紐約城孤獨的死者 無人的葬禮

COLD OUT. Streaks of sunshine splashing over Queens. On Saturday morning, Nov. 15, John Sommese settled into a rented hearse, eased into the sparse traffic and drove to the morgue. He owns Simonson Funeral Home. At age 73, he remained a working owner in a city of dwindling deaths.

天很冷。幾縷陽光灑落皇后區。11月15日週六早上，約翰·索梅斯(John Sommese)開着一輛租來的靈車，緩緩駛入稀落的車流，向停屍房開去。他是西蒙遜殯儀館的經營人。在一個死亡越來越少的城市裏，這位73歲的企業主依然在親自幹活。

At the morgue, an attendant withdrew the body from the drawer, and both medical examiner and undertaker checked the identity tag. Using a hydraulic lift, the attendant swung the body into the wooden coffin. George Bell was at last going to his eternal home.

在停屍房，一名助理拉出遺體所在的抽屜，法醫和殯葬師要查驗身份籤。助理用一臺水壓升降機把遺體放入木棺。喬治·貝爾終於要前往他的永恆家園。

The coffin was wheeled out and guided into the back of the hearse. Mr. Sommese smoothed an American flag over it. The armed forces had passed on a military burial, but George Bell’s years in the Army Reserves were good enough for the funeral director, and he abided by military custom.

推車載着棺木來到靈車後部。索梅斯在上面鋪了一面美國國旗。軍隊拒絕給他一場軍葬，但以這位殯葬主持的標準，在陸軍預備役那幾年已經足夠了，他要按照軍隊的慣例來。

Next stop was U.S. Columbarium at Fresh Pond Crematory in Middle Village, for the cremation. Mr. Sommese made good time along the loud streets lined with shedding trees. The volume on the radio was muted; the dashboard said Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” was playing.

下一站是去紐約中村清池火葬場美國骨灰安置所(U.S. Columbarium at Fresh Pond Crematory)火化。落葉紛飛的喧鬧馬路沒有耽誤索梅斯太多時間。收音機被擰到靜音；從儀表盤看是在放皇后樂隊(Queen)的《你是我最好的朋友》(You’re My Best Friend)。

While the undertaker said he didn’t dwell much on the strangers he transported, he allowed how instances like this saddened him — a person dies and nobody shows up, no service, no one from the clergy to say a few kind words, to say rest in peace.

這位殯葬師說他不會過多去想車上這些陌生人的事，但他說像這樣的情況讓他很難過——一個人死了，沒人來弔唁，沒有葬禮，沒有牧師來說一些關愛的話，讓他能夠安息。

The undertaker was a Christian, and believed that George Bell was already in another place, a better place, but still. “I don’t think everyone should have an elaborate funeral,” he said in a soft voice. “But I think burial or cremation should be with respect, or else what is society about? I think about this man. I believe we’re all connected. We’re all products of the same God. Does it matter that this man should be cremated with respect? Yes, it does.”

他是一個基督徒，他相信喬治·貝爾已經去了另一個地方，一個更美好的地方，但還是難過。“不是說所有人都要有一場精心籌辦的葬禮，”他輕柔地說着。“但我覺得，不管是埋葬或火化，都要帶着敬意，否則這叫什麼社會？我關心這個人。我相信我們彼此是相連的。我們都是同一個上帝的造物。懷着敬意去火化這個人的遺體，真的很要緊嗎？是的，很要緊。”

He consulted the mirror and blended into the next lane. “You can have a fancy funeral, but people don’t pay for kindness,” he went on. “They don’t pay for understanding. They don’t pay for caring. This man is getting caring. I care about this man.”

他查看了後視鏡，把車併到另一條車道。“你可以把葬禮辦得很豪華，但善意不是花錢買得來的。這個人會得到關照。我會關照好這個人。”

At U.S. Columbarium, he steered around to the rear, to the unloading dock. Another hearse stood there. Yes — a line at the crematory.

他來到美國骨灰安置所，把車繞到後面的卸載區。那裏還有一輛靈車。是的——火葬場要排隊。

Squinting in the sun, Mr. Sommese paced in the motionless air. After 15 minutes, the dock opened up and the undertaker angled the hearse in. Workers took the coffin. Mr. Sommese kept the flag. Normally, it would go to the next of kin. There being none, the undertaker folded it up to use again.

