Four to Score characters

Appears from the start

A Trenton apprehension agent with several difficult recoveries behind her. Her methods still depend on persistence, local contacts, and help from better-equipped allies. A seemingly modest auto-theft case grows into a search involving coded messages, missing money, and attacks on everyone who gets close to the fugitive.

Appears from the start

A Trenton vice cop and Stephanie's recurring ally, rival, and former lover. He offers police knowledge and protection as her case becomes violent. Their relationship becomes more intimate when damage to Stephanie's home leaves her needing somewhere safe to stay.

Appears from the start

Vinnie's most capable apprehension agent and Stephanie's professional mentor. Ranger provides equipment, expertise, and backup without volunteering much about himself, and remains the person Stephanie calls when a recovery exceeds what she and Lula can safely manage.

Appears from the start

A former street worker now employed by the bail-bond office and regularly accompanying Stephanie in the field. Lula is forceful, observant, and willing to confront witnesses, making her an effective partner even when surveillance gives way to disorder.

Appears from the start

A woman who fails to appear on a charge arising from taking her former boyfriend's car. She stays ahead of Stephanie while sending coded messages that turn the pursuit into a trail through her relationship with Eddie Kuntz and a secret both of them want to control.

Appears from the start

Maxine Nowicki's former boyfriend and the owner of the car she is accused of taking. He presents himself as the injured party and wants Stephanie to find Maxine, but the coded messages she leaves are also directed at him and expose conflicts he has not fully explained.

Also known as Sally

First appears in chapter 3

A drag performer and musician with a talent for puzzles and codes. Sally helps Stephanie and Lula interpret Maxine's messages, becoming an unconventional but valuable member of the search team.

First appears in chapter 2

Stephanie's former schoolmate and personal adversary, now competing in fugitive apprehension. Joyce pursues the same reward and is prepared to shadow Stephanie, seize her leads, or make separate arrangements with people connected to the case.

Appears from the start

Stephanie's cousin and employer at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. Recovering Maxine protects his bond, so he keeps pressure on Stephanie while leaving her to manage the competing hunters and growing danger herself.

Also known as Connie

Appears from the start

The bail-bond office manager who gives Stephanie the Nowicki file and keeps information moving between Vinnie, Lula, and the agents. Her family and neighborhood contacts remain one of the office's most dependable resources.

Appears from the start

Stephanie's uninhibited grandmother, who treats the pursuit, Stephanie's living arrangements, and the family's private business as subjects for active participation rather than observation.

Appears from the start

Stephanie's mother, who offers food and family shelter while worrying about both the violence of bounty work and Stephanie's changing relationship with Morelli.