Eva Pearce

Eva Pearce
Actor	Daiva Johnston
Seen	Murdoch in Ladies Wear The Murdoch Sting The Incurables Cometh the Archer
Gender	Female
Status	Dead
Relationships	William Murdoch, (kissed in his dream, ended)
Job	Retail Clerk

Eva Pearce was a white collar thief, kidnapper, and killer. She was deadly, manipulative, and cautious, making her a dangerous opponent of William Murdoch.

Summary

In Murdoch in Ladies Wear, Murdoch first meets the manipulative Eva Pearce as a girl in the shop where someone was murdered. He doesn't realize she's secretly seducing him until Julia points out all the little signs she does. Also, she manipulates the murder of one man by getting another man to kill him. As Eva covers her tracks, she is not arrested at this time, though Murdoch thwarts her plans to court the rich Mr. Eaton. In the aftermath, Eva used her false tears to attract another suitor.

In The Murdoch Sting, Eva is reintroduced as the fiancée of Ian Worthington, president of the Canadian Bank. She took the pseudonym of Cassie Chadwick, putting out the rumor that she was the illegitimate daughter of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, which got her to court Worthington and eventually got engaged. As she had several outstanding loans, she forged a promissory note, forging Carnegie's signature, that he would take care of her debts. If all went according to plan as the marriage was consummated and Worthington later discovering the truth, he would be forced to handle her debts himself to avoid scandal.

However, on the day of their engagement party, Worthington heard that Carnegie was in Toronto and telephoned him, asking for permission to marry his daughter, only to learn that he had no daughter named Cassie Chadwick. Worthington took the promissory note out of his safe and confronted Eva at his family's home on Russell Creek Rd., but she turned the tables on him and killed him, destroying the note and hiding his body in the lake. When Detective Murdoch identifies her as Cassie Chadwick, he had no evidence to convict her and thus sets up an elaborate sting to catch her. With the real Cassie Chadwick assisting the police sting by posing as Worthington's sister Lucretia, and Higgins playing Worthington's lawyer, they tricked her into thinking that she would get $500,000 only if Worthington's body was found, otherwise she would have to wait seven years for her money. This would force her to return to the scene of the crime. But as Eva wouldn't make a move being the only suspect, Dr. Emily Grace posed as Desiree Denov, a former flame of Worthington's, and was made out to be a more likely culprit before Eva. The good doctor faked her death in a scuffle with Crabtree, effectively keeping Eva ignorant. However, Eva sent an anonymous letter revealing Worthington's body's location. In response, Crabtree claimed that the constabulary had not located the body and declared the case closed. Left with no alternative but to return to the lake and pole around for a body, Murdoch then surprised her, remarking that "[she'll] catch [her] death in there." Eva Pearce is then arrested and charged with murder. 

In The Incurables, it's revealed that Eva was sent to the insane asylum. Along with other female "lunatics" such as Mrs. Lynd, Rose Maxwell, and Charlotte, as well as a murderess named Hannah, she concocted an escape plan, though she was the only one who was able to leave the asylum. Eva was last seen tricking a man into giving her a cab ride, and presumably will continue to con men into getting what she wanted. 

Eva makes her last appearance in "Cometh the Archer", attempting to kill Julia, kidnapping and attempting to rape William so she can "give him the child he has always wanted". She is ultimately unsuccessful, and while in a confrontation with Julia, bleeds to death after Julia manages to stab her in the throat.

Disguises

File:Screenshot (127).png

Eva Pearce impersonating Cassie Chadwick

Cassie Chadwick

Introduced in The Murdoch Sting.

Gallery

Incriminating photo?

Meeting of the minds?

Someone's dreaming...