“That way,” he said grimly, “we’ll have the murderer right here in the courthouse, and we won’t have to chase him halfway to Illinois, the way we did with those two guys who stole the slot machine from Marty Gill’s roadhouse.
“而且，” 他宣布，“在验尸官来之前，任何人都不许碰尸体。” 这是他唯一确定的事情。
“And nobody,” he declared, “is allowed to touch the body until the coroner gets here.” That was the one thing he was positive about.
“嗯，他确定了一些事情。” 海伦评论道。“我想知道他是否知道为什么。”
“Well, he’s sure of something,” Helene mented. “I wonder if he knows why.”
“我怀疑他不知道。” 杰克说。“他一直在读侦探小说，这是唯一留在他脑海里的事情。”
“I doubt it,” Jake said. “He’s been reading detective stories and that’s the only thing that stuck in his mind.”
不幸的是，杰克逊县的验尸官查理?豪森，职业是殡仪员，正在九英里外的沃特维尔主持一场葬礼。葬礼一结束他就会开车到杰克逊来。
Unfortunately, Charlie Hausen, Jackson County’s coroner, an undertaker by profession, was conducting a funeral in Waterville, nine miles away. He’d drive down to Jackson the minute it was over.
“没关系，” 治安官克林宣布。“这里没有人着急。”
“That’s all right,” Sheriff Kling announced. “Nobody here is in any hurry.”
有人建议在尸体上盖一条床单，但对于这个做法的合法性似乎存在一些疑问。此外，杰克逊县法院里没有任何可以用作床单的东西，治安官克林也不允许任何人离开大楼去拿一条。他指派了一个不安的、脸色苍白的副手看守尸体，就这样算了，宣称在验尸官豪森结束葬礼到达之前，任何人都无能为力。
Someone had suggested placing a sheet over the body, but there appeared to be some doubt as to the legality of the procedure. Besides, there was nothing in the Jackson County Courthouse to serve as a sheet, and Sheriff Kling refused to allow anyone to leave the building to get one. He appointed an unfortable, white-faced deputy to stand guard over the remains, and let it go at that, declaring that now there was nothing anybody could do until Coroner Hausen finished with his funeral and arrived.
与此同时，没有人可以离开法院。
In the meantime, no one could leave the courthouse.
总的来说，似乎没有人反对。菲尔?史密斯温和地提到，大楼里没有人出去吃午饭。治安官回应指出，克莱因烧烤店会送三明治进来。麦高恩小姐看了看手表，皱起眉头，然后打电话给图书馆协会为不能出席下午的会议道歉。脸色苍白的年轻地方检察官把自己关在办公室里。
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