Characters The Girl from Devil's Lake J. A. Jance

Detective Deb Howell: Key Investigator in the Cold Case Hunt

Overview

Detective Deb Howell is a seasoned investigator in the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, serving under Sheriff Joanna Brady. In The Girl from Devil’s Lake, she emerges as the lead detective on the Xavier Delgado murder case—a four-year-old boy found strangled and dumped in the San Pedro River. Howell’s meticulous work connects that modern crime to a sixty-year-old cold case involving Amanda Hudson, a Lakota woman from Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. Throughout the novel, she blends professional competence with a personal sense of responsibility, especially after the death of reporter Marliss Shackleford. This analysis covers her plot role, motivations, character arc, relationships, key decisions, and thematic ties, drawing from the book’s evidence while distinguishing fact from interpretation.

Plot Role and Contributions

Deb Howell anchors the investigative side of the story. She is present from the early autopsy of Xavier Delgado to the final identification of more than ninety victims. In Chapter 26, she receives the call from the DPS lab and joins Joanna Brady in a conference call with MMIV director Anna Rae Green, learning that a palm print from Roper’s trash matches Amanda Hudson’s 1962 murder. In Chapter 27, Howell notes the identical signatures between the two cases—manual strangulation, no sexual assault, disposal in a river—helping establish a pattern. She also assists in drafting the search warrant, specifically listing items such as a shoelace with bleach traces and a gold wedding ring (Chapter 36). Later, she and Garth Raymond execute that warrant at Roper’s home, discovering Marliss Shackleford gravely injured in a crawl space (Chapter 42). Howell stays with Marliss, recording her dying statement and ensuring every word is captured on body cam. Her final major contribution comes in Chapter 48, where she reports the autopsy findings and suggests sending out a second BOLO and crowdsourcing images of class rings found in Roper’s trophy case.

Without Howell’s persistence—pushing for the target visit, seeking the manager’s computer records, and interviewing witnesses—the connection between the Delgado murder and Roper’s decades-long killing spree might never have been made.

Motivations and Personality Traits

Howell is driven by a fierce commitment to justice and a need to make amends. She feels guilt over Marliss Shackleford’s death, believing she could have prevented it if she had acted faster or shared information more effectively. This guilt is not spelled out in the text but is implied by her emotional reaction: when Marliss asks for a blanket while covered in blankets, Deb “wiped a tear from her eye” (Chapter 42). The interpretation is that she blames herself for not warning Marliss or for failing to protect a journalist who died because of the investigation.

Her traits include methodical persistence, empathy, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. During the crawl-space scene, she forces herself to set aside her emotions and treat the moment as “the last chance anyone would have to question the only eyewitness.” She operates with the professionalism instilled by her mentor, retired detective Ernie Carpenter, who “took a mere deputy and turned her into a capable homicide investigator.”

Chronological Arc

Howell’s arc proceeds in three phases:

  1. Early Investigation (Chapters 9–26): She attends the autopsy of Xavier Delgado, notes the broken hyoid bone and bleach traces, and begins building the case. She travels to Sierra Vista to check Target sales records for the duffel bag used to transport the body.

  2. Cold Case Link (Chapters 27–31): After the AFIS match to Amanda Hudson, Howell works closely with Anna Rae Green to compare signatures. She co-drafts the search warrant and continues to gather evidence while trying not to alert Roper.

  3. Crisis and Resolution (Chapters 38–48): Howell is at the command post when Roper’s escape attempt unfolds. She enters the crawl space, stays with the dying Marliss, and later reports the autopsy results. By the final briefing, she is solidifying evidence against Roper and helping to identify victims through crowdsourcing.

Over the course of the novel, Howell moves from a supporting detective to the primary driver of the cold-case breakthrough, while also grappling with the emotional toll of Marliss’s death.

Key Relationships

  • Sheriff Joanna Brady: Howell is a trusted subordinate who often brings critical updates directly to Joanna. Their professional bond is built on mutual respect; Joanna relies on Howell to manage warrants and liaise with other agencies.

  • Detective Garth Raymond: Howell’s partner. They work seamlessly together—driving to Sierra Vista, executing the warrant, and communicating by radio during the takedown. Garth handles the physical door-breaking; Howell handles the victim interview.

  • Marliss Shackleford: Reporter Marliss becomes an unintended victim. Howell’s interview in the crawl space is both a professional duty and a personal cost. She hears Marliss’s final words and carries the weight of that moment into the later investigation.

