CHAPTERONE

BustoLasVegas

ThefirsttimeIsawTerryLennoxhewassittinginaRolls-Royceinfrontofafancyrestaurant,andhewasverydrunk.Hehadayoungman'sfacebuthishairwaswhiteassnow.Youcouldseehewasdrunkbylookingathiseyes;otherwisehe looked like any youngmanwho had been spending toomuchmoney in aplacethatwastheretotakeyourmoney.

Therewasawomanbesidehim.Herhairwasaprettydarkredandshehadadistantsmileonherlips.

'Ihaveawonderfulidea,darling,'thewomansaid,tryingtobenice.'Whydon'twetakeataxitoyourplaceandgetyourlittlecarout?It'sawonderfulnightforarideupthecoast.'

Themansaid 'Awfully sorry,but Idon'thave it anymore.Had to sell it.'Hespokeclearly.

'Sold it,darling?Whatdoyoumean?'Sheslidaway fromhim,buthervoiceslidevenfurther.

'Ihadto.Hadtoeat.'

'Oh,Isee.'Apieceoficewouldn'thavemeltedonhernow.

Right then, thecardoorseemed toopen itselfand theyoungmanfelloff theseatandlanded,sitting,ontheground.SoIwentoverandstuckmynoseintheirbusiness,althoughit'salwaysamistaketointerferewithpeoplewhoaredrunk.Ipickedhimupandputhimonhisfeet.

'Thankyousomuch,'hesaidpolitely.IthoughtIheardanaccent.

'He is so English when he's drunk,' she said in a hard voice. 'Thanks forcatchinghim.'

'I'llgethiminthebackofthecar,'Isaid.

'Sorry,mister,butI'mlateforanappointment.'Shestartedtodriveoff.'He'sjust

alostdog,'sheadded.'Perhapsyoucanfindagoodhomeforhim.'Andthenshewasgone.Andtheguywasasleepinmyarms.

Icarriedhimtomycar.Hewasheavy.AsIputhiminthefrontseat,hewokeupandthankedmeagain,andwentbacktosleep.HewasthepolitestdrunkI'devermet.WhileIdrove,I lookedathimonceinawhile.Therightsideofhisfacewasonebigscarthatthedoctorshadworkedon.Theyhadn'tfailedbuttheyhadn'tsucceededeither.

IwaslivingthatyearinahouseonYuccaAvenueintheLaurelCanyonarea.Therentwaslow,partlybecausetheownerdidn'twantawrittenagreement,andpartlybecauseofthesteps.Shewasgettingoldandtheyweretoosteepforher.

Igothimupthemsomehow.Inside,Iputhimonthesofaandlethimgobacktosleep.Hesleptforanhour.Whenhewokeup,helookedaroundandatme,andwantedtoknowwherehewas.Itoldhim.HesaidhisnamewasTerryLennoxand thathe lived inWestwood, alone.Hisvoicewas steady.He saidhecouldhandleacupofcoffee.

WhenIbroughtit,heaskedmewhyhewashere.Itoldhimhehadpassedoutoutsidearestaurantandhisgirlhaddrivenoffandlefthim.Hesaidhecouldn'tblameher.

'YouEnglish?'Iasked.

'Ilivedthereonce.Iwasn'tbornthere.'

HefinishedthecoffeeandIdrovehimhome.Hedidn'tsaymuchontheway,exceptthathewassorry.Hehadprobablysaiditsooftenthatitwasautomatic.

Hisapartmentwassmallandempty.Therewasalittlefurniturebutnopersonalitems at all. It didn't look like a placewhere anybody lived.He offeredme adrink.Isaidno.WhenIleft,hethankedmeagain,butnotasifIhadclimbedamountainforhimandnotasifitwasnothingatall.Hewasshybutverypolite.Whateverhedidn'thave,hehadmanners.

Driving home, I thought about him. I'm supposed to be tough but this onebotheredme.Ididn'tknowwhy,unlessitwasthewhitehairandthescarandtheclearvoice.TherewasnoreasonIshouldseehimagain,though.Hewasjustalostdog,likethewomansaid.

***

It was amonth laterwhen I did see him again, about three blocks frommyoffice.Therewasapolicecarstopped in themiddleof thestreet,and themeninsidewerestaringatsomethingonthekerb.ThatsomethingwasTerryLennox-orwhatwas leftofhim.His shirtwasdirtyandopenat theneck.Hehadn'tshavedforfourorfivedays.Hisskinwassopalethatthescarhardlyshowed.Itwasobviouswhythepolicemenwerelookingathim,soIwentovertherefastandtookholdofhisarm.

'Standupandwalk,'Isaid.'Canyoudoit?'

Helookedatmeandnoddedslowly.Iwasn'tevensureherecognizedme.'I'mjustalittleempty,'hesaid.

Hemadetheeffortandletmewalkhimtothestreet.Therewasataxithere.Iopenedthebackdoorandgothiminside.Thepolicecarpulledup.Acopwithgreyhairaskedme,'Whathavewegothere?'

'He'snotdrunk,'Isaid.'He'safriend.'

'That's nice,' the cop said sarcastically.Hewas still looking at Terry. 'What'syourfriend'sname,pal?'

'Philip Marlowe,' Terry said slowly. 'He lives on Yucca Avenue in LaurelCanyon.'

Thecopstaredatusboth.Hewasmakingadecision.Ittookhimalittlewhile.'OK.Gethimoffthestreetatleast.'Thepolicecardroveaway.

Wewenttoaplacewhereyoucouldgethamburgersthatyoucouldactuallyeat.IfedLennoxacoupleandabottleofbeerandtookhimtomyplace.Anhourlater, hewas shaved and clean, and he looked human again. Imade two verymilddrinksandwetalkedaswedrank.

'Luckyyourememberedmyname,'Isaid.

'Notonlythat,'hesaid.'Ilookedupyourphonenumber,too.'

'Sowhydidn'tyoucall?Ilivehereallthetime.'

'WhyshouldIbotheryou?'

'Lookslikeyououghttohavebotheredsomeone.'

'Askingforhelpisn'teasy,'hesaid.'Especiallywhenit'sallyourownfault.'He

lookedupwithatiredsmile.'MaybeIcanstopdrinkingoneofthesedays.Theyallsaythat,don'tthey?'

'Ittakesaboutthreeyears.'

'Threeyears?'Helookedshocked.

He turnedand lookedat theclockandchanged thesubject. 'Ihavea suitcaseworth two hundred dollars down at the Hollywood bus station. I could getmoneyforit.Maybenottwohundreddollars,butenoughforabustickettoLasVegas,andIcouldgetajobthere.'

Ididn'tsayanything.

'AmanIknewwellinthearmyrunsabigclubthere.Hisname'sRandyStarr.'

Somethingmusthaveshownonmyface.'Yes,'hecontinued,'he'spartgangsterbuttheyallare,andtheotherpartofhimisn'tbad.'

'Icangiveyouthebusfareandsomeextra,'Isaid.

Heshookhishead.

'Iwantyououtofmyhair,'Iexplained.'I'vegotafeelingaboutyou.'

'Youhave?'Helookeddownintohisglass.'We'veonlymettwice.Whatsortoffeeling?'

'Afeelingthatnexttimewemeet,I'llfindyouinworsetroublethanIcangetyououtof.Idon'tknowwhyIhavethisfeeling,butIdo.'

He touched his scar gently. 'Maybe it's this. Makes me look like trouble, Isuppose.ButIgotithonestly.'

'It'snotthat,'Isaid.'It'sthis.I'maprivatedetectiveandyou'reaproblemthatIdon'thave tosolve.But theproblem's there.Maybe thatgirldidn'tdriveawaythattimejustbecauseyouweredrunk.Maybeshehadafeeling,too.'

He smiled faintly. 'I was married to her once. Her name is still Lennox. Imarriedherforhermoney.'Whenhesawmyface,hissmiledisappeared.'You'rewonderingwhyIdidn'taskherforhelp.Didyoueverhearofpride?'

'You'rekillingme,Lennox.'

'Myprideisdifferent.It's theprideofamanwhohasnothingelse.Sorryifitbothersyou.'

Itbotheredmeandhebotheredme,too,althoughIcouldn'tunderstandexactlywhy.AnymorethanIknewwhyamanwouldstarveandwalkthestreetsbeforehe'dsellasuitcase.Whateverhisruleswere,though,heplayedbythem.

Iwentdowntothebusstationandgothissuitcaseforhim.WhenIcameback,hesaidhehadcalledhispalinLasVegas. 'HewassoreatmebecauseIhadn'tcalledhimbefore.'

'Ittakesastrangertohelpyou,'Isaid,andputahundreddollarsinfrontofhim.'Andtakethesuitcasewithyou.Youmightneedtosellitlater.'

'Idon'twantit,'hesaid.'Ifyoulike,youcankeepitforme.'

Hechangedhisclothesandwewentoutfordinner.Nodrinks.Afterwards,hecaughtthebusandIdrovehomethinkingaboutthisandthat.

***

Atnine-thirty,thetelephonerangandthevoicethatspokewasoneIhadheardoncebefore.

'IsthisMrPhilipMarlowe?'

'Itis.'

'This is Sylvia Lennox, Mr Marlowe. We met for a moment one night lastmonth.IheardafterwardsthatyouhadbeenkindenoughtotakeTerryhome.'

'Ididthat.'

'I'vebeenalittleworriedabouthim.Nobodyseemstoknowwhereheis.'

'Inoticedhowworriedyouweretheothernight,' Isaid. 'He'sonabustoLasVegas.'

'Las Vegas?' This news seemed to cheer her up. 'How sweet of him. That'swhereweweremarried.'

'Iguessheforgotthat,'Isaid,'orhewouldhavegonesomewhereelse.'

Insteadofhangingup, she laughed. Itwasapretty laugh. 'Areyoualwaysas

rudeasthistoladies?'

'Idon'tknowthatyouarealady.Themanwaslivinginthestreets.Hehadnomoney, none at all. You could have found him if you'd really wanted to. Hedidn'twantanythingfromyouthenandheprobablydoesn'twantanythingfromyounow.'

'That,' she said coolly, 'is something you know nothing about,MrMarlowe.Good-night.'

She was completely right, of course, and I was all wrong. But I didn't feelwrongthen.Ijustfeltangry.

CHAPTERTWO

AnEnglishman'sDrink

Three days before Christmas, I got a cheque on a Las Vegas bank for onehundred dollars. A note came with it. He thanked me, wished me a MerryChristmas, and said he hoped to see me soon. The surprise came at the end.'SylviaandIweremarriedagain.Shesaysnottobeangrywithherforwantingtotryagain.'Ireadtherestofthestoryonthesocietypageofthenewspaper.

'All arehappywith thenews thatSylviaandTerryLennoxhave remarriedatLasVegas,thedarlings.Sylviais,ofcourse,theyoungestdaughterofmillionaireHarlanPotter.AndwhatdoesDaddythinkofthemarriage?Onecanonlyguess.Potterisonepersonwhonever,ever,givesinterviews.'

Well,Ithought,ifhewantshermoney,lethimtakeit.Ijustdidn'twanttoseehimagain.ButIknewIwould-ifonlybecauseofthesuitcase.

It was five o'clock on a wet March evening when he walked into my littleoffice.Helookedchanged:older,moreserious,butcalmer,too.Likeamanwhohadlearnedahardlesson.

'Let'sgotosomequietbar,'hesaid,asifhehadseenmetenminutesbefore.Wedidn'tshakehands.Wealmostneverdid.Englishmendon'tshakehandsall thetimelikeAmericansdoand,althoughhewasn'tEnglish,hehadtheirmanners.

WewenttoVictor's.Ontheway,Isaidsomethingstupidabouthisnewlifeandhesaidthatifhewasn'thappy,atleasthewasrich.Andhesaidthathewasn'thavinganytroubleatallhandlinghisdrinkingthesedays.

'Perhapsyouwereneverreallydrunk,'Isaid.

At the bar we drank gin and lime, an Englishman's drink. Lennox said theydidn'tknowtherightwaytomakethemhere.Iwasn'tinterestedintalkingaboutdrinks,soIaskedhimabouthispalinLasVegas.Downmystreet,Isaid,Starrwasknownasatoughcustomer.

'Randy?InLasVegas,he'sastraightbusinessman.Youshoulddropinandseehimnexttimeyou'rethere.He'llbeyourpal.'

'Nottoolikely.Idon'tlikegangsters.'

'That'sjustaword,Marlowe.Wehavethatkindofworld.Thewarsgaveittousand we're going to keep it. Randy and I and another guy were all in a littledangeroncetogether.It'sdifferentforthethreeofus.'

'Sowhydidn'tyouaskhimforhelpwhenyouneededit?'

He finishedhisdrinkandsignalled foranother. 'Becausehecouldn't refuse. Ididn'twanttobegfromhim.'

'Youbeggedfromastranger.'

Helookedmestraightintheeye.'Strangerscankeepgoingandpretendnottohear.'

Whenhefinishedtheseconddrink,hedrovemebacktotheoffice.

From thenon, it becamehishabit todrop in around fiveo'clock.Weusuallywent toVictor's. I didn't understandwhyhe enjoyedbeingwithme insteadofbeinginhisbigexpensivehouse.Iaskedhimaboutthatonce.

'Nothingformeatthehouse,'hesaid,drinkinghisusualginandlime.

'AmIsupposedtounderstandthat?'

'A big film with no story, as they say in the film business. Sylvia is happyenough.Butnotwithme.Inourcircle,that'snottooimportant.Yousee,therichdon't really have a good time. They never want anything very much exceptmaybe someone else'swife, and that's a pale desire comparedwith theway abutcher'swifewantsnewcurtainsforthelivingroom.Mostly,Ijustkilltime.Alittletennis,alittleswimming.'

Itoldhimitdidn'thavetobethewayitwas.HesaidIshouldwonderwhyshewantedhim,notwhyhewantedtobethere.

'Youlikehavingservantsandbellstoring,'Isaid.

Hejustsmiled.'Couldbe.Igrewupasanorphanwithnomoney.'

Ibegan thinkingI likedhimbetterdrunk,hungryandbeatenandproud.Thatnight,hewouldhavetoldmethestoryofhislifeifI'daskedhim.IfIhadasked,andifhehadtoldme,itmighthavesavedacoupleoflives.Itmighthave.

***

ThelasttimewehaddrinkstogetherwasinMay.Itwasearlierthanusualandthebarwasnearlyempty.

'Ilikebarsatthishour,'hesaid.'Iliketowatchthemanfixthefirstoneoftheevening.Iliketotasteitslowly.Alcoholislikelove.Thefirstkissismagic.'

Thenhestartedtalkingabouther.'IfeelsorryforSylvia.She'ssoterrible,butIthinkIlikeher.Oneday,she'llneedsomeone,andnooneelsewillbethere.AndI'llprobablymakeamessofit.'

'What'sthisabout?'Iasked.

'She's scared. I don't know of what.Maybe her father. He's a cold man. Hedoesn'teven likeher. Ifsheannoyshimtoomuch,somethingmighthappen toher.'

'You'reherhusband,'Ipointedout.

'Officially.Nothingmore.'

'Icouldn'tlistentothis.Istoodupanddroppedsomemoneyonthetable.'Youtalktoomuch,andit'salwaysaboutyou.Seeyoulater,'Iwalkedout.

Tenminutes later Iwas sorry, but tenminutes later Iwas somewhere else. Ididn'tseehimagainforamonth.WhenIdid,itwasearlyinthemorning.Thedoorbellwokemeup.Hewasstandingthere,lookinglikehell.Andhehadaguninhishand.

Thegunwasn'tpointedatme;hewasjustholdingit.

'You'redrivingmetoTijuanatogetaplaneatten-fifteen.IhaveapassportbutIdon'thavetransportation.I'llpayyoufivehundreddollarsfortheride.'

I stood in the door and didn't move to let him in. 'How about five hundreddollarsplusthegun?'Iasked.

Helookedatitandthendroppeditinhispocket.

'Comeonin,'Isaid,andhecameinandfellintoachair.

'I'mintrouble,'hesaid.

'It'sgoingtobeabeautifulday.Cool,too.Yeah,Iguessedyouwereintrouble.Let'stalkaboutitaftercoffee.Ialwaysneedmymorningcoffee.'

Hefollowedmeintothekitchen.Ipouredhimabigdrinkfromabottleofftheshelf.Hehadtousetwohandstogetittohismouth.

'Didn'tsleepatalllastnight,'hesaidweakly.

I poured him another drink and he drank this one with one hand.When hefinishedit,thecoffeewasready.

