马格努斯054 - 档案号 #0132306 - 亚历山大·斯卡普霍恩

讲述其对一家位于巴尼特区的标本店进行检查时的遭遇。

马格努斯档案馆本次讲述一位税务局税务师的故事，他在伦敦北部的一家标本店中见到了一批颇为诡异的物件…

(by Lydia Magonova@Artstation)
档案员 - 乔纳森·西姆斯
作者：乔纳森·西姆斯
导演：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
编辑：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔，迈克·勒博
翻译/字幕：赞福德Zaphod（贝克的小号）



2楼附文字版

This post has been edited by 贝克的小号: 2022-11-26, 00:50

马格努斯054 - 档案号 #0132306 - 亚历山大·斯卡普霍恩

讲述其对一家位于巴尼特区的标本店进行检查时的遭遇。

马格努斯档案馆本次讲述一位税务局税务师的故事，他在伦敦北部的一家标本店中见到了一批颇为诡异的物件…

档案员 - 乔纳森·西姆斯
作者：乔纳森·西姆斯
导演：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
编辑：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔，迈克·勒博
翻译/字幕：赞福德Zaphod

[CLICK]
[按钮声]
ARCHIVIST
档案员
Statement of Alexander Scaplehorn, regarding his evaluation of
“The Trophy Room” taxidermists in Barnet.
亚历山大·斯卡普霍恩的叙述，讲述其对一家位于巴尼特区，名为“奖杯室”的标本店进行检查时的遭遇。
Original statement given June 23rd, 2013.
原叙述时间：2013年6月23日。
Audio recording by Jonathan Sims,
head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.
语音录入：乔纳森·西姆斯，伦敦马格努斯研究院档案馆馆长。

Statement begins.
叙述开始。

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)
档案员（叙述）
I try not to judge on appearances.
我平日尽量不以貌取人。

I have a certain sympathy with those who find
themselves instinctively reviled by those about them.
对那些因为外貌而被他人下意识唾弃的人，我心中一直抱有某种同情。
Not simply because I myself am what you
might generously describe as “odd-looking”,
这并不完全是因为我自己就是个所谓“长相奇特”的人，
but because my career has taken me down
the path of working for the Inland Revenue,
还有一部分原因，是我在税务局工作，
and you should see the way people recoil from you
when they find out you work for the taxman.
你真该看看，当人们得知你专职收税时，那种出于本能向后退的样子。

So I try to have a little bit more depth than that and give everyone a chance,
因此，我立志做一个有深度的人，给每个人一个证明自己的机会，
so was with what could be described as an aggressively open mind
我就是怀着这样一种有些刻意的开放心态
that I made my way to undertake an inspection of The Trophy Room
– a taxidermist’s shop near Woodside Park in Barnet.
来到一家位于巴尼特区伍德塞德公园附近的，名叫奖杯室的标本馆进行税务检查。

I have never been in any way attracted to the idea of taxidermy
aside from a few interesting examples in the Natural History Museum,
我对标本没有什么兴趣，唯一的涉猎只是在自然历史博馆看过几件有趣的展品而已，
but I was quite certain it didn’t deserve its ghoulish reputation.
不过我很清楚，标本这一行业如此声名狼藉，是十分冤枉的。
Of course, I was inspecting it to ensure it wasn’t
being used for money laundering purposes,
当然了，我进行检查的目的是要弄清楚这家店是不是在洗钱，
so if it turned out it was involved in criminal activity
因此，如果他们的确干着不法勾当
I would be quite justified in any bad opinion,
那么我就有正当理由对他们持有不良意见，
I might care to indulge, but I didn’t want to be premature.
虽然我思想比较开放，但我做事不愿太早下结论。

