Character guide

Johnny Gray

major

Also known as Johnny, Gray, Johnny boy, Young Johnny Gray, V Johnny, this Johnny Gray, the unconscious Gray, XXVI Johnny, Johnny Gray's, Dear Johnny, Parcere Subjectis Johnny, Johnny Gray Reeder

Johnny Gray moves through the story as a man with nothing left to lose and everything to settle, using his prison-earned instincts to corner servants, read rooms, and squeeze information from people who'd rather stay silent. His interrogation of Lila Sain — gentle at first, then throttling — reveals a man who can charm and menace in the same breath. His pursuit of Jeff Legge and his refusal to let sleeping dogs lie drive the novel's engine of revenge and revelation.

Jeff Legge

major

Also known as old Legge, Legge, young Legge, young Jeff, Mr. Jeff Legge, Jeffrey, Jeff, Mr. Jeffrey Legge

Jeff Legge sits at the center of a criminal enterprise built on forged currency and carefully managed appearances, shielded by his father Emanuel and a network of illiterate but loyal assistants. He married Lila Sain, only to find she was already married — a complication he now wants Peter Kane to help him untangle. His presence at the dinner in Room 13, his demand for his wife, and his readiness to put cards on the table make him the volatile heir to a criminal dynasty.

Emanuel Legge

major

Also known as Emanuel, Mr. Emanuel Legge, Mr. Legge, the virtuous Emanuel, XII Emanuel Legge, old man Legge

Emanuel Legge hosts the dinner in Room 13 with spurious joviality, seating his guests where he wants them and watching for the first sign of trouble. His visit to Mr. Reeder — where he is dismissed like a tiresome caller — reveals a man who has lost his grip on the situation and knows it. His panic on reading the letter about Johnny Gray's escape, and his frantic calculation that Jeffrey must leave the country, show a father whose love for his son is inseparable from his fear of exposure.

Peter Kane

major

Also known as old Kane, Mr. Kane, Peter, Kane, old Peter, Clever old Peter, Old Peter

Peter Kane enters Room 13 knowing exactly what kind of trap it might be, ordering the same wine as Emanuel to avoid being drugged and watching every move his hosts make. His curt refusal to be drawn into Emanuel's reminiscences, and his flat statement that it will take more than a dinner party to restore Jeffrey's reputation, reveal a man who has learned to survive by trusting no one. His love for his daughter Marney — and his determination that she not marry a man with the prison taint — is the wound that shapes his every decision.

Mr. Reeder

major

Also known as John Gray, John, Gray, Reeder, the mysterious Mr. Reeder, Mr. John Gray, Mr. Gray, John Gray Reeder, Mr. John Gray Reeder, the apologetic Reeder, J. G. Reeder, Mr. J. G. Reeder, XXVII Mr. Reeder, Old Reeder

Mr. Reeder moves through the story like a ghost in an ill-fitting suit, appearing where he is least expected and remembering names that people would rather he forgot. His quiet remark to Stevens about a name change eight years ago, and his calm instructions to detectives outside the club, show a man whose unassuming manner is a weapon. He is the one figure who seems to understand the whole board, and his pointed references to Jeffrey Legge fill Emanuel with unquiet.

Marney Kane

major

Also known as Miss Kane, Marney, Miss Marney Kane, Marney Legge, IX Marney, Miss Marney

Marney Kane exists in the story first as an absence — the daughter Peter never mentions, the girl who stopped writing, the reason Johnny Gray was not given what he wanted. Peter's adoration of her is almost a mania, and his determination that she not marry a man with the prison taint is the force that drove Johnny away. Her connection to both the Kane and Legge families makes her the quiet center around which the novel's tensions turn.

Craig

supporting

Also known as Mr. Craig, the kindly Craig, the fascinated Craig, the dazed Craig, Divisional - Inspector Craig

Craig moves between crime scenes and telephoned reports with a detective's unhurried thoroughness, enlisting local police and turning up at Peter Kane's door in the small hours to break the news that Jeff has been shot. He is candid to the point of bluntness — warning Peter he is himself under suspicion, and coolly correcting the older man's assumption about Lila. His willingness to name Johnny Gray as a suspect, and to say so to Johnny's own friends, makes him the story's steady, unsettling pressure toward the truth.

Parker

supporting

Also known as the greatly daring Parker, the discreet Parker, the precise Parker

Parker meets his master off the train with the dog Spot and a hired cab, greeting a man fresh from a convict cell as though he had merely been abroad. His precise manners conceal real feeling — he hesitates to ride home uninvited, and his face falls when Johnny sends him to the cinema to keep him clear of a night's dangerous visitors. That blend of discretion and loyalty makes him a small but telling index of the world Johnny is fighting to reclaim.

Stevens

supporting

Also known as Ask Stevens

Stevens is the gatekeeper of the Highlow's discreet and dubious traffic, checking members in and out and noticing far more than he admits. Craig corners him over a forged entry in the book, and Stevens, sweating under the threat of being charged as an accessory, finally lets slip that Johnny Gray was on the premises. His fear and his divided loyalties make him the hinge on which the night's evidence turns.

Lila Sain

supporting

Also known as Lila, Miss Lila Sain, Miss Lila

Lila has spent months planted in Horsham to watch Marney Kane and intercept her letters, a role she took for money and for Jeff. When she storms the Highlow demanding to see Emanuel, her wildness and her fear read plainly to everyone who watches her. Her confession to Craig — that she married Jeff three years ago, and that his courtship of Marney was a scheme for Peter's money — reframes the whole plot even as she insists she did not fire the shot.

Fenner

minor

Also known as Poor Fenner, Old Fenner

An old acquaintance with knowledge of past events.

Barney

supporting

Also known as Old Barney, old Barney, Barney sotto voce, Barney Ford, the hoarse Barney

Barney works the margins of Peter's household, eavesdropping at keyholes and reporting what he has read — including Marney's letter to Johnny — with unapologetic relish. His running defiance of Peter's threats gives the grim Kane establishment its only note of low comedy. But his habit of hearing and repeating too much makes him a useful, dangerous instrument in a house where information is currency.

Bill Holliss

minor

Also known as Bill, Apparently Bill, Holliss

A minor character who interacts with the main cast.

Pietro

minor

A foreign character with a brief but notable role.

Fernando

minor

A foreign character with a brief appearance.

Lal Morgon

minor

Also known as Lal, Morgon, old Lal

A mysterious figure from the past who reappears.

Golden

minor

Also known as Mr. Golden

A character involved in the financial aspects of the story.

Major Floyd

minor

Also known as Floyd

A military man with ties to the central mystery.

William Brown

minor

Also known as Mr. William Brown of Toronto, Mr. Brown, William

A Canadian visitor who becomes involved in events.

Lacey

minor

Also known as Mr. Lacey

A minor character who appears in a specific scene.

Inspector Flaherty

minor

Also known as the good Inspector Flaherty, Flaherty

A police officer who assists in the investigation.

Sergeant Shilto

minor

Also known as Shilto

A police sergeant who appears in the story.

Benny

minor

A minor character with a small role.

Daddy

minor

A familial reference used by a character.

The Big Printer

minor

Also known as the Printer

A mysterious figure known by a nickname.

The Highlow

minor

A character referred to by a nickname.

Spider King

minor

A criminal figure mentioned in the story.

Little Lew Morse

minor

Also known as Lew

A minor character with a brief appearance.