Symbols The Color of Death Trey Gowdy

The Salon Scissors: A Symbol of Intimate Violence and Degradation

Overview

In Trey Gowdy’s legal thriller The Color of Death, the salon scissors are more than a murder weapon—they function as a concentrated symbol of intimacy, violation, and the erasure of identity. Found embedded in the chest of victim Rachel Simone after being used to cut her hair, the scissors force readers to confront the deeply personal nature of her killing. Unlike a gunshot or a bludgeoning, the scissors demand close physical contact with the victim, transforming the act into something almost ritualistic.

This analysis draws on the novel’s depiction in Chapter 4, Chapter 25, and related passages. We’ll examine what the scissors literally are, where they recur in the narrative, how their meaning evolves, and how they connect to core themes and characters.

What the Scissors Literally Are

The scissors are a standard pair of salon shears, the kind used by a hair stylist for cutting and shaping hair. At the crime scene, Detective Travis Hendrick and prosecutor Colm Truesdale find Rachel’s body with a pair of scissors impaled in her chest. The medical examiner later confirms the scissors were driven into her chest postmortem (Chapter 25). Before that, the killer used the same scissors to cut long strands of Rachel’s blond hair, which are scattered around the room—some clumped in her own blood.

Thus, the scissors have a dual use: first as a tool for symbolic mutilation (cutting hair), then as a weapon for a final, staged wound. Their presence at a hair salon—Rachel’s place of work—makes them a painfully ironic “instrument of her trade” turned instrument of death.

Where the Scissors Recur

The scissors appear most vividly in the initial crime‑scene description (Chapter 4). They re‑emerge in the autopsy report (Chapter 25) when Dr. Ardell Sharp notes that hair strands were recovered from inside the chest cavity. The scissors are not physically seen again, but they echo throughout the investigation:

  • Colm’s reflections: In Chapter 13, while driving the same road the killer likely took, Colm muses on how “knives, scissors, screwdrivers, and sharp objects are more personal than strangulation.” He mentally links the scissors to the killer’s psychology.
  • The missing appointment book: In Chapter 33, Colm discovers that a page from Rachel’s appointment book—showing a three‑hour “light trim” appointment for Judge Martin Weber—has been removed. This revelation ties the scissors (literally used for cutting hair) to a possible motive and cover‑up.
  • JD’s actions: While not directly handling scissors, the antagonist JD (Chapter 70) exhibits a parallel ritualistic violence when she tears a King of Hearts card in half and draws a noose on a queen, mirroring the intimate, symbolic brutality of the scissors.

The scissors thus function as a recurring touchstone for both the physical crime and the psychological entanglement of the characters.

How the Meaning Changes

In the opening chapters, the scissors represent raw degradation. The killer cuts Rachel’s hair—a deeply intimate act—before killing her. Hair is often tied to personal identity and femininity; violating it strips the victim of dignity even before death. The scissors then become a grotesque punctuation of that violation when impaled into her chest.

As the investigation unfolds, the scissors take on additional layers of meaning:

  • Evidentiary symbolism: For Colm, the scissors become a problem to solve. He asks, “Why that weapon?” The choice forces him to think like the killer, a process he calls “dualism” that wrecks him.
  • Class and power: The scissors were used in a salon setting where Judge Weber received free haircuts during his affair. The weapon thus ties together two worlds: Rachel’s honest labor and Martin’s corrupt privilege. The scissors cut through the social fabric, exposing hypocrisy.
  • Closure’s impossibility: By the novel’s end, the scissors remain a fixed memory of violence. Neither Colm nor Rachel’s family can fully “close” the wound. The scissors are a physical reminder that some acts are beyond redemption or explanation.

Character Connections

Rachel Simone

The scissors define Rachel’s identity as a hair stylist, but they also become the instrument of her dehumanization. Her hair is cut and scattered; her body is left with a tool of her craft sticking out of her chest. Every character who views the scene is forced to see her not just as a victim but as someone whose personal space was invaded twice: first while alive (hair cutting) and then after death (impalement).

Colm Truesdale

Colm, still grieving his own daughter’s murder, connects the scissors to his inability to find closure. In the autopsy scene, he stares down at Rachel and thinks: “Beauty is no defense against death.” The scissors become a tangible focus for his obsession with justice and his fear that closure is a myth—a theme explored in the novel’s meditations on grief and loss.

Judge Martin Weber

For Martin, the scissors are a silent accusation. He was a client of Rachel’s, receiving “light trim” appointments that were actually cover for a sexual affair. The scissors thus represent his secret life and the moral rot at the heart of his character. The missing appointment book page (Chapter 33) suggests he may have tampered with evidence to protect himself, using the very tool of Rachel’s trade as a weapon of deceit.

