chapter 26 a warning

"and so it is," said poirot, "that we are the good friends and have no secrets from each other."

katherine turned her head to look at him. there was something in his voice, some undercurrent of seriousness, which she had not heard before.

they were sitting in the gardens of monte carlo. katherine had come over with her friends, and they had run into knighton and poirot almost immediately on arrival. lady tamplin had seized upon knighton and had overwhelmed him with reminiscences, most of which katherine had a faint suspicion were invented. they had moved away together, lady tamplin with her hand on the young man's arm. knighton had thrown a couple of glances back over his shoulder, and poirot's eyes twinkled a little as he saw them.

"of course we are friends," said katherine.

"from the beginning we have been sympathetic to each other," mused poirot.

"when you told me that a 'roman policier' occurs in real life."

"and i was right, was i not?" he challenged her, with an emphatic forefinger. "here we are, plunged in the middle of one. that is natural for me - it is my métier - but for you it is different. yes," he added in a reflective tone, "for you it is different."

she looked sharply at him. it was as though he were warning her, pointing out to her some menace that she had not seen.

"why do you say that i am in the middle of it? it is true that i had that conversation with mrs. kettering just before she died, but now - now all that is over. i am not connected with the case any more."

"ah, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, can we ever say, 'i have finished with this or that'?"

katherine turned defiantly round to face him.

"what is it?" she asked. "you are trying to tell me something - to convey it to me rather. but i am not clever at taking hints. i would much rather that you said anything you have to say straight out."

poirot looked at her sadly. "ah, mais c'est anglais ?a," he murmured,

"everything in black and white, everything clear cut and well defined. but life, it is not like that, mademoiselle. there are the things that are not yet, but which cast their shadow before."

he dabbed his brow with a very large silk pocket-handkerchief and murmured: "ah, but it is that i become poetical. let us, as you say, speak only of facts. and, speaking of facts, tell me what you think of major knighton."

"i like him very much indeed," said katherine warmly; "he is quite delightful."

poirot sighed.

"what is the matter?" asked katherine.

"you reply so heartily," said poirot. "if you had said in an indifferent voice, 'oh, quite nice,' eh bien, do you know i should have been better pleased."

katharine did not answer. she felt slightly uncomfortable. poirot went on dreamily: "and yet, who knows? with les femmes, they have so many ways of concealing what they feel - and heartiness is perhaps as good a way as any other."

he sighed.

"i don't see -" began katherine.

he interrupted her.

"you do not see why i am being so impertinent, mademoiselle? i am an old man and now and then - not very often - i come across someone whose welfare is dear to me. we are friends,

mademoiselle. you have said so yourself. and it is just this - i should like to see you happy."

katherine stared very straight in front of her. she had a cretonne sunshade with her, and with its point she traced little designs in the gravel at her feet.

"i have asked you a question about major knighton, now i will ask you another. do you like mr derek kettering?"

"i hardly know him," said katherine.

"that is not an answer, that."

"i think it is."

he looked at her, struck by something in her tone. then he nodded his head gravely and slowly.

"perhaps you are right, mademoiselle. see you, i who speak to you have seen much of the world, and i know that there are two things which are true. a good man may be ruined by his love for a bad woman - but the other way holds good also. a bad man may equally be ruined by his love for a good woman."

katherine looked up sharply.

"when you say ruined -"

"i mean from his point of view. one must be wholehearted in crime as in everything else."

"you are trying to warn me," said katherine in a low voice.

"against whom?"

"i cannot look into your heart, mademoiselle; i do not think you would let me if i could. i will just say this. there are men who have a strange fascination for women."

"the comte de la roche," said katherine, with a smile.

"there are others - more dangerous than the comte de la roche. they have qualities that appeal - recklessness, daring, audacity. you are fascinated, mademoiselle; i see that, but i think that it is no more than that. i hope so. this man of whom i speak, the emotion he feels is genuine enough, but all the same -"

"yes?"

he got up and stood looking down at her. then he spoke in a low, distinct voice:

"you could, perhaps, love a thief, mademoiselle, but not a murderer."

he wheeled sharply away on that and left her sitting there.

he heard the little gasp she gave and paid no attention. he had said what he meant to say. he left her there to digest that last unmistakable phrase.

derek kettering, coming out of the casino into the sunshine, saw her sitting alone on the bench and joined her.

