马龙探案卷五 之 盛怒的审判 一
杰克逊县法庭那条长长的、昏暗的走廊寂静得如同坟墓，几乎密不透风。高高的天花板边缘，阴影聚拢成一片漆黑，烟雾弥漫，难以穿透；而下方广阔的空间里，只有一抹奇异、昏暗的半明半暗的光线，这光线更偏蓝色而非灰色，仿佛是自成一派。巨大的双扇大门外是烈日当空的正午，这条走廊里却宛如黄昏。
THE LONG, dark corridor of the Jackson County A Courthouse was as still as a grave, and almost as airless.Along the edges of the high ceiling, the shadows gathered into darkness, smoky and impenetrable; in the vast space below there was only a strange, murky half-light, more blue than gray, a light that seemed to be of its own making.Outside the great double doors it was blazing noon, but in this corridor it was dusk.
即便是在那个夏天最炎热的日子里，静止的空气中也带着一丝微弱而令人不适的寒意。
Even on that day, the hottest of the summer, there was a faint and unfortable chill in the motionless air.
清洁工哈维?巴顿正要从瓷砖地板上捡起一片微不足道的废纸，这时他停了下来，站在那里倾听，仿佛他希望能听到一些令人安心的声音。
Harvey Button, the janitor, paused in the act of picking up an infinitesimal scrap of wastepaper from the tile floor, and stood listening, almost as though he hoped to hear some reassuring sound.
当然，后来他声称自己有过预感。他说，这个预感在清晨就随着他醒来了。其实也不完全算是预感，而是一种隐约让人感到不愉快的感觉。没错，这可能只是天气的原因，或者是前一晚啤酒的影响，但他得意地指出，这背后有更宿命的意味。
Later, of course, he claimed to have had a premonition. It had, he said, wakened with him early in the morning. Not exactly a premonition, either, but a kind of vaguely unpleasant feeling. Yes, it could have been the weather, or even the last night’s beer, but, he pointed out triumphantly, it was something much more fateful.
一扇厚重的大门突然猛地打开，涌入的阳光让他不禁眨了眨眼。伴随着阳光，一股仿佛来自熔炉的炽热空气也随之涌入。他能看到，外面的树上方的天空中，出现了一道巨大的黑色条纹，开始遮蔽住刺眼的阳光。每一棵树的每一片叶子都纹丝不动。
One of the massive doors suddenly swung open, and the blast of sunlight made him blink. A rush of hot air came in with it as though from a furnace. Above the trees outside he could see a great dark streak in the sky, beginning to blot out the blazing glare. Every leaf on every tree was perfectly motionless.
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“要下雨了，” 哈维?巴顿友好地对刚进来的那对夫妇说。他猛地把门关上。
“Going to storm,” Harvey Button said amiably to the couple who had just e in. He slammed the door shut.
“不管怎样，这里很凉快，” 男人说，擦着额头。
“Cool in here, anyway,” the man said, mopping his brow.
小个子清洁工好奇地打量着他们。那个男人身材高大，一头红发，非常瘦削；他那满是汗水的脸上布满了细小的雀斑。哈维后来提到，与他同行的女孩是个绝世佳人。
The little janitor looked at them curiously. The man was tall, red-haired, and very thin; his perspiring face was a mass of tiny freckles. The girl with him was, Harvey said later, a whooperdoo.
即使在这酷热难耐的一天里，她依然显得清爽宜人。每一缕闪亮的灰金色头发都恰到好处地摆放着，她那苍白而精致、带有贵族气质的脸庞妆容完美无瑕。虽然哈维·巴顿对服装设计师和密歇根大道上的商店一无所知，但他十分欣赏她那套简洁灰色亚麻套装的剪裁。
Even on this day of almost incredible heat, she appeared cool. Every strand of shining ash-blonde hair was exquisitely in place, her pale, delicate, patrician face was made up to perfection. Harvey Button knew nothing of dress designers and Michigan Avenue shops, but he enjoyed looking at the lines of her perfectly plain gray linen suit.
“县书记员到底在哪儿？”女孩愉快地问道。
“Where the hell is the county clerk?” the girl asked pleasantly.
“你的意思是，县书记员的办公室在哪里，”她的同伴严厉地说，“你现在可是在一个体面的地方。”
“You mean, where’s the county clerk,” her panion said severely. “You’re in a respectable munity now.”
哈维·巴顿咧嘴一笑。“是谁想知道县书记员的办公室在哪里呢？”
Harvey Button grinned. “Who the hell wants to know where the county clerk is?”
“你一下子就明白了，” 女孩笑着回应道。
“You get the idea right away,” the girl said, grinning back at him.
“他在楼上的法庭里，” 小个子清洁工告诉她，“今天有县委员会会议。” 从他的语气听起来，仿佛是在谈论一场天使们的聚会。“但如果你需要办理结婚证，他的副手可以帮忙处理。”
“He’s upstairs in the courtroom,” the little janitor told her. “Today’s the county board meeting.” He might have been speaking of a convocation of the angels, from the tone of his voice. “But his deputy can take care of you, if you’re looking for a marriage license.”
