Page 22 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

“Oh no, we’re not doing that. I did that with your brother. It ended there.”

“Dax, this isn’t just about getting narcotics off the street.

Hell, that will always be there. It isn’t even about getting justice for Luke.

Anyone who would do this is a danger to the community.

If they would gun down a cop in cold blood, what do you think they are doing behind the scenes to others?

” Then he brought it home. “What do you think they will do to you if they find out you were involved — and believe me, I’m sure somewhere, someone besides Luke knows you are involved, and if that gets out…

” He trailed off letting him fill in the blanks .

Dax nervously shoveled more food into his mouth and delayed answering. His hand trembled ever so slightly. He looked at Noah, contemplating the gravity of the situation.

“You must have heard someone’s name. Someone who did these kinds of things before.

Someone people are afraid of. Something like this doesn’t happen in a small town without a few egotistical pricks trying to take the glory for it — you know, I killed a cop.

I got away with it. They’ll never find out. ”

Dax shrugged.

“C’mon. Think.”

Noah knew it wouldn’t be easy to extract this from him.

If he was willing to run from his brother, it meant he was scared, truly scared of those pulling the strings.

When he could tell that he wasn’t getting anywhere, he changed it up and shifted gears.

“All right. Hawk Island. What do you know about that?”

“Your brother believed that it was linked to this big thing.”

“What’s the deal with this big thing?”

“I don’t know,” Dax replied.

“Right, because my brother was a closed book. Got it. So, what led him to believe that something big was happening?”

Dax set his cutlery down. “A local family who were renting the island for the weekend. Their youngest found a packet of drugs in the boathouse floating in the water near one of the boats. The owner of the island denied knowing anything about it and said it could have floated in from any number of places, but some old guy on the mainland said that he’d seen boats coming and going to the island in the late hours. ”

“Ed Baxter?”

“Yeah. You’ve met him?”

Noah thought of the long morning jog. “You could say that.”

“Anyway, your brother thought that it might be connected. That possibly a brick of gear had been dropped in the water or one of them had skimmed off the top, planning to swing back and pick it up.”

“And so who is the owner of the island nowadays?”

He swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “My boss. Harry Carter. Owner of the High Peaks Pub and Brewery. He owns a lot of real estate around this county.”

“Did Luke interview him?”

“You’d have to ask the cops. There’s a female deputy I used to see him with at times. Good looking woman. Um. Dark hair.” He brought two fingers up to his eyes. “She has these super icy blue eyes.”

“Deputy Thorne?” he asked.

Dax tapped the air with his finger. “That’s it.

Yeah, speak to her. Though to be quite frank, Noah, if I was you, I’d be careful what you say, who you say it to, and I would get as far away from High Peaks as possible.

Leaving this place was probably the best thing you did.

I mean, I’ve missed having you around, buddy, but it’s just not like what it used to be.

It’s gotten a lot darker and it’s hard to know who to trust nowadays. ”

His gaze shifted around the diner, then down at his food as he stabbed a pancake and drove it into his mouth.

That was the second person who had told him to stay clear of the case.

Locals like Alicia and Dax weren’t easy to scare.

They had spent long enough around the area to know when people were full of hot air.

Something or someone had rattled them. He was beginning to wonder if maybe leaving it in Parish’s hands was the best thing.

After finishing breakfast, Noah thumbed off some green to cover the bill, for which Dax seemed overly appreciative. Dax waited outside having a cigarette while Noah hit the bathroom. Once he came out, Dax had given it some thought. “Look, um… there is one guy that comes to mind.”

“What?” he asked, sliding his wallet into his pocket .

They walked side by side back to the truck.

“You asked me who might be responsible for your brother’s murder.

I’m not saying it’s him. Okay! Let’s get that straight.

So don’t go pissing up his tree but… well, there’s a guy in town that your brother locked heads with multiple times and eventually arrested.

Cyrus Keller. Shady character. He’s a big-time hunter.

Spends a lot of his time in the woods stalking elk, and shit. ” Dax hopped into the passenger side.

As Noah fired up the engine, he asked, “And what was Luke’s interest in him?”

“Something to do with a warden that went missing.”

Noah thought back to what Alicia had told him about Keith Erikson.

The truck rumbled as they peeled out of the lot full of cars onto the busy road.

“And if you want to know more about Keller and the cops are tight-lipped, you should ask your ex. She’d fill you in.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because of her brother.”

Noah cast a confused expression his way.

“You really haven’t been here in a long while. Her brother Jack Grayson is friends with him. They go hunting together.”

“Huh…” Noah said, gripping the wheel tightly and thinking back to the crazy wall. It was starting to make sense now. If Jack was friends with Cyrus, Luke might not have just put him under surveillance but the whole Grayson family too.

Noah returned Dax to his home — if his minivan could be called that. It still baffled him that his old friend was living out of his vehicle. Dax looked hesitant to get out. He glanced into the forest and then back at Noah.

“Our childhood seems like a lifetime ago. You ever miss it?”

“Being young? ”

“No. Being free, unshackled from the responsibilities and weight of living?”

Noah shrugged. “I guess.” He hadn’t stopped to consider it. His life had been moving at a hundred miles an hour since taking the position as a State investigator.

“Some days I wonder if I’ll ever feel like the way I did back then.

” Dax smiled at him and for a brief second, Noah saw his old buddy hidden behind a weathered face and years of trials and tribulation.

“Well, it’s been good to see you again. If you stick around, drop by the Pub and Brewery. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Only if it’s non-alcoholic.”

Dax’s eyes widened. “You really have changed.”

Noah patted his forearm before Dax got out, slammed the door, waved, and climbed back into his vehicle like a wild bear might retreat into its den. Never in his wildest dreams could he have ever imagined Dax would end up here.

He couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

About to pull out, Noah glanced in his rearview mirror and saw a white truck parked at the mouth of the lot.

He’d seen it when they came out of the pub but didn’t give it much thought.

The windows were tinted and it was idling, with exhaust fumes spiraling up behind it.

As he reversed and spun his truck out, he caught sight of the driver, but it was hard to tell if it was a male or female.

The moment he put his truck in drive and drove toward it, the truck tore away.

Something about the speed in which it did caught his attention. It wasn’t normal. Not for a place like this where people took their time, and enjoyed the peace and relaxation of RVing and camping. Instincts told him he was being tailed.

Maybe his gut instinct was wrong but he was more than willing to apologize if that was the case… Noah slammed his foot against the accelerator and took off after it.

The F-150 bounced over speed bumps down the narrow winding road out of the forest. He knew the white truck would have to stop at the T-junction up ahead.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried to read off the license plate but only caught the first three letters — FAE — before it swerved around a bend out of view.

“All right, you are going to have to…” Noah said, expecting the driver to stop.

Nope. There was no stopping this lunatic.

The white truck blew through a stop sign, hung a hard right, and bounced onto the main road, almost clipping a blue sedan in the process.

Horns honked. Brakes screeched. Before Noah could make the turn and close the distance, a huge 18-wheeler turned in to deliver gas to the station that was on the corner.

He crushed the brakes just in the nick of time.

His truck fishtailed, coming dangerously close to hitting the 18-wheeler. Noah gritted his teeth and slapped the steering with both hands as he watched the white truck vanish through a gap between the cab and the trailer.