# Captain Hallet — The House Without a Key character guide > Captain Hallet in The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Hallet, Captain **First appearance:** 0004-iii-midnight-on-russian-hill ## Snapshot The blunt Honolulu police captain who works the Winterslip case with a cop's impatience and a barely concealed appetite for the family's embarrassment. ## Who they are Hallet grinds through the investigation with method and a certain satisfaction at watching prominent people squirm, pressing Jim Egan hard in a shabby hotel office. He bristles at the family's attempts to manage the inquiry privately, and his rivalry with Chan over how the case should be run sharpens the tension. His determination to leave nothing dark on anyone's account drives the plot toward uncomfortable revelations. ## Relationships ### [John Quincy Winterslip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/john_quincy_winterslip) _professional_ Captain Hallet is a police officer who works with John Quincy Winterslip on the case, often clashing in methods. ### [Jim Egan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/jim_egan) _rivalry_ Captain Hallet suspects and pursues Jim Egan as a primary suspect in the murder case. ### [Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/charlie_chan) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Charlie Chan are fellow law enforcement officers with a competitive but cooperative dynamic. ### [Thomas Macan Brade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/thomas_macan_brade) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Thomas Macan Brade interact as law enforcement and legal counsel, often at odds. ### [John Quincy Winterslip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/john_quincy_winterslip) _professional_ Captain Hallet is a police officer who works with John Quincy Winterslip on the case, often clashing in methods. ### [Jim Egan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/jim_egan) _rivalry_ Captain Hallet suspects and pursues Jim Egan as a primary suspect in the murder case. ### [John Quincy Winterslip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/john_quincy_winterslip) _professional_ Captain Hallet is a police officer who works with John Quincy Winterslip on the case, often clashing in methods. ### [Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/charlie_chan) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Charlie Chan are fellow law enforcement officers with a competitive but cooperative dynamic. ### [Thomas Macan Brade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/thomas_macan_brade) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Thomas Macan Brade interact as law enforcement and legal counsel, often at odds. ### [Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/charlie_chan) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Charlie Chan are fellow law enforcement officers with a competitive but cooperative dynamic. ### [Jim Egan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/jim_egan) _rivalry_ Captain Hallet suspects and pursues Jim Egan as a primary suspect in the murder case. ### [Thomas Macan Brade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/thomas_macan_brade) _professional_ Captain Hallet and Thomas Macan Brade interact as law enforcement and legal counsel, often at odds. ## In the story ### [VII: Enter Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/vii-enter-charlie-chan) Leads the initial investigation, interviews Miss Minerva and Amos, and orders a search. ### [VIII: Steamer Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/viii-steamer-day) Investigates Dan Winterslip's murder, finds a cigarette stub, and leads the party to question Jim Egan. ### [IX: At the Reef and Palm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/ix-at-the-reef-and-palm) Drives the group to the hotel; aggressively interrogates Jim Egan; arrests Egan after discovering the cigarette evidence. ### [XII: Tom Brade the Blackbirder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xii-tom-brade-the-blackbirder) Conducts the interrogation of Leatherbee and Mrs. Compton; warns John Quincy about interfering with the case. ### [XIII: The Luggage in Room Nineteen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xiii-the-luggage-in-room-nineteen) Leads the investigation at the Reef and Palm, searches Brade's room, and learns that Brade has disappeared. ### [The Man from India](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xv-the-man-from-india) Pries open the ohia wood box, interrogates Kaohla aggressively, and sends Chan to intercept Brade at the dock. ### [XVIII: A Cable from the Mainland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xviii-a-cable-from-the-mainland) Frustrated as his Egan theory collapses; argues with Greene about holding Egan. ### [IX: “Goodbye, Pete!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/ix-goodbye-pete) Lolls on his lanai in pajamas; receives John Quincy and Chan, reads the cable about Saladine, then tears it up. ### [The Story of Lau Ho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xx-the-story-of-lau-ho) In a grouchy mood at the police station; frustrated about the missing watch; growls at John Quincy. ### [The Light Streams Through](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xxii-the-light-streams-through) Leads the investigation, explains the opium smuggling operation, and coordinates with Greene. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters/captain_hallett - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/characters