Page 129 of In Cold Blood

“Yeah. I haven’t been out since. Not sure I will again. Been too scared.”

Noah had her go down and collect the card. He didn’t expect much but he wanted to check something. He took his laptop from his vehicle and brought it in. They slotted the SD into an Apple USB-C to SD card and loaded the contents.

He stood behind Trinity at the desk in the room as she navigated the footage back to that night. For the first time since he’d lost his brother, he was going to get a window into that fateful night. “As I said, I don’t think it will be much use.”

Noah wanted to see the angle.

Trinity hit play and he watched the moment between her and the client play out. She looked embarrassed. Noah didn’t recognize the guy. He could have been a local, or a tourist looking to get his jollies before returning to a mundane life. Trinity turned away as the video got violent. She was a fighter.Before anything could take place, she pepper sprayed him, and within minutes she had him out of the truck, hacking and grasping at his throat as she sped off.

As Trinity drove on down the road, he saw it.

Although the camera was facing inward, it was at an angle that still caught traffic through the rear window. The front dashboard camera caught the van passing her.

“Stop right there!”

She tapped pause. Noah had her take it back just a few seconds.

“Right there,” he said, tapping the screen.

Now her comment about the glass on the road made sense.

“Got you.”

34

It was the light at the end of the tunnel; he could see it now. The fragmented picture was coming together to answer the who and why. He now understood why Luke was cautious and why he had gone out to that desolate road. Noah returned to Route 73 later that evening with a strong sense of purpose. He could barely contain his drive to see justice for Luke. It was as if his brother was right there with him, guiding him toward the truth. Although Trinity hadn’t seen who had murdered his brother, she had given him so much more.

At the edge of the road, close to his brother’s memorial, Noah climbed out of the Bronco. He took out a flashlight and shone it across the two-lane blacktop. It would have been easier to see in the daylight but he couldn’t let another day slip by. He had to know.

The beam illuminated the ground.

A cool breeze blew against his cheek, a chill went down his neck.

He crossed to the rough area where Luke had fallen and scanned the ground. “C’mon, c’mon,” he muttered. That’s whensomething caught his eye. The beam from the flashlight made the small fragments of glass glint.

Noah slipped on blue latex gloves.

He crouched down and touched his finger against the smallest amount of glass. As he shone the light across the road, he saw more. Lots. Scattered. To the naked eye, it would have been barely visible. The shards were too small. Nothing more than tiny pebbles. The spread revealed a path to the far edge of the road. Noah squinted at the tall brush, rose from a crouched position, and made his way over. The edge of the road was overgrown, full of weeds, tall grass, and wildflowers. Even in the daylight, a person would be hard-pressed to see much. Noah pitched sideways, working his way into the ditch, his flashlight guiding the way.

That’s when he struck gold.

He took out his phone and recorded the scene.

Next, he reached down and picked up a couple of large fragments of wine and beer bottles with torn labels. He didn’t need to compare them to those he’d snapped on his visit to Hawk Island. It was a perfect match.

Noah bagged them for evidence and made his way up.

Hurrying back to the Bronco, he set them inside and then turned to Axel. “You’re up, buddy.” Noah kept his phone to record the dog’s reaction, then took him out and gave him the command. Axel’s ears perked up and his nose dropped. He pulled at the leash and guided Noah out to the middle of the road, almost immediately scratching at the ground where the tiny fragments of glass were. He continued following the path down into the tall brush where again he made a hit, alerting Noah to the presence of narcotics.

Right then, Noah’s phone rang. It was Callie.

She’d been trying to get hold of him all day. He opted to answer.

“Has your phone not had any juice? As I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“I thought you were dead.”