Once again Vic Malloy, of Universal Services and Orchid City, California, fishes in waters so troubled they make a maelstrom look like a millpond. Janet Crosby's letter was the problem - it was unfortunate that is should have lain 14 months...
A couple of missing wives — one a rich man's and one a poor man's — become the objects of Marlowe's investigation. One of them may have gotten a Mexican divorce and married a gigolo and the other may be dead. Marlowe's not sure he cares about...