Isatdownacrossfromhim.Withoutwarning,hisheadcamedownonthetableandhewascrying.Hedidn'tseemtonoticewhenItookthegunfromhispocket.Ismelledit.Ithadn'tbeenfired.

Heliftedhisheadandsaid'Ididn'tshootanybody.'

Iheldupmyhand. 'Waitaminute.It'slikethis.Beverycarefulwhatyoutellmeifyouwantmetohelpyou.Ican'tbetoldaboutacrimeyou'vecommitted,oracrimeyouknowhasbeencommitted.Not ifyouwantme todriveyou toTijuana.'

Helookedstraightatmeforthefirsttimesincehehadcomein.'IsaidIwasintrouble.'

'Iheardyou.Idon'twanttoknowwhatkindoftrouble.It'samatterof law.Ican'tknow.'

'Icouldmakeyoudriveme.Withthegun,'hesaid.

Igrinnedandpushedthegunacrossthetable.Hedidn'ttouchit.'I'mamanwhosometimeshasbusinesswithguns.I'dlookstupidtryingtotellthepoliceIwassoscaredIhadtodowhatyoutoldmeto.'

'Listen,'hesaid,'theywon'tevenlookinthebedroomuntilmidday.Shewon'tbe there.Thebedwillbe tooneat, so they'll look in theguesthouse.Servantsalwaysknowwhatgoeson.'

'Andwhentheyseeher,'Isaid, 'they'll thinkshe'sdrunk,right?Andthat'stheend of the story. That's all I want to hear. You're sick of it all; you've beenthinkingofleavingforsometime.'

'I called her father last night,' Lennox said, remembering. 'I told him I was

leaving.'

'Whatdidhesay?'

'Hewassorry.Hewishedmeluck.Ohyes,healsoaskedmeifIneededmoney.That'sallheeverthinksabout.'

'Didyoueverseeherwithamanintheguesthouse?'Iaskedsuddenly.

Helookedsurprised.'Inevereventried.'

'OK, so this is how it is.You came tome thismorning andwanted a ride toTijuana.Youcouldn'tbearlifewithheranymore.Whereyouwentwasnoneofmybusiness.WearefriendsandIdidwhatyouaskedme.'

'Howdoesitsound?'Helookedatmehopefully.

'Dependsonwho'slistening.'

'I'msorry,'hesaid.

'Your type's always sorry, and always too late. I've still got that suitcase ofyours.Youneedluggage.It'lllookbetter.'IgotitfromwhereI'dkeptitandputsomethingsinit.Nothingused,nothingmarked.ThenIgotthecarout,lockedup,andweleft.

Wedidn'thavemuchtosaytoeachotheronthewaydown.Theborderpeoplehadnothingtosaytouseither.Whenwereachedtheairport,theplanewastherebutnoonewashurrying.

Terry went to get his ticket and came back. There were only a few peoplewaitingwithus.

'OK.I'mready,'hesaid.'ThisiswhereIsaygoodbye.'

Weshookhands.Helookedtired,verytired.

'Ioweyou,'hesaid,'butyoudon'toweme.WehadafewdrinkstogetherandItalkedtoomuchaboutme.Ileftafive-hundred-dollarbillinyourcoffeejar.'

'Iwishyouhadn't.'

'I'llneverspendhalfofwhatIhave.'

'Goodluck,Terry.Go,getontheplane.Iknowyoudidn'tkillher.'

Hestaredatme.Heturnedaway,thenlookedback.

'I'msorry,'hesaidquietly,'you'rewrongaboutthat.I'mgoingtowalkslowlytotheplane.Youhaveplentyoftimetostopme.'

Hewalked. Iwatchedhim.Hewent throughadoor.Hewasoutsidenow.Hestopped there and looked towardsme.He didn'twave.Neither did I.Then hewentup the steps into theaircraft.Theengines startedand thatbig silverbirdbegantorollaway.Thedustroseincloudsbehindit.Iwatcheditliftslowlyintotheairanddisappearintothebluesky,goingsouth.ThenIleft.

CHAPTERTHREE

SimpleJustice

ItwastwointheafternoonwhenIgothomeandtheywerewaitingforme.

'YouMarlowe?Wewant to talk toyou.'Thisonewasgrey-blondand lookedhard. His partner was tall, handsome and just looked nasty. They both hadwatching-and-waitingeyes.Theyshowedmetheirbadges.

'SergeantGreen,CentralHomicide.ThisisDetectiveDayton.'

Iwentonupandunlockedthedoor.Youdon'tshakehandswiththepolice.

TheysatinthelivingroomandGreendidthetalking.

'MannamedTerryLennox.Youknowhim,right?'

'Wehaveadrinktogetheronceinawhile.HelivesinEncino,marriedmoney.I'veneverbeenthere.'

Ifilledmypipe.'ThisiswhereIaskyouwhatit'sallaboutandyoutellmethatyouaskthequestions,right?'

'That'sright.Soyoujustanswerthem.'

Idon'tknow,IguessIwastired.MaybeIfeltalittleguilty.'Idon'thavetosayanything.'

Dayton spoke up. 'Answer the questions, Marlowe. Just co-operate. It'shealthier.'

RightawayIdidn'tlikehim.Hisvoicewasaharddon't-fool-with-mevoice.Iwenttothebookshelfandtookdownthebigstatelawbook.Ihelditouttohim.'FindmethepartthatsaysIhavetoansweryourquestions.There'snosuchlaw.'

'Sitdown,'Greensaidimpatiently.'Lennox'swifehasbeenmurdered.Uglyjob.Murderer used something blunt.Must have hit her more than a dozen times.Husband ismissing.We findyour telephonenumber inhisdesk,markedwithtoday'sdate.She'dbeenseeingothermen.Wefoundthatout,too.'

'TerryLennoxwouldn'tdoanythinglikethat.He'sknownabouttheothermenforalongtime.'

'He'snotgoing to tellusanything,Sergeant,'Daytonsaid. 'He's read that lawbook.Hethinksthelawlivesinthebook.Don'tyou,Marlowe?'

Isaidnothing.Iwasn'tgoingtohelphim.

'Standup,'hesaid.

Istartedtogetup.Iwashalfwayupwhenhehitme.Isatbackdownandshookmyhead.Daytonwassmiling;Greenwaslookingaway.

'Let'stryagain,'Daytonsuggested.Ididn'tmoveorspeak.IfIstoodup,he'dhitmeagain.Butifhehitmeagain,I'dhurthim.Hecouldn'thitmehardenoughtostopmefromhurtinghimnexttime.

'Thatwas stupid,'Green said toDayton. 'That's justwhat hewanted.Agoodreasonfornottalking.'

I nodded. 'Terry Lennox ismy friend.Maybe you have enough evidence. Incourt,I'llanswerquestions.Butnothere.Notnow.You'renotabadguy,Green.Yourpartnerhaspsychologicalproblems,that'sall.Andifhehitsmeagain,he'llhavemedicalproblems,too.'

Theyhadnochoice.Theyputthebraceletsonmeandtookmein.

***

Atthestation,Istilldidn'tfeelliketalking.ButnowthepersonIwasn'ttalkingtowasacaptain.

'Thinkshe'stough,'theCaptainsaid.'Wecouldchangethat.'Hedidn'tsoundasifhereallycared.'Guesswe'dbetter.Youcantalknow.'

Ididn'tsayanything.Hereachedforthecoffeecuponhisdesk.Iwasinachairfacing him. The braceletswere on tight. That's theway hewanted them. Butwhenhethrewthecoffeeatme,Iwasfasterthanhewas.Mostofitmissed.

'Doesn'tlikecoffee.Look,pal,you'vegotsomeinformationthatIwant.Sayingnothingatallisnogood.'

'IfItellyouwhatyouwant,'Iasked,'willyoutakethebraceletsoff?'

'Maybe,maybenot.Tellmefirst.'

'IfIsayIhaven'tseenLennoxtoday,wouldthatsatisfyyou?'

'Itmight.'Buthewaslosingpatience.'IfIbelievedyou.'

'I'dliketotalktoalawyer.Howaboutthat?'

TheCaptainlaughed.Itwasashort,uglylaugh.Heleanedacrossthedeskandhitmewithahandofstone.Therewasthunderinsidemyhead.Whenhespoketomeagain,thewordsseemedtocomefromfaraway.

'I used to be toughbut I'mgettingold.You take a goodblow,Marlowe, andthat'sallyou'llgetfromme.Wehaveyounger,strongerguysforthiswork.OK,youwon'ttalktomebutyou'lltalktothem.Ipromiseyouthat.'

Thetelephonerang.GreenhandedittotheCaptain.

'Yes,sir,'theCaptainsaid,'he'shere.Really?Isthatanorder?'Hisfacewasredandgetting redder. 'Fine, sir.'Heput the telephonedownwithabang.Hewasshaking with anger when he turned to speak to me. 'The DA wants you forhimself.You'rehisheadachenow.'

HetoldGreentogetmeoutofthere.Beforewereachedthedoor,however,oneofthosestonehandsandwestopped.

'You'vegotsomethingtosay,right?Yourtypealwaysdoes.Sayit.'

'Yes, sir,' I answered him politely. 'You probably didn't intend to, but you'vedoneme a favour.You've solved a problem forme.Noman likes to betray afriend but I wouldn't even betray an enemy to you. I might have told yousomethingbeforeyouhitme;nowIwouldn'ttellyouwhatdayoftheweekitis.'

Greenmarchedmeout. Ispent thenext threedays in jail. Itwasn't sobad. Itwasquietanditwasclean.Noonebotheredme.

Onthethirdday,aguardunlockedmydoorinthemiddleofthemorning.'Yourlawyerishere.Anddon'tthrowthatcigaretteonthefloor.'

He tookme to the conference room.A tallmanwith dark hairwas standingtherelookingoutofthewindow.Heturnedandwaitedforthedoortoclose.Hetookoutafancycigarettecaseandlookedmeover.

'Sitdown,Marlowe.Cigarette?MynameisEndicott.SewellEndicott.I'vebeen

toldtohelpyou.Itwon'tcostyouanything.Iguessyou'dliketogetoutofhere.'

Isatdownandtookoneofhiscigarettes.Helititforme.Iaskedhimwhohadsenthim.Hewouldn'ttellme.

'Iguessthatmeanstheycaughthim.'

Heshookhishead.'IfyoumeanLennox,andofcourseyoudo,no,theyhaven'tcaughthim.'

'Iftheyhaven'tgotTerry,whyaretheyholdingme?'

He frowned. 'I think I can help you get out of here, so let's work on yourproblemsandnotTerry's.Don'tyouwantmyhelp?'

No, I toldhim, Ididn't.Whenaclever lawyergetsyououtof jailbefore thepolicearereadytoletyougo,peopletalk.Theysayunkindthings.

'Listen,'Isaid,'I'mnotinhereforLennox.I'minhereforme.I'minabusinesswherepeoplecometomewithtroubles.Troublestheydon'twanttosharewiththepolice.That'swhyI'mnottalking.YoucantellTerrythat.'

'Iseeyourpoint,'Endicottsaid, 'butIhavetotellyou,I'mnotincontactwithLennox. If Iknewwherehewas, I'dhave to tell thepolice. I'ma lawyer, andthat'sthelaw.'

'Youbelieveinthelaw?'

The question annoyed him. 'The law,' he said, 'is not justice. It's just a half-brokenmachine.Ifyoupushtherightbuttonsandyou'reluckyatthesametime,youmightgetsomejustice.Now,doyouwantmyhelpornot?'

Istilldidn't.'I'llwaitafewmoredays.IftheycatchTerry,theywon'tcarehowhegotaway.Andif theydon'tgethim,they'llwanttoforget itallfast.Bytheway,whyhaven'tanyreportersbeenintoseeme?Ithoughttheoldman,HarlanPotter,ownednineortennewspapers.Withallthatmoneyandpower,heshouldbeabletomakethisintoarealparty.'

Endicottlookedatmecoldly.'You'restrange,Marlowe.Youknowsolittle.Allthatmoneyandpowercanalsobuyalotofsilence.'

Heopened thedoorandwentout.Theguard tookmebackand lockedme inagain.

I had said Iwouldwait a fewdays, but it turnedout I didn't have to.A fewhourslater,anotherguardcameandtookmetoseesomeoneintheDA'soffice.

Wewentthroughthedoorwithoutknocking.Afatmanwithasquarechinandstupideyeswaspushingsomethingintothedrawerofhisdesk.Theguardleft,andIpulledachairoverandsatdown.

'Ididn'tsayyoucouldsitdown,'themansaidsharply.

Itookoutacigarette.

'AndIdidn'tsayyoucouldsmoke,'heshoutedatme.

Ilitmycigarette.

'Take another drink from that bottle in the desk,' I said. 'It'll make you feelbetter.'

Hewaitedaminute.Thenhesaid,'Atoughguy,huh?Somehardguyscomeinhere, but that's not the way they leave. They leave here small. I want a fullstatementfromyou.'

'Igetsotiredofit,'Isaid,lookingintothosestupideyes.

'Tiredofwhat?'

'Hardlittlemeninhardlittleofficestalkinghardlittlewordsthatdon'tmeanathing.Youthinkafewdaysinhereisgoingtomakemecryonyourshoulder?Forgetit.Andforgetthethreats.Ifyou'rebigenough,youdon'tneedthem,andifyouneedthem,you'renotbigenoughtoscareme.'

Thefatmanplayedwithsomepapersonhisdesk.Thenhelookedup,smiling.'Itdoesn'treallymatterifyoudon'ttalk.We'vefoundyourfriend.'

Ididn'tbelievehim,andIlethimknowit.

'Believeme.Believeme, too, thatwe have people that saw youwith him atTijuana Airport. You want the whole story? Lennox got off the plane inMazatlan.Hedisappearedforaboutanhour.Thenatallmanwithblackhairanddarkskinandascar,maybeaknifescar,bookedtoTorreonunderthenameofSilvanoRodriguez.Hewastootalltobesodark.Thepilotturnedinareportonhim. The police were too slow in Torreon but they followed him to a littlemountaintowncalledOtatoclan.Herentedahotelroomthere.Hewaswearinga

gun,too,butthat'snotunusualinMexico.Butthepolicewererightbehindhim,see?Theyfoundhiminthehotel.'

Ilaughed.'That'saterriblestory.LennoxistoosmarttotrytobeaMexicaninMexico.Youdon'tknowwhereheis.That'swhyyouwantmystatement.'

He took the bottle out then and had a drink. Then he picked up one of thepapersfromhisdesk,grabbedapen,andsignedit.'I'vejustsetyoufree.Wanttoknowwhy?'

Istoodup.'Ifyouwanttotellme.'

'Theinvestigation'sfinished.Lennoxfinishedit.HewroteafullconfessionthisafternooninhishotelroominOtatoclan.Thenheshothimself.'

Istoodtherelookingatnothing.Thefatmanwatchedmenervously.IthinkhethoughtImighthithim.Ididn't.Ijustwalkedoutandclosedthedoor.Icloseditquietlyasifonaroomwheresomeonehadjustdied.

***

Imetafrienddownstairsonmywayout.HewantedtoknowwhyIwasthere,soItoldhim.Morganisareporter,andhegavemearidehomebecauseheismyfriendandbecauseheisareporter.

'Veryneat,don'tyouthink?'heasked,afterhehadlistenedtomystory.

'Youthinkthisisn'tstraight?'

'Twothings.HarlanPotterisaveryrichmanwhohateshavinghisnameinanynewspaper, even his own newspapers. So the trial would have annoyed him.NowLennoxisdeadandthere'snotgoingtobeatrial.ConvenientforPotter.'

He continued after aminute. 'Then, there's a chance that the poor fool had alittlehelpshootinghimself.'

Ididn'tthinkhehadneededhelp.Hehadn'tthoughtmuchofhimselflately.ButmaybeMorganwasn'tallwrong.

Beforehedroppedmeoff,hehadonemorethingtosuggest.'IfIwereacleverreporterinsteadofastupidone,I'dthinkmaybehedidn'tkillheratall.'

Itwassomethingtothinkabout,butIwastootiredtothink.Iwentinandmadesomecoffee,drankitandtookTerry'sfive-hundred-dollarbilloutofthecoffee

jar. I brought in the newspapers that were on the front steps and read aboutLennox.Therewasevenashortstoryaboutme.

One thing botheredme, thoughRIGHT SQUAREBRACKET theway she'dbeenkilled.IwasstillsureTerrycouldn'thavedonethat.Butnoonewasgoingto explain it tome, because no explanationwas necessary now.Themurdererhadconfessedandhewasdead. Itwasgoodworkeitherway. Ifhehadkilledher, itwas simple justice. If he hadn't, thatwas fine, too.He couldn't deny itnow.

