Page 121 of Silent Bones

For just an instant, Dale's wild eyes met Noah's. Something flickered there, a moment of recognition, perhaps even regret.

Then Dale's grip on Avery's jacket began to loosen.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, so quietly Noah almost didn't hear it over the wind.

Dale released his hold completely and fell away from them, his body turning slowly in the air as he dropped toward the ground below. The impact, when it came, was sharp and final, the sound of a life ending where it had once begun, full of hope and purpose.

Noah hauled Avery back onto the platform, both of them collapsing against the cabin wall in exhaustion and shock. She was sobbing behind the duct tape, her whole body shaking with trauma and relief.

With trembling fingers, Noah cut the zip ties binding her wrists and gently removed the tape from her mouth.

"It's okay," he said, his own voice shaking. "It's over. You're safe."

Below them, he could hear McKenzie coordinating with the helicopter, calling for medical assistance, beginning the process of securing what was now a crime scene. But up here on the platform where it had all ended, Noah simply held a traumatized young woman and stared out at the wilderness that had shaped both a protector and a killer.

The sun was setting behind the western peaks, painting the sky in shades of red and gold. Somewhere down there, Dale Thurston lay dead at the base of the tower where his dreams had been born. And somehow, despite everything that hadhappened, the forest endured, silent, eternal, and indifferent to the human dramas played out in its shadow.

32

A day later.

It was suffocating inside the box. The interview room at the Adirondack County Sheriff's Department felt smaller than usual, the bulbs above casting harsh light across the metal table where Mack Hawkins sat hunched over a Styrofoam cup of coffee. His orange jumpsuit hung loose on his frame, and the shackles around his ankles clinked softly whenever he shifted in the plastic chair.

Noah sat across from him, a digital recorder between them and a manila folder containing what little physical evidence they had connecting Mack to the drug operation. McKenzie leaned against the wall behind Noah, arms crossed, watching Mack with the steady gaze of a man who'd seen too many criminals try to bargain their way out of life sentences.

"You said you wanted to come clean," Noah began, his voice neutral but focused. "So let's start with what we know. Your Airstream trailer was a mobile meth lab. We found enough precursor chemicals to supply half the North Country."

Mack nodded slowly. "That's right."

"And you killed Miles Benning and Logan Forrester."

Another nod, this one heavier. "Yeah. I did."

"Why?"

Mack raised his eyes to meet Noah's for the first time since they'd entered the room. "Because I was told to."

"By who?"

"That's where this gets complicated," Mack said, leaning back in his chair. "I want to make a deal first. Full immunity from the death penalty. After, I’ll give you the name, the whole network, everything. But I want it in writing before I say another word."

Noah exchanged a glance with McKenzie. "You're going to have to give me more than that, Mack. Otherwise they'll think you're playing games. Why did you kill Miles?"

Mack hesitated, his fingers drumming against the table. "He came sniffing around. That podcaster thought he was so smart. But he stumbled onto something else entirely."

"The Airstream?"

"One of them, yeah. Found it while he was poking around the lake, looking for some story about those dead kids. I couldn't let him leave."

Noah felt pieces clicking into place. "And Logan?"

This time Mack's hesitation was longer, more telling. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Logan worked for me. Was one of my distributors in town. The kid had connections, knew people who wanted product. Everything was running smooth until..."

"Until the murders at the campsite," Noah finished.

"Yeah. Logan was there that night. Not camping with those rich kids, but nearby. Dealing to some local users. He heard what happened to those kids. He got spooked bad."