空幻之屋28

时间：2024-12-31 10:09:23

（单词翻译:单击）

II
“But of course, Inspector1,” said Veronica. “I’m only too anxious to help you.”
“Thank you, Miss Cray.”
Veronica Cray was not, somehow, at all what the inspector had imagined.
He had been prepared for glamour2, for artificiality, even possibly for heroics. He would not
have been at all surprised if she had put on an act of some kind.
In fact, she was, he shrewdly suspected, putting on an act. But it was not the kind of act he had
expected.
There was no overdone3 feminine charm—glamour was not stressed.
Instead he felt that he was sitting opposite to an exceedingly good-looking and expensively
dressed woman who was also a good businesswoman. Veronica Cray, he thought, was no fool.
“We just want a clear statement, Miss Cray. You came over to The Hollow on Saturday
evening?”
“Yes, I’d run out of matches. One forgets how important these things are in the country.”
“You went all the way to The Hollow? Why not to your next-door neighbour, M. Poirot?”
She smiled—a superb, confident camera smile.
“I didn’t know who my next-door neighbour was—otherwise I should have. I just thought he
was some little foreigner and I thought, you know, he might become a bore—living so near.”
“Yes,” thought Grange, “quite plausible5.” She’d worked that one out ready for the occasion.
“You got your matches,” he said. “And you recognized an old friend in Dr. Christow, I
understand?”
She nodded.
“Poor John. Yes, I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years.”
“Really?” There was polite disbelief in the inspector’s tone.
“Really.” Her tone was firmly assertive6.
“You were pleased to see him?”
“Very pleased. It’s always delightful7, don’t you think, Inspector, to come across an old friend?”
“It can be on some occasions.”
Veronica Cray went on without waiting for further questioning:
“John saw me home. You’ll want to know if he said anything that could have a bearing on the
tragedy, and I’ve been thinking over our conversation very carefully—but really there wasn’t a
pointer of any kind.”
“What did you talk about, Miss Cray?”
“Old days. ‘Do you remember this, that and the other?’” She smiled pensively4. “We had known
each other in the South of France. John had really changed very little—older, of course, and more
assured. I gather he was quite well-known in his profession. He didn’t talk about his personal life
at all. I just got the impression that his married life wasn’t perhaps frightfully happy—but it was
only the vaguest impression. I suppose his wife, poor thing, was one of those dim, jealous women
—probably always making a fuss about his better-looking lady patients.”
“No,” said Grange. “She doesn’t really seem to have been that way.”
Veronica said quickly:
“You mean — it was all underneath8? Yes — yes, I can see that that would be far more
dangerous.”
“I see you think Mrs. Christow shot him, Miss Cray?”
“I oughtn’t to have said that. One mustn’t comment—is that it—before a trial? I’m extremely
sorry, Inspector. It was just that my maid told me she’d been found actually standing9 over the
body with the revolver still in her hand. You know how in these quiet country places everything
gets so exaggerated and servants do pass things on.”
“Servants can be very useful sometimes, Miss Cray.”
“Yes, I suppose you get a lot of your information that way?”
Grange went on stolidly10:
“It’s a question, of course, of who had a motive11—”
He paused. Veronica said with a faint, rueful smile:
“And a wife is always the first suspect? How cynical12! But there’s usually what’s called ‘the
other woman.’ I suppose she might be considered to have a motive too?”
“You think there was another woman in Dr. Christow’s life?”
“Well—yes, I did rather imagine there might be. One just gets an impression, you know.”
“Impressions can be very helpful sometimes,” said Grange.
“I rather imagined—from what he said—that that sculptress woman was, well, a very close
friend. But I expect you know all about that already?”
“We have to look into all these things, of course.”
Inspector Grange’s voice was strictly13 noncommittal, but he saw, without appearing to see, a
quick, spiteful flash of satisfaction in those large blue eyes.
He said, making the question very official:
“Dr. Christow saw you home, you say. What time was it when you said good night to him?”
“Do you know, I really can’t remember! We talked for some time, I do know that. It must have
been quite late.”
“He came in?”
“Yes, I gave him a drink.”
“I see. I imagined your conversation might have taken place in the—er—pavilion by the
swimming pool.”
He saw her eyelids14 flicker15. There was hardly a moment’s hesitation16 before she said:
“You really are a detective, aren’t you? Yes, we sat there and smoked and talked for some time.
How did you know?”
Her face bore the pleased, eager expression of a child asking to be shown a clever trick.
“You left your furs behind there, Miss Cray.” He added just without emphasis: “And the
matches.”
“Yes, of course I did.”
“Dr. Christow returned to The Hollow at 3 a.m.,” announced the inspector, again without
emphasis.
“Was it really as late as that?” Veronica sounded quite amazed.
“Yes, it was, Miss Cray.”
“Of course, we had so much to talk over—not having seen each other for so many years.”
“Are you sure it was quite so long since you had seen Dr. Christow?”
