“Malone!” The police officer made a one-armed gesture that seemed to ask who the hell would ever want to see Malone. “I’ve been wishing you’d show up.” He reached in his desk drawer and took out a small but ponderous-looking book.
杰克伸手拿过书。是 H.F. 哈灵顿所着的《新闻工作要点》。
Jake reached for the book. It was Essentials of Journalism, by H. F. Harrington.
“当然是本好书，” 他说着把书扔回桌上，“但里面有不少四个音节的词。”
“Sure it’s a good book,” he said, tossing it back on the desk, “but it’s got quite a few four-syllable words in it.”
冯?弗拉纳根把书放回抽屉，双手抱在脑后，危险地向后靠在椅子上。“是这样，杰克。我从来不想当警察。我从来就不喜欢当警察。没有哪一天我不想自己要是个高级殡仪承办人就好了，就像我一直期望的那样。嗯，市议员欠我一个亲戚钱，所以我就当了警察。但我讨厌警察。我甚至还去法庭把我的名字从普通的弗拉纳根改成了冯?弗拉纳根，这样就不那么像警察的名字了。”
Von Flanagan replaced the book in the desk drawer, clasped his hands behind his head, and leaned perilously far back in his chair. “It’s like this, Jake. I never wanted to be a cop. I’ve never liked being a cop. There never was a day when I didn’t wish I’d been a high-class undertaker, like I’d always meant to be. Well, the alderman owed one of my relatives money, so I got to be a cop. But I hate cops. I even went to court and changed my name from just plain Flanagan to von Flanagan, so it wouldn’t sound so much like a cop’s name.”
杰克恭敬地默默听着。他对这段叙述倒背如流。
Jake listened in respectful silence. He knew the recital by heart, backwards, forwards, and sideways.
冯?弗拉纳根脸上露出幸福的表情。“现在，” 他高兴地说，“我要退休了。随时都有可能。也许等我把这个案子从我的办公桌上处理掉就行。等我退休了，我要在某个地方买一份乡村报纸，然后当编辑。我肯定会这么做，上帝作证！” 他用一只巨大的拳头猛击一下桌子，发出的砰的一声让房间里的所有东西都晃动起来。
A beatific expression came over von Flanagan’s face. “Now,” he said happily, “I’m gonna retire. Any day now. Maybe as soon as I can get this case off my desk. And when I retire, I’m gonna buy me a country newspaper someplace and be an editor. That’s what I’m gonna do, by God!” He brought one enormous fist down on his desk with a thump that set everything in the room rattling.
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