CHAPTERFOUR

LetterfromaDeadMan

Thenextmorning,Iwasbackattheoffice,businessasusual.WhenIthoughtaboutTerry,Itriednottoletithurt,butIstillfeltIownedalittlepieceofhim,soitdid.

Thebellandthetelephonerangatthesametime.Iansweredthetelephonefirst.

'MrMarlowe?ThisisSewellEndicott.'

'Goodmorning,MrEndicott.'

'Glad tohearyou're free. Iguess it'sover,but if theybotheryouagainaboutthis,callme.'

'The man's dead,' I said. 'They won't bother me again. They have theirconfession.'

'Yes,Iknow,'hesaid.'I'mflyingtoMexicotodaytolookatthebodyforthem.But letme give you some advice before I go.Don't be too certain theywon'tmake trouble for you. Private detectives aren't their favourite people. Andstubbornprivatedetectives,well...'Hehungupwithoutfinishingthesentence.

I openedmyofficedoor.Themanhad let himself into thewaiting room.Hewassittingbythewindow,readingamagazine.Helookedquitecomfortable.Hehadthick,darkhairandwasverybrownfromthesun.HisclothesprobablycostmorethanIearnedinacoupleofmonths.

Hethrewthemagazineontothelowtable.'Thestufftheywritethesedays.'

'WhatcanIdoforyou?'

Helookedatmeforamomentandthenlaughed.'Aheroonabicycle.'

'What?'

'You,Marlowe.Aheroonabicycle.Didtheyhurtyoumuch?'

'Whydoyoucare?'

He didn't answer. Instead he stood up andwalked intomy office. I followedhim.

'You'realittleman.Lookatthisplace.Youdon'tmakemuchmoney,doyou?Acheaplittleman.'

Ilethimtalkandsatdownbehindmydesk.

'That'sit.You'reacheapguy.Cheapfeelings.Haveafewdrinkswithsomebodyandsuddenlyyou'rehispal.Youhavenothing.Aheroonabicycle.'

Heleanedoverthedeskandslappedme.Itdidn'thurt,andIdidn'tmove.

'YouknowwhoIam,Cheapie?'

'YournameisMenendez.TheycallyouMendy.'

'Yeah, that's right.' He took a gold cigarette case out of his pocket and lit abrowncigarettewithagoldlighter.

'I'mabigbadman,Marlowe. Imakea lotofmoney. Ihave tomakea lotofmoney,soIcanpaythemenIhavetopaysoIcanmakealotofmoney.IhaveahouseinBelAirthatcostninetythousandandthatwasbeforeIfixeditup.I'vegot a beautiful wife and my children go to private schools. My wife likesdiamonds.I'vegotsixservants.Fivecars.Whatdoyouhave,Marlowe?'

'Whydon'tyoutellmewhatyouwant?'

Heputouthiscigaretteandlitanother.

'Letmetellyouastory.Inthewar,therewerethreeguysinahole.Itwascold,verycold.Itwassnowing.RandyStarr,TerryLennoxandme.Somethinglandsright in the hole but it doesn't explode. The Germans had a lot of tricks.Sometimesyouthinkitwon'texplodeandthenthreesecondslateryou'rewrong.Anyway,Terrygrabbedthisoneandjumpedoutofthehole.Hewasquick.Veryquick.Hethrewitanditexplodedintheair.Apiecegothimonthesideoftheface. Right then, the Germans attacked and we had to run. We left him; wethoughthewasdead.TheGermansfoundhimandhadhimforayearandahalf.Theydidagoodjobonhisfacebuttheyhurthimtoomuch.That'swhyhishairwaswhite.

'RandyandIspentmoneytofindhim.He'dsavedourlives.Allhegotfromhissharewashalfofanewface.Andthen,whenhe'sreally in trouble,hedoesn't

come to us. He comes to you, Cheapie. That makes us mad, see? I could'vehelpedhim.Insteadhe'sdead,andyouthinkyou'reahero.'

Ishookmyhead.'No,Idon't.'

'Of course you do. The story is over, Marlowe. Even if-' he stopped in themiddleofthesentence.

'EvenifTerrydidn'tkillher,'Isaid.

'If that's the way Terry wanted it, then that's how it stays. See you around,Cheapie.'

I feltoldand tired. Igotupslowlyandpickeduphiscigarettecase frommydesk.'Youforgotthis,'Isaid,goingtowardshim.

'Sowhat?I'vegotadozen,'hesaid.Hedidn'tevenreachforit.

'Howaboutadozenofthese?'Iasked,movinginfastandclose,andhittinghimashardasIcouldinthestomach.

He fell back against thewallmaking the sounds a catmakeswhen it's sick.Then,veryslowly,hestraightenedup.Ipattedhischeekgently.Hedidn'tpushmyhandaway.

'Ididn'tthinkyouhadthecourage,'hesaidweakly.

'Nexttimebringagun.'

'Igotaguytocarrythegun,'hesaid.'Maybeyou'llmeethimoneofthesedays.'Hewalkedoutslowly.

***

After that, nothing happened for three days. Sylvia Lennoxwas buried. Thepress was not invited to the funeral, and her father, as usual, gave no publicstatement.

Intheafternoonofthethirdday,thetelephonerangandIfoundmyselftalkingto a man named Howard Spencer, a New York publisher who said he had aCaliforniaproblem.Weagreedtomeetinthebarofhishotelthenextmorning.Ineeded the job because I needed themoneyRIGHTSQUAREBRACKET orthoughtIdid,untilIgothomeandfoundaletter.

TheenvelopewascoveredwithMexicanstamps.Irecognizedthehandwritingintheaddress.Iwasholdingaletterfromadeadman.Iopeneditandread.

Itdidn'tstartwithmyname;itjuststarted.

I'm sitting in ahotel room in a towncalledOtatoclan.There's amailbox justbelow the window and when the boy comes with the coffee I ordered, he isgoingtomailthisletterforme.I'mgoingtowatchhimputitinthebox,andthenI'llpayhim.

Ican'tmail itmyselfbecause Ican't leavemyroom.They'reoutside,waitingforme. Iwant you to have thismoney because I don't need it and the policewouldstealitifIkeptit.

MaybeyouthinkIdidn'tkillher.Itdoesn'tmatter,though.Herfatherandhersisterwerealwaysgoodtome.Atrialwouldhurtthem.Idon'twantthat.Idon'tcarewhathappenstome.I'mdisgustedwithmylife.

I'vewrittenaconfession.Youreadaboutthisinbooks,butyoudon'treadthetruth.Thetruthis,Ifeelsickandveryscared.ButI'mgoingtodoitanyway.Soforget it andme.But first drink a gin and lime forme atVictor's.After that,forgetthewholething.Goodbye.

Thatwasall.Thatandafive-thousand-dollarbill.Ilookedatitcarefully.Ihadnever seen one before. Lots of people who work in banks haven't, either.Menendezprobablyhadadozen.

***

ImetMrHowardSpencerateleventhenextmorning.Iwasearlyandhewaslate.While I waswaiting, I looked at the peoplewho come to a hotel bar ateleven in the morning. There were two young men with a telephone at theirtable.Theytookturnsmakingcallsandshoutingateachotherandatthepeopletheycalled.Therewasamansittingatthebarwhowastellingthestoryofhislifetonooneinparticular,along,sadstory.

Ihadalmostbecometiredofwaitingwhenadreaminawhiteskirtwalkedin.Thereareblondes,andblondes.Differentkinds.Iknow;I'vestudiedthesubject.Thereareblondeswhoreadbig,longbooksandwritepoetry.Thereareblondeswholikepartiesandlaughloudlyatall thejokes,eventheoldones.Thereareblondes,too,whomarrymillionairesandliveonthesouthcoastofFranceandkisstheirhusbandsgood-nightdownstairs.

Butthisonewasnotanyofthesekinds.Shewasunique.Shewasquitetall,andhadeyeslikeasummersky.Shesmiledgentlyattheoldwaiterwhopulledoutachair for her. I just heldmy breath andwatched. Iwas stillwatchingwhen aman'svoicesaid,close tomyshoulder, 'Imustapologizeforbeingso late,MrMarlowe.I'mHowardSpencer.'

Ihadtroubletearingmyeyesawayfromthedreamtolookathim.

Hewasaboutforty-fiveyearsold,wearingasuit thatwasfineforBostonbutallwrongforCalifornia.Hewascarryinganoldleathercase.

'Twonewbooks inhere,'hesaid,patting the leather. 'I'msure theyareawful.ButIdon'tsupposeyoucareaboutpublishers'problems.'

'Icould,'Isaid,'ifithasanythingtodowiththejob.'IadmiredthewaySpencerwaslookingrightatme,notgivinganyattentiontotheblonde.

Heordereddrinksandexplained the job.Oneofhisauthors livedouthere,amannamedRogerWade.Iknewthenamebuthadn'treadthebooks.Apparentlyeveryoneelsedid, though,becauseWadewasoneofSpencer'sbiggestwriters.Except that Wade had been having a bad period lately. He drank too much,Spencer said, and went a little crazy sometimes. He had hurt his wife.Moreimportant to Spencer, however, he had also stoppedwriting. All that Spencerwantedwasformetosavethewifefromthewriter,thewriterfromhimself,andahalf-finishedbookfromthebottleinWade'sdesk.That'sall.

Itwasinteresting.Itwasalsoimpossible.Itoldhimthatwhatheneededwasamalenurse,notadetective.Icouldn'tstopamanfromdrinking,andifthewifewaslivingwithhim,Icouldn'tprotecther,either.Notdayandnight.

'Youranswerisno,then?'

'I'msorry,MrSpencer.Idon'tthinkI'dbeabletohelp.'

Suddenly,avoicethatwasnotSpencer'ssaid,'You'rewrong,MrMarlowe.I'msureyoucouldhelp.'Itwasavoicelikehoney.

Ilookedupintoapairofvioleteyes.

'Hedoesn'twanttohelp,Eileen,'Spencersaid.

Shesmiled.'Idisagree.'

I stoppedstaring longenough toanswer. 'Ididn't say Iwasn't interested,MrsWade.Ijustdon'tthinkitwouldwork.I'msorry.'

I thought she would argue but she didn't. She gave me her card in case Ichangedmymind,thankedme,andleft.Justlikethat.Isatdown,grabbedmywhisky,andwatchedherwalkoutofthehotel.Whatawalk!

Whenshehadgone,Spencerturnedtome,somethingnewinhiseyes.

'Nice,' I said, 'butyoushould've lookedatheronceor twicewhilewe talked.She'smuchtooprettytoignore.'

Spencerwentredintheface.'She'smarried,MrMarlowe.'

Ismiled.'Thatdoesn'tmakeherugly,MrSpencer.'

Wedidnotshakehandswhenheleft.

***

ThatnightIreceivedatelephonecallfromGreen.

'Thoughtyoumightwanttoknow.TheyburiedLennoxdowninMexicotoday.Somelawyertookcareofit.'

Endicott,Ithought.'Thanksfortellingme,Sergeant.Anythingelse?'

'Justthis.Lennoxisburiedandsoistherestofit.Leaveitalone.'

Sweetdreamstoyou,too,Ithought.

CHAPTERFIVE

DrVerringer'sFarm

Nextmorning, thebell rang just as I finished shaving. Iopened thedoorandlookedintoapairofvioleteyesagain.Shewaswearingabrownsuitthistime.

'Comein,MrsWade.Likeacupofcoffee?'

Shecameintothelivingroomandsatdown.'Thankyou.Blackcoffee,please.'

Ibrought thecoffee inmygoodcups.Theywere theonly two in thekitchenthatmatched.

'ThelasttimeIhadcoffeewithsomeonewasjustbeforeIwenttojail,'Isaid.'IguessyouknewI'dbeentojail,MrsWade.'

Shenodded. 'Theythoughtyouhelpedhimescape,didn't they?Hemusthavebeeninsane.'

Ifilledapipeandlitit.'Yes,hemusthavebeen.Hewasbadlyhurtinthewar.ButIdon'tthinkyoucameheretotalkaboutthat.'

Ittookalittlemoreconversationandanothercupofcoffeetofindoutwhattheproblemwas.RogerWadewasmissing.Spencerhadn'ttoldmebecauseSpencerdidn'tknow.ThiswasMrsWade'slittlesecret.Apparently,Wadedidthisoften.Butthistimehiswifewasworried.Somethingwaswrong,shesaid.

'Mr Spencer said the same thing, Mrs Wade. He thought it might be somehiddenguiltthatmakesyourhusbanddrinksomuch.Whatdoyouthink?'

She said she didn't know. She added that ifWade had a secret, even a badsecret,somethingcriminal,forinstance,shewouldn'tcare.Shejustwantedhimback.

'Let'ssayIsayyesthistime,'Iaskedher,'wherewouldIstart?Doyouhaveanyideawhereheis?'

'Yesandno,' she repliedafter thinking. 'He'sat somedoctor'splace, I'msure.Hegoestothemwhenhe'sbeendrinkingheavily,andtheyhelphimstop.Fora

fewdays,atleast.ButIdon'tknowthesedoctors.'

Shedid,however,haveanoteshefoundinherhusband'sdesk.Hehadwritten'Idonotlikeyou,DoctorV,butrightnowyou'rethemanforme.'

Wehadfinishedallthecoffee. 'Please,'shebegged,'findRogerandbringhimhome.'

HowcouldIrefusealadylikethattwice?Icouldn't.IsaidIwouldtryandshethankedmeandleft.

Nomatterhowcleveryouthinkyouare,youhavetohaveaplacetostartfrom;aname, an address, something.All I hadwas the letterV.So I didwhat I dowhenIneedhelp;Icalledafriendandasked.

GeorgePetersworkedforabigdetectiveagencybuthehadn'tforgottentheoldhardtimes.Sure,hesaid,hecouldgivemetenminutesifIcametohisoffice.

Hehadn'tchangedmuchwiththeyears.Hewasstillthin,hewasstillallsmiles,andhewasstillabusyman.

'WhatcanIdoforyou?'heaskedfrombehindadesklikeafootballfield.

'I'dliketoseeyourfileonthedoctorsinthehotelbusiness.Youknow,theoneswhereyougowhennooneknowswhereyouare.I'vegotamissingmanwho'sprobablytryingtostopdrinking.He'srichandhiswifeisworried.'

Petersfoundthefileandwelookedatittogether.TherewerethreenamesandaddressesundertheletterV.Icopiedthemdown.

'Thanks,pal.I'lldothesameforyouoneday.'

'Forgetit,'Peterssaid.'Bytheway,IheardsomethingaboutyourfriendLennoxthatmight interest you.One of ourmen knew a guy inNewYork five or sixyearsago.He'scertain itwasLennox,excepthisnamewasn'tLennox then. ItwasMarston.Ofcourse,hecouldbewrong.'

IsaidIdoubteditwasthesameman.

'Ourmanthinksitwas.He'sinSeattlenow,butIcanhavehimcallyouwhenhereturns,ifyouwant.'

'Sure.Whynot?'AndIlefttocheckonthedoctors.

IfyouareanhonestdoctorinCalifornia,youmightgetrichoryoumightgetpoor; ifyouareadishonestdoctor,youaregoing tomakemoney. Ihad threenames:Varley,abonedoctor;Vukanich,ear,noseandthroat;andVerringer,whocalledhimselfDoctorbutdidn'tsayofwhat.

I started with Vukanich, an unpleasant character who pretended not tounderstandthatIwantedmorethananexamination.Hedidnotseemtobemymananyway.Hehadnothingmorethanasmalloffice.Notfancyenough.

Varleywasinanotherclass.Heranaprivatehospitalandwasveryfriendly.Hesmiledwhenhesaidhecouldn'thelpme,andhesmiledasheaskedmewhyIwaslookingforWadehere.Iexplainedthatthehospitalwasonalistofplaceswhere certain thingshadhappened in thepast, things involving thepolice.DrVarley became suddenly less friendly.We ended our conversation there, but Ihad already seen enough ofVarley's hospital.He took care of the old and theweak.Hewasn'ttoughenoughtohandlerealtrouble.Icrossedhimoff,too,andwenttofindDrVerringer.

His placewas out in the hills. I liked that, and not just because the air wascleanerthere.Ilikedaplacewherepeoplewouldn'tbothertolookforaman.Igottherejustasitwasgettingdark.

Verringer had a farm, with a circle of small buildings surrounding the mainhouse.ThistimeIdecidednottobepolite.Idrovepastthefrontgate,parkedofftheroadandcamebackonfoot.

Iclimbedthefencebehindthefarmandwentslowlytowardsthelightsofthebuildings.ItwasdarkandIhadapockettorchbutIdidn'twanttouseit.Iwascarryingagun,too,andIdidn'twanttohavetousethateither.

