Fenway Stevenson: A former nurse practitioner with a master’s degree in forensics, she moved to Estancia in April. Fenway has a rocky (but improving) relationship with her father. Appointed to fill out the coroner’s term, she decided to run for election—and won. Her official four-year term started January 1.
Her family
Nathaniel Ferris: The richest, most powerful man in the county, the oil magnate founded and owns Ferris Energy. After his wife took away the then eight-year-old Fenway to Seattle two decades ago, he threw himself into his work, but had hardly seen or talked to Fenway in the twenty years before she came back to town. Four months ago, he took a bullet for Fenway and recently awoke from a coma.
Charlotte Ferris: The former beauty pageant winner married Nathaniel a decade ago when she was 25 and he was 50—the weekend of Fenway’s high school graduation.
Co-workers and law enforcement personnel, past and present
Sergeant Desirée “Dez” Roubideaux: A detective in the coroner’s office, Dez has worked for the county for more than twenty years. She’s a dedicated, determined investigator despite her wisecracks.
Craig McVie: The former sheriff of Dominguez County, he lost the mayoral race in November. Recently divorced from Amy, he’s now a private investigator. He and Fenway officially started dating after the election.
Sergeant Mark Trevino: The other detective in the coroner’s office, Mark is on the cusp of retirement.
Deputy Celeste Salvador: A young, bright sheriff’s deputy. She recently passed the detective exam and has applied to replace Mark after his retirement.
Piper Patten: Formerly in the county’s IT department, this willowy redhead is a whiz at forensic accounting and data gathering. She helped Nathaniel Ferris prove his innocence in a murder case, and now works for McVie.
Melissa de la Garza: A CSI tech from neighboring San Miguelito County, de la Garza’s team is a shared forensic resource with Dominguez County.
Donald Huke: An uptight, by-the-book rookie deputy in the Dominguez County Sheriff’s Office.
Sarah Summerfield: The newly hired coroner’s assistant.
Rachel Richards: Fenway’s former assistant, she was promoted to be the county’s youngest public information officer in a century.
Deputy Brian Callahan: Another sheriff’s deputy, he has also applied for the detective position in the coroner’s office—and he’s dating Rachel.
Captain Steve Alvidrez: The head of the vice squad in San Miguelito County.
Dr. Michi Yasuda: Dez’s wife is the medical examiner in San Miguelito County, whose morgue houses many victims from Dominguez County.
Roland Azurra: A Dominguez County judge.
Debbie Farzan: A Dominguez County human resources manager.
Patrick Appleby: An IT specialist for the county, he assists with computer forensics and information gathering for investigations.
Jordan Daniels: The IT director for the county, he’s Patrick’s boss.
Sheriff Gretchen Donnelly: The new sheriff who replaced McVie when he ran for mayor.
Suspects, witnesses, and persons of interest
Seth Cahill: The former owner of Warehouse Storage Solutions, he’s found dead on his former property.
Tyra Cahill: Recently divorced from Seth, she received the business in the settlement.
Mathis Jericho: A Nidever University dropout, he’s the maintenance and landscaping specialist for Cahill Warehouse Storage.
Isabella Chan: An office assistant at Cahill Warehouse Storage.
Miranda Duchy: The former mistress of Seth Cahill, she was his official girlfriend at the time of Seth’s passing.
Hope Dunkelman: Tyra Cahill’s best friend since high school.
George Pope: Hope’s high school sweetheart, her now-husband owns his own business.
Stephan Butler: The owner/operator of a local whale-watching business who has often used the Cahill’s storage facility.
Calvin Banning: This shady figure often accompanies Butler on whale-watching trips.
Zoso: A well-connected low-level drug dealer whose penchant for the pills he uses doesn’t interfere with his eyes and ears; he has helped Fenway out on a few cases in the past.