The Big Sleep

Chapter 19

19
It was close to eleven when I put my car away and walked around to the front of the Hobart Arms. The plate-glass door was put on the lock at ten, so I had to get my keys out. Inside, in the square barren lobby, a man put a green evening paper down beside a potted palm and flicked a cigarette butt into the tub the palm grew in. He stood up and waved his hat at me and said: “The boss wants to talk to you. You sure keep your friends waiting, pal.”	Bilo je blizu jedanaest kad sam sklonio kola i odšetao okolo do pročelja Hobart Armsa. Staklena su se vrata zaključavala u deset, tako da sam morao izvaditi ključeve. Unutra, u četvrtastoj goloj auli, neki je čovjek spustio svježe večernje novine kraj sobne palme i kvrcnuo čik u san- duk iz kojeg je rasla. Ustao je, domahnuo mi šeširom i rekao: — Gazda želi razgovarati s vama. Zaista puštate prijatelje da čekaju, pajdo.
I stood still and looked at his flattened nose and club steak ear.	Zastao sam i zagledao mu se u spljošteni nos i uho nalik na tučeni odrezak.
“What about?”	— U vezi s čim?
“What do you care? Just keep your nose clean and everything will be jake.” His hand hovered near the upper buttonhole of his open coat.	— A što vas briga? Samo nemojte svuda gurati nos i sve će biti banja. — Ruka mu je lebdjela kraj rupice naj-gornjeg dugmeta rastvorenoga kaputa.
“I smell of policemen,” I said. “I’m too tired to talk, too tired to eat, too tired to think. But if you think I’m not too tired to take orders from Eddie Mars—try getting your gat out before I shoot your good ear off.”	— Njušim posao za policiju — rekoh. — Preumoran sam da bih pričao, preumoran da bih jeo, preumoran da bih mislio. No ako misliš da nisam preumoran da primam naređenja od Eddija Marsa, pokušaj izvaditi pljucu prije nego ti metkom odbijem ono zdravo uho.
“Nuts. You ain’t got no gun.” He stared at me levelly. His dark wiry brows closed in together and his mouth made a downward curve.	— Glupost. Nemaš nikakvog pištolja. — Tupo je zurio u mene. Tamne su mu se žicaste obrve skupile a usta opisala krivulju svinutu prema dolje.
“That was then,” I told him. “I’m not always naked.”	— To je bilo onda — kazao sam mu. — Ali nisam uvijek gol.
He waved his left hand. “Okay. You win. I wasn’t told to blast anybody. You’ll hear from him.”	Odmahnuo je lijevom rukom. — Okej. Dobio si. Nisu mi rekli da ikoga rastepeni. A on će ti se javiti.
“Too late will be too soon,” I said, and turned slowly as he passed me on his way to the door. He opened it and went out without looking back. I grinned at my own foolishness, went along to the elevator and upstairs to the apartment. I took Carmen’s little gun out of my pocket and laughed at it. Then I cleaned it thoroughly, oiled it, wrapped it in a piece of canton flannel and locked it up. I made myself a drink and was drinking it when the phone rang. I sat down beside the table on which it stood.	— Što kasnije to bolje — rekao sam i polako se okrenuo dok je ovaj prolazio mimo mene idući prema vratima. Otvorio ih je i izišao ne osvrnuvši se. Nacerio sam se vlastitoj ludosti, produžio do dizala i zatim stepenicama do stana. Izvadio sam Carmenin mali revolver iz džepa i nasmijao mu se. Zatim sam ga temeljito očistio i nauljio, zamotao u komad debelog flanela i zaključao, Smiješao sam piće i baš ga pio kad je zazvonio telefon. Sjeo sam pokraj stolića na kome je stajao.
“So you’re tough tonight,” Eddie Mars’ voice said.	— I tako, večeras si neugodan — rekao je glas Eddija Marsa.
“Big, fast, tough and full of prickles. What can I do for you?”	— Velik, brz, neugodan i pun trnja. Što mogu učiniti za tebe?
