Markham grunted disdainfully.
Why should any person confess something to his detriment unless he felt that the truth had been found out, or was likely to be found out?
Pon my word, Markham, you astound me! Permit me to murmur, privatissime et gratis[50], into your innocent ear that there are many other presumable motives for confessing. A confession may be the result of fear, or duress, or expediency, or mother-love, or chivalry, or what the psycho-analysts call the inferiority complex, or delusions, or a mistaken sense of duty, or a perverted egotism, or sheer vanity, or any other of a hundred causes. Confessions are the most treachrous and unreliable of all forms of evidence; and even the silly and unscientific law repudiates them in murder cases unless substantiated by other evidence.
You are eloquent; you wring me, said Markham. But if the law threw out all confessions and ignored all material clues, as you appear to advise, then society might as well close down all its courts and scrap all its jails.
A typical non sequitur[51] of legal logic, Vance replied.
But how would you convict the guilty, may I ask?
There is one infallible method of determining human guilt and responsibility, Vance explained; but as yet the police are as blissfully unaware of its possibilities as they are ignorant of its operations. The truth can be learned only by an analysis of the psychological factors of a crime, and an application of them to the individual. The only real clues are psychologicalnot material. Your truly profound art expert, for instance, does not judge and authenticate pictures by an inspection of the underpainting and a chemical analysis of the pigments, but by studying the creative personality revealed in the pictures conception and execution. He asks himself: Does this work of art embody the qualities of form and technique and mental attitude that made up the geniusnamely, the personalityof Rubens, or Michelangelo, or Veronese, or Titian, or Tintoretto, or whoever may be the artist to whom the work has been tentatively credited.
My mind is, I fear, Markham confessed, still sufficiently primitive to be impressed by vulgar facts; and in the present instanceunfortunately for your most original and artistic analogyI possess quite an array of such facts, all of which indicate that a certain young woman is theshall we say?creator of the criminal opus[52] entitled The Murder of Alvin Benson.
Vance shrugged his shoulders almost imperceptibly.
Would you mind telling mein confidence, of coursewhat these facts are?
Certainly not, Markham acceded. Imprimis[53]: the lady was in the house at the time the shot was fired.
Vance affected incredibility.
Ehmy word! She was actully there? Most extrordinry!
The evidence of her presence is unassailable, pursued Markham. As you know, the gloves she wore at dinner, and the hand-bag she carried with her, were both found on the mantel in Bensons living-room.
Oh! murmured Vance, with a faintly deprecating smile. It was not the lady, then, but her gloves and bag which were present,a minute and unimportant distinction, no doubt, from the legal point of view. Still, he added, I deplore the inability of my laymans untutored mind to accept the two conditions as identical. My trousers are at the dry-cleaners; therefore, I am at the dry-cleaners, what?
Markham turned on him with considerable warmth.
Does it mean nothing in the way of evidence, even to your laymans mind, that a womans intimate and necessary articles, which she has carried throughout the evening, are found in her escorts quarters the following morning?
In admitting that it does not, Vance acknowledged quietly, I no doubt expose a legal perception lamentably inefficient.
But since the lady certainly wouldnt have carried these particular objects during the afternoon, and since she couldnt have called at the house that evening during Bensons absence without the housekeeper knowing it, how, may one ask, did these articles happen to be there the next morning if she herself did not take them there late that night?
Pon my word, I havent the slightest notion, Vance rejoined. The lady herself could doubtless appease your curiosity. But there are any number of possible explanations, y know. Our departed Chesterfield might have brought them home in his coat pocket,women are eternally handing men all manner of gewgaws and bundles to carry for em, with the cooing request: Can you put this in your pocket for me? Then again, there is the possibility that the real murderer secured them in some way, and placed them on the mantel delibrately to mislead the polizei[54]. Women, dont y know, never put their belongings in such neat, out-of-the-way places as mantels and hat-racks. They invariably throw them down on your favrite chair or your center-table.
And, I suppose, Markham interjected, Benson also brought the ladys cigarette butts home in his pocket?
Stranger things have happened, returned Vance equably; though I shant accuse him of it in this instance The cigarette butts may, y know, be evidence of a previous conversazione[55].
Even your despised Heath, Markham informed him, had sufficient intelligence to ascertain from the housekeeper that she sweeps out the grate every morning.
