Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (29 page)

Like CUTHBERT ALLGOOD and ALAIN JOHNS, Jamie DeCurry was one of Roland’s early
ka
-mates. Jamie’s nickname, Jamie Red-Hand, came from the fact that one of his hands looked as if it had been dipped in blood. Luckily this skin discoloration was a birthmark, not the result of an accident. When they were young, Jamie swore that Roland had eyes in his fingers and so could shoot blindfolded. Unlike his fellow apprentices whose chosen weapons would always be guns, Jamie preferred the bow and arrow as well as the bah (or crossbow) and bolt. In
Song of Susannah
we learn that Jamie was one of the gunslingers who survived the fall of GILEAD. Just after this horrific defeat of the WHITE, he, Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain experienced a BEAMQUAKE.

In
Wind Through the Keyhole,
we learn that—not long after the death of Roland’s mother—Roland and Jamie traveled to DEBARIA at STEVEN DESCHAIN’s request so that the boys could investigate murders supposedly committed by a shapeshifting SKIN-MAN. Just as Cuthbert and Alain each had unusual skills which helped Roland to deal with the challenges of his HAMBRY adventure, so Jamie DeCurry also had some exceptional talents that made him a valuable companion during Roland’s search for the skin-man. Although he didn’t like to read much, Jamie was an excellent tracker. When it came to following a trail—whether on a map or on the ground—Roland often relied upon his friend’s superior skills. It was Jamie who, upon studying the pattern of attacks marked upon SHERIFF PEAVY’s map, realized that the skin-man must have been one of Little Debaria’s SALTIES, or salt miners (something that the sheriff already suspected).

Jamie’s skill at deduction was truly remarkable. For example, by studying the transformation of the skin-man’s tracks, Jamie discovered that the monster could morph from bear to bull to monstrous cat and then back to human form in a
matter of seconds. It was Jamie who showed that the stealthy skin-man arrived at and departed from the Jefferson Ranch on horseback, proving the premeditated nature of the crimes committed there. It was because of Jamie that Roland was able to reduce the number of salties that he rounded up as murder suspects. As Jamie pointed out, salties weren’t proddies, and only a few of them would be able to mount and ride a horse.

Roland often stated that his mind was cold, like that of his father STEVEN DESCHAIN, but after reading
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
CONSTANT READERS can tell that Jamie’s heart was warm. When Roland decided to spread the story that YOUNG BILL STREETER could identify the skin-man in his human form, Jamie was dismayed. He did not approve of Roland using a young bereaved boy as trap-bait. When YOUNG BILL STREETER cried himself to sleep, it was Jamie, not Roland, who carried the boy upstairs so that he could rest in one of the JEFFERSON RANCH bedrooms.

Unlike CUTHBERT, who never stopped talking, Jamie was usually closed-mouthed. For him, a twitch of the lips was the equivalent of holding his belly, rolling around on the floor, and howling with glee. Jamie died at the battle of JERICHO HILL, where he was killed by a sniper. Roland thinks that his friend was murdered by either GRISSOM or his eagle-eyed son. Throughout the series, Jamie’s last name is spelled in a variety of ways. It is listed as De Curry, de Curry, and DeCurry.

I:140, I:149–52
(Dance),
I:156–57, I:160, I:161–62, I:167–73
(witnesses Roland’s coming of age),
I:174, III:41, III:417, IV:7, IV:649
(birthmark),
IV:658, E:158, V:78, V:169, V:170, V:182, V:248, VI:16, VII:497, VII:503, VII:552, VII:801, W:31, W:38, W:39, W:40–84
(42 likes bow and bah),
W:84–87, W:96, W:100, W:101
(trailmate),
W:104, W:270–83
(rarely says anything),
W:284–94, W:294–97, W:300

FATHER:
Jamie’s father made a special leather boot for Jamie’s bah so that Jamie could travel with his two favorite weapons tied to his saddle. W:44

DEEPNEAU, AARON

See
TET CORPORATION
: FOUNDING FATHERS

DEEPNEAU, ED

Ed Deepneau was one of the major players in STEPHEN KING’s novel
Insomnia.
Ed tried to crash an airplane into the DERRY Civic Center so that he could disrupt the pro-choice rally which was being held there. Ed thought his central target was the feminist Susan Day. However, Ed was just a pawn of the CRIMSON KING, whose actual goal was to assassinate four-year-old PATRICK DANVILLE. Luckily for Roland, the Crimson King failed. On the level of the DARK TOWER where the TET CORPORATION is formed, Ed Deepneau was a gentle bookkeeper who died in 1947. He was related to both AARON DEEPNEAU and NANCY DEEPNEAU.