“I’ve just told you I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years.”
“Are you quite sure you’re not making a mistake? I’ve got the impression you might have been
seeing quite a lot of him.”
“What on earth makes you think that?”
“Well, this note for one thing.” Inspector Grange took out a letter from his pocket, glanced
down at it, cleared his throat and read:
Please come over this morning. I must see you.
Veronica.
“Ye-es.” She smiled. “It is a little peremptory17, perhaps. I’m afraid Hollywood makes one—well,
rather arrogant18.”
“Dr. Christow came over to your house the following morning in answer to that summons. You
had a quarrel. Would you care to tell me, Miss Cray, what that quarrel was about?”
The inspector had unmasked his batteries. He was quick to seize the flash of anger, the ill-
tempered tightening19 of the lips. She snapped out:
“We didn’t quarrel.”
“Oh, yes, you did, Miss Cray. Your last words were: ‘I think I hate you more than I believed I
could hate anyone.’”
She was silent now. He could feel her thinking—thinking quickly and warily20. Some women
might have rushed into speech. But Veronica Cray was too clever for that.
She shrugged21 her shoulders and said lightly:
“I see. More servants’ tales. My little maid has rather a lively imagination. There are different
ways of saying things, you know. I can assure you that I wasn’t being melodramatic. It was really
a mildly flirtatious22 remark. We had been sparring together.”
“The words were not intended to be taken seriously?”
“Certainly not. And I can assure you, Inspector, that it was fifteen years since I had last seen
John Christow. You can verify that for yourself.”
She was poised23 again, detached, sure of herself.
Grange did not argue or pursue the subject. He got up.
“That’s all for the moment, Miss Cray,” he said pleasantly.
He went out of Dovecotes and down the lane, and turned in at the gate of Resthaven.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 inspector q6kxH     
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。
2 glamour Keizv     
n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住
参考例句：
  • Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
  • The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。
3 overdone 54a8692d591ace3339fb763b91574b53     
v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度
参考例句：
  • The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
4 pensively 0f673d10521fb04c1a2f12fdf08f9f8c     
adv.沉思地，焦虑地
参考例句：
  • Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
  • "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
5 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的
参考例句：
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。
6 assertive De7yL     
adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的
参考例句：
  • She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
  • China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。
7 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
8 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面
参考例句：
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。
9 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
10 stolidly 3d5f42d464d711b8c0c9ea4ca88895e6     
adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地
参考例句：
  • Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里，瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
  • He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上，两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句
11 motive GFzxz     
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
12 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的
参考例句：
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
13 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
14 eyelids 86ece0ca18a95664f58bda5de252f4e7     
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色
参考例句：
  • She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 flicker Gjxxb     
vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现
参考例句：
  • There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
  • At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。
16 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
17 peremptory k3uz8     
adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的
参考例句：
  • The officer issued peremptory commands.军官发出了不容许辩驳的命令。
  • There was a peremptory note in his voice.他说话的声音里有一种不容置辩的口气。
18 arrogant Jvwz5     
adj.傲慢的，自大的
参考例句：
  • You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
  • People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。
19 tightening 19aa014b47fbdfbc013e5abf18b64642     
上紧，固定，紧密
参考例句：
  • Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
  • It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。
20 warily 5gvwz     
adv.留心地
参考例句：
  • He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
  • They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。
21 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 flirtatious M73yU     
adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的
参考例句：
  • a flirtatious young woman 卖弄风情的年轻女子
  • Her flirtatious manners are intended to attract. 她的轻浮举止是想引人注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 poised SlhzBU     
a.摆好姿势不动的
参考例句：
  • The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
  • Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

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