"Night of January 16th" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rand Ayn)

VAN FLEET:Nothing -- for fifteen minutes. Then the man in the gray coat comes out and starts the car -- the gray coupй. Obviously in a hurry. Drives south.
FLINT:Did you see the other stranger leave?
VAN FLEET:Yes, ten minutes later. He gets into a car which stands at the curb. I don't know how it got there, but there it is and he seems to have the keys, for he gets in and drives away. South.
FLINT:Have you ever seen Mr. Faulkner with these two men before?
VAN FLEET:No. First time I ever saw them.
FLINT:What did you do when they left?
VAN FLEET:I wait. Mr. Faulkner is now alone up in the penthouse with Miss Andre. I'm curious -­professionally. Decide to do some closer investigating. Have a special observation post; had used it before.
FLINT:And where is that?
VAN FLEET:At the Sky Top. Night club, roof of Brooks Building, three doors from Faulkner's. There's an open gallery there, off the dance floor. You go out and you can see the Faulkner penthouse clear as
FLINT:What do you see?
VAN FLEET:No lights. Karen Andre's white gown shimmering in the moonlight. She is hoisting a man's body up on the parapet. A man in evening clothes. Faulkner. He's unconscious. No resistance. She pushes him with all her strength. He goes over the parapet. Down. Into space.
FLINT:Then what do you do?
VAN FLEET:I rush back into the dining room. Yell about what I'd seen. A crowd follows me down to the Faulkner Building. We find the bloody mess on the pavement and Miss Andre sobbing over it, fit to move a first-night audience.
FLINT:Did you speak to her?
VAN FLEET:No. The police arrive and I report what I'd seen, as I've told you here.
FLINT:Your witness.
[STEVENSgets up and walks slowly towardVAN FLEET, eyeing him steadily]
STEVENS:Can you kindly tell us, Mr. Van Fleet, when did you start in the employ of Mrs. Faulkner?
VAN FLEET:October thirteenth last.
STEVENS:Can you tell us the date of Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner's wedding?
STEVENS:Exactly.Just the day before. In other words, Mrs. Faulkner hired you to spy on her husband the day after their wedding?
VAN FLEET:So it seems.
STEVENS:What were Mrs. Faulkner's instructions when you were hired?
VAN FLEET:To watch every action of Mr. Faulkner and report in detail.
STEVENS:Any special attention to Miss Andre?
VAN FLEET:Not specified.
STEVENS:Had Mr. Faulkner been calling on Miss Andre after his marriage?
VAN FLEET:Yes. Frequently.
STEVENS:In the daytime?
VAN FLEET:Seldom.
STEVENS:Did you report that to Mrs. Faulkner?
VAN FLEET:I did.
STEVENS:What was Mrs. Faulkner's reaction to these reports?
VAN FLEET:Mrs. Faulkner is a lady and, as such, she has no reactions.
STEVENS:Did she seem worried?
VAN FLEET:I don't believe so.
[He declaims in a slightly unnatural manner]
Mr. Faulkner was the most devoted of husbands and he loved his wife dearly.

STEVENS:Just how do you know that?

VAN FLEET:Those are Mrs. Faulkner's own words.

STEVENS:Now, Mr. Van Fleet, can you tell us exactly what time you started for the Sky Top Night Club on the evening of January sixteenth?
VAN FLEET:At eleven thirty-two exactly.
STEVENS:How long a walk is it from the Faulkner Building to the Sky Top?
VAN FLEET:Three minutes.
STEVENS:What time was it when you came out to the balcony at the Sky Top?
STEVENS:So it took you exactly twenty-five minutes to get to the balcony. What were you doing the rest of the time?
VAN FLEET:Of course, they have a dance floor at the Sky Top . . . and other things.