“We’re strangers in town,” Jake said for the second time that day. As Malone sniffed indignantly, he added, “You and Helene don’t know anything about small towns. I lived in one until I was grown up. Any stranger is an object of curiosity and suspicion, even when he doesn’t happen along at the time of an important murder.”
“不止如此。” 汤姆?伯罗斯说。“克林治安官今年秋天要竞选连任。他不想惹任何人不高兴而失去选票。同时，他又必须给人一种他在积极处理这起谋杀案的印象。所以他声称这两个人是重要证人，把大家的注意力转移到他们身上。而且我毫不怀疑，” 他最后说，“如果随着时间的推移，他找不到其他凶手，他就会把罪名安在杰克头上，然后了事。”
“There’s more to it than that,” Tom Burrows said. “Sheriff Kling is up for reelection this fall. He doesn’t want to make anybody mad at him and lose a vote. At the same time, he has to give the impression he’s doing something about this murder. So he claims these two are material witnesses and diverts attention to them. And I haven't any doubt,” he finished, “that if, as time goes along, he doesn’t find any other murderer, he’ll just pin it on Jake, and be done with it.”
沉默了一小会儿。
There was a little silence.
“当然，” 汤姆?伯罗斯说，“在此期间他可能会找到真正的凶手。”
“Of course,” Tom Burrows said, “he may find the real murderer in the meantime.”
这次是杰克哼了一声。“就像俗话说的，我可不想在他找到凶手之前就被绞死！”
This time it was Jake who snorted. “As the saying goes, I wouldn't like to hang until he does!”
“这非常奇怪，” 马龙若有所思地说，“有人能在法院这样的公共场所走到参议员佩维利面前开枪打死他而没有人看到，这太奇怪了。周围没有人吗？没有目击者吗？”
“It’s damned funny,” Malone said thoughtfully, “that somebody could walk up to Senator Peveley and shoot him without anybody seeing it, in a public place like the courthouse. Wasn’t anyone around? Weren’t there any witnesses?”
“有整整六个目击者。” 海伦告诉他。“但是没有人看到枪击发生，因为没有人在看。”
“There were an even half-dozen witnesses,” Helene told him. “But nobody saw the shooting because nobody was looking.”
“情况是这样的，” 杰克解释道。“法院西侧有一小段楼梯通向法庭和办公室。枪击就发生在楼梯顶端。大家都在四处走动，拿文件、取帽子或者聊天，突然一声枪响，参议员佩维利大叫一声，从楼梯上滚了下去。”
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