Page 51 of Silent Bones

Noah flashed his badge, then softened his tone. “Can we come in?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Logan whispered. “I swear.”

“We’re not here to arrest you. We just want to talk.”

Logan glanced behind him like he expected someone to be there, then slowly opened the door wider. The air that wafted out was a mix of sweat, weed, and fast food. The room behind him looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or opened to light in days.

“You’re not in trouble,” Noah said again. “We just need to understand what happened.”

Logan nodded slowly, like each motion took effort.

“Okay,” he murmured.

Noah glanced at McKenzie again.

They stepped inside.

The room was dim and sour with the smell of damp clothes and old fear. The shades were drawn tight, a blanket draped over one for extra cover. The TV screen pulsed static, no sound, just white flicker bouncing off the walls.

Noah stepped carefully, his boot crunching on a crushed Funyuns bag. An open pizza box lay half on the dresser, half on the floor, a single congealed slice inside. Two Red Bull cans. A glass ashtray packed with resin and crumpled gum wrappers. On the bed sat a stuffed black backpack, partially unzipped, clothes and what looked like a spiral notebook sticking out.

McKenzie looked in the bathroom.

Logan moved toward the edge of the bed and sat, hood still up, eyes low. He wrapped his arms around his knees like a child. His hands trembled faintly.

McKenzie remained standing, arms crossed, leaning near the door.

Noah pulled the lone chair out from the wall and sat across from him. “You’ve been here since Monday?”

Logan nodded, then glanced up quickly. “I just… I didn’t know what to do.”

“Do you know the group in the campsite near you was found dead.”

Another nod. “Yeah. I caught the news.”

“Why were you out there?”

“I had my own site. I was there to fish. My mother didn’t want me going, but I needed… I needed space. Everything was just—” His voice cracked, then faded. “I messed up school. Grad program was going nowhere. My job has been a headache.”

“Where do you work?”

“The local pizza joint in High peaks.”

“Go on.”

“So I thought a few nights in the woods might help me figure some stuff out.”

Noah watched him, calm and quiet. “You were camping alone?”

“Yes.” He rubbed the side of his face, then winced. “Not smart, I know.”

“You have a phone on you?”

“No. I ditched it. It kept buzzing, calls from my mom, from friends I ghosted, just… made everything worse.”

“Extreme.” McKenzie shifted. “So what happened that night, Logan?”

Logan swallowed. He looked toward the window as if the darkness might still hold an answer. “I heard screaming. Maybe around 1 a.m.? It scared the shit out of me. It didn’t sound like a party. It was sharp. Sudden. Like—” He flinched. “Like panic.”