“我们已经有结婚证了，” 红发男人说道，“这次我们想要一张钓鱼许可证。”
小主，
“We’ve already got one of those,” the red-haired man said. “This time we want a fishing license.”
“不过，” 女孩补充说，“如果今天有什么特别优惠的话，我们也许会考虑买今年流行的新款式。”
“Though,” the girl added, “if you have a special on today, we might consider something snappy in a this year’s model.”
哈维·巴顿想了想整个情况。“你们最好去找县书记员的副手，” 最后他说，“沿着走廊走，在左边的第一扇门就是。”
Buttonholes thought the whole thing over for a minute. “You’d better see the county clerk’s deputy,” he said at last. “First door to your left, down the corridor.”
这对夫妇向他道谢后便离开了。正当他在清扫金发女孩香烟掉落的一点烟灰时，楼梯上传来了沉重的脚步声。清洁工站到了一边，看着42位县委员会成员涌过走廊，然后开始清理他们在地板上留下的垃圾。
The couple thanked him and went. He was sweeping up a tiny bit of ash from the blonde girl’s cigarette when a heavy tread came from the stairs. The janitor stood aside as forty-two members of the county board poured out through the corridor, then he began to clean up the small litter they had made on the floor.
这是一座很棒的法院，如果人们能保持它整洁就更好了。他赞赏地环顾四周。1882年人们就知道如何建造宏伟的法院。巨大的镶板门，高高的天花板，华丽的瓷砖地板，到处都是精致的木工制品。
It was a wonderful courthouse, if only people would keep it neat. He looked around admiringly. Back in 1882, they knew how to build courthouses. Big, paneled doors, high ceilings, fancy tile floors, and elegant millwork everywhere.
他走到走廊尽头，打开门，往外看了一眼。在这几分钟内，天空已经完全变黑，巨大的乌云像一个巨大的盖子一样压在树梢上。任何地方都没有一丝空气流动，法院广场上的每一只鸟都沉默不语。
He walked to the end of the corridor, opened the door, and glanced out. In these few minutes, the sky had bee entirely dark, immense black clouds pressed down over the trees like a gigantic cover. Not a single breath of air stirred anywhere, every bird in the courthouse square was silent.
“当它来袭时，会是一场大风暴，” 清洁工对周围的人说道。
“She’s going to be a whopper when she hits,” the janitor remarked to the world in general.
他关上门，打开了洞穴般的走廊里的电灯。但这并没有太大帮助。
He shut the door and switched on the electric light in the cavernous hallway. It didn’t help much.
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一个身材较高、穿着讲究、留着灰色短发的女人匆匆走进法院，砰地关上了身后的门。清洁工向她点了点头。“斯金丁斯鲁德先生还在这儿吗，纽扣先生？”
A tallish, well-dressed woman with short gray hair came hurrying into the courthouse, slamming the door behind her. The janitor nodded to her. “Is Mr. Skindingsrude still here, Buttonholes?”
“在，麦高恩小姐。他在楼上的法庭里。” 过了一会儿，门又开了。小个子清洁工在一个肥胖、红脸、白发的男人后面赶紧把门关上。
“Yep, Miss MacGowan. He’s up in the courthouse.” A moment later the door opened again. The little janitor hurried to close it after a portly, red-faced, white-haired man.
“下午好，参议员。”
“‘Afternoon, Senator.”
前参议员佩维利粗声粗气地点了点头，开始喘着粗气爬上通往二楼的陡峭楼梯。哈维·巴顿，也就是纽扣先生，疲惫地叹了口气，扫完了最后几片废纸和烟灰，把它们放进一个金属盒子里，盒子上他精心写着：
Ex-Senator Peveley nodded gruffly and began puffing up the steep flight of stairs to the second floor. Harvey Button, otherwise known as Buttonholes, sighed wearily, finished sweeping up the last bits of wastepaper and ashes, and deposited them in a metal box on which he had painstakingly lettered:
请保持我们法院的清洁。
HELP KEEP OUR COURTHOUSE CLEAN.
当他做完这些的时候，那对年轻夫妇从县书记员办公室回来了。纽扣先生咧嘴笑了，为他们打开了门。金发女孩看着阴沉的天空，皱起了眉头。
By the time he had finished, the young couple had returned from the county clerk’s office. Buttonholes grinned widely and opened the door for them. The blonde girl looked at the threatening sky and frowned.
“我不确定我想在这种天气出去。”
“I’m not sure I want to go out in that.”
“你们开车吗？” 纽扣先生问。
“Are you driving?” Buttonholes asked.
她点了点头，指了指停在法院附近的一辆时髦的知更鸟蛋蓝色敞篷车。
She nodded and pointed to a rakish robin’s-egg-blue convertible parked near the courthouse.