Character Relationship Map: Hit Man

Characters

• Tyrone Tackett (played by Bernie Casey) — protagonist

  A former police officer who returns to Los Angeles to investigate the suspicious death of his brother, Cornell. He questions people connected to Cornell, clashes with local criminals, and tries to rec...

• Gozelda (played by Pam Grier) — protagonist

  An aspiring porn actress who rescues Tyrone during an attack and takes him to Theatis Oliver's new theater. She later brings Tyrone to a porn film featuring Rochelle, helping him realize that Cornell...

• Laural Garfoot (played by Lisa Moore) — supporting

  The manager of the motel where Tyrone rents a room while investigating Cornell's death. She has a sexual encounter with Tyrone, but their time together is interrupted by Sherwood and later by Leon and...

• Irvelle Way (played by Bhetty Waldron) — supporting

  Cornell's girlfriend, described as a prostitute, who denies knowing anything about his death when Tyrone questions her. Tyrone insists she attend Cornell's funeral, where her presence angers Rochelle....

• Sherwood Epps (played by Sam Laws) — supporting

  Cornell's business partner, who joins Tyrone as he revisits Cornell's home and later offers him a car in exchange for help repossessing it. Sherwood warns Tyrone that men are looking for him, and afte...

• Nano Zito (played by Don Diamond) — supporting

  A local mobster whose mansion Tyrone enters after commandeering Shag's car. Zito challenges Tyrone to a handball game, which Tyrone wins. Tyrone later arranges to leave town in exchange for Shag, but...

• Julius Swift (played by Rudy Challenger) — minor

  An old friend whom Sherwood leads Tyrone to seek at Africa America, a wildlife park, though Tyrone initially cannot find him. Swift later tells Tyrone that Shag forced Cornell to drink and then drove...

• Baby Huey (played by Roger E. Mosley) — minor

  One of the two men, along with Leon, who follow Tyrone after he returns to Los Angeles. Tyrone later captures Huey, who identifies Theatis Oliver as the person behind the harassment. Huey's revelation...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Tyrone Tackett → Laural Garfoot (Romantic Sexual Partners) — Their brief sexual relationship provides temporary intimacy amid escalating danger.

  Tyrone rents a motel room from Laural, and the two have a sexual encounter there.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Tyrone Tackett → Julius Swift (Conflict Violent Interrogator And Source) — Swift is both a crucial source of the truth and a final target of Tyrone's retaliation.

  Swift tells Tyrone that a driver forced the dead man to drink and drove him into the sea, after which Tyrone kills Swift.

• Tyrone Tackett → Nano Zito (Conflict Opposing Operators) — Zito represents the criminal power structure Tyrone investigates and confronts.

  Tyrone enters Nano Zito's mansion, later refuses an offer to kill him, and eventually arranges a dangerous exchange involving him.

• Tyrone Tackett → Baby Huey (Conflict Pursuer And Captive) — Baby Huey is an active threat whom Tyrone defeats to obtain information.

  Tyrone notices Baby Huey following him, shoots the tire of his car, and later captures him for questioning.

• Tyrone Tackett → Gozelda (Alliance Rescue Allies) — Gozelda repeatedly advances Tyrone's investigation by protecting him and guiding him toward evidence.

  Gozelda rescues Tyrone from an attack and takes him to a theater connected to the investigation.

• Tyrone Tackett → Sherwood Epps (Alliance Investigative Partners) — Sherwood becomes Tyrone's principal local ally during the investigation.

  Sherwood joins Tyrone in revisiting the dead man's home and later warns him that armed men are searching for him.

• Tyrone Tackett → Irvelle Way (Conflict Adversarial Informants) — Tyrone treats Irvelle as a reluctant source of information while she withholds and later offers clues.

  Tyrone pressures Irvelle to attend the funeral and threatens her because he believes she knows the truth about his brother's death.

Story Analysis

A former police officer pursues the truth behind his brother's death and answers a criminal conspiracy with personal vengeance.

Plot Progression

1. A Brother's Unanswered Death — Tyrone returns to Los Angeles and questions Irvelle about his brother's suspicious death. The funeral and the official drowning explanation deepen his suspicion rather than resolving it.
2. Pressure From The Underworld — With Sherwood's help, Tyrone follows practical and criminal leads through car dealings, a motel, and a dogfight. His pursuit brings him into direct contact with Nano Zito's network.
3. Traps And False Answers — Tyrone captures Baby Huey, survives attacks, and receives contradictory explanations about the death. Gozelda's intervention reconnects him with the theater operation behind the threats.
4. The Cost Of Retribution — A paid killing proposal and a disturbing film reveal the personal stakes of the case. The discovery of the daughter’s death pushes Tyrone toward direct and increasingly violent revenge.
5. Ashes At The Sea — Swift identifies the driver responsible for the drowning, and Tyrone eliminates the remaining figures tied to the crime. After scattering the ashes, he is allowed to leave and returns to his former li...