Carter Character Analysis

Detective Superintendent Carter is the first to arrive on the scene after Stephens finds McLeery (who is really Evans in disguise) covered with blood in Evans’s prison cell. The Governor realizes that McLeery is the only one who understands the situation at hand, so he instructs Carter to take McLeery with him to track down Evans. Along the way, McLeery’s health begins to decline rapidly, so Carter calls him an ambulance but leaves to continue the search for Evans. In leaving McLeery alone to wait for the ambulance, Carter unknowingly leaves Evans unsupervised, allowing him to escape before the ambulance arrives to pick him up. Later, Carter calls the Governor and confidently says that McLeery is at Radcliffe Hospital and that he thinks Evans doubled back into the city. The Governor disagrees with this theory—and explains his reasons for believing otherwise—but knows that his words might not hold any weight, since this is “a police job now” and the Governor is “just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor.” The Governor’s critical thoughts illustrate his own pride, along with Carter’s, and also suggest a power struggle between prison officers and police officers.