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i_read_whatSo last time, Jack met his stalker: a weird Englishman named Charles Escott, and they became friends. Not a lot happened plot wise, but we got some backstory and experimentation out of the deal. So it wasn't a bad tradeoff.
So we start off with Jack heading back to his hotel. For a moment, he considers packing his things up and booking it to another place entirely. He would have time, if he rushes it. It's hard to blame him. Vampires, as we've seen, are very vulnerable during the day and someone knows where he sleeps. Jack decides against it. He has a good feeling about Escott. And, well, he needs a friend. Aw.
The next night, he isn't hungry, so he heads straight over to Escott's office, just in time to see a dark green Ford parked in front of Escott's stairway. And two men emerge from Escott's office, carrying a long, heavy bundle of carpeting, which they then start to put in the trunk. (Escott is of course inside.) Jack recognizes that one of the men is Fred Sanderson.
Jack manages to use his vanishing trick to hitch a ride in the trunk with Escott, and then ambush the men, once the car is stopped. At one point, Jack punches Fred Sanderson for all [he] was worth and hears bones crack under his fist. It's hard to blame him, really.
Not too long after that, Escott's awake (thanks in part to a whiskey flask liberated from Fred's partner). Escott's a little cranky at having been caught "like a bloody amateur" but he's thankful for the rescue.
I really enjoy this exchange:
"'Don't worry about it,' I interrupted. 'You could have aced me with a hammer and stake anytime today, but you didn't. We're even.'
'But, my dear fellow, such an action never occurred to me.' Escott was truly shocked.
'But I thought of it. The way I am now I gotta be careful who I trust, but I know you're gonna be square with me. Now before we get all maudlin, let's pack these two mugs in the car and get back home.'"
Jack, not murdering someone is not actually the equivalent of saving them. But on the other hand, you did get murdered recently, so I can see why you'd appreciate it.
Anyway, Jack secures Fred's partner (whose name is Georgie) and then goes back for Fred Sanderson. Who is very very dead. Oops. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Jack, on the other hand, is sickened by what he'd done.
As they drive back to Chicago, he and Escott talk about what happened. Jack is lowkey freaking out a little. He had known what would happen when he hit Fred, and he'd done it anyway. Escott is far more pragmatic, pointing out that Fred would have killed both of them, and says that he'd give it no more thought than a soldier does when shooting at an enemy.
Jack thinks: "Half a lifetime ago I had shot at the enemy. I hadn't liked it then, either."
And I realize that Jack and Escott might just be old enough to have served in World War I. Which is a very interesting prospect.
Anyway, Jack is starting to go into the usual vampire hero angst spiral about not being human, but Charles is having none of it, and his response is pretty great:
"'That is utter nonsense and for your own good I suggest you put it from your head as quickly as possible. Do you in all truth really believe the biological changes within you have stripped you of humanity? You still possess your mortal clay, you still have emotional needs. I think you are giving far too much credence to a fictional character created out of the imagination of an actor's manager.'"
All angsty vampire heroes would benefit from a Charles Escott, I think.
Jack gets a little testy and suggests that he could go and strangle the kid in back to prove he's a monster, but Escott isn't buying it. Jack feels stupid for saying it.
Escott continues by telling him to "Feel guilty if you must, but leave self-pity out of it, for it is the most destructive of all emotions".
He looks a bit green after that, so Jack asks if he wants to go on after all this. He does, but not just that moment. They notice Georgie waking up, so Escott directs Jack to a no-parking zone and sets off the car horn. There's a police station not far away, and once they hear the horn, they'll come out and take Georgie in for disturbing the peace. Once they find Sanderson in the trunk, they charges will probably get more creative.
Jack asks why they didn't question Georgie. Escott figures Georgie wouldn't have known anything useful and that Paco had probably ordered his death because he had gotten clumsy in his investigation.
Escott has Jack take him back to the office so that he can pick up a few things. Or rather, he has Jack take him to the tobacco shop next to the office, which has an interesting little secret door on its second floor.