Vance sighed admiringly.
Youre so thorough, arent you? But, I say, that cant be, by any chance, your only evidence against the lady?
By no means, Markham assured him. But, despite your superior distrust, its good corroboratory evidence nevertheless.
I dare say, Vance agreed, seeing with what frequency innocent persons are condemned in our courts But tell me more.
Markham proceeded with an air of quiet self-assurance.
My man learned, first, that Benson dined alone with this woman at the Marseilles, a little bohemian restaurant in West Fortieth Street; secondly, that they quarrelled; and thirdly, that they departed at midnight, entering a taxicab together. Now, the murder was committed at twelve-thirty; but since the lady lives on Riverside Drive, in the Eighties, Benson couldnt possibly have accompanied her homewhich obviously he would have done had he not taken her to his own houseand returned by the time the shot was fired. But we have further proof pointing to her being at Bensons. My man learned, at the womans apartment-house, that actually she did not get home until shortly after one. Moreover, she was without her gloves and hand-bag, and had to be let in to her rooms with a pass-key, because, as she explained, she had lost hers. As you remember, we found the key in her bag. Andto clinch the whole matterthe smoked cigarettes in the grate corresponded to the one you found in her case.
Markham paused to relight his cigar.
So much for that particular evening, he resumed. As soon as I learned the womans identity this morning, I put two more men to work on her private life. Just as I was leaving the office this noon the men phoned in their reports. They had learned that the woman has a fiancé, a chap named Leacock, who was a captain in the army, and who would be likely to own just such a gun as Benson was killed with. Furthermore, this Captain Leacock lunched with the woman the day of the murder and also called on her at her apartment the morning after.
Примечания
1
ex officio (лат.) досл. в силу занимаемой должности; зд. официальный. Здесь и далее комментарии на русском языке принадлежат редактору.
2
amicus curiae (лат.) юридический термин римского права, обозначающий лицо, содействующее суду
3
incommunicado англ. сленг от исп. incomunicado лишенный общения, находящийся в полной изоляции
4
rôle (фр.) роль, амплуа
5
adversaria (лат.) pl. адверсарии, у древних римлян книги с хозяйственными записями о делах и расходах; зд. записные книжки
6
causes célèbres (фр.) pl. знаменитости
7
As a matter of fact, the same water-colors that Vance obtained for $250 and $300, were bringing three times as much four years later. Здесь и далее примечания на английском языке принадлежат автору. Ред.
8
causerie (фр.) беседа
9
objets dart (фр.) pl. предметы искусства
10
métier (фр.) ремесло, работа
11
souci (фр.) зд. обеспокоенность, забота
12
sensibilité (фр.) чувствительность
13
bunjinga бундзинга, «живопись ученых» крупная японская школа живописи тушью и водяными красками на шелке, зародилась в XVII веке.
14
penchants (фр.) pl. склонности, влечения
15
Cest plus quun crime; cest une faute (фр.). Это хуже, чем преступление, это ошибка. Фраза приписывается французскому политику Жозефу Фуше (17591820) о казни герцога Энгиенского, которая повлекла за собой создание антифранцузской коалиции в англо-французской войне 18031814 гг.
16
poseur (фр.) позер, гордец, притворщик
17
I am thinking particularly of Bronzinos portraits of Pietro de Medici and Cosimo de Medici, in the National Gallery, and of Vasaris medallion portrait of Lorenzo de Medici in the Vecchio Palazzo, Florence.
18
Hamlet «Гамлет», трагедия У. Шекспира.
19
Caesar and Cleopatra «Цезарь и Клеопатра», пьеса Б. Шоу.
20
Once when Vance was suffering from sinusitis, he had an X-ray photograph of his head made; and the accompanying chart described him as a marked dolichocephalic and a disharmonious Nordic. It also contained the following data:cephalic index 75; nose, leptorhine, with an index of 48; facial angle, 85°; vertical index, 72; upper facial index, 54; interpupilary width, 67; chin, masognathous, with an index of 103; sella turcica, abnormally large.
21
Culture, Vance said to me shortly after I had met him, is polyglot; and the knowledge of many tongues is essential to an understanding of the worlds intellectual and aesthetic achievements. Especially are the Greek and Latin classics vitiated by translation. I quote the remark here because his omnivorous reading in languages other than English, coupled with his amazingly retentive memory, had a tendency to affect his own speech. And while it may appear to some that his speech was at times pedantic, I have tried, throughout these chronicles to quote him literally, in the hope of presenting a portrait of the man as he was.
22
eggs Bénédictine яйца Бенедикт, блюдо на завтрак, представляющее собой бутерброд из двух половинок булочки с яйцами пашот, ветчиной и голландским соусом
23
flâneur (фр.) фланер, бродяга, скиталец
24
boutonnière (фр.) бутоньерка, цветок в петлице мужского костюма
25
eheu (англ.) увы! ах!
26
grilles (англ.) pl. решетки на окнах
27
Ave, Caesar, te salutamus. (лат.) Славься, Цезарь, мы тебя приветствуем. Версия латинского крылатого выражения Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant («Славься, Цезарь, идущие на смерть приветствуют тебя») так, согласно римскому историку Транквиллу, гладиаторы перед выходом на бой приветствовали императора Клавдия.
28
The book was O. Henrys Strictly Business, and the place at which it was being held open was, curiously enough, the story entitled A Municipal Report.
29
Inspector Moran (as I learned later) had once been the president of a large up-State bank that had failed during the panic of 1907, and during the Gaynor Administration had been seriously considered for the post of Police Commissioner.
30
rigor mortis (лат.) трупное окоченение
31
Vances eyes were slightly bifocal. His right eye was 1.2 astigmatic, whereas his left eye was practically normal.
32
Roger and Gallets Fleurs dAmour популярные в начале прошлого века духи "Fleurs dAmour" («Цветы любви»), выпущенные впервые в 1902 году старейшим французским парфюмерным брендом Roger & Gallet.
33
cloisonné (фр.) клуазоне, досл. разделенный перегородками; перегородная техника в искусстве цветной эмали по металлу; зд. имеется в виду пудреница, выполненная в такой технике
34
Cherchez la femme (фр.) ищите женщину; это частое клише в детективной литературе, которое означает, что нужно найти роковую женщину, замешанную в преступление или являющуюся его причиной. Выражение стало крылатым благодаря роману Александра Дюма-отца «Могикане Парижа», в котором оно повторяется несколько раз.
35
Dux femina facti. (лат.) Женщина совершила действо.
36
gendarmerie (фр.) жандармерия; внутренние войска, имеющие охранные функции
37
ex abundantia cautelae (лат.) из-за чрезмерной осторожности
38
Quantum est in rebus inane! (лат.) Сколько в мире пустого! (Персий, «Сатиры», I, 1.)
39
ignes fatui (лат.) блуждающие огни; редкие природные явления, наблюдаемые по ночам на болотах и полях
40
Even the famous Elwell case, which came several years later and bore certain points of similarity to the Benson case, created no greater sensation, despite the fact that Elwell was more widely known than Benson, and the persons involved were more prominent socially. Indeed, the Benson case was referred to several times in descriptions of the Elwell case; and one anti-administration paper regretted editorially that John F.-X. Markham was no longer District Attorney of New York.
41
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. (лат.) Я человек, и ничто человеческое мне не чуждо (высказывание св. Теренция); Цицерон и Сенека считали это высказывание принципом гуманности.
42
Vance, who had lived many years in England, frequently said ainta contraction which is regarded there more leniently than in this country. He also pronounced ate as if it were spelled et; and I can not remember his ever using the word stomach or bug, both of which are under the social ban in England.
43
points de départ (фр.) pl. отправные точки
44
pourparleurs (фр.) pl. переговоры
45
juge dinstruction (фр.) следственный судья
46
ecce signum (лат.) досл. вот знак; зд. смотри на доказательства
47
ipso facto (лат.) в силу очевидного факта
48
Descent from the Cross «Снятие с креста», центральная панель триптиха фламандского художника Питера Пауля Рубенса, 16101614.
49
ex cathedra (лат.) досл. с кафедры; непререкаемо, авторитетно
50
privatissime et gratis (лат.) очень лично и бесплатно
51
non sequitur (лат.) досл. не следует; нелогичное заключение
52
opus (лат.) произведение, сочинение, опус
53
imprimis (лат.) прежде всего, преимущественно
54
polizei (нем.) полиция
55
conversazione (итал.) беседа, разговор