You see, the Trophy Room had been a staple
of Woodside Park for some thirty years,
是这样，过去三十多年来，奖杯室一直是伍德塞德公园的标志性建筑之一，
but like many niche interest shops, seemed to see little real business.
但和许多小众商店一样，这里似乎没什么真正的生意。
Its taxes were all in order, but there were very few regular customers
这家店的税务井井有条，问题是他们的常客很少
and most of the money that kept it in the black
came from occasional large transactions
真正让这家店不至于负债的，是那些偶尔出现的大额转账记录
that seemed somewhat excessive for the items being purchased
账目上的数字对于卖出的商品来说，似乎有些过高了
– all hallmarks of money laundering.
- 而这些都是洗钱的标志。

You’d be surprised how many businesses that you pass
every day on the street are being used in a similar manner.
不说不知道，你平日里每天路过的店面，许多都涉及着类似的灰色勾当。
Those shops that never seem to be open, or who cater
to such a specific market you wonder how they can break even.
那些从不开门，或是只专精于某一小众领域的店，难免让人怀疑他们是怎么不亏本的。
Well, often they can’t without some illicit assistance.
真相就是，如果不干违法勾当，这样的店往往是经营不下去的。

Now I’m not the police,
不过我不是警察，
I have no power to arrest anyone revoke any licenses
我没有逮捕权，也无权吊销执照
or even issue a fine without a good deal of hassle,
不大费一番周章的话，我甚至开不出一张罚单，
that all comes later and from other people.
这些事情都要在我的调查完成后，交由其他人完成。

My job is just to discuss their compliances
and policies to prevent money laundering
我的工作仅仅是调查商家是否合规，以防商家洗钱
and examine their transactions to confirm that they’re not too suspect.
并且检查商家的进出账记录是否有太过离谱的地方。
I find it fascinating but I am keenly aware that
the majority of the people I inspect do not share my opinion.
我觉得税务检查非常有趣，但我很清楚，调查对象的看法往往与我大相径庭。

As soon as I arrived at The Trophy Room
I could tell that it was going to take some time.
一来到奖杯室，我就知道这一趟活计时间短不了。

The shop had that layer of grime that only accumulates
after a business has been in place for decades without change,
这家店里积了一层厚厚的污垢，这是那种几十年来一成不变的商店才有的特产，
the painted golden letters were now a dirty brown and
the edges of the olive green awning were streaked with muck.
刷着金漆的字母饱经沧桑，已经变成棕色，橄榄绿的遮雨棚上也满是污迹。
The stuffed tiger in the window was so faded by the sun
橱窗里的老虎标本，身上的花纹都被太阳晒褪色了
that I had to do a double-take to check
it wasn’t a lion, so faint with the stripes.
我反复观察才确认它是老虎而不是狮子。
Its eyes were glassy and one of its teeth seemed to have broken off.
它的眼睛像玻璃一样雾蒙蒙的，好像还缺了颗牙齿。

Even so, there was something about the curve of its mouth that drew me in,
不知为何，这只残缺老虎嘴部勾勒的线条却让我看得失神，
and I got so lost looking at it that I quite jumped
when the bell above the door sounded its jarring clang.
我看得忘乎所以，店门上的铃铛突然响起，那诡异的声音把我吓了一跳。

I looked up to see a surprisingly young man standing there.
我抬起头，发现面前站着一个年轻得有些出乎意料的男人。
I had expected some crusty old gamekeeper type
judging by the look of the place,
我本以为店主会是个老态龙钟的看守人，
but instead this fresh-faced 20-something held out his hand for me to shake.
没想到前来与我握手的是个20多岁的白面小生。
I did so. The hand was firm and very dry.
我与他握了握手。他的手坚实有力，此外非常干燥。

I asked him if he was the owner, and he said he was,
introducing himself as Daniel Rawlings.
我问他是不是店主，他说是的，他名叫丹尼尔·罗林斯。
Apparently the place had belonged to an old friend of his father’s,
显然，这家店原来的店主是他父亲的一位故友，
who didn’t have much in the way of family,
and when he passed away a few years before Daniel had inherited it.
少亲寡友的老店主几年前去世，将店面留给了丹尼尔。

