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From Potter's Field (novel)
Encyclopedia
From Potter's Field is a crime fiction
novel by Patricia Cornwell
. It is the sixth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta
series.
on Christmas Eve; Scarpetta, as the FBI's consulting pathologist, is called in. Later, a transit cop is found shot in a subway tunnel, and, back home in Richmond, Virginia
, the body of a crooked local sheriff is delivered to Scarpetta's own morgue by the elusive, brilliant Gault. The normally unflappable Scarpetta finds herself hyperventilating and nearly shooting her own niece. In the end, some ingenious forensic detective work and a visit to the killer's agonized family set up a high-tech, difficult to follow, climax back in the New York
subway, which Gault treats as the Phantom of the Opera did the sewers of Paris.
is a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The term comes from in the New Testament
of the Bible
, in which Hebrew priests take 30 pieces of silver
returned by a repentant Judas
and "used the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners."
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel by Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is a contemporary American crime writer. She is widely known for writing a popular series of novels featuring the heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner.-Early life:...
. It is the sixth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta
Kay Scarpetta
Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. The character is based on former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro, MD. The series is noted for the use of recent forensic technology in Scarpetta's investigations.-...
series.
Plot summary
The story begins as a rotten Christmas for Scarpetta: Temple Gault has struck again, leaving a naked, apparently homeless girl shot in Central ParkCentral Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
on Christmas Eve; Scarpetta, as the FBI's consulting pathologist, is called in. Later, a transit cop is found shot in a subway tunnel, and, back home in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, the body of a crooked local sheriff is delivered to Scarpetta's own morgue by the elusive, brilliant Gault. The normally unflappable Scarpetta finds herself hyperventilating and nearly shooting her own niece. In the end, some ingenious forensic detective work and a visit to the killer's agonized family set up a high-tech, difficult to follow, climax back in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
subway, which Gault treats as the Phantom of the Opera did the sewers of Paris.
Characters in From Potter's Field
- Kay ScarpettaKay ScarpettaKay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. The character is based on former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro, MD. The series is noted for the use of recent forensic technology in Scarpetta's investigations.-...
- Chief Medical Examiner. - Benton Wesley - FBI Profiler.
- Lucy Farinelli - Kay's niece. FBI Trainee and programmer at the Engineering Research Facility at the FBI AcademyFBI AcademyThe FBI Academy, located in Quantico, Virginia, is the training site for new Special Agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was first opened for use in 1972 on 385 acres of woodland. It is a relatively small government academy, housing three dormitory buildings and...
, QuanticoQuantico, Virginia- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
. - Pete Marino - Captain in the RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
Police Department. Started dating a woman named Molly since ThanksgivingThanksgivingThanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
. - Paul Tucker - Colonel, Chief of Police, RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. He had been a basketball star at the University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and a finalist for a Rhodes scholarshipRhodes ScholarshipThe Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
. He was extremely fit, exceptionally bright and a graduate of the FBI's National AcademyFBI AcademyThe FBI Academy, located in Quantico, Virginia, is the training site for new Special Agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was first opened for use in 1972 on 385 acres of woodland. It is a relatively small government academy, housing three dormitory buildings and...
. - Frances Penn - Commander of the New York City Transit PoliceNew York City Transit PoliceThe New York City Transit Police Department was a law enforcement agency in New York City that existed from 1953 to 1995. The roots of this organization go back to 1936 when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia authorized the hiring of Special Patrolmen for the New York City Subway system...
. A woman very much alike Kay, when she said to her, "personal relationships are your nemesis because you can't have a good one by overachieving. You can't earn a happy love affair or be promoted into a happy marriage. And if someone you care about has a problem, you think you should have prevented it and most certainly fix it." When Kay asked about her inquisition, she mentioned that, "Your story is my story. There are many women like us. Yet we never seem to get together. - Carrie Grethen - Accomplice to Gault. She had been Lucy's programming partner and intimate friend. Drug addict, she helped Temple Gault murder Lamont Brown.
Victims
- A mutt puppy - It belonged to Rachael when she and Temple Gault were five years old. The puppy disappeared and that night Jayne woke up to find it dead in her bed.
