Page 52 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

P arkland Terrace Apartments was a real dive.

A cesspool if he’d ever seen one. Dumpsters near the entrance to the parking lot outside were overflowing.

Kids’ muddied toys were dotted across a yard where grass didn’t grow.

Like flies hovering around feces in the summer heat, a few residents lingered outside; others sat on folding chairs smoking and drinking beer as if life was one big party.

There was something very seedy to it all.

Noah had expected more, especially since the town of Wilmington, New York, was known for its beauty. The tight-knit small community was sandwiched between High Peaks and Elizabethtown; it was the go-to for tourists who wanted a quieter retreat.

After parking the Bronco and drawing the eyes of kids with no shoes on and food caked around their mouths, Noah glanced back at Axel. “I would love to bring you in on this one, buddy, but I think even you wouldn’t appreciate it. Hang tight.”

Keeping the windows low for the dog, even more so than usual, he wandered from the parking lot through the main set of doors.

From the moment Noah stepped inside, he was hit by a veil of urine.

The odor was rancid. He soon saw the culprit.

Some kid, no older than six, pissing up the wall behind the staircase.

As the barefoot kid hurried out back into the yard, yelling at the top of his voice, another one came in to use it like a public lavatory.

Noah lifted an arm to his mouth to block the smell and continued up the steps.

He noticed two dirty narcotic needles on the steps.

Halfway up to the second floor, Noah stepped over a middle-aged man passed out.

He’d pissed his pants as there was a huge stain on the crotch of his jeans.

His face was lying in a puddle of vomit.

“Hey! Pal,” Noah said, shaking him, concerned he might choke to death.

He straightened him up, pulling him out of the grotesque puke.

The guy muttered something incoherent and stared back from behind dead eyes.

“What a shithole,” Noah muttered.

It was hard to believe people lived this way, let alone that the owner or the town allowed such a place to exist. So much of it was a failure by the system, by the community.

On the second level, he moved down a narrow outdoor balcony that went the full length of the building, while eyeing the Bronco.

Axel had his head stuck out the window. A few kids were taunting him with a lollipop.

This was another reason why it was critical to have a unit with the proper holding area in the back.

Noah shouted at the kids. “Better leave him be. He’ll eat you for supper.”

That was all it took, they scampered away, some laughing, others terrified.

He shook his head. Thoughts of his kids passed through his mind for a second.

Kids would be kids. Wild. Unruly. Reckless.

His childhood came to mind. Scuffed knees, running from trouble, giving the finger to grumpy older people who didn’t care for noise.

He was one of those oldies now. At least his bones felt that way .

Noah knocked at the door of the address he’d been given.

There was no answer. He knocked again. Still nothing.

He moved to the window and peered in. There was furniture inside but it was sparse. It was hard to see beyond a light drape but he could make out enough to know that someone resided there.

“Hey, pal!”

Noah’s head swiveled to his right. A heavyset man wearing an oversized plain black T-shirt and baggy blue jeans ambled toward him. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for Trinity.”

He jabbed a finger at Noah as he continued toward him. “If you’re one of her tricks, you can get the hell out of here. I told her to stop bringing guys back here. It brings this whole place down.”

“Oh yeah, 'cause this place is classy.”

“A funny guy. You know what?—”

“I’m not here for that,” Noah said, pulling out his badge. That got him to stop in his tracks but didn’t lessen his attitude.

The guy snorted. “Like that changes anything. She goes down on all types.”

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t have to tell you. And you sure as hell aren’t getting inside there. Unless of course, you have a search warrant?”

Noah offered back a confused expression.

“Well, like I told her the last time we spoke. If she wants her stuff back, she either pays me my two months’ rent or she gets the sheriff down here. That bitch owes me.”

“I just want to know where she is.”

“If I knew that,” he said, closing the distance, his eyes narrowing, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

” There was a menacing tone to him. “But as she won’t hand over the green and she sure as hell won’t part her legs for me, it looks like she is going to be waiting a long time for her stuff,” he said, thumbing toward the apartment.