I asked him if he was even interested in taxidermy
and he just shrugged and gestured me inside.
我问他对标本是否有兴趣，他只是耸了耸肩，做了个邀请我进门的手势。

The smell hit me as soon as I crossed the threshold.
我一进门就闻到了那股味道。
It was so thick you could almost taste it,
那厚重的味道几乎能让人在唇齿间尝到，
like something had murdered a lily and it was rotting under the floorboards.
那味道就像有人折下了一支百合花，然后将花朵埋在地板下面，任其腐烂。
Dreadful smell.
真是种可怕的味道。
I turned to see Daniel lighting a cigarette
as if in acknowledgment of the odor.
我转过身，看到丹尼尔点燃了一支烟，好像也闻到了这股味道一样。
He just shrugged again and said it was chemicals,
casting an eye over the assembled collection of taxidermied wildlife.
他又耸了耸肩，说这是化学品的味道，同时向野生动物标本那边瞟了一眼。

It was then that I became aware of them.
这时我才注意到这些标本的存在。
Hundreds of glassy dead eyes staring at me from all directions.
有几百只无神的玻璃眼睛正顺着各个方向盯着我。
A huge moose in front of me, a shelf full of squirrels along the wall,
我面前是一只巨大的麋鹿，墙边的架子上满是松鼠，
unmoving ravens attached to an old electric chandelier,
老旧的电子水晶灯上绑着一动不动的渡鸦，
and dozens and dozens of fish mounted on plaques or sealed in fake tanks.
还有很多很多种鱼，钉在牌匾上，要不就是封装在假鱼缸里。

Fur, feathers, scales, every manner and type of dead skin surrounded me,
皮毛、羽毛、鳞片…我的周遭是各种各样的动物皮囊，
each frozen in uncanny stillness as though they were
trapped in a world where time had simply stopped.
它们各自保持着诡异的姿态，仿佛被困在时间静止的世界。
Everything except their eyes of course.
当然了，除了它们的眼睛。
Their eyes had never been alive and they all seemed to stare in my direction,
它们的眼睛毫无生气，并且似乎都盯着我的方向，
so that to look too close at any of them was to gaze into that unseeing glass.
仔细端详任意一只动物，看到的都是雾蒙蒙的玻璃。

I took a moment to compose myself and
try to remember that I had made a decision
我稍息片刻整顿心神，努力提醒自己，刚刚我已经打定主意了，
to not judge the shop or its owner based on
the fact that many consider taxidermy unsettling.
不能因为很多人觉得标本很可怕，就对店主和这家店妄下判断。
I could see myself becoming one of these people
我觉得自己可能会成为这样的人
and I fought very hard against the feeling of wrongness
that seemed to be trying to worm itself into my mind.
这种犯错的感觉抽丝剥茧般不断侵入我的思绪，我不得不极力与之对抗。

I forced myself to pay Daniel some vague compliment
about the variety of his pieces as he lit another cigarette.
丹尼尔又点了一支烟，我则强迫自己就标本的丰富度这一话题说上一串溢美之词。
I considered mentioning the smoking ban
见状，我本想告诉他这个地区有禁烟规定
but that wasn’t really why I was there,
so I just started talking about money laundering instead.
但这不是我此行的目的，所以我转而谈起了洗钱的话题。

He nodded and said he’d had the letter announcing the inspection and
他点了点头，说他收到了检查通知，
had got all the accounts and transactions for the past few years ready for me,
并且已经为我准备好了过去几年中所有的交易记录，
he explained that as he’d only taken over the business very recently he wasn’t aware of much in the way of anti-money laundering policies or procedures.
他解释道，他不久前才接手这家店，对反洗钱的政策和手续不太熟悉。
This was music to my ears, as there’s very little I enjoy more
than taking an engaged new business owner through the basics
这对我来说简直有如仙乐，我最大的爱好莫过于向殷切的新晋商人解释相关要求
and in a few minutes I’d forgotten all the glassy eyes
that seemed to follow me around the room.
没过几分钟，我就把房间里那些似乎一直盯着我的玻璃眼珠忘在脑后。
At least mostly.
至少是忘了个七七八八。

