The Brasher Doubloon Page #3

Come here.

Don't worry... we'll take it

very slowly.

See...

Nothing to it.

About 6 lessons from now,

you ought to be doing fine.

Does that mean you'll

take the case?

Both cases.

Yours and Mrs Murdock's.

Merle!

You dont have to act in here...

She can't see you.

Tell her I'm on the payroll.

And I'll be back

for another lesson.

I had a bad taste

in my mouth

all the way back

to my office in Hollywood.

Part of it was the dust and part of it

the setup in the Murdock house.

The girl was what

bothered me most.

I couldn't figure the switches

she'd pulled.

Rule 1 for private detectives...

Always deposit retainer

before client changes mind.

You want to see ME?

Yeah.

Have a chair.

Thanks.

So this is the kind of dump

a shamus hangs out in.

Are you here on business

or just slumming?

Both.

I got a case for you.

Thanks... I've got one.

You did have one.

Now you've got

a new one.

Who are you?

My name is Eddie Prue.

I represent Vince Blair...

owner of the Lucky Club.

Well you can tell your boss

I'm busy right now.

Vince said I was to tell you...

He'll pay you more than you're getting

out of the "Pasadena job".

You certainly made

nice time out here.

If you'd rather just take

a $200 retainer...

I like the case I'm on.

Must be a lot of

electricity in the air

If a shamus turns down $200.

Maybe I'll be down

to see him later.

I think it might be better

if you come down to see him sooner.

Look... I've been doing my own

thinking for some time now.

And I'm still around.

How about running out

and seeing Mr Blair now?

Why not?

After all I'm not being paid

to gunfight with strangers.

I just hate having guns

pointed at me.

Must you go?

Just lay off the Murdock setup...

if you want to stay in business.

That's a hard habit to break...

Taking a case that happened

to appeal to me.

But it's been very nice

meeting you.

I phoned Morningstar

and went to his office...

It wasn't much of an office.

Run-down, dirty...

in a firetrap building near 'Skid Row'.

Just the kind of place where

a crook might look for a fence.

Come in.

Good afternoon.

I'm Marlowe, I phoned you.

Oh yes, Mr Marlowe.

Something about a gold coin.

That's right. The Brasher Doubloon,

Mr Morningstar.

Oh, yes... the Brasher Doubloon.

An early American coin.

Extremely interesting and valuable.

Why?

Because it's rare!

And because it has a romantic

and violent history.

It has? I hadn't heard.

Spruce, the man who coined it

was murdered and robbed.

Through the treachery of a female!

And since then at least 7 other

owners of the coin

have come to abrupt unhappy ends.

Wouldn't that tend to

drag down the price a little?

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