Stay Buried - Characters

 

  These are the characters in the novel for further reference:

SPOILERS!!!

REGULAR CHARACTERS

• DI Matthew Lockyer (41) is in charge of the cold cases departament. This is a position that he was given after some irregularities in his regular job when he helped an old school friend to escape prison. His father had set fire to his pub on purpose, so he had asked his son to remove things that they wanted to keep. Matt realised but he did not say a word, but someone else noticed. Matthew is also affected by the murder of his brother, Chris, when he was eighteen. It happened when the young man was partying, and he asked Matt back then to go with him, but he declined. Chris was murdered but his murderer was never found. Matthew worries about his parents, who own a farm, as they are still struggling to come to terms with Chris's death. Fourteen years ago Matt sent a woman to prison for murder, and now he receives a call from her to tell him that he needs to investigate the return of Harry, the man everyone thought the murdered man was. Matt has always felt attracted to Hedy, and after investigating for weeks, he finally finds out the truth, and Hedy is released. Matt takes Hedy to stay with his parents, and when a few days later they go out, they kiss, and the following day Hedy is gone.
• Hedy Lambert (39) is the woman who has been in prison for fourteen years for the murder of Mickie Brown. Hedy has had a hard life. When she was young, her sister died of leukaemia, and her parents divorced. As an adult, she fell for Aaron Fletcher, who convinced her they get their own business. Aaron deceived her and stole everything from her. Hedy was totally heartbroken, and then she found a job as a cook in the house of Professor Roland Ferris. Some months later Roland's son returned, but everybody thought that the man was not his estraged son Harry. The man was murdered, and the police found out that the murdered man was Mickie Brown. The weapon used to kill the man was the knife that Hedy used, and as there was no much evidence other than that, Hedy was sent to prison. When she hears that Harry is back, she calls Matt, asking him to start investigating again, and Matt eventually agrees. Hedy is finally released when the real culprit is found. At the end of the book she leaves even though the day before she and Matt have kissed.
• Constable Gemma Broad is Matt's partner. Gemma lives with her fiancé, Pete, and Matt can tell that Pete does not treat Gem right. Actually, when they have a drink one day, the alcohol makes him brave to tell her. Gem is intelligent and determined, but it is true that Pete does not have the right attitude towards her. 
• Pete is Gem's fiancé.
• Trudy Lockeyer is Matt's mother.
• John Lockeyer is Matt's father. He still finds it difficult to come to terms with the murder of his younger son. 
• Chris Lockeyer was Matt's younger son. At the age of 18 he was murdered when he was out partying. His murderer has never been found.
• Mrs Iris Musprat (90) is Matt's neighbour. She is usually cantankerous and unkind towards Matt, and she keeps talking about the former owner of Matt's house as a much better neighbour. At the end of the book Iris comes to find Matt with a scared expression. 
• DI Steve Saunders works at the same station as Matt. He is quite hostile towards him after the irregularities Matt was accused of.
• Detective Superintendent Christine Cosedine is Matt's boss.
• Kevin Slater is Matt's old schoolfriend. Kevin got involved in the arson his father committed when he agreed to remove some things from the pub. Matt helped him stay out of jail, and that is why Matt was demoted. Matt was happy that Kevin was out of his father's influence, but then his father calls him to say that he has befriended some guys who would leave some stuff with him. Matt tells him that he needs to say no, but at the end of the book Kevin leaves him a message for Matt, saying that he is in trouble
• Sam Slater is Kevin's father. He is in prison for arson. 
• DS Ahuja works at the station. 

CHARACTERS IN THIS NOVEL

• Harry Ferris (44) is the man whose return reopens the investigation into Mickie Brown's murder. Harry left home when he was quite young after his mother committed suicide. Now he returns as his father is dying. Lockyer discovers that on his thirteenth birthday he begged his mother to let him drive one of his father's cars, and as a consequence, he ran over a girl. His parents hid the whole thing, and that is why his mother committed suicide. The reason Mickie was killed was because he pretended to be his, and Tor, the reseach assistant who turned out to be Lucy White's sister, killed him and she thought he was right. When the truth comes out, Harry is ready to face whatever the consequences come his way. 
• Professor Roland Ferris (74) is the man Hedy worked for. He was convinced that his son was the man who stayed in his barn fourteen years ago. Roland is dying when Harry finally returns. He finally confesses the whole truth about the death of Lucy White. When Roland dies, he leaves his house in France to Hedy. 
• Mickie Brown is the man who was murdered fourteen years ago, and Hedy was found guilty of his murder. 
• Tor Heath/Garwich/Vicky White is the real murderer. His sister was killed in a hit and run, and he grew up obsessed with it. She knew the Ferrises may have been involved, so she got a job with Roland Ferris and discovered that Harris had been driving the car when he found Helen's suicide note. As Roland believed Mickie was really his son, she killed him. Lockyer arrested her when he finally discovered the truth. 
• Lucy White (8) is the girl who died as a result of a hit and run. Her death was the trigger that ended up with Mickie's murder. Lucy was Hedy's best friend, and at some point Matt believes that this is the motive Hedy had to kill Mickie. Yet, he discovers that her sister, Vicky, is Tor Garwich and she killed Mickie, thinking that she was avenging her sister. 
• Cass Baker is a local woman who has kept in touch with Hedy. She is the one who told Hedy about Harris's return. 
• Serena Godwin is Roland's sister.
• Paul Rifkin is Roland's butler. Lockyer discovers that Paul was in prison for embezzling money from his former employer, and during his incarceration he met Mickie Brown. Paul tells Lockyer that it is true that he met Mickie in prison, and his only fear was to lose his job. 
• Helen Ferris was Harris's mother. He committed suicide when he was fifteen, two years after the death of Lucy White because she couldn't bear the burden of guilt. 
• Miles Godwin (45) is Harris's cousin, and he confesses to Lockyer that he knew where his cousin was all the time. 
• Aaron Fletcher is Hedy's ex-boyfriend. The man tricked her out of her money when he convinced her they should have a joint account to save money for a future business. He then took everything, which left Hedy heartbroken. Lockyer finds him under another name, and he is arrested, and the can which belonged to Hedy is found and she recovers it. 
• Maureen Pocock run the local village and used to babysit for the Ferrises. Lockyer finds out a great deal about the Ferrises through her. 
• Debbie Carer is one of Roland's carerrs. 
• Sean Hannington is the man who Mickie was running away from. He beat him up for sleeping with his wife. At the end of the book, thanks to DNA, Sean can be tied to some crimes and he is arrested. 
• Kim Cowley was Sean's wife. She fell for Mickie, and she has always hoped that her son is Mickie's but when she agrees to get a DNA test, the results confirm that the boy is Sean's. But thanks to his DNA, Sean is linked to some unsolved crimes.
• Kieron Cowley is Kim's son. 
• Malcolm White is Lucy's father as well as Vicky's/Tor's. After lucy's dath, he felt guilty because if he had picked her up, his daughter would still be alive. His wife left him after Lucy's death, and his children went with her and even changed their surnames. Malcolm is an alcoholic and lives in terrible conditions.