The Snake in the Grass

The leaves on the oak outside my window have yellowed and are heavy with rain. Wonderful rain. No more threat of fire, though we do seem to have a wee firebug in our area happily lighting small blazes that keep our CalFire folks busy. No need to ask why. Power is almost always the answer.

The desire for it, the need for it, and the loss of it. As strong a motive for murder or mayhem as any. Perhaps greater than jealousy, love, and hate all combined. But not money because money is part of the power paradigm, a weapon that can be unleashed against others to keep them at heel.

The scariest purveyors of power are those in sheep’s clothing. As I write that, I am thinking of Rev. Francis Davey, Vicar of Altarnun, in Daphne DuMaurier’s Jamaica Inn. As foul a human as one could imagine, one who envisions himself as a wolf in front of his unsuspecting flock of sheep. A villain’s shuddery villain, without a name until the reveal, the puppet master. Oh, there are others, but this was my first and yes, a chill ran up my spine when Mary Yellen found the Vicar’s drawing.

Power. Control. The conceit of holding it close, knowing you alone are aware of the power you wield. Oh my. But how to write such a character, so subtle, so hidden, yet the master of your story? There are types. The helper, the one who is always there, gently steering the protagonists toward doom. The gay, happy, rich, swoon-worthy antagonist who attracts the innocent and then uses them. The antagonist, so subtle so in need of winning, that they move through the plot like a water moccasin through a swollen river.

These aren’t the people you are consciously watching as you read; they are the ones that niggle at the corners of your mind. Why was he in the room? Why did so and so seek out our hero? Why are they everywhere? What is their purpose in the tale? They couldn’t have been the killer. Or could they, or is something more nefarious their goal? Like their purpose in the book, they bring power and control to the narrative. A drive that bubbles below the surface until it boils.

I love ‘em, I do. And I admit to weaving them into the occasional book. The purposeful manipulators. The ones with so much to lose that they are blinded by the need. The ones who will do anything to win. Lie, cheat, steal, kill – take over the world.

Books are rife with the bombastic variety, but it is the snake in the grass I love. They are a shoot of wheat rattling in a nonexistent breeze that catches your eye and sends a frisson up your back.

I know this as a writer.  It takes great discipline and tedious planning to develop such a character, keeping the behavior consistent and weaving the foreshadowing to sustain the mystery. Because the one thing readers will never forgive you for is throwing in a surprise killer or manipulator. If you’ve done well, the reader will relish rewinding the book for clues that implicate the character. If you’ve done it wrong, they’ll close the book and perhaps never read a book of yours again. And that, my friend, is a scary proposition.

A friendly reminder, The Ladies of Mystery, Cavalcade of Books is available at https://bodiebluebooks.com/ladiesofmystery. It’s filled with wonderful tales, some with well-hidden evil. Twenty-nine great reads, including three of mine.

Find me at https://dzchurch.com and on Amazon, just search on d. z. church.