Daniel seemed remarkably interested when I outlined
basic checks in due diligence, but it wasn’t the first time.
我详细介绍着基本的检查手续，丹尼尔听得非常用心，这种情况我不是第一次遇到。
People, especially new business owners, tend to
sit up and take notice when HMRC turns up for a visit.
税务海关总署上门拜访时，一般人，尤其是商人，都会正襟危坐凝神屏气。
I mean, I try not to exploit my position, but people
take a visit from the taxman very seriously
嗯，我尽量不滥用职权，但人们对税务人员的拜访总是十分重视
and it can produce some wonderfully attentive audiences.
这种情况下，我总能收获注意力万分集中的绝佳听众。

Daniel didn’t seem panicked or worried though, simply intrigued.
不过，丹尼尔并没有表现出恐慌和担心的神情，只是单纯的很感兴趣。
He asked all the right questions and was always ready with a good
example for any of the more abstract aspects of the discussion.
他的问题都问在点上，遇到一些比较抽象的话题时，也能举出非常合适的例子。
All in all he was a real pleasure to discuss money laundering with.
总的来说，和他聊洗钱这个话题是一件非常令人享受的事。
I’d even stopped noticing the smell after a while, though I’d
become aware of it again whenever he started another cigarette,
不久之后我甚至闻不到那股味道了，不过在他点燃香烟时总能注意到，
something that usually happened almost
immediately after he finished his last one.
而他每抽完一支几乎马上就会点燃下一支。
I can’t even imagine what his lungs must have looked like.
我都不敢想象他的肺会是什么样子。

The only thing there was a touch awkward was
that he seemed determined to avoid eye contact,
唯一有些尴尬的是，他似乎打定主意不与我有任何眼神交流，
looking at the floor, or the taxidermied animals, but never directly at me.
他有时盯着地板，有时看着标本，但从不看我。
It was a little bit disconcerting, but I have a cousin with autism
so it wasn’t an entirely new situation to me.
这让我有些不安，但我有个患自闭症的表亲，所以这对我来说也不是前所未有的经历。

Eventually the discussion ended and Daniel talked through
some of the potential policies he was going to put in place.
最后讨论结束时，丹尼尔开始说起他可能会实施的决策。
They actually seemed a bit excessive given that he was
the only person currently employed at the Trophy Room,
这些决策似乎有些过了，毕竟他是奖杯室当下唯一的工作人员，
but I certainly wasn’t going to tell him to be less careful.
但让他放轻松些这种话绝不会从我嘴里说出来。

I then asked if I could have a look at his books, and
he nodded again and took me through to the backroom.
接着我问他能不能看一眼账簿，他又点了点头，带我来到后室。

The office behind the main shop was small and very clean.
店铺后面的办公室很小，但收拾得很整洁。
Most of the space was taken up by a large oak desk,
房间里大部分空间都被一张硕大的橡木桌子占据了，
and I could see another door leading through to what seemed
to be a workshop judging by the tables and bags of sawdust.
我注意到还有一扇门，从里面的桌子和成袋的锯末看来，那似乎是个工作间。

Daniel handed me his account books, bank records,
and receipts and left me to it.
丹尼尔把账簿、银行交割单和收据一并交给我查看。
None of it had been digitized and I could tell
it was going to take me a long time to get through it all.
所有记录都是纸质的，全看一遍需要很久。
The smell was fainter here though, so it wasn’t
quite as dreadful as it might have been.
这里的气味比较淡，所以还没那么糟。

