ex-boyfriend. A football star who is an obnoxious and cruel punk, Zack gets away with his bad behavior because of his popularity and his father's status as a police officer. He loves tormenting John to the point of breaking into his house, and is indirectly responsible for pushing John to his breaking point. Beatrice "Bea" Majeski—Janine's wise mother and Miles' ex-mother-in-law. Bea and Miles remain good friends. Bea frequently takes Miles' side rather than Janine's, and often makes rather pointed remarks about Janine's behavior. Bea owns Callahan's, the local bar that she used to run with her late husband, serving both lunch and drinks. Since her husband's death, however, Callahan's no longer serves food. In order to remedy this, Bea is hoping Miles and David will go into business with her. Charlene Gardiner—Waitress at the Empire Grill, and Miles' crush since high school. Charlene is both very attractive and very talkative, and prides herself on her ability to get customers to respond. She is aware that Miles is attracted to her, but she has neither mentioned it nor dissuaded him. She has married and divorced three times already, and is supposedly between boyfriends. Unbeknownst to Miles, however, she is dating his brother, David. Bill Daws—The compassionate chief of police and a friend of Miles'. He is dying of cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy which takes a heavy toll on his health. He confides this news only to Miles and is distrustful of Jimmy Minty. Horace Weymouth'—A local reporter and a regular patron at the grill. He is an intellectual with a heavy Maine accent, and has intimate knowledge of what goes on around town. His forehead has a prominent cyst, which Max often tactlessly refers to. Father Mark—A friendly priest and political activist, who after a brief run-in with the law, was moved to Empire Falls by his residing Cardinal. He works in St. Catharine's, a local Catholic church that Miles has attended since childhood. Miles has offered to paint the church for free, although his progress is slow because of how much time he spends chatting with Father Mark. Father Tom—An elderly priest. He is developing dementia and behaves erratically. While he's known for being generally offensive and for his love of the word "peckerhead", Father Tom has forged a curious and inexplicable friendship with Max Roby that has everyone suspicious. Otto Meyer, Jr.—Principal of the high school and