  • Ernie Carpenter (mentioned in Howell’s internal recollection): The retired detective who trained her. Though not present in the story, his influence shapes her investigatory method.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Decision to visit the Sierra Vista Target: Howell and Garth go despite not having a firm lead. The store manager’s information leads them to suspect Roper bought the same blue duffel bag. Though not enough for probable cause, it strengthens the case profile.

  • Decision to enter the crawl space: Howell chooses to climb down when she knows Marliss is likely dying. She remains calm, records the statement, and provides comfort. This decision yields a direct victim account that later ties Roper to attempted murder.

  • Decision to propose a second BOLO and crowdsourcing: In Chapter 48, Howell suggests using social media to identify class rings. This action directly leads to identifying Janice Jensen[1] and other victims, building the case for Roper’s charging hearing.

  • Decision not to warn Marliss earlier (interpreted guilt): The text does not show a specific decision, but Howell’s tears and her “wiping a tear” indicate she believes she could have intervened. Consequence: she carries lingering regret.

Connection to Themes and Symbols

  • Justice and Legal Procedure: Howell embodies procedure—she drafts warrants, follows chain of custody, and coordinates with MMPI. Her arc shows the slow, methodical side of law enforcement.

  • Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIV): Howell’s work directly connects Xavier Delgado (a Hispanic child) to Amanda Hudson (an Indigenous woman). She helps bridge the gap between modern investigations and historical neglect.

  • Intergenerational Trauma and Abuse: By linking Roper’s first murder in 1962 to a killing in 2023, Howell exposes how a single abuser can continue harming families for decades.

  • Serial Killing and Cold Cases: Howell is the detective who “cracks” the cold case by matching signatures. She uses the theme of trophies (shoelaces, rings, map X’s) to build the case.

  • Family and Motherhood: Although Howell does not have a family subplot, her interactions with Joanna Brady—a mother whose daughter just graduated from the academy—underscore how the job affects home life. Howell’s empathy for Marliss also reflects a surrogate-care role.

Frequently Asked Questions about Detective Deb Howell

1. Why does Deb Howell feel guilty about Marliss Shackleford’s death?

Howell never explicitly says she feels guilty, but her body language and actions suggest it. In Chapter 42, when Marliss repeatedly asks for a blanket and Howell has already covered her, she wipes a tear and silently blames herself. The likely reason is that she believes she could have warned Marliss or shared information more quickly, ensuring she did not confront Roper alone.

2. How does Deb Howell help connect the Xavier Delgado case to Amanda Hudson’s murder?

During the telephone conference with Anna Rae Green (Chapter 27), Howell asks about the cause of death, sexual assault evidence, and disposal method. She immediately notes that both cases involve manual strangulation, no sexual assault, and dumping in a river. She calls this a “signature,” convincing her team and the MMIV that the same perpetrator may be responsible—even sixty years apart.

3. What role does Howell play in obtaining the search warrant for Roper’s home?

After identifying Lucille Hawkins’s missing wedding ring and Brian Olson’s Cub Scout Wolf pin as potential trophies (Chapter 36), Howell drafts the search warrant with Joanna’s guidance. She fills in the electronic form and lists specific items: a shoelace with bleach traces, an ivory-handled switchblade, a gold wedding band, and the Wolf pin. She then drives with Garth to find Judge Askins to sign the warrant.

4. How does Howell’s training under Ernie Carpenter prepare her for the crawl-space interview?

Howell recalls that Carpenter “took a mere deputy and turned her into a capable homicide investigator.” That training teaches her to treat every crime scene as a potential last opportunity to hear from a victim. In the crawl space, she overrides her horror and conducts a recorded interview, preserving crucial evidence that shows Roper used chloroform and zip ties before shoving Marliss into the space.

5. What are Howell’s most effective investigative methods in the book?

Howell combines three key methods: (1) direct witness interviews—she presses Marliss for details despite the woman’s injuries; (2) evidence mapping—she notes the targets and chains of custody for shoelaces and class rings; and (3) crowdsourcing—she suggests using a Facebook group to identify lost class rings, which directly leads to identifying Janice Jensen. Her willingness to use both classic detective work and modern social media tools makes her effective.

[1]: This identification is mentioned in Chapter 48 of the novel: Sheriff Moody calls to say that the ring with initials EHS belonged to Janice Jensen, whose body was found in 1981.

For more context, visit the main book page, explore themes of serial killing and cold cases, or the ending explained.