There was taxidermy in this room as well,
though different to the ones out front.
这个房间里也有标本，不过和前面的标本不太一样。
Hung along the back walls were pelts and treated animal skins.
墙上挂着动物皮毛和处理过的动物表皮。
They looked very old.
看起来都是十分古老的物件。
Some I recognised as a Native American or African in origin,
我能看出有些皮毛产自美洲和非洲，
and one seemed so old I was worried to even
breathe near it in case it collapsed into dust.
有一块皮毛显得特别旧，我甚至担心只要在旁边吹口气就能让它碎成粉末。

On top of the desk, pressed up against the wall
was a mounted hare in a small waistcoat.
桌子上面靠墙的位置，嵌着一只穿着马甲的兔子。
It reminded me of the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland,
although its fur was faded and now stained a faint yellow.
让我想起爱丽丝漫游奇境里的白兔子，不过这只兔子的皮毛已经褪色发黄。
I found its face a bit more unsettling than
the others though I couldn’t tell you why,
不知为何，我觉得这只兔子的脸比其它动物更让人不安，
and I tried not to look too closely at it as I went through the shop’s records.
翻阅账簿时，我尽量不去观察那只兔子。

It didn’t look like there was any money-laundering
going on, which was a relief.
这里应该没有任何洗钱活动，这让我松了口气。
The prices that people were occasionally paying for the stuffed creatures
were very high, but I’m by no means an expert on the industry
客户偶尔会给这些填充动物出大价钱，但我不是标本专家，
and there didn’t seem to be anything else suspicious in the books.
再者，除此之外账上没有任何可疑的地方。

I did wonder the sort of people he was selling to though.
不过我还是忍不住琢磨，究竟是什么人在买这些标本。

From the back room I watched four customers
enter over the course of the day.
那天我在后室时，前面有四个客人光顾。
In each case I watched as they got more and more unnerved before finally fleeing back out the door, trying to rationalize their fear. I sympathized.
每个人的表情都变得越来越不安，最后害怕得夺门而逃。我能理解他们的感受。

It was almost closing time when Daniel came back to check on me.
丹尼尔回来查看我这边的进度时，已经快到关店时分了。
I gave him the good news.
我把好消息告诉了他。
He didn’t seem particularly relieved but told me he was glad to hear it.
他并没有表现出松了一口气的样子，但他告诉我，他很欣慰。
Then he laughed and asked if I knew how honored I was. I didn’t understand.
然后他笑了笑，问我知不知道自己有多荣幸。我不明白他的意思。

He told me that I was sat here among some of the oldest skin in the world.
他说，我刚才坐在世界上最古老的皮毛中间。
That was how he phrased it.
这是他的原话。
It put me a bit on edge and I cast a nervous glance towards the workshop
这让我有点发毛，我又朝着工作室紧张地瞟了一眼
before reminding myself that I was keeping an
open mind about his strange profession.
然后我提醒自己，要对他的奇特职业保持开放的思维。

Daniel started to go through the pieces on display.
丹尼尔开始逐一讲述他的展示品。
Buffalo skin from North America, jaguar from the South,
北美洲的水牛皮，南美的美洲豹皮，
a wolf pelt from the early Middle Ages.
还有中世纪早期的狼皮。
The hare, he said, had been part of the Great Exhibition of 1851
那只兔子，据他所说，曾在1851年的万国工业博览会上展览过
and it helped drive Victorian England mad for the craft.
正是这件展品在维多利亚时代的英格兰掀起了一股疯狂的潮流。

I didn’t like the emphasis he put on “mad” when he said that.
他对“疯狂”这个词的特意强调，让我不太舒服。

Finally he pointed to the oldest of the pelts.
最后，他指向了那些最古老的皮毛。
He told me it was gorilla skin from Carthage,
brought by Hanno in the 5th century BC,
他说那是航海家汉诺在公元前5世纪从迦太基取得的大猩猩皮，
and it might just be the oldest piece of taxidermy in the world.
很可能是这个世界上最古老的标本。

