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Description

Charlie is long limbed and wiry, and wouldn't be considered 'imposing' by...well, anyone, really. He has a friendly face, but is rather scruffy looking. He has mousy brown hair that looks as if he tried to crop it short and missed a few key areas, and blue eyes that crinkle with amusement when he talks.
Now in his thirties, Charlie has developed a few fine lines that show his age. His facial hair is flecked with a bit of white, but having a dedicated cook in the house has helped fill out his frame a bit.

In his fifties, Charlie is looking decidedly more grizzled. Life has been rough with the private dick, leaving him with half of one leg and numerous other battle wounds. But he maintains that unusual friendliness and trust-worthy aura.

Personality

Charlie is easily agitated, a result of being surrounded by crooked cops and lofty criminals. That being said, he is also well-intentioned, and honestly believes that he can change the world by cleaning up crime. He has a pretty black-and-white view about right and wrong. He also has a surprising and undeniable streak of bad luck.

Since the events of 1923, when Charlie quit the police business and returned to being a Shamus, the detective has developed a healthier sense of humor and understanding. The soft touch of his wife has helped temper him as well.

Since the events of the early thirties, Charlie is less rash, and more thoughtful. He will rarely make a decision on the spot, and is more insistent than ever on having the full facts before giving judgment.

Equipment

Charlie has the usual tools of a dedicated dick: a worn but working camera, a pair of police-issue guns that no one remembered to take from him when he quit the force, pencil and paper for note taking (though he has a near-photographic memory) and a few other bits and bobs that make bad-guy chasing easier.

History

Charlie grew up in the Big Apple, the middle child of a carpenter and his bubbly wife. His father was killed in the crossfire of a gang-war shooting, leaving his mother a widow with five children. Charlie assumed a role of manly responsibility for his younger siblings, and decided that he wanted to become a cop when he grew up. After years of study, and two years working as a Shamus, Charlie managed to make it into the force. But the corruption and double standards were not what he had expected, and the bright-eyed, eager man soon found himself becoming jaded to the whole matter. Finally, after making a discovery of corruption even high up in the chain, Charlie decided that he had had enough, and abruptly quit to return to his work as a Shamus.

After Mayor Coburn's murder, and a subsequent vanishing of Charlie's long-time obsession (Lady Luck), the detective's life reached a sort of even ground. He married his sweetheart, Dorothy, and became quite easily the most balanced (as far as mental-health goes) Shamus in the business. With the birth of their daughter, Charlie began to reconsider his dangerous line of work, but as of yet has not changed his course.

In the early thirties, Charlie was dragged yet again into a dangerous cycle by Fiona Muirenn and his former rival and current friend, Ben Goldberg. The recovery of a missing child left Charlie with severe burns and half of his left leg, the remains of which left him with a cheap prosthetic and a bad limp. He has continued his line of work, but now generally refuses anything that might put him in danger. Now, Charlie considers his first duty to be in coming home (in one piece) to his family.

Charles Wallenstein's Story