Atdtda37: Technically she was smiling, 1041-1043

[Paul Nightingale]

At the beginning of the previous section 'there [are] three layers of
security to be got past' (1040) before anyone can see Lew; and this section
begins with the three receptionists speaking, identified through speech as
they, in turn, identify the visitor. Possibly Lew also speaks here, although
he is not named: 'Miss Pomidor' (1041) signals status, whether or not we are
supposed to believe this is how he addresses her/them, as a matter of
course.

Lew returned from London when the war ended (1040-1041), and has been in LA
for at least 'a couple of years' (1041). Here he refers to 'the Syncopated
Strangler case, couple-three years ago' (1042); and Chester says 'Tony
remembers you from the go-round before'; all of which suggests Lew's
involvement in what would have been, for him, an early case in LA, before he
got to be 'one more old goat of the region with a deep suntan' (1041).
Taking the case, then, signifies an opportunity to return; and then, at the
end of the section, he recognises 'the ol' RJ' (1043). The photograph of
Jardine (1042) is another connection to the original case, unlike Chester
himself: he insists it was all '[b]efore my time, of course' (1043).

If Chester's history doesn't go back that far we might consider the way he
is described as different. Thetis notes that he is a jazz musician, not a
bootlegger: the latter 'know how to act like gentlemen' (1042). Cf the
conclusion to the previous section: 'getting rich off of real-estate deals
only slightly more legit than the train robberies they used to depend on for
revenue' (1041).