Characters I Was a Teenage Slasher Stephen Graham Jones

Sheriff Burke: Law, Duty, and the Unseen Rules in a Slasher Story

Overview

Sheriff Lacey Burke is the first woman to hold the sheriff’s badge in Dawson County, Texas, in 1989. In Stephen Graham Jones’s I Was a Teenage Slasher, she serves as the primary representative of institutional order in a town suddenly overrun by supernatural violence. Her role is that of a competent, pragmatic investigator who must navigate a murder spree that defies normal criminal logic. She eventually becomes the instrument of Tolly Driver’s apparent death, shooting him at the grain elevator. Burke embodies the tension between law enforcement’s procedural world and the genre rules that govern the slasher narrative—rules she can never fully understand or control.

Plot Role

Sheriff Burke appears early in the story, questioning Tolly and Amber after the Deek Masterson party. She is present at the pumpjack where Deek’s body is found tangled in the machinery and where Stace Goodkin is discovered barely alive. Throughout the weekend, she investigates the escalating killings, interviews witnesses, and tries to contain the terror spreading through Lamesa. Her most critical action occurs in the final chapter when she shoots Tolly at the grain elevator, stopping his rampage—though Tolly does not truly die.

Burke functions as the “final authority” figure common in slasher films: she represents the system that fails to prevent the carnage but still tries to impose order. Unlike the genre’s typical incompetent sheriff, Burke is sharp, observant, and physically capable. She does not dismiss the killings as accidents or teen mischief; she recognizes the pattern of violence and responds with urgency.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Burke’s primary motivation is protecting her community. She asks direct, pointed questions—“What can you tell me about last night, Tolly Driver?”—and does not accept evasive answers. She shows a willingness to use force when necessary, shooting a power box to stop a pumpjack rather than waiting for a handle that doesn’t exist. This solution is pragmatic and immediate, characteristic of her approach.

She also displays a dry, slightly wry humor. When Amber claims her truck is out of gas, Burke quips, “Thought Rabbits ate grass?” This humanizes her and shows she can engage with teenagers on their level, even while conducting a serious investigation. Yet she never lets her guard down; she uses the cruiser’s locked back doors and keeps control of situations.

Burke is physically brave. She full-body tackles Mel into the bushes to protect her from Tolly, and she uses her service revolver to fire warning shots and ultimately to shoot Tolly. She does not hesitate when lives are at stake.

A subtle trait is her awareness of her position as the first female sheriff. Tolly notes that “just her being behind the badge was straightening the men of Lamesa up.” She carries herself with a confidence that demands respect, and she uses her authority to override male deputies and townspeople when necessary.

Chronological Arc

Burke’s arc in the novel spans from Saturday morning to Sunday night, roughly thirty-six hours of intense, escalating violence.

  • Saturday morning: She picks up Tolly and Amber after their truck runs out of diesel. She questions them about the party and takes them to the pumpjack where Deek’s body is discovered. She also learns about the deaths at Deek’s house.
  • Saturday afternoon: She notifies Tolly’s mother of the situation and continues investigating. She is present at the hardware store when Tolly is hit by the deputy’s fiancée’s truck.
  • Saturday night/Sunday morning: She investigates the Joss family’s deaths and connects the dots, becoming convinced of Tolly’s guilt. She begins actively hunting him.
  • Sunday night at the Sky-Vue drive-in: She intervenes when Mel commands the truck and fires shots. She tackles Mel to safety and then later shoots Tolly at the grain elevator, ending the immediate threat.
  • Aftermath (seventeen years later): Burke does not directly appear in the epilogue, but the fact that Tolly is still alive and working in a junkyard suggests her shot was not fatal—or that slasher rules allowed him to survive.

Relationships

With Tolly: Burke treats Tolly with a mix of suspicion and grudging tolerance. She sees him as a potential witness and later as a suspect. Their most direct interaction is the interrogation in his yard, where she asks pointed questions and notes his evasion. She never extends personal warmth, but she also does not brutalize him. When she shoots him, it is a professional act, not a vengeful one.

With Amber: Burke respects Amber’s intelligence but keeps her at arm’s length. She warns Amber to stay out of trouble and questions her role in the events. Amber, in turn, learns to navigate around Burke’s authority by offering just enough truth to avoid further scrutiny.

