Character Analysis
Mean old Mr. Jesse doesn't show up for much of the novel since he ends up murdered within the first couple chapters. But it's because of this that he's central to the story and the mystery of the murderer loose in Tupelo Landing.
In life, Mr. Jesse is a cranky, suspicious man who's mean to everyone in town, but in death, the town learns a lot more about his past. Apparently Mr. Jesse was involved in a bank robbery with Robert Slate and was murdered because he wouldn't give up the loot. And everyone's surprised to find out that even though he was a mean tightwad, Mr. Jesse anonymously gave one hundred bucks every week to the church… for eleven years. You know, because he had some money to spare.