死亡约会 Part II Chapter 16（1）

 

Chapter 16

There was a pause. Then clearing his throat with a slightly affected¹ sound, Poirot went on:

‘We have now solved the mystery of what I might term the second hypodermic. That belongedto Mrs Lennox Boynton, was taken by Raymond Boynton before leaving Jerusalem, was takenfrom Raymond by Carol after the discovery of Mrs Boynton’s dead body, was thrown away byher, found by Miss Pierce, and claimed by Miss King as hers. I presume Miss King has it now.’

‘I have,’ said Sarah.

‘So that when you said it was yours just now, you were doing what you told us you do not do—you told a lie.’

Sarah said calmly: ‘That’s a different kind of lie. It isn’t—it isn’t a professional lie.’

Gerard nodded appreciation².

‘Yes, it is a point that. I understand you perfectly³, mademoiselle.’

‘Thanks,’ said Sarah.

Again Poirot cleared his throat.

‘Let us now review our time-table. Thus:

Boyntons and Jefferson Cope leave the camp 3.5 (approx.)Dr Gerard and Sarah King leave the camp 3.15 (approx.)Lady Westholme and Miss Pierce leave the

camp

4.15

Dr Gerard returns to camp 4.20 (approx.)

Lennox Boynton returns to camp 4.35

Nadine Boynton returns to camp and talks to

Mrs Boynton

4.40

Nadine Boynton leaves her mother-in-law and

goes to marquee

4.50 (approx.)

Carol Boynton returns to camp 5.10

Lady Westholme, Miss Pierce and Mr Jefferson

Cope return to camp

5.40

Raymond Boynton returns to camp 5.50

Sarah King returns to camp 6.0

Body discovered 6.30

‘There is, you will notice, a gap of twenty minutes between four-fifty when Nadine Boynton lefther mother-in-law and five-ten when Carol returned. Therefore, if Carol is speaking the truth, MrsBoynton must have been killed in that twenty minutes.

‘Now who could have killed her? At that time Miss King and Raymond Boynton were together.

Mr Cope (not that he had any perceivable motive⁴ for killing⁵ her) has an alibi⁶. He was with LadyWestholme and Miss Pierce. Lennox Boynton was with his wife in the marquee. Dr Gerard wasgroaning with fever in his tent. The camp is deserted⁷, the boys are asleep. It is a suitable momentfor a crime! Was there a person who could have committed it?’

His eyes went thoughtfully to Ginevra Boynton.

‘There was one person. Ginevra Boynton was in her tent all the afternoon. That is what we havebeen told—but actually there is evidence that she was not in her tent all the time. Ginevra Boyntonmade a very significant remark. She said that Dr Gerard spoke⁸ her name in his fever. And DrGerard has also told us that he dreamt in his fever of Ginevra Boynton’s face. But it was not adream! It was actually her face he saw, standing⁹ there by his bed. He thought it an effect of fever—but it was the truth. Ginevra was in Dr Gerard’s tent. Is it not possible that she had come to putback the hypodermic syringe after using it?’

Ginevra Boynton raised her head with its crown of red-gold hair. Her wide beautiful eyes staredat Poirot. They were singularly expressionless. She looked like a vague saint.

‘Ah, ?a non!’ cried Dr Gerard.

‘Is it, then, so psychologically impossible?’ inquired Poirot.

The Frenchman’s eyes dropped.

Nadine Boynton said sharply: ‘It’s quite impossible!’

Poirot’s eyes came quickly round to her.

‘Impossible, madame?’

‘Yes.’ She paused, bit her lip, then went on, ‘I will not hear of such a disgraceful accusationagainst my young sister-in-law. We—all of us—know it to be impossible.’

Ginevra moved a little on her chair. The lines of her mouth relaxed into a smile—the touching,innocent half-unconscious smile of a very young girl.

Nadine said again: ‘Impossible.’

Her gentle face had hardened into lines of determination. The eyes that met Poirot’s were hardand unflinching.

Poirot leaned forward in what was half a bow.

‘Madame is very intelligent,’ he said.

Nadine said quietly: ‘What do you mean by that, M. Poirot?’

‘I mean, madame, that all along I have realized that you have what I believe is called an“excellent headpiece”.’

‘You flatter me.’

‘I think not. All along you have envisaged¹⁰ the situation calmly and collectively. You haveremained on outwardly good terms with your husband’s mother, deeming that the best thing to bedone, but inwardly you have judged and condemned¹¹ her. I think that some time ago you realizedthat the only chance for your husband’s happiness was for him to make an effort to leave home—strike out on his own no matter how difficult and penurious¹² such a life might be. You were willingto take all risks and you endeavoured to influence him to exactly that course of action. But youfailed, madame. 

 

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 motive   

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。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 alibi   

n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口

参考例句：

• Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
• The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 standing   

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 envisaged   

想像，设想( envisage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He envisaged an old age of loneliness and poverty. 他面对着一个孤独而贫困的晚年。
• Henry Ford envisaged an important future for the motor car. 亨利·福特为汽车设想了一个远大前程。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 penurious   

adj.贫困的

参考例句：

• One penurious year,my parents used Swiss cheese plant.经济拮据的一年，我父母曾用绳状藤来代替圣诞树。
• Raised on a hog farm in Hunan Province,she laughs off the penurious ways of her parents and grandparents.李小姐在湖南省的一家养猪场长大，她嘲笑祖父母及父母吝啬的生活方式。