Chapter 12
In this chapter Marlowe returns to the scene of the crime the night before only to fin Carmen Sternwood lurking around Geiger’s house, unable to get in. Marlowe uses the key he has the pair enter the house. The house is very unsettling to Marlowe in the day time, even worse than it was in the dark. The two of them talk for a little bit, with Marlow questioning Carmen about who killed Geiger. Once he brings up the name Brody, she is quick to confirm that it was him that has done the shooting, although I think this is more because of her hatred for him after he blackmailed her rather that her actually remembering what happened. Carmen then returns to her immature giggly ways, and doesn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation that she has put herself into. Marlowe tells her that he already looked for the photos she came to get the night before, but that they had been taken, As Carmen begins to leave there is ringing at the doorbell, and finally keys open the door and a man walks in.
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 begins with the description of a man with a very distinct look; Eddie Mars, the casino owner and apparently owner of the house that Geiger was living in. This man is all gray, from his. Hair to his hat to his suit to his eyes, everything gray. The way that they described him brought to my mind an image of Roger Sterling from Mad Men. Eddie tells Carmen to leave, but Marlowe to stay and talk for a little bit, informing him that there are two men outside in a car that will do whatever he asks, so that Marlowe doesn’t try anything. The conversation between these two men is fascinating, because of the way that they are feeling each other out, lying to each other, and trying to sift through what is going on in the other persons head. For instance, when Mars finds blood on the ground and tells Marlowe that he should call the police, Marlowe agrees with him instead of asking him not to, which would have raised more suspiscion. These two men are pros, and it was cool seeing them go head to head this chapter. Eventually Mars gets fed up with Marlowe’s smart mouth and tells him to leave, without Marlowe giving up any information about Joe Brody, Carmen Sternwood, or anything else he knows about the murder.
Chapter 14
Marlowe heads back to Joe Brody’s apartment to confront him. Upon entering Brody has a gun pointed at Marlowe the entire time. The blonde woman who worked at Geigers’s shop, Agnes, is also in the apartment with Brody. Marlowe tells Brody that he knows about him taking Geiger’s book collection and that he has a witness pointing at him for the murder. Marlowe convinces Brody that he needs to give him the photos of Carmen or he will turn him in. When Marlowe first mentions a witness to Brody moving the books, he asks Marlowe if it was the “punk kid” that disappeared once the truck of books left, which introduces a new character and person of interest for Marlowe. Marlowe believes that Brody was not a part of the murder, and that Carmen had only pointed the finger at him because of her hatred for him, but he tells Brody to hand over the pictures or he will turn him in just the same. As he goes to do so, the doorbell rings, and the tension begins to build in the room.
Chapter 15
Before he opens the door, Joe hands an automatic gun to Agnes to point at Marlowe while He opens the door with a gun in his hand. When he opens the door, Brody is surprised to see Carmen Sternwood with a gun pointed at his face. Agnes points her gun at Carmen at which point Marlowe wrestles the gun away from her. Brody’s semi-tough guy act went away right away when Carmen asked for her pictures with a gun pointed at his face. Brody tried to get the gun away from Carmen, at which point a shot rang out and he fell to the floor, grabbing her legs and taking her down, with the gun falling away. As Brody tries to get his gun out Marlowe points the automatic at him which causes him to stop and beg for Marlowe not to let Carmen kill him. He gives them the pictures and Marlowe sends Carmen on her way and returns to Brody’s apartment.
Chapter 16
Marlowe asks Brody for any information he has about the murder as well as his word that he will not tell anyone that Carmen was here tonight. Brody requests payment for the info and Marlowe agreees to a small sum. Brody ends up disclosing what happened from his point of view the night that Geiger was killed. He was watching Geiger’s house because he wanted to join the business with him. He saw the Sternwood’s car (that the driver was found dead in the day before) and heard the gunshots before seeing the driver run out of the house with the undeveloped film. Brody decides to follow him, hits him in the head, and takes the film from him, figuring that whatever it is it must be important. He develops the film and finds the pictures of Carmen, and also discovers that Geiger has been killed when he doesn’t show up to work the following day. This is when he decides to try and take of
over Geiger’s business. He denies killing anyone, or hiding any evidence and Marlowe seems to believe him. At this point the doorbell rings and Brody approaches it thinking that Carmen is back, and Marlowe only hears a voice say “Brody” and Brody reply with something he could not make out, at which point Brody was shot dead. Marlowe chased the slim man down the street, at which point the man took a couple of shots at him. Marlowe follows in his car and approaches the young man, who is the guy from the book store. His name is Carol Lundgren and was Geiger’s gay lover, who killed Brody because he believed that Brody killed Geiger.