"i have been gambling," he said, with a light laugh, "gambling unsuccessfully. i have lost everything - everything, that is, that i have with me."

katherine looked at him with a troubled face. she was aware at once of something new in his manner, some hidden excitement that betrayed itself in a hundred different infinitesimal signs.

"i should think you were always a gambler. the spirit of gambling appeals to you."

"every day and in every way a gambler? you are about right. don't you find something stimulating in it? to risk all on one throw - there is nothing like it."

calm and stolid as she believed herself to be, katherine felt a faint answering thrill.

"i want to talk to you," went on derek, "and who knows when i may have another opportunity? there is an idea going about that i murdered my wife - no, please don't interrupt. it is absurd, of course." he paused for a minute or two, then went on, speaking more deliberately. "in dealing with the police and local authorities here i have had to pretend to - well - a certain decency. i prefer not to pretend with you. i meant to marry money. i was on the look out for money when i first met ruth van aldin. she had the look of a slim madonna about her, and i - well - i made all sorts of good resolutions - and was bitterly disillusioned. my wife was in love with another man when she married me. she never cared for me in the least. oh, i am not complaining; the thing was a perfectly respectable bargain. she wanted leconbury and i wanted money. the trouble arose simply through ruth's american blood. without caring a pin for me, she would have liked me to be continually dancing attendance. time and again she as good as told me that she had bought me and that i belonged to her. the result was that i behaved abominably to her. my father-in- law will tell you that, and he is quite right. at the time of ruth's death, i was faced with absolute disaster." he laughed suddenly.

"one is faced with absolute disaster when one is up against a man like rufus van aldin."

"and then?" asked katherine in a low voice.

"and then," derek shrugged his shoulders, "ruth was murdered - very providentially."

he laughed, and the sound of his laugh hurt katherine. she winced.

"yes," said derek. "that wasn't in very good taste. but it is quite true. now i am going to tell you something more. from the very first moment i saw you i knew you were the only woman in the world for me. i was - afraid of you. i thought you might bring me bad luck."

"bad luck?" said katherine sharply.

he stared at her. "why do you repeat it like that? what have you got in your mind?"

"i was thinking of things that people have said to me."

derek grinned suddenly. "they will say a lot to you about me, my dear, and most of it will be true. yes, and worse things too - things that i shall never tell you. i have been a gambler always - and i have taken some long odds. i shan't confess to you now or at any other time. the past is done with. there is one thing i do wish you to believe. i swear to you solemnly that i did not kill my wife."

he said the words earnestly enough, yet there was somehow a theatrical touch about them. he met her troubled gaze and went on:

"i know. i lied the other day. it was my wife's compartment i went into."

"ah," said katherine.

"it's difficult to explain just why i went in, but i'll try. i did it on an impulse. you see, i was more or less spying on my wife. i kept out of sight on the train. mirelle had told me that my wife was meeting the comte de la roche in paris. well, as far as i had seen, that was not so. i felt ashamed, and i thought suddenly that it would be a good thing to have it out with her once and for all, so i pushed open the door and went in."

he paused.

"yes," said katherine gently.

"ruth was lying on the bunk asleep - her face was turned away from me - i could only see the back of her head. i could have waked her up, of course. but suddenly i felt a reaction. what, after all, was there to say that we hadn't both of us said a hundred times before? she looked so peaceful lying there. i left the compartment as quietly as i could."

"why lie about it to the police?" asked katherine.

"because i'm not a complete fool. i've realized from the beginning that, from the point of view of motive, i'm the ideal murderer. if i once admitted that i had been in her compartment just before she was murdered, i'd do for myself once and for all."

"i see."

did she see? she could not have told herself. she was feeling the magnetic attraction of derek's personality, but there was something in her that resisted, that held back...

"katherine -"

"yes?"

"you know that i care for you. do - do you care for me?"

"i - i don't know."

weakness there. either she knew or she did not know.

if - if only -

she cast a look round desperately as though seeking something that would help her. a soft colour rose in her cheeks as a tall fair man with a limp came hurrying along the path towards them - major knighton.

there was relief and an unexpected warmth in her voice as she greeted him.

derek stood up scowling, his face black as a thundercloud.

"lady tamplin having a flutter?" he said easily. "i must join her and give her the benefit of my system."

he swung round on his heel and left them together. katherine sat down again. her heart was beating rapidly and unevenly, but as she sat there talking commonplaces to the quiet, rather shy man beside her, her self-command came back.

then she realized with a shock that knighton also was laying bare his heart, much as derek had done, but in a very different manner.

he was shy and stammering. the words came haltingly with no eloquence to back them.

