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

STEVENS:Did you take advantage of the . . . "other things"?
VAN FLEET:Well, I just had a couple of drinks, if I understand the drift of your curiosity. But it doesn't mean that you can say I was intoxicated.
STEVENS:I have said nothing of the kind -- as yet. Now, then, you saw Miss Andre pushing Mr. Faulkner off the roof, and it was a little distance away, in the darkness, and you were . . . well, shall we say you just had a couple of drinks?
VAN FLEET:The drinks had nothing to do with it.
STEVENS:Are you quite certain that she waspushing him? Isn't it possible that she wasstruggling with him?
VAN FLEET:Well, it's a funny way of struggling. If I were struggling with a man, I wouldn't be hoisting him up by his . . . I wouldn't be hoisting him up, I mean.
STEVENS:Mr. Van Fleet, what were Mrs. Faulkner's instructions to you before you came here to testify?
VAN FLEET:[With indignation]I received no instructions of any kind. I may inform you that Mrs. Faulkner is not here to instruct me, were she inclined to do so. She has been taken to California by her father -- to rest her shattered nerves.
STEVENS:Mr. Van Fleet, do you think that Mr. Faulkner's suicide is very flattering to Mrs. Faulkner?
FLINT:We object!
JUDGE HEATH:Objection sustained.
STEVENS:Mr. Van Fleet, can you tell us how much a witness to Mr. Faulkner'smurder would be worth to Mrs. Faulkner?
FLINT:[Jumping up]We object, your Honor!
JUDGE HEATH:Objection sustained.
VAN FLEET:I should like to remind Mr. Stevens that he may be sued for making insinuations such as these.
STEVENS:I made no insinuation, Mr. Van Fleet. I merely asked a question in a general way.
VAN FLEET:Well, I would like to inform you -- in a general way -- that perjury is not part of a private investigator's duties.
STEVENS:No special notations to the rule?
VAN FLEET:None!
STEVENS:That is all, Mr. Van Fleet.
KAREN:Not quite. I want you to ask him two more questions, Stevens.
STEVENS:Certainly, Miss Andre. What are the questions?
[KARENwhispers toSTEVENS;he is astonished]
STEVENS:What kind of a car do you drive, Mr. Van Fleet?
VAN FLEET:[Astonished, too]A brown Buick coupй. Last year's model. Old but serviceable.
[KARENwhispers toSTEVENS]
STEVENS:Did you see any car following the gentleman in the gray coat when he drove away, Mr. Van Fleet?
VAN FLEET:I cannot recall that I did. The traffic was quite heavy at that time.
STEVENS:That's all, Mr. Van Fleet.
[VAN FLEETexits]
FLINT:Inspector Sweeney!
CLERK:Inspector Sweeney!
[POLICE INSPECTOR SWEENEY, round-faced, somewhat naive, walks to the stand]
SWEENEY:I do.
FLINT:Your name?
SWEENEY:Elmer Sweeney.
FLINT:Your occupation?
SWEENEY:Inspector of Police.
FLINT:On the night of January sixteenth were you called upon to investigate Bjorn Faulkner's death?
SWEENEY:Yes, sir. I was one of the first officers to reach the spot.
FLINT:Did you question Miss Andre?
SWEENEY:Not right away. Before I could do anything, that fellow Van Fleet rushed up to me and yelled that he had seen Karen Andre throw Faulkner off the roof.
FLINT:How did Miss Andre react to this?
SWEENEY:She was stunned. She stood there, her eyes wide fit to burst. And then, cross my heart, sir, she started laughing. I thought she'd went crazy.
SWEENEY:I ordered her held for questioning and we took her up with us in the elevator -- to examine the penthouse. What a joint!
FLINT:Did you find anything unusual?
SWEENEY:Unusual -- yes, sir. The bedroom.
FLINT:Ah, and what did you find in the bedroom?
SWEENEY:Nightgowns, sir. Lace nightgowns, just about made of thin air. A crystal bathtub in the bathroom. And we turned the shower on -- and the water was perfumed.
FLINT:[Smiling]You misunderstood my question, Inspector. I wasn't referring to the esthetic values of the penthouse. I asked if you found anything unusual that could be connected with Bjorn Faulkner's death?