“好了，”马龙温柔地说，“你不用再说了。让莫娜来讲吧。”他弹掉雪茄上的烟灰。“或者我来讲？”
“All right,” Malone said gently. “You don’t need to talk any more. Let Mona tell it.” He knocked the ashes off his cigar. “Or shall I?”
莫娜·麦克莱恩用白皙、紧张的手指点燃一支香烟，坐着看着烟头。在昏暗的灯光下，她的脸尖尖的，模糊不清，在黑暗中是一个有点苍白的三角形。
Mona McClane lighted a cigarette with white, nervous fingers and sat looking at the end of it. In the dim light her face was pointed, shadowy, a little pale triangle in the darkness.
“我计划杀了他，”她简单地说，“没有别的办法。他就是我想杀的人。”
“I planned to kill him,” she said simply. “There was no other way. He was the man I meant to murder.”
杰克和海伦同时转过头看着对方。
Jake and Helene turned their heads to look at each other at exactly the same moment.
她说：“我一直都很喜欢伊迪莎。”仅此而已。
She said, “I had always been so fond of Editha.” That was all.
马龙站起来，一只胳膊肘支在壁炉架的角上。“她来到这里后把整个故事都告诉你了，”他对莫娜·麦克莱恩说，“迈克尔·文宁——真正的迈克尔·文宁——很快就五十岁了。如果在那个生日或之后，那个被认为是迈克尔·文宁的人去世了，而真相永远不被揭露，那么不仅伊迪莎·文宁在这场欺骗中的角色永远不会被人知道，而且她还会继承遗产。这些年来他一直恶劣地对待她，他该死。”他把烟灰弹进壁炉里。“此外，他谋杀了真正的迈克尔·文宁。那不是一场意外。”
Malone rose and stood leaning one elbow on the corner of the mantel. “She told you the whole story after she came here,” he said to Mona McClane. “Michael Venning—the real Michael Venning—would soon have been fifty. If on, or after, that birthdate the man believed to be Michael Venning died, and the truth never came up, not only would Editha Venning’s part in the deception never be known, but she would inherit the estate. He had treated her abominably all these years, and he deserved to die.” He flicked his ashes into the fireplace. “Besides, he had murdered the real Michael Venning. It wasn’t an accident.”
杰克突然向前倾身。“但是那个赌注——当你和我打赌的时候……”
Jake leaned forward suddenly. “But that bet—when you made that bet with me—”
“我那时就计划好了，”莫娜·麦克莱恩说，“伊迪莎来了后不久，我就从她那里得知了整个故事——迈克尔不怕让伊迪莎单独和我谈话。他认为她不敢把真相告诉任何人。毕竟——她不能揭露他而不牵连自己。她告诉我这个故事后，我只能想到一件事要做。”
这章没有结束，请点击下一页继续阅读！
喜欢马龙探案之三点的迷案请大家收藏：(m.qbxsw.com)马龙探案之三点的迷案全本小说网更新速度全网最快。