Istoppedattheedgeofanemptyswimming-pool.IheardadooropensoIhid.

Alightwentonoutsidethemainhouse,asinglebrightlightthatmadeacircleinthedirtbetweenthebuildings.Intothiscirclesteppedacowboy,dressedlikeamoviecowboy,withanenormoushat,apairofsilvergunsathisside,andaropethatheswungoverhishead.Heplayedwiththeropeforafewminutesandthenpractisedtakinghisgunsoutofhisgunbeltasquicklyashecould.Hewasfast.Hewasalsoobviouslya littlecrazy.Whenhe'd finishedhisgame,whatever itwas,hewentbackintothehouse.Thelightwentoutashewentin.

Therewas another, smaller light on in one of the buildings far from the big

house. Iwalkedover,movingasquietlyaspossible. Ididn'twant tobe in thecowboy'smovietonight,becausehisgunsjustmighthavebeenloaded.

Ireachedawindowofthehut.Itwasnowdarkenoughtolookinwithoutbeingseen.Therewasonemanonabedandanotheronachair.Theywere talking.Themanonthebedwasangrybuthewassoweakthathisshoutwasnolouderthanawhisper.Theothermanwasspeakingcalmlyandpatiently.

Themanonthebedsaid, 'IalreadypaidyouandIpaidyouwell.Yougotsixhundreddollars.Andthatwastoomuch.'

Themaninthechairdidn'tdisagree.Heonlysaid,'Youcalledme,remember?Icametoyouinyourhourofneed.Itoldyouitwouldbeexpensive.Youinsisted.Iwantanotherfivethousanddollars,Wade.'

'Iwasdrunk,'Wadesaid.'Iwould'vepromisedyouanything.'

You'llwritemeacheque,myfriend.Now,atonce.Thenyou'llgetdressedandEarlwilltakeyouhome.'

Wadelaughed.'Acheque?Sure,I'llgiveyouacheque.'

Thedoctorsmiled. 'Youthinkyoucancall thebanklaterandtell themnot toacceptit.Butyouwon't.Earlwilldriveyouhome.'

'No,thanks.Thatboy'sinsane.CraziereverytimeIseehim.'

Verringer shook his head. 'Earl isn't normal, I know, but I have ways ofhandlinghim.'

'That'swhatyouthink,'anewvoicesaid,andEarlcamethroughthedoorinhisprettycowboysuit.

'Keep thatmonkey away fromme,'Wade shouted, and this time itwasnot awhisper.

Earldidn'tlikethedescription.HestartedforWade.Verringerjumpedbetweenthemandwaspushedroughlyasidebythecowboy.Iranforthedoorandcameintotheroomwithmygunout.Earlspunaround,forgettingWade.Thedoctorwaspickinghimselfupoffthefloor.

Thecowboycamerightatme.Hedidn't touchhisgunsandhedidn'tseemtoseemine.Ifiredthroughtheopenwindowoverthebed.Earlstopped,lookedat

theholeinthewindowscreen,andlookedbackatme,smiling.'That'sarealgun,isn'tit?Oh,boy.'

'Takethegunbeltoff.Slowly.'

Earlkepthis smile. 'OK.Only thesearen't realguns,youknow.'He took thebeltoffandputitdown.Wadegrabbedagun.

'He'sright.They'retoys.'

EarlgaveWadeadirty lookbut thenhenoticed thedoctor,whowas leaningagainstthewall,rubbinghishead.

'Sorry,'Earlsaidinasmallvoice.

ThedoctorpattedEarlgentlyontheshoulderandsmiled.IpulledWadeoutoftherewhileIhadthechance.Verringerwatchedusleaveandsaidnothinguntilwewerealmosttoofartohearhim,andthenhecalledout.

'Youpromisedme,Wade.Fivethousand.'

IputWadeinmycarandwestartedforhome.Hishomefirst.

Hewantedtotalk.Icouldn'tstophim.

'Youweregreatbackthere.Whoareyou?'

Itoldhim.Iexplainedthathiswifehadhiredme.

'Whatevershe'spayingyou,itisn'tenough.'

'She isn'tpayingme,MrWade,' I toldhim, 'youare. I'd like themoney fromyou.Seemsbetterthatway.'

Wadeagreed.Thenhis thoughts turned to thedoctor. 'You think I shouldpayhim the five thousand?He tookgoodcareofme.He'snotabadguy.Tries tokeepEarlfromkillinghimself,fromkillingeverybodyelse.Don'tknowwhyhebothers. He let his business go to hell because of that crazy boy. I don'tunderstandthat.AndI'mthebigwriter,supposedtounderstandpeople.ShouldIgivehimthemoney?'

ItoldhimIdidn'thaveanopinioneitherway.

'You don't likeme, do you,Marlowe?Wait aminute.Marlowe. I knowyou.

YouweremixedupwithLennox,weren'tyou?'

IsaidIhadbeen.Wadenodded.Heknewthem,hesaid,TerryandSylvia.Heknewherbetterthanheknewhim,hesaid.HeaskedmequestionsIdidn'twanttoanswer.Hewas just a joband that'swhat I toldhim.Whenwe reachedhishouse,hewentstraightin.Iwasgoingtodriveoffbutshecameout.Tothankme.

'Youfoundhim.Iknewyouwould.Comeinandhaveadrink,'sheoffered.

'Someothertime.'Ilitacigaretteandshesmokedalittleofit.

'YouknewSylviaLennox,'Isaid.'Whydidn'tyoutellme?'

She looked surprised. 'The woman that was murdered? I didn't know herpersonally. Iknewthename, that'sall. I shouldgo in,MrMarlowe,andsee ifmyhusbandneedsanything.'

'Ineedsomething,too,'Isaid,andIpulledhertomeandkissedher.Shedidn'thelpmeandshedidn'tfightme.Shejustletmedothewholejobmyself.

'Youshouldn'thave,'shesaidwhenIreleasedher.'Butstill,thanksfortheotherworkyou'vedone.'Andshewalkedawayandwentintohernicehousewithoutstoppingat thedoor towave. Iwaved, though. Iwavedat thecloseddoorandthenIwenthome,too.

CHAPTERSIX

EmptyLikeaGlass

Thenextdaywas justanotherdayat theoffice.Agiantcame inand toldmesomeone was trying to poison his dog. He suspected the lady next door. Hewasn'thappywhenItoldhimIcouldn'thelp,butatleasthedidn'thitmewithmydesk.

Awomanwithafacelikeasadstorycameinbecauseshethoughtthegirlshelivedwithwasrobbingher.Shewantedmetocomeoverandscarethegirl.Sheleftasdisappointedasthegiant.

Thenamancameinwiththeoldeststoryinthebook;ayoungwifewhohadtakenthemoneyandrun.Hedidn'twantthemoney.Hewantedhiswifeback.Icouldhelphim,and Idid. Itwaseasyenough. Ididn'tget richon it,butwhyshould I care? I was a man with a five-thousand-dollar piece of governmentpaperinmypocket.

Three days later, Eileen Wade called to invite me over for drinks the nextevening.Foolishcuriositymademesayyes.Foolishcuriosityalsomademere-readTerryLennox'sletterafterIhungup.ItremindedmethatIhadn'thadtheginandlimeatVictor'she'daskedmetohave.

ThebarwasalmostemptywhenIgotthere.Terrywouldhavebeenpleased.Iwassurprisedtohearthewomaninfrontofmeorderthesamedrink.Shewasn'tEnglish,either.ImighthavefoundoutmoreaboutherifIhadn'tnoticedIwasbeingwatched.Iapproachedthemanstraighton.

'You'rewatchingme.IfIsitherenexttoyou,itwillmakeyourjobeasier.'

'Sure,pal,sitwhereyouwant.'

'You'reoneofMendy'sboys,right?Alittleguywithnoname.'

Hedidn'tliketheconversation.'Igotaname.AndI'mnotoneoftheboys,I'mhisnumberone.Morethanyoucansay,Marlowe.'

'You'resupposedtowatchme.OK,watchmeleave.'

Ipaidforthedrinkandwentoutthedoor.Theboycameoutrightbehindme.There might have been trouble if this enormous man hadn't got out of anenormouscarandpickedtheboyupwithonehugehand.

'Ikeep tellingyoucheapgangsters.Stayawayfrommyfavouriteplaces.Youspoilmyappetite.'

Thegiantthrewmywatcheragainsttheouterwallofthebarwiththeonearmthathadbeenholdinghim,andMendy'snumberoneboyhitithardandstayedthereuntilthegiantdisappearedintoVictor's.

'Whatwasthat?'Iaskedastheboyfoundhisfeet.

'BigWillieMagoon.Apoliceman.Hethinkshe'stough.'

'Youmeanheisn'tsure?'Iaskedhimpolitely.TheboyignoredmeandlimpedawayintotheHollywoodnight.

When I reached the Wade house the next afternoon, the party had alreadybegun.Iparkedmyoldcarbetweentwonewexpensiveonesandwalkedin.AMexicaninawhitecoatopenedthedoorforme,likedmyname,andletmein.

It was the same party everybody has. People were talking too loud and notlisteningatall.Everyonehadaglassinhishand,andtheglasseswereallhalf-empty.

EileenWadecameupandsaidshewasverygladIcouldcome.Herhusbandwantedtoseeme,sheadded.Hehadn'tjoinedthepartybecausehehatedparties.Hewasinhisstudy,shesaid.TheMexicantookmetoseehim.HealsowarnedmethatSenorWadewasverybusy.

Wadewasbusylyingonasofa.Therewasapileof„…„ullowpapernexttothetypewriteronhisdesk.

TheMexican leftandWadesatup. 'Goodofyou tocome,Marlowe.Didyouhaveadrinkortwo?'

Isaidnoandaskedhimhowhisworkwasgoing.

'Fine.Itjustcomesout.That'showitiswhenit'sgood.Ifit'shardwork,it'sbadwriting.'

Hesaid thisalmostangrilysoIwaskindenoughtodisagree. 'Itwashardfor

Flaubert,andhisstuff'sgood.'

'Oh,God, an intellectualdetective.Well, I hate intellectuals. I'mnotdrinkingandIhateeveryone.Ihateyou,too.'

'Iunderstand,'Isaid.'Youneedsomebodytoinsult.Goahead.Whenitbeginstohurt,I'llletyouknow.'

Wadelaughed.'Ihatemyself,too.Andmyterriblebooksthatsellandsell.Sohowcanyouhelpme?'

'MaybeIdon'twanttohelp,'Isaid.

'Let'shaveadrink.BecauseIlikeyou.'Hewaslaughingagain.

'Notinhere,pal.Notyouandmealone.Idon'twanttohavetowatchyoutakethefirstone.'

'Youknow,Marlowe,Ithinkyoucouldhelp.Whydon'tyoucomeandlivehereandkeepmesafefromharmandtellmeallaboutFlaubert?'

Ishookmyhead.'Icouldn'tstopyou.'

'Try it. I could finish themiserable book. I have to finish it. If I can't finishthingsIstart,Imightaswellbedead.'

Ididn'twanttolistentothiskindofnonsense.

'YoudidasmuchforLennox,'hesaidsuddenly.

Iwalkedrightuptohimandgavehimahardstare.'IgotLennoxkilled.That'swhatIdidforTerry.'

WadesaidIwastalkinglikeafool.Hecursedatmebutwithoutmuchfeeling.Icouldn't really help anyway, he said, telling me what I already knew. It wassomethingpersonal,hesaid.

'Aboutyourwife?'

'Idon'tthinkso.Ithinkit'saboutme.Forgetit, though.Let'sgooutandhavethatdrinkandseeallthosenicepeoplewhodowanttowatchmehavethatfirstone.'

The party was louder than before.Wade said hello here and there and then

headed for the bar.AsCandy, theMexican,mixed our drinks, I saw a face Iknew. It was thewoman fromVictor's, the onewho had ordered the gin andlime.Wadegaveherarealsmile.

'Hello,Linda.ThisisPhilipMarlowe.Marlowe,thisisLindaLoring.Youhavesomethingincommon.'

Ifsherecognizedmefromthenightbefore,shedidn'tshowit.Sheextendedherhand. 'Hello,MrMarlowe.What Rogerwon't say is that I'm Sylvia Lennox'ssister.AndIknowwhoyouare.'

Herhandwascoolandshedidn'tletmekeepitforlong.Asshetookitback,athinmanwithaneatbeardandaverywhitefacecameuptous.HeignoredmeandgaveWadeanuglylook.

LindaLoringsaid'Myhusband,MrMarlowe.'

Hedidn'tevenlookatme.HewasgivingallhispoisonousattentiontoWade.'Ihavesomethingtosaytoyou,Wade.Stayawayfrommywife.'

Wadeseemedamused.'You'remyguesttoday,DrLoring,soallI'llsayisthatIthinkyou'vemisunderstoodsomething.'

Loringfoundaglove inoneofhispocketsandslappedWadeacross the facewithit.Thewriterdidn'tmoveamuscle.'Verydramatic,Doctor.Nexttime,whydon'tyoudoitwhenIhaveachancetoanswerthechallenge?Itwouldbemoreinteresting.Rightnow,Ithinkyou'relookingforthedoor.Candywillshowittoyou.'Wadeturnedbacktothebar.'Candy,thedoctorisleaving.'

Loringgrabbedforhiswife'shand,butshewastooquick.'I'mnotleaving,'shesaid.'Youare.'

LoringraisedthegloveagainbutWadesteppedbetweenthehusbandandwife.'Wedon'tdothathere,Doctor.'

'Don't we?' Loring asked sarcastically, but he put the glove away and left.Candy shut thedoorbehindhim. Ipickedupmydrinkand lookedaround forWade,buthehaddisappeared.Nowonderhedidn't likeparties. I tookawalkout to the terrace and settled into a soft chair facing the lake.Aminute later,Eileen Wade was sitting next to me. She wanted to know if I had acceptedRoger'soffer tostaywith them.I toldher Ihadn't. I said that ifshewanted tohelpherhusband,sheshouldfindhimagoodpsychiatrist.

Shelookedsurprised.'Apsychiatrist?Why?'

'I'mnotanexpert,butIthinkyourhusbanddoeshaveasecret,asecrethehasburiedsodeepinsidehimselfthathecan'tfindit.Maybesomethinghedidwhenhewasdrunk.Sohedrinkstofindit.Unlesshejustdrinksbecausehecan'twriteanymore.'

Shefrowned.'It'snotthat.Rogerhasagreatamountoftalent.Hisbestbookisstillinsidehim.'

'Thenmaybeit'ssomethingbetweenthetwoofyou.'

Sheansweredimmediately. 'No.Ilovemyhusband.Notthewayayounggirlloves,perhaps,butIdolovehim.Awomanisonlyayounggirlonce.ThemanIlovedthenisdead.Hediedinthewar.Hisinitials,strangelyenough,werethesameasyours.Theyneverevenfoundhisbody.Sometimes Ieven think I seehim.Atapartyor ina restaurant. It'ssilly, Iknow,butwewereverymuch inlove.Thatcrazylovethatdoesn'thappentwice.'

Shewasn'tlookingatmeanymore.Shewasstaringatthelake.IlookedbackatthehouseandWadewasthereinthedoorway.

Ijoinedhim.Hehadhadmorethanthatfirstdrink.

'How'smywife,Marlowe?Didyougiveheranotherkiss?'

IsaidIwasleaving.

'Goahead.ButI'lltellyouwhatthedoctortoldme.Stayawayfrommywife,Marlowe.Becauseitisn'tanygood.She'snotthere,see?Empty,likeaglass.Didshe tell you about her old love? The one that died inNorway but they neverfound?Becareful,Marlowe.Peopledodisappear.'

Iwalkedawayfromhim.AsIpassedthebar,Candycalledtome.

'Senor,onedrinkleft.Youwantit?'

I told him to drink it but he said hewas a beerman.He said that's how theSpanishwere.He said that hewas verySpanish, and that he had the knife toproveit.Hedidn'tneedmetohelphimtakecareofhisboss.

'You'redoingsuchagoodjob,Candy.Whobroughthimhome?'

IspeakenoughSpanishtoknowwhathecalledme.Hedidn'tholdthedoorfor

mewhenIleft.

CHAPTERSEVEN

PrettyNecklaceAroundaPrettyNeck

Foraweek,theWadesleftmealone.IdidwhatIdoforaliving.ThenIgotacallonaThursdaynightfromWade.Hisvoicewasbad.Hewasbreathinghard.'I'minterribleshape,Marlowe.I'mlosingcontrol.Canyoucomeoverquickly?'

