Page 36 of Silent Bones (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #7)

I t was cold inside the State Police Department’s washroom. Noah gripped the edge of the sink, arms locked, head down, watching water drip from his fingers into the basin. The mirror above him was cracked in the corner, spidering out.

Behind him, the door creaked open. McKenzie's voice came low and steady. “You okay, laddie?”

Noah didn’t answer right away. He reached for a paper towel, wiped his hands slowly, then finally lifted his gaze to the mirror.

The man staring back looked older than yesterday, eyes rimmed red, stubble growing wild along his jaw, and something harder behind the eyes.

Guilt? Maybe. Determination, definitely.

“I will be when this is over,” Noah said.

McKenzie gave a tight nod and stepped aside as Noah moved past him into the hallway. They walked in silence toward the conference room, each step carrying the weight of five teen bodies, six if they didn’t find Avery in time.

The conference room doors opened to a barrage of camera flashes and rising chatter.

At least two dozen media reps packed into the space, elbow to elbow with DEC brass, county officials, and Albany's special liaison, a sharp-dressed man named Whitaker who looked like he'd never stepped foot in the woods in his life.

Sheriff Rivera stood to the side, arms crossed, visibly irritated at being strong-armed into hosting this circus.

Noah stepped up to the podium. McKenzie took a place just behind him. To his left, Bill Calder sat like stone, barely holding together. Noah had never seen the man look small before. Now he looked crushed under something invisible.

Noah adjusted the mic. “Let’s begin.”

Hands shot up immediately.

“Detective Sutherland, can you confirm the number of victims related to this case?”

“Are these linked to the Sasquatch hoax?”

“Is Avery Calder still alive?”

Noah raised a hand, not to silence, but to steady the room.

“We can confirm that we are dealing with multiple homicides in Adirondack County. Four young adults were found dead at a campsite near the Saranac Lake Islands. A fifth victim, Stephen Strudwell, was found deceased later. Two others are locals. We are still trying to establish if they knew the teens. A sixth young adult, Avery Calder, is currently missing. We are treating her case as an active abduction.”

The room erupted again.

“Do you have a suspect?”

“Was the Sasquatch angle part of the hoax or a distraction?”

“Are you saying this was all staged?”

Before Noah could answer, Whitaker stepped forward, his voice smooth and camera-ready.

“Let me be clear on behalf of the Governor’s Office.

This is now a multi-agency investigation under significant state and federal scrutiny.

The public deserves answers. We have been assured by local law enforcement that every available resource is being deployed. ”

Noah clenched his jaw but said nothing. Whitaker didn’t look at him, only at the cameras.

“The governor is deeply concerned by what appears to be a pattern of misinformation and possible systemic failure in the region,” Whitaker continued.

“We expect swift resolution. We will not tolerate obstruction or delay. So you can be reassured we are doing everything in our power to bring this case to a close.”

The translation of that was, to make this go away before it makes us look worse, Noah thought.

“Sounds like a political move,” someone said.

Noah stepped back to the mic. “We’re not here to score political points. We’re here to find Avery Calder and stop whoever’s behind this.”

Bill Calder looked up at that, just slightly. It was the only thing that Noah cared about.

Another reporter jumped in. “Are you saying the Bigfoot sightings were staged as part of the crime? And was it linked to the meth bust?”

“We’ll speak to that shortly,” McKenzie said, cutting in.

From the back of the room, another voice, “What’s the link to Wallface? There are rumors?—”

Noah’s hand went up again. “That’s enough for now. We’ll be providing a briefing in the next hour with additional findings. Until then, I appreciate your patience, and your respect for the families involved.”

He stepped away from the podium.

The voices kept rising.

Cameras kept flashing.

Whitaker leaned in toward Noah as he passed. “I’d advise you to control the narrative before it controls you.”

Noah didn’t break stride. “I’m not here to tell stories,” he muttered. “I’m here to stop one.”

The conference room had barely settled when McKenzie stepped forward, his voice filling the vacuum Noah left behind.

“What about phones?” Someone asked.

“We have recovered Avery Calder’s phone,” he said, without preamble.

Every head snapped up. Cameras clicked. Fingers froze over notepads. Even Whitaker blinked, caught off guard.

McKenzie continued, “A phone was found last night at Wallface. That’s the site of a landslide that occurred just under a year ago.”

Noah saw it ripple through the room, the sudden shift from noise to pin-drop tension. Now they were listening.

Sheriff Rivera nodded from the side, confirming it. Calder didn’t move.

McKenzie looked directly at the cameras. “We believe the phone was placed deliberately. On a cairn of six carefully stacked stones. It wasn’t dropped. It was staged.”

A murmur passed through the reporters like wind through trees.

“We believe this was a message,” McKenzie said.

Then came the inevitable shout: “Any video evidence?”

McKenzie’s mouth tightened. “Yes.”

A pause.

“It appears Avery turned her camera on. Her phone was recording, briefly, during the abduction. The footage confirms one suspect was involved.”

Gasps, cameras, chaos. Noah closed his eyes for a beat. He could feel it coming, the storm, but this part had to be said.

“Can you share what was on it?”

McKenzie raised a hand to hold the media in place. “I’m going to describe what’s in the video. We will not be releasing it publicly.”

He paused. Even Whitaker didn’t interrupt.

“The video is shaky. It’s dark. But it shows a struggle. A flashlight beam catches a man dragging who we believe to be, Avery Calder. She’s conscious but restrained. The man’s face is briefly illuminated. We are still confirming the identification of the suspect.”

He let the words land.

“Why wasn’t this made public earlier?” a reporter demanded.

“Because we reviewed the footage late last night,” McKenzie said. “And because we prioritized verifying its authenticity before making it part of the public record.”