“Cops over there—you know where. You keep me out of it?”	— Žbiri tamo preko, znaš gdje. Držat ćeš me izvan toga?
“Why should I?”	— Zašto bih?
“I’m nice to be nice to, soldier. I’m not nice not to be nice to.”	— Lijepo je sa mnom biti nalijepe, borčino. Nije lijepo ne biti sa mnom nalijepe.
“Listen hard and you’ll hear my teeth chattering.” He laughed dryly. “Did you—or did you?”	— Slušaj pažljivo i čut ćeš kako mi cvokoću zubi. Suho se nasmijao. — Jesi li, ili si ipak ...?
“I did. I’m damned if I know why. I guess it was just complicated enough without you.”	— Jesam. Iako proklet bio ako znam zašto. Slutim da je bilo dovoljno komplicirano i bez tebe.
“Thanks, soldier. Who gunned him?”	— Hvala, vojničino. Tko ga je opištoljio?
“Read it in the paper tomorrow—maybe.”	— Pročitaj sutra u novinama ... možda.
“I want to know now.”	— Želim znati sada.
“Do you get everything you want?”	— Dobiješ uvijek sve što želiš?
“No. Is that an answer, soldier?”	— Ne. Žar je to odgovor, borčino?
“Somebody you never heard of gunned him. Let it go at that.”	— Ukrkao ga je netko za koga nikad nisi čuo. Neka ostane na tome.
“If that’s on the level, someday I may be able to do you a favor.”	— Ako su ovo otvorene karte, možda ti jednog dana budem mogao učiniti uslugu.
“Hang up and let me go to bed.” He laughed again. “You’re looking for Rusty Regan, aren’t you?”	— Spusti slušalicu i daj da idem spavati. Ponovno se nasmijao. — Tražiš Rustvja Regana, zar ne?
“A lot of people seem to think I am, but I’m not.”	— Hrpa ljudi tako misli, ali krivo misli.
“If you were, I could give you an idea. Drop in and see me down at the beach. Any time. Glad to see you.”	— Ako ipak dobro misli, mogao bih ti dati ideju. Navrati i potraži me dolje na plaži. Bilo kada. Milo mi je da vas vidim.
“Maybe.”	— Možda.
“Be seeing you then.” The phone clicked and I sat holding it with a savage patience. Then I dialed the Sternwoods’ number and heard it ring four or five times and then the butler’s suave voice saying: “General Sternwood’s residence.”	— Vidimo se onda. — Telefon je zvrcnuo a ja sam ostao sjediti držeći slušalicu s divljačkom strpljivošću. Tad sam zavrtio Sternwoodov broj, čuo kako zvoni četiri ili pet puta, i zatim batlerov udvorni glas kako veli: — Rezidencija generala Sternwooda.

“This is Marlowe. Remember me? I met you about a hundred years ago—or was it yesterday?”	— Ovdje Marlowe. Sjećate me se? Sreo sam vas prije otprilike stotinu godina, ili je to bilo jučer?
“Yes, Mr. Marlowe. I remember, of course.”	— Da, mister Marlowe. Sjećam se, naravno.
“Is Mrs. Regan home?”	— Je li gospođa Regan kod kuće?
“Yes, I believe so. Would you—”	— Da, vjerujem da jest. Biste li...
I cut in on him with a sudden change of mind. “No. You give her the message. Tell her I have the pictures, all of them, and that everything is all right.”	Presjekao sam ga naglo se predomislivši. — Ne. Predat ćete joj poruku. Recite joj da imam slike, sve na broju, i da je sve u redu.
“Yes… yes…” The voice seemed to shake a little. “You have the pictures—all of them—and everything is all right… Yes, sir. I may say—thank you very much, sir.”	— Da ... da ... — Glas kao da je malo zadrhtao. — — Imate slike ... sve na broju ... i sve je u redu ... Da, sir. I mogao bih kazati, mnogo vam hvala, sir.
