"We all have our secrets." -Eva
Eva (whose full name according to the game's original script is Evaluna) is a high-ranking agent of the Lost Souls Alliance, who worked undercover as a secretary at the Department of Death. She is one of Manny Calavera's few true allies throughout the game, both in his crusade against Hector LeMans and in his dead-end job at the D.O.D.
Year 1
Eva is first seen in the game's opening cutscene, when she tells Manny that their boss, Don Copal, wants to see him in his office when he returns from his trip (this may in fact have been an error on the part of the creators, as when Manny talks to Eva shortly after the cutscene ends, she says that Don is in his office but is too busy to talk). Eva is the first character that the player encounters after assuming control of Manny.
At first, Eva appears to be a walking secretarial stereotype. She has tall, red hair and wears horn-rimmed glasses. She also talks in a pronounced New York accent modeled after that of Fran Drescher. Most of her time is spent flipping through a newspaper, filing her nails, typing on her typewriter, or generally looking disinterested.
Through the conversations she has with Manny, it is made clear that both have been working at the Department of Death for many years, as Eva recalls working there back when Manny was the D.O.D.'s top salesman (it is never directly stated when Manny's career began to fade, but it's implied to have been some time before the events of Grim Fandango). Eva has a bored and sarcastic personality, not uncommon for those in her line of work, but she and Manny get along quite well, even flirting on occasion. After she informs Manny that Domino Hurley recently got a raise, Manny asks her for some good news, to which she replies: "I still love you." She also doesn't seem to mind when Manny refers to her as "honey" or "belleza" (spanish for "beauty"). On other occasions, Manny's flirting seems to get on her nerves, which happens if Manny keeps asking her to explain his job to him.
While Eva sees Manny as a nice guy trapped at the D.O.D., she also appears to take pity on him, mocking his proclamations that he could escape El Marrow with her if he really tried. She tells Manny that he's "a trapped soul, and you don't even know it." The two are on good terms, but are not above teasing one another. Even so, Eva is the closest thing to a friend Manny has at his job, or for that matter, in all of El Marrow.
The conversation Manny has with Eva is the first conversation in the game, and it's an extremely important one, as it explains many critical aspects and plotpoints. Through this conversation, Manny's job is described in detail (which Eva sarcastically explains like the plot for a movie, going so far as to describe Manny as "our hero"). She reveals that Manny's job involves reaping the souls of the recently departed and selling them the best travel packages they qualify for based on the lives they lead. She also reveals to the player that until Manny sells enough premium packages, he is stuck working at the D.O.D. The conversation also establishes Manny's disdain for his rival, Domino Hurley. Also mentioned is the reason why the two of them are forced to work for the D.O.D.: they lead less than virtuous lives (though Manny later claims he doesn't know what he did to deserve his punishment). When asked by Manny what she did that led her to her "career" at the Department, she says that it's none of his business, adding: "you know the rules." Official rules prohibiting salespeople from discussing the terms of their punishment are never mentioned again.
Another interesting bit of dialogue involves Eva remarking that she has "one boss, same as you: Don Copal." Manny accuses her of working for another man besides Copal, and she nervously asks what he's talking about. Manny then accuses her of taking messages for Domino (a service not extended to him, as Eva hates it when Manny treats her like his secretary), which relieves Eva, although she tells him to "just beat it, will ya?"
Eva is involved in the game's first puzzle: getting a signature on Glottis's work order. Every time Eva buzzes Don in his office to let him know Manny needs to see him, she gets the same angry response, telling her that he does not want to be disturbed. When Manny leaves the D.O.D. building, he discovers that Copal is not actually in his office, as he climbed down a makeshift rope made of ties into an alleyway adjacent to the building. After Manny climbs up the rope and breaks into Copal's office, he sees that the intercom is rigged to give a recorded response when buzzed. He changes the pre-recorded message to "Aw, cripes, Eva, just sign it yourself, will ya? I'm busy!" The next time Eva calls Copal on the intercom, she gets permission to sign the work order. Manny coyly tells Eva that he "had no idea [she] had that kind of power," to which Eva nonchalantly replies: "We all have our secrets."
