Frederick ‘Freddie’ Miles sees through Tom’s lies and ultimately becomes Tom’s second victim. In Ripley, Eliot Sumner plays Freddie.
Freddie, Richard’s friend, is a wealthy man pursuing his artistic talents. He is a playwright who is also traveling across Italy, presumably with his boyfriend.
When Richard takes Tom to Naples, they run into Freddie. Like Marge, Freddie is instantly suspicious of Tom.
However, unlike Marge, he is not suspicious of Tom because of his closeness to Richard. He recognizes Tom, having met him in New York.
While Tom denies having met Freddie before, Freddie is certain that they have met. Freddie’s probing questions and skepticism about Tom’s answers cause Tom to dislike him after their brief meeting.
Uncovering Tom’s deception
As Tom kills Richard, Marge and Richard do not attend Freddie’s Christmas party as they had initially planned.
Freddie then learns that Richard is in Rome, and it does not take him long to find the house leased under Richard’s name.
To his surprise, he finds Tom there instead of Richard. Initially, Freddie thinks that Tom is living with Richard and does not suspect that Richard is dead.
Freddie all but interrogates Tom, noticing that Tom is wearing Richard’s clothes and accessories.
However, when Tom does not provide the answers that Freddie needs, he decides to leave until he speaks to the landlady, who tells him that Richard is home.
It is then that Freddie grows suspicious. Being certain that he met Tom in New York, Freddie knows that Tom is not an accountant as he claimed to be.
Their mutual acquaintance had informed Freddie that Tom forges IDs, bank letters, and whatever else is needed.
Due to that, Freddie catches Tom’s lies and suspects that something has happened to Richard; his speculations are very close to the truth.
When Tom refuses to confess, Freddie threatens to go to the police. He is the first person to come this close to uncovering Tom’s assumption of Richard’s identity.
This leads to Tom taking Freddie’s life and abandoning his body outside Rome. He takes Freddie’s passport and valuables to make it look like a robbery.
However, Inspector Ravini still investigates his murder but fails to uncover the truth about Freddie’s death.
Eventually, he comes to believe that Freddie was in a romantic relationship with Richard and was killed by him, which leads to the case being closed.
Also Read: Marjorie “Marge” Sherwood: Ripley character explained