To be honest I didn’t believe him.
说实话，他说的那些我都不信。
Even if a gorilla’s hide could be preserved for more than two millennia, it seemed an unlikely thing to be found in the back of a shop in Barnet.
就算一张黑猩猩皮真能保存两千年，大概也不会流落到巴尼特的标本店后室。
It was clearly very old though, and I didn’t challenge him on it.
不过，这张皮显然非常古老，我没就此向他发出质疑。

I was just about to make my excuses and go
when the bell rang out at the front of the shop,
我正准备找个借口离开，这时前面的铃铛响了，
and a pair of obnoxious Cockney voices started to call out for Daniel.
两个操着浓重伦敦东区口音的人呼喊着丹尼尔的名字。
His face went blank at this and he asked me to excuse him
one second, abruptly leaving me in the back room alone.
他的脸色突然变成一片空白，然后他让我稍等片刻，接着便兀自把我一个人留在后面。

I heard the men say something about unloading a van
and then the bell rang again, taking Daniel with it.
我听到他们说要卸车什么的，然后铃铛又响了一声，丹尼尔跟着出去了。
I was alone.
店里只剩下我一个人。

I was just packing up and making some final notes
for my report when I heard something.
我开始收拾包裹，顺便为我的报告写上最后几条记录，这时我听到了一个声音。
It was muffled but definitely seemed to be words.
声音含混不清，但听起来绝对是在说话。
It sounded like it was coming from beneath the floor.
声音好像是从地板下面传来的。
I looked and saw a ring pull connected to a small door I hadn’t noticed,
我低头一看，发现地上有一道我刚才没注意的小门，门上有个门环，
which I assumed led to a basement.
门后面应该是地下室。

The sound came again.
那个声音又传了上来。
I cast a look into the main shop to see if Daniel had returned, but it was quiet.
我朝前面瞥了一眼，看丹尼尔有没有回来，但店里一片安静。

I knew opening the door was a stupid thing to do.
我知道，打开这扇门是非常愚蠢的。
I can’t imagine a single scenario where it would have ended well for me,
不管事态如何发展，绝对都不会对我有任何好处，
but the whole place was so strange
但这个地方实在是太诡异了，
that part of me couldn’t resist seeing how deep
the rabbit-hole went, if you’ll pardon the joke.
我内心深处忍不住想知道这兔子洞到底有多深，不好意思，我说笑了。

So I opened the door.
于是我打开了门。

It did indeed have a flight of stairs disappearing
down into what seemed to be a basement.
门后面确实是通向地下的台阶，尽头似乎是地下室。
If there was a light switch I couldn’t see it.
不知道下面有没有灯，反正我是没看见开关。
It was impossible to see anything beyond the first dozen steps or so.
能看见的只有前面十几级台阶，再往后就是一片漆黑。
The light that filtered through from the dim bulb
behind me did illuminate one thing though
不过我身后昏暗的灯泡却照亮了一样东西。

A face.
一张脸。

I couldn’t make out any details but it was pale
and swayed ever so slightly from side to side.
那张左右微微摇晃的脸一片惨白，我看不清任何细节。
The body below it was shadowed and hidden
but it seemed to stare up at me as it moved.
它的身体隐藏在阴影中，但它摇晃时似乎会抬起头盯着我。

It spoke, the cadence identical to what I had heard through the wooden door.
它开口说起话来，那声调跟刚刚木门下面传来的声音一模一样。

“We’ve got one down here. Come on, I’ll show you.”
“下面有一个。来，我给你看。”

It was so flat, almost mechanical.
它的语气完全没有起伏，几乎像机器一样。
It felt about as much like genuine speech as the wind flowing
through a cracked rock sounds like a flute being played.
要说那声音像是人声，还不如说山石间的狂风呼啸声像风铃。
Which is to say they may sound almost identical,
but only one of them is made by a living human.
也就是说，这两个声音虽然听起来几乎相同，但只有一个声音是活人发出的。
I started to say something, to call out,
我想说些什么，喊人下来，
but my voice died in my throat slightly as
the face retreated back into the basement.
但我喉咙发紧，出不了声，接着那张脸缩回到地下室中。

