Grayle but she is more interested in coming on to him than finding her necklace. On a hunch, he investigates the club owner’s widow and learns her house is paid for by Marriott. Marlowe examines some marijuana cigarettes he found on Marriott’s body and discovers a card for a psychic named Jules Amthor. Grayle and get her to hire Marlowe to find the necklace. Lewin Lockridge Grayle, wife of a wealthy elderly man. She says she learned the rare necklace belongs to a Mrs. Anne Riordan visits him and tells him she is a policeman's daughter with an interest in local crime. The police are wary of Marlowe’s story but let him go. A passerby named Anne Riordan drives by and takes him home.

When he awakes, Marriott is lying on the ground dead. No one shows, but when he returns to the car, he is hit on the head from behind. They go to a deserted canyon for the drop-off and Marlowe gets out and waits in the dark. Marlowe is suspicious, but agrees to ride along. He is delivering the ransom payment that night, and wants help. Marlowe receives a call from a man named Lindsay Marriott, who says his friend was robbed of a rare necklace. But Marlowe catches her hiding a photo of someone he assumes is Velma. He tracks down the widow of the former owner, who claims Malloy's girl friend was a girl named Velma but that Velma is dead. Next time it ain't doing you any harm to have a pal.' Marlowe decides to follow up and look for the girl, partly because he could use some good will with the LAPD and partly because he hasn't had a real case for a while and 'even a no charge job was a change.' Nulty does encourage Marlowe to look for the girl though, telling him 'You been in jams with us boys before.

Marlowe advises Nulty to look for Malloy's girlfriend but Nulty would rather not work that hard, preferring to rely on the fact that Malloy sticks out in a crowd due to his size and loud clothes. Due to the racism prevalent in Los Angeles at the time the murder of a black man is a low priority for the police and is given to a detective called Nulty who has a reputation for laziness and incompetence. Malloy ends up killing the manager and escaping. The club has changed owners and is now owned by and run for african americans only so no one there knows her. Private detective Philip Marlowe is investigating a dead-end case when he sees a felon, Moose Malloy, barging into a nightclub looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma Valento.

Farewell my lovely novel