Chapter 17
The two men go to Geiger’s house, at which point they get in a fight and Marlowe ends up winning, knocking him unconscious and dragging him into the house. Carol is a tough kid who welcomes a fight, and responds to all of Marlowe’s question with “Go ___ yourself”. Marlowe noticed that a door that was locked was now unlocked, and enters. He sees Geiger’s body laid on the bed, surrounded with candles and incense, with a cross laid across him made out of the fabric from Geiger’s wall. At this point Marlowe calls Ohls and tells him to come by Geiger’s house, this is the first time Marlowe has involved the police in this situation.
Chapter 18
Marlowe shows Ohls the body and tells him that he believes the driver killed Geiger and Carol killed Brody. At this point they go to the home of D.A. Taggart Wilde. It is clear in this conversation that there is some kind of animosity between Marlowe and the police. Marlowe explains all of the information that he has on the case, leaving out what involves Carmen Sternwood, and for some reason the visit by Eddie Mars at Geiger’s house. He admits to not reporting a murder that occurred last night, and kind of inadvertently causing the death of Brody by not reporting it. He explains why he was on the case to begin with and leaves out the pictures of Carmen to save the General from embarrassment, and Wilde agrees, also feeling bad for the General and his wild girls. Wilde also seems to appreciate what Marlowe is doing, especially for what relitively little pay he does it for.
Chapter 19
Marlowe is approached by a man that works for Eddie Mars and is told that Mars wants to speak to him. When he talks to Mars, he tells him that he left his name out of the story to the police and Mars is grateful. He tells Marlowe that he will give him information on where to find Rusty Reagan. They say their goodbyes and Marlowe calls the Sternwood house and gives the butler a message to Vivian that he has the pictures and all is right. After this the phone rang all night, but Marlowe ignored them all, having enough with the family. He read the paper the next day and it was reported just as Marlowe wanted it to be.
Chapter 20
Marlowe talks to Captain Gregory from the missing persons bureau to get some information on Rusty Reagan. He is told that they found the car in a garage with no fingerprints on it. He tells Marlowe that they believe Rusty ran off with Eddie Mar’s wife, Mona. He shows Marlowe a photo of Rusty Regan, but doesn’t have a photo of Mona. The detective says he does not believe that Mars would have murdered Regan, since he is a businessman and wouldn’t be bothered by jealousy. All in all the detective does not have a lot of info to go on and simply suggests waiting until the pair run out of money and show up somewhere. As Marlowe leaves he notices a car following him, so he slows down to let it catch up, and when it doesn’t he shakes it off and leaves.
Chapter 21
Marlowe gets a call from the Sternwood’s butler, who tells him that the General read the newspaper and assumes that the case is closed, paying Marlowe a sum of $500, which Marlowe find to be generous. The butler tells him that the General is not feeling well, but he would like to thank Marlowe in person if he is feeling well enough the following day. Marlowe agrees, and hangs up with the butler to begin thinking about the case that is supposed to be closed. He points out that the smart thing to do is leave the case alone, however he ultimately calls up Mars to set up a meeting that night. He arrives at Mars’ casino on a foggy night and Mars tells him that Vivian is at the casino gaambling. Mars is very appreciative of Marlowe not talking about him to the police, and offers him money to which Marlowe declines and only asks for information on Regan. He doesn’t have much information on Regan, other than that he was not involved in the blackmail scheme with Geiger. Mars then goes on about how Vivian is bad for his business and takes money from him gambling. Marlowe asks if Mars has someone tailing him, and Mars denies it and seems kind of worried about it.
Chapter 22
Marlowe enters the casino, which is not flashy like most during the time, but instead kind of dark and old looking but still beautiful. Vivian is at the middle roulette table, and attempting to place a $6,000 bet that the casino worker doesn’t want to accept. Mars is called to the floor and accepts the bet with his own money. He loses and returns to his office, stone faced as if nothing had happened. As Vivian collects her winnings, Marlowe heads outside into the foggy night. Through the dense fog he hears a man cough, barely making out that the man is wearing a mask. Marlowe hides behind a tree, seeing what this masked man is up to.
No comments:
Post a Comment