The Talented Mr. Ripley

The next morning, Marge calls Herbert and tells him about the rings. They both begin to believe that Dickie killed himself. They hang up after plans to meet for coffee later that morning. Tom goes upstairs to change, and he hears Marge answer the phone. She yells up to him that the detective from America has arrived and is coming to Venice. They will meet him when they see Herbert.

The detective, Alvin McCarron, questions Tom about the rings. Tom cannot tell much about the man, but he is clearly well-trained. After several questions, however, Tom realizes that McCarron does not know what to make of the rings. Marge says that Dickie never took them off, which leads her to believe that he either killed himself or changed his identity. McCarron continues questioning Marge and Tom, and Tom believes that the detective senses something wrong with Tom’s story. McCarron then asks Tom if he will go downstairs with him for a few moments. Tom believes that McCarron knows the truth and that he is about to be arrested.

Instead, McCarron asks Tom if he thinks Dickie killed Freddie. He says no but is unable to provide a concrete reason. Instead, he builds a story about Dickie that leads to the conclusion that Dickie killed himself. McCarron says he is not sure that Dickie did not kill Freddie, saying it would explain everything, and Tom agrees. McCarron asks Tom where he thinks Dickie might have gone, and Tom mentions Greece and Spain. They then go back up to Herbert’s room, and McCarron asks to speak alone to Marge. Tom and Herbert leave, and in the elevator, he tells Herbert about his conversation with McCarron. When they get to the ground floor, Tom says goodbye to Herbert, realizing again that their relationship has been repaired. In addition, Marge’s suspicions have been allayed. When he gets home, he expects a phone call from McCarron, but it never comes.

McCarron does call Tom the next day, asking for names of people that Dickie knew in Mongibello and Naples. He also asks about Di Massimo, and Tom tells him that he saw him only once, from a distance. In the days that follow, Tom waits for information about the investigation. The newspapers are covering the story again, since the American detective has come to Rome, and journalists are constantly outside his home. He imagines terrible outcomes in which he is discovered. After several days, he calls Herbert, but there is no word about the case. Marge has already gone back to America, and Herbert will be leaving at the end of the week.

Tom goes to Peter Kingsley-Smith’s house that night, and they commiserate about the media attention that Tom is getting. Peter offers to let him stay at his home in Ireland, and Tom briefly imagines taking Peter’s identity as he took Dickie’s. He thanks Peter but refuses him. He thinks about Dickie and the early days of their friendship and misses him. He regrets the way he pushed so hard and that it ended with him being alone when he could’ve been with Dickie forever. He begins to cry, and Peter comforts him, believing that he is grieving for Dickie.

This chapter opens with a letter from Tom to Herbert in which he broaches the topic of Dickie’s will and includes a copy with the letter. He worries that this will open further questions, but he is feeling confident and has made plans to go to Greece. The media coverage of Dickie has died down along with the investigation. He mails the letter and will to Herbert just before his trip to Greece so that any reply or action will not cause him to miss his ship. He also believes that his casual attitude about it will forestall suspicion.

Before he leaves, he visits a countess he has befriended, and she shows him the day’s newspaper, which reveals that the police have discovered Dickie’s possessions at the American Express in Venice. Tom tells her that Dickie would not have left his possessions like that and that maybe a murderer has done so. He worries that the police will be in contact with him before he is able to leave for Greece. He is also trying to remember if his fingerprints are on Dickie’s things. He begins to cry, thinking that his trip to Greece is ruined, and his friend comforts him, thinking he is upset about Dickie.

Tom waits to hear from the Roman police inspector but never does. He also worries that the will, which Herbert will receive any day, will be proven a forgery. Everyone attributes his distress to his grief over Dickie. Tom boards his ship to Greece convinced that he will be discovered at any moment. He spends his time with an elderly English lady, listening to her and walking with her on the deck. He is convinced that he will finally be caught, that his luck has run out, but his only regret is that he has not been able to travel more and collect art. The trip lasts for 10 days, and when they arrive in Greece, Tom sees the police waiting on the dock. He approaches, almost thinking about giving himself up. Instead, he buys a newspaper from the stand behind them, and they pay no attention to him. The newspaper contains the latest information about Dickie’s possessions. The police have concluded that, since the fingerprints on the luggage match the fingerprints in Dickie’s apartment, Dickie put the luggage in storage himself, possibly to evade the police.

Tom goes to the American Express office in Greece and asks if he has any letters. There are three waiting for him: one from Herbert, one from a friend in Venice, and another from a friend in New York. Herbert’s letter says that he and Emily were not surprised to find the contents of the will, as Dickie was fond of Tom, and it seems to support the idea that Dickie killed himself. They have decided to carry out the terms of Dickie’s will, and their lawyers will contact Tom with the details. Tom has gotten away with it. He is giddy and relieved and thinks of traveling to Crete. Then he imagines police waiting for him at Crete, and wonders if he will ever be free of that threat. Tom pushes the thought aside and takes a taxi to his hotel.