"The Austrian police ..."
"They hadn't identified me."
"Immediately you left Cooler's, he telephoned to me."
"Then that lets him out. If he had been concerned, he wouldn't have wanted to tell you my story—to tell Koch's story, I mean."
"He might assume that you were a sensible man and would come to me with your story as soon as you learned of Koch's death. By the way, how did you learn of it?"
He told me promptly and I believed him. It was then I began to believe him altogether. He said, "I still can't believe Cooler's concerned. I'd stake anything on his honesty. He's one of those Americans with a real sense of duty."
"Yes," I said, "he told me about that when he phoned. He apologised for it. He said it was the worst of having been brought up to believe in citizenship. He said it made him feel a prig. To tell you the truth Cooler irritates me. Of course he doesn't know that I know about his tyre deals."
"Is he in a racket, too, then?"
"Not a very serious one. I daresay he's salted away twenty-five thousand dollars. But I'm not a good citizen. Let the Americans look after their own people."
"I'm damned." He said thoughtfully, "Is that the kind of thing Harry was up to?"
"No. It was not so harmless."
He said, "You know this business (вы знаете это дело)—Koch's death has shaken me (смерть Коха потрясла меня). Perhaps Harry did get mixed up in something pretty bad (возможно, Гарри действительно оказался замешанным в чем-то очень плохом; pretty — миловидный, прелестный, хорошенький; симпатичный, приятный; привлекательный /о человеке; обык. о женщине или ребенке/; довольно, достаточно, в значительной степени). Perhaps he was trying to clear out again (возможно, он пытался снова выйти из игры; to clear out — очищать; /разг./ внезапно уйти, уехать), and that's why they murdered him (и именно поэтому они убили его)."
"Or perhaps (или, возможно)," I said, "they wanted a bigger cut off the spoils (они хотели больший кусок от добычи). Thieves fall out (воры ссорятся; thief — вор; to fall out — скандалить, ссориться)."
He took it this time without any anger at all (он принял это на этот раз без какой бы то ни было злости; at all — вовсе). He said, "We won't agree about motives (мы не согласимся насчет мотивов), but I think you check your facts pretty well (но я думаю, что вы проверяете ваши факты весьма хорошо). I'm sorry about the other day (извините за давешнее: «я сожалею насчет другого дня»)."
"That's all right (все в порядке = ничего /страшного/)." There are times (бывают времена) when one has to make a flash decision (когда человек должен принять мгновенное решение;