Cleo Johnson is forced to participate in an assassination attempt, which turns her life upside down. In Lady in the Lake, Moses Ingram plays Cleo.
Cleo is a mother of two. As her husband, Slappy, is little help, financially and in caring for their children, she has to raise their sons on her own.
Cleo’s younger son suffers from sickle cell. Alongside caring for him, Cleo works multiple jobs to provide a good life for her children.
A life full of hurdles
Long ago, Cleo had agreed to manage Shell Gordon’s books in exchange for an opportunity for herself and Dora to sing at his club.
While Dora sang and became a singer, Cleo backed out at the last minute and continued managing Gordon’s books. Dora still wishes to sing with Cleo someday.
Now, Cleo, who is skilled with numbers like her father, not only manages Gordon’s books but also works as a bartender at a club owned by him.
Cleo does not like working for Gordon, as her own family was ruined by the numbers game. When she was young, she gave all her savings to her father to bet on a number she chose.
She hoped to help her father repay his gambling debts. Cleo’s number won, and her father fled town with the money, abandoning Cleo and her mother.
Now, Cleo also volunteers for Myrtle Summer, a senator, hoping that Summer would offer her a full-time job. However, Summer refuses because Cleo works for Gordon and employing her would tarnish Summer’s reputation.
When Cleo discovers that Summer used to receive donations from Gordon, Summer’s refusal to hire her because of her connection to Gordon seems hypocritical.
A disappointed Cleo becomes disillusioned with Summer, the woman she once idealized, and quits working for her. Cleo then makes some difficult decisions.
Cleo approaches Gordon with a different mindset. She is now willing to manage his illegal books because she knows that Gordon will pay her well for her work.
To ingratiate herself with Gordon, Cleo even gets Slappy to perform at his club, something she had previously opposed.
Reggie, Gordon’s right-hand man, then tasks Cleo with dropping off money somewhere, leading her to believe that she is doing this job for Gordon.
To earn Gordon’s trust, Cleo reluctantly agrees, only to be forced by the men she pays to drive them to Summer’s house, where they attempt to assassinate her.
After Cleo becomes involved in a failed assassination attempt, she realizes that she will either be caught by the police or killed by Gordon, whose name might be linked to the attempt if she is caught.
Cleo decides to flee town, but not without making some money first. She convinces Reggie to give her the winning number in Gordon’s rigged number game in advance.
By betting all her money on that number, Cleo makes a significant sum. At the same time, Gordon orders Reggie to kill her, leaving Reggie with no choice but to obey.
A body is later found in a fountain in a lake. It is assumed that the body is Cleo’s, and she becomes known as the ‘Lady in the Lake’ in death.
Cleo’s freedom
It is revealed that Reggie never killed Cleo. Instead, he helped Cleo fake her death to keep her safe from Gordon and the police by dressing her best friend Dora’s body in Cleo’s clothes after Dora died of an overdose.
Cleo’s murder case catches the attention of Maddie, whose investigation threatens to expose Cleo and Reggie’s secret. Meanwhile, Slappy is accused of her murder.
Cleo plans to expose Gordon’s crimes and then turn herself in for participating in Summer’s assassination attempt to get Slappy released from prison.
Cleo visits Maddie and promises to provide evidence against Gordon if she drops the investigation into her murder. Then, with Reggie’s help, she steals incriminating documents from Gordon’s hotel.
Reggie becomes a witness against Gordon, telling the police that he killed Cleo and attempted to assassinate Summer on Gordon’s orders, leading to Slappy’s release.
As promised, Cleo hands over the evidence against Gordon to Maddie, who keeps Cleo’s secret in return. As Cleo is believed to be dead, her story is told by Maddie.
With the money she made from betting, Cleo now gets to live the life she and Dora always dreamed of—a life away from Gordon’s club. Cleo moves to Paris with her sons and Slappy and becomes a singer, adopting Dora’s name.
Also Read: Reggie: Lady in the Lake character explained
