Call Mr. Fortune · Chapter
Phase IV: The Charge explained
Reggie Fortune and Lomas discuss the case as a work of pure art, a crime unstained by greed or sentiment.
What happens
Reggie Fortune and Lomas discuss the case as a work of pure art, a crime unstained by greed or sentiment. Lomas and Bell meet with Horace Kimball, whom Reggie questions about a man named Mason (also known as Rand) who was found murdered. Reggie reveals that Kimball visited Mason in a nursing home, and that a snuffbox like Kimball's was found at the murder scene containing cocaine. Lomas refuses to charge Kimball due to weak circumstantial evidence and his status as a Cabinet Minister. Reggie insists on watching Kimball and Sandford, probing their true identities. Bell notes Kimball's clean life but Reggie presses for deeper knowledge, unsettling Lomas with his uncanny insight into men.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Morality
Reggie and Lomas debate the moral purity of the crime, with Reggie seeing it as diabolical evil for its own sake, while Lomas admires its artistry.
Class and Society
Lomas refuses to charge Kimball because he is a Cabinet Minister, highlighting how social status protects individuals from justice.
The Rational vs. the Irrational
Reggie's intuitive, almost supernatural insight into Kimball contrasts with Lomas's practical, evidence-based approach, and Reggie describes the crime as irrational evil.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Reginald Fortune
Discusses the case as pure art, questions Kimball about Mason, and insists on watching Kimball and Sandford.
- Mr. Lomas
Agrees with Reggie about the case's grandeur, refuses to charge Kimball on weak evidence, and finds Reggie's moral intensity surprising.
- Horace Kimball
Visits Lomas and Bell, is questioned by Reggie about visiting Mason, and denies knowledge of the murder.
- Superintendent Bell
Present during the interview with Kimball, notes Kimball's clean life, and observes Reggie's uncanny ability to understand men.
- Jack Mason
Revealed to be the man found murdered at Montmorency House flats, also known as Rand, and was visited by Kimball in a nursing home.
Key passages
“Crime unstained by any vulgar greed or sentiment; sheer crime; iniquity neat.”
A crime pure and simple, without any base motives like greed or emotion—just evil for its own sake.
Reggie and Lomas reflect on the artistic quality of the crime, seeing it as a work of pure iniquity.
“I’m for justice. I’m for the man who’s been wronged.”
I stand on the side of justice and the victim, not on any side of advocacy.
Reggie asserts his moral stance, emphasizing that he is not an advocate but a seeker of truth.
“He has the devil in him.”
Kimball is possessed by an evil spirit, not in a legal or medical sense, but morally.
Reggie describes Kimball as having a diabolical nature, beyond ordinary criminality.