Character guide

Mike Brixan

major

Also known as Michael Brixan, Captain Brixan, The Headhunter, Michael, Mike

Mike Brixan moves between two worlds: the colonial past that earned him the nickname 'the Headhunter' and the polite society of Chichester, where a murderer is quietly at work. He is cool under pressure and quick to read a lie, yet his interest in the case is not purely professional — Stella Mendoza's safety pulls him deeper than any puzzle should. His habit of acting alone, scaling walls and vanishing into the dark, makes him both the investigation's best hope and its most unpredictable element.

Stella Mendoza

major

Also known as Miss Mendoza, Mendoza

Stella Mendoza has clawed her way to leading lady status on Jack Knebworth's lot, and she has no intention of surrendering it to a newcomer. When she confronts Adele Leamington with a handful of banknotes and a story about being cut from the picture, her charm drops away and something harder shows through. She is entangled with Sir Gregory Penne, a connection that makes her both useful to the investigation and dangerous to trust.

Sir Gregory Penne

major

Also known as Gregory Penne, Penne, Gregory

Sir Gregory Penne presides over Griff Towers, a bleak house filled with stuffed tigers and three-hundred-year-old blades he keeps razor-sharp for parlour tricks. He speaks of murder as a hypothetical, watches his own words too carefully, and keeps a brown-faced servant and a monstrous ape named Bhag close at hand. Stella Mendoza calls him a bluffer and a coward at heart, but the fear he inspires in others suggests the bluff may be hiding something real.

Jack Knebworth

supporting

Also known as Old Knebworth, Knebworth, Jack

Jack Knebworth runs his modest studio with an iron pragmatism — he would sacrifice any player, star or extra, if it strengthened the picture. Yet when Michael Brixan brings him news of Lawley Foss's murder, the old director's composure cracks, and he becomes a wary ally in the hunt. His knowledge of the company's tangled loyalties, especially Stella Mendoza's, makes him a crucial bridge between the film world and the darker business unfolding around it.

Lawley Foss

supporting

Also known as Mr. Lawley Foss, Foss, Mr. Foss

Lawley Foss hovers at the edges of Jack Knebworth's productions, a script-handler whose quiet presence masks a dangerous discovery. He recognised the handwriting of the so-called Headhunter and saw in it an opportunity for blackmail, a gamble that puts him on a collision course with a killer. His fate becomes the spark that turns a puzzling case into a manhunt, and his death reshapes how Michael Brixan reads everyone around him.

Adele Leamington

supporting

Also known as Miss Adele Leamington, Leamington, Adele

Adele Leamington arrives on Jack Knebworth's lot as an unknown, only to find herself the target of Stella Mendoza's jealousy and Sir Gregory Penne's unsettling attention. She is frightened but not timid — when Mendoza tries to buy her off, Adele stands her ground and calls the bluff. Her disappearance in her blue cloak becomes the crisis that forces Michael Brixan to storm Griff Towers and confront what Penne has been hiding.

Sampson Longvale

minor

Also known as Mr. Sampson Longvale, Mr. Longvale, Longvale

An older gentleman who makes a crucial call early in the story.

Reggie Connolly

minor

Also known as Mr. Connolly, Reggie, Connolly

A disgruntled character with a possible grudge against others.

Bhag

supporting

Also known as the hideous Bhag, the monstrous Bhag

Bhag lives in his own tidy apartment, dines with the servants who both fear and worship him, and slips out nightly to roam the woods without ever harming a hen. He is Sir Gregory Penne's obedient shield, gentle at a soft command and lethal at an enemy's name, his velvet palm and enormous arms making his civility more unsettling than any threat. His wordless, watchful presence turns Penne's study into a place where violence is always one sentence away.

Major George Staines

minor

Also known as Major Staines, Staines

A military man involved in the later investigation.

Detective Inspector Lyle

minor

Also known as Inspector Lyle

A police officer from Scotland Yard working on the case.

Francis Elmer

minor

Also known as Elmer, Mr. Francis Elmer

A man who meets an unfortunate fate early in the story.

Mrs. Watson

minor

Also known as the stout and unbending Mrs. Watson

A stern housekeeper or matron at a key location.

Dicker

minor

Also known as Mr. Dicker

A minor functionary or servant who appears briefly.

Charles Henry

minor

Also known as Harry, Charles

A minor character possibly a servant or local.

Maggie Stubbs

minor

Also known as Mamie

A woman mentioned in passing, possibly a victim or witness.

Chauncey Seller

minor

A name that appears in the narrative with little context.

Willitt

minor

A minor character mentioned in the investigation.

Crewling

minor

A name that appears briefly in the story.

Roselle

minor

A character mentioned in the narrative, possibly a woman.

Bill

minor

A minor character, possibly a servant or local.

Uncle Francis

minor

A relative mentioned in dialogue, possibly deceased.

Mr. Scott

minor

A minor character, possibly a professional or servant.