Mary Dalloway
Mary Dalloway, is a deputy within the Saint's Crossing Sheriff's Department.
History
Early Life
Dalloway grew up in a small holler by a stream in West Virginia. Her father made what little money he could to provide for the family through moonshining. On one such trip, two days into a three day shine run, her father would be attacked and killed in the Appalachians by a black bear while setting up camp for the night. Her mother, who Mary would remember as a good-time girl before her father’s death became a shadow of her former self, haunting the house and neglecting her children to the extent that Mary's sister would die of starvation. Her distraught mother's wails and screams would only fall silent when her voice left her too. In her despair, her mother scratched her own throat out leaving the young Mary alone in the holler that had seen such misery.
Mary would be sent to live with her grandparents who knew little of the horrors that had occurred in her parents house. For a while Mary knew peace and would remember these as happy times. One day, when Mary was in her late teens a knock at the cabin door would change her life forever. Mary remembers little of the events that would happen in the cabin that day but a strangers grabbing hands and a whisper in her ear from “the devil in a tie”. Mary would be left inexplicably, largely unharmed amidst a scene of horror and bloodshed.
Traumatised by the events of that fateful day, Mary would leave her deceased grandparents home in an attempt to start her life anew. Mary made her way to the town of Wheeling where she would find employment within the Ohio County Library, the first in the state. For many years Mary took pleasure in the quiet life of a librarian, where the chaos of the world outside and the unpredictability of people held no sway over the organised world of books that Dalloway could easily categorise and make sense of.
Mary's safe and simple life would begin to unravel when people began going missing within Wheeling and clues started appearing as if taunting her, that hinted at the unsettling truth that the “Devil in a tie” may have returned. Soon Gossip began to spread about the quiet and strange librarian and the memories that had previously remained locked away began coming back to her.
Unable to put the unsettling memories out of her mind and convinced that the re-appearance of the killer was somehow connected to her, Mary came forward with what she knew to the local Sheriff's Office who had been investigating the recent disturbances in Wheeling. With her history and drive to catch the culprit Mary was temporarily deputised and quickly began aiding local law enforcement in their hunt. Over and again they would come close, occasionally finding a location where they had been but always too late. Eventually the trail would grow cold with the Sheriff's Department being forced to give up the hunt.
Mary's quiet life however had been shattered. With the killer still at large and a new drive in her to make sense of the minds of those that committed such terrible acts, she left behind her life in Wheeling and the safety of her library.
Events in Saint's Crossing
Dalloway arrived in Saint's Crossing having heard of its law department’s prestige and the new scientific methods being employed in law enforcement within the department. Though she faced a number of struggles during her cadet phase, often growing frustrated during her training and in her interactions with other deputies, Mary's curiosity and intellect would quickly be noticed. In mid march of 1902, Mary Dalloway would be deputised into the Saint's Crossing Sheriff's Department.
Character
Personality
Dalloway is highly intelligent and perceptive though she has trouble socialising with people, often coming across aloof and even surly around those she doesn't know. She is not fond of being touched or people entering her personal space often requesting that others keep a distance of "three bibles". Communication and understanding social cues do not come easy to Dalloway who often finds herself at a loss for what to say or how to act amongst her peers, showing many signs of being neurodivergent. Though extremely introverted, when Dalloway does open up to those who have gained her trust or a subject that she is particularly fond of pops up she can become highly effusive, often regaling those lucky souls with animal facts and obscure tidbits of historical knowledge.
Possibly due to the struggles with human interaction that Dalloway has experienced her whole life she has developed a knack through necessity of questioning peoples motivations and thought processes that has evolved into a keen interest in understanding the human mind. Her quietness can occasionally be mistaken for inattentiveness to those who are not familiar with her though those that do make this mistake would be folly to do so for Dalloway is always listening and observing.
Dalloway has a number of niche passions, such as animals, clocks, history, swimming and reading, with a particular interest in science fiction and the works of H.G. Wells. Dalloway’s history working within the library and cataloguing its many books along with her analytical way of thinking have made her particularly proficient in the paper work side of criminal investigation spending much of her down time comparing recorded fingerprints to the large back catalogue of cold cases.
Dalloway has tried to shy away from her poorer, West Virginian origins, calling herself simply Mary rather than Mary-Lou and attempting to conceal her stronger native accent.
Appearance
Dalloway has black hair that she keeps tied up and often hidden beneath her hat. She has brown eyes and sharp features with a permanent scowl that rests comfortably and unintentionally on her face. Her dress sense is somewhat quirky yet always smart with suspenders and one of her many bow ties a consistent feature of her outfits. Having grown up in poverty, Dalloway has a habit of dressing frugally though she allows herself some luxuries in choice items of clothing such as her always prim hat.
Relationships
Trivia
- Dalloway has an irrational fear of crickets largely due to their sudden movements and loud noise.
- Dalloway distrusts doctors.
- Dalloway collects small glass figurines of animals which she refers to as her glass menagerie.