JD (the antagonist)

JD never touches the scissors, but her ritualistic violence with playing cards in Chapter 70 echoes the same intimate cruelty. She cuts the King of Hearts in half—calling it the “Suicide King”—and draws a noose on the Queen. Her actions mirror the killer’s use of the scissors: symbolically mutilating a symbol of love (hearts) before planning a similar violation against a new target. JD embodies the novel’s theme of justice versus revenge, taking the scissors’ personal violence to a premeditated extreme.

Detective Travis Hendrick

The scissors mark Travis’s first major homicide case. He learns from Colm to look beyond the obvious—to question why the killer chose that weapon. The scissors become a lesson in forensic psychology, helping Travis grow from a rookie into a more thoughtful investigator.

Theme Connections

Intimate Violence

The scissors exemplify the novel’s exploration of violence that is close, personal, and degrading. Unlike a gun, which can be fired from a distance, scissors require the killer to be inches from the victim, to feel the resistance of hair and flesh. This intimacy amplifies the horror and underscores the killer’s desire to dominate Rachel completely.

Degradation and Identity

Cutting hair symbolically strips Rachel of her identity. As a stylist, her hair was her canvas; by cutting it off and throwing it in blood, the killer reduces her to a dehumanized object. The act echoes in later chapters where Colm notes that juries rarely learn about the victim’s character, and yet the scissors tell a story of the life that was erased.

Corruption and Power

The scissors connect to corruption and power through Judge Weber. He benefited from free haircuts while abusing his judicial authority. The weapon that killed Rachel also exposed his double life. The scissors cut through the veneer of respectability, revealing a justice system tainted by personal failings.

Mentorship and Redemption

Colm uses the scissors as a teaching tool for Travis, showing him how to read a crime scene. In this sense, the scissors become a bridge between mentorship and redemption—Colm, haunted by his past, finds purpose in guiding a younger detective. The scissors are a brutal but effective curriculum.

The Nature of Closure

The scissors remain a tangible reminder of what cannot be undone. Rachel’s hair does not grow back; the scissors cannot be “unimpaled.” Colm, who believes closure is a myth, sees the scissors as proof that some wounds never heal. They symbolize the permanence of loss and the inadequacy of legal justice to restore wholeness.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How do the salon scissors differ from other weapons in the novel, and what does that difference reveal about the killer’s psychology?

Unlike a gun—which is impersonal and distant—scissors require the killer to be physically close to the victim. The act of cutting Rachel’s hair before killing her suggests a desire for intimacy and control. The killer sought to degrade her (by violating her hair) and then symbolically “pin” her in place with the scissors in her chest. This method implies a personal motive, possibly jealousy or obsession.

2. In what way does the missing appointment book page connect Judge Martin Weber to the scissors?

The missing page shows Weber’s three‑hour “light trim” appointment, which Colm realizes was a cover for an affair. The scissors, used both for haircuts and the murder, link Weber to the scene. He had access to Rachel’s salon, knew the tools of her trade, and may have used that knowledge for the crime or the subsequent cover‑up. The scissors thus become evidence not just of murder but of judicial corruption.

3. What role do the scissors play in Colm Truesdale’s character development?

The scissors force Colm to confront his own trauma. He has to “think like a killer” (Chapter 13) while also facing his grief over his daughter’s murder. The scissors represent the intimate, savage loss he cannot process. His obsession with the weapon mirrors his need for answers that will never bring closure. By the end, the scissors remain a symbol of the limits of his power as a prosecutor.

4. How does JD’s ritual with playing cards in Chapter 70 parallel the symbolism of the scissors?

JD tears a King of Hearts in half and draws a noose on a Queen, repeating the pattern of intimate mutilation seen with the scissors. She uses a “Suicide King” card, implying she sees the victim as complicit in their own death. Just as the killer used Rachel’s own scissors against her, JD uses a deck of cards—another everyday object—to threaten and degrade. Her actions show that the scissors’ symbolic violence is not an isolated event but a method JD intends to repeat.

Conclusion

The salon scissors in The Color of Death are a powerful emblem of intimate violence, degradation, and the enduring scars of murder. They link the crime scene to themes of corruption, grief, and the impossibility of closure. Through the eyes of characters like Colm, Travis, and JD, the scissors become a lens for examining how the smallest, most personal objects can carry the weight of a story’s darkest truths. For readers and students, following the scissors from the first gory discovery to the final symbolic echoes offers a pathway into the novel’s deep engagement with justice, loss, and the human need to make meaning out of tragedy.