This Four Monkey Killer (4MK), Bishop, leaves a series of clues to help Porter solve the crime, and these clues allude to both the novel’s themes and the complex dynamic between the protagonist and antagonist. Bishop disguises his victim, Jacob Kittner, as the 4MK and adopts his own disguises and false identity. The fake-out of Kittner, the 4MK diary, and the false persona of CSI technician Paul Watson are central to the exploration of The Manipulation of Narrative and Identity. Bishop’s infiltration of the Chicago Metro police force as the trusted CSI technician Watson allows him to manipulate the investigation from the inside, planting clues like the calculus textbook and observing the task force’s every move. Meanwhile, the objects he leaves are the exact hints needed to solve his crimes. The change in Kittner’s pocket, the dry cleaner’s receipt, and the pocket watch all point to the location of his victim, Emory, creating a careful narrative that he waits for Porter to solve.

In this sense, the clues also represent the intimacy of Bishop and Porter’s relationship. After five years of Porter hunting Bishop, and despite having the opportunity to do so within the narrative, Bishop never kills Porter. They’ve studied each other extensively and respect each other’s intellect. He still expects Porter to rise above his peers by solving seemingly opaque crimes and chastises Porter when he struggles to understand the hints within Bishop’s childhood diary. Nonetheless, once again, he doesn’t kill Porter at the novel’s climax and, afterward, further establishes their relationship by torturing Porter’s wife’s killer and requesting Porter’s help in finding his mother. The clues left throughout the novel are thus Bishop’s way of establishing the need to look beyond misleading appearances and a means of solidifying his dynamic with Porter.