"from the first moment i saw you - i - i ought not to have spoken so soon - but mr van aldin may leave here any day, and i might not have another chance. i know you can't care for me so soon - that is impossible. i dare say it is presumption anyway on my part. i have private means, but not very much - no, please don't answer now. i know what your answer would be. but in case i went away suddenly i just wanted you to know - that i care."

she was shaken - touched. his manner was so gentle and appealing.

"there's one thing more. i just wanted to say that if - if you are ever in trouble, anything that i can do -"

he took her hand in his, held it tightly for a minute, then dropped it and walked rapidly away towards the casino without looking back.

katherine sat perfectly still, looking after him. derek kettering - richard knighton - two men so different - so very different. there was something kind about knighton, kind and trustworthy. as to derek - then suddenly katherine had a very curious sensation. she felt that she was no longer sitting alone on the seat in the casino gardens, but that someone was standing beside her, and that that someone was the dead woman, ruth kettering. she had a further impression that ruth wanted - badly - to tell her something. the impression was so curious, so vivid, that it could not be driven away. she felt absolutely certain that the spirit of ruth kettering was trying to convey something of vital importance to her. the impression faded. katherine got up, trembling a little. what was it that ruth kettering had wanted so badly to say?

第二十六章 警告

“我还是这样认为，”波洛说道，“我们是好朋友，彼此之间是无话不谈的。”

在他的话音里有一种低沉而严肃的语调，卡泰丽娜还从来没有听过他的这种语调。

他们坐在蒙特卡洛的一个公园里。坦普林女士又把奈顿捕捉到手，奈顿回味往事又动了心，看来奈顿又将成为她的新欢。她同这个青年人消失在公园里的小林荫路上。

“当然，我们是朋友。”卡泰丽娜说道。“您还记得吗，那时您对我说，在实际生活中也有象侦探小说一样的事？”

“怎么？难道我没有说到点子上吗？您已经成为这部小说的中心人物了。”

她以敏锐的目光看了波洛一眼。她似乎从波洛的话语中得到了一种无形的警告，告诉她面临着一种危险，而她至今仍未察觉到这种危险。

“您为什么说我已经成了这部小说的中心人物？我同这个案子是毫不相干的。”

“难道您能说：‘我同这个或那个人毫不相干？’”

“亲爱的朋友，您到底是指什么？我发觉您好象是在暗示我，可是我又没有猜谜语的天才。请您把心里所想的全盘托出来吧。”

波洛很犹豫地看着她。“天啊，真是英国人的脾气！”他小声说道。“你们岛国人心中只有黑白之分。可是生活却完全是另一种样子。生活中有些东西可能还没有露头，但是已经看到了他们的影子。”

他用手帕使劲地擦了一下额头，慢悠悠地说道：“我相信，我说得似乎有点玄乎。

我们还是回到事实上来吧。比如说，请您告诉我，您喜欢奈顿少校吗？”

“我很喜欢他。”卡泰丽娜热情地说道，“他很迷人。”

波洛叹了一口气。

“您怎么啦？”卡泰丽娜问道。

“您的回答是那样的衷心而热情。”波洛说道。“如果您只是心不在焉地回答说：‘嗯，他很好，’那么我就更加高兴一点。”

卡泰丽娜没有答话。她感到心里有点不舒适。波洛很浪漫地继续说道：

“可是，谁知道会怎样。女人有许多花招把自己的感情隐藏起来，忠诚可能就是其中的一种花招。”他又叹了一口气。

“我一点都不懂……”卡泰丽娜傻乎乎地盯着他说。

她的话被打断了。

“我是个老头，一会儿到这里来，一会儿又到那里去。有时，但不是经常，遇到某一个人，他的幸福和命运总是挂在我的心上。我们是朋友，您刚刚说过，我们是朋友。

因此，我非常希望您能够幸福。”

卡泰丽娜凝视着远方。她用伞尖在地面上画着自己的脚形。

“我已经向您提了一个关于奈顿少校的问题。我现在还要问您点什么。您喜欢德里克·凯特林先生吗？”

“我还不了解他。”

“这不是回答。”

“我认为，我是喜欢他的。”

