Reggie Davis: The Avenger in Disguise

Overview

Reggie Davis enters Riley Sager’s With a Vengeance as a lost passenger who boarded the wrong train, but this plain appearance conceals a layered identity. He is first an FBI special agent sent undercover to protect the six people Anna Matheson has lured aboard the Philadelphia Phoenix. As the night unfolds, Reggie is revealed as the second killer—a vigilante bent on avenging his father’s death in the same train explosion that destroyed Anna’s family. His arc from observer to active murderer drives the novel’s final acts and deepens its exploration of revenge versus justice.

Plot Role and Introduction

Reggie appears in Chapter Fourteen, startling the conspirators when he steps into the lounge where Judd Dodge’s body lies. He claims he boarded the wrong train and hid in the lavatory out of nervousness. Anna sizes him up: a man in his late twenties, conventionally dressed, with a face that “would likely pass for handsome in different lighting.” She forces him to sit and questions him. During the subsequent search, Anna asks Reggie to frisk her; he feels the knife strapped to her thigh but chooses not to reveal it, winning her trust while beginning his own secret agenda.

The next chapter confirms that Reggie carries a list of six names—all except Kenneth Wentworth are aboard—and a gun hidden in his suitcase. He crosses out Judd Dodge’s name, signaling that he has already begun his mission. This moment establishes him not as a passive agent but as an active avenger.

Motivations and Personality

Reggie’s core motivation is revenge for his father, a railroad engineer who died in the troop‑train explosion that Arthur Matheson was wrongly blamed for. In Chapter Forty‑Eight, Reggie confesses to Anna that he was fifteen when his father died and that he joined the FBI to “do right by” him. When he discovers that the six people Anna has gathered are the actual killers, he sees an opportunity he never expected.

His personality is marked by patience and calculation. He follows orders to observe, but the moment Judd Dodge fakes his own death, Reggie adapts. He forces Judd to become an accomplice, directing the murders of Edith Gerhardt and Herb Pulaski while framing Anna. He even stabs himself in the left side of his abdomen—careful to avoid vital organs—to make it appear that Judd attacked him. This trick reveals his methodical nature and his willingness to endure pain to maintain his cover. He is also prideful: his carelessly spoken “not yet” when announcing his FBI role immediately paints a target on his back.

Chronological Arc

• Boarding (Chapter Twenty‑Three flashback): Reggie is summoned by his boss Ed Vesper and ordered to board the Philadelphia Phoenix with minutes to spare. His instructions: stay out of the way, observe, and ensure the six suspects reach Chicago alive.
• First contact (Chapter Fourteen): He emerges from hiding and is interrogated by Anna. He hides his knife discovery and later crosses Judd’s name off his list.
• Alliance and deception (Chapters Twenty‑Two to Twenty‑Four): After Edith is killed, Reggie reveals his FBI badge. He claims he is there to safeguard the passengers. In private, he interrogates suspects and disputes Anna’s and Seamus’s theories.
• Active killing (off‑screen, revealed in Chapter Forty‑Eight): Reggie forces Judd to kill Edith and Herb. He takes Anna’s father’s lapel pin from her dress in the observation car to frame her.
• Self‑injury (Chapter Thirty‑Six): Judd stabs Reggie as planned, but Reggie orchestrated the wound location to avoid fatal injury.
• Confrontation and confession (Chapters Forty‑Seven to Forty‑Nine): Anna sets a trap in Lapsford’s room. Reggie walks into it and admits everything. He is knocked unconscious by Sally Lawrence but later escapes.
• Roof chase and final fight (Chapters Fifty to Fifty‑Two): Reggie climbs onto the train roof; Anna follows. They crash through a skylight. He tries to shoot Anna but is thwarted when the train stops. He pursues her to the cab, where Kenneth Wentworth appears.
• Final act (Chapter Fifty‑Three): Reggie hands Anna a revolver and urges her to shoot Wentworth. Anna does, but by this point Reggie’s role in the story has ended.

Relationships

Anna Matheson: Their relationship is fraught with mutual suspicion and grudging respect. Reggie admits he is “honestly relieved to be found out.” He tries to recruit Anna to his cause, arguing that the conspirators “had it coming.” Anna refuses, and their final rooftop exchange pits her commitment to legal justice against his desire for blood vengeance.

Judd Dodge: Reggie blackmails Judd into becoming his proxy killer. Judd, who had faked his own death, is forced to murder Edith and Herb under Reggie’s direction. Their alliance is purely pragmatic and collapses when Judd is finally killed.

Seamus Callahan: Reggie views Seamus as a threat to his plans. He keeps his true intentions hidden and later uses Seamus’s revolver against him.

The conspirators: Reggie feels no pity. He targets them systematically, leaving only Kenneth Wentworth alive—but only because Anna wants him publicly tried.

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Not revealing Anna’s knife: This decision gains Anna’s trust and allows Reggie to stay close to the action. It also gives him plausible deniability later.
2. Forcing Judd Dodge to kill: By using Judd as a tool, Reggie keeps his own hands (temporarily) clean. The consequence is that Judd eventually turns on him, stabbing him in the galley.
3. Stabbing himself on the left side: A calculated move that makes him appear a victim. Anna later deduces the truth because Judd was right‑handed—a mistake that exposes Reggie.
4. Confessing to Anna: He admits he hoped Anna would join him. This openness reveals his need for validation and his underestimation of her resolve.
5. Chasing Anna onto the train roof: This desperate act leads to the skylight crash and ultimately leaves him injured and cornered.

Themes and Symbols

Reggie is the embodiment of vengeance corrupting justice. He wears the badge of the FBI—an institution meant to enforce the law—while committing murder. His hidden list of names symbolizes the obsession that replaces his oath. The betrayal and deception theme runs through his character: he betrays the trust of Anna and the FBI to pursue personal vengeance. His father’s death ties into family secrets, as Reggie only learns the true culprits through Anna’s evidence. Finally, his survival is technical—he plans injuries and uses others as shields—but ultimately fails because he cannot escape the consequences of his actions.

His changed shirt (blue to white) becomes a symbol of his deception. Anna notices the swap and uses it as a clue to uncover his guilt. The pocket watch that Judd used to fake his own death echoes Reggie’s own manipulation of time and appearances.

Five Questions and Answers

1. Why does Reggie not tell the others about Anna’s knife?

He keeps silent to gain Anna’s trust. In Chapter Fifteen, she thanks him for not exposing her weapon. This trust allows him to stay close to the conspirators and observe without suspicion.

2. How does Reggie fake his own stabbing?

He stabs himself on the left side of his abdomen, avoiding vital organs. He knows Judd, who supposedly attacked him, is right‑handed, so the wound location is wrong. Anna later notes this inconsistency as proof of his guilt.

3. What is Reggie’s relationship with Judd Dodge?

Reggie discovers Judd is alive and forces him to become an accomplice. Judd kills Edith and Herb under Reggie’s orders. In return, Reggie promises to let Judd live, but Judd eventually betrays him.

4. Why does Reggie try to recruit Anna to his cause?

He sees Anna as a kindred spirit—both lost family to the same conspiracy. On the roof, he offers her the chance to “experience” killing one of the conspirators, believing she shares his thirst for vengeance. Anna refuses, choosing legal justice.

5. What does Reggie’s confession reveal about his character?

His confession shows a man tired of deception and hungry for acknowledgment. He admits he hopes Anna will understand his motives. His relief at being found out suggests a deep need to be seen as justified, not merely as a murderer.

For a deeper look at how Reggie’s actions upend Anna’s plan, see the ending explained and explore other reader questions.