IsaidIwould,andthenthetelephonewentdead.Ishoutedintoitbuttherewasno reply. I was inmy car aminute later, and drove like a bullet through thestreetsandupintothehillswheretheylived.IimaginedWadethrowinghiswifedownthestairs.Iimaginedhimbeatingonherlockeddoor.Idroveevenfaster.WhenIgot there,EileenWadewasstanding in theopenfrontdoor inaprettydress, nice and cool, smoking a cigarette. If therewas any excitement aroundher,I'dbroughtitwithme.

'Whereishe?'

'Hehadafall,'shesaidcalmly.'Hecuthisheadonsomething.Therewasonlyalittleblood.'

'That'snice,'Isaid.'Whereishenow?'

Shelookedatmequietlyandthenshepointedoutatthedarknesstowardsthelake. 'Outtheresomewhere.Youfindhim.I'vehadenough.'Andshewentintothehouse.

Hewasrightwhereshehadpointed,lyingonhisstomach.Thebackofhisheadwassticky.Italkedtohimbuthedidn'tanswer.Itriedtolifthim,droppedhim,triedagainandgothimacrossmyback.Hewasasheavyasstone.Imadeitintothehouseanddroppedhimonthesofa.MybackscreamedasIstraightenedup.

MrsWadecameinandsaidshe'dcalledherdoctor.Hehadn'twantedtocome,shesaid.ThisconfusedmeuntilsheexplainedthatLoringwasherdoctor.

Heshowedupfifteenminuteslater,tookaglanceatWade'scut,andsaidtherewasnodanger.Heputhishatbackonandstartedtoleave.

'Ican'tgethimupstairsalone,Doctor,'Isaid.

'Thenleavehimwhereheis,'Loringsaidcoldly.'Youmightwashhishead,too.He'snotmypatient.'

'I'mnotaskingyoutotreathim,Doctor.I'maskingforsomehelpingettinghimtohisbedroom,'Isaid,beginningtogetangry.

'Andjustwhoareyou?'heaskedsharply.

'Myname'sMarlowe.Wewereintroducedlastweek.AllIwantis...'

Heinterruptedme.'I'mnotinterestedinwhatyouwant.'HestartedforthedoorbutIsteppedinfrontofit.

'Justaminute.You'readoctorandthismanneedshelp.Ican'tgethimupstairsalone.Whatdoyousay?'

'Getoutofmyway,'hesaidthroughhisteeth, 'orIshallcall thepolice.I'maprofessionalman,andasaprofessional...'

This time I interrupted him. 'As a professionalman, you're a sack of dirt.' Isteppedoutofhisway.Hewentoutlikeastorm.Perhapshehadn'tbroughthisglovethistime.Instead,hiseyessmackedmeashewentthroughthedoor.

Intheend,Candycamehome,andwecarriedWadeupthestairstogether.TheMexicanwantedtoknowwhatIwasdoingthere.Ididn'tlikehiscuriosityandtoldhimso.Heshowedmehisknife.Candydidn'tlikeme.Icouldn'tunderstandwhy;I'mveryeasytolike.HeaskedmeifIhadhitWade.I toldhimhisbosshad fallenand thathewasn't hurtbadly.Theknifedisappeared.WeundressedWade andput him tobed.Candywent to change. Iwashed the cut andWadeopenedhiseyes.

'Whathappened?'

'I'd say the usual. Except you also fell and cut your head this time. It's notserious.Whydon'tyougetsomesleep?'

'Sleep,'hesaid,'what'sthat?'

'Maybeapillwouldhelp.Gotany?'

Hesaidthereweresomeinthedrawer.TheywereMrsWade'spills,andtheywere strong.Loring'snamewason theplasticbottle. IgaveWadeoneandheswalloweditdry.Hewasquietforawhileandthenhesaidslowly,'Iremember

something.Dosomethingforme.Iwrotesomecrazystuff.Idon'twantEileentoseeit.It'sonthetypewriter.Tearitupforme.'

I said Iwould. Then I thought he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyesagainandasked'Everkillaman,Marlowe?'

'Yes.'

'Nastyfeeling,isn'tit?'

'Somepeoplelikeit,'Isaid.

'Howcouldthey?'heasked,andthenhewasasleepforreal.IwaitedaminuteandthenIturnedoutthelightandlefthim.

Iwentdownstairs.Eileenwasn'tthere,soshemusthavebeenupinherroom.Iwonderedaboutthat.Didn'tshewanttoknowhowherhusbandwas?Orwasshejusttootiredofthetroublehecaused?Maybeshedidn'tlovehimasmuchasshesaidshedid.AboutthatIdidn'tknow.Noonecanseeintosomeoneelse'sheart,notevenagooddetective.

Iwenttohisstudyandfoundthepapers.Ibeganreadingthem.Hewasright,itwascrazystuff.

HewroteaboutthemoonwatchinghimandwantingtoscreamandVerringer.HewrotebadthingsaboutVerringer,butinakindway.Thenhesaidhewasaroseand talkedaboutawomanwhowassleeping incompletesilenceand thatwaswrong,hewrote,becauseyoualwaysmakeonesoundoranotherwhenyousleep.ThenhesaidhehadgivenCandytoomuchmoney,heoughttohavekilledhim instead. 'A goodman died forme once,why not that insect in his stupidwhitejacket?'

Thenhebegantocomeoutofwhateverbaddreamhewashavingandhewrotethathehadtocallsomeone,hewasinabadway.Andthatwastheend.That'swherehestoppedwriting.

Ididn't tear thepapersup. I folded themandput them inmypocket. I stoodtherelookingoutofthewindowatthecalmdarklake.ThenIheardashot.

Her roomwas empty so I kept running.Shewas in his room, and theywerestruggling.BeforeIcouldhelpher,shehadpulledthegunfromhishands.Shefellagainstmeasshepulledthegunfree,andIheldher.Shewascrying.

'Roger,howcouldyou?'

'I saw someone.Hehadaknife. I grabbed thegun from thedrawerhere,' hepointedtothelittletablewhereI'dfoundthepills,'andIshot.Butitmusthavebeenadream,becausenoonewasthere.'

Itwasamiserablestoryfromstarttofinish.Thegunhadn'tbeeninthedrawer.Ihadseenthepills,somepapers,asetofkeys.Butnogun.Andshejustwasn'tstrongenoughtohavetakenthegunfromhimunlesshewasn'treallyfighting.Ithad all been a performance. He wanted sympathy, I guessed. Poor Roger istryingtokillhimself,hewantedhertothink.

'Gobacktobed,'Itoldher.'Hewon'tdoitagain.'Itookthegun.Shegavemeahardlookandthenwalkedout.

'Youwerejustplaying,'Itoldhimwhenshehadleft.'Youdon'twanttodie.'

'IguessIdon't,'hesaid.

'Whatgoodmandiedforyou?'Iaskedhim.

Atfirst,hedidn'tunderstand,andthenheremembered.

'Itoldyou,itwascrazystuff.Iwasdrunk.'

'Andisn'tCandytakingyourmoneybecauseheknowssomethingheshouldn't?'

Heclosedhiseyesandrepeated'Itwasjustcrazystuff.'

I closed thedoor andcamebackand saton thebedand said 'Youcan't keeprunning.Candydoesknowsomething.Whatisit,awoman?'

Hiseyeswerestillclosed.'Maybeyoubelievethatfooldoctor.'

Itookawildguess.'No,he'swrong.Itwasn'thiswife,itwashersisterSylvia.'

Wadeopenedhiseyeswide.

'Is thatwhyyou'rehere?'hewhispered,and IknewIhadguessed right. 'Youleavemealone,'hesaid.'I'mnotthefirsthusbandtodowhatIdid.'

Ididn'taskhimjustwhathehaddone.

'It'sbeenhell,'hesaid.

'That'sobvious.Theinterestingpointiswhy.'

I gavehimanotheroneofhiswife's pills andwatchedhim fall asleep again.Whenhewasfinallyindreamland,helookedhalf-dead.Hewasn'tgoingtohurtanyonetonight.Maybehehadneverhurtanyoneatall.

Iwentdownthehallbutat the topof thestairsIstoppedbecauseEileenwasstandinginthedoorwayofherroom.

'He'sgonebacktosleep,'Isaid.

'Iknewyouwouldreturn,'shesaidsoftly.Hervoicewaschanged. 'Evenaftertenyears,Ihaven'tstoppedwaiting.'

Wonderful,Ithought.Nowshe'scrazy,too.

'Comeinandshutthedoor,'shewhispered,andwentintoherroom.Ifollowedherinbecauseitseemedlikeagoodidea.Shethrewherselfintomyarms. 'It'salwaysbeenyou,'shesaid,andIknewshewasn'ttalkingtome.

ImighthavedonethewrongthingbutCandysavedme.IheardhisfootstepsstopatthedoorandIjumpedandopeneditandherandownthestairs.WhenIcamebacktotheroom,allIsawwasacrazywomantalkingtoherself.IclosedthedoorandwentdowntothestudyandfoundWade'sbottleandpouredmyselfabigdrink.Then Ipouredanother. I laydownon the sofa thereand soon thebottlewasemptyandIfellasleep,too.

Iwokeupwithaheadlikeadeadtree,andthefirstthingIsawwasCandy.Hewasn'tsmiling.HeaskedmeifIwantedcoffee.

'Sure.Thanks.'

'Sleptdownhere?Shethrewyouout?'

'Whateveryousay,pal.'

Helaughedatme.'Youdon'tlooksotoughthismorning.'

Hebroughtmemycoffee.Idrankit,Ihadmore,smokedacigaretteandthenIwasOK. Imean Iwas still alive.WhenCandycame to take theemptycup, Iasked him 'How much are you getting for your silence? I bet less than twohundred.'

Hesmiledabadsmile.Hestilldidn'tlikeme.'Maybeyougivemetwohundred

soIdon'tsaywhatIsawlastnight.'

'Youdidn'tseeanything.Therewasnothingtosee.Nowgetoutofhere,Candy,becauseI'mwakingup.'

Iwent to the living room.Shewas there and shewas surprised to seeme. 'Ididn'tknowyouwerehere,MrMarlowe.'

She was hard to believe. I walked over closer to her. She was wearingsomethingstrangeonachainaroundherneck.Itwassomekindofarmybadge.Iaskedheraboutit.

'Ihadapeculiardreamlastnight,'shesaid. 'SomeoneIusedtoknowcametoseeme.That'swhyI'mwearingthis.'Shetouchedthebadgegently. 'Hegaveittome.'

'Ihadapeculiardream,too,'Isaid,lookingrightather,'butnowI'mawakeandIdon'tdreamwhen I'mawake.What I'msaying is Idon't think I'll comehereagain.There'ssomethingwronghere.Verywrong.'

'Oh,Rogerwillbefineinadayortwo.You'llsee.'

'No,hewon't,'Isaid.'Ifyouwanttohelphim,you'llgethimtherightkindofdoctor-andquick.But,'Iadded,notcaringthatitwasnasty, 'Idon'tthinkyoureallywanttohelphim.'

I left her there in her living room, her husband upstairs sleeping a druggedsleep,herprettynecklacearoundherprettyneck,andherprettyvioleteyesfullofangeratwhatIhadsaid.Idrovehomedownabeautifulroadandsawnothingbeautiful.

CHAPTEREIGHT

TheSmellofGunsmoke

Athome,Ihadalongshower,shaved,changedintofreshclothesandbegantofeel clean again. I read a story in amagazine thatwas goodbut not great.Atmiddaymytelephonerang.

ItwastheDoctor'swife.Shesaidshehadtoseeme.ItoldherI'dmeetheratmyoffice.IstoppedforasandwichonthewaysoshewasalreadytherewhenIcamein.Ineverremembertolockup.

'Youdon'tevenhaveasecretary,'shesaid.

'No,Idon't.Why,areyoulookingforajob?'

'Youcouldn'tpaymeenough,'shesaid.

'You'rewrong.I'vegotmoney.I'vegotafive-thousand-dollarbill.'Itookitoutofmysafeandshelookedatitcarefully.

'YougotthisfromTerryLennox.Heusedtocarryitaround.Agoodluckpieceorsomething.YoudrovehimtoTijuana.Youalsodon'tthinkhekilledmysister.Didhegiveyoualistofherspecialfriends,isthatit?Isthatwhyyou'vebeenattheWade's,holdingRoger'shand?BecauseyouthinkmaybeRogerkilledSylviawhenhewas,Idon'tknow,drunkandcrazy?'

'Imet theWades because aNewYork publisherwants a book finished,MrsLoring.Terrygavemenolist,nonames.Andyes,IwassupposedtohelpWadebutIcan't.'Thatwasalltheexplanationshedeserved.

ButtherewasaquestionIwantedanswered,too.

'IsawyouatVictor'stheothernight.Youwerehavingaratherunusualdrink,Inoticed.Coulditbethatyoudon'tthinkTerrykilledyoursister?'

'WhatIthinkdoesn'tmatter,'shesaid.Shemeantit,too.'Ididn'tcomeheretotalkaboutTerryLennoxinanycase.Icametoinviteyoutomyhouse.'

'Why?'

'Someonewouldliketotalkwithyou.'

Ihadastrongfeelingwhothatsomeonewouldbe.'Theoldman?'

Shefrowned.Itwasaprettyfrown.'Idon'tcallhimthat,MrMarlowe.Willyoucome?'

Isaidyes.Evenacatcanlookataking.

Wewentinhercar.Thedriverwasablackmaninhismiddlefiftieswhoevenopenedourdoorswhenwestoppedinfrontofherhouse,whichwasjustabouttheugliestpieceofarchitectureIhadeverseen.Itlookedlikeasandcastlethatalittle boybuildswhenhe'smad at his parents.MrsLoring sawmyexpressionandsmiled.'Horrible,isn'tit?Myfathergaveittomeasaweddingpresent.Myhusbandlovesit.'

Wewentin.Someoneopenedthedoorforusandthenvanished.Fromthehallweenteredaroomthatwasatleastseventyfeetlong.Atthefarend,amanwassitting,waiting.Hegaveusboththesamecoldstare.

MrsLoringmadetheintroductionsandapologizedjustincasewewerelate.

'Tellthemtobringthetea,'hesaid.'Sitdown,MrMarlowe.'

Isatdownandwelookedateachotherwithouttalkingatalluntiltheteacame.

'Two cups,'Harlan Potter commanded as his daughter poured. 'You can haveyourteainanotherroom,Linda.'

Shesmiledweaklyandleft.Itookoutacigarette.

'Don'tsmoke,please.Itbothersmyhealth.'

Ihadtobelievehim,althoughhecertainlydidn'tlooksick.Hewasalongwayover six feetandnearlyaswideashewas tall.Hishairwasnotyetgrey.Hisvoice seemed to come from the next room. So this iswhat a hundredmilliondollarslookslike,Ithought.

Hedidn'teventouchhistea.Hejusttalked.HesaidheknewwhoIwas,whatIwas,andwhatIhaddoneforTerry.Hewentontosaythatmyinvestigationwasinterfering in his private life. I told him Iwasn't investigating anything at themoment.Hedisagreed.

'PerhapsyouthinkRogerWadeisinvolvedinmydaughter'sdeath.Forgetthat

idea.ForgetyouevenknowRogerWade.Idon'treadhisbooksmyself,'hesaid,'butIhavebeentoldthattheyarequitechildish.Aschildishaswhateverstrangeideasyoumayhave.'

IexplainedagainhowIhadcometomeetWade.I toldhimaboutMenendez,too,buthesaidthenamemeantnothingtohim.IaskedhimwhatIcoulddotomakehimhappier.

'All Iwant is peace and quiet,MrMarlowe. I pay goodmoney for it, and Iexpectit.Weliveinadirtyworldwhereeveryonewantstohearterriblestoriesabout therichandthepowerful.Irepeat;Ipaymoneytokeepmylifeprivate.Howmuchdoyouwant,Marlowe?'

'Nothing,Idon'twantyourmoney.IfIgetrich,Imightbecomelikeyou.'

Helaughed.ThenhestoodupandIsawjusthowmuchoversixfeethewas.Hewasverybig.Whenheshookmyhand,myfingerscried.

'Justdon'tbeahero,youngman.It'snotaverycleverroleforacleverman.'

MrsLoring'sdrivertookmehomebutwouldn'tacceptthedollarItriedtogivehim. So I tried to give him a book of poetry, but he said he already had thatbook.

LifeleftmealoneagainforanotherweekandthenIgottwotelephonecallsinonemorning,andIwasbackintowhatHarlanPotterhadclearlytoldmetostayawayfrom.

The first callerwasRogerWade.Hewasn't crying forhelp this time;hewasinvitingmetolunch.Iaccepted.