他看着卡泰丽娜。从她的声音里几乎察觉不出什么东西。波洛慢慢地点点头。

“也许您是对的。我是个饱经沧桑的老头，我总结了一条经验：一个好男人也可能被一个坏女人的爱情而毁掉。反过来也是这样。一个坏男人也可能被一个好女子的爱情拯救过来。”

卡泰丽娜迷惑不解地看着他。

“怎样来理解‘毁掉’这个字眼儿？”

“我是从这个词的本身含义来理解的，如果一个人是罪犯，那么他就应该是个完全的罪犯。”

“您是想警告我什么。”卡泰丽娜说道。

“我不能洞悉您的心里想的是什么。您当然也可以完全不相信我说的话。我只想告诉您一点：有些男人对女人具有一种无形的吸引力。”

“比如说，罗歇伯爵。”卡泰丽娜笑着说。

“还有另外一些人，他们比伯爵更为危险。这些男人具有对女人很起作用的特点：勇敢、冷酷和冒险精神。您现在可能还不觉得，实际上已经处于一个男人的影响之下，并且……”

“什么？”

他站起身来看着卡泰丽娜。然后压低了嗓门，但是非常清楚地说道：“您可以爱上一个小偷，但决不要爱上一个杀人犯！”

当卡泰丽娜抬眼望波洛的时候，他已经不在了。

德里克从俱乐部里走出来，看到卡泰丽娜一个人坐在椅子上，就凑到她跟前。

“我赌了一场。”他微笑着，轻松地说道。“当然又是没赢。我把所有的钱都输光了，当然我是指带在身上的钱。”

卡泰丽娜看了他一眼。他的激动有点异常。她只是这样感觉，当然没有发觉德里克内心的变化。她深思地说道：

“是的，我认为您是一个天生的赌徒，一个被赌博迷住了心窍的赌徒。”

“您可能说得很对！难道您不觉得，赌博之中隐藏着巨大的、妙不可言的力量？一切都取决于一张牌——其它的就都不起作用了！”

她一直把自己看作一个冷酷和没有热情的人，而现在她却感到自己在跟一个赌徒的心理发生共鸣。

“我想同您谈一谈，”凯特林继续说下去，“谁知道什么时候还会有这样的机会。

人们都在私下议论说， 我杀死了自己的妻子。不，请您不要打断我的话。当然，这些议论都是毫无意义的。”他停了片刻又以果断的语调往下说。“在警察面前，当然我得装成一本正经的样子。在您面前，我就不必表演那套喜剧了。开头，我就是这种看法，为金钱而结婚。带着这种想法，我第一次遇到了露丝。她当时就象一位温柔可爱的圣母，那时，我当然也尽量表现出自己优越的地方。但是，过不久希望就破灭了。我妻子在同我结婚的同时，却爱着别人。她从来就没对我产生过好感。但是，唉，我并不抱怨自己，这是一笔货真价实的交易。她嫁给我是为了我那未来的贵族头衔，我娶她是因为她有钱。

如果露丝的血管里流的不是美国人的血，那么一切都会顺顺当当。我对她来说好比是空气，可是她要我一天到晚都要装成一个温文尔雅的绅士。她越来越放肆地在我的面前扬言，我是她买来的，我是属于她的。她的所作所为，促成我针锋相对地干一些坏事。我的岳父当然把这一切都同您说过，他说得完全对。露丝死之前，我几乎到了崩溃的边缘。”他大笑起来。“是啊，谁要是同鲁夫斯·冯·阿尔丁较量，谁就要崩溃。”

“以后呢？”卡泰丽娜低声问道。

德里克耸了耸肩。“以后露丝就被人谋杀了。她死的正是时候。”

他又大笑起来。卡泰丽娜吓得缩起身子，他的笑声撕裂着她的心。

“毫无趣味，可以这样说，是吗？”德里克继续往下说。“但却是事实。我现在还要在您面前忏悔一番。自从我们初次见面那一刹那，我就知道，您就是我唯一要找的女人。我在您的面前有点害怕。我怕给您带来不幸。”

“不幸？”

“为什么您总是用那种语调讲话？”

“我在想今天有人对我讲的话。”

德里克嘿嘿一笑。“人们讲了很多关于我的事，其中有些是事实。我一生都是个赌徒，我指的不止是牌桌上的赌徒。我并不想使自己变得好一些。但是，我可以对您起誓，我没有害死我的妻子！”