I like Escott, he has style. Jack is able to use his vampire senses to verify that there is no one else around. Escott packs (intentionally dropping a sock so that it looks like he left in a hurry), and grabs some papers. Sadly, he can't take the crossbow with him, since it's too conspicuous and won't fit in a bag. He explains that it was a leftover prop from his acting days, but that it actually does work.
Apparently he has smaller ones, but figured that Jack would be more impressed with something large. Jack says that Escott thought right. I think that it's amusing that after only a little bit of observation, Escott had Jack pegged as a size queen.
As they ransack the office, Escott shows off quite a few other nifty little tricks, like a medicine cabinet with a secret compartment. Apparently Escott does his own carpentry. Also, he's a half owner of the tobacco shop, though the other owner actually runs it. Escott just helps financially in exchange for a hiding place with convenient exits.
Jack asks if Escott is rich, and Escott says "Sometimes". Which is a little needlessly cryptic. But his headache is getting worse, so I'll forgive it. He's had a rough night.
He's also got a bit of a problem, since the gangs have a lot of influence in the city. If he goes to the wrong place, he's likely to get shot. Jack decides the best option for now is to sneak Escott into his own hotel.
So Jack gets Escott situated with some of Georgie's whiskey, on the bed, and after Escott falls asleep, Jack goes out to meet with the bellhop. A chapter or two ago, he'd asked the bellhop to run some errands, if you recall. And the bellhop did indeed, presenting Jack with a number of newspapers. Jack flips to the personal columns to find the one he placed:
"DEAREST MAUREEN, ARE YOU SAFE YET? JACK"
Apparently, he's been putting this notice in the papers without a break for five years. He thinks that if Maureen were alive and even glanced at it once, she would let him know. She hasn't and he doesn't have a lot of hope left.
Jack sends the bellhop with some money to buy a new set of shoes, and then waits, using the newspaper as a distraction against thinking about "Sanderson's mangled face" until daylight. He leaves Escott a note, telling him to stay as long as he wants and put any food on his tab, and then goes to trunk.
Jack's got some closet mother hen tendencies, I think.
When Jack wakes up, Escott's gone, but had also left a note saying he'd be back after dark. Jack gets his shoes from the bellhop and buys a copy of Shadow Magazine. He's reading Terror Island when Escott comes back. (He's endearingly defensive when Escott catches him, saying he knows the writer. Though apparently Escott is familiar with the guy's work as well.)
Anyway, Escott's feeling better, and he's been doing some minor legwork. He explains what happened the day before: how he'd investigated International Freshwater Transport (which he is pretty sure is involved in smuggling). He had spotted Sanderson, and he thinks Sanderson might have seen him and mistaken him for Jack at first. Though his real slip up came later, when he went to a cafe and used his real accent, not realizing that Sanderson's partner was in earshot. When he left, they followed.
(Escott found this out later from a waitress who is somewhat fond of him, though he can't imagine why.)
Anyway, today, Escott picked up a change of clothes and made some calls. Georgie is still in jail, while Paco apparently has never heard of him. Paco is also not actively seeking Escott, which puzzles both him and Jack. Escott thinks he has turned up something interesting for Jack though.
They use Escott's car: a black ash with some carefully repaired bullet dents. Apparently someone had taken a few shots at the previous owner with a machine gun. Escott has a colorful past. Jack notices an odd brown derby on the dashboard which doesn't go with Escott's dark grey outfit. Escort is cryptic, of course.
They go to the Bronze Belt, which Jack calls Chicago's version of Harlem. As they drive, they discuss Benny Galligar (the dude who was supposed to have given Jack some kind of list, if you recall). Escott's managed to identify him, but he hasn't been around for a while. He does know that Benny's from New York though, and once he gives Jack a description, Jack matches it to an old informant of his named Benny O'Hara. Though he has no idea how Benny could have known Jack was in town.
