The Father Of Noir And His Progeny — страница 2

Marlowe his apartment key so that they can meet later. Anson and Marlowe are both working on the same case, it seems, but for different people. Marlowe’s next item on his agenda is to visit Elisha Morningstar, a numismatist who had called Mrs. Murdock in hopes to buy the doubloon prior to its being stolen. Morningstar tells Marlowe that he does, in fact, have the coin and will give it to him for $1000. Morningstar will never live to see the money, as he is soon killed by younger and tougher con-men. As Marlowe is leaving to see Anson, he decides to eavesdrop on a telephone conversation that is apparently with Anson. Upon arrival at Anson’s apartment, he finds Anson dead in the bathroom. Marlowe deceives the manager of the building into helping him search its rooms. Soon

after, a drunken tenant pulls a gun on the manager, but this is no ordinary gun; it is the murder weapon. The tenant is arrested, but he claims he was framed. He was. Lieutenants Breeze and Spangler are assigned to the case, and interrogate Marlowe. Back at his office, Marlowe receives a small brown parcel containing the Brasher Doubloon. Marlowe then pawns the Doubloon and mails himself the receipt. Marlowe then calls Mrs. Murdock to tell her of Morningstar’s offer and Anson’s death. She tells Marlowe that the coin has been returned. Marlowe’s decides to check up on Morningstar and to ask him a few questions, but he, instead, finds him dead too. Later on that night, Breeze and Spangler pay Marlowe an unwanted visit at his home for an a second round of interrogation, but

this time with drinks to lighten up the situation. After they leave, Marlowe is called up and told to meet Alex Morny at a the Idle Valley Club. Marlowe and Morny trade information, and Marlowe finally meets Linda Conquest face to face for the first time, for she is a singer at the club. Marlowe finds out that Conquest has a deep hatred for Mrs. Murdock because of the mistreatment of Miss. Davis. Conquest also tells that Mrs. Murdock also knows Vannier, but, when he comes, he always calls for Miss. Davis. The next morning, the man who says he was framed for the Anson killing confesses to the murder, but only after the local Mafioso says that he will pay all of the accused’s legal fees. Soon after, the manager from Marlowe’s building calls him and says that a hysterical Miss.

Davis is waiting for him. She says that she has killed Vannier. Upon hearing this, Marlowe goes to Vannier’s house to investigate. Marlowe describes the atmosphere of the living room as, “On the air of the room a rather heavy perfume struggled with the smell of death, and lost. Although defeated, it was still there.” Marlowe finds Vannier dead, and negatives of the late Mr. Murdock being pushed out of a window by Mrs. Murdock. When Marlowe returns to his apartment, he finds that Mr. Murdock had made a pass a Merle and she had pushed him out of the window and that was when she developed her sexual neurosis. Merle feels guilty for this, because Vannier had been blackmailing the Murdock’s ever since, and she feels the need to deliver the money to him as “penance.”

Without a word, Marlowe calls Mrs. Murdock and tells her to have Merle’s belongings packed, he’s bringing her to her true home; her parents house in Kansas. Marlowe then contacts Leslie, who confesses to stealing the coin so that he, Vannier, and an accomplice could counterfeit the coin, but, when hearing that Vannier had killed Anson and Morningstar, he decides to get the coin back. Vannier will not give Leslie the coin back, so he shoots him instead. Before Marlowe and Merle Davis begin their journey to her home in Kansas, he shows her the photo proving that she did not kill Mr. Murdock, and that Mrs. Murdock had been using her. Within a week, Merle returns to being a care-free young woman, and Marlowe rides into the sunset as a prestigious detective and caring man. Though

the synopses is rather long, it just goes to show what Chandler is capable of. Also, if any of these seemingly insignificant parts were taken out the book would’ve fallen apart. His plot twists can hold the reader’s attention through out the novel. Though rather excessive at times, his descriptive writing brings the book to life. Ex. “That is where you go. You fall into it as far as you can, but a shower stall is a small place and the tiled wall stops you. You are backed up against the last wall there is now. You are all out of space, and you are all out of living. And then there are two more shots, possibly three, and you slide down the wall, and your eyes are not even frightened anymore now. They are just the empty eyes of the dead.” The way that Chandler weaves his