“I have a good mind to sell what’s inside. ”

Noah glanced toward his Bronco. Three dubious-looking guys were eyeing it, motioning to the wheels.

He knew he wasn’t going to make any progress here.

It was time to go.

“That’s between you and her,” Noah said.

“Have a good day.” Noah moved past him, getting on the phone to try Trinity’s number.

He’d waited to try it. The last thing he wanted was to spook her.

Showing up at her old address was a shot in the dark.

The phone number wasn’t any better. “The user you are trying to reach is unavailable.”

Great, he thought. It was no longer in service.

As Noah passed by an apartment two doors down, he noticed a middle-aged woman peering out. She shut the door abruptly. He continued, making his way down. Noah glanced up to the second floor and saw the woman had her door open again, she was looking on with interest.

“Fellas. You want to step away from the vehicle,” Noah said.

“Nice ride.”

“That it is. You familiar with Trinity Westwood?” Noah threw it out there, he figured it wouldn’t do any harm to ask. They stank to high heaven of BO and booze, never a good sign.

One of the grizzled men laughed. “Who isn’t?”

He grabbed his crotch with one hand while taking a hit on his cigarette with the other. The other two chuckled. The way they viewed her like a piece of meat sickened him. “You seen her lately?”

“Why?”

“Have you?” Noah asked again.

The smiles and chuckles faded. The one with a thick black beard and yellowed fingertips took a step toward him, wagging his finger. “You know… you look a lot like that cop that was murdered recently. You remember that Reg?” he asked without looking at his pal.

“I sure do, Wes.” Reg shifted from one foot to the next, a sneer forming.

“That’s because I’m his brother.”

“You a cop too?”

“Look, have you seen Trinity or not?” Noah asked, growing impatient.

The guy snorted. “As if I would tell you.” He spat near Noah’s foot. “Pig!”

They turned to walk away and as they did, he heard one of them say, “Got what he deserved that night.”

“What did you say?” Noah asked, turning back toward him.

The three of them turned. There was no hesitation from the tall, lanky man with a greasy mop of hair and scraggly goatee. “I said. He got what he deserved!”

Noah closed the door on the Bronco and walked toward them.

As he did, they fanned out, and he saw the wiry, agile man wearing a hoodie dig into his pocket for something.

He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking as if he was about to dart in and strike at any moment.

He had a cold, calculating look in his eyes.

“You know something about that night?” Noah asked.

“What if we do, pig?” the towering, muscular man with a shaved head and a thick, bushy beard replied. He was sporting a dirty tattered jean jacket and had his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Noah saw red at that moment. As he lunged at the guy, the tall one turned and ran, but the wiry guy produced a knife, and a blade shot out. Noah reacted fast using his pal as a shield, slamming him into the other guy and knocking both to the ground .

It all happened so fast. Arms flailing. Legs kicked as he wrestled for control of the knife. He’d only been in a few life-or-death situations where he was outnumbered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of fur. Axel had jumped out of the Bronco and had taken off after the lanky fella.

Noah slammed his palm up into the nose of one, bursting it like a fire hydrant.

“Get off me, man. I said get off me.”

The bearded asshole fired off a right hook, catching Noah on the orbital bone and knocking him sideways. Not far from them, closer to the apartments, Axel had taken down the runner and was busy chewing his pant leg and dragging him like a rag doll.

“Wes!” the guy shouted as Wes launched himself on top of Noah. His pal’s voice was a distraction that allowed Noah to catch Wes off guard by bringing his leg up and looping it around his head. He brought him down just as his shifty-looking pal Reg scrambled for the knife.

Noah reached for his sidearm but before he could get it, a gunshot rang out.

“You drop that knife right now, Reg, or I swear I will take off your other testicle.”

He was clutching it. “Mary-Lynne. C’mon now. I told you not to say anything.”

“Drop it.”

Reg groaned and tossed it. The knife skittered across the dry ground.

