【驚險懸疑小說】紅玫瑰追殺令21

　　21

　　He held out a well-manicured hand.

　　‘My name is Cesare Vincenzo.`In perfect English,he added,`I am a lawyer and I have just arranged for your release.`

　　I found the news too good to believe.

　　‘I am telling you that you are free to go.There will be no charge against you.Collect your things at the desk.My car is waiting outside.`

　　I started to ask some questions.

　　‘Please,`he said.`I am a busy man.There will be time for questions and answers when we are in the car.`

　　For a while I thought of little else except how relieved I was to be out of that piece of trouble.Slowly I realised that Vincenzo`s white Alfa Romeo was taking us out of Palermo,and I began to feel uneasy again.I asked where we were going.

　　‘Adrano,`was the reply.

　　My thought turned to Captain Jameson,but then Vincenzo added,‘to meet the man who pays my fees.I know that you have heard of him.His name is Lippari.Adrano is three hundred kilometres.What I suggest is that you sit back and enjoy our beauyiful countryside.`

　　Vincenzo had just answered one or two other questions which were in my mind-like how he knew I was being held by the police on a drugs charge;and how easily the charge appeared to have been dropped.I knew that someone had wanted me to stay on the island.I was now fairly certain that the ‘somebody`was Lippari.I had thought about telling him the story,but I owed him nothing for getting me out of jail if it was he who put me there!

　　We stopped in Adrano to fill the car with petrol.The town was bigger than I expected and,judging from the two coaches nearby which were unloading tourists,it obviously had some attractions.Vincenzo had left me in the car while he went to pay for the petrol.

　　Did I really want to meet Alberto Lippari(25) If I stayed where I was,I was going to have no option.I couldn`t be certain,but this was Adrano and it might be that I did have a friend here.I could see Vincenzo standing with his back to me.I could easily slip out of the car and lose myself among the tourists(26).

　　註釋：

　　1，well-manicured：指甲經過精心修剪的；manicure：修剪指甲。

　　2，release：釋放。

　　3，too good to believe: It`s too good to be true!（消息）太好了，好得不敢相信是真的。

　　4,charge against:指控。

　　5， For a while I thought of little else except how relieved I was to be out of that piece of trouble：那一刻，除了感到無比輕鬆，別的什麼也想不起，因為即將脫離那件麻煩事兒。

　　6，Alfa Romeo：小車的牌子。

　　7，meet the man who pays my fees：去見付給我律師費的那個人。fee：支付給專業人士的費用；fare：交通費；tuition：學費。

　　8，questions which were in my mind：縈繞於心的問題。

　　9, on a drugs charge:因為被指控攜帶毒品。

　　10，I owed him nothing for getting me out of jail if it was he who put me there!假如正是他把我整進了班房又把我弄出來的話，那我就什麼都不欠他的！it was he who···：正是他；這句是強調句。

　　11，fill the car with petrol：給小車加油。

　　12,two coaches nearby which were unloading tourists:附近有兩車遊客正從長途公共汽車上下來；which的先行詞是two coaches，在從句中作主語；unload：（從車上）卸（客），卸（貨）。

　　13，attractions：吸引人之處；此處指旅遊名勝。

　　14，If I stayed where I was，I was going to have no option：如果呆在車上，我將別無選擇（只能去見李帕利）。where I was：我所在的地方；option：選擇。

　　15，standing with his back to me：背向著我站立。

　　16，slip out of：溜出。

　　17，lose oneself among：使自己消失在。

　　21

　　這名男子與我握手，他的指甲是精心修剪過的。“我叫切薩·文森諾，律師。”他的英語無可挑剔。“我是律師，剛辦好了釋放你的手續。”

　　竟有這等好事，簡直不敢相信！

　　“ 我在給你說，你可以走了。不會有人指控你了。快收好桌上的東西，我的車還等在外面”。

　　我剛要開口問，他就打斷了我。

　　“ 求求你，我忙得很。上了車有時間說”。

　　那一刻，除了感到無比輕鬆，別的什麼也想不起，因為即將脫離那件麻煩事兒。慢慢地，我意識到文森諾的這輛白色的阿爾法·羅密歐已經駛出了巴勒莫，不覺又不安起來，就問，這是去哪兒。

　　“阿德拉諾”。

　　我一下就想到了詹姆森上尉。但是文森諾接著說：“去見那個付給我律師費的人。我知道你聽說過他，就是李帕利。到阿德拉諾有三百公里呢，請靠背安坐，欣賞田園風光。”

　　我一直縈繞於心的問題，文森諾也回答了：他是如何知道我被指控走私毒品而被警方羈押的，這指控被撤銷又顯得如何的容易。我原本就知道是某人想阻止我離島。現在，我有相當的把握，這個“某人”，就是李帕利。我本來想把我的遭遇告訴他；但是，假如是他把我整進了班房又把我弄出來的話，我就什麼也不欠他的了。

　　到了阿德拉諾，小車停下來加油。這個鎮子比我預料的要大。附近停着兩輛長途公共汽車，從下車的遊客人數判斷，這個地方顯然有幾處頗值得一游。文森諾下車付款，我獨留車上。

　　我真的需要去見阿爾貝托·李帕利嗎（25）？我很糾結。如果呆在車上，我將別無選擇!可是，這兒就是阿德拉諾呀，或許，真的有個貴人可以幫我呢。此刻，文森諾站在那兒背向著我；我可以看着他，很容易地溜出小車，瞬間便消失在那群遊客之中（26）。