Thesecondcallwasfromthat friendofGeorgePeters.Hewasback in town.Hesaidhedidn'tknowifitwouldhelpnow,buthewassurehehadseenTerryLennox inNewYorka fewyearsback, and thathisname thenhadbeenPaulMarston.HeaddedthatMarstonhadbeenwearingaBritishArmybadge.

WiththisnewinformationIdecidedto talk tosomeonewhowassupposedtoknowwhatwasgoingon.ItelephonedGreenatHomicide.Hewasn'tpleasedtohearfromme.

'Warrecord?Youdon'tlisten,doyou,Marlowe?Theinvestigationisover.Butif you can't sleep nights worrying about it, I'll tell you. Lennox had no war

record.'

ItoldhimMendy'sstory.

'Mendyisagangster.Heisalsoaliar.Andyou'reafooltobelievehim.'

Hedidn'tgivemeachancetotellhimwhatIthoughthewas.Hejusthungup.

IdrovetoWade'shouseatnoon.Itwastoohottobeaniceday.Eventhewindwashot.

Thehousewascool,though.Wadetookmeintohisstudy.Apileofpapersnexttothetypewriterimpressedme.

'Thebook?'Iasked.

'Yes,andit'srotten.I'mnotawriteranymore.I'msomeonewhousedtowrite.Wantadrink?'

'Asoda,please.'

'Veryclever.IthinkI'llhaveone,too.'HerangabellandCandycame.

'Twosodas,andwe'llhavelunchinanhour,'hetoldtheMexican.

'It'sThursday,boss.Mydayoff,remember?'

'Thenjustmakeussomesandwiches.'

'I'mnotthecook,boss.'

Wadegavehimanarrowlook. 'I'mhavinglunchwithmyfriend.Thecookisofftoday.'

'Youthinkhe'syourfriend,'Candysaid,glancingatme,'maybeyoushouldaskyourwife.'

'Watchyourmouth,littleman,'Wadewarned,suddenlyangry.'Rememberwhopaysyou.'

Candysmiled.'OK,boss,I'llgetlunch.'Heleftforthekitchen.

'Butwhatareyoupayinghimfor?'IaskedWade.

'You'regoingtostartthatagain?'

'And thegoodman that died for you?Letme tell you.TerryLennox.CandyknowsyouwereseeingSylvia,soyoupayhim.'

Wadeaskedme,'YouthinkIkilledher?'

'I'mnotlookingforherkiller.What'sdrivingyouinsaneisthatyoudon'tknow.Youweredrunkandyoudon'tremember.That'showitwas.'

HewasgoingtosaysomethingbutCandycameincarryingthesandwichesandtwobottlesofbeer.Wadelookedatthebeerandshookhishead.'Getmearealdrink,Candy.'

The Mexican said there was only beer and that he was leaving now; heremindedWadeagainthatitwashisdayoff.

'Sogo.I'llgetthestuffmyself.'

TheylefttheroomtogetherandthenWadereturnedaminutelaterwithabottleofwhiskyandaglass.Hefilledit,drank,thenfilleditagain.

'Where'syourwife?'Iaskedhimasheputthebottleandtheglassdownonhisdesk.

'Why?Areyouinlove?'Thewhiskywasalreadyatwork.

'IaskbecauseIdon'twanttoleaveyoualone,nowthatyou'regoingtofalltopiecesagain.Iwouldn'twantyoutoshoottheceilingagain.'

He lookedatmewithdeepworry inhiseyes. 'I reallydid that,didn't I?Youknow,Ican'tremember.'

'That'syourwholetrouble,'Itoldhim.'Isthegunstillinthedesk?'Ihadputittherethatnight.Today,Ididn'twanthiminthesameroomwithit.

'Idon'tknowwhereitis,butit'snotinthedesk,'hesaid.'Lookforyourself.'

Idid,anditwasn'tthere.Eileenmusthavehiddenitfromhim.

'Now that you've had your look around,' he said, the whisky in charge oncemore,'whydon'tyouleavemealone?I'mtiredofyourface.'

I tookmy sandwich to a table and some chairs outside. Itwas a little hotterhere,butitwasnicerthanbeingwithWade.Iwatchedaboatzipupanddownthelake.Thepeopleintheboatwerelaughing.Theyweretalkingtoeachother

but I couldn't hear anything except the loud roar of the boat's engine.After Ifinishedmysandwich,Iwentbackandputmyheadinatthedoorofthestudy.

'Goaway,'Wadesaid,andshookthehalf-emptywhiskybottleatme.

Iwentbackoutsidetowaitforsomeonetocomehomeandkeepaneyeonthefool.Theboatcontinuedtoroaralongtheshoreofthelake.Iwalkeddowntogetacloserlook.Themanbehindthewheelwavedatme.Maybehedidn'tknowhewas wrecking a nice quiet afternoon and maybe he knew and didn't care. Iwalked back to the house. The boatmoved down the lake and took its awfulnoisewithit.Atthetopofthegardensteps,Iheardthedoorbellringing.IwentinandopenedthedoorforEileenWade.

'Oh,MrMarlowe.IthoughtitwasCandyorRoger.Iforgotmykey.'

'It'sCandy'sdayoff.'

Theremusthavebeensomethinginmyvoice.

'Isanythingwrong?'sheasked.

'Well,alittledrinkingisbeingdone.He'sinhisstudy.Probablyasleepbynow.AndImustgetgoing.'

'Oh,don'tgo.Stayandhavesometea.'

Idon'tknowwhyIsaidyes.Ididn'twantanytea.

Shetookoffherjacket.'I'lljustlookinandseeifRogerisallright.'

Iwatchedhercrosstothestudydoorandopenit.Shelookedinforamomentandclosedthedoorandcameback.

'Yes,he'sasleep.Ihavetogoupstairs,butI'llberightbackdown.'

ShewentupandIheardherdoorclose.Iwenttothestudy.Ifhewassleeping,hewouldn'tneedwhateverwasleftinthebottle.Iopenedthedoor.

Therewasperfectsilenceandastrongsmellofgunsmokeintheroom.BeforeIwashalf-waytowherehelayonthesofa,Iknewhewasdead.

CHAPTERNINE

TheKissofDeath

Besidehimonthesofawasthegun.Itwasbloodstained.Thesideofhisheadwasmorethanbloodstained.

Itouchedhiswrist.Itwaswarmbuthewasquitedead.I lookedaroundforanote but there wasn't one. They don't always leave notes. I wondered why Ihadn'theardtheshotandthenIrememberedtheboat.Hemusthavewaiteduntiltheboatwaspassing,andthenfiredthebullet.Whywouldhewaitfortheboat?Ididn'tlikethatbutnobodycaredwhatIliked.

Iwentoutandclosedthedoor.Shewasinthekitchenmakingourtea.Ididn'tsay anything except that I didn't take sugar ormilk. She said she'd learned todrinkteainLondon,duringthewar.Whenshemetthatman-butshestoppedthestorythereandchangedthesubject.

She started talking about her husband - somethingwould have to be done tohelphim.Isaid itwas too late.Shedidn'tunderstand that remarkat first, thensheglancedtowardsthestudy.

'Is...istheresomethingwronginthere?'

I nodded. She ran out of the kitchen and by the time I reached her shewaskneelingbythesofa.

I lefther therewithhimandcalled thepolice.Acopwasat thehousewithinfiveminutes.WhenItookhimtothestudy,shewasstillkneelingbythebody.

'I'msorry,'hesaid,'butyoureallyshouldn'ttouchanything.'

'It'smyhusband,' shesaidangrily. 'He'sbeenshot.'She looked rightatme. 'Ithinkhedidit,'shesaid,pointing.

Itwasn'tanicethingtosay,butIgotlucky.ThepolicedetectivewhoshoweduptenminuteslaterwasmyfriendBernieOhls.Hewasmyfriendbutthatdidn'tmeanhedidn'thavetothinkaboutitfirst.

'Youwereherewithhimalone,right?Shesaysyouknewwherethegunwas.

Althoughitlooksmorelikesuiciderightnow.Andyou'remaybetooclevertobetheonlypersonaroundwhenyoukill someone.Maybe,but I thinkyouwouldhavedoneitdifferently.'

'Thanks,Bernie.You'reright,though;Iwouldhave.'

'So it looksgoodforsuicide.Except thatWadewasrich,hisbeautifulwife isupstairs crying for him, and I can't see why he'd want to kill himself. If youknow ... ifyouknowanything,you'dbetterbe ready to talk. I'll seeyou later.Maybesooner.'

As it turned out, I had time to go home, change, have a nice dinner out andcome home again before Ohls called. The message was simple: come to thesheriff'sofficeanddon'tbotherstoppingtobuyflowers.

TheWadehousewasinIdleValley,outsidethecityborder.IdleValleyhaditsownsheriff,andhewasinvestigatingWade'sdeath.Intheory,thesheriffranhisown office, but the sheriff was as stupid as he was honest, and he was veryhonest.Helookedgreatinphotographsandhewasalmostasbigasthehorseherode in theannual IdleValleyFestival,but thehorsewascleverer.The sheriffknewitandhelethiscaptain,amannamedHernandez,dotherealpolicework.ItwasHernandezandOhlswhothrewthequestionsatme.HowdidIfirstmeetWade?When?WhatworkdidIdoforhim?Itoldthemthetruth,butIdidn'ttelleverything.ThenwereachedthepartthatmostinterestedHernandez.

'Thenight thatWadefiredagun inhisbedroomyouwent intoEileenWade'sroomandyouwereintheretogetherforsometimewiththedoorshut.Howlongwouldyousayyouspentinthere?'

'Aboutthreeminutes.'

Hernandezshookhishead.'Isuggestyouwereinthereforafewhours,'hesaidcoldly.

IlookedatOhlsbutBerniewouldn'tlookatme.

'Threeminutes,'Irepeated.

'Getthatservantinhere,'Hernandezsaid.

OhlswentoutandcamebackwithCandy.

Iknewwhatwascoming.Candy toldhis story in a lownastyvoice.He said

he'dseenmegointothebedroomandthathehadcomeupthestairsandlistenedatthedoorandheardwhispers.HesaidIdidn'tcomeoutforalongtime.

Whenhehadfinished,hegavemeahardlookandIcouldseehateinhiseyes.

Thecaptainsaid'Takehimout.'

'Justaminute,'Isaid.'I'dliketoaskhimaquestion.'

Hernandezdidn'tlikethatbutheletme.

'Wherewereyouwhenyousawmegointoherbedroom?'

'Iwascleaninguptheglassesatthebar.'

'Andyousawmegointoherbedroomandclosethedoor?'

Candysaidyes.

'You're lying.Youcan't see thatdoor from thebar. I'm four inches taller thanyouandwhenIstoodatthebarattheparty,Icouldn'tseemorethanthetopedgeofthatdoor.'

Candydidnotdenythis.Hesaidnothingatall.Hernandezasked'Whatabouthowlongyouwereintheroom?'

IsaidthatwasmywordagainstCandy's,andIremindedthemthatCandyhadjust lied.Hecouldbelieveeitherofus, I toldhim.HernandezsentCandyout.ThenhetoldmeIcouldgohomebutthatI'dhavetocomebackthenextdaytosignthestatementI'dmade.HeevenshookmyhandwhenIleft.Iguessedthatmeanthebelievedme.

***

Afewdayslater,theyclosedthatinvestigation,too.Itwassuicide,theysaid.

Ohlscameoverthatafternoon.Itwasoverbutthatdidn'tmeanhehadtoliketheanswer.

'Wade was a writer, Marlowe. That's what bothers me. He wrote books, hewrotenotestohimself,hewroteall thetime.Andthenhekillshimselfandhedoesn'tevenwriteagoodbye.Itseemswrong.'

IpointedoutthatWadehadbeendrunk.Thatdidn'tsatisfyBernie.

'There'stheboat,too.Whywouldyoucareifanyoneheardthelastshotyou'dever fire?Or thewifewho forgets her keys and has to ring the bell to get inwhenshecouldhavewalkedaroundtothebackofthehouseandcomeinfromthe garden? I've been a policeman too long and it just doesn't smell right. Iwouldswearshedid itexcept there'snomotive.Shecouldhavedivorcedhimandstillmadeafortune.'

HetalkedforanhourabouttheWades,andforanhourItalkedaboutthem,too,butallmytalkcouldn'tcoverupthefactthatIwasn'ttellinghimeverything.Heleftangry;angryateverybody,includingme.

I talked to someone else the next daywhowasn't any happier aboutWade'sdeath thanBerniewas, but for different reasons.HowardSpencer called fromNewYork to sayhe'dbeen informedof the suicide, and that he'dheard Iwassomehow involved. I foundmyself explaining everything again. Iwas gettingtiredofapologizingforwhatWadehadchosentodo.Infact,themoreIthoughtabouthim,thelessIlikedthisdeadman.Spencersaidhewasgoingtoflyinonedaysoon;wesaidwe'dtalkthen,althoughIhadnothingmoretosay.

RogerWadewasdeadandsowasTerryLennox,buttherewasadifference;IstillcaredaboutTerry.IcalledMendytogetsomefactsstraight.

'Mendy,thisisMarlowe.'

'Hello,Cheapie,howareyou.'

'Haven'tyouheard?Anotherfriendofminekilledhimself.They'regoingtocallmetheKissofDeathfromnowon.Ialsohaveaquestion.AboutPaulMarston.'

'Neverheardofhim,'Mendysaidimmediately.

'Nogames,Mendy.ThatwasthenameLennoxusedinNewYorkandprobablybeforethere.'

'So?'

'There are no army records under either name. That story of yourswas all asong.'

Mendydidn'tlikebeingcalledaliar.'Ineversaidwhereithappened.Takemyadviceandforgetthewholething.Youweretold.Nowstaytold.'

'Some types scare me, Mendy, but you're not one of them. Ever been to

England?'

He ignored my question. Instead he said 'BigWillie Magoon wasn't scared,either.Seen thenewspapers?Maybehe'sstillnotscaredbut Idoubt it.He's inthehospitalandhe'sgoingtobetherealongtime.'

'Idon'twant totalkaboutMagoon.Iwant totalkaboutEnglandandyouandRandyStarrandPaulMarston.'

Therewas a short silenceonhis endof the line.Thenhemadeuphismind.'OK, Cheapie. I tell you the whole story and then your curiosity dies, right?Otherwise you do. We were with the British. It happened in Norway, inNovember1942.Nowyouknowitall.Nowyoucanrestyourtiredbrain.'

Hehungup.IwentoutandboughtanewspaperandreadaboutpoorMagoon.Ofcourse,Mendyhadpromisedmeworse,becauseMagoonwasapoliceman,adirty cop but still one of the boys, and gangsters don't like to kill policemen.They don't care about private detectives, though. Some days it seems no onedoes.

Exceptperhapsanotherprivatedetective.IcalledGeorgePetersandaskedhimtohelp.Hesaidhewould.'IknowafewgoodpeopleinEngland.You'llgetwhatyouwant.'

***

Hedidn'tdisappointme.WhenHowardSpencercalledthenextFriday,Ihaditall.

HewasstayingattheRitz-BeverlyHotel,andhesuggestedwemeetinthebar.ButIwantedtotalkinprivate,soIwenttohisroominstead.

He had it nice. The roomwas big, and the view was good. He ordered ourdrinksoverthetelephone.

'Now,MrMarlowe,whatcanyoutellmebeforeIseeMrsWade?'

'Nothing.'

He looked at me with surprise. 'I mean concerning Roger Wade's death. Iunderstandyouwerethere.'

Inodded.'I'dliketocomewithyoutoseeMrsWade,'Isaid.

Spencershookhishead.'Idon'tthinkshewishestoseeyou.Sheblamesyou,inpart,forwhathappened,Ithink.'

'ShetoldthepoliceIkilledhim.Iknowshedoesn'twanttoseeme.That'swhyIwanttogowithyou.IwantawitnesstowhatIhavetosaytoher,too.'

'Whatareyougoingtosay?'

'Youhearitinfrontofherornotatall,'Isaid.

'Thennotatall.Eileenhassufferedenough.Iwon'ttakeyoutheretobotherhermore.'

That made sense. He wanted the book thatWade had been working on. HewantedtosaveEileenWadefrommorepain.IsaidthatthesewerefineaimsbutIdidn'tsharethem.AllIwantedwasaclearerpicture.ItoldhimthedetailsthathadbotheredOhls.

'MyGod,'hesaid,'thepolicedon'tthinkEileendidit,dothey?'

Ididn'ttellhimtheinvestigationwasclosed.Ijustgavehimatiredsmileandlethimdohisownthinking.

