Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Carousel
Spade took the elevator down from Gutman's floor.His lips were dry and chapped, but his face was dripping with sweat and there was no blood left.When he took out his handkerchief to wipe his face, he saw that hand was trembling, so he grinned at it and said, "Ho!" The exclamation was so loud that even the elevator operator turned his head and asked, "Sir?"
Spade walked along Gilly Street to the Palace Hotel, where he had lunch.When he sat down, the color had returned to his face, his lips were no longer dry, and his hands were no longer shaking.He chewed a meal leisurely, and then walked to Sid Wise's office.
Wise was biting his nails and staring at the window when Spade entered.He took his hand from his mouth, turned the chair to face Spade, and said, "Here, pull up a chair."
Spade moved a chair to the paper-strewn desk and sat down.
"Has Mrs. Archer been here?" he asked.
"Yes." There was an imperceptible light in Wise's eyes, "You plan to marry this lady, Sammy?"
Spade snorted unhappily through his nose. "God, you do it too!" he complained.
The corner of the lawyer's mouth curled up and he smiled wearily.
"If you don't intend to," he said, "you'll be busy."
Spade raised his head, turned his eyes from the cigarette he was rolling to him, and said irritably, "You mean you're busy, right? Come on, isn't that what you do? What did she tell you?"
"about you?"
"Everything, as long as I should know."
Wise reached out and stroked his hair, there was a lot of dandruff on his shoulders.
"She told me she was trying to divorce Miles so she could—"
"I know that," Spade interrupted him, "you can skip this one. Say I don't know."
"How do I know she—"
"Don't hesitate, Sid." Spade moved the lighter flame to the end of the cigarette. "What did she say to you that she didn't want me to know?"
Wise looked at Spade a little reproachfully. "Hey, Sam," he said, "it's not—"
Spade looked up at the ceiling and moaned, "Dear God, he's my lawyer, he's made a fortune on me, and now I have to get on my knees and beg him to tell me anything!" He looked again. Wise, "Why do you think I sent her to you?"
Wise made a sleepy grimace. "If I have another client like you," he grumbled, "I should be in a nursing home—or in."
"Then you'll be able to stay with most of your clients. Did she tell you where she was the night Miles was killed?"
"said."
"Where?"
"Follow him."
Spade sat up straight, blinked, and yelled in disbelief, "My God, these women!" Then he laughed, relaxed, and asked, "Well, what did she see?"
Wise shook his head. "Not much. He told her when he came home for dinner that night that he had a date with a girl at the Hotel San Marco, and teased her that it was a good chance for her to get a divorce. She thought at first he was just trying to upset her." , because he knew—”
"I know about their family," Spade said. "Skip that part. Just talk about what she did."
"I'll say, you gotta give me a chance. After he went out, she started worrying that he might actually have a date. You know Miles, there's a good chance he's—"
"You can also skip Miles' character."
"I should've told you nothing," said the lawyer, "so she pulled their car out of the garage, drove to the Hotel San Marco, parked across the street, sat in the car, and saw Miles coming out of the hotel. Come out. He was stalking a man and a woman—she said she saw you with the same girl last night—and they were walking a little ahead of Miles. So she knew he was really at work and was just teasing her. I Disappointed to think her, pissed off - she gave me that feeling when she told me about it. She followed Miles until she was sure he was following those two, then drove to your apartment. You're not home."
"What time was that?" Spade asked.
"When did she come to you? The first time was between nine-thirty and ten o'clock."
"the first time?"
"Yes. She drove around for about half an hour and went there again. It was about half past ten. You were still not at home, so she drove back to the city center and went to a movie to pass the time. After twelve o'clock, she thinks you should be home."
Spade frowned. "She goes to the movies at ten thirty?"
"That's what she said - the movie theater on Powell Street was open until one o'clock in the morning. She said she didn't want to go home because she didn't want to be there waiting for Miles to come back. That sort of thing would probably make him fly, especially in the middle of the night. .So she stayed at the movie theater until closing." Wise spoke more slowly now, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, "She said she decided not to go to your place at that time, because she was not sure that she would come out so late. Wouldn't you be upset that she went to the Tate - the one on Ellis Street - ate something and went home alone." Wise leaned back in his chair and waited for Spade to Open your mouth.
Spade asked blankly, "You trust her?"
