I haven't read "The Long Goobye" yet, since it's about book #8 if I recall correctly without checking myself. "The Big Sleep" was the first, and none of that stuff was in there except that there's one paragraph about the chessboard where he plays the game with himself. Hm. I believe he has an apartment, too, at that point. He doesn't talk much, either.

I think it might be a more worthwhile place to pick them up, and now I kind of dread making it up to "The Long Goodbye."