# Anton Varcek — Murder in the Gunroom character guide

> Anton Varcek in Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Varcek

**First appearance:** 0004-iii

## Snapshot

A Czech-born gunmaker and chemist whose cool scientific mind and convenient alibis make him the household's most unsettling suspect.

## Who they are

Varcek works alongside Fred Dunmore at the Fleming plant while privately despising the firearms that surround him, a chemist who reasons that a man skilled enough to avoid poisoning himself would never die of an 'accidental' gunshot. His late hours and his wife's fierce protectiveness keep suspicion circling back to him, and his quiet suggestion that Lane Fleming was murdered pushes Rand deeper into the case. He is the puzzle piece who won't quite fit, and the reader can't stop watching him.

## Relationships

### [Jeff Rand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/jeff_rand)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek, a volatile European émigré and gun enthusiast, is openly antagonistic toward Jeff Rand, whom he sees as an intruder.

### [Fred Dunmore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/fred_dunmore)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek and Fred Dunmore are bitter rivals in the gun trade, each accusing the other of theft and underhanded dealings.

### [Jeff Rand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/jeff_rand)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek, a volatile European émigré and gun enthusiast, is openly antagonistic toward Jeff Rand, whom he sees as an intruder.

### [Fred Dunmore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/fred_dunmore)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek and Fred Dunmore are bitter rivals in the gun trade, each accusing the other of theft and underhanded dealings.

### [Fred Dunmore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/fred_dunmore)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek and Fred Dunmore are bitter rivals in the gun trade, each accusing the other of theft and underhanded dealings.

### [Jeff Rand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/jeff_rand)

_rivalry_

Anton Varcek, a volatile European émigré and gun enthusiast, is openly antagonistic toward Jeff Rand, whom he sees as an intruder.

## In the story

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/chapters/xvii)

Requests a private talk with Rand and provides his account of the night Lane Fleming died, implicating Fred Dunmore.

### [The Trap Springs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/chapters/xx)

Accompanies Rand to confront Dunmore; learns of Dunmore's treachery.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters/anton_varcek
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/murder_in_the_gunroom_se/characters