"You don't believe me?" Wise replied.
"How do I know? How do I know you didn't make this up for me?"
Wise smiled.
"You don't cash too many checks on strangers, do you Sammy?"
"Not much. Well, then? Miles won't be home. It's at least two o'clock and he's dead."
"Miles wasn't home," Wise said, "and he didn't go home first, and he didn't get mad at her for not being home, which pissed her off. So she pulled the car out of the garage again, Go back to your house."
"And I wasn't home, I went to see Miles' body. Jesus, it was a merry-go-round game of chasing each other. And then?"
"She's home. Her husband is still out. While she was undressing, your courier arrived with the news of Miles' death."
Spade said nothing.He carefully rolled another cigarette, lit it, and then said: "I think there is nothing wrong with this statement, and it seems to be consistent with most of the known situations. It should be enough to deal with the police."
Wise ran his fingers through his hair again, and a lot of dandruff fell on his shoulders again.He looked at Spade's face curiously and asked, "But you don't believe it?"
Spade took the cigarette from his lips. "Believe it or not, Sid, I don't know anything about it."
A wry smile appeared on the corner of the lawyer's mouth, and he moved his shoulders exhaustedly. "Well said, you think I'm going to betray you. Why don't you get an honest lawyer--someone you can trust?"
"I only trust the dead." Spade stood up and looked at Wise with a sneer. "So petty, huh? I don't have time to take care of that much. Now I have to remember to be polite to you. What have I done? Forgot to curtsey you when you entered?"
Sid Wise smiled timidly. "You're such a jerk, Sam."
Effie Palin was standing in the middle of the outer office when Spade entered.She looked at him with worried brown eyes and asked, "What's going on?" Spade's face hardened. "What happened?" he asked. "Why didn't she come?" Spade stepped forward in three steps and grabbed Effie Palin's shoulder in two steps. "Didn't she go there?" he shouted into her frightened face. She shook her head desperately: "I waited and waited, but she never came. I couldn't find you by calling, so I came here. " Spade let go of her abruptly, thrust his hands into his trouser pockets, and yelled furiously, "Another merry-go-round." He strode into and out of his office. "Call your mother," he ordered, "and see if the girl is here by now." He paced up and down the office while the girl was on the phone. "No," she said after hanging up the phone, "you... did you take her into a taxi?" He grunted, roughly "yes." "You're sure she—she must be being followed!" Spade stopped, put his hands on his hips, stared at the girl, and yelled at her viciously: "No one is following her. Do you think I am a goddamn schoolboy? I checked that no one was there before I sent her to the car." Tracking, I sat with her for a while to be more at ease, and after I got off the car, I watched the car drive through several intersections." "Well, but—" "But she didn't come to you. You said it. I believe you. You think I thought she went to you?" Effie Palin dismissively said: "You're acting like a goddamn schoolboy." Spade let out a harsh growl from his throat, and walked towards the door. "I'll go out and dig around to find her," he said. "Stay here until I get back, or until I call. For God's sake, don't make a fuss." He went out to the elevator, walked halfway and turned back.Effie Palin was sitting at her desk when he opened the door."When I talk like that, you should know it's best to leave me alone," he said. "Are you crazy, why should I care about you?" She replied, "It's just—" She crossed her arms, touched her shoulders, her lips twitched uncertainly, "I can't maintain a ladylike image for two weeks Ah, you rude fellow." He smiled resignedly, and said, "It's my fault, dear." He bowed exaggeratedly, and went out again.
