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The Maltese Falcon Scene 2 Summary

  • At night, Archer is standing on the corner of Bush and Stockton when he's suddenly shot dead.
  • Sam Spade gets a call a little after 2:00 a.m. letting him know that his partner's croaked.
  • Spade calls Effie, his secretary, to break the news to her. He tells Effie to tell Iva, Archer's wife.
  • At the scene of the crime, Spade and a police detective check out the murder weapon—a Webley handgun.
  • Spade tells the detective, Tom, that Archer was trailing a man named Thursby.
  • At a payphone, Spade calls Ms. Wonderly's hotel—but she's checked out. We hope not permanently, like Archer has.
  • Back in his apartment, Spade gets a visit from Tom, the detective, and the police lieutenant.
  • Sam gets mad at the police, because he thinks they're treating him as a suspect.
  • The police have news—Thursby was shot thirty minutes after Spade left the crime scene.
  • Spade insists he's never seen Thursby, "dead or alive."