| Hector Laine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Middle Aged |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Art Critic |
| Location |
Glease Gallery, Paris, France Le Lézard Bleu Art Gallery, Paris, France |
| Eye Colour | Blue |
| Hair Colour | Grey |
| Status | Alive |
| Voiced by | In BS5: Rob Rackstraw |
| Appearance | Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse |
Hector Laine, the "art critic extraordinaire". He is first seen in Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror reviewing the Glease Gallery in Paris, France.
Personality[]
He has a drinking problem, and bad temper at all times. He is self-centered and talks to others as if he owned the truth. Laine is a very disappointing Casanova, he tries to flirt with every woman that crosses his way.
Etymology[]
"Hector" is an English, French, Scottish and Spanish given name meaning "to check" and "restrain". This was likely chosen to match his profession in examining paintings in different galleries.
"Laine" is a Finnish or Estonian in origin meaning "wave".
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror[]
Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse[]
Hector Laine is first seen along with other participants attending an exhibition at Le Lézard Bleu Art Gallery which features a very distinctive painting that is located in the far wall from the main entrance. This particular canvas, called "La Maledicció", that doesn’t seem important at first is very significant for the main plot of the adventure.
Not very long from the beginning of the event, an unknown individual breaks into the scene holding a gun and an intimidating aura. The audience, especially Laine who faints immediately, tries not to interfere except from the gallery’s owner who stands in front of the painting mentioned before. The furious man doesn’t think about it twice, shots Henri and steals the painting. The thief quickly escapes from the gallery followed by Nico who tries to take him a picture with her camera.
Suspiciously enough, the alarm connected to the painting didn’t make a sound during the robbery which makes George think that the theft might have been an inside job. Then he sees Laine seated on the floor peacefully sleeping. It is clear that he was took by surprise and fear made him instantly faint. When George tries to wake him up with the smell of a pizza slice, even unconsciously Laine's body reacts to food. George then tries to spray a little of Henri’s perfume near his face to wake him up to which Laine reacts pretty quickly. He tells George not to just stand there doing anyting, Laine had a terrible shock and he is starving. George offers him a slice of pizza from his pocket, but Laine’s tastes are better than that. He doesn’t refuse it though, and eats it in less than a second. Given the circumstances, it is surprisingly acceptable.
After talking to Laine, Henri’s partner, George intimidates him with crucial information gathered from Café Le Tricolore which states that he might have been involved in the burglary. That, and a nail clippers monogrammed with his name found in the scene which could have been used to cut the wires from the painting’s alarm. Thanks to this, George manages to get the code needed to access Henri’s Office. Just as he is typing the code in the security panel, the police arrives.
In need for more information about the suspicious security company called Vera Security which Henri hired to take care of the exhibition's safety, George decides he needs to search their offices thoroughly. Here he discovers a compromising photograph of Annette, the office manager, and who it looks like to be Hector Laine.
George decides to visit Henri’s apartment when trying to trace Hector Laine’s whereabouts to confront him about Annette’s relationship. Thanks to the waiter at Café Le Tricolore George learns that Laine is presumably consoling Henri’s widow, Bijou Dubois. George arrives to the building’s front door and asks to talk to Hector Laine through the intercom, but he refuses. By hearing this, George warns Hector that if he doesn’t talk with him he will tell everything about Annette to Bijou. Laine promptly lets George into the apartment.
He welcomes George and tells him to speak briefly because Laine is very busy comforting Bijou. George shows Laine an incriminating picture from his pocket that shows Annette and him know each other. Laine, surprised, explains that they only had a fling and by any means was Annette or He involved in “La Maledicció”’s theft. George believes he is not that smart to be part of the scam and asks him to leave the apartment or else Laine’s photograph with Annette would be shown to Bijou.
Some time later, Nico arrives to the Gallery’ street to find Hector Laine having a cup of coffee in Café Le Tricolore. She takes benefit from Laine’s weakness for beautiful woman to collect some information about “La Maledicció”’s owner which leads into a warm reunion with champagne in the Gallery’s office. Even though Laine has a very different expectation from the meeting, Nico only wants to find some new information. She casually finds a folder hidden under one of the sofa’s cushions where Hector is seating. She delicately splashes him with her drink to distract his attention. Once she is able to read it without Laine noticing, Nico discovers that Roman Medovsky is the one listed as the legal owner for “La Maledicció”.
When George and Nico are able to speak to Wilfred Hobbs, the art restorer, he mentions that a provenance (see in Trivia) was sent to Henri to prove the proprietorship, so Hector Laine must know about it. Once in the crime reconstruction held by Inspector Navet at the gallery, George and Laine are the only participants there apart from Navet and Sergeant Moue. This is George’s perfect opportunity to confront Laine about “La Maledicció”’s provenance. Laine is surprised about how much information George has gathered, and explains that the document must be inside the office safe so he suggests him to talk to Bijou Dubois (Henri's wife) because she took care of the business side of the gallery and has the keys in her possession. It looks like Bijou hasn't been completely honest with George after all.
After learning that Medovsky's provenance was forged by Hobbs, a gunshot sounds from the Le Lézard Bleu and the door to the office is shut tight. Once in the gallery, George tries to talk with Father Simeon who has just been shot. George turns around only to see Hector Laine astonished at the situation. He firmly believes that George killed the Dominican priest and warns him he is going to tell Inspector Navet. While having the conversation, George’s phone rings. Nico is calling for help because something terrible has happened in her building. George, with no time to waste, tells Laine he is mistaken and runs to see Nico. Clearly Hector Laine calls inspector Navet to blow the whistle on George, because minutes later police surrounds Nico’s address.
Topics of Conversation[]
- 1. The Smoking Mirror
- 2. The Serpent's Curse
- Topics with George:
- Henri.
- Theft.
- Gallery.
- Keypad.
- Cut Wire.
- Nail Clippers.
- Topics with Nico:
- Painting.
- Theft.
- George.
- Henri.
- Shooting.
- Sabotage.
Quotes[]
- Laine: "I make a lot of woman happy".
- George: "Especially when you leave them".
Trivia[]
- Provenance: a record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality.
- In BS5, Laine has a fling with Annette. She turned out to be rather needy.
Gallery[]