Spade made his way toward the corner, where two yellow cabs waited, the drivers standing together chatting."Where's that blond, red-faced driver who was here at noon?" Spade asked. "Send off the guests." A driver said. "Will he come back here?" "I think so," said the other driver, turning his head to the east. "Here he comes." Spade went to the corner and stood on the side of the road, waiting for the blond, red-faced driver to pull up, then walked up to him and said, "I got into your car with a lady at noon today. Go north on Sacramento after Tocton, and I get off at Jones." "Yes," said the red-faced man, "I remember." "I told you to take her to a place on Ninth Street, and you didn't take her there. Where did you take her?" The driver rubbed his face with his dirty hands and looked at Spade suspiciously: "I don't know anything." "It doesn't matter." Spade handed him his business card to reassure him. "If you are still not at ease, we can go to your company's office and ask your supervisor for permission." "I don't think so. I sent her off." "She alone?" "Yes, of course." "Didn't you go anywhere else before?" "No. Well, after you got out of the car, I drove down Sacramento Street. When we passed Polka Street, she tapped on the windowpane and said she wanted to buy a newspaper, so I stopped at the corner. , whistled for a newsboy, and she bought the newspaper." "What newspaper?" "The Call. Then I drove a little further down Sacramento Street. We just passed Van Nuys Street when she tapped on the glass again and said to take her to the Ferry Building." "Did she look agitated? Is there something special?" "I didn't see it." "And when you got to the Ferry Building?" "She paid and left, that's all." "Is anyone there waiting for her?" "I didn't see it, if there was one." "Which direction did she go?" "Where in the building? I don't know. It seems to be upstairs, or the direction of the stairs." "She has a newspaper?" "Well, she tucked the newspaper under her arm when she paid." "Is the pink side facing out, or the white side?" "Damn it, boss, I don't remember." Spade thanked the driver, handed him a silver coin, and said, "I'll buy you cigarettes."
Spade bought a copy of The Call, took it into the foyer of an office building, and read it carefully in a sheltered corner.His eyes flicked across the front page and the headlines on the first few pages.He paused under "Suspect Arrested for Making Counterfeit Bills" on page four, and "Bay Area Youth Shoots Suicide" on page five.The sixth and seventh pages contained nothing of interest to him."Three Boys Arrested After Shooting From San Francisco Burglary Gang" briefly caught his attention on page eight, and then he found nothing more, flipping all the way to page thirty-fifth.This edition contains all sorts of social information and notices, including weather, shipping, production, finances, divorces, births, marriages, and deaths.He read the list of the dead, turned to page thirty-six, page thirty-seven—all financial news.Page thirty-eight—that is, the last page—was of no interest to him either.He sighed, closed the newspaper, put it in his coat pocket, and rolled a cigarette. He stood in the lobby of the office building for about five minutes, smoking a cigarette and staring sullenly.Then he walked to Stockton Street, hailed a cab, and went to Crown Apartments. He used the key Bridget O'Shaughnessy had given him to get into the building and into her apartment.The long blue dress she had worn the night before was at the foot of the bed, and the blue stockings and slippers were on the bathroom floor.The painted box of jewelry that had been in the dresser drawer was now sitting on the dresser, empty.Spade looked at it frowning, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, and walked around the room again, looking around but touching nothing.Finally he left the apartment and went back to the city center.
At the gate of the building where Spade had his office, he bumped into one of Gutman's young men.The boy stood in front of Spade, blocked the door, and said, "Come on. He wants to see you." The lad's hands were in his coat pockets.The pocket was bulging, and it looked like there was something else in it. Spade grinned and said sarcastically, "I didn't think you'd show until five twenty-five, but I hope it didn't keep you waiting." The young man looked up at Spade's mouth, as if he was enduring pain, his tone was very stiff: "If you mess with me again, you are ready to take the bullet out of your belly button." Spade laughed softly. "The more unscrupulous a bastard is, the more he likes to say some fancy and cruel words," he said cheerfully, "Okay, let's go." They walked north along Sutter Street side by side.The lad kept his hands in his coat pockets.After walking more than a block in silence, Spade asked cheerfully, "How long has it been since you didn't do that sneaky thing, boy?" The young man acted as if he hadn't heard the question. "Did you—" Spade stopped short.A soft light flashed from his yellow eyes.He didn't speak to the lad again. They entered the Alexandra Hotel, went up to the twelfth floor, and walked down the corridor to Gutman's suite.There was no one else in the corridor. Spade slowed his pace so that when they were within fifteen feet of Gutman's door, he was about a foot and a half behind the boy.He suddenly flashed to the side, grabbed the young man's arms from behind, put his hands under the young man's elbow joints, forced the young man to stretch his arms forward, and the coat flaps stood up with his hands in the coat pockets .The young man struggled and twisted desperately, but he was held tightly by the big man, and he was powerless to resist.The lad kicked back hard, but his foot only hit the space between Spade's spread legs. Spade lifted the lad vertically off the ground and threw him down again.The floor was covered with a thick carpet, and the fall didn't make much noise.The moment the young man landed, Spade slid his hands down and grabbed his wrist again.The young man gritted his teeth, desperately trying to shake off the man's big hand.But he could neither let it go, nor stop it from moving down to catch his fingers.He gritted his teeth, and the sound of teeth grinding was intertwined with the sound of Spade's heavy breathing as Spade took his hand. They stood motionless for a while.Then the boy's arm went limp.Spade let him go and took a step back.When Spade's hands came out of the boy's coat pocket, each held a heavy automatic pistol. The lad turned to Spade, looking terribly pale.His hands were still in his coat pockets, his eyes fixed on Spade's chest, and he said nothing. Spade put the pistol in his pocket and sneered. "Come on," he said, "this will make your boss think more of you." They walked to Gutman's door, and Spade knocked.
