Pierre McConville (d. 15 April 1962) was an assassin from Lyra's world with at least 20 murders to his name. His dæmon had the form of a rattlesnake and he worked for Larsen Manganese. While working for Ivan Poliakov under the pseudonym of Pierre Morton, he was shot dead by Lee Scoresby.
Biography[]
Killings in Dakota[]
In the summer of 1961, McConville was hired by a man to kill the workers of Mr Lloyd, with whom he had a boundary dispute. McConville killed two of Lloyd's ranch hands, Mike Martinez and Broadus Vinson, from a hiding place.
Murder trial[]
McConville got into a fight with Jimmy Partlett over cards and drink, and shot him. A witness came forward and McConville was tried for murder. Lee Scoresby also appeared as a witness to the killings of Mr Lloyd's workers, and to testify to the good character of Jimmy Partlett. However, McConville was acquitted by a corrupted jury. Soon after, he shot the first witness and had intended to kill Scoresby, but was arrested once again.
Escape[]
McConville was being taken to Rapid City by two marshals, but he managed to escape. He broke the taboo regarding touching another person's dæmon, murdering a marshal near the Cheyenne River by cracking his snake-dæmon like a whip. The second marshal was killed when the bond between him and his dæmon was stretched; McConville tied his dæmon to Sunshine, a horse, which he then startled into running away with a bullet from his gun. After half an hour of screaming, he shot the marshal.
Death[]
In 1962, McConville was hired to work for Ivan Poliakov in Novy Odense. On 15 April he was tasked with stopping H van Breda from removing his cargo from the warehouse. McConville threatened to torture Hester and Scoresby, who were on van Breda's side.
Hester fights with Pierre McConville's dæmon.
- "You're a dirty piece of work, and this is the end of you."
- —Lee Scoresby prepares to shoot McConville[src]
Hester managed to attack McConville's dæmon, biting down into her flesh and pulling her away from McConville so that the assassin had to emerge from his hiding place. As he did so, Scoresby shot him twice, the second time in the heart, killing him.
Physical appearance[]
McConville was a tall, lean man with a bony face, deep set eyes and large hands. He dressed elegantly and had guns at his hips.[1]