Eventually, Escott makes contact, and I'll share, because it's delightfully cryptic:
"We paused for a red light and a skinny brown kid suddenly poked his face into my window.
'I thought this buggy looked familiar,' he said, grinning at us. 'You up here lookin' for a shine, Mr. Escott?'
'Hello, Cal. Actually I'm looking for a shoe. How are you?'
'Same old stuff, a day late an' a dollar short.'
'I cannot overcome your time difficulties, but I can possibly aid your monetary problems.' He passed a dollar over to Cal, who made it disappear.
'You're a real friend. Next time you need a shine, you look me up, it's on the house.'
'Where will you be?'
'I could be anyplace, but if you go down three blocks and turn right one, the gents on the corner can tell you proper. You just say I sent you.' He flashed his teeth, pushed away from the car, and went off with a quick, pavement-eating stride. The light changed and Escott followed the directions, easing the big car into an empty space on the curb and letting it idle."
I think I love Escott. Anyway, they follow the instructions, and after a few more cryptic exchanges, Escott leads Jack to a nightclub called the Shoe Box, to meet a friend of his, who is not entirely a gang boss per se, but is involved with doing a certain amount of "support work".
And indeed, Jack describes the Shoe Box as a "well-surveyed fortress". They search Jack, who is cooperative, and let them in to meet Charles's friend.
This is Shoe's entrance, so to speak: "His skin was sooty black, his hair cut close to the scalp with a short beard edging his jawline and elaborately trimming the mouth and chin. Dressed in light brown with a deep red silk shirt and tie, he looked almost foppish, but was easily getting away with it. He stood up, a big man and not one you could ignore.
Escott spoke first and in a voice rather louder than required to carry across the room. His tone was a mixture of anger and pity. 'O thou Othello, that wert once so good/ Fall'n in the practice of a damned slave/ What shall be said to thee?'
Our host was still for a moment, staring at Escott, whom I was sure had need of a straitjacket and gag, then he responded in a rich voice: 'Why anything/ An honourable murderer if you will/ For naught I did in hate, but all in honour." Then he barked out a short, delighted laugh and came over to wring Escott's outstretched hand. Both men were grinning.'"
We learn that Escott didn't actually have to show up with the derby. He COULD have just given his name to the boys outside. But Escott wanted to see if the trick still worked. I think he was showing off for Jack, myself.
Escott's friend is Shoe Coldfield. They were actors together. Now they're both in very different line of work. And Escott's come to Shoe for a favor: namely he wants Shoe to help him (and Jack) get into Paco's house.
Shoe thinks Escott is crazy, though he has some useful information for him. He knows what IFT is smuggling (lately, machine parts and chemicals) and he's working with a man named Slick Morelli out of New York. Jack recognizes the name as someone who ran a lot of ritzy nightclubs, which he does here too. He also owns a yacht called the Elvira.
I can just hear the noir suspense music change.
The other owner of the club is a man named Lucky Lebredo, and no one knows anything about him. Anyway, Escott starts thinking. He's got an idea for getting into Paco's place, because Paco is apparently hosting a catered shindig. Apparently one of Shoe's organizations is catering. Escott wants to go in as a waiter, but Shoe points out a problem with that plan. Namely, white waiters don't work for black caterers in 1936 Chicago.
Shoe manages to talk him into coming up with a different plan, and Escott invites him and Jack out to dinner at a fancy place the next night. Shoe has his doubts about being allowed in, but Escott is pretty certain. Shoe also fishes for information on what exactly killed Fred Sanderson, as apparently rumors have Georgie doing him in with a sledgehammer. Sadly for Shoe, Escott and Jack don't give him any good gossip and they head out.
After leaving, Escott gives Jack a bit more backstory: They met in Canada. Escott was an actor, and Shoe was shining shoes. They became friends, and got the manager to hire Shoe as a crew member and occasional white-face background actor. Unfortunately the manager never really appreciated Shoe's talents as an actor, until Escott helped with things.
Basically, Escott manages to badger the manager into letting Shoe be understudy for Othello, and he and the company Iago slipped the lead actor some chloral hydrate and then gave him some ipecac to cure it. He was in no condition to play, and Shoe brought the house down.
Oh, Escott.
This chapter is a lot more plotty than the last one. More clues to the mystery, half of which I probably forget to include in the recap. Oh well. This is a review. If you want to solve the mystery, buy the book. :-D
So, now we've properly met Charles Escott. He was in the last chapter of course, but ultimately that was more about Jack. This is Escott's time to shine. He's an interesting contrast to Jack. He is definitely a colorful sort of guy. He's a game player as much as he's an investigator. And he doesn't really seem to have the same kind of constraints or conventional morality that Jack has.
The scene with Jack and Escott talking about Fred Sanderson got me thinking about the difference between practicality and pragmatism. Jack is a very practical character as we've seen. He's very good at assessing a situation, seeing what needs to be done, and doing it with very little fuss or drama. He's good at dealing with the realities of the situation. However, he's also very moral and emotional, and he's not always okay with some of the things he's had to do.
Escott on the other hand is pragmatic. Like Jack, he's good at doing what needs to be done. (Though often with a bit more of a flourish), but the difference is internal. I believe Escott when he says he wouldn't have spared a thought for Fred Sanderson. I don't know whether Escott was in the war, as Jack was, but I suspect that if he was, he probably never had a second thought about anyone he might have shot and killed. It was survival. Dosing a fellow actor with epicac, well, it got Shoe the part, didn't it? And no one was harmed in the end. I think in the end, Escott's a colder man than Jack is. It may never have occurred to him to stake Jack in his sleep. But I think if he had thought he had to do it, he would have without hesitation. Then. Probably not now. :-)
Their choice of careers probably reflect their natures too. Both of them are investigators, but Jack is a journalist. He finds truth with the intention of sharing it with the world. (Though one suspects he'll be finding a new career soon enough). Escott is an agent, he finds his truths for himself or for his clients. There's nothing wrong with either path, of course. But it's an interesting contrast, and something that might be fun to examine a bit more as the story continues.
So we start off with Jack heading back to his hotel. For a moment, he considers packing his things up and booking it to another place entirely. He would have time, if he rushes it. It's hard to blame him. Vampires, as we've seen, are very vulnerable during the day and someone knows where he sleeps. Jack decides against it. He has a good feeling about Escott. And, well, he needs a friend. Aw.
The next night, he isn't hungry, so he heads straight over to Escott's office, just in time to see a dark green Ford parked in front of Escott's stairway. And two men emerge from Escott's office, carrying a long, heavy bundle of carpeting, which they then start to put in the trunk. (Escott is of course inside.) Jack recognizes that one of the men is Fred Sanderson.
Jack manages to use his vanishing trick to hitch a ride in the trunk with Escott, and then ambush the men, once the car is stopped. At one point, Jack punches Fred Sanderson for all [he] was worth and hears bones crack under his fist. It's hard to blame him, really.
Not too long after that, Escott's awake (thanks in part to a whiskey flask liberated from Fred's partner). Escott's a little cranky at having been caught "like a bloody amateur" but he's thankful for the rescue.
I really enjoy this exchange:
"'Don't worry about it,' I interrupted. 'You could have aced me with a hammer and stake anytime today, but you didn't. We're even.'
'But, my dear fellow, such an action never occurred to me.' Escott was truly shocked.
'But I thought of it. The way I am now I gotta be careful who I trust, but I know you're gonna be square with me. Now before we get all maudlin, let's pack these two mugs in the car and get back home.'"
Jack, not murdering someone is not actually the equivalent of saving them. But on the other hand, you did get murdered recently, so I can see why you'd appreciate it.
Anyway, Jack secures Fred's partner (whose name is Georgie) and then goes back for Fred Sanderson. Who is very very dead. Oops. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Jack, on the other hand, is sickened by what he'd done.