Later in the game, when Don Copal is berating Manny for stealing a client from Domino, it is Eva who informs them that Meche (a premium client whom Manny "stole" as a last-ditch effort to save his job) has already left on foot, when in reality she had a ticket on the Number Nine train. The efforts of both Manny and Domino to find her in the Land of the Dead are what set off the events of Years 2 and 3.
Lost Souls Alliance
After being freed from a makeshift prison in the D.O.D. garage by Salvador Limones, Manny is escorted into the secret headquarters of the Lost Souls Alliance, located underneath the D.O.D. building. Manny discovers that Eva and Salvador have formed an underground network of spies, of which they are the only current members. Eva tells Manny that she's been working undercover for Salvador for the past year, and that together, they intend to form a large group of rebels to fight to corrupt Department of Death. She was apparently recruited by Salvador himself, and she adds in a gushing tone that she couldn't resist him because "he's just so...noble."
A drawing of Eva, taken from the game's 1996 original script
Manny asks Eva to help him escape El Marrow, but she explains that in order to figure out what's going on in the D.O.D., they need Manny to log onto the company's computer system (this is accomplished by a scan of the salesman's teeth). After Manny presents Eva with a makeshift plaster cast of his teeth, Salvador personally escorts Manny out of town via a secret tunnel.
Reappearance in Year 4
For the rest of the game, Manny (a.k.a. "Agent Calavera") works with the Lost Souls Alliance to find Meche and bring down Hector LeMans. When Manny finally returns to El Marrow in Year 4, LeMans has taken control of the entire city. Manny reunites with Eva at the expanded L.S.A. headquarters, deep underground beneath the old D.O.D. building. The Lost Souls Alliance has also grown, just as Eva predicted, and the guerilla organization now has many operatives fighting for the cause. Eva is now the second in command, and is left in charge when Salvador leaves with Olivia Ofrenda to "take matters into [his] own hands". She briefs Manny on the current situation with the revolution, and tells him all about the key to overthrowing Hector LeMans: his assistant, Bowlsley the weapons manufacturer.
Fate
Eva does not directly participate in any of the puzzles during Year 4, though she can be seen manning the radios at the L.S.A. base and has several important things to say. After Manny disguises himself and gains the trust of Hector LeMans, Eva is not seen or heard from in the game again. She is mentioned once more, when Salvador is preparing to sacrifice himself in order to sprout Olivia: "Tell Eva that I know she will lead the L.S.A. well when I am gone."
Unfortunately, the fate of Eva and the other L.S.A. agents is left completely unresolved. After cleaning up the corrupt Department of Death, Manny was issued a ticket on the Number Nine train as a "retirement package". It is entirely possible that Eva was given one as well, though she does not accompany Manny and Meche on their train ride into the Ninth Underworld.
Trivia
- Eva is arguably the most prominent character to have a completely unresolved fate.
- Because of her New York accent, she is the only character to pronounce the boss's name "CO-pal" instead of the usual "Co-PAL".
- When Eva shoos Manny away in the game's opening conversation, she tells him that she has a lot of filing to do; this is a double entendre, cleverly referencing both her job (filing papers) and one of her favorite hobbies (filing her nails).
- Along with Domino, Eva jokes about Manny's unfortunate outburst at the office Christmas party in which he tried to punch his sales rival.
- Eva is seen trying to repair a broken radio in Year 1. In Year 4, what is presumably the same radio is in the center of the L.S.A. headquarters, fully operational.
- After Hector sprouted Don Copal, he told Domino that he planned to do the same to Manny. It is not known how Domino would have explained their disappearances to Eva, and it's entirely possible they would have sprouted her as well in an attempt to cover up the other murders. If this were the case, then Eva remained safe by hiding out underground.
- Whether or not Eva went back to work for the D.O.D. after Manny left is not known.
- If Manny walks by her desk during year 1 with all the balloons, Eva will ask what the squeaking they are making as Manny walks is. Manny will reply that it is his new shoes.