Madeleine "Marm" McGoldrick (Nancy Sorel) is the titular villainess of "In Marm's Way", episode 1.09 of The Pinkertons (airdate January 31, 2015). She was a New York City resident and dry goods dealer with past ties to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, as well as being a former lover of Kansas City Sheriff Lawrence Logan.
Marm was first introduced in the episode by having Lawrence take her to see Pinkerton detectives William Pinkerton and Kate Warne, asking for their help in locating her nephew Aldred Epps, later revealing that she'd sent him to Kansas City after he got involved in a bad crowd. Marm also appeared heartbroken to learn that Kate had heard a gunshot after Aldred came to her house attempted to sell goods to her, indicating that Aldred might've been hurt.
But as later revealed, Marm's persona as a loving and compassionate businesswoman and aunt was really a mask for her true nature as a cold-heartedly ruthless crime boss. Marm was the head of a gang of thieves, with Aldred being one of her minions. Kate's landlord John Bell was also in Marm's employ as a young orphan along with Aldred, eventually stealing some of her money and running away to escape her ruthless hold. By the episode's events, Aldred had also fled New York to escape Marm and set up shop in Kansas City, with Marm following him and hiring Kerwood Piff (also a thief in her employ) to kill Aldred. When Kerwood's attempt to shoot Aldred dead failed, the evil Marm beat Kerwood before tying him up to a tree, leaving him to freeze to death.
Marm's villainous reveal began when she was confronted at her hotel room by Rufus Thorpe, a fellow thief, with the villainess responding by beating the man with a cane, looking up to see John (who Marm had recognized earlier) watching from the end of the hall. When William and Kate arrived, Marm shoved Rufus off a stair railing into the room they were in and claimed he had tried to mug her, with Lawrence believing Marm's claims due to her having been seducing him. At that point, however, William and Kate began to have doubts about Marm's innocence, later learning the truth when they found Aldred at John's cabin after he mended his wounds. As John told the detectives the truth about Marm, the villainess was shown confronting her hired thieves as they were attempting to make off with their ill-gotten gains, ordering the men at gunpoint to put everything back and even killing a man who defied her demand.
Marm was later confronted at gunpoint by John, who was attempting to pay Marm to leave him and Aldred in peace. After sarcastically showing admiration of John for stealing her money and informing him that Aldred told her about his theft after nearly beating him to death, the evil Marm boasted that the Sheriff wouldn't believe John if he tried to turn her in and that she would kill the Pinkertons if he tried. Ultimately, Marm gave John an ultimatum: that she would kill Kate if he didn't bring Aldred to the spot where Kerwood's body was found. As William and Kate learned that Marm was conspiring with Rufus to form a fence operation in Kansas City, Aldred agreed to meet with Marm in the forest, with John taking him.
As Marm ordered John at gunpoint to give Aldred to her, Aldred came out of hiding and faced Marm, leading the villainess to laugh before throwing John a gun and ordering him to kill Aldred. John took the gun and seemed to prepare to shoot Aldred, with Marm laughing as he did. John then pointed his gun at Marm and prepared to shoot herself instead, only for Rufus and another of Marm's henchman to come out of hiding, Marm having anticipated John's attempt to kill her. When John refused to kill Aldred, Marm forced the men to their knees and revealed that she'd killed Kerwood for failing to kill Aldred before ordering Rufus to kill the two. But Rufus, put off by Marm's harsh treatment, turned against her and held her at gunpoint as William, Kate, and Lawrence arrived and held Marm at gunpoint. Surrounded, Marm surrendered and was placed under arrest, with her attempts to seduce Lawrence into believing she was innocent failing her.
Trivia[]
- Marm McGoldrick is the first true villainess of The Pinkertons (without a Freudian Excuse)
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