Ripley
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But she doesnt let herself feel hurt for too long before she turns suspicious.
Her reaction is part of his own calculation.
But seeing him sail through the aftermath, all sympathy goes down the drain.
Carlo tries a little but cant out-con Tom; a 20 percent commission is out of the question.
Already feeling loose with Dickies cash, Tom buyssixfirst-class tickets to Rome and practices Dickies signature on the train.
On the stations platform, he ditches his own bag by flinging it onto a passing luggage cart.
He practices a confident smirk in the mirror, emboldened by the uneventfulness of his journey.
The hotel concierge takes Dickies passport from Toms hand, neglecting to check the picture.
When Dickie was alive, Tom coveted his life in part because of the way it connected with others.
Dickie was treated a certain way by other people of the same upper class.
The same status is still elusive for Tom.
His existenceasDickie is a necessarily isolated one.
But the wholepointof being Dickie was to be surrounded by love, respect, and sycophants.
If there is no one to witness Tom being Dickie, thenisTom Dickie at all?
In any case, the road to being Dickie isnt all smooth.
He takes Dickies watch to get fixed and cashes Dickies checks in the bank.
Its sort of endearing how fixated he is on using Dickies pen at any and all opportunities.
Everythings looking up Tom!
Is he even normal enough to have a sex life?
Why is Dickie ignoring his fathers warnings about Tom?
But back in New York, he and Mr. Greenleaf had shared something of a bond.
Now he finds out that Mr. Greenleaf is not an ally but, inadmissibly, an opponent.
Its also, I have to admit, pretty funny.
After wearing it briefly around his neck, Tom tosses it dramatically onto the street.
To the Greenleafs, he writes that hes looking for an apartment in Rome.
The arrogance that is natural to a boy of Dickies background and opportunity becomes Tom; it comes easily.
He has the satisfied air of someone whose life is going exactly the way he wants it to.
The only time Tom breaks character while in Rome is when he calls Carlo to see about the boat.
With the check that Carlo sends over, Tom opens a bank account under his own name.
Now he has two streams of income: Dickies and his own.
The murder having been committed, Tom can fully relax into his maniacal persona.
Tom and Dickie are now a composite, twinned for life.