The phone rang back in five minutes. I had finished my drink and it made me feel as if I could eat the dinner I had forgotten all about; I went out leaving the telephone ringing. It was ringing when I came back; It rang at intervals until half-past twelve. At that time I put my lights out and opened the windows up and muffled the phone bell with a piece of paper and went to bed. I had a bellyful of the Sternwood family.	Telefon se odazvao za pet minuta. Dovršio sam piće i poslije njega osjetio kao da bih mogao pojesti večeru na koju sam posve zaboravio; otišao sam ostavivši telefon da zvoni. Zvonio je i kad sam se vratio. Zvonio je u intervalima do dvanaest i pol. Tad sam ugasio svjetla, otvorio pro- zore, prigušio zvonce telefona komadićem papira i pošao u krevet. Pun mi je bio želudac obitelji Sternwood.
I read all three of the morning papers over my eggs and bacon the next morning. Their accounts of the affair came as close to the truth as newspaper stories usually come—as close as Mars is to Saturn. None of the three connected Owen Taylor, driver of the Lido Pier Suicide Car, with the Laurel Canyon Exotic Bungalow Slaying. None of them mentioned the Sternwoods, Bernie Ohls or me. Owen Taylor was “chauffeur to a wealthy family.” Captain Cronjager of the Hollywood Division got all the credit for solving the two slayings in his district, which were supposed to arise out of a dispute over the proceeds from a wire service maintained by one Geiger in the back of the bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard. Brody had shot Geiger and Carol Lundgren had shot Brody in revenge. Police were holding Carol Lundgren in custody. He had confessed. He had a bad record—probably in high school. Police were also holding one Agnes Lozelle, Geiger’s secretary, as a material witness.	Ujutro sam nad jajima i slaninom pročitao sve troje jutarnje novine. Njihovi su prikazi događaja bili bliski istini koliko novinske priče obično jesu — bliske kao Mars Saturnu. Ni jedne od triju nisu povezale Owena Tavlora, vozača samoubilačkih kola s Lidoa, s ubojstvom u egzotičnom bungalovu na Laurel Canvonu. Ni jedne od njih nisu spomenule Sternwoodove, Bernija Ohlsa ili mene. Owen Tavlor je bio »šofer imućne obitelji«. Kapetan Cronjager iz Holivudskog odjeljenja pokupio je svu slavu zato što je razriješio dva ubojstva u okrugu, za koja se pretpostavlja da su nikla iz prepirke oko prihoda posudbene knjižnice što ju je neki Geiger držao iza knjižare na bulevaru Hollvvvood. Brody je upucao Geigera, a Carol Lundgren Brodyja za osvetu. Policija drži Carola Lundgrena u pritvoru. Sve je priznao. Ima gadnu prošlost — vjerojatno u gimnaziji. Policija također drži u rukama i neku Agnes Lozelle, Geigerovu tajnicu, kao glavnog svjedoka.
It was a nice write-up. It gave the impression that Geiger had been killed the night before, that Brody had been killed about an hour later, and that Captain Cronjager had solved both murders while lighting a cigarette. The suicide of Taylor made Page One of Section II. There was a photo of the sedan on the deck of the power lighter, with the license plate blacked out, and something covered with a cloth lying on the deck beside the running board. Owen Taylor had been despondent and in poor health. His family lived in Dubuque, and his body would be shipped there. There would be no inquest.	Bile su to krasne pismotvorine. Stvarale su dojam da je Geiger bio ubijen prošle noći, da je Brody ubijen otprilike sat kasnije, i da je kapetan Cronjager razriješio oba umorstva dok je pripaljivao cigaretu. Taylorovo je samoubojstvo bilo na naslovnoj stranici drugog dijela novina. Bila je tu fotografija limuzine dignute na palubu motorne dizalice, sa zacrnjenom registracijskom pločicom i nečim, pokrivenim dekom, što je ležalo pokraj papučice. Owen Tay-lor je bio malodušan i slaba zdravlja. Obitelj mu živi u Du-buqueu, i onamo će mu otpremiti tijelo. Neće biti istrage.

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