The Fourth Monkey: A twisted thriller you won’t be able to put down. J.D. Barker

      “Right. The box.”

      He tugged at the string and watched as the knot unraveled and came apart. The white paper beneath had been neatly folded over the corners, ending in perfect little triangles.

       Like a gift. He wrapped it like a gift.

      The paper came away easily, revealing a black box. Porter set the paper and string aside, glanced at Nash and Watson, then slowly lifted the lid.

      The ear had been washed clean of blood and rested on a blanket of cotton.

       Just like the others.

       4

       Porter

       Day 1 • 7:05 a.m.

      “I need to see his body.”

      Nash glanced nervously at the growing crowd. “Are you sure you want to do that here? There are a lot of eyes on you right now.”

      “Let’s get a tent up.”

      Nash signaled to one of the officers.

      Fifteen minutes later, much to the dismay of oncoming traffic, a twelve-by-twelve tent stood on Fifty-Fifth Street, blocking one of the two eastbound lanes. Nash and Porter slipped through the flap, followed closely by Eisley and Watson. A uniformed guard took up position at the door in case someone snuck past the barricades at the scene perimeter and tried to get in.

      Six 1,200-watt halogen floodlights stood on yellow metal tripods in a semicircle around the body, filling the small space with sharp, bright light.

      Eisley reached down and peeled back the top flap of the bag.

      Porter knelt. “Has he been moved at all?”

      Eisley shook his head. “We photographed him, and then I got him covered as quickly as I could. That’s how he landed.”

      He was facedown on the blacktop. There was a small pool of blood near his head with a streak leading toward the edge of the tent. His dark hair was close-cropped, sprinkled with gray.

      Porter donned another pair of latex gloves from a box at his left and gently lifted the man’s head. It pulled away from the cold asphalt with a slurp not unlike Fruit Roll-Ups as they’re peeled from the plastic. His stomach grumbled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten yet. Probably a good thing. “Can you help me turn him over?”

      Eisley took the man’s shoulder, and Nash positioned himself at his feet.

      “On three. One, two …”

      It was too soon for rigor to set in; the body was loose. It looked like the right leg was broken in at least three spots; the left arm too, probably more.

      “Oh, God. That’s nasty.” Nash’s eyes were fixed on the man’s face. More accurately, where his face should have been. His cheeks were gone, only torn flaps remaining. His jawbone was clearly visible but broken — his mouth gaped open as if someone had gripped both halves of his jaw and pulled them apart like a bear trap. One eye was ruptured, oozing vitreous fluid. The other stared blindly up at them, green in the bright light.

      Porter leaned in closer. “Do you think you can reconstruct this?”

      Eisley nodded. “I’ll get somebody on it as soon as we get him back to my lab.”

      “Tough to say, but based on his build and the slight graying in the hair, I’d guess he’s late forties, early fifties, at the most.”

      “I should be able to get you a more precise age too,” Eisley said. He was examining the man’s eyes with a penlight. “The cornea is still intact.”

      Porter knew they were able to able to estimate age through the carbon dating of material in the eyes; it was called the Lynnerup method. The process could narrow the age down to within a year or two.

      The man wore a navy pinstripe suit. The left sleeve was shredded; a jagged bone poked out near the elbow.

      “Did someone find his other shoe?” The right was missing. His dark sock was damp with blood.

      “A uniform picked it up. It’s on that table over there.” Nash pointed to the far right. “He was wearing a fedora too.”

      “A fedora? Are those making a comeback?”

      “Only in the movies.”

      “There’s something in this pocket.” Watson was pointing at the right breast pocket of the man’s jacket. “It’s square. Another box?”

      “No, too thin.” Porter carefully unbuttoned the jacket and reached inside, retrieving a small Tops composition book, like the ones students carried prior to tablets and smartphones: 4½" x 3¼" with a black and white cover and college-ruled pages. It was nearly full, each page covered in handwriting so small and precise that two lines of text filled the space normally occupied by one. “This could be something. Looks like some kind of diary. Good catch, Doc.”

      “I’m not a —”

      Porter waved a hand at him. “Yeah, yeah.” He turned back to Nash. “I thought you said you checked his pockets?”

      “We only searched the pants for a wallet. I wanted to wait for you to process the body.”

      “We should check the rest, then.”

      He began with the right front pants pocket, checking them again in case something was missed, then worked his way around the body. As items were discovered, he gently set them down at his side. Nash tagged them and Watson photographed.

      “That’s it. Not much to go on.”

      Porter examined the items:

      Dry cleaner’s receipt

      Pocket watch

      Seventy-five cents in assorted change

      The receipt was generic. Aside from number 54873, it didn’t contain any identifying information, not even the name or address of the cleaners.

      “Run everything for prints,” Porter instructed.

      Nash frowned. “What for? We have him, and his prints came back negative.”

      “Guess I’m hoping for a Hail Mary. Maybe we’ll find a match and it will lead to someone who can identify him. What do you make of the watch?”

      Nash held the timepiece up to the light. “I don’t know anyone who carries a pocket watch anymore. Think maybe this guy’s older than you thought?”

      “The fedora would suggest that too.”

      “Unless he’s just into vintage,” Watson pointed out. “I know a lot of guys like that.”

      Nash pushed the crown, and the watch’s face snapped open. “Huh.”

      “What?”

      “It stopped at fourteen past three. That’s not when this guy got hit.”

      “Maybe the impact jarred it?” Porter thought aloud.

      “There’s not a scratch on it, though, no sign of damage.”

      “Probably something internal, or maybe it wasn’t wound. Can I take a look?”

      Nash handed the pocket watch to Porter.

      Porter twisted the crown. “It’s loose. The spring’s not grabbing. Amazing craftsmanship though. I think it’s handmade. Collectible for sure.”

      “I’ve got an uncle,” Watson announced.

      “Well, congrats on that, kid,” Porter replied.