The Trespasser

Steve is Conway’s partner on the Murder Squad. His perpetual optimism and boyish innocence act as a foil to Conway’s abrasiveness: “Steve is thirty-three, a year older than me, but he looks younger: maybe the schoolboy build, all gangly legs and skinny shoulders; maybe the orange hair that sticks up in the wrong places; or maybe the relentless godawful cheerfulness” (4-5). Though Steve wants everyone on the squad to like him, he’s loyal to Conway even when she’s being paranoid. 

Aislinn is the murder victim. We only come to know her through the testimony provided by other characters. When Conway visits the crime scene, she notes that Aislinn’s “face is covered by blond hair, straightened and sprayed so ferociously that even murder hasn’t managed to mess it up. She looks like Dead Barbie” (14). Aislinn intentionally transformed herself from a dowdy drudge into a trophy girlfriend in order to exact revenge on McCann. She is hardly the dead bimbo that Conway first perceives her to be. 

Rory is Aislinn’s love interest and the prime suspect in her murder. Rory “looks younger than twenty-nine. […] He’s got […] glasses with fake-tortoiseshell frames so old the plastic’s gone cloudy […] and fine, pointy features that make him look like either a lovely sensitive artiste or a wimp, depending on your perspective” (71). His nervousness makes the detectives doubt his innocence. They also can’t believe Aislinn would be seriously interested in someone like Rory. 

Lucy is Aislinn’s best friend: “She’s short and fit, the kind of fit you get from life, not from the gym […] pale face with clean quick features” (40). Lucy is terribly upset by her friend’s death but is afraid to be candid with the detectives because she thinks they may be involved in the murder. Once Conway overcomes Lucy’s reservations, Lucy offers the greatest insight into Aislinn’s true motives.

Breslin considers himself to be the superstar of the Murder Squad: “The first time you meet Breslin, you’re well impressed. […] [S]omehow [his appearance] all adds up to winner’s dazzle, the gold glow that shouts to everyone within range that this dude is something special: smarter, faster, savvier, smoother” (77).

Breslin has a huge ego. He overestimates himself while simultaneously underestimating everyone else. He’s loyal to his partner McCann but patronizing to Conway and Steve.

McCann is a nondescript, middle-aged detective just starting to develop a paunch. Conway notes that exhaustion and fatigue seem to be his natural state: “[H]e looks like he’s got a bastard of a hangover, but the permanent eye bags and five o’clock shadow mean he mostly looks like that anyway” (63). In reality, McCann is feeling the strain of trying to hide his own involvement in Aislinn’s death. 

O’Kelly is the gruff, no-nonsense chief of the Murder Squad. His detectives respect him but are wary of arousing his wrath. While he doesn’t generally hand out compliments for a job well done, O’Kelly is an able leader, loyal to his squad, and wants to see justice done.