Approaching from the apartments, weapon in hand, was the same woman he’d seen in the doorway. She had blonde, tightly wound curls, and was small in stature but she sure looked comfortable holding that bolt-action rifle.

“And Wes Brown. You should know better.”

Whoever she was, she sure as hell put the fear of God in these two. Wes put up his hands. Noah rose and brushed the dust off. He whistled to Axel but he was still chewing away. “Axel!”

That made him stop. He turned on a dime and came racing back, planting himself close by Noah.

“Now apologize to this man,” she said.

“Mary…”

She drove home the bolt to make it clear she wasn’t messing around.

“You heard me.”

Wes rose to his feet, glancing at Noah from a side angle. He muttered his apology. “Sorry. We didn’t mean no harm.”

“Then you shouldn’t have opened your fat mouth!” Mary-Lynn said. He glanced at her looking all subordinate. A pitiful state.

“Now answer the man. Did you know anything about his brother’s death?”

“No,” Wes replied. “Your brother busted us for speeding a few months back. The rest we just heard from Trinity yapping about him.”

“What did she say?”

“That she’d come across him lying in the road.”

“And?”

“And that’s all. I swear.”

Noah glanced at Mary-Lynne.

“I know where you can find Trinity. C’mon up.” She turned and yelled at Jacob – the one Axel had been chewing on— to head on up to her apartment so she could treat his leg. The other two ambled back to the folding chairs and cracked open beers.

Noah took Axel with him. He followed her and Jacob up into a cramped apartment.

The walls were dingy and the ceiling was yellow from smoking.

The floors were creaky and old. A tiny kitchen was off to the right with a mini fridge and aged stove.

The living room beyond that had furniture that was sparse and worn.

Two doors fissured off from the living room, and one contained a narrow twin bed pushed up against a wall. The other was the bathroom.

Mary-Lynne set her rifle against the wall.

Jacob took a seat while she gathered up peroxide, bandages, and a pair of scissors. Jacob glanced at Noah but he was more focused on Axel who hadn’t taken his eyes off the guy.

“Is Trinity in trouble?” Mary-Lynne asked.

“I just need to speak to her,” Noah replied.

Mary-Lynne dropped to a crouch and tore open Jacob’s jeans to reveal a few bite marks. They weren’t deep but would need treatment. He winced as she doused his leg with peroxide. “Oh stop, you’re a grown-ass man. Maybe next time you’ll rethink being a jackass,” she said to him.

“You look like you know what you’re doing,” Noah said.

“Sure hope so. I’m a nurse,” she said without cracking a smile.

Noah watched her treat his leg and patch it up before sending him on his way.

When he was gone, she continued. “I saw the news about your brother. It was plastered all over the media. I had to do a double-take when I saw you. Sorry for your loss. Not a lot of folks around here understand what a tough gig you all do. You’re hated by most, and praised by few. It’s a thankless job.”

“As is nursing.”

She nodded in agreement. Mary-Lynne went into the living room and collected a handful of envelopes.

“Jerry, the landlord, is an asshole. I told Trinity I would collect her mail and forward it on until she managed to get a place. I drop it off to her in town twice a week. She plans to pay him when she has the money, but that whole thing with finding your brother unnerved her. She didn’t feel comfortable sticking around. ”

“Did she say much?”

“Only that she found him. If you know anything about her lifestyle, you’ll understand why she didn’t wait for the cops.

” Mary-Lynne handed over the envelopes. “You’ll find her at the Pourman’s Taphouse.

It’s a bar and restaurant just off the main stretch.

She works there twice a week when she’s not doing her other job.

She’ll be getting to the end of her shift.

She’s staying at Whiteface Corners. Room 8. ”

“Thank you.” He took the mail and turned to leave.

“Trinity’s not a bad woman. She’s trying. Just life hasn’t exactly worked in her favor.”

He nodded. Quite often that was the case. People were doing the best they could. Addiction could take down the strongest. It showed no preference. It was merciless.