Pop relates that Carlotta was a young beauty, reared in an old mission and romanced by a rich, older man who built a mansion for her. Scottie then goes to Midge's and when he asks about sources of information about old San Francisco, she takes him to see bookstore owner Pop Leibel.
When Scottie searches the room, however, Madeleine has disappeared. The landlady, who knows Madeleine as Carlotta Valdes, tells Scottie that "Carlotta" comes to the hotel for a few hours several times a week. Upon learning that the painting is called "Portrait of Carlotta," Scottie follows Madeleine as she drives to the McKittrick Hotel, where she enters a room on the second floor. Scottie is stunned to see that the nosegay Madeleine carries is an exact duplicate of the one in the portrait, and that she even wears the same hairstyle as the painting's subject. Scottie then follows Madeleine to the Palace of the Legion of Honor art gallery and watches as she sits motionless in front of a portrait of a young woman. After Madeleine departs, Scottie reads the gravestone, which belongs to Carlotta Valdes, who died in 1857 at the age of 26, the same age as Madeleine. Seeming to be in a trance, Madeleine then goes to the cemetery of the old Mission Dolores and stands before a grave. Scottie is awed by Madeleine's beauty and the next morning, follows her as she leaves home and goes to a flower shop to buy a nosegay. That night, Scottie goes to Ernie's, a popular restaurant, so that he can see Madeleine for the first time as she dines with her husband. Although Scottie is reluctant to become involved, Elster convinces him that he needs a friend to observe Madeleine before he commits her to a mental institution. Scottie is baffled by Elster's claims that Madeleine has been having blackouts and seems to be possessed by someone from the past. Elster informs Scottie that he is worried about his young, blonde wife Madeleine, whose rich family built the business that Elster runs. Scottie meets with Elster at his office near the waterfront, where Elster oversees a shipbuilding business. One day, Scottie tells Midge that he has been contacted by Gavin Elster, an old college friend.
Although Scottie hopes to overcome his phobia, his longtime friend, Midge Wood, an artist who is in love with him, cautions him that only a severe emotional shock might snap him out of it. San Francisco police detective John "Scottie" Ferguson is forced to retire after he is involved in a rooftop chase and his acrophobia and accompanying vertigo leads to the death of a fellow officer.
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