- Rachael Jayne Gault -Originally named Jane Doe because her identity could not be determined. Killed at Cherry Hill in Central Park, New York. Before she met her demise, she was dressed in a man's topcoat and an Atlanta BravesAtlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
baseball cap. Her head was shaved. She was most likely forced to strip and walk barefoot to the fountain, where she was shot at close range in the right temple. There were excised areas of skin from her inner thighs and left shoulder. and her naked body was propped against the fountain. She is deduced to be Temple Gault's twin sister, by means of dental records: she had gold-foil fillings in her teeth. - Officer Jimmy Davila - Officer in the New York City Transit Police Homeless Unit. Known to be "a good officer. He was so helpful, never complained, and his smile. He brightened a room. He was twenty-seven, with only a years' service. He was found on his back, his winter jacket unzipped, revealing the stiff shape of a bulletproof vest beneath a navy blue commando sweater. He had been shot between his eyes with the .38.38.38 refers to the type of firearm and firearm cartridges.The .38 is considered a large caliber firearm cartridge; Anything larger than .32 is considered a large caliber, and one of the most common handguns manufactured in the United States...
revolver on top of his chest. - Sheriff Lamont Brown - Sheriff in the Richmond Police Department. Also known as "Sheriff Santa," he is a corrupt officer who "snorted cocaine and probably stole half of what was donated to be delivered by him to the poor each year." His body was personally delivered by Temple Gault to the morgue at three in the morning. His head was covered by a black plastic garbage bag that had been tied around the neck with a shoelace. He was clothed in blood-soaked pajamas and wore a thick gold bracelet and RolexRolexRolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
watch. Peeking out of the breast pocket of his pajama top was what appeared to be a pink envelope." - Detective Jakes - Killed by Temple Gault after Kay discovered Sheriff Brown's body was delivered by him. Marino and Kay was just right outside the morgue at the time. When Marino called for him and waited more than twenty minutes without any correspondence, he decided to go look for him. He was eventually discovered inside the crematorium oven. When Kay and Marino opened the oven door, they discovered that the body burning on the tray inside had not been there long. The clothes had incinerated, but not the leather cowboy boots. The boots smoked on Detective Jake's feet as flames licked the skin off his bones and inhaled his hair. X-rays revealed he had received a crushing blow to the chest prior to death. Ribs and sternum were fractured, his aorta torn, and a STAT carbon monoxide showed he was no longer breathing when he was set on fire
- Detective Maier - He was found by Kay at the moment she saw Temple Gault holding Lucy hostage. Detective Maier was welded to the third rail of southbound tracks, hands and teeth clenched as electricity flowed through his dead body
Other deaths
- Temple Brooks Gault - Serial killer. Described by Kay as having many shades of hair. With sharp features and eyes as pale blue as a malamute's (This is an error on the author's part as malamutes do not have blue eyes, only varying shades of brown. A Siberian HuskySiberian HuskyThe Siberian Husky is a medium-size, dense-coat working dog breed that originated in north-eastern Siberia. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family...
can have blue eyes, but not malamutes.) . He enjoyed military clothing or designs suggestive of it, such as the boots and the long black leather coat he was seen wearing in New York. His first encounter with the criminal justice system had been less than five years ago when he was drinking White RussiansWhite Russian (cocktail)A White Russian is a sweet cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueurs , and cream served with ice in an Old Fashioned glass...
in a bar in Abingdon, VirginiaAbingdon, VirginiaAbingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
. An intoxicated truck driver, who did not like effeminate males, began to harass Gault, who had a black beltBlack belt (martial arts)In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in karateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
. "Without a word, Gault smiled his strange smile. He got up, spun around and kicked the man in the head." Half a dozen off-duty state troopers happened to be at a nearby table, which was perhaps the only reason Gault was caught and charged with manslaughterManslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
. He also holds a great animosity towards his twin sister Rachael Jayne Gault. According to his father, "from day one Temple wanted to squash her like a bug. He was cruel." He was killed by snipers after having an artery slashed by Kay using the scalpel he used to hold Lucy hostage. He fell on the railway track after being shot, and was crushed by an oncoming train.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
- The story is set in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Explanation of the novel's title
A potter's fieldPotter's field
A potter's field was an American term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay, which was useless for agriculture but could be used as a burial site.-Origin:The term comes from...
is a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The term comes from in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, in which Hebrew priests take 30 pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the Christian New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins...
returned by a repentant Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
and "used the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners."