Pam Madden
- "What makes you think's I'm a lady?"
— Pam Madden
Pamela "Pam" Starr Madden is a character that appears in the novel, Without Remorse.
Biography
Pam was born to a lower-working-class family in the panhandle region of northern Texas. She grew up under the firm and strict hand of her father, Donald Madden, who frequently beat her with a belt or wooden object should she misbehave. The day after her sixteenth birthday, she stayed late at a church function and ended up going out with some friends as well as a boy she liked. Pam returned home later that night to find her father enraged. Donald gave her the worst beating yet, visciously berating her and accusing her of sleeping around. Fed up with the abuse, Pam ran away from home and took the first bus to Houston before dawn.
Pam worked a series of menial jobs in Houston and eventually took what little money she had to take a bus to New Orleans. Shortly after arriving in the city, she was spotted by a pimp named Pierre Lamarck. Unaware of Lamarck's profession, she accepted his offer for food and shelter. He then manipulated her into losing her virginity by sleeping with him three days later. A week after that, Lamarck slapped her across the face and coerced her into sleeping with another man for an entire night for two hundred and fifty dollars. The day after that, Pam had emptied one of Lamarck's pill containers in a suicide attempt but only managed to vomit it back out and was severely beaten by Lamarck afterward.
When she was nineteen, Pam escaped Lamarck and suffered further abuse from three other pimps between Atlanta and Chicago. While in Chicago, Pam's pimp felt she was too independent and got her addicted to heroin. Despite this, she left him the next day and eventually found herself in Washington D.C. In the span of three years she had two abortions, three cases of venereal disease, and four arrests which never went to trial. In the country's capital, Pam was found by a man named Roscoe Fleming who introduced her to a new pimp, Henry Tucker. Tucker ran a drug trafficking ring across Maryland and used Pam and other prostitutes as drug mules to supply his distributers. Pam had tried to escape immediately but was severely beaten by Tucker, suffering three broken ribs as a result. Tucker then stuffed her with more barbiturates to make her even more dependent and made her available to all of his associates to put her in further submission.
Over a period of five months in 1970, Pam was phyically and sexually abused regularly and was constantly high on drugs. It was during this time that she was forced to watch Tucker murder her friend, Helen Waters who had also tried to escape to contact police. Despite the dangers she faced, Pam recieved a wake up call when she tripped over the body of a twelve year old boy in a door who had overdosed. This led her to start cutting down on her drug use. After regaining some level of consciousness, she waited until Henry was away to make her move. Pam seduced Henry's associates and was able to escape with the few belongings she had after they let her out of their sight.
Without Remorse
A few days later, Pam hitchhiked and was picked up by John Kelly who offered to take her on his boat to his home on Battery Island. After leaving the harbor, a thunderstorm rolled in and forced Kelly to anchor for the night. Kelly, who had lost his wife to a car accident six month prior, opened up to Pam about his ordeals and the pair had sex. The next morning, they continued their trek to Battery Island when they came upon doctors Sam Rosen and his wife Sarah who had struck a sandbar. The Rosens accepted an offer to be towed by Kelly and joined him on his island. Pam and Kelly became quick friends with the Rosens who stayed on the island with them for the next few days as they waited for parts to be delivered to fix their boat.
While Kelly and Sam were unloading the boat, Kelly accidently dropped Pam's bag and found a large bottle of barbituates. Pam was initially devastated when Kelly and the Rosens confronted her as she did not want to be viewed differently. While sobbing, Kelly embraced her and told her that he would be there for her to help her quit. Her past as a prostitute was also revealed after she was physically examined by Sarah who took note of her prior injuries from abuse. Despite Pam's fears, Kelly told her that what she did in the past did not matter and that he loved her. Pam spent several days adjusting to a normal sleep schedule and weaning herself off drugs. When the time came for the Rosens to depart, Sarah Rosen made her and Kelly promise to come to Baltimore in the next few weeks to see them for a proper physical examination.
The next morning, Pam told Kelly of her life and how she had become a prostitute. At the end of her story, Pam expressed concern for her safety should Tucker or his associates ever find her. Kelly attempted to reassure her by showing off his marksmanship skills. He then told her that her story did not change how he thought of her and only reinforced the fact that she was resiliant. Pam then agreed to stay with Kelly and commit to turning her life around. She then spent the next ten days exercising as well as learning to cook and operate a boat. On one day, Pam told Kelly that she was worried about the other girls she had worked with. Kelly agreed, knowing she could not hide forever. He then called officer Frank Allen of the Baltimore Police Department and agreed to meet with him the next day so that Pam could tell him about the murder of Helen Waters.
A day later, Pam was taken by Kelly to a fancy resturant in Baltimore. The pair had intended on going to see the Rosens after meeting with Allen. With a few hours to kill before meeting with Allen, Kelly grew curious of Pam's old life and asked her to direct him to her old neighborhood for reconnisance. While scared of being recognized, Pam trusted Kelly would keep her safe. Unfortuately, they encountered Tucker who recognized Pam. While Kelly had succeeded in outwitting Tucker in a car chase, Tucker's men tracked them down. While parked on a side street, Pam had turned to the backseat to grab a drink and saw Tuckers men. Kelly was unable to react in time and was shot twice in the head and neck with a shotgun. Pamela was then brutally raped and killed, her body dumped in a fountain for display.
While recovering from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kelly met his future second wife, Sandra O'Toole. After being discharged, Kelly learned of Pam's murder and began to plot his revenge. After killing sixteen men involved with the drug ring, Kelly was tracked down by Lieutenant Emmett Ryan of the Baltimore Police. With the help of Admiral James Greer and the CIA he was able to fake his death and become John Clark.