Marlowe goes to the Bay City City Hall, “a cheap looking building for so prosperous a town. It looked more like something out of the Bible belt. Bums sat unmolested in a long row on the retaining wall that kept the front lawn—now mostly Bermuda grass—from falling into the street” (218). Inside, he talks to John Wax, Chief of Police.

Marlowe notes that John looks well-paid. He asks him about two cops that might be working for him and describes the two cops that accosted him at Amthor’s. John says yes, they are officer Galbraith, whom Marlowe called Hemingway, and Captain Blane. Marlowe tells John what role these two men played at Amthor’s, but John immediately implies Marlowe is a liar for insinuating something like that. Marlowe makes it clear that he’s not there to file a complaint; instead, he wants to know if Galbraith can accompany him back to Amthor’s. Marlowe says, “I have important people behind me,” and that “Mrs. Grayle happens to be [his] client” (223). In this way, he’s implying that it’s Mrs. Grayle that wants this to be done.

Upon hearing her name, John locks his doors and pours he and Marlowe a drink. The Grayles are campaign contributors and the mayor wants them treated well, which essentially means that the Grayles and other wealthy people in town get what they want. John calls the Grayle’s estate to verify that Marlowe’s story is true. Marlowe takes the phone and talks to Mrs. Grayle, who chastises him for standing her up the other night. She insists they attempt to meet again, and he says he’ll call her. The fact that Marlowe talks to Mrs. Grayle so informally is enough for John Wax to believe his story. John sends for Golbraith and tells him to accompany Marlowe to Amthor’s. 

Golbraith begins driving towards Amthor’s. He asks him how much he told John, and Marlowe says not much because he thought “maybe I could get more co-operation from you if I didn’t” say anything bad about him to the Chief (228). Marlowe then says that he doesn’t really want to go to Amthor’s; he just wants to know “why you put me in that funnyhouse and why I was kept there” (229). Golbraith blames Blane, saying he got “sap-hungry” and just wanted to “crack a head” (229). That is to say, Marlowe wasn’t supposed to be hurt so badly, but once he was, they took him to Sonderborg’s because Sonderborg was close by and “a nice guy and would take care of [Marlowe],” and also because he’s paid by the cops and knows how to keep quiet (229). However, he doesn’t know why Sonderborg shot him full of drugs.

Golbraith says that Blane is sick with appendicitis, but he never liked him anyway. Golbraith adds that “all vice squad boys […][t]hey get all the gravy. Cops like me live in itty-bitty frame houses on the wrong side of town” (231). Blane is a paid man, but Golbraith is a good cop who didn’t “go crooked for money,” like so many others (231). Rather, he “got caught in the system. They get you where they have you do what is told [to] them or else” (232). He says that “a guy can’t stay honest if he wants to” because everyone gets their orders from the mayor, who has been bought by the richest criminals in town (232).

They are parked by Dr. Sonderborg’s place, but it’s clearly empty now. Marlowe asks who runs the town, and Golbraith says “I heard a gambler named Larid Burnette put up thirty grand to elect the Mayor. I heard he owns the Belvedere Club and both the gambling ships out on the water” (236). The two men part ways on good terms; Marlowe likes him. 

Marlowe lies on a bed in a waterfront hotel while the thoughts in his mind:

moved with a kind of sluggish stealthiness, as if […] being watched by bitter and sadistic eyes. I thought of dead eyes looking at a moonless sky, with black blood at the corners of mouths beneath them. I thought of nasty old women beaten to death against the posts of their dirty beds. I thought of a man with bright blond hair who was afraid and didn’t quite know what he was afraid of, who was sensitive enough to know that something was wrong and too vain or too dull to guess what it was that was wrong (237).

Marlowe is feeling existential because he’s about to board one of the gambling ships in the hopes of talking to Brunette, the alleged “owner” of Bay City, and he’s genuinely afraid for his safety (238).

The Bay City beach area is touristy, with hotdog vendors and the “smell of hot fat” littering the walkway (239). Marlowe walks around, looking for a water taxi to take him to one of Brunette’s gambling boats that is anchored far off in the distance, outside of US law.

