While Sullivan is blue eyed and only tans in the summer he is half-Mexican and speaks Mexican Spanish. His Mexican Spanish is of great assistance in interrogations.
Born Alejo Gutierrez he changed his name to Al Sullivan after university when joined the Berkeley P.D. He chose his mother’s surname so that he could pass as white. While successful, there is an element of regret, some embarrassment, even shame over giving up his Mexican surname.
He recognizes the complexity of his origins:
…. My mom was white and most people thought I was white. But I never felt totally white. Of course I wasn’t really Mexican either. I didn’t fit in anywhere.
He escaped a poor working man’s life through determination and intelligence. He worked through university to support his mother and himself. It would have been an exhausting four years.
While at Cal Berkeley he was the best pitcher on the baseball team.
He achieved a degree in history.
On the Berkeley police force he was trained by August Vollmer who also trained Chiang Kai-Shek’s secret police.
His photographic memory is very useful as a detective.
Sullivan is precise and demanding when he needs to be when interrogating a witness or an accused.
He is always conscious of his past and the need to make a good impression.
He wants to succeed and has carefully considered how best to gain success.
Sullivan is a hard man and a sensitive man.
Not many fictional or real life homicide detectives would care for an 11 year old niece. Sullivan is devoted to Miriam, the 11 year old daughter of his irresponsible half-sister. I am sure he sees himself in her. She is working part-time to help out her mother. Miriam wears overalls every day but always with a pocket square in the bib pocket.
He is not perfect. In a moment of irritation he thoughtlessly says Miriam cannot hang around and he is not her Dad. While she puts up a brave front he can see she is devastated. His regret is too late.
He recognizes the class divisions of America. Sullivan explains to Miriam:
“There’s a suspicion line in every society, Miriam, and you’re either above or below it. The people above that line, they never even think about it. They walk the streets like they own them. They take for granted that the law is there to protect them, because it is”.
Becoming a cop put him above the line.
Sullivan reminded me of Adam Dagleish (P.D. James) and Ari Greene (Robert Rotenberg). All three men are thoughtful police officers. Their brains are more important than their brawn.
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He does sound like a fascinating character, Bill. I like it that he has an interesting background, and I've always preferred sleuths who use their brains more than their brawn. And although it's not the focus of your post, it sounds as though there's an interesting setting to this book, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Sleuths with interesting backgrounds and intelligence hold my interest the best.
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