Marlowe wonders if Rusty Regan had anything to do with the blackmail against the Sternwoods, so he visits LA’s Missing Persons Bureau. There, he learns that Regan disappeared on September 16, and his car was found four days later at fancy bungalow court where Eddie Mars’s wife was staying. She, too, disappeared about the same time.

Regan had plenty of his own money and didn’t work for Sternwood. It’s unlikely he was killed and robbed, as he commanded a brigade during the Irish revolution and knew his way around guns. To track him to the bungalow, someone would have to have known about Regan’s affair with Mars’s wife. Mars knew about his wife’s affair with Regan, but wouldn’t likely have killed him because he didn’t want police attention. In any case, even if Mars’s wife has money, the two lovebirds will want more, and eventually they’ll surface.

Marlowe heads back to Hollywood. On the way, a gray car tails him. He lets it get close, but it stays back, so he loses it and continues on his way.