Characters
Josephus “Joe” Faulkner⌗
Also known as “Gunfire”, Joe Faulkner is a veteran homicide detective from the 57th Police Precinct in Aristide Station. During the story of GRIM DEEP, he is investigating the murder of Joanna Delgado in Humboldt Station on behalf of the local 40th Precinct.
Joe is a functioning alcoholic who is way past his prime. He used to be a great detective, these days he’s barely a detective. His nickname “Gunfire” was given to him at his home station because when working at his desk, he tends to fortify his morning tea with rum to get him through the day.
Joe always wears an old beige coat over his clothes. He never leaves home without his battered grey fedora made from mycelium felt.
Just prior to the events of GRIM DEEP, he was confined to desk duty and undergoing psychological evaluation for punching his superior in the face in the wake of a botched case. When we first meet him, he is just waking up from a hangover from hell.
Lieutenant Winters⌗
Lieutenant Winters runs the homicide squad of the 40th Precinct in Humboldt Station. She called in a detective from Aristide Station to deal with the murder of Joanna Delgado – this case got assigned to Joe Faulkner. Since the 40th Precint only has a small station house and the homicide desks usually deals more with domestic matters, Winters decided that expert help from uptown might come in handy. That and she’s responsible for reducing a large part of Humboldt’s violent crime stats, and those stats aren’t looking good. So she needs the Delgado case cleared by any means necessary.
Tricia Martinez⌗
Tricia Martinez is a detective in the homicide bureau of Precinct 40. She is in her mid-30s and seems to have developed a liking for Joe Faulkner. She is emotionally attached to him in a similar way as one would get attached to a very small and very clumsy dog.
Jack De Graaf⌗
Jack De Graaf is a homicide detective at the Precinct 40 police station. He is in his mid- to late-40s, wears his grey hair cropped short and always dresses immaculately.
Frank Johnson⌗
A homicide detective at the 40th Precinct. He is about 35 and the alpha male of the detective bureau. He has shoulder-length blonde hair and thinks Joe Faulkner is a has-been and a failure. He wants him gone from his turf as quickly as possible.
James Bridger⌗
James Bridger is a vice cop at Precinct 40. He likes to wear pastel colours and has an outgoing and friendly demeanour. He immediately hits it off with Joe when the two meet for the first time.
Dan Courier⌗
One of the medical examiners of the 40th Precinct. A small, cheerful man with a bald head and a white beard. His nickname for the Joanna Delgado case is “The Mermaid” because of the circumstances of her death.
Joanna Delgado⌗
Joanna Delgado is a 25-year-old woman whose murder gets Joe Faulkner temporarily assigned to Humboldt Station. She is a lawyer and, at the time of her death, lived alone in her apartment. She interned at the labour affairs department of the law firm Hughes and Stoddard.
Joanna was murdered by exposure to outside water pressure at 25 bar when she was alive. She was wearing very expensive clothes, including underwear by designer Dolores Dante, at the time. Joe theorises that she was put in an airlock (probably of a boat) and flushed into the open sea.
Susanna Delgado⌗
Sister of Joanna, disappeared without a trace when she was a teenager. The police never got anywhere trying to solve the case of her disappearance. She is officially presumed dead.
Madeleine Delgado⌗
Mother of Joanna and Susanna. Lives together with Sam Delgado in an extravagant, but run down home. Before her retirement, Madeleine worked as a civil engineer for Humboldt Station’s public works department.
Sam Delgado⌗
Father of Joanna and Susanna, husband of Madeleine Delgado. He worked as an assistant secretary to the harbourmaster of Humboldt Station before he retired. He maintains extensive contacts to the Dockerunion and within the station’s administration.
Hans Reichenbacher⌗
Hans Reichenbacher is in his late-80s and head of the labour affairs department at Hughes and Stoddard.
Jason Amherst⌗
Works in the labour affairs department at Hughes and Stoddard for Hans Reichenbacher. He was supervising Joanna Delgado’s internship at the firm.
Harcourt Winston⌗
Harbourmaster of Humboldt Station. He’s also head of the Dockerunion local on the station.
Walther DeVille⌗
Harcourt Winston’s right hand man. Word on the street is that he does Winston’s dirty work.
Leonard Dijkstra⌗
Leonard “Leo” Dijkstra is the CEO of Benthos Industries and one of the richest people in the world. He’s rumoured to be extremely eccentric.