thirty years old, with dirty hands and bad teeth. "What's wrong? Excuse me, I'm eating my dinner," he said.
"We can wait. Finish your dinner," Inspector Walsh said. "We want to ask one or two questions about last night."
"Come and wait in the front room," Tom said and opened the door.
Inspector Walsh looked at the things in the front room. There was an old black and white television, and some books on the table. There was a picture of a happy young girl with long brown hair on the table, too. Inspector Walsh looked at the picture for a long time. Who was the girl?
Tom Briggs came back into the front room.
"Finished?" Inspector Walsh asked. "You know Mrs Clarkson is dead?"
Tom Briggs sat down suddenly on the nearest chair. "What? How did she die? When did it happen? I was there last night."
"She died last night or early this morning. What did you do last night?"
"Me? Why are you asking me? I went there to meet Mr Clarkson—Roger. I'm losing money on this farm and I need more land. I want half Mrs Clarkson's garden."
"You went into the kitchen. What did you do next? Can you remember?"
Tom Briggs looked at Sergeant Foster and then back at Inspector Walsh. "I remember it very well. All the family were in the kitchen. Peter Hobbs was there, too. I talked to Roger. He wants his mother to sell the house. But he wants the land. He doesn't want me to have it. But now Mrs Clarkson is dead. What's going to happen now?"
Inspector Walsh got up and took the picture of the girl from the table. "Who's this?"
Tom's face went red. "Who? Oh! That's a friend. It's not... It was a long time ago."
The two detectives walked back to the Clarksons' house through the garden. It was beautiful, green and quiet. Inspector Walsh felt tired and hungry. Who killed Molly? He knew the answer now, but he needed to ask one or two more questions.
"Let's go, Sergeant," he said, and put on his hat again. "Tomorrow is a new day."
* * *
green a. 绿色的。
dirty a. unclean. 不干净的；脏的。
orange a. 橙色的。
listen to 听。
angrily ad. 恼怒地；气愤地。
through prep. from end to end or side to side of. 穿过。
hungry a. causing hunger. 饥饿的。
tire a. 疲劳的。
lose v. 失去。
put on 戴上。
hat n. 帽子。
6
他们在小车车底找到了彼特·霍布斯——一辆旧的绿色小车。他慢慢站起来，穿了条旧的蓝裤子和一件脏兮兮的桔色衬衫。
“我们想和你谈谈克拉克森太太，”沃尔什探长说。
“哦，谈谈她，”彼特说。他看着探长。“我知道她死了，村里有人告诉我了。”
“昨晚你为什么去克拉克森家？”
“杰基要我去见她的弟弟，罗杰。‘你生气了，’她说，‘来告诉罗杰吧。’我去了那儿但没人给我开门。所以我弄出很大的噪音，然后他们开了门。老克拉克森太太不在那儿。但是我告诉了罗杰，我全都告诉了他们！”彼特用手敲打着车。“我想杀了那个女人。我丢了工作，我的第一份工作，就是因为她。上个月我跟警察有些纠纷，那老女人就写信给我的办公室，说了有关警察的事。我想杀了她！”
“别激动！”沃尔什探长说，“接下来发生了什么事？”
“杰基给我咖啡，可她的弟弟没听我说，”彼特生气地说,“然后汤姆·布里格斯进来了。他也想和罗杰谈谈，可罗杰不听他的。杰基很不高兴——她几乎哭了。然后我就回家了。就这些。”
“明白了。现在告诉我有关药片的事。你周四去村里了吗？”
“药片？哦，是的。我想起来了。杰基要我从村里给她妈妈带些药片。我骑自行车去村里的——这辆车坏了。”
“谢谢，彼特。到此为止吧。”
“到此为止？”彼特生气地笑笑。“你们会回来的，我知道！我了解警察。”
汤姆·布里格斯的农场大约有半英里远，靠近河畔。农场不大，并且房子又旧又脏。
“这儿不值多少钱。”沃尔什探长说。
汤姆·布里格斯是个年轻人，30来岁，一双手很脏，还有一口坏牙。“出了什么事？抱歉，我正在吃饭。”他说。
“我们可以等，你去吃饭吧，”沃尔什探长说，“我们想问一两个有关昨晚的问题。”
“进来在前屋等吧。”汤姆说着打开了门。
沃尔什探长看着前屋的东西。屋里有一台旧的黑白电视机，桌上还有些书。一个棕色长发，充满快乐的年青女孩的相片也在桌上，沃尔什探长盯着照片看了好一会。这女孩是谁？
这时，汤姆·布里格斯走进前屋。
“吃完了？”沃尔什探长问，“你知道克拉克森太太死了吗？”
汤姆·布里格斯突然跌坐在最靠近身边的椅子上。“什么？她怎么死的？什么时候？我昨晚还在那儿。”
“她死于昨晚或是今天清晨。你昨晚干了什么？”
“我？为什么要问我？我去那儿见克拉克森先生——罗杰。我的农场在亏损，我需要更多的土地。我想要克拉克森夫人的半个花园。”
“你进了厨房，接下来干了什么？你能记得吗？”
汤姆·布里格斯看着福斯特警官，然后又回头看着沃尔什探长。“我记得非常清楚。所有他们家的人都在厨房，彼特·霍布斯也在。我和罗杰谈话，他想要他母亲卖了房子，可是他要地，不想让我得到。但是现在克拉克森夫人死了。将会发生什么呢？”
沃尔什探长站起来，拿起桌上女孩的照片。“这是谁？”
汤姆脸红了。“谁？哦！那是一个朋友。这不是……这是很久以前的了。”
两人穿过花园走回到克拉克森家。花园美丽，葱绿，宁静。沃尔什探长觉得又累又饿。谁杀了莫利？他现在知道了答案，可他需要再问一两个问题。
“咱们走，警官，”他说，然后戴上帽子。“明天是新的一天了。”
7
Chapter
On Monday morning Sergeant Foster went to Roger's office and asked some questions. And then he went to Albert's house and asked some more questions. Inspector Walsh sat in his office and telephoned. He made phone calls about Peter Hobbs and he made phone calls about Tom Briggs. And then he had some coffee and sandwiches.
At three o'clock the two detectives drove to the Clarksons' house.
"I would like to see everyone," he told Roger.
Everyone came into the sitting room and sat down.
Inspector Walsh stood in front of the windows and looked at them, one by one. "I want to talk to you. Someone killed Molly Clarkson. Someone put sleeping tablets in her hot milk and killed her. Nobody wanted to tell me the true story, but now I know the true story and I'm going to tell you."
