# Inspector Duff — Behind That Curtain character guide

> Inspector Duff in Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard, Duff, Inspector

**First appearance:** 0002-i-the-man-from-scotland

## Snapshot

A Scotland Yard man newly arrived from New York, Duff brings a cool pipe-smoking skepticism to San Francisco, quietly dismantling alibis while weighing the cost of old mistakes.

## Who they are

Duff enters the case as the Yard's answer to Sir Frederic's cable, and his presence terrifies at least one guilty conscience before he ever speaks. He admits he was new to the work when he once judged Paradise harshly, and his willingness to clear the butler shows a detective more interested in truth than in saving face. Calm as a Chinese, as one observer puts it, he presses Colonel Beetham on what he knew and when, becoming the steady official counterweight to Chan's intuitive guessing.

## Relationships

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Sergeant Chan are professional colleagues, often working together on cases with mutual respect.

### [Major Eric Durand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/major_eric_durand)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Major Eric Durand have a professional relationship, collaborating on aspects of the investigation.

### [Major Eric Durand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/major_eric_durand)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Major Eric Durand have a professional relationship, collaborating on aspects of the investigation.

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Sergeant Chan are professional colleagues, often working together on cases with mutual respect.

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Sergeant Chan are professional colleagues, often working together on cases with mutual respect.

### [Major Eric Durand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/major_eric_durand)

_professional_

Inspector Duff and Major Eric Durand have a professional relationship, collaborating on aspects of the investigation.

## In the story

### [Old Friends Meet Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xiii-old-friends-meet-again)

Confronts Paradise about his past trial and his tampering with Sir Frederic's mail.

### [Dinner for Two](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xiv-dinner-for-two)

Discusses the case with Chan; suggests advertising a reward for the missing velvet slippers.

### [XVII: The Woman from Peshawar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xvii-the-woman-from-peshawar)

Present during the interrogation; inadvertently reveals that Chan and Miss Morrow knew more about Beetham than they had told Flannery.

### [A Vigil in the Dark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xix-a-vigil-in-the-dark)

Supports Chan's request for Flannery to listen, and participates in the vigil.

### [XX: The Truth Arrives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xx-the-truth-arrives)

Reads Sir Frederic's records; praises Chan's intelligence.

### [XXI: What Happened to Eve Durand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xxi-what-happened-to-eve-durand)

Present during the confession and pursuit of Eric Durand.

### [Hawaii Bound](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/xxii-hawaii-bound)

Reveals Durand's dishonorable discharge, questions Beetham, and takes Sir Frederic's briefcase.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/inspector_duff
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters