The Black Bag (Part 1 of 2)

Extras: Character Profiles

Main Characters

Richard Brammer: The only son of Carlisle Brammer. He is an introverted and studious type. Kids at Northwest Elementary call him a boring wallflower, but he prefers to stay so. He was almost half-blind after some 'casual' teasing caused him to be knocked over, thus injuring his left eye when he fell. He currently wears rectangle glasses with wire frames due to his altered eyesight. It was during this incident when he was found by Sophie, who had somehow snuck into school grounds without getting caught. While Richard was initially curious about her and was estatic to have her in the family, her secrets regarding the bag frightened him into avoiding her for some time. 

The first book cover depicted Richard as a brunette (black haired and dark eyed), but his appearance details are changed back to original after the second book cover was created (blonde straw-colored hair and blue eyes). It is also known in 'First Glimpse ~ 01' that Richard is asthmatic, and in both here and 'Last Chance Left ~ 28' that he is not the athletic type.

Sophie (???): A former orphan who resided in Sinclair Wayward Institute, and is presently adopted by the Brammers. After Sophie met Richard in his school, she was later offered by his father to adopt her. She was initially friends with a carpenter named Henry Martin, whom she visited to talk or watch him work. She went to the town cemetery frequently after he passed away, and it was also there where she found the titular black bag, which contained a deceased man's head. Much to Richard's dismay, Sophie is very protective of her 'belongings' and is very determined to find the rest of the man's body just to fulfill a promise she made to him months ago. 

The first book cover depicted Sophie as a blonde (long butterscotch hair and lime-green eyes), but her appearance details are changed back to original after the second book cover was created (medium-long chocolate brown hair and copper eyes).

Carlisle Brammer: The biological father to Richard and adoptive father to Sophie. He first learnt about Sophie after Richard was injured; having claimed that he'd heard a few boys gossiping about her behind the door to the infirmary. He got Richard to explain about her to him in full and realized that she was an orphan in the Institute. On Christmas Eve, he visited the Institute and invited Sophie to come live with them; and picked her up a few days later. Carlisle discovered the black bag days after Richard did. Sophie personally guided him to the abandoned bungalow where she'd kept the bag. He was shocked when Sophie expressed having known that Richard would avoid her and asked him to do the same, but he soon managed to convince her that he really cared for her and would do whatever he could to help. 

Carlisle can be described as the adult version of Richard. Also originally a brunette after the first cover was made, he is switched to a blond when the second cover was created (he has inherited Sophie's butterscotch hair and has matching blue eyes like Richard). In 'Confession Time ~04' and 'Vengeance ~ 16', Carlisle is known to have a short temper, especially when it involves both his children getting hurt.

Morgan Kohler: A coroner and Carlisle's former colleague in medical college and university. Morgan was introduced in 'Death's Puzzle ~ 13' during which Carlisle and Sophie visit him in a hospital morgue to seek his help in Sophie's search for the decapitated body. He is seen as analytical and open-minded in his involvement; even expressed some enthusiasm about it as he has never been assigned a case like this before (missing body, decapitation and all that). Despite that, he seems to have a shorter fuse than Carlisle, as shown in 'Vengeance ~ 16'. While Carlisle had stopped midway to tend to Richard and Sophie, Morgan chased the bullies for some time before he came back empty-handed. He is more foul-mouthed than Carlisle when it comes to swearing, but his words are spoken in German which helps to conceal exactly what he says (eg. Richard knowing that Morgan is swearing, but not knowing what he means).

If there is one thing that makes him stand out from the others though, it was his highly-acute senses. In 'Interruption ~ 14', he had known all along about an invisible yet foreign presence in the morgue and only called out the ghost when Carlisle and Sophie had left. This is either because he didn't want to startle the two or because he knew that it wasn't whom they were looking for. However, after the murdered child bully is landed in the morgue at the end of 'Vengeance ~ 16', it is unknown how long Morgan is able to keep quiet about it.

Morgan is depicted as a bachelor with coffee-colored skin, waist long black hair tied in one braid and scars on his face and eye. He is estimated to be either taller or the same height as Carlisle; and he wears whatever he feels like under the apron. He speaks good English, but his first language - which he doesn't use often - is German. It can be assumed that Morgan is half-and-half... or just has a really nice, even tan.

Minor Characters

Nicholas Sinclair: The director of Sinclair Wayward Institute.

Henry Martin: An old carpenter whom Sophie visited. He passed away from cancer before the story started.

Paula: Sinclair's secretary. Sophie seems to like her even though she doesn't always respond to the woman's words.

Nurse Josephine: One of the nurses in charge of watching the kids in the orphanage. She and Sophie don't really see eye-to eye.

John: One of three boys in Northwest Elementary who caused Richard's injured eye. Whether or not it was on purpose or accidental was unknown; but he was really apologetic about it some time after.

Mary-Ann Pipher: Richard's Physical Educations teacher. She knows about Richard's medical condition (asthma) and thus, keeps an eye on him more than other teachers normally do. 

Elliot McKenzie: The leader of the bullies in 'Vengeance ~ 16'. He was then reported missing for a month before being found dead in an alley. Apparently, he had angered somebody who wasn't too happy about his role in the abuse, especially when it included injuring and knocking out Sophie in the process.

...To be continued in Part 2...