Dr Poole

Dr Poole is a lecturer in psychology, not a psychologist, and his brief encounter with John Rebus turns a symbol in the crime photographs into a lead on Charlie, a student fascinated by the occult. His contribution is not a confident explanation of the death: it is a careful distinction between what he knows, what he has heard of, and what he can only speculate about. That restraint makes him a useful intermediary between Rebus’s urgent investigation and a subject surrounded by popular assumptions and uncertainty.

Identity and Encounter

Dr Poole is introduced in his office at the University of Edinburgh, where he studies the photographs Rebus has brought him. The narrator makes a point of distinguishing his professional role: he is a lecturer in psychology, he explains, rather than a psychologist. The qualification marks the boundary of his authority before the conversation turns to an area in which even his knowledge is limited. He can identify and discuss signs and practices, but the scene does not establish him as an investigator of the occult or as an expert witness on the death.

His manner initially suggests confidence. As he examines the photographs, his lower lip curls up over his upper lip, a gesture associated with recognition. He confirms that the design is a simple pentangle. Yet the scene also places Rebus in an uncomfortable position: the bright day outside, students lounging in George Square Gardens with bottles of wine and forgotten textbooks, contrasts with the scrutiny Rebus feels inside an academic institution. Dr Poole’s university setting thus registers through Rebus’s unease as well as through the lecturer’s expertise; the officer feels that every movement and remark might be judged as evidence of how clever he is, or could have been.

Explaining the Occult

When Rebus asks whether people in Edinburgh take an active interest in the occult, Dr Poole first answers facetiously by pointing to the popularity of films about the devil. He then clarifies that occult practice is not simply an attempt to bring the devil back to life. His response complicates the sensational image that Rebus’s question might invite: the subject, he says, can involve much more than that, or much less, depending on the point of view.

Dr Poole says he knows of occultists and of practising covens of both white and black witches. Asked specifically about black magic, he turns his attention to the summer scene outside the window before telling Rebus that there is one black coven in Edinburgh. The conversation offers no names or identifying details about the group, and Dr Poole does not claim personal knowledge of its members. His wording preserves that distinction: he knows of the coven, but the text does not establish him as part of it or as someone with direct access to its activities.

The question of sacrifice reveals the limits of what he can say. Dr Poole initially jokes that everyone makes sacrifices. When Rebus does not laugh, he becomes serious and suggests that a coven might make a token offering, perhaps an animal such as a rat, mouse, or chicken, or perhaps use something symbolic instead. He expressly admits that he does not know. The answer gives Rebus possibilities to consider without confirming that a sacrifice occurred or connecting any such practice to the death under investigation.

From General Knowledge to a Lead

The conversation changes when Dr Poole realizes that Rebus is asking about an actual death. He had not understood that the occult questions were connected to a fatal case. This recognition prompts him to qualify his usefulness and offer someone who might know more: one of his students. The shift matters because it distinguishes a general discussion from an investigative interview. Dr Poole has been responding to Rebus’s questions, but the stakes only become explicit to him partway through their exchange.

He describes the student as a second-year who is very interested in the occult. The student has written a long, knowledgeable essay during the term and wants to undertake a project on demonism. Because students have to complete a project over the summer, Dr Poole sees an opportunity for Rebus to speak with him. His recommendation rests on the student’s demonstrated interest and work, not on any claim that the student belongs to a coven or knows anything about the death.

Identification and Narrative Role

Dr Poole cannot immediately supply the student’s surname. He explains that the student usually calls himself by his first name, first recalling it as Charles and then correcting himself: Charlie. The hesitation is small but consequential. The conversation moves from a broad question about occult practices to a specific person whom Rebus can pursue, while leaving the crucial question of what Charlie actually knows unanswered.

Dr Poole’s role is therefore a limited but pivotal one. He identifies the pentangle, supplies context about occult beliefs and the possibility of a black coven in Edinburgh, and carefully marks the difference between conjecture and knowledge when Rebus asks about sacrifice. Then, once he understands the case concerns a death, he points toward Charlie. Rather than solve the mystery, his measured answers help narrow the inquiry: an uncertain symbol leads to a cautious discussion, and that discussion leads Rebus from the lecturer’s office toward a student with a documented interest in demonism.