"Rain filled the gutters and splashed knee-high off the sidewalk,..." (Raymond Chandler)

"Rain filled the gutters and splashed knee-high off the sidewalk. Big cops in slickers that shone like gun barrels had a lot of fun carrying giggling girls across the bad places. The rain drummed hard on the roof of the car and the burbank top began to leak. A pool of water formed on the floorboard for me to keep my feet in. It was too early in the fall for that kind of rain."

SOURCE: "The Big Sleep" (Raymond Chandler)

Philip Marlowe, a private detective, has been hired to investigate the blackmail attempt of the daughter of an oil millionaire by Arthur Gwynn Geiger, "Rare Books and Deluxe Editions." Marlowe sits in the rain waiting for Geiger to appear at his bookshop.