Behind That Curtain · Chapter
The Muddy Water Clears explained
Chan delays the investigation until Monday, hoping to confirm a hunch involving Gloria Garland and the elevator girl.
What happens
Chan delays the investigation until Monday, hoping to confirm a hunch involving Gloria Garland and the elevator girl. Over the weekend, Bill Rankin searches newspaper archives for information on Eve Durand, while Chan observes Chinatown and encounters Willie Li. On Monday, Chan brings Miss Garland to identify the elevator girl, revealing her as Jennie Jerome and Marie Lantelme, and deducing she is Eve Durand. Captain Flannery receives word that Inspector Duff is arriving with Major Eric Durand to confirm her identity.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Disguise
The elevator girl is revealed to be Jennie Jerome, Marie Lantelme, and ultimately Eve Durand, highlighting multiple layers of hidden identity.
Crime Detection Methods
Chan uses a 'hunch' and careful observation, while Flannery relies on surveillance and official wires, contrasting intuitive and procedural approaches.
The Past Haunting the Present
Eve Durand's flight from India fifteen years ago and subsequent disappearances in Nice and New York catch up with her in San Francisco.
Characters to notice
- Sergeant Charlie Chan
Drives the investigation with a hunch about Gloria Garland and the elevator girl; delays action until Monday; interacts with Willie Li in Chinatown.
- June Morrow
Works on the case for the district attorney; spends Sunday with Barry Kirk; present during the Monday revelation.
- Barry Kirk
Hosts the bungalow; accompanies Miss Morrow on a Sunday outing; assists Chan by sending Paradise on an errand.
- Captain Flannery
Skeptical of Chan's hunch but orders surveillance on the elevator girl; receives news of Inspector Duff's arrival.
- Gloria Garland
Called by Chan to identify the elevator girl; confirms she is Marie Lantelme and Jennie Jerome.
- Willie Li
Encountered by Chan at the Mandarin Theater; discusses Colonel Beetham's books.
Key passages
“I mean I experience great yearning to bring Miss Gloria Garland to this building again. I have what my cousin Willie Chan, a vulgar speaker, calls a hunch.”
Chan expresses a strong desire to have Gloria Garland return to the building, based on an intuitive feeling he calls a 'hunch.'
Chan reveals his plan to test his theory about the elevator girl.
“Consider how the muddy water clears. Eve Durand flees from India one dark night fifteen years ago. Four years later she is found in Nice, playing in theater. Something happens—maybe she is seen and recognized—again she runs away. Another four years elapse and we encounter her in New York, walking in model gowns. Again something happens, again she disappears. Where does she go? Eventually, to San Francisco.”
Chan explains that the elevator girl is Eve Durand, who has repeatedly fled and changed identities over the years, finally ending up in San Francisco.
Chan connects the dots between the elevator girl's past aliases and her current identity.
“The Chief of Police has just had a wire. Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard is getting in tomorrow afternoon at two thirty. And he's bringing with him the one man in all the world who's sure to know Eve Durand when he sees her. He's bringing the woman's husband, Major Eric Durand.”
Flannery announces that Inspector Duff is arriving with Major Eric Durand, who can positively identify Eve Durand.
The arrival of Durand's husband will confirm Chan's deduction.
