Page 75 of In Cold Blood

“Geesh, Noah. For someone who thinks County is handling it, you certainly don’t let up. And really. Why would I want your brother dead?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

She stared at him for a second. “So you were out there looking.” She snorted. “I knew it. You Sutherlands are all the same. Always got to be at the helm. Listen, your brother was paying good money for this place.” She rubbed her fingers together. “He was the ideal customer.”

“Do people usually pay in cash?”

“No, but he wanted to keep it all on the down low. You know, no paper trail.”

Noah remembered what his father had said about the direction the investigation was heading in.They think it’s only a matter of time before they find the trail of money that they were taking and link the two of them together.

“Did Luke tell you he found anything over at the island?”

“No. Did he?”

“Yeah. At least that’s what Ed said.”

“I wouldn’t rely on him. He has a memory like a sieve.”

She set her beer down. “You hungry?”

“No. I ate at my father’s.”

She bounced up with a spring in her step. “You mind if I…” she said, motioning to the fridge.

“Help yourself.”

Alicia rummaged through the fridge, taking out a few beef jerky sticks, cheese, ham, and onion and then grabbing up some bread off the counter to make a sandwich.

“So the rental. Where is it?”

“Trashed. At my father’s. Madeline gave me a ride back.”

She stopped making her sandwich and looked at him. “Everything okay?”

“Four slashed tires, a smashed windshield, and a deer’s bloodied head on the passenger seat sound okay?”

“Uh. You call the cops?”

“Of course.”

“And?”

“And nothing. They’ll look into it.”

“But you didn’t see anything?”

He hesitated for a moment before responding to that. If she was the one responsible, was she fishing to see what he knew? He figured he would lie to gauge her reaction. He had a good handle on whether someone was lying.

“We might have a license plate.”

“Good,” she said, returning to buttering. “Though I would expect the truck was stolen.”

“I didn’t say it was a truck.”

Alicia stopped buttering and looked at him. “Well. It’s obvious it would be a truck. Who’s going to carry a bloody deer’s head in a car?”

“Right,” he said, unconvinced. Still, despite his suspicions, he let it go.