The Search for Regan

The Big Sleep

The apparent search for Terence Regan develops from a family request into a concealed murder investigation and ends with the General’s renewed plea.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Missing Son-in-Law The Missing Son-in-Law from "The Big Sleep". The Missing Son-in-Law A personal attachment General Guy Sternwood speaks warmly of Terence Regan, who left without saying goodbye.

The Missing Son-in-Law from "The Big Sleep". The Missing Son-in-Law A personal attachment General Guy Sternwood speaks warmly of Terence Regan, who left without saying goodbye.

The Missing Son-in-Law A personal attachment General Guy Sternwood speaks warmly of Terence Regan, who left without saying goodbye. His concern is less about money than about whether Regan is safe. A second assignment Philip Marlowe recognizes that Regan’s disappearance may connect to the blackmail case. The General does not formally ask him to search, but the unanswered question persists.

A Car in Storage A Car in Storage from "The Big Sleep". A Car in Storage Police information At the Missing Persons Bureau, Captain Gregory describes how Terence Regan’s abandoned car was found at Casa de Oro.

A Car in Storage from "The Big Sleep". A Car in Storage Police information At the Missing Persons Bureau, Captain Gregory describes how Terence Regan’s abandoned car was found at Casa de Oro.

A Car in Storage Police information At the Missing Persons Bureau, Captain Gregory describes how Terence Regan’s abandoned car was found at Casa de Oro. Regan vanished around the same time as Mona Mars. A suspicious coincidence The matching absences support the idea that the two ran away together. Marlowe treats that explanation as a possibility, not proof.

The Runaway Theory The Runaway Theory from "The Big Sleep". The Runaway Theory A plausible story Police believe Terence Regan left with Mona Mars, taking money and avoiding his troubled marriage.

The Runaway Theory from "The Big Sleep". The Runaway Theory A plausible story Police believe Terence Regan left with Mona Mars, taking money and avoiding his troubled marriage.

The Runaway Theory A plausible story Police believe Terence Regan left with Mona Mars, taking money and avoiding his troubled marriage. Marlowe also considers the theory credible. A lingering doubt Eddie Mars’s interest in the disappearance and the hidden woman at Realito complicate the explanation. Marlowe continues because the General wants personal reassurance.

The Realito Secret The Realito Secret from "The Big Sleep". The Realito Secret A paid lead Agnes Lozelle sells Philip Marlowe information placing Mona Mars in a remote hideout.

The Realito Secret from "The Big Sleep". The Realito Secret A paid lead Agnes Lozelle sells Philip Marlowe information placing Mona Mars in a remote hideout.

The Realito Secret A paid lead Agnes Lozelle sells Philip Marlowe information placing Mona Mars in a remote hideout. The lead suggests her supposed flight with Terence Regan was staged. A protective deception At Realito, Mona explains that she stayed hidden to shield Eddie Mars from suspicion. Her concealment has helped preserve the false runaway story.

The General’s Renewed Request

The General’s Renewed Request A second commission General Guy Sternwood clarifies that he wants to know whether Terence Regan is alive and well, not force him home. He offers Philip Marlowe another fee. An unfinished search Marlowe accepts, although the case has revealed that Regan was murdered. The General’s request turns the solved-seeming investigation into an unresolved moral burden.

the first morning

the second morning

after Marlowe’s first police interviews

after Harry Jones’s death

near the ending