# Sergeant Cuff — The Moonstone character guide > Sergeant Cuff in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Sergeant, the celebrated Cuff, Sergeant Cuff's, The Sergeant, The great Cuff, the great Cuff **First appearance:** 0014-viii ## Snapshot London's most celebrated detective, summoned to Yorkshire to find the Diamond and more interested in roses than in anyone's feelings. ## Who they are Sergeant Cuff arrives at the Verinder house with a reputation, a melancholy manner, and an infuriating habit of announcing the truth before he can prove it. He reads the household like a garden bed, suspects the least likely person, and is dismissed for his trouble. His early, half-ignored conclusions hang over the rest of the book, making him the standard every later investigator must measure against. ## Relationships ### [Rachel Verinder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/rachel_verinder) _professional_ Rachel is initially hostile to Sergeant Cuff's investigation, but he professionally pursues the truth about the Moonstone despite her resistance. ### [Rosanna Spearman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/rosanna_spearman) _psychological_ Rosanna is obsessively fearful of Sergeant Cuff's detective work, as she is hiding evidence that implicates her secret love for Franklin Blake. ### [Franklin Blake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/franklin_blake) _professional_ Franklin cooperates with Sergeant Cuff's investigation, though their relationship is marked by tension and Cuff's suspicion of Franklin. ### [Gabriel Betteredge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/gabriel_betteredge) _professional_ Gabriel, as the Verinder steward, assists Sergeant Cuff's investigation but often clashes with the detective's methods and personality. ### [Rosanna Spearman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/rosanna_spearman) _psychological_ Rosanna is obsessively fearful of Sergeant Cuff's detective work, as she is hiding evidence that implicates her secret love for Franklin Blake. ### [Gabriel Betteredge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/gabriel_betteredge) _professional_ Gabriel, as the Verinder steward, assists Sergeant Cuff's investigation but often clashes with the detective's methods and personality. ### [Rachel Verinder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/rachel_verinder) _professional_ Rachel is initially hostile to Sergeant Cuff's investigation, but he professionally pursues the truth about the Moonstone despite her resistance. ### [Franklin Blake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/franklin_blake) _professional_ Franklin cooperates with Sergeant Cuff's investigation, though their relationship is marked by tension and Cuff's suspicion of Franklin. ### [Gabriel Betteredge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/gabriel_betteredge) _professional_ Gabriel, as the Verinder steward, assists Sergeant Cuff's investigation but often clashes with the detective's methods and personality. ### [Franklin Blake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/franklin_blake) _professional_ Franklin cooperates with Sergeant Cuff's investigation, though their relationship is marked by tension and Cuff's suspicion of Franklin. ### [Rachel Verinder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/rachel_verinder) _professional_ Rachel is initially hostile to Sergeant Cuff's investigation, but he professionally pursues the truth about the Moonstone despite her resistance. ## In the story ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xii) Arrives at the estate, examines the paint smear, and begins his methodical investigation, whistling 'The Last Rose of Summer' while thinking. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xiii) Proposes a systematic search of all wardrobes for the stained dress; remains calm when Rachel refuses; notes Rosanna Spearman's criminal past. ### [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xiv) Conducts private interviews with the servants, focuses his suspicions on Rosanna, and secretly follows her when she goes out. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xv) Explains his theory about Rosanna's actions; uses indirect questioning to extract information from Mrs. Yolland. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xvii) Manipulates the conversation to provoke Franklin or Rosanna; returns from Frizinghall at the chapter's end. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xviii) Reveals his findings about the Indians and Rosanna's purchase of cloth; arranges for Rachel to be watched; plans to search the Shivering Sand. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xix) Leads the search, finds Rosanna's footprints ending at the quicksand, and concludes she died by accident or suicide. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xx) Insists on completing his duty before accepting his fee; remains composed during Lady Verinder's outburst and investigates Rosanna's suicide. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xxi) Lays out his suspicions against Rachel and Rosanna, proposing surveillance and a bold experiment. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/xxii) Delivers three prophetic warnings about the Moonstone case before departing, and engages in a heated debate with Mr. Begbie about roses. ### [Second Period: The Discovery of the Truth (1848–1849)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/second-period-the-discovery-of-the-truth-1848-1849) His investigation may be revisited or concluded in this period. ### [Third Narrative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/third-narrative) Mentioned as the detective who previously investigated the case. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned as having retired to Dorking to grow roses, having failed to solve the case. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/v) Investigator; Rosanna recounts his questioning, his suspicion of her, and his belief that she acted under someone else's direction. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/viii) Retired detective; Blake seeks his help but finds he has left for Ireland to study rose-growing. ### [Fourth Narrative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/fourth-narrative) Writes from Ireland; agrees to return to England and is invited to witness the experiment. ### [Fifth Narrative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/fifth-narrative) Reappears retired and in rustic dress; offers to help Franklin out of gratitude to Lady Verinder, not for money. ### [Sixth Narrative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/sixth-narrative) Narrator of this chapter, providing his account of the investigation. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/v) Provides the report detailing Godfrey's dealings and the current chance of recovering the Moonstone from the Indians. ### [I: The Statement of Sergeant Cuff’s Man (1849)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/i-the-statement-of-sergeant-cuff-s-man-1849) Issued instructions to follow the three Indians. ### [II: The Statement of the Captain (1849)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/ii-the-statement-of-the-captain-1849) Requested the captain to set down these facts in writing. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/sergeant_cuff - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters