Page 54 of In Cold Blood

“Huh. And there I was thinking you had only gone to the police academy.”

“Oh no, Callie was studying to become a teacher. Isn’t that right? Quite the shift of profession but hey, beats serving grumpy locals in a greasy spoon diner.”

Noah smiled, looking at Callie.

“Decided it wasn’t my thing.”

“I’ll be right back with that coffee.”

“Thanks, Nora.”

Callie opened her mouth as if to try and say something but it was useless. She’d already gotten the impression that Noah was going to be like gum on the bottom of her shoe. She regretted saying she would answer some questions. It was not the first time it had gotten her in trouble.

“The McKenzie Mountain Wilderness,” Callie said.

Noah furrowed his brow. “That’s north of the lake. Quite a distance. Why would he have parked on the south?”

“Noah, you’re asking questions we don’t have the answers to right now.”

“But you’re sure it’s him?”

“Ninety-nine percent sure. They’ll identify him by his dental records today. Not much else there but the uniform and other items point to it being him.”

“And yet this article ran before you had confirmation?”

“We don’t control the press. I think you of all people know that by now.”

Nora returned with his cup of coffee. “Thought you might like some toast too. No charge.”

“Ah, you’re a sweetheart, Nora.”

She chuckled, walking away.

As Noah emptied some cream into his coffee and began to stir, Callie could tell he was connecting the dots. “It was JackGrayson who found him, wasn’t it? He’s the only one who would have leaked it out this fast to his sister.”

“Don’t go speaking to him, Noah.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “Why would I when you’ve got Parish?”

“So you’ve finally come around to leaving it in his hands.”

“As much as it pains me. Yes.”

“Will you be heading home soon?”

“End of the week. Look. Did he say how he came to find him? I mean I know he hunts but he’s also friends with Cyrus Keller. Doesn’t that strike you as a little odd?”

“Right now everything in this town strikes me as odd.”

“Any idea how he died?”

“Well, it wasn’t from hypothermia. His backpack had plenty of gear inside to get him through the night. Nothing was taken out. If it had been an animal attack, I think we would have found more of his bones spread out, along with his clothes torn. They were pretty much in one spot.”

“So he was murdered?”

“Well let’s not jump to that conclusion.”

“I’m not jumping to any conclusions. It just seems to me, based on what my brother’s files suggest, that he had stumbled onto something.”