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Ed Jackson and Joe Purdue are the sheriff and deputy, respectively, of Barkley Cove. The two men have an instrumental impact on the novel’s plot because their investigation into Chase's death culminates in Kya's trial. Where the Crawdads Sing is told in a nonlinear narrative style in which the chapters alternate timelines. Sometimes, the reader is learning about Kya’s life, starting from when she was a young girl beginning in 1952. The other timeline takes place in 1969, while Ed and Joe work together to make sense of the suspicious circumstances surrounding Chase Andrews’s death. The novel’s dual construction is mimicked by Ed and Joe’s initial assessment of the situation. The two men have split opinions on Chase Andrews. Ed believes in the story of Chase as a golden boy and favorite son of the town at large. Joe, on the other hand, points out Chase's ongoing interest in other people's wives and girlfriends, even after his marriage. The divide between the two officers continues throughout the rest of their investigation. Ed remains cocky and steadfast in his opinion that Kya is a likely suspect while Joe is more critical. For example, Ed is unimpressed with Kya’s scientific paraphernalia when the two search her home, whereas Joe is fascinated by her work. Ed is also convinced that Kya is uneducated and dumb enough to leave the red hat (a key piece of evidence) out in the open while Joe is less convinced because he “bet[s] she knows a bunch” of things. However, by the end of the investigation, Joe is won over by Ed’s compilation of evidence and Kya is arrested. Ironically, at the end of the novel, we learn that the arrogant and close-minded Ed was ultimately correct and the deferential and open-minded Joe was wrong. However, Joe is still depicted in a more forgiving light than Ed because his observations come from evidence rather than prejudice.
