Page 113 of In Cold Blood

“Who else would it be?”

“Dax was sporting a shiner the night we chased Cyrus. He didn’t have that the day I visited him after the funeral. If he got into a scuffle on that Friday, there was only a cut on the lip. No shiner. Now, of course, maybe he was telling the truth about the door but I have to wonder…”

“You think Cyrus or someone else used the truck?”

“Certainly would explain the shiner. Dax wouldn’t have wanted Alicia to get into trouble. Cyrus and Dax both work for Harry. Until I speak to him it’s merely an assumption to think he was driving.”

“If he even gives you that chance. You know, with burning down that cabin.”

“Yeah…” He was at a loss for words. “That doesn’t make sense either.”

“Seems like a fulfillment of the warning on the truck,” she said.

He shrugged.

“I imagine you’ve considered the possibility.”

“That he could have done it?” Noah asked.

“Not the truck or cabin. Your brother.”

Noah’s chin dropped for a moment before he nodded. “I’ve considered it. Dax is not the same person I once knew. Then again, how many friends from your school days are?” He’d seen so many changes over the years through his social media accounts. While the majority were just average folk, single or with someone, some were on their third marriage, others werelocked up in prison, and a few were dead from illness or overdoses. It was a mixed bag. Age brought challenges that few could navigate without the aid of prescription drugs, alcohol, or narcotics.

The two of them talked for a good hour before turning in.

Axel retreated to his crate in the room just off the mud room.

It felt odd crawling into Luke’s old bed. Noah noticed a pair of reading glasses on the side table and a dog-eared Stephen King novel with a bookmark in it. Lying in bed, he could hear Callie in the washroom brushing her teeth before the light in the hallway shut off. “Night, Noah.”

“Night.”

He reached over and shut off the lamp. Images of the cabin on fire played again in his mind. As much as he didn’t want to think Dax wasn’t responsible, it had all the makings of someone that had come unhinged. Dax’s past drug use, his run-in with the law, and his disappearance around the time of Luke’s death only added fuel to the theory of his involvement.

Noah had drifted off to sleep for no more than twenty minutes when he was awoken by Axel barking. Instincts kicked in, and he scanned the room in a bleary state before quietly climbing out of bed and extracting his Glock from its holster on the chair. Noah inched up to the door and eased it open.

Although the landing was dark, a small plug-in nightlight offered some illumination. Beyond its glow he saw Callie at the far end of the hallway, her door open. He brought a finger up to his lips and with a gesture told her to hold back.

Axel continued to bark incessantly.

As Noah went downstairs, he saw Callie clutch her cell phone.

Noah kept his back to the wall as he worked his way downstairs. All the while he could only hear the dog. No other movement. He peered into the living room. It was dark.

Noah inched down the hallway and glanced into the kitchen. He could make out the silhouette of furniture, the fridge, and counters but not much else. He noted the front and back door were closed.

Flipping on a light in the mud room, he stood there for a second, listening.

Nothing.

He opened the door to the room where Axel was.

“Hey. What’s up?”

Axel was in his crate, moving around. “You need to go out?”

The dog pawed at the crate.

“All right. All right.”