Page 25 of The Catcher (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #5)

C amp Colby soon became an absolute circus after the media was tipped off.

Noah figured it was one of the crew there to winterize the estate.

He knew they were running against the clock in more ways than one.

Every death was another mark on the reputation of the agencies, another reason for that cocky reporter from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise to write a hit piece.

Noah had already been the focus of two since Carl McNeal had taken Lena’s old position.

While they were able to stop the approaching media vans coming down Lake Colby Road, they couldn’t prevent them from getting close via water, using long-lens cameras from boats, or even taking video from above with drones.

What he hadn’t expected was for that asshole to snag an EMT’s uniform and sneak in under the premise of collecting Banning’s body.

Had it not been for Carl McNeal’s ugly mug and the keen eye of another officer who saw him taking snapshots, he might have succeeded.

“Impersonating an EMT? You are a piece of work.”

“Screw you, man, at least I do my job,” he said, taking another below-the-belt jab. “That’s three dead, by my count, right?” McNeal said as he was escorted off the premises. “You might be a Sutherland, Noah, but you don’t have your father’s track record,” McNeal yelled over his shoulder.

Noah replied, “Maggie’s your boss, isn’t she?” He paused. “Not even she would approve this. Maybe I’ll give her a call.”

“Go ahead. Go on!” he yelled back. “Won’t do you much good. Next month, I’m running the show.” He howled with delight, grinning broadly.

Noah balked at the idea. Impossible. There was no way.

He turned his back and got on the phone to call Maggie. A longtime friend of the Sutherland family and an even closer friend of Lena’s, she’d always given him the time of day. The phone rang several times before she picked up.

“Noah. Good to hear from you.”

“How are you, Maggie?” he asked, his tone already indicating that this wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill conversation.

“You know, aches and pains, aging like we all do. What’s the matter?”

“Is it true?”

“What? ”

“That the piece of scum is taking over your position at the paper?”

She let out a long sigh. Before she could answer, Noah thought it was best to bring her up to speed on what Carl had done. “He was just here impersonating an EMT. Lena pushed the boundaries, but not even she would have stooped that low to get a shot.”

“I hear you.”

“Do you? These are deceased teens, Maggie. This is not a game,” he said while simultaneously thinking of how they were being toyed with by the perp.

“I know,” she said firmly. “Look, newspapers are going the way of the dinosaurs. It’s been getting worse for years.

The trajectory is steadily declining, with more people turning to the internet for news.

We’re not unique in that regard. Every media outlet has suffered.

Us just a little more than others. Lena was meant to help.

She had great ideas. She made me believe again.

I hadn’t felt that way in years. And then…

” She trailed off with a heavy sigh. It said it all.

Noah felt a sharp sting in his chest. “Listen, I’m not getting any younger, Noah.

Eventually, I have to hang up the publisher’s hat and a bunch of other ones I’ve been wearing.

Carl is still young; he’s foolish enough to think he can turn something like this around.

Recently, I was offered a substantial amount of money to step down.

I’m talking about the kind of money I’ve worked all my life for.

Retirement. I want to spend time with my grandchildren.

Life is passing by, Noah. It’s moving at the speed of light.

My days of chasing stories or protecting your family’s name are at an end. ”

“You accepted the offer?”

“Yes. I did. I leave at the end of the month. I’m sorry.”

Silence stretched between them.

“Who offered it?”

“What?”

“You said you were offered a substantial amount of money. You and I know that slimeball doesn’t have two cents to rub together. So who is it?”

She cleared her throat. “Luther Ashford.”

He scoffed, running a hand over his head. “Of course it was. What doesn’t he have his grubby little fingers in? He wants to control the narrative in real estate, the casino, and other businesses. And who better to do that than a man at the helm who would sell his soul for a buck.”

“I was once told by a sage woman if you can’t control or change it, shelf it.”

“Was that Luther’s wife?”

“No, it was Lena.”

He sighed.

“Sometimes, it’s best to know when to throw in the towel and call it a day.” Again, there was a pause. “Look, if you ever want to swing by my home, you know you are always welcome. As for Carl, I will have words with him, but by the end of this month, it will matter very little.”

“So fire his ass now.”

“I can’t. One condition of the agreement was that he remain. Look, I have to go. It was good to hear from you.”

She hung up. Noah shook his head, looking out over the water, watching reporters snap shots from afar. This didn’t bode well for High Peaks. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise in Luther Ashford’s hands couldn’t end well.

Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.

No sooner had he gotten off the phone than there was a commotion off the property’s east side. McKenzie was getting into a spat with someone. As he made his way over, he noticed who it was — Terry Braithwaite.

He wasn’t alone, either. Strangely, Savannah was with him.

She saw him approaching and made a beeline to cut him off before he locked heads with Terry, something that McKenzie was doing well enough already.

“What the hell’s he doing here?”

She took hold of his arm and led him away. “He’s going to be handling the case from here on out.”

“Hell no. I thought having Porter in my shadow was bad enough, but now you want to throw him in too?”

“He won’t be in your shadow because they’re taking you off the case.”

“What?” Noah shook his arm to release her grip. “You’re suspending me?”

“I’m not suspending you. I assigned you to this. This came down from higher up. It’s above my pay grade. I went to bat for you to ensure you can continue working without them reassessing your suspension.”

“I don’t get it. I understand we have three bodies on our hands, but you know as well as I do the kind of game that is being played here. Savannah, we never stop the first. So, in reality, we are only looking at two. ”

“Noah, you don’t need to convince me. I know you can do your job, but someone else in the department doesn’t think you can."

“Oh, big surprise. I wonder who,” he said, glaring at Terry.

“It’s not him. He wouldn’t stoop this low.”

“You sure about that?” Noah could feel his blood boiling.

“Come on. This has got to be a joke. We are this close to capturing this guy,” he said, holding up two fingers.

“I can feel it, Savannah. There’s something more to this.

Something deeper. This guy isn’t just randomly killing teens. There’s a larger motive.”

“There’s always a motive.”

“What I’m saying is this is personal.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know right now, but…”

“It’s done. Okay? Terry is on it. He’ll be working with Porter. They want you off.”

“Really? And what’s the accusation?”

She removed a folder from her jacket and handed it to Noah.

Noah opened the folder and looked at photos of him passed out and an empty bottle beside him.

As he was looking at the snapshots, he noted the date and time stamp.

He recognized what clothes he was wearing.

They were from the night he’d gone to see Natalie Ashford.

“You were on duty that night,” she said.

“I was soaked. I went home to change my clothes. Porter and McKenzie were handling matters. There wasn’t mention of a third victim.

As far as I was concerned, it was just wrapping up the details.

They both said they could handle it.” He looked at the photo again. “Damn it! She threw me under the bus.”

“Who did?”

He groaned. “Natalie Ashford. This is what they do. Don’t you see? They got to Luke, they got to Ray, they got to Alicia, hell, they even got to my father. And now me. Alicia warned me about this. She knew. She fucking knew. Why didn’t I listen to her?” he said as Savannah took back the photos.

Savannah placed a hand on his back and leaned in. “Press is watching. Don’t make a scene. That’s exactly what they want.”

He looked at her, confused.

“Go back to the office. On my desk, there’s a case that I think will interest you. Take your mind off this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Noah. Please.”

He closed and opened his eyes, nodded, and walked away. There were few people he truly trusted in his life. He could count them on one hand, but one of them was Savannah. Whatever power move someone had pulled, they knew to go above her head and keep her out of the decision-making.

One thing was for sure: there were some influential people behind the latest chess move, and if he was going to stay in the game, he needed to know how to outplay them.