As they drive back to Chicago, he and Escott talk about what happened. Jack is lowkey freaking out a little. He had known what would happen when he hit Fred, and he'd done it anyway. Escott is far more pragmatic, pointing out that Fred would have killed both of them, and says that he'd give it no more thought than a soldier does when shooting at an enemy.
Jack thinks: "Half a lifetime ago I had shot at the enemy. I hadn't liked it then, either."
And I realize that Jack and Escott might just be old enough to have served in World War I. Which is a very interesting prospect.
Anyway, Jack is starting to go into the usual vampire hero angst spiral about not being human, but Charles is having none of it, and his response is pretty great:
"'That is utter nonsense and for your own good I suggest you put it from your head as quickly as possible. Do you in all truth really believe the biological changes within you have stripped you of humanity? You still possess your mortal clay, you still have emotional needs. I think you are giving far too much credence to a fictional character created out of the imagination of an actor's manager.'"
All angsty vampire heroes would benefit from a Charles Escott, I think.
Jack gets a little testy and suggests that he could go and strangle the kid in back to prove he's a monster, but Escott isn't buying it. Jack feels stupid for saying it.
Escott continues by telling him to "Feel guilty if you must, but leave self-pity out of it, for it is the most destructive of all emotions".
He looks a bit green after that, so Jack asks if he wants to go on after all this. He does, but not just that moment. They notice Georgie waking up, so Escott directs Jack to a no-parking zone and sets off the car horn. There's a police station not far away, and once they hear the horn, they'll come out and take Georgie in for disturbing the peace. Once they find Sanderson in the trunk, they charges will probably get more creative.
Jack asks why they didn't question Georgie. Escott figures Georgie wouldn't have known anything useful and that Paco had probably ordered his death because he had gotten clumsy in his investigation.
Escott has Jack take him back to the office so that he can pick up a few things. Or rather, he has Jack take him to the tobacco shop next to the office, which has an interesting little secret door on its second floor.
I like Escott, he has style. Jack is able to use his vampire senses to verify that there is no one else around. Escott packs (intentionally dropping a sock so that it looks like he left in a hurry), and grabs some papers. Sadly, he can't take the crossbow with him, since it's too conspicuous and won't fit in a bag. He explains that it was a leftover prop from his acting days, but that it actually does work.
Apparently he has smaller ones, but figured that Jack would be more impressed with something large. Jack says that Escott thought right. I think that it's amusing that after only a little bit of observation, Escott had Jack pegged as a size queen.
As they ransack the office, Escott shows off quite a few other nifty little tricks, like a medicine cabinet with a secret compartment. Apparently Escott does his own carpentry. Also, he's a half owner of the tobacco shop, though the other owner actually runs it. Escott just helps financially in exchange for a hiding place with convenient exits.
Jack asks if Escott is rich, and Escott says "Sometimes". Which is a little needlessly cryptic. But his headache is getting worse, so I'll forgive it. He's had a rough night.
He's also got a bit of a problem, since the gangs have a lot of influence in the city. If he goes to the wrong place, he's likely to get shot. Jack decides the best option for now is to sneak Escott into his own hotel.
So Jack gets Escott situated with some of Georgie's whiskey, on the bed, and after Escott falls asleep, Jack goes out to meet with the bellhop. A chapter or two ago, he'd asked the bellhop to run some errands, if you recall. And the bellhop did indeed, presenting Jack with a number of newspapers. Jack flips to the personal columns to find the one he placed:
"DEAREST MAUREEN, ARE YOU SAFE YET? JACK"
Apparently, he's been putting this notice in the papers without a break for five years. He thinks that if Maureen were alive and even glanced at it once, she would let him know. She hasn't and he doesn't have a lot of hope left.
Jack sends the bellhop with some money to buy a new set of shoes, and then waits, using the newspaper as a distraction against thinking about "Sanderson's mangled face" until daylight. He leaves Escott a note, telling him to stay as long as he wants and put any food on his tab, and then goes to trunk.
Jack's got some closet mother hen tendencies, I think.