索梅斯在陽光下眯着眼踱起步來，空氣中一絲風都沒有。過了15分鐘，卸載區的門開了，殯葬師將靈車對準門口。工人把棺木卸下。索梅斯取下國旗。通常國旗會交給最近的親屬。現在一個親屬也沒有，所以殯葬師把旗疊起來留到下次用。

The cremation process, what U.S. Columbarium calls the “journey,” consumed nearly three hours. Typically, cremains are ready for pickup in a couple of days. For an extra $180, the columbarium provides same-day express service, which was unneeded in this case.

被美國骨灰安置所稱爲“旅程”的火化需要將近三個小時。骨灰通常需要幾天後才能取。加180美元可以提供當天取的加急服務，此刻沒有這個必要。

Some 40,000 cremains were stored at the columbarium, almost all of them tucked into handsome individual wall niches, viewable through glass. Downstairs was a storage area near the bathrooms with a bronze tree affixed to the door. This was the Community Tree. Behind the door cremains were stacked up and stored out of sight. The budget alternative. Names were etched on the tree leaves. Some time ago, when the leaves filled up, doves were added.

安置所內安放着大概4萬具骨灰，大多放在牆上的一個漂亮的獨立壁龕裏，隔着透明玻璃。樓下衛生間隔壁有一個存放區，門上貼着一棵銅樹，叫做“社區樹”。存放區裏的骨灰是疊放在一起的，不對外展示。一個廉價存放方案。門口的樹葉上刻着名字。後來葉子用完了，開始加入鴿子。

Several days after the cremation, the superintendent stacked an urn shaped like a small shoe box inside the storage area. Then he nailed a metal dove, wings spread, above the right edge of the tree. It identified the new addition: “George M. Bell Jr. 1942-2014.”

遺體火化幾天後，管理員把一個形似鞋盒的小骨灰盒放在了存放區。然後在銅樹右側上方釘了一隻展翅的金屬鴿子。新鴿子上寫着：“小喬治·M·貝爾，1942–2014”。

ON ALTERNATE TUESDAYS, David R. Maltz & company, in Central Islip, N.Y., auctions off 100 to 150 cars; other days, it auctions real estate, jewelry and pretty much everything else. It has sold the Woodcrest Country Club in Muttontown, N.Y., four engines from an automobile shredder, 22 KFC franchises. Items arrive from bankruptcies, repossessions and estates, including a regular stream from the Queens public administrator.

每隔一週的週二，紐約州森特勒爾艾斯利普的戴維·R·馬爾茨公司(David R. Maltz & Company)會拍賣100到150輛車；其他時間拍賣的東西有房地產、珠寶，什麼都賣。從這裏拍出的有紐約州馬敦鎮伍德克雷斯特鄉村俱樂部，從一臺汽車粉碎機上拆下的四臺發動機，22家肯德基店面。有來自破產、回收和遺產的物品，皇后縣公共行政官就是一個固定來源。

In the frosty gloom of Dec. 30, as a hissing wind spun litter through the air, the Maltz company had among its cars a 2011 Mustang convertible, multiple Mercedes-Benzes, two cars that didn’t even run and George Bell’s 2005 Toyota. Despite its age, it had just over 3,000 miles on it, brightening its appeal.

12月30日，清冷陰鬱的一天，呼嘯的風把垃圾吹向空中，馬爾茨公司推出的待售車輛包括一輛2011年的野馬敞篷，幾輛梅賽德斯-奔馳，兩輛連火都打不着的車，還有喬治·貝爾的2005年產豐田。雖然年頭不少，但只跑了3000多英里，顯得很有吸引力。

In a one-minute bidding spasm — “3,000 the bid, 3,500, 35 the bid, 4,000…” — the car went for $9,500, beating expectations. After expenses, $8,631.50 was added to the estate. The buyer was Sam Maloof, a regular, who runs a used car dealership, Beltway Motor Sales, in Brooklyn and planned to resell it. After he brought it back, his sister and secretary, Janet Maloof, adored it. She had the same 2005 model, same color, burdened with over 100,000 miles. So, feeling the holiday spirit, he gave her George Bell’s car.

瘋狂的競價僅用了一分鐘——“有人出3000，3500，3500還有麼，4000……”——最終這輛車賣了9500美元，超出預期。扣除費用後，遺產賬目上又多了8,631.50美元。買家是薩姆·馬魯夫(Sam Maloof)，這裏的常客，他在布魯克林開着一家二手車行“環路汽車銷售公司”(Beltway Motor Sales)，打算把車轉手賣出。但回來後，他的妹妹兼祕書珍妮特·馬魯夫(Janet Maloof)看上了這輛車。在節日氣氛感染下，他把喬治·貝爾的車送給了她。

In a couple of weeks, the only other valuable possession extracted from the apartment, the Relic watch, came up for sale at a Maltz auction of jewelry, wine, art and collectibles. The auction was dominated by 42 estates put up by the Queens public administrator, the thinnest by far being George Bell’s. Bidding on the watch began at $1 and finished at $3. The winner was a creaky, unemployed man named Tony Nik. He was in a sulky mood, mumbling after his triumph that he liked the slim price.

幾周後，從公寓找到的唯一一件值錢物件——Relic手錶——在馬爾茨的一場珠寶、葡萄酒、藝術和收藏品拍賣會上賣出。這場拍賣會的拍品主要來自皇后縣公共行政官提供的42份遺產，其中最微薄的顯然是喬治·貝爾的那份。手錶從1美元開始競價，以3美元成交。贏家是一位蒼老的無業人士，名叫託尼·尼克(Tony Nik)。他的情緒有點糟，拍下手錶後嘟囔着說他滿意這個價錢。

Again after expenses, another $2.31 trickled into the Bell estate.

扣除費用後，貝爾的遺產再添2.31美元。

On a sun-kindled day a week later, six muscled men from GreenEx, a junk removal business, arrived to empty the cluttered Queens apartment. Dispassionately, they scooped up the dusty traces of George Bell’s life and shoveled them into trash cans and bags. They broke apart the furniture with hammers. Tinny music poured from a portable radio.

一週後的一個陽光明媚的日子，垃圾清運公司GreenEx的六個壯漢來到皇后公寓進行清理。他們面無表情地清掃着喬治·貝爾的人生印記，把它們塞進垃圾箱和袋子。他們用錘子拆散傢俱。一個便攜收音機裏傳出音質低劣的音樂。

Eyeing the bottomless thickets, puzzling over what heartbreak they told of, one of the men said: “Depression, I think. People get depressed and then, Lord help them, forget about it.”

看着堆積成山的雜物，想着它們在講述怎樣的傷感往事，其中一個工人說：“抑鬱吧，我覺得。有的人就是抑鬱了，然後，上帝保佑，就這麼忘了。”

Seven hours they went at it, flinging everything into trucks destined for a Bronx dump where the rates were good.

他們忙活了七個小時，把所有東西都扔上卡車，運到布隆克斯的一座垃圾場，那裏價錢出得比較高。

Some nuggets they salvaged for themselves. One man fancied a set of Marilyn Monroe porcelain plates. Another worker plucked up an unopened jumbo package of Nike socks, some model cars and some brand-new sponges. Yet another claimed the television and an unused carbon monoxide detector. Gatherings from a life, all worth more than that $3 watch.

他們自己也收了一些小玩意。有人看上了一套瑪麗蓮·夢露瓷盤。還有一個工人翻出一大盒沒開封的耐克襪子，幾個汽車模型，還有一些全新的海綿。有人要了電視，一臺沒用過的一氧化碳探測儀。它們來自對一段人生的探尋，每一件都比那3美元的表值錢。

A spindly worker with taut arms crouched down to inspect some never-worn tan work boots, still snug in their box. They were a size big, but he slid them on and liked the fit.

一個身材瘦高、手臂肌肉緊繃的工人蹲下來查看一雙沒穿過的鞣皮工裝靴，還裝在盒子裏。大了一碼，但他還是穿上了，覺得挺合適。

He cleaned George Bell’s apartment wearing the dead man’s boots.

他穿着喬治·貝爾的靴子打掃了死者的公寓。

THE PEOPLE NAMED to split the assets in the will were known as the legatees. Over 30 years had passed since George Bell chose them: Martin Westbrook, Frank Murzi, Albert Schober and Eleanore Albert. Plus, there was a beneficiary on two bank accounts: Thomas Higginbotham.

在遺囑中被指定參與財產分割的人叫做遺產受領人。喬治·貝爾是三十多年前選定這些人的：馬丁·韋斯特布魯克、弗蘭克·穆爾吉(Frank Murzi)、阿爾伯特·朔伯爾(Albert Schober)和伊蓮諾·阿爾伯特(Eleanore Albert)。另外還有兩個銀行賬號的受益人：托馬斯·希根巴塔姆。

Elizabeth Rooney, a kinship investigator in the office of Gerard Sweeney, the public administrator’s counsel, set out to help find them. By law, she also had to hunt for the next of kin, down to a first cousin once removed, the furthest relative eligible to lay claim to an estate. They had to be notified, should they choose to contest the will.

公共行政官法律顧問傑拉德·斯維尼手下的親屬調查員伊麗莎白·魯尼(Elizabeth Rooney)要參與尋找他們的工作。按照法律規定，她還必須尋找最近親屬，一直要找到隔代表親才能停止，那是有資格要求得到遺產的最遠親屬。必須通知到他們，因爲他們可能會對遺囑提出異議。

There was time, for George Bell’s assets could not be distributed until seven months after the public administrator had been appointed, the period state law specifies for creditors to step forward.

還有時間，在指定公共行政官後要過七個月才能開始分配喬治·貝爾的資產，這是州法規定的期限，在這之後債權人就可以行動了。

Prowling the Internet, Ms. Rooney learned that Mr. Murzi and Mr. Schober were dead. Mr. Westbrook was in Sprakers and Mr. Higginbotham in Lynchburg, Va. Ms. Rooney found Ms. Albert, now going by the name Flemm, upstate in Worcester.

經過在互聯網上的一番尋覓，魯尼得知穆爾吉和朔伯爾已經去世。韋斯特布魯克住在Sprakers，希根巴塔姆在弗吉尼亞州林奇堡。魯尼發現阿爾伯特在紐約州北部的沃切斯特，現在已經改叫弗雷姆(Flemm)。

They were surprised to learn that George Bell had left them money. Ms. Flemm had spoken to him by phone a few weeks before he died; the others had not been in touch for years.

他們沒想到喬治·貝爾會留錢給他們。弗雷姆在他死前幾個星期跟他通過電話；其他幾位都跟他有很多年沒聯絡了。

A core piece of Ms. Rooney’s job was drafting a family tree going back three generations. Using the genealogy company , she compiled evidence with things like census records and ship manifests, showing Bell relatives arriving from Scotland. Her office once produced a family tree that was six feet long. Another time it traced a family back to Daniel Boone.

魯尼的工作有一個重點就是製作一份譜系圖，要上溯三代。她通過宗譜公司提供的人口普查記錄和輪船艙單來整理證據，顯示貝爾的親屬是來自蘇格蘭。她的辦公室曾經制作一個六英尺長的譜系圖。還有一次追溯一個家族一直追到了丹尼爾·布恩(Daniel Boone)。

Ms. Rooney created paternal and maternal trees, each with dozens of names. She found five living relatives: two first cousins on his mother’s side, one living in Edina, Minn., and the other in Henderson, Nev. Neither had been in contact with George Bell in decades, and didn’t know what he did for a living.

魯尼分別製作了母系和父系圖，各有幾十個人名。她發現了五名在世親屬：母親那一方的兩個表親，一個住在明尼蘇達州伊代納，另一個在內華達州亨德森。兩人都有幾十年沒跟喬治·貝爾聯繫了，不知道他是以什麼爲生。

On the paternal side, Ms. Rooney identified two first cousins, one in Scotland and another in England, as well as a third whose whereabouts proved elusive.

在父親這一方，魯尼找到兩個表親，一個在蘇格蘭，一個在英格蘭，還有第三個表親，但身在何處無從考證。

When that cousin, Janet Bell, was not found, protocol dictated that a notice be published in a newspaper for four weeks, a gesture intended to alert unlocated relatives. With sizable estates, the court chooses The New York Law Journal, where the bill for the notice can run about $4,000. In this instance the court picked The Wave, a Queens weekly with a print circulation of 12,000, at a cost of $247.

在這位表親——珍妮特·貝爾(Janet Bell)——找不到的情況下，按照規定要在報紙上發佈一則爲期四周的告示，意在通知下落不明的親屬。如果是比較大的遺產，法院會選擇《紐約法律期刊》(The New York Law Journal)，在那裏登告示費用可達4000美元。而目前這一案，法院選擇了發行量1.2萬的皇后區週刊《浪潮》(The Wave)，費用是247美元。

The cousin might have been in Tajikistan or in Hog Jaw, Ark., or even on Staten Island, and the odds of her spotting the notice were approximately zero. Among thousands of such ads that Mr. Sweeney has placed, he is still awaiting his first response.

那位表親也許在塔吉克斯坦，也許在阿肯色州的霍格喬，甚至就在史泰登島上也說不定，她能看到通知的機率幾乎爲零。這樣的廣告斯維尼登過幾千份，目前還在等待第一位應聲前來的人。

Word came that Eleanore Flemm had died of a heart attack, on Feb. 3 at 66. Since she had outlived Mr. Bell, her estate would receive her proceeds. Her heirs were her brother, James Albert, a private detective on Long Island who barely remembered the Bell name, along with a nephew and two nieces in Florida. One did not know George Bell had existed.

消息傳來，伊蓮諾·弗雷姆已於2月3日死於心梗，享年66歲。由於她後於貝爾離世，她的所得將由她的遺產接收。她的繼承人是弟弟詹姆斯·阿爾伯特(James Albert)，在長島作私家偵探，他對貝爾這個名字已經沒什麼印象，此外在佛羅里達還有一男兩女三個甥侄輩。其中一位完全不知道有喬治·貝爾這個人存在。

Death, though, isn’t social. It’s business. No need to have known someone to get his money.

不過，死亡不是社交。死亡是生意。拿他的錢的人，不一定非得認識他。

On Feb. 20, a Queens real estate broker listed the Bell apartment at $219,000. It was the final asset to liquidate. Three potential buyers toured it the next day, and one woman’s offer of $225,000 was accepted.

一個皇后區房地產中介在2月20日把貝爾的公寓掛牌出售，標價21.9萬美元。這是最後一項需要變現的資產。第二天，有三個潛在買家來看房子，其中一名女子出價22.5萬美元，被接受了。

Three months later, the building’s board said no. A middle-aged couple who lived down the block entered the picture, and, at $215,000, was approved. Their plan was to fix up the marred apartment, turn their own place over to their grown-up son and then move in, overwriting George Bell’s life.

三個月後，公寓樓委員會否決了交易。一對住在隔壁街區的中年夫婦斜刺裏殺出，出價21.5萬美元，得到委員會認可。他們的計劃是把破敗的公寓修繕一下，把自己現在的住處讓給已經成年的兒子住，自己搬到這裏來，抹掉喬治·貝爾的人生重新來過。

Meanwhile, Mr. Sweeney appeared in Surrogate’s Court to request probate of the will. Besides the two known beneficiaries, he listed the possibility of unknown relatives and the unfound cousin. The court appointed a so-called guardian ad litem to review the will on behalf of these people, who might, in fact, be phantoms.

與此同時，斯維尼來到遺囑檢驗法院，要求對遺囑進行查驗。除了兩位已知受益人，他還列出了未知親屬和那名沒找到的表親。法院指定了一名所謂的訴訟監護人來代表這些也許並不存在的人，對遺囑進行審閱。

In September, Mr. Sweeney submitted a final accounting, the hard math of the estate, for court approval. No objections arrived. Tallied up, George Bell’s assets amounted to roughly $540,000. Bank accounts holding $215,000 listed Mr. Higginbotham as the sole beneficiary, and he got that directly. Proceeds from the apartment, other accounts, a life insurance policy, the car and the watch went to the estate: around $324,000.

九月，斯維尼提交最終版賬目請法院覈准，這是對遺產的精密計算。沒有異議。喬治·貝爾的資產總計約54萬美元。銀行賬戶中有21.5萬美元，希根巴塔姆作爲唯一受益人直接拿到這筆錢。從公寓、其他賬戶、一份壽險保單、汽車、手錶上得到的錢歸入遺產：約32.4萬美元。

A commission of $13,726 went to the city, a $3,238 fee to the public administrator, $19,453 to Mr. Sweeney.

紐約市得到13,726美元佣金，公共行政官得到一筆3,238美元的費用，斯維尼得到19,453美元。

Other expenses included things like the apartment maintenance, at $7,360; a funeral bill of $4,873; $2,800 for the cleanout company; $1,663 for the kinship investigator; a $222 parking ticket; a $704 Fire Department bill for ambulance service; $750 for the guardian ad litem; and $12.50 for an appraisal of the watch that sold for $3.

其他支出包括公寓維護，7,360美元；葬禮收費4,873美元；清掃公司2,800美元；親屬調查員1,663美元；一張222美元的違章停車罰單；消防隊的救護車服務704美元；訴訟監護人750；那塊賣了3美元的手錶，做鑑定用了12.50美元。

That left about $264,000 to be split between Mr. Westbrook and the heirs of Ms. Flemm. Some 14 months after a man died, his estate was settled and the proceeds were good to go.

剩下大約26.4萬美元將由韋斯特布魯克和弗雷姆的繼承人分割。在死亡14個月後，一個人的遺產清算完成，可以開始執行。

For the recipients, George Bell had stepped out of eternity and united them by bestowing his money. No one in the drawn-out process knew why he had chosen them, nor did they need to. They only needed to know him in the quietude of death, as a man whose heart had stopped beating in Queens. But he had been like anyone, a human being who had built a life on this earth.

在受領人看來，這是喬治·貝爾踏出永恆，通過金錢的贈予來與他們相聚。在這個漫長的過程中，誰也不知道——也不需要知道——他爲什麼選擇這些人。他們只需要知道，他已安息，一個人的心臟在皇后區停止了跳動。然而他和其他人一樣，是一個曾在這地球上有過一段生命的人。