Continental Op Stories · Chapter
VII: “You Have a Lot of Fun, Don’t You?” explained
After being thrown into the bay by Smith, the Continental Op survives, recovers at his flat, and enlists Detective Sergeant O'Gar and Charles Gantvoort to confront Madden Dexter.
What happens
After being thrown into the bay by Smith, the Continental Op survives, recovers at his flat, and enlists Detective Sergeant O'Gar and Charles Gantvoort to confront Madden Dexter. They go to the Dexters' apartment, where the Op punches and knocks out Smith, who Gantvoort identifies as Madden Dexter himself.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Identity
Madden Dexter's dual identity as 'Smith' is uncovered, highlighting the theme of hidden identities.
Violence and Survival
The Op survives being thrown into the bay and later punches Dexter, showing the brutal physicality of the investigation.
Characters to notice
- The Continental Op
Survives being thrown into the bay, recovers, and leads the confrontation at the Dexters' apartment.
- Detective Sergeant O'Gar
Accompanies the Op to Gantvoort's house and to the Dexters' apartment.
- Charles Gantvoort
Helps arrange the meeting with Madden Dexter and identifies Smith as Dexter.
- Creda Dexter
Opens the door to the apartment and later tries to revive Smith.
- Madden Dexter
Revealed to be the man known as Smith; knocked out by the Op.
Key passages
“I grilled him all the way from Sacramento to Oakland, and couldn’t get a whisper out of him. On the ferry coming over he introduces me to a man he calls Mr. Smith, and he tells Mr. Smith that I’m a gumshoe. This, mind you, all happens in the middle of a crowded ferry! Mr. Smith puts a gun in my belly, marches me out on deck, raps me across the back of the head, and dumps me into the bay.”
The Op recounts how Dexter revealed his identity to Smith on the ferry, leading to Smith attacking and throwing him overboard.
Key exposition of the ferry attack and the Op's survival.
“I threw my right fist at his face—threw it with every ounce of my 180 pounds behind it, reinforced by the memory of every second I had spent in the water and every throb of my battered head.”
The Op punches Smith with full force, motivated by his recent near-death experience.
Climactic moment of physical confrontation in the chapter.