Page 58 of In Cold Blood (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #1)

S tripped of his uniform and back in plain clothes, Hendrix shuffled nervously inside an interview room.

He’d been in there for at least an hour before Noah entered with a folder in hand.

He scooted back a chair and took a seat across from him.

Callie arrived a minute or two later. Next door, Harry Carter was being prepped by a state trooper and Sheriff Roberts to be grilled by another BCI investigator sent to assist as they tried to unravel the larger network.

“Are these necessary?” Hendrix asked, holding out his cuffed hands.

Noah cocked his head.

“Can you at least loosen them?”

Noah obliged if only to build goodwill. After they were removed, Noah looked at him. “I think you know why I’m here to talk to you. Now I was told you were informed of your rights and that you want to speak to us, not a lawyer. Is that correct?”

“I have nothing to hide.” He shrugged. “It was just a phone call.”

“Just a call. Really? You think Harry next door is going to say the same?” He paused to see how he would respond.

Hendrix remained stoic. “So what was it about? Booking a room for an event? Getting your favorite beer? C’mon, Hendrix, on the eve of the raid?

Do we look like fools? Only hours earlier you’d been in a conference room discussing the nature of it. ”

“I called to make sure he was there.”

Noah glanced at Callie. She leaned back against the wall. “Sure you did,” he replied.

“Whatever. You are going to look really stupid when I’m cleared.”

“Cleared? You may be getting a little ahead of yourself there, Hendrix.” Noah flipped open a black folder. “You were on shift the day Cyrus was found dead, yes?”

“If it says so.”

“And the night of the fire at the cabin by the lake?”

Hendrix glanced at Callie. He gave an affirmative nod.

“So, you would have heard the call over the radio for those closest to respond?”

“I heard it.”

“And did you respond?”

“You know I did. So did Callie. So did one other deputy and the fire department.”

“Right. But I got there before you, correct?” Noah asked.

“That’s right.”

Noah took out a sheet of paper and set it in front of him. “You know what that is?”

Hendrix looked down at it. Noah saw the pulse in his neck speed up. He swallowed hard.

“In trying to find any inconsistencies in my brother’s whereabouts in the days leading up to his death, Rishi pulled the AVL history from dispatch.

I mean, I had the call history but we wanted to dig a little deeper.

Every vehicle is constantly monitored by GPS.

But you knew that… didn’t you?” Noah gave a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, it’s quite something. Dispatchers can see di rection, location, and speed any time they want.

That information is logged and can be reviewed later. You see, let me show you.”

Noah inched his chair forward a little closer to make him feel uncomfortable.

He could only imagine that Hendrix felt like the walls were closing in on him.

“Do you see, right there,” he said, tapping the sheet.

“That has you outside Cyrus Keller’s place on the morning of his death for close to thirty minutes.

It also has you arriving at my cabin before me.

You see, I placed a call to Callie seconds after I left Alicia’s place in the hope she might get there before me.

She notified patrol deputies in the area.

You were one of them. Now… this has you at the cabin ten minutes before I arrived and it has you speeding away at a high rate of speed before anyone got there.

Now I ask myself, why would that be?” He paused.

Hendrix looked back at him.

Noah wasn’t done. “Of course, I had to wonder why you would burn the place down especially after collecting all the evidence that Luke had compiled. But I have a hunch why. If you remember, Callie was going to collect it but you offered to do it. Anyway, let’s put a pin in that for a second and move on.

Now, who can forget the most obvious flaw in this investigation?

The video that you obtained from Mr. Larson’s residence and then edited so that the High Peaks Pub and Brewery delivery van wouldn’t be seen but only the white F-150.

How you ask?” He paused for effect. “That’s right.

I found the witness before you did, and wow, did she have a lot to share.

Footage to be exact. Footage taken on her dashboard camera led me right back to Mr. Larson. You do remember him, don’t you?”

Noah took out a large photo he’d printed from the footage and slipped it across the table.

Hendrix eyed it. “The video you gave to Parish. The one that I took a look at only has the white truck and yet the original has a van heading southeast close to midnight, then back north after the murder.” He took a deep breath before dumping more on him.

“Then who could forget this…?” He slipped in front of him another sheet of paper.

“Rishi printed this off. You see, I think Luke knew someone from the Sheriff’s Office was helping Harry Carter but I don’t think he was exactly sure who it was at least until later.

To be honest, I thought it was Callie.” He glanced at her.

“No offense, Callie.” He shrugged. “You know, being that she was in charge of going through my brother’s computer and phone with Rishi.

But here’s the strange part, she asked this morning if I had found anything of interest, and I said, ‘Well, that depends, did you?’ What was it you replied, Callie?

” he asked, not taking his eyes off Hendrix.

“No,” she said.

“That’s right. To which I replied, ‘Nothing significant, right?’ And then Callie replied, ‘That’s what I was told.’” He paused before saying the next thing slowly. “That’s what she was told .”

He stared at Hendrix. “You were the one that looked it over. To take a load off her plate. And right there on the sheet, it reveals the files that you deleted from my brother’s computer on said day.

After, you told Callie you found nothing of significance.

But you see, my brother must have known that someone might get their grubby hands on his technology.

I’m sure if I searched his home, I would find a backup drive, however, when you’re dealing with large amounts of video and cross-sharing between devices, it’s easier to place it on the cloud.

Which is what he did. But then he switched off synching just in case those files on his computer were deleted.

That way, he would still have a way to access them via another computer as long as he didn’t synch with iCloud.

I was able to obtain those files with the help of Rishi.

You know, Hendrix, he really is an asset to this office,” he said sarcastically.

Hendrix stared at the wall. His body stiffened.

Noah continued, “Now I figure the only reason why you would have overlooked this — all of this — is you thought someone else would take care of it, or you lacked attention to detail, or you were under pressure from someone looking over your shoulder. Am I getting warm?” Hendrix said nothing.

Noah continued. “Don’t worry. It’s hard to keep track of all the lies, isn’t it?

Of course, who’s going to bat an eye at DNA found at the scene of a potential suicide when officers are trampling all over, taking out guns and whatnot.

” Hendrix cut him a glance. “After Cyrus pulled that stunt with the gun, you kind of knew he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on and so you took him out before we got our hands on him. ”

“You’re reaching.”

“Am I?”

Noah noted a change. Hendrix folded his arms.

“Let me guess, you want that lawyer now?” Noah leaned forward.

“Thing is, I think you’re going to need a public defender as few private attorneys would touch this, and Cyrus Keller’s lawyer — Jack Grayson — ah…

let’s say he’s been convinced to no longer represent assholes involved with murdering law enforcement officers. ”

Just as Noah was about to mention the phone records and how the call to the university had gone missing from the call history, there were two loud cracks.

Callie was out the door in a flash.

Noah was right there in her shadow, closing the door behind him.

Farther down the hall, multiple deputies filled up the second interview room. There was a huge commotion. Loud voices. A tangle of arms. Noah slipped through their midst to find Harry Carter on the ground, bleeding out, two rounds in his body.

A deputy was already trying to apply pressure to the wounds .

“He grabbed my gun. I…” Roberts said, backing up, hands out, his skin pale.

Noah glanced at the state trooper who had been in the room with him. He nodded, confirming he was telling the truth. Less than a minute later, it was over.

Harry Carter was gone.

He’d taken the easy way out.

He’d see no trial, no prison cell, not like his pal next door.

By the time EMTs arrived, the only thing they could do was cover his body and wheel him away.

As Noah left late that evening, after the state troopers had gone, his mind was awash with the events of the day. Axel hopped into the back of the Bronco and Noah ruffled his hair, telling him he’d done a great job and that Luke would be proud.

Callie approached. “He’s not the only one that Luke would be proud of.”

Noah turned toward her.

“You heading back to Kerri’s or to the hospital to check on Parish and Ed?”

“Already seen Parish.”

“He’s out of the coma?”

“Yeah. He’s told State he won’t be returning to his field position but he will continue to work for them, just in a limited capacity.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Rough. But he’ll survive.”

“Did he say anything to you about the case?”

“A few things.”

Callie glanced off toward the Sheriff’s Office. Noah waited to see if she would tell him but it didn’t look like she was going to be forthright, so he threw out the question Parish had suggested he ask. “What was the argument between you and Luke about?”

“So, Parish did tell you.”

“He said you were caught on surveillance outside here arguing the day he died.”

Callie shifted from one foot to the next.

She rested one hand on her service weapon, the other she ran around the back of her neck.

“I never gave him an answer. I was hoping I wouldn’t be asked.

” She lifted back her head and looked up into the night sky before meeting his gaze.

“I told you that your brother and I rode together. He took me under his wing. There was some flirting. Nothing serious and then my breakup with Brett happened. Luke was attentive. He listened. We had coffee. A few drinks.”

“Luke overstepped the line?” Noah asked.

“No. God no. Luke cared for his marriage with Kerri far more than Brett ever did for me. No, I was the one that overstepped after too much liquid courage. I wasn’t thinking right.

I read the signals wrong. Anyway, after that, it wasn’t the same.

It was uncomfortable. Awkward. He acted distant toward me.

I mean, I get it. He didn’t want to put himself in that position again or give me the wrong idea.

I notched it up to that and tried to get on with things and then… ”

“What?” Noah asked.

Callie took a deep breath. “A bar code is placed on narcotics evidence and included in the written report showing who booked in drugs, and who accepted them as evidence. The drugs are then tracked via that code when they are moved. At times they are pulled out by a narcotics investigator, property custodian, or the crime lab, you know, to be used as evidence in a criminal trial, tested, or destroyed. Anyway, my sergeant pulled me aside on the day of the argument to ask why my name was listed for booking in narcotics that were now missing from the evidence room.” She paused.

“I told her I never booked any in. When we reviewed the footage, Luke was seen checking in a bag. My name was what was inputted into the system. Sergeant Emerson said she would speak to Roberts. In the meantime, I was told to say nothing to Luke until they could decide what to do.”

“Had he ever used your name before?”

“Never. There’s no record. That was the puzzling part. Anyway, I caught up with him before his shift started that day and tore a strip off him. I thought he was being an asshole, trying to get me into trouble for coming on to him or something. I don’t know. I just know I never put my name down.”

“What did he say?”

“Initially he didn’t say anything. It was as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. He looked bewildered and then he got this expression on his face as if something clicked. He told me that he could explain but it would have to be later.”

“And that was it?”

She nodded. “That was the last time I saw him alive.”