Whodunit?

The story of the purloined bird has made the rounds of the crime blogs, the latest (and with a cool pic) is from our pal Dusty Rhoades.

I'm not here to add to the chorus. I'm here to sing a bit of counterpoint and ask, who signed the damn thing? In all the stories I've read, I've seen the detail that the bird was autographed by a cast member, but I don't know who. It couldn't be one of the stars. If it had been Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor or even Ward Bond, surely that detail would have made it into the news.

So here we go. The first person who can tell me who signed the stolen bird gets his or her choice of a signed copy of Jim Born's new book, Field of Fire, Jeff Shelby's best-selling Wicked Break, or Cornelia Read's Edgar-nominated Field of Darkness. (OK, you can ask for Beneath A Panamanian Moon, but given the choices I don't know why you would.)

I'll see all three authors in South Carolina later this month (more on that later) and get the winner's choice signed between drinks.

So, do your Google thing and be the first to identify the cast member of The Maltese Falcon who signed the stolen bird. I honestly don't know, so you're on your honor here.

But I would love for it to be Gutman's gunsel, the under-appreciated Elisha Cook, Jr.

Update: Yay! It was Elisha Cook, the gunsel. And if you think a gunsel has something to do with guns, you probably think catamite has something to do with cats. So, Jerry, let me know whose book you want signed and I'll bring it back from South Carolina, freshly autographed. And thanks for playing.