Jacob Elway

Jacob Elway The Private Investigator

Jacob Elway is a character in Season Eight of the Showtime series DEXTER.

Elway is the owner of Elway Investigations, a private detective agency in Miami. He employs Debra Morgan after she steps down as Lieutenant at Miami Metro Homicide.

Description[]

Elway often displays a smug smile, along with a slightly arrogant attitude. While doing business, he generally wears a suit and tie over a patterned shirt. Most other times, he sports a partially unbuttoned shirt and a necklace.

Personality[]

Elway is friendly and easy-going when interacting with his investigators and customers. At the time he hired Debra Morgan, he made a deal that she's her own agent who can check in when she wants to and may handle her own cases. He shows concern, though, when he tells Dexter that she hasn't called in for two weeks.

In meeting with Dexter Morgan, Elway politely greets him and offers a cup of coffee. During their conversation about Debra, Elway mentions having worked a robbery desk at Miami Metro.

Although Elway presents a relaxed attitude, he is driven by greed. His relentless pursuit of money through dealing with clients is what largely makes him a main antagonist to Hannah McKay, keen to collect the large bounty placed upon her. He warns Dexter not to "go down with her."

History[]

Elway previously worked for the Miami Metro Police Department in the robbery division. He left the department to launch a high-scale private investigation firm where he employs unscrupulous investigators and methods of dubious legality.

Personal Life[]

Elway's decision to become a private investigator strained his relationships with his entire family. His estranged father predicted he would hate bureaucratic by-the-book police work, but he waited until his father died before leaving Miami Metro, to deny him the satisfaction of being right.

Born into a wealthier social stratum, he also admits reveling in the shame his mother must feel when asked about his profession. He later damages his relationship with his sister, Susie, when he intervenes in her personal life. He comes to regret his actions to expose her boyfriend's infidelity, when he realizes he's the reason for her pain.

Summary[]

Following the death of Maria LaGuerta, Debra Morgan leaves Miami Metro Homicide and joins a private detective agency known as Elway Investigations, run by Jacob Elway.

Dexter Morgan goes searching for his sister, who has been out of contact with him for over a month. He stops by Elway Investigations, where Elway immediately greets him with hand extended having known him from back at the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter acknowledges that he has a nice place, which Elway admits is a big step up from his robbery desk back at Miami Metro. He grabs a cup of a coffee for Dexter and explains that it was a smart move for Deb to move into the "private sector." He does mention, however, that she has a problem with disappearing, stating that she never checks in when she's supposed to and most recently hasn't been in touch for the past couple of weeks. However, Elway admits he made a deal with her that she would act as her own agent, choosing cases as she pleases, and even calling in when she feels like it.

Dexter continues to show concern over his sister while Elway informs him of her most recent case, a man named Andrew Briggs who skipped out on bail after a jewelry store robbery. Dexter wonders why she's sinking that low going after bounties. Elway agrees, stating that he's tried giving her bigger cases and higher clients, yet she declines. He feels that she's a bit of a thrill seeker, liking to do the down and dirty stuff. Gigs like this allow her to take in a percentage of the bounty, in addition to a cut of the jewelry if she can bring that in, too.

Following the death of Briggs at the hand of Dexter (during a heated confrontation), Debra calls Elway confirming a "good news bad news" situation in a message. She tells him that Briggs is dead but she has a pretty good lead on where his stolen jewelry actually is, saying she'll tell him more about it when she checks in. Although she eventually finds the jewelry, it gets taken from her by a hitman, whom she later kills.

Elway shows that he is attracted to Debra, but she continually rebuffs him. For a few weeks, Elway and Deb have a strained employee relationship due to Deb prioritizing Dexter over her work, Elway is left with a growing resentment of Deb. She eventually wants to return to Miami Metro to be with her friends, thus abandoning Elway and leaving room for a new client to replace her. Prior to this, Debra informs Elway that Hannah McKay is back in Miami going under the alias "Maggie Castner.' However, upon realizing how much Hannah means to Dexter, Debra leaves her alone and tells Elway that she's decided to drop the case. Elway, however, informs Deputy Marshal Max Clayton of Hannah being in Miami, in order to get the reward money.

After Elway discovers that Dexter Morgan used to be romantically involved with Hannah and that Debra wishes to leave the police force at the same time Hannah is rumored to be here, it hits him that Dexter may have re-established contact with Hannah. He voices his suspicions to Debra, but she immediately dismisses them. However, Max Clayton doesn't buy this ruse after discovering Debra's name written down in a doctor's office after Harrison gets hurt (in reality, this name was written by Hannah, since she was not related to Harrison and needed to use a fake name). Clayton suspects that Debra is hiding something, so he begins vetting her in hopes that she will lead him to Hannah. However, Clayton meets his end to a knife wielded by Oliver Saxon, who tricks Clayton into releasing him and then stabs him in the heart with one of Dexter's blades. After his death, Elway is able to pinpoint Hannah's location (which is the airport) and he confirms that Dexter is in fact, involved with Hannah.

Dexter manages to get him off of Hannah's trail by planting a backpack in the airport and telling Gate Attendant Casey that he saw a man leave a suspicious package under the seats and walk away. Elway is detained by airport security, giving Hannah, Dexter, and Harrison enough time to escape. Elway shows up at the hospital where Debra has been admitted and mentions Hannah, causing Dexter to pin him against the wall and tell him to back off.

Elway tracks Hannah down to a bus, via his contacts, and tells her that he will turn her in to the U.S. Marshal services at the next stop (Daytona), so that he can get his reward money. Hannah offers him tea, but Elway believes the tea is poisoned and turns away, laughing at Hannah. Hannah seizes this opportunity and injects him in the leg with one of Dexter's tranquilizers, which causes him to pass out in seconds. This allows Harrison and Hannah to leave the bus while he lies unconscious in his seat. Elway later wakes up in Tallahassee and his hunt for Hannah ends in failure. This leaves Elway being the only person apart from Hannah and Dexter, who knows that Harrison is with Hannah in the season's finale.

Trivia[]

Elway, along with Oliver Saxon, is the final main antagonist of the Dexter series.
Elway favors a drink called "ACTIVATE," which is a brand of Electrolyte Replenishment Formula (similar to Gatorade). He keeps several in his office, even offering one to Debra Morgan (who thinks it looks like "horse piss").^[1]
His office consists of various race car models and a Japanese Katana along his shelves.
Elway is the third main antagonist who survives a season (the first being Frank Lundy and the second being Joey Quinn).
Elway is only one of four main antagonists who has never killed anyone in the series, the other three being Frank Lundy, Stan Liddy and Maria LaGuerta.
When Debra showed up for work with a hangover, Elway gave her a special custom-made supplement formula that contained vitamins, electrolytes, and a couple of Chinese herbs. ("What's Eating Dexter Morgan?")