The ride out to the gambling boat is rough, as the small water taxi navigates the choppy water. Once he arrives, he tries to board the ship with his gun, saying that he could “check it. It’s just part of my clothes. I’m a fellow who wants to see Brunette, on business” (244). The guard lies and says he’s never heard of Brunette and that Marlowe isn’t getting on the boat with a gun. He tells him to leave, so Marlowe gets back on the water taxi and goes back to shore. There, he runs into a “big redheaded roughneck in dirty sneakers and tarry pants and what was left of a torn blue sailor’s jersey and a streak of black down the side of his face” (245). The man’s name is Red, and he says to Marlowe, “What’s the matter, pardner? […] No soap on the hell ship?” (245). At first, Marlowe is rude to the man, thinking that he’s a cop or a spy, but Red says that he has the wrong idea: he’s just a curious kind of guy who can get Marlowe aboard the ship. Marlowe pays Red and follows him to his borrowed “boat with an under-water-by-pass,” meaning he can get Marlowe aboard the ship without Marlowe being noticed (248). 

On the way back to the gambling boat, Marlowe admits to Red that he’s: “scared stiff. […] I’m afraid of death and despair […] of dark water and drowned men’s faces and skulls with empty eyesockets. I’m afraid of dying, of being nothing, of not finding a man named Brunette” (251). Red laughs and wonders why Marlowe thinks Brunette will be on the gambling boat, when he’s likely to be anywhere. Marlowe says that it’s not really Brunette he’s after; he wants to talk to Brunette to find Malloy.

Marlowe tells Red all about what’s been going on; Red offers his theory on all of it. He says that contrary to what Marlowe’s been told, Brunette “doesn’t run the town. He couldn’t be bothered. He put up the money to elect a mayor so his water taxi wouldn’t be bothered. If there was anything in particular he wanted, they would give it to him” (253). He’s also sure that Brunette had nothing to do with Marriott’s murder. He says men like Brunette didn’t get to the top by “murdering people. They get there by guts and brains—and they don’t have the group courage the cops have either. But above all they’re business men. What they do is for money” (254). Red adds, “Don’t think I like these bastards […] I hate their guts (254). 

As they near the ship, a searchlight scans the water near their little boat. Red guides their boat to a secret spot of the ship that is beyond the scope of the light and the guards. Red says that he’ll wait for him to come back, and Marlowe tries to pay him more money for the ride back. He says, “I’m buying the trip back—even if I don’t use it. Take the money before I bust out crying and wet your shirt” (257). Red doesn’t want to take his money because he knows he’s just saying things out of fear.

Red decides to go in with Marlowe, and Marlowe thinks that Red must have a family member working on the ship since he knows so many of the ship’s secrets. They come across a guard and Red knocks him out. Red wants to accompany Marlowe further, but Marlowe says that he needs to do it alone, so Red goes back to his boat to wait for Marlowe. 

Marlowe climbs through a ventilator to get to the ship’s deck. Once on top, “[d]istantly music throbbed like the phony bass of a cheap radio. Overhead a masthead light and through the higher layers of fog a few bitter stars stared down” (259). From behind him, a guard tells Marlowe that guests can’t be on the ship’s deck. Marlowe lies and says that he’s lost; the guard wants to know how he got out here in the first place. Marlowe says the door to the outside was unlocked. Another guard comes along with a weapon. Marlowe says that he has a loud gun that will cause a scene for everyone inside, and that all he wants to do is talk to Brunette. One of the guards says that Brunette is away on business, so Marlowe asks to see his fill-in. One guard tells the other guard to go back to his post and that he’ll take Marlowe inside.

As they’re walking down a hallway inside the ship, Marlowe notices that the people passing by treat the guard with respect. Marlowe realizes that he’s not a guard but is actually Brunette, and says so. Brunette simply says, “Of course” (262). They go into Brunette’s office and share drinks. Brunette wants to know how Marlowe got on board without him knowing; Marlowe wants to know about Moose Malloy. He tells Brunette that he’s a private investigator looking for Malloy in relation to a murder. He also tells him about Sonderborg and wonders if he has any connection to him.

Marlowe says that he’ll tell Brunette how he got on board if Brunette promises to get a message to Malloy. Marlowe says, “You have a loading port that has been unbarred on the inside and you have a ventilator shaft out of which the grating has been removed. There’s one man to knock over to get to the boat deck. You’d better check your crew list, Brunette” (268). Brunette goes to see if Marlowe is telling the truth. Once he sees that Marlowe’s story checks out, Brunette says, “You can go back by the taxi. Nobody will bother you. As to your message, I have a few contacts. I’ll use them. Good night. I probably should say thanks. For the demonstration” (269).

Marlowe goes back to Red’s taxi, then goes back home. Once in bed, he begins to doubt his plan: “It might take hours or days to find Malloy. He might never be found until the police got him. If they ever did—alive” (270).