'Youwanttotalktoher,andyouwantawitness.IhopetoGodyou'recrazy,butI'lldoit,'hesaidfinally.

CHAPTERTEN

ABigNoiseAboutSmallThings

Thedrive to IdleValleywas longandhot,asalways. Iexpected theheatbutSpencerwasshocked.

'This heat, this dust. I thought California was supposed to have beautifulweather.'

Itoldhimitwouldbecoolerbythelake.

'It was a mistake for Roger to move here, you know. Wrong environmententirely.Toomanyparties,thisawfulheat,nowonderhedidn'tfeellikewriting.Awriterneedsthingstothinkabout;andnotjustwhathe'sgoingtoweartothenextgoodtime.'

Ididn'thaveachancetodisagreewithhimbecausewehadreachedthehouse.SpencerwasoutofthecarassoonasIhadparked,andherangthebellassoonashegottothedoor.Candy,wearinghiswhitejacketandhisusualfrown,letthepublisherinandthenclosedthedoorasIapproached.Irangandheputhisheadout.

'Getlost.Ordoyouwanttrouble?'

Ipushedrightpasthim.HereachedformebutEileenWadewasstandingthereandhestopped.

'Hello,Howard,' she saidwarmly toSpencer. 'I'm so sorryyoumissed lunch.AndIdidn'tknowyouwerebringingMrMarlowe.'

Spencersaidsimply'Hewantstotalktoyou.'

Shewassurprised.'Doeshe?Ican'timaginewhybutdocomeinandsitdown.'

Spencerwentatonce to thestudyfor thepagesWadehadwritten. Isat inanuncomfortablesilencewithEileenWadeuntilInoticedthatshewaswearingthatbadgeagain.ShehadjusthandedittomewhenSpencerreturnedwithhispileofpapers.

'It's thebadgeofanEnglishArmygroup, theArtists'Rifles theywerecalled.Themanwhogaveittomewaslostrightafterwards,inAndalsnesinNorway,in1940.'

'Andyouwereinlovewithhim,'Isaid.

Sheadmitteditproudly.

'Andhehadmyinitials.'

'Hisnamewasquitedifferent,'shesaidcoldly,'andheisdead.Dead.'

IhandedthebadgetoSpencer.Hetookitwithoutshowinginterest.'I'veseenitbefore,'hesaid.

'Justhelpme.Thepictureon it isa longknife thatpointsdownand there'sapairofwings,too.Thewritingonitsays"Whodareswins".'

Spencerwasunimpressed.'Ifailtoseewhatyouaretryingtosay.'

'ThisbadgeshesaysshewasgiveninLondonin1940didn'texistthen.Itwascreatedyearslater.AndtheArtists'RiflesneverfoughtinAndalsnes.'

SpencerputthebadgedowngentlyonthetableandpushedittowardsEileen.Hesaidnothing.

'Iknowthat,'Eileensaid.

'Theremustbesomemistake,'Spenceroffered.

Igavehimahardstare.'That'sonewayofputtingit,'Isaid.

'AnotherwayistosayI'maliar,'Eileensaidangrily. 'ThatInevermetamannamedPaulMarston, thathenever existed, that I bought thisbadge in a shopsomewhere.Wouldthatexplanationsatisfyyou,MrMarlowe?'

I said the shopwould, but not the first part. There had been a PaulMarstononce.Shehadcertainlymethim.Infact,shehaddonemorethanthat.Itookafoldedpaperfrommypocket.

'She's forgotten a few dates, years, that's all,' Spencer said. 'I don't see whyyou'rebeingsotoughwithher.'

I smiled, but not from joy. 'She's forgotten a lotmore than that.' Iwaved the

paper from my pocket. 'In August 1942, Eileen Victoria Sampsell and PaulEdwardMarston were married. In a senseMrsWade is right.Marston neverexisted because that was just a name he used. In the army you have to havepermissiontogetmarried.Inthearmy,Marstonhadanothername.'

Spencerwasveryquietnow.Hestared,butnotatbothofus.Hestaredather.She had to say something. 'Howard, he's dead, it doesn't matter. And Rogerknew.Andhedidn'tcare.'

Spencer did the right thing as he saw it. He believed her. 'Let's forget it.Marlowemadeabigshowoutofabadgeandthemarriage.That'sall.'

Shehadhimonhersidenow.Shesaid 'MrMarlowemakesabignoiseaboutsmallthings,butwhenitcomestosavingaman'slife-'

'AndyouneversawPaulMarstonagain,'Isaid.

'HowcouldIwhenhewasdead?'

'Hewasnotreporteddead.Hemighthavebeentakenprisoner.'

'Therewasanordernottotakeprisoners,'shesaidinacold,sadvoice.

'That's enough, Marlowe,' Spencer interrupted. 'I think it's time we left.' Hebeganpackingupthepapersintohisleathercase.

'Ifthat'swhatyouwant,MrSpencer.ButdoyouthinkIcameheretotellMrsWadeshewaswearingthewrongbadge?IbeganwithMarstonlongbeforeImetMrsWade.WhenIstarted,myPaulMarstonwasstillalive.'

'Marstonisnotsuchanunusualname,'Spencersaid.'TheremustbemanyPaulMarstons.'

'Maybe.But howmany PaulMarstonswould you say had big scars on theirfaces and snow-white hair?Howmany that saved the lives of two gangsters?Marstonwasn'tjustMarston,Spencer.HewasalsoTerryLennox.'

***

I didn't expect anyone to jump up and scream and nobody did. There is,however,akindofsilencethatisalmostasloudasashoutandIhaditallaroundmenow.IsatinitforafullminuteandthenIturnedtoEileen.

Shesatleaningforward.Herfacewaspale.Whenshespoke,hervoicewasas

emptyasthevoiceonthetelephonethattellsyouthetime,minuteafterminutewithoutchanging.

'I sawhimonce,Howard.Wedidn't speak.Hewas terribly changed.When Isawhimhewaswiththatawfulwoman.AndIwasmarriedtoRoger.Wewerelosttoeachother.EvenifIhadn'tbeenmarried,Icouldn'thaveforgivenhimformarryingher.That horriblewoman. I didn't care thatRogerwent aroundwithher; hewas justmyhusband.Paulwasmuchmore than that tomeorhewasnothing.Intheendhewasnothing.'

Shewasn'ttalkingtomebutIsaid,'Iwouldn'tsayhewasnothing.'

'Lessthannothing.Heknewwhatkindofwomanshewasandstillhemarriedher.Thenhecouldn'tstanditandhekilledherandranawayandkilledhimself.Nothing.'

'Hedidn'tkillher,'Isaid,'andyouknowit.'

Shelookedatmeinsurprise.Spencermadeafunnysoundinhisthroat.

'Rogerkilledher,'Icontinued,'andyoualsoknowthat.'

'Didhetellyou?'sheaskedquietly.

'Hedidn'thave to.Hewouldhave toldmesooneror later. Itwasdrivinghimcrazy.'

Sheshookherhead.'No,MrMarlowe,whatwasdrivinghimcrazywasthathedidn't know. He was so drunk when he did it that he couldn't rememberafterwards. He tried to remember because he knew something was wrong.Perhapsthatmemorycamebacktohimattheveryend.'

Spencercouldn'tbelieveamancouldkillandforgetit.Eileensmiledaverysadsmile.

'Iwasthere,Howard.Isawhimdoit.'

She'sgoingtotellus,Ithought.Shecan'tstopherselfnow.Andshetalked,andwe listened. She had followed Roger to Sylvia's guest house. An argumentstarted between Roger and Sylvia. Eileen watched from the shadows. Rogercameoutside,Sylviaranafterhim.Shetriedtohithimwithasmallstonevaseshewasholding.Hetookitfromherandhehither.Thenhehitheragain,andshe felldownandhekepthittingher.Before„Eil„u„un ran, shesawhimpick

Sylvia'sbodyupandcarryitbackinside.

'WhenRoger camehome that night Iwas terrified.Hewas covered in bloodand still blinddrunk. I tookhis clothesoff himas if hewere a child, andputtheminanoldsuitcase.HewentrighttosleepandIdrovetoChatsworthBeachontheothersideofthelakeandthrewthesuitcasein.WhenRogerwokeup,herememberednothing.Heneversaidawordabout theclothes.Iguessheneverevennoticedtheyweremissing.'

Spencerwasworkingonsomethingwhilehelistenedandnowhehaditready.'Wait a minute. You knew Roger had killed Sylvia and yet you had me hireMarlowe, or try to hire him, to find out the terrible secret thatwas botheringyourhusband.Thatdoesn'tmakesense.Unless...'Hegaveherastrangelook,asifseeingherforthefirsttime,'UnlesstheideawasthatMarlowewouldfindthe truth andmaybe tellWade that thewholeworldwould have to know. SoRogerwouldtakethatgunanddojustwhathedidanyway.'

She looked at Spencer with tears in her eyes. 'That's horrible, Howard. YouknowIcouldnever-'

'Idon'tknow,'Spencersaidcoolly.'Butyouknow.Didyou?'

'DidIwhat?'sheasked.

'ShootRoger,'hesaidcalmly.

'You'rehorrible.Hewasmyhusband.Iforgotmykey,Icamein,hewasalreadydead.'

Spencershookhishead.'I'vestayedhereadozentimes,Eileen,andI'veneverknownthefrontdoortobelocked.'

She stood up. 'Howard, take the book and go. Call the police if you think IkilledRoger.Butdon'tevercomebackhere.'

Iwantedonelastanswer.

'Waitaminute,MrsWade.Let'sfinishthejob.We'reall tryingtodotherightthing. That old suitcase you threw in the lake at Chatsworth Beach RIGHTSQUAREBRACKETwasitheavy?'

'Yes,itwas.'

'So how did you get it over that high fence? They close the gate there afterdark.'

She thoughtabout it. 'Thefence. Ihadahard timewith thefencebut Igot itover.'

'Thereisn'tanyfence,'Isaid.

'Isn'tanyfence?'sherepeated.

'AndSylviaLennoxwaskilledinsidetheguesthouse,onthebed.Andthereareotherdetailsyoumissed.'

Shesaidnothing,she justwalkedaway.Wewatchedhergoup thestairs.Weheardherbedroomdoorclose.

'Whatwas that about the fence?'Spencer asked.He looked likeamanwho'djustfoughtabattle.Hewastiredinthatway.

'Abadjoke.I'veneverbeennearChatsworthBeach.Itmighthaveafenceanditmightnot.'

'Isee,'hesaidunhappily.'Butshedidn'tknow,either.'

'Ofcoursenot.Whichmeansshekilledthemboth.'

Then something moved behind me and Candy was standing there. He wasplayingwithhisknifeagainbutthistimehewasn'tthinkingaboutgivingmetheblade.

'I'msorry,Senor,'hesaidtome. 'Iwaswrongaboutyou.Shekilledtheboss.'Helookedathisknifeagain.

'No,'Isaid.Istoodupandheldoutmyhand.'Givemetheknife,Candy.Tothecopsyou'rejustaMexicanservant.They'darrestyouforitandloveit.They'vemade a mess of this from start to finish, and they'd use you to make peopleforgetthat.You'dspendtherestofyourlifeinjail.'

Heputtheknifeinmyhand.'OnlyforyouIdothis.'

Iputtheknifeinmypocket.Candyaskedwhatwouldhappennow.Isaidwe'ddonothing,butSpencerinsistedwehadtodosomething.Hementionedcallingthepolice.

'Tomorrow.Orletthemcatchherthemselves.Wedon'thaveenoughproof.Thetruthisnotlegalproof.Ifitwas,wewouldn'thavelawyers.'

In theendSpencersaidhe'ddowhatever I thoughtwasbest.HewasOK,hewasdoingfine,butthiswasn'tsomethingheknewabout.Itwasn'tbooks.

We left. As I walked out, I handedCandy back his knife. 'Don't do a thing.NobodytrustsmebutItrustyou,Candy.'

'Thankyou,Senor.Itrustyou,too.'

I returned Spencer to his hotel andwent home. I watched the clock and thehourswentslowly.Ifellasleepverylateandthetelephoneranginthemiddleofmyfirstdream.

'Yes?'

'This isCandy,Senor.The lady isdead.' It's ahardword,dead, andwhenhesaidithemadeitsoundlikestone.'Shetooksomepills,Ithink.'

'Haveyoucalledthepolice?'

'Notyet,'hesaid.

'Callthem.Wasthereanote?'

'Yes,aletter.'

'Giveittothemwhentheycome.Andtellthemeverythingandthistimeonlythetruth,right?'

'Yes,Senor.I'llcallthemrightnow.'

CHAPTERELEVEN

ALittleTrap

Ihungupand tooka showerandshaved. Idressedquicklybecause IknewIdidn'thavemuchtime.Iwastyingmyshoeswhenmytimeranout.

'Hello, Marlowe,' Bernie Ohls said when I picked up the telephone. 'Comedownhereandsuffer.'

It was different this time. It was another suicide but this was the real thing.They were not happy with me but there was nothing they could threaten mewith. Hernandez listened to my story and this time he didn't make anysuggestions as towhat else Imightwant to say.TherewasEileenWade's fullconfession, too, but the DA didn't want it because he had already believedanotherconfessiontotheLennoxmurder.Thesheriff'soffice,ontheotherhand,liked the confession.They liked it because theydidn't like theDA.DrLoringshowedupbecauseshehadbeenhispatientandshehadkilledherselfwithhismedicine.Wewerenotgladtoseeeachother.Afterthedoctorleft,IwastoldIcouldgo, too.Ohls tookmeout throughanotherroom.Hepointedoutasmallpile of papers on a desk. 'Copies of the confession. It would be terrible ifsomeonetookoneofthem.TheDAdoesn'twantthistobecomepublic.'

Thenhewentoutintothehalltogetsomeair,leavingmealone.Hecamebackaminutelater.

Whenwewereoutinthesunlight,Iaskedhim'Youdon'tliketheDA,doyou,Bernie?'

Ohlssmiled.'Ilikeeverybody.Ievenlikeyou.Noteveryonedoes,though,andinafewdaysfewerpeoplewilllikeyou,Ithink.Ihopeyoustillcarryagun.'

'I do,' I said, 'but it doesn't always help. The newspapers said that WillieMagoonwascarryingtwoofthemthenighttheyputhiminhospital.'

'That'sright,'Ohlssaid.'Itwouldbeagoodideatorememberthat.'

WhenIgothome,IcalledMorgan,thereporterwho'dgivenmetheridehomefromthepolicestationthatothertime.Wehadalongconversation.Hetriedto

persuade me not to do it, but he couldn't, and he was still a reporter and hewantedthestory.Hedidwarnme,though.

'Whenweprint thisconfession,you'regoing tobe the leastpopularperson intown.TheDAwillknowsooneror laterwhere itcamefrom.Potterwillbesoangryhemightforgethe'sagentleman.AndMendywillbeangry,too,becausehetoldyoutoleaveitalone,andMendydoesn'tevenpretendtobeagentleman.'

Itwasalltrue,andhisadvicewasgoodadvice.

'Print it,Morgan,' I said,and I read thewhole letter tohimfrom thecopy I'dtakenfromtheSheriff'soffice.

It came out the next day, on the front page. The DA called it lies but thenewspapersoldverywell.

BernieOhls came over andwe had another bad time together.HewonderedwhyIhadn'tcalledhimwithwhatI'dhadagainstEileenWade.HesaidmaybeIwantedherdead.IsaidIhadjustwantedhertotakealonglookatwhatshehaddonetotwogoodmen.

'Youthinkyou'reaclevermonkey,don'tyou,Marlowe?'

'Whatdoyouwantmetosay?'

'Nothing.It'stoolate.Thehardboyswillcomeforyou.Andit'sveryquiethere.Darkandquiet.'

'Whyareyouevenhere,Bernie?Wewerefriendsoncebutyoucan'treallybefriendswithacop,canyou?Notatougholdonelikeyou.'

Hefinishedhisbeerandleft.Thedayendedwithsomegoodsongsontheradio.

***

ThenextdaytheDAmadeafullstatementattackingMorgan'snewspaperandhesaidalotofprettythingsaboutpoorMrsWadeandstillthenewspaperheldto its position. Iwent tomyoffice anddidnothing special, nothing that I canremember,untiltheworkdaywasover.Iateatarestaurantonthewayhome.IdroveupLocustAvenueanditwasasemptyasusual.Iparkedandwentupallmysteps.Iwouldhaveunlockedthedoorbutitwasalreadyafewinchesopen.

'Comeonin,Cheapie,'afamiliarvoicesaid.'Welcomehome.'