VII:512–13, VII:514

DEEPNEAU, NANCY REBECCA

See
TET CORPORATION

DEERE

See
DEAN, EDDIE
: DELTA FLIGHT 901 CHARACTERS

DEIRDRE THE MAD

Deirdre the Mad was Roland’s grandmother. It was from her that he inherited his particular combination of dry pragmatism and wild intuition.

III:361

DELEVAN, CARL

Carl Delevan was the overweight, cigarette-loving NEW YORK cop who patrolled the area around CLEMENTS GUNS AND SPORTING GOODS. He and his partner GEORGE O’MEARAH were fooled and then humiliated by Roland. Years later, Delevan died of a stroke while watching
The Terminator.
The reason? The Terminator reminded him of Roland.

II:343, II:346, II:347–59
(354 unconscious),
II:368
(indirect),
II:371–77, II:378, II:380

DELGADO, CORDELIA

Cordelia Delgado was SUSAN DELGADO’s skinny maiden aunt. She figured prominently in Roland’s MEJIS adventures, described in
Wizard and Glass.
Susan’s widowed father, PAT DELGADO, took Cordelia in when she had nowhere else to go, but this act of goodwill proved to be quite unwise. Within a few years Pat was dead—betrayed by one of his friends. His lands and possessions were stolen by the traitorous members of THE HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION and his daughter’s maidenhead was essentially auctioned off by Cordelia. (Although Cordelia seemed prudish in many other ways, she had no qualms about acting as a kind of pimp for her niece.) It seems unlikely that Cordelia participated in the plot against her brother, but she most certainly knew about it.

Over the course of
Wizard and Glass,
Cordelia’s suppressed aggression flowered into a dangerous psychotic rage. When Susan defied her aunt by giving her maidenhead to Roland freely rather than saving it for Mayor THORIN’s hard cash, Cordelia went mad and joined forces with the witch RHEA OF THE CÖOS. After Susan was burned on a Charyou Tree fire, Cordelia died of a stroke.

IV:125, IV:126, IV:130, IV:131, IV:133, IV:135, IV:140, IV:151, IV:152
(story of Susan’s family “madness”),
IV:166–69
(167 personality described),
IV:176–77
(Jonas mentions),
IV:191–210
(Thorin’s party: 195–203 introduced; 197 described; 202–3 whispers to Susan; 206–8 sits next to Susan),
IV:211, IV:212, IV:235–39
(235 described; 236 blouse incident),
IV:240, IV:241–43
(242–43 described),
IV:244, IV:245, IV:249, IV:256, IV:278–79, IV:281, IV:287, IV:294, IV:303–4, IV:307, IV:308–14, IV:324, IV:328–31
(with Jonas),
IV:336, IV:343, IV:356, IV:361–62, IV:364–66, IV:372–74
(tells Jonas suspicions about Susan/Roland),
IV:375–76, IV:377–78, IV:397, IV:413, IV:426–28, IV:429, IV:459–60, IV:466–67
(burns Susan in effigy),
IV:495–98
(496 has horse teeth),
IV:503, IV:513, IV:515, IV:549–52
(and Rhea),
IV:563–65, IV:605–8
(Susan burns),
IV:624–25
(dies of stroke),
VII:335

DELGADO, HIRAM

Hiram was SUSAN’s grandfather as well as PAT and CORDELIA DELGADO’s father.