That night, Marlowe calls Mrs. Grayle. At first, she’s grumpy because she feels like she’s been stood up again, but she finally says, “Don’t act so hard to get. You have a lovely build, mister. And don’t ever let anyone tell you different. Give me the address again” (271). It’s decided that she’ll come over, so he unlocks the door and waits in bed for her. He briefly falls asleep and when he wakes up he sees Moose Malloy standing over him. Marlowe says, “I hoped you’d drop by […] No copper knows anything about this. I just wanted to see you” (273). Malloy asks if he’s expecting company, since the door was unlocked, and he says yes, he’s expecting a lady friend, but it’s not a big deal.

Marlowe then asks Malloy about killing Mrs. Florian. Malloy says to drop it. Marlowe says he knows that he didn’t mean to do it, that he was just looking for Velma and figured Mrs. Florian knew her whereabouts. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door and Marlowe tells Malloy to hide behind the bed and wait; he’ll tell his lady friend to leave.

Marlowe answers the door to see Mrs. Grayle:

in the highnecked white fox evening cloak she had told me about. Emerald pendants hung from her ears and almost buried themselves in the soft white fur. Her fingers were curled around the small evening bag she carried. The smile died off her face when she saw me. She looked me up and down. Her eyes were cold now (277).

She’s disappointed because she’s dressed up and Marlowe is in his pajamas. She says, “Let’s understand each other […] I’m not this much of a pushover. I don’t go for hall bedroom romance. There was a time in my life when I had too much of it. I like things done with an air” (277).

He invites her in for a drink before she leaves, but she says she doesn’t intend to leave; rather, she wants to make a point. They share drinks and Marlowe brings up Marriott’s murder. She says she doesn’t want to talk about it, but he keeps talking anyway. He says he doesn’t believe Marriott was a blackmailer of women, like Grayle originally said. Marlowe also doesn’t think Marriot was killed by a gang. He says he doesn’t think a “jade necklace was ever stolen. I think he went to that canyon to be murdered, although he thought he went there to help commit a murder. But Marriott was a very bad murderer” (278).

Suddenly, Grayle “leaned forward a little and her smile became just a little glassy. Suddenly, without any real change in her, she ceased to be beautiful” (279). She puts her hand inside her clothing, presumably reaching for a gun. Marlowe says he thinks Marriott went there to kill him because he was looking for Velma, in order to track down Moose Malloy. He implies that Mrs. Grayle is Velma, a “girl who started in the gutter [and] became the wife of a multimillionaire,” and Mrs. Florian recognized her, which is why she was paid off each month by Marriott. But Marriott “became a menace” because he knew too much, which is why Marlowe thinks “he was murdered before he could melt. With a blackjack. By you” (281).

Grayle/Velma pulls the gun out of her bag and points it at Marlowe, revealing that he has figured out the truth. At this point, Moose Malloy comes out from the back room and says, “Hiya, babe. Long time no see” (282). She then points the gun at Moose and tells him to move away. Moose reveals that she’s the one who turned him into the cops. He walks towards her and she shoots him “five times in the stomach” (282). He falls onto the bed, and Velma tries to shoot Marlowe, but her gun is out of bullets. She runs away, and Marlowe calls Randall, who says, “So you had to play clever” (283). Moose dies that night in the hospital.

Marlowe is with Anne, and she says that he should have thrown a dinner party with everyone in attendance to reveal the truth. They share drinks, and Marlowe reveals that Velma got away:

She never went home. She had a little hideout where she could change her appearance. After all she lived in peril, like the sailors. She was alone when she came to see me. No chauffeur. She came in a small car and she left it a few dozen blocks away (284).

Anne wonders how Marlowe figured it all out, since the photo he had of Velma looked nothing like Mrs. Grayle. He says that clearly the photo wasn’t of Velma, but Mrs. Florian believed it was. He says that the only one that knew Mrs. Grayle’s true identity was Marriott, which is why he was killed. Mr. Grayle won’t give out the details of her whereabouts, and Marlowe thinks it’s because he actually loves her, despite her obvious and numerous affairs.

Marlowe doesn’t think Malloy would have hurt Velma because he still obviously loved her, but she was afraid of him because he knew she turned him in. He says that Amthor and Sonderborg had nothing to do with the murders.

Anne gives her drink to Marlowe. Once he finishes it, they will go driving along the beach. She says that she wants to be kissed by Marlowe.

Marlowe says, “It took over three months to find Velma. They wouldn’t believe Grayle didn’t know where she was and hadn’t helped her get away” (289). It turns out that she hid herself by wearing a disguise and singing in a night club, and a Baltimore detective recognized her. When he came to confront her in the back room, she was smoking marijuana. She tries to make a deal with him, but he says no. She shoots him three times, and then other cops immediately burst into the room. But before the cops can get to her, she shoots herself twice in the heart.