“We’ve got one down here. Come on, I’ll show you.”
“下面有一个。来，我给你看。”

I turned and walked very briskly into the main shop.
我转过身，连忙回到店铺中。
I was now fully terrified and could feel the
cold sweat dripping off my forehead.
这时我已经满头冷汗，惊恐万分。
In the doorway stood Daniel.
丹尼尔站在门廊里。
He asked if I was alright with a smile that made
my stomach drop, and at last he looked me in the eyes.
他笑着问我有没有事，那笑容让我感觉肚子发颤，然后他终于和我对上了目光。

I recognized the glassy stare.
我能认出那种像玻璃一样的目光。
The same eyes that gazed at me from a hundred
sawdust filled sockets around the room.
那双眼睛和房间四周那几百双盯着我的，嵌在填充标本眼窝中的眼睛一模一样。

When they all began to move I nearly broke down.
那些眼睛全部动起来时，我差点精神崩溃。
If I had, I have no doubt that I would be dead or maybe far worse.
如果我当时没撑住，毫无疑问我必死无疑，或者遭遇比死亡更可怕的命运。
Instead I had a sudden rush of adrenaline and charged into Daniel,
knocking him sprawling to the floor in surprise.
我感到热血上涌，肾上腺素飙升，接着全速冲向丹尼尔，把来不及反应的他撞倒在地。
It was like hitting a sandbag.
那感觉就像撞上沙袋一样。

His two Cockney friends were too slow to grab me
before I was off down the road.
他那两个东区的伙伴反应太慢，被我一溜烟跑到路上。
I may not look it, but I can move it a fair pace when I need to,
and I did so for almost an hour before I finally felt safe enough to stop.
别看我这样，关键时刻我跑得很快，我就这么跑了近一个小时才敢停下。

I was very lucky, you know.
要知道，我真的非常走运。
I had the foresight to gather all my notes before I opened the basement door.
打开地下室的门之前，我极有先见之明地收起了所有记录。
It meant I didn’t have to return, I could simply
write them up a glowing report and never think about it again.
这意味着我不必返回，只要给他们写上一份优异的报告，就可以不用再想这件事了。

Save for giving you my statement of course.
当然，我还得向你们作出叙述。
And that’s exactly what I did.
而我正是这么做的。
After all, whatever all that other stuff was, they weren’t laundering money.
毕竟，抛开其他一切不谈，他们真的没有洗钱。

ARCHIVIST
档案员
Statement ends.
叙述结束。

It was with some trepidation that I made the discovery that the Trophy Room
is still in business and still under proprietorship of Daniel Rawlings.
我颇为惊讶地发现，奖杯室依然在营业，并且依然在丹尼尔·罗林斯名下。
It’s the sort of lead we never get in these cases,
still active and available for investigation.
我们调查的事件中，从未有过这样仍然可供调查的线索。
However, given the events detailed here, I had some
very serious reservations about sending anyone to investigate.
不过，考虑上述事件的性质，我不想派任何人前去调查。
I may not entirely trust my assistants but I won’t lose them.
或许我并不完全相信我的助手，但我也不想失去他们。

Eventually Sasha volunteered.
最后萨沙主动请缨。
I warned her it might be dangerous but she did seem very keen.
我警告她，事情可能会很危险，但她表现得非常积极。
It turned out to be rather a letdown in the end.
最后，事情的发展令人有些失望。

Sinister as the taxidermy was, there was apparently no figure
in the basement, which Rawlings was happy to let her investigate,
标本确实吓人不假，但罗林斯很大方地邀请她调查地下室，里面什么都没有，
nor any obvious weirdness to any other aspect of the shop.
店里的其他方面也没有任何明显的诡异之处。
Rawlings denies any memory of specifically Cockney deliverymen,
but I’m sure I don’t need to spell out my suspicions there.
罗林斯说他从没见过所谓的东区快递员，当然，我对此的怀疑是无需言表的。

