Chapters 8-10 Summary

Marlowe arrives at the Florence Apartments early for his appointment as Chapter 8 opens. He makes his way to the second floor of the run-down building and knocks at 204. There is no answer. Across the hall he hears the sound of a baseball game blaring on the radio. Through a window in the hall he sees a man sitting, smoking in the window of the Pietro Palermo funeral parlor across the street.

Using Phillips' key, Marlowe lets himself into apartment and looks around. He tries to open the bathroom door but it is partially blocked from the inside. Putting his head through the door, he sees Phillips lying dead on the bathroom floor, apparently shot in the head. Marlowe wipes off the key and puts on a table. He wipes off the doorknob and shuts the door, and walks downstairs to the...