Notes:
Effie Palin was standing in the middle of the outer office when Spade entered.She looked at him with worried brown eyes and asked, "What's going on?" Spade's face hardened. "What happened?" he asked. "Why didn't she come?" Spade stepped forward in three steps and grabbed Effie Palin's shoulder in two steps. "Didn't she go there?" he shouted into her frightened face. She shook her head desperately: "I waited and waited, but she never came. I couldn't find you by calling, so I came here. " Spade let go of her abruptly, thrust his hands into his trouser pockets, and yelled furiously, "Another merry-go-round." He strode into and out of his office. "Call your mother," he ordered, "and see if the girl is here by now." He paced up and down the office while the girl was on the phone. "No," she said after hanging up the phone, "you... did you take her into a taxi?" He grunted, roughly "yes." "You're sure she—she must be being followed!" Spade stopped, put his hands on his hips, stared at the girl, and yelled at her viciously: "No one is following her. Do you think I am a goddamn schoolboy? I checked that no one was there before I sent her to the car." Tracking, I sat with her for a while to be more at ease, and after I got off the car, I watched the car drive through several intersections." "Well, but—" "But she didn't come to you. You said it. I believe you. You think I thought she went to you?" Effie Palin dismissively said: "You're acting like a goddamn schoolboy." Spade let out a harsh growl from his throat, and walked towards the door. "I'll go out and dig around to find her," he said. "Stay here until I get back, or until I call. For God's sake, don't make a fuss." He went out to the elevator, walked halfway and turned back.Effie Palin was sitting at her desk when he opened the door."When I talk like that, you should know it's best to leave me alone," he said. "Are you crazy, why should I care about you?" She replied, "It's just—" She crossed her arms, touched her shoulders, her lips twitched uncertainly, "I can't maintain a ladylike image for two weeks Ah, you rude fellow." He smiled resignedly, and said, "It's my fault, dear." He bowed exaggeratedly, and went out again.
Spade made his way toward the corner, where two yellow cabs waited, the drivers standing together chatting."Where's that blond, red-faced driver who was here at noon?" Spade asked. "Send off the guests." A driver said. "Will he come back here?" "I think so," said the other driver, turning his head to the east. "Here he comes." Spade went to the corner and stood on the side of the road, waiting for the blond, red-faced driver to pull up, then walked up to him and said, "I got into your car with a lady at noon today. Go north on Sacramento after Tocton, and I get off at Jones." "Yes," said the red-faced man, "I remember." "I told you to take her to a place on Ninth Street, and you didn't take her there. Where did you take her?" The driver rubbed his face with his dirty hands and looked at Spade suspiciously: "I don't know anything." "It doesn't matter." Spade handed him his business card to reassure him. "If you are still not at ease, we can go to your company's office and ask your supervisor for permission." "I don't think so. I sent her off." "She alone?" "Yes, of course." "Didn't you go anywhere else before?" "No. Well, after you got out of the car, I drove down Sacramento Street. When we passed Polka Street, she tapped on the windowpane and said she wanted to buy a newspaper, so I stopped at the corner. , whistled for a newsboy, and she bought the newspaper." "What newspaper?" "The Call. Then I drove a little further down Sacramento Street. We just passed Van Nuys Street when she tapped on the glass again and said to take her to the Ferry Building." "Did she look agitated? Is there something special?" "I didn't see it." "And when you got to the Ferry Building?" "She paid and left, that's all." "Is anyone there waiting for her?" "I didn't see it, if there was one." "Which direction did she go?" "Where in the building? I don't know. It seems to be upstairs, or the direction of the stairs." "She has a newspaper?" "Well, she tucked the newspaper under her arm when she paid." "Is the pink side facing out, or the white side?" "Damn it, boss, I don't remember." Spade thanked the driver, handed him a silver coin, and said, "I'll buy you cigarettes."
Spade bought a copy of The Call, took it into the foyer of an office building, and read it carefully in a sheltered corner.His eyes flicked across the front page and the headlines on the first few pages.He paused under "Suspect Arrested for Making Counterfeit Bills" on page four, and "Bay Area Youth Shoots Suicide" on page five.The sixth and seventh pages contained nothing of interest to him."Three Boys Arrested After Shooting From San Francisco Burglary Gang" briefly caught his attention on page eight, and then he found nothing more, flipping all the way to page thirty-fifth.This edition contains all sorts of social information and notices, including weather, shipping, production, finances, divorces, births, marriages, and deaths.He read the list of the dead, turned to page thirty-six, page thirty-seven—all financial news.Page thirty-eight—that is, the last page—was of no interest to him either.He sighed, closed the newspaper, put it in his coat pocket, and rolled a cigarette. He stood in the lobby of the office building for about five minutes, smoking a cigarette and staring sullenly.Then he walked to Stockton Street, hailed a cab, and went to Crown Apartments. He used the key Bridget O'Shaughnessy had given him to get into the building and into her apartment.The long blue dress she had worn the night before was at the foot of the bed, and the blue stockings and slippers were on the bathroom floor.The painted box of jewelry that had been in the dresser drawer was now sitting on the dresser, empty.Spade looked at it frowning, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, and walked around the room again, looking around but touching nothing.Finally he left the apartment and went back to the city center.
At the gate of the building where Spade had his office, he bumped into one of Gutman's young men.The boy stood in front of Spade, blocked the door, and said, "Come on. He wants to see you." The lad's hands were in his coat pockets.The pocket was bulging, and it looked like there was something else in it. Spade grinned and said sarcastically, "I didn't think you'd show until five twenty-five, but I hope it didn't keep you waiting." The young man looked up at Spade's mouth, as if he was enduring pain, his tone was very stiff: "If you mess with me again, you are ready to take the bullet out of your belly button." Spade laughed softly. "The more unscrupulous a bastard is, the more he likes to say some fancy and cruel words," he said cheerfully, "Okay, let's go." They walked north along Sutter Street side by side.The lad kept his hands in his coat pockets.After walking more than a block in silence, Spade asked cheerfully, "How long has it been since you didn't do that sneaky thing, boy?" The young man acted as if he hadn't heard the question. "Did you—" Spade stopped short.A soft light flashed from his yellow eyes.He didn't speak to the lad again. They entered the Alexandra Hotel, went up to the twelfth floor, and walked down the corridor to Gutman's suite.There was no one else in the corridor. Spade slowed his pace so that when they were within fifteen feet of Gutman's door, he was about a foot and a half behind the boy.He suddenly flashed to the side, grabbed the young man's arms from behind, put his hands under the young man's elbow joints, forced the young man to stretch his arms forward, and the coat flaps stood up with his hands in the coat pockets .The young man struggled and twisted desperately, but he was held tightly by the big man, and he was powerless to resist.The lad kicked back hard, but his foot only hit the space between Spade's spread legs. Spade lifted the lad vertically off the ground and threw him down again.The floor was covered with a thick carpet, and the fall didn't make much noise.The moment the young man landed, Spade slid his hands down and grabbed his wrist again.The young man gritted his teeth, desperately trying to shake off the man's big hand.But he could neither let it go, nor stop it from moving down to catch his fingers.He gritted his teeth, and the sound of teeth grinding was intertwined with the sound of Spade's heavy breathing as Spade took his hand. They stood motionless for a while.Then the boy's arm went limp.Spade let him go and took a step back.When Spade's hands came out of the boy's coat pocket, each held a heavy automatic pistol. The lad turned to Spade, looking terribly pale.His hands were still in his coat pockets, his eyes fixed on Spade's chest, and he said nothing. Spade put the pistol in his pocket and sneered. "Come on," he said, "this will make your boss think more of you." They walked to Gutman's door, and Spade knocked.
Notes: