Page 138 of In Cold Blood

She was referring to Deputy Hendrix who State Police had arrested outside placing a call to Harry Carter and tipping him off.

Callie shook her head. “How did you know he was involved?”

He smiled. “You’ll see. Come on,” he said as they prepared to head back to the Sheriff’s Office. Axel leaped into the back with a spring in his step. Even the dog seemed to be aware of the shift in Noah’s demeanor. It was hard to conceal his sense of relief now that justice would be served.

38

Stripped 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. Hendrixremained 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 direction, 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?”