There’s nothing we can prove and if he doesn’t want to talk
there’s precious little we can do to change his mind.
我们什么也证明不了，此外，如果他不想开口，我们也无计可施。
He also denies being the same Daniel Rawlings
who disappeared from Edinburgh in 2006.
而且，他说自己不是2006年在爱丁堡失踪的那个丹尼尔·罗林斯。

He allowed Sasha to take a photograph of him
他让萨沙给他拍了张照片
and I’ve been comparing the pictures available for
the Daniel Rawlings who disappeared.
我最近一直在拿这照片与我能找到的那个失踪的丹尼尔·罗林斯的照片作比对。
It’s the strangest thing.
结果非常奇怪。
They’re different heights, different builds,
different shapes to the face, but their hair is identical.
他们身高不同，体型不同，脸型不同，但头发却完全相同。

Their eyes on the other hand are not, and I find it
hard to credit that they could be the same person.
他们的眼睛也毫无共同之处，我实在是很难将二者归为同一人。
Another dead end.
又是个死胡同。

End recording.
录音结束。

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ARCHIVIST
档案员
Supplemental.
补充说明。

I broke into Gertrude’s flat.
我闯进了格特鲁德的公寓。

I was doing some digging when I discovered
that her home had not yet been relet.
我调查时发现，她的公寓还没有租出去。
A quick discussion with the agent confirmed that there were some
legal delays due to the manner of her disappearance and death,
和中介确认过后，我得知，由于她意外失踪宣告死亡，她的住所依然处于延租状态，
and she was paid up for the next six months, so they hadn’t yet cleared it out.
而且她预付了半年的租金，所以他们就没清理房子。

So I broke in.
所以我就闯进去了。
It wasn’t easy and the window meant that I didn’t get a lot of
time before I heard sirens but I think I got away with it.
过程并不简单，打破窗户后我触发了警报，所以我的时间不多，但应该没被发现。

I learned a few things from this.
我掌握了几个新的情报。
Firstly, Gertrude lived a very minimalist existence.
首先，格特鲁德过着极为简朴的生活。
There was nothing in the kitchen except teabags,
a pot, kettle, and a single mug.
厨房里除了茶包，一口锅，一个水壶，还有一个杯子之外，什么都没有。
Her bed was neatly made and she had a single bookshelf
filled with an array of volumes, mostly on history.
她的床铺收拾得很整洁，唯一的书架上摆满了各种书籍，主要是历史书。
Judging by the bag I found nearby, I think she must
have gotten rid of books once she had read them.
我在附近找到一个口袋，看起来，她一看完书就会把书处理掉。

She didn’t own a television, but I did find something that piqued my interest:
她没有电视，不过我还是发现了一件引起我兴趣的东西：
a laptop charger.
是个笔记本电脑充电器。
There was no sign of the computer that went with it,
我没找到配套的电脑，
but the indication that she might have owned one
has inserted itself rather high on my priorities list.
但得知她可能有一台电脑，已经使其成为了我的首要目标之一。

Still, her home has given me little information in of itself,
但是她的居所并没提供太多线索，
though it continues to prove that my impressions
of Gertrude could hardly have been less accurate.
不过已经足以再次证明我对格特鲁德的印象错得离谱。
I’m starting to feel like the only correct assumption
I made about her was that she probably liked tea.
我开始感觉，我对她唯一的正确了解，就是她大概喜欢喝茶。

Oh, and I looked through a handful of books on her shelf.
哦，我还粗略浏览了她书架上的部分书籍。
They were very well taken care of,
每本书都保养的很好，
with the exception that anytime a person’s face was featured on
the cover, their eyes had been cut out and very carefully removed.
不过，每当封面上出现人像时，人物的眼睛都被小心翼翼地剪掉了。

End supplement.
补充完毕。

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This post has been edited by 贝克的小号: 2022-10-05, 13:58