When Jack wakes up, Escott's gone, but had also left a note saying he'd be back after dark. Jack gets his shoes from the bellhop and buys a copy of Shadow Magazine. He's reading Terror Island when Escott comes back. (He's endearingly defensive when Escott catches him, saying he knows the writer. Though apparently Escott is familiar with the guy's work as well.)
Anyway, Escott's feeling better, and he's been doing some minor legwork. He explains what happened the day before: how he'd investigated International Freshwater Transport (which he is pretty sure is involved in smuggling). He had spotted Sanderson, and he thinks Sanderson might have seen him and mistaken him for Jack at first. Though his real slip up came later, when he went to a cafe and used his real accent, not realizing that Sanderson's partner was in earshot. When he left, they followed.
(Escott found this out later from a waitress who is somewhat fond of him, though he can't imagine why.)
Anyway, today, Escott picked up a change of clothes and made some calls. Georgie is still in jail, while Paco apparently has never heard of him. Paco is also not actively seeking Escott, which puzzles both him and Jack. Escott thinks he has turned up something interesting for Jack though.
They use Escott's car: a black ash with some carefully repaired bullet dents. Apparently someone had taken a few shots at the previous owner with a machine gun. Escott has a colorful past. Jack notices an odd brown derby on the dashboard which doesn't go with Escott's dark grey outfit. Escort is cryptic, of course.
They go to the Bronze Belt, which Jack calls Chicago's version of Harlem. As they drive, they discuss Benny Galligar (the dude who was supposed to have given Jack some kind of list, if you recall). Escott's managed to identify him, but he hasn't been around for a while. He does know that Benny's from New York though, and once he gives Jack a description, Jack matches it to an old informant of his named Benny O'Hara. Though he has no idea how Benny could have known Jack was in town.
Eventually, Escott makes contact, and I'll share, because it's delightfully cryptic:
"We paused for a red light and a skinny brown kid suddenly poked his face into my window.
'I thought this buggy looked familiar,' he said, grinning at us. 'You up here lookin' for a shine, Mr. Escott?'
'Hello, Cal. Actually I'm looking for a shoe. How are you?'
'Same old stuff, a day late an' a dollar short.'
'I cannot overcome your time difficulties, but I can possibly aid your monetary problems.' He passed a dollar over to Cal, who made it disappear.
'You're a real friend. Next time you need a shine, you look me up, it's on the house.'
'Where will you be?'
'I could be anyplace, but if you go down three blocks and turn right one, the gents on the corner can tell you proper. You just say I sent you.' He flashed his teeth, pushed away from the car, and went off with a quick, pavement-eating stride. The light changed and Escott followed the directions, easing the big car into an empty space on the curb and letting it idle."
I think I love Escott. Anyway, they follow the instructions, and after a few more cryptic exchanges, Escott leads Jack to a nightclub called the Shoe Box, to meet a friend of his, who is not entirely a gang boss per se, but is involved with doing a certain amount of "support work".
And indeed, Jack describes the Shoe Box as a "well-surveyed fortress". They search Jack, who is cooperative, and let them in to meet Charles's friend.
This is Shoe's entrance, so to speak: "His skin was sooty black, his hair cut close to the scalp with a short beard edging his jawline and elaborately trimming the mouth and chin. Dressed in light brown with a deep red silk shirt and tie, he looked almost foppish, but was easily getting away with it. He stood up, a big man and not one you could ignore.
Escott spoke first and in a voice rather louder than required to carry across the room. His tone was a mixture of anger and pity. 'O thou Othello, that wert once so good/ Fall'n in the practice of a damned slave/ What shall be said to thee?'
Our host was still for a moment, staring at Escott, whom I was sure had need of a straitjacket and gag, then he responded in a rich voice: 'Why anything/ An honourable murderer if you will/ For naught I did in hate, but all in honour." Then he barked out a short, delighted laugh and came over to wring Escott's outstretched hand. Both men were grinning.'"
