| “ | Of course you can trust me. We read the same books. | ” |
— Jake Hix, When Did You See Her Last?
|
Jake Hix is introduced in When Did You See Her Last? as the nephew of Hungry Hix, the proprietor of Hungry's.
All the Wrong Questions
Early life
Jake lived in Stain'd-by-the-Sea; at some point of time, presumably after his parents left town and left him behind, Jake took up being an apprentice in his aunt's restaurant, working for food and board. He also met Cleo Knight, his sweetheart. However Ignatius and Doretta Knight, Cleo's parents, objected to them dating due to their difference in social status, so they had to keep their relationship secret. He also has been feeding Pip and Squeak free food for a while.
When Did You See Her Last?
Cleo makes a plan to run away from home, as her parents are suddenly insistent upon moving, and she wants to finish her formula for invisible ink that actually works. She makes a plan with Ellington Feint, who will disguise herself as Cleo and throw investigators off the trail, while Cleo plans to move into Handkerchief Heights. At 10:30, she has some tea at Hungry's and tells Jake that it may be a while before she can contact him, but she'll see him soon. He and Ellington are the only ones who know about her plans. Upon Lemony Snicket's arrival in Hungry's the next day, Jake is reading Johnny Dixon: The Trolley to Yesterday, telling a synopsis of the story to Lemony after being asked of the contents of the book; Lemony informs him that there are some books attributed to the author's name that are not actually his. Hungry orders Jake to take Lemony's order. Not minding that Lemony didn't have money to pay for the bill, Jake makes Snicket some soup with dumplings. Being questioned by Snicket regarding Cleo Knight's disappearance, Jake pretends not to know, saying he's apprehensive in talking about his customers.
Jake finally says that Cleo was at Hungry's the previous morning, but he let it slip regarding their close relationship by calling Cleo by her name instead of the more common 'Miss Knight.' He serves Pip and Squeak some soup as well after they enter, and talks about books with them and Snicket until they leave.
He is later making gashouse eggs for the Bellerophon Brothers when Moxie Mallahan and Snicket arrive, an he makes some for them, too. Snicket continues to press him about Cleo, finally informing him that he slipped up by being so informal about her. Jake admits that him and Cleo are secret sweethearts, and that Cleo is hiding and working on her formula, and hopefully once she's finished, Stain'd-by-the-Sea will be a real town and again and they can get married.
Snicket then informs him that Cleo never made it to her hideout; her car, a Dilemma, was tampered with, and she was abducted just after leaving Hungry's by her family's apothecary, Dr. Flammarion. Jake says that he can fix the Dilemma and meet them at Colophon Clinic, where she's being held, as Snicket, Pip, Squeak and Moxie take the Bellerophon taxi. Snicket also requests that he return two melons under the Dilemma to Partial Foods.
Once Jake fixes the Dilemma, he drives to the clinic, but finds the door locked, even though people are inside. He crashes the Dilemma through the back, and meets with Snicket, just as they hear screams. They follow the noise and find a trapdoor, which they manage to lift together. Inside the cellar, they find that Dr. Flammarion is screaming, as Cleo has already escaped and started destroying the equipment they used to force her to continue her experiments.
Jake and Cleo take Flammarion to the Officers Mitchum, who have just arrived at the clinic. When they reach the front room and find an injured Moxie, Cleo sends Jake to fetch all the medicine he can find. When he returns, Cleo treats Moxie's wounds.
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents
Walkie Talkie/Through the Window
Jake fixes Snicket some spaghetti, at the same time that Leroy (though Jake doesn't know his name) and Stew Mitchum are being served; Stew is trying to bargain his way to a fourth chocolate muffin, though he doesn't have enough money and Jake thinks he's had enough sugar for one day. Stew sulks and leaves to use the bathroom, and Leroy also pays and leaves. Jake tells Snicket that he's not enjoying his book reccomandation- one of the stories about a clever kid in Utah- but they are distracted by a sound from under the counter. A walkie-talkie is found, marked OFF-SBTS-USE, and on the radio is a cry for help; the person on the other end, claiming to be a spy, is calling for George. Jake thinks that Leroy might be George, as he only knows him as the man who comes in once a month for steak frites. They go outside the diner to find the customer, as the other person continues to cry for help. They find Leroy, who assures them his name isn't George, and the two of them return to the diner, as Snicket realizes that there isn't a spy at all, and Stew Mitchum stole his parents' walkie-talkies to use for this prank. They enter the diner to find Stew stealing his fourth muffin. Jake's next batch of muffins was pecan, offered on a sliding scale- "free for Lemony Snicket, but not to be sold to Stew Mitchum under any circumstances."
Bad Gang
On a Saturday, while Snicket is unchaperoned, Jake fixes him a frittata for breakfast, but Snicket leaves it half-finished after Jake tells him about the vandalism at Swords.
Troublesome Ghost
Snicket arrives at Hungry's for breakfast to find Jake serving Hans Mann some banana waffles, and he makes some more for Snicket, asking if he wants to hear a ghost story. He tells Hans that Snicket has been known to help around town, and tells Snicket that Hans used to work at the Stain'd Playhouse; Hans explains to him how they split a passenger car onstage in Look Out for That Train Wreck. The Stain'd Playhouse is now closed, and Jake explains that the only actors left in town are Sally Murphy and Billy Becker, who lives in the Anchovy District and catches rats in an old pillowcase.
Hans explains that his mother still lives in the family mansion, but she has become frightened of the ghost of her dead husband, which she believes to be haunting her. After Hans explains the haunting, Snicket asks what makes the bananas on the waffle taste so good, and Jake frowns and explains that he carmelizes them, though that is a professional secret. Snicket then reveals that Billy Becker is faking the haunting in order to drive Old Lady Mann from her home.
Shouldn't You Be in School?
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?
Physical appearance
Lemony describes him as being taller than him with shaggy red hair. In an illustration, he is shown wearing a bowtie and a coat.
Known meals
Jake has cooked a number of meals for others, such as:
- Soup with dumplings
- Gashouse eggs
- Reuben with extra Russian dressing
- Toasted bread
- Tomato-watermelon gazpacho
- Hangtown fry
- Porcini mushroom
- Farro risotto
- Artichoke-lemon soup with fried spring onions sprinkled on top
- Brook trout wrapped in grape leaves and poached with olives and rosemary
- Blueberry cobbler with homemade hazelnut ice cream
Trivia
- The only sports Jake likes are croquet and water polo.[1]
Appearances
- When Did You See Her Last?
- Shouldn't You Be in School?
- Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?
- File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents
Gallery
