Even after leaving the inspector's office, Nick was still completely baffled.
Inspector Raynard had merely informed him that he and Hancock would each receive an additional ten-thousand-dollar bonus for the earlier case involving the "ogre" serial killer.
Although the man had been unknown before the crimes came to light and had not been placed on the FBI's wanted list of serial killers, the City Council had allocated a separate sum to the PPB through something called the "Community Initiative Fund."
From what the inspector had said, the money seemed to carry a hint of hush money. A certain city councilor hoped they would "maintain professional silence on certain details" of the case.
Ten thousand dollars still went a long way in 2008. It was enough for a newlywed couple to enjoy a honeymoon in Hawaii that could qualify as affordable luxury.
Nick could more or less guess where the rumors about him had come from. There was a good chance that bigmouth Hancock had spread them.
Of course, the guy had meant no harm. What he had initially said might have been nothing more than gossip along the lines of "Nick might be living with someone," only for it to grow in the telling until Nick was supposedly already planning a wedding.
It also made sense for the City Council to offer a bonus as hush money. Aside from certain horrifying details, the killer's identity as a mail carrier could easily cause public panic, which would be particularly damaging to the image of a livable city that Portland had worked so hard to cultivate in recent years.
Unlike most American cities, which used a mayor-council system, Portland had the relatively uncommon commission-administrator form of government.
In cities with a mayor-council system, such as New York and Los Angeles, the mayor