Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
The only light came from the moonlight and a few pole lamps, one of which was flickering and dim, on its way out. And why is that car there? I can’t tell what kind of vehicle it is. She sat up straighter to drink her coffee. Thinking. Let me switch lanes, give my brain a breather, then come back to this. She turned away and opened Nikolai’s dental records that she’d obtained from his house. The man kept track of everything.
Nice and tidy in a couple of file cabinets in a guest room. He got regular physicals, too. Went to the barber shop every two weeks for a cut and goatee trim. She began to compare what she knew about Ethan to Nikolai. She couldn’t get any records on Ethan’s medical or dental history due to HIPAA laws, but several of his close friends that she’d interviewed had confirmed he’d had braces at one point, but that was years ago. Currently, however, he has veneers. He’d gone to Mexico two years prior to have the surgery done for cheap, hoping it would assist with his acting career.
Nikolai’s dental records, however, showed work for one crown, a root canal, and two fillings in his teenage years. Other mentions were of routine cleanings every six months. That was it. He’d had a few teeth whitening treatments, too, but no veneers. No braces. No Invisalign.
She snatched the autopsy photo of Julian Appleton and put her magnifying glass against the bite mark depiction, becoming more certain by the moment. Then, she took a few screenshots of the footage and zoomed in further on the faces—now just blurry, globular images. One of the men she could kind of see his neck… No darkness. No tattoo. Nikolai has a big black raven on his damn neck. Hard to miss. It would stand out against his light complexion, even in grainy photos.
The other guy she couldn’t see that much of. She decided to pull up some other records of guys in the surrounding area who’d been convicted murderers and were out of prison. Just as she was getting into the groove, her phone rang.
The caller ID let her know it was from a jail, but not the one Nikolai was at. She answered.
An automated voice said, “You have a collect call… from… Multnomah County Corrections…from… ‘Douglas Liken!’ a man’s voice yelled. “Do you wish to accept the call? Please say, ‘Yes,’ or, ‘No.’” The automated voice stopped.
“…Yes.”
Seconds later, she heard a bunch of background noise and some man chewing what sounded like gum.
“Hey! Is this Investigator Porky Lee?”
“This is Porsche Lee.” She put the phone down and placed it on speaker.
“Yeah, yeah, Porch-ee Lee. Like I said. This is Dolph.”
“You originally said your name was Douglas. Douglas Liken.”
“It is. They call me Dolph. Like Dolphin. It’s my nickname. Hey, is that $10,000 still available? ’Cause I got information about the murders.”
“Yes, it’s still available.” She cleared her throat and kicked her feet up on a chair. “What would you like to share with me, Dolph?”
“I’m really doing a big thing here. I want to negotiate.”
“Negotiate what?”
“I want half the money upfront. Do you work for the cops?” She slowly closed her eyes and massaged her temple. He saw one of the billboards, or maybe heard a radio ad I had placed. Well, might as well hear what he has to say.
“No, I don’t work for the Portland police.”
“…Oh.”
She smirked, figuring he wanted her to pull some strings on his upcoming sentence, get some time shaved off for whatever he’d done to land there.
“What are you doing in jail, Dolph? And please be honest because I can find out in less than one minute.”
“Robbery. I didn’t do it, though. Wasn’t me.” She sighed. “I’m innocent. Look, uh, I want half upfront. Like I said. I’m an informant. I’m worth every cent.”
“You’re not an informant, Dolph. At least not to me. If you truly were, then you wouldn’t have to notify me of that. You are someone who has called a tip line, in hopes of securing the monetary reward. Now, if you actually know something, say it. If you don’t, please let me get back to work. My time is valuable.”
“And so is mine.” Yes. I am sure I am keeping you away from church or band practice right now. “Half upfront. Cash App me. DolphMegaBigDick$. That’s Dolph, then the word ‘Mega’, then the word ‘Big’, then ‘Dick’… followed by a money sign.”
She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.
“We don’t do that. If you give us information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for the Old Orchard Beach murders, then and only then will a check be cut for you. The full amount.”
“Who is this ‘we’?”
“The police officers and I working the case.”
“So you are the police… I know who’s been killin’ those fellas.”