Then the cat had come.
“It was Gage who saw it first (первым его увидел Гейдж;
оставляют
). A terrible, inhumane thing (ужасное, бесчеловечное дело;
to instruct — учить; приказывать
,
). The cat ignored the food (кот проигнорировал еду). At that point Amanda Drogan had noticed the cat and had insisted they take it in (в этот момент Аманда Дроган заметила кота и настояла, /чтобы/ они взяли его в дом;
/). Drogan had protested vehemently (Дроган был категорически против: «неистово протестовал»;
season ['sJzn], terrible ['terqbl], inhumane ["Inhju(:)'meIn], vehemently ['vJImqntlI],
apparently [q'pxr(q)ntlI]
“It was Gage who saw it first, whining and skulking around the house. He tried to drive it away. He threw sticks and small rocks at it, and hit it several times. But it wouldn't go. It smelled the food, of course. It was little more than a bag of bones. People put them out beside the road to die at the end of the summer season, you know. A terrible, inhumane thing.”
“Better to fry their nerves?” Halston asked.
Drogan ignored that and went on. He hated cats. He always had. When the cat refused to be driven away, he had instructed Gage to put out poisoned food. Large, tempting dishes of Calo cat food spiked with Tri-Dormal-G, as a matter of fact. The cat ignored the food. At that point Amanda Drogan had noticed the cat and had insisted they take it in. Drogan had protested vehemently, but Amanda — had gotten her way. She always did, apparently.
“But shefound out (но она поплатилась: «узнала = испытала все на себе»),” Drogan said. “She brought it inside herself, in her arms (она внесла его внутрь сама, на своих руках). It was purring, just as it is now (он =
way — путь; способ; to get back at smb. — наказывать /кого-либо/; мстить /кому-либо/
to bait — травить; дразнить; изводить
In mid-May, Gage had gotten up to set breakfast and found Amanda Drogan lying at the foot of the main stairs in a litter of broken crockery and Little Friskies (в середине мая, Гейдж встал, чтобы подать завтрак, и нашел Аманду Дроган, лежащей у подножия главной лестницы среди осколков разбитой посуды и
таращились
In mid-May, Gage had gotten up to set breakfast and found Amanda Drogan lying at the foot of the main stairs in a litter of broken crockery and Little Friskies. Her eyes bulged sightlessly up at the ceiling. She had bled a great deal from the mouth and nose. Her back was broken, both legs were broken, and her neck had been literally shattered like glass.
“It slept in her room (он =
),” Drogan said. “She treated it like a baby (она обращалась с ним как с ребенком)... 'Is oo hungwy, darwing (
to do a poopoo употребляется в разговоре с детьми
to wake up
to plan — планировать; намереваться
бросился
)...”
Yes, it could have happened that way, Halston thought (да, это могло произойти именно так, подумал Хэлстон). In his mind's eye he saw the old woman falling forward and outward, too shocked to scream (мысленно он представил: «своим мысленным взором он увидел» = /как/ старая женщина падает вперед /и вниз/, слишком потрясенная/пораженная, чтобы кричать;
летит
), the bowl smashing (миска разбивается вдребезги). At last she comes to rest at the bottom (наконец она останавливается у подножия /лестницы/;
пробираться
Yes, it could have happened that way, Halston thought. In his mind's eye he saw the old woman falling forward and outward, too shocked to scream. The Friskies spraying out as she tumbled head over heels to the bottom, the bowl smashing. At last she comes to rest at the bottom, the old bones shattered, the eyes glaring, the nose and ears trickling blood. And the purring cat begins to work its way down the stairs, contentedly munching Little Friskies...
“What did the coroner say (что сказал следователь;
to leave — покидать; уезжать
nut — орех; /разг./ чудак, “псих”
bird — птица; /разг./ женщина
“What did the coroner say?” he asked Drogan. “Death by accident, of course. But I knew.”
“Why didn't you get rid of the cat then? With Amanda gone?”
Because Carolyn Broadmoor had threatened to leave if he did, apparently. She was hysterical, obsessed with the subject. She was a sick woman, and she was nutty on the subject of spiritualism. A Hartford medium had told her (for a mere twenty dollars) that Amanda's soul had entered Sam's feline body. Sam had been Amanda's, she told Drogan, and if Sam went, she went.
Halston, who had become something of an expert at reading between the lines of human lives, suspected that Drogan and the old Broadmoor bird had been lovers long ago, and the old dude was reluctant to let her go over a cat.
“It would have been the same as suicide (это было бы равносильно самоубийству: «то же самое, что и самоубийство»),” Drogan said. “In her mind she was still a wealthy woman (по ее мнению: «в своем воображении» она все еще была богатая женщина;
взять
). In fact she was the last of a great family (фактически она была последней из большой семьи), living on a pittance as a result of a number of bad investments in the sixties (жившей =
floor — пол; этаж; to control — управлять; /тех./ настраивать; to humidify — увлажнять; humid — влажный; сырой
bad— плохой;/мед./ тяжелый /о состоянии больного/). I wanted her here, and if the cat had to stay (я хотел, чтобы она /была/ здесь, даже если /этот/ кот должен был остаться)...”
Halston nodded and then glanced meaningfully at his watch (Хэлстон кивнул, а затем выразительно взглянул на часы; meaningful — многозначительный, выразительный; meaning — значение; смысл; to mean — думать, подразумевать).
suicide ['sjHIsaId], wealthy ['welTI], specially ['speSqlI], humidify [hjH'mIdIfaI]