NEEDLES. A Novel
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BY JEREMIAH TREACY
Character Profiles
Doc Martinez – former Hollywood plastic surgeon to the A-list, who's in a witness protection program. He was writing liquid cocaine 'scripts for his weekly tony, poolside soirees. The Feds found out. Made him an offer: Help change the noses (and eyes, and ears, and cheeks) of mobsters in witness protection…or say hello to Camp Fed. Doc chooses wisely, except the part where he offs a mobster's wife in the O.R. A little too much laughing gas?
Helena – Doc's new millennial g/f. She befriends him in L.A and finds herself in the Mojave; Needles appears safe; she’s hiding out in his Airstream and taking extended sight-seeing trips in his '65 Porsche cabriolet. She packs heat, but we’re not sure if she quite knows where the trigger is.
Ivan – built like a Sherman tank; wields a .357 the way most guys carry an iPhone; he has a thing for
scorpions, and for good reason.
Jack – the married, suburban family man and Fed who spends half his time on the golf course, the other half keeping Doc alive; ask Jack about his wife Holly and her proclivity for spending money (a lot of money).
Jack #1 and Jack #2 – aka ‘The Twins’. Not the Bobbsey Twins, more like Mutt and Jeff if Mutt and Jeff went to Duke and got a degree in shake down.
Phil & Roy, Needles PD – it’s a family affair; Chet and his sons know a good deal when they steal one; they're shaking down their new upstanding citizen (Doc) for those 'scripts he used to write for the Hollywood A-listers
Maxim Gorikav – Really nice guy, and great dresser, unless you inadvertently kill his wife, Darya; but maybe she needed killing?
Darya Gorikav – From the looks of her waistline, Darya’s taste receptors had demanded that she move deep-fried-anything to the top of her own, personal food pyramid. But be careful. She might eat you alive from behind all that bling – Gucci Gucci!
Quentin – Doc’s 15-year-old son, who is about to take the plunge of a lifetime. He might not make it to 16. Another depressed teen? Yeah, but he’s also the motivation for Doc’s personal downfall. And you thought it was all about ‘scripts.
Darlene - Phil's ex and current featured dancer at the Route 69 club. Darlene's stunning body and her long red hair gives the Drakkar Noir crowd a glimpse of Rita Hayworth beauty. Make no mistake: she's young, gorgeous and perhaps naive and naughty, but Darlene is a sharp little pistol who has the unfortunate life experience of once having lived with Phil. Darlene can get away with murder, if she wants to.
Debra - A career-climbing L.A. animal control officer. Black hair pulled back in a severe bun; all business when it comes to identifying and logging the L.A. animal kingdom. Wears her Khakis with pride. Along with her official Animal Control Gear walkie-talkie, keys, neck pole, and flashlight. Her service patch reads '10 years' and she means it.
Mary Wysocki - Helena and Doc's next door neighbor in the Vista Vue trailer park in Needles. Mary lost her 10-year-old son to a tragic accident out in the Mojave, so she and Doc share the pain. Mary is okay with a tumbler or three of Doc and Helena's cocaine-spike Vodka. Mary has a story to tell. As do most of the Vista Vue citizenry.
There are 14 additional characters in the story. And they all have a story to tell.