Noah could already hear Whitaker preparing a rebuttal behind him, but he didn’t care. The truth wasn’t a soundbite. It was jagged and slow and often made people uncomfortable.

The question came again, softer this time: “Why place the phone at Wallface?”

Noah’s mind flashed back to the night before.

A cold wind slipped through the trees like breath through a graveyard. Noah stepped out of the cruiser with Callie, McKenzie a few paces ahead. Rishi had triangulated Avery’s last GPS ping to a ridge above the Wallface floodplain.

“What are we looking for?” McKenzie had asked, voice low.

“Something he wants us to find,” Noah replied.

Callie had her flashlight out first. “There.”

Tucked just off the trail, directly above the slope where the fatal mudslide buried a family last year, sat the small pile of stones. Six. Balanced with uncanny precision.

Atop them, a pale blue phone.

Avery’s.

Noah knelt. The scene was untouched, reverent almost. Like a grave marker.

Callie’s breath fogged in the cold. “He’s pointing us back here.”

Noah looked up at the black expanse of forest beyond. “He wants us to see what they did.”

His mind returned to the present, the media had gone feral, tossing out questions.

“Do you have a motive?” Someone asked.

“Was there a cover-up?”

“Is the DEC complicit?”

Whitaker stepped forward like a lawyer sensing a breach. “We are actively investigating all relevant connections, including those surrounding the Wallface tragedy. Let’s not jump to conclusions based on partial evidence.”

But the questions had already caught flame. Some in the media hit closer to the truth than others.

“Was the landslide preventable?”

Noah said nothing. Bill Calder stood now, back stiff, fists clenched at his sides.

Someone at the back called out, “Why would the suspect leave evidence?”

And that was the question, wasn’t it?

Noah glanced at McKenzie. They both knew the answer.

Because Dale wasn’t hiding.

He was leading them.

The hallway outside the press conference was a stark contrast to the feeding frenzy inside.

The hum of vending machines buzzed faintly beneath the overhead lights.

Bill Calder stood at the far end, staring through a narrow window that looked out over the parking lot. He didn’t turn when Noah approached.

For a moment, Noah said nothing.

“I know you didn’t want this.”

Bill's voice was gravel. “Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

Bill’s eyes didn’t move. “You know what the worst part is? I used to think if I ever lost her, I’d feel it the second it happened. Like the world would just stop. But it didn’t. It kept moving. Like none of it mattered.”

Noah swallowed the knot in his throat. “She’s still alive.”

Bill turned now, slowly. The man who’d once lectured press corps and chaired environmental committees looked like someone hollowed out and filled with grief. “You saw the video?”

Noah nodded. “It looks like him.”

“And the placement of her phone?”

“Seems obvious. He placed it where that family died last year.” He hesitated. “Dale wants us to understand that this is about what happened at Wallface.”

Bill’s eyes closed for a moment. “Those kids… they didn’t mean for any of it. It was the weather.”

“You told us that Dale reported that the teens pulled warning signs from the area,” Noah said, not cruelly, just plain.

“Sounds to me that had they not, that family would have not been camping there. So while they didn’t cause a landslide, they were responsible for the death of that family.

The DEC covered it up and the community never knew the truth. But Dale did.”

Bill leaned against the wall, the truth hitting like another blow. “We were all so focused on protecting their futures… we never thought about the past catching up.”

Noah stepped closer. “Dale did. He lost everything. His job. His pension. His reputation. His family. All because he was the one who sounded the alarm. And no one listened.”

“He wanted to blame them. The accident could have occurred even if they weren’t there.”

“Come on, Bill. Again, you know if those signs hadn’t been tampered with, that wouldn’t have been the case. That family wouldn’t have camped there.”

“None of us wanted to admit the kids were responsible,” Bill said softly.

“They were and he wants us to know that,” Noah said. “He’s leading us. That cairn was a message, 'Start here. Follow the story backward.' He wants us to pay attention to the past, to walk through what happened. He wants us to understand it. Feel it.”

“And then what?” Bill asked. “What’s at the end of the trail?”

Noah didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. They both knew. If Dale wanted to be found, he would, but he had a purpose. And it likely ended in blood.

A door opened down the hall. McKenzie strode out, already holding keys, already moving. Noah met him halfway.

“Media’s eating itself alive,” McKenzie said. “Whitaker wants a second briefing this afternoon. The DEC’s in panic mode.”

“Let them panic,” Noah replied. “We’ve given them something to chew on.”

McKenzie glanced at Calder, then back at him. “You sure you’re good to walk away from this circus?”

Noah didn’t hesitate. “I already have.”

They stepped into the parking lot, the cool morning sun just starting to burn through the cloud cover. Noah slid into the passenger seat as McKenzie started the car.

As they pulled out, McKenzie said, “So what now?”

“We have secured Dale’s property. From what we can tell he’s not there.

I didn’t think he would return. Still, we are just waiting on SWAT before we check.

I have a few things to grab from the office, then we go to Calder’s property,” Noah said.

“Bill said he would meet us. I want to see it in the daylight. Just in case Dale left behind any other messages. He said Dale’s been out there before.

Maybe he left something. A clue. Hell, maybe the whole path. ”

McKenzie nodded. “You really think he’s stringing us along on purpose?”

“I think he wants us to see. All of it. The truth. The cost. The reason.”

They drove in silence for a while, the road unfurling ahead like a taut wire. Then Noah said, almost to himself, “He wants it to end where it started.”

McKenzie glanced over. “Wallface?”

“No, or he would have been there,” Noah said.

McKenzie frowned. “Then where?”

Noah looked out the window, the forest blurring past. “We’ll know soon enough.”