The Maltese Falcon

The story jumps ahead 12 hours, with Spade arriving back at his office after being unconscious all night. Effie is asleep at her desk, having not gone home after Spade instructed her not to go anywhere until they found O'Shaughnessy. She informs him that the district attorney called and wants to see him and worries about Spade’s swollen temple. Spade applies a cold compress to his head while he catches Effie up on everything that has transpired, including the details about the falcon’s origins. He asks her to consult her cousin, Ted, who is a history professor at Berkley, to see whether there is any legitimacy to Gutman’s claims.

Spade goes to Gutman’s hotel and O'Shaughnessy’s apartment but finds neither of them. He goes to Cairo’s hotel, and with the help of Luke, the hotel’s detective, searches his room. He finds little of interest until he discovers a copy of the newspaper from the day before in the wastebasket, the same one O'Shaughnessy bought before changing course from Effie’s apartment. On one of the pages containing information about financial and shipping news, a small corner has been torn away. Spade heads to the office of the newspaper to acquire a copy of the day-old paper and realizes that one of the ships that was due to arrive came from Hong Kong. Remembering O'Shaughnessy’s story that she met Thursby in Hong Kong, he circles the boat name: La Paloma.

Back at his office he arranges separate meetings with Polhaus and the district attorney for that afternoon. Effie returns with news that Ted confirmed that the story about the falcon could be true. Looking in a mirror, she notices she has soot on her nose and mentions that it must have come from a boat that was on fire that she passed on her way back. Spade asks if she happened to see the name of the boat, and she tells him it was La Paloma.

Spade and Polhaus meet over lunch. Polhaus apologizes for Dundy’s actions the night before while aggressively digging into his meal of pigs' feet. He reveals that they believe they’ve found proof that Thursby killed Archer: A bellhop from Thursby’s hotel has gone on record saying that he saw the gun used to kill Archer in Thursby’s room that morning. He explains that they no longer suspect Spade killed Thursby either after learning more about his past. Thursby had a history as a hired gunman and, before reemerging in America, was a known bodyguard of prominent gambler Dixie Monahan and fled the country with him when his debts got too large. Before Spade leaves, he also learns that Polhaus and Dundy only questioned Cairo for a couple of hours the night they took him in—not all night, like Cairo claimed.

Spade meets with District Attorney Bryan, who thinks Spade can give him information on who killed Thursby. He believes that if he knows who asked Spade to follow Thursby, he will be able to figure out who killed him. Once again, Spade refuses to reveal this information, which prompts the district attorney to explain his theory: He posits that Thursby’s death was related to the fact he worked for Monahan, and that whoever hired Spade and Archer to follow Thursby is related to the creditors he Monahan owes money to. Spade tells him this theory his nonsense, but Bryan is so convinced he is right he is unwilling to listen. His single-mindedness infuriates Spade, who tells Bryan to stay out of his way so that he can catch the person who is actually responsible. He calls Bryan and everyone else on the city payroll a crackpot and storms out of his office.

After being unable to track down Gutman or Cairo, Spade returns to his office to see a new client, whom he quickly accepts payment from and dismisses so that he can focus on the falcon case. Effie strokes his swollen temples while expressing how worried she is for O'Shaughnessy and eventually convinces Spade to go to the pier to look for her. Spade returns an hour and a half later in a much better mood. Effie informs him that Luke called to tell him that Cairo has finally returned to the hotel, and Spade quickly leaves, telling Effie he’ll fill her in later. When he arrives at the hotel, it is too late, and Cairo has checked out of the hotel.

Back at his office, he tells Effie what he learned at the pier. O'Shaughnessy showed up asking to see the captain by name. He is a man named Jacobi, and the two spent several hours talking in his cabin before Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer showed up. They talked more and at one point, a gunshot went off, but the captain assured his crew no one had been hurt. Around midnight, all five of them left together, and the captain hasn’t been seen since. The fire was likely started sometime while they were all on board, but the crew was reluctant to give Spade any details until the captain returned.

As Spade relays this information, they’re interrupted by a very tall man barging into his office asking for Spade. The man is spitting up blood and clearly injured, and he is carrying a football-sized package wrapped in brown paper. Before he can say another word, he collapses. Spade confirms that he is dead—he has been shot in the chest numerous times—and tells Effie to lock the door. He picks up the package and opens it, discovering a foot-high statuette of a black bird. They’re interrupted again, this time by the phone ringing. Effie answers the call and is shocked to hear O'Shaughnessy’s voice on the other end. She claims to be at Gutman’s hotel and in danger. Before he leaves, Spade instructs Effie to phone the police after he has left, but not to tell them anything about the falcon. Effie asks if he knows who the dead man is, and he responds that it is probably Captain Jacobi.