他的话听起来很严肃，但是其中还有点戏剧性的语调。卡泰丽娜的目光停留在他的脸上。他发现了这一点。继续说道：

“当然，我撒了谎，我到过我妻子的包厢。”他停顿了一会儿。“您应该理解，我那是盯我妻子的梢。在旅途中我一直是隐藏在车厢里。米蕾对我说，我妻子可能在巴黎同伯爵约会。看来这事并没有发生。我当时有一种羞耻感，突然我产生了一种想法，想同我妻子敞开谈一谈。所以我开了门走进了她的包厢。”

“您看到了什么？”卡泰丽娜紧张地问道。

“露丝睡着了。她的脸朝着墙，当然我可以叫醒她。可是突然间，我想同她谈话的念头消失了，也可以说同她谈话的勇气消失了。难道我们之间还有什么要谈的吗？那些事我们谈过不止上百次了。她平静地躺在那里。我同进来时一样，轻轻地离开了包厢。”

“为什么您不向警察说出真想呢？”

“因为我没有成为疯子。事情一开始我就明白，杀人嫌疑肯定得落到我的头上。假若我承认到过我妻子的包厢，而且就在她被害前不久去过，那我就等于把刀放到了自己的脖子上。”

“我懂。”

不过，她真的懂了吗？她自己也不知道。她感觉到，德里克有一种磁石般的引力在吸着她，可是她的内心深处却有另一种力量在扯她的后腿。……

“您知道，我爱您，卡泰丽娜！那么您怎么样？说吧，对我来讲是无所谓的。”

“我……我不知道。”

她向四周环顾了一下，象是求救似的。这时，一个高个、瘦削、走起路有点瘸的年轻人向她走来，她的双颊立刻漾起了红晕。来的人是奈顿少校。

她轻松愉快地迎接了奈顿，在她的感情里还有一点她自己也尚未察觉的热情。

德里克站起身来。奈顿的面容是昏暗的，但他的声音还是那样尖刻。

“坦普林女士试图在赌盘上碰碰运气。”他说道，“那我可要奉陪到底了。我的那一套是无懈可击的，至少是：几乎无懈可击。”

德里克转身走了，剩下她同奈顿两人。卡泰丽娜很快又恢复了平静。刚才，她的心还是那样忐忑不安地跳动，现在，当看到这位安详而胆怯的男人坐在她的身旁时，她感到，又能够控制住自己的情绪了。

当奈顿走过来时，她更清楚了：奈顿的内心活动比较容易表现出来，而德里克表现内心活动却是用另外一种方式。奈顿结结巴巴地说道：

“从看到您的那一瞬间起，我就，我……我不愿说出来。可是，您知道冯·阿尔丁先生随时都可能启程走掉，那时，可能就再也没有机会同您谈话了。我知道，您还不可能从我身上感觉到什么——那是不可能的。我有些太不自量了。我只是有一点财产——不多——不，请不要回答我，我知道您的回答是什么。我只是想说，我可能马上会离开这里，我只是想，想让您知道，知道，我是爱您的。”

他那语无伦次的讲话并没有扰乱她的平静的心情。他的风度还是那样的温柔，是那样的可爱。

“我还要向您表白一句。如果您需要帮助，我将随时为您效劳。”

他抓住卡泰丽娜的手，握了很长时间。然后他放开了她，快步走向赌场，头也不回。

卡泰丽娜安静地坐在那里。德里克·凯特林和理查特·奈顿，这样不同的两个人，完全不同的两个男人。奈顿身上似乎使人感到亲切和忠厚，使人觉得可以信赖，而德里克却相反……

卡泰丽娜这时突然产生了一种异样的感觉，宛如一种幻觉。她仿佛觉得不是她一个人在赌场公园的椅子上坐着，而身旁象是站着一个人，这个人很象死去了的人……是露丝·凯特林，她似乎有一种强烈的愿望，想告诉卡泰丽娜什么事。这种奇异的感觉是那样的强烈而生动，致使卡泰丽娜无法摆脱。她觉得，一定是露丝·凯特林的灵魂降临，试图告诉卡泰丽娜一条消息，而这一消息对卡泰丽娜说来是生死攸关的。这一幻觉缓慢地消失了。卡泰丽娜站起身来。她有些发抖。露丝·凯特林一定有话要对她说。她到底要说什么呢？