IV:551

DELGADO, LUPE

See
CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK
: CALLAHAN’S HOME SHELTER ASSOCIATES

DELGADO, PAT

Red-haired, red-bearded Pat Delgado was SUSAN DELGADO’s “da.” He also happened to be the best drover on the WESTERN DROP. By the time Roland and his first
ka-tet
arrived in HAMBRY, Pat had already been dead for five years. Unlike many of the important men of Hambry, Pat Delgado was loyal to the AFFILIATION. FRAN LENGYLL maintained that Pat was killed by his horse,
OCEAN FOAM,
but he was actually murdered for daring to stand up to Lengyll and CROYDON’s plans to turn traitor. Though Pat was honorable in life, his memory was desecrated. The men who were supposed to be his friends stole his lands, and his money-hungry sister, CORDELIA DELGADO, tried to sell his only daughter’s maidenhead to the highest bidder.

IV:124–25, IV:135, IV:139, IV:140, IV:142, IV:143, IV:144, IV:146, IV:150–51, IV:156
(remembered first appearance of thinny),
IV:157–58, IV:168, IV:169, IV:202–3, IV:205, IV:207–8, IV:212, IV:235, IV:236, IV:237, IV:240, IV:251, IV:254–56
(rolled on by his horse),
IV:279, IV:282, IV:287
(Susan thinks he was murdered),
IV:293, IV:294
(interest in Old People),
IV:295, IV:301
(friend of betrayer Brian Hookey),
IV:309, IV:314, IV:315, IV:365, IV:457–60
(Susan in his office),
IV:466, IV:497, IV:504, IV:505, IV:507, IV:541, IV:551, IV:604

DELGADO, SUSAN

Although we hear of Susan Delgado, “the lovely girl at the window,” as early as
The Gunslinger,
we don’t find out much about her love affair with Roland until
Wizard and Glass.
Susan was Roland’s only true love. He met her in HAMBRY, after he and his first
ka-tet
were sent east by their fathers, who wished to keep them far from the dangerous machinations of THE GOOD MAN, otherwise known as JOHN FARSON. At the time of their meeting, Roland was fourteen and Susan sixteen. Roland had just won his guns and had only recently lost his virginity. Susan, a drover’s daughter, had lost her father and was about to lose her honor as well, thanks to her AUNT CORDELIA’s financial deal with the randy mayor, HART THORIN.

Susan was probably descended from the “FRIENDLY FOLK,” a sect that seemed quite widespread in MID-WORLD before it moved on. Like them, she used the terms “thee” and “thou” in her speech. It’s quite possible that the Friends were somehow related to the MANNI, though we do not know this for certain. Although she was an excellent horsewoman (her beloved horses, PYLON and FELICIA, are also characters in the book), Susan was uncomfortable with guns. This, too, may have been owing to her family’s background.

Roland first met Susan while she was on her way home from her disagreeable
and embarrassing meeting with the nasty old witch RHEA OF THE CÖOS. Rhea was to check Susan’s “honesty”—in other words, her virginity. In order to fulfill her upcoming duty as Mayor Hart Thorin’s jilly she had to be pure—unsullied by man or demon. Ostensibly she was to bear the mayor a child (his own wife was barren), but Thorin was actually much more interested in the planting than in the cultivation of his seed.

With her waist-length golden-blond hair and gray eyes, Susan is the most beautiful woman found in the Dark Tower series. She is also “honest” in every sense of the word and gives Roland her heart freely and completely, despite the fact that her prissy and hypocritical maiden aunt has already squirreled away much of the gold given for Susan’s maidenhead.

Susan’s devotion to Roland did not end happily. Branded a traitor, she was burned as a Charyou Tree sacrifice. Although she didn’t know it, Roland had already abandoned her, though she was forced to witness her death while lost in the nowhere dreamtime of MAERLYN’S GRAPEFRUIT.

In the years following her death, Roland frequently dreamed of Susan, often in association with the rhyme: “bird and bear and hare and fish, give my love her fondest wish.” Her scent of jasmine, rose, honeysuckle, and old sweet hay was evoked by the ORACLE OF THE MOUNTAINS when she wanted to seduce him.

