「look,」isaid,「i’dputupwhatyouneed.i’mnobigsoft-heartedslob.soyoutakewhat’sofferedandbegood.iwantyououtofmyhairbecausei’vegotafeelingaboutyou.」

「really?」helookeddownintohisglass.hewasonlysippingthestuff.「we’veonlymettwiceandyou’vebeenmorethanwhitetomebothtimes.whatsortoffeeling?」

「afeelingthatnexttimei’llfindyouinworsetroublethanicangetyououtof.idon’tknowjustwhyihavethefeeling,butihaveit.」

hetouchedtherightsideofhisfacegentlywithtwofingertips.「maybeit’sthis.itdoesmakemelookalittlesinister,isuppose.butit’sanhonorablewound—oranyhowtheresultofone.」

「it’snotthat.thatdoesn’tbothermeatall.i’maprivatedick.you’reaproblemthatidon’thavetosolve.buttheproblemisthere.callitahunch.ifyouwanttobeextrapolite,callitasenseofcharacter.maybethatgirldidn’twalkoutonyouatthedancersjustbecauseyouweredrunk.maybeshehadafeelingtoo.」

hesmiledfaintly.「iwasmarriedtoheronce.hernameissylvialennox.imarriedherforhermoney.」

istoodupscowlingathim.「i’llfixyousomescrambledeggs.youneedfood.」

「waitaminute,marlowe.you’rewonderingwhyifiwasdownandoutandsylviahadplentyicouldn’taskherforafewbucks.didyoueverhearofpride?」

「you’rekillingme,lennox.」

「ami?mykindofprideisdifferent.it’stheprideofamanwhohasnothingelse.i’msorryifiannoyyou.」

iwentouttomykitchenandcookedupsomecanadianbaconandscrambledeggsandcoffeeandtoast.weateinthebreakfastnook.thehousebelongedtotheperiodthatalwayshadone.

isaidihadtogototheofficeandwouldpickuphissuitcaseonthewayback.hegavemethecheckticket.hisfacenowhadalittlecolorandtheeyeswerenotsofarbackinhisheadthatyouhadtogropeforthem.

beforeiwentoutiputthewhiskeybottleonthetableinfrontofthecouch.「useyourprideonthat,」isaid.

「andcallvegas,ifonlyasafavortome.」

hejustsmiledandshruggedhisshoulders.iwasstillsoregoingdownthesteps.ididn’tknowwhy,anymorethaniknewwhyamanwouldstarveandwalkthestreetsratherthanpawnhiswardrobe.whateverhisruleswereheplayedbythem.

thesuitcasewasthedamndestthingyoueversaw.itwasbleachedpigskinandwhennewhadbeenapalecreamcolor.thefittingsweregold.itwasenglishmadeandifyoucouldbuyithereatall,itwouldcostmorelikeeighthundredthantwo.

iplankeditdowninfrontofhim.ilookedatthebottleonthecocktailtable.hehadn’ttouchedit.hewasassoberasiwas.hewassmoking,butnotlikingthatverywell.

「icalledrandy,」hesaid.「hewassorebecauseihadn’tcalledhimbefore.」

「ittakesastrangertohelpyou,」isaid.「apresentfromsylvia?」ipointedatthesuitcase.

helookedoutofthewindow.「no.thatwasgiventomeinengland,longbeforeimether.verylongagoindeed.i’dliketoleaveitwithyouifyoucouldlendmeanoldone.」

igotfivedoublesawbucksoutofmywalletanddroppedtheminfrontofhim.「idon’tneedsecurity.」

「thatwasn’ttheideaatall.you’renopawnbroker.ijustdon’twantitwithmeinvegas.andidon’tneedthismuchmoney.」

「okay.youkeepthemoneyandi’llkeepthesuitcase.butthishouseiseasytoburgle.」

「itwouldn’tmatter,」hesaidindifferently.「itwouldn’tmatteratall.」

hechangedhisclothesandweatedinneratmusso’saboutfive-thirty.nodrinks.hecaughtthebusoncahuengaandidrovehomethinkingaboutthisandthat.hisemptysuitcasewasonmybedwherehehadunpackeditandputhisstuffinalightweightjobofmine.hishadagoldkeywhichwasinoneofthelocks.ilockedthesuitcaseupemptyandtiedthekeytothehandleandputitonthehighshelfinmyclothescloset.itdidn’tfeelquiteempty,butwhatwasinitwasnobusinessofmine.

itwasaquietnightandthehouseseemedemptierthanusual.isetoutthechessmenandplayedafrenchdefenseagainststeinitz.hebeatmeinforty-fourmoves,butihadhimsweatingacoupleoftimes.

thephonerangatnine-thirtyandthevoicethatspokewasoneihadheardbefore.

「isthismr.philipmarlowe?」

「yeah.i’mmarlowe.」

「thisissylvialennox,mr.marlowe.wemetverybrieflyinfrontofthedancersonenightlastmonth.iheardafterwardsthatyouhadbeenkindenoughtoseethatterrygothome.」

「ididthat.」

「isupposeyouknowthatwearenotmarriedanymore,buti’vebeenalittleworriedabouthim.hegaveuptheapartmenthehadinwestwoodandnobodyseemstoknowwhereheis.」

「inoticedhowworriedyouwerethenightwemet.」

「look,mr.marlowe,i’vebeenmarriedtotheman.i’mnotverysympathetictodrunks.perhapsiwasalittleunfeelingandperhapsihadsomethingratherimportanttodo.you’reaprivatedetectiveandthiscanbeputonaprofessionalbasis,ifyoupreferit.」

「itdoesn’thavetobeputonanybasisatall,mrs.lennox.he’sonabusgoingtolasvegas.hehasafriendtherewhowillgivehimajob.」

shebrightenedupverysuddenly.「oh—tolasvegas?howsentimentalofhim.that’swhereweweremarried.」

「iguessheforgot,」isaid,「orhewouldhavegonesomewhereelse.」

insteadofhanginguponmeshelaughed.itwasacutelittlelaugh.「areyoualwaysasrudeasthistoyourclients?」

「you’renotaclient,mrs.lennox.」

「imightbesomeday.whoknows?let’ssaytoyourladyfriends,then.」

「sameanswer.theguywasdownandout,starving,dirty,withoutabean.youcouldhavefoundhimifithadbeenworthyourtime.hedidn’twantanythingfromyouthenandheprobablydoesn’twantanythingfromyounow.」

「that,」shesaidcoolly,「issomethingyoucouldn’tpossiblyknowanythingabout.goodnight.」andshehungup.

shewasdeadright,ofcourse,andiwasdeadwrong.butididn’tfeelwrong.ijustfeltsore.ifshehadcalleduphalfanhourearlierimighthavebeensoreenoughtobeatthehelloutofsteinitz—exceptthathehadbeendeadforfiftyyearsandthechessgamewasoutofabook.