In this episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, a simple missing-person search turns into a deadly game of impersonation, cover-ups, and a murder that was never supposed to see daylight. Marlowe is hired by a polite, too-slick Philadelphia lawyer named Martin Almond to find a man named Buff Ryan—an easy job on the surface, since Buff has allegedly inherited $5,000 from a deceased aunt. But when Marlowe starts knocking on doors, people get nervous, lies pile up fast, and everyone connected to Buff seems to be running from something. Buff himself is a Skid Row wino with a bad past and worse friends, including Blossom—the glamorous burlesque dancer who still loves him—and a twisted tough who shadows Marlowe through back alleys and theater catwalks. But the biggest twist comes when Marlowe checks Buff’s police jacket: Buff is also known as C.A. Douglas… and as a key witness in the unsolved murder of his own Aunt Julie Leader. That’s when Marlowe realizes the truth: lawyer Martin Almond isn’t here to give Buff an inheritance—he’s here to kill the only witness who can tie him to murder. Marlowe races Blossom to Buff’s hiding place in time to stop Almond from finishing the job, leading to a tense standoff that finally exposes the killer for who he is. In the end, Buff isn’t a crook on the run—just a scared man who saw too much and drank himself numb trying to forget it. With Almond exposed and justice finally in reach, Buff and Blossom get a chance to start over, trading Skid Row for a clean slate and—maybe—something like happiness. A sharp, fast-moving tale of deception, identity, and the dangerous price of being the one man who knows the truth.