The Lady in the Lake

Degarmo, Shorty, and Marlowe walk downstairs instead of taking the elevator. Marlowe recovers his car from the garage attendant, and Degarmo drives them a short distance away and stops the car. He asks Shorty if he believes Marlowe is the killer, then Degarmo argues that Marlowe isn’t acting like the killer and has been hit on the head. Shorty tries to convince Degarmo to drive them to the police station, and when he doesn’t, Shorty gets out and walks away. As Degarmo continues to drive beyond city limits, he questions Marlowe. Marlowe tells him what happened with Kingsley and Crystal earlier. Degarmo guesses that Marlowe was framed for Crystal’s murder, and Marlowe shows him Kingsley’s scarf. Then, Degarmo asks for Kingsley’s address and drives there, telling Marlowe to hide the scarf until the right moment.

At Kingsley’s place, no one is home but the cook. She tells Degarmo and Marlowe that Kingsley has been out since the morning. Marlowe suggests they look for him at Fromsett’s apartment. In Fromsett’s building, Degarmo shows the night clerk his badge, and the clerk sends them upstairs. Degarmo asks Fromsett where Kingsley is, and Marlowe tells Fromsett what happened when he went to deliver the money to Crystal. When Marlowe tells her that Crystal is dead, Fromsett smokes a cigarette and tells him that Degarmo, as a Bay City cop, doesn’t have jurisdiction in Los Angeles. Fromsett bickers with Marlowe, but finally says that she took a taxi without Kingsley after leaving Marlowe’s place and hasn’t heard from Kingsley.

After they hypothesize that Kingsley would want to go somewhere quiet to think, Marlowe calls Patton and asks if Kingsley is at Little Fawn Lake. Patton reluctantly agrees to check Kingsley’s cabin. He calls back about 20 minutes later to say that there is a car at Kingsley’s cabin and a light on inside.

Marlowe and Degarmo eat breakfast and drive to the lake. Degarmo says he has been upset over his “girl” (195) drowning. Marlowe accuses Degarmo of helping Mildred get away with murdering Florence. He describes how Mildred would have used her husband’s morphine to incapacitate Florence and then would have carried her, while unconscious, to the garage. She would then have turned on the car to fill the garage with exhaust fumes, making Florence’s murder look like a suicide. Marlowe also believes that Almore sent Degarmo to look for Mildred at the lake after she asked him for money from the cabin there. They drive through San Bernardino.

Degarmo and Marlowe stop for a beer at Crestline. When they get to the dam, Degarmo argues with the military sentry who asks Degarmo to roll up his window. Eventually, Degarmo gives in and rolls up the window. When they arrive at Kingsley’s cabin, Patton and Andy are there. Patton notes that he met Degarmo when he was pretending to be De Soto. Patton also notes the sounds he’s heard from the cabin, like music and drinking. Marlowe tells Degarmo his theory that Kingsley set Marlowe up for Crystal’s murder. Patton discusses the autopsy of Mildred, which upsets Degarmo. The men then go into the cabin, which is unlocked, to find Kingsley asleep in a chair. Patton gently wakes him up.

Patton introduces Kingsley and Degarmo. Degarmo tells Kingsley that his wife is dead and shows him the scarf left at the scene of the crime. Marlowe tells Kingsley that Crystal has confessed to murdering Lavery and describes the events thereafter. Kingsley says he came to the lake after he left Marlowe’s place. Marlowe finally admits to Degarmo that he was wearing Kingsley’s scarf to meet Crystal. Then, Marlowe tells Degarmo that he thought Crystal and Mrs. Fallbrook were the same person, but Crystal had been killed a month ago and the dead person that Marlowe woke up next to was Mildred, aka Muriel. This means that Crystal couldn’t have killed Lavery. Degarmo clenches his fists.

Patton thinks Bill Chess would have noticed that the corpse was Crystal, not Muriel. Marlowe says the body was too decomposed for a grieving widower to tell the difference because the women looked so similar. Patton is impressed at Marlowe’s ability to unravel this mystery. Marlowe says the body switch wouldn’t have been investigated until after Lavery was killed and presents his complete assessment of the case. Mildred killed Florence, and Degarmo helped her cover up Florence’s murder. Then, Mildred took on the identity of Muriel and married Bill. She killed Crystal, put her corpse in the lake, and left a suicide note. Muriel’s plan started to fall apart after she asked for money from Almore, leading Degarmo to look for her at Little Fawn Lake. Muriel impersonated Crystal when Lavery saw her in the Prescott Hotel, which caused Kingsley to hire Marlowe. Muriel sent the telegram about El Paso, then killed Lavery to keep her identity hidden. When she returned to the scene of the crime and saw Marlowe, Muriel impersonated Lavery’s landlady. Patton asks who killed Muriel. Marlowe suspects that Degarmo is Muriel’s killer.

Degarmo pulls out a gun. Marlowe believes that Degarmo is the one who set him up, and that there is evidence under his fingernails. Almore saw Muriel pretending to be Crystal at Lavery’s apartment and called Degarmo. Degarmo says he won’t let “no hick cop” (214) put him away for the murder. Patton says he will take down Degarmo, and Degarmo argues that he will shoot Patton before Patton can draw his gun. Marlowe suggests that Patton let Degarmo go because Marlowe is sure Degarmo won’t make it down the mountain. Degarmo puts his gun away, asking to negotiate further. Patton complains that Degarmo has made a lot of trouble in his town. When Degarmo draws his gun again, Patton shoots his hand and the gun falls to the floor.

Degarmo leaves, and Patton doesn’t stop him. Marlowe watches Andy talk to Degarmo at the dam, then hears a car start, and sees Andy run along the dam. Kingsley begins drinking while Marlowe and Patton go to Patton’s office.

Patton makes phone calls to have the highways blocked. Then, the sergeant working at the dam calls Patton. Patton and Marlowe drive down to the dam to discover that Degarmo has been shot by the sentry after refusing to stop. His corpse, and the car, are in the canyon below.