IfIhadtakenmygunoutrightthenIcouldhaveshothim.ButIstoodstillamomenttoolongandsomeoneslippedoutofthebushesandpushedmethroughmyowndoorway.

Mendywaswearinganotherexpensivesuitand thesamenastysmile. Ididn'tsee him at first, though, because Iwas looking at the otherman sitting in thecornerofmy living room.Hehadagun lyingacrosshiskneesandhewassobrownfromthesunthatthereinthehalf-darkIcouldn'tseehisfaceatall.

Mendywantedmyattention.Themanthathadpushedmeremindedmeofthatinasoftplaceonmyarm.Thepaindisappearedveryquicklybutwith itwentthemuscle inmyarm.I lookedathim.HewasabigMexican.Hewas tough.ThereisnothingtougherthanatoughMexican, justasthereisnothinggentlerthan a gentleMexican, ormore honest than anhonestMexican, or, above all,nothing sadder than a sadMexican,This guywas one of the hard ones.Theydon'tcomeanyharderanywhere.

Mendystoodinfrontofme.Iwasveryinterestedintheguninhisrighthand,anditlookedinterestedinme.

'Youdidn'tlisten,Cheapie.'Hehitmewiththegun.Ithurt.

'You shouldn't have to do this yourself,' I said, surprised thatmymouth stillworked. 'You should have some boys do it for you. Like you did to WillieMagoon.'

Hesmiledagain. 'No,Magoonwasbusiness.He tried topushme.Heboughtthatbigcarofhiswithmymoneyandthenhetriedtopushme.You,Marlowe,arepersonal.Youembarrassedmeprofessionally.Ican'tletyoudothat.'

I shookmy head. 'There'smore to it than that.What happened?Your friendLennoxwasinnocentbutyounevermovedafingertoproveit,andthenIcameanddid theworkyou shouldhavedone.He savedyour lifeandyoudidn'tdoanything.Because you're no friend, and you're not big, you're just a loud boywhocan'tthinkofanyonebuthimself.'

Hisfacefrozeandheliftedtheguntohitmeagain.Ididn'tthink;Ididn'thaveaplan.Iwasjusttiredofbeinghit.Ikickedhimfullinthestomach.Ashewentdown, I hit him again, withmy knee. Then I waited to be shot, and nothinghappened. I looked around.The hard onewas standing by the door,watchingme.Hedidn't evenbother to lookatMendy,whowasnow lyingon the floor,

gasping.

At last, the man in the chair moved. He stood up, put his gun away, andlaughed.'Don'tkillhim,Marlowe,weneedhimalive.'

ThatwaswhenBernieOhlswalkedin,whistling.

'Hello,Marlowe.You'vecutyourface.'HegesturedatMendy,whowasstillonthefloor.'Takethissoftbabyoutofhere,'heorderedthelaughingman.

'He'snotsoft,'Isaid.'He'shurt.Anybodycanbehurt.WasWillieMagoonsoft?'

'No,'Ohlsadmitted. 'Andnowwe'vegot thewordsfromMendy'sownmouthaboutMagoon.Becausegangsterscan'ttouchpolicemeninthistown.It'sagainstalltherules.WewillremindMendyofthat.Itworkedwell,thislittletrap.Afewcutsonyourface,butI'dsayyoudeservedthem.'

They ledMendy away and leftme alone inmy dark, quiet house. I thoughtaboutitforafewminutesandthenImadeatelephonecall.

'Marlowe?Iknowthatname.Right,afriendofTerry's.HowcanIhelpyou?'Hehadabusinessman'scalmvoice.

'Youcan tellmeaboutMexico,MrStarr. I justhadavisit fromMendyandIdon'tthinkhewasmadatmefor...somethinginthenewspaper.ItwasMexico.Something iswronghere.TheconfessionLennoxwrotewas false.Howmanyotherliesarethere?Hewrotemealetterwhichwasmailedbysomeone.Who?'

RandyStarrsaid'Ihavenoidea,MrMarlowe.'

'Ithinkyoushouldfindout,MrStarr.Ifyoudon't,someoneelsewill.'

'You,Marlowe?'Hedidn'tsoundlikethecalmbusinessmannow.

'Notme.Amansobigyoucouldgethurtifhesneezed.Sofindout,MrStarr.'

ThenextdayIwenttoseethelawyerwhohadbeentoMexicotowatchthemburyLennox.Hewassurprisedtoseemebutwasnotunfriendly.

'You'reastubbornone,aren'tyou,Marlowe?Stilldigging?'

'Yes,MrEndicott,stilldigging.Iwonderifyoucouldgivemeafewminutes?'

'Whynot?'hesaid.

'CanIassumethatyouwererepresentingHarlanPotterwhenyoucametoseemeinjail?'

Endicottnodded.

'I supposePotter isveryunhappywithme thesedays,' Icontinued,but tomysurprisethelawyersaidhewasn't.

'MrPotterblameshisson-in-law,DrLoring.HefeelsthatifthatWadewomanhadn'tbeenusingthosedrugsthatthedoctorgaveher,noneofthiswouldhavehappened.'

'He'swrong.YousawTerry'sbodyinOtatoclan,didn'tyou?'

'Ididindeed.'

'Hedidn'tlookthesame,didhe?'

'Youmeanthecolour?No,hewasdarker,muchdarker.Hishairwasblack.Butthescarwasstill thereandwetookhisfingerprints.There'snoquestionitwashim.'

Iaskedhimthenextquestiontwicebeforeheunderstoodit.'Amailbox?No,Idon'trememberseeingamailbox.'

IshowedhimTerry'sletter.Hereaditslowly.

'Iwonderwhyhedidit,'hesaidwhenhehadfinishedreading.

'Whyhesenttheletter?'

'No,ofcoursenot.Whyheconfessedandkilledhimself.As for themailbox,perhapshesawsomethingthatlookedlikeone.Otatoclanisn'tamoderntown.'

'Iknow,'Isaid.'Ilookeditup.Apopulationofonethousand,nogoodroads,asmalllocalairport,onehotel.Notaplaceyou'dfindamailbox.'

Endicottwas trying tounderstand. 'Whatdoyou think itwouldmean if therewasn'tamailbox?'

IsaidIdidn'tknow.WhatIdidn'tsaywasthatIwassureIwouldfindoutoneday.

CHAPTERTWELVE

TheLongGoodbye

AmonthwentbyinwhichIlearnednothingnew.ThenIcameintotheofficeonedayandfoundastrangerwaitingforme.Atall,well-dressedMexican.Hesatbytheopenwindowsmokingabrowncigarettethatsmelledstrong.Hewaswearing his black hair longer than we do north of the border. He was alsowearinggreensunglasses.Hestooduppolitely.

'SenorMarlowe?'

'WhatcanIdoforyou?'

Hehandedmea foldedpieceofpaper and toldme inSpanish that itwas anintroductionfromSenorStarrofLasVegas.

'Let'sspeakEnglish,'Isaid,'ifyouspeakEnglish.'

'OfcourseIdo,'hesaid.Hedidn'thavemuchofanaccent,buthespokeintheAmericanSpanishway,stressingeverysecondorthirdwordinhissentences.

I unfolded the paper and read 'This introduces a friend of mine, CiscoMaioranos.Ithinkhecanhelpyou.S.'

'Let'sgointomyoffice,SenorMaioranos,'Isaid,andheldtheinnerdooropenforhim.Ismelledperfumeashewentpastme.Hehadathin,neatmoustache.He looked delicate and harmless. Except he probablywasn't as delicate as helooked,becausehehadknifescarsonbothcheeks.

'YouwishtoknowaboutSenorLennox,'hesaidashesatdown.'IwasworkingatthehotelinOtatoclan.'

'Youdon'tlookthetype.'

'Sometimeslifeisdifficult,'hesaid.

'Whomailedthelettertome?'

'Imailedit,'hesaid.Hetookoutacigarettecaseandofferedittomeashelitanothercigaretteforhimself.

'Idon'tlikeCubancigarettes,thankyou.Youmailedtheletter?'

'That's correct.Theboywasafraid togoup to the roombecause therewasapolicemanoutsidethedoor.Acop,asyousay.SoIwentupandhegavemetheletter.'

'There was a lot of money in that letter, SenorMaioranos. You should havelookedinside.'

'Theletterwasnotopen,'hesaidcoldly.'Iamanhonestman.'

'Iapologize.Continueplease.'

'Iwentintohisroomwiththecoffee.Hewasholdingagun.Theletterwasonthe table.He toldme to take it andgo.Hegaveme somemoney.Naturally, Igaveittotheboylater.'

'Iwasonmywaydown the stairswhen I heard the shot. I hid the letter andcamerightback.Thepolicewereintheroom.SenorLennoxwasdead.'

Iaskedhimifthehotelhadbeenfull.

Hethoughtforamoment.HelitanotherCubancigarette.

'No,'hesaid,'itwasnotfull.Perhapssixorsevenguests.'

'Americans?'Iasked.

'Yes,twoAmericanhunters.OneofthemspokeborderSpanish,Ithink.'

'DidtheygonearLennox'sroomatall?'

'Whyshouldthey?'Itwasn'tananswerbutIcouldn'tseehiseyesbecauseofthesunglasses,soIdidn'tknowwhyhehadn'tanswered.

'Well,' I said, standing up, 'it was nice of you to come here. You can thankRandyforme.Andyoucantellhim,too,thatnexttimehecansendsomebodythatknowswhathe'stalkingabout.'

He stared atmehard. I lookedat thoseknife scars again.Hehadnot alwaysbeenapolitemaninahotel.Hedidnotlikebeingdoubted.

'Let'strythis,'Isaid.'ThetwoAmericansweretwomennamedMenendezandStarr.TheydidgointoLennox'sroom.Lennoxknewtheywerethere.Heknew

why.Hewrotemethatletterbecausehefeltguilty.HehadtrickedmeandamanlikeLennoxdoesn'tliketrickinghisfriends.Bytheway,didyouputtheletterinthemailbox?'

Maioranosfrowned.'Mailbox?OtatoclanisnotMexicoCity,Senor.Thereisnomailbox.'

'No, there isn't.Andtherewasnocoffee.YoudidnotbringLennoxanything.Youdidnotgointohisroom.TheAmericansdid.Oneofthemtookagunandshot Lennox. He shot him very carefully, so that the bullet did not go intoLennox.Itgavehimanastywoundbutitdidnotkillhim.Theideawastofoolthelawyerthatwouldcomedown.Sowhenhecame,Lennoxwasdruggedandpackediniceandthelawyersawhiminadarkroom.ThefingerprintswererealenoughbutLennoxwasn'tdead.TheAmericanspaidtheMexicanpoliceman,ofcourse.Theymusthavepaidafewpeople.Isn'tallthispossible?'

Maioranosseemedtobethinkingitover.

'Possible,yes.Policemeneverywherehave to eat.Otatoclan is far away fromthecitiesandnooneaskstoomanyquestionsthere.Itisallpossibleexceptforonething,Senor.'

'What'sthat?'

'Ifitistrue,thenIamaliar.ThenIdidnotgoinandgivehimhiscoffeeandtakehisletter.'

'Youwerealreadyinthere,pal-writingtheletter.'

The tallMexican tookoffhis sunglasses.Nothingcanchange thecolourofaman'seyes.

'Isupposeit'sabittooearlyforaginandlime,'hesaid.

They had done awonderful job on him inMexico.Why not? Their doctors,painters,architects,areasgoodasours,sometimesbetter.Theyhadchangedhisnose. They couldn't take the scar off, so they gave him another, on the othercheek.Knifescarsarenotuncommonsouthoftheborder.

'HowclosedidIcome?'Iasked.

'Closeenough.Afewdetailswrong,buttheyarenotimportant.Wehadtoworkvery quickly. I was supposed to be followed to Otatoclan of course. Mendy

didn'twantmetowriteyou,butIinsisted.'

'YouknewwhokilledSylvia?'

Hedidn'tgivemeastraightanswer. 'It's toughto letawomanbearrestedformurderRIGHTSQUAREBRACKETevenifyouneverreallylovedher.'

'It'satoughworld,'Isaid.'WasPotterinthiswithyou?'

Hesmiled.'Idon'tthinkso.I'mnotsure,butIthinkhebelievesI'mdead.WhowouldtellhimotherwiseRIGHTSQUAREBRACKETunlessyoudid?'

'Don't worry.We don't have tea together anymore. Have you heard that thepolicehaveMendy?'

Hesmiledagain. 'Theyhadhim.He's inMexiconow.He'snotasbadasyouthink.Hehasaheart.'

'Sodoesasnake.'

'Howaboutthatginandlime?'

Igotupwithoutansweringhimandwenttomysafe.Iopeneditandtookoutthe five-thousand-dollar bill. I put it on the desk in front of him. 'I enjoyedplayingwithit.Butit'syoursnow.'

Helookedatitbuthedidn'ttouchit.

'I'vegotplentyofmoney,'hesaid.'Youcouldhaveleftthingsalone.'

'Iknow.Aftershehadkilledherhusbandshemighthavedonemorewonderfulthings.Hewasnothing special, anyway. Just aman.Heknewwhathappened,too,andhe triedhard to livewith it.Hewrotebooks.Youmayhaveheardofhim.'

'I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I was frightened and I ran. If I'd stayed, Iwouldn'thavehadachance.WhatshouldIhavedone?'

'Idon'tknow.'

'Shewascrazy.Shemighthavekilledhimanyway.'

Iagreed thatshemight.Hesmiled, thinking that fixed thingsbetweenus. 'Solet'sgohaveadrink.Let'sgotoVictor's.'

'Notimerightnow,SenorMaioranos.'

'Weweregoodfriendsonce,weren'twe?'heaskedunhappily.

'Werewe?Iforget.Itseemstomeitwastwootherguyswhowerefriends,' Isaidquietly.'Takebackyourmoney.Ithastoomuchbloodonit.'

'Youneedthemoney.'

'Howwouldyouknow?'

Hepickedthebillupandputitinhispocket.Hebithislowerlipwiththeverywhiteteethyoucanhavewhenyouhavebrownskin.

'YourememberIgaveyouachancetocallthepolice,tohavemestopped,don'tyou?'hesaidsuddenly.

'I'mnotsoreatyou,'Isaid.'You'rejustthatkindofguy.ForalongtimeItriedtounderstandyou.Youhadgoodqualitiesbuttherewassomethingwrong.Youmadeyourownrules.Youwereaniceguybutthatwasjust luck,I think.Youlikedyourgangstersasmuchasyoulikedhonestmen.Maybethewardidittoyoubutmaybeyouwerebornthatway.'

'Don'tyouunderstand?'hesaidsadly.'Icouldn'thavetoldyoumorethanIdid.Youwouldn'thavestoodforit.'

'That'sasniceathingaswaseversaidtome.'

'Youcallthemgangsters.Iwasintrouble,andtheyknowabouttrouble.TheyowedmefortheonerightthingIdidinmylife.WhenIneededthem,theywerethere.And for free.You'renot theonlyone in theworldwhocan'tbebought,Marlowe.'

Hetookoneofmycigarettesandhadalittletroublelightingit.

'Icanbebought,Terry.Youboughtalotofme.Forasmileandanodandafewdrinks in quiet bars here and there. Itwas nicewhile it lasted. So long, pal. Iwon't saygoodbye. I said it toyouwhen itmeantsomething,when itwassadandlonelyandfinal.'

'Icamebacktoolate,'hesaid.'Thedoctorstookalongtimeonmyface.'

'Youwouldn'thavecomeatallifIhadn'tbeenaskingsomedifficultquestions.'

Isawtears inhiseyes.Heputhisgreenglassesbackonquickly. 'Theydidn'twantmetotellyouanything.'

'I'mnotjudgingyou,Terry.Ineverdid.You'reaniceguyinmanyways.It'sjustthatyou'renothereanymore.You'vebeengoneforalongtime.You'vegotniceclothesandyousmellniceandyouhaveaprettylittemoustache.'

'That'sjustanact,'hesaidalmostdesperately.

'Butyoulikeit.'

'Anact is all there is.There isn't anythingeke. I'mhollow inside. I'vehad it,Marlowe.Ihaditlongago.WellRIGHTSQUAREBRACKETIguessthat'sallwehavetosay.'

Heputhishandout.Ishookit.'Solong,SenorMaioranos.'

Hesaid, 'Goodbye,'andwalkedout.Iwatchedthedoorclose.Ilistenedtohisfootsteps.DidIwanthimtostop,tocomeback,tomakemechangethewayIfelt?Well,hedidn't.ThatwasthelasttimeIsawhim.

IneversawanyofthemagainRIGHTSQUAREBRACKETexceptthecops.Nowayhasyetbeeninventedtosaygoodbyetothem.