With the Josses: Burke has a prior connection to Mr. Joss, who mentions taking her to homecoming “a lifetime ago.” This history adds a layer of personal tragedy to the case; she is investigating the deaths of the son of a man she once knew. Amber warns the Josses to be careful around Burke, suggesting a potential danger in being a red herring suspect.

With Mel: Burke physically protects Mel from Tolly by tackling her into bushes and then directing her away. Her actions demonstrate a protective instinct toward potential victims.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Deciding not to immediately arrest Tolly and Amber: Despite finding them near the scene of Deek’s murder, Burke chooses to release them under the guise of needing to continue the investigation. This decision allows Tolly to continue his transformation and rampage. It may reflect her reliance on evidence over instinct.
  • Shooting the power box: Rather than wait for a safe shutdown, she destroys property to free Deek’s body. This shows her willingness to break rules in emergencies, a trait that aligns with the genre’s emphasis on survival over procedure.
  • Tackling Mel instead of shooting Tolly immediately: She prioritizes saving Mel over a risky shot. This choice preserves Mel as a survivor but allows Tolly to escape temporarily.
  • Shooting Tolly at the grain elevator: This final decision stops Tolly’s spree, though it does not permanently kill him. The consequence is a fourteen-year period of dormancy, not true death.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Law vs. Slasher Logic: Burke operates within a legal framework that assigns blame and seeks evidence. The slasher genre, by contrast, runs on supernatural rules: a killer can vanish when unwatched, resurrect after apparent death, and target only those who wronged him. Burke’s inability to understand or counter these rules underscores the theme of genre self-awareness. She is a character who believes in cause and effect, but the story operates on a different causality.

Guilt and Moral Responsibility: As the town’s authority figure, Burke carries the burden of protecting innocent citizens. Her failure to stop the killings before they escalate connects to the theme of guilt and moral responsibility. She is not directly responsible for the violence, but her inability to prevent it reflects the limits of institutional power.

Alienation and Otherness: Burke is an outsider in her own community because of her gender and role. Her presence “straightens up” the men of Lamesa, but also isolates her. This parallels Tolly’s alienation as a slasher, though from a different angle. She represents a form of alienation and otherness that comes from being the first woman sheriff.

The Chrome Sunglasses: Burke’s sunglasses are a recurring symbol. They are described as “chrome” and are destroyed when she tackles Mel. The sunglasses represent her professional facade—her ability to see clearly and remain detached. When they break, the facade cracks, revealing her vulnerability and exhaustion. Tolly notes she pulls them “delicately” from her pocket after they are wrecked, a small human moment.

Five Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Sheriff Burke question Tolly about his weight during the yard interview? Burke asks “how much do you weigh?” to assess Tolly’s physical capability in relation to the crimes. It’s a practical question used to determine if he could have been involved in the violent acts. Tolly deflects, but Amber answers for him.

2. How does Sheriff Burke respond when Amber warns the Josses to be careful around her? Mr. Joss recalls that he took Burke to homecoming “a lifetime ago,” indicating they have a personal history. He dismisses Amber’s warning, saying “Lacey wouldn’t shoot us.” This suggests Burke retains some personal trust in the community, even as she becomes a figure of suspicion.

3. What does Sheriff Burke do when she finds Mel at Tolly’s house? Burke “full-body tackles” Mel into the bushes to protect her from Tolly, who is lurking in the shadows. She then instructs Mel not to shoot, and when Mel empties the revolver into the darkness, Burke comforts her, smoothing her hair and saying “he’s not there.”

4. Why does Sheriff Burke shoot the power box at the pumpjack? The power switch is broken—probably missing its handle—and the pumpjack keeps cycling. Burke shoots the box to stop the machinery so that Deek’s body can be retrieved. This shows her willingness to use destructive force to solve a practical problem.

5. Does Sheriff Burke believe Tolly is the killer from the beginning? No. Initially, she treats Tolly as a witness and potential victim. She only becomes convinced of his guilt after the Josses are killed and more evidence accumulates. By the end, she actively hunts him and shoots him at the grain elevator, indicating full certainty.

For further analysis of Tolly’s transformation and the rules the story follows, see our discussions on slasher infection and transformation and the ending explained.