Chapter 7 Summary

Inside the house, Geiger lies dead on the ground and a stoned Carmen Sternwood sits in a chair, wearing nothing but a pair of long jade earrings. Although Marlowe does pause to admire her, he mostly ignores her. Marlowe doesn't spend much time examining Geiger, as the three bullet holes in his chest show that he is clearly dead. Thus, with nothing else use to do; Marlowe gets Carmen into her dress.

Looking around the room, Marlowe notices a camera that is built into a decorative totem pole and he deduces that its flashbulb was the source of the flash he saw earlier. The negative is missing, so the murderer must have run off with it. In order to further his case, Marlowe checks the rest of the house. Fortunately, he finds a clue when he opens a small metal box and finds...