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)
Now she sat right out in front of the house with the window cracked. Completely deflated. Destroyed.
She stared at the home. This place would no doubt be dubbed a house of horrors by vloggers and reporters.
Porsche’s tears had dried up but now they threatened to flow again. It was the wind… only the wind. She forced herself to keep it together—crying wouldn’t change the outcome. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.
She’d made certain not to fall apart in front of the Portland police officers on site, or even Captain White. But now was her time to release the floodgates when no one was around. When it was only her, alone, stuck with her thoughts.
For a long time, she let herself go. Let her pain ooze out of her like a vicious poison. Sobbing from the gut, until it hurt so much she could hardly bear it.
Then, she stopped again.
…I wonder what he’s doing right now? What he’s thinking?
After finally getting the go-ahead from Captain White, she’d reached out to Nikolai once he was processed at the jail, awaiting arraignment. But it was too late—she was denied access to him by his lawyer.
Oh, if only she could rewind the clock and things ended up differently. If only she had more time…
I have to go. I need to find out everything I can through all of my research, and not waste time feeling sorry for myself or getting bogged down in the details.
She’d gotten ready to drive away when her phone rang. A flicker of apprehension mixed with anticipation coursed through her as she saw it was coming from the jail. She answered on the first ring.
“…Tell me the gotdamn truth, all of it! Why was that man in your—”
“Shhh. These calls are recorded.” His deep voice ebbed into silence. A tight lump within her begged for release as a few seconds, feeling more like years, passed. “I’m not saying your name, and don’t you say mine. Say nothing. Not a word more. Just listen. First, no one can love you more than me. It’s impossible. Secondly, I know how this might look, but I need you to remember who I am. You know my heart.” She heard him take a deep breath. “I have only told you one lie… You’ll find out what that was soon enough, and why I had to be dishonest. The truth is coming. Raven Whispers, baby.”
And then, he hung up.
Raven Whispers? That must’ve been code for something, but she didn’t understand. Raven is his last name, but it has to be deeper than that. She Googled it, but nothing noteworthy came up. Tears budded in her eyes. She snatched a tissue from a box she kept in the backseat, hating that she’d broken down once again. Her despair was like a steel burden.
She took a few deep breaths, in tune with the music playing, ‘My Old School,’ by Steely Dan, thinking about all that had happened leading up to this point. She replayed his words to her, wishing she had something… something concrete proof of his innocence… Anything. She’d spent three hours at Nikolai’s house that day, along with a few police officers and Captain White. Nothing additional was found.
Raven Whispers?
The only new thing she’d seen was the concrete room she’d never knew existed, perfectly concealed behind a wall, and the box of evidence that was collected, chock full of items from the dead victims.
Nikolai kept his house clean and well maintained. It was easy to navigate and investigate. Though the photos of the man chained there were haunting, surreal and disturbing, she found the idea of Nikolai keeping him alive down there for an extended period of time almost like an act of mercy. As if he were fighting demons… or perhaps he didn’t want to kill him at all.
The man in the basement must’ve been here the entire time I was here, too. But why would Nikolai have him here, and trust that I wouldn’t suspect anything, or maybe, a part of him didn’t care if I found out? Nikolai is an analytical person. He puts thought into everything he does. He plans. Something is missing. Something big. Something that makes sense, something that might even be obvious, but I can’t figure it out. I think if he really wanted to kill that guy, he would’ve been dead.
But maybe that was wishful thinking, clutching at straws. A chill ran down her spine. This situation didn’t match the other murders, with the exception of the victim being male, which made her even more certain a big piece of the puzzle was missing.
Motive. That question had to be answered. It would unlock the door to the entire mystery.
Frozen in her feelings, her mind played like a tape—an old recording showing her all the things she’d reviewed over the past few months. The Medical Examiner’s words began to haunt her: Evil. Never seen anything like this…