In
Wolves of the Calla,
we learn that PERE CALLAHAN’s beloved friend and coworker at the HOME shelter was named LUPE DELGADO, an unmistakable echo of Susan’s name. Like Susan, Lupe was beautiful, and like her he suffered a tragic fate. In
The Dark Tower,
the final book of our series, we find out that SHEEMIE, the mildly retarded tavern boy from MEJIS who becomes a BREAKER in THUNDERCLAP, was also in love with Susan. Like Roland, Sheemie blamed himself for her death.

I:86, I:106, I:119–20, I:128, I:131, I:140, I:157, II:231, II:394, III:41, IV:65, IV:66–67, IV:68
(physical description. “. . . bird and bear and hare and fish . . .”),
IV:79, IV:98, IV:116, IV:120, IV:122–38
(and Rhea; 123 “Careless Love”; 123 heart vs. head; 127 sees Maerlyn’s Grapefruit; 130–35 Rhea inspects her “honesty”; 133–34 Rhea’s sexual touch; 134 invokes Thorin’s name for protection and is ashamed; 137–38 Rhea puts spell on Susan),
IV:139–59
(meets “Will Dearborn.” He whistles “Careless Love”),
IV:162, IV:164–65
(Roland thinks about her),
IV:166–70
(and Cordelia. Won’t lie with Thorin until Demon Moon),
IV:191, IV:191–210
(Thorin’s Party; 195 sapphire pendant, fog-colored eyes; 197–98 introduced to Roland, 208 Roland wants to shoot her; 209–10 Roland dances with her. A question of propriety),
IV:211–12, IV:213, IV:222–23
(Roland and love/hate),
IV:233, IV:234–59
(237–38 cheated of inheritance; 239 desire for Roland; 241 flowers from Roland; 247 Roland on Drop),
IV:277, IV:278–84, IV:285, IV:286, IV:287
(suspects father was murdered),
IV:288–305
(Citgo with Roland. Rhea spying),
IV:306–28
(311–12 Thorin grabs; 316 loss of virginity; 326 Roland’s rhyme to wake her from trance),
IV:329–31, IV:336, IV:342–45, IV:353, IV:356–60
(subject of angry thoughts),
IV:361–62
(“lovely girl at the window”),
IV:364–67, IV:368, IV:370, IV:372, IV:373–74, IV:377–78, IV:388, IV:393, IV:399, IV:400, IV:401, IV:405, IV:406, IV:411–12, IV:413, IV:415, IV:416, IV:418–19, IV:426–44
(with Roland, Cuthbert, Alain. 432 Roland’s plan of attack; 435 hypnotized; 441–42 remembers Rhea and Maerlyn’s Grapefruit),
IV:449–50
(stealing firecrackers with Sheemie),
IV:452, IV:457–61
(in father’s office),
IV:463–66
(464 intuition that Roland will desert her),
IV:466–67
(Cordelia burns her in effigy),
IV:474, IV:479, IV:480–83, IV:494–500, IV:502–13
(507–13 rescues Roland’s
ka-tet
),
IV:514–19, IV:523–26, IV:529, IV:531, IV:533–34
(Rhea tells Jonas her location),
IV:536–46
(taken by Jonas),
IV:548–49, IV:549–52
(subject of discussion between Cordelia and Rhea),
IV:561–62, IV:564–65
(Rhea and Cordelia lead crowds against her),
IV:565–70
(Sheemie follows),
IV:571, IV:577, IV:578, IV:579–81
(Roland decides to leave her),
IV:581–83, IV:585–87, IV:594, IV:602–9
(Roland sees her burn in
Wizard’s glass
),
IV:619, IV:622
(Roland always dreams of her),
IV:650, IV:653, IV:655, IV:664, E:160, E:165, E:168, E:169, E:195, V:35, V:46, V:174, V:181, V:210, V:211, V:411
(bit o’ tail),
VI:234
(indirect),
VI:269, VI:277, VI:290, VI:294, VI:391, VI:404, VII:142, VII:219, VII:220, VII:468, VII:498, VII:695, VII:762, VII:802, VII:825, W:82, W:84, W:89