The House in Turk Street by Dashiell Hammett
"The House in Turk Street" is a short story by Dashiell Hammett featuring the Continental Op, a private detective. Set in San Francisco, the narrative begins with the Op on the hunt for a man believed to be residing in a block on Turk Street. His investigation leads him to the seemingly innocuous home of an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Quarre, who offer him a warm welcome but soon reveal a more sinister side. As the plot unfolds, the Op becomes entangled in a dangerous scenario involving a criminal gang, including a character named Tai Choon Tau and a femme fatale named Elvira. The atmosphere shifts from cozy to perilous as the Op’s identity is threatened, leading to revelations about the gang's illicit activities. The story culminates in a violent confrontation that exposes the Op’s misunderstanding of the true situation he has stumbled into, highlighting themes of deception and the unpredictable nature of criminal enterprises. This tale reflects Hammett's hallmark style, blending elements of mystery and crime in a narrative rich with tension and intrigue.
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The House in Turk Street by Dashiell Hammett
First published: 1924
Type of plot: Mystery and detective
Time of work: The 1920's
Locale: San Francisco
Principal Characters:
The Continental Op , the narrator, a private detectiveMr. and Mrs. Quarre , an affectionate elderly coupleHook , a rough-mannered hoodElvira , a greedy, seductive hoodTai Choon Tau , a clever, well-mannered hood
The Story
The Continental Op, a private detective who works for the Continental Detective Agency, has learned that a man whom he is hunting is living in a certain block of Turk Street in San Francisco. After canvassing all the houses on one side of the block and four on the other, he knocks on the door of the fifth house. At first no one answers. As the Op is about to leave, the door is opened by a friendly, fragile-looking old woman who insists that he enter. The Op, after a mild protest, enters the house and is taken into a sitting room, where an equally friendly old man, the woman's husband, is seated comfortably, smoking a cigar. With a twinge of conscience, the Op gives a phony name and tells a phony story in order to obtain information about the man whom he is seeking. As the old couple, Mr. and Mrs. Quarre by name, do their best to provide something helpful, the Op is served a cup of tea and given a cigar. He sits back, entranced by the relaxed atmosphere, and lets his mind wander from the sordid world of private investigation. He longs for the fast-approaching evening so that he can be finished with his work for the day and go home.
Suddenly the Op feels an object against the back of his neck and hears a gruff voice behind him demanding that he stand up. At first he thinks that he must be dreaming, but he feels the object and hears the voice again. He is frisked by the old man, then made to turn around. He faces an unpleasant-looking man holding a gun. Before he can interrogate the Op thoroughly, "Hook" is called into another room by a young woman, named Elvira. The old man covers the Op with a gun, and the old woman cordially invites the Op to be seated again. The Op hears Hook, the young woman, and a third gang member discussing his fate. Hook is in favor of killing the Op, but he is overruled by the calm, British voice of the third gang member, Tai Choon Tau. The Op is thankful.
The Op is tied up and gagged by the old couple, who then leave the house for a prearranged rendezvous. Elvira comes into the sitting room with Hook, goading and seducing him into getting rid of Tai. Carrying a traveling bag, Tai enters the room. After subtle encouragement from Elvira, Hook strikes the much smaller Tai. Tai, however, draws his gun even as he is falling and gets the drop on Hook. He takes Hook's gun, lectures the other two on unity, and matter-of-factly announces that the three of them will double-cross the old couple. Magnanimously, Tai gives Hook back his gun. As the dispute settles down, the Op notes a change in the room. Thinking back quickly, he discovers that Elvira has used the fight as a diversion, replacing the contents of the traveling bag with some of the room's books and magazines. He figures that the original contents of the bag are now hidden in the couch.
The three gang members depart. Tai, the last one to leave, places a gun within the Op's reach and loosens his bonds. The Op manages to get loose and reach the gun just as Hook returns to the house, entering the sitting room with his gun drawn; the Op fires first, and Hook falls dead. The Op quickly examines the couch, finding a cache of bonds. He examines his gun as well as Hook's: Both are without ammunition. Tai was taking no chances when he returned Hook's gun and set up the confrontation between Hook and the Op. The Op takes the bonds upstairs, hides them, and waits for Tai and Elvira to return. Tai and Elvira do, indeed, return, and the Op tries to turn the two against each other. Tai offers to trade the girl for the bonds. Just then, the Quarres return, convinced that they are being double-crossed by Tai, Elvira, and the Op. The old woman covers Tai as the old man takes away his gun, but Tai has two more guns hidden. He shoots the old couple dead. The Op is able to subdue Tai in the resulting confusion. Elvira escapes, reappearing in a later Hammett story.
It turns out that the gang worked a scam in which Elvira would seduce bank employees and get them to embezzle funds. Hook would then play the jealous husband, scaring the victim off minus Elvira and the loot. Tai was the mastermind. The old couple provided a hideout. On the gang's last job, the victim refused to be scared off and was killed in a fight with Hook. Thus the gang thought that the heat was on and that the Op had tracked them down.
The story's twist lies in the Op's ignorance of all this. The Op was unaware of the gang or their crimes. In fact, he was not working on a criminal case at all. Tai refuses to believe the Op. He goes to the gas chamber convinced that the Op is lying to him.
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