The Talented Mr. Ripley

The next morning, there is nothing in the newspapers about Freddie’s body, so Tom prepares for his trip to Majorca. The police call and say they would like to ask him some questions. Freddie’s body has now been found, and they already know that Freddie was last seen with ”Dickie.” While he is waiting for the police to come, Fausto calls and asks “Dickie” to lunch. He tells Fausto that he is leaving in 20 minutes, but Fausto persists. Finally, he tells Fausto to meet him at the train station, but never goes.

When the police arrive, Tom acts as if he, as Dickie, and Freddie were acquaintances, not very close. He tells them the story he has concocted: that they spent the afternoon drinking in his apartment, he helped Freddie to his car, Freddie left, and he went for a walk a bit later. Inside he is worrying that the police will put him in contact with some of Freddie’s other friends who might know Dickie. Also, because of the investigation, his name and address will be in the newspapers now, so he will have to move. The police ask him to delay his trip in case they have questions for him.

After the police leave, Tom checks into a hotel and reads about the investigation in the paper. Another of Freddie’s friends, Van Houston, calls and asks to see him. Van was staying with Freddie in Rome, and he is helping the police go through Freddie’s luggage. He asks “Dickie” to come to him, as the police have asked him not to leave the hotel. Tom says that he cannot, but that he will talk to Van that evening. After they hang up, Tom goes down to the lobby and buys several newspapers. He walks to a nearby café to read them. There is heavy press coverage of Freddie’s murder, but the police do not seem to have any information to go on.

Tom is shocked when he runs across a small article in one of the newspapers about a bloodstained boat found in San Remo. He realizes that if the police pursue an investigation, which is likely, they will find Dickie’s name in their San Remo hotel registries. If that happens, it will appear that Tom Ripley is missing, not Dickie Greenleaf. Further, if the police put that crime together with his connection to Freddie, Dickie will begin to look like a murder suspect for both crimes.

When Tom returns to the hotel, he has several phone messages, including one from Marge. He realizes that Marge will most likely come to Rome, and if she does, he will have to be “Tom” for her. He decides it will be best to avoid her. Once the police let him leave, he can continue on his trip to Majorca and try to disappear in a country where he will not run into anyone who knows him or Dickie. While Tom is thinking about Marge and planning his escape, he falls asleep. He dreams that Dickie comes back, soaking wet, and tells him that he is alive. He wakes up groggy and frightened and calms himself by composing a letter to the Greenleafs in his mind.

The next morning, he checks with the front desk, but Marge has not called again. He reads the newspapers, but there is nothing about Freddie or the boat, so he hopes that the police will let him leave Rome. But soon after, the police return to his hotel to ask him whether he knows Tom Ripley. He says yes and that he believes Tom returned to America a month ago. They tell him they believe Tom Ripley is dead and ask him about the trip to San Remo. He replies that he last saw Tom in Rome and received a postcard saying that Tom was returning to America. They then ask him about the boat they rented that day, the same day that the bloodstained boat was rented. Tom can tell that they are suspicious that Dickie has been connected to two murders now, but finally they are done questioning him. He asks if he might leave Rome for Palermo, giving them the name of his hotel, and they agree.

After the police depart, Tom prepares to leave for Palermo. Marge calls; she is downstairs in the hotel and asks to come up. Tom tells her that Dickie is gone right now, at the police station, answering questions about Freddie. Marge decides to come up to the room and wait with him. Tom puts her off, claiming to have a job interview, but plans to meet her for coffee in just a few minutes at a nearby restaurant. He quickly finishes packing and checks out of the hotel. He gets a taxi and goes to American Express to pick up his mail before he leaves. He realizes that he will have to keep Tom Ripley’s identity alive and will have to use the passports in such a way that he will be able to get in and out of Italy as either man.

As Tom’s boat approaches the dock at Palermo, he half expects the police to be waiting for him there or at the hotel. When he checks into the hotel, however, he has no messages from the police or even Marge. He is worried about her catching up with him and debates sending her a letter breaking their friendship off. He also knows that Marge has probably told the police that she spoke to Tom Ripley recently, so they will begin looking for him as well as for Dickie. He is somehow energized by all these risks and begins to plan his travel to Greece as Dickie.

The next day, he receives a letter from Marge to Dickie. She is angry because she believes that Dickie and Tom are romantically involved and that Dickie thinks her too provincial to understand. But she also shares that she told the police Tom was with Dickie and that they were always together. After reading the letter, Tom wonders if the police have searched the Palermo hotels for Tom Ripley. He writes a letter to Herbert, as Dickie, in which he explains the situation with Freddie. While he is doing so, the Palermo police call him and ask if Tom Ripley is with him. He tells them that he last saw Tom in Rome a few days ago and did not know where he was going. Tom finishes his letter to the Greenleafs, thinking about the fact that Herbert has remained cold and disapproving of Dickie’s lifestyle and painting; he expected to win Herbert over already.

Tom spends several days in Palermo, sightseeing and writing letters to his old friends in New York. But he realizes that in his current situation, he cannot make any close friends and cannot really even be social. He is lonely and did not expect to be so. He decides to travel to Capri, but when he returns to the hotel, there is a message from Dickie’s bank in Naples waiting for him. They believe that one of the checks he has signed is a forgery and are informing the police. At the same time, he gets a similar letter from the bank that holds Dickie’s trust. Tom has signed three of Dickie’s checks and wonders if they will scrutinize the other two. He writes a letter and returns it with a new signed signature card for their files. He decides not to go to Capri. While out walking, he visits an antiques shop and buys a painting.