We learn that Escott didn't actually have to show up with the derby. He COULD have just given his name to the boys outside. But Escott wanted to see if the trick still worked. I think he was showing off for Jack, myself.
Escott's friend is Shoe Coldfield. They were actors together. Now they're both in very different line of work. And Escott's come to Shoe for a favor: namely he wants Shoe to help him (and Jack) get into Paco's house.
Shoe thinks Escott is crazy, though he has some useful information for him. He knows what IFT is smuggling (lately, machine parts and chemicals) and he's working with a man named Slick Morelli out of New York. Jack recognizes the name as someone who ran a lot of ritzy nightclubs, which he does here too. He also owns a yacht called the Elvira.
I can just hear the noir suspense music change.
The other owner of the club is a man named Lucky Lebredo, and no one knows anything about him. Anyway, Escott starts thinking. He's got an idea for getting into Paco's place, because Paco is apparently hosting a catered shindig. Apparently one of Shoe's organizations is catering. Escott wants to go in as a waiter, but Shoe points out a problem with that plan. Namely, white waiters don't work for black caterers in 1936 Chicago.
Shoe manages to talk him into coming up with a different plan, and Escott invites him and Jack out to dinner at a fancy place the next night. Shoe has his doubts about being allowed in, but Escott is pretty certain. Shoe also fishes for information on what exactly killed Fred Sanderson, as apparently rumors have Georgie doing him in with a sledgehammer. Sadly for Shoe, Escott and Jack don't give him any good gossip and they head out.
After leaving, Escott gives Jack a bit more backstory: They met in Canada. Escott was an actor, and Shoe was shining shoes. They became friends, and got the manager to hire Shoe as a crew member and occasional white-face background actor. Unfortunately the manager never really appreciated Shoe's talents as an actor, until Escott helped with things.
Basically, Escott manages to badger the manager into letting Shoe be understudy for Othello, and he and the company Iago slipped the lead actor some chloral hydrate and then gave him some ipecac to cure it. He was in no condition to play, and Shoe brought the house down.
Oh, Escott.
This chapter is a lot more plotty than the last one. More clues to the mystery, half of which I probably forget to include in the recap. Oh well. This is a review. If you want to solve the mystery, buy the book. :-D
So, now we've properly met Charles Escott. He was in the last chapter of course, but ultimately that was more about Jack. This is Escott's time to shine. He's an interesting contrast to Jack. He is definitely a colorful sort of guy. He's a game player as much as he's an investigator. And he doesn't really seem to have the same kind of constraints or conventional morality that Jack has.
The scene with Jack and Escott talking about Fred Sanderson got me thinking about the difference between practicality and pragmatism. Jack is a very practical character as we've seen. He's very good at assessing a situation, seeing what needs to be done, and doing it with very little fuss or drama. He's good at dealing with the realities of the situation. However, he's also very moral and emotional, and he's not always okay with some of the things he's had to do.
Escott on the other hand is pragmatic. Like Jack, he's good at doing what needs to be done. (Though often with a bit more of a flourish), but the difference is internal. I believe Escott when he says he wouldn't have spared a thought for Fred Sanderson. I don't know whether Escott was in the war, as Jack was, but I suspect that if he was, he probably never had a second thought about anyone he might have shot and killed. It was survival. Dosing a fellow actor with epicac, well, it got Shoe the part, didn't it? And no one was harmed in the end. I think in the end, Escott's a colder man than Jack is. It may never have occurred to him to stake Jack in his sleep. But I think if he had thought he had to do it, he would have without hesitation. Then. Probably not now. :-)
Their choice of careers probably reflect their natures too. Both of them are investigators, but Jack is a journalist. He finds truth with the intention of sharing it with the world. (Though one suspects he'll be finding a new career soon enough). Escott is an agent, he finds his truths for himself or for his clients. There's nothing wrong with either path, of course. But it's an interesting contrast, and something that might be fun to examine a bit more as the story continues.
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Date: 2019-06-01 07:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-22 03:45 pm (UTC)