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vi
the house was easily searched. they went through the few out-buildings first and then turned
their attention to the building itself. mrs. rogers’ yard measure discovered in the kitchen
dresser assisted them. but there were no hidden spaces left unaccounted for. everything was
plain and straightforward, a modern structure devoid of concealments. they went through the
ground floor first. as they mounted to the bedroom floor, they saw through the landing window
rogers carrying out a tray of cocktails to the terrace.
philip lombard said lightly:
“wonderful animal, the good servant. carries on with an impassive countenance.”
armstrong said appreciatively:
“rogers is a first-class butler, i’ll say that for him!”
blore said:
“his wife was a pretty good cook, too. that dinner—last night—”
they turned in to the first bedroom.
five minutes later they faced each other on the landing. no one hiding—no possible hiding
place.
blore said:
“there’s a little stair here.”
dr. armstrong said:
“it leads up to the servants’ room.”
blore said:
“there must be a place under the roof—for cisterns, water tank, etc. it’s the best chance—
and the only one!”
and it was then, as they stood there, that they heard the sound from above. a soft furtive
footfall overhead.
they all heard it. armstrong grasped blore’s arm. lombard held up an admonitory finger.
“quiet—listen.”
it came again—someone moving softly, furtively, overhead.
armstrong whispered:
“he’s actually in the bedroom itself. the room where mrs. rogers’ body is.”
blore whispered back:
“of course! best hidingplace he could have chosen! nobody likely to go there. now then
—quiet as you can.”
they crept stealthily upstairs.
on the little landing outside the door of the bedroom they paused again. yes, someone was
in the room. there was a faint creak from within.
blore whispered:
“now.”
he flung open the door and rushed in, the other two close behind him.
then all three stopped dead.
rogers was in the room, his hands full of garments.
6
别墅很容易搜查。他们先把几间配套的房子搜查了一遍，然后把注意力转到了主楼。
他们从厨房食品柜里翻出罗杰斯太太用过的尺子，这可派了大用场。所有的犄角旮旯都被
他们地毯式搜查了一番。这幢新式建筑本来也不存在什么暗门或者空墙，室内完全是宽阔
的敞开式设计。他们从楼下开始搜，一直搜到楼上的卧室。上楼时，他们从窗户里看见罗
杰斯端着一盘鸡尾酒，向外面的露台走去。
菲利普·隆巴德低声说：
“这个家伙可真了不起，居然能不动声色地照常工作。”
阿姆斯特朗的语气颇为赞赏，他说：
“我必须承认，罗杰斯确实是一流的管家。”
布洛尔说：
“他太太也是位一流的厨师。昨天晚上那顿饭——”
他们走进第一间卧室。
五分钟以后，他们又回到楼道口。没人藏在里面，房间里也没有可以藏人的地方。
布洛尔说：
“这里有楼梯。”
阿姆斯特朗医生说：
“那通向下面的用人房。”
布洛尔说：
“屋子的顶棚底下一定有个地方容纳水槽、蓄水池之类的设施，这种地方最容易藏身，
而且也只有这个地方了。”
就在他们站着讨论的时候，听见头顶上有声音，轻轻的、偷偷摸摸的脚步声！
三个人全都注意到了这个声音。阿姆斯特朗一把抓住布洛尔的胳膊，隆巴德伸出一根
手指，让他们两人别出声，轻声说：
“安静——听。”
又出现了——有人在他们头顶正上方轻轻地、鬼鬼祟祟地走动。
阿姆斯特朗悄声说：
“这个声音应该是来自卧室，就是停放罗杰斯太太尸体的房间。”
布洛尔也小声回应道：
“没错！那个房间是最好的藏身之处！谁也不会去那儿。现在……尽量别出声。”
他们蹑手蹑脚地走上楼梯。
走到那间卧室门外的楼道，三个人停下脚步。没错，有人在房间里。透过门缝传出轻
微的吱呀声。
布洛尔轻声下令：
“动手。”
他一把推开门冲进去，其他二人紧随其后。
接下来，他们三个人全都愣住了。
只见罗杰斯站在房间里，怀里抱着满满的衣服。
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