Roger Devore

Roger Devore, the fifty-four-year-old son of Max Devore, is married to software designer Morris Ridding. He remains offstage in the custody dispute over Kyra, but John Storrow investigates his family circumstances and considers using them in court, making Roger an example of how a custody case can draw uninvolved relatives into its argument.

Identity and Family Background

John describes Roger as fifty-four, old enough for fatherhood to become a point of comparison in the case, though not in itself a disqualification. More consequential to Storrow’s strategy is that Roger is gay and married to Ridding. The two married in 1996, a fact Storrow says he found through an initial computer search.

Place in the Custody Dispute

Max’s attempt to gain custody of Kyra brings Roger into the case indirectly. Storrow seeks information about the quality of Roger’s relationship with his father and whether Roger has made any public statement about his niece in Maine. He also arranges for someone in California to gather facts about Roger and Ridding. The inquiry is part of a broader effort to understand Max’s movements, relationships, and possible plans since returning to TR-90.

The legal background makes this scrutiny consequential. A court-appointed guardian ad litem is meant to protect the child’s interests, but Storrow explains that judges commonly rely on the appointee’s recommendations. At the same time, Max can marshal extensive legal support, while Mattie faces a less favorable balance of money and influence. Roger’s circumstances therefore become potential material in a contest where each side seeks leverage over how Kyra’s future will be judged.

Storrow’s Proposed Use of Roger’s Marriage

Storrow acknowledges that Roger’s marriage could be used to cast doubt on the suitability of Max’s side of the family as a home for Kyra. He recognizes that this would be a deliberately unfair tactic: Roger and Ridding have not been shown to have committed wrongdoing, and Roger may have little or nothing to do with his father’s campaign. Storrow nevertheless says that if the issue reaches court, he intends to use the marriage as far as he can.

The episode exposes a tension between defending Mattie and protecting the dignity of people who are not themselves parties to the dispute. Storrow’s legal strategy treats Roger’s private life as an argument to deploy, while Mike is troubled by the prospect of questioning him about his sexuality. Storrow concedes the tactic is mean, but frames the custody contest as a process that can reduce people to instruments. He insists that Max, by pursuing custody, is the one who has placed his son in this position.

Narrative Significance

Roger never appears directly in the supplied scenes; readers encounter him through Storrow’s research and the arguments his circumstances might support. That distance matters: the case threatens to make him a courtroom image rather than a fully known person. His marriage becomes useful not because the evidence establishes anything about his capacity to care for Kyra, but because Storrow believes a Maine court might view it unfavorably.

The investigation also sharpens the book’s portrayal of custody litigation as a struggle shaped by unequal resources and social assumptions. Roger is not shown taking action against Mattie or seeking custody himself. Instead, his family connection and marriage make him vulnerable to being drawn into Max’s conflict with Mattie, even as the narration acknowledges that he may have had no part in his father’s plan.