This sounds very familiar to me, too, but I couldn't find it
while flipping through Chandler Speaking. However, it
occurred to me that Bill Pronzini said something very similar
when discussing writing his Nameless Detective and how he
finally had to give him a first name, Bill, when writing one
of his collaborations, Twospot, with Collin Wilcox, in order
to avoid the problem you mention. Pronzini talks about why
his detective is Nameless in the preface to Casefiles (even
denying that he is trying to capitalize on the Continental
Op), but I'm pretty sure he discussed the problem that led to
naming Nameless at greater length somewhere else (which, I
think, included an example very much like yours -- the need
for a name to address when Wilcox's Lieutenant Hastings
talked to Nameless on the phone). Unfortunately, I don't
remember where.
Mark
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