Inspector Newcomen
Inspector Newcomen is the Scotland Yard detective who takes charge of the investigation into the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a crime of singular ferocity that shocks London. He appears only briefly in the narrative, but his role is decisive: he accompanies Mr. Utterson to Hyde's house in Soho, where the physical evidence of the murder is found, and he declares the case effectively solved. Newcomen is a professional, ambitious officer whose methods are straightforward and whose satisfaction at closing the case is undisguised.
Role in the Carew Investigation
When Mr. Utterson identifies the victim as Sir Danvers Carew and reveals that he knows the suspect, Inspector Newcomen immediately grasps the importance of the moment. His eye lights up with professional ambition, and he remarks, "This will make a deal of noise." He accompanies Utterson in a cab through the fog-shrouded streets of London to the address in Soho, a dismal quarter that seems to Utterson like a district of some city in a nightmare. At the house, an ivory-faced and silvery-haired old woman with an evil face smoothed by hypocrisy opens the door. When Utterson identifies Newcomen as a Scotland Yard inspector, a flash of odious joy appears on the woman's face as she realizes Hyde is in trouble.
Discovery of Evidence
Inside Hyde's rooms, which are furnished with luxury and good taste—silver plate, elegant napery, a good picture on the wall, and thick carpets—the inspector finds the rooms bearing every mark of having been recently and hurriedly ransacked. Clothes lie about the floor with pockets inside out, lock-fast drawers stand open, and on the hearth lies a pile of grey ashes as though many papers had been burned. From these embers, Newcomen disinters the butt end of a green cheque book that had resisted the fire. The other half of the heavy cane used in the murder is found behind the door. As this clinches his suspicions, the officer declares himself delighted. A subsequent visit to the bank, where several thousand pounds are found lying to the murderer's credit, completes his gratification. He tells Utterson with confidence, "You may depend upon it, sir, I have him in my hand. He must have lost his head, or he never would have left the stick or, above all, burned the cheque book. Why, money's life to the man. We have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank, and get out the handbills."
Significance
Inspector Newcomen represents the official, procedural face of justice in the story. His investigation is efficient and his conclusions are correct as far as they go, but he operates entirely within the realm of conventional detection—physical evidence, motive, and opportunity. He never grasps the supernatural dimension of the case, and his confidence that Hyde will be easily caught proves misplaced, as Hyde disappears without a trace. Newcomen's brief appearance underscores the limits of ordinary police work when confronted with a mystery that transcends the natural order.
