Page 30 of The Catcher (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #5)

T he journey to Adirondack Medical Center was a blur.

Noah arrived at Saranac Lake with his heart racing, his breaths shallow and quick.

The hospital’s double doors swung open with a whoosh, and he hurried inside, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

He made a beeline for the main desk, his voice urgent as he inquired about his father.

“Hi, I’m here to see my father, Hugh Sutherland. How is he?” Noah asked, the words tumbling out in a rush.

Before the clerk could open her mouth, Maddie answered, appearing behind him. “Stable. The doctor is with him at the moment. They said we could go in shortly.”

Relief flooded Noah as he turned to see Ray, Maddie, and her boyfriend in the waiting room. Ray rose from his seat, patting Noah on the arm.

“Brother,” Ray said, his voice filled with concern. He was still in uniform. “It was a slow night. I managed to sneak away. Where are the kids?”

“With Gretchen, thankfully.” He paused, catching his breath. “Well, this is a first,” Noah said, eyes scanning the room.

“No. He’s been here on multiple occasions about this,” Maddie said. “It’s just he hasn’t told us.”

“What? How do you know?” Noah asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“The doctor informed me. Told me that Dad wanted to keep it hush-hush,” Maddie explained.

“So, how did we find out this time?” Noah questioned.

“I was there,” Maddie said softly. “He curled over in his living room after using the washroom and gripping his chest. He didn’t want me to call the ambulance.”

Noah sighed. “Stubborn as hell.”

“Can you fault him?” Maddie asked.

“Sure can,” Noah replied, though his voice softened with concern.

A doctor approached while Maddie was in the washroom and Ray was getting a coffee. Noah rose from his seat.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Iman. Could we talk in private?” the doctor asked, his expression serious.

“Sure,” Noah replied. He followed Dr. Iman down the hallway and into a room.

“Everything okay?” Noah asked, his voice tight.

Dr. Iman offered him a reassuring smile before speaking.

“ Vitals are good. EKG came back without any issues. Your father was in a few months ago. He arrived by ambulance. The outcome was the same. Because of his age and to err on the side of caution, we referred him to a heart clinic to run some tests and to wear a Holter monitor. From what I can see, the results were normal.”

Noah nodded, absorbing the information, but his brow furrowed as Dr. Iman continued.

“The thing is, quite often when we see these kinds of things, it’s not heart-related, it turns out to be a panic attack,” Dr. Iman explained.

“I’ve asked Hugh if there is anything in his life right now that is causing him stress, and he said nothing he could pinpoint, though he did mention that he doesn’t get to see a few of his grandchildren. ”

Noah narrowed his eyes, contemplating the doctor’s words. “That’s interesting, Doc. Do you ever see people coming in complaining that they’re having a heart attack to get attention?”

“It’s rare. Most people don’t want to hang around a hospital for ten hours or go through a battery of tests, but it does happen. Mental illness and whatnot,” Dr. Iman replied. “You think your father is making this up?”

Noah let out a lungful of air and glanced over his shoulder briefly before returning his gaze to the doctor. “It was a rhetorical question,” he said.

“Oh,” the doctor replied, chuckling. “Good, good. I didn’t get that sense with your father. I mean, I’ve known your father for close to thirty years. If there is ever a level-headed man, that’s one. ”

“Yeah, that’s what they say,” Noah said, though his smile was unconvincing.

He knew his father better than anyone else and had seen him manipulate situations for his gain.

Was this any different? He didn’t want to think it was.

He certainly couldn’t go in there accusing him, and as much as he didn’t want to believe that his father would stoop this low, he also wouldn’t put it past him.

“So what are you advising, Doc?” Noah asked.

“As I’ve told Hugh, he needs to rest. He needs to look at what he’s doing that he shouldn’t be doing. Maybe he should take a vacation. Spending time with his grandchildren would be good, too,” Dr. Iman replied.

Noah nodded, considering the doctor’s advice. “Can I see him?”

“Of course,” Dr. Iman said, gesturing for Noah to follow him to his father’s room.

As Noah entered, he took in the surroundings. Overhead, lights dimly lit the room, casting a soft glow over the space. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking out the evening darkness outside. The steady beep of medical equipment filled the air, providing a constant reminder of the hospital setting.

Hugh sat up in bed as Noah approached, his expression calm despite the circumstances. “Oh, Noah. I was told Maddie was here,” he remarked.

“Yeah,” Noah replied, gesturing towards the waiting room. “In the waiting room.”

“I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I told the doctor I was fine,” Hugh insisted.

“It seems he agrees,” Noah said, glancing at the EKG monitor displaying normal vitals. “Why didn’t you tell us about the previous incidents?”

“You all have enough to deal with without my problems,” Hugh replied.

“That’s never stopped you from sharing before,” Noah said.

Hugh glanced up at the TV playing quietly in the corner. “I saw they caught that perp you were after. However, they had a different investigator being interviewed. I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

Noah didn’t want to delve into the topic with his father at that moment. “Doc says you need to rest. Too much stress isn’t good. It can bring on panic attacks.”

“Oh nonsense,” Hugh dismissed, shaking his head.

Noah resisted the urge to push further on the Ashford Royale case, deciding the timing wasn’t right.

“Well, rest up,” Noah said, leaving the room.

“You’re going?”

“Yes.”

“Are Mia and Ethan here?” Hugh asked before Noah could exit.

“No,” Noah replied curtly.

“Too bad. I miss the kids, Noah. The doctor thinks that—” Hugh lamented before being cut off.

“I know what you told him, but the answer is still no. Unless you’ve changed your mind about telling me your involvement with the Ashfords?” Noah’s voice held a hint of frustration.

Hugh fell silent, his hesitation speaking volumes.

Noah left the room before his father could say anything further, almost colliding with Maddie in the corridor.

“You leaving already?” Maddie asked, concern etched on her face.

“Doc says it’s panic attacks. Nothing more,” Noah informed her in a low voice.

“Panic attacks?” Maddie echoed, her brow furrowing with worry.

Noah nodded in confirmation.

Maddie glanced towards the room before turning her attention back to Noah. “All right. I guess with early dementia, that’s one more thing to worry about,” she murmured, her voice heavy with concern. “By the way, we’re still getting together on Sundays if you change your mind.”

He glanced at her.

“He asked me to ask you.”

“Of course he did, and my answer remains the same.”

Noah sat in his Bronco outside the hospital, the weight of the evening’s events pressing down on him. He stared out into the darkness, lost in thought, as he grappled with conflicting emotions.

He didn’t want to keep Mia and Ethan away from their grandfather, but exposing them to someone associated with a family plagued by trouble in town made him uneasy. It was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make to keep his children safe .

As he prepared to leave, Noah shifted the Bronco into reverse, only to be startled by the warning alarm from his vehicle.

Glancing at the rearview camera screen, he saw a car behind him.

Naturally, he expected it to move out of the way.

After all, no other vehicles were trying to exit the lot, and there was plenty of space.

“C’mon!” Noah muttered under his breath, growing impatient as the car remained stationary. Frustrated, he rolled down his window and said, “Hey buddy, you wanna move on!”

Still, there was no response, and the car didn’t budge. With a resigned sigh, Noah put his Bronco in park and stepped out. Making his way to the vehicle’s rear, he peered around, expecting to see a driver waiting or experiencing car trouble.

But as he reached the back of the sedan with tinted windows, it suddenly rolled away, leaving Noah with his hand raised in frustration.

“Of course!” he exclaimed, shaking his head in annoyance. With a shrug, he returned to his Bronco, dismissing the incident as he put it out of his mind. Starting the engine, he drove off into the night, leaving the hospital behind him.

Feeling the weight of tiredness bearing down on him, Noah arrived home and stepped out of his vehicle, the jangle of his keys breaking the silence of the night.

As he approached the door, he noticed it was slightly ajar.

Frowning, he could have sworn he had locked it before leaving.

There was no visible damage to suggest a break-in, which only heightened his unease .

“Huh,” he muttered under his breath, his senses on high alert. He cautiously pushed the door open and entered, immediately reaching for the nearest light switch. The room illuminated, revealing no signs of a struggle or intrusion, but Noah’s heart sank as he realized the case file box was missing.

“No, no, no,” he muttered, his mind racing as he scanned the room.

Nothing else appeared to be out of place, but the absence of the box sent a wave of frustration through him.

He knew damn well McKenzie couldn’t have taken it, as they had both left the property at the same time when he went to the hospital.

“Son of a bitch!” Noah cursed, his frustration mounting as he considered the implications. Had the driver in the parking lot been watching him, providing cover for whoever had entered his home?

Without wasting another moment, Noah grabbed his phone and dialed Savannah’s number, his mind racing with questions and possibilities.

“It’s gone,” Noah said as soon as Savannah answered.

“What is?” Savannah’s voice sounded concerned.

“The case file — the one you said to look into — I took it home. Someone took it from my house.”

“How?” Savannah’s voice was laced with disbelief.

“I don’t know,” Noah replied.

“Who else knew you had it?”

“Besides you? Felix, maybe a few other officers saw me walking out with it. And McKenzie.”

“Why did you leave it there?”

“I was called to the hospital. My father,” Noah explained, feeling a pang of guilt as he mentioned his father’s health scare.

“Is he okay?” Savannah asked, her concern genuine.

“Yeah. Yeah. He’s fine. I…” Noah’s voice trailed off as his thoughts drifted back to the hospital. Had his father been involved in this somehow? Had he orchestrated a distraction to draw Noah away so someone else could enter the house?

“Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow,” Noah said abruptly, his mind swirling with possibilities. He hung up the phone, feeling a sense of unease settle over him as he contemplated the unsettling turn of events.

Noah hurried over to Ed’s home, hoping to glean any information that might shed light on the disappearance of the box. As he approached, he noticed that Ed’s home was shrouded in darkness, the only illumination coming from the moonlit sky above.

Noah knocked on the door, the sound echoing in the quiet neighborhood. After a moment, a light flickered inside, and the door creaked open to reveal Ed rubbing his eyes.

“No, I don’t have any sugar,” Ed said automatically, glancing at his watch.

“Ed, have you heard or seen anyone roll up to my house this evening?” Noah asked urgently.

“Besides that crazy Scottish friend of yours?” Ed replied, stifling a yawn.

“What time was that?”

“After eight. ”

“No, that was earlier,” Noah clarified, his patience wearing thin.

“Well, then, no,” Ed admitted. “Then again, I was listening to music. My headphones were on. Is everything okay?”

Noah glanced around, feeling the night pressing down on him. “Not exactly. But when is it ever,” he muttered under his breath. “Sorry for disturbing you.”

With a nod of acknowledgment, Noah turned to leave, his mind racing with unanswered questions. The thought that anyone could waltz into his home only added to the growing sense of unease.